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The logic models at the center of leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting programs, such as the global reporting initiative, impose a dualistic relationship between organizations and social-ecological systems. Coupled with the lack of a real-world alternative, their dualistic approach results in widespread systems thinking-based reducibility errors in business responsibility. To help develop a nondualistic alternative, this study aims to present the idea of neltilistli or “rootedness,” as developed by the ancient Nahua indigenous peoples of Central Mexico. From the perspective of the Nahua, rootedness involves a holistic relationship with one’s body, community and the creative force called “teotl.”

The authors draw on the past to speculatively theorize an imagined future using the method of prospective theorizing to draw on a historical social context that is largely missing from current management scholarship. In doing so, the authors engage in a process of imagining a radically different future reality.

Integrating a rootedness approach into ESG reporting, particularly in terms of stakeholder relations, enriches it both spatially and temporally. This approach allows researchers and practitioners to replace dualistic thinking with a more holistic approach.

This paper complements the dualistic assumptions behind ESG reporting programs with a holistic approach based on the rootedness concept of ancient Nahua thought.

Ethnography produces accounts; the critical reflection of accounts produces accountability. Ethnography requires accountability if meaningful conclusions and/or observations are to be made. Accountability requires ethnography if is to address lived experiences. Virno argues that the principles of “languaging” make ethnographies and accountability possible. This papers aims to describe an instance of the circularity of accountability and use this to explore Virno’s insights. Doing this helps us to see the connections between accountability and ethnography, and reflect on the nature of these interconnections.

Inspired by Paulo Virno’s philosophy, the authors assert that an ethnographer typically produces an account of a chosen “Other” in which this “Other” is held to account. But at the same time, the ethnographer needs to be held to account by the very same “Other” and by the “Other” of the (research) community. Furthermore, ethnographers are accountable to themselves. All these moments of accountability can endlessly circle, as responsibilization of the researchers by their Other(s) continues. For ethnography to function, this must be tamed as a (research) account ultimately has to be produced for an academic project to be considered complete. Drawing on Virno’s principle of the “negation of the negation” by the “katechon,” by the “katechon,” the authors propose a potentially valuable intervention that would enable ethnography – and by extension, ethnographers – to prosper.

The authors apply Virno’s philosophical reflections to propose a positive feedback cycle between ethnography and accountability. Virno’s ideation centers on two key concepts: (i) the multitude of social relatedness and (ii) the ontology of the languaging of individuation. Hereby, a positive circle of causality between ethnography and accountability can be realized, whereby the authors can respect but also break the causal circle(s) of ethnography and accountability. This might be achieved via a reflection on Virno’s concept of the “katechon.”

The authors illuminate the accountability–ethnography dynamic, providing an illustration of the circularity of ethnography and accountability and showing how Virno provides us with tools to help us deal with it. Hence, ultimately, the paper focuses on the accountability as ethnographers.

The paper follows Jason Cope's (2011) vision of a holistic perspective on the failure-based learning process. By analyzing the research since Cope's first attempt, which is often fragmentary in nature, and providing novel empirical insights, the paper aims to draw a new comprehensive picture of all five phases of entrepreneurial learning and their interplay.

The study features an interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews with 18 failed entrepreneurs. Findings are presented and discussed in line with experiential learning theory and Cope's conceptual framework of five interrelated learning timeframes spanning from the descent into failure until re-emergence.

The study reveals different patterns of how entrepreneurs experience failure, ranging from abrupt to gradual descent paths, different management and coping behaviors, and varying learning effects depending on the new professional setting (entrepreneurial vs non-entrepreneurial). Analyzing the entrepreneurs' experiences throughout the process shows different paths and connections between individual phases. Findings indicate that the learning timeframes may overlap, appear in different orders, loop, or (partly) stay absent, indicating that the individual learning process is even more dynamic and heterogeneous than hitherto known.

The paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurial learning from failure, advancing Cope's seminal work on the learning process and -contents by providing novel empirical insights and discussing them in the light of recent scientific findings. Since entrepreneurial learning from failure is a complex and dynamic process, using a holistic lens in the analysis contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon as an integrated whole.

Businesses are increasingly engaged in actions to support peace in conflict- and violence-affected communities. Yet there is limited knowledge about why business leaders engage in peace or how citizens perceive the importance, efficacy and impacts of business contributions to address conflict and violence. These gaps are particularly acute for small business scholarship. This paper aims to address these.

This paper considers how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) view their peace-positive actions and how these are perceived by communities. This paper examines this by using two original primary surveys conducted concurrently in May 2021 in Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia. Question themes included: SMEs operating environments, relationships and networks, experiences of violence, SMEs community contributions and citizen perceptions of businesses as peacebuilding agents.

The results show that small business leaders who supported their communities with peace-positive actions saw their businesses perform better and held positive views of the benefits of engagement. Further, citizen perceptions of businesses contributions to peace declined where insecurity increased and improved where businesses – and in particular MSMSEs – engaged more in their communities.

This paper discusses certain limitations related to the use of a mobile-phone based sampling methodology enumerated during an ongoing pandemic.

This paper presents an original contribution that examines both SME and citizen perceptions of businesses peace-positive actions. The findings inform notions of SME leadership in fragile contexts, as well as the role of the private sector in conflict spaces more generally. They also suggest a greater focus on understanding the broader perceptions of businesses actions toward peacebuilding within society.

The purpose of this study is to explore the review mechanisms’ efficacy from the perspective of cold case reviewers. Live homicide review mechanisms at the 7- and 28-day stage of an inquiry seek to prevent the case becoming cold (or unsolved) by ensuring lines of inquiry have been suitably identified and progressed. There is also a requirement to ensure the investigation was not swayed by faulty decision-making or cognitive biases. However, the use of the review processes in preventing unsolved cases is unclear, and not subject to much academic discussion.

