North African Context Research Articles

How Many Junilli? The Ambiguous Christology of Junillus Africanus

This article resolves a long-standing problem in the interpretation of the Instituta regularia divinae legis, the exegetical handbook produced by the imperial quaestor Junillus Africanus at the time of the Three Chapters controversy. Specialist historians of late antique exegesis consider the text to be heterodox because it owes a significant intellectual debt to the condemned Theodore of Mopsuestia. In the broader scholarly imagination, however, Junillus is an orthodox ideologue. The article argues that this debate reflects an unhelpful binary mode of thinking about orthodoxy. It compares Junillus’s Christological statements against the terms on which the contemporary imperial régime condemned the Three Chapters, which relate specifically to the mode of the union of Christ’s natures. It shows that the Instituta is neither orthodox nor heterodox; rather, the text expresses a carefully ambiguous Christology that admits multiple models of the union. The article then situates the Instituta in its imperial and North African contexts to show how this ambiguity did not subvert the régime’s orthodox imperial project, as is commonly assumed, but advanced it. The text models an ambiguous mode of confessing Christ under an extensive imperial authority to define orthodoxy and heterodoxy. It does so to accommodate recalcitrant stricter Chalcedonians in North Africa to the régime’s theological settlement with Miaphysites in Syria and Egypt. Junillus’s imperial politics of ambiguity invites deeper consideration of the ways that imperial power reproduces itself, in certain contexts, through ambiguity as well as through order and certainty.

Does the board of directors play a role in mitigating real and accrual-based earnings management in the MENA context?

PurposeIn light of the key role attributed to the board of directors as a monitoring tool to constrain earnings management practices, this study aims to examine the effect of some board attributes on accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) context, whose institutional, economic and legal environment is markedly different from that of most organization for economic cooperation and development countries.Design/methodology/approachThe authors selected a sample of 161 nonfinancial companies from nine MENA countries between 2014 and 2021 (corresponding to an unbalanced data panel of 486 observations). The authors used the generalized least squares regression test to examine the relationship between board attributes and earnings management.FindingsThe authors found that three board attributes (size, independence and gender diversity) have no effect on both types of earnings management practices, while CEO duality has no effect on accrual-based earnings management but has a significant and negative effect on real earnings management. Overall, the results suggest that most board attributes do not play a crucial role in reducing earnings management.Research limitations/implicationsThe results provide valuable insights into the universal role of corporate governance mechanisms and raise questions about the role of the board of directors in improving reporting quality in the MENA context.Practical implicationsRegulators should adapt corporate governance mechanisms to the characteristics of the institutional context in which they are inserted.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of various board characteristics on both types of earnings management practices in the MENA context. It also provides the first empirical evidence of the relationship between board gender diversity and earnings management in the MENA region.

The Interplay of Lean Six Sigma, Industry 4.0, and Dynamic Capabilities: Pathways to Sustainable Competitive Advantage in North African Context

The Interplay of Lean Six Sigma, Industry 4.0, and Dynamic Capabilities: Pathways to Sustainable Competitive Advantage in North African Context

The Clinicopathological Features and Prognostic Significance of HER2-Low in Early Breast Tumors Patients Prognostic Comparison of HER-Low and HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Stratified by Hormone Receptor Status

Introduction. There has been increased interest in HER2-low breast tumors recently, as these tumors may have distinct clinical and molecular characteristics compared to HER2-negative and HER2-positive tumors. A new nomenclature has been proposed for HER2 1+ and HER2 2+ tumors that are confirmed negative according to fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). These tumors are now referred to as HER2-low, and it is thought that they may represent a distinct subtype of breast cancer that warrants further investigation. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic impact of this particular subtype in a North-African context where HER2-low breast cancer is a relatively understudied subtype, particularly in non-Western populations. Methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 1955 breast tumors in Moroccan patients over 10 years, collected at the Pathology Department of Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca and at the pathology department of Hassan II University Hospital in Fes. We elaborated on their complete immunohistochemical profile based on the main breast cancer biomarkers: Ki-67, HER2, estrogen, and progesterone receptors. Their overall survival and disease free survival data were also retrieved from their respective records. Results. Out of 1955 BC patients, 49.3% were classified as HER2-low; of which 80.7% and 19.2% were hormone receptors positive and negative, respectively. The clinicopathologic features indicate that HER2-low subtype tumors behave much more like HER2-positive than HER2-negative tumors. The survival analysis showed that the HER2-low subtype-belonging patients present significantly the poorest prognosis in disease-free survival ( p = 0.003 ) in comparison with HER2-negative ones. When considering the hormonal status, hormonal-dependent tumors show a significant difference according to HER2 subtypes in disease-free survival ( p < 0.001 ). Yet no significant difference was shown among hormonal negative tumors. Moreover, patients with hormonal positive tumors and simultaneously belonging to the HER2-low subgroup present a significantly good prognosis in overall survival compared to the ones with hormonal negative tumors ( p = 0.008 ). Conclusion. Our study has shown that the HER2-low phenotype is common among hormone-positive patients. The clinicopathological features and prognostic data indicate that the hormonal receptors effect and HER2 heterogeneity are crucial factors to consider. It is important to note that this particular subgroup is different from the HER2-negative one and should not be treated in the same way. Therefore, this study offers a new perspective in the management of HER2-low patients and can serve as a basis for future prospective analyses.

