The mediating effect of productivity on profitability in Indian construction firms

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edison Jolly Cyril ◽  
Harish Kumar Singla
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Firm Age ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Effect Of Age

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate the effect of firm age and size on profitability and productivity of construction firms in India. It also attempts to understand the indirect effect of firm age and size on profitability mediated through firm's productivity.Design/methodology/approachData of 64 construction firms, for a period of 12 years (2006–2017), were collected. In order to measure the direct and indirect effect of size and age on profitability and productivity, a structural equation model was developed. In the structural models, productivity is a latent variable measured through proxies of material productivity (MP), labor productivity (LP) and equipment productivity (EP). The profitability is measured using three financial ratios: return on asset (ROA), return on capital employed (ROCE) and return on net worth (RONW). Then the direct and indirect effect of age and size is measured on ROA, ROCE, RONW and productivity.FindingsThe findings of the study suggest that age has a direct negative effect on profitability; however, it has an indirect positive effect on profitability, which is mediated by firm's productivity. This positive indirect effect compensates the direct negative effect and leads to an overall positive effect of firm age on profitability. However, firm size shows no effect on profitability and productivity.Originality/valueTo the best of authors’ knowledge, the study is the first attempt to measure the indirect effect of age and size on profitability, mediated through productivity. The study also examines the interrelationship among firms’ profitability and productivity and bridges an important research gap. The study proposes an integrated theoretical framework with a clear view of the interrelationships among age, size, profitability and productivity for construction firms in India, which can be further tested and validated for generalization.

Effects of contractual flexibility on conflict and project success in megaprojects

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangdong Wu ◽  
Xianbo Zhao ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
George Zillante
Keyword(s):  
Direct Effect ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Project Success ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of contractual flexibility on different types of conflict, determine if contractual flexibility is significantly correlated with project success between contracting parties, verify the mediating effect of project conflicts on the relationship between contractual flexibility and project success and examine the relationship between different types of conflicts and project success in megaprojects. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical model was developed and a structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 468 professionals. The structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data. Findings The results showed that both types of contractual flexibility – term and process flexibility – were correlated with and significantly positively affected project success, and term flexibility was found to have a greater influence. The introduction of project conflicts significantly weakened the relationship between contractual flexibility and project success, verifying the partial mediating effect of conflicts. All types of project conflicts play a destructive role in achieving project success; relationship conflict had the largest negative effect. Contractual flexibility affects two paths with respect to project success: the direct path (contractual flexibility → project success) and the indirect path (contractual flexibility → conflict → project success). The direct effect of contractual flexibility on project success is positive; the corresponding indirect effect is negative. The direct effect is greater than the corresponding indirect effect. Research limitations/implications Different types of conflicts may mutually transform to extent certain degree. However, this study did not address the potential influence of conflict transformation on project success. The results implied that more emphasis should be placed on contractual terms, particularly on developing flexible terms in the contractual document, when implementing megaprojects. Meanwhile, this study reveals the effects of conflicts on project success in megaprojects, which provides a useful reference for project stakeholders to avoid the negative effect of conflicts. Practical implications This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between contractual flexibility, types of conflicts in megaprojects and a reliable reference for the project manager to effectively deal with these related issues. This implies the contracting parties strengthen communication and cooperation to establish a trust mechanism, while reducing the negative influence of project conflicts and enhancing the positive effect of contractual flexibility. Originality/value Few studies have investigated the effects of contractual flexibility on conflict and project success in megaprojects; this study contributes significant theoretical and practical insights to contract management and conflict management and provides a reliable reference to achieve project success.

External technology acquisition, exploitation and process innovation performance in emerging market small and medium sized enterprises: the moderating role of organizational slack

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thammanoon Charmjuree ◽  
Yuosre F. Badir ◽  
Umar Safdar
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Process Innovation ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Acquisition ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Unabsorbed Slack ◽  
Positive Effect

