Research & Innovation Initiative Journals
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Organizational Culture and Organizational Sustainability in the Hotel Industry: Does Organizational Commitment Mediate the Relationship?
Get PDFPurpose – This study examines the relationship between organizational culture and organizational sustainability and the mediating role of organizational commitment in the hotel industry in Nigeria, with a focus on Plateau State.
Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach was adopted with the use of structured questionnaires to elicit responses from 369 employees from 67 hotels. Data were analyzed with the use of SPSS software and the hypotheses were tested with the aid of the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software.
Findings – The result reveals that organizational culture exerts a significant effect on organizational sustainability, and organizational culture also significantly exerts a positive effect on organizational commitment. Surprisingly, organizational commitment did not have a significant relationship with organizational sustainability, and organizational commitment did not mediate the relationship between organizational culture and organizational sustainability.
Practical implications – This study’s findings will assist business owners and managers, especially in the hotel industry to pay more attention to building a robust culture in the workplace for their employees and also put in place the necessary ingredients needed to make employees more committed to the organization, as these factors are needed to build and maintain a sustainable business.
Originality/value – This study is designed to fill some gaps as no study has been found in the literature which researched the existing relationships among the variables of organizational culture, organizational commitment, and organizational sustainability
Influence of Advertisements on Consumer Behavior: A Study of Graduate and Postgraduate Students
Get PDFPurpose: This research investigates the effect of advertisements in broadcast media (TV, radio), print media (newspaper, magazine), and online (internet) media on consumers\u27 awareness (AWR), interest (INT), conviction (CON), purchase (PUR), and post-purchase (PPUR) behavior.
Method: A quantitative research approach based on primary data was applied in this study. This study conducted surveys using a structured questionnaire in both electronic and paper formats among the graduate and post-graduate students located in Chattogram, Bangladesh. 404 usable responses were used for data analysis using Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) test.
Results: The study reveals that advertising in broadcast, print, and online media has a statistically significant effect on customers\u27 awareness (AWR), interest(INT), conviction(CON), and buying behavior(PUR).
Implications: The research provides insights to marketers regarding the preference toward media selection and promotional efforts
Contribution of Agricultural Productivity to Industrialization in Africa: Does Infrastructural Development Matter?
Get PDFPurpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of agricultural productivity on industrialization. It also looks for the mediating role of infrastructural development on the effects of agricultural productivity on industrialization.
Method: The system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methodology for 45 African countries is applied. It covers the period from 2005 to 2022.
Results: The results show that agricultural productivity has a positive significant role on industrialization in Africa. This result is robust when industrialization is measured by employment in industry (EMIND). Infrastructural development has an enhancing role on the agricultural productivity-industrialization nexus. These results are robust for the two different measures of industrialization but are more enhancing on Employment in Industry than on Manufacturing Value Added (MVA). The study also observes that agricultural productivity interacts with the Water and Sanitation Index (WSS) on MVA to yield a positive net effect. Moreover, agricultural productivity interacts with ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and ECI (Electricity composite index) on both MVA and EMIND to yield positive synergy effects.
Implications: The Electricity Composite Index is still not sufficient in Africa. Equally, there is a need for some countries like Chad, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Niger to boost WSS above this threshold of 32.96 since this threshold is below the mean value for Africa as a whole. Policy-wise, it could be recommended that both agricultural productivity and infrastructural development should be strengthened, with emphasis on electricity, so as to achieve the much-needed level of industrialization for Africa.
Investigating Employee Green Behavior through Perceived Organizational Support for the Environment in the Hotel Industry: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis
Get PDFPurpose - This study investigates the role of perceived organizational support for the environment (POS-E) on employee green behavior (EGB). It also examines the mediating role of employee environmental commitment (EEC) and green work climate (GWC), as well as the moderating role of employee green awareness.
Method - Data were collected from 247 hotel employees located at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh applying convenient sampling. Data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique and SPSS.
