Gregoris Demetriou, George Papageorgiou and Andreas Efstathiades
The purpose of this research is the modeling of the relationship of Learning Style and Learning Source Preferences to Organizational Learning Capability (OLC).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is the modeling of the relationship of Learning Style and Learning Source Preferences to Organizational Learning Capability (OLC).
Design/methodology/approach
A survey questionnaire gave us data from 274 employees in the hotel industry in Cyprus, which was chosen because it is a labor-intensive industry with big economic impact on the National Domestic Product (as per Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency this is more than 20%). SPSS and AMOS were used to analyse the proposed model.
Findings
The findings provided evidence to support the position that the proposed model demonstrates that OLC is affected by the Individual Learning Preferences (ILP) which are the learning style preference and the learning source preference of individual workers.
Research limitations/implications
The study did not consider the effect of learning style and learning source preferences on the different departments of a hotel. Further, a longitudinal study with more organizations within the hotel sector, or other economic sectors, was outside the scope of this study.
Practical implications
The proposed model can be used by organizations to reflect on how learning source and learning style preferences can affect the OLC.
Originality/value
What relevant research did not explore enough, is the learning preferences of individuals in their work environment and not as often seen, the learning styles or learning (dis)abilities of students in a school environment. Therefore, this research fulfills the need to study learning preferences in the business context and examines their effects on OLC.
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George Papageorgiou and Gregoris Demetriou
The purpose of this paper is to examine the concepts of learning and diffusion within the context of urban development and sustainable active mobility. A model is proposed, which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the concepts of learning and diffusion within the context of urban development and sustainable active mobility. A model is proposed, which treats learning as a diffusion process in a dynamic way, so that key strategies and their effects are investigated over time. Specifically, the question being examined is how learning and information technology strategies can change the mindset of people to be more physically active in their mobility around a city. This is carried out by developing a system dynamics (SD) computer simulation model, where learning strategies that promote walking can be tested prior to implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the specific key stages of knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation, the proposed SD model incorporates individual citizen and group level learning and diffusion processes in a unified integrated approach. The SD model gives a clear picture on how learning and changing mindsets occur in the context of a city, whereby we can explore the main drivers to learn new sustainability related habits. A case study is used to contextualize and demostrate the active mobility issue, in order to develop practical scenarios for promoting a walking mindset. This is done in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the model and show its practicality. Through the model we investigate the relationships among variables such as awareness, contact, communication and adoption and evaluate their impact on city policies to promote a walking mindset.
Findings
The developed SD model exhibits important dimensions, such as social learning, motivation to change behaviour and an analysis of the effects of plausible strategies for promoting sustainable active mobility. The authors have proven that through simulation experimentation, we can significantly accelerate the shaping and diffusion of a walking mindset, by influencing individual and community learning via the introduction of Information and Communication Technology in conjunction with an awareness campaign strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The diagrammatic representation and the quantification of the factors that contribute to active mobility give rise to better understanding of how policy makers could promote a walking culture in a city. The implications are that the proposed SD model could be used by city planning authorities as a framework for shaping mindsets towards active and sustainable mobility.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the further understanding of learning, diffusion of new ideas and strategic planning within the city context. Through the proposed SD model, a number of strategies are formulated and tested using scenario planning, sensitivity analysis and optimization, in order to develop a walking mindset and an urban culture of sustainability.
