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We aim to explore the role of digital technologies for enhanced sustainability, hope, empowerment, resilience and optimism (SHERO) among female entrepreneurs in the Caribbean and the importance of embeddedness and contextualisation as a premise for integrating gender as a socially constructed situational practice.

The study presents qualitative data results of semi-structured interviews with 30 female digital entrepreneurs who own and operate their businesses in a range of sectors in three national contexts in the Caribbean. Narratives of the participants were used to develop the themes that emerged from the interviews.

The Caribbean context is an overarching factor that influences every facet of the lived experiences of female digital entrepreneurs. From the different contextual dimensions, we gained insights into the nuances and paradoxes of dominant assumptions related to how digital technologies influence the business transformation of female entrepreneurship as it relates to sustainability, hope, empowerment, resilience and optimism. Through a contextual gendered lens, these five business areas are found to be overlapping and mutually reinforcing features of the lived experiences of female digital entrepreneurs.

The Caribbean region, comprising of small island developing states, epitomises a unique spatially fragmented entrepreneurial context described as islandness which also offers a “fresh” context within the Global South that captures the novelty and heterogeneity of female entrepreneurs in the digital space.

The entrepreneurial intention of employees refers to the motive of those who work in a company to resign and start their businesses instead of continuing to be wage earners. It is one of the under-studied aspects of entrepreneurship research. Accordingly, this research paper aimed to find out whether perceived person–organization fit was related to the entrepreneurial intentions of employees and whether perceived workplace ostracism and loneliness mediated this process.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to achieve the purpose. The data were collected through a questionnaire technique from a total of 572 employees. Participants were from 20 different provinces of Turkey and 27 different sectors. Hypotheses were tested through the structural equation modeling technique.

Findings indicated that a lack of perceived person–organization fit resulted in entrepreneurial intention. Workplace ostracism resulted in workplace loneliness. Workplace ostracism and loneliness significantly mediated the relationship between perceived person–organization fit and entrepreneurial intention.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study was the first to establish and test the relationships between person–organization fit, entrepreneurial intention, workplace ostracism and loneliness. In this regard, findings can benefit researchers and practitioners in better figuring out why some employees leave their companies to start their businesses while others do not.

This study aims to investigate factors affecting consumers’ perceptions of brand allyship activities given the presence or absence of corresponding community investment. Using the black American community as a contextual group receiving support, this research probes factors that make brand allyship seem sincere and how brand allyship affects consumer self-esteem. It further examines how perceived sincerity and derived self-esteem affect consumers’ perceived self-brand connections and reported brand attitudes.

Collecting data with experimental surveys, hypothesized effects are tested in a main study (n = 1,184) using a general linear model and moderated mediation analyses.

Perceived sincerity is shown to interact with consumers’ self-esteem to induce an approach/avoidance reaction to a brand, where high self-esteem consumers are more apt to accept sincere brand allyship activities and reject insincere campaigns.

As sincerity is critical to brand allyship success, this research outlines instances where managers need to contextually manipulate sincerity perceptions by outlaying community investment to coincide with the campaign. Specific contexts revolve around racial diversity in the management group and the race of consumers/perceivers.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical perspective on how the COVID-19 crisis shaped inclusive leadership behaviors of global business leaders.

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the authors analyzed 240 CEO statements in 120 multinational enterprises from six countries (France, India, Japan, South Korea, UK, USA), pre- and mid-COVID-19.

Results show that CEO emphasis on inclusive leadership increased during the pandemic. More substantively, the authors identify three key behaviors of inclusive leadership – fidelity, calmness and collective resilience.

The authors provide empirical evidence of inclusive leadership behaviors by global business leaders. In doing so, the authors integrate inclusive leadership into societally engaged international business research.

This study aims to present a research model to investigate the potential impact of human capital, structural capital and social capital on e-banking proactiveness. In addition, it reveals the potential impact of e-banking proactiveness on competitive intelligence and competitive agility. Also, it aims to explore the impact of competitive intelligence on competitive advantage and competitive agility. Finally, the impact of competitive agility on competitive advantage will be examined.

In order to gather data, a questionnaire was prepared and administered to 211 respondents in Jordan. The research model and hypotheses were then assessed using Structural Equation Modeling – Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS).

The study demonstrated a significant impact of human capital, structural capital and social capital on e-banking proactiveness. The findings confirm that e-banking proactiveness significantly impacts competitive intelligence and achieving competition. Moreover, the findings confirm that competitive intelligence significantly impacts competitive agility. Also, the findings revealed a substantial relationship between competitive intelligence and competitive advantage. Finally, the results discovered that competitive agility significantly impacts competitive advantage.

The research gives valuable insights into the elements that drive e-banking proactiveness, which can beautify the proactiveness literature is well-known. By uncovering the position of intellectual capital in fostering proactiveness, this examination contributes to deeper information on the way financial institutions can successfully respond to market modifications, patron needs and technological advancements. Future scholars can build upon these findings to discover proactiveness in different sectors and industries, thereby broadening the understanding of proactive behaviors throughout numerous contexts.

In response to the worsening environmental crisis, there have been multiple calls for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) scholars and practitioners to adopt a “business-not-as-usual” approach based on justice, fairness, equity and sustainability. We add to this literature by proposing environmental justice (EJ) as a key concept for the theory and practice of SSCM.

This conceptual article builds SSCM theory on EJ and contributes to supply chain justice research and practice by introducing the concept of the “environmentally just supply chain” and presenting pathways for operationalizing it in practice.

