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Papers by Ali B . Mahmoud

Research Square (Research Square), Apr 22, 2021

This paper is an empirical investigation that examines a path model linking COVID-19 perceptions ... more This paper is an empirical investigation that examines a path model linking COVID-19 perceptions to organisational citizenship behaviour (OCBs) via three mediators: job insecurity, burnout, and job satisfaction. The research examines the path model invariance spanning Generations X, Y, and Z. Three countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were the focus of the study. The data was collected from a sample of employees in service companies. We used a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data. Our ndings reveal that COVID-19 positively predicts job insecurity, which positively impacts burnout levels. Burnout negatively predicts job satisfaction. The ndings established that job satisfaction positively predicts OCBs. The mediation analysis determined that job insecurity, burnout and job satisfaction convey the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions onto OCBs. However, our multi-group analysis revealed that the indirect effects of COVID-19 on OCBs were only valid amongst younger generations, i.e., Generation Y and Generation Z. Finally, our hypothesised model is not invariant across Generations X, Y and Z. Speci cally, younger generations are substantially more vulnerable to the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on their engagement in OCBs than Generation X whose job satisfaction blocks the effects of COVID-19 perceptions on OCBs.

Personnel Review, Jan 18, 2022

Qeios

This general review offers a literature-informed conceptual framework articulating the antecedent... more This general review offers a literature-informed conceptual framework articulating the antecedents of issues facing Global South expatriates in relation to adaptation in western contexts. The analysis indicates that several complex issues impede Global South expatriates’ effective adjustment. These include culture distance, ethnic prejudice social isolation, children and family issues, and homesickness. Organisations need to create psychological safety for effective adjustment. This paper is one few to highlight the global south expatriates’ adaptation issues that are poorly addressed in the literature with reference to Global South expatriates. The expatriate literature is often biased towards Western expatriates, ignoring the situation of psychological insecurity caused by psycho-social factors that hamper Global South expatriates’ integration.

Advances in marketing, customer relationship management, and e-services book series, Mar 17, 2023

International Review of Entrepreneurship, 2023

This study investigates the relationships between entrepreneurial skills (ES), entrepreneurial se... more This study investigates the relationships between entrepreneurial skills (ES), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), entrepreneurial marketing intentions (EMI), and entrepreneurial marketing behaviours (EMB) of university students, while considering the influence of family business exposure as a moderating factor. A sample of 149 Malaysian university students was analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess the roles of ES, ESE, and EMI in predicting EMB. Our findings reveal that EMI partially mediates the effects of ES and ESE on EMB. In addition, having a family-owned business background did not affect the relationships in our model. However, students with friends involved in family businesses exhibited significantly higher levels of EMB due to acquired entrepreneurial skills than those without such connections.

Businesses, Jan 12, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning

PurposeThis paper focusses on demonstrating the role of social media engagement and considering e... more PurposeThis paper focusses on demonstrating the role of social media engagement and considering emotional intelligence (hereafter EI) as a critical concept to successful employment, mainly when individuals fail to reach the desired employment despite “meeting” the role requirements.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted a qualitative approach through semi-structured in-depth interviews of some randomly selected university students in the UK, young adults aged 19–32. The participants were selected based on different demographics to provide a broader and less biased representation of young adults in the UK.FindingsThis research suggests that recruitment organisations should introduce the latest requirements and trends of employers to ensure that the expectations of employers and potential candidates are aligned to improve the employment rate in young adults.Originality/valueThis research extends the literature regarding EI in social media engagement and successful employment. ...

Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services

This chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the disruptive nature of reselling technologies. ... more This chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the disruptive nature of reselling technologies. The collaborative consumption movement, a popular emerging trend, encourages consumers to live in a more collective, sharing economy. This is where we can discuss the disruptive nature of the reselling technologies, particularly as they impact the fashion industry, prompting an explosion of vintage/second-hand retailing. Secondary market behaviors such as reselling, recycling, gifting, swapping, and reusing are becoming the most significantly growing consumer segments. The notion of a rotating wardrobe has been increasingly frequently accepted. This is especially prominent with younger consumers like Generation Z, who would consider spending more money on sustainably produced and delivered products while showing a strong preference for switching to brands with sustainable initiatives. Mobile apps and personalization have made buying used products as easy as buying new ones.

