Bastien Bezzon, Geoffroy Labrouche and Rachel Levy
This study analyzes the role of regional cooperative banks in identifying and financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from a proximity perspective. Access to finance…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes the role of regional cooperative banks in identifying and financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from a proximity perspective. Access to finance is a major challenge for SMEs. Regional cooperative banks can remove this barrier based on cooperative bank's characteristics and geographic proximity to SMEs. Understanding the interplay between these financial actors and firms can contribute to a better support of SMEs development.
Design/methodology/approach
The results are based on a case study of eight SMEs located in southwestern France. Interviews were conducted with two regional cooperative funds and eight SMEs. The interview guide included questions related to the company, the projects financed and how financing was accessed.
Findings
Results reveal that a combination of three forms of proximity allows regional cooperative banks and SMEs to establish effective financing operations. They show that regional cooperative banks are key players in the existing financing mechanisms for SMEs. Such financing is often used to gain access to larger players at a later stage. The findings suggest the need for public policies that promote the integration of financing actors in regional ecosystems to advance SMEs' development.
Originality/value
This article examines how SMEs access financing, with a focus on regional cooperative banks, which have received little attention in the literature. Moreover, the relationships between these actors are studied through the lens of proximity. Regional cooperative banks are able to finance projects that may have been overlooked by traditional banks due to trust-building local dynamics.
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Rachel Levy, Jean-Pierre Del Corso and François Seck Fall
The purpose of this study is to better understand how students of French agricultural education position themselves in the face of climate change and get involved in its fight.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to better understand how students of French agricultural education position themselves in the face of climate change and get involved in its fight.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a survey carried with 300 French students enrolled in the Brevet des Techniciens Supérieurs Agricoles class. A statistical analysis highlights the sensitivity of students to climate change and a simple econometric modelling examines the determinants of this sensibility. Finally, a qualitative study based on semi-directive interviews characterise the role of students as intermediaries of knowledge and innovative practices.
Findings
This study reveals that if the students ensure a function of intermediation inside rural where they act as true operators of institutional change, their role is less significant inside school and social networks.
Research limitations/implications
The analyses should be further developed by examining more precisely the place and roles of students in the creation and coordination of local collective structures acting for the defence of the climate.
Practical implications
The results show that the territories and the projects developed there can be relevant points of reference for introducing innovative teaching approaches to introduce climate change in the classroom.
Social implications
Young people’s commitment to the fight against climate change is strengthened by their concrete involvement in territorial development projects. Indeed, those territories specifically in rural areas appears as a space for innovation in environmental practices.
Originality/value
The originality of the study lies in its focus on the role of schools, living territories social networks as cultural spaces for shaping and transforming young people’s beliefs about climate change.
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Ayshe Cagli, Med Kechidi and Rachel Levy
The aeronautical industry is a perfect example of a complex product industry characterized by a hierarchically‐organized supply chain. The authors can identify four types of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aeronautical industry is a perfect example of a complex product industry characterized by a hierarchically‐organized supply chain. The authors can identify four types of supplier interfaces: interactive, translation, specified and standardized ones. The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors explaining the diversification of these relationships between aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers, through the example of Airbus suppliers.
Design/methodology/approach
Network analysis (to define the complexity level of aircraft components), data analysis (to characterize the diversity of aircraft suppliers) and a logit model were combined in order to link the supplier interfaces to the complexity of components and to the suppliers' characteristics.
Findings
It is shown that the earlier a supplier is involved in the development process, the more responsibility is delegated to him and the more intertwined its relationship is with the prime contractor. Also, it is shown that component complexity plays a major role in a supplier's involvement during the integral design and face‐to‐face interactions matter greatly during the co‐design phases of the products.
Research limitations/implications
The research has rather a static perspective covering all the inter‐firm relations within Airbus programs at once. By using the same databases, one could look into the evolution of supplier interfaces within the aeronautical supply chain. A dynamic view would provide some evidence regarding the recent restructuring of the supply chain.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper comes from the methodology and the use of original data allowing to test in the same analysis the role of the component complexity and the characterization of the suppliers on the form of relationship between the manufacturer and its principal suppliers.
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The early childhood education classroom space is intrinsic to developing localized youth culture. Through a four-month-long qualitative research project in a space that focused on…
Abstract
The early childhood education classroom space is intrinsic to developing localized youth culture. Through a four-month-long qualitative research project in a space that focused on meeting the most rudimentary child needs due to staffing and fund restrictions, young children’s creativity through the arts was stunted. In a classroom setting focused on structure and strict routine at the forefront, children’s creative expression was observed through independent action and creative twists on order, instead of through activities deliberately designed to nurture creativity and expression. Since the children at the site did not seem to regularly participate in any kind of art making, or unstructured creative expression, my focus instead became the fundamentals of creativity and how young children in the classroom demonstrated choice making and agency. The objective of this study was how to understand the space from a child-centered approach to better project how to include art making, creative education, and creative expression within early childhood education sites that do not currently employ it in their curriculum. This chapter aims to situate how young children created a culture of creative expression within the boundaries of a structured early education classroom when top-down teacher interaction was at a minimum, and open-ended, non-directive materials were provided.
