Browsing by Author "Hafeez, Khalid"

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    An analysis of the impact of negative CSR ‘Forced Labour’ parameter on the profitability of Supply Chain Contracts
    (Elsevier, 2020-06-20) Amoozad Mahdiraji, Hannan; Hafeez, Khalid; Jafarnejad, Ahmad; Rezayar, Ali
    This paper provides a mathematical model to analyse the impact of a negative corporate social responsibility (CSR) parameter that for ‘forced labour’, on supply chain profitability based on coordination contracts. Four types of supply chain coordination contract are developed and benchmarked against set performance indices employing sensitivity analysis and non-linear optimization techniques. Nash ‘static’ and Stackelberg ‘dynamic’ models are employed to represent the ‘gameplay’ between the ‘manufacturer’ and ‘retailer’ in a supply chain. The key inputs are average demand and ‘forced labour’ ratios, whereas key performance indicators are advertising, inventory and pricing costs. Our results indicate that by reducing the proportion of ‘forced labour’ for both members of the supply chain, the overall profitability increases in a Nash static gaming context. However, the contractual relationships in a Stackelberg dynamic situation provide a different picture. Here, if the ‘retailer’ assumes the leadership role, cost-sharing contracts increase the profitability for both partners. However, if the ‘manufacturer’ assumes the leader, the profit-sharing contract leads to the highest overall profit. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis confirms that an ideal situation is one in which the ‘forced labour’ ratio approaches ‘zero’, where the profitability of the retailer is usually higher than that of the manufacturer. Previous researchers have used ‘survey-based’ methods to develop proportional or ‘mediating’ relationships to measure the impact of CSR on supply chain profitability. This paper addresses the associated gap by providing a game theoretic-based non-linear mathematical model to assess the direct impact of negative CSR on supply chain profitability and benchmarks the performance of different supply chain contracts.
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    Assessing the Impact of Social Structures in International Opportunity Recognition: A Case Study of Brazilian Technology Firms
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2019-11-18) Arroteia, Nuno; Hafeez, Khalid
    This chapter explores how the recognition of opportunities regarding developing technology and entering a new market is influenced by the systemic effect of social forces. These include institutions, social networks and the entrepreneur’s cognitive frames. This study adopts a longitudinal perspective by capturing and analysing the phenomenon in two moments: first, when the businesses started to operate domestically and second, when they began to internationalise. The cases of five Brazilian technology firms are analysed. The findings reveal the systemic and mutually reinforcing effect of these social forces on the recognition of opportunities. The entrepreneurs’ cognitive frames were particularly vital in recognising opportunities to enter the Brazilian market. The institutional support provided by universities along with government mechanisms and entrepreneurs’ social networks were essential to accrue experiential and non-experiential knowledge of international markets, therefore contributing to the recognition of international opportunities. The temporal perspective employed in this research assists the understanding of how historical events shape entrepreneurs’ capabilities to recognise and change company discourse to pursue the recognition of international opportunities. The results provide guidelines for researchers, practitioners and policymakers, particularly in the emerging economies in Latin America, to support the growth and flourishing of entrepreneurial ventures through pursuing international opportunities.
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    Business process transformation in financial market: A hybrid BPM‐ELECTRE TRI for redesigning a securities company in the Iranian stock market
    (Wiley, 2020-03-03) Amoozad Mahdiraji, Hannan; Hafeez, Khalid; Razavi Hajiagha, S.H.
    Purpose Business Process Management is a systematic way to design, implement and manage business critical processes at different organizational levels to ensure business sustainability. In this paper, we conduct a business process re‐engineering exercise for KBK Securities Co., a small size security company operating in Iranian stock and mercantile market. The company suffered from in‐efficiencies and poor and delayed decision‐making due to poor visibility and complexity with business critical processes. Design We employed a semi‐quantitative approach using ELECTRE TRI decision‐making method to identify the business critical processes. Through document analysis, we identified 103 financial and stock market processes to streamlining purposes. We use Multi‐Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) and ELECTRE TRI methods for first, arriving to a consensus for the imprecise information elicited from a group of departmental managers, and second making a decision‐making to determine the 32 business critical processes out of 103, and third clustering these processes for business process re‐engineering. We make significant contribution in theory by employing a multi criterion decision‐making (MCDM) in the financial sector in the context of a developing economy like Iran. Originality We provide a structured framework along with an off the shelf software tool for practitioners to implement this approach to rationalize the number of processes and subsequently to improve the business critical processes to enhance financial performance in the stock market. Findings Our findings suggest that company can cut down approximately 68% waste by reducing its business critical processes and spend their available time and resources in growing the business.
