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The purpose of this study is to revisit the conventional wisdom about a key contribution [i.e. strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis] in the field of strategic management. The societal context and the role of academics, consultants and executives is taken into account in the emergence of SWOT analysis during the 1960–1980 period as a pivotal development within the broader context of the satisfactory, opportunities, faults, threats (SOFT) approach. The authors report on both the content and the approach, so that other scholars seeking to invigorate indigenous theories and/or underreported strategy practices will thrive.

Applying a historiographic approach, the authors introduce an evidence-based methodology for interpreting historical sources. This methodology incorporates source criticism, triangulation and hermeneutical interpretation, drawing upon insights from robust evidence through three iterative stages.

The underreporting of the SOFT approach/SWOT analysis can be attributed to several factors, including strategy tools being integrated into planning frameworks rather than being published as standalone materials; restricted circulation of crucial long-range planning service/theory and practice of planning reports due to copyright limitations; restricted access to the Stanford Research Institute Planning Library in California; and the enduring popularity of SOFT and SWOT variations, driven in part by their memorable acronyms.

In the spirit of a renaissance in strategic planning research, the authors unveil novel theoretical and social connections in the emergence of SWOT analysis by combining evidence from both theory and practice and delving into previously unexplored areas.

Caution is advised for scholars who examine the discrete time frame of 1960–1980 through mere bibliometric techniques. This study underscores the risks associated with gathering incomplete and/or inaccurate data, emphasizing the importance of triangulating evidence beyond scholarly databases. The paradigm shift of strategic management research due to the advent of large language models poses new challenges and the risk of conserving and perpetuating academic urban legends, myths and lies if training data is not adequately curated.

Frugal innovation (FI) is a mechanism companies use to create value from limited resources, aiming to meet the needs of a broad customer segment in emerging markets. This study investigates the impact of FI on sustainable development (SD) in Libya. Data from 112 employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were analyzed using WarpPLS software and structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that while two factors – low cost of frugal innovation (LCFI) and creation of an ecosystem for frugal innovation (CEFI) – do not significantly affect SD, the core functions of frugal innovation (CFFI) significantly impact SD. This work is among the first empirical studies to explore business models for FI and their influence on SD in Libya, contributing to the theoretical and empirical literature on the topic.

This paper intends to contribute to the evolving understanding of Indian adolescents as consumers by examining their unique relationships with food brands, focusing specifically on brand love. It further investigates the key drivers that cultivate brand love among adolescents and explores the resulting outcomes of brand love.

About 37 in-depth interviews, including three exercises, were conducted with adolescents aged 11–16. The first and second exercises used projective techniques to explore respondents’ culture-bound love relationships with their favorite brands. Using the laddering technique, the third exercise investigated the critical drivers of respondents’ brand love.

The study reveals that adolescents derive value through attribute-benefit-value linkages from the consumption experience, leading to brand love. The customer value–brand love dynamics result in adolescents’ customer engagement behavior. Additionally, Indian adolescent customers seek brand consumption as a medium to instate their social identity and achieve hedonic pleasure from the experience. The study highlights the role of socialization and attitudinal autonomy in shaping adolescent–brand interactions.

The study could be relevant for both academicians and practitioners as they unveil the consumer psychology of contemporary adolescents in emerging countries like India and how similar or different they are from adult consumers. Also, there are very few adolescent–brand relationship studies in the past that have been deliberated in the context of food brands. Brand managers may design their product development and communication appeals around higher levels of abstraction in the attribute-benefit-value linkages discovered by this study.

The concept of frugal innovation has been scholarly discussed from different perspectives. It is a concept that has in the recent years been receiving much attention. In this view, much of the scholarly attention has been given to the benefits of frugal innovation. However, sparse and little attention has been given to the possibilities and challenges of frugal innovation in attaining sustainable development in African Nations. Much of the work has explored the benefits of disruptive frugal innovation. Given this background, this chapter, therefore, seeks to contribute to disruptive frugal digital innovation by highlighting the challenges and possibilities frugal innovation brings in an attempt to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially SDG 1 that aims to end poverty in all forms as well as SDG 8 that aims to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation. Hence, this chapter aims to unleash some possibilities and challenges that can be brought by frugal innovation. Using literature analysis from 21 articles from Google Scholar, the chapter pre-empts key definitions and highlights the SDGs, the possibilities and challenges brought by frugal innovation in achieving economic and social sustainability in Africa. It is through these insights that the chapter seeks to inform theory, practice and policy in the context of SDGs in Africa.

