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The purpose of this paper is to provide a robust statistical procedure for evaluating and measuring the relative efficiency of multiple decision‐making units. This robust approach is based on the generalized maximum entropy principle.

Information‐theoretic estimation approach is employed in this paper and a comparison is made with the classical relative efficiency (CCR) by using a non‐parametric bootstrap simulation. A real data application on the research performance of faculty members at Yarmouk University is presented.

Results indicate that the relative efficiency based on the generalized maximum entropy estimation approach is more accurate, costs less and is more efficient than the CCR relative efficiency.

Owing to use of Shannon's entropy formulation, it is still critical whether the results also hold with cross entropy or a higher order entropy formulation for modeling additive, multiplicative or partial relative efficiency.

A super data envelopment analysis has been introduced for finding superior decision‐making units (DMU) by solving only one nonlinear programming system, which could be considered as a flexible tool for modeling multiple input‐output DMU.

Lifetime data are used in many different applied sciences, like biomedicine, engineering, insurance and finance and others. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new acceptance sampling plans for Rama distribution when the mean lifetime test is truncated at a pre-determined time. The minimum sample sizes required to assert the specified life mean is obtained for a given customer’s risk. The operating characteristic function values of the sampling plans and producer’s risk are calculated.

The results are illustrated using numerical examples and a real data set is considered to illustrate the performance of the suggested acceptance sampling plans and how it can be used for the industry applications.

This paper shows a new acceptance sampling plans based on Rama distribution in the particular case when the mean life time test is truncated.

The results calculated in this paper demonstrate the differences between OC values for different distributions taken into account. In particular, OC values of Rama distribution are found to be less than the proposed distribution counterparts.

The purpose of this study is to analytically extend the understanding of leadership styles and organisational coaching and their influence on organisational outcomes and workplace counterproductive behaviours within a non-Western context, i.e. the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In this study, a sample size of 656 participants from 14 different business sectors in the Emirates was used. The meta-analysis concept of latent variables and non-linear principal components analysis, along with the corresponding methodology of structural equation modelling, were implemented.

The study finds that organisational coaching has a significant positive effect on transactional leadership and has a significant influence on job alienation. Interestingly, coaching has a significant effect on commitment and counterproductive workplace behaviours. The detailed data analysis using F tests and independent t-tests, when applicable, indicated that there was a tendency for older employees to have more favourable attitudes towards transformational leadership or commitment but not towards coaching.

Despite the popularity of the presented topic in today's organisations, research in a Middle East context has not kept pace with its counterpart in Western areas of the world. The present study attempts to bridge the gap between Western theories in developed countries and under-researched Eastern countries, namely, the UAE, and to test the impact of leadership styles and organisational coaching and their influence on employee commitment and trust mediated by job bullying and job alienation.

The purpose of this study is to establish both the validity of Western theories within the Middle East, namely, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to further improve and extend our understanding of the effect of organisational coaching on counterproductive behaviours, such as bullying and alienation.

A sample size of 656 participants from 29 organisations and 14 different industries was employed. A research model was proposed, refined and tested through a quantitative paradigm using one dimension nonlinear principal components analysis, linear structural equation modelling (SEM) and MANOVA.

The correlation analysis results show non-significant negative correlations between coaching and all of the organisational counterproductive behaviour dimensions but not certainty. It was found that a significant weak relationship exists between most of the mediator dimensions, while a strong relationship exists between job alienation and workplace bullying. Results of the linear SEM provide support that coaching is related to certainty. Furthermore, the results reveal that certainty mediates a significant link between coaching and organisational counterproductive work behaviours (job alienation and bullying).

The study is considered the first in the UAE to investigate organisational counterproductive work behaviours (bullying and job alienation). The main contribution of this study is to quantify the relationship between organisational coaching and bullying and job alienation mediated by organisational climate dimensions.

This study aims to examine the roles of advertising (ADV) and sales promotion (SP) in creating airline brand equity (BE) in the UAE, and to test the mediational effect of customer perceived value on the proposed relationships. Additionally, the study examines the outcomes of airline BE (i.e. trust, satisfaction and loyalty).

A structured and self-administered survey was used targeting 234 passengers, from which 197 were valid for the analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability.

The empirical findings support the direct relationship between ADV and BE. Perceived value fully mediates the effect of SP on BE. In addition, BE positively affects trust, satisfaction and loyalty.

Future research could investigate BE and perceived value as multidimensional constructs. Additionally, future research should expand the effect of other variables such as airline type, airline class and other marketing mix elements.

The findings from this research highlight the importance of both ADV and sale promotion in enhancing airline BE, and the pivotal role of perceived value.

