99 research outputs found
The dark side of artificial intelligence in retail services innovation
Many academic scholars argue that the goal of using artificial intelligence (hereafter, AI) in business has been to serve humans in performing their jobs. Yet, some scholars refute such arguments and warn against potential threats of AI to humankind in the future. AI or machine intelligence comprises three main aspects, i.e., learning, reasoning, and self-correction which aggregate to conjure up the artificial mind. In retailing, the employment of AI is progressively becoming a major theme of innovation and retailers are rapidly increasing the use of machine intelligence to efficiently simulate human intelligence and become more competitive through cutting costs and improving customer journeys. However, such benefits can be catastrophic in the long run. Hereby, this chapter represents an attempt to produce a synthesis of current research on the use of AI in retailing and identify the possible benefits or ramifications on the human pillars of the retail process (i.e., the employers, employees, and customers). Finally, this chapter aims to reflect on relevant literature to conclude future research and industrial implications
Political advertising effectiveness in war-time Syria
This study addresses the effectiveness of political advertising in an extreme context, during war-time. A self-administered cross-sectional survey was used to collect data during the 2016 parliamentary elections in Syria. Structural equation modelling was utilized to test the hypothetical model and its invariance related to political involvement. The results indicated that beliefs are a four-dimensional structure consisting of information, veracity, sarcasm, and cynicism. Furthermore, war-time perceptions were found to negatively affect attitude towards political advertising via sarcasm among less politically involved voters. Negative attitude was found to be linked to lower levels of veracity among such voters and to higher levels of cynicism for those who are highly involved in politics. Negative attitudes regarding political advertising were found for lowering the chances for watching advertisements, for supporting a candidate, and for willingness to vote. The results also revealed that paying attention to political advertising does not relate to votersâ intention to vote. This study is the first of its kind to empirically validate a conceptual model predicting votersâ turnout behaviour based on votersâ war-time perceptions, beliefs and attitudes regarding political advertising in an authoritarian setting. In addition, this study investigates whether the effects of the proposed model may be moderated by votersâ political involvement
Assessing Patientsâ Perception of Health Care Service Quality Offered by COHSASA-Accredited Hospitals in Nigeria
Service quality in health care institutions is an emerging phenomenon, and many hospitals are concerned about providing quality service to their patients based on information obtained by the patientâs perceptions of service quality. First, we aimed to determine patientsâ perception of service quality offered at Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA)âaccredited private hospitals in Nigeria. And that included reexamining the dimensionality of SERVQUAL (the test tool) based on our sample data. Second, we aimed to find out whether there are any existing gaps between patientsâ expectation and perception of the service quality. Third, this research is an attempt to test the perceived quality effects on patientsâ satisfaction and repurchase intentions toward health services. Quantitative research was conducted via self-administered questionnaires to patients who attended a randomly selected COHSASA-accredited private hospital in Nigeria and analyze their data using a variety of quantitative procedures including structural equation modeling, factor analyses, and paired-samples t tests. A systematic sampling method was used, and a total of 228 questionnaires were used for the final analyses. SERVQUAL was found to be a three-factor variate comprising the following: tangibility, reliability, and sensitivity. Our results concluded that perceived quality was significantly lower than expected quality despite being accompanied with positive levels of satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Finally, patientâs satisfaction was found to fully transmit the indirect effects of two of the three factors, quality sensitivity and reliability, onto repurchase intentions, whereas tangibility does not exert indirect significant influences over repurchase intentions via patient satisfaction
No one is safe! But whoâs more susceptible? Locus of control moderates pandemic perceptionsâ 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
The reincarnation of work motivation: Millennials vs older generations
Abstract:
This study examines generational differences in valuing the sources of motivation in workplace behaviour between millennials and older generations, with a view to assist managers in making employment decisions and maintaining multigenerational staff in the services sector. Based on systematically sampled data, the authors used GagnĂ© et al.âs Multidimensional Work Motivational Scale (MWMS) to measure the different facets of work motivators alongside a three-item measure of employee overall work motivation (designed for this study) to address the hypotheses. Using structural equation modelling procedures to analyse the data, the authors found that four out of six motivators regress differently to overall work motivation. In other words, both extrinsic regulationâmaterial and identified regulation are valued more by millennials compared to older generations, while extrinsic regulationâsocial and introjected regulation are valued less by millennials compared to older generations.
Résumé
Dans cette Ă©tude, nous analysons les diffĂ©rences gĂ©nĂ©rationnelles dâapprĂ©ciation des sources de motivation dans le comportement au travail entre la gĂ©nĂ©ration des millĂ©nials et les gĂ©nĂ©rations plus ĂągĂ©es, dans lâobjectif dâaider les gestionnaires Ă prendre des dĂ©cisions en matiĂšre dâembauche et Ă maintenir des Ă©quipes multigĂ©nĂ©rationnelles dans le secteur des services. Ă partir de donnĂ©es ayant fait lâobjet dâun Ă©chantillonnage systĂ©matique, nous avons utilisĂ© lâĂchelle multidimensionnelle de la Motivation au Travail (MWMS) de GagnĂ© et al. (2015) pour mesurer les diffĂ©rents aspects des facteurs de motivation au travail, ainsi quâune Ă©chelle de mesure en trois points de la motivation globale des employĂ©s au travail (conçue pour cette Ă©tude) pour examiner les hypothĂšses formulĂ©es. En utilisant des modĂšles dâĂ©quations structurelles, nous avons constatĂ© que quatre des six facteurs de motivation pĂšsent diffĂ©remment sur la motivation globale au travail : la rĂ©gulation extrinsĂšque (matĂ©rielle) et la rĂ©gulation identifiĂ©e sont plus valorisĂ©es par les millĂ©nials que par les gĂ©nĂ©rations plus ĂągĂ©es, tandis que la rĂ©gulation extrinsĂšque (sociale) et la rĂ©gulation introjectĂ©e sont moins valorisĂ©es par les millĂ©nials que par leurs aĂźnĂ©s.
