I.M.S. Weerasinghe and H.H. Dedunu
This study aims to identify the effect of demographic factors on the relationship between academic contribution and university–industry knowledge exchange in Sri Lanka.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the effect of demographic factors on the relationship between academic contribution and university–industry knowledge exchange in Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is of quantitative and explanatory type , which applied the deductive research method, and is conducted with minimum interference of researcher taking individual academics as the unit of analysis. The study collected data from 178 academics randomly through a structured questionnaire designed to analyze through statistical package for the social sciences and analysis of a moment structure statistical software. A structural equation model is applied to collected data to explore the moderating impact of the demographic factor on the university–industry knowledge exchange.
Findings
Overall involvement of academic staff in joint research, contract research, human resource mobility and the training with industry were was low in Sri Lanka. However, all four independent variables significantly associated with the knowledge exchange process from which only joint research and training had a statistically significant effect on university–industry knowledge exchange . Concerning demographic factors, only the quality of academic research significantly moderated the relationship between academic contribution and university–industry knowledge exchange process in Sri Lanka.
Research limitations/implications
This study considered only the university side of the university–industry knowledge exchange process.
Practical implications
This paper implies that gender, age and area of specialization did not have significant power to moderate the relationship between academic contribution and university–industry knowledge exchange process.
Originality/value
There is a lack of research literature discussing the moderating effect of demographic factors on the university–industry knowledge exchange process. In Sri Lanka, money and commercial benefits that received through industry partnerships had not been valued by academics. The majority considered the connection with industry and exchange knowledge as a responsibility that they should perform in return to free education received from grade one to graduation.
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D.M.C. Dassanayaka, I.M.S. Weerasinghe, S.N.S. Dahanayaka, H. Harshani Dedunu, KAHMK Athurupana and N.K.G. Muthuweera
The present scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic, together with technological advancements, has provoked unprecedented turbulence in the education system, notably in universities…
Abstract
Purpose
The present scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic, together with technological advancements, has provoked unprecedented turbulence in the education system, notably in universities, disrupting their conventional teaching and learning processes. Despite government support, teachers and students faced numerous challenges in the online teaching and learning process than expected. Extensive research has been undertaken to investigate the context of online education from the perspective of students, but less emphasis has been given to examining the views of teachers. Thus, the study aimed to explore attitudes of academics towards online teaching during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in Sri Lanka, with the population consisting of academics representing all state universities. An email survey was conducted randomly, and 355 academics responded to a Google form, out of which 332 refined questionnaires were used for analysis. Multi-item reflective indicators were used to operationalize the research constructs on a 7-point Likert scale. The face, content, and construct validities were ensured appropriately. The reflective-reflective two-stage hierarchical approach with disjoint option was applied to analyze the data using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) model. After rigorous and careful examination of data, the descriptive statistics revealed that the university academics are pretty distressed with their Internet connections and facilities at home to conduct online lectures.
Findings
Active student participation was just above the average, while teacher's attitudes towards online education, their willingness to continue it further seem quite unsatisfactory. Teacher readiness for online education appears to be acceptable only to a certain extent. The key findings of the study disclosed that the attitudes towards online teaching are determined by perceived usefulness, teacher readiness, perceived student participation whereas active student participation, a conducive teaching environment and institutional support have no significant impact on attitude towards online teaching. Further, the study contributed to the education literature analyzing online education in the Sri Lankan context.
Originality/value
This study sparked the debate and contributed to the literature exploring the concept from the side of teachers in which attitudes of teachers towards online teaching in Sri Lankan Contest.
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Fatima EL Houari and Moulay Othman Idrissi Fakhreddine
This systematic review aims to identify the key determinants of knowledge transfer (KT) activities among researchers.
Abstract
Purpose
This systematic review aims to identify the key determinants of knowledge transfer (KT) activities among researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study systematically reviewed KT literature in academic settings from 1995–2023. The authors searched Web of Science and Scopus using predefined keywords, following PRISMA guidelines for screening and eligibility assessment. From 158 selected articles, the authors extracted data and conducted a descriptive analysis to map KT activities’ evolution. A narrative synthesis approach categorized determinants of researchers’ KT activities.
