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Purpose: This study examines the direct and indirect effects of organizational environmental orientation (EO)/culture, quality management practices (QMP) and sustainability experience (SE) on the relationship between organizational green practices (GP) and the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability performance (SuP). Design/methodology/approach: To test the seven hypotheses, a structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The responses of 365 managers from various USA businesses in the service industries were analyzed using IBM SPSS and structural equation modeling (SEM)-AMOS. Findings: The empirical results indicate that positive SuP in the economic, environmental and social dimensions and organizational GP can be improved by a strong culture of EO, effective QMP and substantial SE. Practical implications: This research fills the gap in existing research between important organizational and environmental priorities and SuP. Consequently, the study provides managers with important strategic guidance: for environmental practices to achieve profitability and sustainability success, companies must promote an environmental-mindful culture and strategically invest in integrated QM systems. Originality/value: This research is one of the first that explores how organizational environmental culture and QMP affect directly and indirectly the relationship between GP and SuP. These results provide empirical evidence to support the claim that environmental culture and QMP have significant direct and indirect effects on the relationship between GP and SuP dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between sustainability and employee perceptions of Human Capital Management (HCM) practices in Cebu City's Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. The participation of 370 different BPO companies at Cebu I. T. Park indicates their dedication to HCM and highlights areas that require improvement, particularly in labor relations and HRIS deployment. Employee evaluations are influenced by demographic factors such as age, gender, and educational attainment. Suggestions for improvement include implementing employee development plans, streamlining the HRIS, strengthening due process, integrating sustainability into HCM practices, and personalizing strategies based on demographics. To foster adaptable workplaces and keep pace with the changing BPO landscape, it is strongly advised to employ continuous monitoring and feedback mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemarketing is one method of marketing and socializing products using telephone media that is often used by companies. In this method, many results are not good in terms of sales due to the lack of understanding of good communication ethics from marketers. Communication ethics have an important role in maintaining professionalism and achieving goals in the telemarketing team. PT Telmark Integration Indonesia is a company engaged in BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), with one of the services provided is sales through telemarketing. This study aims to analyze the practice of communication ethics applied in the telemarketing team at PT Telmark Integration Indonesia. The research methods used are interviews with telemarketing team members and document analysis of policies and guidelines related to communication ethics. The results showed that with improved, more intensive training factors on communication ethics, effective conflict management, as well as awareness of the importance of privacy and security of customer data that the telemarketing team at PT Telmark Integrasi Indonesi can improve the results of telemarketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glenn Diaz's The Quiet Ones explores people's lives in the labor force created by a global market system. Work, public services, geography, identities, production, and consumption are generally shaped and directed by the flow of boundary-less foreign capital investments from developed countries. The novel presents characters as workers in the business process outsourcing industry in the Philippines, expatriates as highly skilled workers who migrated to the country to look for better economic and social capital opportunities, and the various relationships with people surrounding these workers. This paper charts the terrain, nature, and the systemic movements of capital through (1) capital-as-presence in the text, framing or creating work patterns, human relationships, consumption behavior, and (2) space-as-absence that mediates relationships between states, citizens, and the State (represented by the law and state authorities), between citizens as workers, between citizens as workers and their cities. The paper concludes that the neoliberal economic agenda in/of globalization created a language where capital is deeply embedded in a textual negotiation of/in meanings that legitimizes the power structure that perpetuates, supports, enables, and reinforces an oppressive elite, imperialist, and capitalist economic market system as the only alternative in rendering a concrete livable world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to analyze the supply and demand of marketing and communication consulting services and evaluate actual and perceived gaps. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses two different datasets to assess the gap. The supply database comes from desk research carried out in the province of Bergamo (n. 159 consulting agencies). The demand dates are the results of 100 structured interviews with local companies that requested marketing and communication consulting services both inside and outside the province. Findings: Findings show that there is no significant shortage in local service supply. Nonetheless, a limited gap exists between the provision of specific services and their overall quality. Conversely, the perceived gap is wider, leading to an impression of scarce availability – a notion disproven by the analysis of the actual supply. Practical implications: The study suggests that local agencies may overcome their "myopic" attitude and need to increase their visibility, competencies and expertise by investing in these areas and improving networking. Originality/value: There are no previous studies that