The importance of servicescapes in Maldivian higher education: application of the stimuli-organism-response(SOR) framework

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subburaj Alagarsamy ◽  
Sangeeta Mehrolia ◽  
Margret Vijay

Purpose This study aims to use the servicescape model of higher education environments to measure the students’ perceptions of the learning environment (classroom) and the effect this has on students’ learning ability. Design/methodology/approach The present study follows the stimulus-organism-response paradigm framework. A self-administered and well-structured survey questionnaire is used to collect data. The snowball sampling technique is used to collect samples of 403 students belonging to Maldivian higher education institutions. Findings Findings show that the physical appearances of these higher education institutions greatly influenced the pleasure dimension. Furthermore, pleasure is found to have a significant and positive relationship with the approach behaviour and engagement/involvement of the students. Originality/value The main contribution of the study is that it successfully tests the “Eduscape” model adopted from the servicescape model, and thus helps to extend existing knowledge on the critical elements in the Maldivian higher education learning environments and student’s behaviour within them. The findings have implications for higher education institutions to improve their learning environments and better engage with their students.

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Ashwaq Rushud Al Rushud

This study explores the organisational and individual factors that influence knowledge sharing behaviour among UK universities’ academics. Furthermore, the research also aims to provide recommendations on how knowledge sharing can be promoted. Few studies have been conducted to explore Knowledge Sharing behaviour in the context of higher education institutions. This research sheds light on the factors that influence knowledge sharing behaviour in higher learning institutions. Data for this research were collected from sixteen academics from four UK universities using semi-structured interviews and snowball sampling technique. The interview data was thematically analysed using Nvivo12 software. The interviews reveal that there is a positive attitude among academics toward knowledge sharing. Furthermore, there are several factors (organisational and individual) affecting knowledge sharing behaviour, such as unsupportive leadership, lack of facilities and lack of an effective rewards system.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taofik Hidajat ◽  
Ina Primiana ◽  
Sulaeman Rahman ◽  
Erie Febrian

Purpose This paper aims to identify psychological factors that influence people to be involved in Ponzi and pyramid schemes. Design/methodology/approach A psychological approach to finance or behavioural finance is applied in this research because of the assumption that human beings are not always rational. The sample consisted of 98 investors in 11 cities in Indonesia who were or had invested in an investment program with a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. The snowball sampling technique was applied. Findings The conclusion is that optimism (emotional bias), confirmation bias, representativeness bias, framing bias and overconfidence (cognitive bias) positively influenced investment decisions related to Ponzi and pyramid schemes. Originality/value The novelty aspect of this research is the implementation of a behavioural finance perspective to answer and express the fascinating phenomenon of Ponzi and pyramid investment schemes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 2328-2343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Muhammad Ayyub

Purpose – There is a growing demand of Halal products and services in a number of non-Muslim countries. Although Muslim consumers have been studied in several research studies but there is dearth of empirical studies about the perceptions of non-Muslims towards Halal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of non-Muslims towards Halal products and services. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected from non-Muslims of UK through snowball sampling technique. In total, 29 interviews were conducted. The consumer perceptions were explored about Halal foods. The qualitative data were analysed for thematic analysis by adopting Spiggle’s steps for data analysis. Findings – It was found out that majority of the non-Muslims have positive perceptions regarding the Halal products and services as far as quality is concerned. The themes which emerged from these interviews were quality, knowledge about Halal, acculturation and animal welfare issues. Research limitations/implications – This study will guide the Halal marketers about how to market the Halal products and services from the non-Muslim customers. Originality/value – This is probably among the rare studies on non-Muslims regarding their perceptions towards Halal.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jawad Abbas ◽  
Kalpina Kumari ◽  
Waleed Mugahed Al-Rahmi

PurposeBased on the principles of the human capital theory, this study investigates the role of the quality management system (QMS) in higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing successful employability attributes among graduates. Considering industry as a prominent stakeholder in academia, the authors took industry–academia collaboration as the mediating variable.Design/methodology/approachUsing the European Foundation for Quality Management model, the author analyzed how QMS in public HEIs located in London, the United Kingdom (UK), impacts business management, computer science and engineering students' employability. Following the nonprobability convenience sampling technique, this study included data from 324 local and international students.FindingsThe structural analysis identified QMS as a significant factor in enhancing students' employability, and industry–academia collaboration is found to act as a partial mediator in this relationship.Originality/valueThe management of HEIs in developing countries can take valuable guidelines from this study and integrate QMS in their institutions in developing their students' employability, as it is being done by HEIs in the UK.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Elíseo Fernandes Sanches ◽  
Matheus Leite Campos ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Gaio ◽  
Marcio Marcelo Belli

