When work and family collide: ‘Resource Caravans’ of personal and contextual resources in remote work

Research on remote work remains without consensus as to its benefits, with continued questions about which factors may enable it to be more beneficial to employees working remotely. Applying Conservation of Resources theory, we explore the impact of ‘resource caravans’ on ‘work–family balance’ and subsequent ‘well-being’ in a sample of 446 remote workers. Our findings contribute to ongoing sociological debates by showing exactly how flexibility and control play a role in the remote workplace. Specifically, our model revealed that ‘sense of control’ over home was most beneficial for ‘work–family balance’ among experienced remote workers who had high levels of ‘schedule flexibility’, whereas ‘work–family balance’ benefited from lower levels of ‘schedule flexibility’ among new remote workers. Resources from the home domain were most critical for ‘work–family balance’, which mediated the effects of the ‘resource caravan’ from the home domain on overall employee ‘well-being’.     

Eco-innovation and business performance: the moderating effects of environmental orientation and resource commitment in green-oriented SMEs

Drawing on the eco-innovation and resource-based view, this research attempts to contribute to the eco-innovation-performance debate by examining the effects of eco-innovation on business performance. In particular, we propose that the eco-innovation–performance relationship is contingent on environmental orientation and resources commitment. The analysis of 83 green-oriented SMEs in New Zealand suggests that eco-innovation has a positive effect on business performance. More interestingly, the findings show although environmental orientation does not directly influence business performance, it enhances the positive effect of eco-innovation on business performance. The results further suggest that green-oriented firms will reap more performance benefit of eco-innovation when they commit more organizational resources.     

Factors influencing repeat visits to a destination: The influence of group composition

This paper is an analysis of the likelihood for repeat visits to a sun and sand destination by tourists. For this purpose, an empirical study was conducted using tourists who had visited the destination. The analysis took into account the travelling group composition. The results showed that, for the total tourist sample, overall satisfaction had the biggest influence on the decision of whether to revisit a destination, while the least important influence was the tourist's perceived image. These influences varied, however, when different travelling group compositions were considered. The results are of vital importance in tourism management policies, because they can contribute to the better design and development of tourism promotion strategies.     

Pure meat – Public perceptions of risk reduction strategies in meat production

Experience has shown that both the assessment and implementation of new technologies in food production are challenged by negative assessments of the technologies by the public. This article seeks to deepen our understanding of the concerns that may underlie negative attitudes to various kinds of risk reduction strategy in meat production, with the aim of distinguishing between forms of risk reduction in terms of their acceptability. The paper reports the result of a focus-group study. Six focus groups with Danish citizens (N: 5–9) were conducted during May 2006. The design of the groups took a bottom-up approach and included elements of meat quality, meat safety and risk reduction strategies. The study shows the dilemma risk reduction presents to members of the public. On the one hand, people want safe meat; on the other, the study showed that with the exception of hygiene practices, people generally have an aversion to risk reduction strategies. Some variation was found, however, in the rejection of the strategies. Thus, more acceptable strategies are characterised by a low degree of technological interference, and by being close to the consumer’s experience in everyday life and/or familiar to the participants’ picture of meat production. It is also important that the strategy does not alter the quality of the end-product (meat) in an unfavourable way. The implications of the results and the inherent dilemma for meat safety policy formation are discussed.     

Convict Transportation to New South Wales, 1787–1849: Mortality Rates Reconsidered

Previous research into Australian convict transportation has concluded that a significant downturn in mortality rates occurred with the appointment of naval surgeons as superintendents in 1815. Statistical analysis of convict ships sent to New South Wales between 1787 and 1849 shows a more significant downturn occurred in 1800, following the introduction of closer supervision of ships' surgeons. The contracting system established by the Navy Board in 1786 for the transportation of convicts to New South Wales could be made to work as long as government maintained an effective system of inspection and supervision.     

Circular business model evolution: Stakeholder matters for a self-sufficient ecosystem

Food waste is a key issue in the circular economy. A circular ecosystem results from the contributions of various stakeholders; however, the claims and value propositions of these stakeholders can differ, hampering long-term sustainability of the ecosystem. This study analyses the case of RiCibo, a circular ecosystem based in Genoa, Italy. RiCibo collects surplus food and redistributes it to the needy in the local community. The study examines the conditions that facilitated RiCibo’s evolution from a simple project to a circular self-sufficient ecosystem characterised by a co-designed circular business model with a broad range of stakeholders. The results show that sharing people, infrastructure and knowledge, together with mutual trust among stakeholders, are the preconditions of a circular ecosystem. Long-term continuity depends on additional tools that enhance financial self-sufficiency, namely, participative governance, a co-designed circular business model, accountability, frequent engagement, local actions and the development of advocacy power.     

The information revolution,innovation diffusion and economic growth: an examination of causal links in European countries

Quality & Quantity - Over the last 5 decades, the economic landscape in Europe has been transformed rapidly due to innovation, digitisation of the economy, and emergence of new sources of...     

Inter-linkages between competition and stabilisation policies in the banking sector and stock market development in Europe

The banking sector and the stock market in Europe have been adversely impacted by a series of global financial crises over the last two decades. Major financial reforms were implemented to enhance the stability and competition within the banking sector. Measures were also implemented to create a vibrant stock market in Europe to stimulate economic growth in Europe. This study examines the interactions between stock market development, banking competition, and banking stability in European countries from 1996 to 2016. The purpose of the study is to understand the inter-linkages between these variables to ascertain the spillover impact of policy reforms in the banking sector on the stock market and vice-versa. Using a vector error-correction model, the study finds long-run and short-run inter-linkages between banking competition, banking stability, and stock market development in European countries. The study’s most robust result is that banking competition and banking stability stimulate stock market development in the long run. There is also some evidence that healthy competition in the banking sector and stock market development instils greater stability in the banking sector. The results suggest that policy measures put in place to create a vibrant stock market must include elevating banking competition and banking stability, with policymakers being cognizant that causality may be bidirectional.     

Evaluating the impact of virtualization characteristics on SaaS adoption

Software as a service (SaaS) is a service model in which the applications are accessible from various client devices through internet. Several studies report possible factors driving the adoption of SaaS but none have considered the perception of the SaaS features and the organization’s context. We propose an integrated research model that combines the process virtualization theory (PVT), the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and the institutional theory (INT). PVT seeks to explain whether processes are suitable for migration into virtual environments via an information technology-based mechanism as SaaS. The TOE framework seeks to explain the effects of the intra-organizational factors, while INT seeks to explain the effects of the inter-organizational factors on the technology adoption. This research addresses a gap in the SaaS adoption literature by studying the internal perception of the technical features of SaaS and technology, organization, and environment perspectives. Additionally, the integration of PVT, the TOE framework, and INT contributes to the information system (IS) discipline, deepening the applicability and strengths of these theories.     

A snapshot of public finance research from immediately prior to the pandemic: IIPF 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped public policies and government finances, it has also influenced the topics that public finance economists are researching. Because the 2020 International Institute of Public Finance Congress featured papers that were submitted prior to the start of the pandemic, the Congress allows us to reflect on the state of research prior to the pandemic’s shock to both fiscal policies and our worldview. In this article, the Editors of International Tax and Public Finance reflect on interesting papers that were presented at this internationally representative conference in public economics. The exercise provides insight on where the field of public economics was heading prior to the pandemic and will provide a yardstick to see how the field evolves in the coming years afterward.