Search results

Although emerging research has linked impulsivity with the decision to start a business, scholars have yet to draw implications for later-stage entrepreneurial outcomes. Furthermore, the authors have still to derive a parsimonious profile of the multidimensional impulsivity construct which can be positively linked to the entrepreneurial context. This paper proposes and tests a model to explain how impulsivity may relate to entrepreneurial perseverance—a construct typically regarded as a pivotal later-stage entrepreneurial outcome.

Data were collected from 807 owner-managers using an online survey and augmented with the novel use of longitudinal data from the central registrar of companies in South Africa. Covariance-based structural equation modeling and a D2 indexing approach for forming an entrepreneurship-prone impulsivity profile were employed.

Results show that multidimensional impulsivity is significantly, but differentially, related to entrepreneurial perseverance; the perceived desirability of entrepreneurship mediates this effect for two of the four impulsivity dimensions. In particular, the authors find evidence that insufficiency of deliberation enhances, while urgency hinders, perseverance—reflected behaviorally through the filing of annual returns over a three-year period. Furthermore, the authors derive a new entrepreneurship-prone impulsivity profile which begins to suggest an intraindividual profile of impulsivity traits which may be beneficial to the entrepreneurial context.

By demonstrating how impulsivity impacts entrepreneurial perseverance over time, this paper advances emerging research on the relationship between impulsivity and entrepreneurship, while contributing to explaining why the perseverance decision is not simply a matter of venture pecuniary benefits and feasibility.

The cosmetic industry is a very lucrative, innovative, and fast paced industry where product innovation is the key to success. The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed analytical (qualitative) study of cosmetic industry in the global marketplace with a focus on the four market leaders in this industry relative to their business and innovation strategies.

Business analyses include Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT), Porter's value chain and five forces, and financial applied to the four industry leaders.

Each of these cosmetic companies is unique. They each offer something different to the industry; selling method, marketing strategy, product line, and distribution channel.

The industry trends indicate that the future of cosmetics may move towards more joint ventures between drug companies, cosmetic companies and nutritional/food companies as cosmetic companies look for new ways to be innovative.

The research provides an in‐depth business analyses of cosmetic industry using SWOT, Porter's value chain and five forces and financial with results obtained that are generalizable to the entire cosmetic industry. Projections on the future of cosmetic industry are also presented.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of strategic entrepreneurship on explorative and exploitative innovation in the presence of strategic learning capabilities. This study has also explored the moderating role of structural organicity between strategic entrepreneurship and strategic learning capabilities.

A total of 298 employees working in software houses of Pakistan participated in the study. The study used a questionnaire-based survey through “google forms” on convenience basis, and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

The results supported the positive association of strategic entrepreneurship with explorative and exploitative dimensions of innovation. Further, strategic learning capabilities was noted to mediate the association between strategic entrepreneurship and explorative innovation; however, it did not mediate the association between strategic entrepreneurship and exploitative innovation. Finally, the study examined the moderating role of structural organicity and noted a higher positive impact of strategic entrepreneurship on learning capabilities in the case of high structural organicity.

The study collected data from a developing country during COVID-19, which may affect generalizability. The study suggests management to work on employees’ learning capabilities to cultivate the benefits of explorative innovation.

This study explores the mediating role of strategic learning capabilities between strategic entrepreneurship and innovation ambidexterity. In addition, it explores the conditional effect of structural organicity to trigger strategic learning capabilities.

In this paper, we refer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2016, where the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) was coined by Klaus Schwab, with the reference that it would be building on “the Third, the digital revolution” and would be “characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres”. While acknowledging that the 4IR will impact on everything, everywhere, including research and libraries, we conceptualize 4IR, and we compare current academic library services/trends in South Africa with 4IR requirements, through the analysis of 26 public university library websites.

Besides conceptualization of 4IR, a content analysis of websites of 26 public universities’ libraries in South Africa was achieved followed up with verification of the data by respective libraries through a preliminary research report circulated to them by email. 23 areas were identified as the trends in academic libraries, which included free Wi-Fi in the libraries; 24/7 study areas and access to library resources on and off campus; research commons; makerspace; borrowing ICTs (e.g. laptops); e-resources; e-catalogues; research data services (RDS; RDM, IR); open scholarship; information literacy and reference/bibliographic tools, library as a publisher, among others. Data obtained were captured in Excel and analyzed by the research questions.

The 4IR concept does not occur often in literature, in relation to academic libraries, but it is implied. The findings show that the libraries are responding well to the revolution through their services, with remarkable innovation and creativity on display. There was a 64% presence of the analyzed trends/services in the libraries, with emerging trends/services such as library as a publisher (4%), robotics/AI (4%), makerspace (8%), RDS (27%), borrowing of ICTs/devices (19%) and user experience (19%) scoring low, while information literacy and digital scholarship (e.g. IR) (88%), e-catalogue and e-resources (92%), group study area (85%) and off campus access (77%) scoring above 75%. The scatter of the trends/services among the university libraries is noted for knowledge sharing of best practice.

