The learning effect on organizational performance during a crisis: a serial mediation analysis with knowledge creation, storage and sharing

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the serially mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) practices (namely, knowledge creation, storage and sharing) on the organizational learning (OL) and organizational performance (OP) relationships during a crisis.Design/methodology/approachBased on theories-of-action, knowledge-based and resource-based theories, this study proposed a sequential mediation model where OL underlying mechanisms through which KM practices have facilitated OP during the crisis. The sample dataset contains 440 responses collected from the managers of the software development companies in Pakistan. The authors used Hayes Process macro with SPSS to test the study hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study reveal that knowledge creation, storage and sharing serially mediate the relationships between OL and OP. These findings strengthen the argument suggesting that OL plays the key role in KM that helps software companies to mend their performance in times of crisis.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the KM literature in two ways: (1) grounded on the study's proposed framework, organizations can improve and manage their businesses in times of crisis and (2) learn how to generate new knowledge in response to business crises.

Linking human resources practices to employee engagement in the hospitality industry: the mediating influences of psychological safety, availability and meaningfulness

PurposeDrawing on self-concept theory, this study evaluates the mediating effects of employees' psychological states on the relationship between human resources (HR) practices and employee engagement.Design/methodology/approachThrough random sampling, 434 customer-contact frontline employees from five-star hotels in Malaysia participated in the cross-sectional survey.FindingsThe results produced by the Smart-PLS (partial least squares) indicate that HR practices positively and significantly influence employees' psychological states of safety, meaningfulness and availability. All these psychological states also exert positive influences on employee engagement (organisational and work engagement). Safety and availability mediate the links between HR practices and employee engagement, but not meaningfulness.Practical implicationsHR practices and employees' psychological states are necessary in ensuring positive employee outcomes and improving customer service provision.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to the further extension of self-concept theory and employee engagement by incorporating the mediating roles of employees' psychological states in the relationships between HR practices and employee engagement.研究目的以自我概念理論為依據，本研究擬評估僱員的心理狀態、如何在人力資源做法與員工敬業度之間的聯繫上起著仲介的效應。研究方法透過隨機抽樣法，434名在馬來西亞五星級酒店工作、接觸顧客的一線員工被選參與一個橫斷面調查。研究結果以SmartPLS （偏最小平方）取得的研究結果顯示、人力資源做法正面地影響著員工的安全感、工作給予的意義和感知的組織支援；而且，這些心理狀態，均會對員工的敬業度（對組織的自豪感及對工作的投入）起著正面的影響。另外，安全感和感知的組織支援在人力資源做法與員工敬業度之間的聯繫上、起著仲介之效應；唯工作給予的意義則沒有這個效應。研究的原創性研究結果進一步伸展了自我概念理論及員工敬業度方面的論述，這是由於本研究把員工心理狀態所扮演的中介角色，納入人力資源做法與員工敬業度的聯繫中。研究給予的啓示若要確保積極的員工成果及提供更佳的顧客服務，有效的人力資源做法和正面的員工心理狀態是不可或缺的。

Insurers' risk management as a business process: a prospective competitive advantage or not?

PurposeInsurance companies exist to manage the risk of others, which is why they are perceived to be competitive in risk management (RM). Considering this, we investigate how different RM capabilities make insurers effective in RM. These capabilities include understanding risk and risk management (URRM), risk identification (RI), risk assessment and analysis (RAA) and risk monitoring (RMON) activities in insurance companies. In addition, the authors probe how these capabilities can jointly yield a competitive advantage for the insurance industry under the resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capabilities perspective (DCP).Design/methodology/approachThe authors present a latent variable RM model for the insurance industry and employ structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses. Furthermore, the authors also conduct confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and convergent and discriminant validity analysis for model fit and invariance testing, respectively.FindingsThe results show that insurers who investigated RM-related capabilities directly influence their risk management practices (RMPs). Moreover, improving these capabilities will make insurers more effective in managing the risks of others. Thus, RM as a business process will yield a competitive advantage for the insurance sector. The findings are supported by the theoretical insights presented by the RBV and DCP. Furthermore, the model also adheres to the convergent and discriminant validity cut-off values.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study examining insurers' RM practices as a source of a competitive advantage.

What colour are you? Smartphone addiction traffic lights and user profiles

PurposeThe key concern nowadays is smartphone addiction and user profiles. Following the risk and protective factors framework, the authors aim to characterize smartphone users according to two levels: (1) individual: referred to the use (i.e. boredom proneness, compulsive app downloading smartphone addiction) and (2) microsystem: referred to family and peers (i.e. family harmony and phubbing). Besides, the authors will derive useful managerial implications and strategies.Design/methodology/approachFirst, an extensive literature revision and in-depth interviews with experts were employed to identify the addiction-related variables at the individual and microsystem level. Second, information was collected from a sample of 275 Spanish smartphone users, and a K-means clustering algorithm was employed to classify smartphone users.FindingsThe proposed traffic lights schema identifies three users’ profiles (red, yellow and green) regarding their smartphone addiction and considering individual and microsystem critical variables.Originality/valueThis study proposes a practical and pioneer traffic lights schema to classify smartphone users and facilitate each cluster's strategies development.

From knowledge to wisdom: will wisdom management replace knowledge management?

