Faculty Scholarship Celebration 2025

Purpose: This paper compares employability skill sets as perceived in South Africa and Greece—two countries with different educational backgrounds and economic contexts. Design/Methodology/Approach: A literature review on employability skills is followed by a survey examining skills and motivation to identify similarities and differences between the two countries. Findings: South African respondents had lower mean scores for intrinsic motivation than Greek participants. Significant differences were noted in achievement, responsibility, and growth opportunities. Findings suggest that employability skills have a global dimension, while country-specific factors influence perceptions of motivation and other skills. Research Limitations/Implications: The study’s sample size was relatively small. Higher education institutions (HEIs) should enhance graduates’ motivational skills, while recruiters should engage in continuous dialogue with HEIs and other stakeholders to strengthen employability training. Originality/Value: This paper makes three contributions: (1) expanding literature on internships as tools for employment readiness, (2) highlighting motivation as a key factor in employability skill development, and (3) providing evidence of differing perceptions between students in a developed and a developing country.

Contemporary Issues in Social Media Marketing provides the most cutting-edge findings in social media marketing, through original chapters from a range of the world’s leading specialists in the area. This second edition has been fully updated with new features such as discussion questions, global case studies and examples, and material reflecting the key trends in the field, including: The growth in user-generated content. The growing influence of AI in content creation, including virtual influencers. The development and utilization of social media analytics. The use of social media as the primary search engine. The relationship between social media and the customer experience of the brand. Highly regarded for its breadth of topics, range of perspectives and research-based approach, this text is perfect recommended reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Digital and Social Media Marketing, Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Strategic Marketing. It will also be valuable reading for academics in the field and reflective practitioners.

This chapter explores the interplay between integrity and digital sustainability within the rapidly evolving industry of eSports. Along with its unprecedented growth, the responsibilities of eSports organisations and eSports participants, whether players or spectators, stress the need to understand eSports from the lenses of sustainability and integrity. Informed by a comprehensive review of existing literature, this chapter relies on a qualitative analysis of industry practices, codes of conduct, and indicative cases and maps out the current landscape to identify potential challenges and opportunities pertinent to the integrity and sustainability nexus in eSports. By addressing frequently discussed issues, we further delve into more contemporary integrity challenges to reflect on the idiosyncrasy of the industry, eSports specificities and peculiarities, and digital complexities, i.e., data collection, transparency, storage, privacy, and security issues. This leads our inquiry to the identification of key digital sustainability matters, such as digital waste and energy footprint, digital inclusion and empowerment, as well as digital well-being and freedom. Finally, we review and contemplate on our sustainability/integrity agenda through the lens of the triple bottom line and link our earlier considerations focusing on economic prosperity, environmental and social matters in the industry of eSport.

Background This systematic review contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of built food environments that may be associated with choices of alternative protein foods (APF). Using the built food environment typology proposed by Downs et al., we investigated various environmental structures (e.g., supermarkets, other retailers, farmers’ markets, restaurants, schools, and online vendors) and the characteristics that may facilitate or hinder consumers’ choices. For example, facilitators and barriers may refer to the physical characteristics of environmental structures, food presentation practices, the organizational strategies or policies operating in the setting, or the actions that retailers or consumers engage in while selling, serving, choosing, trying, or purchasing APF in these environmental structures. Methods A systematic review (PROSPERO database preregistration; no. CRD42023388700) was conducted by searching 13 databases for peer-reviewed journals focusing on the fields of economics and business, agriculture, medical sciences, and social sciences. Data searches, coding, and quality evaluations were conducted by at least 2 researchers. A total of 31 papers (36 original studies) were included. The risk of bias was evaluated with the Joanna Briggs Institute quality evaluation tool, with 24 publications presenting low risk of bias. Results The findings indicate that perceived and actual availability facilitate consumers’ APF choices across a built food environment. Several barriers/facilitators were associated with APF choices in specific types of built food environments: the way food is presented in produce sections (supermarkets), consumer habits in terms of green and specialty shopping (grocery stores), and mismatches among retailer actions in regard to making APF available in one type of food environment structure (e-commerce) and consumers’ preferences for APF being available in other food environment structures (supermarkets, grocery stores). The effect of a barrier/facilitator may depend on the APF type; for example, social norms regarding masculinity were a barrier affecting plant-based APF choices in restaurants, but these norms were not a barrier affecting the choice of insect-based APF in restaurants. Conclusions Addressing barriers/facilitators identified in this review will help in developing environment-matching interventions that aim to make alternative proteins mainstream.

