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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the positive and negative effects of gender and ethnicity in relation to discrimination and the problems encountered in accessing social support (including emotional and instrumental support).Design/methodology/approachQualitative data were collected through in‐depth interviews with 40 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) female small business owners based in north west England. The main aims and objectives of the study were to: investigate the discriminatory experiences of BAME female small business owners related to their gender and ethnicity; and to identify the forms (formal and informal) and types (emotional/instrumental) of social support available in relation to their entrepreneurial activities that enabled them to cope with and overcome, the discrimination they may encounter.FindingsOver half of the respondents in the study had experienced discriminations because of their gender, ethnic background or both. This was attributed to a number of factors, including stereotypical images of specific ethnic cultures, religions and practices. Many respondents reported difficulties in accessing different types of formal social support, e.g. formal business and financial support. Informal support by respondents' families was reported as a key source of both emotional and instrumental.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is just a starting point for this area of research and, because the sample covers women from a variety of BAME backgrounds, it is not possible to generalize the findings to the wider population of BAME women. However, it does give an indication of what issues need to be considered in the provision of instrumental support for BAME women small business owners.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that a key element in the development of a strategy for addressing the needs of the BAME female small business owners is the necessity to appropriately re‐design mainstream business support systems and financial services, in order to provide these women effective access to formal social support.Originality/valueThe experiences of BAME small business owners have received little attention and this paper offers a unique insight into the relationship between social support, gender, ethnicity and business ownership.

The objectives of this research are i) to examine the psychometric properties of the constructs of social-support, work-family enrichment and life satisfaction, ii) to validate the hypothesized interrelationships among the constructs of social support, work-family enrichment and life satisfaction among nurses of public hospitals in Malaysia and iii) to examine the likely mediation effect of work-family enrichment on support-satisfaction relationship. Survey questionnaire was administered to 689 married nurses of public hospitals in Malaysia. A full structural modeling testing was used in SEM with AMOS 17 data-fitting program, supported the hypothesized relationship. The results substantiated the psychometric adequacy of the measure and produced a good-fitting life satisfaction model among nurses.Index Terms-satisfaction, social-support and work-family enrichment.

Previous research indicates that procedural justice in promotion decisions has affected employees' organizational commitment, intent to leave and career satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of procedural justice in promotion decisions on managers' commitment, specifically organizational commitment, intent to leave, career satisfaction and job performance in multinational companies in Malaysia. Data were obtained from a sample of managers with more than 10 years of service in the organization through in-depth interviews. The findings show that perceived procedural injustice in promotion decisions have an unfavourable impact on employee commitment, job performance and career satisfaction. The intent to leave is also higher, especially among young managerial staff.

Purpose This paper aims to address and identify the major stakeholders in the medical tourism industry, based on their participation in medical tourism activities and their support for medical tourism development. Design/methodology/approach This paper systematically reviews the content of medical tourism studies from literature to identify key stakeholders and address the roles they play in the medical tourism industry. Findings This study shows that the key stakeholders in the medical tourism industry are eight, namely, medical tourists, health-care providers, government agencies, facilitators, accreditation and credentialing bodies, health-care marketers, insurance providers and infrastructure and facilities. These stakeholders strongly influence medical tourists’ decision-making process in seeking medical treatment abroad. Besides, a successful medical tourism development depends greatly on the excellent partnership between all stakeholders. Practical implications This paper sheds light on the crucial role of these stakeholders that can be an important consideration in medical tourists’ decision-making process and industry growth. The study can facilitate policymakers in designing and developing policies to improve medical tourism practices. Originality/value This paper expands the knowledge about medical tourism literature by identifying and explaining the significant role of each stakeholder in the industry. The results of this paper are quite revealing to all practitioners in terms of the potential strategies and medical tourism growth. The study establishes a foundation for future medical tourism research in the rapidly growing industry.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to confirm that there is a great need for international Islamic accreditation body as a response of the growing number of the Islamic-friendly hospitals and Islamic practices among medical tourism providers across the globe, with a specific focus on the Malaysian industry. Design/methodology/approach This paper systematically reviews the content of medical tourism studies and international accreditation organizations for health-care providers from literature to meet its objective. Findings The establishment of international Islamic accreditation body becomes necessary nowadays as the response of the growing of Islamic medical tourism market. Creating standards based on Islamic laws and ethics may assess medical tourism providers when dealing with Muslim medical tourists. Furthermore, the most important benefit of Islamic accreditation is the development of uniform standards for Islamic medical tourism practices that combines health care and tourism services together. Practical implications An international Islamic accreditation body should be developed to assist practitioners and policymakers to use standards to select policies to improve Islamic medical tourism practices, which in turn may facilitate the identification of effective services that can meet Muslim medical tourists’ needs and expectations. Originality/value This study is the first that suggests the need to establish an international Islamic accreditation organization that assesses hospitals to offer Islamic medical tourism practices for Muslim medical tourists. It may contribute and add value to the body of Islamic medical tourism.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between emotional labour (EL) strategies and employees’ performance by considering the role of emotional intelligence (EI) as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach This study focused on the administrative staff of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) who deal with students and guests from different countries. A total of 186 valid questionnaires were gathered from administrative staff selected using random sampling. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses of this study. Findings The results showed significant relationships of EL strategies with administrative staff performance. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that EI moderates the relationships between EL strategies and staff performance. Originality/value The study extends the current research on the effects of EL strategies on work performance and tests the moderating role of EI in these relationships in higher learning institutions. Moreover, it examines the performance of EL strategies and EI in cross-cultural context.