Ingo Winkler and Mustafa Khalil Mahmood
The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-related identity of temporary agency workers (TAWs), a topic that has received a limited amount of attention in previous research.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the work-related identity of temporary agency workers (TAWs), a topic that has received a limited amount of attention in previous research.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a qualitative method and draws upon interviews with 30 TAWs from four agencies in the south of Denmark in order to link the experiences, as narrated by Danish TAWs, to their identity.
Findings
The study unpacks the components of the TAWs’ work-related identity and provides an understanding of the self-notions that the TAWs mobilize to respond to the conditions of temporary agency work. It identifies six components of work-related identity: Being new and unfamiliar, demonstrating the ability to adapt, dealing with uncertainty, feeling inferior and marginalized, pursuing opportunities, and the necessity to impress others. Both the agency and the user-firm try to regulate the TAWs’ identity as they expect agency workers to be flexible and adaptable persons, who possess a high degree of self-control. In so doing they provide a template for identification that the workers have to respond to. The study shows that TAWs develop this identity along two dimensions: their liminal position between the agency and the user-firm; and prescribed identity templates as TAWs strive for autonomy and craft their own work-related identity.
Practical implications
There are managerial challenges with regard to motivation, tensions between temps and permanent staff, low levels of organizational commitment, well-being, and the performance of TAWs. These challenges can be better understood (and probably solved) when agencies and user-firms would take into account the agency workers’ struggle for identification. The paper demonstrates that the work-related identity of TAWs not only has consequences for their performance but also for their whole life. Furthermore, the constitution of agency workers as flexible resource has consequences for HRM in the user-firm.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the limited amount of knowledge about the meanings that TAWs reflexively attach to themselves as they seek to make sense of the conditions of temporary agency work. Investigating their work-related identity helps to better understand the implications of temporary agency work based on the investigation of the agency workers’ experiences.
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Mahmood Khalil and Ismael Abu‐Saad
The aim of this paper is to investigate the Islamic work ethic (IWE) and individualism among Arab college students in Israel, who represent an ethnic and religious minority in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate the Islamic work ethic (IWE) and individualism among Arab college students in Israel, who represent an ethnic and religious minority in a western‐oriented state.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants included 837 male and female Arab college students from an academic and a technical college in northern Israel. Most participants (64 percent) were Academic college students. Two measures were used: the IWE and individualism scales developed by Ali. Correlation analysis and two‐way multivariate analysis were used to analyze the data.
Findings
There was a strong and highly significant correlation between the IWE and individualism scales. Academic college students scored significantly higher than technical college students on both scales. There were significant interactions between gender and marital status, and college type and year of studies, on the scales.
Practical implications
Within the multi‐cultural context of Arab college students in Israel, the IWE and individualism scales emerged as reliable, practical measures for understanding the work‐related values of Arab college students in Israel.
Originality/value
This study is the first in the published literature to use the IWE and individualism scales among Arab students who were not raised in a homogeneous Islamic cultural context. Although the Arab minority in Israel is exposed to Israeli and Western, as well as Islamic, cultural and organizational influences, IWE scale proved to be highly reliable for this population. The IWE and individualism scales, used together, were uniquely effective for capturing the many nuances of work‐related values in this complex, multi‐cultural context.
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Zahoor Ahmed Soomro, Javed Ahmed, Mahmood Hussain Shah and Khalil Khoumbati
Identity fraud is a growing issue for online retail organisations. The literature on this issue is scattered, and none of the studies presents a holistic view of identity fraud…
Abstract
Purpose
Identity fraud is a growing issue for online retail organisations. The literature on this issue is scattered, and none of the studies presents a holistic view of identity fraud management practices in the online retail context. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the identity fraud management practices and present a comprehensive set of practices for e-tail sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review approach was adopted, and the articles were selected through pre-set inclusion criteria. The authors synthesised existing literature to investigate identity fraud management in e-tail sector.
