Identifying the components of government policy based on the role of pressure groups in Iran

This research aims at identifying the government political components based on the role of pressure groups in Iran using qualitative methods. The methodology of this research was grounded theory and interview tool. The statistical sample in this research was experts including 22 individuals who are the present and periodic representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Iran. This research was conducted in 3 coding processes of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. According to the obtained results from this research, 71 codes were identified by interviewers which were classified in 6 grounded theory networks including axial issue, casual condition, contextual condition, intervening condition, policies, and consequences. Finally, the obtained results were validated.

A multi-study approach to examine the interplay of proactive personality and political skill in job crafting

The current research examines the combined role of proactive personality and political skill in job crafting and work engagement by integrating the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and trait activation theory. Self-reported survey responses collected from three samples – university students (study 1, N = 363) and panel data (study 2, N = 300 and study 3, N = 206) – were analyzed using the PROCESS macro. Results revealed that political skill strengthened the relationship between proactive personality and work engagement and between proactive personality and job crafting when trait activated. Furthermore, perceived supervisor support did not interact with the job crafting–work engagement relationship with trait activation, suggesting that proactive individuals rely on self-resources to improve engagement when presented with trait-relevant situational cues. The findings extend JD-R theory to offer the interplay of proactive trait and political skill in facilitating overall job crating. JD-R is identified as a contextual condition for trait activation.

Continuity and Discontinuity in Basic Education Learning: Causality Isolation Policy in Avoiding the Spread of COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak is a non-natural disaster and has an impact on learning continuity. This study aimed to find the reality of the continuity/discontinuity of learning of primary education students in East Lombok during student isolation in the prevention of COVID-19. Data obtained through surveys and interviews with 198 respondents representing school principals, teachers, students, parents, and the community. According to the Bayesian Approach to Learning Causal Networks, the data were analyzed descriptively through frequency distribution and causal analysis. It was found that 57.07 % of respondents claimed they did not know the purpose of the isolation policy, so it was not explained. Exactly 54.76 % of respondents admitted to isolation as a holiday, 54 % of respondents admitted to playing to their heart's content during the isolation period, 88.77 % of respondents admitted that this policy was not coordinated, and 100 % of respondents admitted that they did not maximize the function of online learning. The contextual condition of this isolation period is a causal event between a lack of understanding of the policy intent or P (A), causing unclear instructions, or P (B). Unclear teacher instruction or P (B) causes students not to study at home during isolation, or learning discontinuity occurs, with code P (C). Lack of understanding of the intent of the isolation policy, or P (A) causes this policy not to be coordinated with interested parties. Due to unclear instructions, the utilization of online learning, or P (E) is not optimal. The study results are urgent and have implications for the policy of learning from home as well as the coordination pattern of educational stakeholders in the COVID-19 phase.

High-stakes innovation: When collaboration in teams enhances (or undermines) innovation in professional service firms

Professionals need to develop increasingly innovative solutions to complex problems, which are often cocreated through client–professional collaborations, but this demand creates a theoretical and practical tension. On the one hand, professionals need to establish long-standing relationships with clients so they can deeply understand their client’s business and develop more effective solutions. On the other hand, such strong relationships can breed similar perspectives that undermine their ability to develop more innovative ideas. To resolve this conflict, we introduce a new contextual condition to the literature that is fundamentally associated with innovation in organizations—the stakes of an innovation project—and develop theory explaining how it creates conditions under which familiarity either enhances or undermines innovation in teams. Using a mixed-method approach to study an innovation contest held in the legal industry, we found that under lower-stakes conditions, collaboration in new teams was positively associated with innovation and produced significantly more innovative outcomes than collaboration in long-standing teams. But under higher-stakes conditions, these effects reversed. When exploring the mechanisms underlying our results, we found that familiarity was valuable for innovation under higher-stakes conditions primarily because teams with shared perspectives took greater risks on more innovative ideas during the selection stage of the innovation process.

