Government support, employee motivation and job performance in the COVID-19 times: evidence from Turkish SMEs during the short work period

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the effect of government support (short work allowances - SWA) on SME employees' job performance and employee motivation perceptions, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 2,781 employees working in SMEs registered to Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (SMEDO) in Turkey. The relationships were assessed through structural equation modeling with bootstrap estimation.FindingsThe results support the proposed framework illustrating the positive effect of government support on employees' perceived motivation and job performance. Findings indicate that employee motivation has exhibited a mediating effect between government support and job performance. Another important finding is that, contrary to the classical understanding of Herzberg's two-factor theory, SWA system was able to perform as a motivating factor during the pandemic by meeting the hygiene needs.Research limitations/implicationsSince this is a cross-sectional research study, causal inferences cannot be derived from the research results.Originality/valueThere is a lack of empirical study on SME employees' perceptions on the government support during the pandemic, especially on the perspectives of emerging economies are infrequent. Turkey's case is unique in terms of providing insights on how perceived employee motivation is increased by the government supports (SWA) in Turkey, and how this motivation mediates the job performance perceptions. Besides, the impacts of government support are mostly studied at the firm or macro-levels, this study's unit of analysis is at individual level. Regarding the criticism from the motivation perspective of two-factor theory, COVID-19 context and its impact on the motivation needs have not been elaborated before. This article starts new discussions on how crisis contexts influence individual motivator factors.

Re-humanising management through co-presence: Lessons from enforced telework during the second wave of Covid-19

The use of enforced telework during the Covid-19 crisis sheds light on the importance of co-presence—i.e., presence mediated by information and communication technologies instead of physical proximity—for managing people. Previous studies on telework have exposed the risk of social isolation, which can lead workers to feel dehumanised. In this paper, we investigate how management adapts to co-presence by drawing on 28 semi-structured interviews conducted in February and March 2021 among employees and managers from private and public organisations in Belgium. Surprising results show that co-presence was mainly lived as a way to maintain proximity and constituted an opportunity for some managers to re-humanise their work approach, and for employees to feel humanely managed. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for the study of humanisation and co-presence in management, including some critical considerations regarding the very notions of ‘de-' and ‘re-humanisation', and make recommendations in terms of technology, work organisation, and management. © 2023 Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social Axioms and Individual Values as Predictors of COVID-19 Fear among University Students from Countries with Different Government Strategies for Managing the Pandemic.

Background: Effective prevention of psychological trauma by fear of COVID-19 requires the study of the relationships between the psychological and contextual factors that can influence the level of this fear. The social axioms, individual values, and government strategies for managing the pandemic have not yet been studied as a system of psychological and contextual factors contributing to COVID-19 fear. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the level of COVID-19 fear and the characteristics of the relationships between the social axioms, individual values, and fear of COVID-19 among university students from countries with different government strategies for managing the pandemic. Design: University students from countries with different government strategies for managing the pandemic (208 Belarusians, 200 Kazakhstanis, and 250 Russians ages 18 to 25) participated in an anonymous online survey. The respondents filled in questionnaires that assessed their manifestations of COVID-19 fear (COVID-19 Fear Scale: FCV-19S) as the dependent variable; the "Social Axiom Questionnaire" (QSA-31) and the "Portrait Value Questionnaire" (ESS-21) measured the social axioms and individual values as the independent variables. Results: Fear of COVID-19 reached a higher level among the students from the countries with the weakest (Belarus) and the strongest (Kazakhstan) restrictive measures during the pandemic. Dysfunctional fear of COVID-19 was manifest among those Belarusian students who attached the greatest importance to self-enhancement values and the fate control axiom, and the least importance to the social complexity axiom, as well as among those Russian students for whom the religiosity social axiom was significant and the social complexity axiom was not. For Kazakhstani students, social axioms and values were not predictors of dysfunctional fear of COVID-19. Conclusion: The greatest contribution of social axioms and individual values to the experience of COVID-19 fear among the students was observed under conditions where the actions of the authorities were incompatible with the existing pandemic risks (in Belarus), as well as under conditions where a variable assessment of threat level was possible (in Russia).

