Maryam Salari and Majid Farahian
A significant research base has increasingly shown that one of the most important factors affecting student achievement in second language classrooms is the teacher. Consequently…
Abstract
Purpose
A significant research base has increasingly shown that one of the most important factors affecting student achievement in second language classrooms is the teacher. Consequently, over the recent decades, much attention has been paid to teacher-related variables in research. Nevertheless, few studies have dealt with the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness and their professional development in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL). As such, the objective of this study is to test a path analysis model of the variables and specifically to examine the hypothesis that metacognitive awareness mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and professional development.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative correlational design was utilized to validate the research hypothesis. Then, data from 200 EFL teachers who were selected through available sampling was obtained using three questionnaires, namely metacognitive inventory by Cem Balcikanli, self-efficacy scale by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy and teachers' professional development inventory by Soodmand Afshar et al. The Pearson correlation coefficient of self-efficacy (r = 757, p < 0.000) revealed a significant positive relationship with metacognitive awareness, and the Pearson correlation coefficient of metacognitive awareness (r = 0.848, p < 0.000) showed a significant positive relationship with professional development.
Findings
The results showed the hypothetical model of the relationship among the research variables as well as verifying the mediator role of metacognitive awareness by multiple regression and path analysis. Then, the implications of metacognitive awareness, self-efficacy and professional development were put forward.
Originality/value
The majority of research on teacher professional development has focused appropriately on its relationship with components such as management training, teacher practice, reflective practice and academic achievement. In this line of research, the investigation of the potential links among self-efficacy, professional development and metacognitive awareness as interacting variables is scarce. More substantially, no prior exploration has been conducted concerning the mediating effect of metacognitive awareness in association with English teachers' self-efficacy and professional development.
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Anam Shahid, Virginia Bodolica and Martin Spraggon
Corporate strategy and family business management.
Abstract
Subject area
Corporate strategy and family business management.
Study level/applicability
The case is designed for usage in senior-level undergraduate courses of strategic management and managing family businesses.
Case overview
This case study relates the story of the launch and development of Zayed Al Hussaini Group, a family business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The business had been established a year after the unionization of the different Emirates by the founder, Zayed Al Hussaini, in partnership with his brother. Following a series of strategic moves, such as acquisitions and divestures, and adverse family-related events, the Group was led solely by the founder himself. Over the years, Zayed Al Hussaini Group has grown to become a successful family business in various industries of its operation, but following the death of the founder's son, the company activities have been struck with chaos. Zayed's nephew, Ahmed, who had left the family business to continue his studies and work at McKinsey & Company in London, has been called back home after eight years to take the lead of the entire Group. However, he is faced with several challenges, such as dealing with the family gap he has developed over time and balancing family and business priorities. Will Ahmed be able to make the right decisions in the role and responsibilities that have been bestowed upon him?
Expected learning outcomes
To analyse the process of launching a family business and making strategic decisions for managing its development over time.
To assess the potential difficulties and challenges which are associated with managing a family-run organization.
To evaluate the effectiveness of decisions with regards to the company's growth and succession management planning.
To apply relevant theoretical concepts to the analysis of complex situations in the specific context of family businesses.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
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Riane Johnly Pio and Florence Daisy Jetty Lengkong
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between spiritual leadership, quality of work life (QWL), ethical behavior, and its implication to organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between spiritual leadership, quality of work life (QWL), ethical behavior, and its implication to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).
Design/methodology/approach
The study design is the quantitative method as an explanatory research with the purpose to explain the phenomena or pattern of correlation between the concepts (Solimun et al., 2017). Focus on this study is the employees in three private hospitals managed by foundations or religious-based institutions as research areas, namely (1) Adventist Hospital; (2) Pancaran Kasih Hospital; (3) Siti Maryam Hospital, Manado, Indonesia. The population in this study was all the employees, and the sample size is 150 respondents (using Slovin’s Formula), by simple random sampling. The analytical method used to test the hypothesis of the research was structural equation modeling (SEM) covariance based called partial least square (PLS).
Findings
The spiritual leadership has the direct effect QWL. The spiritual leadership has the direct effect on ethical behavior. The spiritual leadership does not have the direct effect on OCB. QWL has the direct effect on OCB. The ethical behavior has the direct effect on OCB. The spiritual leadership has the indirect effect on OCB, with QWL and ethical behavior as mediation variables.
Originality/value
This is one of few research studies comprehensively investigating the relationship between spiritual leadership (as exogenous variable), with QWL and ethical behavior (as intervening variable) and OCB (as endogenous variable). Based on the views and opinions of some of the mentioned writers, we assume that spiritual leadership has a relationship with OCB mediated by QWL or ethical behavior.
