Organizational Empowerment Research Articles

Digitalize and stabilize: corporate digital transformation and performance volatility

ABSTRACT Digital transformation has emerged worldwide as a defining element of corporate strategies, driven by the rapid evolution of technologies. Understanding how digital transformation impacts firm performance and uncovering its underlying mechanisms has become essential for both theoretical exploration and practical application. This study investigates the impact of corporate digital transformation on performance volatility. We find that digitalization significantly attenuates firm performance fluctuations. This effect is primarily attributable to the synergistic interplay of strategic guidance, organizational empowerment, environmental support, and digital achievement. We show that digital transformation enhances performance stability by reducing information asymmetry between firms and their stakeholders. Our results indicate that these stabilizing effects are particularly pronounced in state-owned enterprises. The results are robust after addressing endogeneity concerns. This research contributes to the discourse on digital transformation strategies and their implications for corporate performance and risk management in emerging markets.

Community voices in health literacy: a qualitative exploration into perceptions of a health literacy mediator.

Health literacy is a vital asset needed to empower individuals to take control of their health. An individual's health literacy is the ability to find, use and apply health information and services to manage their health. They interact with the health services and members of their community who can offer additional support. Creating the role of a health literacy mediator (HLM) may help to improve health literacy outcomes for all. For this role to be accepted by individuals within a community, the community itself should be involved in the development of the roles and associated responsibilities. The aim of this study was to engage with community members to acquire their perspectives on the potential of this role. Qualitative semi-structured online interviews were used to engage in discussions with local community members. This study implemented a constructivist epistemology with qualitative research design. Data were thematically analysed to identify evolving themes that were important to the HLM role. The analysis identified three main themes that need to be considered when adopting an HLM role: (i) health empowerment of individuals, organizations and communities, (ii) meeting the needs of the community and (iii) addressing the existing barriers in navigating and accessing the healthcare system. Those working in the health promotion space must adopt novel and innovative ways to improve HL on both a local and an international scale. This study concluded that for the role of a HLM to be accepted, it would need to encompass these attributes.

Comparative Analysis of the Gulabi Gang and the Anti-Liquor Movement in India

To explore progress on the Commission on the Status of Women’s 67th Session (2023) review theme, we examine two women-led rural social movements in India combating violence against women. Through in-depth case studies of the Gulabi Gang (GG) in Uttar Pradesh and the Anti-Liquor (AL) movement in Karnataka, we analyze their emergence, actions, tactics, progression, and outcomes. Findings reveal challenges faced by these movements in addressing women’s safety amid persistent domestic violence and gender inequality. The study emphasizes the need for sustained political support, efficient legal protection, and indigenous organizational empowerment, facilitated by international support, to drive effective social change.

Undeterred: Understanding Repeat Migration in Northern Central America

Executive Summary U.S. efforts to control unauthorized crossings of its southwest border have long rested on the idea of deterrence — if migrants know that a border is dangerous to cross and the likelihood of deportation is high, they will be dissuaded from trying in the first place. Despite the seemingly intuitive logic of this strategy, and the billions of dollars invested in it, deterrence efforts largely have failed, with the number of border crossings in recent years exceeding those of 30 years ago. To understand why this decades-old, bipartisan deterrence strategy has proven ineffective, we focus on individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who have previous migration experience, with a vast majority of them seeking entry into the U.S. These individuals have direct knowledge of the difficulties and dangers a border crossing poses, yet many report plans to try to cross the border again. To understand why they persist, we rely on survey data specifically collected to better understand the root causes of international migration. We find that citizens with previous migration experience are significantly more likely to report plans to emigrate, in particular women, younger cohorts, and those at the bottom of the economic ladder. In contrast, family reunification does not appear to play a significant role in driving the migration intentions of those with a prior migration experience. Further, deportation does not deter migrants from trying again, as individuals who have been deported are just as likely to report plans to emigrate again as those who returned to their home countries voluntarily and those who never reached their destination. Most importantly, our research indicates that human insecurity is at the core of why Central Americans who have migrated in the past are more likely to report migration plans for the future. Both the threat of violence and food insecurity are central drivers of their persistent predisposition to embark on the journey again. Individuals remain undeterred in their efforts to escape their country because upon returning to that country, they confront the same conditions that led them to attempt to flee in the first place. We draw two main policy implications from our research. First, the U.S. government should continue its prioritization of investments in tackling the root causes of forced migration through the empowerment of civil society organizations and the channeling of foreign aid to marginalized communities affected by human insecurity, such as those suffering food insecurity or fearing violence. The main objective of these investments should be to improve the living conditions of individuals, giving them a viable option of remaining in their country. Second, the U.S. must invest greater resources in its immigration system to reduce the current backlog of asylum cases, and expand H2-a and -b visa programs to provide a more expansive legal path to migration. Facilitating a legal pathway to immigrants who face heightened human insecurity, like the potential repeat migrants in our study, would prevent further deaths that lay at the hands of a border policy focused on deterrence.