This review synthesizes empirical evidence for the associations between alternative protein food (APF) choices and geographical context factors, including differences and similarities between consumers from various European countries, rural versus urban environments, and the “local” attribute of APF. The preregistered systematic review (PROSPERO repository, no. CRD42023388700) was conducted in 13 databases with 25 original studies being included. The risk of bias was evaluated using Joanna Briggs Institute quality evaluation tools. The findings indicate that across consumers from European countries, levels of intention to eat, try, and buy APF are low-to-moderate. Patterns of APF consumers’ choices differed between Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland), Southern Europe (Italy, Spain), and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic). For example, Danish consumers have positive attitudes but relatively low intention to eat plant-based APF. In turn, Polish consumers have lower levels of knowledge and low readiness to shift dietary patterns toward APF intake compared to Western European consumers (e.g., Germany). Italian consumers have a lower acceptance of insect-based APF than consumers from Western or Northern European countries (e.g., Belgium, Denmark). Our findings do not support rural–urban differences. Finally, perceiving an APF product as local may increase the likelihood of APF choice by European consumers. Our review provides preliminary insights into differences among consumers inhabiting European countries, suggesting the use of different messages to promote APF intake across Europe. Systematic research comparing countries across Europe is needed to verify the consistency of geographical differences.

This meta-review synthesises evidence concerning individual-level psychosocial characteristics associated with alternative protein food (APF) choices. We investigated the associations between: (i) individual-level determinants based on the COM-B model (capabilities, perceived opportunities, motivation), sociodemographic factors, and (ii) indicators of APF choices (e.g., intention to eat, buy, pay, acceptance, intake). Differences in characteristics of APF made from plants, insects, mushrooms, and other APF sources were explored. Thirteen databases were searched in this pre-registered (CRD42023388694) meta-review and 28 reviews were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the ROBIS tool. For plant-based APF choices, consistent support was obtained for associations with (i) capabilities, including cooking skills, exposure to/familiarity with APF; (ii) motivations, including perceived health-related, pro-environmental, and sustainability benefits, and animal welfare; (iii) younger age and higher education. For insect-based APF choices, consistent support was obtained for (i) capabilities, including formal knowledge about APF, exposure to/familiarity with APF; (ii) perceived opportunities, encompassing positive social and cultural norms, distrust in technology; (iii) motivations, including perceived health benefits, pro-environmental and sustainability benefits, perceived health risks, being adventurous/daring, curiosity, neophilia, disgust; (iv) male gender and younger age. Recognising differences in potential determinants across various APF sources is essential for designing interventions aimed at promoting APF uptake.

This paper examines the ten studio albums released by Coldplay, drawing on the philosophy of love, and exploring love’s connection with collective value inquiry. We examined the evolution of love in Coldplay lyrics: from Eros (love for the self), to Philia (love for others), to Agape (inclusive unconditional love for everyone/everything). We find this evolution of meaning to be central for collective value inquiry with the band’s fans, who actively participate in improving the environmental impact of Coldplay’s latest, still ongoing tour- the largest tour of all times in music. Coldplay love in practice and make it the fuel for tackling grand challenges. Love can play a key role in organizing!

Purpose: Based on conservation of resources theory and incivility spiral theory, this study examines the relationship between supervisor incivility and turnover intentions by investigating the mediating roles of co-worker incivility and emotional exhaustion.

Design/methodology/approach: A serial mediation model was empirically tested with a sample of 600 employees in Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Findings: Results indicate that supervisor incivility is linked to turnover intentions in three main ways. Directly, indirectly through emotional exhaustion, and indirectly through the serial mediation of co-worker incivility and emotional exhaustion.

Research limitations/implications: Possible limitations of the study include the sampling techniques and the self-reporting measures for data collection.

Practical implications: Findings attest that owners and managers of SMEs should take note of the trickle-down effect, namely that their own misbehavior will fuel co-worker incivility.

Supervisor incivility has cumulative, deleterious consequences on employees, depleting their emotional resources and enhancing turnover intentions, and should therefore be restricted through appropriate practices.

