31097 research outputs found
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Assessing the UNESCO brand: A customer-based brand equity perspective on world heritage tourism
No full textPurpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of various dimensions of brand equity, namely brand image, brand awareness, brand loyalty and brand quality, on travel intentions and brand value of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites (WHSs).
Design/methodology/approach
The research employs a quantitative approach, utilizing a survey to collect data from tourists who have visited at least one UNESCO WHS. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that destination brand quality and destination brand loyalty positively influence both destination brand value and travel intentions. However, destination brand awareness and destination brand image were found to have no significant impact on either brand value or travel intentions.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that destination managers should prioritize enhancing the quality of visitor experiences and fostering loyalty to attract more tourists to WHSs. The study also highlights the importance of effective communication strategies to increase brand awareness and create a strong brand image for these sites.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between different dimensions of brand equity and travel intentions in the specific context of UNESCO WHSs. The findings offer valuable insights for destination managers and policymakers in their efforts to promote and preserve these culturally and historically significant sites.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
The interplay between social capital and community-based financing: Using bibliometric-systematic literature review for future research agenda
No full textPurpose
This research examines previous studies on the relationship between social capital and community-based financing (CBF), focusing on the essential role of social capital in enabling an inclusive financial ecosystem. The antecedent, mediator/moderator, outcome (AMO) framework will delineate the functions of these concepts to clarify the positioning of social capital within the empirical model related to CBF.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs a rigorous bibliometric–systematic literature review (B–SLR) to examine a range of prior studies dating back to 2024. This study carefully identifies the keywords for extracting data from the dataset. Therefore, three inclusion criteria – suitability to research questions, publication type, and publication quality – were utilised to extract the data. To analyse the data, this review employs both bibliometric analysis, a quantitative approach, and content analysis, a qualitative approach.
Findings
We identified 120 articles that fulfilled our criteria. Our bibliometric analysis reveals a consistent increase in publications examining the relationship between social capital and CBF from 1995 to 2024. The content analysis revealed a strong correlation between CBF and social capital. We propose a framework for forthcoming social capital and CBF research using the AMO framework.
Originality/value
This research makes a distinct contribution by systematically examining the role of social capital in CBF through the AMO framework. It offers valuable insights into the impact of social capital on the effectiveness of such financing models. The findings enhance scholarly comprehension and provide actionable recommendations for policymakers and practitioners to strengthen financial inclusion and bolster socio-economic resilience through CBF for local businesses.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
City branding’s influence on social media engagement: The cool factor
No full textPurpose
Consumers interact with city brands in diverse ways. Through city-related social media engagement, consumers actively shape a city’s brand meaning and communication strategies. Drawing on city branding aspects, defined as physical attributes, functional attributes and personality traits, this study aims to examine how perceptions of city brand coolness mediate the relationship between city branding aspects and social media engagement in terms of cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from an online survey conducted in Saudi Arabia of 537 consumers who actively follow their cities on social media platforms was analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling.
Findings
The findings reveal that city branding aspects directly influence social media engagement regarding emotion, cognition and behavior. Specifically, perceived city brand coolness mediates the relationship between city branding aspects, namely, physical attributes, functional attributes and personality traits, and cognitive and behavioral engagement on social media.