This exploratory study explores the review functions through the lens of cold case detectives, currently reviewing unsolved cases to identify progression opportunities. The study uses data from a seven-month, non-participatory observation period with a two-force collaborative cold case unit and 13 semi-structured interviews with cold case review officers. The observations and interviews were simultaneously analysed adhering to an inductive approach to Thematic Analysis.

The results show procedural guides (e.g. the Major Crime Investigation Manual) are important quality assurance mechanisms for review officers, helping ensure the appropriate and necessary lines of inquiry have been pursued. However, they were keen to emphasise the importance of intuition in progressing cases but felt continuously hindered by a lack of resources and large numbers of applicable cases. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this study is the first exploration of cold case detective’s experiences of the live review processes and how they may pose challenges in case progression for cognitive errors and biases. While the study has identified some challenges facing review officers in nine police forces across the UK, wider examination of policies, practices and mechanisms should be explored to develop the current procedural guidance (e.g. NPCC, 2021).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge this exploratory study is the first exploration of cold case detective’s experiences of the live review processes and how they may pose challenges in case progression for cognitive errors and biases. While the study has identified some challenges facing review officers in nine police forces across the UK, wider examination of policies, practices and mechanisms should be explored to develop the current procedural guidance (e.g. NPCC, 2021).

The delivery drivers this paper surveyed generally intend to accept all orders to avoid missing out on potential earnings. However, uncertainty about the timing of future orders and variability in their potential earnings raises a crucial question: Would it be more beneficial for drivers to decline orders that are likely to involve low earnings or a long idle time after delivery? If so, how can they make informed choices when selecting orders? This paper aims to explore the key factors that can support drivers in making these decisions.

The role of order cancelation in Taiwan’s Uber Eats delivery process was first highlighted. This paper followed the grounded theory methodology and collected the data of completed orders from delivery drivers and authors’ participation in deliveries. The data included variables representing order characteristics, such as departure neighborhood, destination and duration for completing the order. Regression methods were then used to identify the variables that affect the driver’s evaluation of a received order in terms of the order’s earnings and idle time after completing the order and determine whether the order is desirable to the driver.

Upon receiving an order, drivers can decide whether to accept it by evaluating the earnings they will make for completing the order. The earnings are likely higher if the pay rate multiplier is higher that day or the order departure neighborhood is in a hot zone. After arriving at the restaurant, drivers can again make this decision by estimating the idle time they will spend waiting for their next order after delivering the current order. This idle time is likely longer if the driver is expected to spend greater time fulfilling the order since receipt, or if the earnings for completing the order are greater. This idle time is likely shorter if there are more restaurants in the order destination neighborhood, or if the order departure neighborhood or the order destination neighborhood is in a hot zone. Orders can be categorized as good or poor and the key factors for this categorization are whether the order departure and destination neighborhoods are in a hot zone, and the waiting time at the restaurant.

While food delivery research has commonly focused on customer satisfaction and platform efficiency, less attention has been paid to the strategic decision-making of delivery drivers – a relatively underrepresented group in the gig economy. This study aims to help these drivers become more adept participants in the competitive landscape of food delivery platforms. By examining how Taiwanese drivers navigate platform structures to maximize profitability and improve their work experience, this research contributes valuable insights to discussions on the sustainability of gig work.

The integration of industry 4.0 has become a priority for many organizations. However, not all organizations are suitable and capable of implementing industry 4.0 because it requires a dynamic and flexible implementation strategy. The implementation of industry 4.0 often involves overcoming several tensions between internal and external stakeholders. This paper aims to explore the paradoxical tensions that arise for health-care organizations when integrating industry 4.0. Moreover, it discusses how a paradox lens can support the conceptualization and proposes techniques for handling tensions during the integration of industry 4.0.

This qualitative and in-depth study draws upon 32 semi-structured interviews. The empirical case concerns how two health-care organizations handle paradoxical tensions during the integration of industry 4.0.

The exploration resulted in six recurring technology tensions: technology invention (modularized design vs. flexible design), technology collaboration (automation vs. human augmentation), technology-driven patient experience (control vs. autonomy), technology uncertainty (short-term experimentation vs. long-term planning), technology invention and diffusion through collaborative efforts among stakeholders (selective vs. intensive collaboration) and technological innovation (market maintenance vs. disruption).

A paradox theory-informed conceptual model is proposed for how to handle tensions during the integration of industry 4.0. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to introduce paradox theory for quality management, including lean and Six Sigma.

This paper aims to further our understanding of policy–practice gaps in organizations from an organizational learning perspective. The authors conceptualize and analyze policy–practice gaps in terms of what they label the dual challenge of organizational learning, i.e. the organizational tasks of both adapting ongoing practices to prescribed policy demands and adapting the policy itself to the needs of practice. Specifically, the authors address how this dual challenge can be understood in terms of organizational learning and how an organization can be managed to successfully resolve the dual learning challenge and, thereby, bridge policy–practice gaps in organizations.

This paper draws on existing literature to explore the gap between policy and practice. Through a synthesis of theories and an illustrative practical example, this paper highlights key conceptual underpinnings.

In the analysis of the dual challenge of organizational learning, this study provides a conceptual framework that emphasizes the important role of tensions and contradictions between policy and practice and their role as drivers of organizational learning. To bridge policy–practice gaps in organizations, this paper proposes five key principles that aim to resolve the dual challenge and accommodate both deployment and discovery in organizations.

Because this is a conceptual study, empirical research is called for to explore further and test the findings and conclusions of the study. Several avenues of possible future research are proposed.

This paper primarily contributes by introducing and elaborating on a conceptual framework that offers novel perspectives on the dual challenges of facilitating both discovery and deployment processes within organizations.