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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 May 2021

Juliane Lohmann, Marina Schmitz and Silvia Damme

The topics of gender and sustainability are firmly anchored within a social discourse. Based on both factors, customers are placing demands on companies and have specific ideas on…

Abstract

The topics of gender and sustainability are firmly anchored within a social discourse. Based on both factors, customers are placing demands on companies and have specific ideas on how they should be represented in advertising. The case study presented herein combines these two topics and examines the portrayal of gender in the external marketing communication of the fair fashion label ARMEDANGELS. By analysing individual Instagram publications, the case study identifies how the topic is generally portrayed on the company’s channel. Furthermore, the perspectives of customers are determined through conducted interviews. When comparing the two sides, it becomes apparent that customers mostly approve of the attempt to break with conservative gender roles as well as an equal representation of the male and female personas. In addition to expanding the theoretical considerations of the triple bottom line as well as the S-O-R model, we derive recommendations for ARMEDANGELS and for other companies in the fashion industry. For customer retention purposes, companies should therefore focus on aligning the sexes, breaking with the general gender binary and integrating LGBTQ+ communities in future marketing measures.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 June 2019

Marina Anna Schmitz

This paper aims to provide insights into current issues, such as changing expectations and needs of blue-collar workers, from both an employee and HR perspective, to provoke…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide insights into current issues, such as changing expectations and needs of blue-collar workers, from both an employee and HR perspective, to provoke further research in the business context on this crucial cohort, as well as broaden the current understanding of Human Resources Management (HRM) measures and incentives implemented by the respective foreign companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The author conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 Chinese employees of German multinational companies working in the automobile industry located in Shanghai. Among them, 17 were blue-collar workers and 8 were white-collar workers (General Manager or HR Manager).

Findings

Besides factors attributed to work conditions, all of the work values are located in the individual domain, regarding their level of focus (Facet C according to Lyons et al.). Work values in the growth orientation domain (Facet B according to Lyons et al.) show a mix between context- and growth-oriented factors. However, context-oriented factors are still outnumbering the frequency of growth-oriented ones. Regarding the modality of work values (Facet A), all of the categories (instrumental, social, cognitive and prestige) were reflected in the answers of the blue-collar workers.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the limited number of interviewees no final statement can be made on how age, education, gender, or other demographics influence certain work values. Additionally, Inglehart and Abramson (1994) also mention other potential explanations for observed differences, such as inflation or unemployment rates, and per capita gross national product which were not discussed in this research. Furthermore, the HR management selected the interview candidates regarding the blue-collar cohort which could indicate biased answers of the interviewees.

Practical implications

HRM systems (e.g. reward systems or job design) should be adapted to meet the individual preferences of employees and be sensitive toward a potential value change among certain generational cohorts. The findings showed that although pay is still on the mind of the blue-collar worker, career development seems to be even more important for the future blue-collar workforce. Therefore, companies should as well consider non-financial retention strategies in the future.

Social implications

Due to the talent shortage in China, employee’s ability to assert their interests, wishes and values could be taken to a new level. However, this does not hold true for the (still increasing) flood of migrant workers, often suffering from bad working conditions or discrimination incurred by their hukou status. Although recent changes in the labor regime have taken place (e.g. social insurance reform and labor contract law), the protection of migrant workers still remains insufficient.

Originality/value

By examining the work values of blue-collar workers, this paper draws meaningful implications for talent management with regard to work outcomes, in particular voluntary employee turnover, which is considered to be an issue of concern by both economists and businessmen.

Details

Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, vol. 10 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8005

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2024

Maria Teresa Beamond, Marina Schmitz, Miguel Cordova, Maria Vasileva Ilieva, Shasha Zhao and Daria Panina

This paper aims to clarify how business education has and should incorporate more resources, policies and stakeholder engagement towards the incorporation of sustainability, by…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to clarify how business education has and should incorporate more resources, policies and stakeholder engagement towards the incorporation of sustainability, by conducting a literature review on sustainability in business and international business education and proposing future opportunities for researchers and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors take a systematic, qualitative analysis approach to evaluate multidisciplinary literatures on sustainability in business education. The authors identify 192 qualifying papers published in 68 journals between 2015 and 2023.