IGI Global eBooks, Feb 15, 2021

The chapter develops and suggests a theoretical model aiming to determine the relationships among... more The chapter develops and suggests a theoretical model aiming to determine the relationships among social media technologies, customer experience flow, customer relationship management, brand loyalty, word of mouth, firm performance, and customer engagement. The significant contributions of the chapter are expected to the theory of marketing communication and literature on the hospitality of customer relationship management (CRM). This chapter offers useful insights to hospitality practitioners about the benefits of positive consumer word of mouth behaviours and viable economic advantage like brand loyalty that can be the result of effective implementation of social customer relationship management (SCRM) strategy

Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, 2022

Both employers and higher education institutes acknowledge creativity as a critical skill that al... more Both employers and higher education institutes acknowledge creativity as a critical skill that all marketing graduates need to be equipped with when entering the job market. Creativity needs to exist within the marketing curriculum and be regarded as an integral part of the academic programmes offered at business schools. Whilst scholarly attempts have been made to find ways of incorporating creativity within the formal training at universities, many scholars acknowledge that creativity in marketing education has received little attention from researchers. This chapter highlights the importance of creative thinking for marketing and reviews the literature to provide a synthesis of the leading models for learning and teaching creativity in marketing modules.

Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services

The chapter builds on previous research and offers an updated theoretical model to determine the ... more The chapter builds on previous research and offers an updated theoretical model to determine the relationships among social media technologies, customer experience flow, customer relationship management, brand loyalty, word of mouth, firm performance, and customer engagement across a set of moderators in pandemic time. In line with the literature, customer engagement serves as a mediator that fully translates the effects of social media technology, customer flow experience, and customer relationship management into positive levels of brand loyalty, word of mouth, and firm performance. However, all of the relationships conceptualized in the model are hypothesized to be moderated by COVID-19 developments and perceptions.

This research aims to explore the impact of knowledge management on performance, essentially thro... more This research aims to explore the impact of knowledge management on performance, essentially through employee engagement, succession planning and leadership development, using the SECI model developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1996 (Forst, 2012). The research uses a case study approach by examining the Public Sector of the Virgin Islands. We draw upon two survey instruments to analyse the variables in our model: Knowledge Management Assessment Instrument (KMAI) and Gallup Workplace Audit (GWA). Our results revealed that knowledge sharing enhances employee engagement, leadership development and succession planning. These findings could assist the public sector to understand the dynamics of knowledge management which can help increase employee engagement and the development of leadership.

Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services

The goal of “serving all” is similar to “serving none.” Marketers are constantly looking for ways... more The goal of “serving all” is similar to “serving none.” Marketers are constantly looking for ways to refine the way they segment markets. Segmentation involves diving markets into smaller portions (segments) of consumers with similar needs for a given good or service. This chapter explores the application of various algorithms and analytical techniques that are used to segment markets. These techniques include regression, cross-tabulation, hierarchical clustering, and k-means clustering performed through analytical tools such as R-Studio and MS Excel. The analyses drew upon the “customer data” dataset, which contained eight variables: age, income, marital status, ownership status, household size, family total sales, and family total visit. The findings demonstrate how such statistics could help the businesses understand the customers and target the specific customer with unique campaigns and offerings.

Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2022

Sustainability marketing in the fashion industry is the subject of this theoretical synthesis. Th... more Sustainability marketing in the fashion industry is the subject of this theoretical synthesis. This conceptual essay entails dissecting the conceptual underpinnings and construction components of sustainability marketing derived by current scholarly perspectives to offer an updated articulation of sustainability marketing as a flourishing interdisciplinary research area. As a result of our theory synthesis approach, this paper developed a sustainability marketing model, referred to as the new 3Ps of sustainability marketing—Preservation (Environment), Public (Society) and Performance (Economy) which add to the traditional 4Ps- “Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.” The paper further examines the role of these new 3Ps of sustainability marketing in fashion, considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The model offers a uniquely integrated framework for designing marketing strategies in the fashion industry consistent with sustainability marketing and aims to promote, communicate, and educate consumers who are either existing or potential customers of sustainable fashion brands. The framework encompasses segments of the fragmented fashion industry whilst mapping strategies for marketing sustainability and presenting new post-pandemic opportunities across all value-creation stages. Finally, we offer implications and directions for further research.

British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2014

China is experiencing a rapid expansion of what is termed 'collective bargaining'. The article dr... more China is experiencing a rapid expansion of what is termed 'collective bargaining'. The article draws on workplace and sectoral examples to assess what underlies this. Recent changes in labour policy are outlined. Four studies at establishment level describe the use of hybrid representation in response to growing worker activism and internal union reform. Two studies of sectoral bargaining shed light on decentralized decision-making on pay. Attention is drawn to the growth of employer organizations and increased articulation within the trade union. A form of collective bargaining is emerging where the union draws on state power to improve conditions of employment.

Research Square (Research Square), Apr 22, 2021

Personnel Review, Jan 18, 2022

Qeios

Advances in marketing, customer relationship management, and e-services book series, Mar 17, 2023

International Review of Entrepreneurship, 2023

Businesses, Jan 12, 2023

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning

Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services

IGI Global eBooks, Feb 15, 2021

Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, 2022

Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services

Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2022

British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2014

Migration Practice as Creative Practice: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Migration presents a... more Migration Practice as Creative Practice: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Migration presents an in-depth evaluation of the contributions made by migrants to modern socio-economic structures.

Leading with discussion of the historical construction of migration and what it signifies in the modern globalised economies, an interdisciplinary range of contributors examine the interaction of migrants with new cultures, as well as migrants’ acculturation into the new environments and what that signifies for community relations. The book also discusses the creative energies that migrant inject in the economic structures in both private and public spheres.

Migration Practice as Creative Practice shows particular interest to how migrants use their social lives, lived experiences, and the process of identity formation, as well as their histories and families to inject positive ‘newness’ into host cultural and economic architectures. It calls for more creative ways of researching migrant movements and lived experiences, and brings to life the different ways of approaching migrant research for scholars today.

Enlightened Marketing in Challenging Times: Proceedings of the 2019 AMS World Marketing Congress (WMC), 2020

This research examines how political advertising is operated in a volatile context, such as a sta... more This research examines how political advertising is operated in a volatile context, such as a state of war or instability. The study employed a self-completing cross-sectional survey to gather the data in the period of the 2016 Syrian elections for members of parliament. The research tested the hypothetical model and its equivalency related to political involvement by structural equation modelling. The outcomes of the tests revealed the structure of belief as a four-dimensional variate. The four dimensions encapsulate information, veracity, sarcasm, and cynicism. In addition, perceptions during conflicts had a negative effect on attitude through sarcasm displayed by voters with low political involvement. The results also found that negative attitude had a link with lower degrees of veracity with regards to voters who are less involved but to greater degrees of cynicism highly politically active individuals. We found that less favourable attitudes to political advertising lowered the likelihoods for voters to watch political ads or announcements, support a runner, and be willing to go to the poll. We found no relation between the fact of paying attention to political advertising and intention of voters to use their ballot.

Migration as creative practice, 2021

This chapter is intended for addressing the methodological aspects of narrative analysis in migra... more This chapter is intended for addressing the methodological aspects of narrative analysis in migration scholarship. The chapter provides a review of the employment of narrative analysis in conducting empirical investigations that include migrants as participants. Finally, we feature how the use of narrative in migration research has enriched our understanding of the power of narratives in social sciences generally.