Originality/value
This study advances the branding literature by investigating the notion of brand coolness, which revolves around consumers using brands as instruments for self-expression. It explores the intricate mediational role of coolness in the relationship between city attributes and city-related social media engagement. The findings guide how city branding aspects influence residents’ engagement on social media in relation to their city. Implications for theory and practice related to co-creating city branding within the place branding industry are discussed, and suggestions for future studies are presented.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Deals, domestication, and disasters: Results of a comparative content analysis of migration coverage in 15 African and European countries
No full textMigration has re-emerged as a central political issue across Africa and Europe, yet comparative research continues to privilege European perspectives and rarely incorporates the heterogeneity of African media systems. This study addresses this gap through a systematic content analysis of 1871 online news articles from 30 outlets in 15 African and European countries (2023-2024). We examine form, content, and evaluative dimensions of migration reporting, drawing on scholarship on transnationalisation, domestication, and structural influences on journalism. The findings show that domestication remains the dominant organising logic of European reporting and has become increasingly visible in African coverage, marking a notable shift from earlier studies that portrayed African media as largely agenda-following. While European outlets continue to focus strongly on security, conflict, and political regulation, African media devote comparatively more attention to the economic dimensions of migration, which is associated with more positive evaluations. By integrating African and European coverage into a unified comparative framework, the study advances debates on global news flows and indicates the emergence of a new transnational theme alongside persistent national logics: international migration ‘deals’.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Impact of management accounting reform in the public sector: The Portuguese case
No full textPurpose
Based on the New Public Management Theory and New Public Financial Management (NPFM) into the theoretical framework, this study aims to analyze the impact of implementing management accounting reform in the Central Public Administration in Portugal and how this implementation affects control, transparency and management reports within these organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology is based on a questionnaire sent to all central public administration institutions in Portugal. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model, using the partial least squares tool.
Findings
The main findings, consistent with the NPFM, indicate that implementing the management accounting reform has a significant positive effect on increasing the quality of management reports and the transparency of public administrations, as well as contributing positively to the increase of control in these organizations. Thus, it can be concluded that managers of organizations perceive that the intended objectives of the accounting reform are being achieved.
Research limitations/implications
The study has some limitations, as the data are limited to central public administration, leaving the impact on local and regional administration unstudied.
Practical implications
This study helps public institutions understand the advantages of implementing management accounting because their managers need information for decision-making. This includes aspects such as control, enhancing organizational efficiency and effectiveness, improving transparency in public spending, and elevating the quality of reporting by considering reliability, timeliness and comparability.
Social implications
This study enhances citizens’ comprehension of management accounting in the Portuguese public sector, highlighting its role in improving control, transparency and management reports. It fosters increased interaction between society and government, ensuring that decisions align better with society’s needs.
Originality/value
The accounting reform in public administration is still ongoing in Portugal and is a unique opportunity to study the implementation of the reform in the area of management accounting with the heads of the organizations responsible for this task. This study allows us to know their perceptions regarding the impact that the implementation of the management accounting reform has on control, transparency and management reporting. This study also incorporates NPFM into the theoretical framework for a more comprehensive analysis of public sector accounting reforms.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Employing women's rights as a racist weapon: The case of Giorgia Meloni in Italy's radical right
No full textThis study analyses how Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Italian radical right party Fratelli d'Italia and current Prime Minister, employs women's rights as a discursive strategy to legitimise nationalist and anti-immigration positions. Drawing on scholarship in gender, postcolonial and migration studies, it reveals how Meloni's standing for (carefully selected) women's rights serves to nurture and perpetuate orientalised representations of Muslim migrants, grounded in the same binary thinking that justifies colonialism and white supremacy. Based on the analysis of Meloni's social media posts published between January 2015 and September 2022, we argue that her representations of women's rights function as discursive weapons deployed to uphold racialised and exclusionary nationalist agendas. By contextualising her defence of women's rights within her broader self-positioning as the “Christian mother of the homeland”, we highlight her dismissal of gender politics, contributing to existing debates on femonationalism.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Leveling up: How users perceive, understand, and experience gamified elements in dating apps and how it shapes their dating scripts
No full textDating apps employ gamified structures (e.g., swipes, likes, matches) that reshape dating scripts by blending game-like elements into social interactions. This study explores users’ conceptualization of gamification, its impact on experiences, and dating scripts. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews (17 cisgender women, 14 cisgender men) were conducted in Portugal. Participants were current and former users with different sexual orientations and a diverse age range (18–34 years old), and predominantly Portuguese. The thematic analysis presented how users likened their dating app interactions to games, identifying specific gamified features, and describing their adaptation and engagement in strategic practices to enhance appeal. Despite the uniform platform system and rules, traditional gender scripts endure and dictate a binary dynamic where men are seen as initiators and women as selectors. The findings reveal tensions between gamification’s homogenizing effect and enduring socio-cultural scripts, illustrating how platform design affordances and social norms structure dating experiences.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Subjective general health and non-institutional political participation: Do age and education matter?
