Claire Nee, Mark Button, David Shepherd, Dean Blackbourn and Sharon Leal
This paper aims to present findings based on the psychological profile of 17 offenders who have been convicted of occupational fraud, bribery or related offences. It provides…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present findings based on the psychological profile of 17 offenders who have been convicted of occupational fraud, bribery or related offences. It provides findings on their specific psychological profiles using well-established psychological techniques to gauge personality. The study is also aimed to provide the foundations for further research on such profiles, which could eventually provide a screening tool to identify individuals who might be a higher risk of engaging in corrupt behaviours for organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based upon 17 interviews with white-collar offenders who were also asked to complete an Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to identify their profile.
Findings
This study postulates that sensation seeking, risk appetite, impulsivity and lower non-aggressive self-regulation dominate the E scale traits of white-collar offenders.
Originality/value
This paper is very much original in its design with few studies having been performed in this area.
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Jan Windebank and Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
France is a model of best practice in the European Union as regards policy to combat undeclared work. The purpose of this paper is to take the country as a case study to evaluate…
Abstract
Purpose
France is a model of best practice in the European Union as regards policy to combat undeclared work. The purpose of this paper is to take the country as a case study to evaluate the competing explanations of why people engage in undeclared work which underpin such policy, namely, the dominant rational-economic-actor approach and the more recent social-actor approach.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate these approaches, the results of 1,027 interviews undertaken in 2013 with a representative sample of the French population are analysed.
Findings
The finding is that higher perceived penalties and risks of detection have no significant impact on the likelihood of conducting undeclared work in France. In contrast, the level of tax morale has a significant impact on engagement in the activity: the higher the tax morale, the lower is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy. Higher penalties and risks of detection only decrease the likelihood of participation in undeclared work amongst the small minority of the French population with very low tax morale.
Practical implications
Current policy in France to counter undeclared work is informed principally by the rational-economic-actor approach based on a highly developed infrastructure for detection and significant penalties alongside incentives to declare small-scale own-account work. The present analysis suggests that this approach needs to be supplemented with measures to improve citizens’ commitment to compliance by enhancing tax morale.
Originality/value
This case study of a country with a well-developed policy framework to combat undeclared work provides evidence to support the social-actor approach for informing policy change.
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Colin C Williams, Ioana Alexandra Horodnic and Lynda Burkinshaw
Conventionally, participation in the informal economy has been explained by viewing citizens as rational economic actors participating when the pay-off is greater than the…
Abstract
Purpose
Conventionally, participation in the informal economy has been explained by viewing citizens as rational economic actors participating when the pay-off is greater than the expected cost of being caught and punished, and thus tackled by raising the sanctions and risks of detection. Given that many citizens do not engage even when the benefits outweigh the costs, a new social actor approach has begun to emerge which explains the informal economy as arising when tax morality is low and seeks to foster commitment to compliance. The purpose of this paper is to provide an evidence-based evaluation of these competing policy approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
To do so, the results are reported of 1,306 face-to-face interviews undertaken during 2013 in the UK.
Findings
The finding is that raising the sanctions and risks of detection has no significant impact on the likelihood of participation in the informal sector. However, participation in the informal economy is significantly associated with tax morality. Indeed, the only time that increasing the sanctions and risks of detection reduces the level of participation in the informal economy is amongst citizens with very low tax morality.
Practical implications
Rather than continue with the current rational economic actor approach of increasing the penalties and risks of detection, this case study of the UK reveals that a new policy approach is required that seeks to improve tax morality by introducing measures to reduce the acceptability of participating in the informal economy. Whether this is more widely applicable now needs to be tested, given the dominance throughout the world of this punitive rational economic actor approach.
Originality/value
This paper provides evidence supporting a new social actor approach towards explaining and tackling participation in the informal economy.
