Search results

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the links between labor market conditions and academic performance by disentangling the effects of unemployment. The contribution of this study is, therefore, threefold: first, it provides new evidence on the link between labor market conditions and educational decisions; second, it quantifies separately the two separate effects of unemployment on academic performance at age 15; and third, it analyses heterogeneous effects of the “family” and “local labor market” – proxied through the unemployment rate of the school community – effects.

The analysis of the impact of unemployment on academic performance is performed through hierarchical linear regressions.

The results show that academic performance at age 15 is affected by labor market conditions, and, at the same time, previous performance determines future educational decisions. Thus, these results highlight the sensitivity of students’ educational decisions and academic performance to shifts in the labor market.

This suggests that strategies aimed at reducing early school dropout rates should not be restricted solely to the education system. In other words, school failure is not only dependent on schools and, hence, on education policies.

This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing new evidence on the relationship between short-term labor market dynamics and academic performance. More specifically, this paper represents a significant step forward in comparison to the previous literature as it has provided responses to three key questions faced by countries with high unemployment and high early school dropout.

Retailers are increasingly using self-service technologies to improve customer experience and reduce costs. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that could explain the level of continuance intention of mobile self-scanning applications in retail. Based on previous theoretical streams, the present study integrates technology readiness (TR) and service quality into the technology acceptance model.

Using data collected through an online survey of 217 users of a mobile self-scanning application of a large supermarket chain operating in Portugal, the study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate that the continuance usage of the self-scanning apps is directly driven by users' satisfaction and perceived usefulness. Findings also show that TR has a positive and significant impact on ease of use and perceived usefulness. Ease of use has a positive impact on users' satisfaction and perceived usefulness but has no direct effect on the continuance intention to use the application. Perceived quality has a positive direct effect on satisfaction and a positive indirect effect on continuance intention. Finally, need for interaction has a negative effect on TR.

This work contributes to a better understanding of the emerging market for mobile self-scanning applications in retail applications, particularly relevant in a digital transition context.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the differences between generational groups (specifically Generations X, Y and Z) in terms of variables that influence organisational commitment and intention to stay within an organisation. The aim is to fill the research gap in understanding how different factors influence commitment and retention across different generations.

This study follows a quantitative approach based on cross-sectional survey data. The respondents were employees of Generations X, Y and Z. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis.

The results of the study indicate several relationships between variables and organisational commitment/intention to stay. Person-organisation fit is positively related to organisational commitment, and work-life balance is positively related to both organisational commitment and intention to stay. The mediation of organisational commitment shows a positive relationship with person-organisation fit and work-life balance. In addition, there are positive relationships between organisational culture and both organisational commitment and intention to stay, as well as a positive relationship between person-organisation fit and intention to stay. Furthermore, all three Generations (X, Y and Z) show positive relationships between organisational commitment and intention to stay.

The implications of the study are twofold. First, it provides theoretical contributions by uncovering the relationships between various variables and organisational commitment/retention. Second, it provides practical implications for organisations by highlighting the importance of person-organisation fit, work-life balance and organisational culture in fostering commitment and retention among employees of different generations.

The originality and value of this study lies in its exploration of the differences between generational groups in terms of variables affecting organisational commitment and intention to stay. By addressing this research gap, the study contributes to the existing literature on organisational commitment and retention. The detailed presentation of theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations and suggestions for future research enhances the overall value of the study.

The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of different employment relationships (ERs) on the sustainability results of cooperatives. The authors approached the type of ER comparing the inducements offered by the firm with the contributions that the manager expects from employees. In this way, the authors study how the orientation toward the employment relationship influences the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the firm.

This article presents a theoretical and empirical research model about the relationship between ERs and sustainability. The necessary information was obtained through a questionnaire that was completed by the human resource (HR) managers and chief executive officers (CEOs) of 124 cooperative companies, and structural equation modelling was applied to evaluate the relationships between the proposed constructs, using the partial least squares technique (PLS-SEM).

The obtained results suggest that mutual investment and overinvestment ERs favour economic, social and environmental sustainability, whereas quasi spot contract and underinvestment ERs have a negative influence on all three types of sustainability. Therefore, it is confirmed that the type of ER adopted can condition the sustainability of the company, either favouring or worsening it.

This work contributes to covering the lack of studies about which ERs impact the sustainability of organisations, and it provides information on the role of ERs in the search for a more sustainable organisation, demonstrating that the type of employment relationship developed by the firm has a relevant impact on its sustainability.

Unplanned urban mobility causes negative effects on the population and the environment. This study aims to understand how higher education institutions (HEIs) are managing the transportation issues related to their activities and how they are implementing actions towards more sustainable practices in this regard.

A systematic review and bibliometric analysis were performed using the Proknow-C method, and the bibliographic portfolio was evaluated to answer guiding questions about distribution of articles over the years and around the world, the most relevant and frequent topics, the travel behavior of university life and the main methodologies used. The meta-analysis was modeled using a programming language in R to execute Bibliometrix package.

