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Chocolate production and cocoa supply chains are rife with social and environmental challenges. Chocolate companies commonly make claims that their products are “sustainable”, giving little guidance on what this means. The aim of this paper is to conduct a scoping review to synthesise the accounting literature related to the chocolate industry and sustainability and develop a research agenda for accounting scholarship.

The scoping review followed Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) five-stage framework for a scoping review. Nineteen accounting journals were searched for literature on “chocolate OR cocoa AND sustainability” from 2000 to 2023. A total of 171 papers were identified through the search, of which 18 were deemed relevant and included for thematic analysis. The themes are analysed using a conceptual framework on accountability.

Analysis of the relevant literature revealed three distinct perspectives on sustainability in the chocolate industry. These include critique on the problems related to top-down accountability approaches in the chocolate industry; that accountability mechanisms have fallen short in managing sustainability challenges; and that sustainability interventions are driven by profit motives. The themes further reveal a lack of accountability in the industry for marginalised voices.

The scoping review methodology used in this study offers insights into the diverse perspectives on sustainability in the chocolate industry. This research adds valuable knowledge to the field by uncovering nuanced issues around accountability and sustainability and highlighting the need for future research for accountability for sustainable chocolate production.

This paper aims to investigate the role of virtual training in supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reducing workforce inequalities. It analyzes both the advantages and challenges of integrating virtual training within sustainable development frameworks and the circular economy, underlining its crucial role in transforming workforce strategies and enhancing economic and social progress.

The study uses Becker’s human capital theory (1964) and Bandura’s social learning theory (1977) to explore the impact of virtual training on human capital development and its contributions to specific SDGs. This integrated approach provides a detailed exploration of how virtual training intersects with sustainable development initiatives.

The findings highlight the pivotal role of technology in training and development, particularly in the post-pandemic landscape. Virtual training significantly enhances global collaboration, inclusivity and sustainability. It highlights the necessity of adapting corporate training practices to digital environments, thereby improving the quality of education, advancing gender equality and stimulating economic growth.

This paper presents unique perspectives on the influence of workplace training in the post-pandemic era, focusing on technological integration. It discusses how such integration supports diversity, equity and inclusion within the workforce and highlights the essential role of virtual training in promoting organizational flexibility and enhancing employee skills amidst ongoing digital transformations.

This study investigates the service quality dimensions of hotel resorts in renowned beach destinations of Thailand. It also explores the relationship between review text sentiment expressed in online platforms and the satisfaction ratings provided for those reviews.

The study employs a two-step analysis approach: first, supervised and unsupervised machine learning via support vector machine (SVM) and latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) are used to identify service quality dimensions, and second, SmartPLS with PROCESS macro is applied to analyze the moderating roles of quality signals and reviewer’s experience on the relationship between sentiment and satisfaction rating. The dataset comprises 102,179 online reviews from TripAdvisor, focusing on 187 selected hotels rated from 3 to 5 stars.

Eight service quality dimensions were identified, including leisure activities, tangibles and surroundings, reliability, responsiveness, service process, food, empathy and ambience. The study underscores that the service process stands as the sole dimension exhibiting negative sentiment. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a robust positive association between sentiment of review texts and satisfaction, and reviewers’ experience and brand affiliation influenced the relationship between customer sentiment and satisfaction.

Hotel managers should focus efforts on maintaining tangible aspects while enhancing existing service quality level of other dimensions, particularly those related to intangible elements. Independent hotels might implement quality audit to ensure that service quality gaps are monitored.

This study contributes an examination of the moderating roles of quality signals and reviewer’s experience on the relationship between review sentiment and satisfaction rating in online reviews.

The purpose of this study was to examine ways high school educators new to invention education (IvE) pedagogy can develop confidence in their ability to facilitate high school students’ work as part of this transdisciplinary (STEM+) problem-based approach to teaching.

This focused ethnographic study traced participants’ interactions across a three-day event that included professional development for 36 educators. The authors documented the discourse, actions and broader social context in which the interactions took place between the educators and others. Ethnographic fieldnotes, interview transcripts and pre- post-experience surveys were analyzed to determine ways the professional development opportunities shaped the educators’ perspectives on their confidence to facilitate IvE with their students.

Many different types of learning opportunities were afforded across the three days, including lectures by professor-inventors, seminars, talks with experienced educators, hands-on activities and engagement with high school students. The 36 educators indicated they were more confident in their ability to lead invention projects (55% more confident, 41% much more confident) due to participation.

IvE is an emerging form of problem-based learning in which educators engage learners in the identification of problems and the design and development of new, novel, useful and unique technological solutions (i.e. inventions) that help people. The study responds to the need for research on ways educators learn how to take-up IvE pedagogy.

Severe inequality from climate change exists between the Global North and Global South. The North significantly contributes to climate change yet retreats to protect itself against its harmful impacts. Conversely, members of the Global South bear the brunt of the climate crisis with limited protection against its destructive effects. Climate justice aims to address this inequality. This paper explores the effects of climate change reforms and policies that have been established to foster accountability and climate justice.

