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This paper aims to extend our understanding of the concept of crisis leadership based on perceptions of 48 Australian leaders drawn from various sectors including Australian politics, higher education, not-for-profit and corporate sectors.

This qualitative study employed semi-structured virtual interviews of 48 leaders from Australian politics, higher education, not-for-profit and corporate sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Leximancer text analytics program was used for data analysis.

Participants perceived effective leadership during a crisis as encompassing four macro themes: leadership as power, leadership as emanating from people, leadership as management and leadership as specific to the organization. While these findings reinforced extant literature on facets of effective leadership, leaders from different sectors differed on the relative importance of some leadership themes and their relevance to specific sectors.

While the data were collected from a convenient sample, our findings from multiple sectors in Australia extend our knowledge on crisis leadership by revealing differences in sectorial perspectives of crisis leadership. Further, these findings help refine the extant traditional explanations of leadership and especially offer an enhanced understanding of leadership during a crisis. Consequently, our findings support future research that could help identify specific attributes of leaders navigating organizational crises. Such future research could subsequently help develop a theory on crisis leadership based on a valid and reliable measurement for assessing crisis leadership effectiveness in diverse organizational settings.

Our study is based on multi-sector data and consequently lays a solid foundation for extending the conceptualization of leadership during crisis, and the need to reconceptualize effective leader attributes useful in crisis contexts. Theoretically, the current study extended recent research on crisis leadership, by examining the conceptualizations of crisis leadership within specific Australian sectors.

This paper aims to assess retail shopping avenues for young consumers based on the type of guidance and assistance they pursue (social media vs professional service provider) in purchasing situations judged to be important. Young consumers consider themselves pet parents and pets represent an extension of self. Thus, pet-related products, by their importance, represent an excellent area of analysis for this inquiry.

Data collection was completed in a way that is contextually relevant and gives the results ecological validity with the assistance of a major supplier of pet food. A total of 470 Gen Z owners of small companion animals were obtained. The partial least squares structural equation modeling testing method is considered appropriate for the model analysis due to the structure and homogeneity of the sample and due to the precision of the method.

Results indicate that, in accordance with social media engagement (SME) theory, high SME elevated social commerce purchase intentions while professional advice seekers reported increased brick-and-mortar shopping. Thus, context-dependent, young consumers may purchase from brick-and-mortar sites.

This paper draws on SME and Advice Response Theory and proposes an original model explaining channel selection preferences for young consumers based on the type of advice sought for important purchasing decisions. The model represents a steppingstone to investigate the mechanism that translates information search sources into buying through different channels.

This paper explored the socioeconomic factors affecting green cities development. Extant literature have highlighted green cities as a major path towards sustainability in the construction industry but very little is known on the socioeconomic aspect of green cities and its bid in promoting sustainability in the construction industry; hence, the premise of this study which highlights the socioeconomic factors affecting green cities development in Ghana.

A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify the socioeconomic factors affecting green cities. A quantitative research strategy was adopted to collect primary data from respondents who have the requisite understanding and knowledge in green cities using questionnaires. The data gathered was then analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis viz principal component analysis.

The socioeconomic factors affecting green city development comprised: Green support mechanisms (i.e. innovation and technology, green city planning (urban planning), stakeholder engagement, awareness, city planning (transportation) and environmental regulations); green inhibitors (i.e. population, culture, housing and policy implementation); green market and finance (i.e. digital finance, green market mechanism, green investment finance, risks and uncertainties, income levels of clients). It was evident that socioeconomic factors are significant to the development of green cities in Ghana and hence policy makers and various stakeholders should prioritize socioeconomic factors in the bid to achieve sustainability through green cities in the construction industry.

This paper presents a foremost and comprehensive study on the socioeconomic factors affecting green cities in Ghana. The study results showed that even though the path to sustainability in green cities has pivoted mainly on environmental factors, socioeconomic factors are also significant to green city development, hence, policy makers and the construction industry should keenly consider the socioeconomic factors affecting green city development in the bid towards sustainability for cities.

This paper aims to deepen the understanding of the service design concept by critically analyzing the existing servitization literature. The paper’s main purpose is to structure service design and offer a clear understanding of how it should be applied.

A systematic literature review was conducted within servitization literature to understand the evolution of the service design concept. The authors use service design pillars (i.e. user-centered, co-creative, sequencing, evidencing and holistic) as a theoretical framework to explain how service design should be effectively incorporated into the servitization journey.

The findings expose a discordant interpretation of the pillars underpinning service design, revealing a paradoxical comprehension that jeopardizes its practical advancement within the servitization literature. The authors propose that service design should first be seen holistically, then target user-centered practices for sequencing service development steps, and finally, co-creating with partners to make the service evident to users. Furthermore, the authors contextualize service design within contemporary and traditional service-related issues such as servitization innovation, customer experience, service-dominant logic, service ecosystems and digital transformation.

