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Driving customer engagement and citizenship behaviour in omnichannel retailing: evidence from the fashion sector
Full text linkPurposeThis study, grounded in the SOR theory, aims to enrich the understanding of customer citizenship behaviour in omnichannel fashion retail by examining how different customer experiences enhance customer engagement and how that engagement leads to customer citizenship behaviour. The influence of return policies on the relationship between customer engagement and customer citizenship behaviour was also examined.Design/methodology/approachPartial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to examine the framework of the proposed study with data collected through a survey (n = 251) to examine the opinions of the respondents about the variables mentioned. The authors also assessed the proposed framework using predictive power assessment using PLS predict.FindingsThe study results reveal that customers’ experiences of integration and flexibility in omnichannel retail are positively associated with their engagement. However, customer experiences of connectivity, consistency and personalization do not appear to affect customer engagement significantly in omnichannel retail. The return policy positively moderates the relationship between customer engagement and customer citizenship behaviour in the omnichannel fashion retail context. Predictive power assessment shows that the proposed model has high prediction accuracy.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the marketing literature by investigating different dimensions of consumer experience collectively and its impact on customer engagement and citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, the study contributes to omnichannel retail in fashion industry by testing the return policy as a moderator variable on the relationship between customer engagement and citizenship behaviour
Psychological empowerment and creative performance: Mediating role of thriving and moderating role of competitive psychological climate
Full text linkThe vital importance of employees’ creative performance has been repeatedly emphasised in both academic and practitioner research. While prior literature has pointed towards the importance of psychological empowerment as a key antecedent of creative performance, mainly a direct link has been established with equivocal findings. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources framework and the Conservation of Resources theory, this study seeks to account for the influence of perceived psychological empowerment on creative performance by investigating the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms. A conceptual model derived from the literature is tested among salespersons in both developing (Pakistan; n = 219) and developed (South Korea; n =201) country contexts. Our findings across both the samples demonstrate that thriving partially mediates the relationship between perceived psychological empowerment and creative performance. Moreover, the direct effect of thriving and the indirect effect of perceived psychological empowerment on creative performance are found to be weaker under highly competitive climate. However, competitive climate is found to bolster the direct effect of psychological empowerment on creativity across both samples implying that competitive climate can be a double-edged sword. The paper further discusses the academic and managerial implications emerging from the findings
Aesthetic Labour Outcome and Experience of Individuals with Tribal Marks in Nigeria
Full text linkResearch on body art as a component of aesthetic labour has predominantly focused on individuals with tattoos in the global north, but little is known about tribal marks as a keyelement of aesthetic labour that leads to discriminatory or prejudicial attitudes in the workplace. Tribal marks are facial inscriptions that symbolize clan, family, and ethnic affiliation, and serve to distinguish one sociocultural group from another. In this article, we examine the lived experiences of people with tribal marks in Nigeria by developing a theoretical framework based on literatures on aesthetic labour, social stigmatisation, and discrimination. Drawing on the accounts of 42 individuals with tribal marks, we demonstrate how aestheticized work environments, biased assumptions, and negative perceptions about individuals with tribal marks can lead to discriminatory or prejudicial behaviours at work. We further discuss the psychosocial consequences and explain why tribal marks are now perceived to be outdated and damaging to those individuals who have them. We offer a novel perspective on the existing knowledge about aesthetic labour and broaden our understanding of another form of ‘lookism’ in a non-Western context
Rachel Cusk: Contemporary Cultural Perspectives
Full text linkRachel Cusk is one of the most critically acclaimed and controversial contemporary British authors. Her diverse body of work offers a striking portrait of trends in 21st-century literature, and the history of Cusk's literary output is one of experimentation and a desire to push against established cultural models.Rachel Cusk: Contemporary Critical Perspectives is the first critical guide to Cusk's work, spanning novels including Saving Agnes, A Country Life, and Second Place, her 'autofictional' Outline trilogy, and her nonfiction A Life's Work, The Last Supper, Aftermath and the Coventry essays. Rigorous and wide-ranging, this book provides an accessible and lucid introduction to Cusk's work, exploring themes of gender relations, class dynamics, maternal identity and creative freedom. The collection concludes with an in-depth interview with Cusk, conducted by Merve Emre, reflecting on her influences, writing and experiences.Mapping the formal and stylistic shift across her career and locating them within their specific contexts, this collection provides a crucial analysis of Cusk's influences, politics, and literary techniques that speak to many of the most pressing issues in contemporary literature
Elvis Never Was in Acapulco