compare the supply and demand for marketing and communication consulting services. The paper also provides insights into actual and perceived gaps in a hypercompetitive environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe history of Malaysia’s efforts to develop an internationally competitive information and communication technology (ICT) sector demonstrates how state interventionism has shaped its development trajectory. Early ambitions to ‘leapfrog’ Malaysia’s development by launching a cutting-edge innovation-based ICT sector failed, yet recent dynamism has established an internationally competitive shared services/global business process outsourcing sub-sector, as well as created a thriving eco-system for ICT-based start-up entrepreneurship in industries such as digital platform services and creative content. The renovation of the state’s role exemplifies key features of O’Riain’s model of the developmental network state (DNS) including the decentralization and networking of public agencies implementing industrial policy across the enterprise development life cycle, as well as a fast-follower approach to targeting. Unlike the DNS model, however, in Malaysia an enterprise ecosystem policy approach has not eroded the state’s overall economic leadership by embedding public authority in networks with private business interest group constituencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ) underwent a transformative evolution, having shifted from an exportoriented enclave to a dynamic hub that incorporated Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services. This study addressed critical questions concerning morphological changes within the economic zone of Baguio City and their consequential impact on the surrounding urban landscape. The morphological analysis focused on understanding adaptations within the BCEZ to accommodate both export-based facilities and BPO services. This included exploring alterations in infrastructure, spatial organization, and the integration of amenities to support diversified activities. As BPO services expanded within the BCEZ, significant changes in the urban landscape were anticipated, such as shifts in land use, alterations in transportation patterns, and the emergence of new commercial and residential spaces. This limited exploration necessitates further investigation to comprehend the broader implications for the urban fabric. In examining the evolution of the BCEZ, a targeted exploration of policies and regulations was conducted to better understand their role in facilitating the integration of BPO services. Findings indicated a notable expansion of infrastructure and amenities to accommodate the growing demand for BPO services, accompanied by shifts in land use patterns and transportation habits. Policy exploration revealed the importance of incentives, zoning regulations, and infrastructure policies in facilitating BPO integration. The study underscored the need for adaptive urban development strategies and supportive regulatory frameworks to foster sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban environments within economic zones like the BCEZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeszyty Teoretyczne Rachunkowości is the property of Stowarzyszenie Ksiegowych w Polsce Rada Naukowa 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 abstract 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 abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The aim of the article was to examine the factors of increasing the competitiveness of enterprises by separating services in the field of information technology (IT) and their importance for enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from a Likert-scale questionnaire distributed to a wide range of businesses. The research aimed to explore how IT outsourcing impacts corporate competitiveness across various dimensions. Findings: The study reveals that IT outsourcing significantly contributes to enhancing business competitiveness by offering cost savings, improved efficiency, access to advanced technologies, and allowing firms to focus on core competencies. Research limitations/implications: The study recognizes its limitations, including potential bias from self-reported data and limited generalizability due to focusing on a specific market segment. Future research will aim for wider industry representation and investigate the longterm effects of IT outsourcing. Practical implications: For practitioners, the study underscores the strategic value of IT outsourcing in achieving cost efficiency and leveraging technological advancements. It suggests a structured assessment of outsourcing opportunities, considering both operational and strategic impacts. Social implications: By delineating how IT outsourcing can drive business efficiency and innovation, the study implies broader societal benefits, such as job creation in the IT service sector and enhanced consumer experiences through higher quality products and services. Originality/value: This research advances both theoretical and practical knowledge of IT outsourcing's impact on business competitiveness, blending quantitative and qualitative data for a detailed analysis of its diverse benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service robots are used in all aspects of the service industry and improve business efficiency dramatically. However, service robot failures are also prevalent. This paper explores the interaction effect between symbolic service recovery and service robot social perception on service evaluations, the underlying mechanism, and the boundary conditions. Through three experiments with multiple service scenarios, such as hotel, restaurant, and tourist attraction, we find that service robots with warm perceptions using humor responses for a service recovery result in better service evaluations, whereas service robots with competent perceptions using rational responses for a service recovery result in better service evaluations. In addition, our research verifies the mediating role of perceived relief and perceived sincerity and identifies the moderating role of the locus of responsibility. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for marketers in the services and hospitality industries.服务机器人已经应用在服务行业的各个方面并显著提高企业的效率，但服务机器人服务失败也很普遍。