Kamal Naser, Khalid Al‐Khatib and Yusuf Karbhari
Over the last decade, Jordanian Authorities and Government adopted several far‐reaching measures aimed at improving its investment environment. These measures included the…
Abstract
Over the last decade, Jordanian Authorities and Government adopted several far‐reaching measures aimed at improving its investment environment. These measures included the introduction of International Accounting Standards (IASs) in 1990, amendment of the Companies Act in 1997 and amendments to Investment Promotion Law in 1998. This study specifically provides empirical evidence on changes in the depth of corporate disclosure after introducing IASs. In addition, the relationship between the depth of corporate disclosure and company's attributes is investigated. The outcome of the analysis reveals a slight improvement in the depth of disclosure after the introduction the IASs. The depth of disclosure seems to be associated with corporate size, audit firm status, liquidity, gearing, and profitability.
Amid the COVID-19 world pandemic, there are few organizations that have proven to be recession proof. A Dubai-based company has managed to resist its second recession after the…
Abstract
Amid the COVID-19 world pandemic, there are few organizations that have proven to be recession proof. A Dubai-based company has managed to resist its second recession after the 2008 market downturn, with no lay-offs, cash flow problems, and over 80% customer satisfaction. NAFFCO, a world leader in manufacturing fire safety and security solutions, is the organization that beat the odds. The aim of this case study is to identify the drivers of success that contributed to the continuous growth of the organization, despite turbulences in the market condition. Six drivers were identified: (1) Situational Leadership Style, (2) Innovation through Kaizen, (3) Quality Focus, (4) Research and Development Philosophy with Knowledge Spillover Integration, (5) Esprit de corps, and finally (6) Corporate Citizenship. These drivers were cross-examined with respect to academic literature and an analysis of the deviations and commonalities have been presented. Based on the cross examination of different strategic drivers, suitable areas of future studies have been indicated to understand the magnitude of their effects including NAFFCO’s Oath!
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Kamal Naser, Ahmad Jamal and Khalid Al‐Khatib
The Islamic banking system is gaining momentum. Many international conventional banks have started to open branches which operate in accordance with the Islamic Shariah principles…
Abstract
The Islamic banking system is gaining momentum. Many international conventional banks have started to open branches which operate in accordance with the Islamic Shariah principles in some Islamic countries. The Islamic banking system is expected to face strong competition not only from the Islamic banks but also from well‐established conventional banks offering Islamic products and services. In this study, an attempt is made to assess the degree of customer awareness and satisfaction towards an Islamic bank in Jordan. A sample 206 respondents took part in this study. The analysis of their responses revealed a certain degree of satisfaction of many of the Islamic banks facilities and products. The respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with some of the Islamic banks services. Although the respondents indicated that they are aware of a number of specific Islamic financial products like Murabaha Musharaka and Mudaraba, they show that they do not deal with them.
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Reza Salehzadeh, Maliheh Javani and Hassan Esmailian
In today’s competitive business landscape, organizations are increasingly recognizing the strategic advantage of implementing sustainable practices to gain a competitive edge…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s competitive business landscape, organizations are increasingly recognizing the strategic advantage of implementing sustainable practices to gain a competitive edge. This study aims to investigate the effect of green artificial intelligence (AI) on achieving a green competitive advantage, examining the mediating roles of green organizational learning, green product innovation and green process innovation. Additionally, the research explores the moderating role of perceived green climate in the relationship between green AI and these mediating factors.
Design/methodology/approach
This research examined companies in Isfahan, Iran, that have varying levels of artificial intelligence adoption within their business processes. The target population consisted of 148 senior managers from these companies. This study uses structural equation modeling to examine the proposed model.
Findings
Green AI positively impacted green organizational learning and green process innovation but not green product innovation. In addition, the results showed that green organizational learning, green product innovation and green process innovation had positive effects on green competitive advantage. Finally, the results showed that the perceived green climate did not play a moderating role in the relationship between green AI and these mediating factors.
Practical implications
Organizations should prioritize green AI initiatives, foster a culture of green learning and invest in green innovation to achieve sustainable growth and outpace competitors in the environmentally conscious marketplace.
