How do takaful operators choose which model to adopt? A case study from the Kingdom of Bahrain

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1677-1688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mansoor Alkhan ◽  
M. Kabir Hassan

Purpose This paper aims to provide an analysis on how takaful operators choose, which takaful model to adopt when managing their insurance operations. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a qualitative methodology and uses the Kingdom of Bahrain as a case study. A single/holistic case study design is used to holistically analyse how a takaful operator chooses which takaful model to adopt when managing its insurance operations. Findings The results reveal that generally, takaful operators adopt either the hybrid wakala-mudharaba or wakala model of takaful, depending on whether a takaful operator is managing/investing the participants’ general or family fund, respectively. Research limitations/implications As the empirical data and results pertain to one jurisdiction, it may be difficult to generalize the empirical findings upon other jurisdictions. Originality/value This research may have contributed to knowledge by adding to literature empirical data and results in relation to takaful in the Kingdom of Bahrain that may have not previously existed in literature.

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
Kerstin Kuyken ◽  
Mehran Ebrahimi ◽  
Anne-Laure Saives

Purpose This paper aims to develop a better understanding of intergenerational knowledge transfer (IKT) practices by adopting a context-related and comparative perspective. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study design involving 83 interviews and non-participative observation in German and Quebec organizations has been chosen. Findings Two distinctive archetypes of IKT emerge from both national contexts: “we-individualizing” (Germany) and “I-connecting” (Quebec), leading to an eightfold taxonomy of IKT practices. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to young and senior workers and to high-tech sectors. Originality/value Comparative and inductive study of IKT, adaptation of IKT practices to national contexts, retaining younger workers. This inductive and comparative study allows a better adaptation of IKT practices to national contexts and therefore a better retention of younger workers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-171
Author(s):  
Steffen Muxoll Bastholm ◽  
Kristin B. Munksgaard

Purpose The strategic importance of the purchasing function increases, as its task become more dynamic in various interfaces with different suppliers. Changes in these customer–supplier interfaces pose specific challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the purchasing function handles the interplay of interface changes. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a qualitative single case study design. Data are collected through observations and interviews conducted before, during and after a concrete change of interface taking place between a buying firm and its suppliers and customers. Findings Three main findings are identified to redefine the tasks of the purchasing function. The first concerns the new ways of defining the purchasing tasks. The main issue is to balance tasks with the simultaneous changes influencing other interfaces and relationships. The second is the division and alignment of tasks in intra- and inter-organizational networks with regards to who decides and coordinates what. Third, the inter-connected performance relates to how other actors perform their tasks. For the purchasing function, managing supplier interfaces influences and is influenced by how the firm simultaneously manages its user interface. Practical implications For management, a new way to evaluate the performance of the purchasing function is needed by including relationship management and interactive capabilities. Originality/value This study contributes with new insights into how managing the dynamics of changing interfaces requires interactively defined purchasing tasks, division and alignment of tasks and inter-connected performance vis-à-vis others in the wider network setting.


Author(s):  
Diego Vega

PurposeConsidered a strong method for exploratory investigations, case study research has become part of the mainstream approach, particularly in the field of humanitarian logistics (HL) and supply chain management. Nevertheless, similar to other logistics and SCM-related fields, rigor is not at its best. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for crafting case study research in HL, based on an analysis of published case study-based research.Design/methodology/approachThe study classifies and compares the use of case studies in HL research, based on criteria developed from the methodology literature including purpose, type and volume of data, and type of analysis.FindingsWhile case studies become more frequent, the results point out a lack of rigor, particularly regarding chain of evidence and the use of frameworks for case study rationale and analysis.Research limitations/implicationsThe study proposes a framework for case study design, based on four “check questions” that can help researchers to go through the process of crafting a case study.Practical implicationsThe study provides practitioners with more understanding of case studies in HL research, which they can use when calling for or evaluating such studies in their organizations.Originality/valueThis paper offers an initial framework for conducting case studies in HL.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Davies-Abbott ◽  
Catrin Hedd Jones ◽  
Gill Windle

