scholarly journals Revival of traditional best practices for rangeland restoration under climate change in the dry areas

Author(s):  
Azaiez Ouled Belgacem ◽  
Farah Ben Salem ◽  
Mouldi Gamoun ◽  
Roukaya Chibani ◽  
Mounir Louhaichi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of reintroducing traditional grazing systems practices for improving arid rangelands. Grazing is the most extensive land use in southern Tunisia, but the rangelands have suffered many decades of severe degradation due to profound socioeconomic changes and the emergence of an agro-pastoral society in place of the former pastoral one. Traditional grazing systems (gdel and herd mobility), which had historically allowed for grazing deferment and control of grazing livestock were abandoned. Yet grazing management strategies are important tools to sustain integrated livestock rangeland production systems in dry areas in the face of ongoing climate change and human pressure. Design/methodology/approach This study assesses the revival of traditional best practices of rangeland resting in a representative community. Total plant cover, species composition, flora richness and range production were determined in six rangeland sites subjected respectively to one, two and three years of rest; one and two years of light grazing after rest; and free grazing (control). Findings Results showed that dry rangelands keep their resilience to the negative effects of climate change once human pressure is controlled. A maximum of two years of rest is enough to sustainably manage the rangelands in southern Tunisia, as this protection showed considerable and positive effects on the parameters scored. Originality/value The revival of the traditional best practices under new arrangements adapted to current biophysical and socioeconomic conditions would be an excellent tool to mitigate the negative effects of frequent droughts and reduce the animal feed costs that poor farmers face.

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuchih Ernest Chang ◽  
Anne Yenching Liu ◽  
Sungmin Lin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate privacy boundaries and explores employees’ reactions in employee monitoring. Design/methodology/approach – The research used the metaphor of boundary turbulence in the Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory to demonstrate the psychological effect on employees. The model comprised organizational culture, CPM, trust, and employee performance in employee monitoring to further investigated the influence exerted by organizational culture and how employees viewed their trust within the organization when implementing employee monitoring. Variables were measured empirically by administrating questionnaires to full-time employees in organizations that currently practice employee monitoring. Findings – The findings showed that a control-oriented organizational culture raised communication privacy turbulence in CPM. The communication privacy turbulence in CPM mostly had negative effects on trust in employee monitoring policy, but not on trust in employee monitoring members. Both trust in employee monitoring policy and trust in employee monitoring members had positive effects on employee commitment and compliance to employee monitoring. Research limitations/implications – This research applied the CPM theory in workplace privacy to explore the relationship between employees’ privacy and trust. The results provide insights of why employees feel psychological resistance when they are forced to accept the practice of employee monitoring. In addition, this study explored the relationship between CPM and trust, and offer support and verification to prior studies. Practical implications – For practitioners, the findings help organizations to improve the performance of their employees and to design a more effective environment for employee monitoring. Originality/value – A research model was proposed to study the impacts of CPM on employee monitoring, after a broad survey on related researches. The validated model and its corresponding study results can be referenced by organization managers and decision makers to make favorable tactics for achieving their goals of implementing employee monitoring.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Denni Arli ◽  
Fandy Tjiptono

PurposeReligious doctrines generally encourage people to behave ethically. However, in daily life, individuals notice inconsistencies between religious beliefs and behavior, leading them to ask, in the context of commerce, why religious consumers would behave unethically. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of consumers' intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity on their ethical behavior. Specifically, the moderating effect of ethical ideology on the relationship between Indonesian consumers' religiosity and their ethics was examined by means of a survey.Design/methodology/approachThe data derived from the questionnaire were complemented by convenience samples of Indonesians living in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY) in central Java. The researchers distributed 600 questionnaires in two major shopping malls and several housing areas in the region, of which 467 were completed and returned, for an overall response rate of 77.8%.FindingsThe results indicated that the participants' intrinsic religiosity negatively impacted their ethical beliefs and was mediated by their idealistic ethical ideology. The present study also found that idealism had negative effects on three of the four dimensions of the consumer ethics scale (CES) (actively benefiting, passively benefiting and questionable behavior), while relativism had positive effects on two of the dimensions (passively benefiting and questionable behavior.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation of the present study was that the analysis did not distinguish among the religions practiced by the respondents to the questionnaire.Originality/valueThis is one of the first few studies investigating the mediating role of ethical ideology in a religious society. This study contributes to the literature on these issues in theoretical and managerial terms by extending the Hunt-Vitell theory (1986) to the context of consumer ethics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Sloan ◽  
Willy Legrand ◽  
Claudia Simons-Kaufmann