Findings
The systematic review findings revealed a general conceptual framework that categorizes the identified determinants of KT into four categories. At the individual level, the factors are related to the sociodemographic characteristics of the researcher (e.g. gender, age, experience), their psychological aspects (e.g. attitude, intrinsic motivation, intention) and personal characteristics (e.g. self-efficacy, communication skills). At the research team level, leadership style and team dynamics. At the organizational level, the findings emphasize university characteristics (e.g. size, structure and ranking), KT culture installed and university resources. At the inter-organizational level, the key determinants were funding sources, network strength and trust.
Research limitations/implications
The studies included in our database were different in terms of contexts, country of the study, the disciplines of KT and the types of KT activities examined. This variety restricts the direct comparison of research findings thus the generalizability of our conclusions. Future research should focus on specific contexts, disciplines, countries or types of KT activities to provide generalizable findings.
Practical implications
A better understanding of all the factors influencing KT among university researchers is essential for several reasons. First, it will enable the government to develop effective policies to promote KT ecosystems. Second, universities can create strategies, policies and programs to support researchers’ engagement in KT activities. Finally, researchers can be more strategic in their KT efforts.
Originality/value
This systematic review contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive conceptual framework that identifies KT determinants at different levels and fills a gap in the existing literature that only addresses specific aspects of KT determinants. This framework can be a theoretical reference for future empirical studies. Furthermore, it practically provides recommendations for different actors including, government, universities and researchers.
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Eugénia de Matos Pedro, Helena Alves and João Leitão
The purpose of this paper is to identify the effects of students’ satisfaction with services on quality of academic life (QAL), formed by cognitive and affective components; and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the effects of students’ satisfaction with services on quality of academic life (QAL), formed by cognitive and affective components; and to assess the mediating effect of QOL components (cognitive and affective) on students’ loyalty and recommendation.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on 726 respondent students from public higher education institutions (HEIs) in Portugal, this paper uses a partial least squares approach to analyze the impact of satisfaction on emotions and students’ QAL and to assess whether emotions influence recommendation and loyalty.
Findings
The results reveal that satisfaction influences both cognitive and affective components of QAL. The cognitive component has a positive and significant influence on recommendation and loyalty whilst the affective component has no significant effect.
Practical implications
The results obtained here provide implications for future action to be taken by HEI managers, in order to increase efficiency in the allocation and management of scarce resources. Therefore, when incorporating these results in decision-making processes, attention should be paid to the importance of the influence of satisfaction on QAL’s cognitive and affective components, stressing the importance of the cognitive components associated with learning experiences that play an important role in students’ future decisions in terms of loyalty and recommendation, which, in turn, are pillars of HEI sustainability.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the literature on HEI management by assessing the influence of satisfaction on two components of QAL separately: cognitive components and affective components. In addition, the causality relationships are analyzed, assessing the emotional nexus, in order to deepen knowledge about the role played by both affective and cognitive components in students’ loyalty and recommendation, which need to be addressed and studied by carrying out new research.
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I.M.S. Weerasinghe and R.L.S. Fernando
The purpose of this study is to explain critical factors affecting student satisfaction levels in selected state universities in Sri Lanka.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explain critical factors affecting student satisfaction levels in selected state universities in Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
The study has applied an quantitative survey design guided by six hypotheses. A conceptual framework has been developed to address the research questions on the basis of a literature review. The study is based on an undergraduate sample from four state universities, and it presents results of factor analytics and correlational and regression analyses.
Findings
Evidence to support construct validity and reliability of all survey-based scales measuring the key variables has been found. The quality of the academic staff, university facilities, degree program, administrative staff, university location and university image have been correlated significantly with student satisfaction levels measured at 0.45, 0.47, 0.51, 0.31, 0.39 and 0.66, respectively. The statistically significant predictors are: the quality of university facilities, the quality of the degree program and the university image, with the image being the strongest predictor.
Practical implications
The study offers a conceptual framework to guide future research and validated scales for measuring student satisfaction levels in a national higher education system in a developing region that is aspiring toward a knowledge-based economy where tertiary education is free. Five recommendations are provided for policymakers.
Originality/value
Research shows high variabilities in the models used and the findings of studies on factors affecting student satisfaction levels in universities. The study is among the first large-scale studies of student satisfaction levels in the Sri Lankan state university system, where little data exist on why students are dissatisfied and fail to complete their degrees.
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Ahmad Abbas and Andi Ayu Frihatni
This paper aims to demonstrate gender diversity in the structure of corporate governance and test the effect of diversity on the firm performance suffering from financial distress.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to demonstrate gender diversity in the structure of corporate governance and test the effect of diversity on the firm performance suffering from financial distress.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is quantitative using a sample of 467 public firms in Indonesia. Data were analyzed into statistics descriptive and the hypothesis was tested using the test of logistic regression.