Many academic scholars argue that the goal of using artificial intelligence (hereafter, AI) in bu... more Many academic scholars argue that the goal of using artificial intelligence (hereafter, AI) in business has been to serve humans in performing their jobs. Yet, some scholars refute such arguments and warn against potential threats of AI to humankind in the future. AI or machine intelligence comprises three main aspects, i.e., learning, reasoning, and self-correction which aggregate to conjure up the artificial mind. In retailing, the employment of AI is progressively becoming a major theme of innovation and retailers are rapidly increasing the use of machine intelligence to efficiently simulate human intelligence and become more competitive through cutting costs and improving customer journeys. However, such benefits can be catastrophic in the long run. Hereby, this chapter represents an attempt to produce a synthesis of current research on the use of AI in retailing and identify the possible benefits or ramifications on the human pillars of the retail process (i.e., the employers, employees, and customers). Finally, this chapter aims to reflect on relevant literature to conclude future research and industrial implications. KEYWORDS: Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Neural Networks; Quantum Artificial Intelligence; Retail Innovation; Business Ethics

BERA Annual Conference 11-13 September, 2018

The study of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in children, adolescents, and adults has always been of ... more The study of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in children, adolescents, and adults has always been of interest to researchers worldwide (Farrington, 2006), and as such, there are numerous assessment tools available to measure these types of behaviour (e.g. Non-Violent and Violent Offending Behaviour Scale; NVOBS, Thornton, Graham-Kevan, & Archer, 2013) However, within a more specific context, there are no pre-existing measures for assessing ASB in a higher education setting. With the rise of both consumerism and the notion of the student as a customer within Western universities, the construction of education has now become a commodity, and its providers, competitors in the market (Tait, 2014). As students gain the status of customer, it may enhance their levels of self-esteem (Tait, 2014) and in turn, produce false expectations such as to feel amused, comfortable, and to put forward little effort (Delucchi & Korgen, 2002). Further, it could deter innovation, promote passive and instrumental attitudes to learning, threaten academic standards and further embed academic privilege within our university education (Naidoo & Jamieson, 2007). As such, it could be suggested that these current issues within higher education could encourage or make universities susceptible to student ASB, specifically within the educational setting. Therefore, the aim of this research is to construct and validate a new measure for ASB in a higher education setting.
First, we undertook a pilot study by asking students what they perceived ASB to be in higher education in order to inform our initial construction and the items chosen. Secondly, we constructed the measure and sent it to students via an online questionnaire. We also collected additional demographic information such as age, gender, country of residence, origin etc. After we had the desired number of respondents. A set of multivariate procedures were employed in order to validate the final items used in the measure.
The second stage of our study took place in two higher education institutes in Detroit, USA in January 2018 and used a self-administered survey containing demographic questions along with the ASB items generated from the pilot study. Items were assessed on a nine-point Likert scale (1 = not acceptable at all, 9 = completely acceptable). We received 156 responses that were used in the analysis. Our sample consisted of 91 females (58%) with a mean age of 22.4 years old. To validate the dimensionality of the generated items, we ran a series of exploratory factor analyses using Principal Component Analysis as an extraction method, along with Varimax with Kaiser Normalization as a rotation approach.
Those procedures were followed by reliability tests using Cronbach’s Alpha to assess the internal consistency of the final resulting factors. Our results show a two-factor measurement structure, comprising: Interpersonal antagonistic behaviour (eigenvalue = 4.6 > 1, % variance = 33.1, α = .89), and Indirect distracting behaviour (eigenvalue = 3.6 > 1, %variance = 25.4, α = .84).

