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This book chapter briefly discusses the historical and cultural context of ethnography and evaluation as positioned in the United States and the opportunities made possible by merging techniques and methodology. By merging, methodological pluralism and increased responsiveness to cultural contexts are leveraged, and the critical relevance of engaging communities in evaluation processes is underlined. However, engaging with communities with marginalized backgrounds can present complicated power dynamics in practice that require the evaluator to rethink their role. Equity-centered research practices from the Equity-Centered Research Framework are linked to expound on the need for transforming the evaluator's role to shift and share power with communities throughout engagement. We expand on how transformative work also requires ongoing examinations of positionality in the evaluator role through the lens of relationships. Borrowing from ethnographic concepts, relational dimensions of positionality are conceptualized as alignment, temporality, and place. Each component is illustrated with details on how power dynamics may occur throughout community engagement as well as ways to manage and mitigate power differentials between the roles of the evaluator and community partners. We then offer three broad evaluator practices to support transformation: (a) identify positionality, (b) embed into everyday practice, and (c) negotiate in collaborations with communities. With these practices, we reflect on critical questions and position communities as critical learning partners to promote actions to mitigate and manage ongoing power dynamics. We close this chapter with our experiences interrogating positionality to illustrate distinct burdens and insights as evaluators of color.

The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which source attractiveness and source credibility (or skill in a sporting context) provide an effective marketing strategy for Field Hockey in New Zealand, a minority sport Minority sports struggle to generate capital and have minimal sponsorship backing due to small participation and viewership rates compared to “major sports”. By understanding how source attractiveness and source credibility work in the context of a minority sport such as hockey, more effective advertising towards target audiences can be achieved. We also consider differences between advertising to players and no-players of the sport. This is the first research to consider these issues.

Four advertisements were created in an experimental design that manipulated the two variables: source credibility and source attractiveness, in an advertisement promoting Hockey. A survey was conducted, using an online questionnaire.

Results show that a mixture physical attractiveness and skill (credibility) increase attitudes towards the advertisement. This results in positive intentions to both watch and play hockey. When the respondents were segmented into hockey players and non-hockey players, only skill is effective for the Hockey Player segment, whereas both skill and attractiveness are effective for non-players.

Future research should include comparing hockey to further minority sports codes. Additionally, understanding if male models created the same effects would be particularly interesting for further research.

Management should focus on skill, with physical attractiveness being considered, but not as the most important attribute. If targeting hockey players, skill needs to be especially visible. Even though these elements could be argued to be within the “proverbial eye of the beholder”, the results have shown that in terms of sports advertising, it is possible to portray these two attributes in a generalised way.

This research to focuses on source credibility and attractiveness in a minority sporting context, in particular field hockey, whereas the majority of research considers major sporting codes. In addition, involvement with the sport is also considered.

Cultural sensitivity is a vital issue in heritage site management, encompassing a profound respect for cultural variety, traditions and values. This delves into the significance of cultural sensitivity in heritage site management, emphasising its function in maintaining cultural authenticity while ensuring a high-quality traveller revel in. Heritage site management necessitates a cautious and respectful method to the maintenance of cultural authenticity. Cultural sensitivity entails recognising the cultural significance of heritage sites, the groups that defend them and the sacred rituals that imbue these sites with ancient and cultural value. Cultural sensitivity is important for heritage site management. It shows how respecting these locations and their communities' cultural legacy is essential to cultural authenticity. By creating a harmonious balance between conservation and a meaningful vacation experience, cultural sensitivity ensures that background sites have a good time and shield their cultural authenticity. This also explores diverse techniques for promoting cultural sensitivity in heritage site management, consisting of network involvement, regulatory frameworks, collaborative partnerships and addressing cultural insensitivity. It emphasises the significance of instructing traffic, setting respectful behaviour codes and engaging with neighbourhood groups to ensure the maintenance of cultural and heritage. Cultural sensitivity serves as a cornerstone in heritage site management, guiding the sensitive dance among retaining cultural authenticity and offering a memorable experience for site visitors. It is a fundamental principle that guarantees heritage sites are reputable, celebrated and preserved in a way that aligns with their cultural importance while fostering a respectful and tasty tourist experience.

