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The aim of the article was to compare the learning outcomes of the same content in the form of a traditional analogue lesson and in the form of a virtual reality (VR) lesson with the use of head-mounted display (HMD).

The study included one biology lesson conducted in 4 groups of a dozen people and one biology lesson in VR carried out individually on 75 people. The respondents completed the knowledge test, a questionnaire before and after the class regarding the attitude to new technologies, and feelings after the lesson. The researchers used detailed observation sheets (subjects' behaviour and the dynamics of the lesson). The obtained results were analysed statistically through lesson type (traditional/VR), respondent type (technology enthusiast/non-enthusiast) and question type. The Mann–Whitney U test, t-student and chi-squared (?²) test were used.

The average of the overall results in the knowledge test was similar in both groups (16 points; ±SD 2.13), slightly better for the analogue group and for the non-enthusiast group. It was found that VR hinders the acquisition of knowledge by tech enthusiasts, who perceive it primarily in the play paradigm. However, it encourages the learning of technology sceptics, who quickly discover a passion for exploring the virtual world. It was clearly indicated, quantitatively and qualitatively, how the technology modalities directly influenced the learning outcomes.

The article offers fresh insights into how students' perceptions of the educational process can be transformed through the integration of VR. The compelling findings and nuanced analysis provide a robust foundation for exploring new frontiers in educational technology.

This paper aims to further the understanding of the motivation to learn (ML) among an organisation’s older cohort of employees. It is proposed that age diversity climate (ADC) will positively impact ML by improving employees’ subjective age (SA) perception. Such a climate will indicate that the organisational climate is fair and inclusive regardless of the employee’s age.

Salaried Indian workers were administered a questionnaire on SA, ML and ADC.

ADC was positively related to ML, with SA acting as a mediator. The relationship is stronger for employees with higher chronological age (C.Age).

Policymakers and managers can draw from the findings and develop HR programs aimed at managing an age-diverse workforce and can incorporate measures that enhance the employability of the chronologically ageing but subjectively younger cohort to prevent premature departure from the labour market.

The present article contributes to the literature on work and ageing by investigating the subjective relationship of workers to their age. The findings also focus on successful ageing, thus contributing to the life span developmental theories.

To investigate whether individuals more closely associate characteristics of effective leaders with men compared to women and whether those associations advantage men in interactions.

An online survey and a laboratory experiment. The online survey had participants evaluate characteristics they most closely associated with effective leaders, men in general, or women in general. The laboratory experiment assigned participants fictitious partners before they completed an ambiguous task. Partners were men or women, and instructions did or did not describe contrast sensitivity ability as related to leadership ability.

In Study 1, participants evaluated characteristics of men in general more closely to the characteristics of effective leaders than they did the characteristics of women in general. Findings showed this effect to be driven by responses from male participants. In Study 2, the influence gap between male and female partners widened significantly in a direction that advantaged men when study instructions described contrast sensitivity as being positively correlated with leadership ability.

Individuals associate characteristics of effective leadership in ways that advantage men and that those associations advantage men in interactions.

Results indicate that even if differences in competency expectations between women and men were to disappear, women might remain disadvantaged in interactions with implications for leadership.

The paper conclusively demonstrates that participants in the samples associated men more than women with leadership ability/effectiveness and that the associations advantaged men in interactions. These results have broad implications for research in status, gender, and leadership.

Status characteristics theory states that influence in small groups reflects the distribution of group members' status characteristics. This process is mediated by expectations for task performance. Vocal accommodation is an unobtrusive measure that indicates expectations. We test whether vocal accommodation predicts influence and then examine the role of expectations in this process.

We conducted a laboratory experiment in which status-differ-entiated dyads completed a collective problem-solving task. We use a common measure of vocal accommodation to predict influence, and we employ questionnaire data to measure performance expectations. We hypothesize that the actor that exerts more effort in the synchronization process will have less influence over group decisions and that performance expectations will mediate the effect.

Results from GSEM analyses of 65 dyads show that levels of vocal accommodation significantly predict influence. Further analysis shows that performance expectations mediate a significant portion of the relationship between AAR and influence.

Vocal accommodation is useful for predicting both status perceptions and influence. Since this technique is an unobtrusive measure, it presents new possibilities for status research, including opening new lines of theoretical inquiry, providing a tool for conducting replications outside of the standard experimental setting, and for examining status organizing processes in a variety of environments.

We present a novel method for examining status outcomes, including a measure of influence that is analogous to existing measures that status scholars use but which is more suitable for studying status processes in open interaction.

COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the nature of support available to new parents. Previously we conducted a study to explore parents' experiences of shifting to ‘digitalised’ caregiving specifically focussing on parents' access to online parenting groups. That study is re-examined in this chapter, presenting parents' narratives about their attempts to provide the best environment for their children while most of their face-to-face support networks were unavailable. The analysis aims to determine parents' constructions of the ‘COVID baby’, a term introduced by Brown (2021), although never defined in detail. Three themes were identified: ‘Hopes and fears for the babies’ future’; ‘Peaceful and oblivious babies’; ‘Babies as a perceived mirror of parents’ abilities’. Parents in this study depicted a positive portrait in which babies thrived at home; however, they expressed worries about their children’s future, as they lacked opportunities for development and socialisation usually offered by paid or unpaid group activities. To compensate, some parents engaged in extra labour at home in the face of home-made activities, inspired by previously attended group sessions. We argue that new parents, specifically mothers, are often pressured to display ‘intensive mothering’ to provide the best opportunities for development for their babies and fulfil gender and class expectations: such pressure leads to increased consumerism. Limitations of this approach have been emphasised by the simpler life that the lockdown forced on them, with apparent benefits to the babies' well-being. On the other hand, the need for new parents to be connected to nurturing networks of support remains essential.

This study seeks to comprehend how sociomateriality influences the openness paradox within the context of open strategising.

We adopted a qualitative approach and developed a case study as a research method. The data included 10 semi-structured interviews, direct observation and documentary analysis, including virtual documents, collaborative platforms and communication systems.

We found that sociomateriality influences the transition between openness and closure in open strategy (OS) dimensions, namely inclusion, participation and transparency, once organisational practitioners actively build on social relationships and engage with material elements within this paradoxical context.

The primary limitation was the challenge of managing extensive data, especially tracking all meetings and interactions. Nonetheless, we aimed to provide a comprehensive view and meaningful insights from the data. Future research could employ mixed methods to achieve a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon.

By understanding the role of formalisation and legitimation played by sociomateriality during open strategising, practitioners can navigate the complexities of balancing openness and closure, fostering innovation and engagement while ensuring the legitimacy of strategising. Recognising the coexistence of exclusions in social practices enables society to comprehend this paradox and highlight the need to address it, fostering an inclusive environment and promoting balanced openness in various social contexts.

Our study contributes to the OS literature by highlighting the role of sociomateriality in shaping the openness and closure interplay. Additionally, we emphasise the importance of formalisation and legitimation practices involving materiality in the balance between openness and closure in a context where openness is deemed essential for strategic success.

Family startups are essential to a nation’s development because they foster creativity, economic expansion, and job creation. They introduce novel concepts, game-changing technologies, and innovative business approaches to the market. Family startups also help a country be more competitive abroad by luring capital, encouraging entrepreneurship, and diversifying the economy beyond its core industries. Additionally, family startups operate as agents of social change by addressing societal problems and providing answers that benefit communities. Therefore, fostering a thriving start-up ecosystem is crucial for a nation’s long-term sustainable development and prosperity. Against this background, this book chapter examines the potential and difficulties that family startups in Oman’s developing entrepreneurial environment confront. The chapter explores the challenges faced by entrepreneurs as well as the opportunities for growth and innovation in this dynamic market to illuminate the distinctive dynamics of the Omani start-up scene.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and economic growth with a special focus on the institutional environment at the state level. FDI-led economic growth and economic growth-led FDI have two dominant theoretical foundations, but empirical research supports contradictory findings. These perspectives largely ignore the institutional environment, assuming institutions to be background information.

To examine the causal relationship between FDI, the Granger causality method has been used. The impact of FDI inflows and other institutional factors on economic growth has been examined using the panel data regression method. The principal component analysis (PCA) method has also been used to develop indexes for some variables.

Results indicate a two-way Granger causality between FDI inflows and economic growth at the state level. Infrastructures, education expenses, labour availability and gross fixed-capital formation (GFCF) are positive and significant determinants, whilst corruption and FDI inflows are leaving negative impact on state-wise economic growth.

This study contributes to the body of the literature in four different ways: first, it empirically examines the trends and patterns of subnational FDI inflow and economic growth disparity in India; second, it examines the causality between FDI and economic growth. Third, with the institution-based paradigm in international business, it investigates how institutional variables affect the expansion of the economy. Fourth, it extends prior research by examining the link at the state level using a large panel data set made up of 29 states and 7 union territories (UTs) over the years 2000–2019.

Customer misbehavior has a negative impact on frontline employees. However, the underlying mechanisms from customer misbehavior to employees’ negative outcomes need to be further unfolded and examined. This study aims to propose that employees’ affective rumination and problem-solving pondering could be the explanatory processes of customer misbehavior influencing employee attitudes in which coworker support could be a moderator.

A mixed-method approach was designed to test this study’s predictions. Study 1 conducted a scenario-based experiment among 215 full-time hospitality employees, and Study 2 used a two-wave, longitudinal survey of 305 participants.

The results demonstrate the impact of customer misbehavior on work–family conflict and withdrawal behaviors. The mediating role of affective rumination is supported and coworker support moderates the processes.

Customer misbehavior leads to negative outcomes among frontline employees both at work and family domains. Hotel managers should help frontline employees to cope with customer misbehavior by avoiding negative affective spillover and providing support properly.

The studies have unfolded the processes of affective rumination and problem-solving pondering through which customer misbehavior influences work–family conflict and withdrawal behaviors among frontline employees. The surprising findings that coworker support magnified the negative effects have also been discussed.