“Dodging the bullet”: are effectual managers better off in a crisis? A case of Ghanaian agricultural SMEs

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 755-772
Author(s):  
Oliver Kwabena Aggrey ◽  
Alfred Kwadwo Djan ◽  
Naomi Abena Dei Antoh ◽  
Louis Numelio Tettey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Financial Capital ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Environments ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Business Behavior ◽  
Crisis Conditions ◽  
Composite Variables

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of causation decision-making and effectual decision-making logic in challenging economic situations within agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The authors collect and derive composite variables from effectuation, causation, financial capital availability (FCA) and crisis performance data through a randomized system based on literature precedents. This study analyzes the data using descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and ordinary least squared regression through STATA 15. Findings The authors find that effectual managers are indeed better off during crisis conditions. Also, there is a significant moderation relationship between the effectuation, FCA and crisis performance. Originality/value From strategic management and entrepreneurial process standpoint, the effectuation theory thrives within uncertain business environments. This notwithstanding, literature has often focused on hypothetical, uncertain business environments. The authors present plausible evidence of effectual business behavior from a real crisis, from small agriculture firms’ perspectives and an emerging economy context.

Attributes of apparel tablet catalogs: value proposition comparisons

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracie (Tsun-Yin) Tung ◽  
Tun-Min (Catherine) Jai ◽  
Leslie Davis Burns
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Mobile Commerce ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – To comprehend tablet catalog marketing, the purpose of this paper is to obtain an integrated descriptive analysis of tablet catalogs and to compare the value propositions between retailers’ and aggregators’ applications (apps). Design/methodology/approach – A total of 28 tablet catalog apps were content analyzed in terms of interface attributes. Next, based on the results, a χ2 analysis was applied to compare the value proposition between retailers and aggregators. Findings – The result showed that the value propositions of retailers and aggregators were significantly different in the Context, Customization, and Communication dimensions. In addition, the incongruence of emphasized dimensions among retailers is larger than that among aggregators. Research limitations/implications – Because mobile commerce exhibits fast-changing dynamics, the results from collected data may vary in different periods. However, the present results may provide a baseline of longitudinal study. The 8Cs framework expanded from the 7Cs framework may be applied to other studies. Practical implications – Retailers who attempt to engage in tablet catalog marketing may use the information and findings to facilitate their decision making. The list of the attributes can be a benchmark for a retailer to evaluate its current tablet catalog app or be a reference for those retailers who are planning to develop one. Originality/value – This study identified and demonstrated a need of adding a new “C,” Control, in the previous framework and introduced the expanded framework. In addition, this study provided a set of findings for further research in the area.

Employing needs-based funding formulae – some unavoidable tradeoffs

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1092-1102
Author(s):  
Tal Gilead ◽  
Iris BenDavid-Hadar
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
School Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Funding Formula ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Theoretical Investigations ◽  
Schooling System

Purpose The method by which the state allocates resources to its schooling system can serve as an important instrument for achieving desired improvements in levels of educational attainment, social equity and other social policy goals. In many school systems, the allocation of school resources is done according to a needs-based funding formula. The purpose of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of some significant tradeoffs involved in employing needs-based funding formulae. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on theoretical investigations of normative aspects involved in using needs-based funding formulae. Findings There are a number of underexplored complications and difficulties that arise from the use of needs-based funding formulae. Dealing with these involves significant tradeoffs that require taking normative decisions. Understanding these tradeoffs is important for improving the use of needs-based funding formulae. Originality/value The paper highlights three under-examined issues that emerge from the current use of needs-based funding formulae. These issues are: to what extent funding formulae should be responsive to social and economic needs? To what extent should funding formulae allow for the use of discretion in resource allocation? To what degree needs-based formulae funding should be linked to outcomes? By discussing these issues and the tradeoffs involved in them, the paper provides a deeper understanding of significant aspects stemming from the use of needs-based funding formulae. This, in turn, can serve as a basis for an improved and better informed process for decision making regarding the use of funding formulae.