Information Value of Individual and Consolidated Financial Statements for Indicative Liquidity Assessment of Polish Energy Groups in 2018–2021

Electricity is currently one of the most popular sources of energy. Considering such widespread use of electric energy, we may ask, what is the economic cost of producing and supplying it? The climate crisis and the social pressure associated with it have triggered the necessity to make further investments in renewable and low-emission energy sources, while the COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly limited electricity consumption in industry. All these factors can have an impact on disruptions or loss in the liquidity of companies responsible for supplying electricity to end users. Guaranteeing cash flow for energy sector entities is a prerequisite for energy supply continuity. In this context, the selection and application of reliable sources of information are vital for the management of the financial liquidity of energy sector entities. The aim of this article is to prove the value of the financial information of individual (IFR) and consolidated financial statements (CFR) essential for the indicative liquidity assessment of Polish energy groups in 2018–2021. The hypothesis of this study is that individual and consolidated statements do not offer coincident analytical data due to the diversified role of their parent undertakings. We have applied indicative liquidity assessment analysis from a static and dynamic perspective to 2018–2021, on the basis of individual and consolidated financial statements. The results clearly show high dysfunction in the application of indicative liquidity assessment in the case of the individual financial statement of the parent company. This is mainly due to the role parent companies play in Polish energy sector groups, as they are mainly responsible for support processes. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Energies (19961073) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Managing Educational Determinants of Financial Inclusion as a Key Factor of Sustainable Development: Logit-Probit Modeling

This article is devoted to the question of identifying the relationship between the dimensions of formal education in the country and the level of its financial inclusion. To achieve it, logit-probit modeling was used between the integral indicator of financial inclusion, based on principal-component factors calculation, and various dimensions of education. Ninety-three countries with different levels of socio-economic development were chosen as the object of the study. As a result, the positive statistically significant influence of such determinants as financial literacy, duration of compulsory education, government expenditure on education, pupil-teacher ratio, school enrollment at the secondary level was confirmed. School enrollment at the primary level had a negative influence on financial inclusion. This vector of research will allow to form the main directions of management of educational determinants of financial inclusion, which are important vectors of reforming the education system and ensuring financial inclusion at the national level.

Sensemaking in the time of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment that is dynamically uncertain - routines are upended, normal interactions are disrupted, and risk must be reassessed on an ongoing basis. The pandemic offers the unique opportunity to study sensemaking within a context that is enormously complex, novel, and rapidly changing. At the same time, this pandemic brings to the foreground assumptions and questions about sensemaking theory that have remained largely unexamined. In a field often focused on corporate managers and elite first responders, these organizational actors are neither powerful nor sexy (from a research standpoint). This points to the need to revisit the alignment between where critical sensemaking is currently taking place and where we tend to study it. Sensemaking research can be enhanced by exploring it in a much wider range of organizations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Resilience, retention, and return of staff: the case of Stellenbosch University Library

This chapter reflects on some of the strategies used by the Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service to successfully navigate major issues regarding staff retention, the resilience, and return to work of staff, and how the lessons learned can be applied going into the future. Although circumstances differ by country and context, the authors are of the view that the practice at Stellenbosch University can serve as an important benchmark for academic libraries dealing with crises in the future. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Successful Role of Data Science In Managing Covid-19 Battle

The corona pandemic's wild and unchecked spread over more than a few months around the world is a worldwide problem. To solve this worldwide issue, information technology innovation is employed along with medicine, biotechnology, and medical equipment. The fight against COVID-19 is greatly aided by Machine-Learning (ML), Artificial-Intelligence (AI), and data science (DS). By utilising such technologies, there is a good chance that the pandemic may be stopped, and that life can return to normal, as it did before the pandemic. In this essay, many technologies are analysed in relation to various situations, including social exclusion and prevention, confinement and isolation, corona virus testing and detection, management of the hospital, patient care, and therapy. This study provides transparent planning, technological techniques, digital procedures, together with the most recent smart technology in a number of disciplines, to battle the severity of the coronavirus. © 2023 IEEE.

COVID-19 and Its Impacts on Managing Information Systems

Organizations have encountered risks of all types dealing with information systems (IS) and information technology (IT). However, managing risks in the COVID-19 environment is not something organizations have encountered in the past, at least to the extent. This paper identifies a number of IS/IT-related risks focusing on the current coronavirus environment. Suggestions are provided for managers on how they might recognize and minimize these risks.