本文探讨了象征性服务补救与服务机器人社会感知对消费者服务评价的交互作用，影响机制及边界条件。通过3个不同服务场景的实验，如酒店、餐馆和旅游景点，我们发现温暖感知的服务机器人使用幽默的回复方式来进行服务补救会使消费者有更好的服务评价; 而能力感知的服务机器人使用理性的回复方式来进行服务补救则更佳。此外，我们的研究验证了感知宽慰和感知真诚的中介作用，并确定了责任点的调节作用。最后，我们讨论了这些发现对服务和酒店业营销人员的影响。 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean production is becoming popular in IT-related industries, including the business processes outsourcing (BPO) industry. Managers of companies try to implement lean principles in software development projects and, as a result, Agile Software Development (ASD) is becoming more common in practice. According to ASD authors, this approach aims to increase employee productivity and provide better working conditions. However, little is known about the experience of working in such conditions. This article aims to analyze the experience of working under ASD conditions in the BPO industry in Poland. Based on interviews with employees and trade unionists in the BPO industry and using Grounded Theory Methodology procedures during the data analysis, three categories of work experiences in the BPO industry were reconstructed. The reconstructed categories are: "enthusiasm," "instrumentalism," and "disenchantment." Modes of experience were determined by biographical work experiences, individual resources, and objective context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines non‐GAAP disclosures in two selected industries, the consumer nondurable goods industry and the business services industry, to address the question of whether non‐GAAP measures are applied and interpreted uniformly across industries, and more importantly, if the market reacts to non‐GAAP disclosures similarly across different industries. Industry membership potentially has an impact on the usage and interpretation of non‐GAAP disclosures; some industries issue their own policy trying to standardize the use of non‐GAAP measures in their industry. However, industry effects on non‐GAAP disclosures have not been thoroughly studied. This study fills in the gap. Using hand‐collected non‐GAAP measures disclosed in the 8‐K reports from 308 firms in the selected two industries, this study finds that: (1) the use of non‐GAAP measures is more popular than reported in previous studies, and non‐GAAP measures are not limited to performance measures; (2) there is weak evidence of industry preference as to which non‐GAAP measures are more popular in that industry; and (3) the market reacts differently to non‐GAAP disclosures in different industries. Combining the empirical findings, this study documents industry effects and market reactions in the interpretation of non‐GAAP disclosures. Considering that these effects have not been formally academically documented in previous studies, this study carries practical implications for investors and financial analysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economics of business and increased focus on operating efficiencies are leading mobile telecom service providers to outsource non-core business process elements, infrastructure systems, and customer service, although the trade-off on the influence of business process outsourcing (BPO) on the firm’s productivity is still inconclusive. Few empirical studies or research have been conducted to analyze the influence of BPO on the firm’s productivity levels in the mobile telecom operators of Southern African developing countries. This research tries to redress the existing knowledge gap and the limited body of literature by providing both descriptive and empirical evidence on the influence of BPO on the firm’s productivity levels of mobile telecom operators. A structured closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect raw data from 210 employees. Descriptive and chi-square tests were conducted to establish the statistically significant relationship between business process outsourcing and the firm’s productivity levels. The results reflect a statistically significant relationship between the implementation of BPO and the firm’s productivity. The study has practical implications for service and industrial practitioners, managers, scholars, and government policymakers in that they can strategically plan their BPO practices and link those practices to the organizations' productivity performance. Further research can be conducted in other industries in order to do comparison studies confirming lessons gained across industries on the effect of BPO on a firm’s productivity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the impact of remote work setup on the work-life balance of BPO employees in China. The respondents, who have experienced remote work for over three years, expressed concerns about self-discipline, punctuality, dedication, respect, and tact in their interactions. They also expressed insufficient time for self-development, proper nutrition, and rest. Stress management was also deemed challenging, with employees unable to manage mental distractions caused by non-fulfilment of obligations. The study suggests the need for a work-life balance improvement program for BPO employees in remote work settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic's effects and the advent of the new normal, an escalating number of job seekers are looking for long-term income possibilities through innovative technology. Freelancing has emerged as a preferred desire, attracting employees that value autonomy, flexible work hours, and economic independence provided by means of remote setups. This examination centers on ensuring operational efficiency within the freelancing industry, leveraging the core standards of Six Sigma Methodology. The objectives embody waste reduction, quality improvement, customer satisfaction, productivity, and professional development. A comprehensive online survey was conducted, reaching 386 respondents through various Facebook groups comprising Virtual Assistant members, mostly former Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) employees, assessed operational efficiency through the use of the Six Sigma framework. The study underscores the use of the chi-square to identify significant relationships between demographic profiles and freelancers' assessments of operational performance in virtual service freelancing. To deal with operational performance concerns, three online training courses were devised: Quality Management Strategy, Product or