Morocco’s domestic crisis of (derailed) democratisation

ABSTRACT In the North African context, Morocco is a clear example of democratic backsliding. Since popular protests broke out in 2011, institutional reforms were implemented under the leadership of the monarchy, leading the Moroccan polity to change without altering its defining features. The previous decade had indeed seen Morocco trailing a thin line between social moderation and repression and between political openings and counter-revolution. Between 2011 and 2022 the process of democratic backsliding accelerated, thus turning Morocco into a ‘hybrid regime'. By tracing continuities and changes in the past decade mainly at the political and institutional levels, this article explores the pattern of democratic backsliding undertaken by Morocco by empirically contextualising it within the deterioration of the main features of citizenship understood according to the categorisation introduced by Marshall and Bottomore (1987) that distinguishes between civic, political and social rights. To explain this pattern, the article argues that external factors linked to the deterioration of the regional context (the conflict with Algeria over the Western Sahara and the spill-over of Libyan instability) as well as the rising tensions with the European Union (EU) have not only underpinned Morocco’s geopolitical reorientation but also sustained its domestic crisis of (unfinished) democratisation.

Competition–banking stability: the moderating role of government intervention quality in North African countries

PurposeThis study investigates how bank competition affects financial stability and whether government intervention contributes to shaping this relationship in North African countries.Design/methodology/approachA review of the literature on the subject was conducted, combined with an empirical analysis that used a two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) and a sample of 45 banks operating in North African countries over the period 2005–2019.FindingsThe findings reveal a quadratic relationship between competition and banking stability in North African countries. Competition–stability view and competition–fragility view could be applied at the same time for North African banks. Additionally, in this context, results highlight a negative impact of government intervention on financial stability in a competitive financial sector. North African banks operating in a high government intervention quality environment tend to engage in high-risk investments. Robustness checks with alternative measures of competition and banking stability also show consistent results.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the North African context has been explored to determine the role of the quality of government intervention in the relationship between competition and banking system fragility. This paper seeks to cover the shadow field in existing literature through further new information. Thus, it contributes to the emerging market banking literature by showing that both high and low levels of competition can improve financial stability in North African countries. Moreover, it expands its contribution by displaying the moderator effect of intervention quality on the bank competition–stability relationship.

Big N auditors and the quality of earnings: Evidence from Middle Eastern and North African countries

In recent years, the importance of audit quality has garnered significant attention by managements, academics and the general public. In this study, we examine the relationship between Big N auditors and earnings quality in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries, where cultural and institutional contexts are quite different from those in Western countries. In addressing this issue, we employ three audit quality metrics – value relevance, abnormal accruals and earnings persistence – and use the propensity score matching technique to deal with the potential endogeneity arising from the nature of external auditor choices. Contrary to the view that Big N auditors supply quality-differentiated audits, the results obtained employing a cross-country sample of publicly listed non-financial firms of 10 MENA countries during 2009–2019 provide evidence that Big N auditors are insignificantly associated with the three measures of audit quality. Furthermore, we find that the differences in audit quality between the two auditor groups are mainly due to the clients’ innate characteristics, rather than the competency of Big N auditors. Our results hold after performing different sensitivity analyses. Overall, our findings challenge the conventional notion that Big N auditors deliver quality-differentiated audits.