Findings
The preliminary results of the paper demonstrate the number of firms employing women and men in the structure of corporate governance of 13% on the commissioner board, 7% on the director board and 5% on the audit committee. Based on the test of effect, this paper further found that firms employing women and men (gender diversity) in the structure of the board of commissioners, tend to suffer from financial distress lower than firms only employing men (non-gender diversity).
Research limitations/implications
This paper is not an effort to make the proportion of voices of women equal to men, however the representation of women at least exists in the structure of corporate governance as part of workforce diversity and inclusivity. In addition, this paper is considered not to use panel data with the purpose of avoiding repetitive data because of the use of a nominal scale in the logistic regression model.
Practical implications
The finding of the paper is addressed to deliver insights into the current conversation on the issue of women's day with the theme of Each for Equal and to firms in positioning women in the structure of boardrooms.
Originality/value
This paper extends the limited scholarly work on the nexus between gender diversity and financial performance. The framework of social identity theory and the tenet of corporate governance are elaborated to disclose the finding that firm shareholders tend to benefit from gender diversity in the structure of the commissioner board.
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Niva Kalita and Reshma Kumari Tiwari
The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between three corporate governance (CG) idiosyncrasies, namely audit committee characteristics, external audit quality…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between three corporate governance (CG) idiosyncrasies, namely audit committee characteristics, external audit quality (AQ), board diversity and firm performance (FP) in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a sample of 200 listed nonfinancial firms in the SAARC nations from 2012 to 2021. The System Generalized Method of Moment model was applied to the data consisting of 2000 firm-year observations. The Generalized Estimating Equation population-averaged model was also employed for added robustness. The study employed Tobin's Q as the measure of FP.
Findings
The findings revealed that amongst the CG variables tested, external AQ exhibited a significantly positive relationship with Tobin's Q. Significant negative influences on FP have been demonstrated by the variables of audit committee meeting and board's independence. Furthermore, gender diversity, CEO duality, audit committee strength and independence failed to record any significant association.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to investigate the association between CG idiosyncrasies and FP in the SAARC nations. The study findings have important implications for policymakers and regulators in the region.
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Claudia Arena, Simona Catuogno, Paola Paoloni and Patrizia Pastore
While most research on female entrepreneurship has been conducted using the traditional private-for-profit logic, with the growing rise of hybrid and public organizational forms…
Abstract
Purpose
While most research on female entrepreneurship has been conducted using the traditional private-for-profit logic, with the growing rise of hybrid and public organizational forms, the value of female entrepreneurial initiatives tends to be shared with society at large. Overcoming the traditional distinction between private vs public sectors, this paper relies on the publicness theory and aims to appreciate the shared value of female entrepreneurship by reviewing evidence from the field of knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a three-phase systematic literature review on female entrepreneurship and knowledge sharing based on a sample of 188 articles for the period 2010–2022 retrieved from the three most extensive databases for evaluating scientific research (i.e. WoS, Scopus and Google Scholar) using a combination of relevant keywords within business and management domain. After the performance analysis of selected publications, the authors conduct a content analysis aimed at identifying the most recurrent theoretical framing, the impact of female entrepreneurship on value creation and the use of knowledge sharing. Finally, the authors conduct a thematic analysis using the theoretical perspective of the publicness to frame how different knowledge-sharing practices have been used in female entrepreneurship to create and spread public value.
Findings
The findings reveal that female entrepreneurship research has generally adopted managerial organizational and sociological theoretical frameworks, reported positive implications on value creation and has seldom exploited knowledge-sharing practices, with particular reference to the settings of low level of publicness. In addition, based on the development of the conceptual model, the authors suggest that the practice of networking in organizational structures characterized by a high level of political and/or economic authority makes the pattern of public value-sharing with the entire ecosystem easier.
Originality/value
The authors adopt an original approach that frames female entrepreneurship research within the lens of publicness theory to highlight the knowledge-sharing practices that allow the value created by female entrepreneurial initiatives to become a shared value in organizations characterized by high levels of political and/or economic authority. The proposed framework contributes to the research on entrepreneurship and knowledge sharing by providing a structured reference point to carry forward research on gender entrepreneurship and knowledge-sharing practices through the theoretical lens of the publicness.