Youth Organization Empowerment through Creative Entrepreneurship Business in the Village

One of the youth groups that has a strategic role in village development is Youth Organization. This service aims to analyze youth empowerment through creative entrepreneurship in the village (district). This service method uses the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) or participatory approach, including training, mentoring, and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Implementation starts from coordination, activity socialization, activity implementation phase, program sustainability, and report preparation, to monitoring and evaluation. The results of this service are Creative Business Training, which has been carried out in a blinded manner, producing outputs in the form of the growth of a creative entrepreneurial spirit, new products typical of the people of the Dekai District of Papua, handbooks, training modules, progress reports, final reports, of course, this is expected to have a principle of usefulness.

Critical Success Factors for BI Systems Implementation and Delivery

Despite the widespread acquisition of business intelligence (BI) systems, their implementation has not always been successful. This study examines the critical success factors (CSFs) that impact the implementation of BI systems in organizations. The systematic literature review follows the guidelines of Kitchenham and Charter's research that was published in 2007. A total of 93 articles published between 2011 and 2021 were analyzed for CSF related to BI systems implementation and delivery. The study identified 56 CSFs linked to organization empowerment & operations, 52 CSFs related to system implementation, and 28 CSFs associated with user enablement. The study found a paucity of research on user enablement in the context of BI implementation and delivery, highlighting a gap in the literature. The findings of this study can help organizations better understand the factors that contribute to successful BI system implementation and delivery, and guide future research in this field.

Pemberdayaan Organisasi PKK dan UMKM Milik Bu Sri; Upaya Perbaikan Keterlibatan Wanita di Desa Setren

Women's empowerment is a modern concept that marks progressive changes in efforts to liberate from patriarchal culture, where women's involvement in society was previously very minimal. Efforts to align the portion of involvement of all genders are often referred to as the equal rights movement or women's liberation movement. In Setren Village, women's involvement is still low, with the achievement of SDG 5 point "Village Women's Involvement" only 26.32%. Based on this assessment, our community service work program is focused on increasing women's involvement. We initiated two main programs: empowerment of Village PKK Organizations through the creation of Village Gardens and education on Verticulture planting media, as well as rebranding of Mrs. Sri's Village MSMEs which operate in the soybean juice beverage sector. By partnering with the PKK, this women's empowerment organization is expected to be able to contribute to community development. Support for MSMEs also aims to improve the economic and environmental aspects of villages. This research aims to evaluate the results of the women's empowerment program in Setren Village. In contrast to previous research which focused on crafts, our approach uses planting media education and MSME support. The service will be carried out for three months, from March to July 2024, in accordance with the SDGs of Setren Village. The methods used include surveys, discussions and problem identification. Surveys were conducted at the Village Hall and the Village Head's house to obtain initial information. The second visit was made to Mrs. Sri's house to understand the condition of MSMEs. After identifying the problem, discussions were held to determine the work program based on the relevant Setren Village SDG point 5.