Originality/value: Few empirical studies have explored the effects of supervisor incivility on the incivility manifested by others and their impact on turnover intentions. The study enriches the trickle-down effect literature by identifying an additional indirect path linking supervisor incivility and turnover intentions. Further, this study took place in SMEs, a context with limited research in abusive supervision and incivility yet highly pertinent, given that SMEs informality might leave such behavior unchecked.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is purely an asset when it comes to talent acquisition: that is the dominant narrative among Human Resource Management (HRM) practitioners and scholars alike. Growing evidence, however, gives reason to question this assumption. Accordingly, in this conceptual paper, we develop a process model to articulate both the pros and cons of CSR for recruitment. Using fairness heuristic theory as a central organizing framework, we integrate three theoretical perspectives into the HRM and micro-CSR literatures. First, we leverage dual-processing attribution theory to propose that job seekers process information about CSR through both heuristic and deliberative processes, leading them to attribute employer CSR to substantive or symbolic motives. We explain how CSR attributions represent a fairness heuristic, meaning a proxy for how trustworthy job seekers appraise an employer to be. Second, invoking expectancy violation theory, we propose that the more job seekers attribute employer CSR to substantive (symbolic) motives, the higher (lower) their justice expectations will be, thereby increasing (decreasing) the consequences to employers for violating those expectations. Third, expanding scholarship on the dynamic nature of organizational fairness perceptions, we propose that job seekers update their attributions of employer CSR in a recursive cycle that can improve, but tends to degrade, as the recruitment process unfolds—particularly if they have high expectations to begin with. In so doing, we nudge the talent acquisition literature beyond static, fixed-in-time accounts to a more representative description of the dynamic and dual-sided role of CSR in recruitment over time.

The theme of this year’s 29th Panionian Games competition, “The Gaze of Homer: When Obstacles Become Resources,” inspired 130 young literary and visual artists to draw from ancient wisdom as well as their everyday experiences, demonstrating that every obstacle can be transformed into an asset, an opportunity, and a source of strength. In your hands, you hold a collection of these works. We hope it inspires and moves you as deeply as it moved us. The Panionian Games—this centuries-old celebration of arts, letters, and athletics—continue to evolve, keeping the spirit of Ionia alive and passing its light on to future generations.

This study presents the findings of a preliminary investigation into the effects of integrating basic generative AI prompts into a flipped classroom methodology for an introductory information technology course in higher education. The flipped classroom approach, rooted in constructivist learning theories, involves students engaging with digital resources before class to learn foundational concepts, freeing up class time for active learning activities [1], [2]. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT offer new possibilities for personalizing and enriching these pre-class and in-class components through customized content generation and interactive simulations [3]–[6]. An experimental study was conducted with undergraduate students to examine whether implementing generative AI prompts as supplementary resources in a flipped classroom environment could enhance student engagement, learning outcomes, and overall educational experience compared to a traditional flipped classroom approach without AI integration. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that thoughtful incorporation of generative AI capabilities into flipped instructional design holds promise for amplifying its pedagogical benefits, though considerations around AI literacy and responsible technology use arose. This exploratory research contributes insights into the synergistic potential of combining generative AI with the flipped classroom model in information technology education.

In an era dominated by digital connectivity, where people are more connected than ever, understanding how humans can securely interact is crucial. This paper delves into the intricate relationship between social engineering and social media, unraveling the multifaceted dimensions that underscore the human aspects of cybersecurity. As technological defenses evolve, adversaries increasingly exploit the vulnerabilities inherent in human behavior (Wang et al., 2020), making it imperative to dissect the interplay between social engineering tactics and the pervasive influence of social media platforms. The study begins by scrutinizing the psychological underpinnings that make individuals susceptible to social engineering attacks, emphasizing the intricate relationship between trust, curiosity, and social connectivity (Albladi &, Weir, 2020). Through a comprehensive critical analysis of real-world examples people encounter in their day-to-day lives, the paper exposes the diverse strategies employed by malicious actors to manipulate human cognition and breach organizational defenses. This examination not only dissects the intricacies of phishing, pretexting, and impersonation but also sheds light on the role of emotional triggers and cognitive biases that amplify the effectiveness of these tactics (Wang, Zhu, & Sun, 2021).A significant portion of the paper is dedicated to understanding the role social media plays when it comes to social engineering. The pervasive nature of social media platforms provides tile ground for threat actors to extract personal information, exploit social connections, and craft tailored attacks. The paper navigates through the intricate web of privacy erosion, information oversharing, and the amplification of social influence, emphasizing how these factors contribute to the efficacy of social engineering endeavors (Albladi & Weir, 2020).Furthermore, the study explores the role of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, in launching social engineering attacks, posing new challenges to the human-centric cybersecurity aspects. To address the ever-changing terrain of social engineering, these emerging technologies advocate for a proactive and flexible strategy that combines technological defenses with a solid understanding of human behavior.In an era dominated by digital connectivity, where individuals are more interconnected than ever, this paper elucidates the critical relationship between social engineering, social media, and cybersecurity. By dissecting psychological vulnerabilities and real-world examples, it underscores the intricate tactics employed by adversaries to exploit human behavior. Emphasizing the role of trust, curiosity, and social connectivity, the study unveils the amplifying effect of emotional triggers and cognitive biases. Focusing on social media's pervasive influence, the paper highlights how platforms contribute to privacy erosion and information exploitation. Acknowledging the challenges posed by emerging technologies, it advocates for a dynamic cybersecurity strategy grounded in both technology and an acute understanding of human behavior.