PurposeThis study is among the very few to examine the firm's simultaneous use of both dimensions of open innovation and its influences on the firm's process innovation performance (PIP). Specifically, the authors consider the relationship between firm's external technology acquisition (ETA) and external technology exploitation (ETE) and examine their direct, indirect and mediating effect on the firm's PIP. The authors also examine the moderating effect of the organizations' unabsorbed slack (UASL) on the relationship between ETA and ETE.Design/methodology/approachAnalyzing data collected from 311 small- and medium-sized software development firms in emerging market; Thailand, we show that both ETA and ETE have a positive effect on PIP and that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and PIP.FindingsThe authors show that both ETA and ETE have a positive effect on PIP and that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and PIP. Moreover, the relationship between ETA and ETE is positively moderated by the firms' unabsorbed slack (UASL) and that the influence of ETA on PIP through ETE is stronger under higher unabsorbed slack.Originality/valueThe authors extend the “traditional” performance outcome of outbound dimension of open innovation concept, which focuses exclusively on commercialization and market (Chesbrough, 2003b), by showing that ETE positively influences the firm's PIP. Moreover, the study explains the mechanism through which ETA influence the firm's PIP by proposing that ETE fully mediates the relationship between ETA and PIP.

Bank ownership structure and reputation through sustainability reporting in Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurmadi Harsa Sumarta ◽  
Mugi Rahardjo ◽  
Kingkin Kurnia Trio Satriya ◽  
Edy Supriyono ◽  
Prihatnolo Gandhi Amidjaya
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Family Ownership ◽  
Public Ownership ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Foreign Government ◽  
Bank Ownership ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose This paper aims to find empirical evidence of bank ownership structures on bank reputation through the mediating role of sustainability reporting (SR) in Indonesian banking sector. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses purposive sampling to obtain 279 observations from 43 listed banks in Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2012–2018. This study uses structure equation modelling analysis in the AMOS software and intervening test from the Sobel test to investigate the direct and indirect effect in this research model. Findings The empirical results evidence: foreign, government and public ownership exhibit significant positive effect on SR but not with family ownership; SR positively affects bank reputation; SR appears as a mediator in which foreign, government and public ownership have a positive effect on the bank reputation through the indirect effect of SR while family ownership exhibits insignificant result. Practical implications The practical contribution of this study is that SR is proven to increase bank reputation through the legitimation from the public, so the management must properly pay attention by publishing this report. Originality/value This study provides several novelties to the literature: SR is used as a mediator in the relationships between bank ownership and reputation in which there is very limited studies investigating these aspects, especially in Indonesia. In addition, most SR studies in Indonesia still focus on SR determinants rather than its impact; customer deposits are used as a measurement basis of the bank reputation as it reflects better the trust and perception of the market so that it is relevant with the reputation level.

Reaction of users as potential victims of information security breach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suparak Janjarasjit ◽  
Siew H. Chan
Keyword(s):  
Information Security ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Security Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Intensity ◽  
Good Intention ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
A Company

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether users’ perceived moral affect explains the effect of perceived intensity of emotional distress on responsibility judgment of a perpetrator and company, respectively, in an ill and good intention breach. Design/methodology/approach Participants completed a questionnaire containing items measuring their perceived intensity of emotional distress, perceived moral affect and responsibility judgment of a perpetrator and company, respectively. Findings The results support the mediating hypothesis on responsibility judgment of a perpetrator regardless of intention. The mediating hypothesis is also supported in an ill intention breach in responsibility judgment of a company. However, the mediating effect is not observed in a good intention breach when users assess a company’s responsibility. Originality/value The findings support the notion that users use the consequentialism approach when assessing a perpetrator’s responsibility because they focus on the victims’ emotional distress and discount a perpetrator’s intent, resulting in similar mediating effect of perceived moral affect in an ill and good intention breach. The results also indicate that perceived moral affect increases the negative effect of perceived intensity of emotional distress on responsibility judgment of a company, suggesting that users may exhibit empathetic feelings toward a company and perceive it as a victim of an ill intention breach. The lack of mediating effect in responsibility judgment of a company in a good intention breach may be attributed to the diminished effect of a perpetrator’s feelings of regret, sorrow, guilt and shame for causing emotional distress to the victims.

Financial constraints and marketing investment: evidence from text analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sagarika Mishra ◽  
Mike T. Ewing
Keyword(s):  
Financial Constraints ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Financial Constraint ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Specific Analysis ◽  
Intangible Investments ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Brand Capital ◽  
Intangible Investment

