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Purpose: The digital transformation is dramatically changing the business-to-business (B2B) sales environment, challenging long-standing views regarding the critical competencies required of salespeople. This paper aims to explore the personal traits associated with sales performance in a digital selling environment. Design/methodology/approach: Using template analysis, the researchers captured and coded over 21 h of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with senior sales leaders from various industry sectors, exploring their perceptions of the personal traits now required of B2B salespeople in the digital landscape. Findings: The research identifies three high-level trait types critical to sales success within a digital selling environment: "analytical curiosity" – the natural motivation and ability to gather and synthesize sales-related knowledge, "empathetic citizenship" – the ability to establish initial rapport while building long-term trust and "disciplined drive" – the exertion of selling effort in a highly focused and methodical manner across all stages of the sales process. Research limitations/implications: The present data came from interviews with sales leaders in Canada. A more global sample may lead to additional insights. Moreover, the sample was drawn from long-cycle B2B sales environments; conclusions may differ for short-cycle or business-to-consumer markets. Practical implications: This paper presents a framework for hiring and developing salespeople in the digital sales environment, identifying personal trait types that sales leaders should look for when hiring: analytical curiosity, empathetic citizenship and disciplined drive. The paper identifies how these trait types influence sales success, suggesting that sales leaders could coach and educate their teams to make the best use of them. Originality/value: This paper presents a conceptual framework for hiring in the digital sales environment and introduces the trait of analytical curiosity not previously discussed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although there is a growing body of work on immigrants' information behavior, little is known about the pre-arrival information experiences of immigrants who consult formal information sources such as immigration agents. Drawn from a larger study on the information behavior of immigrants, this paper mainly reports the semi-structured interview findings on the pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants who used formal information sources with discussion on how that affected their post-arrival settlement into Canada. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a mixed method approach with semi-structured interviews (n = 60) and surveys (n = 205) with participants who arrived in Canada between the years of 1971 and 2017. Data were collected from May 2017 to February 2018. Findings: Although the overall scope of the original study is much larger, this paper features findings on the pre-arrival information experiences derived mainly from an analysis of interview data. This study provides insights into the pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants consulting formal information sources such as immigration firms, individual immigration consultants and more formal government agencies. The author introduces a new concept of "information crafting" by exploring the negative consequences of selective information sharing by immigration consultants/agents in newcomers' settlements in Canada, primarily positive information about life in Canada, sometimes with exaggeration and falsification. The interview participants shared story after the story of the settlement challenges they faced after arriving in Canada and how the expectations they built through the information received from immigration consultants and government agencies did not match after arrival. This study emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive information about life in Canada to potential newcomers so that they can make informed decisions even before they apply. Originality/value: The findings of this study have theoretical and practical implications for policy and research. This study provides insights into the complicated culturally situated pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants. Moreover, the study findings encourage researchers in various disciplines, including psychology, migration studies and geography, to delve more deeply into newcomers' information experiences using an informational lens to examine the information newcomers receive from diverse sources and their effects on their post-arrival settlement in a new country. The study challenges the general assumptions that formal information sources are always reputable, useful, and comprehensive, and it provides some future directions for research that seeks to understand the culturally situated information behavior of diverse immigrant groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to test whether the extent of compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 7 requirements is value relevant and whether it influences the value relevance of the firm's accounting information (book value of shareholders' equity and net income). Design/methodology/approach: The sample for this paper consists of 288 financial institutions listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) from 2016 to 2019. Panel regressions have been used in this study. Findings: The findings reveal that compliance with IFRS 7 is positively associated with the firm's market value. After making a classification between high-compliance and low-compliance companies, the authors' results indicate that the compliance level is positively associated with the value relevance of net income. Surprisingly, when examining the value relevance of financial instruments disclosures (FID) supplied after the adoption of IFRS 9, the authors find that book values of shareholders' equity and earnings are not more value relevant in the post-IFRS 9 period. Research limitations/implications: Given that the authors' analysis has been restricted to the Canadian setting, the regression results might not be generalized for other countries with different capital markets features. Practical implications: The authors' findings point out that FID can affect investors' decisions as well as their confidence in the companies in which they invest. Hence, the regulatory bodies should gear more efforts to ensure high-compliance levels. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research is among the first attempts to investigate whether the new FID (after the adoption of IFRS 9) improves the firm disclosure quality and enhances the value relevance of accounting information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the Canadian financial sector's reaction to opportunities and risks created by the green bond market in a low-carbon and climate-resilient (LCR) economy. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used a concurrent mixed methodological approach that undertakes an online survey and semistructured interviews with critical green bond market stakeholders. Findings: The most significant market driver in Canada is the reputational benefit for stakeholders, i.e. its ability to meet the high demand for sustainable finance and the marketing potential of its green credentials. The major market barriers are transactional costs, i.e. additional tracking required for reporting purposes, lack of market liquidity and identification of environmental impact or additionality. Canadian green bonds are also more likely to be evaluated on their green impact than their global market peers. Research limitations/implications: Limitations of this study include its focus on Canada, which may exclude or not apply to drivers and barriers in other green bond markets. Practical implications: The paper helps create an accounting-based conceptual framework for key motivations and barriers that affect financial decision-making regarding green bonds. Social implications: The authors identify economic and policy-related barriers and drivers for green bonds, addressing the financing gap for the LCR economy. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to identify and compare Canadian green bond market drivers and barriers and to examine relevant stakeholder- and policy-related approaches that can be targeted to scale this market effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: HIV or AIDS remains invisible and dismissed by most South Asians living in Canada as HIV or AIDS issues are perceived as an offshoot of Western lifestyle linked with drug use and promiscuity. This paper aims to look into how people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) cope with prejudice and stigma. Design/methodology/approach: To guide this research, a constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted as the theoretical and methodological framework. The authors reached the participants through a Toronto-based group that works with PLWHA. The authors chose their respondents in a snowball method and interviewed them both in person and online. Findings: This paper identifies how South Asian immigrants and refugees/refugees with HIV or AIDS claimants are vulnerable to discrimination in Canada due to the following factors, which include but are not limited to: a lack of information about HIV and AIDS incidence in the community; and the Canadian health system's inability to respond appropriately to the lack of information. Practical implications: HIV service engagements should take place within the context of a constellation of local traditions, or standardized expectations of patient engagement with HIV services can be counterproductive. Originality/value: It is critical that governmental action prioritizes increasing public understanding of stigma. To minimize the consequences of HIV-related discrimination and stigma, misconceptions about HIV transmission must be debunked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The authors evaluate the Sell in May effect in the Canadian context to comprehensively explore the Sell in May effect as well as its interactions with the size effect and risk and with multiple indices. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to examine the Sell in May effect and Huber M-estimation to handle potential outliers. They also use the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) models to explore the role of risk in the Sell in May effect. Findings: The results demonstrate that the Sell in May effect is present in all three main Canadian stock market indices. More telling, the anomaly is strongest in small cap indices and in indices that give equal weighting to small and large cap stocks. They do not find that the effect is driven by risk. Originality/value: While several papers have explored the Sell in May phenomenon in several countries, little scholarly attention has been paid to this effect in Canada and to its interaction with the size effect. The authors contribute to the literature by examining of the interactions between Sell in May and the size effect in Canada. They examine the Sell in May effect using CFMRC value-weighted and equally weighted indices of all Canadian companies. They also incorporate in their analysis the role of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Corruption perception is essential to study because it can shape people's attitudes toward the government. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address this key question: what factors are associated with a non-expert's judgment of whether Canada is corrupt? Design/methodology/approach: This study uses the World Value Survey conducted in Canada in October 2020. This survey is based on a nationally representative sample of a cross-section of adult Canadian residents, including Canadian citizens and permanent residents and those who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents. Findings: Based on this study, some conclusions can be made. First, people accessing corruption news from the traditional news media are less likely than those receiving information from the new media to perceive the state (in this case, Canada) as corrupt. Second, people who have less confidence in public institutions are more likely to perceive a country as corrupt. Third, people who participate in electoral and non-electoral forms of political participation are more likely to perceive the state and its public officials as corrupt. Fourth, regardless of which political party is in power, individuals who lean right politically are more likely than those on the left to perceive the state as corrupt. Finally, immigrants are less likely than those born in Canada to perceive the state as corrupt. This work enriches the literature on the substantive understanding of the factors associated with corruption perception. Originality/value: Studies investigating factors associated with public perception of corruption tend to focus on developing countries. The current study contributes to filling this gap in knowledge by examining correlates of corruption perception in Canada. As a result, this study contributes to the literature on factors associated with corruption perception, especially in the developed country context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The motivation for this paper comes from Canada's Truth and Reconciliation's (TRC) Calls to Action, and in particular, the call for more meaningful consultation and respectful, consent-based relationships between businesses and Indigenous communities in Canada. To this end, this study empirically examines leadership in the context of a wicked problem faced by a pulp and paper mill and suggest an Indigenous epistemology as helpful to inform the leadership behaviours employed in this company. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly, this study established that the problem faced by the company aligns with the characteristics of wicked problems, hence necessitating a collective leadership approach. This study then compiled a database from publicly available documents and inductively coded this data to identify themes that told us something about the leadership behaviours employed by the company as it attempted to resolve the problem at hand. Findings: This study provides evidence that the company did not employ collective leadership when attempting to tame its wicked problem. It then shows that the context in which the firm operates lends itself well to the Mi'kmaw concept of Two-Eyed Seeing as a guiding principle that could have informed the company's leadership and contributed to a long-overdue process of reconciliation. This study proposes several specific actions that plausibly could have helped produce such an outcome. Originality/value: This paper helps fill a void in applications of the wicked problem construct to businesses. Further, this study suggests that the problem faced by this firm remained difficult to tame precisely because it failed to employ a collective leadership approach. The contribution to the leadership literature comes from introducing Two-Eyed Seeing and showing how it may help produce leadership that is inherently more collective in nature. Beyond its instrumental value, this approach may nurture more consent-based relationships between businesses and Indigenous communities in Canada, as called for by the TRC, hence contributing to reconciliation with a long-suffering neighbouring Indigenous community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Variations in customer expectations pose a challenge to service quality improvement in the airline industry. Understanding airline customers' expectations and satisfaction help service providers improve their offerings. The extant literature examines airline passengers' expectations in isolation, neglecting the overall impact of online reviews on service quality improvement. This paper systematically evaluates the airline industry's passengers' expectations and satisfaction using expectation confirmation theory (ECT) and the SERVQUAL framework. The paper analyzes online reviews to examine the relationship between airline service quality attributes and passengers' satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: The SERVQUAL framework was employed to examine the effects of customer culture, the reason for traveling, and seat type on customer's expectations and satisfaction across a large sample of airline customers. Findings: A total of 17,726 observations were gathered from the Skytrax review website. The lowest satisfaction ratings were from passengers from the USA, Canada and India. Factors that affect perceived service performance include customer service, delays and baggage management. Empathy and reliability have the biggest impact on the perceived satisfaction of passengers. Research limitations/implications: This research increases understanding of the consumer expectations through analysis of passengers' online reviews. Results are limited to a small sample of airline industries. Practical implications: This study provides airlines with valuable information to improve customer service by analyzing online reviews. Social implications: This study provides the opportunity for airline customers to gain better services when airline companies utilize the findings. Originality/value: This paper offers insights into passengers' expectations and their perceived value for money in relation to seat types. Previous studies have not investigated value for money as a construct for passengers' expectations and satisfaction relative to service quality dimensions. This paper addresses this need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Oil price shocks greatly impact the global economy, but the effects vary among countries. While higher oil prices benefit oil-exporting countries, they harm the economic performance of oil-importing nations, and vice versa for lower oil prices. However, economic relations, such as trade, can mitigate the impacts of oil price shocks on both groups. In this paper, the authors aim at estimating the effects of oil price shocks on the major net oil-exporting and net oil-importing countries while accounting for international trade. Design/methodology/approach: The authors derive a reduced form of a macro model and set up a Panel VAR model to estimate the direct and indirect impacts of oil price shocks on economic growth. The sample includes data on macroeconomic variables from 30 oil-exporting and oil-importing countries that comprise more than 73 percent of the world's economy. The authors construct the spillover variables using bilateral trade matrix. To control for institutional and structural variations across the countries, they are divided into four groups of developed and developing oil-exporting and oil-importing countries. Findings: The results reveal that all oil-exporting countries have significantly benefited from oil price shocks, although trade has dampened the effect. The positive growth effect has been more pronounced in oil-exporting developing countries. The impact of oil price shocks on oil-importing countries has been negative with a one-year delay, but not statistically significant, and trade has only had a small effect. The effect has been more substantial in oil-importing developing countries. Research limitations/implications: One of the limitations of this study is the focus on trade as the main spillover channel. Given the data availability, other channels such as foreign investment and financial markets can also be included in future studies. Practical implications: Removing trade restrictions would help both oil-exporting and oil-importing countries to mitigate the negative impacts of the oil price shocks. However, the asymmetric oil-macroeconomy relationship across oil-exporting and oil-importing countries puts oil-exporting countries in a more vulnerable position as they cannot rely on trade with oil-importing countries to reduce the negative impacts of lower oil prices on their growth. Therefore, it is crucial for oil-exporting countries to reassess their oil-dependent development plans and invest their oil revenues in non-oil sectors to diversity their economies and prepare for a future with reduced dependence on oil. Social implications: The recent technological advances, structural changes, and increasing energy efficiency suggest that major oil-importing countries will become less dependent on oil in near future. As a result, oil-exporting countries will also need to undergo structural changes in order to sustain their income level. These significant changes will have important social implications, particularly in the labor market, during the transition, for which preparation will be necessary. Originality/value: While the literature on the total impact of oil price shocks on either oil-exporting or oil-importing countries is rich, studies on their spillover impacts are limited. Recent research has shown that trade and migration can affect the impact of oil price shock on the economy in federated countries such as Canada. However, the trade effect on oil price shocks in the international level, where countries are subject to different regulations/restrictions and institutional variations, remains scarce. By considering the trade relationship between different groups of oil-exporting and oil-importing countries, the authors aim to contribute to the literature of the global impacts of oil price shocks on the world economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) using monthly data from 2004M08 to 2018M04 for two Canadian stock indices: the Islamic (DJICPI) and the conventional (CCSI). This paper investigates whether Islamic and/or conventional stock market would be efficient through the non-stationarity test of the stock indices. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conduct the linearity test of Harvey et al. (2008) to identify whether the considered series has linear or nonlinear behavior. If the time series exhibits nonlinear evolution, then the authors apply nonlinear unit root tests (three KSS type tests and Sollis tests). Findings: Linearity test results say that LCCSI has nonlinear behavior, while Dow Jones Islamic Canadian Price Index, LDJICPI, is a linear process. Then, the findings of this paper show that only Canadian Islamic Price Index (DJICPI) has the characteristics of random walk indicating that only conventional stock markets are inefficient. The major implication is that in Canada, fund managers and investors can (cannot) enjoy excess returns to their investment in conventional (Islamic) stock market. Originality/value: Numerous empirical studies of the weak EMH are carried out within a linear framework. However, stock indices can show nonlinear behavior as a result of 2008 global financial crisis. To contribute to the existing literature on the Islamic and conventional stock market efficiency, the authors take into account both structural breaks and nonlinearity. Thus, as a testing strategy for weak EMH, the authors perform (Harvey et al., 2008) linearity test to examine the presence of nonlinear behavior and correct for outliers effect when it is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores who among the AACSB categorization of academics conducts the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research within business schools and how AACSB-accredited business schools capture SoTL research as part of their portfolio of intellectual contributions. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative-method research design by collecting primary data through surveys, semi-structured interviews and secondary data in policy documents focused on AACSB-accredited business schools in Canada and the United States. Findings: The findings establish that scholarly and practice academics who possess rigorously acquired research skills due to their terminal degrees are most likely to conduct SoTL research. The results also reveal an even split among respondents regarding whether their AACSB-accredited business school captures SoTL with their journal ranking frameworks. Practical implications: Based on the findings, two recommendations are offered to foster more SoTL research at AACSB-accredited schools. First, higher education leaders (e.g. business school deans) can further inculcate a culture of SoTL research at the department and institutional levels by creating communities of practice (CoPs). Second, AACSB-accredited business schools could adopt more inclusive journal ranking frameworks to capture better and incentivize SoTL research. Originality/value: This is the first known study to explore how AACSB Standards 3 and 8 are implemented and operationalized regarding SoTL research. Understanding how these standards are adopted and implemented could help institutional leaders, standard setters and administrators better facilitate SoTL research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to focus on the five most relevant and discursive emerging technologies in accounting (cloud computing, big data and data analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics process automation [RPA]). It investigates the adoption and use of these technologies based on data collected from accounting professionals in a technology-developed country – Canada, through a survey. Design/methodology/approach: The study investigates the adoption and use of emerging technologies based on data collected from accounting professionals in a technology-developed country – Canada, through a survey. This study considers the said nature and characteristics of emerging technologies and proposes a model using the factors that have been found to be significant and most commonly investigated by existing prior technology-organization-environment (TOE)-related technology adoption studies. This survey applies the TOE framework and examines the influence of significant and most commonly known factors on Canadian firms' intention to adopt the said emerging technologies. Findings: Study results indicate that Canadian accounting professionals' self-assessed knowledge (about these emerging technologies) is more theoretical than operational. Cloud computing is highly used by Canadian firms, while the use of other technologies, particularly blockchain and RPA, is reportedly low. However, firms' intention about the future adoption of these technologies seems positive. Study results reveal that only the relative advantage and top management commitment are found to be significant considerations influencing the adoption intention. Research limitations/implications: Study findings confirm some results presented in earlier studies but provide additional insights from a new perspective, that of accounting professionals in Canada. The first limitation relates to the respondents. Although accounting professionals provided valuable insights, their responses are personal views and do not necessarily represent the views of other professionals within the same firm or the official position of their accounting departments or firms. Therefore, the exclusion of diverse viewpoints from the same firm might have negatively impacted the results of this study. Second, this study sample is limited to Canada-based firms, which means that the study reflects only the situation in that country. Third, considering the research method and the limit on the number of questions the authors could ask, respondents were only asked to rate the impact of these five technologies on the accounting field and to clarify which technologies are used. Practical implications: This study's findings confirm that the organizational intention to adopt new technology is not primarily based on the characteristics of the technology. In the case of emerging technology adoption, the decision also depends upon other factors related to the internal organization. Furthermore, although this study found no support for the effect of environmental factors, it fills a gap in the literature by including the factor of vendor support, which has received little attention in prior information technology (IT)/ information system (IS) adoption research. Moreover, in contrast to most prior adoption studies, this study elaborates on accounting professionals' experience and perceptions in investigating the organizational adoption and use of emerging technologies. Thus, the findings of this study are valuable, providing insights from a new perspective, that of professional accountants. Social implications: The study findings may serve as a guide for researchers, practitioners, firms and other stakeholders, particularly technology providers, interested in learning about emerging technologies' adoption and use in Canada and/or in a relevant context. Contrary to most prior adoption studies, this study elaborates on accounting professionals' experience and perceptions in investigating the organizational adoption and use of emerging technologies. Thus, the findings of this study are valuable, providing insights from a new perspective, that of professional accountants. Originality/value: The study provides insights into the said technologies' actual adoption and improves the awareness of firms and stakeholders to the effect of some constructs that influence the adoption of these emerging technologies in accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper is a qualitative study of how social sciences faculty construct their research workflows with the help of technological tools. The purpose of this study is to examine faculty scholarly workflows and how both tools and practices support the research process. This paper could inform academic libraries on how to support scholars throughout the research process. Design/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative study case study of ten faculty members from six research universities from the United States and Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded. Atlas.ti was used to code and analyze the transcripts; each participant was a separate case. Descriptive coding was used to identify digital tools used for collaboration; process and descriptive coding was utilized to examine practices in scholarly workflows. Findings: Through case study analysis the results of this study include the role of technology in faculty research workflows. Each workflow was grouped into four categories: information literacy, information management, knowledge management, and scholarly communication. The findings included scholars creating simple workflows for efficiency and collaboration and utilizing workarounds. Research limitations/implications: The study did not observe faculty in the process of doing research and, thus, only reports on what the researchers say that they do. Originality/value: The research is unique in that there is almost no research on how social scientists conduct their research workflows and the affordances/impasses of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Due to ongoing inequities in the social determinants of health and systemic barriers, homelessness continues to be a significant concern that disproportionately impacts racialized communities. Despite constituting a small proportion of the population, Black individuals are over-represented among people experiencing homelessness in many Canadian cities. However, although Black homelessness in Canada is a pressing issue, it has received limited attention in the academic literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reported prevalence of Black homelessness across Canada. Design/methodology/approach: By consulting enumerations from 61 designated communities that participated in the 2018 Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time Count and two regional repositories – one for homeless counts supported by the government of British Columbia and another from the Rural Development Network – this paper reports on the scale and scope of Black homelessness across Canada. Findings: Significantly, these reports demonstrate that Black people are over-represented among those experiencing homelessness compared to local and national populations. These enumerations also demonstrate significant gaps in the reporting of Black homelessness and inadequate nuance in data collection methods, which limit the ability of respondents to describe their identity beyond "Black." Originality/value: This research provides an unprecedented examination of Black homelessness across Canada and concludes with recommendations to expand knowledge on this important and under-researched issue, provide suggestions for future iterations of homeless enumerations and facilitate the development of inclusive housing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the attraction of cannabis-infused soft drinks beverages among young Canadian consumers in the wake of a rise in multimodal cannabis consumption. It is an area of accelerated growth potential, with little research data currently available, and findings would inform stakeholders in the soft drinks market. The research participants were all university students in Ontario province, Canada. Design/methodology/approach: Random convenience sampling data collection techniques were used to gather data from the Ontario-based participants. Reliability, factors loading and multiple regression analysis were administered to understand the impact of factors towards positive attitude. Findings: The results reveal that price, impulsive personality, social insecurity and social norms all have a positive influence towards positive attitude. However, energy, taste and past experience failed to show any relationship with positive attitude. The results suggest that the individual consumer's personality and social context have greater influence than price, a useful insight into the market trends for stakeholders within the industry. Research limitations/implications: The use of convenience sampling, due to the potentially sensitivity nature of the area of study, hinders the use of a sampling frame. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine positive attitude with respect to cannabis-infused soft drinks among young consumers in Canada. It is of particular interest to stakeholders in the production and marketing sectors of the global beverage industry, and its findings will help inform this fledgling wing of that industry on how to move forward through the unknown territory with regard to consumer motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the LEADS Framework guided health-care leaders through organizational change and the COVID-19 pandemic in a western Canadian province. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative exploratory inquiry assessed the extent to which health leaders applied competencies that aligned with the LEADS Framework. A purposeful sample of 22 health-care leaders participated in the study representing senior, mid-level and front-line health-care leaders in various health-care organizations to ensure diverse representation of leader competencies. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews to collect the data and used Braun and Clarke's (2006) six-phase approach to guide data analysis. Findings: The analysis suggests that health-care leaders found Engaging with Others and Developing Coalitions were the most critical themes of the LEADS Framework for change management and for navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings reveal that during transformational change and a crisis context, leaders embrace relational approaches to adapt and improve performance in dynamic organizations. Practical implications: These findings have implications for a relational approach to improve teamwork and decrease emotional strain; a focus on mobilizing and sharing power with nurses; and educational programs to advance relational and self-management skills, shared leadership, communication, change management, human resource and talent development as critical learning components for current and future health-care leaders. Originality/value: The LEADS Framework is used to examine how health-care leaders responded to transformational change in the organization while situated in a pandemic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research is about embedding service-based supply chain management (SCM) concepts in the education sector. Due to Canada's competitive education sector, the authors focus on Canadian universities. Design/methodology/approach: The authors develop a framework for evaluating and forecasting university performance using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) to assist education policymakers. The application of the proposed framework is illustrated based on information from 16 Canadian universities and by investigating their teaching and research performance. Findings: The major findings are (1) applying the service SCM concept to develop a performance evaluation and prediction framework, (2) demonstrating the application of DEA-ANN for computing and predicting the efficiency of service SCM in Canadian universities, and (3) generating insights to enable universities to improve their research and teaching performances considering critical inputs and outputs. Research limitations/implications: This paper presents a new framework for universities' performance assessment and performance prediction. DEA and ANN are integrated to aid decision-makers in evaluating the performances of universities. Practical implications: The findings suggest that higher education policymakers should monitor attrition rates at graduate and undergraduate levels and provide financial support to facilitate research and concentrate on Ph.D. programs. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis indicates that selecting inputs and outputs is critical in determining university rankings. Originality/value: This research proposes a new integrated DEA and ANN framework to assess and forecast future teaching and research efficiencies applying the service supply chain concept. The findings offer policymakers insights such as paying close attention to the attrition rates of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In addition, prioritizing internal research support and concentrating on Ph.D. programs is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Varying stakeholders have highlighted how recovery-oriented mental health services such as youth mental health services have traditionally focused on supporting individual resources to promote recovery (e.g., agency) to the exclusion of addressing structural issues that influence recovery (e.g. poverty). One response to this criticism has been work helping people with mental health problems recover a sense of citizenship and sense of belonging in their communities. Work on citizenship has yet to influence youth mental healthcare in Canada's provinces and territories. This paper aims to highlight ways that youth mental healthcare can better help youth recover a sense of citizenship. Design/methodology/approach: The arguments described in this paper were established through discussion and consensus among authors based on clinical experience in youth mental health and an understanding of Canada's healthcare policy landscape, including current best practices as well as guidelines for recovery-oriented care by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Findings: Here, this study proposes several recommendations that can help young with mental health problems recover their sense of citizenship at the social, systems and service levels. These include addressing the social determinants of health; developing a citizenship-based system of care; addressing identity-related disparities; employing youth community health workers within services; adapting and delivering citizenship-based interventions; and connecting youth in care to civic-oriented organizations. Originality/value: This paper provides the first discussion of how the concept of citizenship can be applied to youth mental health in Canada in multiple ways. The authors hope that this work provides momentum for adopting policies and practices that can help youth in Canada recover a sense of citizenship following a mental health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines the competencies delineated by the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) in Canada and explores the gap between what universities provide, represented by the students' confidence in the knowledge acquired—and what the accounting profession in Canada requires and deems necessary. Design/methodology/approach: Using the 44 sub-competencies listed under the main seven competencies set by CPA, a pair of questionnaires were drafted. The first questionnaire asked post-secondary accounting students to rate their perceived confidence in these 44 sub-competencies and received 105 responses. The second questionnaire asked accounting professionals to rate the frequency and degree of use of each sub-competency in their workplace and received 72 responses. The responses to the two questionnaires were used to compare perceived student competencies with industry expectations. Findings: The study suggests an industry-neutral framework that employers and post-secondary institutions (PSIs) can use to determine where knowledge gaps exist between students' qualifications and professionals' requirements. The paper concludes that while there are synergies in many competencies in the accounting field in Canada, there are also areas of discord. Research limitations/implications: The study relies on one accredited PSI. Relying on one case study limits the ability to generalize the findings. Nevertheless, the in-depth nature of the study allows it to shed light on many key issues related to accounting education and the profession in Alberta, Canada. Originality/value: This paper adds to the existing literature by exploring the gap between what students learn and what the profession needs in the accounting field in Canada. Studying Canada adds to the accounting knowledge and draws attention to gaps that could exist in other countries. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to focus on Canada from this perspective. The paper also proposes a curriculum development model that is based on market needs and applicable to all fields of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach: This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings: The study investigates the strategic planning process in small and large-sized police forces based in Canada. Originality/value: The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This pan-Canadian study examines the information practices of STEM-trained immigrant women to Canada as they navigate workfinding and workplace integration. Our study focuses on a population of highly skilled immigrant women from across Canada and uses an information practice lens to examine their lived experiences of migration and labour market integration. As highly trained STEM professionals in pursuit of employment, our participants have specific needs and challenges, and as we explore these, we consider the intersection of their information practices with government policies, settlement services and the hiring practices of STEM employers. Design/methodology/approach: We conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with 74 immigrant women across 13 Canadian provinces and territories to understand the nature of their engagement with employment-seeking in STEM sectors. This article reports the findings related to the settlement and information experiences of the immigrant women as they navigate new information landscapes. Findings: As immigrants, as women and as STEM professionals, the experiences of the 74 participants reflect both marginality and privilege. The reality of their intersectional identities is that these women may not be well-served by broader settlement resources targeting newcomers, but neither are the specific conventions of networking and job-seeking in the STEM sectors in Canada fully apparent or accessible to them. The findings also point to the broader systemic and contextual factors that participants have to navigate and that shape in a major way their workfinding journeys. Originality/value: The findings of this pan-Canadian study have theoretical and practical implications for policy and research. Through interviews with these STEM professionals, we highlight the barriers and challenges of an under-studied category of migrants (the highly skilled and "desirable" type of immigrants). We provide a critical discussion of their settlement experiences and expose the idiosyncrasies of a system that claims to value skilled talent while structurally making it very difficult to deliver on its promises to recruit and retain highly qualified personnel. Our findings point to specific aspects of these skilled professionals' experiences, as well as the broader systemic and contextual factors that shape their workfinding journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Care of complex patients requires collaboration across hospital and community settings. Yet there is little recognition of the capabilities that healthcare workers need to effectively implement integrated care. An adaptive expertise theoretical framework can inform educational efforts that aim to give providers the abilities to navigate complexity and ambiguity in the healthcare system, including across hospital and community settings. Prior education research in the HIV sector has demonstrated that adaptive expert skills can be cultivated through education that emphasizes perspective exchange, inviting uncertainty in practice and integration of diverse perspectives on care. Design/methodology/approach: These principles informed the creation of an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) in HIV Psychiatry – the first ECHO directed at a non-clinical, community health worker (CHW) audience. The goal was to improve informal collaborations across hospitals and communities. Findings: Participation in the ECHO was robust, with significant on-camera engagement. Participants attributed success of the ECHO to key themes: explicit value placed on all kinds of knowledge (not simply clinical knowledge), emphasis on approaches for navigating ambiguity and complexity and engagement in perspective exchange for provision of integrated, team-based care. Future cycles of ECHO HIV Psychiatry are being pursued, with a focus on the development of adaptive expert capabilities and the impact on integration of care between community and hospital services. Originality/value: To our knowledge, this is the only ECHO that is specifically aimed at frontline CHWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a significant impact on several aspects of public relations practice. By adopting the theoretical framework of adaptive leadership, this research is designed to explore how an organization's top leadership can support related adaptive action in strategic communication. Particularly, we hope to explore whether the application of adaptive leadership could facilitate a higher level of communication transparency as well as deliver a sense of caring and empathy in COVID-19 communication. Design/methodology/approach: An international online survey was designed and conducted for this study. The first sample consists of 776 full-time communication professionals in the United States of America with 435 women (56.1%) and 341 men (43.9%). The second sample consists of 268 full-time communication professionals in Canada, with 110 women (41.0%) and 158 men (59.0%). The two samples were