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How can managers reduce information asymmetry in dyadic manager-external stakeholder relationships in a complex and evolving environment? Addressing this question has significant implications for firm survival, growth, and competitive advantage.

We have adopted a multiparadigm approach to theory building, known as metatriangulation. We integrate the dynamic capabilities, sensemaking, and evolutionary theory literatures to theorize how managers can relate to stakeholders in a complex and evolving environment.

We propose, via a conceptual framework and three propositions, “evolutionary sensemaking” as the managerial metacognitive dynamic capability that helps managers hone their understanding based on the evolutionary changes in the stakeholder’s interpretations of information quality preferences. The framework unfolds across three evolutionary stages: sensing preferences' variation of the stakeholder, seizing preferences, and transforming for complexity alignment and retention. The propositions focus on managing complexity in stakeholder information quality preference, employing cognitive capabilities to simplify, interpret, and align interpretations for effective information asymmetry reduction.

To develop the metacognitive dynamic capability of evolutionary sensemaking, managers need to train for and foster the underlying complex cognitive capabilities by enhancing their (1) perception and attention skills, (2) problem-solving and reasoning skills, and (3) language, communication, and social cognition skills, focusing specifically on reducing the complexity embedded in stakeholder cognition and diverse stakeholder preferences for information quality. Contrary to the current advice to “keep things simple” and provide “more” information to the stakeholders for opportunism reduction, trust-building, and superior governance, our framework suggests that managers hone their cognitive capabilities by learning to deal with the underlying complexity.

The proposed framework and propositions address research gaps in reducing information asymmetry. It enriches the dynamic capabilities literature by recognizing complexity (as opposed to opportunism) as an alternative source of information asymmetry, which needs to be addressed in this stream of research. It extends the sensemaking literature by identifying the complexity sources – i.e. stakeholder preferences for diverse information quality attributes and the associated cognitive preference interpretation processes. The article enhances evolutionary theory by delving into microprocesses related to information asymmetry reduction, which the existing literature does not thoroughly investigate.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Chinese female executives and corporate risk-taking the contingencies that affect this relationship.

A integrated theoretical framework was established, on the basis of which theoretical hypotheses were developed and tested using 20,315 firm-year observations collected from China’s publicly listed companies during the period 2005–2020. Data were collected from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share Stock Exchanges and analyzed using a moderated regression analysis, PSM, 2SLS-IV and PSM-DID model.

The empirical results indicate a negative effect of the ratio of female executives in top management team on corporate risk-taking, and this negative effect can be weakened by the social capital of board directors and the regional marketization.

The paper contributes to research on the relationship between female executives and risk-taking by considering the effect of eastern culture on female executives’ business decision-making and examining the moderating factors inside and outside the firm.

The paper illustrates the active steps that corporations can take to enhance female executives' willingness and capacity to take firm-related risks so as to improve the firm value in the long run.

The paper explores how Chinese culture and Chinese traditional value affect female executives’ decision-making on risky projects or uncertain investments. In addition, our study for the first time examines the moderating effect of board social capital as an internal factor and marketization as an external one on the relationship between Chinese female executives and corporate risk taking. The research examines the gender inequality in the work and competitive environment facing female executives in the areas of different marketization level, which would affect female executives’ cognition and motivation in corporate risk taking.

This study aims to explore the experiences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic for people who faced homelessness and dealt with mental health and/or substance use challenges.

This qualitative study was comprised of 26 1:1 interviews (16 men and 10 women), conducted between February and May 2021 with people who experienced homelessness in North East England during the COVID-19 pandemic. An inductive reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken, with input from individuals with lived experience who were involved throughout the study.

