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Rhetoric has long had a bad reputation, as synonymous with “false and empty speech”. In the last century, rhetoric has undergone an important reappraisal, which has seen it applied also to corporate communication, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and, most recently, sustainability communication. However, the bad reputation that rhetoric has accumulated over the years continues to weigh on the legacy of the discipline, creating theoretical and methodological bias. This research represents a work that aims to map and systematize the academic literature related to rhetorical analysis in the context of CSR and sustainability communication. After a systematic literature review, a state-of-art literature mapping was carried out in order to create typological clusters of current approaches within traditional rhetoric theory, holding firm the assumption that the rhetorical discipline should be considered as a set of reasoned and structured techniques useful for corporate discourse and its persuasive effectiveness. The analysis has enlightened wide academic research regarding the study of rhetoric in corporate communications studies clustered in six typologies of topic endorsed by a specific goal that rhetoric would have in the studies.

The new teleworking conditions imposed by extreme events such as the COVID-19 pandemic blur the border between home and official working space, amplifying the conflicting demands of family and work life experienced by employees across national cultures. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study explores cross-national variances in the underlying mechanism of how family–work conflict (FWC) affects employees’ operational and marketing productivity in the global epidemic-induced teleworking context.

This study conducts a large-scale and cross-national survey of 710 remote employees who worked from home partially or fully during the COVID-19 outbreak across three countries: the USA, the UK and Vietnam.

The results show that FWC drives affective commitment, leading to greater employees’ operational and marketing productivity when teleworking. We also find distinct moderating effects of organizational factors (i.e. task control) and employees’ psychological factors (i.e. emotional exhaustion) on the FWC–operational productivity link across the three countries. Moreover, centralization positively moderates the effect of operational productivity on marketing productivity in the teleworking context in Vietnam, while it is not the case in the USA and the UK.

This study fills a gap in the literature by revealing cross-national differences in the underlying mechanism of the FWC effects on employees’ operational and marketing productivity in the pandemic-induced teleworking conditions. It extends extant studies in the work–family literature by introducing affective commitment as an important mediator in translating the negative consequences of FWC to operational and marketing productivity gain in crisis-driven teleworking across national cultures. We also provide insights into the distinct moderating roles of task control and emotional exhaustion in determining the FWC effect on operational productivity as well as that of centralization in driving marketing productivity. The findings have substantive implications for teleworking design and management to improve employee productivity across different national settings.

The article aims to show the relationship between agricultural sustainability practices and the competitive strategies of Argentine wineries. It presents the strategic decisions, resources and capabilities of those Argentine wineries performing a sustainable agricultural approach.

Wineries in all wine regions of Argentina were surveyed to assess the interaction between wineries’ dynamics and characteristics, as well as their business and agronomical practices. The dataset accounts for 204 wineries, a representative sample of Argentinean wineries. We developed an agricultural index representing the degree of application of sustainable practices of an Argentine winery based on answers related to two items from the production phase: soil maintenance and phytosanitary protection. We then relate the index to exogenous explanatory variables in terms of business practices: resources and capabilities (price, income from other activities, technological resources, human resources and export activities) and Robinson and Pearce's competitive strategies (innovation strategy, marketing strategy, strategy efficiency and service strategy). A microeconometric model is proposed since it best fits this research’s objective and data type, specifically a logit/probit model.

The results show that wineries in Argentina performing agricultural sustainability practices have more technological and human resources and implement innovative product strategies. However, the results also show that wineries that receive more than 50% of their income from other activities do not show much concern about agronomical sustainability practices.

Wineries in Argentina that address objectives to reduce agricultural and environmental impact have more technological and human resources. Innovative wineries from Argentina that perform these sustainable agricultural practices develop a competitive advantage that shows consumers these sustainable agricultural practices worldwide as a differentiator. This attribute makes them different and helps them cope with their demands. The article delves into these new practices that are now reaching Argentina after being established in Europe for many years.

This chapter explores the emergence of niche food tourists, who prioritise ‘passion products’ like, for example wine, beer, olive oil, and cheese, and choose destinations and experiences accordingly. Academic and market studies reveal that niche food tourists constitute a growing segment, embracing an ‘omnivore’ approach to food and beverage products and experiences. Destinations and stakeholders must prioritise tourism strategies focused on ‘passionate products’, innovate and diversify offerings, and foster public–private collaborations to attract these discerning travellers. Addressing digitalisation gaps and increasing the visibility of related tourism experiences can enhance accessibility. By effectively managing these strategies, destinations can benefit economically and culturally, stimulating food heritage preservation and increasing overall income.

Evaluating and exploiting an opportunity is an iterative process, and one of the triggers for the re-evaluation is the feedback received from stakeholders. Most of the time, the feedback comes in the form of harsh comments, criticisms and rejections, which can cause shame. There is also a lack of studies on the impact of shame on the decision-making ability of the entrepreneur, which is addressed through this study.

