scholarly journals Diversity and inclusion depend on effective engagement

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 21-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandana Sanyal ◽  
Doirean Wilson ◽  
Charlotte Sweeney ◽  
Jude Smith Rachele ◽  
Satwant Kaur ◽  
...  

Purpose – Highlights some of the things that can be done to ensure that organizations embed diversity and inclusion. Design/methodology/approach – Considers the need for effective engagement, the importance of performance indicators for diversity and inclusion and the key role of sharing stories. Discusses, too, how critical race theory could help to bring about improvements. Findings – Advances the view that a transformational process that supports employees with the knowledge and sustainable skills needed to improve business performance via ethical means will form a significant part of future-proofing organizations. Practical implications – Argues that, to achieve this organizations have to drive home the message that diversity and inclusion are everyone’s business. Social implications – Advances the view that a unified approach to diversity and inclusion, which is embedded in the business ethics of the organization, can have a sustainable positive impact on the health and well-being of individuals, business and society. Originality/value – Considers diversity and inclusion from diverse perspectives and draws conclusions that can help organizations to perform better in these areas.

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 411-431
Author(s):  
Benlu Hai ◽  
Qingzhu Gao ◽  
Ximing Yin ◽  
Jin Chen

Purpose Significant increase or decrease in research and development (R&D) expenditure may have an immense impact on market value. Based on the punctuated equilibrium theory, this paper aims to empirically analyze the impact of R&D volatilities on market value and the moderating effect of executive overconfidence. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the panel data set that covers 902 Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share manufacturing listed firms and multiple regression method to test the theoretical hypotheses. Findings The results show that both positive and negative R&D volatilities have a robust and significant positive impact on the market value. Further analysis shows that the executive overconfidence positively moderates the relationship between R&D volatilities and market value. Research limitations/implications In a rapidly changing and highly competitive environment, firms should recognize that the balance of innovation strategies will help to bring higher market value. Furthermore, firms could improve corporate governance to make the best of managerial characteristics, such as overconfidence, on the innovation decision-making process. Originality/value By pushing the static perspective to a dynamic perspective and empirically documenting the role of executive overconfidence, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between R&D expenditure and market value, generating theoretical and practical insights for firms to improve innovation governance and innovation strategies to achieve better business performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory Francis Mulcahy ◽  
Nadia Zainuddin ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the use of gamification and serious games as transformative technologies that encourage health and well-being behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the transformative value that can be created by gamified apps and serious games and the role involvement plays between transformative value and desired outcomes.Design/methodology/approachFour gamified apps/serious games were examined in the study, with data collected from N = 497 participants. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results revealed that gamified apps and serious games can create three transformative value dimensions – knowledge, distraction, and simulation – which can have direct and indirect effects on desired outcomes. Examination of competing models revealed involvement plays a mediating rather than a moderating role for gamification and serious games for well-being.Originality/valueThis research contributes greater understanding of how technology can be leveraged to deliver transformative gamification services. It demonstrates the multiple transformative value dimensions that can be created by gamified apps and serious games, which assist the performance of well-being behaviors and which have yet to be theorized or empirically examined. The study also establishes the mediating rather than the moderating role of involvement in gamification and serious games, as called for in the literature.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Argyle ◽  
Tony Kelly

Purpose – Recent years have seen the advocacy of person-centred approaches to dementia care. An important component of this approach has been the use of arts in the promotion of health and well-being. However, relatively little attention has been given to the barriers and facilitators experienced in trying to implement these types of interventions in a dementia care setting. It is therefore, the purpose of this paper is to help to redress this neglect by examining the process of implementing a personalised musical intervention for the clients of a specialist dementia home care service. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on interviews with five project stakeholders, the paper examines, not only the potential benefits to be gained from the musical intervention but also identifies the barriers experienced in its implementation and ways in which they could be overcome. Findings – It was found that although the musical intervention had a potentially positive impact, there were multi-levelled barriers to its implementation including issues of training, leadership as well as contextual issues such as commissioning and resourcing more generally. Originality/value – The key role played by these issues in the process of implementation suggests that practice should transcend its focus on individual wellbeing and address the wider factors that can facilitate or prevent its fulfilment. While the multi-levelled nature of the obstacles identified suggest that the implementation of innovative interventions within health and social care settings should adopt a similarly eclectic approach.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardeep Chahal ◽  
R.C. Dangwal ◽  
Swati Raina