Service Development Strategy, and Related Diversification Strategy. These courses equip freelancers with essential skills to effectively translate consumer feedback to improve performance, optimize operational processes, diversify service offerings, and ultimately improve operational efficiency and income potential. Recommendations entail collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for course implementation and a program evaluation six months after the certification to gauge the training's impact on freelancers' operational efficiency. Through this comprehensive approach, freelancers can bolster their competitiveness and thrive in the evolving landscape of remote work opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the development of research into the relationship between business process outsourcing (BPO) and innovation, a bibliometric methodology utilizing quantitative analytical methodologies was used. With the aid of a visualization analysis of scientific publications, this study also assessed the state of BPO and innovation practices. Design/methodology/approach: Using the Web of Science database, articles on BPO and innovation that published between 1992 and 2022 were retrieved. Records that had been extracted were examined in terms of publication year, nation, journal, subject area, authors and affiliations with organizations. The research on acupuncture for pain relief was visualized using the VOSviewer application. Findings: An analysis of 219 original and review papers found that during the past 30 years, the overall number of publications has fluctuated constantly. The London University, the Copenhagen Business School and the London School of Economics were the institutions that produced the most articles in this topic. The three main categories of research that emerged from a network analysis based on the co-occurrence of keywords are innovation, outsourcing and performance. Practical implications: A BP-innovation model must be created, and BPO must go beyond operational duties to incorporate management-wide shared strategic decisions in order to ensure improved performance of the firms. BPO enables a company's management to share knowledge and expertise about the strategic difficulties of outsourcing. A variety of technological and non-technological resources must also be considered when integrating an information technology (IT) infrastructure into BPO decisions in order to achieve greater performance. Originality/value: Validity of the paper can be justified by it contribution to the existing knowledge. First, linking BPO and innovation – by integrating the arguments of various academics, the study unifies the disparate components and contentious discussions in the relationship between BPO and innovation. Second, this study highlights a research trend, significant studies, relevant terms and concepts in the real world. Third, the study provides future researchers with a tip for statistically analyzing BPO, particularly in light of innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines has experienced substantial growth, making a significant contribution to the country's economy. However, concerns about work-related health and safety issues have emerged, necessitating effective workplace health promotion strategies for BPO employees. Study design: An integrative review of relevant literature was conducted to explore workplace health promotion in the BPO sector. Methods: The search included quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies, pertinent laws, policies, news articles, and reports published between 2000 and 2022. The scope was intentionally broad to encompass a diverse range of relevant evidence related to workplace health in this field. Articles published both in the English and Filipino languages were considered. Results: Findings revealed that BPO workers face risks related to physical and psychological stress, sleep disturbances, and occupational diseases owing to the unique challenges inherent to the nature of their jobs. While there are existing occupational health and labor laws, compliance among BPO companies remains a problem, and only a few organizations offer comprehensive wellness programs. Building upon the available evidence, a conceptual framework was developed to provide guidance for enhancing workplace health promotion initiatives specifically designed for BPOs in the country. Conclusion: Workplace health promotion is vital to warrant the health and safety of BPO workers. This study offers evidence-based recommendations for implementing effective well-being strategies, highlighting the importance of collaboration among employers, employees, and society to prioritize employee health in the workplace.

Crowdsourcing offers on-demand access to large numbers of human workers to implement new forms of human–computer collaborative functionalities that can be seamlessly integrated into advanced software and algorithms. However, crowdsourcing tasks are primarily undertaken by urban rather than rural workers. To enable the development of skilled rural employment, this research aims to assess rural crowdsourcing workers’ spatial reasoning and creative abilities and their abilities to solve irregular strip packing problems associated with the manufacture of sheet materials. The study conducted experiments and data collection with 140 rural Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) workers located in six states of India. The statistical analyses of the data collected from seven rural BPO firms (140 rural workers) reveal that rural workers can achieve a 2D packing efficiency that is up to 8% higher than that of commercial algorithm outcomes. The results suggest that rural crowdsourcing can lead to effective job creation, skill development, and, for a modest cost, it can support industries that employ CAD/CAM systems to generate geometric data for common manufacturing processes.