This research pinpoints the service design concept’s shortcomings in the servitization literature. The study promotes a critical reflection on the service design concept and its current application, providing avenues for future research.

Personnel, particularly frontline employees, represent the face of retailers and help promote the brand, enhancing customer loyalty and satisfaction through positive interactions. This research examines retailing versus non-retailing marketing positions to uncover factors that can increase job satisfaction in retail: work environment factors, job characteristics and psychological factors. These factors allow for a holistic view of today’s competitive market that addresses human motivation theory and reveals important insights for attracting and retaining retail talent who can provide compelling, positive experiences for customers.

Survey research provided the means to collect data and compare retailing versus non-retailing marketing positions. A paid online panel of 2,334 marketing and retail professionals yielded 659 completed surveys. To capture workplace experience of retailers and other marketing professionals, the study measured work environment factors (compensation, customers, recognition received, supervisor support and co-workers), job characteristics (performance feedback, power and control, work variety, autonomy and altruistic opportunity) and psychological factors (job stress, work overload, role conflict and job burnout).

The findings suggest that job characteristics, psychological outcomes, organizational factors, family support and altruistic opportunity affect retail employee satisfaction. These findings offer actionable responses for retailers in their quest to attract and retain retail employees in today’s competitive job market and, in turn, enrich the customer experience journey.

Competition for the best marketing people to work in retail and avoiding negative interactions between retail employees and customers can be expected to increase brand competitiveness. This research was based on survey responses of individuals in marketing positions suggesting individuals that care about their marketing careers. This research has implications for marketing leadership with regard to critical issues of today’s retail personnel. There is an opportunity to make a difference. Without highly satisfied employees, retail will continue to face challenges in finding and keeping individuals who enhance the customer journey and promote desirable brand experiences. Research consistently shows that when job characteristics, satisfiers and stress are negative aspects of the job, people shift to other jobs that provide more personal career fulfillment (Leider et al., 2016; Stamolampros et al., 2019). Even carefully executed digital marketing, strategic data analytics, aesthetics and promotions cannot drive customers to become raving fans of a retail brand without satisfied employees. Retail personnel are critical as they represent the brand and have a significant impact on the customer experience. With limited resources available to retail management, a priority could be in recruiting and training managers to attract and retain the best retail workers and improve the customer experience. Creating positive customer connections is critical in retail.

Practically, this research provides insight into specific areas that need strategic management action to make retail more appealing.

The study provides an overview and comparison of the key aspects of job satisfaction in retail marketing positions compared with non-retail marketing positions.

Police corruption – the use or misuse of entrusted power for personal, institutional or third-party advantage – is widespread in emerging economies. Encounters with justice officials in developing nations often involve the payment of bribes, which undermines justice delivery and impedes socioeconomic development. Efforts to tackle or address corruption are usually complex due to the secretive nature of corruption, its perceived benefit to both victims and perpetrators and a lack of consensus on the causes. This article investigates the causes of police corruption from the viewpoint of Ghanaian police officers.

The study draws on data from a survey of police officers across three regions in Ghana. Descriptive, correlational and linear regression analyses are used to address the issues.

The results show that factors contributing to police corruption are classified into financial, cultural, institutional and oversight/guidance. We found that police officers’ consideration of a factor as a cause of police corruption is influenced by their perceptions of other factors as causes of corruption.

The results show that corruption causes should not be tackled in isolation as they depend on each other. This suggests that a holistic approach needs to be taken when developing strategies to address the causes of police corruption.

This paper contributes to the debate on the causes of police corruption from an African perspective, where there is little quantitative research exploring the causes of police corruption. Control variables do not impact officers’ perceptions of causes of corruption, which contradicts previous studies and contributes to the debate, literature and theory development.

This study aims to advance services marketing research by examining how credence claims, such as sustainability messaging, shape social norms and decision-making behaviors among professional service providers (PSPs). It introduces a typology of PSPs based on their integration of sustainability expertise and normative beliefs. In doing so, the study demonstrates service providers’ role in influencing brand recommendations. By positioning PSPs as intermediaries who translate sustainability knowledge into actionable guidance, the research highlights how credible eco-claims drive pro-social behaviors, underscoring the importance of services marketing in promoting pro-environmental actions and fostering societal change.

A sample of 467 veterinarians were contacted from across North America with the assistance of a major pet food supplier. Structural equation modeling measured the degree to which social norms, a belief in eco-claims and sustainability expertise shaped sustainability importance for professionals. A post hoc 2 × 2 typology placed professionals in quadrants based on eco-related factors, with sustainability-based brand recommendations analyzed based on their quadrant placement.

