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1 – 10 of 87Ricarda Bouncken and Muhammad Mahmood Aslam
Coworking spaces use the idea of spatial co-location that improves communication and knowledge sharing among independent knowledge professionals. Fluid work structures and a sense…
Abstract
Purpose
Coworking spaces use the idea of spatial co-location that improves communication and knowledge sharing among independent knowledge professionals. Fluid work structures and a sense of community can facilitate work satisfaction, creativity and entrepreneurship. Fundamentals to those positive outcomes are the knowledge sharing processes between users of coworking spaces. The purpose of this study is to explore the knowledge sharing processes in this setting where researchers still have very little understanding.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an inductive research methodology, qualitative data were collected through observations and interviews with a variety of users (including freelancers, entrepreneurs and firms) incumbent in various coworking spaces in Germany.
Findings
Co-location of individuals in coworking spaces is first about physical proximity and second about socialization and collaboration opportunities, which then advance cognitive proximity. Thus, co-location can facilitate tacit knowledge exchange, ignite the social disembodiment of ideas, synthesize domain-related knowledge sharing and promote inter-domain learning. The institutionalization of knowledge management services will allow coworking spaces to increase these positive outcomes.
Practical implications
Findings of this study are interesting for managers of shared spaces and traditional firms that use spatial co-location. The authors propose institutionalized knowledge management services to enable multifaceted and multidisciplinary knowledge creation in organizations.
Originality/value
This paper sheds light on the role of spatial co-location in knowledge sharing processes among independent knowledge professionals in shared office spaces. Thereby, this study provides valuable insights into a phenomenon that has received little attention even though its practical importance is high.
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Muhammad Mahmood Aslam, Ricarda Bouncken and Lars Görmar
Coworking-spaces are considered as a new formula to facilitate autonomy, creativity, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and innovation, yet they also might overburden their users…
Abstract
Purpose
Coworking-spaces are considered as a new formula to facilitate autonomy, creativity, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and innovation, yet they also might overburden their users who in that course intend to limit social interaction and collaboration in the workspace. Thus, the question is how coworking-spaces shape entrepreneurial ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used an inductive research methodology based on data from three different data sources, including observations, archives and interviews from managers and entrepreneurs.
Findings
The findings suggest that the materiality in the form of spatial architectures (working, socialization and support structures) shared facilities and infrastructures (utilities, luxuries and specialties), and integrated digital technologies (applications and platforms) influence the flow of communication, internal and external linkages, as well as functional uniformity and distinctiveness. However, there exists an inherent dualism in sociomaterial assemblage in coworking-spaces, which can lead to instrumental and detrimental outcomes for entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
This study explains the role of sociomaterial assemblage on the working of entrepreneurs in shared workspaces.
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Nazeer Hussain, Shafiq Ur Rehman, Kanwal Ameen and Muhammad Safdar
Researchers’ competencies are directly related to the quality and effectiveness of the research they produce. However, training opportunities for education and conducting research…
Abstract
Purpose
Researchers’ competencies are directly related to the quality and effectiveness of the research they produce. However, training opportunities for education and conducting research seem to be limited for the growing research culture in Pakistan. The purpose of this study is to assess the research-related training needs of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research approach was used to conduct the study using a questionnaire. Non-random sampling technique was used to collect the data from the postgraduate (MPhil/MS and PhD) researchers enrolled in the two well renowned Pakistani Universities.
Findings
Results of the study confirmed that PGRs were interested in developing their skills in various areas of a research project such as topic selection, research design and use of data analysis software. Findings also highlighted that respondents were interested in learning reference management tools for citing and managing the sources of information in their research work.
Originality/value
This is the first study, which investigated the training needs assessment of PGRs enrolled in two major Pakistani universities. The results may help in designing training programs, promoting a conducive research culture in the country and improving the quality of research being produced. This study provided a framework likely to be beneficial for quality enhancement cells, universities and organizations in organizing effective research training and development programs for researchers of Pakistan.
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Muhammad Aamir Shaheen, Shoaib Aslam, Salman Mahmood, Mumtaz Ahmad and Sumaira Tabassum
The research examines how behavioral intentions, as a higher-order construct, indirectly affect financial inclusion through service trust, usage behavior and financial literacy in…
Abstract
Purpose
The research examines how behavioral intentions, as a higher-order construct, indirectly affect financial inclusion through service trust, usage behavior and financial literacy in mobile money adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the positivist research philosophy, a cross-sectional study design was used to collect data through questionnaires comprised of scales adapted from prior studies. With a usable sample size of 340 respondents, this study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess the model.
Findings
The study revealed the significant indirect role of behavioral intention on financial inclusion through use behavior, behavioral intentions on use behavior through service trust, and use behavior on financial inclusion through financial literacy. The role of behavioral intentions on financial inclusion through serial mediation of service trust, use behavior and financial literacy was also found to be significant.
