ABSTRACT
Purpose: Drawing on the structural hole-bridging perspective of network theory, this paper aims to examine the adaptation strategies undertaken by housing industry actors following the recent pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study was adopted as the research methodology for this research. Data collected through online interviews involving 20 participants was used as primary data, while document analysis (both online and printed documents) was used as secondary data. The interviews were guided by the visual vignette method. Findings: This study's findings indicate that a health-based crisis like COVID-19 triggers housing developers to act outside their comfort zones. They undertake arbitrage and collaborative brokerage strategies to cope with business uncertainties. This study revealed the contextual embedding of the owner-occupier market (consumer market) and the investor market (business market). This study also revealed that firms that aggressively located structural holes and built new relationships in B2C and B2B markets before the COVID-19 pandemic were well-equipped to face turbulent times. Practical implications: The innovative strategies that housing developers adopt are transferable and applicable to other industries and countries. Therefore, awareness of these strategies is essential for industry practitioners, especially those badly hit by health-based crises. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study that combines relationship management, structural holes, the housing market and their implications for crisis adaptation. This study examined the grossly understudied phenomenon of demand for housing, which is a durable good, during a turbulent time. The findings of this study provide beneficial guidance for firms, buyers and policymakers facing COVID-19 and/or other similar crises. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Many universities have slowly moved to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the physical presence of instructors, students can easily engage in cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Hence, the purpose of this research is to examine the association of student engagement with students’ cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Both student engagement and cyberslacking are multidimensional constructs. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyse data from 194 university students using a survey method. The results reveal that psychological motivation, cognitive problem-solving, and interactions with instructors do not have a significant association with cyberslacking behaviour. On the other hand, peer collaboration, community support, and learning management are found to have different associations with different dimensions of cyberslacking behaviour. Learning management is identified as the most robust predictor of cyberslacking behaviour. This research fills the research gaps by investigating the associations of various dimensions of student engagement with different dimensions of students’ cyberslacking behaviour in the context of e-learning environments. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
ABSTRACT
Purpose - Online learning has become more popular than ever in higher education owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this has also intensified students' propensity to engage in cyberslacking behaviour during online classes without the physical presence of instructors to monitor their behaviour. Hence, this research aims to investigate the association of the Big Five personality traits and situational factors with students' cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Design/methodology/approach - A self-administered survey questionnaire was distributed to current university students undertaking online modules this semester. In all, 194 completed surveys were obtained for further analysis. Findings - The results reveal that extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism and apathy towards course material have a significant association with at least one of the cyberslacking dimensions (sharing, shopping, real-time updating, accessing online content and gaming/gambling). However, agreeableness, intellect/ imagination and class engagement are found to have no significant association with all the dimensions of students' cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Originality/value - This study fills the research gaps by empirically testing the association of the Big Five personality traits and situational factors with students' cyberslacking behaviour in e-learning environments. Several limitations and future research are also discussed.