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This study examines the method of scenario analysis as a means of exposing hidden assumptions which cause misattributions that lead to multicultural conflict and as a way of assessing cross‐cultural understanding. Results from thirty‐five critical incident interviews of technical professionals and semi‐structured scenario questionnaires from graduate business and engineering students are presented. The results provide support for the use of scenarios as a method of exposing hidden assumptions leading to multicultural conflict and as a process which helps participants deal with the conflict. Implications for organizational research and practice are discussed, including the use of scenario analysis as an evaluation and measurement tool for culturally‐related conflict in organizations.

To date, grievance research has made little use of behavioural concepts developed in the literature on organisational conflict. Such concepts form the basis for a model of grievance behaviour that relates the sources of grievances to grievance actions and outcomes. Sources of grievance conflict are explored by analysing interviews with Belgian and American employees concerning their complaints in the workplace. As an alternative to the limiting substantive classifications traditionally used, a categorisation of grievances is presented that corresponds to grievants′ own formulations of the causes of conflict. Applying this categorisation scheme to the interview data revealed that most grievances have multiple sources and that a grievant typically distorts public statements concerning the sources of the grievance. Behavioural analysis of grievances can benefit researcher and practitioner by providing insight into the organisational function of conflict and into employees′ most basic beliefs about their organisation′s values.

By focusing on grievants′ formulation of their grievances, behavioural analysis can further our understanding of grievants′ actions and their assessment of grievance outcomes. Building on concepts reported in the preceding issue of this journal and examining the grievance reports of over 200 Belgian and American employees, a multi‐episodic model of grievance formulation, actions, outcomes and reformulation is developed and examined. Persistence in pursuing a grievance through several episodes, while risky for the grievant, was positively related to the grievant′s satisfaction with outcomes. This effect is explained by increased opportunities for reformulation, including learning which action strategies are most likely to lead to success. Successful action strategies differed between Belgian and US contexts, in ways consistent with their structural and institutional characteristics. Implications for researchers and third party intervenors include the need to manage grievances in a manner that favourably influences grievants′ beliefs about the organisation.

Responding to findings of psychological discomfort impeding interracial/interethnic attitude and skill development, the purpose of this paper is to investigate group-level factors as possible antecedents to individuals’ comfort in interracial/interethnic interactions. Among individuals experiencing diversity during a key developmental stage in life, college students, the study inquires whether group practices that foster a sense of belonging and inclusion among all members differentiate comfortable from uncomfortable interracial/interethnic interactions. As part of the analysis, the construct interracial/interethnic comfort is developed and tested as a measure of interactions that are experienced with ease and confidence.

Scale development methods and structural equation modeling were used to analyze survey data from 360 members of a voluntary service organization at 50 US colleges.

The structural equation analyses indicate that the group practices – shared superordinate purpose, a welcoming climate for diverse members, and practices for structuring interactions among all group members – have significant and important effects on interracial/interethnic comfort, which was found to be a reliable construct. The relationship between each of the group practices and individuals’ interracial/interethnic comfort was either totally or partially mediated by the individuals’ sense of belonging, a strong form of inclusion.

The results indicate group practices that possess the capacity to contribute to students’ interracial/interethnic attitude and skill development by creating solidarity and comfort in their interactions with diverse others. Institutions can make efforts to further individuals’ cultural development by stimulating the use of these practices in campus groups.

This study identifies concepts for understanding and addressing the known, problematic phenomenon of psychological discomfort in settings of diversity. These constructs offer new directions for research on diversity climate by focussing on relational practices at the group level that can move diversity beyond numerical representation to strong inclusion and close relationships.

A global pandemic, broken supply chains, workforce constraints, technological advancements in artificial intelligence, etc. illustrate the continual threats that SMEs face. Extending the dynamic capability concepts of sensing, seizing and transforming, this research investigates practices by which SMEs successfully adapt over time.

A comparative case study method was employed using a purposive sample of SMEs, consisting of three American firms and one Canadian firm.

Three sets of organizational practices, termed adaptive practices, that underlie dynamic capabilities for successful adaptation were identified: (1) continuous learning and process improvement, (2) leveraging reciprocal relationships and (3) communicating effectively.

The selected cases are from two countries in North America. Using a qualitative, inductive process, the authors are able to identify patterns of actions within various organizations; however, they are not able to establish causality.

This study provides practical guidance for leaders to take action to improve their SME's dynamic capabilities for adaptation through creating coherent bundles of specified adaptive practices.

Better understanding of how SMEs successfully adapt to high uncertainty and business viability threats can result in multidimensional (e.g. financial, emotional) and multi-level (individual, family, community), positive outcomes for societal stakeholders.

The findings of this study build on the literature of dynamic capabilities and organizational practices and provide a practical foundation for effective adaptation, labeled as adaptive practices.