Nuclear Challenges of Neglected Lessons of Chornobyl

The article is dedicated to the analysis of new nuclear challenges resulting from Russia’s nuclear blackmail and attacks at civic nuclear facilities in Ukraine. It is shown that Russia’s actions concerning civic nuclear facilities correspond to the criteria of nuclear terrorism and demonstrate the violation of the internationally accepted principles of non-proliferation and nuclear taboo. This attitude to potentially dangerous objects and behavior is rooted in the non-acceptance of the post-Chornobyl safety culture. For the Russian Federation, it is the exploitation of human fears of new nuclear disasters and radiation pollution. European and global communities in close cooperation with the Ukrainian authority, scientists, and civic society urgently need to work out efficient instruments to translate and convert nuclear fear and concern into efficient actions for the enforcement of international legislation in the sphere of nuclear safety and terrorism prevention and the empowerment of international institutions and organizations. Translated article was published for Czech readers in Ekolist (with small changes): https://ekolist.cz/cz/publicistika/eseje/jaderne-vyzvy-a-ignorovani-zkusenosti-z-cernobylu

Empowering Chinese university health service providers to become mental health champions: insights from the ACE-LYNX intervention.

Evidence shows that there is a high prevalence of mental health challenges including depression and anxiety, among Chinese university students. Providing mental health care providers with professional training is crucial to implementing effective mental health promotion initiatives in university settings. Globally, the focus of the mental health system is shifting to recovery and the importance of empowerment is increasingly being emphasized. There is a call to integrate empowerment education into professional training programs for health service providers with the goal of mobilizing them to become mental health champions capable of advancing mental health care. The ACE-LYNX (Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment-Linking Youth and Xin i.e., "heart(s)" in Chinese) intervention took place at six universities in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. It aimed to promote mental health literacy and build capacity among mental health service providers (MHSPs) to enable them to become mental health champions at their universities and beyond. A total of 139 university MHSPs participated. We collected pre-, immediate post- and three-month-post-surveys. In addition, we recruited forty-five participants to take part in three-month- post-intervention focus group interviews to explore their experiences taking part in ACE-LYNX and applying the knowledge, skills, and insights they gained from the intervention. This paper reports on the effects of empowerment education, which is a key component of ACE-LYNX, on the MHSPs. Four themes were identified: 1) conscious awareness and behavioral change through psychological empowerment users; 2) professional insights and motivation for organizational empowerment; 3) non-self in the continuum of collective empowerment; and 4) interdisciplinary challenges and divergences in empowerment action. We found that it is critical to integrate empowerment education into professional training. The process of MHSPs developing their empowerment practice is characterized by their moving from individual to collective empowerment along a continuum, with organizational and collective empowerment taking place in a longer time frame. Experiential learning, empathy education, and critical reflection accelerated the continuous iterative transformative process of empowerment practices. To advance the integration of empowerment into mental health care, the engagement of organizational decision-makers and policy makers in empowerment training is critical to ensure alignment of empowerment values and competence at all levels of service provision.

The Effect of Organizational Culture, Work-Life Balance, and Job Satisfaction on Non-Commercial Employee Work Engagement

A person's attachment to their work (work engagement) is a view that is satisfying and provides positive motivation related to work results, which is characterized by a high level of enthusiasm and strong identification with one's work. Employees with high work engagement will be able to mobilize all their abilities for the progress and sustainability of the company. The problem formulation in this research is to determine the influence of Organizational Empowerment, Work Life Balance, and Job Satisfaction on the Work Engagement of Employees of the Non-Commercial Division of PT. Royalboard Banguninti Granito. Research data was taken using observation techniques and questionnaires using Google Form media, with a sample of 56 staff-up employees. The data analysis technique used is multiple linear regression analysis to prove the research hypothesis. Data that has met validity, reliability, and classical assumption tests is then processed to obtain a regression equation. Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that there is a positive and significant influence of the variables Organizational Culture, Work Life Balance, and Job Satisfaction on Work Engagement among employees PT. Royalboard Banguninti Granito both simultaneously and partially.