The study uses an experimental design, which is considered the “gold standard” in establishing causality. By manipulating the emotions of 107 entrepreneurs and making them assess a hypothetical opportunity, the study finds conclusive evidence for the proposed hypotheses.

Using the appraisal tendency framework, the authors show that shame makes an entrepreneur assess an opportunity as lower in desirability and feasibility. Shame also makes an entrepreneur give more significant weight to feasibility (over desirability) when deciding on entrepreneurial action.

The study provides strong empirical evidence that shame is an important emotion and influences the decision-making ability of the entrepreneur. The study reveals that important stakeholders assessing entrepreneurs need to be careful about how they provide feedback. Since the emotion it can elicit has a bearing on the subsequent decisions made by the entrepreneur.

This study aims to examine the geographical spread of the EU-funded circular economy projects in the European Union.

The authors use a novel database of research and development projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund related to the circular economy to estimate a fractional response model on data for 231 European regions.

First, the authors detect a geographical pattern in the share of circular economy funds. Second, the authors find that institutional quality, employment, human capital and income may drive the concentration of circular economy research and development funds. Third, the authors find overall differences between technology projects and circular economy projects, suggesting that addressing the circular economy at the subnational level is complex.

This work can be helpful to disseminate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the authors pay special emphasis on SDGs numbers 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and 13 (Climate Action).

The findings confirm the existence of a geographical spread of the circular economy, which may be useful to move toward regional sustainable development in the European Union.

This study aims to investigate the dynamic nature of local economies through the lens of cluster life cycle (CLC) theory. The authors offer an original perspective on the comparison of the mature Old World wine industry and the growing New World one, viewed through the lens of the CLC aiming to understand the specific stage of cluster development for these regions. The authors aim to define the CLC dynamics of two world-renowned wine clusters, symbolizing these old and new world wine industries: Napa and Bordeaux.

The research adopts a case study approach, specifically analyzing the Bordeaux and Napa Valley wine clusters, using a CLC identification framework. This study integrates recent conceptual advances from evolutionary and institutional economic geography, incorporating a dynamic “path” approach to cluster development stages.

In examining Bordeaux, despite indications of maturity in the wine industry, the cluster displays signs of transformation, marked by reorganization, diversification and adaptation to new conditions, such as enotourism and technological clusters. In contrast, Napa Valley, while well established, exhibits characteristics of sustainment with stabilized business dynamics.

This study acknowledges its exploratory nature and the need for future empirical studies on various clusters to fully validate and refine the CLC identification framework.

The proposed CLC identification framework serves as a valuable tool for policymakers and companies by facilitating precise identification of cluster development stages. This tool enables stakeholders to better understand and address the specific needs and characteristics of clusters at different stages, enhancing the effectiveness of targeted interventions and support measures.

This research advances CLC theory by introducing the development trajectories of the Napa and Bordeaux clusters, analyzed independently of their dominant industries, using the CLC path identification model. This approach provides a fresh perspective on cluster evolution, enriching the theoretical framework with insights that transcend traditional industry-specific analysis. By enhancing the precision and relevance of cluster stage identification, this research offers a valuable guide for policymakers and cluster stakeholders, enabling them to better understand the dynamics of cluster development and intervene effectively at critical stages.

This study aims to understand the factors influencing university students’ entrepreneurial intentions in a rapidly developing entrepreneurial country.

A cross-sectional survey of 324 Emirati students was conducted. Using a structural equation analysis, the study identified strong associations between positive attitudes, self-efficacy, perceived university and country-level support for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. However, the relationship between social norms and intention was not direct, but an indirect relationship was found when coupled with self-efficacy and attitudes.

The findings suggest that increasing public awareness and promoting entrepreneurship as a viable career option will significantly impact students’ entrepreneurial intentions in the UAE. Furthermore, providing practical educational and resource opportunities can facilitate the process of starting a business.

This study contributes to entrepreneurship research by providing a unique perspective on the interrelationships among social, government and economic influences in an entrepreneurial context.

Branding in the labor market is an important issue due to the growing importance of brand. This study aimed to analyze the term of trust in the employee- and employer-based brand equity for gray-, blue-, and white-collar workers using bibliometric analysis. The study design included the formulation of three research questions. Bibliometric data comprised 205 employee-based brand equity publications and 40 employer-based brand equity publications from the Scopus database. The analysis involved quantitative measures such as the number of publications and citations as well as the frequency of source types, authors, and countries. VOSviewer software mapped the co-occurrence of keywords in employee- and employer-based brand equity publications. These mappings revealed eight clusters related to employee-based brand equity publications and four clusters in terms of employer-based brand equity publications. The issue of trust has been analyzed in publications on employee-based brand equity; no such studies have been noted for employer-based brand equity. Employee- and employer-based brand equity has not been analyzed for various collar workers.