Has Lean improved organizational decision making?

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 536-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Simons ◽  
Jos Benders ◽  
Jochen Bergs ◽  
Wim Marneffe ◽  
Dominique Vandijck
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Decision Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Care Processes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Sustainable improvement is likely to be hampered by ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in care processes (the organization’s decision-making context). Lean management can improve implementation results because it decreases ambiguity and uncertainties. But does it succeed? Many quality improvement (QI) initiatives are appropriate improvement strategies in organizational contexts characterized by low ambiguity and uncertainty. However, most care settings do not fit this context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a Lean-inspired change program changed the organization’s decision-making context, making it more amenable for QI initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – In 2014, 12 professionals from a Dutch radiotherapy institute were interviewed regarding their perceptions of a Lean program in their organization and the perceived ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in their clinical processes. A survey (25 questions), addressing the same concepts, was conducted among the interviewees in 2011 and 2014. The structured interviews were analyzed using a deductive approach. Quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate statistics. Findings – Interviewees experienced improved shared visions and the number of uncertain cause-effect relations decreased. Overall, more positive (99) than negative Lean effects (18) were expressed. The surveys revealed enhanced process predictability and standardization, and improved shared visions. Practical implications – Lean implementation has shown to lead to greater transparency and increased shared visions. Originality/value – Lean management decreased ambiguous objectives and reduced uncertainties in clinical process cause-effect relations. Therefore, decision making benefitted from Lean increasing QI’s sustainability.

Jumping to conclusions – an analysis of the NBA Draft Combine athleticism data and its influence on managerial decision-making

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Berger ◽  
Frank Daumann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Decision Quality ◽  
Managerial Behavior ◽  
Managerial Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Selection Behavior

PurposeThe NBA Draft policy pursues the goal to provide the weakest teams with the most talented young players to close the gap to the superior competition. But it hinges on appropriate talent evaluation skills of the respective organizations. Research suggests the policy might be valid but to date unable to produce its intended results due to the “human judgement-factor”. This paper investigates specific managerial selection-behavior-influencing information to examine why decision-makers seem to fail to constantly seize the opportunities the draft presents them with.Design/methodology/approachAthleticism data produced within the NBA Draft Combine setting is strongly considered in the player evaluations and consequently informs the draft decisions of NBA managers. Curiously, research has failed to find much predictive power within the players pre-draft combine results for their post-draft performance. This paper investigates this clear disconnect, by examining the pre- and post-draft data from 2000 to 2019 using principal component and regression analysis.FindingsEvidence for an athletic-induced decision-quality-lowering bias within the NBA Draft process was found. The analysis proves that players with better NBA Draft Combine results tend to get drafted earlier. Controlling for position, age and pre-draft performance there seems to be no proper justification based on post-draft performance for this managerial behavior. This produces systematic errors within the structure of the NBA Draft process and leads to problematic outcomes for the entire league-policy.Originality/valueThe paper delivers first evidence for an athleticism-induced decision-making bias regarding the NBA Draft process. Informing future selection-behavior of managers this research could improve NBA Draft decision-making quality.

Examining the influences of perceived exclusivity and perceived rarity on consumers' perception of luxury