Findings
The research finds that literature on practices for identity fraud management is scattered. The findings also reveal that firms assume identity fraud issues as a technological challenge, which is one of the major reasons for a gap in effective management of identity frauds. This research suggests e-tailers to deal this issue as a management challenge and counter strategies should be developed in technological, human and organisational aspects.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to the published sources of data. Studies, based on empirical data, will be helpful to support the argument of this study; additionally, future studies are recommended to include a wide number of databases.
Practical implications
This research will help e-tail organisations to understand the whole of identity fraud management and help them develop and implement a comprehensive set of practices at each stage, for effective management identity frauds.
Originality/value
This research makes unique contributions by synthesising existing literature at each stage of fraud management and encompasses social, organisational and technological aspects. It will also help academicians understanding a holistic view of available research and opens new lines for future research.
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The purpose of this study is to examine whether board gender diversity and other board characteristics affect earnings management practices of top public companies in Kazakhstan.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether board gender diversity and other board characteristics affect earnings management practices of top public companies in Kazakhstan.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyzes data of top public companies for the period 2010-2016. Data on corporate governance were manually collected from annual reports and investment memorandums, and financial data were collected from audited financial statements.
Findings
The empirical results show that companies with greater board gender diversity are more effective in constraining earnings management. The findings also indicate that companies with larger boards adopt a more restrained approach to earnings management practices, thus supporting the theoretical framework of the study. However, the results provide weak evidence of the association between board independence and earnings quality.
Originality/value
This study is the first to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and earnings management in emerging markets such as Kazakhstan that offers managerial and policy implications.
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Kamel Rouibah, Hosny I. Hamdy and Majed Z. Al‐Enezi
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the organizational factors and human motivations affecting information systems and information technology (IS/IT) usage and user's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the organizational factors and human motivations affecting information systems and information technology (IS/IT) usage and user's satisfaction in an Arabic country.
Design/methodology/approach
The study develops a research model that links three organizational factors (top management support – TMS, availability of training, and user's involvement) to IS/IT usage and end‐user's satisfaction via the mediation of TAM beliefs (usefulness and ease‐of‐use) by 382 IS users. The model was examined through the LISREL.
Findings
The results indicate that IS/IT usage and user satisfaction is largely influenced by perceived usefulness. Among the organizational factors, TMS was found to have the strongest effect on IS/IT usage and user's satisfaction, followed by availability of training and user involvement.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on perceptions of respondents from public organizations who have had high experience with IS/IT. These perceptions are based on a one‐time survey. For better validity, a longitudinal study with additional variables is needed.
Practical implications
This study is useful for practitioners who want to increase and boost system usage and user's atisfaction in the Arab region.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the motives of IS/IT usage and user's satisfaction in the Arab world and to educate researchers about how IS/IT is perceived by end‐users in Kuwait.
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This paper aims to answer the questions of what clothing practices related to sustainable fashion can be observed in young consumers' daily lives in Finland’s capital region and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to answer the questions of what clothing practices related to sustainable fashion can be observed in young consumers' daily lives in Finland’s capital region and what prevents their further proliferation.
Design/methodology/approach
This is qualitative research that draws from 22 semi-structured interviews with high school students in the capital area of Finland. The data were analyzed with the use of thematic analysis, a flexible method of data analysis that allows for the extraction of categories from both theoretical concepts and data.
Findings
This paper contributes to studies of young people’s consumption with the practice theory approach, putting forward the category of following sustainable fashion as an integrative practice. The three-element model of the practice theory allows answering the question of challenges that prevent the practice from shaping. The paper further advances this approach by identifying a list of context-specific dispersed practices incorporated into sustainable fashion.
Practical implications
The study suggests practical ways of improving clothing consumption based on the practice theory approach and findings from empirical research. Sustainable practices require competences, knowledge and skills that the school, as an institution working closely with high school students, could help develop.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the current studies of sustainability and youth culture of consumption with a practice theory approach and findings, related to a particular context of a country from Northern Europe.