Results - Findings reveal that POS-E positively influences EGB while EEC and GWC fully mediate the association between POS-E and EGB. Findings also show that POS-E on EEC and GWC is more significant when employees have greater ecological awareness.
Implications - The findings imply that the hospitality firms’ ecological POS can improve employee green behavior. Empayees’ ecological awareness also plays an important role in such behavior.
Originality – The study contributes to the existing literature in the context of the hospitality industry by filling up the gap in exploring the mechanism through which POS influences employee behavior
Agripreneurship and Poverty Reduction: Empirical Evidence from Tubah Sub-Division, North West Region, Cameroon
Get PDFPurpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector could help alleviate poverty in the Tubah region of Cameroon. Specifically, the study seeks to explore the potential of agripreneurship in creating job opportunities, increasing income levels, and improving the living standards of people in the region.
Methods: Mixed-method design was employed for the study. Data was gathered with the help of a structured questionnaire from 384 households in Tubah-Cameroon and analyzed using the partial least square.
Results: Results revealed that attitudes towards agripreneurship, innovative behavior, and the need for achievement had a positive effect on poverty reduction in Tubah Sub-Division. Inheritance of family ventures and start-up motives were found to exert negative effect on poverty reduction.
Implications: The study is expected to contribute to the understanding of how entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector can be leveraged to promote economic opportunities and promote sustainable development in rural areas
Drivers of Financial Inclusion among Cocoa Producers in the Southwest Region of Cameroon
Get PDFPurpose: Financial inclusion can considerably promote cocoa production and provide a buffer for the escape from poverty traps for cocoa-growing economies like Cameroon. However, the Southwest region of Cameroon still experiences a low level of cocoa production and poverty primarily due to financial exclusion. This article explores the drivers of financial inclusion in the region.
Method: A stratified multistage sampling technique was used to survey 380 cocoa producers in the main cocoa-producing areas in the region through semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic variables and the probit model to analyze the drivers of financial inclusion, subject to the three major dimensions of financial inclusion; access to, use, and quality of financial services.
Results: On average, the long distance of financial institutions (9.3 km), intermediate farm sizes (2.6 ha), and low annual income (1,125,863 FCFA) negatively influenced financial inclusion resulting in just 16.6% of farmers being financially included. The findings also revealed that financial inclusion is significantly enhanced by an increase in income, farm training, the closeness of formal financial institutions (FFIs), larger household size, and small-scale production at a 1% significance level, and more years of farming experience at 5%. Moreover, 51.3% of the major constraints to financial inclusion were accounted for by lack of collateral security, distant FFIs, and low income.
Implications: Reducing the distance of FFIs by establishing more institutions with considerations on collateral, increasing income through extension services like farm training, and sound agronomic practices will enhance financial inclusion.
Originality: The uniqueness of this study lies in the context of the socio-political crisis during which cocoa producers were interviewed and exploring how the crisis influenced financial inclusion through a host of factors. Moreover, besides just access to credit as considered by most studies in Cameroon, the current study considers the use and quality of formal financial services as well
Influence of Working from Home Culture on the Effectiveness of Virtual Onboarding of New Employees
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic remains a global disaster with extraordinary consequences for corporations and their people. The stresses of working from home during a pandemic are heightened for newbies entering new occupations and organizations. To address the issues concerning the rapid adoption of virtual onboarding in employment relations and human resource management practices, the paper seeks to determine whether there is a positive relationship between online orientation and training and holistic support with virtual onboarding in the context of multinational companies operating in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey of 110 individuals of diverse profiles from various multinational companies (MNCs) in Bangladesh is undertaken using Google Forms. The data was analyzed using SPSS 26.0. It was discovered that online orientation, online training, and holistic support play an important part in carrying out a successful virtual onboarding process for newcomers working from home. It was also found that having a strong relationship with peers, and senior coworkers is a key aspect of obtaining the assistance that new employees require in the workplace as they start. It is expected that the managers in the MNCs may regain workers\u27 trust by strengthening their virtual or onboarding operations as a whole. The frameworks offered can guide managers in better responding to employees\u27 needs. The successful use of virtual onboarding among the MNCs in Bangladesh is a little-explored research domain. The study findings address the gap by highlighting its effectiveness and encouraging the implication of virtual onboarding of the employees working from home in the MNCs. The study does not rule out the potential of other factors influencing virtual onboarding effectiveness, nor focus on any particular professional groups. The online survey makes it difficult to provide information on the sample\u27s representativeness. Further research and inquiry are required to confirm the findings
Influence of Employee Soft Skills on Job Performance: Evidence from SMEs in Cameroon
Get PDFPurpose: Due to COVID-19\u27s global impact, work from remote has become the norm which led to the closure of offices throughout the globe. Workplace learning, communication skills, collaboration, and emotional intelligence are all examples of soft skills, and they are crucial in the workplace. They are likely to boost workers\u27 efficiency and effectiveness on the job. This study is sought to examine the relationships between employee soft skills and job performance based on evidence from Small and Medium Size Enterprises in the Bamenda Metropolis of Cameroon.
