Competitive Climate Research Articles

Does competitive school climate really harm to students’ anti-bullying attitude: empirical evidence from China

BackgroundSchool bullying remains a social problem and changing students’ attitudes towards bullying is crucial for effective prevention in schools. Based on social-ecological system theory, this study examines how school climate influences anti-bullying attitudes among students. Specifically, it studies how a competitive school environment influences these attitudes, and how students’ competitive attitudes mediate these attitudes.MethodsThe data for this study comes from The Programmed for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is a global student assessment initiative led by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The sample consists of 12,058 Chinese students from the 2018 PISA survey. Data analysis was conducted using STATA (version 14.0) software.ResultsSchool competitive climate has a positive and substantial impact on their anti-bullying attitudes (r = 0.1551, p < 0.001). Students’ competitive attitudes are also positively and significantly correlated with their anti-bullying attitudes (r = 0.2249, p < 0.001). Competitive attitudes partially mediate the relationship between the school bullying climate and students’ anti-bullying attitudes.ConclusionIn the context of Chinese education, a competitive school climate clearly has a positive effect on students anti-bullying attitudes. Students’ competitive attitudes also act as partial mediator in this relationship. These findings suggest that a healthy school ecosystem that reflects sound value guidance and fair rules is imperative for fostering anti-bullying attitudes in students.

Factors affecting career decision-making of stomatology undergraduate students in China at graduation: a cross-sectional study on selection dilemmas

BackgroundGiven today’s competitive climate, graduates in stomatology face the dilemma of deciding whether to pursue higher education, obtain a master’s degree, or focus on clinical careers. However, their career planning tendencies and decision-making factors have not been clarified. This study aimed to analyze these aspects among stomatology undergraduate students at the Southwest Medical University (SWMU) in China.MethodsThis cross-sectional study between July and August 2022 included undergraduate students majoring in stomatology at SWMU. A cross-sectional online questionnaire was used to gather data on the respondents’ plans after graduation. The questionnaire included inquiries into their intentions regarding postgraduate education and standardized training. Additionally, the survey explored whether the respondents preferred academic or professional master’s degrees, which stomatology subspecialty they preferred, and the factors that influenced their choices.ResultsOne hundred dental undergraduate students participated in this survey. Results indicated that 91.0% of respondents chose to pursue a master’s degree after graduation. Moreover, 80.2% of the respondents chose the professional master rather than the academic master as their first choice. Orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and oral implantology were the top three subspecialties that students preferred. Personal interest, expected revenue, and family suggestions were the main factors influencing subspecialty selection.ConclusionsThe study reveals that stomatology undergraduate students face challenges and a dilemma at graduation. Due to the fierce competition in the job market, graduates aspire to pursue postgraduate studies instead of entering the workforce immediately after graduation. Students need to understand the employment landscape in oral medicine and familiarize themselves with the work patterns of various subspecialties while remaining flexible in charting their career paths.

Assessing Beneficiaries Perceptions of Service Delivery in Microfinance Institutions

Commercial banks and recently founded MFIs are two major competitors for microfinance institutions (MFIs). The same microfinance clients are now being targeted by an increasing number of MFIs. The demand for microfinance consumers has increased, which has led to a rise in the sophistication of the services that these customers expect from MFIs. MFIs, however, are putting a lot of effort into keeping and satisfying their clients. MFIs must pay closer attention to the priorities and preferences of their customers in order to comprehend their demands and preferences in the current competitive climate. Today, obtaining customer happiness is crucial to accomplishing MFI goals. As can be seen from the foregoing, MFIs' ability to succeed depends on their ability to do business with their clients. In light of this context, the article dives to assesses beneficiaries' opinions on the services of MFIs', microfinance and other associated services.

Understanding the relationship between competitive climates and reading achievement in East Asia: a situated expectancy-value theory perspective

ABSTRACT Competitive climates have been found to be critical for language learning. However, most of these studies primarily focused on examining the direct association between competitive climates and language performance. Little attention has been given to exploring how competitive climates interplay with motivational beliefs in influencing language learning, especially in the Confucian culture. To address these gaps, this study aimed to investigate how expectancy-value beliefs mediated the relationship between competitive climates and reading achievement in East Asian regions. The study utilized data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, with 41,872 participants from six East Asian regions, including Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Korea, and Mainland China. The results revealed that competitive climates could enhance students’ reading achievement by fostering expectancy and value beliefs, demonstrating the positive influence of competitive climates on reading achievement within East Asian regions. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Discrimination or a Competitive Climate? Why Women Cannot Translate Their Better High School Grades into University Grades

Discrimination or a Competitive Climate? Why Women Cannot Translate Their Better High School Grades into University Grades