The current research inspects the moderation role of ownership concentration on chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics and real earnings management (REM) relationship in Jordan.

Driscoll–Kraay regressions were run using data from 348 firm-year observations for companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange between 2013 and 2018.

Driscoll–Kraay regressions demonstrate that CEO experience, tenure and political connections improve REM practices. Ownership concentration diminishes and limits REM practices when combined with CEO experience, tenure and political connections, since all three have a negative and significant link with REM.

Initial constraints include the study’s lack of generalisability due to a small number of CEO-related parameters. Second, critics of the ideal model for judging EM have a foreseeable flaw. No generally accepted model is perfect.

This study’s conclusions are crucial for industry participants, including companies, policymakers, investors and the general public. These findings will help investors, practitioners and regulators understand that businesses with significant ownership concentrations and experienced CEOs have superior earnings and low REM practises.

The findings of this study have an optimistic impact on the existing body of knowledge. The current literature has yet to properly inspect the moderation role that ownership concentration has on the connotation between CEO characteristics and EM.

Despite several research studies in both developed and developing nations, ownership concentration has been almost virtually neglected. The current study could fill a hole in earlier research, rendering it a novel study.

This paper aims to review and summarize the findings of research dedicated to studying the process of building sustainable business models (BM) triggered by development of COVID-19 pandemic.

Bibliometric analysis is performed to identify the papers most relevant to the topic. The authors review the findings of more than 50 papers from Scopus database published between 2020 and 2022 dedicated to studying BM during COVID-19 pandemic, as well as papers dedicated to sustainability phenomenon and most cited BM research.

The paper identifies the gap in defining BM sustainability and contributes to better understanding of this phenomenon by demarcating it from traditional environment-based United Nations agenda. It also describes why network-based approach to BM helps to better address sustainability aspects. The paper demonstrates how representation of a networked BM by three levels of analysis (namely, structure of a BM, interaction mechanism between BM actors and results of their interaction) is organically connected to the key milestones of the value creation process (value definition, value creation, value distribution and value capture) and shows how these three levels can be used to analyze and structure the practical changes proposed in COVID-19-oriented BM. Finally, the paper summarizes key findings of the studies dedicated to BM during the pandemic and structures key insights in relation to building sustainable BM.

The results of the paper contribute to developing theory around BM sustainability as well as provide insights for business practitioners on how to adjust BM during the crisis. At the same time, many insights shown in the paper are industry specific, which limits their generalizability, as well as consequences of the pandemic are still not fully clear. Therefore, the authors argue that future research should be primarily focused on developing generalizable measurement frameworks to evaluate the antecedents, process and results of BM adaptation.

The paper strengthens theoretical foundations for the research focused on BM sustainability and helps businesses to better manage the adaptation in the fast-changing environment.

Scholars have underscored the importance of organizational authenticity, but it is unclear how it influences the links among market strategy, and nonmarket strategy (NMS) and firm performance. This study addresses this gap in the literature.

A survey of 294 managers in firms based in the United States investigates configurations among competitive strategy (e.g. cost leadership or differentiation), political and social nonmarket strategy (NMS), authenticity, and firm performance.

Cost leaders tend to engage in political nonmarket strategy (PNMS), but the interaction does not necessarily improve firm performance. Differentiators are more likely to pursue social nonmarket strategy (SNMS) and perform better, but neither market-nonmarket strategy configuration is inherently optimal.

The results support market-nonmarket strategy configurations but do not prescribe optimal combinations. However, the sample is cross-sector and employs self-reports for firm performance.

Political and social authenticity can enhance firm performance, but nonmarket activity can compromise a firm’s ability to be politically and socially authentic. Authenticity can drive performance, but a firm’s nonmarket activity can compromise its ability to be politically and socially authentic. Firms should view a prospective loss in authenticity as a potential cost of nonmarket activity.

This paper investigates how a firm’s emphasis on market (competitive) strategies, political and social nonmarket strategies, and political and social authenticity impact financial and non-financial performance. It also tests the veracity of two market-nonmarket configurations, cost leadership with political NMS and differentiation with social NMS.

