Purpose The implementation of marketing concepts to the public sector is still a relatively new topic for researchers and practitioners. Moreover, although branding has become more prominent in the public sector, its role with employees is under explored. Following a review of internal branding and marketing literature in the private sector, the purpose of this study is enrich and contribute to the internal branding concept and the literature by expanding its insightful knowledge beyond that of the Western school of thought to the UAE government sector. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a quantitative survey conducted among 304 public sector employees. These were measured on a five-point Likert scale. To test the model and the hypothesized relationships among the constructs of the model, structural equation modeling was used. Findings The strength of the relationship between the constructs indicates that features of the suggested internal branding model are crucial to achieving both employee and customer satisfaction in the public sector. Originality/value This study provides new theoretical grounds for studying internal branding in the public sector. It also supplies public sector organizations with a number of operative factors that may be essential if they are to provide enhanced satisfaction to public needs. It further contributes to the existing body of knowledge by expanding its knowledge beyond the Western school of thoughts as the study is about a non-Western government culture. Finally, it is probably the first to provide an integrative perspective of internal branding constructs in the public sector.
Purpose: This paper seeks to explore the effect of emotions on sustainable purchasing in Arab countries, mainly Qatar and Egypt. Design/methodology/approach: The current investigation will empirically examine the effects of self-conscious emotions (private and public) on consumers’ ‘green’ purchasing behavior and test whether these actions are mediated by the following emotions: empathy, pride, and guilt. An online self-report survey was employed to collect data from 234 students and faculty members who are affiliated with Qatar University (Qatar) and Tanta University (Egypt). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to determine what factors directly and indirectly influence one’s Willingness To Pay (WTP) for sustainable products. Findings: The results showed that private self-consciousness was significantly related to feelings of pride, while public self-consciousness was more closely associated with empathy. Feelings of guilt and pride were more likely to encourage participants to pay greater for sustainable products and services. Originality/value: The link between emotions and sustainable purchasing remains novel in Arab countries. Previous research has found that having ethical awareness toward sustainable purchasing does not amount to purchasing ‘green’ products. This will be the first study to explore the impact emotions can have on sustainable purchasing.
Background: Despite consumers appearing to assign great importance to green purchasing and expecting companies to produce their goods in an environmentally friendly way, they do not always exhibit this positive attitude while making purchases. Focus: This paper aims to discuss the extent to which green purchasing behavior in the Arabic Gulf is affected by individuals’ perceived environmental attitudes, concern, perceived seriousness of environmental problems, perceived environmental responsibility, perceived self-identity in environmental protection, perceived social context in environmental protection, as well as demographics. Methods: The study adopted a quantitative research approach using a survey questionnaire on a sample of 324 individuals residing in different Arab countries in the Gulf area. A 5-point Likert scale was used. Path analysis was conducted to test and evaluate the hypothesized relationships among constructs. Results: The study found importantly, by using multiple regression analyses, that consumers’ environmental concern, self-identity in environmental protection, and social context in environmental protection are significant predictors of green purchasing behavior and can predict 38.9% of green purchasing behavior. Among demographic factors, gender showed a significant effect on green purchasing behavior. Importance to Social Marketing Field: The present study enhances the social marketing literature through the understanding of green purchasing behaviors from a perspective of non-Western countries. Recommendation for Research or Practice: This paper has significant managerial implications. The findings could help marketers and government in formulating strategies that encourage green purchasing behavior in the Arabic Gulf. Limitations: Although the current study shed some light on green purchasing behaviors in the Arabic Gulf, it did not focus on a particular type of green product; rather, it looked at green purchasing behavior in general.
With the exponential increase in the use of mobile devices across the globe, there is a concomitant need to understand how mobile users perceive the security of mobile application, and the potential risks involved in accessing and downloading them. Such an understanding will enable users to ensure the apps they download are secure and create greater awareness in the marketplace of the presence of hackers and malware used to invade the privacy and personal details of smartphones users. Research on the perception of users' mobile security is very limited and needs further investigation. This study aims to identify how mobile users perceive the security of different mobile apps and the extent to which different apps affect such perceptions. This study also investigates mobile user preferences for the places where they can access apps and their perceptions of risk at marketplaces vs. websites. This study is based on a qualitative research in which interviews were conducted with 32 university students. The study found that mobile users do not feel secure when installing mobile apps, and that concerns about hacking personal and private information are pervasive. Users expressed more security concerns regarding entertainment apps such as games and communication rather than financial apps, such as banking. The study also found that users prefer installing apps from app stores. The findings of this research contribute a greater understanding of how mobile users perceive mobile app security and offers insights that will help developers adjust their security policies to ensure users' security. The study also presents theoretical and empirical contributions, along with limitations and suggestions for further work.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of posttraumatic distress disorder (PTSD) and depression among children in Gaza, Palestine. Methodology: This study assessed the psychological effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on children in the Gaza Strip. 286 children aged 9-14 years old, who were exposed to a wide range of war events, were selected from the Gaza Strip to participate in this study. All participants conducted the following scales: the child PTSD Reaction Index(CPTSD-RI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Arabic version for PTSD and depression assessment. Finding: The results show that the mean number of participants witnessing home destroyed and people killed was (88%) and home invasion (76%). Approximately 70% of the participants reported that they witnessed war violence against at least one of their family members. Further, 44 % of the children have a least one death in their family due to the Israeli invasion. Using t-tests, we found that significantly more females have both PTSD and depression than males. Approximately 32.8% of the participants met the criteria for severe depression, and 42.6 % met the criteria for PTSD. Implications: Our results suggest that it is imperative to provide intervention programs to treat PTSD and depression symptoms among children in Gaza. These programs should take into account the cultural and religious background of the participants. Originality: This investigation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led to an increase in PTSD and depression symptoms among children in the Gaza Strip.
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