Care is the new radical: food and climate approaches from a peasant feminist perspective

ABSTRACT This article examines the work of ‘Fundación Entre Mujeres’ (FEM), a feminist peasant collective organized in cooperatives and working on food sovereignty, agro-ecology, and the economic, ideological and organizational empowerment of peasant women in the dry corridor of Nicaragua. I argue that by centring an ethics of care and the sustainability of human and more-than-human life in their thinking and responses to the food and climate crises, FEM has opened a space of radical contestations to a dominant capitalist and patriarchal rationale and worldview that is at the core of these crises and mainstream approaches towards agricultural transformation.

Strengthening Community-Based Organization to Achieve Food Security in the South Sulawesi Province

Food security is an important and urgent issue in South Sulawesi Province. To address these challenges, strengthening Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) becomes a relevant and effective strategy. This study aims to determine the strength of community-based organizations by the food security department of South Sulawesi Province. This research uses a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques are carried out by observation, interviews, and documentation. Data were analyzed using data reduction techniques, data presentation, and conclusions. The results of this study show that the empowerment of community-based organizations by the Food Safety Office of South Sulawesi Province can be seen from five indicators, namely: possibility, strengthening, protection, support, and maintenance. Based on the results of the study, four out of five empowerment indicators have been adequately met, namely: empowering, reinforcement, support, and maintenance. Protection indicators are still poorly met. The Food Safety Office of South Sulawesi Province has not fully implemented protection, especially for local food processing, so more efforts need to be made so that Women’s Group products can now be better known and can compete with other local products, especially in the South. The South Sulawesi Food Safety Office has not fully implemented protection, especially for local food processing, so more efforts need to be made so that women’s group products can now be better known and can compete with other local products.
 Keywords: food sustainability, empowerment, society-based organizations, women’s group now

Collaboration as organizational empowerment: a network perspective

ABSTRACT Inter-organizational collaboration is central to Organizational Empowerment theory. It enables organizations to strengthen their capacity and to take collective action to achieve empowerment at multiple levels. Despite the growing significance of inter-organizational collaboration in addressing complex issues in our society, little is known about what facilitates or hinders collaboration between local organizations involved with community development in a neighborhood. By applying theories of organizational networks and Institutional Collective Action Framework (ICA), and Exponential Random Graph Modeling, this study analyzes the collaboration networks between 167 local organizations in Chicago in 2016. The results suggest that these local organizations are more likely to collaborate when they are the same type of organization and have a more diverse board of directors. It was also found that organizations built a bonding structure to cope with a challenging period for neighborhood organizations in Chicago. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of empowerment literature by extending ICA and organizational network theories and a statistical approach to network analysis to describe mechanisms of organizational empowerment.

Personal and Interpersonal Concepts Understanding of At-risk Adolescents and Parents in an Educational Environment

The research employed the descriptive method. The data collecting techniques were interviews, observations, surveys, and focus group discussions with several elements of society from at-risk adolescents, parents in general, and community leaders. The results showed that people's knowledge was poor both personally and interpersonally. The researchers assessed the need for socialization planning involving the community. Also, the researchers socialized the adolescents with counseling on children's rights, social and assertive skills, helping skills, establishing a Children's Forum, and optimizing the Taman Baca Anak (Children's Reading Garden). Furthermore, a socialization of child protection and good parenting was carried out for parents. The organization can be strengthened by developing networks with the Bandar Lampung City Family Learning Center. The evaluation showed an increased empowerment of adolescents, parents, adults, and organizations. The practical implication of this research is the learning method in improving the level of thinking and proficiency in action for at-risk adolescents where every process involves the community. Within the scope of future research, there is an expectation that educational interventions will be employed to foster the comprehension of at-risk adolescents and their parents concerning the importance of adolescent self-awareness and the promotion of effective parent-child communication.