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In this chapter, I examine how religion can serve as an ideology that has the capacity to bridge people of the same faith who hold divergent political stances. Building on…
Abstract
In this chapter, I examine how religion can serve as an ideology that has the capacity to bridge people of the same faith who hold divergent political stances. Building on Williams’ work (1996), I propose that religion operates as an ideology when it diagnoses the source of social conflicts, proposes solutions, and justifies action. Yet religious ideological appeals are not always effective at bridging political divides. Thus the key question of this study is: under what social conditions are religiously-based ideological appeals effective at winning people’s support for social and political movements? To address this, I examine the relationship of religious leaders to Latin American movements that aimed to nonviolently overthrow authoritarian states. In particular, I analyze the conditions that led some religious elites to become pro-revolution while others sided with the incumbent regime. Using comparative historical methods, I analyze the different political stances of the Catholic Church hierarchy in the 1970s–1980s in Chile (where the church opposed the dictatorship), Argentina (where the church was largely supportive of the regime), and El Salvador (where the church hierarchy was divided). I argue that ideological appeals for religious leaders’ support are most effective when the religious institution receives no financial or political benefits from the regime and when leaders have relational ties to the aggrieved. Two factors had mixed effects on the decision to remain loyal to the state or not; these include the presence of an armed radical flank, and the state’s use of indiscriminate repression.
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Gabriele Santoro, Stefano Bresciani, Bernardo Bertoldi and Yipeng Liu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer’s attitude towards cause-related marketing (CRM). In detail, it aims to assess the relationship between CRM and consumer’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer’s attitude towards cause-related marketing (CRM). In detail, it aims to assess the relationship between CRM and consumer’s brand loyalty, and whether this relationship is moderated by consumer’s perception of corporate social behaviours. Moreover, the research looks for differences in the above relationship on two samples of consumers born and living in different countries and therefore with different cultural backgrounds.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts a quantitative methodology using a survey conducted among Italian and Japanese consumers. Ordinary least square regressions models are developed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The findings of this paper indicate a positive relationship between the consumers’ perception of CRM and their brand loyalty perception, regardless the country of origin. Accordingly, the authors found a similar pattern of CRM perception among Italian and Japanese consumers. In addition, the authors found that CRM and the consumers’ perception of corporate social behaviours are not complementary, in the sense their joint effect does not affect consumer’s brand loyalty.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies addressing the issue concerning the CRM perception of people with in different cultures. In this regard, this study suggests that CRM impacts on brand loyalty regardless the country of origin (Italy and Japan), and consumers’ characteristics such as age, gender, background. In addition, the study indicates that the perceived corporate social responsibility does not increase the effect of CRM on brand loyalty.
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Tomasz Kusio and Mariantonietta Fiore
As nowadays the knowledge economy puts a strong emphasis on the universities’ role in the present economy, the recent challenge focuses on the interrelations between…
Abstract
Purpose
As nowadays the knowledge economy puts a strong emphasis on the universities’ role in the present economy, the recent challenge focuses on the interrelations between entrepreneurship culture and academic engagement. This study aims to investigate the new role that universities are assuming as entrepreneurial entities and gather information taking place internal university stakeholders and students’ perception on entrepreneurship education. The research hypothesis stands entrepreneurship is mainly supposed as being professionally and educationally active rather than setting up a company.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study carries out a study on the perception of entrepreneurship education conducted among students of the University of Economics in Krakow in the winter semester of the academic year 2017/2018. The selected target group meets the criteria of the different national country origin of the respondents. Another criterion for selecting the target group was diversity in the field of students’ academic interests.
Findings
The results of the study give a clear view of the still valid confirmation of the growing academic role in terms of entrepreneurship culture development that appears necessary to address the demand for global competitiveness. In particular, it is possible to categorize two groups of people, moderate and strong supporters of recognition that entrepreneurship is not only about starting a company but also at the same time that it is an expression of its own dynamic and entrepreneurial attitudes.
Practical implications
As the importance of entrepreneurship in the context of an entrepreneurial university is rising and the definition of entrepreneurship goes beyond its understanding of starting a business, universities and academic engagement can and have to better address and focus their planning of the courses and their contents.
Originality/value
The study sheds some light and gives some interesting perspectives on the issue of different levels of entrepreneurship education expectations against different levels at which this education should be provided. In addition, it is in line with the EU entrepreneurship competence framework (EntreComp) aimed at defining tools to improve the entrepreneurial capacity and culture of EU citizens and organizations by means of consensus among stakeholders and by establishing a bond between education and study.