Mehran Nejati

Ranking airlines' service quality factors using a fuzzy approach: study of the Iranian society

Purpose – This paper seeks to review service quality factors of the airline industry, and to rank these factors in Iranian society. It aims to introduce a fuzzy TOPSIS approach for this purpose.Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted among graduate students of the University of Tehran, Iran. In order to meet the objectives of the study, Fuzzy TOPSIS approach was used. Required information was gathered through a questionnaire.Findings – The results show that “Flight safety”, “Good appearance of flight crew” and “Offering highest possible quality services to customers 24 hours a day” are the most important airline service quality factors in the eyes of Iranian customers. Interestingly, “the possibility of checking flight schedule via telephone” has been selected as the least important quality factor by respondents. Research findings also announce that the majority of Iranian potential travellers prefer airplane as their transportation means. However, at the moment, they are mostly using bus...

Corporate social responsibility in Iran from the perspective of employees

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Iran from the perspective of employees. Design/methodology/approach - To achieve the objectives of this research, the perceptions of 142 Iranian employees were examined regarding the CSR practices of their respective organizations. The required data were collected using a questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to refine scale items and confirm the factorial structure of the scale applied. Descriptive statistics and a Findings - The paper unveils information about the current status of CSR in Iran from the perspective of employees, and shows that on average Iranian employees perceive their organizations to be committed to CSR, although the mean CSR scores were relatively low in all dimensions. Also, this research shows that while the four-factorial structure of Trukers CSR scale was confirmed in the Iranian context, some of the items had to be removed from the original scale when measuring CSR. Research limitations/implications - The relatively low mean on the categories of CSR among Iranian organizations from the perspective of employees indicates the infancy level of CSR among Iranian organizations and calls for further awareness among Iranian organizations and managers about the issue of CSR. This research also shows that researchers need to be cautious when using CSR scales that have been developed in Western or European contexts to measure social responsibility activities of organizations in culturally different contexts such as the Middle East. A major limitation of this research pertains to sample size, which limits the generalizability of the findings to the whole country. Practical implications - This research indicates the infancy level of CSR among Iranian organizations and calls for further engagement of Iranian organizations in social initiatives and community outreach endeavors. Originality/value - Being among the first research studies of its kind to examine the CSR status in Iran, this study provides invaluable understanding and insights about the status of CSR in Iran, an important country in the Middle East. Furthermore, it validates and supports a recently proposed CSR scale by providing empirical findings from a culturally different context.

Examining stakeholders’ influence on environmental responsibility of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and its outcomes

Purpose – Given the uprising interest in the environmental responsibility issues among small businesses, the purpose of this paper is to design to probe into the relationship between stakeholders’ influence and environmental responsibility of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and its consequent outcomes in an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 110 MSME owners participated in this study. Data were collected by means of questionnaire designed to measure the 12 constructs of focus. In order to test the hypotheses and examine the relationships proposed in the research framework, structural equation modelling was performed using SmartPLS. Findings – This study revealed that among the primary stakeholders, only employees and customers significantly influenced environmental responsibility practices of MSMEs. Besides, it was found that environmental responsibility results in financial improvements and better relations with employees and customers. Research limitations/imp...

Board structure and extent of corporate governance statement

The board of directors is an important entity in a company, creating a link between shareholders and managers and therefore playing an important role in the governance of a firm. This study focuses on board structure and the extent of the corporate governance statement disclosure. This study found that the size of the corporate board does have some influence on the extent of the corporate governance statement disclosure. It is quite surprising to find that the rest of the variables involving the board structure do not have any association with the extent of corporate governance statement.

A fuzzy approach to service quality diagnosis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify service quality dimensions that could enhance the level of services provided by a variety of carriers and rank them, accordingly. Design/methodology/approach – This research aims to identify service quality dimensions that could enhance the level of services provided by a variety of carriers and rank them, accordingly. Findings – The results show that “safety,” “timeliness,” and “variety and type of airplane” are the most important service quality criteria from the passengers’ viewpoint. It also indicates that the most and least important dimensions of service quality are “tangibles” and “responsiveness,” respectively. The results ranked the airlines from one to three as Emirates Airline, Mahan Air, and Iran Air. Originality/value – Most of the service quality criteria are descriptive and are stated using lingual expressions (cardinal or ordinal scales). Therefore, evaluation of perceptions and expectations of customers regarding service quality using non...