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Rakesh Belwal, Maryam Al Fazari and Shwaky Mansour
This study examines the condition of working women within Oman’s socioeconomic framework, emphasizing their underrepresentation in senior management, the effects of workplace…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the condition of working women within Oman’s socioeconomic framework, emphasizing their underrepresentation in senior management, the effects of workplace constraints on career progression and solutions to enhance opportunities for women in leadership roles.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative phase involved a survey of 215 Omani professionals − 87 male and 128 female, with data analysed using IBM SPSS 28 and SmartPLS 4. Analyses included measures of central tendency and deviation as well as PLS SEM-based path analysis and multigroup analyses.
Findings
The inclusion of women positively influences their career advancement, while harassment and gender discrimination hinder progress. Gender discrimination has a more substantial effect at lower and middle levels but is less impactful at the top level. Harassment affects women over 40 more significantly, with little impact on younger women. Additionally, domestic gender roles particularly hinder the career advancement of women in the 31–40 age group.
Practical implications
The practical consequences encompass the establishment of mentorship programmes, the provision of networking opportunities and the promotion of gender equity awareness. These programmes promote an inclusive workplace, facilitating women’s professional growth. Mentorship and networking offer crucial assistance and connections, whereas growing awareness of gender biases fosters equity and equal treatment for all employees. These initiatives jointly foster a more equal work environment.
Social implications
By implementing sustainable measures and fostering a culture of equity and inclusivity, Oman can prevent gender discrimination and further solidify its commitment to gender equality. This will create an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, has equal opportunities to succeed and thrive.
Originality/value
This research is distinctive within the Omani setting, as no previous studies have explicitly examined women’s career progression from a socioeconomic perspective.
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Seyed Mohammad Hadi Baghdadi, Ehsan Dehghani, Mohammad Hossein Dehghani Sadrabadi, Mahdi Heydari and Maryam Nili
Spurred by the high turnover in the pharmaceutical industry, locating pharmacies inside urban areas along with the high product perishability in this industry, the pharmaceutical…
Abstract
Purpose
Spurred by the high turnover in the pharmaceutical industry, locating pharmacies inside urban areas along with the high product perishability in this industry, the pharmaceutical supply chain management has recently gained increasing attention. Accordingly, this paper unveils an inventory-routing problem for designing a pharmaceutical supply chain with perishable products and time-dependent travel time in an uncertain environment.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, mathematical programming is employed to formulate a multi-graph network affected by the traffic volume in order to adapt to real-world situations. Likewise, by transforming the travel speed function to the travel time function using a step-by-step algorithm, the first-in-first-out property is warranted. Moreover, the Box–Jenkins forecasting method is employed to diminish the demand uncertainty.
Findings
An appealing result is that the delivery horizon constraint in the under-study multi-graph network may eventuate in selecting a longer path. Our analysis also indicates that the customers located in the busy places in the city are not predominantly visited in the initial and last delivery horizon, which are the rush times. Moreover, it is concluded that integrating disruption management, routing planning and inventory management in the studied network leads to a reduction of costs in the long term.
Originality/value
Applying the time-dependent travel time with a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles on the multi-graph network, considering perishability in the products for reducing inventory costs, considering multiple trips of transfer fleet, considering disruption impacts on supply chain components and utilizing the Box–Jenkins method to reduce uncertainty are the contributions of the present study.
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Maryam Larikaman, Mahdi Salehi and Nour-Mohammad Yaghubi
This study aims to investigate blockchain technology (BT) and its opportunities and weaknesses in Iran's tax system; it addresses the opportunities and challenges of BT when…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate blockchain technology (BT) and its opportunities and weaknesses in Iran's tax system; it addresses the opportunities and challenges of BT when incorporated into Iran's tax system.
Design/methodology/approach
The statistical population consists of all the employees and managers working in tax administration, and 674 participants were selected as the sample size via Cochran sampling. The partial least square tests are used to investigate the impact of the independent variable on dependent ones.
Findings
The results show that BT positively affects three components of tax, including value-added tax, tax on shipping goods and income tax. BT’s advantages and opportunities positively affect these taxation types, while its threats negatively affect the opportunities and challenges in Iran’s tax system; this study provides helpful insights and develops the knowledge. Furthermore, this is among the initiatives addressing BT’s opportunities and challenges in three discriminative taxation sectors, including value-added tax, tax on shipping goods and payroll tax.
Originality/value
Since no study has addressed BT’s opportunities and weaknesses in Iran’s tax system, it addresses the opportunities and challenges of BT when incorporated into Iran’s tax system.
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Seema Arif, Maryam Ilyas and Abdul Hameed
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the differing views of the students studying in private universities in Pakistan about quality and the gap that exists between their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the differing views of the students studying in private universities in Pakistan about quality and the gap that exists between their expectations and actual experiences from the services provided.
Design/methodology/approach
The research has been conducted in seven private universities of Pakistan using quantitative survey for data collection and data analysis. SPSS has been used to apply exploratory factors technique to identify satisfying and dissatisfying factors in customers of higher education through six service quality indicators (teaching, management, leadership, campus life, academic services and infrastructure).