Liverpool Hope Business School Annual Conference, 2018

SMS advertisements have emerged as one of the promotional tools used by cellular telephony provid... more SMS advertisements have emerged as one of the promotional tools used by cellular telephony providers in the Syrian Arab Republic, where these advertisements are contained in the form of short text messages to consumers’ cellular phones. Similar to other advertising methods, advertisers should evaluate the effectiveness of SMS as an advertising medium by exploring consumer beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and behaviour related to SMS advertising. It was predicted that there were, by mid-2017, 365 million unique subscribers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, accounting for 63% of the population (GSMA, 2017). Using a sample of (336) Syrian consumers, this study aims to assess Syrian consumer’s beliefs and attitudes towards SMS advertisements, and investigating the relationships among the related dimensions. A questionnaire was pilot tested among 30 mobile phone users in Syria to ensure an understanding of the study, and acceptance by our respondents. Measures in this study were validated regarding the Syrian Arab culture. Thus, scale items were translated from English to Arabic and back-translated to English to improve translation accuracy. The results indicate that respondents held negative beliefs regarding SMS advertisements, i.e., seeing them as a poor source of information and as an irritating promotional format. The negative consumer beliefs were accompanied with unfavourable attitudes and negative behavioural intentions and responses. Additionally, this study demonstrates that both attitudes and behavioural intentions served as transmitters of the beliefs indirect effects on the behavioural intentions and responses towards SMS ads.

Conference: British Education Studies Conference (BESA): 14th Annual International Conference 2018 At: University Of Bolton, 2018

This study aims to validate a scale measuring university students' attitude towards plagiarism in... more This study aims to validate a scale measuring university students' attitude towards plagiarism in a Middle Eastern Arabic speaking context. We used Koul's (2007) plagiarism survey to collect data from both public and private university students between 2015-2016. Using confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis and reliability tests, our 517-response sample revealed that plagiarism is a three rather than six-factor variate comprising: Use of social acquaintances to avoid academic failure, reliance on professional/academic sources, and personal circumstances. Further, our findings revealed that students tend to be indifferent regarding personal circumstances (t = 1.663, p > .05). However, our participants considered plagiarism by using social acquaintances to avoid academic failure as unethical (t = 18.664, p < .0001), whereas, they would regard plagiarism by relying on professional/academic sources as an ethical practice (t =-3.960, p < .0001).

The British Educational Research Association (BERA) 2018 Conference, 2018

The civil war in Syria embodies a vicious combat amongst many factions. The armed conflict has re... more The civil war in Syria embodies a vicious combat amongst many factions. The armed conflict has reached into almost all places in Syria, including the heart of the nation’s capital, Damascus (Mahmoud & Reisel, 2015). Such hostilities have imposed humanitarian, medical, economic, psychological and social ramifications on the majority of citizens in Syria. For example, the Syrian youth (predominantly males) continue to be a target of forced recruitment by war factions such as government forces, pro-regime militias, armed opposition groups and terrorist organizations (The Central Intelligence Agency, 2018). Additionally, millions of Syrian citizens have become refugees or internally displaced individuals (The Central Intelligence Agency, 2018) with an unemployment rate of fifty-three percent (Statista, 2017). Universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) in Syria have also been affected by war with the total number of enrolled students in HEIs being in decline since the advent of the civil war (Mahmoud & Grigoriou, 2017). Plagiarism has been a key ethical challenge to universities worldwide and thus an interesting phenomenon to higher education researchers to investigate (Roberts, 2008; Ehrich, Howard, Tognolini, & Bokosmaty, 2015). With plagiarism depicted by many scholars as unethical practice (e.g., Ehrich et al., 2015), we argue that war could affect students’ attitudes towards plagiarism. Thus, this study explores the relationship between wartime perceptions and attitudes towards plagiarism in students currently enrolled in higher education. We adapt Mahmoud and Reisel’s (2015) operationalization of wartime crises personal experiences and define students’ wartime perceptions as the degree to which a person believes they are being negatively affected by war in their country, from an overall perspective. The study took place in Syria during the civil war, during 2015 and 2016. We randomly targeted students who were currently enrolled in higher education using an online survey and obtained a total of 517 valid responses for analysis. The survey was designed to measure students’ attitudes towards plagiarism using Koul, Clariana, Jitgarun, and Songsriwittaya’s (2009) instrument. The survey also collected demographic information (e.g., gender, age) and included a wartime perceptions scale designed for this study. Factor analyses and reliability tests were conducted to validate the measures. The validation of the attitudes towards plagiarism measure resulted in a new set of dimensions comprising: Personal circumstances, Use of social acquaintances to avoid academic failure, and Reliance on professional/academic sources. T-tests were executed to test the effects of wartime perceptions on students’ attitudes towards plagiarism. Our results revealed that wartime perceptions affect two dimensions of plagiarism, namely, Personal circumstances (t = 2.28, p < .05), and Reliance on professional/academic sources (t = 2.12, p < .05). This concludes that students with more intense experiences of wartime crises tend to view engaging in plagiarism as a more acceptable code of practice. These findings demonstrate that experiences of war may influence a students’ moral beliefs concerning what constitutes as academic misconduct. In addition, they also raise concerns about the quality of educational outcomes during wars and call for future research to find effective solutions for HEIs in war affected nations to reaffirm their strict code of practice to all of its students.

