14,386 research outputs found
An Empirical Investigation of Absorptive Capacity on Technology Transfer Effectiveness Through Organizational Innovation
Purpose: Achieving technology transfer effectiveness (TTE) remains challenging in developing and underdeveloped economies to improve social infrastructures and develop economic systems. Bringing effectiveness in technology transfer is a complicated process for organizations that require improvement in their absorptive capacity (ACAP) and organizational innovation (OI). In the Information and communication technology (ICT) sector of Pakistan, technology transfer is ineffective due to a lack of ACAP and OI. This study aims to investigate the impact of ACAP and OI on TTE in the ICT sector of Pakistan.
Theoretical framework: This study empirically investigated the relationship of ACAP and OI with TTE with underpinning organizational learning theory.
Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey design was adapted for collecting data from 393 management representatives from 33 organizations of two main sub-sectors (Telecommunications and Information Technology) of the ICT sector of Pakistan. PLS-SEM was used for the reliability and validity measurement of research constructs. It also tested the hypothesized relationships between ACAP, OI, and TTE.
Findings: This study confirmed the significant relationship of ACAP and OI with TTE. Further, the results also confirmed the mediation of OI between ACAP and TTE in the ICT sector of Pakistan.
Research, Practical & Social implications: The implication of this research is to help government institutions and public and private sectors to develop mechanisms, economic policies, strategies, and business support for effective technology transfer in the ICT sector. This research model is also helpful for researchers and practitioners in its applicability in other industries, countries, and cross-cultural environments.
Originality/value: Due to the lack of research in the ICT sector of Pakistan, this study empirically investigated the hypothesized significant relationships of ACAP and OI with TTE. This study also filled the research gap by evaluating the significant mediation of OI between ACAP and TTE and contributed to the body of knowledge
Testing the nomological network for the Personal Engagement Model
The study of employee engagement has been a key focus of management for over three decades. The academic literature on engagement has generated multiple definitions but there are two primary models of engagement: the Personal Engagement Model of Kahn (1990), and the Work Engagement Model (WEM) of Schaufeli et al., (2002). While the former is cited by most authors as the seminal work on engagement, research has tended to focus on elements of the model and most theoretical work on engagement has predominantly used the WEM to consider the topic.
The purpose of this study was to test all the elements of the nomological network of the PEM to determine whether the complete model of personal engagement is viable. This was done using data from a large, complex public sector workforce. Survey questions were designed to test each element of the PEM and administered to a sample of the workforce (n = 3,103). The scales were tested and refined using confirmatory factor analysis and then the model was tested determine the structure of the nomological network. This was validated and the generalisability of the final model was tested across different work and organisational types.
The results showed that the PEM is viable but there were differences from what was originally proposed by Kahn (1990). Specifically, of the three psychological conditions deemed necessary for engagement to occur, meaningfulness, safety, and availability, only meaningfulness was found to contribute to employee engagement. The model demonstrated that employees experience meaningfulness through both the nature of the work that they do and the organisation within which they do their work. Finally, the findings were replicated across employees in different work types and different organisational types.
This thesis makes five contributions to the engagement paradigm. It advances engagement theory by testing the PEM and showing that it is an adequate representation of engagement. A model for testing the causal mechanism for engagement has been articulated, demonstrating that meaningfulness in work is a primary mechanism for engagement. The research has shown the key aspects of the workplace in which employees experience meaningfulness, the nature of the work that they do and the organisation within which they do it. It has demonstrated that this is consistent across organisations and the type of work. Finally, it has developed a reliable measure of the different elements of the PEM which will support future research in this area
INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL EFFICIENCY AS THE DETERMINING FACTOR OF SUSTAINING PROFITABILITY IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONDITIONS: DOES THE AGE OF THE ENTERPRISE MATTER IN HOTEL INDUSTRY?
The purpose of this paper is to provide the answer to the question - Can the efficiency of intellectual capital (ICE) be a factor in maintaining the profitability of young and mature hotel enterprises in the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic? The key goal of the paper is to point out the importance of intangible (intellectual) resources for improving business performance, and above all, profitability. To respond to the goals of the research, an analysis of the contribution of human capital efficiency (HCE) and structural capital efficiency (SCE) to the profitability of young and mature hotels in the year before the crisis and the year of crisis in the Republic of Serbia (RS), as an emerging country will be given. The study's findings suggest that the ICE components have a partial impact on the profitability of young hotels in the year before the crisis. In the year of crisis, the ICE components partially affect the realization of sustainable and profitable business among mature hotels
Adopting the technology acceptance model: A Namibian perspective
Background: The adoption of online banking is still a concern in developing countries, with limited research in investigating the factors that can lead to the intention to use and the actual usage of online banking.
Objectives: This research aims to broaden the knowledge about technology adoption by applying the technology acceptance model (TAM) to the online banking environment in Namibia.
Methods: A descriptive, quantitative research design and structural equation modelling (SEM) were employed to analyse the data.
Results: The adopted TAM had good model fit if applied to online banking in Namibia. Nine of the 12 hypotheses were accepted.
Conclusion: System quality and social influence act as external factors that influence the level of trust, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. High levels of ease of use and usefulness of the online banking system result in a positive attitude towards the online banking system that in turn leads to the intention to use the system and then actual usage.
