Short Description: A Peer-Reviewed, Hybrid Open-Access, Google Scholar-indexed, Cabells WHITE-LISTED journal, publishing scholarly articles in finance, marketing, human resources, and Information Technology, along with manuscripts documenting Economics research data and analysis.
E-ISSN: 2469-4339
P-ISSN:
Publisher: Synergy Global
Institute:
Address: Plot No. 15, Ground Floor, 3rd Cross, Balaji Nagar, Oulgaret
City: Puducherry
State: Puducherry
Country: India
ZIP: 605010
Phone:
Email: [email protected]
10.18639/MERJ.2026.9900124
Open Access
Jul 29, 2026
This study investigated how emojis are used in professional communication, particularly in a diverse workplace with Zimbabwean and Chinese employees. The research adopted a qualitative research approach, a case study research design and data were thematically analyzed. The researcher gathered insights from 25 participants through semi-structured interviews. The focus was on understanding the advantages of using emojis, recognizing the potential pitfalls, and setting some guidelines for using them appropriately in a work setting. Findings showed that certain emojis like 😊, 👍, 🤝, 🙏, 🎉, 🥳, 💪, 👏, 🔥, and ⭐ were seen as helpful digital cues. They helped make workplace communication feel warmer and enhanced team relationships. Participants appreciated that emojis could reduce the stiffness of text-based messages, especially in remote and multilingual environments. However, there were also concerns. Some emojis, such as 🤣, 😅, 😬, 😘, 😎, 💋, ⏳, and 👀, were seen as possibly confusing, inappropriate, or too casual for formal and sensitive communications. The study concluded that while emojis can enrich professional communication, they need to be used with care. Overusing or misusing them can lead to confusion, undermine professionalism, and disregard cultural sensitivities. To navigate this, the study recommends clear guidelines for digital communication that factor in context, audience, culture, hierarchy, and the intent of the message.
10.18639/MERJ.2026.9900123
Open Access
Jun 03, 2026
Organizations rely heavily on job interviews to select candidates; however, high interview performance does not always translate into effective workplace behavior. This literature review examines reasons for this mismatch through the lenses of Impression Management Theory and Person-Organization (P-O) Fit Theory. Impression Management Theory (IM) explains how candidates strategically present themselves during interviews to create favorable impressions that may not reflect their authentic behaviors. P-O fit theory emphasizes alignment between individual values and organizational culture, suggesting that misalignment can result in workplace behaviors that diverge from interview expectations. The review integrates recent evidence (2020-2025) on digital recruitment, personality traits, and organizational socialization to propose an integrated framework explaining the interview-behavior gap. The findings offer practical insights for improving recruitment accuracy and predicting job performance.
10.18639/MERJ.2026.9900122
Open Access
May 04, 2026
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of organizational innovation strategies on the performance of manufacturing firms in Malawi. A descriptive-explanatory research design was used. The study used a stratified random sampling to draw a sample of 197 manufacturing firms from a population of 388 licensed and registered manufacturing firms. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the owners and managers of manufacturing firms. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software program version 28.0. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. In the descriptive statistical analysis, frequencies, percentages, mean scores and standard deviation were used. In the inferential statistical analysis, the study used linear regression to examine the effect of organizational innovation strategies on the performance of manufacturing firms in Malawi. The study found that organizational innovation strategies had a positive and significant effect on the performance of manufacturing firms in Malawi. Manufacturing firms that implemented organizational innovation strategies registered a greater performance in terms of sales growth than the manufacturing firms that did not implement organizational innovation strategies. The study recommends that manufacturing firms should implement organizational innovation strategies to increase their performance. They should invest in new organizational methods or significantly improve the existing organizational methods. Manufacturing firms need to invest in new organizational innovations as such innovations help the firms not only to reduce costs but also to increase efficiency, flexibility, firm productivity and customer satisfaction.