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    Co-creating Brand Reputation through Higher Education Employees’ and Students’ Social Network
    (Elsevier, 2020) Foroudi, Pantea; Al Ziyadin, S; Kitchen, P J; Pantano, E; Hafeez, Khalid
    By drawing on social identity and stakeholders’ theories, this paper seeks to examine how universities co-create and manage their brand image and brand reputation through tapping into internal-stakeholders’ social network. This research utilises explanatory research design at the preliminary stage, and the subsequent model is examined via a positivist survey carried out among higher education internal stakeholders in the UK. The results show that the relationship between navigation design of the website, usability of the website and customization of the website are not significant from students’ perspective, whereas all those are significant from employees’ perspective. Furthermore, the relationship between logo and co-creation behaviour is not significant from employees’ perspective while it is significant from students’ perspective. University website is the most important marketing tool to attract students and other stakeholders. Therefore, these findings have significant implications for higher education branding and marketing managers aiming to design appropriate communication tools with a view to actively engage students and employees in a co-creation process to improve their products, services and brand image.
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    DEA-Driven Risk Management Framework for Optimising Supply Chain Strategies in the Nigerian Oil Industry
    (Elsevier, 2024-06-12) Asu, John Otu; Hatami-Marbini, Adel; Hafeez, Khalid; Khoshnevis, Pegah
    This paper develops a comprehensive risk management framework to optimise the Nigerian oil industry supply chain risk mitigation strategies. Given the complexities of petroleum supply chain, this framework aids researchers and decision-makers in navigating innovative risk management approaches, considering implementation of associated challenges. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is initially employed to prioritise risk factors, and based on obtained results, optimal response strategies are determined. The study's findings reveal criminality and terrorist attacks as paramount Nigerian oil supply chain risk factors. Additionally, the research identifies practical mitigation strategies, such as risk transfer, safety planning, alternative energy carriers, improved energy efficiency, emergency rescue plans, expected shortages, and diplomatic relations. This research contributes valuable insights to academia and industry, fostering a deeper understanding of risk dynamics in the Nigerian oil sector. The framework presented offers a powerful approach to risk management, providing a foundation for informed decision-making and strategic planning in the ever-evolving landscape of supply chain dynamics.
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    The effect of TQM on organisational performance: empirical evidence from the textile sector of a developing country using SEM
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017-02-22) Shafiq, M.; Lazario, F.; Hafeez, Khalid
    Total quality management (TQM) is a widely used management philosophy across many sectors. Organisations implement TQM in order to gain competitive advantage in terms of quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability. However, the literature seems inconclusive about the positive effect of TQM on organisational performance. The effect of national culture on TQM implementation is gaining importance; thus, several studies argue that the effect of TQM practices on organisational performance needs to be evaluated in different social, cultural, and economic settings. Furthermore, this study also contributes in the important debate in the operations management literature related to convergence versus divergence argument in TQM implementation. Therefore, this study provides empirical evidence from a developing country in South Asia. Data were collected from the member companies of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association by using a questionnaire. The questionnaires were sent to 210 textile companies and the respondents were quality or production managers. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the effect of TQM practices on organisational performance. The findings of this study indicate that TQM has a highly positive effect on organisational performance. These findings support the divergence argument, which indicates that the positive effect of TQM on organisational performance is not limited only to companies located in developed nations, but can also be equally achieved in other parts of the world.
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    Evaluating key capabilities for developing global collaborative networks using a multi-layer decision-making approach
    (Emerald, 2021-07-07) Amoozad Mahdiraji, Hannan; Hafeez, Khalid; Abbasi Kamardi, Ali Asghar; Garza-Reyes, Jose Arturo
    Purpose – This paper proposes a multi-layer hybrid decision-making approach to evaluate the capability alternatives for developing a collaborative network to operate in the international market. Design/methodology/approach – The present study is contextualised in the Iranian pistachio export industry. An extensive review of the state-of-the-art literature on supplier collaboration was conducted to identify key capabilities that are essential to establish a collaborative network. The set of defined capabilities were then optimised through interviews with 14 experts from the relevant industry, academics and export authorities. A combination of the fuzzy Delphi method and the best–worst method (BWM) approach was, respectively, used to reduce the number of capability alternatives and assign priority weights to these alternatives. Subsequently, a weighted aggregated sum product assessment method (WASPAS) was employed to rank and evaluate the ability to creating a collaborative network for the export of pistachio. Findings – From the extant literature review, 18 capabilities for the formation of coordination networks in the internationalmarketswere identified.Then, the prominent indicators in forming a global networkwere extracted. After ranking the top pistachio export countries/regions to formalise an efficient collaborative network, it was revealed that although Iran exports approximately 30% of the global market, it falls behind the USA and European Union. The competitors have scored higher in critical criteria, including “trust and commitment”, “strategy and management”, “managerial control and standardization” and “financial resources”. Originality/value – The proposed hybrid approach encompassing fuzzy Delphi–BWM–WASPAS offers to solve the capability evaluation and selection as well as ranking the possible alternative to formalise a collaborative network in an integrated fashion. This combination of methods is capable to first identify the most important factors, thenmeasuring their importance and eventually rank the possible alternatives. The suggested framework provides an approach to deal with the uncertainty of global collaborative network formation.
