Communicating customer-CSR expectations on corporate websites: an analysis of the banking industry in the United Arab Emirates

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore customer-corporate social responsibility (-CSR) expectations communicated on the corporate websites of the banking sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and identify patterns based on origin, ownership structure and compliance to Sharia law. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative content analysis of 28 bank corporate websites was conducted using Perez and del Bosque\u27s (2012) bank customers\u27 CSR scale which identifies five relevant dimensions of CSR: (1) customers, (2) investors, (3) employees, (4) community and (5) general interest groups, such as governments, regulatory bodies, NGOs and the media. Findings The findings indicate that the most frequently communicated customer CSR expectations are general interest, customer- and community-oriented, with employee-related concerns being the least addressed. Global banks prioritize general concerns, regarding their legal and ethical responsibilities while domestic banks appear more customer-centric. None of the Islamic banks address their responsibility to the environment. Originality/value The paper contributes to the increasing number of studies conducted on CSR communication in emerging economies, and more specifically, to the dynamic yet underexplored market of the UAE. It provides scholars and practitioners with insights into the interplay of globalization, organizational characteristics and national influence on CSR communication through corporate websites, one of the most useful tools organizations can utilize to reach their customers and the wider public

The role of proficiency, speaking habits and error-tolerance in the self-repair behaviour of Emirati EFL learners

The main objective of the present paper is to shed light on the role of proficiency, error-tolerance and speaking habits in EFL speakers\u27 self-repair behaviour. Thus far, research studies on selfrepairs have not consistently identified the factors that contribute to EFL learners\u27 self-repair behaviour during unrehearsed oral speech. In this study, self-repair behaviour was defined as the frequency and types of overt self-repairs as well as the rate of successful grammatical and lexical error-repairs. Speaking habits were considered on the basis of the aspects that speakers tend to focus more on while speaking (i.e. fluency, accuracy or precision of expression), while errortolerance was operationalised as a) level of embarrassment when making errors in oral speech, b) level of irritation when others make mistakes while speaking EFL and c) perceptions of an ideal L2 speakers. The results showed that lower-intermediate participants performed more rephrasing repairs than their elementary counterparts. In addition, participants\u27 perceptions of the ideal L2 speaker were found to contribute to a greater amount of self-repairs. The main findings show that increased proficiency contributes to qualitative differences in L2 self-repair behaviour while the frequency of self-repairs seems to depend on L2 speakers\u27 perceptions of an ideal L2 speaker. Thus, self-repairing is not an exclusive linguistic or psycholinguistic phenomenon but a decision associated with personal beliefs about self-repairing and speaking in L2

Exploring strategic CSR communication on UAE banks\u27 corporate websites

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Communicating CSR through corporate websites is one of the most effective ways for organizations to inform and engage stakeholders, earn legitimacy and reap the intangible and tangible benefits of practicing CSR. However, in emerging economies in the Middle East, online CSR disclosure remains limited while corporate websites are not used effectively as strategic tools. This study explores online CSR communication (CSRC) by banks in the dynamic, emerging economy of the United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses an adaptation of the analytical framework used by Chaudhri and Wang (2007) to examine the prominence and extent of the CSR information on the corporate websites of domestic and global banks in the UAE. It further compares domestic and global banks\u27 CSRC patterns as well as domestic/government-owned versus private banks and conventional versus Islamic banks. Findings: About 70% of the domestic banks in the UAE provide information about their CSR activities. CSR information is moderately to highly prominent for the majority of the domestic banks, but the extent of the information presented is minimal (1–2 pages). Domestic/government-owned and conventional banks communicate their CSR more prominently and extensively than private and Islamic banks. Domestic/government-owned banks tend to follow the CSRC patterns observed in global banks. Originality/value: Despite the increasingly important role of the United Arab Emirates within the Middle East as well as on the global business arena, very little is known about whether and how companies in the country approach CSR. This is the first study focusing on CSRC within the entirety of a single business sector within the United Arab Emirates

