Does a retailer's performance depend on CSR practices? A stakeholder theory perspective from developing economy

PurposeThe study aims to examine the relationship between retailer's performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Indian context. The article introduces a new conceptual model considering the parameters as per the stakeholder theory perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted empirical research with CSR practices (CSRP) and other parameters to evaluate the retailers' performance using stakeholder theory. The authors present the results from 292 valid responses from the Indian retailers. The study used structured equation modeling (SEM) to present the analysis and the results.FindingsFindings indicate that CSRP along with additional constructs loyalty (L), reputation (R), customer satisfaction (CS) and competitive advantage (CA) have positive and significant impact on organizational performance (OP).Practical implicationsThe framework will serve as a guiding tool to the management of the retail outlets to examine carefully the link among CSRP with other variables presented in the study and subsequently to the retail outlet performance. The retailers must be more focused on the expectations and demands of the customers concerning products and services for better growth of the firms.Originality/valueThe uniqueness of the study lies in “CSR practices enabled integrated model” to examine the performance of the organizations. The proposed theoretical model would add value to the existing literature to help the retailers in process of their performance improvement.

Paradigm Shifting—The Use of Mobile Communications at Work and the Subsequent Effects

The physical distancing measures generated by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced companies to rethink employment patterns and to pay much more attention to the possibility of carrying out work through telework. The expansion of telework, a phenomenon that manifested itself even before the pandemic’s health crisis, has gained a particular momentum, changing how work is carried out. The main purpose of this paper is to study the main macroeconomic effects of the accelerated expansion of telework on the economic performance and the employment structure by the economic sectors of the workforce. Using artificial neural network analysis and structured equation modeling, the study highlights the significant influences of telework on economic performance and speeding up the transition service-based economy. The share of teleworkers has a significantly positive influence on economic performance. Moreover, the employees’ use of computers, mobile devices, and the internet has a strong mediation effect on the relationship between telework and employment in services. Given these considerations, teleworking is a phenomenon that will become a permanent feature of the future.

Empirical Investigation of participation on crowdsourcing platforms- A gamified approach

Crowdsourcing platforms have gained importance in recent times, and their success is dependent mainly on the participation of the crowd. Participation is a function of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Moreover, with the growing scale of information, the participants would need to focus on the quality of information to achieve sustainable participation. Our study uses game elements and information quality grounded in Motivational Affordance Perspective (MAP) to study the intrinsic and extrinsic participation on a crowdsourcing platform. We collected responses from 337 participants who are actively contributing to any crowdsourcing platform. Warp PLS uses partial least square structured equation modeling. The results confirm that the use of game elements positively promotes the participant’s intrinsic and extrinsic participation. We also confirmed that motivation is also positively moderated by the quality of information that the crowdsourcing platform shares with the participants. The results help in extending the theoretical arguments of MAP and self-determination theory.

Empirical Investigation of Participation on Crowdsourcing Platforms

Crowdsourcing platforms have gained importance in recent times, and their success is dependent mainly on the participation of the crowd. Participation is a function of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Moreover, with the growing scale of information, the participants would need to focus on the quality of information to achieve sustainable participation. Our study uses game elements and information quality grounded in Motivational Affordance Perspective (MAP) to study the intrinsic and extrinsic participation on a crowdsourcing platform. We collected responses from 337 participants who are actively contributing to any crowdsourcing platform. Warp PLS uses partial least square structured equation modeling. The results confirm that the use of game elements positively promotes the participant’s intrinsic and extrinsic participation. We also confirmed that motivation is also positively moderated by the quality of information that the crowdsourcing platform shares with the participants. The results help in extending the theoretical arguments of MAP and self-determination theory.

Does the perceived efficiency of the HR department matter in influencing satisfaction and employee performance?

PurposeThis paper aims to understand the role of perception of HR capability, HR service quality, along with HR inducements, which, in turn, provides satisfaction with HR practices and affects employee performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 155 managers have been collected through a questionnaire to understand the relationship among the studied constructs using partial least square structured equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results suggest that employers should attempt to create a positive perception by providing quality services in the HR domain, and quality services will certainly enhance employee performance.Originality/valueThis study is unique in terms of its contribution. This study has tried to link service quality and satisfaction to HR practices with employee performance. Further, it also shows that HR should be capable and have high HR inducements to provide the necessary and expected HR services, which leads to employee satisfaction with HR practices and employee performance.