The Effect of Leadership Style on Improving Employee Performance

Leadership style significantly impacts the organization's long-term viability. On the other hand, leadership style can also affect an organization's reputation. This study intends to investigate the relationship between corporate reputation and leadership style, which has consequences for raising worker productivity. An online poll targeting employees in different work units and businesses in Indonesia was used to obtain the data. The study's findings can advance understanding, particularly in terms of the way that corporate reputation mediates the relationship between leadership style and employee performance. This research also has practical implications for management in an organization to be more aware of the role of organizational reputation that can influence employee performance. In addition, the quality of leaders is also one of the main drivers of organizational reputation, so a good reputation will create a climate of fair work competition for employees to improve their performance.

As Reformas religiosas e o nascimento da escolarização ocidental

The religious reforms of the 16th century served as the midwives of early modernity. At a time when the Iberian expansion was globalizing the continents, these reforms sparked religious wars and deeply fragmented the European landscape. This confessionalization of society led to the emergence of a more rationalized form of Christianity, represented by various Protestant churches and Tridentine Catholicism, particularly exemplified by the Society of Jesus. Diverging from medieval Christianity, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anglicans invested in creating their own networks of educational institutions, sparking an unprecedented wave of schooling that aimed to solidify the religious practices of their followers. In response, the Catholic Church also equipped itself, establishing parish schools and, notably, a network of Jesuit colleges that spread throughout the Catholic regions of Europe, Asia, and the New World. In 1599, the Society of Jesus unified its educational establishments with the institution of the Ratio Studiorum — a comprehensive set of Jesuit educational rules that became the foundational curriculum for Catholic schooling in the early modern period. This study argues that the religious reforms were instrumental in the birth of Western schooling, emerging from different Christian matrices — both Protestant and Catholic. This represents a historical shift — in the Foucauldian sense — that led to the rise of schooling in the Western world, characterized by modern discipline, manifested through mechanisms such as time control, spatial organization, the arrangement of forces, a climate of competition and student reward, and an emphasis on moral punishments. This issue is examined through three recent historical-sociological works published in Europe and Latin America: Produção da escola/produção da sociedade: Análise sócio-histórica de alguns momentos decisivos da evolução escolar no Ocidente by sociologist André Petitat; Arqueología de la escuela by sociologists Julia Varela and Fernando Álvarez-Uría; and A invenção da sala de aula: Uma genealogia das formas de ensinar by historians Inés Dussel and Marcelo Caruso. This historiographical reflection examines the emergence of Western schooling, aiming to identify common analytical elements across these three books, while also noting differences, particularly those related to theoretical foundations and socio-spatial contexts.

The Analysis of Electronic Marketing of Agriculture Products Based on Feasibility, Desirability, and Feasibility Risk

Many industries have been impacted by saturation in a highly competitive climate. Many conventional Business-to-consumer companies are dealing with the dilemma of fragmented and lost clientele. However, live-streaming commerce has shown its potential in recent years, which brought conventional enterprises an opportunity. While many primary industry entrepreneurs lack knowledge of this sector. Therefore, this report will discuss the feasibility of selling agricultural products online with live commerce. Both primary data and secondary data are used. I have collected data from multiple experienced sellers from electronic business platforms, including sales, market share, etc. However, literature is also used for analyzing live commerces success factors and forecasting the feasibility of the online agriculture market. The results of this study show feasibility, desirability, and feasibility risk, lending practitioners in multiple traditional industries, especially agriculture suppliers, a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that would affect live commerces success and motivations of consumer decisions. The outcomes can be further used as a fundamental of online platforms improvement and agriculture products online selling suggestions.

The double-edged sword of workplace friendship: exploring when and how workplace friendship promotes versus inhibits voice behavior

Extant research has demonstrated the positive roles of workplace friendships and has recently found the negative effect or the double-edged effect on employees and organizations. Unfortunately, little is known about the boundary condition of the double-edged effects of workplace friendships and the elaborated understanding of the mechanism of positive and negative effects of workplace friendship simultaneously. Our purpose is to reveal that workplace friendship is a mixed blessing by investigating when and how workplace friendships are likely to promote versus inhibit voice behavior. We propose that the double-edged effect of workplace friendship hinges on the competitive climate. Specifically, when the competitive climate is low, workplace friendship is positively related to employees’ psychological safety, promoting voice behavior. In contrast, workplace friendship is positively related to employees’ face concern, inhibiting voice behavior when the competitive climate is high. Our hypotheses were supported across the three waves of surveys and experimental studies. Taken together, our findings reveal the perils and benefits of workplace friendship and the importance of boundary conditions resulting in employees’ differential psychological processes in friendship interaction.