Family businesses navigating the COVID-19 pandemic through a gender perspective: the role of external and internal factors in stimulating dynamic capability development

PurposeThe paper aims to decipher, through intertwined external and internal perspectives, how female and male owners of family businesses (FB) that have been affected by the pandemic develop new capabilities to respond to the market's crisis-related needs. Specifically, this study seeks to decipher the role of external support, mediated by the owner's psychological capital (i.e. internal perspective) and moderated by gender, on the development of capabilities related to the market's changing needs, drawing on the dynamic capabilities conceptualization.Design/methodology/approachA sample of responses from 261 Canadian FB owners was generated during the pandemic, and online questionnaires were distributed.FindingsRegression analyses and Hayes' PROCESS tool revealed that while external support directly invigorates capability development, external support is also mediated by psychological capital and moderated by gender, so that female owners were found less likely to use external support for capability development than men. These findings are explained by women's traditional responsibility in FB of protecting the family from external circumstances. Nevertheless, both women and men orchestrated external support, due to the higher psychological capital of FB, to develop capabilities that respond to pandemic-related market needs.Originality/valueThis study explores and demonstrates the unique navigation of FB owners during crises, and the role of the owner's gender in pursuing capability development. The study's value is in interconnecting external and internal perspectives while probing FB during crises. Implications for the ecosystem's conduct toward FB are discussed.

Road to recovery: Managing an epidemic.

Without widespread immunization, the road to recovery from the current COVID-19 lockdowns will optimally follow a path that finds the difficult balance between the social and economic benefits of liberty and the toll from the disease. We provide an approach that combines epidemiology and economic models, taking as given that the maximum capacity of the healthcare system imposes a constraint that must not be exceeded. Treating the transmission rate as a decreasing function of the severity of the lockdown, we first determine the minimal lockdown that satisfies this constraint using an epidemiology model with a homogeneous population to predict future demand for healthcare. Allowing for a heterogeneous population, we then derive the optimal lockdown policy under the assumption of homogeneous mixing and show that it is characterized by a bang-bang solution. Possibilities such as the capacity of the healthcare system increasing or a vaccine arriving at some point in the future do not substantively impact the dynamically optimal policy until such an event actually occurs.

Managing an ageing healthcare workforce: a systematic literature review.

PURPOSE: The aim of this paper is to review research conducted on managing the ageing healthcare workforce and identify gaps for further research. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A systematic literature search of studies in the English language was carried out in Scopus and Web of Science databases. FINDINGS: The study consists of an analysis of 75 published articles. The majority of the papers were published in recent years, indicating a growing interest in the field. The authors specified the following inclusion criteria: all years, articles/reviews, English language and full text in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The authors of the paper illustrated seven major categories with different topics that were suggested for future research. It included: challenges of labor market in the healthcare field, age-related changes and their influence on work ability, training opportunities and lifelong learning among ageing health workforce, motives of early retirement, ageing and its relationship to Occupational Health and Safety. Longitudinal studies and case study strategy with mixed-methods approaches were suggested for future research by the authors. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The paper summarizes knowledge related to the management of ageing health workforce, describes topics researched and as a result, presents findings on and conclusions about the most important future implications of the ageing workforce for management in the healthcare field providing lines for further research. To the authors' knowledge, no holistic systematic literature reviews have been published in academic journals targeted specifically to ageing healthcare workers.

Southern Africa Trust: embarking on a sustainability journey

Learning outcomes: The learning outcomes focus on enabling students to view operational model changes critically, as they pertain to: ■ evaluating different management styles and uses of the ADKAR change management model in decision-making moments in times of crisis (such as COVID-19) in non-profit organisations (NPOs);■ evaluating different ways in which NPOs pivot to sustainability, including the use of social enterprise models and change management;■ anticipating and managing change in institutional formations through new technologies;■ articulating trade-offs between grant and non-grant resource mobilisation for African philanthropy;and ■ application of change management theory to organisations' sustainability journeys. Case overview/synopsis: In May 2020, working from her home office just over one month into a nationwide lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Masego Madzwamuse, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Southern Africa Trust (the Trust), knew that it could once again be at a crossroads. In 2015, the Trust had found itself in a quandary when its primary donor gave notification of its intention to withdraw its funding. The Trust had responded by making changes to its structure and strategy. Now, with uncertainty rife throughout South Africa, the CEO knew that she had to consider whether the changes that had been implemented over the past five years had prepared the Trust not only to respond to, but also to survive the pandemic and continue its vital work long into the future. Complexity academic level: Postgraduate Diploma in Management, MBA, Masters in Management. Supplementary materials: Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code: CSS 11: Strategy. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

RISK AND RETURNS: Large-scale Funding for Urban Research

The nature of research funding shapes knowledge outcomes, especially for urban research that is conducted in multiple sites and over multiple years. Recent unplanned cuts in the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grants, alongside the rupture caused by Covid-19, created ethical and procedural issues for completing the PEAK Urban programme. Building on durable partnerships, setting principles for the reduced fund distribution and adjusting modes of working enabled PEAK Urban to navigate the fiscal disruption—but the difficult episode highlights lessons for the ethical organization of global urban research under conditions of uncertainty. © 2023 The Authors. Internati onal Journal of Urban and Regional Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Urban Research Publicati ons Limited.