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    Evaluating the impact of corporate logos towards corporate reputation: a case of Persia and Mexico
    (Emerald, 2017) Foroudi, P.; Hafeez, Khalid; Foroudi, M. M.
    Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate logos on corporate image and reputation in creating competitive advantage in the context of Persia and Mexico as emerging markets. The paper provides an extensive links between corporate logo and its dimension and internal stakeholders’ attitudes towards advertisement, familiarity and recognisability as intermediaries to corporate image and reputation. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory approach was undertaken, comprising 12 face-to-face interviews and 14 skype in-depth interviews with graphic designers, design, communication and marketing consultant in Mexico and Persia based on attribution theory. Findings The study posits that the more favorable the name, colour, typeface and design of the company logo, the more favorable the attitude Mexican consumers have towards the corporate logo, corporate image and reputation. However, in comparison for Persia these factors have less effect on customers’ judgment and behaviour, towards the corporate logo, corporate image and reputation. The research findings suggest that the selection of colour in a corporate logo is related to its marketing objectives, cultural values, desired customer relationship levels with the organisation and organisation’s corporate communications. Originality/value Corporate logo has received little attention in marketing literature and rarely researched in the context of emerging market. This is the first research of its kind to find the effect of the compound logo in emerging markets of Persia and Mexico. Therefore, this research makes significant contribution towards the corporate visual identity literature by developing of the sphere of influence of the corporate logo and its antecedents and consequences (corporate image and corporate reputation).
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    Exploring student’s perceptions on psychological empowerment by using a business simulation
    (RAISE Network, 2020) Arroteia, Nuno; Hafeez, Khalid; Avramenko, Alex
    This paper introduces a study exploring the impact of computerised business simulations on student’s perceptions about their psychological empowerment. The research is focused on undergraduate business students in a Higher Education institution in the UK. Psychological empowerment is an acknowledged determinant of student engagement in the learning process. A survey-based instrument was designed and administered to students studying different business modules. The survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted to verify the empirical findings. The results indicate a significant and positive impact of simulation-based pedagogy on intrapersonal, interactional and behavioural dimensions of student’s psychological empowerment. Furthermore, our findings also suggest that these sub-constructs are interconnected. We have also found a positive trend in student academic attainment assisted by the use of computer-based business simulations. These results encourage business and enterprise tutors in Higher Education to embed simulation-backed pedagogies in the teaching and learning process as a means of advancing student learning and experience.
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    How do entrepreneurs learn and engage in an online community-of-practice? A case study approach
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018-06-12) Hafeez, Khalid; Foroudi, P.; Nguyen, B.; Alghatas, F.; Gupta, S.
    This paper investigates the ways in which entrepreneurs use communities of practice (CoPs) to express themselves, using narrative theory and rhetorical analysis, to gain insight into an electronic social network medium, namely, YoungEntrepreneur.com. In particular, the study focuses on CoPs themes, including why entrepreneurs engage in CoPs, what role the moderators and resident entrepreneurs can play in managing online CoPs, on communication rituals of the knowledge sharing through interactivity, and on ‘how to develop an intervention’ to maintain and stimulate entrepreneurs for engaging in an online community. Findings reveal that the topic title plays a major role in attracting people. Successful topics with successful conclusions (in terms of the original query that was answered) will not necessarily get high responses and vice versa. It is observed that the domain expert does not play a big role in keeping the discussion going. Finally, the study also discovered that entrepreneurs like to communicate in a story telling genre. A comprehensive set of engagement measurement tools are introduced to effectively measure the engagement in a virtual CoP, along with a classification to define and categorise discourse of messages in terms of content and context, which allow practitioners to understand the effectiveness of a social networking site.