PELAKSANAAN PEMBERDAYAAN PEMBINAAN DAN PENGAWASAN ORGANISASI KEMASYARAKATAN DI KABUPATEN LOMBOK TENGAH

The government wants to foster and empower mass organizations by managing the activities of mass organizations not to take actions that are contrary to the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. The reality that occurs in the field is often inconsistent with the objectives of the law. law, for example regarding the problem of mass organizations in Central Lombok Regency which resulted in the formulation of the problem: 1) How is the legality of Community Organizations in Central Lombok Regency? 2) How is the implementation of empowerment, guidance and supervision of CBOs in Central Lombok Regency, 3) What are the obstacles faced by the Regional Government in implementing the empowerment, guidance and supervision of Community Organizations in Central Lombok Regency. The research method used is an empirical research method. The conclusions obtained are 1) CSOs in Central Lombok district have a legal basis because they have regulations as a legal basis and several CSOs have been registered with Bakesbangpol, 2) Empowerment, guidance and supervision of CSOs in Central Lombok Regency has been carried out by the local government by way of : Empowerment: through policy facilitation, strengthening institutional capacity, and improving the quality of human resources, Guidance: counseling, public consultation, and training, Supervision: supervision carried out by opening a complaint service for organizations that are indicated to be carrying out activities that are not in accordance with regulatory provisions legislation and granting and revoking permits for mass organizations. 3) The obstacles faced are as follows: a. There are still many CSOs that carry out activities outside the field of activity listed in the AD/ART, b) Many CSOs are reluctant to report their existence at Bakesbangpol Central Lombok Regency so they are not registered in the Ormas data, c) Addresses of secretariats and CSOs and Ormas management often changes.

“The farmer, the guide, and the bridge”: the voice of community partners within European Service-Learning

ABSTRACT Service-learning (SL) represents one of the actions for community engagement institutionalisation and a way to achieve the teaching and learning objectives of the university and answer local organisations’ needs identified by the community. Studies on the benefits and impacts of service-learning experiences among community partners (rather than students) are rare, especially in higher education and European settings. This study therefore drew on semi-structured interviews with community partners in higher education in three European countries – Italy, Spain, and Slovakia to explore their motivations to join, experiences of, and perspectives on service-learning effects (including organisational empowerment, reciprocity, and civic responsibility). This paper contributes to developing understandings of specific aspects of community partners’ service-learning experiences by exploring the role of reciprocity, how it is oriented and how it relates to the perceived impact of service-learning on community partners’ organisations, their motivations to join SL, and the organisational empowerment that SL can underpin. Consideration is also given to the space allowed to promote a sense of civic responsibility within the experience. Five research questions were posited: 1: How do community partners perceive reciprocity? Does this perception change over time? 2: What are the perceived SL effects for community partners? 3: What are the community partners’ motivations for joining SL? 4: What are the effects of SL on community partners’ organisational empowerment? 5: To what extent do community partners perceive that SL can promote civic responsibility among university students?

THE EFFECT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT ON ORGANIZATIONAL CYNICISM: A RESEARCH ON UNIVERSITY STAFF

Cynicism is a concept used to describe people who are dissatisfied, constantly critical, and full of negative thoughts. Organizational cynicism, on the other hand, is defined as harsh criticism and negative beliefs/feelings about the organization, either openly or secretly. The developing technology and competitive environment, economic crisis, mass layoffs, insufficient remuneration policy and long working hours cause employees to develop negative attitudes towards their organizations. Since it causes individuals to develop a series of unconstructive feelings towards the organizations, it can be said to be associated with low productivity and loss of income directly. Organizational cynicism is conceptualized in three dimensions as “cognitive, affective, and behavioral”. Psychological empowerment in organizations can be defined as “increased intrinsic task motivation”, which is the perception of helping employees decide on their job-related roles, the meaningfulness of work, and influencing important decisions. Empowerment, as a motivational construct, consists of four dimensions: “meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact”. The hypotheses of the research were formed with the proposal that the dimensions of psychological empowerment affect negatively the dimensions of organizational cynicism. The sample of the research consists of administrative staff working at a university in Istanbul. According to the results obtained in this study, 8 out of 12 hypotheses were accepted and 4 were rejected. The "competence" and "impact" subdimensions of empowerment did not have a significant relationship with the "behavioral" dimension of cynicism, while the "competence" dimension of empowerment had a positive, not negative, relationship with “cognitive and affective dimensions” of organizational cynicism.