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of supply chain risks (SCRs) and demand management strategies (DMSs) on the company performance in order to study the use of DMSs in delivering improved results even in the presence of SCRs. The SCRs considered under the study are as follows: demand variability, constrained capacity and quality of services delivery, and competitive performance, customer satisfaction and financial performance are the measures considered for company performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a survey of 439 businesses in India representing 10 groups of services industries (information technology/IT enabled services, business process outsourcing, IT infrastructure, logistics/transportation, healthcare, hospitality, personal services, consulting, education and training, consumer products and retail), using structural equation modeling (SEM) methods. Findings: The findings reveal that presence of demand variability risk has significant influence upon the use of demand planning and forecasting, controlling customer arrival during peaks and shifting demand to future. Mismatch of capacity against demand (unused capacity) leads to the use of techniques to influence business during lean periods, thereby resulting in enhanced supply chain (SC) and financial performance. Controlling customer arrival during peaks to shift the demand to lean periods leads to enhanced financial performance. Presence of delivery quality risk does not significantly influence the use of DMS. Also, short-term use of customer and business handling techniques does not exert significant influence on company performance. Research limitations/implications: The study has limitations as follows: (1) respondents are primarily from India while representing global organizations, (2) process/service redesign to relieve capacity as a DMS is not considered and (3) discussion on capacity management strategies (CMSs) is also excluded. Practical implications: SC managers can be resourceful in shifting the peak demand to future with the application of techniques to control customer arrival during peaks. The managers can also help enhance business by influencing business through offers, incentives and promotions during lean periods to use available capacity and improve company performance. Originality/value: This study is one of the first empirical works to explore how presence of SCRs influences the use of DMS and impacts the three types of company performance. The study expands current research on demand management options (DMOs) by linking three dimensions of company performance based on the data collected from ten different groups of service industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to shift towards remote and hybrid working models. This study explored the association of the work-from-home model with employee satisfaction, work-life balance, and work-model preferences within MPlus Group, a leader in telework within the business process and technology outsourcing (BPTO) industry. Methods: We analyzed survey responses of 4,554 employees of MPlus Group across seven countries to assess the associations of working from home with job satisfaction, work-life balance, and preference regarding continuing to work from home. Results: Employees working within all models, and both women and men, reported high levels of job satisfaction and work-life balance, and most employees working from home expressed a desire to continue doing so. Discussion: Our findings suggest working from home does not lead to lower job satisfaction or work-life balance in the BPTO and similar industries. The study provides insights for organizations and policymakers navigating post-pandemic work dynamics. However, further research is needed to examine the long-term implications of remote work across diverse industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the pillar industry of China's national economy, the service industry has always experienced a lag in structural upgrading. As an important measure of China's institutional innovation, China's Free Trade Zone (FTZ) policy is of great significance for promoting the development of the service industry. Based on the panel data of 185 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2019, this paper empirically tests the impact of the FTZ policy on the upgrading of service industry structure by using the progressive difference-in-differences model. The results show that the FTZ policy can promote the upgrading of service industry structure, and the effect is enhanced with the extension of time. The heterogeneity test shows that the impact of the FTZ policy on the structural upgrading of the service industry is mainly reflected in promoting the development of the information service industry as well as the leasing and business service industry. The transmission mechanism test shows that the FTZ policy can promote the structural upgrading of the service industry by improving the level of trade facilitation and investment facilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the coronavirus pandemic, while most sectors in Pacific Island countries like Fiji were struggling, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector proved an exception, reporting phenomenal growth. In this context, the overall objective of this study is to holistically analyse the sustainable growth of the BPO sector in Fiji. In the supply chain literature, although the BPO sector is acknowledged as an integral part of global supply chains, studies linking regional supply chains and the BPO sector are limited. This study aims to plug this gap. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative systems thinking approach to holistically analyse this long-term sustainability issue. The study resulted in the development of a systems model that highlighted four balancing feedback loops that can contribute to the 'collapse' of the BPO sector in Fiji if they are not managed effectively. This implies that appropriate policy and strategic interventions must be designed to arrest the collapse of this sector. Overall, this study makes a unique contribution by providing a holistic analysis of post-pandemic resilience in the Pacific region, using a systems thinking approach for understanding the sustainable growth of the BPO sector in Fiji, within the context of a robust regional supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Research Journal of Business Studies is the property of Prasetiya Mulya Publishing, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya 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 abstract 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 abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Jobs in business process outsourcing are those that provide young, talented people the chance to work and facilitate consumers looking for solutions to a variety of difficulties. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are necessary for these positions. Customers may contact staff members through calls, chats, emails, etc. with questions. They must routinely present information to clients and respond to various concerns about the goods and services they receive. A business process representative directs customers to information-rich web pages on the client website. These representatives must put in a lot of effort to meet SLAs based on process requirements and quality standards while managing several jobs at once. Typically, businesses hire recent graduates or young college graduates for the Telle-caller positions or back-office tasks. This paper examines the use of primary data analysis in SPSS software to ascertain the reasons behind young people's interest in BPO careers and the association between different variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Riwayat: Educational Journal of History & Humanities is the property of Riwayat: Educational Journal of History & Humanities 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 abstract 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 abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Crowdsourcing offers on-demand access to large numbers of human workers to implement new forms of human–computer collaborative functionalities that can be seamlessly integrated into advanced software and algorithms. However, crowdsourcing tasks are primarily undertaken by urban rather than rural workers. To enable the development of skilled rural employment, this research aims to assess rural crowdsourcing workers' spatial reasoning and creative abilities and their abilities to solve irregular strip packing problems associated with the manufacture of sheet materials. The study conducted experiments and data collection with 140 rural Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) workers located in six states of India. The statistical analyses of the data collected from seven rural BPO firms (140 rural workers) reveal that rural workers can achieve a 2D packing efficiency that is up to 8% higher than that of commercial algorithm outcomes. The results suggest that rural crowdsourcing can lead to effective job creation, skill development, and, for a modest cost, it can support industries that employ CAD/CAM systems to generate geometric data for common manufacturing processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tourism industry is rapidly adapting to new conditions and the growth of online and smart technologies. Since user-generated content provides relevant data to find out about the image of a destination among tourists, this study aimed to investigate the status of Iran's destination image on TripAdvisor, one of the most popular online tourism platforms. The study adopted a quantitative content analysis research method. To cover different opinions, two important parts of this website, namely Things to Do and Iran Travel Forum, were considered as the statistical population in the three-year period from 2019 to the beginning of 2022. Multistage random cluster sampling was used, and coding was done by coders based on the compiled codebook. The content of TripAdvisor social network was analyzed in three cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions. The findings indicated that potential foreign tourists are most concerned about Iran's infrastructural affairs, especially transportation, visa, currency exchange, and sometimes hosting business services. Signs of insufficient information, lack of access to up-to-date and comprehensive information online, contradictions in available information, and instability of procedures in the field of visa issuance and transportation services can also be seen in these contents. Although users considered Iran's tangible heritage and historical and cultural attractions very attractive, the connection of these attractions with the human and social attractions of contemporary host society had brought a double surprise and attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service sector industries are becoming the most prominent economic contributors almost in all countries for its' increasing share in the GDP with major impact in employment generation. Service industries are advancing in developed & developing countries with high mass consumptions and owing to enrichment in standard of living with modern life styles. Industry revolutions and extensive application of Cyber Physical System in the services with indispensability of digital interventions in our daily life booming service sectors since last two decades. Exponential growth with technological transformation, robust changes in the process of communication and useful & inevitable use of apps in everyday life leverage the service sectors. Online communication and impact of covid19 in the working methods, services in both developed and developing countries created a remarkable opportunity in various dimensions in all economies. New prospects of business in service industries are producing employment, wide spreads the volume of business and created higher money velocity with GDP. The objective of this research study is defined with outcomes are, develop a service improvement framework with applicable quality techniques, service improvement structure with parameters through a model, factors of operational efficiency measurement & improvement, and detailed control and improvement points for the service organization enhancement with service efficiency. This study results will assist to service owners, management and stakeholders to comprehend and recognize the gaps in their various services domains, required initiatives for outspreading business, profit, manage quality, generate internal efficiency, customer's delight, planning for execution, improvement benchmark and organized method for attending critical areas of business & services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tier-two suppliers may engage in opportunistic behavior due to the preference of large buyers for short-term contracts or volatile demand patterns. This lack of long-term commitment may lead tier-two suppliers to prioritize short-term gains and engage in opportunistic