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    Increased risks of labor exploitation in the UK following Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic: Perspectives of the agri-food and construction sectors,
    (Taylor and Francis, 2022-05-24) Walsh, D.; Pajon, Laura; Lawson, Karen; Hafeez, Khalid; Heath, Mark; Court, Neil
    On leaving the EU, changes to the UK’s immigration system meant that low-skilled workers from overseas were largely prohibited from entering the UK. Since industries such as Agri-food and construction have been dependent on low-skilled migrant labor, the present study examined whether there would be increased risks of labor exploitation. Interviews conducted with 43 senior industry representatives revealed problems already being experienced recruiting labor, that were expected to worsen. Participants believed that the labor exploitation would increase, especially further down the supply chain, only compounded by impact of Covid-19, which some participants stated had prompted neglect of due diligence. In searching for practicable solutions, participants saw the new immigration rules as opportunities to re-examine business practices to appeal more to British workers through, say, providing better pay. Such aspirations are thought unlikely, when considering the various factors that create downward cost pressures upon consumers. Similarly, industry responses in developing new technologies to overcome labor shortfalls seem still some years away from realisation. These conditions, together, suggest there is a continuing and pressing demand for cheap labor, particularly from overseas, which is only being partially addressed by the current seasonal visa schemes. Accordingly, risks of increased labor exploitation remain very real.
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    The Influence of Business Simulations on Students’ Psychological Empowerment
    (Startup Finance Limited, 2020) Avramenko, Alex; Arroteia, Nuno; Hafeez, Khalid
    This chapter introduces a study exploring the impact of pedagogy utilising the computerised business simulation on psychological empower-ment of students in a Higher Education institution. A survey-based instru-ment was designed and administered to the students undertaking different business modules, followed by factor analysis. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted to verify the empirical findings. The results indi-cate that business simulation has a positive impact on the intrapersonal, interactional and behavioural dimensions of psychological empowerment of the participated business students. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the intrapersonal and interactional dimensions of psychological empower-ment are interconnected through their behavioural and social aspects. The results also suggest that the students felt more confident and fairly self-reliant in decision making in situations involving risk and uncertainty.
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    The Internationalisation of Technolatinas from a Resource-based Perspective
    (Emerald, 2020) Arroteia, Nuno; Hafeez, Khalid
    Purpose - This paper investigates how entrepreneurs in an emerging economy in Latin Ameri-ca bundle resources to develop capabilities related to entering new markets whilst creating value for their firms. In particular, the paper explores how individual resources (experiential knowledge and social networks) impact on entrepreneurs’ capabilities to exploit new market opportunities. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs a case study approach to investigate five cases of entrepreneurs driving technology-based businesses in Brazil. Effectuation theory is used as a lens to ascertain how resources impact on the decision-making capabilities of the entrepreneurs and firms. The research adopts a longitudinal approach, capturing data from thirty interviewees over a period corresponding to domestic and international market entry of these Technolatinas’ businesses. Findings – This paper builds on previous RBV studies by supplementing evidence that indi-vidual and firm-level resources determine the development of capabilities to exploit new mar-ket opportunities for new firms. The presence of experiential knowledge (in particular, busi-ness planning, market analysis and experimentation) and social networks (individual re-sources) drives to a mix of causal and effectual heuristics; however, in the presence of firm-level resources (human and financial capital), new entrepreneurs tend to shift towards a stronger causal orientation. Research limitations/implications - The case companies are high technology, knowledge-intensive Brazilian start-up firms sharing a similar institutional setting. Further research should include a more diverse range of cases including other sectors and other countries in Latin America adopting quantitative design to confirm and generalise these findings. Practical implications - For policymakers and practitioners, this research provides guidelines on how entrepreneurs’ know-how and social networks can be enhanced by providing access to the international market to speed up the growth of a new firm. For entrepreneurship educa-tors, this research explains how effectual or causal orientation influence the entrepreneur to exploit the available resources to maximise the growth of businesses in the international mar-ket. Originality/value - The resource-based literature usually ignores the challenges faced by new resource-constrained firms and the individual-level resources of the entrepreneurs. This re-search contributes to the RBV, entrepreneurship, and internationalisation debate by identify-ing the interplay between RBV and effectuation theory, particularly by bringing forward the impact of individual resources and capabilities of entrepreneurs to make the decision to enter a new market. Moreover, by using the effectuation theory, the research contributes to a better understanding of how resources are managed to create value and growth in new firms.
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    Knowledge Sharing by Entrepreneurs in a Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP)
    (Emerald Publishing, 2018-08-15) Foroudi, P.; Alghatas, F; Gupta, S.; Hafeez, Khalid; Nguyen, B.