Sharing systems, active transport, public transport, urban planning, car parking management and travel behavior are the most relevant topics related to sustainable mobility in HEIs. Different strategies to reduce car use are adopted, and the geographic location of the university and the availability of housing and shopping services in close proximity directly influence travel patterns. As a result, seven guidelines and strategic actions associated were proposed to promote the engagement of institutions in the development of sustainable transport and guide future studies about new solutions to promote sustainable university commutes.

This paper presents a new perspective by performing a critical literature review based on the experiences reported by several isolated studies on the subject. Initiatives of sustainable transport guidelines can be used by academics, urban planners, higher education administrators and other stakeholders to make universities more environmentally friendly, inclusive and accessible.

Call centers generate stress and absenteeism in staff and the literature suggests that people-oriented leadership is the right way of supervision for such a situation. This study compared its effects versus those of other types of leadership.

Absentee data of 379 representatives of customer services of a Peruvian call center were analyzed and the representatives answered a questionnaire about the Framework of Values in Competition and its four types of leadership. Day and night work shifts were compared.

It was observed that absenteeism declines with people-oriented leadership, although only during the day shift, and the addition of leadership oriented to change, results and control devalues models.

Future studies should cover the performance of the worker. The findings suggest a need to re-focus the theoretical focus on environmental contingencies that affect leadership effectiveness.

Leadership theorists will ask themselves in what circumstances the multiple leadership is effective. Call center managers will appreciate the organizational value of people-oriented leadership at the first level of supervision.

This paper studies the determinants of the debt maturity of Mexican-listed companies by analysing the effects on the extensive (issuing or liquidating debt) and the intensive (debt maturity renegotiation) margins.

This study, using a Tobit model for panel data and measuring maturity as a time variable, shows that size, liquidity and leverage, among other firm characteristics, as well as the market interest rate, explain debt maturity. Additionally, the study employs the McDonald and Moffitt decomposition to determine whether the explanatory variables of maturity have a more significant effect on the decision to issue or liquidate debt or on debt maturity renegotiations.

The results obtained highlight that the market interest rate negatively affects debt maturity. On the other hand, variables like size, liquidity, collateral and leverage demonstrate a positive relationship with the dependent variable. In addition, the extensive margin has a higher impact on corporate debt than the intensive margin, suggesting that firms prefer to liquidate or issue new debt rather than renegotiate preexisting contracts.

The main limitation of this study is the use of an unbalanced panel. The lack of data limits the application of specific methodologies suggested by the literature as a way to test the robustness of the estimates.

First of all, this study adds empirical evidence of debt maturity decisions by publicly traded firms in a middle-income country such as Mexico to the existing literature on maturity choice. Second, the study treats debt maturity as a time-censored, limited variable. Finally, the authors have used the McDonald and Moffitt (1980) methodology to decompose the effect of each independent variable into extensive and intensive margins.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that individuals consider necessary to be happy in their job. Based on these factors, a measure of job design happiness (JDH) is proposed.

Two methods were applied: a qualitative study with content analyses (n=969) to develop an exploratory questionnaire; and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis by applying structural equations models. In this second study the questionnaire was sent to a second sample (n=1,079).

Five first-order factors were identified: self-fulfillment; group working, attaining goals; leadership; and sustainability and job/family balance. These factors are explained by a second order factor: JDH.

Further research is needed to determine how the identified “job design happiness” components may interact with one another. Testing the measure of different industries and national cultures is also suggested.

Managers and human resources practitioners can improve job and organizational performance by applying the scale in several moments in time measuring the job happiness “pulse,” monitoring their decisions.

The adoption of this measure for decision making in organizational and job design can contribute to the improvement of living standards and firm sustainability.

Research on organizational happiness has been increasing but instruments to measure JDH, considering organizational factors, are limited.

Reflecting the moral theorisation of bribery as a negative phenomenon, bribery has been widely shown to have a deleterious impact at the national level on economic development and growth. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether it is also the case at the firm level that bribery has negative impacts on firm performance. Until now, the few studies conducted in individual nations and regions have produced mixed results. Here, therefore, a more comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between bribery and firm performance is undertaken across the developing world.

To do so, World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 106,805 enterprises across 132 developing countries is used to provide a firm-level analysis of the relationship between bribery and firm performance.

The finding is that bribery enhances firm performance. Firms asserting that it is necessary for enterprises like theirs to give gifts or payments to public officials in order to get things done have 13.9 per cent higher average annual sales growth rates and 48 per cent higher annual productivity growth rates, after controlling for other determinants of firm performance.

Given that engaging in bribery at the firm level results in higher firm performance, despite bribery having an overall detrimental negative impact at the country level, public authorities will need to develop measures to alter not only the cost-benefit ratio confronting individual enterprises but also the institutional deficiencies that result in the prevalence of bribery.

This is the first firm-level evaluation of the relationship between bribery and firm performance across the developing world.