Newcastle Business School

This study examined "The Impact of artificial intelligence on organizational performance: Insights from VFD micro finance bank". Methodology: Relevant data were drawn from selected one hundred (100) staff of VFD micro finance bank in Lagos state, using a well-structured questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that there is an impact of artificial intelligence on organizational performance. Study conclusion and policy recommendations: The study concluded that in the twenty-first century, AI techniques have experienced a resurgence following concurrent advances in computer power, large amounts of data, and theoretical understanding; and AI techniques have become an essential part of the technology industry, helping to solve many challenging problems in business. The study recommends that businesses must take proactive measures to address the obstacles to AI adoption if they want to optimize the technology's beneficial effects on organizational performance. It is advised that businesses concentrate on making investments in the training of a knowledgeable workforce by providing courses that give staff members the skills they need to work with AI. In addition to ensuring that employees can efficiently manage and fully utilize AI technologies, this will assist close the talent gap. Additionally, in order to stay up with the rapid advancement of AI technologies and approaches, organizations need to cultivate a culture for continuous learning.

The paper examined the impact of ageism on social wellbeing of older adults. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of ageism on the social wellbeing of older adults.  These includes the impact of ageism on social connection, social support and on their social inclusion.
Ageism is a very serious issue as it shown in terms of positive stereotypes or attitudes; it is most closely associated with negative stereotypes or attitudes. The study used mixed research method to analyse the opinion of participants. The data collected through structured questionnaire and
interview guide were analysed with descriptive and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The study concluded that there is significant impact of ageism on social wellbeing of older person in the society as ageism affect their social connection, support and exclusion with younger generation. Furthermore, the result to a very negative stereotype in the social connection, support and exclusion older person faces in the society. Some of these discriminations are imposed by the younger generation who feel that older adults in the society are less important and difficult to relate with. Some attitude and perceptions portrays by younger generation against older
persons are offensive and discriminative. The study recommended that public education, creating opportunities for older and younger people to interact advocate for stricter policies that protect older adults from age-based discrimination in all social settings, including workplaces and
public services will help to reduce the discrimination that exist in the society.

This study examined "the effectiveness of loyalty programs on consumer retention and satisfaction in telecommunication companies in Nigeria". Methodology: Relevant data were drawn from sixty (60) selected staff of MTN in Ikeja Lagos, using a well-structured questionnaire. The result of the findings revealed that there is an effect of Loyalty Programs on Consumer Retention in telecommunication company in Nigeria, there is effect of Loyalty Programs on Consumer Satisfaction in telecommunication company in Nigeria and finally there is a relationship between consumer retention and satisfaction in telecommunication company in Nigeria. Study conclusion and policy recommendations: The study concluded that the effectiveness of loyalty programs in consumer retention and satisfaction within Nigeria's telecommunication sector can be viewed as a vital strategy for enhancing customer loyalty. These programs serve to build stronger emotional connections between consumers and service providers, fostering a sense of appreciation and value. It is therefore recommended by the study that telecommunication network providers such as Mobile Telephone Network (MTN) should consistently search for and improve on customers' satisfaction factors to continually attract and retain their valuable customers.

In those MMO games which specifically, through use of the EULA and TOS, prohibit the buying or trading of in-game currency for real currency, the ongoing customer decision to maintain paying their subscription and maintain their relationship with the product could conceivably be impaired by negative impacts of unwanted RMT activities. The paper presents findings of an exploratory interpretivistic netnographic pilot study modelled on Elliott & Yannopoulou’s (2007) approach of examining the nature of product trust in an MMO context coming to three broad recommendations for managers involved in the industry.

This paper seeks to add to the small but developing literature on the effectiveness of Blogging as a tool to promote continuous and deep learning in higher education. Deep learning is associated with students being able to incorporate and internalise concepts and classroom theories into their subsequent everyday graduate business lives. In particular in subject areas where surface learning (“learning to forget” for exams), is a issue which educators have noted, the identification and development of techniques which promote deep learning, and the student being able to bring their qualification to life in a business as a graduate (rather than studying to forget).Therefore this paper also seeks to present evidence to assess the educational potential of this assessment tool while providing an overview of the views of students as to its value and usefulness.

Garbage in, Garbage out? Questioning Key Variable Validity in Contemporary Quantitative Crowdfunding Research
Objectives
Crowdfunding research, usually firmly rooted in quantitative analysis of backing progress towards a set funding goal, completely misses key business issues and makes substantial assumptions regarding the definition of success which are starkly naive and lacking in a understanding of how these systems are gamed by entrepreneurs to maximise both their commercial exposure and raised funds.
Approach
This paper produces evidence from interviews with experienced entrepreneurs who have used crowdfunding platforms successfully on a number of occasions.
Results
This evidence suggests that these successful entrepreneurs are unconvinced of the face and content validity of many of the key variables and constructs being used in contemporary quantitative research. Furthermore, this evidence suggests that the entire basis of a number of academic studies into the success and failure of online crowdfunding, that is, using the announced target goal and whether or not it is met as the condition of success, is fatally flawed.
Implications
The current emerging wave of research into the phenomenon of online crowdfunding led by Mollich (2011) uses the wrong constructs, the wrong basis of analysis and the wrong metrics of success. For research to be meaningful, and for statistical inferences and conceptual conclusions drawn in academic papers to be generalizable and exhibit external validity the first step is to make sure that the constructs under examination themselves are valid by demonstrating content validity (Straub, 1989; Straub et al, 2004). Otherwise the research itself may fall foul of the classic “garbage in, garbage out” phenonomea, with poorly validated constructs leading to expert statistical analysis being conducted on a meaningless dataset.