Social norms and sustainability expertise were instrumental in predicting the importance of professionals’ environmental stewardship. The typology determined that each quadrant of professionals reported significantly different likelihoods of recommending eco-friendly products to their clients.

This study introduces a novel perspective in services marketing by linking sustainability messaging to social norms and decision-making. It presents a unique typology of PSP profiles based on sustainability expertise and normative influences. By positioning PSPs as intermediaries who translate sustainability knowledge into actionable guidance, the research emphasizes the service sector’s capability of driving pro-environmental behaviors and advancing sustainable practices.

Controversy has long swirled over the claim that Donald Trump's base has deeply rooted authoritarian tendencies, but Trump himself seems to have few doubts. Asked whether his stated wish to be dictator “on day one” of second term in office would repel voters, Trump said “I think a lot of people like it.” It is one of his invariable talking points that 74 million voters supported him in 2020, and he remains the unrivaled leader of the Republican Party, even as his rhetoric escalates to levels that cautious observers now routinely call fascistic.

Is Trump right that many people “like” his talk of dictatorship? If so, what does that mean empirically? Part of the answer to these questions was apparent early, in the results of the 2016 American National Election Study (ANES), which included survey questions that we had proposed which we drew from the aptly-named “Right-Wing Authoritarianism” scale. Posed to voters in 2012–2013 and again in 2016, those questions elicited striking responses.

In this chapter, we revisit those responses. We begin by exploring Trump's escalating anti-democratic rhetoric in the light of themes drawn from Max Weber and Theodor W. Adorno. We follow this with the text of the 2017 conference paper in which we first reported that 75% of Trump's voters supported him enthusiastically, mainly because they shared his prejudices, not because they were hurting economically. They hoped to “get rid” of troublemakers and “crush evil.” That wish, as we show in our conclusion, remains central to Trump's appeal.

People experiencing homelessness often have multiple health and other support needs, requiring complex, coordinated support. Admission to hospital is potentially an opportunity to address these needs and begin integrating care, but so often it is a missed one. Our purpose in this research was to evaluate an ongoing, roll-out programme that offered government funding to 17 “test sites” across England to develop integrated care as part of post-discharge “step-down” support. In this paper, we examine senior stakeholder experiences of seeking to implement integrated care as part of specialist step-down care.

In this paper, we focus on data collected in interviews with key stakeholders (N = 10) who managed the mobilisation of local out of hospital care models for people experiencing homelessness. Interviews were conducted and analysed from a relational perspective, that is focusing on relationships between interactants, through which, for example, identities, understanding and integrating practice emerge.

A relational perspective on the data provides insights to better understand the complexity of integrating care at the point of hospital discharge for people experiencing homelessness.

Although in depth, the data were limited to certain perspectives on the issues. Other perspectives and data collection from in-depth study of case sites would be invaluable in developing the empirical evidence base for a relational understanding of integrating care.

A relational perspective highlights the emergent and ongoing nature of integrating care in this context of support for people experiencing homelessness. The need for different system agents to work to be constantly enacting the desired support is crucial to understanding future system changes for integrating care.

This is the first paper developing a relational analysis of integrating care. It highlights a different theoretical perspective on the issues and important insights.

This study draws on the Social Process of Leadership (SPL) to identify the necessary behavioural leadership characteristics for trust-building in virtual crisis environments.

The study employs an in-depth qualitative case-study approach that is embedded in local contexts. Multiple sources of data – organisational documents, in-depth qualitative interviews, observational evidence and field notes – were used in the study. Interviews were informed by a purposeful sampling strategy and were semi-structured. This allowed the interviewer to use prompts to follow up with unanticipated issues raised by participants. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo.

Three key themes (related to how leaders nurture trust in virtual and crisis contexts) emerged from the data. These relate to nurturing trust by (1) optimising and providing a clear vision through reconfigured and personalised communication structures; (2) minimising uncertainty, optimising and modelling values-based behaviours and (3) enhancing adaptability and performance.

The study extends the applicability of this theoretical approach to remote workplaces. It also contributes to the literature on crisis leadership by showcasing how leaders’ crisis responses based on SPL help organisations navigate disruptions. Limitations regarding the small sample size and the one case study context exist.

Organisations should invest in leadership and resilience and build strong remote/hybrid working models in preparation for future crises.

Despite the growing popularity of SPL, there is limited work on how leaders implement SPL processes to build and maintain trust in virtual workplaces. Furthermore, SPL has not yet been applied in highly disruptive work contexts, like those created by the pandemic.