Findings

The authors propose five categories of education solutions. Four of them are integrated, in two macro–micro levels: university (stakeholders and shared-mindset change) and student (pedagogical methods and curriculum); and one at meso level: international business (holistic integration) serving to unify the university and student levels.

Research limitations/implications

The review highlights the value of applying a holistic approach and interdisciplinary pedagogical methods in future research on sustainability education in business school to effectively prepare future business leaders to contribute to a more sustainable future.

Practical implications

Insights from this review can usefully guide scholars and programme directors in their future research and administrative efforts towards business curriculum design, stakeholder management and policy-making.

Social implications

The findings highlight how by embracing holistic perspectives, proper policies and self-awareness, business education shapes the mindsets and skill sets of the next generation of socially conscious practitioners.

Originality/value

The review stands out as one of the few that offers a forward-looking trajectory for the adaptation of international business education in response to sustainability challenges, through a holistic perspective.

Details

Critical Perspectives on International Business, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 13 May 2021

Noha M. El-Bassiouny, Wafa El Garah, Hadeer Hammad and Marina Schmitz

Abstract

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2024

Antje Bierwisch and Marina Schmitz

In an era of polycrisis, we argue that responsible leaders need to unlearn common thinking patterns imprinted by old (management) paradigms in order to find new solutions to the…

Abstract

In an era of polycrisis, we argue that responsible leaders need to unlearn common thinking patterns imprinted by old (management) paradigms in order to find new solutions to the grand challenges of our time. To be able to overcome the “crisis of the imagination” and spur narratives about more sustainable futures, leaders need to update and restructure their skill sets and invest in developing anticipatory and futures (thinking) skills, as well as futures literacy as a competence. To achieve this on the student level, we also need to rethink business and management education at the university level by challenging the ways we teach, i.e., teaching pedagogics, as well as the content and story we want to tell about the future of management. Thus, with this chapter, we aim to rethink pedagogical methods and tools by introducing educators to potential pathways for equipping students with adequate skills to be able to “use-the-future”. As the process of unlearning is difficult, we argue that we need to venture out of the business discipline and push the barriers of the business and management curriculum so as to be able to further unleash creativity and imagination. To achieve this aim, we propose the integration of methods and approaches from art-related disciplines, such as theater, visual arts, or design, into the business curriculum.

Article
Publication date: 12 November 2020

The authors wanted to find out if workers' values had changed compared with previous generations. This is a vital issues for HRM departments who need to know how to keep their…

205

Abstract

Purpose

The authors wanted to find out if workers' values had changed compared with previous generations. This is a vital issues for HRM departments who need to know how to keep their workers from moving elsewhere.

Design/methodology/approach

The author conducted semi-structured interviews into the work values of Chinese blue-collar workers. The interviewees were 25 employees at German multinationals in the auto-making industry in Shanghai. There were 17 blue-collar workers and eight white-collar managers. The blue-collar interviews focused on personal demographics, perceptions of the job and company, attitude toward work, goals in life, main reasons to quit and incentives offered to stay. The white-collar interviews were more focused on managerial issues.

Findings

The authors concluded that HRM systems should be adapted to meet the preferences of the employees. Companies needed to take into account the value changes of blue-collar Chinese workers. Interviewee comments also revealed that, although pay was still important, career development had become more significant for some workers.

Originality/value

The author said her paper could help talent managers to get the best out of their employees. In particular, if HRM processes were improved it would reduce voluntary employee turnover, a major problem for employers.

Details

Human Resource Management International Digest , vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-0734

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2024

Abstract

Details

Innovation in Responsible Management Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-465-3

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 April 2024

Ana Isabel Gaspar Pacheco, João Ferreira, Jorge Simoes, Pedro Mota Veiga and Marina Dabic

The commercialization of research produced by universities constitutes a core facet of academic entrepreneurship (AE). Academic literature reveals the need to shed light on…

Abstract

Purpose

The commercialization of research produced by universities constitutes a core facet of academic entrepreneurship (AE). Academic literature reveals the need to shed light on entrepreneurial processes in higher education institutions (HEIs). This study intends to fill this gap by researching the mechanisms for facilitating AE and the variables that can moderate the relationship between such mechanisms and AE in Portuguese HEIs.