BERA Annual Conference, 2019

We aimed to empirically test the effects of wartime crisis perceptions on students’ attitudes tow... more We aimed to empirically test the effects of wartime crisis perceptions on students’ attitudes towards cheating behaviours. Student integrity has been an area of interest since the beginning of formal education (Jereb, et al., 2018). Furthermore, there has been increasing work done on academic integrity and student dishonesty as the topic is deemed to be one of critical importance. Studies have been carried out which examine student perceptions of plagiarism, collusion and cheating in exams however, these studies were conducted in stable democracies (e.g., Rawwas, Swaidan, & Al-Khatib, 2006). Students working in a conflict zone may experience differing perceptions on cheating to those in more stable environments. Researchers in the field point out that few studies on cheating have been conducted in the Middle East, and even fewer in conflict zones (e.g., Mahmoud & Blinkhorn, 2018). The review of extant literature demonstrates the lack of research on student academic misconduct in challenging contexts. Thus, there is a gap in the academic literature, and an empirical study was thus undertaken to answer the research question. We ran a correlational field study that took place in Syria during the civil war and yielded 517 valid responses from higher education students during 2015 and 2016. Wartime perceptions were measured using single-item scale designed for this study. We elicited seven items, from Rawwas et al (2006).Those items were utilized to measure attitudes towards cheating behaviour as a multi-item unidimensional construct, which scored a good level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .71). We used hierarchical regression to analyse the influence of wartime perceptions on cheating. Gender, year of study, age, and university type (Mahmoud & Grigoriou, 2017) were entered into the analysis as control variables. Our results showed that although the participants held negative feelings about cheating (t = -44.8, df = 516), however, older (β =.20, p ≤ .05) male (β = -.14, p < .01) with less negative wartime personal experience students (β = -.10, p < .05) tended to hold less unfavourable attitudes towards cheating behaviours. Our results regarding the role of gender are in line with previous research. Overall, Females have long been characterized to be more ethical than males in general (e.g., Serwinek, 1992) and regarding cheating behaviour in particular (e.g., Rawwas et al., 2006). However, unlike gender, our results regarding age were inconsistent with literature as we found a positive relationship between age and tendency to engage in cheating behaviour. Previous research has reported that age-related evolution of ethical judgment was inclined with the frequency of cheating behaviour (Rawwas et al., 2006). Rawwas and Singhapakdi (1998) found that the majority of people had a tendency to be more ethical as they became older. Serwinek (1992) stated that age was the most major ethics precursor with older individuals holding strict elucidations of ethical standards. We contend that a possible reason for that contradiction might lie within the tendency of older students to be more experienced with university assessments and less anxious about it. With such relatively lower anxiousness older students would tend to be more daring to consider cheating if needed. Eventually, this study provides new insights regarding male students’ attitudes to cheating in conflict zones and how they relate to wartime perceptions. Further research could investigate the reasons for the differences found.