Remote Innovation: How Remote Work Enables Open Innovation in Times of COVID-19

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated infection control measures imposed by governments caused a major disruption to traditional workflows, leading to an immense increase in remote work. At the same time, innovation activities became more collaborative and digitalized than ever before, as firms worldwide were forced to shift from physical to virtual innovation spaces literally overnight and suddenly had to adapt and practice "remote innovation ". By means of a systematic literature review based on 80 selected articles, this paper contributes to the academic discussion in three ways: First, the paper explores the synthesis between open innovation and remote work and uncovers a set of necessary determinants that form the basis for practicing remote innovation. Second, the paper offers a conceptual framework based on Chesbrough's open innovation model and extended by various determinants of open innovation in a remote work environment to provide initial advice to managers on how to innovate in times of social distancing. Third, the study concludes by identifying several promising areas for future research in the field of remote innovation management, a hitherto under-researched but highly topical field.

RISK AND RETURNS: Large‐scale Funding for Urban Research

The nature of research funding shapes knowledge outcomes, especially for urban research that is conducted in multiple sites and over multiple years. Recent unplanned cuts in the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) grants, alongside the rupture caused by Covid‐19, created ethical and procedural issues for completing the PEAK Urban programme. Building on durable partnerships, setting principles for the reduced fund distribution and adjusting modes of working enabled PEAK Urban to navigate the fiscal disruption—but the difficult episode highlights lessons for the ethical organization of global urban research under conditions of uncertainty. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Toward a sustained recovery of the lodging sector: a management path to lessen the Corona Variants upshots

The lodging industry is an important source of national income being a main ingredient for tourism, also, as it contributes to solving the problem of unemployment. Predominantly, the lodging sector supports the balance of payments. At this place, a reading to "Alpha”;"Beta”;"Gamma”;"Delta”;and "Omicron”—Corona Variants reflects significant implications. On the one hand, there exists a challenge to Egypt's hotel industry following the pandemic attack;on the other hand, and by considering the case of relaxing the international restrictions, the international tourism is expected to recoup. Egypt has relatively benefited in the first half of 2021 when many Europeans escaped the lower temperature in winter in their homelands opting warm holiday destinations. The primary readings also expect the continuity in this increase. The macro-trend right here considers the shift in favor of a thoroughly managed risk with enhanced pliability, adopting a view of creating value, and increasing trust, while the micro-management considerations signify enhancing the sustainability of the sector performance by means of raising lodging hygienic attributes and approving innovative approaches. Luxury hotel, led by their executives, can significantly contribute and steer this trend mainly for cost tolerance estimates and for the potentiality of cost recovery. This study addresses the ways with which "Alpha”;"Beta”;"Gamma”;"Delta”;and "Omicron” Corona variants necessitate more sustained hotel management practices and helps to establish knowledge and techniques that assist the lodging sector in Egypt. A further goal of this study is to endorse the hotel managers' impact on counteracting the upshots of Variants' progressions. The study is multifaceted in "scale” and "scope,” since it is based on an investigation of the effects of large-scale public health emergencies in the lodging sector. A qualitative methodology is set via conducting online and offline surveys to examine how the pandemic affect lodging sector operations, and how far Egypt's luxury hotel managers tolerate both burdens of managing the emergency and creating sustained plans for recovery. Henceforward, the study constructs a frame for sustained lodging sector recovery. The paper's scientific value is that it functionalizes a broad inductive method of qualitative research in which a merge of the interpretation of management enabling factors and health enabling trends in the lodging sector and luxury hotel managers' responses obtained through exploratory qualitative research is utilized to cluster the managers' responses and thus generalize the information in the setting of a Framework for Health Crisis Management in the lodging sector. The Framework for Health Crisis Management also adds value as it amalgamates a combination of input factors of management and health enablers;a transformation via the change actions;an output of containing the effect of the pandemic through the enhanced managers' capabilities and hotels' health hygiene readiness;and an outcome implication of medium-term stabilizing effects that leads to an impact effect of sustained lodging sector recovery. This configures an input, transform (actions), output, outcome, and impact result chain. The study reaches the findings that sustainable recovery in the lodging sector—being sensitive to the uncertainty that the Virus "Variants” create—necessitates the merge between managing the emergency, adopting pliable approaches, alongside with the enhancement of the managers' (hoteliers) role as a supporting premise.