PurposeThis conceptual paper aims to contribute to the knowledge management (KM) literature by seeking to determine whether wisdom management (WM) will replace KM in future.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory paper follows the interpretivist research philosophy and the deductive approach. The data collection is based on selected literatures from three disciplines (KM, philosophy and psychology). The findings were qualitatively analysed.FindingsThe findings are threefold: (1) the discussion of wisdom has been either neglected or superficially discussed in the KM literature; (2) despite the fact that wisdom is widely discussed and researched in philosophy and psychology disciplines, there is no commonly agreed upon definition of wisdom, and a dichotomy exists between the implicit and explicit theories of wisdom; (3) wisdom research in philosophy and psychology disciplines provides valuable input to KM by identifying the dimensions, components and characteristics of wisdom and wise individuals.Research limitations/implicationsImportant sources may have been unintentionally overlooked in this paper. This paper identifies the need for empirical research and discussion about WM as the next potential phase of KM. It offers several implications for researchers, managers and management educators as this paper shows that WM is emerging as a new discipline.Originality/valueThis paper makes a theoretical contribution to the fifth phase of KM by drawing attention to wisdom and WM as the next potential phase of KM.

Predicting intention to follow online restaurant community advice: a trust-integrated technology acceptance model

PurposeThis research investigates consumer intention to follow online community advice. Applying the technology acceptance model (TAM) to the context of online restaurant communities, the study empirically examines the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and trust on the intention to follow online advice.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 360 members of online restaurant communities on Facebook and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings revealed that trust, perceived usefulness and attitude are key predictors of the intention to follow online restaurant community advice.Originality/valueExtant research on the influence of online reviews on consumer behavior in the restaurant industry has largely focused on the characteristics of the review, reviewers or readers. Moreover, other studies have investigated consumers' motivations to write online restaurant reviews. This study, however, takes a different approach and examines what drives consumers to follow the advice from online restaurant communities.

Being stressed in the family or married with work? A literature review and clustering of work-family conflict

PurposeWork-family conflict is an important topic which had an evolution, starting from a static definition, where work and family domains were divided, to a more dynamic and complex balance. COVID-19 has influenced society and created a significant distress among families and working activity, and this topic has been characterised by a major interest, considering some old definitions where this balance was considered problematic but not as an enriching opportunity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used SCOPUS to find all records mentioning work-family conflict, by considering book, article and review, excluding conference paper and considering only records written in English language. After a duplicated and not pertinent record removal, the authors obtained a number of 675 records. The authors considered 437 records from SCOPUS to create a cluster map.FindingsUsing SCOPUS and VOSviewer the authors have clustered 5 different areas, which are regrouped in next clusters considering keywords with most co-occurrence and significancy: Work-life balance and burnout gender cluster job stress and performance social and family support job satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsCluster map is origined only by SCOPUS database.Originality/valueThis work aims to find a state of art about this topic, creating hypothesis where this problem has been exacerbated by 2020 due to important society modifications created by COVID-19, where recent evolution of work-family balance has been complicated by papers which come back to consider this balance as problematic.

CSR communication and firms’ ability to win public procurement contracts

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the link between the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication efforts of companies and their ability to obtain public procurement contracts.Design/methodology/approachThe authors are exploiting a database with the number of public procurement contracts won by SBF 120 companies in France and a constructed CSR index over the period of 2007–2015. The authors provide estimates of the amount of public contracts won by those companies.FindingsThe results suggest a striking influence of CSR communication on the ability of firms to win contracts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focused on the case of the SBF 120 companies under the French regulatory system and European directives, which are different from the obligations in North American countries. Second, our constructed CSR index may be too simplistic in nature, and its application is limited only to the French context. Third, we do not have any evidence about the efficiency of well-ranked firms in our study. CSR reporting is still considered to be a form of communication, even if formal, that can contain information that does not especially reflect reality, as the scandals of several companies have shown in recent years (e.g. Volkswagen, Eiffage, Enron).Practical implicationsCompanies should consider Business-to-Government (B-to-G) market when investing in CSR actions.Originality/valueThis is one of the first empirical studies measuring the impact of CSR on the ability of companies to win public contracts.

Identification of factors and outcomes of trust in mobile supply chains

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is the identification of the conceptualization of trust as well as its factors and outcomes in interorganizational relations in mobile supply chains (MSCs) in which multiple stakeholders collaborate.Design/methodology/approachThe authors first used a comprehensive literature review to extract related factors and outcomes of trust. Second, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews in chemical and pharmaceutical companies in Germany. These organizations stand out as leaders in the concept of MSCs and have developed collaborations with various stakeholders.FindingsBased on the results, a conceptual model has been developed that elaborates on the nature of trust and its factors and outcomes for cultivating trustful stakeholder collaboration. The study identifies six factors or approaches for building trust and two outcomes resulting from mutual trust.Practical implicationsThe conceptual model presented in this study can serve as a basis for developing trust in MSCs. Interorganizational collaborations in MSCs are more successful when saturated with trust. The collaboration systems must allow the innovative organizations to create value through the adaptation of advanced technologies without failure.Originality/valueThe study adds to the body of knowledge in building trust in multiple stakeholder collaboration, particularly in innovative organizations which are involved with disruptive technologies.

Change tolerance, group focus and students' entrepreneurial intentions: does gender matter?

PurposeThis study examines the impact of cultural dimensions on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) and the mediating role of planned behavior (TPB) determinants between change tolerance (CT), group focus (GF), and EIs for both men and women in the context of international business schools.Design/methodology/approachUsing a quantitative research design, data were collected in France through anonymous questionnaires. The data consisted of responses from 480 business students. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and the bootstrap method with PROCESS macro were used to determine the significance of the mediation effects.FindingsResults reveal the strong impact of CT on the EIs of both men and women through TPB antecedents. They also indicate that GF has an indirect effect on EIs through TPB antecedents for men and an indirect multiple mediation effect on EIs through CT and TPB antecedents for both men and women.Originality/valueThe extended TPB model is original in that it supports both the determinants of planned behavior and cultural dimensions and provides a valuable perspective through its findings on cultural and gender diversity in entrepreneurship.