Brunel Business School

ABSTRACT This study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure continuance intentions of online shopping for flight booking in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation model confirms model fit. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and social pressure are determinants of online flight booking continuance in Saudi Arabia. This research moves beyond online booking intentions and includes factors affecting online booking continuance.

Despite widespread discussions of online consumer behaviour and the effect of web quality on online user's actions, there is still a lack of research in the area of consumer attitude towards the services provided by airline companies due to the specific nature of travellers.–being using the internet for different motivations and buying specific kind of product (e-tickets). This study aims to measure consumers' electronic satisfaction and intention to purchase tickets from Airlines websites. The results provide better ...

This study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure continuance intentions of online shopping for flight booking in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation model confirms model fit. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and social pressure are determinants of online flight booking continuance in Saudi Arabia. This research moves beyond online booking intentions and includes factors affecting online booking continuance. The research model explains 53% of the intention to continue booking online.

... These newly emerging pious business people are regarded as a phenomenon by Turkishintellectual circles. ... capital, the second option also argues that the increase of reli-gious capital would be a ... Whether this new ethic is purely Islamic or purely Turkish is what this study will ...

The purpose of this article is to introduce a multidimensional framework based on the concept of moral imagination for analysing and capturing diverse virtues in contemporary Turkish organizations. Based on qualitative interviews with 58 managers in Turkey, this article develops an inventory of Turkish organizational virtues each of which can be associated with a different form of virtuous organizing. The inventory consists of nine forms of moral imagination, which map the multitude of virtues and moral emotions in organizations. Nine emergent forms of moral imagination are based on: integrity, affection, diligence, inspiration, wisdom, trust, gratefulness, justice, and harmony. The findings have made a contribution to the expanding literature on how Islamic organizations develop their business ethics through a repertoire of virtues. An empirical account of the range of virtues in organizational contexts that have emerged as a result of the hybridization of Islamic virtue/aesthetics and neoliberal capitalism in contemporary Turkey is provided. A theoretical contribution is made to business ethics literature through a phenomenology of virtues that provides unique insights on diverse forms of moral imagination in contemporary Turkey where Islam and neoliberal capitalism dynamically co-exist.

Aristotle's virtue ethics and its application to business life have become a topic of increasing importance within the business world. Hartman crafts this approach carefully and shows how valuable these applications are in business situations from several dimensions. Benefiting from real-world examples, he argues that managers and/or business leaders while evaluating business situations and explaining individuals' role in organizations should take character seriously. Hartman demonstrates how the virtue approach can deepen our understanding of business ethics, and how it can contribute to contemporary discussions of character, rationality, corporate culture, ethics education and global ethics. The book is written by one of the foremost Aristotelian scholars working in the field today. In this regard, it is a valuable reference for both business management students and academics.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the influence of religion on the work ethic values of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner-managers in Turkey. The emergence of religious/pious business people in Turkey has been regarded as a phenomenon. This research pays special attention to the religious transformation and secularism in Turkey. It is based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with 32 Turkish SME owner-managers. The sample of the study has been divided into two groups: The practicing Muslim Turkish managers (the religious group), and non/less practicing Muslim Turkish managers (the secular group). Discourse analysis of the qualitative data, first, clarifies where to seek the religious influence on business activities. It indicates that the influence of religion should be sought within individuals' conduct/manner of living leading the moral values and the mentalities of the business people, rather than seeking cause and affect relationship.

Turkey has a distinctive status within the Muslim world. It is a Muslim country with a greater than 95 % Muslim population, and yet it is the only Muslim country that has inscribed the principle of secularism (laiklik) into its constitution. From the very beginning of the Republic, Turkish society has experienced polarization between the

Through an ethnographic study of 'dirty work' (refuse collection and street cleaning), this article explores how masculinity and class intersect-how, in a mutually constitutive sense, they produce attitudes and practices, strengths and vulnerabilities, which are shaped by shifting relations of privilege and power. We find resistance to class subordination through adherence to traditional forms of masculinity and through esteem-enhancing social comparison (e.g. with women; with migrant workers). Men also mobilised powerful nostalgic themes around the loss of traditional jobs as well as trade union power. We argue that displays of masculine resilience in the face of devaluation are less indicative of a culture of masculine dominance but more an expression of vulnerability and social dislocation, serving both as a source of resistance whilst simultaneously reinforcing anchors of social disadvantage that characterise forms of dirty work. We suggest that combining social comparison with intersectionality can potentially highlight how categories of difference are strategically deployed in response to varied and unequally valued social positionalities.

The purpose of this article is to introduce a multidimensional framework based on the concept of moral imagination for analysing and capturing diverse virtues in contemporary Turkish organizations. Based on qualitative interviews with 58 managers in Turkey, this article develops an inventory of Turkish organizational virtues each of which can be associated with a different form of virtuous organizing. The inventory consists of nine forms of moral imagination, which map the multitude of virtues and moral emotions in organizations. Nine emergent forms of moral imagination are based on: integrity, affection, diligence, inspiration, wisdom, trust, gratefulness, justice, and harmony. The findings have made a contribution to the expanding literature on how Islamic organizations develop their business ethics through a repertoire of virtues. An empirical account of the range of virtues in organizational contexts that have emerged as a result of the hybridization of Islamic virtue/aesthetics and neoliberal capitalism in contemporary Turkey is provided. A theoretical contribution is made to business ethics literature through a phenomenology of virtues that provides unique insights on diverse forms of moral imagination in contemporary Turkey where Islam and neoliberal capitalism dynamically co-exist.