behavior to maximize the current situation, particularly in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) setting between banks and their tier-two suppliers. In this setting, buyers wield greater influence due to their size, market dominance, or distinctive capabilities over suppliers. This power disparity might create an environment where tier-two suppliers feel obligated to engage in opportunistic behavior to protect their interests or acquire an advantage. The ease of a monitoring system plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of buyers and establishing a more secure buyer-supplier relationship. However, relying solely on a monitoring system is not reliable. Supplementing the monitoring system with other safeguards, such as relational capital, is necessary to address supplier opportunistic behavior effectively. This can be achieved through the cultivation of trust, norms of reciprocity, and fostering a sense of friendship between the buyer and supplier. Nevertheless, a high level of easiness in monitoring systems, on the other hand, may foster distrust and destroy relational capital between buyers and suppliers, making suppliers more likely to engage in opportunistic behavior. Drawing on insights from transaction cost economics, social capital, and agency theory, it is argued that the interplay between relational capital and the ease of monitoring systems serves as an essential safeguard against supplier opportunistic behavior, especially when the tier-two supplier has made substantial investments in specific assets with its primary buyer. Data was gathered from 103 business process outsourcing dyads involved in BPO within the banking industry in Indonesia. These dyads consisted of four primary process suppliers: telemarketing, cash-in-transit, security, and contact center. The study revealed that relational capital is an important safeguard, particularly in situations where buyers have challenges effectively managing the BPO relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the common view, paternalistic leadership, which is accepted in traditional societies, is assumed to be an effective form of leadership and can be persuasive and impose its authority to the extent that it acts in the interests of its followers. It is argued that authority and control behaviours, which we know as paternalistic leadership behaviours, arouse feelings of respect, fear and obedience among followers, and this results in positive organizational behaviours such as loyalty, respect and harmony, especially in Eastern societies. Work engagement is a positive motivational state in which employees have positive feelings toward their work, find their work meaningful, think their professional responsibilities are manageable, and think positively about the future of their work. A psychological contract, on the other hand, is an informal and unwritten, mutually agreed-upon contract that expresses the sum of mutual expectations between an organization and its employees. Whereas there are many studies examining the relationship between paternalistic leadership and work engagement, none of them examine the mediating effect of the relational psychological contract on this relationship, particularly in the innovative service sector. This research was conducted to contribute to filling this gap in the field. This study had two objectives: (1) determining how paternalist leaders influence employee work engagement and (2) identifying whether the relational psychological contract mediates paternalistic leadership and work engagement. Data were collected from 223 gray-collar employees working in the innovative service sector in Turkey through an online survey. The data were analysed using partial least squares (PLS)-structural equation modelling. The results showed that paternalistic leadership significantly affects work engagement and relational psychological contracts. The results also showed that the relational psychological contract fully mediated the relationship between paternalistic leadership and work engagement. Our results are also original in that they show that the relational psychological contract plays a mediating role between paternalistic leadership and work engagement in innovative service industry businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Business Correspondent (BC) model is an IT-enabled business process outsourcing initiative to provide financial services to the unbanked. It is a complex banking system involving multiple actors, system elements and settings, intended to address financial exclusion. Given the BC-Model's potentially significant role in economic sustainability, it is important to evaluate its success. Efforts to measure the success of the BC-Model have been limited to date; this paper therefore presents a conceptual framework of BC-Model-Success consisting of six dimensions- economic, strategic, technological, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and social, resulting from a three-phase study design. The relevance of the framework was empirically validated across four implementations of the BC-Model. The resulting framework provides strong theoretical foundations for understanding what BC model success is, for assisting practitioners with evaluating the success of the BC-Model and with identifying possible improvements, and for facilitating future research on the BC-Model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study, which was started in response to the growth of business process outsourcing (BPO) in the Philippines, is to determine how real-time analyst work affects KPIs and service levels. This study utilizes secondary data from the Realtime Analyst's Reports for the period of June 2022 to June 2023. Shrinkage, attrition, and absenteeism data were the top three aggregated Key Performance Indicators that were statistically examined. As a result, it was highlighted that RealTime Analyst's work constitutes a foundation for how aggregated Key Performance Indicators affected Service Level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: Collaboration and outsourcing are crucial to creating a competitive edge in the business world. Outsourcing comes with capabilities, challenges, and opportunities, so it is vital to find where firms can strengthen themselves. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]