    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurs engage in a virtual community of practice (VCoP) to share knowledge. Intensity of engagement is taken as a proxy to measure the strength of knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach The archival data spanning over a three-year period from “Start-up-Nation©” (a VCoP purposefully setup for entrepreneurs) are used for analysis. A set of indices are introduced to measure participants’ intensity of engagement in terms of message length, message frequency and reciprocity in the knowledge sharing process. Content analysis is employed to test a sample of “highly engaged”, “moderately engaged”, “low engaged” and “not engaged” discussion topics as part of the online discourse. Findings The authors find that entrepreneurs normally use short (fewer than 100 words) or medium (fewer than 250 words) message size to contribute to the discussions. In addition, the authors find that senior members and discussion moderators play important roles in igniting the “reciprocity” behaviour in stimulating the interest of the community with the topic discussion. The authors also find that highly engaged topics usually lead to further discussion threads. Originality/value This is the first study of its kind to explore how entrepreneurs engage in a VCoP to share their knowledge and experiences. The set of measurement indices tested here provide a tool for the owner, designer and moderator of the VCoP to measure the utility of their website in terms of its members’ participation. In addition, the set of textual and subjective interventions identified here enables the moderator (administrator) of a VCoP to design effective interventions to facilitate online discourse and augments the knowledge sharing process amongst its community members
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    Long-run Relationship between R&D Investment and Environmental Sustainability: Evidence from the European Union Member Countries
    (Wiley, 2020-08-05) Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy; Alam, Mohd Samsul; Hammoudeh, Shawkat; Hafeez, Khalid
    The researchers, environmental scientists and policymakers around the world are exerting substantial efforts to mitigate the growth of CO2 emissions to save the planet. A number of measures and initiatives, such as, energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies and emission-control are proposed in order to reduce CO2 emissions. This study examines the long-run relationship between R&D investment and environmental sustainability in a panel of 25 European Union (EU) member countries over a period of seventeen years (1998 to 2014). We use robust and reliable econometric methods to capture the interactions between R&D investment on renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The findings confirm that the growth of R&D expenditures promotes renewable energy consumption and plays a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions in the sample countries. Furthermore, the findings suggest that increasing the share of renewable energy consumption in the total energy mix also reduces CO2 emissions. Given these results, we suggest that the EU policymakers provide more financial and regulatory assistance to the R&D activities, specifically in the energy sector, to ensure promoting low carbon economies in this region.
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    Marketing Management Capability: the Construct, and its Dimensions: An Examination of Managers and Entrepreneurs’ Perception in the Retail Setting
    (Emerald Publishing, 2018-12) Brown, D.; Foroudi, P.; Hafeez, Khalid
    This paper explores the relationship between corporate cultural/intangible assets and marketing capabilities by examining managers’ and entrepreneurs’ perceptions in a retail setting. Nineteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with UK Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SMEs) managers and entrepreneurs to identify six sub-capabilities that form marketing capability. We further validated the relationship between marketing sub-capabilities and its antecedent tangible and intangible assets. The qualitative approach employed provided a deeper insight into the motivations, perceptions and associations of the stakeholders behind these intangible concepts, and their relationships with their customers. The research identified that there is a strong relationship between tangible and intangible assets, their components, and the following capabilities: corporate/brand identity management, market sensing, customer relationship, social media/communication, design/innovation management, and performance management. In addition, companies need to understand clearly what tangible and intangible assets comprise these capabilities. Where performance management is one of the key internal capabilities, companies must highlight the importance of strong cultural assets that substantially contribute to a company’s performance. Previous work on dynamic capability analysis is too generic, predominantly relating to the manufacturing sector, and/or focussing on using a single case study example. This study extends the concept of marketing capability in a retail setting by identifying six sub-capabilities and describing the relationship of each with tangible and intangible assets. Through extensive qualitative analysis, we provide evidence that by fully exploiting their embedded culture and other intangible components, companies can more favourably engage with their customers to attain a sustainable competitive advantage.
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    A Tool for Business Innovation and Transformative Growth
    (2020-02-25) Hafeez, Khalid; Hatami-Marbini, A.
    Innovation is the engine for productivity, growth and sustainability of every business. Post-Brexit Britain needs to become highly innovative and productive to compete and maintain staff retention, quality, speed, flexibility and uniqueness. Geographical constraints could limit UK companies’ capability to work with its partners to produce and deliver attractive offerings to market. This event will introduce and demonstrate a toolkit to focus on cutting-edge innovation techniques that can drive productivity and build resilience by collaborating with international partners. The speakers will explore how new knowledge can be accessed and co-created using social network platforms and technologies, how companies can measure efficiencies, improve business performance to ensure sustained competitiveness, profitability and growth of the business and the region.