Contextualizing the SAT: Experimental Evidence on College Admission Recommendations for Low-SES Applicants

Although it is well established that college entrance exams have become a key factor for admission to selective institutions, less is known about the influence of test scores in relation to other academic factors in the evaluation of a student’s application file. This study conducts a randomized-controlled trial to determine whether providing students’ test scores in context—how they perform relative to their school and neighborhood peers—increases the likelihood that admission officers ( n = 321) would recommend admitting low-socioeconomic status (SES) applicants. The study also examines how including a personal admission essay that conveys grit, or ability to persevere in the pursuit of long-term goals, influences admission decision making. Admission officers in the contextual condition were significantly more likely to accept both the low-SES and high-SES applicant than those without contextual information on test scores; however, they were not more likely to accept applicants who convey grit in their personal essays.

On the Contextual Conditions Driving a Difficulty Factor

This paper reports three simulation studies conducted to identify the contextual conditions leading to the observation of a difficulty factor in confirmatory factor analysis. The data of each study were generated to show one underlying source of responding only whereas the difficulties of the simulated items constituting the contextual condition were varied. The first study showed that a broad range of difficulties of items was insufficient for driving a difficulty factor. The second study revealed that very large and small difficulties of the same size could lead to a difficulty factor if the confirmatory factor model included two correlated factors. In the third study a subgroup of simulated items showed very large difficulties of the same size while the difficulties of the other simulated item were varied. In this study almost all combinations of difficulties led to the observation of a difficulty factor that was correlated or uncorrelated with the genuine factor.

The influences of interdependence, opportunism and technology uncertainty on interfirm coopetition

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents and the conditions of coopetition at the inter-organizational level. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on survey research methodology and analyzes the data from 138 companies regarding the antecedents and the conditions of their coopetition. Findings The results indicate that the interdependence between partners (i.e. the antecedent) positively affects interfirm coopetition, and that this relationship is contingent on the joint occurrence of opportunism (a behavioral condition) and technology uncertainty (a contextual condition). Specifically, highly interdependent firms are more likely to be involved in a coopetitive relationship when both opportunism and technology uncertainty are high. Interestingly, the authors’ data also show that opportunism or technology uncertainty alone may not be adequate in moderating the interdependence–coopetition relationship. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the current literature in two meaningful ways. First, it empirically examines interdependence as a potential antecedent of interfirm coopetition. Second, it improves our understanding of the behavioral and contextual conditions that facilitate the formation of coopetitive relationships by examining the moderating roles of opportunisms and technology uncertainty in the relationship between interdependence and interfirm coopetition. The limitations of this study lie in its confined method of cross-sectional survey from the focal firm’s perspective. Future research may advance beyond this study through experimental and/or longitudinal research designs. Practical implications This study provides managers with two important practical insights in coopetition management. First, the findings suggest a two-step approach to help a firm assess and manage the level of coopetition in its relationship with a business partner. In addition, the findings provide a counterintuitive suggestion to managers that the joint conditions of high opportunism and high technology uncertainty indeed prime the relationship for the rise of coopetition, provided that managerial efforts are made to somewhat increase the level of interdependence in the relationship. Originality/value Despite the growing number of studies on coopetition, research still lacks knowledge about the antecedents and the conditions of inter-organizational coopetition, and this study aims to fill this gap.

The Influence of Contextual Cues on Cultural Bias in Music Memory

We have ample evidence of cultural bias influencing music cognition in a variety of ways including memory. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of various musical elements on Western-born listeners’ cross-cultural recognition memory performance. Specifically, we were interested in whether the enculturation effect found in previous studies would be observed when tuning, timbre, texture, and rhythm were equalized in the presentation of music from two different cultures. In addition we wanted to explore the possible influence of music preference on recognition memory performance. Listeners were randomly assigned to hear Western and Turkish music in one of three musical context conditions (full, monophonic, isochronous) and subsequently tested on their recognition memory. Results indicated that memory performance was superior for in-culture music regardless of contextual condition, with no significant correlation between preference and memory performance. This points to the statistical properties of pitch sequences as a possible source of culturally biased responses in music listening.