Contribution: This study adopted the TAM and included social influence, system quality and perceived trust as factors that can influence the usage of online banking. The study contributed towards the knowledge of technology acceptance from an online banking perspective and can aid the banking sector in increasing the adoption of online banking systems
Consent and the Construction of the Volunteer: Institutional Settings of Experimental Research on Human Beings in Britain during the Cold War
This study challenges the primacy of consent in the history of human experimentation and argues that privileging the cultural frameworks adds nuance to our understanding of the construction of the volunteer in the period 1945 to 1970. Historians and bio-ethicists have argued that medical ethics codes have marked out the parameters of using people as subjects in medical scientific research and that the consent of the subjects was fundamental to their status as volunteers. However, the temporality of the creation of medical ethics codes means that they need to be understood within their historical context. That medical ethics codes arose from a specific historical context rather than a concerted and conscious determination to safeguard the well-being of subjects needs to be acknowledged. The British context of human experimentation is under-researched and there has been even less focus on the cultural frameworks within which experiments took place. This study demonstrates, through a close analysis of the Medical Research Council's Common Cold Research Unit (CCRU) and the government's military research facility, the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment, Porton Down (Porton), that the `volunteer' in human experiments was a subjective entity whose identity was specific to the institution which recruited and made use of the subject. By examining representations of volunteers in the British press, the rhetoric of the government's collectivist agenda becomes evident and this fed into the institutional construction of the volunteer at the CCRU. In contrast, discussions between Porton scientists, staff members, and government officials demonstrate that the use of military personnel in secret chemical warfare experiments was far more complex. Conflicting interests of the military, the government and the scientific imperative affected how the military volunteer was perceived
Victims' Access to Justice in Trinidad and Tobago: An exploratory study of experiences and challenges of accessing criminal justice in a post-colonial society
This thesis investigates victims' access to justice in Trinidad and Tobago, using their own narratives. It seeks to capture how their experiences affected their identities as victims and citizens, alongside their perceptions of legitimacy regarding the criminal justice system. While there have been some reforms in the administration of criminal justice in Trinidad and Tobago, such reforms have not focused on victims' accessibility to the justice system. Using grounded theory methodology, qualitative data was collected through 31 in-depth interviews with victims and victim advocates. The analysis found that victims experienced interpersonal, structural, and systemic barriers at varying levels throughout the criminal justice system, which manifested as institutionalized secondary victimization, silencing and inequality. This thesis argues that such experiences not only served to appropriate conflict but demonstrates that access is often given in a very narrow sense. Furthermore, it shows a failure to encompass access to justice as appropriated conflicts are left to stagnate in the system as there is often very little resolution. Adopting a postcolonial lens to analyse victims' experiences, the analysis identified othering practices that served to institutionalize the vulnerability and powerlessness associated with victim identities. Here, it is argued that these othering practices also affected the rights consciousness of victims, delegitimating their identities as citizens. Moreover, as a result of their experiences, victims had mixed perceptions of the justice system. It is argued that while the system is a legitimate authority victims' endorsement of the system is questionable, therefore victims' experiences suggest that there is a reinforcement of the system's legal hegemony. The findings suggest that within the legal system of Trinidad and Tobago, legacies of colonialism shape the postcolonial present as the psychology and inequalities of the past are present in the interactions and processes of justice. These findings are relevant for policymakers in Trinidad and Tobago and other regions. From this study it is recognized that, to improve access to justice for victims, there needs to be a move towards victim empowerment that promotes resilience and enhances social capital. Going forward it is noted that there is a need for further research
Ethical Behavior of Firms and B2C E-commerce Diffusion: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Customer Orientation and Innovation Capacity
Despite the increasing significance of IT innovations and corporate ethics, we lack research that has investigated whether and how the extent to which firms in a country behave in an ethical manner relates to the rate at which B2C e-commerce diffuses among them. Drawing on the ethical climate theory, the stakeholder theory, and the resource-based view of the firm, we posit that firms’ ethical behavior positively relates to B2C e-commerce diffusion and that their customer orientation and innovation capacity will mediate the relationship. We validated our research model using publicly available archival data from 128 countries. Our findings suggest that 1) ethical conduct leads to higher B2C e-commerce diffusion among a country’s firms, and 2) customer orientation and innovation capacity serve as the underlying mechanisms that explain this relationship. We discuss crucial implications for research and practice
TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF EFFORTFUL FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCES: USING INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN FUNDRAISING RESEARCH
Physical-activity oriented community fundraising has experienced an exponential growth in popularity over the past 15 years. The aim of this study was to explore the value of effortful fundraising experiences, from the point of view of participants, and explore the impact that these experiences have on people’s lives. This study used an IPA approach to interview 23 individuals, recognising the role of participants as proxy (nonprofessional) fundraisers for charitable organisations, and the unique organisation donor dynamic that this creates. It also bought together relevant psychological theory related to physical activity fundraising experiences (through a narrative literature review) and used primary interview data to substantiate these. Effortful fundraising experiences are examined in detail to understand their significance to participants, and how such experiences influence their connection with a charity or cause. This was done with an idiographic focus at first, before examining convergences and divergences across the sample. This study found that effortful fundraising experiences can have a profound positive impact upon community fundraisers in both the short and the long term. Additionally, it found that these experiences can be opportunities for charitable organisations to create lasting meaningful relationships with participants, and foster mutually beneficial lifetime relationships with them. Further research is needed to test specific psychological theory in this context, including self-esteem theory, self determination theory, and the martyrdom effect (among others)
School-based interventions to increase physical activity and reduce cardiometabolic risk in children
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