The originality of this research is highlighted in conceptualizing a parsimonious model of the preceding constructs (i.e. ADV, SP, customer perceived quality) and subsequent constructs of BE (i.e. customer trust, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty), which has never been investigated collectively in one model in the literature particularly in the airline’ context of emerging economies such as UAE.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on the determinants of stock market development.

The paper divides the existing studies into the theoretical and empirical literature. Then, it analyses these studies in turn.

Based on the theoretical literature, the determinants of stock market development can be broadly classified into two groups: macroeconomic factors and institutional factors. The theory and the empirics predict different ways in which macroeconomic factors affect stock market development. The real income and its growth rate foster stock market development, while the banking sector, interest rate and private capital flows can foster or inhibit it. Inflation and exchange rates have adverse effects on stock market development. In terms of the institutional factors, the literature indicates that different legal origins and stock market integration can have a positive or negative impact on stock market development. In addition, factors such as legal protection of investors, corporate governance, financial liberalisation and trade openness contribute positively to the development of the stock market.

From the survey, it is imperative that policies which aim at enhancing institutional quality, financial integration, real income growth, macroeconomic stability and capital inflows, among others, will certainly promote stock market development within and across countries. Although the empirical studies have incorporated a large set of variables in their models, the theoretical studies do not contain rich models of stock market development. It is understandable that a theoretical model which contains a large set of the determinants of stock market development may be difficult to solve. However, such a model seems very appealing and will provide a unification of the existing literature.

The originality of the paper lies in the fact that it is the first to undertake a survey of the determinants of stock market development in the literature. It is hoped that this paper will spur further theoretical and empirical research on the determinants of stock market development.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the macroeconomic drivers of stock market development in Hong Kong during the period 1992Q4-2016Q3. Specifically, it investigates the impact of banking sector development, economic growth, inflation rate, exchange rate, trade openness and stock market liquidity on stock market development.

This paper uses quarterly time-series data covering the period 1992Q4-2016Q3, which have been obtained from various reliable sources. The study uses the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure to identify both the long- and short-run macroeconomic drivers of stock market development in Hong Kong.

We find that banking sector development and economic growth have positive impacts on stock market development, whereas the inflation rate and the exchange rate have negative impacts on stock market development both in the long and short run. In addition, the results show that trade openness has a positive long-run impact but a negative short-run impact on stock market development.

Despite the phenomenal growth of stock market in Hong Kong, there are, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no relevant studies on the macroeconomic drivers of stock market development in Hong Kong. Therefore, this paper endeavours to enrich the literature by examining the macroeconomic drivers of stock market development in Hong Kong during the period 1992Q4-2016Q3.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the macroeconomic determinants of stock market development in South Africa during the period 1975–2015. Specifically, it examines the impact of banking sector development, economic growth, inflation rate, real interest rate and trade openness on the development of the South African stock market.

The author employs autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure that allows the author to empirically investigate both the short- and long-run relationships between the stock market development and its determinants in the context of South Africa. In addition, the author also conducts a sensitivity analysis by accounting for the presence of structural breaks in the underlying series to check for the robustness of the estimation.

This paper confirms the findings by other studies that banking sector development and economic growth promote stock market development, while inflation rate and real interest rate inhibit stock market development. In addition, this paper finds an interesting result in the fact that trade openness has a negative impact on stock market development, which is different from the findings of many other studies.

Currently, while the theoretical and empirical literature presents diverse views on the relationship between each determinant and stock market development, no study has focussed on the South African stock market. Given the significant role that the South African stock market plays in Africa as measured by its market capitalisation and market capitalisation ratio, there is a need for a better understanding of the macroeconomic factors influencing its development.

Bullying negatively affects victims’ mental health and has been shown to be associated with anxiety and depression. Moreover, many studies have reported the prevalence of mistreatment among medical students (MS), interns and junior physicians. However, there are limited studies on bullying in the Middle East, and no studies on higher education in Bahrain. The authors’ aim was to investigate and compare the prevalence of bullying between MS at a major public university and non-medical students (NMS) at a private university in Bahrain. The authors also sought to explore the associations between bullying, depression and anxiety.

The authors conducted a survey-based cross-sectional study from October 1 to December 31, 2018, using convenient sampling method. A total of 300 students (150 MS and 150 NMS) participated in the study by answering a questionnaire that explored exposure to different types of bullying. In addition, standard anxiety and depression instruments were distributed to students.

The results showed that MS were more exposed to bullying than NMS, with a significant number (41%) reporting mistreatment from multiple sources, including teachers, consultants and peers. Furthermore, the authors found that bullying was significantly correlated with psychological health, anxiety and depression.

There are limited studies on bullying in the Middle East and no studies on the topic of higher education in Bahrain. Furthermore, the learning environment of tertiary education institutions can be improved by addressing the concerns associated with bullying identified in this study.