An empirical investigation of the influence of organizational culture on individual readiness for change in Syrian manufacturing organizations

Purpose - While few recent studies have paid attention to the relationship between Organizational Culture (OC) and Individual Readiness for Change (IRFC), there is still a lack of systematic and empirical studies regarding the influence of all OC types on the IRFC components within the change management literature. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically examining the influence of all four organizational culture types of the Competing Values Framework (CVF) on the components of IRFC regarding TQM implementation, within the context of manufacturing organizations operating in Syria. Design/methodology/approach - A total of four hypotheses were proposed for testing. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 350 Syrian Manufacturing Organizations (SMOs) in order to measure the level of IRFC and to identify the cultural profiles and characteristics of these organizations. Findings - The analysis of the collected shows that certain types of organizational culture are conducive to fostering IRFC. In particular, the findings of an empirical investigation revealed that group culture and adhocracy culture are the most supportive culture types for IRFC. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the existing literature of change management by providing empirical evidence leading to advancement of knowledge and the understanding of the relationship between OC types and IRFC components. Furthermore, the paper adds value via its contextual originality; being the first study that empirically examined the Syrian cultural context, and hence contributing to the scarce body of literature of both OC and IRFC, and in particular the developing countries

Hegemony of network capabilities, frugal innovation and innovation strategies: The innovation performance perspective

The emergence of advanced technologies has brought new challenges and opportunities for all kinds of business organizations. In a technologically advanced era, innovation plays a dominant role for the successful operation of the commercial landscape. Therefore, the current study was conducted to investigate the impact of network capabilities (NC) and frugal innovation (FI) on innovation performance (IP). Furthermore, the mediating role of FI and moderating role of innovation strategies has also been tested on the link between NC and IP. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) registered with small and medium enterprises development authorities (SMEDA) were approached for the completion of the current study. Only 509 owner/managers agreed to participate. A quantitative research design was employed for the current study. During the two–three months process of data collection only 387 complete responses were received from the SMEs working in Pakistan’s big cities. Correlation, regression and bootstrap methods were applied to test the study hypotheses. The findings revealed that NC positively affect FI and IP. Furthermore, the findings also confirmed the mediating effect of FI between NC and IP link. The performance of SMEs working in emerging economies is largely based on their innovative activities. In this dynamic scenario SMEs’ survival is attached to continuous IP in their products and services

Influence of CSR and leadership style on sustainable performance: moderating impact of sustainable entrepreneurship and mediating role of organizational commitment

Nowadays, sustainable performance (SP) has become an obligation of every organization globally, which captures the attention of recent researchers and policymakers. Following the green theory, this study aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibilities (CSR), transactional and transformational leadership on the SP. Besides, examining the moderating role of sustainable entrepreneurship and mediating role of organizational commitment among the nexus of CSR, transactional and transformational leadership, and SP is another target of this research. This study adopted the questionnaires to collect the data from the respondents of the internet services industry in China, and structural equation modeling (SEM)was employed to analyze the data. This research revealed that CSR, transactional, and transformational leadership have a positive effect on SP. Secondly, this study also indicated that sustainable entrepreneurship significantly moderates among nexus of transactional and transformational leadership to SP. Besides, our results show that organizational commitment positively mediates the links between CSR, transactional leadership, transformational leadership, and the SP. The conclusion of this research signifies that organizational leadership strongly influences the adoption of green and sustainable operations, which further influences the SP. These results help the regulation-making authorities make new policies related to CSR, leadership, entrepreneurship, and SP

Economic and ecological complexity in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from 60 countries

The coronavirus disease 2019 is a deadly disease that globally infected millions of people. It enormously increases economies national healthcare bills and death tolls that deprive the global world. The negative environmental externality further strains the country’s healthcare sustainability agenda, causing to decline in global income. The study evaluates the different socio-economic and environmental factors to assess ecological complexity in a large, cross-country data set that includes 60 countries. The study used the following variables for estimation, i.e., coronavirus cases, cost of carbon emissions, per capita economic growth, foreign direct investment inflows, and population growth. Markov Switching Regression, VAR Granger causality and variance decomposition analysis applied on the given dataset. The results show that the COVID-19 cases have a rebound effect on environmental quality. Economic activities started after a lifted lockdown, and unsustainable production and consumption led to a deteriorating natural environment. The U-shaped relationship is found between carbon pollution and per capita income. On the other hand, the inverted U-shaped relationship is found between coronavirus cases and carbon pollution. The foreign direct investment inflows and population density increases carbon pollution. The study concludes that stringent environmental policies and incentive-based regulations help to minimize coronavirus cases and mitigate carbon pollution