Four themes were developed. The first theme, lack of support and exacerbation of mental health and substance use difficulties, highlighted how the lack of in-person support and increased isolation and loneliness led to relapses or new challenges for many people’s mental health and substance use. The second theme, uncertainty and fear during the pandemic, explored how the “surreal” experience of the pandemic led to many people feeling uncertain about the future and when things would return to normal. The third theme, isolation and impacts on social networks, discussed how isolation and changes to relationships also played a role in mental health and substance use. Finally, opportunity for reflection and self-improvement for mental health and substance use, explored how some people used the isolated time to re-evaluate their recovery journey and focus on self-improvement.

The experiences shared within this study have important implications for planning the future delivery and commissioning of health and social care services for people facing homelessness, such as sharing information accessibly through clear, consistent and simple language.

As one of the few papers to involve people with lived experience as part of the research, the findings reflect the unique narratives of this population with a focus on improving services.

In this paper, the authors examine the strategies used to reduce labour costs in three public hospitals in South Africa, which were effective and why. In the democratic era, after the revelations of large-scale corruption, the authors ask whether their case studies provide lessons for how public service institutions might re-make themselves, under circumstances of austerity.

A comparative qualitative case study approach, collecting data using a combination of interviews with managers, focus group discussions and interviews with shop stewards and staff was used.

Management in two hospitals relied on their financial power, divisions between unions and employees' loyalty. They lacked the insight to manage different actors, and their efforts to outsource services and draw on the Extended Public Works Program failed. They failed to support staff when working beyond their scope of practice, reducing employees' willingness to take on extra responsibilities. In the remaining hospital, while previous management had been removed due to protests by the unions, the new CEO provided stability and union–management relations were collaborative. Her legitimate power enabled unions and management to agree on appropriate cost cutting strategies.

Finding an appropriate balance between the new reality of reduced financial resources and the needs of staff and patients, requires competent unions and management, transparency and trust to develop legitimate power; managing in an authoritarian manner, without legitimate power, reduces organisational capacity. Ensuring a fair and orderly process to replace ineffective management is key, while South Africa grows cohorts of competent managers and builds managerial experience.

Apprenticeships for higher education institutes (HEIs) at degree and postgraduate levels in the UK have been challenging to provide, requiring increasingly complex collaboration and investment. This questions longer-term viability, creating a new perspective investigating evidence of value and impact for UK HEIs. This integrative literature review examines existing apprenticeship literature and showcases new knowledge for HEIs to update and inform future decision-making. Knowledge created offers a new framework, an “apprenticeship knowledge-based checklist model” and a perspective to explore further.

This integrative literature review examines apprenticeship provision viability for UK HEIs across several disciplines since commencement.

Analysis of selected studies across three research themes critiques potential apprenticeship practice for HEIs: stakeholder collaboration, widening participation and work-integrated learning. Results provided a new integrated perspective via governance levels: strategic, academic department, and teaching team.

The research draws from multiple disciplines representing current literature in the HEI Apprenticeships field. However, the context in which programmes are delivered by HEIs and employers differs significantly, so factors continue to emerge.

Practical implications drawn from these findings aim to cultivate dialogue before embarking/withdrawing from HEI Apprenticeship programmes. It offers employers guidance expectations when partnering with university providers. For global apprenticeship provisions, it offers a checklist for re-valuating practice.

The research identified new knowledge implications from existing literature in a field experiencing rapid growth. It offers valuable contributions: a knowledge-based checklist model constructed for HEIs to evaluate existing and future viability provisions at each governance level. It is a catalyst for new practice approaches and an agenda for further research.

Like an online carnival, Web3 aims to turn the internet’s social order upside down. Unlike a carnival, Web3 wants to be more than a weeklong party and morph into a legitimate substitute for the internet’s status quo. Web3’s secret sauce for upheaval is decentralized, permissionless technologies, in particular blockchain technologies. In this exploratory paper, we draw on the concept of institutional isomorphism to muse about Web3’s future and to highlight the inherent tension between striving to be different from Web2 yet wanting to become more legitimate. We argue that technical merits are hardly enough to realize Web3’s high aspirations. Regulatory pressures, rampant uncertainty, and the professional norms of Web3 participants drive the space to adopt many of the organizational structures and practices that it aims to displace. To maintain divergence from Web2, despite isomorphic pressures, we suggest that it is important to increase the overall diversity of people in Web3, to double down on the value of decentralization, and to reaffirm Web3’s commitment to creatively re-imagine various institutional arrangements.

