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Despite the literature highlighting the relevance of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) as strategic options for organizations’ evolution, such events maintain a high failure rate. All stages of M&As generate considerable stress on management accounting systems (MASs) and related actors. This study aims to investigate management accounting change (MAC) throughout M&As to expand knowledge on the technical side of these changes. A deeper understanding of these changes and their relationship to the implementing agents could illuminate the causes of M&A success and failure.

The study uses an in-depth, qualitative case study analysis of two companies that completed an M&A. The MAC process was investigated based on Sulaiman and Mitchell’s (2005) typology. The authors collected information from internal documents, interviews, external reports and public information.

The findings indicate that MAC in M&As represents a comprehensive change that goes beyond the modifications outlined in Sulaiman and Mitchell’s (2005) original framework; the post-deal integration period can be broken down into early and full sub-phases; and the success of the MAC process rests on the different roles played by various change agents.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to apply and deepen a MAC framework focused on technical changes to MASs in the context of M&As. To date, the literature on M&A has mainly focused on behavioral or organizational changes while neglecting the technical dimension. In addition, by considering all the stakeholders of MASs, this study’s analyses expose the role of change agents who are not generally considered in the accounting literature.

With the launch of the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), the Canadian government named solidarity as a shared value and a driving motivation behind the FIAP. This paper explores how development workers understand and apply solidarity to their work, uncovering the opportunities and constraints they face.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 development workers from Canada’s federal development agency between 2019 and 2020. Transcribed data were coded by the author to identify how workers made sense of solidarity within the development industry.

The majority of workers were unsure of how to define or operationalize solidarity, demonstrating confusion. Commonality was routinely mentioned as a facet of solidarity, but workers understood this term in diverse ways, with some considering commonality as a precondition that inhibited a sense of solidarity with development partners in the global South due to differences in living conditions. About a quarter identified power and privilege as necessary considerations in the process of building solidarity, showing potential for bonds across the inequalities that define development. About 40% of workers identified the institutional structure of the organization as an obstacle to solidarity.

This paper presents original data from Canadian development workers, providing the first study of their understanding of solidarity as a development ethic. It shows the gaps between rhetoric and practice while recommending ways for development organizations to meaningfully engage with solidarity in their work.

This study aims to understand the role of the creative entrepreneur in the development of his business.

For the development of this study, primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five creative entrepreneurs in the Douro region. To triangulate the information, interviews were also carried out with four heads of local institutions, namely, a university, two municipalities and a business incubator.

The results obtained suggest that creative entrepreneurs play an important role in the development of their business, since creativity and innovation are fundamental for the sustainability of their business. However, the results suggest that the main difficulties experienced by this type of entrepreneurs are related to poor knowledge and interest in management. As a rule, poor management knowledge leads to the emergence of several obstacles, related to sales, stocks, production costs and bureaucracy.

This study contributes to the existing literature by providing new insights into the main difficulties of creative entrepreneurs, how they overcome these obstacles.

The results obtained provide important information for policymakers. The creation of management training programs and cooperation incentives can be important for the growth and development of this type of company. In addition, it shows that it is necessary to create specific policies to encourage and support creative entrepreneurs, since they have different specifications than most entrepreneurs.

This study provides empirical evidence on the ability to explore the intersection between individual entrepreneur creativity and business success. Furthermore, this study demonstrates: i) how your creative entrepreneur management knowledge affects your business; ii) the main difficulties of this type of entrepreneurs; iii) how they have overcome these difficulties; iv) how creative entrepreneurs cooperate with each other.

This study investigates the impact of social cognitive theory (SCT) constructs and perceived risks on university students’ trusting intentions towards Metaverse-based educational platforms in the UAE. By examining factors such as self-efficacy, outcome expectations and vicarious learning (from SCT), alongside perceived risks like performance, time, social and security concerns, this research addresses critical gaps in understanding trust dynamics in educational technology.

A quantitative survey was conducted with 176 university students who experienced a Metaverse-based classroom prototype. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the relationships between SCT constructs, perceived risks and trusting intentions.

The results demonstrate that SCT constructs significantly enhance trust by fostering self-efficacy and providing positive learning experiences. Conversely, perceived risks reduce trust, emphasizing the need to mitigate security concerns and usability barriers to improve adoption. These insights underline the dual importance of managing risks and promoting psychological readiness among students.

The findings offer actionable guidance for educators, policymakers and developers to design secure, user-friendly Metaverse platforms that align with educational objectives. The study emphasizes the importance of addressing perceived risks, enhancing student engagement and fostering trust to enable effective technology adoption in education.

This research provides a novel perspective on trust in Metaverse-based education by integrating SCT constructs with risk perceptions, offering a comprehensive framework to guide the successful implementation of immersive learning environments.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of artificial intelligence interventions in transforming learning and development of organizations and to investigate whether artificial intelligence can replace traditional learning methods.

Mixed method approach was adopted to conduct the study. The sample size for quantitative study was 300 employees belonging to domains of technology, finance, health care and manufacturing. Structural equation modeling was done to arrive at the results. The qualitative study was done on 25 employees by conducting in-depth interviews followed by thematic analysis.

The findings of quantitative study revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived experience and learning effectiveness significantly contributed to transformation of traditional learning. The same was validated by qualitative study, and it also indicated that respondents preferred blended learning and artificial intelligence cannot replace traditional learning.