Design/methodology/approach

Our research model aims to assess the mechanisms of academic entrepreneurship (AE) within a sample of 125 Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEIs). To test our research hypotheses, we employed a structural equation model (SEM) using the partial least squares (PLS) method. Additionally, our evaluation examines the potential moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs (PoCs). Our research model seeks to evaluate the mechanisms for facilitating AE and explore the effects of including incubator programs, support initiatives, and PoCs as moderators. The seven variables (Research mobilization, Unconventionality, Industry collaboration, University policies, Incubator programs and support initiatives, Proof-of-concept programs, and academic entrepreneurship) were measured using a 7-point Likert scale.

Findings

The results revealed that different drivers of AE influence the creation and development of entrepreneurial activities. Our findings also show the moderating effects of incubator programs, support initiatives, and proof-of-concept programs on AE. We find that incubator programs, other support initiatives, and PoCs maintain a moderating effect on AE and benefit their respective HEIs.

Research limitations/implications

The study examines only the Portuguese HEI context. Therefore, generalizing these results necessitates reservations. However, the responses came from various actors in HEIs, from different academic backgrounds and research interests. This makes the results more generalizable. Limitations are evident in external validity, given that we gathered the data over a relatively short period.

Practical implications

Observed factors are explored to gain a deeper understanding of their influence on the mechanisms of AE. The implications arise from the new perspective presented and the methodology used to identify mechanisms capable of fostering AE. We hope this research will encourage other researchers to study this topic further.

Social implications

the engagement of universities at the global level should be emphasised in future policy. While universities in innovation systems often have a local focus, their engagement in innovation ecosystems transcends the boundaries of geographic locations.

Originality/value

PoCs had a significant positive moderating effect on the impact of research mobilization and university policies on AE. Thus, we find interactions between universities and industry boost AE. This study demonstrates how AE benefits HEIs by extending orientation towards mobilizing research, unconventional approaches, cooperation with industry, and university policy implementation. We thus advocate a new approach, demonstrating the influence that the mobility of research, unconventionality, industry collaboration, and university policies hold over AE.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines chronic illness, disability and social inequality within an exposure-vulnerabilities theoretical framework.

Methodology/Approach

Using the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a preeminent source of national behavioral health estimates of chronic medical illness, stress and disability, for selected sample years 2005–2014, we construct and analyze two foundational hypotheses underlying the exposure-vulnerabilities model: (1) greater exposure to stressors (i.e., chronic medical illness) among racial/ethnic minority populations yields higher levels of serious psychological distress, which in turn increases the likelihood of medical disability; (2) greater vulnerability among minority populations to stressors such as chronic medical illness exacerbates the impact of these conditions on mental health as well as the impact of mental health on medical disability.

Findings

Results of our analyses provided mixed support for the vulnerability (moderator) hypothesis, but not for the exposure (mediation) hypothesis. In the exposure models, while Blacks were more likely than Whites to have a long-term disability, the pathway to disability through chronic illness and serious psychological distress did not emerge. Rather, Whites were more likely than Blacks and Latinx to have a chronic illness and to have experienced severe psychological distress (both of which themselves were related to disability). In the vulnerability models, both Blacks and Latinx with chronic medical illness were more likely than Whites to experience serious psychological distress, although Whites with serious psychological distress were more likely than these groups to have a long-term disability.

Research Limitations

Several possibilities for understanding the failure to uncover an exposure dynamic in the model turn on the potential intersectional effects of age and gender, as well as several other covariates that seem to confound the linkages in the model (e.g., issues of stigma, social support, education).

Originality/Value

This study (1) extends the racial/ethnic disparities in exposure-vulnerability framework by including factors measuring chronic medical illness and disability which: (2) explicitly test exposure and vulnerability hypotheses in minority populations; (3) develop and test the causal linkages in the hypothesized processes, based on innovations in general structural equation models, and lastly; (4) use national population estimates of these conditions which are rarely, if ever, investigated in this kind of causal framework.

Details

Social Factors, Health Care Inequities and Vaccination
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-795-2

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 26 July 2014

Abstract

Details

Tourism as an Instrument for Development: A Theoretical and Practical Study
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-680-6

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