Ocena strategii ochrony lasów pod kątem przywracania różnorodności biologicznej i zrównoważonego rozwoju: globalna analiza porównawcza

The escalating rate of deforestation presents significant challenges to the global economy, including the loss of habitats for endangered species and a decline in biocapacity reserves. This situation also raises concerns about overcrowding and excessive production, which can undermine conservation efforts. Addressing this issue, Sustainable Development Goal 15 of the United Nations emphasizes managing forest resources, preventing habitat loss, combatting desertification, and expanding biodiversity reserves. Its contributions have played a pivotal role in wildlife conservation, mitigating rural-urban migration and preserving land resources. Given the relevance of this problem, this study examines the consequences of ongoing tropical deforestation on the loss of endangered species habitats while controlling for biocapacity reserves, urbanization, economic growth, and industrialization across a large sample of 159 nations, further categorized into low-, middle-, and high-income countries. The findings from cross-sectional and quantile regression analyses reveal that higher deforestation rates, increased rural-urban migration, and greater industrialization threaten endangered species habitats. Conversely, increased biocapacity reserves and economic growth contribute to wildlife restoration. Granger causality estimations highlight unidirectional relationships between deforestation and biodiversity loss (as well as biocapacity reserves), while deforestation and industrialization exhibit bidirectional causality. The results further indicate that sustained economic growth leads to deforestation, biocapacity reserves, and urbanization, while urbanization contributes to deforestation. This underscores the role of deforestation as the primary driver of habitat loss for endangered species and the depletion of biocapacity, thereby fostering mass production. Urbanization and economic growth are shown to be causally linked to deforestation across countries. The study underscores the urgent need to safeguard forest reserves against large-scale land conversion for infrastructure development, industrialization, and settlement of overpopulated urban areas, as these factors contribute to habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. Conserving, restoring, and promoting sustainable utilization of ecosystems are essential measures to address natural uncertainties and advance Sustainable development goals.Rosnące tempo wylesiania stwarza poważne wyzwania dla gospodarki światowej, w tym groźbę utraty siedlisk zagrożonych gatunków i spadek rezerw pojemności biologicznej przyrody. Sytuacja ta budzi również obawy związane z przeludnieniem i nadmierną produkcją, co może zniweczyć wysiłki na rzecz ochrony przyrody. Odnosząc się do tej kwestii, Cel Zrównoważonego Rozwoju nr 15 Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych kładzie nacisk na zarządzanie zasobami leśnymi, zapobieganie utracie siedlisk, zwalczanie pustynnienia i poszerzanie rezerwatów różnorodności biologicznej. Jego realizacja odgrywa kluczową rolę w ochronie dzikiej przyrody, łagodzeniu migracji ze wsi do miast i ochronie zasobów gruntów. Biorąc pod uwagę znaczenie tego problemu, w niniejszym badaniu zbadano wpływ ciągłego wylesiania tropikalnego na utratę siedlisk zagrożonych gatunków, przy jednoczesnym kontrolowaniu rezerw pojemności biologicznego, urbanizacji, wzrostu gospodarczego i industrializacji na dużej próbie 159 krajów, podzielonych dalej na kategorie o niskim, krajach o średnich i wysokich dochodach. Wyniki analiz przekrojowych i regresji kwantylowej pokazują, że wyższe wskaźniki wylesiania, wzmożona migracja ze wsi do miast i większa industrializacja zagrażają siedliskom zagrożonych gatunków. I odwrotnie, zwiększone rezerwy pojemności biologicznej i wzrost gospodarczy przyczyniają się do odbudowy dzikiej fauny i flory. Szacunki przyczynowości Grangera uwydatniają jednokierunkowe związki między wylesianiem a utratą różnorodności biologicznej (a także rezerwami pojemności biologicznej), podczas gdy wylesianie i industrializacja wykazują dwukierunkową przyczynowość. Wyniki wskazują ponadto, że trwały wzrost gospodarczy prowadzi do wylesiania, rezerw pojemności biologicznych i urbanizacji, podczas gdy urbanizacja przyczynia się do wylesiania. Podkreśla to rolę wylesiania jako głównego czynnika powodującego utratę siedlisk zagrożonych gatunków i wyczerpywanie się pojemności biologicznej, co sprzyja masowej produkcji. Wykazano, że urbanizacja i wzrost gospodarczy są powiązane przyczynowo z wylesianiem w różnych krajach. Badanie podkreśla pilną potrzebę zabezpieczenia rezerwatów leśnych przed przekształcaniem gruntów na dużą skalę w celu rozwoju infrastruktury, industrializacji i zasiedlania przeludnionych obszarów miejskich, ponieważ czynniki te przyczyniają się do degradacji siedlisk i utraty różnorodności biologicznej. Ochrona, przywracanie i promowanie zrównoważonego wykorzystania ekosystemów to podstawowe środki pozwalające zaradzić naturalnym niepewnościom i osiągać zrównoważony rozwój