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The implementation of sustainability-related policies at universities has been marked by a greater sense of urgency in recent years. Despite this emerging trend, it is still…
Abstract
Purpose
The implementation of sustainability-related policies at universities has been marked by a greater sense of urgency in recent years. Despite this emerging trend, it is still unclear which leadership processes, at which levels and which theoretical concepts encourage sustainable transitions within universities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study aims to offer a systematic literature review of the existing literature on sustainability-related leadership processes, levels and theories that encourage the transformation of universities, aimed at providing guidance on this topic; uncovering gaps in the literature; and finding new paths for future research.
Findings
Leadership processes in the context of sustainability-related transitions have been approached in a rather fragmented way in the literature, and the scientific field would benefit from more in-depth and longitudinal studies. In total, this study identifies 95 processes that are related to 17 aspects of universities’ transitions.
Research limitations/implications
The various leadership levels are involved in transition processes at different stages. The theories of distributed and sustainability leadership seem to be the most frequently used theories in the literature.
Practical implications
Structuring and defining leadership processes, levels and theories can lead to a better understanding of the dynamics of the transition process and, in a broader sense, of the process of sustainability integration in higher education. A better knowledge of how such a transition develops could contribute to the enhancement of existing sustainable development strategy and policy.
Originality/value
By focusing on an underresearched topic through a theoretical perspective of leadership theories, this study contributes to literature pertaining to leadership levels and processes involved in sustainability transitions of universities.
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Atin Chusniyah, Imam Makruf and Supriyanto
This study aims to identify the growth pattern of research literature, most influential authors, most impactful documents and most relevant topics on sustainable development (SD…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the growth pattern of research literature, most influential authors, most impactful documents and most relevant topics on sustainable development (SD) in higher education management (HEM) from 2000 to 2023.
Design/methodology/approach
The research approach used descriptive quantitative and bibliometric analysis. Scopus was used to retrieve data from 811 selected documents from 2000 to 2023. Data analysis used VOSviewer and R Biblioshiny.
Findings
The results showed intense development of sustainable development research in higher education management, especially in 2013–2023. Core literature was identified based on the volume of publications or citations from the perspective of authors, documents and keywords. Global research topics on SD in HEM focus on curriculum development and sustainable learning, sustainable higher education management and enhancing research and development of SD in HEM. The results of this research reveal the emerging intellectual structure in the field of educational management and provide reference points for academics who wish to study this discipline.
Originality/value
This study offers a valuable knowledge map for future research on sustainable development in higher education management. As a map, researchers can find core documents and current topics and identify potential research issues in this study.
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Xiaotong Du and Kaitlin Light Costello
This research aims to introduce the concept of information snowballing, which shows the process of how individuals with a specific interest in food sustainability acquire…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to introduce the concept of information snowballing, which shows the process of how individuals with a specific interest in food sustainability acquire information about and remain abreast of sustainability-related information in everyday life and food practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed constructivist grounded theory to investigate the information acquisition practices of consumers of sustainable food around topics related to sustainability. The author collected data through pre-screening phone calls, photo diaries and in-depth semi-structured interviews by using theoretical sampling with nine sustainable food consumers; analyzed data through constant comparison and memoing; and validated findings via methodological jotting, data triangulation and peer-debriefing throughout the process.
Findings
The findings identify three stages of information snowballing: (a) learning by lifelong exposure and serendipitous information encountering; (b) constructing information landscapes; and (c) snowballing or gradually accumulating information.
Practical implications
This concept advocates for spreading sustainability-related information and awareness outside the context of formal education.
Originality/value
This study originates the concept of “information snowballing,” which evolves from the idea of snowball sampling, a common strategy for participant recruitment. Both of these terms lean on the idea that a snowball rolling downhill picks up more and more momentum and more and more snow as it travels; recruitment and information gathering show the same process of accretion through building momentum. Information snowballing highlights the individual’s agency in seeking relevant information sources, expressing one’s interests, constructing information landscapes—all activities that precede the serendipitous encountering and snowballing of information based on a particular interest. It also connects everyday information practices to information landscapes within the context of everyday food practices.