Findings
The multivariate effects of satisfaction across universities were measured through MANOVA. Discriminant analysis has been the most critical tool used for analysis, as not only could it distinguish between satisfied and dissatisfied students across seven universities, but predicted the strength of the word of mouth and intentions to stay in the university.
Originality/value
A model has been proposed to understand dynamics of student satisfaction and loyalty in private universities of Pakistan. The model suggests that two leading factors, which influence students’ perception of service quality are either related to leadership and effective planning or to management, the actual process of service delivery.
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Issa Hamadou, M. Luthfi Hamidi and Aimatul Yumna
This study aims to examine factors influencing potential customers’ intention to patronize Islamic banking products in Cameroon.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine factors influencing potential customers’ intention to patronize Islamic banking products in Cameroon.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this, a structured questionnaire was used with 318 respondents, and 300 were usable for analysis with a respondent rate of 94%. The study used SEM-PLS to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings suggested that attitude, religious motivation, awareness, subjective norm and relative advantage significantly affect potential customers intention toward Islamic banking products, while perceived regulatory and perceived innovation are insignificant. Furthermore, attitude substantially mediates the relationship between religious motivation, awareness, subjective norm, relative advantage and perceived innovation.
Research limitations/implications
However, this study focused on potential customers living in Muslim zones; future research should compare users and nonusers of Islamic banking products in both Muslim and non-Muslim zones to capture a big picture about customers’ perceptions of Islamic banking products in Cameroon.
Practical implications
The results of this study contribute to the literature by providing a new framework that combines the theories of planned behavior and diffusion of innovation theory and provides managerial implications at the level of Islamic finance operators. Meanwhile, this research offers some policy recommendations that can help boost the development of Islamic finance in Cameroon and promote financial inclusion.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research about potential customers’ intention to use Islamic banking products in Cameroon.
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Washika Haak-Saheem, Xiaoyan Liang, Peter Jeffrey Holland and Chris Brewster
The pandemic emphasised the importance for society of the “hidden” workforce – cleaners, delivery drivers, security guards or hospital porters. This paper explores the well-being…
Abstract
Purpose
The pandemic emphasised the importance for society of the “hidden” workforce – cleaners, delivery drivers, security guards or hospital porters. This paper explores the well-being of low-status expatriates in the international workplace exemplified by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is one of the first studies examining the well-being of people at the bottom of the pyramid, living in difficult circumstances, and undertaking work that is hard and sometimes dangerous.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt an exploratory approach. Using semi-structured interview data from 21 low-status expatriates, the authors examine their experiences in the UAE in relation to their well-being, allowing the authors to suggest the need to develop our understanding of the concept of well-being and the concept's application.
Findings
Low-status expatriates live restrictive lives, away from their family and friends for extended periods, and subject to rigid terms and conditions of employment. Difficult circumstances, long working hours, late or arbitrarily reduced salary payment and a lack of voice affect their personal well-being and sacrificed to consideration for their family well-being. Applying the concept of well-being in such cases requires the authors to develop the notion beyond the individual to encompass the wider family.
Research limitations/implications
This exploratory analysis opens new avenues for well-being studies and highlights the need for contextualised research. Future research might benefit from quantitative methods being used alongside qualitative methods and collecting multiple perspective data, including the views of managers and policy makers and data from the “left-behind” families of these low-status expatriates.
Practical implications
There is plenty of scope for managers of low-status expatriates to improve the latter's well-being. Given the lack of interest in doing so, the authors suggest that policy makers may need to modify extant legalisation to ensure a greater focus on low-status expatriates.
Originality/value
The authors believe this to be the first study to examine the impact of family orientation on the well-being of low-status expatriates, encouraging the authors to challenge and suggest developments to current understandings of well-being.
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Maryam Mirzaei and Tobias Buer
This study aims to examine the financial literacy level among the Omani adults and investigate the determinants of financial literacy and its impact on savings and investment…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the financial literacy level among the Omani adults and investigate the determinants of financial literacy and its impact on savings and investment behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected using a survey instrument adopted from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey for financial literacy and composed of 310 individuals' responses. The authors used a multiple regression analysis to determine the impact of the socio-demographics variables on the financial literacy level.
Findings
The findings are three-fold: first, financial literacy score of Omanis is 10.5 out of 21, which is lower than OECD average. Interestingly, the attitude and behavior scores are in line with the OECD average. However, the knowledge score is drastically lower. Second, financial literacy level is found to be affected by age, gender and the monthly income. Third, individuals with a higher level of financial knowledge are more likely to have monthly savings and investment in stock and bond.
Research limitations/implications
The Gulf countries have started to modernize their economies. Governments that want to design effective economic reforms need to understand the financial skills of their citizens. The study may have implications for policymakers and financial educators in enhancing the financial knowledge programs for individuals.
Originality/value
The analysis reported in this study is unique because it provides the first systematic research on financial literacy in Oman. This paper contributes to the study of financial literacy from the perspective of emerging markets.