Originality/value
This study positions itself at the forefront of research on green AI and green competitive advantage. It offers a unique framework by examining the combined effects of green AI, green learning and both product and process innovation on achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.
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The purpose of the study is to identify how knowledge management processes impact innovation performance in the Jordanian medical sector (private hospitals) as well as identify…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to identify how knowledge management processes impact innovation performance in the Jordanian medical sector (private hospitals) as well as identify how big data analytics moderates this performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Two hundred ninety-one questionnaires were analyzed for the purpose of this study. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test convergence validity, discriminant validity and reliability. In order to analyze the data, bootstrapping was used.
Findings
The empirical results showed that all knowledge management processes are statistically significant in influencing innovation performance. Furthermore, big data analytics moderates the relationship between knowledge management processes and innovation performance.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this cross-sectional study are limited to one country and one industry due to methodological limitations, and the results represent a snapshot at a particular point in time.
Originality/value
Jordan's medical leaders will benefit from this study, since it emphasizes the importance of knowledge management processes to enhance innovation performance, especially given the importance of big data analytics in the field, increasing innovation capabilities in the medical field, thereby increasing innovation levels.
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Sarwar Mehmood Azhar, Rubeena Tashfeen, Jaweria Khalid and Tashfeen Mahmood Azhar
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2016 shows Pakistan as among the more corrupt nations in the world with a ranking of 117 among 176 countries surveyed. This situation…
Abstract
Purpose
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2016 shows Pakistan as among the more corrupt nations in the world with a ranking of 117 among 176 countries surveyed. This situation raises concerns about members of the society and especially about the business communities. This paper aims to examine whether the tendency to corruption is also prevalent amongst business students, the future leaders and executives of business organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses survey questionnaires in the manner of Parsa and Lankford (1999) to examine the ethical levels of business students. It uses Levene’s (1960) tests for equality of variances and the t-test for equality of means to examine whether there are difference in the ethical perceptions between: bachelors (BBA) and graduate (MBA) students; business students who have taken the ethics course and those who have not; and female and male students. The authors also examine the overall ethical perceptions of business students.
Findings
The results show that students seem to make a clear distinction in respect of what they consider as acceptable and unacceptable ethical behavior. They would not indulge in behavior that directly falls within the category of stealing, misusing of company’s resources and undertaking actions that are wrong or dishonest, which may stem from their religious indoctrination. However, they would consider as acceptable behavior the overlooking of safety violations, not telling on peers; and fudging of the truth to get the job done. The latter attitude appears to be in line with business objectives of achieving targets irrespective of the means employed and that inform business education. We do not find any differences between the behavior of women and men which may be the outcome of the same religious indoctrination and educational perceptions. While there is a difference in the ethical perceptions between students who have taken the ethics course and those who have not, the course is not able to counter the lack of ethics among business students. There is a need for some stronger measures to inculcate a set of ethical values within students. However, we did find that some of the unethical behavior is diluted at the MBA level in comparison to BBA students.
Originality/value
This study provides new insights into the ethical perceptions of students in an Islamic emerging country. There is a conflict between ethics conveyed through Islamic precepts, and the ethics of business education with a focus on profits/revenues, costs, performance and competition that endorses a Machiavellian attitude of achieving goals at any cost and the love of money (Tang and Chen, 2008). It is the first study to suggest a differentiation in the ethical behavior of business students that exhibit both ethical and unethical behavior. There appears to be a clear segregation between what students deem as acceptable and unacceptable ethical behavior that may result from their personal/religious beliefs, and their business attitudes that strongly informs their ethical behavior. It provides a basis for developing more customized and effective ethics courses in Pakistan and suggests more importantly that ethics needs to be integrated into business concepts imparted in business programs at universities.
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Muhammad Saifullah Khalid, Qi Zhanyong and Jannat Bibi
This study aims to assess the socio-cognitive transformation and subject knowledge development of international students studying in China's universities with diverse learning…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to assess the socio-cognitive transformation and subject knowledge development of international students studying in China's universities with diverse learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was collected through on-line survey and quantitative approach was adopted on a Likert scale to assess students' cognitive and social development as a responsible mind-set, ethical awareness, understanding cultural diversity and subject knowledge development. The assessment scale consisted of 25 statements to cover the foundational indicators that represent socio-cognitive transformation. The questionnaire was pilot tested for internal consistency by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis was applied to ensure the traits of the construct intended to measure. A total of 316 participants responded to the survey. With descriptive statistics, X2 of association and Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance by rank was applied to test the hypothesis.