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KIMBERLY CHAMBERLAIN and JAMES CHIN
The authors, both employees of the Securities Industry Association, examine the legitimate business tool—telemarketing. They delve into some of the recent criticism and federal…
Abstract
The authors, both employees of the Securities Industry Association, examine the legitimate business tool—telemarketing. They delve into some of the recent criticism and federal and state legislation that has come along to curtail this communications device, the angle here being the law's application or exemption as to the securities industry.
Rachel Clapp-Smith and Gretchen Vogelgesang Lester
Global mindset is an important theme in the international business strategy and organizational behavior literatures. However, these different paradigms define and operationalize…
Abstract
Global mindset is an important theme in the international business strategy and organizational behavior literatures. However, these different paradigms define and operationalize global mindset in disparate ways, which creates problems for conducting empirical research as the disparity hampers the development of testable models. This article seeks to unify the different paradigms by introducing a third perspective from cognitive psychology that clarifies the process of mindset activation. We apply a process model of mindset activation to global mindset to build a theory of mindset switching relevant for global leaders. We operationalize global mindset as a dynamic process of mindset switching and suggest that the most appropriate mindset for a situation can be primed to activate. We also propose cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity as antecedents to appropriate mindset activation and mindset switching. Finally, we suggest that mindset/situation congruence results in global leader creativity and boundary spanning. By applying the cognitive psychology literature to global mindset research, we clarify the process of global mindset and why it is important for leaders to understand how different primes might activate the most appropriate mindset. Our model provides a means for managers to become more cognitively aware of how they problem solve in a highly complex and multilayered world. This paper proposes a unique, dynamic model that captures dualities of global leadership. The model provides a new perspective of global mindset that is testable with existing measures and procedures.
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Rachel Gabel Shemueli, Mary F. Sully de Luque and Danae Bahamonde
To examine the effects of leadership style on in-role performance through feedback seeking behavior (FSB) and engagement using the job demands resource theory (JD-R).
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the effects of leadership style on in-role performance through feedback seeking behavior (FSB) and engagement using the job demands resource theory (JD-R).
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 152 employees working in a Peruvian call center. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses.
Findings
Transformational leadership was significantly related to in-role performance, with FSB and engagement sequentially mediating the relationship.
Originality/value
This study highlights the motivational processes that can lead to employee engagement and performance within a call center and identifies the contribution of feedback seeking within this environment.
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Gretchen Vogelgesang Lester, Meghna Virick and Rachel Clapp-Smith
One of the biggest challenges facing global organizations is the ability of leadership and International Human Resource Management (IHRM) professionals to capture the positive…
Abstract
One of the biggest challenges facing global organizations is the ability of leadership and International Human Resource Management (IHRM) professionals to capture the positive outcomes of a diverse workforce while fostering inclusion amongst its workers. New theory based upon optimal distinctiveness theory has challenged researchers to approach inclusion in a holistic manner, transcending political boundaries and cultural meanings of diversity to instead promote the uniqueness of individuals within-group belongingness. This chapter proposes a theoretical model that suggests leader capabilities such as global mindset can foster inclusiveness while reaping the benefits of unique backgrounds and diverse ideas. Two important individual-level outcomes of inclusiveness are presented: creativity and psychological safety. Also discussed are implications for strategic IHRM through recruitment, selection, talent management, and performance management activities.
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Tianyu Pan, Rachel J.C. Fu and James F. Petrick
This study aims to examine consumer perception during COVID-19 and identifies cruise industry marketing strategies to fill a gap in crisis management and product pricing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine consumer perception during COVID-19 and identifies cruise industry marketing strategies to fill a gap in crisis management and product pricing literature.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed and validated two-factor measurement scales (vaccine perception and protective behavior), which predicted cruise intents well. This study revealed how geo-regional factors affect consumer psychology through spatial analysis.
Findings
This study recommended pricing 7-day cruises at $1,464 (the most preferred length). The results also showed that future price hikes would not affect demand and that coastal marketing would help retain customers.
Originality/value
This study contributed to the business, hospitality and tourism literature by identifying two new and unique factors (vaccine perception and protective behaviors), which were found to affect consumers’ intention to travel by cruise significantly. The result provided a better understanding of cruise tourists’ pricing preferences and the methods utilized could easily be applied to other cruise markets or tourism entities.
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Rachel E. Frieder, Marilyn V. Whitman, Ashley Mandeville and Matthew Leon
The shift to remote work brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically limited spontaneous workplace interpersonal interactions. For one interpersonal relationship in…
Abstract
Purpose
The shift to remote work brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically limited spontaneous workplace interpersonal interactions. For one interpersonal relationship in particular, the work spouse, the sudden physical distance may impact the energy work spouses draw from one another. Drawing on interactional ritual theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between interaction frequency and organizational outcomes mediated by relational energy amid the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
During the COVID-19 pandemic, working adults who indicated they had a work spouse were recruited via Qualtrics to participate in a two-part online study.
Findings
Complete data from 120 participants across both time periods revealed that more frequent interaction between work spouses is associated with increased job satisfaction and affective commitment mediated by relational energy.
Originality/value
This study represents the first empirical examination of individual and organizational outcomes of a unique interpersonal workplace relationship. Additionally, this study enhances our understanding of the impact of relational energy in socially distanced situations between employees in a close, intimate (non-sexual) pair bond.