Enhanced MAIRCA technique for green supply chain management based on spherical linear diophantine fuzzy information

Spherical q-linear Diophantine fuzzy sets (Sq-LDFSs) showed a significant improvement to handling uncertainty in multi-criteria decision-making (MADM). It is advantageous for two-parametric data as well as for data with three variable parameters. One of the most crucial functions of supply chain management is to increase competitive pressure. The study’s standout innovation, Multi-Attributive Ideal Real Comparative Analysis (MAIRCA), has been implemented to give powerful group decision-making. An ecological perspective is becoming more prevalent due to the competitive climate and customer perception. Green supplier selection (GSS) has become a significant issue. In this study, we address the problem of GSS, which aims for flexibility, robustness, ecological sensitivity, leanness, and feasibility. The feasibility criteria in recycling, environmental, carbon footprints, and water consumption are different from those in standard supplier selection. The aim of our work is to introduced the weighted Average/Geometric aggregation operators based on Sq-LDFSs. For this we defined some operational rules as a foundation of aggregation operators. Secondly we proposed a MAIRCA approach for Sq-LDFSs to address these issues. The MAIRCA strategy, which uses multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) to evaluate and choose traditional and environmental conventionalities, is used to reduce instability and ambiguity. The spherical q-linear Diophantine fuzzy MAIRCA approach provides comparative analysis of decision-makers and criteria. By merging Sq-LDFS and MAIRCA, a hybrid strategy is formed, successfully selecting the best provider among options based on the order of significance. These numerical examples demonstrate the suggested MCGDM approaches that were applied in actual situations, giving a realistic appreciation of their efficacy. The comparative study of the final ranking further supports the idea that these strategies are dependable in decision-making processes in addition to being practical and usable.

Competitive psychological climate and foreign language anxiety in junior high school learners in China: Roles of control-value appraisals, and cognitive reappraisal

In recent years, competitive climate has increasingly prevailed in some Asian regions with large numbers of foreign language learners. It is thus important for teachers to understand the impact of this classroom environment on language learners’ emotions and to develop ways to effectively reduce any potential negative impact associated with the competitive climate. The present study aims to contribute to this under-studied but necessary line of research by focusing on the exploration of possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between competitive climate and foreign language anxiety. Specifically, we assessed the roles of control and extrinsic value appraisals as mediators in the relationship between competitive climate and anxiety levels. We also investigated the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal (a typical form of adaptive emotion regulation) in the relationship between competitive climate and cognitive appraisals/anxiety, and that of intrinsic value appraisal in the relationship between extrinsic value appraisal and anxiety. Data were collected from 1,138 junior high school-level learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from six public schools situated in different cities in China. Results show that competitive climate was directly and positively related to foreign language anxiety, and this relationship was complementarily mediated via extrinsic value appraisal, but competitively mediated via control appraisal. Moderation analysis showed that intrinsic value appraisal negatively moderated the relationship between extrinsic value appraisal and anxiety. Cognitive reappraisal was shown to be a buffer against the relationship between competitive climate and anxiety. Results reveal the complexity and dynamics of the relationship between competitive climate and foreign language anxiety, and the conditions under which their relationship is strengthened or weakened. Based on our findings, discussion and pedagogical implications are provided as are the study’s limitations.

Large-scale land development of landed housing and apartment based on developers networking in Jabodetabek

The immense development of residential land in Jabodetabek and unreasonable property prices indicate an uncompetitive housing market. It argues that the phenomenon of oligopolistic market condition, either in the property or land market, is bridled by a minority of developers. It is reinforced by the emergence of a network formed among the development firms. In order to deliberate developer’s network, we incorporated institutional land development study approach, market structure and business competition theory. Subsequently, social networks analysis among large-scale housing developers will be explained. This study revealed out that the development of residential land was found to lead into a more competitive climate with monopolistic competitive market type. Four investigations: multiple positions; stock ownership; consortium; and kinship, were selected to divulge a large-scale housing developer network that are formed either directly or indirectly. The network created a semi-oligopolistic type of land domination. A few well-known developers became the dominant actors through landed housing and apartment developers network. The emergence of this network phenomenon is indicated by poor regulations and its institutions. Moreover, policies regarding spatial planning and business competition have not been integrated yet.