This paper examines the role of theory in public procurement research. Theoretical rigour is integral to management science, yet little is known on the extent and form of theory in public procurement. With the field starting to mature, addressing this issue is timely. From conducting a systematic literature review we find that 29 percent of articles are theoretically grounded, with the incidence of theory having increased in recent years. Economic, sociological, psychological, and management theories are all in evidence, but micro-economic theories predominate. Our findings also show that survey reporting and case studies account for almost half of all studies; procurement research is focused on organizational-level aspects more than regulatory-policy issues or public buyers; and studies to date have largely emanated from the North American and European regions. The contribution of this paper lies in clarifying the theoretical underpinnings of public procurement. Out of this we highlight the need for greater theoretical rigour, point to the under-use and even absence of theories that could have high validity and utility, and suggest a narrowing of research foci.

In a series of recent articles, Lawler has argued that new established plants are especially likely to embody high (employee) involvement work systems. These work systems contain a significant number of mutually reinforcing arrangements and practices such as antonomous work groups, quality circles, gain sharing plans, etc. Indeed he goes as far as to content that in these new plants “… almost no aspect of the organisation has been left untouched. The reward systems, the structure, the physical layout, the personnel management system and the nature of jobs have all been changed and in significant ways” (pp. 6–7). There are certainly individual case studies of the arrangements of such plants in the United States, but in the absence of comprehensive survey data the extent to which they are representative of the population of newly established plants as a whole has been called into question.

Labour turnover has been recognised and studied as a management problem for several decades. Interest in the issue increased significantly at the beginning of the 20th century, at about the same time as the scientific management movement began to develop. Over 1,500 publications on the topic of turnover are estimated to have appeared in this century. With this number of turnover studies published, it is surprising that there are still such large gaps in our understanding of the phenomenon. Not only are there more unanswered than answered questions about turnover, but we are only now learning the nature of some of the most important questions. In a small effort to fill some of the gaps, this article reports results from part of a large study of turnover amongst blue‐collar workers in manufacturing industry in Iraq.

This study aims to provide a structured and comprehensive synthesis of studies of the art infusion phenomenon, which describes the influence of art on consumers’ perception and evaluation of a product with which that art is associated. Further, this study aims to identify the issues in the literature and suggest future research directions.

Publications relevant to the art infusion phenomenon until 2021 were identified through a systematic literature review. Subsequently, the 35 retrieved articles that met the selection criteria were evaluated using descriptive and content analyses.

This literature review brings to light the origin, significance, evolution and development of the art infusion phenomenon. This study highlights the catalogue of drivers of this phenomenon and illuminates the interrelationships among the factors through a conceptual model using the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) paradigm.

This study adds to the art infusion literature by synthesizing extant studies and presenting a comprehensive overview of the subject, thereby motivating its prorogation and becoming a single point of reference for scholars.

The art infusion phenomenon has become a dominant theoretical pillar in the fields of arts and branding. However, little effort has been made to systematically review research on the phenomenon and consolidate its findings. To address this gap, this study first identifies and categorizes the factors that influence the art infusion phenomenon using the SOR paradigm. This study then creates a conceptual model that elucidates the interrelationships among the key elements of the phenomenon.

The purpose of the paper is to introduce a model for practice-informed research and to propose this as an alternative paradigm of enquiry, capable of satisfying the competing demands for research in the built environment to be both academically rigorous, and also relevant to practice.

The model is defined in terms of research whose primary purpose addresses the immediate needs of professional practice, rather than theoretical, policy or other academic concerns, and which also utilizes the researcher's experientially gained knowledge as a methodological device. The extent to which this model is capable of demonstrating the required degree of rigour demanded by the academic world is then evaluated through a review of relevant theoretical and methodological literature.

The model is seen to draw upon the Aristotlean notions of techne and phronesis, and to belong to a long epistemological and methodological tradition associated with the concept of knowledge in action. The relationship between this concept and that of tacit knowledge, as well as emic and ideographic approaches to research are demonstrated. The model is also seen to have particular resonances with recent developments in the arts and design disciplines, in qualitative social research and in aspects of the current discourse surrounding the emergence of the knowledge economy.

The paper demonstrates the academic legitimacy of the proposed model as an alternative research paradigm for use in a built environment context.

The model presents an approach that has the potential to increase the relevance of research, and to generate an increased level dialogue between academics and practitioners in the built environment field.

The paper places the concept of practice-informed research into the public domain for subsequent consideration and debate by members of the built environment research community. The concept's insider and practice-centric approaches distinguish it from earlier contributions to the relevance v. rigour debate. By drawing on a wide range of interdisciplinary sources the paper also offers new theoretical insights that have not previously been aired in a built environment context.