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Entrepreneurial activities have been vital to economic growth as a feasible career option for many university graduates. Nonetheless, it has been recognised that the lowest intentions to undertake entrepreneurial activity are among female graduates. While entrepreneurship is claimed to be a reflection of creative activity from which individuals generate value, graduates’ creativity can be a crucial aspect of entrepreneurship, with innovative concepts, products and services. This study examines the role of creativity skills in the entrepreneurial intentions of female university students attending business programs. Built on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the survey results collected from 303 female business graduates identified the positive influence of creativity on entrepreneurial intentions. Recognising the need to embed creative skills and activities in the university curriculum is fundamental to encouraging entrepreneurial aspirations among female graduates.

The momentum has been building toward the realisation of the United Nations Development Programme's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this regard, technological upgrading through the adoption of innovative technologies, as in big data analytics (BDA), can be seen as a key enabler of helping to address societal challenges. While there is some evidence for realising value created from BDA adoption, organisational issues associated with societal challenges, specifically those targeting the SDGs, are yet to be appreciated. This study utilises a technology–organisation–environment framework to examine the role of top management support in facilitating value creation from BDA adoption for the realisation SDGs. Based on a survey of 320 UK managers, this study found that the technological driver of BDA coupled with top management support, can significantly help in the adoption process. Therefore, crafting the value needed for effectively supporting the realisation of these goals.

Information and communications technology (ICT) is widely utilized in the accounting profession and has transformed the accounting functions in business and the role of accountants. Acknowledging the significance of ICT skills in accounting education, many employers and professional associations are calling for integration of accounting curricula with ICT. Therefore, it is vital for potential accounting professionals to be equipped with the most current ICT skills pursued by employers. This study searches the current job market to capture a snapshot of the most in demand graduate skills, in particular, ICT skills. Furthermore, it also lists a number of software systems for accountancy solutions and their supplier firms. Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) - NPRP grant # [7-1534- 5-231].

The aim of this study is to stimulate and support women to engage in action-oriented entrepreneurial activities such as practical training, international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and shared learning to foster entrepreneurship. To achieve the aim, this study proposes a structured program of training and mentoring that will combine multiple-methods and ICT tools to facilitate the process of joint-innovation and start-up between international female entrepreneurs. To do so, it recommends the following stages: engaging with stakeholders and developing contextual awareness; developing an entrepreneurship training framework; training and capacity building of female entrepreneurs; adapting, implementing and pilot-testing a co-innovation platform; and facilitation of international collaboration, venture capital and start-ups.

With the advancement of disruptive new technologies, there has been a considerable focus on personalisation as an important component in nurturing users' engagement. In the context of smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT) offer a unique opportunity to help empower citizens and improve societies' engagement with their governments at both micro and macro levels. This study aims to examine the role of perceived value of IoT in improving citizens' engagement with public services. A survey of 313 citizens in the UK, engaging in various public services, enabled through IoT, found that the perceived value of IoT is strongly influenced by empowerment, perceived usefulness and privacy related issues resulting in significantly affecting their continuous use intentions. The study offers valuable insights into the importance of perceived value of IoT-enabled services, while at the same time, providing an intersectional perspective of UK citizens towards the use of disruptive new technologies in the public sector.

It is widely acknowledged that traditional teaching methods such as lectures, textbooks and case study techniques on their own are not adequate to improving the most in-demand employability skills for graduates. The aim of this article is to explore the potential impact that novel learning and teaching methods can have on improving the employability skills of Management Information System (MIS) graduates. To do so, the article reports the results of an experiment that was conducted with MIS students at the Faculty of Business and Economics in Qatar University, that combined lectures, case study-based workshops, flipped classrooms, presentations, problem-based learning and collaborative learning. The findings of this experiment suggest that known methods of classroom-based learning and teaching used for MIS graduates are failing to develop important graduate skills such as, critical thinking, time management and how to conduct research when faced with challenging problems.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to help in providing a better understanding of the application of blockchain technology in the context of the banking and finance sectors. The aim is to outline blockchain's benefits, opportunities, costs, risks as well as challenges of the technology in the context of banking and finance services.Design/methodology/approachCareful examination of the extant literature, including utilising relevant academic-based research databases has been carried out. It covered reviewing various research contributions published in peer-reviewed journals, academic reports, as well as technical reports to help in identifying related benefits, opportunities, costs and risks.FindingsThe findings reveal that there are limited contributions in utilising blockchain in the banking and finance sectors when compared with other sectors. As such, the study highlighted the relevant perspective of benefits, opportunities, costs and risks within such sectors.Practical implicationsThis study helps in offering a focal point to banking and financial sector managers and decision-makers for realising the value and offerings of blockchain technology as well as associated strategies and programmes.Originality/valueThis study highlights the need for a holistic understanding of the various aspects of cost, benefits, risk and opportunities to create blockchain applications that work for banking and finance sectors

It is widely acknowledged that traditional teaching methods such as lectures, textbooks and case study techniques on their own are not adequate to improving the most in-demand employability skills for graduates. The aim of this article is to explore the potential impact that novel learning and teaching methods can have on improving the employability skills of Management Information System (MIS) graduates. To do so, the article reports the results of an experiment that was conducted with MIS students at the Faculty of Business and Economics in Qatar University, that combined lectures, case study-based workshops, flipped classrooms, presentations, problem-based learning and collaborative learning. The findings of this experiment suggest that known methods of classroom-based learning and teaching used for MIS graduates are failing to develop important graduate skills such as, critical thinking, time management and how to conduct research when faced with challenging problems.