merged into the final sample of 1,044 for the data analysis. Findings: Results confirmed that the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic increased communication professionals' challenges in building trust. It also drives adaptive changes in their coping actions in strategic communication. More importantly, the top leadership within the organization played a key role in this adaptive leadership environment by demonstrating commitment to transparency in COVID-19 communication and delivering a sense of empathy during the pandemic. Originality/value: This study contributes to our understanding of strategic communication in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, by focusing on the adaptive nature of communication leadership. More importantly, our study confirms the important roles of two leadership attributes (i.e. the sense of empathy and the commitment to communication transparency) in supporting adaptive leadership, which eventually influences trust building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to gain insight into the motivations behind the decision to use high-cost payday loans by households who possess mainstream credit and to determine whether this behavior has changed over time. Design/methodology/approach: Using data from Statistics Canada's Surveys of Financial Security, probit models are used to examine the sociodemographic and financial indicators associated with payday loan use. Findings: The analysis uncovers the sociodemographic and financial characteristics of payday loan-user households with access to lower-cost short-term loans. The findings indicate that the likelihood of payday loan use has risen over time. Additional analysis reveals that indicators of financial instability are positively associated with payday loan use among this group. Research limitations/implications: This research highlights the dichotomy of payday loan users and recommends policymakers tailor solutions to the specific needs of different types of payday loan users. Practical implications: This research highlights the distinguishing sociodemographic and financial characteristics of payday loan user households and recommends policymakers tailor solutions to the specific needs of different types of payday loan users. Originality/value: This is the first study, to our knowledge, to focus analysis on payday loan use of those with access to lower-cost short-term credit alternatives in Canada and to include measures of financial instability in the analysis. This research is timely given the current economic environment of high interest rates and high levels of household debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore users' perceptions of whether the Leadership Development Impact Assessment (LDI) Toolkit is valid, reliable, simple to use and cost-effective as a guide to its quality improvement. Design/methodology/approach: The Canadian Health Leadership Network codesigned and codeveloped the LDI Toolkit as a theory-driven and evidence-informed resource that aims to assist health-care organizational development practitioners to evaluate various programs at five levels of impact: reaction, learning, application, impact and return on investment (ROI) and intangible benefits. A comparative evaluative case study was conducted using online questionnaires and semistructured telephone interviews with three health organizations where robust leadership development programs were in place. A total of seven leadership consultants and specialists participated from three Canadian provinces. Data were analyzed sequentially in two stages involving descriptive statistical analysis augmented with a qualitative content analysis of key themes. Findings: Users perceived the toolkit as cost-effective in terms of direct costs, indirect costs and intangibles; they found it easy-to-use in terms of clarity, logic and structure, ease of navigation with a coherent layout; and they assessed the sources of the evidence-informed tools and guides as appropriate. Users rated the toolkit highly on their perceptions of its validity and reliability. The analysis also informed the refinement of the toolkit. Originality/value: The refined LDI Toolkit is a comprehensive online collection of various tools to support health organizations to evaluate the leadership development investments effectively and efficiently at five impact levels including ROI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the discourse of consumers as they attempt to define and create consensus on the meaning and significance of cultural appropriation within a fashion context. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected via consumer comments posted to an article from The Guardian about the banning of headdresses from a large-scale music festival in Canada. Data were analyzed according to protocols for grounded theory. Findings: Four themes emerged from the data: values consensus, ideological control, social and symbolic boundaries and social impact and change. These themes captured consumers' perspectives on the debate of cultural appropriation in fashion. Social Implications: Cultural appropriation has become an increasingly important topic of interest as consumers share their voices online and demand companies increase their cultural competence. Originality/value: Few researchers have examined cultural appropriation in fashion and captured the various perspectives of consumers on this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to show that divergent perceptions among regulators, the regulated and the associated regulatory bodies across multiple jurisdictions regarding the nature and functionality of cryptocurrencies hamper the development of a more comprehensive and coherent regulatory framework in curbing crimes and other related risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Design/methodology/approach: The study has used a descriptive doctrinal legal research method to investigate and understand the insights of existing laws and regulations in four selected jurisdictions concerning cryptocurrencies and how these laws could be further improved and developed to reduce crypto-related crimes. Furthermore, the study has also used a comparative research method to conceptualize the contours of the new legal discourse emerging from cryptocurrencies to adopt and implement a sound regulatory framework. Findings: The study illustrated that divergent regulatory treatment among different jurisdictions might suffocate novel digital innovations such as cryptocurrency. These fragmented regulatory approaches by various jurisdictions question the sustainability of the present national legislation adopted to regulate cryptocurrencies. Looking into other jurisdictional developments in regulating cryptocurrencies, it is apparent that a concerted regulatory approach is needed to minimize the abuse of this innovation. Research limitations/implications: The study has implications for regulators and policymakers to review the current regulatory framework for regulating cryptocurrencies to prevent regulatory arbitrage. The divergent legislative measures concerning cryptocurrency among different jurisdictions question the sustainability of these legislative initiatives, considering the evolving and borderless nature of cryptocurrency. Therefore, this paper will help regulators to consider the present legislative gaps in establishing a common global regulatory approach in the crypto sphere. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing body of literature by examining the regulatory frameworks of four jurisdictions, namely, the USA, Canada, China and the EU, related to cryptocurrencies, with a discussion on the development of cryptocurrencies-related laws among these four jurisdictions and their sustainability in curbing crimes in the Darknet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Skilled, well-educated African immigrants arrive in Canada with aspirations for more opportunities and a better life, but too often end up with few employment options and precarious jobs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of African immigrants attempting to locate suitable, well-compensated employment in Canada. More specifically, this paper reveals how long-standing information poverty frameworks from the field of information behavior are inadequate for understanding intersectional and broader socio-cultural forces influence access to information and employment precarity among African immigrants. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with twenty-five African immigrants in Metro Vancouver. Qualitative content analysis was used to explore participants' employment information seeking and perceptions of information availability using Britz's information poverty framework. Findings: Participants encountered a range of difficulties when seeking information related to employment, including content, process and identity-related challenges, in alignment with Britz's framework. However, the framework did not fully encompass their information seeking experiences. Limited access to relevant information impacted participants' ability to make timely career decisions, and there was evidence of information inequity resulting from a mismatch between information provision and participants' multifaceted identities. Originality/value: This research applied Britz's information poverty approaches and provided a map of participants' responses to information seeking challenges. Participants did not fit into the category of information poor as defined by Britz. The findings suggest that the discourse on information poverty would benefit from considerations of the diverse backgrounds of information seekers and the incorporation of cultural dimensions to understandings of information access, information poverty and technology use for information seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research responds to a growing interest among cultural organizations regarding how to use emerging digital technologies in the communication of cultural content. The need to investigate various aspects of digital transformation for cultural organizations has been heightened during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This paper explores how city cultural organizations can utilize digital stories for impression management to enhance public perceptions of a city. The aim of this study is to understand how end-users are affected by a city cultural digital storytelling information system and the benefits of using such a system. Design/methodology/approach: An interpretive case study was conducted on a digital storytelling initiative carried out by three cultural organizations in a medium-sized city in Canada. Data collection included 95 interviews with the general public, questionnaires and the gathering of documents. Findings: Findings suggest that digital storytelling can be a viable tool to share city cultural heritage information and positively affect end-user perceptions of a city. The overall outcome of creating/maintaining a positive favorable impression is shaped through a layered experience of benefits by users. Through digital stories, users are first personally engaged and informed about a city's cultural heritage, and then they are influenced and inspired positively toward the city. Further, factors, such as leisure learning, cultural heritage information and cultural organizations, situate this context of use. Originality/value: The study sheds light on how the art of storytelling in the digital age can serve as a powerful tool for conveying information effectively and influencing public perceptions. This paper provides a context-specific model to understand the use of digital storytelling by city cultural organizations for the purpose of impression management. Theoretical insights and practical recommendations are provided to explore the utilization of digital storytelling for raising interest and awareness in a city and managing public perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper aims to respond to three questions: Are Canadian organizations committed to sustainability? Are there any links between sustainability and records management and archives programs? And, to what extent are records managers, archivists and technologists engaged in climate action? The paper also provides background on climate change in the Canadian and global contexts, defines relevant terminology, and presents a literature review that positions sustainability, adaptation and mitigation in relation to records management and archives. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on qualitative participatory research involving expert interviews in 24 government agencies, universities and businesses located in 10 Canadian cities. Findings: The organizations in the study are committed to sustainability and have developed significant programs and activities in support of this aim. Although the records managers, archivists and technologists interviewed are involved in related activities, there is a gap between what they are doing as a matter of course and the wider sustainability efforts of their parent organizations. As resources are tight, sustainability measurement entails more work and there are no real incentives to add sustainability components to programs, the participants are focused on delivering the programs they are hired to do. As a result, there is a sense of serendipity around outcomes that do occur – "sometimes, green is the outcome". Research limitations/implications: This paper presents the results of research conducted at 24 organizations in 10 Canadian cities, a small but meaningful sample that provides a springboard for considering climate action in records and archives. Based on the discussion, there is a need for a records and archives agenda that directly responds the United Nation's climate action targets: strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters; integrating climate change measures into policies, strategies and planning; and improving education, awareness-raising and human institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. In support of this aim, the paper charts possible material topics from the literature and compares these with research findings. Practical implications: From a top-down perspective, organizations need to expand sustainability programs to address all business areas, including records and archives. From a bottom-up perspective, records managers and archivists should include adaptation in disaster planning and consider the program benefits of developing economic, environmental and social sustainability initiatives to mitigate climate change. Originality/value: The paper defines resilience, sustainability, adaption and mitigation and positions these terms in records management and archives. The paper examines how records managers, archivists and technologists think about sustainability; where sustainability intersects with records and archives work; and how records managers and archivists can engage in climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyzes scholarly literature and the development of a nonstate food strategy in Canada, the Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Food Strategy, to explore the role of the administrative state in food policymaking. Design/methodology/approach: This research is based on an exploratory case study drawing data from 38 semistructured interviews, including elite interviews. It also draws on policy documents from the nonstate food strategy. Findings: This paper shows that various nonstate actors, including large food industry players, identify a role for the state in food policy in two ways: as a "conductor," playing a managing role in the food policy process, and as a "commander," taking control of policy development and involving nonstate actors when necessary. The complex and wicked aspects of food policy require the administrative state's involvement in food policymaking, while tamer aspects of food policy may be less state-centric. Originality/value: This paper fills gaps in studies exploring food policymaking processes as well as the administrative state's role in food policymaking in a governance era. It contributes to a better understanding of the state's role in complex and wicked policy domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this empirical case study is to study and explain the role of public leadership in the expansion of municipal climate action in Canada. Design/methodology/approach: In 2017 and 2018, the authors conducted13 semi-directed interviews with municipal staff and elected officials from three municipalities, a documentary analysis of primary and secondary sources. Interviews and documentation collected were also coded using the software NVIVO 12. The authors compared three municipal case studies: the City of Toronto (Ontario), the City of Guelph (Ontario), and the Town of Bridgewater (Nova Scotia). Findings: The authors found that leadership is a prominent factor explaining the expansion of municipal climate action in Canada. Municipal climate action is initiated and championed by an individual, elected officials or municipal staff, who lead and engage in the development of policy instruments to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. These leaders facilitate the formulation and implementation of instruments, encourage a paradigm shift within the municipality, overcome structural and behavioural barriers, and foster collaboration around a common vision. Optimal municipal climate leadership occurs when the leadership of elected officials and municipal is congruent, though networks play a significant role by amplifying municipal sustainability leadership. They support staff and elected officials leadership within municipalities, provide more information and funding to grow the capacity of municipalities to develop instruments, to the point that conditions under which municipalities are driving climate action are changing. Research limitations/implications: This paper hopes to contribute to better understand under what conditions municipalities drive change. Originality/value: There is an international scholarly recognition that municipalities should be further explored and considered important actors in the Canadian and international climate change governance. Gore (2010) and Robinson and Gore (2015) highlighted that we are yet to understand the extent to which municipalities are involved in climate governance in Canada. This article directly addresses this gap in the current scholarly literature and explores the expansion of climate municipal leadership with the aspects of interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pandemics pose challenges to all groups of people and all aspects of human lives. Undocumented migrants are likely to face more challenges during global pandemics. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible challenges of undocumented immigrants in Canada and the USA in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: From existing literature, the authors examined the challenges of undocumented migrants in Canada and the USA and suggested recommendations to address those challenges at both policy and national levels. Findings: The undocumented status of some international immigrants makes them vulnerable in their host nations. They face myriad challenges in their host countries, spanning from economic, health, social isolation and employment challenges, and these are further exacerbated during pandemics such as the ongoing COVID-19. The provision of culturally sensitive and safe policies may support this particular population, especially in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: This paper provides critical insights into the possible intersections that worsen the vulnerability of undocumented migrants in pandemic crises like COVID-19. Further, this review serves to initiate the discourse on policy and interventions for undocumented immigrants during pandemics or disease outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the gendered nature of housing insecurity by investigating how gender affects women's experience moving from transitional to market housing. By describing women's pathways out of supportive or transitional housing support, the authors show how patriarchal forces in housing policies and practices affect women's efforts to find secure housing. The authors argue that gender-neutral approaches to housing will fail to meet women's needs. Design/methodology/approach: This study explores the narratives from women accessing support services in Halifax, Canada. The first author conducted deep narrative interviews with women seeking to move from transition to market housing. Findings: This research sheds light on the effects of gendered barriers to safe, suitable and affordable housing; how women's experiences and expectations are shaped by these barriers; and, how housing-based supports must address the uniquely gendered experiences women face as they access market housing. In addition, this research reveals the importance of gender-responsive services that empower women facing a sexist housing market. Originality/value: Little research has explored questions related to gender and housing among those seeking to move from transitional to marker housing, and existing research focuses on women's housing insecurity as it relates to domestic violence. The sample of women included those having housing insecurity for a variety of reasons, including substance use and young motherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As social media has become an ingrained aspect of our lives—including our political relationships with other citizens and the state—various governments have warned public servants that being politically active online might threaten the reputed impartiality of themselves and the public service. This study examines whether public servants are less likely to be politically active on social media than other citizens, and seeks to understand public servants' varying disposition to be politically active online by investigating the role of employees' underlying Big 5 personality traits. Design/methodology/approach: Multivariate regression, along with marginal effects and predicted probabilities, are used to investigate public servants' online political activity with survey data from Canada, a country where impartiality is a core public service value, and where governments, public service commissions and even public sector unions have voiced cautious messages about the threat online political activity presents to the reputed impartiality of public servants, and the public service at large. Findings: Analysis of the direct effects of being a public servant and each Big 5 personality trait finds that being a public servant significantly, and substantively, reduces the probability of engaging in online political activity, meanwhile, Extraversion and Conscientiousness have consistent, significant and substantive relationships with being politically active online. Subsequent analysis investigating the dynamic between the Big 5 and being a public servant, uncovers a more complex story. Among public servants, Openness and Neuroticism, rather than Extraversion and Conscientiousness, are associated with significant and substantive changes in the probability of engaging in some online politically activities. This is consistent with research investigating the relationship between the Big 5 and risk aversion, given that public servants in Canada work in an environment with a highly cautious discourse portraying social media as a serious risk to impartiality. Practical implications: The findings also speak to best practices for public service human resource managers by shedding light how public servants' behavior can be better understood and managed by paying attention to their underlying personality traits. Originality/value: This study moves beyond analyzing trends between public and private sector employees, to instead examine public servants' online political activity. This study offers theoretical and empirical insight into how public servants' disposition to be politically active online is, in part, influenced by their underlying Big 5 personality traits, specifically, Neuroticism and Openness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a change of corporate governance occurs after financial crimes in Canada revealed through external whistleblowing. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the methodology of Smaili and Arroyo (2019), the authors implement a qualitative research framework to examine 11 alleged Canadian corporate financial statement fraud cases publicly exposed during the 1995–2012 period. Findings: The analysis suggests that firms had a weak traditional corporate governance mechanism before the external whistleblowing occurred. In almost every case, the chief executive officer (CEO) was also the chair of the board of directors. Although the reports by Dey and Saucier recommend that independent directors make up at least 75% of Canadian boards, we note that the percentage of independent directors was under 70% in six cases. Moreover, only two firms had a whistleblowing policy in place, and seven firms had a major shareholder. Regarding the consequences for corporate governance after whistleblowing, the analysis shows that the companies that survived the whistleblowing had enhanced their internal corporate governance by the third year after the whistleblowing. In fact, at all the surviving companies, the CEO was no longer the chair, and the percentage of independent directors had increased to 80%. However, for those survival companies that did not have a whistleblowing policy before the event, the situation did not change quickly, and they only implemented a policy after the enforcement of the new regulation in the year 2003. Originality/value: This paper adds new insights to the research on financial crime by investigating the relation between corporate governance and whistleblowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the impact of risk disclosure practices (voluntary, mandatory and risk disclosure index) on stock return volatility, market liquidity and financial performance for insurance companies in the UK and Canada, before and after the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. Design/methodology/approach: The panel data analysis covers 14 insurance companies in the UK and 12 in Canada over a six-year period, three years before and three years after the implementation of IFRS. The authors collected risk disclosure data manually from the annual reports and analyzed it through QSR NVivo software for each country. The other variables are secondary data collected from Thomson Reuters Eikon and Datastream. Findings: The results reveal that mandatory risk disclosure practices positively influence stock return volatility for UK insurers but not Canadian ones. Moreover, both mandatory and voluntary risk disclosures increase market liquidity for UK insurers. The outcomes also show a negative influence of risk disclosure practices on financial performance for both the UK and Canadian insurers. The adoption of IFRS enhances the impact of risk disclosure practices in both countries on market liquidity and financial performance. Research limitations/implications: The findings rationalize the impact of risk disclosure practices on volatility, liquidity and financial performance of UK and Canada insurers, and the effect of IFRS in triggering those results. Practical implications: The findings highlight the diverse effects of voluntary and mandatory risk disclosure practices in enhancing market discipline and mitigating information asymmetry problems to investors. Regulators and policymakers could rely on the findings to amend and develop disclosure standards more frequently to assure their effectiveness. The authors also offer insights to managers to determine the levels of mandatory and voluntary disclosure practices and disclosure strategies to gain their stakeholders' confidence. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature of risk disclosure in the insurance industry for both the UK and Canada where scarce studies are conducted. It also offers interesting implementations to investors, managers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to answer the following research questions: Does the Canadian Arts Summit's membership (i.e. Canada's largest cultural institutions) reflect Canada's diversity? What is the state of diversity among leadership roles within Canada's largest cultural institutions when viewed through a geographical, gender and racial diversity, and intersectional lens? Design/methodology/approach: Employing a geographic, gender, racial diversity and intersectional lens, the authors investigated the largest and most influential arts and cultural organizations in Canada (n = 125) to examine their leadership diversity. The authors found that there is a disconnect between the diversity of Canada and the leadership representation among the largest arts organizations. The authors rationalize the management implications of a lack of diversity leading Canada's cultural sector. Findings: The leadership of major arts organizations in Canada does not reflect the diversity of Canada's population. For example, among 125 Canadian Arts Summit organizations, only 5.7% of CEOs are racialized compared to 94.3% who are White. The findings show similar results for lack of diversity in the Artistic Director and Chair of the Board roles. Originality/value: There is limited research using this methodology to investigate leadership diversity, especially in the arts and culture sector. This research can create a benchmark for the sector to improve the status quo. The value of this research aims to encourage policy actors and arts leaders to address diversity and inclusion within their organizations and the communities they aim to serve. This research provides the foundation for future studies exploring leadership diversity and representation in the Canadian arts sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study assesses how sibship size affects child quality as measured by educational attainment. Design/methodology/approach: The data are from the Canadian General Social Surveys (GSS) of 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1995. The sample is restricted to the individuals born in Canada between 1946 and 1965, that is, the baby-boom generation. In addition to controlling for parental education, the sibship size is instrumented by a non-binary variable created based on the sex composition of the sibship. While most previous studies have pooled both genders, the present paper produces by gender estimates Findings: The OLS estimates are statistically significant, negative and moderately large for both male and female baby boomers. When the sibship size is instrumented, the estimates indicate that one additional sibling had reduced the educational attainment of male baby boomers by almost half a year. No causal effect for the sibship size is found for female baby boomers. Originality/value: This is the first paper on the effects of sibship size on educational attainment, using Canadian data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to assess variations of motivations when studying international location decisions. In particular, this study aims to assess the influence of diverse motivations – seeking technology, seeking brand assets, seeking markets, seeking resources and escaping institutional constraints – as determinants of the international location choice of emerging market multinational enterprises (EM MNEs) entering least developed, emerging, and developed countries. Design/methodology/approach: The authors develop a set of hypotheses based on the ownership–location–internalization framework and complement it with an institutional perspective. The conceptual model posits that the different internationalization motivations (seeking technology, seeking brand assets, seeking markets, seeking resources and escaping institutional constraints) will impact the location choice of EM MNEs in developed economies, emerging markets or least developed countries. This study uses the 2013 survey data collected by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. The final sample of analysis of this research includes 693 observations. Findings: After controlling for several variables, two-stage Heckman regressions show there is a variation of motivations when EM MNEs enter least developed countries, emerging markets and developed economies. EM MNEs are motivated to enter least developed countries to seek markets and resources. Conversely, those firms enter developed countries in their search for technological assets and to escape institutional constraints at home. While the present study findings show a clear difference in the motivations that lead to location choice in least developed vs developed countries, the results are not as clear for location in other emerging countries. Research limitations/implications: The paper offers empirical support for the importance of motivations as crucial determinants of location choice. Originality/value: This paper provides a detailed quantitative study on the internationalization location choice of EM MNEs based on their motivations. Though theoretical models underscore the importance of motivations, we know very little about how, in practice, motivations drive location choice. This study contributes to the international location choice literature a deeper understanding of how diverse motivations drive choices of expansion into developed economies, emerging markets or least developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and map the shifting relationship between the settlement process and the information practices of newcomers from the Philippines as they migrate and settle in Canada. Design/methodology/approach: This research employs two semi-structured in-depth interviews, each with 14 newcomers from the Philippines to Canada. Participants were selected because they had migrated to Winnipeg through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program within 1–4 years of the date of interview. Findings: Eight settlement information tables are identified that demonstrate participants' migration experiences, including participants' thoughts and feelings related to migration and settlement, their information questions and needs, the information resources they consult and the activities in which they engage. Originality/value: This paper argues that this phased model approach documents the shifting relationship between settlement processes and migrants' information needs, activities, resources and practices. Articulating study findings using this phased model approach can support information institutions, such as the settlement sector and libraries, to provide support to newcomer groups in a timely and targeted manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to document the operationalization of the OCAP® principles in the context of the work of a medical anthropologist and Whapmagoostui First Nation (FN). The authors describe their recent collaboration with Whapmagoostui FN to digitize and transfer the research data archive to the community. Design/methodology/approach: Beginning with a description of the data collection process from the late 1980s to early 1990s, this study describes recent efforts to digitize the research data archive and work with Whapmagoostui FN to develop a plan for access and safekeeping. The authors focus on the work required to implement the OCAP® principles locally, including the need to address questions of ownership rights/transfer, information technology systems and community capacity. Findings: This study describes the necessary work that is required to operationalize the OCAP® principles on a local level, including obstacles to this work. This study also underscores how the process of OCAP® implementation is distinct for each community and research context. Based on these considerations, the authors calls for increased resources and new legal mechanisms in support of achieving indigenous data sovereignty (IDSov) in FNs, Inuit and Métis communities across Canada. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study makes an original contribution to the literature on IDSov. This study provides a valuable case study, illustrating how the OCAP® principles can be operationalized in the context of a longstanding partnership between an academic researcher and an indigenous community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper explores integration experiences of immigrants in the Canadian workplace from the perspective of immigrants themselves, focusing on cultural capital and cultural judgments as factors influencing workplace entry, advancement and social integration in an increasingly diverse work environment. Design/methodology/approach: An interpretive approach that involved thematic analysis of in-depth interview data was employed. Findings: The findings reveal that the official two-way multiculturalism policy of Canada is not reflected in the Canadian workplace and that structural forces of assimilation are evident. Cultural judgments and immigrants' cultural capital create barriers for integration. Research limitations/implications: While highlighting important aspects of immigrant experiences within the Canadian workplace, the study findings cannot generate a fully representative theorization of immigrant employment experiences in Canada. Further studies with diverse migrant groups in different parts of the country would shed more light on the issues faced by immigrants. Practical implications: The barriers to social integration identified by this study can be largely overcome by improving intercultural skills and cultural intelligence of employers and employees through training and incorporating values of diversity and inclusion into the corporate culture. Social implications: The factors that foster and hinder workplace integration identified by this study can inform workplace integration strategies and related policies. Originality/value: Much of the literature concerning immigrants' position in Canada address the economic integration and economic well-being of immigrants, focusing on quantitative, macro level analyses of earnings disparity and labor market segmentation. There is a lack of qualitative research that explores the integration process through the lens of immigrants. Informed by the theories of cultural capital, cultural judgment and integration, the study sheds light on the everyday workplace experiences of skilled migrants and perceived barriers to workplace entry, advancement and social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many academic leaders have little formal leadership training, which can result in challenges to effective leadership, succession planning and burnout. This paper aims to explore the leadership skills needed to be an effective senior academic leader in a Canadian medical faculty. Design/methodology/approach: An anonymous voluntary survey of needed leadership skills and supports was sent to 60 senior academic leaders at the University of Alberta. This was followed by interviewing a purposive sample, using open-ended questions based on a multimodal needs assessment of senior academic leaders. The authors used an iterative process to analyze the data; anonymized transcripts were coded and categorized separately by two researchers, and themes were created. Findings: The "ability to influence" was the highest rated needed leadership skill in the survey. The interviewed leaders (n = 12) were unanimous that they felt unprepared at the start of the leadership role. The survey and interviews identified five major themes for leadership skills: Mentoring, Finances, Human Resources, Building Relationships and Protected Time. Networking and leadership courses were identified as major sources of support. Research limitations/implications: Although a single site study, the results were similar to another large Canadian medical faculty (University of Toronto, Lieff et al., 2013). While the survey had a 42% response rate (25/60), the survey responses were echoed in the interviews. Although the purposive sample was small, the interviewed leaders were a representative sample of the larger leadership group. Originality/value: Academic leaders may benefit from a mentorship team/community of leaders and specific university governance knowledge which may help their ability to influence and advance their strategic initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The increasing uptake of performance auditing (PA), which entails both the facilitation and the control of government policies, has seriously challenged state auditors' claims that they are apolitical. This article aims to understand how supreme audit institutions (SAIs) operate to maintain and nurture the political neutrality and legitimacy of their PA. Design/methodology/approach: The authors draw on Suchman's typology on legitimacy (1995) to analyze the PA reports of two countries with a long history of both performance auditing and accusations of political interference, namely Canada and Denmark. Documentary analysis and interview methods are employed. Findings: This study shows how the two SAIs have been pursuing pragmatic, moral and cognitive legitimacy through the professionalization and standardization of both the form and the content of their PA reports. Engaging and maintaining the dialogue with the audited administration, triangulating recognized social science methods, and emphasizing the "public interest" basis of PA reflect some of the tools adopted to navigate the "grey zone" between objective, relevant and politically sensitive audits. Research limitations/implications: The paper's explorative approach limits the possibility for robust testing of the causal forces impinging on SAIs' choices of legitimation strategies. Nevertheless, variations between the Canadian and Danish SAIs in the strategic use of some legitimacy tools such as the media suggest a difference in the role of Public Accounts Committee in the two countries that can be investigated in future research. Originality/value: Much research exists questioning the political neutrality of PA, yet there has not been much discussion on how SAIs have been able to develop and preserve the prevalent legitimacy of their PA amid the criticism. More specifically, our research reveals the tendency of both the Canadian and Danish SAIs to strategically underline the "public interest" dimension of their performance audits in an attempt to increase both their legitimacy and political neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Over the years, many upstream health policies have sought to reduce smoking across populations. While smoking has been substantially reduced, the effects of these policies on education-smoking gradient remain unclear. The present paper compares the education-smoking gradient among the Generation X and the millennials, who grew up with different types of upstream policies. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies on regression analysis. The data are from the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey of 2017, with the sample restricted to those born between 1965 and 1995. Findings: At the zero-order, the education-smoking gradient has not significantly flattened from Generation X to millennials. And, accounting for the channels of impact of education on smoking does not substantially change this pattern. Social implications: The implications for health inequalities associated with socioeconomic status, and tobacco consumption reduction policies, are discussed. Originality/value: This paper is the first study of the kind using Canadian data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite immigrant-receiving countries' need for skilled professionals to meet labour demands, research suggests that many skilled migrants undergo deskilling, downward career mobility, underemployment, unemployment and talent waste, finding themselves in low-skilled occupations that are not commensurate to their education and experience. Skilled immigrant women face additional gendered disadvantages, including a disproportionate domestic burden, interrupted careers and gender segmentation in occupations and organizations. This study explores how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacted skilled newcomer women's labour market outcomes and work experiences. Design/methodology/approach: The authors draw on 50 in-depth questionnaires with skilled women to elaborate on their work experiences during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: The pandemic pushed skilled immigrant women towards unemployment, lower-skilled or less stable employment. Most study participants had their career trajectory delayed, interrupted or reversed due to layoffs, decreased job opportunities and increased domestic burden. The pandemic's gendered nature and the reliance on work-from-home arrangements and online job search heightened immigrant women's challenges due to limited social support and increased family responsibilities. Originality/value: This paper adds to the conversation of increased integration challenges under pandemic conditions by contextualizing the pre-pandemic literature on immigrant work integration to the pandemic environment. Also, this paper contributes a better understanding of the gender dynamics informing the COVID-19 socio-economic climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to determine the complementarity between the Canadian Medical Education Directions for Specialists (CanMEDS) physician competency and LEADS leadership capability frameworks from three perspectives: epistemological, philosophical and pragmatic. Based on those findings, the authors propose how the frameworks collectively layout pathways of lifelong learning for physician leadership. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative approach combining critical discourse analysis with a modified Delphi, the authors examined "How complementary the CanMEDS and LEADS frameworks are in guiding physician leadership development and practice" with the following sub-questions: What are the similarities and differences between CanMEDS and LEADS from: An epistemological and philosophical perspective? The perspective of guiding physician leadership training and practice? How can CanMEDS and LEADS guide physician leadership development from medical school to retirement? Findings: Similarities and differences exist between the two frameworks from philosophical and epistemological perspectives with significant complementarity. Both frameworks are founded on a caring ethos and value physician leadership – CanMEDS (for physicians) and LEADS (physicians as one of many professions) define leadership similarly. The frameworks share beliefs in the function of leadership, embrace a belief in distributed leadership, and although having some philosophical differences, have a shared purpose (preparing for changing health systems). Practically, the frameworks are mutually supportive, addressing leadership action in different contexts and where there is overlap, complement one another in intent and purpose. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to map the CanMEDS (physician competency) and LEADS (leadership capabilities) frameworks. By determining the complementarity between the two, synergies can be used to influence physician leadership capacity needed for today and the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]