The Influence of Institutional and Conductive Aspects on Entrepreneurial Innovation: Evidence from GEM Data

YesPurpose – The main purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of how different aspects of the national institutional environment may influence the level of innovative entrepreneurial activity across countries. Several institutional and conductive factors affecting a country’s capacity to support innovative entrepreneurship is explored. Design/methodology/approach – Institutional theory is used to examine the national regulatory, normative, cognitive, and conducive aspects that measure a country's ability to support innovative entrepreneurship. A cross-national institutional profile is constructed to validate an entrepreneurial innovation model. The impact of country-level national institutions on innovative entrepreneurial activity as measured by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data is assessed through structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings – Knowledge about the influence of specific institutional aspects on innovative entrepreneurship, and hence of institutional structures within and across countries, is enhanced. For new innovative enterprises, conductive and regulatory aspects seem to matter most. All conductive factors have a significant and positive impact on entrepreneurial activity rates. Research limitations/implications – Results could support policy makers and practitioners in evaluating government policies’ effect on innovative entrepreneurship. Interventions should target both individual attributes and context. Future research could include longitudinal designs to measure the direction of causality. Practical implications – Aspects such as regulatory institutions, and conductive factors such as ICT use and technology adoption, are important for innovation entrepreneurship development.The full text will be made available when the article is officially published

Impact of CSR, innovation, and green investment on sales growth: new evidence from manufacturing industries of China and Saudi Arabia

Environmental concerns have got supreme interest from the researchers and policy makers for which experts have revealed their organizational impacts too. At the same time, corporate social responsibility is observed as a key determinant of financial performance both in developed and developing economies. Recognize the same, this study aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibilities, economic innovation, green credit, and green investment on the sales growth of manufacturing industries of China and Saudi Arabia. This study has selected top twelve trading manufacturing companies registered in the Shanghai stock exchange and Saudi stock exchange during the period of 2016 to 2020. For data estimation, panel regression estimations like fixed and random effect models have been used. The results indicate that corporate social responsibility, economic innovation, green credit, and green investment are significantly and positively associated with sales growth of manufacturing industries in China and Saudi Arabia. However, their coefficient’s magnitude varies due to distinct features of both countries. These findings offer valuable policy recommendations for all stakeholders

The neglected hepatitis C virus genotypes 4, 5 and 6: an international consensus report

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 4, 5 and 6 represent >20% of all HCV cases worldwide. HCV-4 is mainly seen in Egypt, where it represents 90% of all HCV cases. Antischistosomal therapy was the main cause of contamination there, followed by procedures performed by informal providers and traditional healers such as dental care, wound treatment, circumcision, deliveries, excision and scarification. It is also highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Middle East. In Europe, its prevalence has recently increased particularly among intravenous drug users and in immigrants. HCV-5 is mainly found in South Africa, where it represents 40% of all HCV genotypes, but four pockets of HCV-5 were found in France, Spain, Syria and Belgium and sporadic cases were found elsewhere. The mode of transmission is mainly iatrogenic and transfusion. HCV-6 is found in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar and also in American and Australian from Asian origin. The response to treatment in HCV-4 is intermediate between HCV-1 and HCV-2 and HCV-3. A sustained viral response is achieved in 43-70% with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. It is higher in Egyptians than Europeans and Africans and is negatively related to insulin resistance and to the severity of fibrosis. It increases to >80% with 24 weeks of therapy only if a rapid virological response is achieved. In HCV-5, a sustained virological response is achieved in >60% with 48 weeks of therapy. HCV-6 is also considered an easy-to-treat genotype, leading to a response in 60-85% of cases. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Security Challenges and Air Quality Management in india: Emissions Inventory and Forecasting Estimates