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xujia Wang ◽  
Billy Sung ◽  
Ian Phau
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Luxury Market ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how exclusivity and rarity (natural versus virtual) influence consumers' perceptions of luxury. Further, it examines whether exclusivity and rarity can function as distinct marketing strategies in today's luxury market environment.Design/methodology/approachOnline questionnaires were administered by adapting developed scales from prior research. Research stimuli were chosen from three luxury categories including bags, wine and cruise. Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirmed that exclusivity, natural rarity and virtual rarity were perceived as relatively distinct constructs among our sample. Findings also highlighted that perceived natural rarity (PNR) has consistently emerged as a positive and significant contributor to consumers' perceptions of luxury across all three luxury categories. The influence of perceived exclusivity (PE) on perceptions of luxury has also shown to be significant for two product categories (luxury bag and luxury wine), whereas perceived virtual rarity (PVR) did not show any significant effects across all three categories.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that consumers perceive natural rarity, virtual rarity and exclusivity as relatively distinctive marketing strategies. This suggests that luxury businesses can adopt each strategy independently to achieve desired marketing outcomes.Originality/valueThis study offers theoretical support for the proposition that exclusivity and rarity may have different functions in luxury marketing implementations. It provides empirical evidence showing the distinctiveness of perceived exclusivity and perceived rarity, which have not be done in previous research.

Are the saving decision patterns of bank customers also clouded by psychological biases? Evidence from Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Emmanuel Tetteh ◽  
Christopher Boachie
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Loss Aversion ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Weighted Least Squares ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Saving Decisions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper attempts to investigate the influence of psychological biases on saving decision-making of bank customers in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachIt employs weighted least squares regression to test the effect of psychological biases on savings decisions of bank customers.FindingsThe findings show that all the nine psychological biases, namely mental accounting, availability, loss aversion, representativeness, anchoring, overconfidence, status quo, framing effect and disposition effect employed for the study have a significant influence on saving decision of bank customers. The results depict that psychological biases are entrenched in the saving pattern of bank customers in Ghana.Practical implicationsFor policy purposes, the study recommends that bank customers need to enhance their knowledge of psychological biases in order to improve their gains from savings, and not to fall prey to these prejudices. The satisfied customer is a dependable source of bank viability and survival.Originality/valueTo the best of the knowledge of the author, this study provides the first empirical evidence of the influence of psychological biases on saving decisions of bank customers in Ghana. The findings of this study will enhance knowledge on the influence of psychological biases on individual decision-making and will accentuate the fact that the individual is not an entirely rational being.

The effect of teaching style and academic enthusiasm of accounting and auditing students on stress, aggression, and anxiety

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Arianpoor ◽  
Hameed Mohsen Khayoon
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Statistical Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Negative Effect

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of teaching style and academic enthusiasm of Iraqi accounting and auditing students on their stress, aggression and anxiety. Design/methodology/approach The statistical population in this study consists of two parts. The first is the Iraqi accounting and auditing students in Iran and the second is the Iraqi accounting and auditing students in Iraq. By available non-probability sampling method, 62 people (Iraqi students in Iran) and 102 (Iraqi students in Iraq) were selected as samples. In this research, a questionnaire was used to collect information. The validity of the questionnaire’s structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Also, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in this study indicating the measurement tool’s reliability. In this research, structural equation modeling has been used to analyze and test the hypotheses. The primary criteria for determining the coefficient and evaluating the path coefficients were used to evaluate the structural model. Findings Findings indicate that in Iraqi students in Iraq and Iraqi students in Iran, teaching style negatively affects stress, aggression and accounting and auditing students’ anxiety. Also, in the group of Iraqi students in Iraq and the group of Iraqi students in Iran, the eagerness to study has a significant negative effect on accounting and auditing students’ stress and anxiety. In contrast, the effect of the desire to study accounting and auditing students’ aggression was confirmed only in Iraqi students in Iraq. Originality/value As the accounting and auditing professions are among the most stressful occupations that increase the characteristics of aggression and anxiety in the employees of that profession, the results of leading research can show that the stress, anxiety and aggression of accounting and auditing students how to reduce through training so that their stress, anxiety and aggression do not appear in the workplace and the reports of accountants and auditors are not affected.

Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative framework for supporting assistive technology decision-making in Singapore schools: perspectives of in-service educators

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Ee Wong ◽  
YingMin Lee
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Technology Initiative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trial Experience ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis study explored in-service educators' experience of using the Wisconsin Assistive Technology Initiative (WATI) for assistive technology (AT) decision-making within Singapore schools.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative design. Eight educators across both mainstream and special education schools were introduced to the WATI framework which they subsequently employed as a trial experience for a student under their care. Written feedback gathered from participants was analysed to identify common issues and themes regarding the use of the WATI framework for AT decision-making.FindingsThe comprehensive consideration of a broad scope of different factors, provision of a structured process for AT decision-making, as well as a common language for use by different stakeholders emerged as key benefits of implementing the WATI. Challenges encountered include administrative struggles in gathering different stakeholders together, time and resource constraints and difficulties in loaning AT devices for trial use.Practical implicationsBased on educators' feedback, recommendations to facilitate the adoption of the WATI for AT decision-making within Singapore schools are discussed and considered. This study also highlights the need for greater AT instruction within both preservice and in-service teacher preparation programmes in Singapore.Originality/valueSchools in Singapore currently rarely adopt any frameworks in place to guide educators through a systematic process of AT consideration. It is anticipated that this study will spearhead and drive the adoption of systematic frameworks such as the WATI for better AT decision-making within Singapore schools.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon 10.1108/JET-03-2021-0015

Homesickness: a comparative study of defense and civilian employees and individual differences

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naval Garg ◽  
B.K. Punia ◽  
Vanshikha Kakkar ◽  
Sarika Kumari
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Adjustment Problems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Civilian Employees

Purpose Most of the studies in the field of homesickness are confined to students; this study aims to explore the feeling of homesickness among working professionals. Also, it tends to examine individual differences in the experience of homesickness across employees of different gender, ages, experience, family type, etc. The study also aspires to compare homesickness among military and civil employees. Design/methodology/approach The study explores five dimensions of homesickness, namely, missing family, missing friend, rumination about home, feeling lonely and adjustment problems. The collected data is subjected to reliability, validity and confirmatory factor analysis. Further, t-test and analysis of variance are used to explore homesickness differences across soldiers and corporate employees. Findings The study reveals that homesickness is significantly higher for employees in the male, unmarried, nuclear family, above the age of 45 years, and below the graduation category. Also, defense people experience more homesickness than civilian employees. Originality/value This study is one of the pioneer studies that compare homesickness among defense and civilian employees. Also, variables such as type of family, the experience of employees and marital status have hardly been explored in the literature of homesickness.

Evaluation of barriers in the adoption of halal certification: a fuzzy DEMATEL approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahbaz Khan ◽  
Mohd Imran Khan ◽  
Abid Haleem
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Specific Region ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Fuzzy Dematel ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Certification System ◽  
Expert’S Opinion

PurposeHigher level of customer satisfaction for halal products can be achieved by the effective adoption of halal certification through assessment and accreditation (HCAA). There are certain issues that seem detrimental towards the adoption of HCAA. The purpose of this paper is to identify the major barriers towards the adoption of HCAA and evaluate inter-relationships among them for developing the strategies to mitigate these barriers.Design/methodology/approachThe barriers towards the adoption of HCAA are identified through an integrative approach of literature review and expert’s opinion. The inter-relationship among the identified barriers is evaluated using fuzzy-based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (fuzzy DEMATEL) technique, which categorises them into influential and influenced group.FindingsThe evaluation of inter-relationship among barriers using fuzzy DEMATEL indicates four influencing barriers and six influenced barriers towards the adoption of HCAA. Further, findings suggest an extensive government, and management support is vital in terms of commitment, resources and actions to realise the benefits attributed with HCAA.Research limitations/implicationsThe inter-relationship among barriers is contextual and based on the perception of experts which may be biased as per their background and area of expertise. This study pertains to a specific region and can be extended to the generalised certification system.Originality/valueThe empirical base of the research provides the inter-relationship among the barriers towards the adoption of HCAA which can be effectively used as input in the decision-making process by producers, manufacturers and distributor. The policy maker can analyse the cause group and effect group of barriers to formulate policies that would help in the adoption of HCAA.

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