The use of agile mindset has increased in recent years, not only to manage the software development field but also to build up a solid base of sustainable and success digital business. It is very important to innovate new ways of thinking to improve management success in journalism field. This paper objective is to present the possibilities of adopting an agile model for “journalism unique production” such as investigative reports using the SCRUM framework to produce the minimum viable product (MVP) instead of the traditional way of production. This target will be achieved by reviewing comprehensive literature and analyzing a case study based on interviews. Using self-managed SCRUM framework at least partially, may enhance managing projects in journalism institutions under the umbrella of SCRUM theme of requirements, maintenance, improvements, to simulate the principles of who does what, when and how.
Social Media Marketing and Customer Acquisition: Evidence from Professional Services SMEs in Windhoek, Namibia Original Research Article Country Namibia
Pages 20-27
Fillipus Valombweleni Taneni || Dr Moses Waiganjo || Michael Neema
In today’s digital economy, marketing through social media platforms has become essential for business visibility, client engagement, and growth. This study examined the effect of social media marketing on customer acquisition among professional services SMEs in Windhoek, Namibia. A qualitative research design was adopted to gain in-depth insights into SME experiences and perceptions. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants, including business owners, managers, and marketing officers representing various professional services such as accounting, consultancy, and legal firms. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns and themes emerging from the responses. The findings revealed that social media marketing has fundamentally transformed how SMEs attract and engage clients, enhancing visibility, credibility, and client interaction. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn were the most used platforms, while limited budgets, insufficient digital skills, and inconsistent internet connectivity were major barriers to effective implementation. Nonetheless, these challenges encouraged innovation, with SMEs adopting low-cost strategies and learning to use analytics for improved marketing decisions. The study recommends that SMEs integrate digital marketing into their core business strategies, invest in capacity-building for staff, and adopt a balanced approach between organic and paid advertising. Policymakers should also facilitate affordable internet access and provide targeted digital literacy programmes to strengthen SME competitiveness in Namibia’s growing digital marketplace.
Antecedents of Social Media Addiction and Their Links to Excessive Online Buying Tendency Original Research Article Country Vietnam
Pages 28-37
Le My Hanh NGHIEM || Hue Chi TRAN || Thuy Duong NGUYEN || Hai Duong NGUYEN
The rapid integration of social media and commerce has raised concerns about maladaptive consumption outcomes, particularly excessive online buying tendency (EOBT). This study examines how sense of belonging, life stress, conscientiousness and openness to experience shape social media addiction (SMA) and how these factors subsequently relate to EOBT among Vietnamese social media users. Using a cross-sectional survey, collecting the data from 247 respondents and analyzing the proposed framework with PLS-SEM in SmartPLS, the study evaluates both the measurement model and the structural model to test the hypothesized relationships. The findings indicate that SMA is positively associated with EOBT. Life stress increases both SMA and EOBT, while conscientiousness reduces both SMA and EOBT. Sense of belonging and openness to experience are positively associated with SMA, whereas their direct relationships with EOBT are weaker and not consistently supported, suggesting that their influence on EOBT is primarily transmitted through SMA. Overall, the results highlight SMA as an important behavioral mechanism linking psychological needs, stress, and personality traits to excessive online buying, offering implications for digital well-being initiatives and responsible social commerce practices.
Service Quality Perception Towards ‘Three Star Hotels’ in Hyderabad Original Research Article Country India
Hyderabad is now a global centre for IT, particularly with the development of Cyberabad and HITEC City (Hyderabad Information Technology and Engineering Consultancy City). The state government’s strategic policies have fostered IT growth and attracted foreign investment, which has spurred the establishment of large international firms. The hospitality industry always focuses on service quality and service tangibility. Customers rate the hotel service performance based on service standards provided in Hotels is treated as benchmark for service. The issue of service quality is one of the essential areas of marketing theory and practice, as high quality can lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty, i.e. successful business results. It is vital for any company, especially in services sector, to understand and grasp the consumers’ expectations and perceptions pertaining to the broad range of factors affecting consumers’ evaluation of services, their satisfaction and loyalty. The questionnaire used for gathering data comprised 09 tangible attributes of service quality, which the respondents rated on a five-degree scale. In recent months, the rapid expansion of Hyderabad’s infrastructure has significantly boosted the hospitality sector, resulting in record-high occupancy rates, average daily rates, and revenue per available room (RevPAR). The city is set to see a wave of new commercial developments, including Grade A tech parks in Madhapur, Kokapet, Gachibowli, and HITEC City.
Mathematical Modeling of an Integrated STREAME Curriculum Original Research Article Country India
Curriculum effectiveness is traditionally evaluated through empirical or qualitative indicators, leaving its structural dynamics mathematically underexplored. This paper proposes a rigorous mathematical framework in which curriculum design is modeled as a dynamical system governing cognitive, behavioral, and societal outcomes. By introducing research integration as an endogenous control variable, we formulate a STREAME-based curriculum model and analyze its stability, equilibrium behavior, and dominance over traditional linear curricula. Analytical results demonstrate that research-integrated STREAME curricula generate superior equilibrium states, enhanced system stability, and reduced long-term entropy in learning outcomes. The framework establishes curriculum design as a mathematically optimizable system rather than a pedagogical construct.
Predicting Employee Attrition: Data-Driven Strategies to Reduce Turnover Original Research Article Country Zimbabwe
Employee attrition remains a significant challenge for organizations seeking to sustain workforce stability, productivity, and long-term growth. While some degree of attrition is inevitable, excessive turnover imposes substantial operational and financial costs, making effective prediction and prevention essential. This study examines the multifaceted drivers of employee attrition and demonstrates how data-driven approaches can support proactive retention strategies. Using a large-scale dataset of 14,900 employees obtained from Kaggle, the study applies logistic regression analysis to identify demographic, job-related, and organizational predictors of attrition. The results reveal that attrition is strongly associated with factors such as job level, tenure, remote work status, promotions, work–life balance, and indicators of career mobility, while compensation alone shows limited explanatory power. The predictive model exhibits strong performance, explaining approximately 46.3% of the variance in attrition and achieving an overall accuracy of 75.1%, with balanced sensitivity and specificity. Notably, employees in senior roles, remote workers, highly educated staff, and high performers were found to be at elevated risk of leaving. The findings challenge conventional assumptions about retention and highlight the importance of leveraging predictive analytics to identify high-risk groups. Overall, the study underscores that employee attrition is both predictable and manageable through targeted, data-informed HR interventions.
A Study on “IT/ ITES” Employee Retention Strategies:
Employer View
Original Research Article Country India
IT sector retention strategies focus on competitive pay, growth paths, work-life balance (flexibility, WFH), culture (belonging, DEI), and recognition, but face issues like high demand for skills, burnout from constant innovation, poor management, and unmet career expectations, leading to significant turnover and high costs. Key issues include lack of engagement, insufficient training, and inadequate rewards, making robust, multi-faceted strategies essential. Retaining the employees, especially the performing employees, is very critical to the progressive sectors like the Information Technology (IT) sector. Retaining good or performing employees has been a challenge all along the course of industrialization. Employers have given a lot of significance to this issue in employment relations. New and newer strategies have been designed and developed by them. They have also engaged the experts to study the problem of employee attrition in their organizations and recommend effective retention strategies. Consequently, “employee retention” has become a specialist function in people management and the “retention strategist” a specialist. Especially in the US industries, which are always concerned with hiring the right people and retaining them for longer time to reduce the cost of replacements have often spent lot of time in studying the challenge engaging the specialists.
Institusional Preparedness in Waste Management During Crisis Situations Original Research Article Country Indonesia
Waste management during crisis situations presents a significant challenge that necessitates robust, coordinated, and adaptive institutional preparedness. The increased volume of waste due to natural disasters, pandemics, and other emergencies can exacerbate public health risks and environmental degradation if not managed effectively. This study aims to analyse the level of institutional preparedness for waste management in Indonesia, focusing on institutional mechanisms, implementation challenges, and strategies for strengthening governance in crisis situations. A qualitative approach employing a case study design was utilised, involving primary data collection through in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and secondary data from policy documents and institutional reports. Data analysis was conducted using a thematic approach to identify coordination patterns, resource capacity, and risk management practices. The findings indicate that institutional preparedness faces significant obstacles, including weak inter-agency coordination, limited resources, and suboptimal utilisation of information technology in waste management. Nevertheless, collaborative practices, the application of risk-based approaches, and increased community participation are shown to have the potential to strengthen the resilience of waste management systems. This study concludes that enhancing collaborative governance, consistent policy support, and institutional capacity building are essential prerequisites for achieving effective and sustainable waste management in crisis situations.
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