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Fashion brands, including fast and luxury segments, receive harsh criticism for engaging in unethical practices such as poor working conditions and environmental damage. As a result, fashion supply chains are pressured by stakeholders to publicly disclose internal supply chain performance information and to show a high level of supply chain transparency. This paper compares supply chain transparency in fast and luxury fashion in Europe.

By applying the maturity curve of fashion supply chain transparency, developed by Muratore and Marques (2022), the websites of 20 fast and 20 luxury fashion brands were analysed and classified as Opaque, Translucent or Transparent.

Despite its reputation, fast fashion demonstrated higher levels of transparency than luxury fashion. Luxury fashion only performed better in terms of the accessibility of sustainability information. Luxury brands avoided disclosing key transparency information, suggesting that they may be operating in contradiction to that which is inferred on their websites.

The findings of the study shed light on the sustainability credentials of the fashion industry, which has the potential to influence the purchase intentions of consumers, particularly millennials and Generation Z. Implications for practice are developed to highlight how fashion can improve its supply chain transparency.

The integration of technology with traditional business practices in human resources (HR), marketing, and accounting has become a crucial driver of transformation in the modern business landscape. This paper explores the impact of technological advancements, such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, cloud computing, and blockchain technology, on these critical business functions. By examining the benefits, challenges, and future implications of technology integration, this research highlights how digital tools have revolutionized HR processes, marketing strategies, and accounting practices. The study underscores the importance of addressing data security, privacy concerns, and cultural resistance to change while fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Through a strategic approach to technological adoption, businesses can enhance operational efficiency, improve customer engagement, and achieve sustainable growth. This paper provides valuable insights and practical recommendations for organizations seeking to navigate the complexities of the modern marketplace and leverage technological advancements for long-term success.

Building on upper echelons theory, this study explores the influence of managerial cognition on firm innovation during times of crisis. Specifically, we aim to disentangle the concept of cognitive complexity by examining how CEOs’ cognitive depth and cognitive width differently influence their firms’ innovation outcomes. Additionally, we investigate how organizational slack moderates the impact of these cognitive attributes on innovation, providing a deeper understanding of the conditions under which managerial cognition drives firm adaptability in crises.

This study utilized a sample of 115 listed US firms ranked in the top 200 in terms of market capitalization share in 2020. We measured the key variables by analyzing text and archival data from interviews with CEOs, particularly focusing on their discussions regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regression analysis was employed to test the hypothesized relationships in the research model.

The results reveal that under the crisis, CEO cognitive depth enhances firm innovation, while CEO cognitive width impedes firm innovation. Moreover, organizational slack weakens the positive relationship between CEO cognitive complexity and innovation.

This study significantly contributes to and extends the established body of research on a leader’s cognition during a crisis. Our study goes beyond traditional views of cognitive complexity by highlighting the distinct impacts of two critical elements: cognitive depth and width, on decision-making processes. This study contributed to the innovative decision-making literature by opening up the black box behind the decision-making process of innovation during uncertainty. This underscores the multifaceted nature of cognitive processes in innovation, highlighting the interplay between cognitive depth, cognitive width and organizational resources in driving firm innovative outcomes during the crisis. We also broaden the temporal scope of empirical research on CEO cognition by gathering data from CEO interviews conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study reveals that when CEOs have a broader focus and attend to a wide range of information, their ability to quickly utilize firm resources for formulating competitive actions decreases during uncertainty. Consequently, it is crucial for CEOs to acknowledge the limitations of their attentional capacity. The allocation of their attention and information processing capacity has significant implications for their innovative decision-making processes, particularly in navigating through crises.

Our study finds that excessive attention during times of crisis may not necessarily be beneficial to firm innovation. An excessive focus on problems can lead to scattered attention, impairing judgment and decision-making abilities. Moreover, excessive attention to problems may trigger panic and unnecessary stress, further impacting decision quality. High cognitive width can trap teams in short-term thinking and emergency mode, neglecting long-term strategies and opportunities such as innovation investment. Yet, firms with more slack resources can reduce the negative impacts of cognitive depth.

This study proposes a comprehensive cognitive model to understand managers’ decision-making during a crisis. The research posits that different dimensions of CEOs’ managerial cognition have distinct impacts on firm innovation in crisis environments. This study significantly contributes to the study of managerial cognition and innovation literature.

Evidence-based hydration care for older people is essential to health and wellbeing. However, practices vary, leading to negative outcomes for older people, particularly in relation to increased incidence of morbidity and mortality. As a discrete work package situated within a larger study to enhance hydration care for older people in care homes, the purpose of this part of the study was to develop a hydration competency framework to support an evidence-based approach to practice.

An overview of the literature informing hydration care was undertaken to establish best practice, resulting in the generation of a series of competency statements. Using a co-production approach, these statements were reviewed and assimilated into a hydration competency framework that was piloted across two care home sites. Revision and refinement of the framework was undertaken in response to feedback from the co-production group, until consensus was reached to agree the final iteration.

The hydration competency framework has three core domains relating to: understanding the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; assessing the individual daily hydration requirements of older people; implementing person-centred care to maintain and monitor the daily hydration requirement needs of older people. Each domain is comprised of competency statements that reflect the current evidence base informing best practice for hydration care for older people.

The hydration competency framework provides an innovative tool that can be used to support care home staff to deliver evidence-based hydration practices and positively enhance care outcomes for older people.

Family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent a substantial part of many economies. In these organizations, close and informal relationships between employers and employees often foster a mutual understanding of each other’s needs, facilitating the negotiation of idiosyncratic deals (i-deals), special employment conditions tailored for individual employees. However, research on how i-deals are negotiated in family SMEs, especially regarding power dynamics and influence, remains limited. This study aims to identify the types of i-deals negotiated in family SMEs and explore the role of power and influence in these negotiations.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 employees and 15 employers from Spanish family SMEs. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti 8, and thematic analysis was performed.

The study concludes that task, flexibility, financial and development i-deals are particularly negotiated in family SMEs. It identifies that referent and expert power play an important role in initiating these negotiations. Furthermore, rational tactics are generally employed for negotiating work performance, soft tactics for employment-related aspects and hard tactics for work flexibility. Additionally, the study identified gender differences in the negotiation of i-deals.

This study enhances i-deal literature by highlighting the distinct characteristics of family SMEs and their impact on i-deal negotiations. The findings suggest that power dynamics and influence tactics in family SMEs differ from those in larger firms. Moreover, certain i-deals may encounter resistance due to concerns about organizational performance and economic implications. Understanding these factors is essential for developing effective negotiation strategies in family SMEs.

This study offers a dual perspective, analyzing the power and influence tactics used by both employees and employers in family SME i-deal negotiations and highlighting gendered dynamics in these processes.