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should assume their role as leaders in the search for a sustainable future. Consequently, such institutions need to incorporate sustainability into their activities. However, this needs to be done holistically and not with isolated and independent actions. Therefore, this study aims to develop a structure of sustainability action archetypes to help HEIs holistically incorporate sustainability in their strategies. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature was conducted focusing on the subject of sustainability in HEIs. Findings A structure of sustainability action archetypes for HEIs was proposed. Further, based on scientific literature, examples of actions were presented within each archetype. Practical implications This study provides HEI administrators and other organizations with a practical structure to enable the systemic incorporation of sustainability objectives and actions into institutional activities. Originality/value This study adapts the tool “sustainable business model archetypes” for a new purpose. This tool was initially developed to classify innovations of sustainable business models.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Laura Anne Bliss

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine assessed seminars in law modules across first-, second- and third-year students at a higher education academy in Lancashire (England). This form of assessment is essentially a 1 h tutorial, where students are given marks for their oral contribution to class discussions. Assessment is a feature in all degree programmes conducted throughout higher education institutions. Recently, a move has been made from traditional examinations and coursework to assess students learning, to more inclusive forms of assessment following the changing nature of those entering higher education. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative survey, participants were asked to answer ten questions on their perceptions of assessed seminars as a form of assessment. To enhance the findings, interviews also took place with members of staff who had experience in teaching both assessed and non-assessed seminars. Findings This research found that although some students were daunted by assessed seminars, over the course of three years, their key legal skills had improved. Key skills enhanced through assessed seminars include communication-based skills and public speaking, whilst also being a positive form of assessment that maintains student retention. Research limitations/implications This is a small-scale research project, completed in the fulfilment of the authors PgCert. However, it does provide a template for other legal institutions to follow. Originality/value With a growing concern across the higher education sector around student retention, assessed seminars are proven to be a form of assessment that ensures student attendance, whilst enhancing skills ready for the workplace.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Perry ◽  
Telin Chung

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand Eco-Apparel consumption behavior in consumers who care about the environment. Design/methodology/approach – A snowball sampling technique was used to recruit 16 participants for in-depth interviews. Findings – Two attitude-behavior gaps existed: the gap between environmental attitude and Eco-Apparel purchasing behavior; and the gap between Eco-Apparel attitude and Eco-Apparel purchasing behavior. There were two connections: product and emotional benefits leaded to Eco-Apparel purchasing behavior; and personal cost benefits, emotional benefits, and economic considerations leaded to Eco-Apparel using and disposing behavior. These gaps and connections suggested participants have certain standards regarding Eco-Apparel consumption. First, the standard of purchasing Eco-Apparel was the same as regular apparel. Second, participants did not want to expend much effort. Third, for some participants, emotional benefits (e.g. fun, good feeling, satisfaction) were important. Research limitations/implications – The small sample size and the snowball sampling technique limit generalization of the study’s findings. Practical implications – These findings might be of interest to apparel manufacturers and retailers who want to re-enforce consumers’ positive attitudes leading to actual purchase and consumption behaviors. Originality/value – The current study for the first time examines the attitude-behavior gaps, proposes reasons behind these gaps, as well as connections between benefits and Eco-Apparel usage and disposal behaviors. In addition, the proposed framework is the first attempt to illustrate the relationships among gaps, connections, and consumption standards.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugénia Pedro ◽  
João Leitão ◽  
Helena Alves

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an innovative operational proposal for measuring the intellectual capital (IC) of higher education institutions (HEIs) through a strategic prospective lens of analysis.Design/methodology/approachAfter providing a literature review on the methods for measuring IC that focuses on the organisational IC of HEIs, four case studies applied to Portuguese HEIs are presented, using a matrix of cross-referenced impacts – multiplications applied to a classification (MICMAC) approach.FindingsThe empirical findings reveal how human capital, structural capital and relational capital make up the core components and provide a fairly diversified list of the measurement indicators for the operational evaluation of the IC of HEIs.Practical implicationsIt contributes into the literature of strategic prospective analysis of HEIs by: analysing the measurement systems for the organisational IC interrelated with HEIs; identifying the key components to the organisational IC of HEIs and their respective measurement indicators; and draufting a new method for operationally implementing organisational IC through the systematic application of the components and indicators identified.Originality/valueThrough an innovative vision, the present study reconciles and systematically structures the methods already proposed by other authors before presenting an innovative operational approach and an alternative to the already existing methods. In addition, the structure of this proposal itself enables HEIs to choose from among the various indicators proposed for IC, correspondingly those that best align with the type of institution under evaluation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 297-309
Author(s):  
Sufyan Rashid ◽  
Hasrina Mustafa

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of studies on antecedents of the corporate reputation of higher education institutions (HEIs) from the perspectives of employeesDesign/methodology/approachThe approach is an examination of previous literature on antecedents of corporate reputation in HEIs, published between 2010 and 2020.FindingsThe findings show that general and specific factors of corporate reputation in HEIs are being employed as strategic tools to survive the competitive nature of the higher education landscape.Originality/valueFactors of corporate reputation in HEIs from the perspectives of employees are an understudied area with little academic literature available.


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