Globalisation and HR practices in Africa: When culture refuses to make way for so-called universalistic perspectives

The paper demonstrates and exemplifies how cultural paradigms and the political and socio-economic spheres and organisational life are intertwined in an African context. The paper examines how some factors that are embedded in the cultural and institutional framework in Sub-Saharan African organisations interact with global perspectives and the degree of resistance they present to changes in human resource management (HRM) processes. The paper considers aspects of the universalistic perspectives that have resonance for human resource practices in Africa. Furthermore, it evaluates the question of the tensions between the contributions derived from the indigenous and historical factors, and the inputs from external sources, to human resource management in Africa. rnThe research is based on a survey of 100 practicing African human resources professionals. The respondents were drawn from the major institutional actors in Nigeria. rnThe research found that, despite the impact of globalisation and the Westernisaion of training and development in Africa, HRM practices remain largely culture-bound. Many aspects of Sub-Saharan African cultures pervade organisational processes, e.g. collectivism and paternalism, that refuse to make way for change. However, the paper concludes that some of these temerarious cultural aspects that are often described as counter-productive in much of the literature, could actually be utilised for community and employee engagement. rnThe paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on HRM practices in Africa, an area under-researched. It provides an opportunity to African HR managers to be more pragmatic in identifying the contextual issues and for beginning to identify aspects of African culture that could be value-adding in a fast changing management landscape. The paper demonstrates that HRM policies have specific cultural orientations and reflect on both the societal predispositions of the region; this exemplifies how cultural paradigms, the political sphere and organisational life are intertwined in an African context

The Employment Situation of Migrant Workers and Their Experience of Work Life Pressures

The chapters in this book cover different aspects of the migrant experience of social life and employment in contemporary societ

Resisting global universalistic practices - the endurance of culture and particularism in African HRM

Purpose This article empirically assesses the extent to which factors rooted in the cultural and institutional framework in Sub-Saharan African organisational contexts challenge and resist the penetration of global practices and how these dynamics impact on human resource management (HRM). This article examines universalistic perspectives are significant for African HRM. The article discusses the tensions between the contributions derived from local and historical factors, and that of other environmental agents, to African HRM practice. Design/methodology The study is based on a survey among 100 practising African HRM executives representing significant organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Findings The main findings established that, in spite of Westernisation and globalising trends in learning and development in Africa, human resource practices are still profoundly embedded in the African cultural fabric. Significant elements of cultures in Sub-Saharan Africa pervade organisational processes; such aspects include collectivism and paternalism, which persistently resist change. The article, however, concludes that the resisting parts of Sub-Saharan African cultures which are viewed as counter-productive, can have positive resonance if constructively deployed. Originality This article contributes to African HRM literature, a significantly under-researched field. The paper provides an opportunity for African HR managers to be more pragmatic in identifying the contextual issues as well as aspects of African culture that could be value-adding in a fast-changing managerial field. The findings demonstrate that human resource strategies and policies have specific cultural orientations and reflect the societal predispositions of a particular collectivity; this epitomizes the intertwining of cultural paradigms, political spheres and organisational life in Sub-Saharan Afric

No one is safe! But who’s more susceptible? Locus of control moderates pandemic perceptions’ effects on job insecurity and psychosocial factors amongst MENA hospitality frontliners: a PLS-SEM approach

Background The research aimed to formulate and test a model concerning COVID-19 perceptions effects on job insecurity and a set of psychosocial factors comprising anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation in the Middle East and North African (hereafter, MENA) regional context. Also, the study attempted to examine whether locus of control can moderate these hypothesised linkages amongst customer service employees working in MENA hospitality organisations. Methods The study is based on a sample of 885 responses to an online survey and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results The main findings show the existence of a significant correlation between COVID perceptions and job insecurity and all psychosocial factors, i.e., more intense COVID-19 perceptions accompany higher levels of job insecurity, anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation. Furthermore, our results revealed that, in pandemic time, hospitality customer service employees with external locus of control are more likely to suffer higher alienation, anxiety and depression than those with internal locus of control. Conclusions The research originality centres on the establishment that COVID-19 has a severe negative impact within the hospitality customer service labour force (in the MENA region). These effects were more profound for participants who claimed external locus of control than those with internal locus of control

Locus of control as a moderator of the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on job insecurity, psychosocial, organisational and job outcomes for MENA region hospitality employees

We develop and test an integrated model to understand how individual differences based on internal or external locus of control influence the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on job insecurity, anxiety, alienation, job satisfaction, customer orientation, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and turnover intention among customer service employees within hospitality organisations in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. The investigation utilises variance-based structural equation modelling to evaluate a sample of 847 subject responses. We found that externally controlled employees are more likely to develop negative emotions resulting from pandemic-triggered job insecurity as well as poorer customer orientation and engagement in OCB due to worsened job satisfaction than those internally controlled. Wholistically, COVID-19 perceptions tend to indirectly hit externally controlled employees’ anxiety, customer orientation, and OCB more intensely than those with internal locus of control

Developing and validating a new multi‐dimensional scale for anti‐social behavior in a higher education setting