Motivations and Barriers to Female Entrepreneurship: Insights from Morocco

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurship is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon that is associated with value creation and considered a driver of economic development. While Africa exhibits a strong upsurge in the number of women entrepreneurs, the continent is still struggling in terms of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The region is entrepreneurially disadvantaged, with a low degree of female participation in this field and a large gender gap in favor of men. Therefore, this paper aims to present original insights into female entrepreneurship from the context of Morocco, exploring the motivations and barriers to women entrepreneurs in the service sector. It adopts a multi-level integrative framework and combines feminist and institutional theory to capture the agency and enabling factors along with institutional regulative and normative constraints associated with female entrepreneurship. The paper adopts an interpretative qualitative research approach capitalizing on in-depth interviews with twenty women entrepreneurs in the service sector. The data is analyzed using thematic coding and identified factors are classified into micro-meso-macro levels. The findings highlight the importance of integrating multiple lens and levels of analysis to capture the complexity of the phenomenon and illustrate the imbrication and interplay of enablers and constraints and contribute theoretically and empirically to knowledge on female entrepreneurship in the North African context and a factor-driven economy through the case of Morocco.

A comparative study of organizational commitment process in the private and public sectors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on the motivational process that leads to commitment development in the private and public sectors. It has been suggested that employee’s commitment is mainly predicted by job satisfaction and motivational factors such as internal communication, training, structural empowerment, incentive systems, transformational leadership and person–organization fit.Design/methodology/approachA comparative approach, between a set of private and public organizations, was undertaken. A survey was conducted on two random samples of workers belonging to both types of organizations.FindingsThe findings report a set of similarities and discrepancies between the private and the public organizations in terms of motivational factors that lead to job satisfaction and employees’ commitment.Originality/valueThis research brings additional value to the comparative literature on organizational analysis. It is one of the scarce comparative research in the North African context that deal with motivational factors at private and public workplaces.

Monitoring human disturbance: Factors affecting escape behaviour of waterbirds in North African wetlands

AbstractUnderstanding the factors affecting escape behaviour in waterbirds can be useful in the management of human disturbances. A common measure of escape response is flight initiation distance (FID), the distance at which an approaching intruder disturbs an individual bird enough to make it move away. Here, we analyse the escape behaviour of a set of waterbirds for the first time within a North African context. We tested (one‐way ANOVA and general linear model) how FID varied with the area where waterbirds were temporal scale, distance at which the observer start approaching to the sampled birds, body size, flock size, species composition of the flock and foraging activity of the sampled birds. We collected 866 individual FIDs for 19 waterbird species wintering at two north Algerian wetlands (the Mekhada marsh, RAMSAR site, El‐taref District and the Sebkhet El‐Mahmel, unprotected wetland, Khenchela District). The obtained FIDs ranged from 32.6 m in smaller species as the Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrines to 167 m in larger ones as the ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea. The obtained models stated that differences in the absolute levels of FIDs were mostly related to starting distance (Effect size = 0.62), to which is added a relatively little effect of wetland status, taxonomic differences, temporal scale, body size, flock size, species composition of the flock and bird activity. More specifically, FID was lower in smaller and homospecific groups at early winter in the protected wetland. Reserve managers in North Africa could use species and context‐specific FIDs in delineating appropriate buffer areas and in the design of management initiatives aimed at minimising eventual potential threat due to human disturbance and guaranteeing animal welfare and wildlife.

No one is safe! But who\u2019s more susceptible? Locus of control moderates pandemic perceptions\u2019 effects on job insecurity and psychosocial factors amongst MENA hospitality frontliners: a PLS-SEM approach

BackgroundThe research aimed to formulate and test a model concerning COVID-19 perceptions effects on job insecurity and a set of psychosocial factors comprising anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation in the Middle East and North African (hereafter, MENA) regional context. Also, the study attempted to examine whether locus of control can moderate these hypothesised linkages amongst customer service employees working in MENA hospitality organisations.MethodsThe study is based on a sample of 885 responses to an online survey and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).ResultsThe main findings show the existence of a significant correlation between COVID perceptions and job insecurity and all psychosocial factors, i.e., more intense COVID-19 perceptions accompany higher levels of job insecurity, anxiety, depression, job burnout and job alienation. Furthermore, our results revealed that, in pandemic time, hospitality customer service employees with external locus of control are more likely to suffer higher alienation, anxiety and depression than those with internal locus of control.ConclusionsThe research originality centres on the establishment that COVID-19 has a severe negative impact within the hospitality customer service labour force (in the MENA region). These effects were more profound for participants who claimed external locus of control than those with internal locus of control.