Purpose This paper aims to understand the lived experience of a person living with dementia in a care home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It responds to the absence in research of the voices of people with dementia living in care homes during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a single case study design applied thematic analysis to semi-structured interview data to discover the experiences of one person living with dementia in a care home during a period of lockdown. Findings Five themes reveal how the participant responded to the practical and emotional challenges of the pandemic: autonomy; fears; keeping connected; keeping safe and other people living with dementia. These themes highlight the participant’s ability to adapt, accept and dispute lockdown restrictions, revealing considerable insight into their situation. Research limitations/implications The pandemic has restricted access to care homes, which informed the single case study design. This approach to the research may restrict the generalisability of the findings. Other researchers are encouraged to include the voices of people with dementia living in care homes in further studies. Practical implications Implications for practice, presented in this paper, promote quality psychosocial approaches when health-care workers engage with people living with dementia during periods of restricted activity. Originality/value Unlike other studies about the impact of the pandemic on care homes, this paper explores the experience of the pandemic in care homes from the perspective of a person living with dementia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 1956-1981
Author(s):  
Jane Baxter ◽  
Martin Carlsson-Wall ◽  
Wai Fong Chua ◽  
Kalle Kraus

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the understanding of “the” accounting entity, demonstrating how it is a contestable socio-political construction informed by a nexus of market, state and community actors. Design/methodology/approach A case study method is utilised to follow debate relating to Swedish football clubs’ responsibility for the payment/non-payment of policing costs between 1999 and 2014. The case study uses documentary and interview data, focusing on one of the high-risk Stockholm clubs. Findings The paper makes four main contributions: first, demonstrating how the accounting entity is a changeable and contestable construction; second, outlining how distinctions informing contests about the accounting arena are materialised through accounting calculations and other devices; third, showing the importance of community in a coordinated sense in mediating accounting practices; and fourth, contributing to the literature on accounting and sport, highlighting the importance of state actors in this arena. Originality/value This research draws on original empirical data providing unique insights into debates regarding the responsibility for the payment of police costs in the context of sports-related violence. The authors show the importance of characterising accounting for sporting organisations as a shifting and contestable nexus of market, state and community actors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-315
Author(s):  
Judy Vargas Bongala ◽  
Vanessa Baraero Bobis ◽  
John Paul Ramos Castillo ◽  
Arlyne Canales Marasigan

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the pedagogical strategies and challenges of selected multigrade (MG) schoolteachers in Albay, Philippines.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized a case study design using a validated semi-structured instrument with in-depth interviews to ten MG teachers, observation and document analysis. Qualitative data analyses such as content and thematic analyses were used in analyzing the data.FindingsThe results show that MG teachers use a variety of overlapping and supplementary instructional strategies such as (1) teaching one topic to all grades and at varying levels of difficulty using differentiated activity, (2) “jump-jump strategy”/teaching one grade while others work independently and (3) peer teaching or tutoring. However, there are several pedagogical challenges that MG teachers are faced with: (1) conflict between the medium of instructions and grade grouping, (2) problems with lesson planning, (3) unfocused instruction, (4) insufficient learners' materials, (5) absence of training prior to MG teaching and (6) the negative perception of the effectiveness of MG instructions.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited within the context of the participants and focuses on the pedagogical strategies and challenges in the implementation of MG teaching.Practical implicationsThe results of this study can serve as a reference on how to support and strengthen MG instruction.Originality/valueThis study provides a research-based overview of MG schools from the grassroots level and adds to the limited studies of MG education in the Philippines.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontus Wadström