This study aims to explore academic women’s silence from the perspective of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), by examining the triadic influences of the individual, environment and behaviour, which impacts their silence. The study examines how women use personal, proxy and collective agency (Bandura, 2018) to reduce silence.

Interviewing 22 academics (20 women, 2 men) at a leading Polish university, this study used the Gioia et al. (2013) method to analyse the interviews, creating first- and second-order codes and final aggregated concepts.

This study finds, from an environmental perspective, that societal-level gendering, which is underpinned by critical social factors and institutional logics that are part of Poland’s culture promoting gender stereotypes and family values influences women’s silence. There is clear evidence for the regression of women’s rights, which compounds women’s silence. These societal-level factors influence a hierarchical, bureaucratic organizational structure, alongside gender segregation. From an individual perspective, reasons for silence include socialization, fear, women’s lack of power, inequality and self-silencing to mitigate harassment or discrimination. Collective agency was a strongly mentioned theme to help reduce silence, which includes implementing training and development initiatives, creating a safe platform to voice concerns, structural transformation and cultural change.

This study contributes to literature regarding women’s silence by exploring reasons for silence through the lens of Bandura’s social cognitive theory and agentic perspective, which demonstrates how silence could be reduced through collective action, in the understudied context of Poland, which highlights how country context intersects with organizational context and individual experience, influencing women’s silence.

Occupant feedback is crucial for healthy, comfortable and productive offices. Existing facility management (FM) systems are limited in effective use of occupant feedback, as they fail to collect the vital contextual information (e.g. related building element, space) associated with the feedback. The purpose of this study is to formalise the contextual information requirements for structured collection of occupant feedback for rapid diagnosis and resolution of problems and integrating occupant feedback with building information modelling (BIM) for making use of its visualisation and analysis capabilities, and eventually for effective use of occupant feedback in FM operations.

A mixed-methods approach was conducted in four steps: (1) identifying occupant feedback types (e.g. echo in meeting room) in office buildings, (2) examining the current practice in collecting and processing occupant feedback via use cases, (3) determining the contextual information requirements via expert interviews and (4) validation of the information requirements via a BIM-integrated prototype.

The findings present the contextual information requirements for 107 occupant feedback types grouped under thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic comfort, visual comfort, building design and facility services.

Feedback-specific contextual information items enable structured data collection and help to avoid missing data and minimise the time lost in manual data entry and recursive interaction with the occupants during FM operations.

The contextual information requirements determined are expected to enhance occupant satisfaction and FM performance in office buildings by better use of the occupant feedback and integration into BIM-enabled FM and can be extended to other building types in future studies by using the proposed methodology.

This paper aims to investigate how manufacturers can foster insights and improvements from real-time data among shop-floor workers by developing organisational “learning-to-learn” capabilities based on both the lean- and action learning principle of learning through problem-solving. Second, the purpose is to extrapolate findings on how action learning can enable the complementarity between lean and industry 4.0.

An insider action research approach is adopted to investigate how manufacturers can enable their shop-floor workers to foster insights and improvements from real-time data at VELUX.

The findings report that enabling shop-floor workers to use real-time data consist of developing three consecutive organisational building blocks of learning-to-learn, learning-to-learn using real-time data and learning-to-learn generating real-time data − and helping others to learn (to learn).

First, the study contributes to theory and practice by demonstrating that a learning-to-learn capability is a core construct for manufacturers seeking to enable shop-floor workers to use real-time data-capturing systems to drive improvement. Second, the study outlines how lean and industry 4.0 complementarity can be enabled by action learning. Moreover, the study allows us to deduce six necessary conditions for enabling shop-floor workers to foster insights and improvements from real-time data.