The study contributes to research by highlighting the impact of artificial intelligence in transformation of traditional learning and development based on departmental and job-specific roles as well as sectors that require physical training in addition to knowledge-based training.

Applying critical analysis as the methodological framework for assessing the literature, the review seeks to present a summary and evaluation of the existing body of knowledge. This approach helps to establish the basis for developing forthcoming recommendations.

The articles were selected through a Systematic Literature Review following the PRISMA guidelines, and utilising Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, and the Education Resources Information Center database. Field taxonomy is presented based on the outcomes.

Through a critical review, we offer narrative arguments that document the shortcomings in the existing literature by scrutinising study designs and highlighting suboptimal approaches. Finally, we issue a call to action for future research, envisioning its potential to reorient and reconstruct the field while enhancing the quality of future studies. This proactive stance aims to foster the development of more competent and insightful perspectives, theories, and policy recommendations within design thinking in management education and training.

The research in this field holds significant potential for providing valuable practical and policy insights, contingent upon the rigorous and thorough execution of studies.

This article presents a robust critical review of 57 state-of-the-art articles investigating design thinking in the context of management education and training.

This study aims to investigate how two different types of brand-to-brand dialogues – “roasting” versus “toasting” – impact consumers’ brand perceptions, particularly perceived entertainment, and influence brand attitudes.

The research design comprises four studies. The preliminary study involves Web scraping to gauge consumer perception about the two communication approaches followed by two well-known brands. Study 1 involves an online experiment to compare these communication types within each brand tested in the pilot study and examines the mediation effect of perceived entertainment. Study 2, also an online experiment, investigates the role of message neutralization, demonstrating that “roasting” can be acceptable when the humor is neutralized. Study 3 further tests the effects of neutralized “roasting” at different levels of brand familiarity and personality.

Roasting can lead to more favorable consumer perceptions than toasting. The effect can be explained by roasting’s higher level of perceived entertainment. However, this positive outcome is contingent on the successful neutralization of the aggressive humor in the “roasting” messages. When it comes to brand familiarity and personality, familiar brands benefit more from neutralized “roasting,” whereas brand personality does not have a strong influence.

The findings suggest that “roasting” can be effective when messages are neutralized, and “toasting” works best when spontaneous and genuine. It highlights how brand familiarity and personality influence consumer reactions, thus, offering strategic insights for both established and lesser-known brands. The study also prompts further research to examine other brand traits, cultural factors and behavioral dimensions in brand-to-brand dialogue, signifying the complexity and richness of this growing research area.

This study advises lesser-known brands to adopt “toasting” strategies to build a positive image, while established brands can try “roasting,” ensuring message neutrality to avoid negativity. The research emphasizes the role of brand familiarity and personality in shaping brand dialogues. Marketers must consider these to make humor strategies effective and bolster positive brand image.

This research uniquely examines message neutralization through contextual cues as a strategy brands can use to aid their sensitive dialogues with others on social media. The findings provide new insights into how brands can use different types of messages in digital communications to attract consumers and ensure positive reception, offering valuable guidance for academics and practitioners in brand-to-brand dialogue.

Prior research has emphasised the importance of the early phases of construction projects, as well as the difficulties of procuring engineering services – especially due to the uncertainties. Despite that, studies on the public procurement of engineering services are scarce. Although scholars have shown that uncertainty may affect the choice of control modes, the level of uncertainty that characterises services is not addressed by the two task characteristics: knowledge of the transformation process and output measurability. The purpose is to investigate organisational control in public procurement of engineering services.

The existing control model was adjusted in this study by conceptually adding uncertainty as a third aspect to the two task characteristics. A single case study of the Swedish Transport Administration was used. The empirical data, comprising 14 interviews with managers from the client and engineering consulting companies, were analysed using flexible pattern matching and visual mapping approaches and then illustrated using the model.

The public client did not base its choice of control modes on uncertainty, but rather on the other two task characteristics. Consequently, the service providers argued that the chosen control modes reduced their creativity, increased their financial risks and caused unclear responsibilities. This study therefore shows that uncertainty is an important factor to consider in the choice of control modes, both from a theoretical perspective and from the service providers' point of view. The developed model may therefore be useful for researchers as well as practitioners.

This study is the first attempt to add uncertainty as a task characteristic when choosing control modes. The results contribute to the scarce control literature regarding the procurement of engineering services for construction projects and the procurement of other services with high uncertainty.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is a critical organizational function, which has continued to evolve. We aim to explore how different HRM will be in the workplace of the future and why, from both strategic and practical perspectives. We present and discuss core HRM practices, such as recruitment, selection and training, as well as peripheral activities, such as monitoring health and safety, and diversity management, reflecting on how they may transform in the workplace of the future.

This is a conceptual thought piece, building on the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition (SAMR) model, to offer a futuristic view of HRM in the era of AI.

Discussing the contemporary challenges of Artificial Intelligence, which we predict will lead to what we term Cyborging HRM.

This study can help HR managers and practitioners to be prepared for AI-embedded HRM systems in the future. For academics, it offers an innovative framework to establish future writing on HRM in the AI era.

AI is pushing HRM and the profession will have to undergo a revolutionary rather than evolutionary transformation in order to remain a necessary and valuable function for organizations. Our elaboration of the SAMR model and suggested implications for the future transformation of HRM should be worthwhile to organizations, management and the wider society.