Are we committed to teach entrepreneurship in business school?: An empirical analysis of lecturers in India, Singapore and Malaysia

YesDespite large number of universities and institutions offering management degrees and interest in the field of entrepreneurship, very less is known about the perception of business lecturers regarding the subject of entrepreneurship, dominant pedagogy, their commitment to teaching and institutional support. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Considering this, the study was carried out with structured questionnaire among 232 lecturers of business management from selected management schools of these three South Asian countries, India, Singapore and Malaysia. In response to chief objective of the study, i.e. commitment of lecturers to teach entrepreneurship, it was found that almost 85 per cent of the respondents have shown that they feel fully committed to teach entrepreneurship and almost 35 per cent of the respondents feel that they will be unwilling to exchange current entrepreneurship teaching for teaching in other subjects. In the same vein, almost 50 per cent of the lecturers agree that their institution is keen to develop entrepreneurship education. However, in relation to training and staff development, it is found that almost 38 per cent of the lecturers have not received such a support. The study provides insight about the level of commitment that business lecturers depict to teach entrepreneurship and resources provided to them by their institute to engage in entrepreneurship education

Entrepreneurial-intention constraint model: A comparative analysis among post-graduate management students in India, Singapore and Malaysia

YesAlthough literature on entrepreneurship has increasingly focused on intention-based models, not much emphasis has been laid on understanding the combined effect of contextual and situational factors along with support of university environment on the formation of entrepreneurial intention among students. In an effort to make up for this shortfall, by taking Theory of Planned Behavior as basic framework, the present study seeks to understand the influence of three of the most important factors, viz. (a) endogenous barriers, (b) exogenous environment, and (c) university environment and support on the entrepreneurial intention among management students. The study sample consisted of 1,097 students, wherein 526 students were from India, 252 from Singapore, and 319 were from Malaysia. The results indicates that along with positive attitude and perceived behavioral control that directly influences entrepreneurial intention, university environment and support and exogenous environment also have an indirect but significant impact on shaping of entrepreneurial intention among students. With this, it was found that exogenous environment was found to have a negative relationship with both attitude towards behavior and perceived behavioral control for all three countries.The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 2 Jun 2018

Mapping hotel brand positioning and competitive landscapes by text-mining user-generated content

YesThis study uncovers hotel brand positioning and competitive landscape mapping by text-mining user-generated content (UGC). Rather than relying on a single dimension of consumer evaluation, the current study detects brand attributes by using both customer preferences as well as perceptual performance to develop meaningful insights. For this, the study combines content analysis and repertory grid analysis (RGA) to answer three key research issues. 111,986 hotel reviews from two biggest Chinese cities are used to explore and visualize the competitive landscape of six selected hotel brands across three hotel categories. Findings from the study will not only advance the existing literature on brand positioning and competitive landscape mapping but also help practitioners in developing brand positioning strategies to fight competitors within and across hotel categories

Effects of organisational, individual and contextual factors on employees’ intentions to adopt green practices

Building on the perspectives of the theory of planned behaviour, behaviour spillover, and social bond, this study develops and tests an integrative framework that explores the linkages between hotel employees’ organisational commitment (OC) and pro-environmental behaviour in the home (PEBH) as key antecedents affecting their intention to adopt green practices in the workplace (IGPW). We further examine the moderating role played by green organisational climate (GOC). Empirical results from 407 Malaysian hotel employees show that employees’ PEBH enhances IGPW via attitude and perceived behavioural control (PBC); OC positively affects intention mediated only by attitude, and GOC strengthens the effect of OC on PBC. These findings provide novel evidence concerning the importance of the contextual and organisational environment in shaping employees’ green behaviour

Assessment of heavy metal content in suspended particulate matter of coastal industrial town, Mithapur, Gujarat, India

Heavy metal concentrations in suspended particulate matter (SPM) were investigated for their distribution and source in the atmosphere of coastal industrial town, Mithapur, Gujarat, India. SPM, at 10 locations covering three seasons, were trapped on glass fibre filters using high volume samplers and quantification of metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) was done using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry employing HNO3 based wet digestion. Results show relatively low concentrations of SPM (211.3 to 375.2 μg/m3) compared to National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), specified By Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB, India), however, they were 2–3 times higher as compared to reference site. Among the heavy metals Cr, Mn and Pb levels were low, while Ni and Cd found to be exceeding the USEPA standards. The metal levels were also compared with those reported for other rural, coastal, industrial and urban parts around the world. Enrichment Factor analysis indicated that Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni were highly enriched relative to their crustal ratios (to Fe) and correspond to substantial contribution of anthropogenic source of these metals. The source identification was carried out by principal component analysis by applying a Varimax Rotated Component Matrix

Occurrence and distribution of selected heavy metals and boron in groundwater of the Gulf of Khambhat region, Gujarat, India

The concentration of selected heavy metals, like As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn as well as B, was measured by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES) in groundwater samples from various locations in the Gulf of Khambhat (GoK), an inlet of the Arabian Sea in the state of Gujarat, India, during postmonsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon seasons in a year. Most heavy elements are characterized by low mobility under slightly alkaline and reducing conditions; concentrations in confined aquifers are smaller than the maximum permissible values for drinking water. The temporal changes indicate that a majority of metals is entering the aquifer during monsoon. Principle component analysis of the heavy metal data suggests that Co, Cu, Cd, and Zn are interrelated with each other and derived significantly from anthropogenic route, while input of Pb and Cr may be due to atmospheric deposition in the study area. Both weathering of rocks and anthropogenic input were found to be main sources of elements in the groundwater. The heavy metal levels in groundwaters of the GoK region in comparison with some of the European and Asian sites were higher; however, these metal levels were found to be comparable with few urban sites in the world