This research follows a qualitative exploratory case study method. It draws on a supply- and demand-led approach and local accounts to analyse the (in)effectiveness with which six national and international reforms and policies have achieved accountability for climate justice. The research analysed a variety of empirical documents including contemporary research, reports, academic literature, non-government and government documents and policies, media releases and Pacific Islander accounts.

Climate change reforms and policies, which come together to form supply-side accountability, have largely failed to engender accountability in the Global North for the impacts of climate change. Nor have they mitigated climate change to any tangible extent at all. This has created a system of modern-day climate apartheid. Improving accountability and remediating climate injustices going forward will require a focus on demand-led instruments and accountability, which includes the voice of citizens.

This paper responds to AAAJ’s special issue call for examining accounting and accountability with regard to environmental and climate racism. Limited research to date explores the issue of climate apartheid and climate justice and its relationship with accountability. This research attempts to fill that gap.

This paper introduces the special issue on Race and Accounting and Accountability. In so doing, it explores racism in its historical and contemporary forms, the role of accounting and accountability in enabling racism and racial discrimination and also efforts of redress and resistance.

We reflect on several critical themes to demonstrate the pervasive and insidious nature of racism and, review the literature on race and racism in accounting, focusing on studies that followed the seminal work by Annisette and Prasad (2017) who called for more research. We also review the six papers included in this special issue.

While many overt systems of racial domination experienced throughout history have subsided, racism is engrained in our everyday lives and in broader societal structures in more covert and nuanced forms. Yet, in accounting, as Annisette and Prasad noted, the focus has continued to be on the former. This special issue shifts this imbalance – five of the six papers focus on contemporary racism. Moreover, it demonstrates that although accounting technologies can and do facilitate racism and racist practices, accountability and counter accounts offer avenues for calling out and disrupting the powers and privileges that underlie racial discrimination and, resistance by un-silencing minority groups subjected to discrimination and injustice.

This introduction and the papers in the special issue offer rich empirical and theoretical contributions to accounting and accountability research on race and racial discrimination. We hope they inspire future race research to nurture progress towards a true post-racial society.

An AI concierge is a technologically advanced, intelligent and personalized assistant that is designated to an individual customer, proactively taking care of that customer’s needs throughout the service journey. This article envisions the idea of AI concierges and discusses how to leverage AI concierges in the customer journey.

This article takes a conceptual approach and draws insights from literature in service management, marketing, psychology, human-computer interaction and ethics.

This article delineates the fundamental forms of AI concierges: dialog interface (no embodiment), virtual avatar (embodiment in the virtual world), holographic projection (projection in the physical world) and tangible service robot (embodiment in the physical world). Key attributes of AI concierges are the ability to exhibit semantic understanding of auditory and visual inputs, maintain an emotional connection with the customer, demonstrate proactivity in refining the customer’s experience and ensure omnipresence through continuous availability in various forms to attend to service throughout the customer journey. Furthermore, the article explores the multifaceted roles that AI concierges can play across the pre-encounter, encounter and post-encounter stages of the customer journey and explores the opportunities and challenges associated with AI concierges.

This paper provides insights for professionals in hospitality, retail, travel, and healthcare on leveraging AI concierges to enhance the customer experience. By broadening AI concierge services, organizations can deliver personalized assistance and refined services across the entire customer journey.

This article is the first to introduce the concept of the AI concierge. It offers a novel perspective by defining AI concierges’ fundamental forms, key attributes and exploring their diverse roles in the customer journey. Additionally, it lays out a research agenda aimed at further advancing this domain.

This paper aims to explore the growing integration of social media, specifically Snapchat, into workplace environments and its impact on communication behaviors, especially among Generation Z and Millennials. The focus is on analyzing how Snapchat’s communication cycles, such as notifications, Snap streaks and best friend rankings, affect workplace efficiency. This study also investigates how cultural variations around connectivity and work-life balance amplify or mitigate these effects in global settings.

This research uses social comparison theory and self-determination theory to examine the psychological and social impacts of Snapchat’s features on workplace productivity. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative literature, the paper explores how different cultural contexts influence employees’ interaction with Snapchat during work hours. Theoretical frameworks are applied to understand the cognitive and social disruptions caused by social media, while practical strategies for human resource management are explored.

Snapchat’s design fosters continuous user engagement, often leading to fragmented attention and reduced productivity, particularly in work environments. Cultural norms surrounding social media usage and work-life boundaries either intensify or alleviate the disruptive effects of Snapchat. For example, the pressure to maintain social ties amplifies workplace distractions in collectivist cultures. In contrast, individualistic cultures may emphasize productivity over social connection, allowing for more effectively managing these distractions.

This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on social media’s impact on workplace dynamics by offering a culturally nuanced approach to understanding digital distractions. By focusing on Snapchat, a platform with unique features that encourage habitual interaction, the study provides novel insights into how global human resource strategies can be tailored to different cultural settings. The findings suggest practical solutions for managing digital overload and optimizing employee performance in increasingly interconnected work environments.