Full text linkElvis Never Was in Acapulco (Fauna Libros, 2024) is a photobook (1,000 copies each in English and Spanish) resulting from four years of development and supported by a grant from EFIARTES, a Mexican fiscal incentive coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance and Public Credit. This grant, administered by the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature, supports visual arts production and literary publication.The book employs a docufictional approach to explore themes of Mexican national identity, focusing on its complex relationship with the United States. It critically examines a fabricated, racist quote falsely attributed to Elvis Presley that shaped generational perceptions and contributed to Mexico's cultural dynamics with its northern neighbor. Through a playful yet incisive lens, the project engages with broader issues of post-truth narratives.This book explores the fictitious presence of Elvis Presley in Acapulco, documenting what might have been while simultaneously narrating the true lie leading to Elvis’ ban from Mexico. A ban that among other things complicated the filming of Elvis’ “Fun in Acapulco”. The story stems from an article written by gossip columnist Federico de León in 1957. De León wrote that “[Presley] said he was not interested in going to Mexico because he thought it was a country with poor taste, adding that he would, in fact, rather kiss three black women than a single Mexican.” Decades later, it came to light that these false quotes by Presley were the work of Ernesto Peralta Uruchurtu, the mayor of Mexico City. Uruchurtu had sent a blank check to Presley’s offices, in early 1957 to secure the King’s appearance at a quinceañera party for the daughter of a media mogul. The check was returned, but the magnate had already publicly announced that Presley would make his appearance at the party. The story was then planted in a national newspaper to justify Elvis’ absence and vindicate Uruchurtu. Elvis Never Was in Acapulco is a photoessay accompanied by text about a truth built on multiple fictions exploring the nuanced complexities of power, culture, racism, corruption, and beauty. These incidents were documented by Parménides García Saldaña in his short story collection El rey criollo and in the Eric Zolov book Elvis Refried: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture
Financial Technology Law and Regulation in Africa
No full textThis book comprehensively analyses financial technology law and regulation in Africa and provides domestic and regional perspectives on regulating FinTech in Africa. It studies policy considerations that can assist African policymakers in facilitating a balanced regulatory approach that does not stifle financial innovation.The growth of financial technology in Africa presents huge opportunities for inclusive growth on the African continent. Digital finance, which sits at the heart of financial technology, could be key to placing Africa back on the economic recovery trajectory after the COVID-19 crisis, facilitating its speed in achieving the UNSDG 2030 goals and setting the continent on course to meet its African Union Agenda 2063. This book:- Examines mobile financial services, crowdfunding, crypto-assets, digital currencies including central bank digital currencies, decentralised finance and open banking and finance, all from an African perspective;- Explores the status of regulation in these areas in Africa, highlighting areas where regulation is lacking, inadequate and in need of reform;- Highlights pragmatic approaches to regulation such as including the adoption of regulatory sandboxes and regulatory technology and discusses requirements for the adoption of supervisory technology in Africa;- Scrutinises the implications of developments in the FinTech space in Africa for international security and economic and financial stability.Placing Africa in the global context, the book argues for an international effort to understand the global dimensions of FinTech developments so that robust and applicable global regulatory frameworks can be applied in developing parts of the world. It will provide useful insights to investors, policy makers and entrepreneurs. It will also be essential reading for students and researchers in the field of technology, public policy, regulatory policy, financial policy, banking, and finance law
Learn Programming with C: An Easy Step-by-Step Self-Practice Book for Learning C
No full textAuthored by two standout professors in the field of Computer Science and Technology with extensive experience in instructing, Learn Programming with C: An Easy Step-by Step Self-Practice Book for Learning C is a comprehensive and accessible guide to programming with one of the most popular languages.Meticulously illustrated with figures and examples, this book is a comprehensive guide to writing, editing, and executing C programs on different operating systems and platforms, as well as how to embed C programs into other applications and how to create one’s own library. A variety of questions and exercises are included in each chapter to test the readers’ knowledge.Written for the novice C programmer, especially undergraduate and graduate students, this book’s line-by-line explanation of code and succinct writing style makes it an excellent companion for classroom teaching, learning, and programming labs
Synergy of Hydration and Microstructural Properties of Sustainable Cement Mortar Supplemented with Industrial By-Products
Full text linkThe present research assists in resolving the issues allied with the disposal of industrial solid wastes/industrial by-products (IBPs) by developing sustainable IBPs based cement mortars. The applicability of IBPs as a feasible alternative to river sand in cement mortar has been evaluated by investigating the synergy among the ingredients, resulting engineering properties and microstructural developments at early and late curing ages. The study could effectively substitute 30% volume of river sand with bottom ash and 50% in the case of slag sand mortars. The experimental outcomes disclose that the practice of IBPs as fine aggregate enhances the engineering properties of mortar and the optimum replacement level lies at 10% and 40% usage of bottom ash and slag sand, respectively. The advanced characterization studies and particle packing density illustrate the refinement of pores by void filing action and accumulation of additional hydration products through secondary hydration reactions. The consumption of portlandite followed by increased hydration products formation observed through thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy that confirmed the contribution of finer fractions of IBPs to secondary hydration reactions. This constructive development was also observed from the lowering of wavenumber corresponding to Si-O-Si/Al vibration bands in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra. The improved microstructure resulted in enhancing the compressive strength by 9.01% and 18.18% in optimized bottom ash and slag sand mortars, respectively at the curing age of 120 days. Similarly, the water absorption reduced by 1.03% and 1.24% in bottom ash and slag sand mortars, respectively