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Nur Asnawi, Badri Munir Sukoco and Muhammad Asnan Fanani
Loyalty among customers is the baseline for services to use to grow and sustain their competitive advantage, particularly in the banking industry. There are two primary objectives…
Abstract
Purpose
Loyalty among customers is the baseline for services to use to grow and sustain their competitive advantage, particularly in the banking industry. There are two primary objectives of this research. First, this study aims to empirically test the Muslim Consumer Service Quality (MCSQ). Second, this study aims to test the mediating effect of Muslim Consumer Satisfaction (MCS) on the relationship between MCSQ and Muslim Consumer Loyalty (MCL) in Indonesian Islamic banks.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed hypotheses were tested by collecting data from 280 Indonesian Islamic customers. The collected data were tested using PLS-Graph 3.0.
Findings
The findings indicate that MCSQ (consisting of Islamic values, Sharia compliance, honesty, modesty, humaneness and trustworthiness) positively influenced MCS and MCL significantly. Further, the results indicate that MCS partially mediates the influence of MCSQ on MCL.
Research limitations/implications
The data were mainly gathered in Indonesia and the model needs to be tested in other contexts. Furthermore, the questionnaire was distributed among the customers of Islamic banks, and future studies could compare it with the customers of conventional banks or dual account (Islamic and conventional bank) customers. Moreover, further studies should compare between the expectations and reality of the delivered services to understand the service quality gap, which this study did not measure.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that by measuring the service quality in the Islamic context of Islamic banks, such as MCSQ, the managers can design their services to specifically target their Muslim customers. Furthermore, customer satisfaction must be the focus for the bank’s managers when developing MCSQ to close the gap between the expectations and reality of the delivered services.
Originality/value
This study empirically tests the developed MCSQ in the context of Indonesian Islamic banks, which is expected to enrich the literature of service marketing. Furthermore, a partial mediation effect of MCS was identified on the influence of MCSQ on MCL, which few studies have discussed previously.
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Qurat Ul Ain Saleem and Murtaza Ashiq
Continuous professional development is an essential in-service and on-going learning process that provides an opportunity to young and mid-career professionals to update and align…
Abstract
Purpose
Continuous professional development is an essential in-service and on-going learning process that provides an opportunity to young and mid-career professionals to update and align their skills in connection with the contemporary needs of library users. This study aims to identify and synthesize the literature on continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for Pakistani librarians and information professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on descriptive literature review published by Pakistani researchers with specific reference to Pakistani librarians and information professionals.
Findings
The findings revealed that albeit many initiatives have been taken by library and information science (LIS) schools and professional associations for developing the capabilities of librarians and information professionals, however, these initiatives remained spasmodic and limited to developing surface-level skills. Some emerging areas need to be addressed including information/digital literacy, research data management, data analysis and visualization and the skills to establish institutional repositories.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to CPD literature contributed by Pakistani researchers and the efforts taken by LIS schools and professional associations.
Originality/value
There is an immediate need to initiate a cohesive approach involving key stakeholders and to establish a platform purely working for CPD of librarians and information professionals focusing on current and future needs. The finding will be helpful for drawing foundation guidelines by library associations, LIS schools and librarian’s parent’s organizations regarding CPD opportunities.
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Oualid Abidi, Khalil Nimer, Ahmed Bani-Mustafa, Sam Toglaw and Vladimir Dzenopoljac
The adoption of an entrepreneurial posture supports higher education institutions (HEIs) in their quest for growth. The present study examines the role faculty members play in…
Abstract
Purpose
The adoption of an entrepreneurial posture supports higher education institutions (HEIs) in their quest for growth. The present study examines the role faculty members play in adopting an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in HEIs within the Kuwaiti academic context and aims to assess whether this orientation contributes to fostering corporate entrepreneurship in their institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected to study the relationship between faculty EO and the EO of their respective HEI. Empirical research was conducted based on a questionnaire completed by 341 engineering and business faculty members employed at Kuwaiti universities and colleges. The research model was tested and validated using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
The results show a positive relationship between the faculty EO and corporate entrepreneurship in HEIs, which was negatively moderated by human resource management (HRM) practices. These findings emphasise the need for HEIs in Kuwait to evolve their HRM practices towards enhancing innovation, proactiveness and risk-taking amongst faculty.
Originality/value
This study highlights the strategic renewal perspective in HEI-EO and how faculty initiatives can support it.