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This paper investigates the effect of counter-cultural human resources (CCHR) practices on firm performance. Specifically, it investigates the impact of national culture [future orientation (FO), in-group collectivism (I-GC), performance orientation (PO), power distance (PD) and uncertainty avoidance (UA)] on the calculative and collaborative HR practice–firm performance relationship.

This study uses data from the CRANET and GLOBE studies to conduct a multi-level analysis of the impact of national culture on the calculative/collaborative HR–firm performance relationship.

It finds support for both the CCHR and societal-culture fit (SCF) perspectives of national culture, with FO and I-GC supporting the CCHR perspective and the other culture dimensions aligning more closely with SCF.

These findings empirically validate that CCHR practices can help supplement behaviors lacking in the cultural environment in which organizations operate.

Conflict, between individuals and groups, in organizations is a common phenomenon and can have varied implication for the employee and the organization. This paper aims to determine whether experiencing interpersonal conflict drives employees to engage in prosocial behavior (prohibitive voice) and antisocial behavior (interpersonal deviance). Using Stressor–Emotion Model, Uncertainty Management Theory and Impression Management Motives, this study examines the relationship and explores competence uncertainty as a mediator and perception of politics as a moderator.

This study uses a cross-sectional design where data collected is from 386 employees working in nine different public sector enterprises in India. Structural equation modeling using SPSS AMOS was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships.

The results show that interpersonal conflict leads to both prohibitive voice behavior and interpersonal deviance. However, the mediating role of competence uncertainty is valid only for the effect of conflict on interpersonal deviance. Also, the perception of politics strengthens the positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and competence uncertainty.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies to have validated prosocial and antisocial work behavior as outcomes of interpersonal conflict. Again, this is one of the first few studies to examine the mechanism through which interpersonal conflict impacts interpersonal deviance.

The European Marriage Pattern (EMP) was characteristic of preindustrial northwestern Europe and, in recent years, has been proposed as an important factor in the rise of the West. Yet, the origins and ultimate causes of the EMP remain obscure. We examine a novel hypothesis that the EMP can emerge in geographic environments with a lighter infectious disease burden. We overcome significant challenges facing empirical analysis of premodern societies. Using a large, individual-level database of marriages from the county of Kent, England, as well as a spatial regression discontinuity approach, we demonstrate a robust association between physical ecology and female age at first marriage (FAFM). We also find that the two potential channels proposed in the literature play starkly different roles in explaining our finding. Specifically, we fail to find that pastoralism plays any significant role in explaining the EMP, while the mortality rate channel accounts for a significant portion of the observed relationship between the disease environment and FAFM.

Grounded in social learning theory and conservation of resources theory, this study examines the link between witnessing co-workers’ idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) and task crafting, task crafting and task i-deals negotiation; and the route that employees take to build their perceptions of personal brand equity.

A time-lagged survey was used to collect data from 259 information technology (IT) and consulting professionals in India. Hypotheses were tested using PROCESS MACRO in R.

Results show that witnessing co-workers’ i-deals is positively associated with both task crafting and task i-deals negotiation; and task i-deals negotiation is positively associated with employees’ personal brand equity. Findings also show that task crafting mediates the positive impact of witnessing co-workers’ i-deals on task i-deals negotiation. Further, the study shows that need for legitimization of task customizations moderates the positive relationship between task crafting and task i-deals negotiation, in such a manner that the relationship is stronger when employees’ need for legitimization is low, and it is insignificant when their need for legitimization is high.

This is one of the earliest studies that examine the relationship between task crafting and task i-deals negotiation; and shows that employees negotiate task i-deals to build their personal brand equity.

Drawing from social exchange theory and a collectivist cultural framework, this study explores the relationship between ethical work climate and organizational citizenship behavior, considering power distance as a potential moderator.

The study used standard scales to obtain data from 244 employees working in various private companies in India. Structural equation modeling was adopted to test the hypotheses using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS).

The study results show a significant relationship between ethical climate and organizational citizenship behavior. Ethical work climate influences power distance negatively. However, the results also show that power distance does not serve as a moderator between ethical work climate and organizational citizenship behavior.

Corporate leaders often expect employees to demonstrate organizational citizenship behavior, which is aimed at advancing the organization’s interests and outcomes. This study underscores the necessity for expanding the organizational vision to enhance the ethical work climate. Such an initiative not only promotes improved organizational citizenship behavior but also helps to reduce employees' perceptions of power distance within the organization.

Amid extensive literature rooted in individualistic cultures, our study explores the relationship between ethical work climate and organizational citizenship behavior within a collectivist context. This research uniquely introduces the moderating role of power distance, offering new and distinct insights into this dynamic.

This paper seeks to explore the effect of performance duration (rather than intensity) on the subsequent initiation of strategic change by firms. Specifically, the effect of outperformance and underperformance duration on strategic change, as well as the moderating effect of environmental dynamism, is studied.

Using a fixed-effects model, analyzing a sample of 34,907 firm-year observations from 1980 to 2018 across 112 industries mostly supported proposed hypotheses.

