Robert van der Zwan and Nicky Whitsed
The Interactive Open Learning Centre and Media Archive at the Open University Library is a collection of OU‐produced audio‐visual materials. The archive is being enhanced by the…
Abstract
The Interactive Open Learning Centre and Media Archive at the Open University Library is a collection of OU‐produced audio‐visual materials. The archive is being enhanced by the cross‐campus provision of online access to a showcase of locally‐ and externally‐produced multimedia software, and (as part of Carnegie Mellon University's Informedia project) by the creation of a automatically‐indexed collection of digital OU TV broadcasts. The OU plans to create a digital archive not just of its video materials, but also of its copyright photographs and printed course materials, as it works towards the establishment of a hybrid library.
Karlijn Massar, Annika Nübold, Robert van Doorn and Karen Schelleman-Offermans
There is an abundance of empirical evidence on the positive effects of employment – and the detrimental effects of unemployment – on individuals’ psychological and physical health…
Abstract
There is an abundance of empirical evidence on the positive effects of employment – and the detrimental effects of unemployment – on individuals’ psychological and physical health and well-being. In this chapter, the authors explore whether and how self-employment or entrepreneurship could be a solution for individuals’ (re)entry to the job market and which (psychological) variables enhance the likelihood of entrepreneurial success. Specifically, the authors first focus on unemployment and its detrimental effects for health and wellbeing, and outline the existing interventions aimed at assisting reemployment and combating the negative consequences of unemployment for individuals’ well-being. Then, the authors will explore entrepreneurship as a potential solution to unemployment and explore the psychological variables that enhance the likelihood of entrepreneurial success. One of the variables the authors highlight as particularly relevant for self-employment is the second-order construct of Psychological Capital (PsyCap; Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007), as well as its individual components – hope, optimism, efficacy, and resilience. PsyCap is a malleable construct that can be successfully trained, and PsyCap interventions are inherently strength-based and have positive effects on employees’ and entrepreneurs’ performance and wellbeing. Therefore, the authors end the chapter by suggesting that a PsyCap component in existing education and training programs for entrepreneurship is likely to not only increase entrepreneurial intentions and success, but also increases participants’ well-being, self-esteem, and the general confidence they can pick up the reigns and take back control over their (professional) lives.
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This chapter explores the insider–outsider dynamics within Web3 communities through three complementary lenses: community studies, technology diffusion, and inclusion. It examines…
Abstract
This chapter explores the insider–outsider dynamics within Web3 communities through three complementary lenses: community studies, technology diffusion, and inclusion. It examines how digital communities form and operate, challenging traditional concepts of community boundaries and social cohesion. The chapter looks deeply into explanatory frameworks and ideas of technological innovation and diffusion. Through the inside–outside binary, I surface the tension between techno-solutionist mindsets and the social shaping of technology. The chapter then unpacks the insider–outsider concept as it relates to financial and digital inclusion, exploring how Web3 technologies both promise and potentially hinder equitable access to financial services and digital participation. The chapter concludes by considering more-than-human futures, proposing a shift away from human-centric thinking in shaping our digital futures. Throughout, it emphasises the importance of understanding Web3 as a reflection of broader societal needs and desires, while critically examining its potential to address or exacerbate existing inequalities.
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The proliferation of studies on leadership competencies have not yet provided a consistent set to guide the work of researchers and practitioners. This paper aims to generate a…
Abstract
Purpose
The proliferation of studies on leadership competencies have not yet provided a consistent set to guide the work of researchers and practitioners. This paper aims to generate a clear, literature-based overview of the relevant leadership competencies for the twenty-first century.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is an integrative literature review and identifies four strands of literature on leadership, reaching back to traditional works. It reviews each strand to establish which leadership competencies remain relevant for the twenty-first century.
Findings
This paper shows it is essential to clarify and harmonize terminology used in leadership literature. It identifies 18 groups of leadership competencies required for the twenty-first century. The research reveals that leaders of the twenty-first century must be able to combine a strong concern for people, customer experience, digitalization, financialization and the general good.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on a non-exhaustive list of literature derived from studies published in Western journals, written in English. Future research should include papers beyond the confines of Western academia and entail fieldwork to test the comprehensive framework derived here.
Practical implications
This paper will help practitioners develop leadership training curricula and transform the leadership culture in their organizations. The competency list can be useful in recruitment and selection processes for leadership positions. Professionals will find it helpful as an index in self-diagnosis and personal development for their career decision choices.
Originality/value
The paper addresses the growing need for clarity on the required leadership competencies for the twenty-first century.
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Rabeh Morrar, Mohamed Amara and Hélène Syed Zwick
This paper aims to study the impact of micro-level socio-economic, demographic and geographical factors on the likelihood of self-employment entry of young adults in Palestine and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the impact of micro-level socio-economic, demographic and geographical factors on the likelihood of self-employment entry of young adults in Palestine and filling a gap in the analysis of determinants of self-employment for young adults in Palestine.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design is based on a multinomial logistic (MNL) model and on the testing of seven hypotheses deriving from the review of the theoretical and empirical literature, using a micro-level longitudinal data set from the Palestinian Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) between 2009 and 2016. In the analysis, the dependent variable (employment status) is a discrete variable that takes four unordered and independent outcomes: wage employee, self-employed, employer and unpaid family member.