Resumen
Este artĂculo analiza las diferencias generacionales en la valoraciĂłn de las fuentes de motivaciĂłn en el comportamiento en el trabajo entre la generaciĂłn de los millenials y las generaciones mayores, con el objetivo de ayudar a los gerentes a tomar decisiones de reclutamiento y mantener una plantilla multigeneracional en el sector servicios. Usando datos muestreados sistemĂĄticamente, se utiliza la Escala de MotivaciĂłn Laboral Multidimensional (MWMS) de GagnĂ© et al. (2015) para medir las diferentes facetas de los motivadores laborales junto con una medida de 3 Ătems de la motivaciĂłn laboral general de los empleados (diseñada para este estudio) para abordar las hipĂłtesis formuladas. Utilizando modelos de ecuaciones estructurales, se ha hallado que cuatro de los seis motivadores tienen un peso diferente sobre la motivaciĂłn laboral general. Tanto la regulaciĂłn extrĂnseca (material) y la regulaciĂłn identificada son mĂĄs valoradas por los millennials en comparaciĂłn con las generaciones anteriores, mientras que la regulaciĂłn extrĂnseca (social) y la regulaciĂłn introyectada son menos valoradas por los millennials que por las generaciones anteriores
âWe aren't your reincarnation!â workplace motivation across X, Y and Z generations
Purpose
The primary purpose of this research is to examine generational differences in valuing the sources of employees' overall motivation in the workplace across Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z with a view of assisting managers in making employment decisions and maintaining multigenerational staff.
Design/methodology/approach
The respondents in the study live and work in Canada and provided answers to self-administered online surveys between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the end of January 2020. To assess subjects' work motivation, the study employed Gagné et al.'s (2014) multidimensional work motivation scale (MWMS) alongside a three-item measure of employees' overall motivation (designed for this study). The authors assessed measures of validity and reliability and tested the hypothesis about generational differences in work motivation using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
The six motivators regress differently to employees' overall motivation. Generation Z is more sensitive to amotivation than Generation X and Generation Y. Extrinsic regulation-material is a valid source of overall work motivation for Generation Z only. Only Generation X values extrinsic regulation-social as a source of employees' overall motivation. So is introjected regulation by Generation Y. Unlike Generation Z, both Generation X and Generation Y employees value identified regulation as a source of overall work motivation. Finally, intrinsic motivation contributes more to Generation Z employees' overall work motivation than it does for Generation X and Generation Y.
Research limitations/implications
Further work needs to be done to establish whether variations in valuing the sources of motivation may also be spawned by age or status of the respective groups. Future investigations can expand the authorsâ focal theme to include additional organisational outcomes, alternative geographical settings and/or include country's economic development as an additional variable. Moreover, further research can address the implications of national culture on shaping generational differences in employee's motivation as well as aiding companies to redesign work tasks considering today's uncertainty as well as increasingly competitive, global environment (e.g. the rise of artificial intelligence).
Practical implications
It is vital to offer motivators that are valued by each of the three generations, i.e. X, Y and Z, before being able to attract the best candidates of each generation. Organisations should not only create an inclusive and understanding multigenerational working environment but also be able to communicate strong branding via new communication channels successfully (e.g. social media networks), which Generation Yers and Generation Zers utilise better than any other generation in employment. Finally, the authors suggest that service organisations with diverse generational composition should adopt new measures of workplace agility to survive interminable disruptions (e.g. the coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] pandemic).
Originality/value
This is the first study of its kind to examine generational differences between Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z in valuing workplace motivation from a western cultural perspective
Total Quality Management Boosters and Blockers in a Humanitarian Setting: An Exploratory Investigation
Utilizing qualitative techniques, this research is aimed at investigating total quality management (TQM) implementation practices within a humanitarian setting. The extensive survey instrument of professionals working for the United Nations (UN) organizations operating in the Middle East is used to reveal TQM use within international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) that provide humanitarian relief. With the goal of helping organizations to address anticipated difficulties in implementing TQM practices that improve performance of humanitarian interventions, this study identifies and examines the boosters and blockers of successful implementation of the TQM practices. The most prominent themes that were identified relate to availability of funding, management commitment to quality, partnerships and communication channels, and knowledge sharing
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 employeesâ anxiety, customer orientation, and OCB more intensely than those with internal locus of control
Developing and validating a new multiâdimensional scale for antiâsocial 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
Prioritized Repairing and Consistent Query Answering in Relational Databases
A consistent query answer in an inconsistent database is an answer obtained
in every (minimal) repair. The repairs are obtained by resolving all conflicts
in all possible ways. Often, however, the user is able to provide a preference
on how conflicts should be resolved. We investigate here the framework of
preferred consistent query answers, in which user preferences are used to
narrow down the set of repairs to a set of preferred repairs. We axiomatize
desirable properties of preferred repairs. We present three different families
of preferred repairs and study their mutual relationships. Finally, we
investigate the complexity of preferred repairing and computing preferred
consistent query answers.Comment: Accepted to the special SUM'08 issue of AMA
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