Three pathways are proposed to leverage transformative SSCM to create environmentally just supply chains: human rights due diligence, resilience thinking and coproduction of environmentally just supply chains.

The three pathways can be used by actors within a supply chain to create environmentally just supply chains.

This article extends transformative, non-instrumental perspectives on environmental sustainability within SSCM scholarship to provide insights into how supply chains can be transformed through EJ. Not only does the article show the relevance of EJ for SSCM theory and practice, but it elaborates pathways for moving from harm reduction to transformative sustainability actions.

This study aims to explore current approaches, challenges and practical lessons in auditing artificial intelligence (AI) systems for bias, focusing on legal compliance audits in the USA and the European Union (EU). This emphasizes the need for standardized methodologies to ensure trustworthy AI systems that align with ethical and regulatory expectations.

A qualitative analysis compared bias audit practices, including US bias audit report summaries under New York City’s Local Law 144 and conformity assessments (CAs) required by the EU AI Act. Data was gathered from publicly available reports and compliance guidelines to identify key challenges and lessons.

The findings revealed that AI systems are susceptible to various biases stemming from data, algorithms and human oversight. Although valuable, legal compliance audits lack standardization, leading to inconsistent reporting practices. The EU’s risk-based CA approach offers a comprehensive framework; however, its effectiveness depends on developing practical standards and consistent application.

This study is limited by the early implementation stage of regulatory frameworks, particularly the EU AI Act, and restricted access to comprehensive audit reports. A geographic focus on US and EU jurisdictions may limit the generalizability of the findings. Data availability constraints and the lack of standardized reporting frameworks affect the comparative analysis. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies of audit effectiveness, the development of standardized methodologies for intersectional bias assessment and the investigation of automated audit tools that can adapt to emerging AI technologies while maintaining practical feasibility across different organizational contexts.

This research underscores the necessity of adopting socio-technical perspectives and standardized methodologies in AI auditing. It provides actionable insights for firms, regulators and auditors into implementing robust governance and risk assessment practices to mitigate AI biases.

Effective AI bias auditing practices ensure algorithmic fairness and prevent discriminatory outcomes in critical domains like employment, health care and financial services. The findings emphasize the need for enhanced stakeholder engagement and community representation in audit processes. Implementing robust auditing frameworks can help close socioeconomic gaps by identifying and mitigating biases disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. This research contributes to developing equitable AI systems that respect diversity and promote social justice while maintaining technological advancement.

This study contributes to the discourse on AI governance by comparing two regulatory approaches, bias audits and CAs and offers practical lessons from current implementation. It highlights the critical role of standardization in advancing trustworthy and ethical AI systems in the finance and accounting contexts.

The study investigates service quality in developing customer loyalty in Ghana’s auto detailing industry. The study also examines how customer satisfaction and service innovation indirectly and positively influence the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty.

A sample of 318 respondents, drawn from a convenience sampling method, was utilised for the analysis. Partial Least Squares (PLS) of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique was used to analyse the data to obtain results.

The study established a significant positive relationship between the tangibility dimension of service quality and customer loyalty; however, this influence is indirect through the mediation effect of customer satisfaction between service innovation and customer loyalty.

The study provides a useful guide for policy formulation and implementation by managers of auto detailing services to enhance customer loyalty as a basis of sustainable business performance.

The study is the first of its kind to investigate the role of service quality and customer loyalty being mediated by service innovation and customer satisfaction in the context of Ghana’s auto detailing industry.

This study empirically investigates how source factors of the streamers affect swift guanxi between the streamers and consumers and their subsequent impacts on consumers’ purchase intentions in live stream e-commerce in China.

Drawing on source credibility theory (Weiss, 1974) and source attractiveness theory (McGuire, 1985), our study hypothesizes that the expertise, similarity, familiarity and likability of streamers are such source factors. For this empirical investigation, the study conducted online surveys with 428 adult Chinese consumers with previous purchasing experience on live-streaming platforms.

The study found positive effects with source expertise, familiarity and likeability on swift guanxi and purchase intentions; however, we found no such positive effect for source similarity. Overall, our findings suggest that source factors can have significant effects on swift guanxi and that swift guanxi constructed with source factors can have subsequent effects on purchase intentions.

This study conceptualizes and empirically tests the role of streamer credibility and attractiveness in live stream e-commerce.

As the global focus on sustainability continues to grow, it is crucial to assess the current state of research and identify knowledge gaps. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on promoting and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Using a three-stage systematic screening process, 416 articles were identified and analyzed using the proposed social-economic-environmental (SEE) Cube classification model.

The results revealed a potential imbalance in research priorities, with a greater focus on economic and environmental goals compared to social goals. Regional disparities were also observed, indicating a correlation between a country’s development status and its environmental priorities. Moreover, a majority of the papers lacked empirical grounding, emphasizing the need for increased promotion and implementation of the SDGs to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

This study contributes to the existing literature by proposing the SEE Cube model, which is a parsimonious model to classify and show the interactions of the existing studies on the sustainable development dimensions. Marketers who are concerned about their corporate images should give more details about their sustainability practices to avoid the impression of SDG washing. Policymakers and educators should proactively implement interventions related to the SDGs of lower awareness, and there should be a greater emphasis on conducting empirical research, particularly experimental studies.

These findings not only highlight practical challenges that impact the implementation of the SDGs but also inform new research avenues.