COVID-19 uncertainties, dynamic capabilities and the strategic response of multinational enterprises

PurposeThis study aims to examine uncertainties created due to the pandemic that multinational enterprises (MNEs) had to confront. It also assesses MNEs' response to these uncertainties through their dynamic capabilities (DCs). It relied on theories of DCs and organizational learning. Design/methodology/approachMNEs listed in Fortune Global 500 served as the population of the study, while data were retrieved from their respective corporate websites. The final phase generated 704 documents systematically analyzed for dialogic communication. Content analysis was used to make inferences. FindingsThis study found six distinct uncertainties created by COVID-19. Furthermore, it was found that irrespective of industry-type or headquarters location, organizations could transform their internal processes and remain resilient by strategically sensing and responding to exogenous shocks through DCs. Research limitations/implicationsThe use of dialogic communication through website analysis could be prone to misrepresentations and data exaggeration from organizations. However, this limitation was mitigated by focusing on Fortune Global 500 MNEs, which are reputable global corporations. Practical implicationsDealing with and coping with the uncertainties created by COVID-19 presents MNEs with valuable capabilities and experience in handling future global viral diseases when they inevitably occur. Originality/valueUnlike previous shocks, COVID-19 had an immeasurable global disruption to MNEs' business operations. Evidence was found that MNEs could remain resilient by using DCs in response to uncertainties amid an exogenous shock. It makes a theoretical contribution by extending what was previously known about DCs, uncertainties and exogenous shocks.

MALAY LANGUAGE TEACHER LEADERSHIP IN MANAGING PEDAGOGY AND THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY POST COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the world has caused changes in human life including the world of education. Among the changes that occur in education is the management of education that focuses on complete technological dependence. This study aims to identify the leadership of pedagogical management and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among Malay Language teachers as well as synthesize the influence of pedagogy, and the use of ICT on the achievement of Malay Language among students. Questionnaires were distributed to a total of 300 high school Malay teachers from the state of Selangor that were randomly selected. The findings of the study show that the level of Malay teachers in managing pedagogy and using technology is at a high level. Findings also show that Malay language achievement increased starting in 2020 and 2021. From a multiple regression analysis, it was found that Malay language achievement for the year 2020 was influenced by pedagogical knowledge. Next, the achievement for the year 2021 is influenced by the use of technology. Meanwhile, the overall achievement of Malay Language in 2020 to 2021 is influenced by the leadership of Malay Language teachers in managing pedagogy and the use of ICT. The implications are to increase ICT training for Malay language teachers and non-option teachers, as well as revision of the Malay Language curriculum. Teachers need to be constantly exposed to courses and teaching activities that integrate ICT continuously. Findings also provide guidance to the Ministry of Education to enact or improve the Malay language curriculum and increase the professionalism of Malay Language teacher leadership in managing pedagogy and the use of ICT in Malay language teaching. © 2022, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.

The Role of Collaborative Resource Sharing in Supply Chain Recovery During Disruptions: A Systematic Literature Review

The COVID-19 crisis has attracted attention worldwide to supply chain disruptions and resilience. Several supply chain risk management approaches have been revisited or reapplied in the literature;however, collaborative resource sharing is less researched. This study aimed to investigate the current academic state of the art and advances in using collaborative resource sharing as a reactive method to facilitate supply chain recovery in the presence of disruptive events. More specifically we considered the role of different collaborative resource-sharing strategies that organizations can adopt to support supply chain functionalities during times of disruption. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to analyze academic articles that were published online from 2000 to 2022. In order to analyze the literature, we adopted a combination of text-mining, automatic and manual categorization of selected articles, and exploratory analyses such as cluster analysis and relational indicators. We also consider the machine learning classification algorithm i.e. agglomerative hierarchical clustering for the categorization of clusters. The findings show that, for disruptive risks, collaborative sharing of labour and material resources is effective for the recovery of supply chains. More so, labour resources tend to contribute more to the recovery of supply chains through the physical and mental recreation of recovery activities and experiences. Whilst information resources and a mix of information and material resources are highly important in reducing the impact of COVID-19 disruptive supply chain risk. In conclusion, collaborating on the three resources, namely labour, material, and information resources can be an effective post-disruption recovery strategy for supply chains.