Results revealed a U-shaped relationship between outperformance duration and strategic change and an inverted U-shaped relationship between underperformance duration and strategic change. The moderation role of environmental dynamism was only partially supported.

This study examines a new dimension of performance feedback, namely duration, rather than the widely used intensity of performance feedback, to enhance our understanding of the behavioral theory of the firm.

There is currently a gap in the research regarding the effect of corporate culture on corporate innovation capability. Based on cultural hierarchy theory, in this paper, we explore the interactions between cultural factors and innovation capability in emerging market firms (EMFs). We discuss the mechanisms by which incentive, institutional, and vibrant corporate cultures influence corporate innovation capability. Furthermore, we consider the transformation of artificial general intelligence (AGI) from a tool into a colleague and how this affects the relationship between corporate culture and innovation capability.

An online questionnaire was distributed to corporate employees to explore their attitudes towards AGI and corporate culture. In total, 523 valid questionnaires were empirically analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis (MGA).

The results showed that incentive culture, institutional culture, and vibrant culture had a positive impact on corporate innovation capability. MGA revealed significant differences between employees who considered AGI a tool and those who considered it a colleague. Employees who treated AGI as a colleague were likely to be influenced by a vibrant culture, whereas employees who treated AGI as a tool were likely to be influenced by an incentive or institutional culture.

Building on cultural hierarchy theory, our study provides a new theoretical framework to enrich current research on the relationship between corporate culture and AGI. The study can help EMF managers adjust incentive and institutional cultures before AGI shifts from being a tool to a colleague and negatively impacts innovation capacity.

This study aims to explore the possibility of using magnetic biochar composite (MBCC) derived from Heglig tree bark (HTB) powder (agricultural solid waste) and cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄, CFO) for oil spill removal from seawater surface.

One-pot co-precipitation route was used to synthesize MBCC. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The densities of the prepared materials were also estimated. Crude, diesel engine and gasoline engine oils were used as seawater pollutant models. The gravimetric oil removal (GOR) method was used for removing oil spills from seawater using MBCC as a sorbent material.

The obtained results revealed that the prepared materials (CFO and MBCC) were able to remove the crude oil and its derivatives from the seawater surface. Besides, when the absorbent amount was 0.01 g, the highest GOR values for crude oil (31.96 ± 1.02 g/g) and diesel engine oil (14.83 ± 0.83 g/g) were obtained using MBCC as an absorbent. For gasoline engine oil, the highest GOR (27.84 ± 0.46 g/g) was attained when CFO was used as an absorbent.

Oil spill removal using MBCC derived from cobalt ferrite and HTB. Using tree bark as biomass (eco-friendly, readily available and low-cost) for magnetic biochar preparation also is a promising method for minimizing agricultural solid wastes (e.g. HTB) and obtaining value-added-products.

The businesses at the global level are surfacing precipitously, and its ecosystem is illustrated by the factors of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The rapidly changing business landscape calls for incorporating virtual exertion and the adoption of various digital tools. The process of virtual onboarding which has gained prominence at the global level at the onset of the pandemic necessitates encompassing recruits using virtual podiums and remote processes. The current chapter insinuates a holistic model for a suitable virtual onboarding programme, delineating a comprehensive methodology that incorporates a range of onboarding process elements and syndicates business best exercises from several theoretical backgrounds. It intends to offer a robust framework that suitably guides business organisations in developing and implementing effective virtual onboarding programmes. The Virtual Onboarding Model outlined in the present study elucidates the five integral phases, each serving a specific purpose and strategically integrating them from the outcomes derived from various theoretical underpinnings. The outcomes of this chapter provide detailed assistance for businesses operating in the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) world to establish comprehensive remote onboarding programmes. It aims to endow human resource (HR) managers with the indispensable intuitions to create and execute virtual onboarding programmes that support successful learning, cultural integration and employee engagement, ultimately benefiting both the recruits and the businesses in contemporary HR practices.

The purpose of this study is to introduce a new numerical scheme with no stability condition and high-order accuracy for the solution of two-dimensional coupled groundwater flow and transport simulation problems with regular and irregular geometries and compare the results with widely acceptable programs such as Modular Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Ground-Water Flow Model (MODFLOW) and Modular Three-Dimensional Multispecies Transport Model (MT3DMS).

The newly proposed numerical scheme is based on the method of lines (MOL) approach and uses high-order approximations both in space and time. Quintic B-spline (QBS) functions are used in space to transform partial differential equations, representing the relevant physical phenomena in the system of ordinary differential equations. Then this system is solved with the DOPRI5 algorithm that requires no stability condition. The obtained results are compared with the results of the MODFLOW and MT3DMS programs to verify the accuracy of the proposed scheme.

The results indicate that the proposed numerical scheme can successfully simulate the two-dimensional coupled groundwater flow and transport problems with complex geometry and parameter structures. All the results are in good agreement with the reference solutions.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, the QBS-DOPRI5 method is used for the first time for solving two-dimensional coupled groundwater flow and transport problems with complex geometries and can be extended to high-dimensional problems. In the future, considering the success of the proposed numerical scheme, it can be used successfully for the identification of groundwater contaminant source characteristics.