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report on preliminary research conducted in seven sustainable hospitality and tourism operations set in developing economies which use the principles of social entrepreneurship. The applicability of community-based social entrepreneurial management systems as a means of fostering socio-economic development is analysed. Design/methodology/approach – Online contacts were first made with the selected destinations, who were asked to supply written reports on selected criteria. Purposive sampling was employed, whereby the criteria chosen for analysis were based on characteristics believed to be representative. Analysis of the reports was based on the meaning of words, in particular, in finding commonalities and differences in themes approached by each respondent. Findings – Preliminary conclusions show that the positive effects of employing local indigenous people in these projects far outweigh some negative aspects. Employment possibilities leading to improved living standards have resulted in each case. Local cultural traditions have been maintained and only in a few cases were examples of the negative effects of tourism reported. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research are limited to a small selection of community-based social entrepreneurial hospitality and tourism projects in developing economies, thus, cannot be applied to similar projects in developed economies, where social and economic factors are considerably different. Originality/value – In developing economies, social entrepreneurs can draw on the success of the projects analysed in this paper for the creation of new, similar ventures. In developed economies, hospitality and tourism businesses wishing to pursue a more socially caring form of development can gain inspiration.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyeong Han ◽  
Jeewhan Yoon ◽  
Woojae Choi ◽  
Gyehoon Hong

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between shared leadership and team performance at the team level. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the authors examine whether shared leadership is associated with team performance through team positive psychological capital (PsyCap). This study further examines whether task-oriented and relationship-oriented shared leadership affect team performance differently.Design/methodology/approachMulti-source survey data were obtained from 92 team leaders and 319 employees. An aggregation approach was used to analyze the data at the team level.FindingsA high level of shared leadership positively influences team performance through the mediation of team PsyCap. Moreover, relationship-oriented shared leadership is positively associated with team performance through team PsyCap, while task-oriented shared leadership is negatively associated with team performance without the mediating effect of team PsyCap.Practical implicationsBy focusing on the negative effects of task-oriented shared leadership and the positive effects of relationship-oriented shared leadership and team PsyCap on team performance, this study suggests new ways to manage team performance effectively and extends shared leadership literature.Originality/valueThis study applied COR theory to analyze the effect of shared leadership mediated by team PsyCap on team performance. It contributes to shared leadership literature by shedding light on the negative effects of task-oriented shared leadership and on the positive aspects of relationship-oriented shared leadership.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melek Akın Ateş ◽  
Huriye Memiş

PurposeThis paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 209 firms listed in the Capital Top 500 Firms of Turkey. Measurement properties were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis, and the conceptual model was tested via hierarchical regression analysis. A supplementary analysis based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted to provide further insights on the survey findings.FindingsRegarding structural SBC, the results suggest that horizontal complexity and supplier interaction improve purchasing performance, but only in firms with high strategic purchasing. By contrast, spatial complexity reduces purchasing performance in firms with high strategic purchasing, while supplier differentiation does not have any effect. Regarding dynamic SBC, the results show that both delivery complexity and supplier instability reduce purchasing performance when firms have low strategic purchasing. Interviews further suggest that firms with high strategic purchasing leverage the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of SBC by having a long-term focus, considering multiple performance criteria and adopting advanced purchasing practices.Practical implicationsIn contrast to what is widely posited in the existing literature, the nuanced findings of this study reveal that complexity is not always detrimental. The results suggest that practitioners should aim for high levels of strategic purchasing to suppress the negative effects of SBC while leveraging its benefits.Originality/valueBy investigating the contingency role of strategic purchasing, this study provides novel insights into the under-investigated issue of how to best “manage” SBC.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kronenwett ◽  
Thomas Rigotti

PurposeDrawing from both the transactional theory of stress and the conservation of resources theory, this paper sets out to investigate the role of demand-specific challenge and hindrance appraisal of emotional demands, as well as time pressure and perceived goal progress within the challenge–hindrance framework.Design/methodology/approachFor this research, 91 employees provided daily diary data for one working week. Focusing on within-persons effects, multilevel moderated mediation models using multilevel path analyses were applied.FindingsBoth emotional demands and time pressure exert positive effects on work engagement when people expect resource gain (challenge appraisal), independent of actual resource gain (achievement). Furthermore, results show that goal progress buffers negative effects of perceived blocked resource gain (hindrance appraisal) on both emotional and motivational well-being.Originality/valueThis research proposes an extension and refinement of the challenge–hindrance stressor framework to explain health-impairing and motivational processes of emotional demands and time pressure, combining reasoning from both appraisal and resource theory perspectives. The study identifies demand-specific challenge and hindrance appraisals as mediators linking demands to emotional and motivational well-being, emphasizing the influence of goal progress as a resource on these relations.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Mansur ◽  
Bruno Felix

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how positive affectivity (PA) moderates the indirect effects of positive and negative career shocks – unplanned and often unexpected external events whose effects cannot be anticipated or countered – on thriving via career adaptability.Design/methodology/approachThe authors empirically tested the moderated mediation model with a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The study was performed with a valid sample of professionals who had experienced work-related career shocks.FindingsThe results indicated that career adaptability mediated the effects of positive and negative career shocks on thriving. In addition, the slope of the relationship between negative shocks and adaptability became positive for high levels of PA. The authors also found an indirect effect of negative career shocks on thriving at all levels of PA and importantly, when PA was high, the effects of negative shocks on thriving became positive.Practical implicationsIndividuals may use emotional reappraisal strategies to counter negative feelings that accompany negative events to mitigate the negative effects of such events. By strengthening their positivity, individuals facilitate their own perception of shocks, thereby minimizing the possibility of a decrease in adaptability resources.Originality/valueThis paper advances understanding of those mechanisms through which negative shocks lead to positive effects that can help individuals improve their career adaptability and thrive.


Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 2138-2149
Author(s):  
Murat Guven ◽  
Eyup Calik ◽  
Basak Cetinguc ◽  
Bulent Guloglu ◽  
Fethi Calisir

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of flight delays, distance, number of passengers and seasonality on revenue in the Turkish air transport industry. Design/methodology/approach The domestic return routes of a Turkish airline company were examined to address this issue. Among five cities and six airports, 14 major domestic return routes were selected. The augmented mean group (AMG) estimator and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimator were conducted with a two-way fixed effects (FE) robustness test in this study. Findings The results show that arrival flight delay and departure flight delay had negative effects on revenue, whereas the distance between airports, the number of air passengers and seasonality had positive effects on revenue. Research limitations/implications The data used in this study were retrieved from a Turkish airline company; for future research, other airline companies operating in Turkey may be included. Practical implications These findings could be evaluated by air transportation leaders to provide a guide to make strategic decisions to achieve greater performance in this competitive environment. Originality/value The originality of the paper comes from the facts that besides distance and number of passengers, the authors control for the seasonality when assessing the effects of flight delay on revenue; they use panel data techniques, which permit them to control for individual heterogeneity, and create more variability, more efficiency and less collinearity among the variables; they use two recent panel data techniques, CCEMG and AMG, allowing for cross-section dependence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Verma Gakhar ◽  
Abhijit Phukon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review several influential empirical studies that examine the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The paper undertakes a citation analysis of journals, authors and titles in the area of privatization and firm performance in general, and assesses the impact of privatization on the performance of SOEs in particular. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on a systematic and structured review of over 100 papers published in economics, public management, business strategy and related social sciences. The systematic review is based on citation analysis of journals, authors and titles. The journal and author citation counts were tabulated by leveraging the databases of SCImago Journal Rankings and Google Scholar and filtered it to find out the most highly cited journals and authors. The structured review is based on the framing opinion with respect to major findings, variables selected, measurement techniques and statistical tools applied by different researchers. The impact is measured through coding a value “P” in case of positive effects, “N” in case of negative effects and “NT” in case the study found both positive and negative effects. Findings The citation analysis reveals that American Economic Review, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies and Journal of Finance as the top-cited journals, and Megginson and Netter (3,468), Megginson et al. (1,737), Djankov and Murrell (1,356), Boardman and Vining (1,320), Balsam et al. (1,094) and DeWenter and Malatesta (1,018) as the top-cited authors in this particular research field. While majority research studies have revealed a significant improvement in the performance of SOEs in the post-privatization period, few studies have reserved their impact as neutral or even negative in some respects. Originality/value Given that economic transitions, corporate governance, and performance of SOEs have attracted a great attention from public management and business strategy scholars in recent years, this paper aims to summarize a large number of empirical studies that examine the performance of SOEs. The paper would be useful to future researchers especially the beginners and early career researchers in terms of its current trends, selection of variables, measurement techniques and statistical tools applied.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inocencia María Martínez-León ◽  
Isabel Olmedo-Cifuentes ◽  
M. Eugenia Sanchez-Vidal

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of work-life balance (WLB) practices on the financial results of Spanish accounting audit SMEs.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data from 148 Spanish accounting audit SMEs, a regression analysis was developed to estimate the direct effects of WLB practices on firms’ financial results (return on capital employed and return on assets). Firm age and size are considered as control variables.FindingsSenior managers should foster some WLB practices (time-reduction and flexible-work practices) so as to enhance SME audit firms’ financial results. Work-leave practices should be analyzed so as to promote some positive outcomes for firms, through internal reorganization or by reorienting employees to resorting to the most beneficial practices.Practical implicationsNot all WLB practices have positive effects on the business results of SMEs. Therefore, managers may try to reduce these negative effects or redirect employees to WLB practices that have more positive effects on their firms’ financial results. Strategic information is also provided to employees and public institutions about fostering WLB in SMEs.Social implicationsThe availability of WLB practices has been deemed fundamental not only for policy makers and society, but also for the organizational culture and for human resource management practices.Originality/valueThis study is the first to investigate the association between the availability of WLB initiatives in SMEs and firms’ financial results.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document