The Road from Money to Happiness

Nowadays, companies must be concerned with the levels of satisfaction and happiness of employees. Hence, this paper proposes to investigate the links between salary and happiness through an exploratory study with a quasi-experimental design. The sample included 376 respondents, and we employed structured equation modeling (SEM) in ADANCO. Prior to evaluating the structural model, the goodness of fit shows moderate/excellent values. Our empirical results show a positive relationship between salary and happiness, salary and life satisfaction, salary and financial satisfaction, financial satisfaction and life satisfaction, and financial satisfaction and happiness. Thus, we consider that our research contributes to the literature by analyzing the relationship between income and happiness in a developing country such as Romania. Congruent with previous findings, we consider that our results provide evidence of the road from salary to happiness in developing countries.

The role of dynamic capability on a business model in knowledge-intensive firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the dynamic capabilities (DCs) affecting the business models (BMs) in knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs). This paper also examines how much these DCs affect the BMs.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology included examining a research framework based on a literature review followed by a survey of KIFs. A sample of 214 KIFs was obtained and structured equation modeling analysis using two-stage partial least squares–artificial neural network approach was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThis study shows that managerial, innovation, intellectual capital, information technology, integration and knowledge-based DCs influence the BM in KIFs. The results indicate that “the human development” aspect of managerial DC has the most significant impact on the BM efficiency, and innovation DC has the greatest influence on BM innovation.Practical implicationsIdentifying DCs affecting the BM in KIFs provides practical results for managers and researchers in KIFs.Originality/valueThe present research uses for the first time a PLS–ANN approach in identifying the affecting DCs the BM in KIFs; examines its impact on the efficiency and innovation aspects of the BM; and enriches the literature on DCs and the BM, especially in the field of KIF.

An integrated model of supply chain resilience and its impact on supply chain performance under disruption

PurposeThis study aims to explore the relationships among the five components of supply chain (SC) resilience (SCRES): visibility, velocity, flexibility, robustness and collaboration and their impacts on the SC performance under disruption (SCPUD).Design/methodology/approachFive SCRES components are identified from the literature review and data are collected using an web survey from 113 manufacturing companies in Taiwan. The data are analyzed by structured equation modeling with the partial least square solution. Two-stage least-squares (2SLS) regression was used to test the potential endogeneity of SC collaboration (SCC).FindingsThe results reveal that SCC is an exogenous driver of SCRES; it directly affects visibility, velocity, flexibility, robustness and SCPUD. Furthermore, SC flexibility is the only component of SC agility that directly affects SCPUD; it is influenced directly by SC velocity and indirectly by SC visibility through SC velocity. SC visibility is a vital agility component that positively influences SC velocity and SC robustness.Research limitations/implicationsThe data in this study are cross-sectional and the sample size of 113 is relatively small. The relationship between SC robustness and SCPUD needs a longer observation period to reveal. The logistic issue in the shortage of carriers caused by the pandemic has been overlooked.Practical implicationsA firm should enhance its collaboration and flexibility in the SC as they both are the critical antecedents of SC performance (SCP) during the disruption period.Originality/valueThis study integrates visibility, velocity, flexibility, robustness and collaboration into a complete framework of SCRES. The dependent variable, SCPUD, measures SC performance (SCP) under the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first study to investigate the associations of the six constructs in a research model.

Linking digitalization and human capital to shape supply chain integration in omni-channel retailing

PurposeSupply chain integration (SCI) is key to implementing omni-channel retailing (OCR) strategy. In this paper, the authors explore the role of digitalization as a driver of SCI, as well the role of human capital (HC) in digitalization, using a knowledge management (KM) perspective.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study was conducted using survey research. A sample of 188 omni-channel retailers in the Chinese market was analyzed using factor analysis and structured equation modeling (SEM) to examine the hypotheses presented in the conceptual model.FindingsThis study reveals that HC is positively related to the level of a firm's digitalization in OCR, and that digitalization is positively related to the retailer's SCI. Moreover, the authors found that employees' capital has a greater impact on digitalization than managers' capital, while digitalization has a stronger driving effect on internal and customer integration.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that although digitalization requires retailers to accept the long-term investment challenges, it has a significant positive effect on the key of OCR strategy implementation, i.e. SCI. The findings also provide evidence for the application of KM in OCR, as this theoretical lens enriches our understanding of the phenomena of SCI in OCR and provides explanation to our results by linking digitalization and HC.Originality/valueDigitalization is quantified and examined in OCR. Moreover, this study reveals the importance of HC on the implementation of digitalization and the different effects of digitalization on each dimension of SCI.