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Since its introduction by Anthony Giddens in the early 1980s, the use of the concept of “agency” as a way to accommodate an irreducible element of voluntarism into sociological explanations has grown exponentially in the literature. In this chapter, we examine the most prominent theoretical justifications for adopting the notion of “agency” as an integral part of such explanations. We distinguish three broad sets of justifications: the meaningfulness/intentionality of social action, the need for “agency” to explain change in social structures, and the link between agency, social accountability, and human dignity. We find that none of these provides a convincing rationale for the analytical utility of agency. This raises the question of what work it actually does perform in the sociological literature.

Understanding the role of mental health stigma in the workplace and its effect on employment for parents of children with mental health disabilities is limited. Using a conceptual approach to stigma that incorporates four interrelated stigma types, a scoping review of the literature was conducted to locate research on mental health stigma within the workplace directed at parents of children with mental health disabilities. Twenty-six research articles and 12 websites met the study inclusion criteria. Findings confirm parents of children with mental health disabilities experience public, self, courtesy, and structural stigma in the workplace, which affects their workforce participation. Articles in the review report limited strategies available to parents to combat stigma and discrimination due to public mental health stigma. Gaps in the literature and opportunities for parents, parent support organizations, workplaces, and policy-makers are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to explore the shifting power dynamics within an inter-organizational relationship (IOR) over time through an institutional theory lens. Specifically, this manuscript explores power by acknowledging its relationality, temporality and typology through a case study focusing on an international collegiate ice hockey tournament. This study seeks to demonstrate the complexity of power as a multi-dimensional, relational, and temporal concept that can ebb and flow given actors’ positionality.

This study uses a chronological case study that is an appropriate in-depth qualitative framework to explore the how and why of a particular phenomenon. Yin (2018) describes a case study as “investigat[ing] a contemporary phenomenon (the ‘case’) in depth and within its real-world context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context may not be clearly evident” (p. 45). Specifically, I used a chronological case study method as it provides the ability to document the chronology of events to determine important factors shaping the phenomenon (Yin, 2018). This includes collecting various types of data (organizational documents, news articles, interviews and observations) to create a robust understanding of a bounded chronological case over time.

Examining power dynamics is important as “power or its absence influences the mechanisms available to partners for initiating, challenging, and/or enforcing institutional change” (Gray et al., 2022, p. 3). This paper demonstrates the complexity of power as a multi-dimensional, relational and temporal concept that can ebb and flow given actors’ positionality. Further, the paper provides a case study showing how power asymmetries in an IOR can shift over time.

This study provides a case study on an IOR wherein multiple international organizations collaborated to create an ice hockey tournament. Through the case study, I demonstrate how different partners navigate power imbalances and changes over time.

This study provides a textbook case study of a successful IOR. Entrepreneurial actors capitalized on a catalyst event to leverage a boundary-spanning document and their professional networks to form a new identity and shared vision through the formation of the tournament. Further, this study provides insight into how an organization in an IOR can work to balance asymmetrical power relations.

As organizations seek to engage in collaborations, leveraging power through their contextuality can help create more equitable arrangements over time. Even when organizations may truly be at a disadvantage when entering an IOR, such as a local indigenous community partnering with an international corporation or non-profit, the status of particular locals or local organizations can be powerful in balancing an imbalanced relationship.

While a wealth of research documents the relational dynamics of IORs, there remains a significant gap in our understanding pertaining to the dynamics of power asymmetries in IOR partnerships. Existing research primarily focuses on the antecedents leading to sport organizations engaging in IORs and the various processes organizational leaders can employ to ensure an IOR’s success. However, several scholars acknowledge a profound gap in our understanding of how partners experiencing a power deficit in an IOR partnership work to balance power asymmetries.

The use of the concept of “agency,” in the sense of action that is to some extent free of “structural” constraints, has enjoyed enormous and growing popularity in the sociological literature over the past several decades. In a previous paper, we examined the range of theoretical rationales offered by sociologists for the inclusion of the notion of “agency” in sociological explanations. Having found these rationales seriously wanting, in this paper we attempt to determine empirically what role “agency” actually plays in the recent sociological literature. We examine a random sample of 147 articles in sociology journals that use the concept of “agency” with the aim of identifying the ways in which the term is used and what function the concept serves in the sociological explanations offered. We identify four principal (often overlapping) uses of “agency”: (1) purely descriptive; (2) as a synonym for “power”; (3) as a way to identify resistance to “structural” pressures; and (4) as a way to describe intelligible human actions. We find that in none of these cases the notion of “agency” adds anything of analytical or explanatory value. These different uses have one thing in common, however: they all tend to use the term “agency” in a strongly normative sense to mark the actions the authors approve of. We conclude that “agency” seems to serve the purpose of registering the authors' moral or political preferences under the guise of a seemingly analytical concept.

