An Investigation of the Effects of Intellectual Capital on Innovations in the Egyptian Banks: The Mediating Role of Organisational Capital

This research aims to analyse the direct and indirect effects of human capital, social capital and customer capital on the different types of innovations via organisational capital in the service sector. It also examines the interaction among the different types of innovations including product, process and organisational innovations and tests the role of human capital, social capital and customer capital in supporting organisational capital. This research employs the first stage of Actor Network Theory named problematisation to justify the research model. This study adopts a positivism philosophy, a deduction approach and a quantitative method as the research methodology. Hence, a questionnaire was used to gather data from 198 managers in the Egyptian banks (54% response rate). Structural Equation Modelling by Partial Least Square (warp PLS 3.0) was applied to test the research hypotheses. The research findings indicate that product, process and organisational innovation are positively associated with organisational capital. It is found that social capital and human capital have direct and indirect positive effects on both product and organisational innovation via organisational capital. It appears that social capital and human capital do not have a direct influence on process innovation whereas organisational capital fully mediates the relationship between social capital, human capital and process innovation. The study explores the direct and indirect positive effects of customer capital on three types of innovation through organisational capital. Additionally, organisational innovation has a positive relation with process and product innovation, which is significantly associated with process innovation. The most significant influence of intellectual capital is on product innovation, followed by organisational innovation, whereas the least significant influence is on process innovation. Moreover, the results also show that there are no significant differences between the public and private banks in terms of the path coefficients. The effect size of organisational capital on product and process innovation in the private banks is substantially larger than it is in the public banks. In the same way, the private banks have relatively larger effect sizes for human capital on product and process innovation via organisational capital than those in the public banks. Unexpectedly, in the public banks, the positive effect size of customer capital on product and process innovation via organisational capital is larger than it is in the private banks. This study has contributed to intellectual capital, innovation and service sector literature. It explores many benefits for the managers of the banks. It suggests that they should view intellectual capital as a catalyst for the different types of innovations. For example, banks should maintain and promote social connections amongst their employees to support innovation and to foster the cohesion of informal organisation.The sponsor is Egyptian Government

Role of spontaneous breathing trial as predictors in extubation failure in preterm infants

Background: Invasive respiratory support is associated with risk and complications including mortality and neurological impairments. Consequently, extubation of a ventilated infant should be as early as possible.Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of spontaneous breathing trial as indicator for the success of extubation in mechanically ventilated preterm infants.Patients and methods: A prospective cohort study included 62 preterm born infants who were maintained on mechanical ventilation. They were divided into: (32 infants) group for whom a spontaneous breathing trial was carried out for 5 minutes. Second (30 infants) group for whom a spontaneous breathing test was carried out for 3 minutes. Then, rapid Shallow Breathing Index (RSBI) was calculated for each patient. At the end of the test, the newborns were extubated and placed on continued positive airway pressure (CPAP) or just oxygen, as needed, according to the unit’s routine protocol.Results: On multivariate logistic regression of factors associated with failure of weaning, APGAR at 5 minutes was > 6, absence of maternal PIH, birth weight > 400 gm. Pre-extubation MAP < 5.5 and preextubation PO2 > 28 were protective against failure of weaning. On the other hand, lower preextubation PCO2 was a predictor of weaning failure (increase risk of failure by about 63 times). Failure of weaning forecated in RSBI trial can predict actual failure of weaning with sensitivity of 97.9%, specificity of 73.3%, positive predictive value of 92%, negative predictive value of 91.7% and accuracy of 91.9%.Conclusion: Failure of weaning associated with lower birth weight, PO2, PCO2 and higher pre-extubation MAP. 3 minutes and 5 minutes spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) can predict actual failure of weaning with sensitivity 97.9%, specificity 73.3%

Perceived person-organization fit and turnover intention in medical centers: The mediating roles of person-group fit and person-job fit perceptions

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to fill gaps in the existing fit and turnover intention (TI) literature by investigating a more comprehensive model, in which TI is proposed to be influenced by the interplays of three multidimensional types of fit including, person-organization (P-O) fit, person-group (P-G) fit, and person-job (P-J) fit. Design/methodology/approach Participants were selected from different specializations within Mansoura University medical centers, where each medical center was represented proportionately within the sample. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Questionnaires were provided to 850 employees who agreed to participate. Of the 850 questionnaires distributed, 385 were valid and complete (n=385). Partial least squares analysis was utilized for the analyses. Findings Results showed that P-O fit, P-G fit, and P-J fit were positively related to each other and negatively related to TI. Furthermore, the negative relationship between P-O fit and TI is partially mediated by P-G fit and P-J fit. Originality/value The present study simultaneously examines the multidimensional effects of different fit perceptions on TI. In doing so, we identify which of the fit perspectives influence TI more intensely. Moreover, the authors advance current insights by investigating the mediating roles of P-G fit and P-J fit in the relationship between P-O fit and TI

Nepotism, employees’ competencies and firm performance in the tourism sector: A dual multivariate and Qualitative Comparative Analysis approach

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd The paper identifies the critical competencies affecting Egyptian travel agents’ performance while assessing the negative influence of nepotism on such competencies. To address this aim, the study uses a holistic dual approach employing a multivariate technique using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and a configuration method through a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Based on a sample of 500 travel agents’ employees, the results show that: (1) none of the competencies is sufficient to drive travel agents’ performance, (2) two distinct configurations of employee competencies are likely to result in high performance, and (3) nepotism has a direct negative influence on some of these competencies. The study holds important implications for both theory and practice

Effects of customer incivility on frontline employees and the moderating role of supervisor leadership style

Customer incivility toward frontline employees (FLEs) is a widespread phenomenon within tourism and hospitality industries, severely depleting the psychological resources of FLEs and delivered customer service. Drawing on the job demands-resources and conservation of resources frameworks, the current research compares the effects of the two most common forms of customer incivility on FLEs’ psychological responses and behavioral intentions (study 1). Moreover, this work explores the degree to which supervisor leadership style can mitigate the depleting effects of these two forms of customer incivility on FLEs (study 2). Findings demonstrate that FLEs’ responses to customer incivility episodes remain contingent upon supervisor’s leadership style and acknowledge that an empowering (vs. laissez-faire) leadership style can better mitigate the depleting effects of both customer incivility forms on FLEs’ role stress, rumination, retaliation and withdrawal intentions. The implications of these findings for tourism and hospitality theory and practicing managers are discussed