The impact of firm innovativeness on consumer trust in the sharing economy: a moderated mediation model

PurposeThis paper examined the relationship between firm innovativeness and consumer trust in the sharing economy. In addition, the authors examine the mediating effect of organizational legitimacy and the moderating effect of social worth.Design/methodology/approachTo examine the hypotheses, the authors collected data from 276 users of a sharing platform (Didi) in China to conduct empirical research. The “lavaan” packages in R and SPSS were used to analyze the data and test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results reveal that sharing platforms' innovativeness is positively related to consumer trust, and this relationship is mediated by organizational legitimacy. Furthermore, sharing platforms' social worth moderates the relationship between firm innovativeness and organizational legitimacy as well as the indirect effect of firm innovativeness on consumer trust via organizational legitimacy.Practical implicationsThis article proposes strategies that enable sharing platforms to increase consumer trust, which can also better promote the development of the sharing economy.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature by focusing on the social attributes of the sharing economy. By building a more detailed model of consumer trust, this paper adds to the knowledge on the influencing mechanism of consumer trust in the sharing economy.

Research reveals healthcare professionals are much less likely to suffer burnout when they have a “calling”

Purpose The authors wanted to study the importance of a calling for decreasing stress. They chose to study workers in the healthcare profession where callings are common, but previous research has not looked at the mechanisms linking calling and burnout. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from Lithuanian healthcare professionals using both paper and online surveys. After removing incomplete responses, there were 566 cases of nurses and physicians. Of the total sample, 85pc were women. Just over half were nurses and these were overwhelmingly female (98.9pc). But 47pc of the sample were physicians and 64pc of them were female. The average age was 43.77. Findings The data showed how healthcare professionals were much less likely to suffer from burnout when they had a “calling” for their work. The crucial mediating factor was social worth. The research also revealed that the link between calling and social worth was more pronounced for late-career employees. However, the impact of social worth on burnout was stronger for early-career employees. Originality/value There were a number of practical implications for organizations. Firstly, the data supports the advantageous effects of calling to reduce healthcare professionals’ burnout. This means that maintaining a calling, such as through job crafting, will help to reduce stress. A second implication is the role of social worth in triggering the effects of calling. Therefore, organizations and administrators should focus on positive feedback that promotes feelings of social value.

Impact of empathy, perceived social impact, social worth and social network on the social entrepreneurial intention in socio-economic projects

Purpose This paper aims to address essential questions regarding social entrepreneurial intentions. Do traits such as perceived social impact, social worth and social network influence, social entrepreneurial intentions among the young populous generation of Pakistan? To get a deeper insight, this paper further raises questions regarding the relationship of these predictors and social entrepreneurial intentions with empathy which is considered as a key determinant and a distinguishing trait to become a social entrepreneur. Design/methodology/approach This paper involves a quantitative research design using a partial least square structural equation modeling approach to measure the effects of the structural model. For this, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with a purposive sample of 247 university students from Pakistan. Findings Results showed a positive relationship between antecedents and social entrepreneurial intentions. Overall analysis exhibited social worth as a dominant trait and social network as the least influencing trait to impact social entrepreneurial intentions. Practical implications It will help micro and macro-level policymakers including government officials and NGOs and educators to create awareness and provide support and encouragement to individuals who aim to initiate social enterprise. Originality/value The present study makes significant contributions to the social entrepreneurship literature, as it is one of the first academic studies on social entrepreneurial intentions in Pakistan. This paper enriches the theoretical foundation by assessing the influence of perceived social impact, social worth and social network on social entrepreneurial intentions. Also, the relationship of Empathy with each of these antecedents is examined for the first time in the social entrepreneurial intentions context which is a valuable contribution both theoretically and practically.

Punishing Inequality: Notes on Social Worth from Sweden

This chapter revisits key concepts of equality, inequality and punishment in the Nordic context. By reexamining who and what the welfare state is for, and who and what punishment is for, it questions the presumed universality of equality in the Nordic context. Instead, it will argue that equality is conditional. It is conditional upon a hierarchy of social worth, with negative implications for punishment. This chapter draws our attention to a new form penal power –penal nationalism– in which penal power is used to uphold national interests, in this case, welfare state preservation and equality for insiders, at the expense of inequality for outsiders.

Multiculturalism in Kavita Dasvani’s Lovetorn

Multiculturalism is a mechanism of interconnected ingredients and their experiences with each other as well as with the present world. It is a kind of respecting others’ very existence and identity. In specific ethnic minorities especially the women and low caste people are not identified with their self or existence. Respect is the practice which teaches to treat others with some reverence and modesty. It protects and values the dignity and social worth of an individual. It also acknowledges the social differences, because every group has its own specificity. Multiculturalism considers it because the minorities’ contribution to the society is empowering the society and taking it to a position of next and better destination. Uma Parmeshwran rightly argues in her article, “Home is home where your feet are, and may your heart be there too” that “literature can play an important role since literature not only reflects persistence and change in society but also can lead society to a better appreciation of its multicultural and ethno-centered fabric. The ethnic emigrant writer either writes about the country in which he is presently residing, like the main stream writers do, and thus try to be like ‘them’ or he can write about his ethnic world and be different” (31). In the present paper the major focus is on the multicultural aspects in context with various situations. Characters behaviour in different multicultural situations is the angle of analysis of the researcher.

Healthcare professionals with calling are less likely to be burned out: the role of social worth and career stage

PurposeThe association of calling with burnout is not well understood. This study investigates how calling influences burnout and what the roles of social worth and career stage are in this relation. Drawing from the Conservation of Resources Theory, we expect that calling may be negatively associated with burnout through increased social worth and that career stage moderates these relationships.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 566 healthcare professionals, we conducted regression analyses with bootstrapping procedures to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings show that social worth mediates the negative relation between calling and burnout. Additionally, the positive relation between calling and social worth was more pronounced for late-career employees; yet, the negative relation between social worth and burnout was stronger for early-career employees.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that searching and pursuing a professional calling is beneficial for individuals. Additionally, social worth is crucial in this relation and could be used to actively prevent burnout.Originality/valueThe study advances our understanding of the consequences of calling for employees by explaining the underlying mechanism between calling and burnout and its importance at different career stages.

Quiet Fires Fail to Impress: Introverted Expressions of Passion Receive Less Social Worth

Thinking of passionate people typically brings to mind their vivacious expressions. Prior research has shown that such outward manifestations of passion are often met with increased admiration and support by others. But not everyone may express their passion so animatedly. Drawing on personality research, we argue that vivacious expressions of passion capture only a narrow set of passion expressions: those characteristic of extraversion. We suggest that passion is also expressed in ways more aligned with introversion. Based on emerging sociological perspectives, we subsequently propose that introverted expressions of passion are rewarded less social worth than extraverted expressions of passion. We provide empirical support across four studies with full-time employees (N=1,060), including a study of subordinate-supervisor pairs. Our theory and results highlight that interpersonal effects of passion depend on how passion is expressed, whereby those who express their passion extravertedly—but not introvertedly—are more likely to reach higher organizational echelons.