This study empirically examines the impact of 'first-order' foresight capabilities on SME product/service adaptiveness (PSA). It further tests the moderating effect of environment dynamism (IND) on the associations between these first-order foresight capabilities and SME product/service adaptiveness (PSA). The results of the study have endorsed that foresight capabilities, specifically, environmental scanning, developing network ties, analysing, industry dynamics, and planning and visioning all have high level of direct impact on SMEs ability to strategically adapt their products or services to the market and customer needs. However, the results find no support for the interaction effect of industry dynamics on these associations. These findings contribute to the foresight and capabilities literature. Research and practical implications are discussed.

This study examines the critical role of the SME's marketing function (SME's MF) perceived effectiveness in leveraging entrepreneurial (SME) network ties to improve strategic adaptiveness (SA). The study tests whether a marketing function perceived as effective by SMEs' managers/owners moderates the relationship between SMEs network ties and SA required for improved performance. Findings of a moderated regression analysis on a sample of 263 Croatian SMEs indicate that network ties contribute significantly to SMEs' SA, and that a marketing function perceived as effective only moderates the impact of customer and competitor ties on SMEs' SA. Research and practical implications are discussed.

Despite the extensive literature on the HRM systems and practices of MNCs from developed countries, there are serious gaps in our understanding of emerging countries multinationals HRM practices and systems at both home and host countries. We take a step towards enhancing our understanding on this issue by empirically exploring the similarities and differences of both HRM systems and practices of MNCs originating from South Africa, one of the BRICS countries, operating in Ghana. The study reveals that with the exception of compensation and industrial relation practices which are localised EMNCs HR systems and practices are mainly transferred to subsidiaries with minimal adaptation to contextual realities. Further research and practical implications are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) domestic network structural attributes on their ex post internationalisation strategic innovation and adaptiveness in the host country. Design/methodology/approach The model fit of SME domestic network structural attributes and their ex post international performance was examined using structural equation modelling on data gathered from a sample of 263 SMEs from Croatia, a transition and emerging economy. Hierarchical regression analysis was further performed to test both the direct and moderating effects. Findings The study revealed that domestic network informality (DNF) moderates the link between SME domestic network centrality and their international innovation. Similarly, the findings show that DNF strengthens the negative association between domestic network density and SME international innovation and strategic adaptiveness. Moreover, the study did not find any direct impac...

Renewable energy is being increasingly touted as the “fuel of the future,” which will help to reconcile the prerogatives of high economic growth and an economically friendly development trajectory. This paper seeks to examine relationships between renewable energy production and economic growth and the differential impact on both developed and developing economies. We employed the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) regression model to a sample of 20 developed and developing countries for the period 1995–2016. Our key empirical findings reveal that renewable energy production is associated with a positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth in both developed and developing countries for the period 1995–2016. Our results also show that the impact of renewable energy production on economic growth is higher in developing economies, as compared to developed economies. In developed countries, an increase in renewable energy production leads to a 0.07 per cent...

Committees on a board of directors are now subject to recommendations by regulations in practically all jurisdictions. At the same time, scholarly work on the topic has escalated since the mid-1990s. In this review article, we examine relevant literature on board committees of audit, compensation and nomination, as part of corporate governance research in general, over the period of 1988 to 2011. We observed an exponential growth in contributions over time, the majority of which can be attributed to management and accounting scholars. The audit committee is the most researched of all three committees, with the nomination committee being the least researched. An analysis of the literature generated a picture that included the following features: 1) the dominance of the agency theory; 2) a lack of other unifying theoretical frameworks; 3) a strong US-centrism; 4) the prevalence of quantitative research methods.

Designing a modular product architecture and corresponding organization design may enable firms to internationalize more effectively and efficiently. Open and closed, integrated, and modular product architectures may be associated with increasing product market and firm internationalization. We postulate that the more open and modular the product architecture, the easier product market internationalization becomes. We hypothesize that an open and modular product architecture may permit international product markets to become "components" within a strategy of "modular internationalization." 1 | INTRODUCTION Over the past five decades, a great deal of international business research has focused on the process, scope, motivations, determinants, extent, methods, and speed of firm international expansion

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing academic attention, we lack a solid understanding of how managerial perceptions underpin firms’ sustainability practices. This study interprets and sheds light on managers’ perceptions of sustainability activities under various stakeholder domains in Croatia through a multi-theoretical approach. Using 21 semi-structured interviews with managers, the study reveals that sustainability activities in the research context tend to focus more on environmental issues and customer service, as well as employees and supplier domains. The study further establishes three distinct levels of sustainability commitments by firms. These stages include sustainability as a minimal response, corporate culture-driven, and committed response. These findings, as a whole, are insightful and enable us to advance research on sustainability by elucidating how managerial perceptions underpin firms’ strategic sustainability activities. The cont...

Despite the considerable research on strategic persistence, there remains a lack of understanding as to why companies persist with underperforming workers. Our study seeks to fill this gap in the literature by integrating the concepts of the paradox of success, external legitimacy, nepotism and the escalation of commitment perspectives to develop an integrated explanation for persistence with underperforming workers. Drawing on insights from two emerging economies in Africa: Ghana and Nigeria, we uncovered that persistence with underperforming workers stem from information hoarding, favouritism through tribalism and externally imposed constraints. Our study also articulates the underlying processes inherent in such persistence. The wider implications for theory and public policy are examined.