Across Africa, disruptive digital frugal innovations (DDFIs) are evolving as potent catalysts for sustainable development. This research explored into the complex interplay between DDFI and sustainability, moving beyond traditional narratives of mere affordability to discover its potential for transformative change across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. This chapter sought to firstly unravel the multifaceted relationships between DDFI and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in diverse African contexts; secondly it examined the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of DDFI across key sectors, thus healthcare and agriculture, identifying both positive contributions and unintended consequences. Diffusion of innovation theory formed the lens of the study; qualitative data were analyzed according to emerging themes. Research findings revealed that implementation of DDFI exhibits immense potential to address critical sustainability challenges, empowering communities through social inclusion, improve access to essential services, and empower marginalized communities to actively participate in development processes. Data privacy, intellectual property rights, and potential exploitation of communities were some of the challenges noted which require careful consideration and responsible innovation practices. The study recommends to foster inclusive cocreation processes that involve local communities in needs assessment, design, and implementation of DDFI solutions and bridge the digital divide through investing in robust infrastructure development, digital literacy programs, and affordable access to technology.

This study aims to explore the relationship between personal innovativeness, perceived symbolic value and green purchase intentions within the context of sustainable consumption. Specifically, it investigates how personal innovativeness influences both green purchase intentions and perceived symbolic value and examines whether perceived symbolic value mediates the relationship between personal innovativeness and green purchase intentions.

Using a survey-based quantitative approach, data were collected from a sample of Indonesian consumers using online panels via SurveyMonkey®. The study used Rogers’ diffusion theory to conceptualize personal innovativeness and drew on theories of symbolic consumption to frame perceived symbolic value. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses and explore the relationships among the constructs.

The results indicate that personal innovativeness positively affects green purchase intentions and enhances the perceived symbolic value of green products. Moreover, perceived symbolic value influences green purchase intentions and partially mediates the relationship between personal innovativeness and green purchase intentions. These findings underscore the critical role of symbolic value in the adoption of green products and highlight personal innovativeness as a key driver in sustainable consumer behavior.

This research contributes to the sustainable consumption literature by integrating personal innovativeness with symbolic value considerations in green purchasing decisions, offering a novel insight into how individual traits and product symbolism interact to influence consumer behavior in the context of environmental sustainability.

This paper presents a reflection in memory and tribute to the work and life of Professor Barbara Czarniawska (1948–2024).

We invited those colleagues whom we knew to be close to Barbara to submit reflections about her contributions to academia alongside their memories of her as a person. We present these reflections in the order we received them, and they have only been edited for minor grammatical and punctuation issues to preserve the voice of the contributing authors.

The reflections in this paper represent different translations of Barbara’s academic and theoretical contributions. However, she also contributed to people. While we can count the number of papers, books and book chapters she published, we must also count the number of co-authors, Ph.D. supervisions, visiting professorships and conference plenaries she touched. This (ac)counting tells the story of Barbara reaching out to work and interact with people, especially students and early career researchers. She touched their lives, and the publications are an artefact of a human being, not an academic stuck in an ivory tower.

A paper in Barbara Czarniawska’s honour where some of her closest colleagues can leave translations of her work through a narrative reflection, seems to be a fitting tribute.

While digital technologies have striven to contribute to Africa's development, there is much disparity in the attainment of economic, social and ecological sustainability in emerging African economies. The strategic adoption of disruptive digital frugal innovations contributes to sustainable development (SD) in Africa while mitigating challenges associated with digital technologies. This chapter gives a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges of adopting digital frugal innovations (FIs) in the African context from an interdisciplinary perspective, thereby advancing ongoing discourse on SD and digital tech-driven progress and guiding policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers in these fields. Through a comprehensive synthesis of the literature, practical insights and case studies of firms that have utilised digital FIs for disruption while offering sustainable solutions, the chapter concludes that, by leveraging opportunities for collaboration and having a mindset that promotes SD, disruptive FI can be achieved with digital technologies.