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to construct and validate a multi-dimensional scale of Anti-social Behaviour (hereafter ASB) in a Western higher education context (i.e. USA). To achieve this, four studies, each with a different sample, were performed. Study 1 (n = 150) followed an exploratory design to generate a pool of potential items measuring ASB. Study 2 (n = 254) explored the dimensionality of the items produced in Study 1 using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and reliability measures. Study 3 (n = 654) confirmed the factorial structure from Study 2 and assessed the measurement model invariance using structural equation modelling (SEM). Finally, Study 4 (n = 287) assessed the predictive validity of the ASB measure through testing a hypothetical path model linking ASB to narcissism and Machiavellianism via an SEM procedure. In total, our research findings conclude that the ASB measurement model is a two-factor multi-dimensional structure comprising: Interpersonal Antagonistic Behaviour (six items) as well as Indirect Distractive Behaviour (four items). The research and practical implications for universities are thereafter discussed

Steering Resilience in Nursing Practice: Examining the impact of Digital Innovations and Enhanced Emotional Training on Nurse Competencies

The phenomenal development of healthcare practice in the past few decades has reinforced the view that technology could potentially be the third healing triad element. This study, using data from Australia and the United Kingdom, explores resilience in nursing education through the lens of emerging digital technologies and enhanced emotional training. The study employed a mixed-method approach. A pretest-posttest was used to collect data from 54 nursing students during the lectures and tutorials, whilst the qualitative consisted of interviews with 20 health professionals, including nurse teachers and doctors. We found that students’ confidence in mental health nursing practice improved substantially after mental health placement. Besides, the effectiveness of the training offered was not compromised by variances in the demographic groups (e.g. age and gender) amongst the participants. The interview findings revealed that nurses could develop more outstanding modern capabilities with exposure to increasingly used technologies in the healthcare sector; thus, AI and digital technology and health-related engineering equipment can help reduce stress in the profession as machines become critical aid. Technology is, thus, not a threat but a necessary complement that can upskill nurses for contemporary practice

Email is Evil! Behavioural Responses towards Permission-based Direct Email Marketing and Gender Differences

Purpose This study aims to assess consumers’ beliefs in three Middle Eastern Arab countries regarding attitudinal and behavioural responses towards permission-based direct email marketing (hereafter DEM) and the moderating role of gender in the hypothesised path model. Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised path model by using data collected from 829 respondents. Findings The findings show that attitude was found to fully mediate the relationship between beliefs and behavioural responses towards permission-based DEM. Gender moderates the relationship between beliefs and attitudes and responses to permission-based DEM. Notably, female respondents were found to react more actively when exposed to permission-based DEM. Research limitations/implications Further qualitative research is needed to learn more about how and why individuals develop behavioural intentions in certain ways towards opt-in DEM. In addition, neuropsychology approaches such as eye-tracking are endorsed for future research to gain more insights and conquer biases associated with self-reporting procedures in countries where such technologies are deemed as legal and ethical to be used with human subjects. Practical implications Advertisers promoting products and services in the Middle Eastern Arab context should take further steps to enhance the quality of information (including cultural sensitiveness) and the perceived entertainment value that could be delivered to consumers through permission-based DEM, especially for female internet users. Additionally, this study highly recommends the double opt-in approach to permission-based DEM. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to address the gender role as a moderator of the path depicting the effectiveness of permission-based DEM approach in the Middle East (Arab counties) from beliefs to behavioural responses via attitudes

Who’s more vulnerable? A generational investigation of COVID-19 perceptions’ effect on Organisational citizenship Behaviours in the MENA region: job insecurity, burnout and job satisfaction as mediators

Background This paper is an empirical investigation that examines a path model linking COVID-19 perceptions to organisational citizenship behaviour (OCBs) via three mediators: job insecurity, burnout, and job satisfaction. The research examines the path model invariance spanning Generations X, Y, and Z. Three countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were the focus of the study. Methods The data was collected from a sample of employees in service companies (n = 578). We used a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data. Results Our findings reveal that COVID-19 perceptions positively predict job insecurity, which positively impacts burnout levels. Burnout negatively predicts job satisfaction. The findings established that job satisfaction positively predicts OCBs. The mediation analysis determined that job insecurity, burnout and job satisfaction convey the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions onto OCBs. Finally, our hypothesised model is non-equivalent across Generations X, Y and Z. In that regard, our multi-group analysis revealed that the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs were only valid amongst younger generations, i.e., Generation Y and Generation Z. Specifically, younger generations are substantially more vulnerable to the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on their engagement in OCBs than Generation X whose job satisfaction blocks the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs. Conclusions The present study extends our knowledge of workplace generational differences in responding to the perceptions of crises or pandemics. It offers evidence that suggests that burnout, job attitudes and organisational outcomes change differently across generations in pandemic times

Pandemic pains to Instagram gains! COVID-19 perceptions effects on behaviours towards fashion brands on Instagram in Sub-Saharan Africa: Tech-native vs non-native generations

This study represents a novel attempt to investigate the cascading effects of COVID-19 perceptions onto behavioural patterns towards fashion brands on Instagram and across two generations tech-native vs tech non-native) in a Sub-Saharan African context. We drew our study on a sample of 338 Instagram users that experienced fashion brands on Instagram in two Sub-Saharan African countries: Uganda and Nigeria. We used partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothetical model. We found that COVID-19 perception positively predicted enjoyment and usefulness, leading to more satisfaction with fashion brand accounts on Instagram and hence greater intention to follow and recommend those accounts. Finally, running a multigroup analysis (MGA), we found the effects of COVID-19 perceptions pronounced into both intentions to follow and intention to recommend via the sequence of mediators: enjoyment and satisfaction were only valid amongst the tech-native generational cohort. Our research suggested a new generational categorisation based on technology nativity – offering a new direction of generational studies in digital marketing communications