Group Dynamics and Public Policy Formation: Insights from Nigerian Society

This paper appraises the theoretical assumptions of group theory within the purview of public policy with a specific focus on the Nigerian context. It begins by providing conceptual clarity on policy, public policy, and public policy analysis to lay the foundation for the subsequent discussion. The paper then examines the underlying assumptions of group theory and critiques its applicability within public policy discourse. Through the analysis of secondary data, this paper explores the role of group theory in shaping policy formulation and implementation processes. It highlights the significant influence of group actions on government policies, illustrating how various interest groups exert pressure and influence decision-making processes. This paper concludes that public policy emerges as a result of collective agitation and interaction within a given society. It recognises that various groups play pivotal roles in shaping policy outcomes, yet their actions are typically governed by established rules, fostering a climate of peaceful competition among competing interests.

Competitive organizational climate and artificial intelligence (AI) acceptance: the moderating role of leaders' power construal.

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in organizations is pivotal to deal with work-related tasks and challenges effectively, yet little is known about the organizational factors that influence AI acceptance (i.e., employee favorable AI attitudes and AI use). To address this limitation in the literature and provide insight into the organizational antecedents influencing AI acceptance, this research investigated the relationship between competitive organizational climate and AI acceptance among employees. Moreover, given the critical role of a leader in employee attitude and behavior, we examined the moderating role of leaders' power construal as responsibility or as opportunity in this relationship. Study 1 was a three-wave field study among employees (N = 237, Mage = 38.28) working in various organizations in the UK. The study measured employees' perception of a competitive organizational climate at Time 1, leaders' power construal (as perceived by employees) at Time 2, and employee attitudes towards AI and their actual use of AI in the workplace at Times 2 and 3. Study 2 was a 2 (climate: highly competitive vs. low competitive) by 2 (power construal: responsibility vs. opportunity) experiment among employee participants (N = 150, Mage = 37.50). Study 1 demonstrated a positive relationship between competitive climate and employee AI use over time. Furthermore, both studies revealed an interaction between competitive climate and leader's power construal in the prediction of employee AI acceptance: In Study 1, competitive climate was negatively related to AI acceptance over time when leaders construed power as opportunity. In Study 2 competitive climate was positively related to AI acceptance when leaders construed power as responsibility rather than as opportunity. These results underscore the organizational factors that are required in order for employees to shape favorable attitudes towards AI and actually use AI at work. Importantly, this research expands the limited body of literature on AI integration in organizations.

Check-In Desk Scheduling Optimisation at CDG International Airport

More than ever, air transport players (i.e., airline and airport companies) in an intensely competitive climate need to benefit from a carefully optimized management of airport resources to improve the quality of service and control the induced costs. In this paper, we investigate the Airport Check-in Desk Assignment Problem. We propose a Constraint Programming (CP) model for this problem, and present some promising experimental results from data coming from ADP (Aéroport de Paris). Our works are deployed in a preprod environment since 1 year.

Fostering Digital Excellence: A Multidimensional Exploration of the Collective Effects of Technological Adaptability, Employee Competitiveness, and Employee Dynamic Capabilities on Employee Digital Performance in Chinese SMEs

This study is grounded in a specific Eastern cultural region, undertaking a multidimensional exploration. We meticulously examined the intricate interplay between employee competitive attitudes (ECA) and behaviors (ECB), employee dynamic capability (EDC), and Competitive climate (CC), converging these factors to redefine the contours of Employee Digital Performance (EDP). The survey data for this study were collected from SMEs in four Chinese provinces: Shanghai, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Anhui. The analysis was conducted utilizing CB-SEM (AMOS) to analyze the newly conceptualized framework. The research findings unveil a profound reality: in the digital era, Technological Adaptability (TA), Employee Competitive Attitudes, Employee Competitive Behaviors, and Employee Dynamic Capabilities all exert positive influences on Employee Digital Performance. The study indicates that technological adaptability, as a forward variable of employee competitive attitude and employee competitive behavior, positively influences employees' competitive attitudes and behaviors. Employees possessing competitive attitudes and behaviors enhance their dynamic capabilities, thereby promoting employee digital performance. Furthermore, the research indicates that the Competitive Climate moderates Employee Competitive Behaviors, and Employee Competitive Attitudes drive Employee Dynamic Capabilities, enhancing Employee Digital Performance. In the process of Chinese SMEs striving for digital advantages, this research provides a distinctive perspective. It offers actionable insights into harnessing employees’ traits and capabilities within the continually evolving digital ecosystem.

Cooperative school climates are positively linked with socio-emotional skills: A Cross-National Study.

Socio-emotional skills are critical to life outcomes such as achievement, well-being and job success. However, existing research has mostly focused on the consequences of socio-emotional skills, with less attention devoted to the role of school climate in the deployment of these skills. This study investigated the role of school climate in socio-emotional skills. More specifically, we investigated whether cooperative or competitive school climates are associated with students' socio-emotional skills. Our study utilized data from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, collected from 10 cities across nine countries. Participants were 60,985 students, including 31,187 10-year-olds (49.70% females) and 29,798 15-year-olds (51.6% females). We conducted multilevel structural equation modelling to test whether cooperative and competitive climates were associated with socio-emotional skills. These skills include five broad domain skills and 15 more specific skills: task performance (self-control, responsibility and persistence), emotion regulation (stress resistance, emotional control and optimism), collaboration (empathy, trust and cooperation), open-mindedness (tolerance, curiosity and creativity) and engaging with others (sociability, assertiveness and energy). Our findings indicated a positive relationship between a cooperative climate and socio-emotional skills. In contrast, the relationship between a competitive climate and socio-emotional skills was primarily negative. This study highlights the contrasting roles of cooperative and competitive climates in students' socio-emotional skills.

Does political skill promote knowledge hiding? An impression management perspective

PurposeAs a counterproductive interpersonal work behavior, knowledge hiding inhibits team creativity, hampers collaboration and ultimately has a detrimental impact on organizational performance. Drawing upon the impression management perspective. This study aims to investigate how and when employees’ political skill affects their knowledge-hiding behavior in real work contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested the hypotheses using data gathered from 266 employees in China using a time-lagged research design.FindingsThe results indicate that political skill positively influences knowledge hiding through the supplication strategy. Moreover, the positive effect of political skill on this strategy is stronger under higher levels of competition.Research limitations/implicationsA cross-sectional design and the use of self-report questionnaires are the limitations of this study.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the literature on the emergence of knowledge hiding by identifying an impression management perspective. The authors also contribute to the literature on political skill by exploring the potential negative effects of political skill in the interpersonal interaction. Moreover, the authors enrich the understanding of the literature in competitive climate by introducing the impression management theory and exploring its influence on knowledge floating.

The Relationship between a Competitive School Climate and School Bullying among Secondary Vocational School Students in China: A Moderated Mediation Model.

School bullying is widespread in countries around the world and has a continuous negative impact on the physical and mental health of students. However, few studies have explored the influence mechanism of a competitive school climate on school bullying among Chinese secondary vocational school students. This study aims to explore the relationship between a competitive school climate and bullying in secondary vocational schools in the Chinese context, as well as the mediating role of school belonging and the moderating role of gender. Logit regression analysis and a moderated mediation model were used to analyze 1964 secondary vocational students from China based on PISA 2018 data from Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, China. (1) The detection rate of school bullying in secondary vocational schools in China is 17.8%, lower than the world average. (2) A competitive school climate is significantly and positively correlated with secondary vocational school students' exposure to school bullying. (3) A moderated mediation model suggests that school belonging is an important mechanism by which a competitive school climate influences the occurrence of school bullying, whereas gender moderates the direct effect of a competitive school climate and the indirect effect of school belonging, which mitigates the negative effects of a competitive school climate to some extent. The research results show that creating a healthy competitive climate in schools, cultivating students' sense of belonging, and facing up to gender differences are helpful to prevent school bullying in secondary vocational schools.

Unlocking digital potential: Exploring the drivers of employee dynamic capability on employee digital performance in Chinese SMEs-moderation effect of competitive climate

While dynamic capabilities have been described as crucial for achieving organizational performance in dynamic environments, there has been limited scholarly distinction between dynamic capabilities and employee dynamic capabilities (EDC), especially in the digital era. Consequently, a knowledge gap has emerged. To address this void, this paper aims to investigate the driving factors of EDC and their impact on employee digital performance (EDP). Simultaneously, incorporating the competitive climate (CC) as a moderating variable between employee dynamic capabilities and employee digital performance addresses theoretical gaps in specific regions in China, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study utilizes survey data from SMEs in four Chinese provinces: Shanghai, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Anhui. It employs CB-SEM (AMOS) to analyze the new conceptual framework. Firstly, the research uncovers that the positive relationship between digital capabilities and employee digital performance necessitates employee dynamic capabilities as a mediator. Secondly, there exists a direct and indirect relationship between organizational learning and employee digital performance. Finally, this study discerns that the competitive climate moderates the relationship between employee dynamic capabilities and employee digital performance. This finding demonstrates remarkable alignment with the competitive culture in specific regions of China. The research results encourage SMEs to seize the opportunities presented by emerging digital technologies and industry digitization trends. They should commit to embracing new digital technologies, enhancing digital capability, strengthening organizational learning, fostering a positive competitive climate, and focusing on the development of employee dynamic capability to enhance their competitive edge. The findings of this research contribute not only to academic inquiry but also furnish pertinent decision-making references for relevant departments.