Comparative and Integrative History in Ottoman and Turkish Women’s and Gender Studies

Comparative and Integrative History in Ottoman and Turkish Women’s and Gender Studies

Understanding the Implementation of Social Customer Relationship Management in the North African Context: An Integrated Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT Social customer relationship management (CRM) deals with integrating social media data with traditional CRM in order to engage customers. This paper extends the Technology-Organization-Environment model with the diffusion of innovation theory to obtain insights into the factors and differences driving the use of social CRM in firms in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (n = 211). We find that the key factors driving the use of social CRM are organizational, through top management support and employee IT skills. Environmental factors also play a role, particularly through competitive pressure Compatibility, as a technology factor, is apparently not an antecedent to use. Our research also finds differences in social CRM use according to gender and industry, with male managers and those in ICT, media, training, and consulting more likely to use social CRM. This study differs from past studies by focusing on use rather than on adoption while examining a new context to provide additional insight for theory and practice.

Clinical predictors of disease progression in a cohort of Tunisian progressive Multiple Sclerosis

BackgroundKnowledge about progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is mainly based on Caucasian studies. In our North-African context, MS exhibits particular characteristics that are mainly related to a more severe phenotype. Given the limited data available, there is an imminent need to characterize progressive MS in our latitudes. ObjectiveTo describe the specificities of progressive MS and identify the inherent clinical predictors of disability accrual with a Tunisian cohort. MethodsA retrospective, hospital-based study was conducted in the department of neurology of Razi hospital. Patients, who had been diagnosed with MS, were divided into relapsing MS (RRMS), secondary progressive MS (SPMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS). Epidemiological, clinical and paraclinical data were compared among the three groups. ResultsOf the 504 patients, a progressive MS was described among 115 patients. This percentage of (22.8%) is divided into 13.9% SPMS and 8.9% PPMS. During the first clinical attack, motor symptoms have revealed to be predominant during PPMS (91.1%). For SPMS onset, the median time was 10 years, and was significantly delayed for patients with visual onset or full recovery from the first relapse. Patients with progressive MS exhibited a more rapid disability accumulation. ConclusionCompared to Caucasians, Tunisians exhibited a faster rate of conversion to SPMS. According to our natural progressive MS history, early clinical features are predictors of MS disability accrual.

Social customer relationship management and organizational performance: testing a conceptual model in the North African context

PurposeSocial CRM (SCRM) technologies, as distinct from CRM technologies per se, provide an important new resource for companies to develop their relationships with customers and drive business performance. This research develops and tests an original model exploring the impact of SCRM on firm performance and the relationships between SCRM use, engagement, CRM capabilities and performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collect a sample from 227 companies using a survey and test the model using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe findings reveal that all the hypotheses in our research model are supported: the use of SCRM technologies lead to developing capabilities and engagement. These capabilities and engagement are then transformed into business performance through a mediation process. Overall, these findings are consistent with resource-based view and dynamic capability theories; these new technological and relational resources allow the creation organizational capabilities, which are essential to enable firms to improve their performance.Practical implicationsSCRM does not directly lead to performance but facilitates CRM capabilities and engagement that allow businesses to enhance performance.Originality/valueFirst, the authors conceptualize and operationalize SCRM as a unique concept, distinct in the literature. Second, the authors provide an original conceptualization of SCRM as a combination of CRM capabilities and engagement. Third, the authors study the mediating effect of CRM capabilities and engagement in the relationship between social CRM use and performance. Finally, this research is conducted in three North African countries where there is currently a dearth of understanding of the impact of modern information systems on organizational performance.

Social axioms on high school students in the North African context: Validation and fit of the SAS-II.

Social axioms or general social beliefs represent people’s cognitive map of their social world acquired through social experiences. Empirical research has related the central constructs in the study of psychology and social axioms, establishing a broad nomological network in various cultural settings. This paper studies the validity of the Social Axioms Survey II (SAS-II) short form, Spanish version, on the individual level in Melilla as North Africa´s borderland. Participants were 410 high school students from 14 to 18 years of age. The reliability analysis, the discriminant validity analysis, and the confirmatory factor analysis through the structural model equation, showed similar results to previous studies in other contexts and allowing the use of the survey in Melilla. In addition it is presented a fitted model that improves the psychometric results showing significant differences with the initial model. The confirmatory multi-group analysis of the fitted model shows measurement invariance across educational centers, allowing new research possibilities in the cultural context of Melilla.