Originality/value
This study's novelty resides in examining the indirect relationship between behavioral intentions and financial inclusion, specifically via the serial mediation of service trust, use behavior and financial literacy.
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Naurin Farooq Khan, Hajra Murtaza, Komal Malik, Muzammil Mahmood and Muhammad Aslam Asadi
This research aims to understand the smartphone security behavior using protection motivation theory (PMT) and tests the current PMT model employing statistical and predictive…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to understand the smartphone security behavior using protection motivation theory (PMT) and tests the current PMT model employing statistical and predictive analysis using machine learning (ML) algorithms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a total of 241 questionnaire-based responses in a nonmandated security setting and uses multimethod approach. The research model includes both security intention and behavior making use of a valid smartphone security behavior scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) – explanatory analysis was used in understanding the relationships. ML algorithms were employed to predict the accuracy of the PMT model in an experimental evaluation.
Findings
The results revealed that the threat-appraisal element of the PMT did not have any influence on the intention to secure smartphone while the response efficacy had a role in explaining the smartphone security intention and behavior. The ML predictive analysis showed that the protection motivation elements were able to predict smartphone security intention and behavior with an accuracy of 73%.
Research limitations/implications
The findings imply that the response efficacy of the individuals be improved by cybersecurity training programs in order to enhance the protection motivation. Researchers can test other PMT models, including fear appeals to improve the predictive accuracy.
Originality/value
This study is the first study that makes use of theory-driven SEM analysis and data-driven ML analysis to bridge the gap between smartphone security’s theory and practice.
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Salman Mahmood, Shuhui Wen, Shoaib Aslam, Muhammad Rizwan Khan and Fahad Ur Rehman
This research aimed to find out both direct and mediating relationships between the fear of COVID-19 (FC) and the usage of digital financial services (UDFS) via mediator financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aimed to find out both direct and mediating relationships between the fear of COVID-19 (FC) and the usage of digital financial services (UDFS) via mediator financial anxiety (FA). It also attempted to ascertain the moderated effect of education of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners (ESO), i.e. business degree holders (BDH) vs nonbusiness degree holders (NBDH), in the relationship between FC and the UDFS.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employed a simple random sampling technique. In total, 387 complete responses were collected from Pakistani SMEs. The complete analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23, AMOS 24, Process Marco 4.1, and Interaction 1.7.
Findings
According to the findings, FC leads to UDFS and FA mediates this relationship. Additionally, the findings show that the ESO between FC and UDFS was moderated. However, conditional analysis shows that BDH-SME owners strengthened the moderated relationship between FC and UDFS compared to NBDH-SME owners, who did not show any relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Policymakers might use the study's findings to promote business education, which has been recognized as essential for making sound financial decisions. Finally, because the study is cross-sectional, the authors are unable to draw definitive generalizations.
Originality/value
The key novelty of this research work lies in the inclusion of FA as a mediator and the education of SME owners as a moderator in understanding the relationship between FC and the UDFS. This study illuminated the positive aspects of the COVID-19 epidemic based on the theory of emotional finance, risk avoidance theory and theories of emotion.
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Usman Aslam, Muhammad Ilyas, Muhammad Kashif Imran and Ubaid- Ur- Rahman
The purpose of this research is to investigate the detrimental effects of cynicism on organizational change. It presents an interactive and novel theoretical research model based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the detrimental effects of cynicism on organizational change. It presents an interactive and novel theoretical research model based on organizational cynicism. The study aims to determine the causes of cynicism and suggests remedies for it so that change may be implemented with the consensus of all stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an associational study that aims to test the hypotheses of linear relationships among the variables used in the proposed model. Data have been collected from 417 employees, working for three public sector organizations, by using self-administrated questionnaires. The model proposed in this research has been tested by using regression analysis in Amos 22. The interactive effects have been examined by using Aguinis’s (2004) multiple moderated regression.
Findings
The results reveal that dispositional resistance increases the intention of an employee to exhibit withdrawal behavior and that organizational contextual factors have statistically significant relationships with employees’ withdrawal behavior and their job satisfaction. Moreover, the results of interactive effects are partially significant.
Practical implications
The Government of Pakistan, the managements of public sector organizations and workplace unions can resolve the issues of cynicism and job insecurity by involving employees in decision making and by building trust in change leaders. Employees’ participation and their trust in change leaders can decrease their intentions to exhibit withdrawal behavior and lessen the occurrences of organizational cynicism. In addition, trust in change leaders can raise job satisfaction, while job insecurity can decrease the job satisfaction levels of employees.
Originality/value
This research presents and examines a unique multiple interactive model of organizational cynicism. Until recently, a scant number of studies particular to Asian culture, have investigated the detrimental and interactive effects of cynicism on organizational change.
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