Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of fun activities on employee engagement at Lebanese financial institutions. Design/methodology/approach The study follows the qualitative process through semistructured interviews. In total, five managers and 20 employees within five different financial institutions and banks were interviewed. The data were first analyzed using the coding technique and then “quantitized” data were analyzed using SPSS software. Findings The findings convey the factors that can influence employee engagement, the measurements associated with employee engagement, the advantages and disadvantages of fun activities and the types of fun activities applied and its inhibitors. The findings demonstrate that workplace fun can help attain organizational goals through increasing the level of engagement regardless of the financial satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The results stress on the importance of implementing fun activities and highlight the importance of implementing such activities and their effects on the employees’ overall engagement and productivity, as well as the various ways of applying those activities in Lebanese financial institutions. Practical implications The findings assist managers in creating a fun workplace environment that enhances employee engagement, which in return will help organizations attain their goals. Social implications Understanding the work–fun concept in Lebanese financial institutions may encourage potential candidates to apply for a job within these institutions and be the reason to encourage other organizations to adopt such activities as well. Such development will help improve the quality of candidates and employees, which will reflect better institutional income. Originality/value This paper offers new insights and perspectives regarding fun activities and their relationship with employee engagement in Lebanese financial institutions. It introduces a new idea in Lebanese businesses as well as sheds light on the importance of adopting such activities to enhance employee engagement that creates organizational competitive advantage as reached in the results.

Purpose Extant crisis response literature focuses on the survival and adaptation efforts of organizations, leaving the opportunity of deploying more proactive market-shaping strategies unexplored. This paper aims to examine the early strategic responses deployed by air-travel services players for navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on a qualitative case study and grounded theory methods, this research analyzes how DUBZ – a purposefully selected company operating in the air-travel services sector in the emirate of Dubai (UAE) – responded to the coronavirus disruption. Findings Using this unique case as a basis for grounded theorizing, a framework was developed for understanding how air-travel service providers can effectively navigate through the crisis – the guard-potentiate-shape model. The advanced model suggests that in times of disruption, industry players should adopt several strategies to: guard against failure; potentiate innovative change; and shape the future design of air-travel services. An outcome of forward-looking shaping strategies that may define the new post-pandemic normal in the air-travel services sector constitutes the idea of “scattered/diffused airports” with a modified design of airport services architecture. Originality/value The insights from the grounded theoretical framework contribute to both the empirical research on crisis management and the nascent literature on market-shaping strategies. Air-travel services organizations may learn how to increase their resilience and build new industry normalcy in the post-disruption period.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is at creating a performance management system template based on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework, which could lead the scorecard to function properly at Arts, Sciences and Technology University in Lebanon (AUL) and, as assumed, in other Lebanese private higher educational institutions.Design/methodology/approachThis study compares existing theoretical models applied in private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Lebanon. It adopts inductive approach with semi-structured interviews that helped the authors understand the way BSC is implemented in the private Lebanese institutions.FindingsThis study suggested a customizable BSC to be used at AUL and other Lebanese private HEIs to enhance and calibrate their organizational performance.Originality/valueMany researchers have investigated the use of Robert Kaplan and David Norton's BSC in various types of organizations, but there was no specific study describing the Lebanese higher education system. This study investigates the use of the BSC framework in Lebanese private HEIs taking Arts, Science and Technology University in Lebanon (AUL) as a sample. Moreover, this study also adapted a BSC model to the case of a private HEI, which extends the current body of literature related to the use, implementation and adaptation of the BSC.

Purpose In the presence of limited financial resources, developing countries such as Lebanon often allocate small budgets to the sports sector. Even more, the Lebanese Government lacks a strategic approach that is necessary for any nation to achieve elite sport success. This study aims to assess the motivations and barriers that impact Lebanese athletes’ achievements at the Olympics by addressing the factors that affect such participation. Two main aspects were put into the study: lack of governmental support and sponsorship. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the barriers that hinder achievement by Lebanese Olympians in their International participation with an emphasis on the factors that affect their performance whether positively or negatively. The methodology consisted of a set of survey questions filled by 50 Lebanese athletes and 4 interviews conducted with Lebanese Olympians to make use of their experience and insight regarding such barriers and how to best boost motivation among young and potential talent. Findings The findings shed light on the limited Lebanese Olympic participation; out of the 17 participation (226 Olympians in total), only 4 Olympians won medals for the country; the past victory was 38 years ago. The reasons as reached are mainly due to the lack of government support and the inability of athletes to secure-related sponsors. Specifically, a lack of governmental support has a negative correlation with athletes’ achievements in international contests. Moreover, the inability of athletes to secure the financial support, in the form of sponsorship, necessary for the training, preparation and all the way to participation. Research limitations/implications The study revealed a lack of active participation from the government in nurturing skill and elevating talented athletes’ chance to achieve in the Olympics. The main factor that this study was able to identify is the lack of an official body to manage the nurturing, training, financial support up to participation of the athletes in the international events. Practical implications The study highlighted the importance of training camps and consistent improvement to performance. While these two require extensive investment and devotion, athletes on their own cannot afford to fulfill the requirements without the support of the government; the latter being almost absent. Originality/value The insights provided through this study address the importance of sponsorship and government support in athletes’ achievements. It shed light on areas that are nonexistent for the Lebanese case and provided practical recommendations that if applied, would increase the chances of Lebanon in competing effectively in the international arena.

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to demonstrate and verify the influence of emotional intelligence skills on the performance of teachers in private higher educational institutions.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study is based on the positivism research philosophy and the deductive research. Data are collected form Lebanese educational institutions; 304 teachers are surveyed using the convenience sampling technique. Hypotheses are verified through the one-way ANOVA and the multiple linear regression (step-wise) technique with a Sig. value of 0.000 < 0.05.FindingsThe study verified that teachers' demographics have a direct impact on their performance. It also proved that emotions have an impact on teachers' behaviors; emotions are important energy re-sources that help them cope with difficult situations. Teachers with a high level of emotional intelligence are in tune with their own emotions. It is demonstrated that self-awareness, self-management, self-motivation and social skill have a positive statistical influence on the teacher's performance. Lebanese Private Educational Institutions system should be endowed with emotional intelligence to provide teachers with more effective abilities which would eventually reflect on the student's cognitive abilities especially attention and memory.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by studying the emotional intelligence in Lebanese educational institutions which was studied in different countries except Lebanon. It is verified that integrating the emotional intelligence into Lebanese educational systems would play a decisive role in optimum academic performance; institutions should establish as a benchmark the skills related to emotional intelligence.