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to examine the synergistic impact of marketing orientation (MO) and strategic orientation (SO) on business performance (BP) and to explore role of entrepreneurial qualification (moderating) and SO (mediating) in MO and BP relationship. Design/methodology/approach Nine hundred small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owners/managers operating in Jammu District, North India, are contacted during October 2013 to February 2014. Findings The study identifies and confirms MO (marketing strategy, customer philosophy, operational efficiency and integrated marketing) and SO (defensive, proactive, analytical and risk-averse) as multi-dimensional constructs. Although both orientations have positive impact on SMEs performance, however, their synergistic impact is weak. In addition, the study also reveals that MO has direct and indirect impact (through SO) on BP. Lastly, there exists moderating role of entrepreneurial qualification between MO and SO. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of the study is the focus on SMEs. Based on the strength of the relationships among the dimensions and sub-dimensions of the MO, SO and BP, replication and validation of research in service sector across the country and globe is required to generalise the results and to develop stronger theory. Originality/value This is the first empirical study to investigate the synergistic impact of two well-established notions – MO and SO. It provides empirical evidence for the claim that synergistic impact of marketing and SO on BP is weak, unlike their respective strong impact on BP. This study also clarifies roles of entrepreneurial qualification and SO in MO and BP relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Susana León-Jiménez

Friendship has been studied along centuries, since ancient times to present-day, as the basis of the social cornerstone, present at all stages of the lifespan and belonging to the world of truthful sentiments. Benefits of friendship on health have been demonstrated. Less is known about the role of friendship on seniors. The aim of this case study has been to show how the end friendship developed in an adults’ school operating for more than 40 years in Barcelona is having a positive impact on the well-being and health of their participants. Through the communicative discussion group, we have deepened in the trajectories of some of the school participants. The results show how participation in the school and the dialogic gatherings have contributed to the emergence of a non-instrumental friendship feeling and to consider an impact on the perceived general wellness and health and an improvement of their life quality. It is discussed how this research provides more elements to the existing literature. More research on how other communitarian environments have similar effects on this population, or on the impact of these dialogical spaces in the development of end friendships in other stages of the life cycle would be of interest.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richa Chaudhary

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether, how, and when authentic leadership shapes followers' perceptions of meaningfulness at work. Using authentic leadership theory, we posit that authentic leadership leads to more favorable perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which, in turn, results in enhanced experiences of meaningfulness at work. In addition to studying authentic leadership as a driver of CSR perceptions, and hence meaningfulness, we also examine if followers' attributions of self-centered motives to organizational engagement in CSR moderates the above relationship.Design/methodology/approachIn all, 368 employees from Indian IT industry participated in the survey. Data were analyzed using Process (Hayes 2013) in SPSS.FindingsResults supported the hypothesized moderated mediation model by revealing that attribution of self-centered motives undermines the positive impact of authentic leadership on CSR perceptions, and, subsequently, meaningfulness.Practical implicationsBy presenting CSR as a source of meaningfulness at work, this study establishes CSR as an important tool for fostering employee well-being. The internal corporate communication should emphasize how CSR activities of the organization represent core organizational values and organization’s genuine concern for the society.Originality/valueThe study adds to the leadership literature and integrates it with a divergent discipline of CSR by signifying the role of authentic leadership in the CSR process. By presenting a refined analysis of CSR in a developing country, this research expands the understanding of the expression of CSR in markets outside the developed core.


Kybernetes ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Šarotar Žižek ◽  
Matjaž Mulej ◽  
Živa Veingerl Čič

Purpose The aim of this paper is to present a research on how – the extremely necessary – systemic rather than one-sided and short-term behavior can enjoy support from (corporate and individual) social responsibility (SR) enhanced by transformational leadership as a source of success. Design/methodology/approach Based on the previously published empirical research, the authors use qualitative research methodology including desk and informal field research, the Dialectical Systems Theory and its law of requisite holism. Findings The entire humankind is in big trouble and facing the danger of the Third World War resulting from the “war against terrorism” proclaimed in USA in 2002 and making close to 100 million persons need relief aid; this situation is because of monopolies in the global economy, both business and government monopolies. Application of knowledge that might be able to solve the problem depends on values, culture, ethics and norms that prevail in all/any entities from families via corporations and other organizations, countries, international entities (such as European Union) to the entire world and humankind (and its United Nations Organization). The most influential of all of them are the corporations, hence, their corporate governance and strategic management. Hence, they should urgently implement SR principles and methods supporting its realization instead of the prevailing short-term and one-sided criteria of right and wrong, for clear and proven economic reasons; satisfied and healthy people are causing much less cost and trouble than strikes, medical care, renewal of safe natural environment, wars, unhappy/abused partners, etc. Research limitations/implications The hypothesis is researched to the greatest extent possible, with qualitative analysis in desk and field research. Quantitative methodological approach took place in the cited previous publications. Practical implications For humankind and managers, the use of the transformational leadership is very important because of its positive impact on health and well-being of employees and, hence, on humankind’s survival in the current global socio-economic crisis. Social implications Good health and well-being of employees reduce many societal troubles and related cost resulting otherwise from the too short-term and narrow-minded behavior of managers and employees, potentially their families as well, all way to tens of millions of homeless migrants, killed and injured people, children with no chance for education, etc. Originality/value No similar concept is offered in the available literature.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (11/12) ◽  
pp. 2054-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Cavusoglu ◽  
Melike Demirbag-Kaplan