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Qian Zhou, Shuxiang Wang, Liya Wang and Wei Xu
Open innovation platform has become an effective field through which enterprises can acquire valuable knowledge for incremental and breakthrough innovation. However, as more…
Abstract
Purpose
Open innovation platform has become an effective field through which enterprises can acquire valuable knowledge for incremental and breakthrough innovation. However, as more entities join the innovation platform, the knowledge activities in the platform ecosystem are now facing higher complexity and vulnerability due to the differences in the knowledge demands as well as conflicting interest claims of participants. The lack of mature governance mechanisms has caused opportunistic behaviors like knowledge infringement, leakage and hiding, which seriously hinder the in-depth knowledge sharing and effective utilization. What’s more, the enthusiasm for collaborative innovation also reduced among multi-subjects. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to improve platform participants’ innovation ambidexterity under the guidance of scientific design of platform knowledge governance mechanisms through improved knowledge transformation processes.
Design/methodology/approach
Therefore, based on knowledge governance theory and knowledge transformation model (SECI, socialization-externalization-combination-internalization), the study explored the influence of relationship and contractual knowledge governance on the innovation ambidexterity of platform participants through the mediation effect of knowledge transformation. To better analyze complex causal relationships among variables and the chain multiple mediation effect, structural equation modeling is used, coupled with bootstrap analysis verification.
Findings
Platform contractual governance and relationship governance can positively influence the innovation ambidexterity of participants through knowledge trading and reuse, as well as through knowledge sharing and creation. The findings not only contribute to optimizing the effectiveness of knowledge activities on digital platforms but also provide empirical evidence and practical insights to support enterprises’ incremental and breakthrough innovation according to their own knowledge bases.
Practical implications
The findings offer valuable insights for providing decision-making guidance not only for platform-leading enterprises but also for individual and enterprise users on effectively using open innovation platforms to conduct knowledge seeking, trading or sharing and knowledge reuse or creation to enlarge the incremental innovation value and to trigger breakthrough innovation value in their product and technology developments.
Social implications
Through diverse knowledge governance mechanisms, platform-leading enterprises do not only act as “economic agents” with private attributes to reduce knowledge asymmetry in the public trading market, diffuse knowledge broadly and mitigate cooperation costs to increase economic value; they also serve as “social actors” for multilateral participants to increase the cohesion of knowledge sharing and creation to provide sustainable knowledge fuel for the higher level of breakthrough innovation. Overall, knowledge arrangement efficiency can be optimized, and breakthrough innovation value can be activated in a well-governed platform, gradually escaping the diminishing marginal benefits of exploitative innovation.
Originality/value
This study has extended the views of the knowledge transformation model under the platform context and proposed dualistic knowledge transformation pathways, named “tacit knowledge socialization” and “explicit knowledge combination,” respectively. Besides, it discovered that under the contractual and relationship knowledge governance mechanisms’ guiding, participants in open innovation platforms may choose different knowledge searching and exchange ways according to their knowledge needs and thus trigger the different knowledge transform process. Then, “tacit knowledge socialization” transformation can show larger positive impact on breakthrough innovation, while “explicit knowledge combination” transformation makes larger impact on incremental innovation.
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Muhammad Farooq, Imran Khan, Qadri Al Jabri and Muhammad Tahir Khan
The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of CSR as a mediator in the board diversity–FD relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examined six board diversity dimensions – age, gender, nationality, education and tenure in 81 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. The CSR engagement of the sample firms is evaluated using a multidimensional financial approach and the likelihood of FD is computed using Altman’s Z-score. The system-generalized method of moments estimator is used to meet the study objectives. In addition, several tests are run to determine the robustness of the study’s findings.
Findings
Based on the procedure for mediation analysis outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986), the authors found that CSR is significantly inversely associated with the likelihood of FD. Second, board diversity variables age, gender and national diversity were positively associated with CSR. Third, board age, gender and national diversity are significantly inversely related to FD. Finally, it was found that there is partial mediation between board age diversity and FD, whereas full mediation is shown between board age diversity and FD and between board nationality diversity and FD.
Practical implications
This study provides practical insights into PSX’s board diversity for companies, regulators and policymakers.
Originality/value
This research studies the connection between board diversity and FD. In addition, the current study extended the analysis by testing for the first time the mediating role of CSR in the diversity–distress relationship, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.