PurposeThis paper expands theory on strategists by investigating how non-executive strategy professionals in multi-business firms strategize. In focus is the strategizing of two groups of non-executive strategy professionals: a corporate strategy team and eleven business strategists employed in each of the incorporated units.Design/methodology/approachA case study design was employed to explore privileged accessed data to gain first-hand in-depth qualities of strategists' work. The design was characterized by phenomenon driven immersed participatory insider research with retrospective reflection and theorizing. Data includes strategies, interview data, calendars, meeting minutes, workshop material and observational field notes.FindingsNon-executive strategy professionals in multi-business firms are either employed at the corporate center or in the peripheral businesses. Based on this location and their individual experiences they assume an exclusive content or an inclusive process strategizing orientation. In practice, the groups strategize tightly together.Research limitations/implicationsCase studies are useful in explorative research providing thick descriptions. While empirically rich, the results of this study are limited by the context of one single case. Future research is encouraged to confirm, contradict and refine the results presented.Practical implicationsThe insights from this study can help organizations regarding how to employ strategy professionals in multi-business firms.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to a recognized need to explore strategists' work. In contrary to the majority of existing research, focusing on senior management and/or strategy formulation, this paper highlighted non-executive strategy professionals' strategizing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-42
Author(s):  
Saeed Behjati

AbstractThis is a report paper, provides the key philosophies of underpinning qualitative methodology, which is utilized in business inquiry of assessing corporate environmentalism initiatives. It begins with an overview of research philosophy and ontology/epistemological platforms and the choice of inductive method that shapes the ways to conduct social inquiry. It follows by description of case study design, including the purists and pragmatists’ debate on case study research and justification of the required data and collection methods. The end up is details analysing techniques of collected data and validity/reliability leverage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-419
Author(s):  
Emilia Grass ◽  
Kathrin Fischer

PurposeThe purpose of this work is the development of a structured case study design process for developing case studies in humanitarian logistics, in particular for short-term predictable disaster situations like floods and hurricanes. Moreover, useful public sources are presented in order to enable researchers to find relevant data for their case studies more easily.Design/methodology/approachA structured framework for case study design is set up, splitting the process into different steps and phases.FindingsThe framework is applied to an illustrative example, where case studies with different numbers and levels of detail of scenarios are designed based on the three-day forecast for hurricane Harvey in 2017. The corresponding solutions demonstrate the relevance of using as much forecast information as possible in case study building, and in particular in scenario design, in order to get useful and appropriate results.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study design process is mostly suitable for short-term predictable disasters, but can also be adapted to other types of disasters. The process has been applied to one specific hurricane here which serves as an example.Practical implicationsAlso for practitioners, the results of this work are highly relevant, as constructing realistic cases using real data will lead to more useful results. Moreover, it is taken into account in the case study design process that relief agencies are regularly confronted with disasters in certain areas and hence need to define the basic planning situation and parameters “once and for all” and on a long-term basis, whereas disaster specific data from forecasts are only available within a short time frame.Originality/valueThe new design process can be applied by researchers as well as practitioners, and the publicly available data sources will be useful to the community.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darlene Himick ◽  
Kate Ruff

Purpose Profit is often moralized by activists, but scant research has carefully examined what profit is for these activists or how they use it to create a more just world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how social movements use counter accounts of profit as tools of resistance. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study design, informed by framing theory, is used to trace the framing of profit from activists’ counter accounts to actions they precipitated. Specifically, the study examines counter accounts of profit from the UK abolition movement, Médecines Sans Frontières access to essential medicines campaign and Brigitte Bardot Foundation’s opposition to the Canadian seal hunt, and how their framings of profit influenced change. Findings Activists reframe profit to create visibilities and bridges to the suffering of distant others. Reframing the calculation and boundary of profit is a strategy to elicit moral outrage, hope and ultimately a more just world. Through these reframings, activists in three different social movements were able to change the possibilities of who and what can be profitable, and how. Social implications The inherently incomplete nature of accounting frames give rise to accounting’s vulnerability to non-accountants to assert their views of a moral profit. Accounting therefore is both a means of control at a distance but also “emancipation at a distance.” Originality/value Scholars have asserted that accounting can be used for resistance, few studies have examined how. By examining how activists assert what profit is – and should be – the paper documents and theorizes profit as contested and highlights accounting’s emancipatory potential.


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