Purpose Historically, research on perceptions of health either converged upon the meanings created and proposed by specialists in the healthcare industry or focused on people who have medical conditions. This approach has failed to capture how the meanings and notions of health have been evolving as medicine extends into non-medical spheres and has left gaps in the exploration of how the meanings surrounding health and well-being are constructed, negotiated and reproduced in lay discourse. This paper aims to fill this gap in the understanding of the perceptions surrounding health by investigating consumers’ digitized visual accounts on social media. Design/methodology/approach Textual network and visual content analyses of posts extracted from Instagram are used to derive conclusions on definitions of health and well-being as perceived by healthy lay individuals. Findings Research demonstrates that digital discourse of health is clustered around four F’s, namely, food, fitness, fashion and feelings, which can be categorized with respect to their degrees of representation on a commodification/communification versus bodily/spiritual well-being map. Originality/value Our knowledge about the meanings of health as constructed and reflected by healthy lay people is very limited and even more so about how these meaning-making processes is realized through digital media. This paper contributes to theory by integrating consumers’ meaning-making literature into health perceptions, as well as investigating the role of social networks in enabling a consumptionscape of well-being. Besides a methodological contribution of using social network analysis on textual data, this paper also provides valuable insights for policy-makers, communicators and professionals of health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1069-1088
Author(s):  
Xinran Lehto ◽  
Dori Davari ◽  
Soona Park

Purpose This study aims to provide a fresh perspective toward understanding the forces that exist in the guest-host dynamic and thereby contribute to the guest–host relationship literature. Design/methodology/approach This study examines guest–host relationship via the philosophical lens of convivialism. Findings This study conceptualizes conviviality in the guest–host relationship. A convivial guest–host relationship is characterized by well-being mutuality and hospitality mutuality. Such a relation can be built when the guest and the host form a tri-party of coalitions, namely, economic, experience and hospitality. While an economic coalition represents the pragmatic value in a guest–host relationship, an experience coalition represents an experiential value in a guest–host relationship. A hospitality coalition then represents the spiritual alliance in such a relationship. Practical implications This paper suggests that tourism development should be guided by a conviviality vision. Health and well-being of both the visitors and the destination community should be a goal priority. This paper suggests that the starting point of experience planning is the residents, not the visitors. The critical role of hospitality in formulating market communication strategies is emphasized. Social implications This study contributes to the larger conversation of diversity and sustainability. Originality/value This study proposes a convivial tourism model – a form of tourism that is oriented toward mutuality of hospitality and well-being of both visitors and destination communities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre G. Snyder ◽  
Kevin P. Newman

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of belonging to brand communities in improving consumer well-being and brand evaluations. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were conducted. Study 1 manipulates the framing of a brand to be either socially- or product-oriented and measures brand community joining intentions based on underlying levels of consumer loneliness and need to belong. Study 2 manipulates feelings of belongingness with a brand community and measures its impact on relatedness satisfaction, state loneliness and brand evaluations. Findings Study 1 finds that lonely consumers with a high need to belong are more likely to express intentions to join a brand community when it is socially-oriented. Study 2 finds that belonging to a brand community improves relatedness satisfaction which, in turn, reduces state loneliness and improves brand evaluations. Practical implications This research has significant implications for marketing practitioners who are looking to foster relationships among consumers in the form of brand communities, especially given the positive impact of these communities on consumer well-being. These findings suggest that marketers should create brand communities that foster a social (rather than product) focus to create a sense of belongingness with the brand and among its community members, and that doing so can improve relatedness satisfaction needs and reduce consumer loneliness. Originality/value This research contributes to the growing literature on consumer loneliness and is among the first to identify the positive psychological outcomes of socially-oriented brand communities on loneliness.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document