Religious affiliation and religiosity: do Islamic appeals in advertising lead to higher purchase intentions among Muslim consumers in Dubai?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether including an Islamic appeal in a culture-neutral product advertisement has a positive effect on consumer attitudes to the advertisement leading to higher purchase intentions while considering religious affiliation and religiosity as moderating factors of the relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Conditional process analysis was applied to examine the mediation of the relationship between ad version and purchase intention through attitude to the advertisement as well as the moderating role of religious affiliation and religiosity among 819 consumers within the Dubai market. Findings: The analysis in this paper revealed that including an Islamic appeal in an advertisement does not have a positive effect on attitude to the advertisement or purchase intention, neither for Muslim consumers in general nor for Muslim consumers with high levels of religiosity. Conversely, including an Islamic appeal has a significant negative effect on the purchase intentions of Christian consumers within the Dubai market, as well as on those consumers who did not state their religious affiliation. Research limitations/implications: Marketers should reconsider the use of Islamic appeals in product advertising, especially in relation to the promotion of culture-free products within diverse expatriate populations such as that represented by the Emirate of Dubai. Originality/value: This study sheds light on the underexplored role of religious affiliation and religiosity in relationship to consumer behavior within the field of Islamic marketing in a major retail hub in the Middle East

Investigating Executive Working Memory and Phonological Short-Term Memory in Relation to Fluency and Self-Repair Behavior in L2 Speech

This paper reports the findings of a study investigating the relationship of executive working memory (WM) and phonological short-term memory (PSTM) to fluency and self-repair behavior during an unrehearsed oral task performed by second language (L2) speakers of English at two levels of proficiency, elementary and lower intermediate. Correlational analyses revealed a negative relationship between executive WM and number of pauses in the lower intermediate L2 speakers. However, no reliable association was found in our sample between executive WM or PSTM and self-repair behavior in terms of either frequency or type of self-repair. Taken together, our findings suggest that while executive WM may enhance performance at the conceptualization and formulation stages of the speech production process, self-repair behavior in L2 speakers may depend on factors other than working memory

How sorry are you? Intensified apologies and the mediating role of perceived remorse in corporate crisis communication

This article reports the results of a between-subject experiment investigating the direct and indirect effects of intensified apologies on purchase intent. The study adopts a linguistic approach to apologies and operationalizes them based on Blum-Kulka and Olshtain\u27s (1984) apology framework. The study compares the effectiveness of a simple apology (‘We\u27re sorry’) to four intensified apologies which - in addition to expression of remorse - contain one of the following apology strategies: a) intensification through adverbials, b) admission of guilt, c) offer of repair or d) promise of forbearance. In addition, the study examines the role of perceived remorse as a mediating factor between intensified apologies and purchase intent. Intensified apologies containing adverbials and offer of repair are found to have a positive effect on perceived remorse which, in turn, leads to higher purchase intent. The experiment is the first one in the field of corporate crisis communication to examine the mediating role of perceived remorse in intensified apologies

Effect of calcitriol in FGF-23 levels, in healthy adults, and the dependence on phosphate