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Janek Richter, Dirk Basten, Bjoern Michalik, Christoph Rosenkranz and Stefan Smolnik
Based on an exploratory case-based approach, the purpose of this paper is to open the KM black box and examine the relationships that link knowledge management (KM) inputs (i.e…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on an exploratory case-based approach, the purpose of this paper is to open the KM black box and examine the relationships that link knowledge management (KM) inputs (i.e. knowledge resources and KM practices) via knowledge processes to KM performance. This paper aims to identify the underlying mechanisms and explain how KM performance is enabled.
Design/methodology/approach
This in-depth case study conducted at a medium-sized consultancy in the supply chain management industry empirically examines knowledge flows to uncover the relationships between KM inputs, knowledge processes and KM performance. We adopt the viable system model (VSM) as a theoretical lens to identify KM mechanisms.
Findings
By identifying six KM mechanisms, we contribute to the theoretical understanding of how KM inputs are interconnected and lead to KM performance via knowledge processes.
Originality/value
Based on the insights gained, we provide propositions that organizations should consider in designing viable KM. Our findings help organizations in understanding their KM with the help of knowledge flow analysis and identifying how critical KM elements are interconnected.
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Seyedeh Khadijeh Taghizadeh, Syed Abidur Rahman, Davoud Nikbin, Malgorzata Radomska and Shaghayegh Maleki Far
This study aims to investigate how dynamic capabilities, i.e. sensing, learning, integrating and coordinating trigger sustainable innovation performance. It also examines the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how dynamic capabilities, i.e. sensing, learning, integrating and coordinating trigger sustainable innovation performance. It also examines the direct and moderating role of environmental turbulence towards the sustainable innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 169 SMEs in Oman and analysed through structural equation modelling using SmartPLS software.
Findings
Findings of this study reveal that the sustainable innovation performance of SMEs is greatly influenced by the synergy of learning, integrating and coordinating capabilities. Notably, among these capabilities, coordinating capability emerges as the most important capability for SMEs with a primary emphasis on fostering both human and organizational well-being. However, this research reveals that building dynamic capabilities alone might not be sufficient to address social, ecological and economic sustainability criteria, and SMEs may need to extend their view beyond internal processes and integrate various environmental contingencies into their approaches while focusing on sustainable innovation performance.
Practical implications
This research is useful for business managers while allocating resources in their business efficiently and effectively to achieve sustainable innovation performance. It also highlights that SMEs need to integrate various environmental contingencies into their approaches while focusing on sustainable innovation performance.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to contribute to SME scholarship by mainly investigating the effect of specific four types of dynamic capabilities on sustainable innovation performance in a turbulent environment. This study is likely to contribute to the SMEs addressing sustainability innovation performance and develop capabilities to be sustainable in a turbulent environment.
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Viola Hakkarainen, Jordan King, Katja Brundiers, Aaron Redman, Christopher B. Anderson, Celina Natalia Goodall, Amy Pate and Christopher M. Raymond
Universities strategically organize themselves around sustainability, including transformative goals in teaching and learning. Simultaneously, the role of online education has…
Abstract
Purpose
Universities strategically organize themselves around sustainability, including transformative goals in teaching and learning. Simultaneously, the role of online education has become more prominent. This study aims to better understand the purpose and process of creating online sustainability education (OSE) and to identify challenges and opportunities for implementing these courses and programs to achieve universities’ broader transformative sustainability goals.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a multiple case study design to research three universities in diverse geographical and institutional contexts (Finland, the USA and Colombia). Qualitative data was collected by interviewing program-related experts (n = 31) and reviews of universities’ strategic documents.
Findings
The findings suggest that despite important advances, further attention is merited regarding aligning the purpose of OSE with student learning outcomes, clarifying the values underlying the process of online program/course creation and developing transformative and process-oriented approaches and pedagogies to implement OSE. The authors also highlight emerging challenges and opportunities in online environments for sustainability education in different institutional contexts, including reaping the benefits of multilocality and diverse student experiences regarding sustainability issues.
Originality/value
There is a paucity of studies on university-level sustainability education in relation to online environments. This research expands on the existing literature by exploring three different geographical and institutional contexts and shedding light on the relationship between the practical implementation of OSE and universities’ broader sustainability goals.