Purpose The purpose of this study to examine the effect of financial constraint on intangible investment because intangible investment provides an overall picture of marketing investment and activity. Intangible investment also plays a significant role in facilitating future sales. Using a new measure of intangible investment (Peters and Taylor, 2017), the authors first establish that intangible investment is positively related with future sales. Then, using a new text-based measure of financial constraint, the authors show that financial constraint has a significant negative effect on future intangible investments after controlling for other factors. Intangible investment has three components. The first is R&D, the second is 30 per cent of selling and general administrative expense (SGA) and the third is other intangibles. The authors find that the negative and significant effect of financial constraint on 30 per cent SGA is stronger. This indicates that financially constrained firms reduce marketing related investments. The authors then considered firm size and found that smaller firms facing financial constraint continue to increase their intangible investments, whereas larger firms reduce their intangible investment. As a robustness test, the authors use advertising expenditure as a measure of promotion related investment and find that financial constraint has a negative effect on advertising spending. The authors then use two traditional measures of financial constraint in their analysis to compare with the new text-based measure. Design/methodology/approach The authors use ordinary least squares with cluster robust standard error to conduct their empirical analysis. Findings First the authors establish that intangible investment positively affects future sales. Further the authors find that financial constraint negatively affects intangible investment. Moreover, financial constraint negatively affects the brand capital of intangible investment. Research limitations/implications The authors did not conduct any industry specific analysis to see how financial constraints affect intangible investment across different industries. Industry specific analysis is important because in some industries/sectors intangibles are clearly more important than in others, so this is an important avenue for future research. It will also be interesting to explore if and how financial constraint has a mediating effect on sales growth via intangible investment and different components of intangibles. Practical implications This study identifies another important factor that can negatively affect brand capital investment. Originality/value The authors have used a measure of financial constraint and text mined all the annual reports of US firms for the period of 1994-2016 to compute this measure.

Dual effect of sensory experience: engagement vs diversive exploration

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-151
Author(s):  
Margarita Lashkova ◽  
Carmen Antón ◽  
Carmen Camarero
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Dual Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sensory Experiences ◽  
Shopping Experience ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the dual effect of sensory experiences on customer behaviour in the context of retailing. Based on the theoretical framework of the optimal stimulation level theory, the authors propose that sensory experiences reinforce satisfaction, engagement and loyalty, but increase customers’ diversive exploration and curiosity for other experiences and may eventually led to reduced loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A self-administrated online questionnaire was distributed via e-mail to 1,000 households in a Spanish town, and 325 usable responses of supermarket customers were collected. The hypothesised relationships were tested using the partial least squares approach. The analysis is extended with an experiment in online fashion stores that explores whether a varied sensory experience reinforces consumers’ diversive exploration. In total, 68 students participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analysis is performed to analyse the results of the experiment. Findings Findings support the notion that a pleasant sensory experience increases customer satisfaction and therefore their engagement and behavioural loyalty (exclusivity) towards the retailer whilst also generating more ambitious consumer expectations vis-à-vis the shopping experience and thus encouraging them to search for new retailers and, so, to be less loyal. Research limitations/implications This research warns of the risk of increasing customer’s expectations and reducing their loyalty; hence satisfaction is not enough. Retailers should consider offering new experiences and surprise customers every so often, attempting to curtail the effect of satiation or the effect of over-arousal. Originality/value The novelty of this study is the proposal of a twofold effect of sensory experience on loyalty, a positive effect, through satisfaction, and a negative effect, through the search for new experiences.

The effect of the moral failure of a foreign brand on competing brands

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 903-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amro A. Maher ◽  
Anusorn Singhapakdi
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moral Failure ◽  
Foreign Brand ◽  
Intention To Purchase ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Foreign Brands ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the moral failure of a scandalized foreign brand afflicted with a product-harm crisis on competing brands (i.e. within the same product category) while taking into account the country of origin (COO) of the brands. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of two studies. The first study uses an experimental design, while the second uses a survey to examine a real-life product-harm crisis. Findings The results indicate that the moral failure of a scandalized foreign brand has an indirect negative effect on the intention to purchase competing foreign brands from the COO of the scandalized foreign brand. This effect is, however, reversed for domestic brands, where moral failure has an indirect positive effect on the intention to purchase competing domestic brands. Research limitations/implications The results of this research were based on an examination of how US consumers responded to the moral failure of Japanese and German brands. Future studies should examine brands from different COOs in different countries. Practical implications These results suggest that competing foreign brands from the COO of the scandalized brand should collaborate to quickly handle a product-harm crisis to prevent a spillover and that domestic competitors should capitalize on the opportunity to attract new customers. Originality/value This study represents a first attempt to examine the effect of a foreign brand’s moral failure in handling product-harm crisis on competing brands, both foreign and domestic.