Aim: To evaluate the short-term effects of calcitriol and sevelamer hydrochloride on fibroblast growth factor (FGF-23) in humans and to determine whether the effect is direct or indirect through calcitriol-induced increased absorption of phosphorus from the intestine. Participants and Methods: A total of 15 healthy individuals were tested at three time points and stages, for 24 hours and at 1-week intervals. During each stage, blood samples were taken at three time points (0, 8 and 24h); baseline stage: under no intervention; second stage: receiving 0.5 μg calcitriol orally twice daily; and at the third stage: receiving 0.5 μg calcitriol orally twice daily and sevelamer hydrochloride during meals. The changes in FGF-23, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitriol, Ca, and P were determined. Results: During calcitriol administration, the FGF-23 level changed significantly (p=0.008), with the level at 24h being significantly higher than at 8h levels (8.8 pg/ml vs. 13.0 pg/ml, p=0.036). There was statistically significant difference in percentage change, among the three stages, at time 8 to 24 h and 0 to 24 h for FGF-23 (p=0.014 and p=0.015, respectively), with significant differences between baseline vs. calcitriol for 8 to 24h FGF-23 change (−9.23% vs. 26.98%, p=0.003) and a trend between baseline vs. calcitriol (p=0.061) and calcitriol plus sevelamer (p=0.069) for 0 to 24 h FGF-23 change. Conclusion: Administration of calcitriol to healthy humans increases the circulating level of FGF-23 within 24h. Combined calcitriol and sevelamer administration restrains the increase of FGF-23, suggesting that calcitriol-induced increased absorption of phosphate from the intestine might also be involved in the increase of FGF-23.ΣΚΟΠΟΣ: Αξιολογήσαμε σε υγιείς ενήλικες τη βραχυπρόθεσμη επίδραση της καλσιτριόλης και της υδροχλωρικής σεβελαμέρης στον αυξητικό παράγοντα των ινοβλαστών-23 (FGF-23) και επιχειρήσαμε να προσδιορίσουμε αν το αποτέλεσμα είναι άμεσο ή έμμεσο μέσω της επαγόμενης από την καλσιτριόλη αυξημένης απορρόφησης φωσφόρου από το έντερο. ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΣ: 15 υγιή άτομα ελέγχθηκαν σε τρία χρονικά σημεία / στάδια, που διαρκούν 24 ώρες και έχουν χρονική διαφορά μίας εβδομάδας. Κατά τη διάρκεια κάθε σταδίου λήφθηκαν δείγματα αίματος σε τρείς χρονικές στιγμές (0h, 8h και 24h). Πρώτο στάδιο χωρίς καμία παρέμβαση, στο δεύτερο στάδιο έλαβαν από του στόματος καλσιτριόλη 0,5 mcg δύο φορές ημερησίως και στο τρίτο στάδιο τα άτομα έλαβαν από του στόματος καλσιτριόλη 0,5 mcg δύο φορές ημερησίως και υδροχλωρική σεβελαμέρη κατά τη διάρκεια των γευμάτων. Οι μεταβολές σε FGF-23, ΡΤΗ, Calcitriol, Ca και Ρ προσδιορίστηκαν. ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΜΑΤΑ: Η χορήγηση καλσιτριόλης προκάλεσε σημαντική μεταβολή στον FGF-23 (p=0,008), με τα επίπεδα ορού στις 24h να είναι πολύ υψηλότερα απ’ότι στις 8h (8,8 pg/mlέναντι 13,0 pg/ml, p=0,036). Η ποσοστιαία μεταβολή του FGF-23 για τα χρονικά διαστήματανα 0 έως 24h και 8h έως 24h διέφερε μεταξύ των σταδίων (p = 0,015 και p = 0,014, αντίστοιχα) με σημαντική διαφορά στη ποσοστιαία μεταβολή του FGF-23 στις 8h έναντι 24h μεταξύ του σταδίου 1 και σταδίου 2 (-9,23% έναντι 26,98%, p = 0,003) και μια τάση διαφοροποίησης στις 0 έως 24h μεταξύ 1ου και 2ου σταδίου(-12,85% έναντι 21,78%, p = 0,061) και 1ου με 3ο στάδιο (-12,85% έναντι 8,62%, p = 0,069) αντιστοίχως. ΣΥΜΠΕΡΑΣΜΑ: Η χορήγηση καλσιτριόλης σε υγιείς ανθρώπους αυξάνει τα επίπεδα του κυκλοφορούντα FGF-23 μέσα σε 24 ώρες από τη χορήγηση και υπάρχει μία τάση για μεγαλύτερη αύξηση στην ομάδα της καλσιτριόλης σε σχέση με την ομάδα καλσιτριόλη + σεβελαμέρη, υποδηλώνοντας ότι η επαγόμενη από την καλσιτριόλη αυξημένη απορρόφηση του φωσφόρου από το έντερο είναι επίσης υπεύθυνη για την αύξηση του FGF-23

Marketing strategies in communicating CSR in the Muslim market of the United Arab Emirates: insights from the banking sector

Purpose This paper aims to explore the online corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication by domestic and global banks operating in the United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach Through a qualitative content analysis, the study examines the strategies banks use to market their CSR initiatives on their corporate websites. CSR marketing strategies are classified with reference to Kotler and Lee’s (2005) categorization. Findings The analysis indicates that overall, all CSR marketing strategies, as proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005), are used by the domestic UAE banks with the most frequently used being cause-promotion, philanthropy and socially responsible business practices. Government owned and conventional banks display patterns congruent to the communications observed in the global sample. Islamic banks have a less diversified approach relying mostly on philanthropy with only one Islamic bank using four of the six strategies. Originality/value The present study provides insight into how CSR is communicated within one of the largest industries in the fast-growing economy of the UAE. The observations reported here could help corporate communication practitioners and managers in domestic corporations that contribute to the Islamic economy to understand how to benchmark better and to communicate more effectively about their CSR

Investigating Executive Working Memory and Phonological Short-Term Memory in Relation to Fluency and Self-Repair Behavior in L2 Speech

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. This paper reports the findings of a study investigating the relationship of executive working memory (WM) and phonological short-term memory (PSTM) to fluency and self-repair behavior during an unrehearsed oral task performed by second language (L2) speakers of English at two levels of proficiency, elementary and lower intermediate. Correlational analyses revealed a negative relationship between executive WM and number of pauses in the lower intermediate L2 speakers. However, no reliable association was found in our sample between executive WM or PSTM and self-repair behavior in terms of either frequency or type of self-repair. Taken together, our findings suggest that while executive WM may enhance performance at the conceptualization and formulation stages of the speech production process, self-repair behavior in L2 speakers may depend on factors other than working memory