Through an ethnographic study of 'dirty work' (refuse collection and street cleaning), this article explores how masculinity and class intersect-how, in a mutually constitutive sense, they produce attitudes and practices, strengths and vulnerabilities, which are shaped by shifting relations of privilege and power. We find resistance to class subordination through adherence to traditional forms of masculinity and through esteem-enhancing social comparison (e.g. with women; with migrant workers). Men also mobilised powerful nostalgic themes around the loss of traditional jobs as well as trade union power. We argue that displays of masculine resilience in the face of devaluation are less indicative of a culture of masculine dominance but more an expression of vulnerability and social dislocation, serving both as a source of resistance whilst simultaneously reinforcing anchors of social disadvantage that characterise forms of dirty work. We suggest that combining social comparison with intersectionality can potentially highlight how categories of difference are strategically deployed in response to varied and unequally valued social positionalities.

This research aims to explore how SMEs define the concept of corporate branding, identify the barriers to becoming corporate brand owners, and understand branding within the SME context. The literature emphasizes the importance of having a corporate brand, as it provides businesses with a competitive advantage. However, it is noted that corporate branding research in the literature has predominantly focused on large enterprises, neglecting SMEs. Considering the significant global economic role played by SMEs, it is anticipated that corporate branding can yield long-term benefits for them. Hence, the purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of corporate branding in SMEs and bridge this gap in the literature. The findings of the research reveal that SME owners and managers play a substantial role in defining and developing corporate branding within SMEs. It is evident that the character of these individuals significantly influences corporate culture and identity. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 15 SME owners or managers from various sectors in Kayseri, Turkey. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method, resulting in five main themes: the concept of corporate branding, the entrepreneurial brand, product/service branding, barriers to becoming a corporate brand owner, and success. In conclusion, this research highlights the importance of SMEs in establishing corporate branding and underscores the pivotal role of business owners/managers in this process. It is believed that this study can provide guidance to businesses seeking to better comprehend and enhance the process of corporate branding for SMEs.

In the UK and other western countries the financial services sector is seen as offering women better career prospects than most other sectors. Unprecedented numbers of well-qualified young women are now achieving promotion to first-line and middle management positions. Companies are represented as progressive employers, committed to promoting equal opportunities. However, a cross-cultural study of three Turkish and six UK banks and high street financial organisations explores how organisational ideologies and cultures operate to perpetuate inequality, based on managers’ gendered conceptions of “the ideal worker”. Favoured staff were identified, sponsored, promoted and rewarded, often based on their personal affinity with senior managers rather than objective criteria. This distinction between favour and exclusion operates not only along the traditional lines of gender, class, age, sexual orientation, religion and physical ability, but also along the new dimensions of marriage, networking, safety, mobility and space. Despite local and cross-cultural differences in the significance of these factors, the cumulative disadvantage suffered by women managers and supervisors in both countries was remarkably similar.

This paper examines the theoretical works on management of sex equality and the ndings of a cross-country comparative study between Turkey and Britain, revealing discrepancies between the espoused theoretical formulations and the practice of sex equality in the nancial services sector in both countries. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted and documentary evidence was collected from seven nancial organizations in Britain and three nancial institutions in Turkey. The eld-work, which was conducted in 1996 in Turkey and in 1997 in Britain, generated forty-ve interviews (twenty-ve of which were in Britain and twenty in Turkey) and 362 completed questionnaires ( fty of which were in Britain and 312 in Turkey) with female and male staff of the nancial services organizations in both countries. Three ideological approaches to managing sex equality at work were identi ed in literature: liberal, radical and transformational change approaches. Based on the framework of these three main approaches, the ndings of the eld research indicated that there were different approaches to managing equal opportunities in the nancial services sector in both countries, and that the organizational approaches to sex equality in both countries lagged behind progressive theoretical formulations in literature.

Purpose – Earlier work on career choice has identified that career choice involves gendered processes which lead to differentiated career outcomes for women and men. However, this literature remained anaemic in offering career counselling strategies for addressing the negative impacts of these processes. The paper aims to explore the creativity cycle and other tools derived from personal construct psychology (PCP) and other feminist literature as potential means for dissolving gendered perceptions of various professions and organisational practices.

Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper.

Findings – The paper argues that PCP can provide a theoretical and methodological framework for discussing how dichotomous and gender identified the perceptions of professions can be and how such perceptions might be challenged.

Practical implications – This theory and its techniques allow us an exploration of the flexibility of one’s constructions system, which determines a person’s ability to construe alternative views and to develop new ways of understanding oneself and others.

Originality/value – The PCP’s potential as a technique to combat gendered perceptions of a career is examined.