Women's career progression barriers and organisational justice: a study of Iranian society

Purpose – For a long time, women have not been judged by the same standards as men when trying to enter a trade or profession reserved traditionally for men or even after becoming part of it, while progressing. This paper explores the concept of career progression of female staff in an academic institute. It seeks to answer the following research questions: What barriers are faced by women in career progression? What are the differences in perceptions among female sub‐groups regarding these barriers? What policies and improvement programs can be provided to promote womens career progression? What is the relationship between womens career progression and justice?Design/methodology/approach – According to the research objectives, the best way to collect the required data was a questionnaire. In this research, three different questionnaires were used. Also, to rank womens career progression barriers, the TOPSIS technique was used.Findings – The authors found that there is a significant relationship betwee...

Attitudes towards business ethics: a cross-cultural comparison of students in Iran and Malaysia

Study about the business ethical attitude would help to understand the specific behavioural practices of a country, resulting in minimising the cost of doing business in that country through avoiding misunderstanding and conflicts. With the rapid globalisation of companies around the world, such studies on business ethical attitude would definitely help to understand the cultural differences across nations. This knowledge will help in reducing misunderstandings, aiding negotiations, and building trust and respect. Therefore, this study seeks to continue the investigation of cross-cultural differences in attitudes towards business ethics by comparing samples from Iran and Malaysia (n1 = 120, n2 = 100).

Corporate social responsibility terminologies in small businesses: insights from Malaysia

Purpose – Since understanding the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of small businesses in any country requires investigating the terminologies used by their small businesses for such social practices, the aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of the common terminologies used by SME owners/manager/directors in a developing country, namely Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative study which used a sample of 100 small businesses is its survey. Most of the investigated SMEs were based in Northern states of Malaysia.Findings – This study showed that the most common terminology for CSR among investigated Malaysia SMEs was “responsible business practice” followed by “corporate social responsibility”, “social/ societal engagement” and “environmental involvement”.Research limitations/implications – The main limitations of this research are associated with its sample size and geographical distribution of samples. Findings of the study warn researchers to be cautious in s...

Integrating Two Cultures Successfully: Factors Influencing Acculturation Attitude of International Postgraduate Students in Malaysia.

Based on Berry’s seminal work on the acculturation process, this study examines the pattern of acculturation attitude among international postgraduate students in Malaysia, an emerging education hub in Asia. It also investigates the influence of several demographic factors (gender, geographical region, marital status, and education level) and predictors (English language proficiency, media usage, intention to stay in the host country after graduation, and perceived positive stereotype image) on international postgraduate students’ four acculturation attitudes integration, separation, assimilation, and marginalization. Our survey of a sample of 1186 international postgraduate students reveals that the most prevalent acculturation attitude chosen by the international postgraduate students is integration. The identified predictors are shown to positively influence integration attitude while the demographic factors have no significant effect on international postgraduate students’ acculturation attitude in Malaysia. Study findings provide valuable insights for education policymakers and university administrators to manage and address the needs of international students via effective acculturation programs.

Out of sight, out of mind: psychological consequences of attachment and adjustment attitude

This study investigates the influence of length of stay in a foreign country on international students’ adjustment and attachment attitude and examines the relationship between such acculturation attitude with psychological and sociocultural adaptations in a host country. Moreover, it investigates whether psychological and sociocultural adaptations could enhance international students’ psychological well-being in a culturally new environment. Using a sample of 1186 international postgraduate students from an emerging education hub (i.e. Malaysia), we analysed the proposed model using partial least-squares structural equation modelling. Findings reveal that longer length of stay in a foreign country away from the home country (out of sight) negatively influences attachment attitude to the home country (out of mind). Additionally, both adjustment and attachment attitude positively influence psychological adaptation while only adjustment attitude positively influences sociocultural adaptation. This study confirms the nexus between international students’ cross-cultural adaptation and psychological well-being in Malaysia. The study findings offer novel insights to policy-makers, authorities in higher education and university administrators to prioritise international students’ cross-cultural adaptation since it is directly related to psychological well-being.