The defense and peace literature have focused mainly on the military-growth nexus, with little attention paid to the environmental sustainability agenda, which is impacted by increased global arms transfers. The supply of lead-containing ammunition generates complex gas mixtures (including CO2 emissions) and particulates that harm the healthcare sustainability agenda. Based on the significance of the subject matter, the study uses the Indian economy as a case study, with a significant rate of arms transfers associated with higher carbon emissions. The study analyzed data from more than four decades, from 1975 to 2020. Data on arms imports, military personnel, and military expenditures are used to evaluate the ‘ammunition emissions function’. It corresponds to the three research hypotheses, namely, the ‘emissions-defense burden hypothesis’ (arms transfers increase carbon emissions), the ‘emissions-cleaner hypothesis’ (arms transfers reduce carbon emissions), and the ‘emissions-asymmetric hypothesis’ (positive and negative shocks of arms transfers either support the ‘defense burden hypothesis’ or ‘cleaner hypothesis’). The non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) results confirmed the ’emissions-defense burden hypothesis‘ in the long run, as positive and negative shocks from arms imports increase carbon emissions. However, in the short run, positive arms imports increase carbon emissions while negative arms imports decrease carbon emissions. Furthermore, the findings supported the ’emissions-cleaner hypothesis‘ in the relationship between armed forces personnel and carbon emissions. The findings imply that the positive and negative shocks experienced by armed forces personnel reduce carbon emissions in the short and long run. Positive shocks to military spending support the ’emissions-defense burden hypothesis‘ in the short run; however, the results vanished when negative shocks to military spending supported the ’emissions-spillover hypothesis‘ (lowering military spending reduces carbon emissions and increases economic productivity) in the short and long run. The country’s unsustainable economic activities are viewed as a negative factor contributing to long-term carbon emissions increases. The negative shocks of armed forces personnel and positive arms imports would almost certainly have a significant long-term impact on carbon emissions. As a result, the ‘treadmill theory of destruction’ has been confirmed in a country. The study concludes that lead-free ammunition and managing ammunition safety are beneficial to a country’s environmental sustainability agenda. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2021/87), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Glucocorticoid-regulated localization of cell surface glycoproteins in rat hepatoma cells is mediated within the Golgi complex.

Glucocorticoid hormones regulate the post-translational maturation and sorting of cell surface and extracellular mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) glycoproteins in M1.54 cells, a stably infected rat hepatoma cell line. Exposure to monensin significantly reduced the proteolytic maturation and externalization of viral glycoproteins resulting in a stable cellular accumulation of a single 70,000-Mr glycosylated polyprotein (designated gp70). Cell surface- and intracellular-specific immunoprecipitations of monensin-treated cells revealed that gp70 can be localized to the cell surface only in the presence of 1 microM dexamethasone, while in uninduced cells gp70 is irreversibly sequestered in an intracellular compartment. Analysis of oligosaccharide processing kinetics demonstrated that gp70 acquired resistance to endoglycosidase H with a half-time of 65 min in the presence or absence of hormone. In contrast, gp70 was inefficiently galactosylated after a 60-min lag in uninduced cells while rapidly acquiring this carbohydrate modification in the presence of dexamethasone. Furthermore, in the absence or presence of monensin, MMTV glycoproteins failed to be galactosylated in hormone-induced CR4 cells, a complement-selected sorting variant defective in the glucocorticoid-regulated compartmentalization of viral glycoproteins to the cell surface. Since dexamethasone had no apparent global effects on organelle morphology or production of total cell surface-galactosylated species, we conclude that glucocorticoids induce the localization of cell surface MMTV glycoproteins by regulating a highly selective step within the Golgi apparatus after the acquisition of endoglycosidase H-resistant oligosaccharide side chains but before or at the site of galactose attachment