Findings
This study argues that diverse learning environment has positive impact on learners’ socio-cognitive transformation. It enhances students' capability to understand cultural values to accept diversity and awareness about global community issues and also subject knowledge skill development.
Originality/value
In the current century, study abroad programs have increased the mobility of international students, and the role of higher education institutions has become immense, multifaceted and dynamic. Universities are taking a position to play a considerable role in creating learning opportunities for awareness of societal issues and transform social behavior. Studying abroad programs is a growing concept in response to learners' cogitative and socialized transformation. There is an absence of research conducted to explore the impact of a diverse cultural environment on the socio-cognitive transformation of international students. Therefore, the current study focused on exploring the cognitive and societal development of international students studying in China.
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Grigorios Livanis, Christopher J. Robertson, Khalid M. Al-Shuaibi and Khalid Hussain
The purpose of this paper is to examine how country-of-origin (COO) perceptions of managers affect their provider selection for offshoring and offshore-outsourcing of services. In…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how country-of-origin (COO) perceptions of managers affect their provider selection for offshoring and offshore-outsourcing of services. In particular, it examines how economic and cultural attributes of the supplier’s host nation shape these choices and identifies whether these attributes have a substitutive, complementary, or competing relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was performed using data collected from 235 managers in Saudi Arabia, which has relatively homogeneous managerial population with a clear significant cultural attribute and so presents an ideal setting to study the theory developed in this paper. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance and a repeated-measures and doubly multivariate analysis of variance.
Findings
Building on signaling theory, it is shown that buyers from developing countries prefer suppliers from developed rather than culturally distant developing economies as stronger institutions in developed nations increase the credibility of firms. It is also shown that they prefer suppliers from developing countries that share a common cultural attribute such as religion over other developing countries, supporting social identification behavior and a substitutive relationship between cultural and economic attributes. Finally, they are indifferent between suppliers located in a developed and in a culturally similar developing country, even when the cost of obtaining the service is the same in both countries. In such cases, economic and cultural COO attributes have a competing relationship in provider selection.
Research limitations/implications
It would be interesting to examine if the results of the current study extend to cultural attributes/cues other than religion that may shrink the social distance between buyers and suppliers.
Practical implications
Service multinationals from developing countries may struggle to establish credibility in the eyes of potential customers, who consistently evaluate them lower than firms in developed markets or firms from developing countries that share a common social trait with the potential customers. They can compensate for this by adopting policies that enhance pre-contract trust, invest in homogeneity capital that decreases the social distance between the two firms, or by focussing their sales efforts on countries with which they share a social/cultural attribute.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the marketing and international business literatures by providing insights on how firms from developing countries can effectively compete in the global marketplace given COO effects. Overall, the results provide novel evidence of the importance of co-membership in transnational communities (for instance, religious groups across countries) in supplier selection and its relationship to economic attributes.
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Justus Mwemezi and Herman Mandari
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) in the Tanzania banking industry by investigating the influence of technological…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of big data analytics (BDA) in the Tanzania banking industry by investigating the influence of technological, environmental and organizational (TOE) factors while exploring the moderating role of perceived risk (PR).
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a qualitative research design, and the research instrument was developed using per-defined measurement items adopted from prior studies; the items were slightly adjusted to fit the current context. The questionnaires were distributed to top and middle managers in selected banks in Tanzania using the snowball sampling technique. Out of 360 received responses, 302 were considered complete and valid for data analysis. The study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the developed conceptual framework.
Findings
Top management support and financial resources emerged as influential organizational factors, as did competition intensity for the environmental factors. Notably, bank size and perceived trends showed no significant impacts on BDA adoption. The study's novelty lies in revealing PR as a moderating factor, weakening the link between technological readiness, perceived usefulness and the intent to adopt BDA.
Originality/value
This study extends literature by extending the TOE model, through examining the moderating roles of PR on technological factors. Furthermore, the study provides useful managerial support for the adoption of BDA in banking in emerging economies.