Findings
This study has strong evidence that the likelihood of self-employment increases with age. However, results are inconsistent with the well-known curvilinear relationship between age and self-employment. Regarding the role of gender, results show that young men are more likely to become self-employed than young women. Results indicate that there is a significant and negative impact of an increasing level of education on self-employment entry for both youth and the whole population. On the opposite, training after graduation increases the likelihood of self-employment entry for youth with high education level. Besides, this paper finds that young workers living in urban areas have more likelihood to enter self-employment than those in rural areas and young workers in Gaza have more likelihood to enter self-employment than their counterparts in West Bank.
Practical implications
First, in both West Bank and Gaza, young women are less inclined to actively engage in self-employment, which confirms structural inequalities between men and women. Therefore, this study calls for social protection programmes and for national programmes that would promote and develop women’s self-employment. Second, because this paper finds that youth self-employment is more an opportunity-driven phenomenon than a necessity-driven one, this study calls for programmes that provide youth with small business grants and training on entrepreneurship and business models.
Originality/value
Insights are valuable as both government institutions and universities and entrepreneurial startups can benefit from knowing which factors contribute to the self-employment likelihood of youth in Palestine and use the policy recommendations to develop capacity-building programmes to provide the youth and women with skills and competencies which enable them to turn to self-employment.
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Paul Agu Igwe, Nnamdi O. Madichie and Robert Newbery
The purpose of this paper is to provide fresh insights into rural artisanal activities in a developing world context. It highlights key determinants of the decision to engage in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide fresh insights into rural artisanal activities in a developing world context. It highlights key determinants of the decision to engage in an artisanal business and the challenges that impact upon the growth of these activities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a mix-method research approach to explore a rural setting where most respondents (81 per cent) combine farm and non-farm livelihood activities. Quantitatively, a multi-nominal regression is used to examine the determinants of diversified artisanal livelihoods. It modelled the differences between farming livelihoods that have not diversified, compared to those also involved in the artisanal activity or wage employment and the intensity of participation.
Findings
The findings show that nearly half of artisanal businesses (45.4 per cent) comprise only the owners and no employee, while 54.6 per cent employ one to three workers. Also, some artisanal ventures were more gender-specific than the gender-neutral activities. Other observations were in age (most artisans were under the age of 46 years) and vocational training (most were self-trained followed by a third receiving training only in specific areas such as technical works, building and construction and general trading apprenticeships).
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a relatively small sample size of 306 business owners, which makes it difficult to generalise despite the persuasiveness of the observations made.
Practical implications
First, the use of econometric methods enabled the development of valid data sets (and various descriptive statistical and logit regression) to analyse determinants of the decision to engage in artisanal work, and the intensity of participation. Second, the ambiguity in categorising artisanal activities is unravelled. The study characterises the local artisanal sector and examines the intensity of participation. Without these, targeted support would remain elusive for practical and policy interventions.
Originality/value
Artisanal activities constitute a high proportion of small businesses in the study area – with more than half (54.2 per cent) of respondents being classified as artisans, yet it is an overlooked area of entrepreneurship. Highlighted here are both types of activities and challenges regarding better conceptualising the understanding of artisans and regarding this mostly unarticulated base of practice.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze women's entrepreneurship in Egypt by examining their drivers, motives and challenges while applying a gender-lens perspective. This…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze women's entrepreneurship in Egypt by examining their drivers, motives and challenges while applying a gender-lens perspective. This research tries to close the gaps in previous research and determine the impact of systematic gendered policies in empowering women's entrepreneurship and in return, aid in the overall economic growth and development nation-wide. This paper addresses one main question: How can the Egyptian government empower women entrepreneurs through key policy interventions?
Design/methodology/approach
The research paper is based on quantitative methodology using three sets of the latest data available from Egypt's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report for 2019 and 2018, in addition to the Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey of 2018. It examines the probability for women to become entrepreneurs in Egypt's current ecosystem. This allowed for a better contextualization and understanding of the nature of developing Egyptian female-led entrepreneurial ventures.
Findings
The findings of this research emphasized the importance of the existence of policies for training, networking and educational programs tailored for women. In addition to, the unique needs for women entrepreneurs when it comes to funding and applying for loans. Such needs can determine the amounts of funding given out to women, while setting out a repayment policy that is well-designed for women entrepreneurs, ensuing a further discussion of the policies and their implications.
Originality/value
This paper uses and incorporates a variety of data sets that are very focused and specialized in the Egyptian context. Through which the paper aims to inform and analyze the current environment, challenges and opportunities that women entrepreneurs are operating – in Egypt. In addition, this paper provides a set of actionable policy recommendations to strengthen the government's role in empowering women entrepreneurs in Egypt.
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The (de)regulation agenda of the Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, elected in 1979 is an important change point that has attracted only limited attention from…
Abstract
Purpose
The (de)regulation agenda of the Conservative government, led by Margaret Thatcher, elected in 1979 is an important change point that has attracted only limited attention from management and historical research scholars. Thus, how (de)regulation in this era influenced the evolution of product design remains ripe for exploration. The purpose of this paper is to examine the UK individual personal pensions product market between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s to examine the relationship between (de)regulation – an industry-level factor – and its impact on architectural choices of product design – a product-level factor.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective, oral history research design with 31 senior managers in product development firms with first-hand experience of the change period was adopted.
Findings
Findings indicate that the (de)regulation reforms and the context of the financialisation of product markets came to define how products were then designed, evolving product design from non-modular to near-modular, a trajectory that arguably continues until the present day.
Originality/value
The main contribution lies in examining the role of (de)regulation and financialisation as modularisation processes. The increasing modularisation of individual personal pension product design between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s provides further support for the body of scholarly work on modularisation processes and their relationship with industry change.