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This paper aims to explore the role of multi-national enterprises in addressing grand societal challenges, emphasising the need for integrating environmental and social aspects into business models. Drawing on the books of Geoffrey Jones (2023) “Deeply Responsible Business” and Rob van Tulder and Eveline van Mil (2023) “Principles of Sustainable Business”, the paper provides comments and analysis of how principles and values can guide engaged international business (IB) scholarship and responsible leadership to effectuate meaningful change.

The paper adopts a dialogical review, as a curated discussion of the books whereby the authors attempt to co-construct a research and teaching agenda for responsible and engaged IB scholarship.

The paper highlights the critical importance of aligning business strategies with societal needs. Companies that adopt ethical principles, or adopt the sustainable development goals (SDGs) via principles-based frameworks, can achieve significant positive impacts.

The paper follows a viewpoint/perspective format. It relies on underpinning historical case studies and selected theoretical frameworks, which may not capture the full complexity of contemporary business environments. Scholars should conduct future research to study the underpinning principles and frameworks deployed in various industries and regions.

The paper suggests that business leaders should learn from the past to adopt a values and principles-based approach to integrate sustainability into their core strategies. It also highlights the importance of transforming the higher education teaching experience towards a value and principles-based one.

This paper underscores the potential of businesses to drive positive societal change by addressing environmental and social challenges. By adopting ethics-based value systems and aligning organisations with the SDGs, companies can help mitigate pressing issues, such as poverty, inequality and climate change. The authors suggest reading “Deeply responsible business” and “Principles of Sustainable Business” to influence public attitudes towards corporate social responsibility and foster a more sustainable and equitable global economy.

The paper offers a curated discussion and synthesis of historical and contemporary perspectives on sustainable business practices. It bridges the gap between theory and practice by providing actionable frameworks and tools for business leaders and scholars.

Racial wealth inequality is a significant and growing issue in the USA. Improving the lagging rate of black new venture creation and successful entrepreneurship could help close the gap. The purpose of this paper is to focus needed attention on the financial challenges resulting from institutional and systemic discrimination that black entrepreneurs must deal with. Following this literature review, the paper makes recommendations and broad public policy suggestions.

This study conducts a literature review and discusses the myriad of reasons black entrepreneurs struggle with inadequate access to capital, with special emphasis on weaker entrepreneurial ecosystems that have resulted from systemic racism.

The paper sheds light on several factors which continue to directly impede successful black entrepreneurship including discrimination in lending, distrust in institutions, over-reliance on (inadequate) personal capital and declining black-owned banking and financial institutions, as well as community banking options in black communities.

The paper is conceptual and relies on prior literature. The proposed solutions are just a starting point and are certainly not meant to be all-inclusive or comprehensive. Much future research, particularly longitudinal research, is needed to further develop theory and specific public policies which can close the disparities this study has discussed. This study outlines several key areas in need of further quantitative and qualitative studies to better understand black entrepreneurship.

The US economy will increasingly suffer if the nearly 15% of population (and growing) made up of black communities continues to struggle. The broad-based policy solutions proposed in this paper would allow for increased access to capital that would address the long-term deficiencies and help to close the racial wealth gap.

Through this study’s broad-based potential solutions, entrepreneurial ecosystems can be strengthened to build the environment for successful new venture creation in black communities. The longer-term benefit would be increased tax revenues, improved communities with fewer individuals needing support through government assistance and greater social stability as economic gaps between various racial groups are closed.

Using a broader entrepreneurial ecosystem framework and a systemic racism theory lens, this study discusses the limited capital black entrepreneurs have access to. Following this literature review, this study offers broad-based policy solutions that can strengthen ecosystems and directly address the issues raised in the paper.

This paper aims to examine the stock market performance of knowledge-intensive employee-owned firms.

It constructs a portfolio comprising stocks of employee-owned wealth management companies listed in the UK Employee Ownership Index. A simple equal-weighted portfolio simulation strategy with annual rebalancing is employed and returns are analysed for the period 01.2002–12.2015.

The employee-owned firms consistently generate significantly higher returns, averaging 13% per annum. During favourable market conditions, the returns are even more significant at 16.40% higher than the market average annual returns. The outperformance persists in single-year and five-year investment periods, full and sub-sample periods, including bullish, stable and challenging economic times and even at high transaction costs and zero dividends. This superior performance is linked to a positive feedback loop created by homogeneous knowledge-workers who are incentivised to perform better in employee-owned business setting through participative decision-making and exhibiting risk aversion skills.

Adoption of the employee ownership model of running a business can be highly rewarding within knowledge-intensive firms. This study emphasises the need for a comprehensive database of employee-owned companies, which is currently lacking in the UK.

No prior study could be found to have studied the relationship between employee-owned knowledge-intensive firms and their stock market performance.

This study explores the complex relationship between a founder’s social identity and the Dark Triad traits. It aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of entrepreneurial behaviours and their subsequent impact on enterprise performance and founders’ well-being.

Drawing inspiration from the animal kingdom, we identify three entrepreneurial archetypes: Lions, Bees, and Chameleons, using latent profile analysis (LPA) of 28,853 active entrepreneurs. Lions, embodying a balanced competitiveness, exhibit a strategic blend of dominance and communal living. As collaborative visionaries, Bees showcase a strong inclination towards teamwork and purpose-driven collaboration. Chameleons, the strategic individualists, reveal adaptability and calculated approaches to competition.

The study reveals that these archetypes impact well-being and performance outcomes differently. Lions, Bees, and Chameleons contribute uniquely to entrepreneurial success, highlighting the diverse factors influencing business performance and individual satisfaction.

By exploring the multifaceted nature of entrepreneurial behaviour, this research offers valuable insights into how social identity and personality traits shape entrepreneurial success. Identifying distinct archetypes enriches the current understanding of entrepreneurial dynamics, providing practical implications for individuals and businesses aiming to thrive in competitive environments. Additionally, the findings hold significant implications for policymakers seeking to foster a conducive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation. Understanding the unique characteristics of different entrepreneurial archetypes can inform the design of policies and programs tailored to support diverse entrepreneurial ventures and enhance overall economic growth.

This chapter considers the challenges of applying engineering practices to knowledge. Knowledge cannot be managed like other forms of capital because it is tacit and intangible. Research has identified economic properties and behaviors that set it apart from physical and financial capital. The authors translate the economic typology of human, structural, and relational capital to Blackler’s four forms of characterizations: embrained, embodied, embedded, and encultured. Knowledge elicitation techniques are discussed, and aligned with Blakely’s four forms of characterizations.