Talent management under a big data induced revolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 2010-2031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaidi Zhang ◽  
Xiao Jia ◽  
Jin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Servant Leadership ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe emerging natures of big data – volume, velocity, variety, value and veracity – exert higher stress on employees and demand greater creativity from them, causing extreme difficulties in the talent management of organizations in the big data era. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of challenge stressors on creativity and the boundary conditions of the relationship.Design/methodology/approachMultisource data were collected including 593 followers and their 98 supervisors from organizations that are confronting a big data induced management revolution. Hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping analysis were used to test the mediation and moderation mechanism.FindingsThe results showed that job burnout mediated the negative relationship between challenge stressors and creativity and that this indirect effect was attenuated by an employee’s core self-evaluation (CSE) and servant leadership. In contrast, whether work engagement mediated the relationship between challenge stressors and creativity was contingent on the level of an employee’s CSE and servant leadership. Specifically, the mediating effect was significant only when an employee’s CSE or servant leadership was high.Originality/valueThe results contribute to our understanding of the relationship between challenge stressor and creativity in the big data era. Specifically, relying on the job demands–resources model, this study empirically opens the “black box” between challenge stressors and creativity by exploring two opposing intermediate mechanisms. In addition, this study reveals boundary conditions by investigating dispositional and contextual factors that can accentuate the positive effect while attenuating the negative effect of challenge stressors on employee creativity.

The arithmetic complexity of online grocery shopping: the moderating role of product pictures

2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 1206-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Desrochers ◽  
Pierre-Majorique Léger ◽  
Marc Fredette ◽  
Seyedmohammadmahdi Mirhoseini ◽  
Sylvain Sénécal
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Experience Goods ◽  
Arithmetic Complexity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Shoppers ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose Online grocery shopping possesses characteristics that can make it more difficult than regular online shopping. There are numerous buying decisions to make each shopping session, there are large ranges of product types to choose from and there is varied arithmetical complexity. The purpose of this paper is to examine how such characteristics influence the attitude of consumers toward online grocery shopping websites. Design/methodology/approach The authors hypothesized that the product type (search or experience product), the task arithmetic complexity, and the attention and cognitive load associated with browsing through product pictures have an effect on the attitude of online shoppers toward these websites. To test the hypotheses, 31 subjects participated in a within-subject laboratory experiment. Findings The results suggest that visual attention to product pictures has a positive effect on the attitude of online shoppers toward a website when they are shopping for experience goods, but that it has a negative effect on their attitude toward a website when the task arithmetic complexity is greater. They also suggest that the cognitive load associated with browsing through product pictures has a negative effect on the attitude of online shoppers toward a website when they are shopping for experience goods, and that greater cognitive load variation has a positive effect on their attitude toward a website when arithmetic task complexity is greater. Practical implications When designing online grocery websites, providing clear single unit quantities with pictures corresponding to the sales unit could help establish a clear baseline on which consumers can work out their quantity requirements. For decisions involving experience goods, product pictures may act as an important complementary information source and may even be more diagnostic than text description. Originality/value Results reinforce the relevance of enriching the study of self-reported measures of the user experience on e-commerce sites with automatic measures.

The influence of gender on the choice of education: the mediating effect of interest in statistics

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-105
Author(s):  
Jeanette Carlsson Hauff ◽  
Jonas Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Business School ◽  
Perceived Competence ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Interpersonal Contact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Variable Level ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify the existence of a gender unbalance regarding choice of quantitatively oriented masters’ programs at a business school. The aim, further, is to analyze variables potentially affecting this unbalance: interest in quantitative matters, perceived competence regarding quantitative subjects and measures of quantitative knowledge. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data was collected through a survey of 203 students at a Swedish business school. A measure of quantitative orientation was developed to assess the level of nine masters’ programs at the school. A regression analysis was used to identify the impact of gender and the other explanatory variables. Findings The results indicate that there is a gender unbalance: female students choose master programs perceived to be less quantitatively oriented. However, when studying gender together with level of interest, perceived competence and objective knowledge, the direct gender effect disappears. Instead, a strong positive effect of interest in quantitative matters emerges, as does an indirect effect of gender through the mediating variable level of interest. Practical implications The dual importance of level of interest influences the pedagogical suggestions made. Interpersonal contact between teacher and student and use of technology are suggested to raise the level of interest. To reduce the indirect effect of gender through interest, a suggestion is made to work with stereotype threats. Originality/value The paper addresses a topic of importance: the potential gender unbalance as regards qualitative orientation. It manages to nuance the picture of the importance of gender – and through the introduction of level of interest suggests a productive path forward.

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