Leaders or organisations? A comparison study of factors affecting organisational citizenship behaviour in independent hotels

Purpose - Managers of independent hotels need to maximise organisational citizenship behaviour among employees to gain sufficient competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive environment so it is important to understand what affects it. To achieve this, our study tests if servant leadership, organisational citizenship behaviour and other related constructs have the same relationships between them in two contrasting parts of the world. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data were gathered from managers of independent hotels in Spain (451) and Iran (429). Spain was selected because it is a developed country that is a leading destination for tourists. Iran was chosen as a contrast since it is a developing country with a growing tourist industry. Findings - Our findings show that Spain and Iran demonstrate different patterns of relationships in the selected variables suggesting that Iranians trust their leaders more than the organisational systems while the Spanish trust organisational systems more than their leaders. These results are consistent with Spanish culture having higher individualism than Iranian culture. They are also consistent with Iranian culture prioritising traditional values, such as personal loyalty to managers, and Spanish culture prioritising modern values, such as impersonal rules and objective processes. Research limitations/implications - Our study suggests leadership and justice affects organisational citizenship behaviour in different ways where modern values prevail compared to where traditional values prevail. It suggests that managers of independent hotels in Iran should follow the example of Spanish hotel managers by adopting more objective and fair procedures while showing that inward investors and expatriate managers in Iran should be aware of the importance of personal leadership style. Further research is needed in different countries and regions to improve the generalisability of our findings. Originality/value – Our study contributes to the literature on the application of the servant leadership construct, which was developed in the West, to other regional contexts. It also adds to the literature of independent hotels, which are an important yet under-researched part of the hospitality industry

Establishing psychological relationship between customers and retailers: a study of the small to medium scale clothing retail industry

Purpose The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how young female customers establish psychological relationships with small- to medium-scale retail stores over time forming purchase intentions, actual purchase patterns and repurchase behaviour. Role of various customer typologies was also considered. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was implemented to collect and analyse data, where data was collected from 20 young female customers and ten clothing retailers using purposive sampling via semi-structured interviews. Interviews with customers were conducted in a place of their choice such as in a coffee shop, whereas data from retailers were collected in the retail stores. Both online and offline retail patronage was considered to incorporate the growing tendency towards online shopping. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings This study managed to reveal a number of interesting findings on how female customers form and develop psychological relationships with clothing retailers over time that ultimately builds customer loyalty. Customer behaviour in pre-purchase, purchase and re-purchase stages can significantly vary according to their individual perceptions, whereas they have a few favourite clothing brands that they frequently shop for. Preference for online shopping was found to be minimal, most of them enjoying in store experiences. Further, word of mouth and unique designs emerged as key contributors in establishing retail brand loyalty. Practical implications This paper provides better insights for clothing retailers and industry practitioners in understanding how customer perceptions affect clothing purchase decisions. Originality/value This paper contributes to the retail literature by emphasizing on various elements that should be amalgamated through proper synthesis to serve customers. The research is unique as it analyses customer behaviour using a recreational activity model as opposed to marketing models to demonstrate how customers develop relationships with retail brands overtime

Evaluation of fusarium wilt resistance in a flax germplasm

Non-Peer Reviewe

Novel preparation of controlled porosity particle/fibre loaded scaffolds using a hybrid micro-fluidic and electrohydrodynamic technique.

The purpose of this research was to produce multi-dimensional scaffolds containing biocompatible particles and fibres. To achieve this, two techniques were combined and used: T-Junction microfluidics and electrohydrodynamic (EHD) processing. The former was used to form layers of monodispersed bovine serum albumin (BSA) bubbles, which upon drying formed porous scaffolds. By altering the T-Junction processing parameters, bubbles with different diameters were produced and hence the scaffold porosity could be controlled. EHD processing was used to spray or spin poly(lactic-co-glycolic) (PLGA), polymethysilsesquioxane (PMSQ) and collagen particles/fibres onto the scaffolds during their production and after drying. As a result, multifunctional BSA scaffolds with controlled porosity containing PLGA, PMSQ and collagen particles/fibres were obtained. Product morphology was studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy. These products have potential applications in many advanced biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields e.g. bone regeneration, drug delivery, cosmetic cream lathers, facial scrubbing creams etc