No full textNon-institutional political participation (NiPP) is rising in Southern Europe. However, how the relationship between health and NiPP is conditioned by age and education remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study analyses data from 8944 participants in the European Social Survey (wave 10) across Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. Results showed that as subjective general health (SGH) increases, the likelihood of NiPP decreases. Both age and education moderated this relationship. For younger individuals and those with higher education, increased SGH led to reduced NiPP. Conversely, for older individuals and those with lower education, the decline in NiPP participation was less pronounced as SGH increased. Future research should examine specific forms of participation and specific health conditions, as well whether age and education continue to moderate NiPP involvement.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Innovative adoption model for digital health technologies among elderly with chronic diseases: Integrating Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice model in a survey of 1222 patients in Shanghai
No full textObjective To propose and test an innovative model by integrating the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Knowledge-Attitude-Practice model to explain the mechanisms influencing the adoption of digital health technologies by elderly patients with chronic diseases from the perspective of both internal and external factors, promoting the acceptance and utilisation of digital health technologies among elderly chronically ill patients.
Study design A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted from July to September 2023.
Study setting The study was conducted in 12 medical institutions in Shanghai, including 6 tertiary hospitals, 3 secondary hospitals and 3 community hospitals.
Participants 1222 participants aged 60 years or more, diagnosed with one or more of the following chronic diseases: essential hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, were involved in the study using convenience sampling. Critically ill emergency patients and those who were involved in medical disputes were excluded.
Outcome measure The behavioural intention and usage behaviour of older patients with chronic diseases to use digital health technologies.
Results The explanatory power of the proposed model for behavioural intention was 72.9%. There is a significant negative association between technology anxiety and the intention to use digital health technologies among older patients with chronic diseases (?=−0.224, p<0.001); effort expectancy (?=0.530, p<0.001) and performance expectancy (?=0.193, p<0.001) were also significantly associated with intention to use digital health technologies. Men (?=−0.104, p=0.016), relatively younger (?=−0.061, p=0.005), with experience in using digital health technologies (?=−0.452, p<0.001) were more likely to translate behavioural intention into use behaviour.
Conclusions Acceptance of digital health technologies among older patients with chronic diseases was associated with a combination of internal and external factors, with the former playing a dominant role. These valuable findings provided insights and inspiration for improving digital health technologies acceptance and utilisation among older patients with chronic diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The ‘shades of grey’ in research integrity—Researchers admit to questionable research practices that they do not perceive to be serious
No full textResearch misconduct practices like fabrication, falsification and plagiarism (FFP) are serious deviations from good research conduct, which have attracted attention in the literature due to the damage they can bring to science and society. However, less is known about the grey zone of researchers’ behaviours that deviate from responsible research conduct but do not fall under serious research misconduct practices. These are known as questionable research practices (QRPs), and they are believed to pose a no less serious threat to research integrity and science. Despite increasing research on the topic, the extent of the problem in different research fields and contexts is unknown. Using a sample of researchers working in Portuguese universities in six main fields of research (n = 1573), we report on QRPs that researchers admit to and how serious they perceive them to be, and on predictors of engagement in QRPs. We find that QRPs are widespread across all fields of research and seniority levels. Yet, younger, more prolific researchers, and those dismissing the seriousness of QRPs admitted to more QRPs. This suggests that some groups are at higher risk of misconduct and that there is a need for studying the motivations behind more susceptible groups to engage in QRPs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio