All Journals

Language Teaching Research Quarterly

European Journal of Studies in Management and Business

International Journal of Behavior Studies in Organizations

Studies in Educational Management

New Challenges in Accounting and Finance

Language Testing in Focus: An International Journal

Marketing and Branding Research

Individual Differences in Language Education: An International Journal 

Feedback Research in Second Language 

Management Issues in Healthcare System

Language Teacher Education Research

Artificial Intelligence Knowledge Development

During the last few decades, business philosophy has shifted from marketing orientation to Relationship Marketing Orientation (RMO). Service oriented organizations, such as banks, increasingly apply RMO to enhance their brand management practices, such as brand loyalty and brand image. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of relationship marketing orientation and its dimensions (trust, bonding, communication, shared values, empathy and reciprocity) on the Brand Equity in Saderat Bank. Data were collected from 339 customers across various branches of Saderat Bank in Ardabil, Iran. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the measurements and relationships among the variables. The findings of this study demonstrate that RMO has a positive effect on the brand equity of Saderat Bank. Specifically, dimensions including trust, bonding, empathy, and reciprocity have direct and significant effects on brand equity, with the effect of trust being significantly higher. However, communication and shared values showed no significant effects on brand equity. The findings of this study offer practical applications for enhancing the brand equity of banks and other financial institutions, particularly Islamic banks, by exploring the cultural variation of relationship marketing.

mbr.2025.12.01.05.pdf

Case Study

mbr.2025.12.01.05.xml

Issue

The Influence of Relationship Marketing Orientation on Brand Equity in Banks

Teacher talk plays a vital role in classroom interactions, particularly in English Language Teaching (ELT), where it significantly affects student learning and engagement. However, there is limited research on how autistic pre-service teachers manage communication in inclusive classroom settings. This study addresses this gap by examining teacher-student interactions led by an autistic pre-service English teacher in a seventh-grade inclusive classroom in Surabaya, Indonesia. A descriptive qualitative design was used, with data collected from six audio-recorded classroom sessions, transcribed, and analyzed using Flanders&rsquo; Interaction Analysis Categories System (FIACS). The findings revealed that the teacher&rsquo;s talk was largely directive and lecture-based, with the most frequent behaviors being "giving directions" (14.85%), "lecturing" (12.73%), and "asking questions" (12.73%). Both indirect talk (28.11%) and direct talk (27.85%) were used in nearly equal proportions, while socio-affective behaviors such as praise (1.86%) and acknowledgment of feelings (3.98%) were less frequent. These findings highlight the challenges and adaptive strategies of autistic pre-service teachers, demonstrating how structured language and facilitative questioning coexist in inclusive ELT practice. This study contributes to inclusive teacher education and applied linguistics, offering insights into the communicative strategies of neurodiverse teacher trainees.

ltrq.2026.54.10.pdf

Original Research 

ltrq.2026.54.10.xml

Teacher Talk of Autistic Pre-Service Teachers in ELT Practicum: A FIACS-Based Analysis

<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: FA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Ethical Leadership (EL) is crucial for achieving Social Justice Outcomes (SJO) in environmentally vulnerable communities, yet the moderating role of Environmental Sustainability Practices (ESP) remains underexplored. This study examines the effect of EL on SJO and the moderating role of ESP in this relationship. The study sampled 452 respondents, including local government officials, traditional leaders, community opinion leaders, and residents from flood-prone coastal areas, informal settlements, and environmentally degraded communities. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4 and bootstrapping techniques to assess direct and moderating effects. Results reveal that EL significantly promotes SJO through fairness, transparency, inclusion, accountability, and respect for rights. EL also positively influences ESP by encouraging conservation, efficiency, recycling, compliance, and innovation. Furthermore, ESP strengthens the relationship between EL and SJO, indicating that structured sustainability practices support ethical decision-making for equitable outcomes. Findings support Stakeholder Theory, emphasizing attention to diverse stakeholders, and Institutional Theory, highlighting formal structures for effective leadership. The study guides policymakers and community institutions in integrating ethical leadership with organized environmental practices to enhance justice and sustainability.

mbrq.2026.37.02.pdf

mbrq.2026.37.02.xml

Linking Ethical Leadership to Social Justice Outcomes: The Moderating Influence of Environmental Sustainability Practices

<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: FA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) continue to encounter significant obstacles in securing finance, often due to information asymmetry, limited credit histories, and inadequate collateral. Developments in Financial Technology (FinTech) have reshaped capital access by enhancing information exchange, reducing transaction costs, and introducing alternative financing models. This study offers a systematic review of empirical research on FinTech and SME financial inclusion between 2008 and 2025, using scientific methods such as PRISMA, PSALSAR, Biblioshiny, and Bibliometrix in RStudio. The findings indicate a relatively recent and fragmented body of literature, with a concentration of studies in China, Indonesia, and other emerging economies. Evidence consistently supports FinTech&rsquo;s contribution to mitigating financing barriers, particularly in developing contexts. Nonetheless, notable limitations remain, such as a dependence on secondary data, restricted geographic scope, and a scarcity of longitudinal analyses. The paper identifies these gaps and proposes directions for future research to better understand how FinTech can foster sustainable and inclusive financing for SMEs in diverse economic environments.

mbrq.2026.37.01.pdf

Review Article

mbrq.2026.37.01.xml

Fintech and SME Financial Inclusion: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

This study investigates the relationship between leader-member exchange and work engagement among emergency care setting nurses, considering the mediating role of humor at work. Through a causal quantitative approach, 301 employees in Emergency care settings were chosen from five hospitals at random using a simple random procedure. Three validated scales were used in this study to measure the study variables and establish a structural equation model.&nbsp; The findings reveal that Leader-Member exchange positively affects nurses' work engagement and Humor at work. But the humor on work engagement is not significantly related to work engagement. Therefore, the effects of leader-member exchange and work engagement, while humor mediates them, were not significant. The study demonstrates that leader-member exchange has a significant, direct, positive impact on both nurses&rsquo; work engagement and workplace humor. While workplace humor does not mediate this relationship, the findings highlight that direct relational leadership is the primary driver of nursing engagement. For hospital administrators in emergency care settings, this suggests a need to prioritize supervisors&rsquo; relational behaviors. Cultivating high-quality leader-member exchange directly improves the work environment and boosts nurses&rsquo; engagement, ultimately leading to more effective healthcare management and better patient outcomes.

mihs.2025.11.05.pdf

mihs.2025.11.05.xml

Humor, Leader-Member Exchange, and Work Engagement: A Mediation Analysis Among Nurses in Emergency Care Settings

In the dynamic and increasingly diverse healthcare environment, career adaptability is a recognized predictor of work engagement. This study investigated the mediating effect of cultural intelligence as an underlying mechanism on the relationship among nursing professionals. Primary data were collected from a sample of nurses (N=271) using validated self-report questionnaires that assessed the three focal constructs: career adaptability, cultural intelligence, and work engagement. To test the proposed hypotheses and examine the structural relationships among the variables, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized. The findings revealed a significant positive direct relationship between career adaptability and work engagement. Crucially, the analysis confirmed that cultural intelligence exerts a significant mediating effect on this relationship: career adaptability positively predicts cultural intelligence, which, in turn, enhances work engagement. Highly adaptable nurses are better equipped to develop cultural intelligence, thereby improving their overall work engagement. Healthcare administrators should prioritize professional development programs that foster both career adaptability and cultural intelligence to sustain nurse engagement and improve patient care. Cultivating these critical psychosocial resources can effectively sustain nurses&rsquo; work engagement, reduce turnover intentions, and ultimately improve patient care outcomes in diverse healthcare settings.

mihs.2025.11.04.pdf

mihs.2025.11.04.xml

Nurses’ Career Adaptability and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Cultural Intelligence

<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: 'Cambria',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; letter-spacing: -.15pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Although the findings of teaching method studies conducted to date have offered insights into the positive influence of novel teaching strategies on improving students&rsquo; academic performance, there is no conclusive evidence addressing the effect of integrated teaching methods on pupil&rsquo;s academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, and academic performance. This study compares the differential effects of employing an integrated teaching method on enhancing primary school students&rsquo; academic attitudes. To set the scene, 40 6th-grade students were randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group trained using the integrated teaching method (n = 20) and a control group that stuck to the traditional teaching method (n = 20). The participating groups took Jinks and Morgan&rsquo;s academic self-efficacy, Fredricks and Blumenfield&rsquo;s academic engagement, and teacher-made academic performance pretests. Having completed 8 sessions of integrated teaching, students took the aforementioned tests as posttests. The data analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of the integrated teaching method in increasing the variables, as the participants in the control group outperformed them. The findings of the study act as a driving force for potential educational implications which are discussed in detail.

sem.2026.19.03.pdf

sem.2026.19.03.xml

Effect of Integrated Teaching Method on Elementary Students’ Academic Self-Efficacy, Academic Engagement, and Academic Performance

As an L2 learner and teacher, you have often asked yourself why some students acquire a second language (L2) more successfully than others. On the other hand, other students seem to find difficulty with similar material. You might have noticed that some students are quick to engage with a task while others appear to disengage. How can language learning be structured in the face of these diverse responses? You might further question why the L2 acquisition of speaking or grammar (for example) is so easily taught through tasks, while the L2 acquisition of writing or listening comprehension seems resistant to this approach. These questions lie at the heart of teachers, learners, researchers, and policy makers who wish to improve L2 education. Nonetheless, there are two main aspects of L2 learning: Individual Differences (IDs) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). First, IDs are broadly defined as thepersonal characteristics that make learners differ from one another in how they approach and succeed in language learning (Skehan, 1989).

idle.2025.03.06.pdf

Book Review

idle.2025.03.06.xml

Book Review: Individual Differences and Task-Based Language Teaching (2024), Edited by Shaofeng Li (John Benjamins)

Individual Differences in the AI and Digital Era: The Impact of ChatGPT and Beyond

Guest Editors:
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen 
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - CPCE, Hong Kong SAR, China

Richard L. Sparks
Mt. St. Joseph University, USA

Hassan Mohebbi 
European Knowledge Development Institute, Turkey


Special Issue

For a long time, motivation and anxiety, as traits of individual differences (IDs), have been understood as significant factors in learning a second language (L2) successfully. Scholars conceptualized these two traits as learners&rsquo; internal traits. In this article, we, as the authors, use sociocultural theory (SCT) to revisit these traits and reconceptualize them. Therefore, we argue that these traits are not merely unchanged qualities; instead, they are the outcome of a learner&rsquo;s engagement in a socially meaningful practice during the L2 learning process. Meanwhile, current research findings show that other factors, such as linguistic aptitude, L1 literacy, and L2 metalinguistic skills, play a part in L2 learning. These factors are not only applicable to a traditional classroom environment, but we believe that with the emergence of AI-mediated learning tools, such as chatbots, adaptive learning platforms, and AI tutors, they can be used as scaffolding techniques for learners&rsquo; participation. We further argue that if AI tools are used systematically to meet learners&rsquo; needs, they can enhance learning processes, and this can reduce L2 anxiety and increase motivation. A sociocultural perspective, therefore, provides a productive way to understand how motivation and anxiety unfold in AI-mediated language learning, while remaining attentive to the linguistic resources that adult learners bring with them.

idle.2025.03.05.pdf

Perspective Article

idle.2025.03.05.xml

Reconceptualizing Individual Differences through the Lens of Sociocultural Theory in AI-Mediated Language Learning