Public scepticism is becoming more prevalent surrounding organizations' corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation and communication. Management research has tended to over-fixate on the strategic paybacks of CSR, and less attention has been devoted to examining why CSR is under siege due to the pervasive issue of scepticism coming from a plethora of stakeholders. This study provides a scoping review to appraise the status quo of CSR vis-à-vis scepticism scholarship and examine how the two concepts have been contextualized in relation to one another in the extant literature in question. The findings illustrate that the process nature of CSR scepticism is complex, given that CSR can yield both a buffering and boomerang effect on CSR practitioners. The qualitative content analysis performed on 58 studies, published from 2007 to 2022, elaborates on CSR scepticism as a multidimensional construct with three distinctive typologies of research approaches identified, explicating how the CSR and scepticism topicalities have been cross-examined in relation to one another: “Typology 1: Dispositional Scepticism and the Buffering Effect of CSR on Scepticism”; “Typology 2: Situational Scepticism and the Boomerang Effect of CSR on Scepticism”; “Typology 3: Centrality of CSR Scepticism and CSR Scepticism Mitigation.” This study offers a conceptual insight into the prevalent issue of scepticism in the CSR context, while also informing marketing, communication, and public relations professionals about the necessity of mitigating CSR scepticism, which poses a barrier to effective CSR implementation and communication processes.

Small talk, often regarded as a superficial interaction unrelated to work, is a pervasive and inescapable aspect of daily life and professional settings. In China, where the notion of guanxi – the cultivation of strategic relationships – is deeply valued, workplace small talk (WST) is a strategic tool used by employees to strengthen their interpersonal networks. This study aims to investigate the positive impact of WST on task performance within the Chinese workplace and explores the mechanisms underpinning this relationship.

This study adopted a time-lagged research design to test its hypotheses using data from 516 employees across various Chinese firms.

This study revealed that WST exerts both direct and indirect positive effects on task performance. It boosts task performance indirectly via two mediators: relational energy and positive affect. This study also delineated a chain mediation model wherein WST sequentially elevates task performance by first enhancing relational energy and then fostering positive affect.

Counter to the prevailing focus on the negative repercussions of WST, this study sheds light on its beneficial outcomes, proposing novel pathways connecting WST to task performance. These insights contribute to both academic discourse and the development of practical management strategies.

The growth of interest in individual and organizational performance has elevated the importance of theories that explain their mutual relationships. The aim of this study is to thoroughly explore how different factors that boost performance, such as individual motivation and management systems, are connected to the results achieved by both individuals and the organization as a whole.

Data were collected from 409 employees across heterogenous companies. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to examine the relationships among the performance enable variables and output performance variables.

The results of the final model show (1) a strong relationship between individual and organizational performance, (2) a moderate relationship between an individual’s satisfaction with the task between internal motivation and individual performance, (3) a moderate relationship between organizational skills between internal motivation and organizational performance, (4) a relationship between adherence to the principles of management systems and organizational performance. It was also found that (5) the motivation of employees mediates the relationship between adherence to the principles of management systems and individual performance.

The limitation could be the choice of scales for individual factors, as some of them have not been validated in the past and have only been empirically examined in this study. Another limitation could be the geographical scope of the study, as the data were collected from only one country.

This research introduces a new approach to exploring the relationship between motivational factors, management systems and performance at both individual and organizational levels. Unlike previous studies that focused on isolated performance components, our research presents a comprehensive model integrating these factors into a unified framework. This model offers deeper insights into how the combination of internal motivations and management systems impacts performance in various contexts. The research fills a gap in the literature on the interactions between these key components and provides new empirical evidence on their influence in achieving performance goals.

Air pollution poses a significant global threat to both human health and environmental stability, acknowledged by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a notable contributor to climate change. This chapter offers a comprehensive review of the impacts of air pollution on health, highlighting the complex interactions with genetic predispositions and epigenetic mechanisms. The consequences of air pollution to health are extensive, spanning respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes, neurodevelopmental disorders, and heightened mortality rates. Genetic factors play a pivotal role in shaping individual responses to air pollution, influencing susceptibility to respiratory illnesses and the severity of symptoms. Additionally, epigenetic changes triggered by exposure to pollutants have been linked to respiratory health issues, cancer development and progression, and even transgenerational effects spanning multiple generations. As countries, including the UK, pursue ambitious targets for reducing emissions, ongoing research into the complex interplay of air pollution, genetics, and epigenetics is essential. By unravelling the underlying mechanisms and advancing preventive and therapeutic strategies, we can protect public health and promote sustainable environmental practices in the face of this pervasive global challenge.