Methods: A mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) research design was used in this paper. Data were collected from 241 SMEs using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis used both descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: Results show that improving communication skills results in higher job performance. Further, it is found that the higher the capacity of employees to discern and manage their emotions the better the job performance. Teamwork is revealed to increase the level of job performance. Work ethics shows a minimal effect on work performance.
Implications: SME management should focus on developing employees’ emotional intelligence as this will improve their job performance. SMEs that are yet to adopt effective teams as an approach to functioning should consider doing so following the established benefits of effective teamwork in the organization. Employers also should try to cultivate a culture of work ethic at their place of work
Positive Affectivity and Employee Engagement: Mediating Role of Social Support
Get PDFPurpose: Previous studies have found that employees’ positive affectivity personality contributes to positive organizational outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which positive affectivity is related to social support and employee engagement. Therefore, drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study examined the role of social support as a mediator that links positive affectivity and employee engagement.
Method: The study was conducted using a quantitative approach. It used a survey method to collect data from 260 professional registered nurses in public hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria, who were selected as research participants using a stratified random sampling technique.
Result: The structural model analysis revealed that positive affectivity significantly affects social support and employee engagement. Also, social support significantly correlates with employee engagement and partially mediates the relationship between positive affectivity and employee engagement.
Implications: The findings of this study contributed to the limited literature on positive affectivity, social support, and employee engagement. Practically, this study has implications for clinical practice and management. To enhance employee engagement among nurses, hospital administrators should develop intervention programs that can enhance the nurses\u27 ability to maintain positive emotions in stressful situations
Impact of COVID-19 on the Rights of Informal Workers in Bangladesh
Get PDFCOVID-19 is a devastating global crisis leading to unprecedented challenges in public health, food systems, the workforce, etc. The calamity has aggravated the situation for informal workers by putting them at risk of economic fallout. The informal workers remain exceptionally vulnerable as their livelihood depends on in-person daily labor. As the pandemic unfolds worldwide, informal workers face tremendous socio-economic challenges and health-related vulnerabilities. This research sheds light on this terrain to explore the impact of COVID-19 on informal workers in Bangladesh from a socio-economic perspective. At the same time, it also analyzes the legal aspects from a critical point of view. It employs a qualitative research methodology. Primary data were collected through 30 in-depth interviews with informal laborers such as taxi-driver, street vendors, domestic workers, hotel and restaurant stewards, and private tuition providers. Ten key informant interviews were conducted with trade union leaders, relevant practitioners, and researchers. It finds that informal workers face diverse challenges, such as the inability to manage family expenditure, drop-out of their children from education, lack of information on health protection, internal migration, etc. It also reveals a significant policy implementation gap in crisis management by analyzing fiscal and monetary policy, non-therapeutic measures, and social safety programs.