The Nexus between Political Risks and Foreign Direct Investment: An Empirical Analysis for North African Countries

Drawing from the ICRG data set, this study aims to analyze the intricate linkage between political risks and foreign direct investment via a number of control variables including trade openness, the consumer price index and per capita GDP. Since there has been a paucity of research on certain determinants of FDI in the North African context, we examine the impact of political risks on foreign direct investment inflows in six North African countries covering the period 1996-2014 accounting for the presence of possible cross- sectional dependence in the heterogeneous panel data. Whereas the results obtained from Pedroni (1999) and Johansen-Fisher co-integration tests show that there is a long-run co- integration relationship, coefficients obtained from the FM-OLS estimator indicate that a low level of political risks has a positive impact on the foreign direct investment inflows, albeit with some variation within select countries. The Canning and Pedroni (2008) causality test, on the other hand, finds evidence that there is a causal relationship between political risks and foreign direct investment for four countries (Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt) in the sample. Hence, the results suggest that political risks are significant determinants of foreign direct investment for an array of countries in North Africa.

An Analysis of a Crowdfunding System in North Africa Based on the Actor-Network Theory

In contrast to developed nations, where the crowdfunding system is well established, in developing regions of Asia and especially Africa, this system is still in its infancy. As a step to address this discrepancy, two crowdfunding systems from the North African region are analyzed through the specific translation phases of the actor-network theory. This study identifies nine key actors in the crowdfunding system within a North African context and also dichotomizes them into primary and secondary actors based on their role in the development of the network. The study also highlights different technical and regulatory challenges, such as the establishment of legal regulatory framework, restrictions on capital access, and business investment associated with North African crowdfunding systems.

Effect of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ Coactivator-1 Alpha Variants on Spontaneous Clearance and Fibrosis Progression during Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Moroccan Patients.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is still one of the main causes of liver disease worldwide. Metabolic disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), induced by HCV have been shown to accelerate the progression of fibrosis to cirrhosis and to increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. An optimal peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PPARGC1A) activity is crucial to prevent NAFLD installation. The present study aims to investigate the associations between two common PPARGC1A polymorphisms (rs8192678 and rs12640088) and the outcomes of HCV infection in a North African context. A series of 592 consecutive Moroccan subjects, including 292 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), 100 resolvers and 200 healthy controls were genotyped using a TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. PPARGC1A variations at rs8192678 and rs12640088 were not associated with spontaneous clearance of HCV infection (adjusted ORs = 0.76 and 0.79 respectively, P > 0.05, for both). Furthermore, multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that both SNPs were not associated with fibrosis progression (OR = 0.71; 95% CI 0.20-2.49; P = 0.739; OR = 1.28; 95% CI 0.25-6.54; P = 0.512, respectively). We conclude that, in the genetic context of South Mediterranean patients, rs8192678 and rs12640088 polymorphisms of PPARGC1A are neither associated with spontaneous clearance nor with disease progression in individuals infected with HCV.

Suicide by Gladiator? TheActs of Perpetua and Felicitasin its North African Context

The third-century martyr text that tells the story of Perpetua and her coreligionists as they witnessed to their faith in Carthage—thePassion of Perpetua and Felicitas—is much beloved by modern readers. It purports to be Perpetua's prison diary, and, as such, it is the earliest writing by a Christian woman that has been preserved. In the fifth century, two shorter texts—the Acts—were written that recount in quite different ways the experiences of these North African Christians. In this essay, I explore the ways these shorter accounts reimagine the original text as well as the possible motives for doing so. The fifth-century author did not merely shorten thePassion; he made marked changes to it. It presents, for instance, a dramatic change in the death scene: whereas the Passion narrates Perpetua drawing the gladiator's sword to her own throat, the Acts report that she was killed by a lion. An analysis of these revisions to the Passion suggest the author was working from an Augustinian perspective. The author revised the Passion to deny the Donatists’ claims to the Carthaginian martyrs. The author's revision of Perpetua's death, therefore, is best understood as a rejection of Donatist desires for martyrdom.