This research paper aimed to investigate the affordances of using virtual reality (VR) in teaching culture among in-service teachers of teaching Persian to speakers of other languages (TPSOL) in Iran.

This qualitative case study, conducted at two Iranian universities, used purposeful sampling to select 34 eligible in-service Persian teachers from a pool of 73. Data collection used an open-ended questionnaire and interviews.

Before the TPSOL in-service training workshop, teachers expressed their reservations regarding the use of VR to teach culture in TPSOL courses. The emerged themes were “skepticism toward effectiveness,” “practicality concerns,” “limited awareness of VR applications,” “technological apprehension” and “prevalence of traditional teaching paradigms.” During the post-workshop interview, it was discovered that the teachers’ perceptions of VR in teaching culture had undergone a positive shift. The workshop generated emergent themes that reflected positive perceptions and affordances for using VR to teach culture in TPSOL, including “enhanced cultural immersion,” “increased student engagement,” “simulation of authentic cultural experiences,” and “facilitation of interactive learning environments.”

One primary limitation is the lack of prior experience with VR for teaching practices in real-world classrooms among the participants. While the study aimed to explore the potential of VR in enhancing pedagogical approaches, the absence of participants with prior exposure to VR in educational contexts may impact the generalizability of the findings to a broader population. Additionally, the study faced practical constraints, such as the unavailability of sufficient facilities in the workshop. As a result, the instructor had to project the VR cont7ent on a monitor, potentially diverging from the immersive nature of true VR experiences. These limitations offer opportunities for future research to refine methodologies and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the implications of integrating VR into teaching practices.

Extensive research has been conducted on the effectiveness of VR in language education. However, there is a significant gap in research on TPSOL, which is considered a less commonly taught language. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the use of VR in the TPSOL through the lenses of in-service teachers. As part of a larger investigation, this qualitative inquiry focuses on the perceptions of in-service teachers about VR, with a particular emphasis on the cultural understanding of the Persian language.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way in which education was delivered in early 2020, and the impacts of these changes continue to be questionable. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) the results obtained by students of the Dentistry course in the progress test carried out both before and after the pandemic, (2) the results obtained by a specific group of students who took the test in 2019–2022, and compare their results and (3) subjects that showed a reduction in the percentage of correct answers when the two tests were compared.

The progress test consisting of 100 multiple choice questions was applied before and after the pandemic to all students in the Dentistry course. The analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS for Statistics v.26 software program. The level of significance of 5% was adopted (<0.05).

The test was applied to 320 students in 2019 and to 272 in 2022, of whom the sample of this study was composed. The mean score values in 2019 (M = 49.10; SD = 12.03) were significantly (p = 0.026) higher than those in the year 2022 (M = 46.97; SD = 12.15), with the disciplines in the area of specific knowledge showing a greater drop in the percentage of correct answers by students. This study showed that the emergency remote education had a negative effect on the academic performance of students, based on the progress testing as an evaluation method.

Many studies that assessed the impacts of the pandemic on teaching were focused on the opinions of students. However, the great advantage of our study was the use of a theoretical assessment tool to verify student performance. The post-pandemic landscape beckons for comprehensive inquiries into these domains. This type of research would be valuable for gathering evidence relative to the performance of students after the emergency remote education.

The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze temporal and spatial journeys for customer engagement in B2B markets from a bibliometric perspective.

The extant literature on customer engagement research in the B2B context was analyzed using bibliometric analysis. The citation analysis, keyword analysis, cluster analysis, three-field plot and bibliographic coupling were used to map the intellectual structure of customer engagement in B2B markets.

The research on customer engagement in the B2B context was studied more in western countries. The analysis suggests that customer engagement in B2B markets will take centre stage in the coming times as digital channels make it easier to track critical metrics besides other key factors. Issues like digital transformation, the use of artificial intelligence for virtual engagement, personalization, innovation and salesforce management by leveraging technology would be critical for improved B2B customer engagement.

The study provides a comprehensive reference to scholars working in this domain.

The study makes a pioneering effort to comprehensively analyze the vast corpus of literature on customer engagement in B2B markets for business insights.