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This chapter explores the essence of transformational leadership through Taylor Swift’s unique perspective on fearlessness, highlighting the importance of resilience and perseverance. Swift’s leadership style exemplifies key principles such as inspirational motivation, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. By inspiring fans with a compelling vision, fostering trust through authenticity, engaging creatively with her audience, and supporting individual growth, Swift demonstrates how transformational leadership can drive remarkable success. This chapter provides valuable insights on how transformational leadership (Downton, 1973) can positively impact any team or organization.

European countries are experiencing a phenomenon known as “double aging,” which is placing long-term care regimes under considerable strain. The majority of long-term care is provided by relatives, and this informal care is vital for the functioning of care regimes. Most of this informal long-term care (iLTC) is provided by women. The consequences of the unequal distribution of care within society are a crucial, yet poorly addressed aspect of social policy research. We address this research gap and provide insights into the socio-economic impacts of the unequal gender distribution of iLTC.

For the review, systematic database searches were performed in PubMed and EBSCO CINAHL, using the SPIDER methodology. A total of 7,385 abstracts were screened, whereof 11 studies were included. A critical appraisal tool, the PRISMA checklist and a qualitative synthesis were applied.

Three analytical themes were identified: (1) Social Experiences and Norms, (2) Informal Caregivers’ Labour Market Participation and (3) Economic Costs of iLTC. The results showed that women and men are impacted differently: Women are quantitatively discriminated, while caregiving men are likely to face qualitative discrimination within their tasks due to role expectations and gender norms.

Novel insights emerge from embedding fragmented empirical findings into a holistic societal perspective, opening possibilities for addressing (adverse) outcomes together on a policy level. The findings are of interest for policy makers developing measures to ensure sufficient care supply whilst taking action against gender inequality.

This manuscript explores the evolving roles of HR professionals amidst global megatrends and organizational transitions, focusing on the Italian context, which has experienced disruptive adoption of new forms of work such as remote and hybrid work. In this challenging scenario, our research aims to uncover if and how HR professionals are transforming their roles or maintaining the status quo in navigating organizational changes, dealing with the upcoming working scenario, and challenging conventional perceptions of HR practitioners.

The study employs the social-symbolic work lens, that contributes to a deeper understanding of how HR professionals work to construct organizational life, the identities of employees, and the societal norms and assumptions that provide the context for organizational action. This perspective highlights HR professionals’ personal efforts, consisting of the emotional labor entailed in steering organizational transformations and, eventually, maintenance in a context where remote work has become prevalent. Data was collected through 16 online focus groups involving 76 HR professionals from Italian organizations.

Our research offers two interrelated contributions to HR literature. First, we provide pieces of evidence on how HR practitioners act as agents of change in two emerging roles: the “Wannabe Hero” and the “Ordinary Hero”. This challenges the prevailing rhetorical discourse about the so-called HR business partner. Secondly, we delve into the persistent obstacles that hinder HR professionals from making a substantial impact in addressing radical changes. These findings will provide useful insights into effectively engaging HR practitioners as agents of change in organizational transformation, shedding light on praxis, structures, and their emotional work.

The paper analyzes HR professionals’ social-symbolic work, which offers an original contribution to the comprehension of the activities they carry on in practice and the emotions they have been experiencing. These influence both the way HR professionals play their role and the organizational and institutional environment.

The purpose of the study is to analyze how the popular comic book series DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults depicts superhero, civilian and villains of color in the titles and address how the collection engages in or avoids discussions of racism.

This study uses a critical race content analysis to analyze how characters of color are represented in the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults collection.

The findings demonstrate the series’ uneven attempts at writing about race and racism. The DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults illustrates more radical politics in some titles but reifies dominant beliefs in others. The analysis also shows how many titles approach discussions of oppression from a single axis approach rather than an intersectional one. The series strives for racial diversity and justice; sometimes achieving the goal, but not always.

The study demonstrates how the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults constructs hegemonic ideas of “appropriateness” about race, racism and readership in some titles while offering explicit discussions about race and racism in others.

The authors outline potential ways English teachers can position titles in the DC Graphic Novel for Young Adults in English classrooms to develop students’ racial literacies.

This paper provides an analysis of superhero comics produced specifically for adolescent readers and written by an intentional racially diverse cohort of authors. The methodology can inform future studies of graphic novels for adolescent readers.

This study aims to analyse the publication stage on the transition to a circular economy (CE) from the perspective of the isomorphic mechanisms of the new institutional theory (NIT).

The authors conducted a systematic literature review using the Methodi Ordinatio protocol across four databases, resulting in the analysis of 17 articles.

The authors identified a network of CE studies among universities in different countries. As a main result, this study contributed to demonstrating the diversity of approaches available to investigate CE, the importance of stakeholders in the process of transition from linear economy to CE and the means for the transition to CE, as well as the need for future studies covering the detailed analysis of the transition process and the comparison of the evolution of the states/regions of the same country in this process.

The study analyses and summarises the existing literature on CE through the lens of the NIT, analysing the stage of publication based on the phases of implementation of CE (micro, meso and macro). With a research agenda, it presents the current gaps, providing a possible direction for future studies.

El estudio pretende analizar el estado de las publicaciones sobre la transición a una Economía Circular (EC) desde la perspectiva de los mecanismos isomórficos de la Nueva Teoría Institucional (NTI).