In order to improve accordance with trends, academic libraries have to be better resourced, accessed and used, as well as improve web visibility. The study expects library services to be responsive, resourced and accessible anytime and anywhere, and it provides a conceptual framework and a benchmark for further research and exploration in the country, region and perhaps elsewhere.

The study can be used for benchmarking current and future academic library services in Africa. The conceptual framework provides an agenda for theoretical discussions and deliberations.

The trends, framework and 4IR representations in the study can inform theory and practice in LIS, particularly in Africa.

Linking 4IR to current and future library services provides a tool for academic libraries services benchmarking and development and provides a conceptual framework for theoretical and practical debates and implementation. The study is quite current and appropriate for the ongoing discussions of 4IR implications to academic libraries.

This chapter examines the shifting significance of data ownership and athlete rights as they pertain to the growth and expansion of the global sports gambling industry. It provides a nuanced overview of the ‘datafication’ of society, tracing how the omnipresent embrace of digital technologies has expediated new forms of organisational, political and corporate surveillance from which concerns over privacy, rights to ownership and the misuse of personal data arise. The chapter moves on to discuss how the extraction and trade of data has revolutionised how elite sport is performed, manufactured, broadcast and consumed, shedding critical light on the role of the gambling industry in the exchange of human data as a market commodity. These insights inform a series of socio-legal and ethical questions about the relationships between athlete data and the sports gambling industry for the purpose of signposting emerging issues and opportunities for critical sociological research and intervention.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion (EE) in between bundled high-performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) and intention to leave (ITL) in the education sector.

A survey questionnaire method was used to collect data from a sample of 514 teachers working in different professional colleges in Jammu and Kashmir (North India). Data were validated with CFA and SEM was used to test hypothesised relations.

The results show that bundled HPHRPs have greater impact on EE and ITL as compared to individual HPHRPs. Further, the study also confirmed that EE partially mediates the bundled HPHRPs and ITL relationship.

Future research need to explore same relationships in different sectors with longitudinal data at the multi-level approach.

Educational administration should focus on the bundled HPHRPs, which will benefit not only the teachers, but the students too. It should adopt relaxation techniques like mindfulness training approach, yoga and meditation. Further, to reduce their career-related confusions management should organise career awareness programmes.

The results from this study explored new and untested mechanism, i.e. EE as mediator between bundled HPHRPs and ITL relationship in the professional degree colleges in India, has not been previously researched.

This paper provides managers with the understanding and means to assess and exploit the impact of influence‐related social factors on strategic planning and implementation.

Background related to enhancing strategic capital is explored, the concept of social capital is introduced, and its effect on strategic capital is described. The need for employee‐inclusive strategic planning is discussed, and the contribution of opinion leaders is explored. Means to visualize network characteristics and identify key players are detailed. Actions available to build on their support or ameliorate their resistance are indicated. This is a practical article covering issue definition through to solution.

Strategic organizational initiatives depend for success on the support of the organization’s workforce, and their opinions and attitudes are swayed for better or worse, by core networks of influential peers. These opinion leaders can be identified through network visualization and analysis, and their views explored and addressed.

Organizations must adopt an employee‐inclusive approach to strategic planning and implementation. They should utilize a technique such as network visualization and analysis to better understand influence patterns across their organization’s social networks, and to leverage, or deal with, the standpoint of its formal and informal opinion leaders.

New ways to ensure the success of strategic initiatives are contributed by articulating the concept of strategic capital and by emphasizing the dependence of its potency on social capital/liability. Further originality stems from addressing how organizations “really work”, and from taking into account the impact of social networks and the influence of informal opinion leaders on strategic capital.

The purpose of this paper is to preview contributions on leadership and organizational development in the African context, covered in this special issue of the African Journal of Business and Economic Studies.

Summaries of the underlying theoretical/conceptual and/or empirical frameworks, as well as key findings for each paper, were outlined in order to provide insights of each paper’s thematic contribution.

Paper 1 identified four basic modes of understanding organizational culture which provides a unique and expanded view on pursuing research in the field. Paper 2 found that managers use authentic and transactional leadership skills to cultivate and nurture the creativities of employees toward increased performances. Paper 3 found the interaction between authentic leaders and followers as inducing high levels of moral and ethical behaviors in followers. Paper 4 found that employee engagement and affective commitment minimize employees’ attrition, irrespective of leadership styles. Paper 5 found that, managers can enhance organizational development by creating an atmosphere for innovation development, and being involved in its implementation. Paper 6 found that leaders who are emotionally intelligent positively evoke subordinates’ citizenship behaviors. Paper 7 identified three distinct and interrelated archetypes of managerial role preferences (i.e. change agents, affective leaders, and result-oriented realists) needed by leaders in their administrative practices.

The papers provide new insights, in terms of thematic learning and knowledge, which add to the understanding of the contemporary Afrocentric perspective on leadership and organizational development, especially, the dialogue of management activities that promote the relational, critical and constructionist perspectives on leadership and organizational development.