While many universities have implemented various initiatives and teaching and learning methods to embed the most in-demand skills into their degree programmes, there is little evidence in the literature of students’ opinions and awareness of these skills. The purpose of this article is to assess, through an empirical study, students’ perceptions of the skills commonly identified in the literature as important for the field of accounting and finance. A total of 462 surveys were collected and analysed using the SAS statistical analysis tool. According to the findings, the most important graduate skills are communication skills, followed by analytical skills and self-management. The findings also reveal that the language of instruction is statistically significant for a few graduate skills, including interpersonal, planning and organization, communication, self-management and analytical skills. Age is statistically significant for critical thinking skills and gender is statistically significant for leadership, technological and communication skills.

While higher education institutes attempt to adapt their curricula to cope with national employability strategies, there remain some significant variations between what employers want and the attributes possessed by new graduates. Using a systematic review of literature and focused scanning of the job market, the authors aimed to contribute to the debate by mapping and contrasting the rankings of graduate attributes among academic and practitioner communities. The study focuses on 2 sectors from the United Kingdom. - 2018, - 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This publication was made possible by NPRP grant number 7-1534-5-231 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. Scopus

This article addresses the relationship between e-government development and entrepreneurship. The study adopted an inductive approach, where it utilized archival data to test the relationship between the two paradigms. The authors hypothesize that improving e-government initiatives will influence entrepreneurship. Utilizing global data will guard for researcher biases and utilize the huge sample size built in the archival data used. The two data sets included the UN's e-government survey, and the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute survey. Results indicated a full support of the relationships assumed between the major dimensions of EGDI and GEI. Regression analysis indicated that Online service Index and telecommunication Infrastructure index are significant predictors of GEI, but failed to support the role of Human Capital Index. The coefficient of determination of the regression equation estimated 69.2% of the variance in GEI. Further tests and research conclusions are stated at the end.

Graduate employability has become an issue since there are broad mismatches between the acquired graduate skills from university and the required skills by employers. While previous researches have outlined the salient skills that need to be embedded in graduate education, to date no studies have attempted to methodically identify and synthesize the literature on graduate attributes. In this paper a total of 39 relevant studies on graduate skills and attributes in the subject areas of business and management, accounting, and computer science were extracted from Scopus® (database). This revealed a total of 53 graduate attributes, with some being highly used, such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, technological skills, creativity, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, self-management and flexibility/adaptability. The majority of studies used a quantitative survey method to collect and rank graduate attributes, and Australia emerged as the most active country in researching the domain.

In public sector transformation context, various studies have utilised institutional theory as a lens to explore the institutionalisation process of digital-enabled services. While institutional theory contributes towards understanding such transformation, limited explanation is offered on the underlying process, undermining the impact of interplay between institutional structure and actors in shaping organisational norms. Structuration theory has overcome this limitation by examining the creation and reproduction of the behaviours supporting formation of norms, through analysis of structures and actors as change agents. Using a systematic literature review, this paper aims to identify existing research that utilise institutional and structuration theories to study the institutionalisation of such transformation in public sector. The literature findings highlight that the scope of existing research is largely limited to the European context, indicating a need to extend the work beyond this.

Higher education institutes are facing increasing pressure to ensure that graduates are equipped with the right set of attributes that will make them desirable to potential employers. To deal with this pressure, universities have for some time been embedding employability attributes into their curriculum through classroom-based teaching and external programs. Yet, little research exists into examining academics' perception of graduate attributes and the potential challenges they face in delivering these attributes. The authors examine graduate attributes that are perceived as most important by academics. The findings suggest that communication, teamwork, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, time management, and research skills were all seen as important for the employability. This publication was made possible by NPRP grant # [7-1534-5-231] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the author[s]. Scopus

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the research design, methodologies and approaches utilised in electronic government (e‐government) research studies published in the last decade (2000‐2012).Design/methodology/approachA profiling approach is employed to analyse 114 (out of 3,934 from 2000 to 2012) e‐government publications (with specific focus on user satisfaction) including examining variables such as country of research, sample size, type(s) of respondents, data collection methods, and statistical tools and techniques employed.FindingsAmong the research design, methodologies and approaches adopted in the extant e‐government research studies, the quantitative research based approach supported by statistical analysis was the most dominant approach applied by authors in the last decade. Few studies were found to use qualitative‐based approaches such as case studies and interviews.Originality/valueThe prime value and uniqueness of this research lies in presenting the type of research design, methodologies and approaches used in studies that focus on issues surrounding user satisfaction in e‐government research. This has been achieved by synthesising existing publications in Electronic Government: An International Journal (EG), Electronic Journal of Electronic Government (EJEG), International Journal of Electronic Government Research (EJEGR), Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy (TG:PPP), Government Information Quarterly (GIQ), Public Administration Review (PAR), Public Administration: An International Quarterly (PA), Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), and Local Government Studies (LGS).

Continued professional development (CPD) has been at the centre of capacity building in most successful organisations in western countries over the past few decades. Specialised professions in fields such as Accounting, Finance and ICT, to name but a few, are continuously evolving, which is necessitating certain standards to be followed through registration and certification by a designated authority (e.g. ACCA). Whilst most developed countries such as the UK and the US have well established frameworks for CPD for these professions, several developing nations, including Qatar (the chosen context for this article) are only just beginning to adopt these frameworks into their local contexts. However, the unique socio-cultural settings in such countries require these frameworks to be appropriately modified before they are adopted within the respective national context. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of CPD in Qatar through comparing the UK as a benchmark and drawing corresponding and contrasting observations to formulate a roadmap towards developing a high level framework.