Se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura utilizando el protocolo Methodi Ordinatio en cuatro bases de datos, dando como resultado 17 artículos analizados.

Identificamos una red de estudios de CE entre universidades de diferentes países. Como resultado principal, este estudio contribuyó a demostrar la diversidad de enfoques disponibles para investigar la EC, la importancia de las partes interesadas en el proceso de transición de la economía lineal a la EC y los medios para la transición a la EC, así como la necesidad de realizar nuevos estudios para el análisis detallado del proceso de transición y para la comparación de la evolución de los estados de un mismo país en este proceso.

El artículo analiza y resume la literatura existente sobre EC a través de la lente de la teoría institucional, analizando la etapa de publicación basado en las fases de implementación de EC (micro, meso y macro). Con una agenda de investigación, presenta las lagunas actuales, proporcionando una posible dirección para futuros estudios.

O estudo tem como objetivo analisar o estágio das publicações sobre a transição para uma Economia Circular (EC) sob a perspectiva dos mecanismos isomórficos da Nova Teoria Institucional (NTI).

Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática da literatura usando o protocolo Methodi Ordinatio em quatro bases de dados, resultando em 17 artigos analisados.

Identificamos uma rede de estudos de EC entre universidades de diferentes países. Como principal resultado, este estudo contribuiu para demonstrar a diversidade de abordagens disponíveis para investigar a EC, a importância das partes interessadas no processo de transição da economia linear para a EC e os meios para a transição para a EC, bem como a necessidade de realizar novos estudos para a análise detalhada do processo de transição e para a comparação da evolução dos estados de um mesmo país nesse processo.

O artigo analisa e resume a literatura existente sobre EC sob as lentes da teoria institucional, analisando o estágio da publicação com base nas fases de implementação da EC (micro, meso e macro). Com uma agenda de pesquisa apresenta as lacunas atuais, possibilitando possível direção para estudos futuros.

Introduction: The insurance industry is undergoing constant transformation to keep up with the demands of digitally savvy consumers. “Insur-Tech” refers to using technological breakthroughs in the insurance sector to boost competition, innovate new products, increase customer happiness, and improve operational operations. Insurance technology has many potential applications across the complete product lifecycle, from initial research and development to post-contract administration, back-office processes and risk management.

Purpose: This chapter discusses the insurance industry’s current and potential future state with the emergence of insur-tech. The objective is to explore the emergence of new-age technologies in the insurance industry and the challenges faced in their implementation.

Methodology: Researchers conducted an extensive literature review and analyzed recent news articles to explore the digital transformation of the insurance industry through InsurTech. The literature review encompassed academic journals, industry reports, and relevant books to provide a theoretical framework and historical context. Concurrently, researchers examined news articles from reputable sources to capture current developments, real-world applications, and emerging trends. This dual approach allowed researchers to assess the role of digital innovations on the insurance.

Findings: The findings reveal how large and continuing databases impact the operational processes and general insurance markets, facilitating the acquisition of optimal policyholder behavior and speeding up claims processing. This chapter delves into how AI improves traditional insurance processes, spanning from the first point of contact to claims processing and how potential changes brought about by blockchain technology.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive understanding of workplace spirituality's (WPS) past, present and future by conducting a systematic literature review over the past 15 years, tracing its emergence in the managerial landscape and identifying the research gaps.

A PRISMA framework is used to systematically analyse 58 empirical studies categorised according to the ABDC journal quality list and published between 2009 and 2024. Furthermore, this review highlights the key trends, methodological approaches, dimensions explored, geographic distribution, research themes and the existing research gaps. Additionally, the Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology framework emphasises critical theoretical perspectives, contextual factors, distinguishing characteristics and methodological approaches that can shape future research in WPS.

The review revealed the global interest in WPS’s positive organisational impacts, supported by rigorous empirical studies and advanced statistical methods. Furthermore, this research highlights a significant gap in exploring WPS antecedents, suggesting a need for future studies to examine the factors contributing to WPS’s development and enhancement within organisational settings.

This study focuses on the Scopus database and English-language papers, deliberately excluding other sources such as unpublished work, books and non-empirical articles. Consequently, this study may need to look at some relevant studies.

This study is original in its systematic approach to review the literature on WPS, categorising the empirical articles according to established quality lists and applying the Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology framework to identify future research directions. This paper offers a holistic understanding of WPS and provides valuable insights for researchers and practitioners in this evolving field.

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, this study characterises the current state of the bio-packaging market's development. Second, it identifies key factors influencing and possible scenarios of the bio-packaging market transition to increase the market share of compostable packaging.

The results of 29 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with representatives of the key groups of bio-packaging supply chains' (SCs') stakeholders were the input for the consideration of the research problem.

The main economic, legal, social and technological enablers and barriers to the bio-packaging regime transition are recognised, and their impact at the market level is explained. The authors recognised the hybrid transition scenario towards an increase in the market share of compostable packaging related to the three traditional pathways of transformation, reconfiguration and technological substitution.

This study contributes to a better understanding of the socio-technical system theory by examining interdependencies between landscape (external environment), market regime (bio-packaging market) and niche innovations (compostable packaging) as well as system transition pathways. The findings and conclusions on bio-packaging market developments can be important lessons learnt to be applied in different countries due to the same current development stage of the compostable packaging lifecycle worldwide.