The rapid development of Large Language Models (LLMs) has offered new opportunities for personalized education while raising concerns about bias amplification, equity gaps, and the digital divide. This quasi-experimental study explores LLM applications in high school Computer Science (CS) education, focusing on bias mitigation and bridging to higher education. A sample of 616 students from a key high school in northern China was randomly assigned to an experimental group (LLM personalized instruction, n=308) or a control group (traditional instruction, n=308). The 8-week intervention built CS skills through progressive tasks from basic syntax to comprehensive projects, aligned with university domains (e.g., ACM CS2023). Methods integrated UNESCO (2025) and OECD (2025) guidelines, emphasizing low-bandwidth solutions and bias mitigation strategies such as prompt engineering and multi-model comparison. Data analysis combined quantitative approaches (t-tests, ANOVA, bridging index) and qualitative NVivo thematic coding to assess performance gains, subgroup equity, and bias indicators (MAB and MDB). Results showed significant improvements in the LLM group (p&lt;0.05), with a 15% average bridging index and 80%&plusmn;5% bias mitigation rate. However, urban-rural and gender biases still require further optimization. This study provides empirical insights into responsible LLM use in education and proposes policy frameworks and model optimization (unified super models vs. mixture of experts) to advance global equity and ethical AI integration.

idle.2025.03.04.pdf

idle.2025.03.04.xml

Personalized Applications of Large Language Models in Pre-University Computer Science Education: Bridging Global Equity, Mitigating Bias, and Addressing Structural Challenges

There is a growing concern that the increased efficiency of using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) text in the completion of educational tasks related to English language learning may come at the cost of whether or not students develop real language proficiency. This study investigated the perceptions and usage patterns of ten English-majored university students - whose English proficiency levels ranged from A2 to C1 (as designated by The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages - CEFR) - in their use of ChatGPT and other AI tools for coursework and self-study. Findings from interviews revealed notable individual differences. However, while all students acknowledged improved efficiency through GAI use, their perceived impact on language proficiency varied. Some A2 or B1 learners used GAI for speaking practices. Other students, particularly C1-level, perceived AI generated text as a tool for improving efficiency rather than language proficiency. These findings highlight the need to distinguish proficiency from efficiency and account for individual differences. Implications are made for a pedagogy that includes GAI-integrated language instruction.

idle.2025.03.03.pdf

idle.2025.03.03.xml

Efficiency ≠ Proficiency: College English as a Foreign Language Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Generative AI

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into task-based language teaching (TBLT) promises personalized learning at scale. Yet without grounding in the rich tradition of individual differences (IDs) research, AI risks reducing learners to simplified variables and substituting algorithmic accommodation for genuine cognitive engagement. This paper builds a bridge between established ID-TBLT research and emerging AI design. We critically synthesize how cognitive IDs (working memory, attentional control, language aptitude) and affective IDs (motivation, anxiety, enjoyment, boredom, and flow) interact with task complexity to shape L2 performance&mdash;acknowledging both established findings and persistent debates. From this synthesis, we articulate design challenges for AI-mediated TBLT, distinguishing what is technically feasible from what requires further research, and acknowledging inherent tensions (scaffolding vs. substitution, personalization vs. equity, detection vs. privacy, flow vs. instructional efficiency). We then extend this framework through Bui's (2026) longitudinal study of learner perceptions in AI-assisted speaking tasks, using empirical findings on learner adaptation and "prompt literacy" to illustrate and refine our design challenges. The result is a dual contribution: a systematic translation of ID-TBLT research into AI design challenges, and a refined, six-frontier research agenda for developing intelligent, adaptive TBLT systems that are cognitively grounded, affectively attuned, and ethically responsible.

idle.2025.03.02.pdf

idle.2025.03.02.xml

Individual Differences in Task-Based Language Teaching: A Critical Synthesis for AI-Mediated Learning Design