Maneuvering of Digital Transformation: Role of Artificial Intelligence in Empowering Leadership - An Empirical Overview

Purpose: Digital transformation introduces businesses to the risks of changing strategic initiatives and adapting to technological advances such as AI (AI). AI is expected to revolutionize the future workforce. This study examines how Artificial intelligence Empowering Leadership.
 
 Theoretical framework: The examination and quantitative method were used to develop a research design. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from companies’ leaders that used AI systems to empower their Leadership. Companies have increased empowering their employees as necessary in today's business environment. The role of Leadership has shifted in tandem with the trend-forward into organizational empowerment.
 
 Design/methodology/approach: The study sample consisted of all 150 leaders, chosen by random sampling. The current study was conducted using a quantitative methodology. To achieve the study's objectives, the researcher created a questionnaire with (10) items divided into three categories: usage of AI, Leadership oriented questions and demographics.
 
 Findings: The results of the literature analysis are used to develop the questionnaire. The main participants in this study were the leaders of the organization.
 
 Research, Practical & Social implications: According to interviews, empowering Leadership, specifically autonomy and innovation assistance, is beneficial in navigating AI-induced change.
 
 Originality/value: The value of the study to expected to revolutionize the future workforce by exploring the role of AI in empowering leadership.

IMPLEMENTING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE TO EMPOWER FARMER WOMEN IN MANAGING SUSTAINABLE FOOD IN THE MANDIRI VILLAGE

In order to create the socioeconomic conditions that will lead to self-sustaining and sustainable food security, it is crucial to analyze community empowerment models, particularly those that empower women, when evaluating the success of the food self-sufficient village program. In order to empower women in the management of sustainable, food-independent communities, research is being done to examine the state of food security, the role of institutions, and local knowledge. Survey techniques involving observation and interviews are included in the methodologies and data analysis. The findings demonstrated that the adequacy rate at the research site and the empowerment of farm women organizations in the area of family food security were not yet at their best. Some signs that empowerment has not been as effective as it could have been include: 1) respondents' education is typically dominated by elementary school level, which significantly affects food patterns and their presentations; 2) land productivity is limited (0.5 ha) and dependent on rainwater; and 3) the majority of family expenditure is food expenditure and provides less than enough calories (2100 calories). The Nagari Institutional's inadequate assistance and its local wisdom have a secondary impact on this problem. The women farmers' group's household food security status demonstrates that the empowerment of women farmers is not yet at its best, making independent food management unsustainable.

Fostering Organizational Empowerment: Impact of an Intervention Program on Stress Management and Physical Activity Motivation among Teachers in Portugal and Brazil

Teaching is one of the hardest occupations according to the International Organization of Teachers (IOT), affecting teachers’ emotional and physical well-being and impacting their professional performance. Intervention programs addressing this issue usually result in a significant reduction in stress and an improvement in teachers’ entire quality of life. Physical activity has been recognized as a critical aspect of non-pharmaceutical stress-reduction measures, favorably improving mental health. This quasi-experimental study used pre- and post-intervention assessments to assess the impact of a physical exercise promotion program on stress levels and motivation for regular physical activity among teachers in the first six years of schooling in Portugal and Brazil. This study included 33 instructors from both countries’ educational institutions in an 8-week intervention that included 40 sessions of cardiorespiratory conditioning, muscle strengthening and stretching, relaxation, and meditation techniques. The Stress Perception Scale (EPS-10) and the Motivation Inventory for Regular Physical Activity Practice (IMPRAF-54) were used to assess participants. The findings show a strong link between years of teaching experience and stress levels. After the intervention, there were statistically significant changes in stress levels and motivation to engage in physical exercise. Specifically, 78.9% of teachers reported less stress, and the respondents felt more motivated to exercise for stress control (84.4%), for competitiveness (97%), and for aesthetic enhancement (57.6%). In summary, this study suggests that exercise is an excellent way to reduce stress and increase enthusiasm for physical activity, with Portuguese teachers outperforming their Brazilian counterparts.