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The purpose of this study is to explore the consequences of brand grief resulting from the loss of strong consumer-brand relationships (CBR) and devise a typology of grieving consumers. The paper specifically attempts to understand the effect of brand grief stemming from the termination of CBR due to brand death and brand transgression in the context of product and human brand.

Considering the exploratory nature of this study, qualitative research methodology employing in-depth interviews from consumers of global products and human brands is employed. To derive further insights, the artifacts shared by the consumers were also analyzed.

The research identifies several notable consequences of brand grief, encompassing switching, avoidance, hoarding and diminution of trust. Furthermore, a typology is developed to better understand the diverse reactions to brand grief. This model categorizes grieving consumers into four distinct groups – switchers, evaders, amassers and skeptics – across the three stages of grief: onset, experience and acceptance. These findings are consistent across both product and human brands.

Grounded in theories of possessions, loss and recovery and symbolic interactionism across the salient stages from onset to the experiences and eventual acceptance of brand grief, this research delves into the under-examined consequences of brand grief within the marketing literature. Further, the proposed typologies illuminate the scantly understood behaviors of grieving consumers as they navigate the grieving process following CBR loss due to brand death and transgression.

Firm community service initiatives are popular and generally seen as positive developments. However, moral licensing theory suggests engaging in community service (acting morally) can facilitate subsequent immoral behavior, which could diminish audit quality. In a series of experiments with practicing auditors, we provide evidence that voluntary community service causes moral licensing, but mandatory service (i.e., participation in a firm-wide event) attenuates moral licensing. Compared to a control group, auditors who voluntarily committed to a service activity engaged in more dysfunctional audit behavior, but auditors who were told they would be participating in a firm-directed service event did not. Our study highlights an unintended consequence of employee volunteerism, and contributes to research on audit quality, and ethical behavior in professional settings.

The purpose of this paper is to identify specific practices companies can adopt to unleash the social entrepreneurial spirit of their employees. It is in response to growing expectations from customers, employees, investors and governmental agencies around the world that businesses serve not just the financial interests of their shareholders but the environmental and social expectations of all citizens. By encouraging and supporting employees to pursue innovative products, services and management practices that address both the company’s business interests and the individual’s social passions, corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) has the potential to do both.

A systematic review (SR) of academic studies published in peer-reviewed journals was conducted to answer the review question: What are the organizational enablers of CSE in large national and multinational corporations? Thirteen relevant high-quality academic research studies were identified. These studies were then synthesized through a multi-step coding process using Atlas.ti. Common themes were identified and actionable management recommendations developed.

Three findings emerged: (a) that while an organization’s values, demonstrated by its leadership, empower CSEs, specific structures and practices are required to enable them to have the intended impact on its environmental and social performance; (b) that CSEs are motivated, but organizations need to invest in developing their skills and capabilities; and (c) when CSE success is recognized and rewarded it positively impacts future efforts by other employees.

Available research has focused on the characteristics of the individual CSEs and the challenges they face. Although that research provided sufficient insights to support the analysis performed in this study, little research has been conducted to establish the extent to which CSE: (a) is used by businesses today, (b) is positively impacting company corporate social responsibility (CSR) perceptions; (c) may be improved through the application of the study’s recommendations, (d) is affected by leadership styles and business cultures and (e) differs across industry, national and political settings. Both qualitative and quantitative research into these and related topics are needed.

This paper provides a comprehensive view of the relationship between an organization’s practices and CSE success. It recommends that executives communicate their personal and the organization’s values; that they make specific, targeted organizational investments to support CSE; actively identify, recruit and train these employees; and establish, measure and report CSE results.

CSE is an important complementary approach to CSR, environmental, social and governance investing and the United Nation’s sustainability development goals. It can contribute to businesses serving not just the commercial interests of their shareholders but the environmental and social expectations of all citizens.

While previous studies have focused on the personal characteristics and behaviors of CSEs, this is the first to use these insights to develop a comprehensive understanding of the organizational characteristics required for their success. Corporations are increasingly expected to meet the environmental and social expectations of all stakeholders, yet these programs are too often seen as more symbolic than substantive. This paper provides a roadmap for institutionalizing CSE as an important contributor to these efforts.

Drawing primarily on the Japanese context, this study aims to highlight this setting to emphasise the potential for tertiary-level self-access language centres to develop lifelong global citizenship, self-reflection and cross-cultural collaboration.

This inquiry calls on the community of practice approach to account for the shared interests motivating lifelong cross-cultural participation, the quality of social engagement between actors, and the material and cognitive tools called upon to realise global citizenship’s shared enterprise.

As argued here, embracing various cultures and inclusive participation can lead to a broader understanding of global citizenship, avoiding narrow-minded views of globalism through shared knowledge and critical practices. Further, self-access provides a cost-effective, technology-mediated alternative to bilateral student mobility, whereby digital community-building occasions cross-cultural practice that may be extended throughout a learner’s life, irrespective of their financial status or place of study.

This study is one of a select few drawing on the community of practice framework within the context of lifelong global citizenship. Nevertheless, such an approach remains primed for future development. With a social constructivist philosophy in view, the authors suggest complementary qualitative research approaches that highlight the socially situated nature of both disciplines.

The study investigates the role of e-commerce adoption on Ghana’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) business performance.

A sample of 309 owner-managers of entrepreneurial SMEs was employed using LISREL to determine the nature of the underlying relationships among the study constructs.

The findings show that adopting e-commerce significantly improves SMEs' performance. The study also found that trust effectively mediates the relationship between e-commerce adoption and SME business performance. Finally, the study found that firm agility moderates the relationship between e-commerce adoption and business performance.

The study recommends SMEs in Ghana seeking to grow their businesses capitalize on e-commerce capabilities to enhance their business performances while ensuring trusting relationships, especially in the delivery of e-commerce services consistently, to improve their contribution to overall business performance.

The findings would help managers of SMEs in Ghana to deliver optimum value in their e-commerce operations to improve their business performances in an uncertain world.

The United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) emphasises the need for those with disabilities to be guaranteed full access to participation in society (United Nations, 2006). This rights-based approach in higher education foregrounds the importance of removing practical and attitudinal barriers within how institutions, or staff, interact with students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) that facilitate their access. This chapter summarises the key findings of my PhD thesis where I use my unique positioning as a TBI survivor and status as a PhD student to gain deeper understanding of the experience of access for neurodiverse students in higher education. I contend that we can be marginalised in these settings. In this chapter, I argue for the importance of student voice in decision and policymaking processes in higher education, aligning with ‘nothing about us, without us’ (Charlton, 2000). A blended methodology of autoethnography and phenomenology was used in my scholarship, which meant listening to the perspectives of students with TBI who often navigate the educational environment differently. Loss, change of identity and care are significant factors in shaping experiences. This research has much to offer as it uses the researcher's and participant's voices to transform rather than maintain the status quo regarding access for students with TBI. Inclusive education must place flexibility and diversity at its core and consider the person when putting academic programmes and support in place.