The effect of needle tip displacement in co-axial electrohydrodynamic processing

Co-axial electrospraying and electrospinning are versatile electrohydrodynamic (EHD) techniques that can be used to encapsulate a variety of materials in the form of polymeric particles and fibres via a one step process. The successful production of uniform encapsulated products in co-axial EHD (CEHD) processing depends on multiple parameters including solution concentration, applied voltage and needle capillary diameter. Although many studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of these parameters, there has been very limited research on how the axial displacement between the two needle tips affects the final products formed. Hence the purpose of this study was to adjust the positioning of the inner needle such that its tip extends beyond, is level with or resides inside that of the outer needle and to thus determine the most effective arrangement for controlling product size, uniformity and/or yield. Core–shell particles were prepared using two polymers, poly(lactic-co-glycolic)acid (PLGA) as the shell and polymethylsilsesquioxane (PMSQ) as the core and core–shell fibres using PMSQ as the shell and a volatile liquid, perfluorohexane (PFH) as the core. The products formed were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). After analysis, it was concluded that the most effective arrangement for generating both particles and fibres with the optimal combination of size, uniformity and yield was to have the inner needle 2 mm inside the outer needle. This allows for formation of a stable cone–jet and successful encapsulation of the inner liquid within the outer liquid, before the outer stable cone–jet forms. The corresponding collected product diameter and percentage of products in which material was successfully encapsulated were found to be 0.6 ± 0.1 μm and 85 ± 3% respectively for particles and 9 ± 1 μm and 92 ± 2% for fibres

How leadership affects organisational citizenship behaviour – a study of independent hotels

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the relationship between leadership style and OCB through newly developed balanced organisational culture and trust variables. Unlike most studies, which have been on chain hotels, this study investigates these relationships in independent hotels in Iran. Additionally, organisational size was also included in the study. Design/methodology/approach: Using information from Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism 160 independent hotels were identified and approached. A survey was assembled using well-known instruments. 392 usable questionnaires, out of 1150 distributed, were collected from employees and analysed using SEM. Findings: Contrary to previous studies, we found that in this context neither transformational nor transactional leadership affects trust directly but only through balanced organisational culture and only transactional leadership had a direct relationship with OCB. Also, organisational size had a moderating effect on the relationship between trust and OCB. Originality/value: We add to the theoretical literature dealing with the different behaviour of constructs developed in a Western context in other contexts and suggests that hotel managers in a collectivist culture, like Iran, who want to build OCB can do so by creating organisational culture conditions (Balanced Organisational Culture) that foster trust between managers and their subordinate

Hypsipyla SHOOT BORERS IN MELIACEAE CURRENT STATUS

A briefofan international meeting held in Kandy in August /996 to discuss thepresent situation with regard 10 this insects. II is suggested that the relatively10111 level of' attack in Sri Lanka may he due to good overhead shade were thetrees have been plante

How leadership affects organisational citizenship behaviour – a study of independent hotels

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the relationship between leadership style and OCB through newly developed balanced organisational culture and trust variables. Unlike most studies, which have been on chain hotels, this study investigates these relationships in independent hotels in Iran. Additionally, organisational size was also included in the study. Design/methodology/approach: Using information from Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism 160 independent hotels were identified and approached. A survey was assembled using well-known instruments. 392 usable questionnaires, out of 1150 distributed, were collected from employees and analysed using SEM. Findings: Contrary to previous studies, we found that in this context neither transformational nor transactional leadership affects trust directly but only through balanced organisational culture and only transactional leadership had a direct relationship with OCB. Also, organisational size had a moderating effect on the relationship between trust and OCB. Originality/value: We add to the theoretical literature dealing with the different behaviour of constructs developed in a Western context in other contexts and suggests that hotel managers in a collectivist culture, like Iran, who want to build OCB can do so by creating organisational culture conditions (Balanced Organisational Culture) that foster trust between managers and their subordinates

Characterization of flax germplasm for resistance to fusarium wilt

Non-Peer ReviewedFusarium wilt of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lini (Fol) is an economically important disease that can result in severe yield losses. Due to the pathogen’s ability to survive in soil for long periods, it is essential to identify fusarium wilt resistant flax varieties. The objectives of the study were to phenotype and compare a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of flax in a controlled environment and in field wilt nurseries. Disease reaction of a subset (160) of RIL lines developed from cultivars ‘Aurore’ (moderately resistant) and ‘Oliver’ (susceptible) was assessed under controlled environment conditions to two Fol isolates. Disease severity was determined and the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated. The population varied in response from resistant to highly susceptible, indicating that resistant to wilt was probably polygenic. Twenty-eight days after inoculation, 14% and 5% of the RILs were severely wilted (scores of 8 and 9, with isolates 131 and 81, respectively). Plant height was negatively correlated with AUDPC (r2= -0.13155 for 131 and r2=-0.29841 for 81). Similarly, in the field in wilt nurseries, at Saskatoon and Morden, evaluation of the full set of 200 RILs, the disease reaction varied from resistant to susceptible, with 21% and 42% of RILs severely wilted (rated 8 and 9) at each site at the green boll stage. The results from the two locations were significantly different, although moderately correlated (r2=0.6127). The 160 RILs in controlled environment inoculated with isolates 131 and 81 showed a higher correlation for disease severity at 28 days after inoculation, with the wilt nursery in Saskatoon (r= 0.40028 and r2=0.38046) as compared to Morden (r2=0.33016 and r2=0.21140) at green boll stage. Differences in environmental and experimental conditions (such as seeding date) at the two locations, as well as different Fol strains in the soil combined with the subjectivity of the grading system may explain the differences between locations