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This chapter explores the problems of social exclusion and inclusion in the fields of arts and culture. After a theoretical elaboration of the key concepts, the chapter investigates interconnected topics of (1) social features of cultural and creative work with the focus on the importance of economic, social and cultural capital, (2) the difficulties of achieving social inclusivity in the cultural and creative sector, and (3) the possibility of fostering communication amongst disparate social groups. The concepts of exclusion and inclusion deal with the ability and opportunities citizens have to participate in economic, social, political and cultural activities. Even though policy documents highlight the agenda of social inclusion, participation and the importance of opening cultural programs to wider social circles of workers and audiences, inclusion is still difficult to achieve. Research has shown that, even though this line of work is marked by atypical forms of employment, burnout syndrome and exploitation, cultural workers are still motivated by the idea of working for the community and bringing positive social change. However, previous research has also shown that the wider community often does not recognise these endeavours. The aim of the chapter is to articulate potential elements of exclusivity of cultural and creative work. In doing so, the ambivalent identity configuration of cultural and creative workers that simultaneously occupy social positions of symbolic privilege and economic deprivation is taken into consideration as a potential bridge for fostering communication and solidarity amongst other marginalised and disparate social groups.

There is a dearth of knowledge regarding how user dependency offers valuable resources to develop the intellectual capital of social streaming apps (SSAs) companies. This study aims to integrate major conceptual components of the UandD model, identify contextualized goal-oriented SSA dependency and empirically evaluate their interrelated user-dependency relationships in the SSA context.

A mixed-methods approach was utilized in this study. First, user gratifications were elicited through a qualitative approach, considering the exploratory stage of the SSA phenomenon. Second, statistical methods were applied to investigate and extract the sub-dimensions of SSA dependency. At last, a research model was developed grounded on the UandD model and empirically validated using the quantitative approach.

The results validated the gratification-dependency-attitude-behavior relationships hypothesized by the UandD framework in SSA. The role of user-SSA dependency in enhancing intellectual capital in the social media industry has been highlighted in this study.

This research not only provides an opportunity for the UandD model to realize its theoretical potential as envisioned by scholars but also contributes to the scholarship on social streaming apps and media dependency theory by conceptualizing goal-oriented dependency in SSAs.

The research results will guide digital media practitioners to a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between their users and modern digital media apps and thus empower the practitioners to better manage their intellectual capital based on the facilitation of their users’ dependency.

This work is one of the pioneers in contextualizing the UandD model in the SSA field, refining and measuring the SSA dependency and its distinct subdimensions and employing mixed-methods to offer a comprehensive understanding of how user dependency boosts intellectual capital in the SSA industry.

This study explores the incorporation of prosocial compensation in service recoveries by allowing customers to cocreate the process through compensation choice, explains the underlying mechanism driving these results and identifies a boundary condition for these effects.

Three scenario-based experimental studies are conducted to test the proposed hypotheses.

Incorporating cocreation in a service recovery featuring prosocial compensation can outperform purely financial compensation (i.e. monetary-only) if the customer is given a choice. Moreover, pride is higher for customers who choose prosocial compensation (i.e. donations) as part of a service recovery. These findings are contingent on the firm’s reputation, namely, its corporate social responsibility (CSR) authenticity, such that companies with high (vs low) CSR authenticity perceptions benefit more in terms of enhanced pride given cocreated prosocial recoveries.

Drawing on service-dominant logic and social exchange theory, the findings of this research suggest that incorporating prosocial compensation, an element of CSR, as part of a cocreated service recovery strategy can enhance pride and repurchase intent.

This research demonstrates instances where prosocial compensation can outperform monetary-only compensation, leading to higher repurchase intent, highlighting conditions for this to occur and offering prescriptions for managers to implement these strategies in service recoveries.

Cocreating service recoveries with prosocial compensation, like donations, boosts customer pride and strengthens relationships. Firms with authentic CSR perceptions benefit most, addressing customers’ emotional and economic needs while enhancing community goodwill.

This work uniquely explores the effect of cocreated recoveries using prosocial compensation on pride and repurchase intent.

This study aims to investigate the everyday life information seeking behavior of transgender people in Pakistan.

A quantitative study, based on a survey design, was conducted to explore the everyday information needs of transgender people along with the types and frequency of using information sources. This study further explored the barriers to seeking everyday life information. Data were collected from 378 transgender people from Pakistan.

Music related information was the most important daily life information need and television appeared as one of the primary information sources frequently consulted by the transgender people. The respondents revealed a variety of challenges in accessing information including lack of education, lack of understanding about available information sources, biased treatment by the public and lack of technological skills. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found in everyday information needs and sources consulted on the basis of their age and education.

The findings provide a guideline to educate information providers, government agencies and other stakeholders about the information needs of this marginalized community in Pakistan. This study also suggests ways in which stakeholder may improve information systems and services to better assist transgender people.

The current study investigates the challenges of integrating social responsibility and climate change into sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The study employed a qualitative approach, in which 35 interviews were conducted with the owners and employees in the corporate sector, policymakers in government authorities and some non-government organisations.

The research identified critical issues with the South Asian institutional social responsibility and climate change willingness to approach the SDGs, such as the contrast between reactive and proactive management, dissimilar success indicators, the lack of capital, government interference and employees' resistance, as well as stakeholders' conflict. However, other possible areas of synergy were pointed out regarding organisational image, resource utilisation, reinforcing inclusive economic development, supporting communities in need and collaboration among different spheres of activity.

First, there is a need to synchronise climate and social agenda; second, the calls for financial innovation to unlock sustainable funding to support SDGs; third, the leadership of companies needs to mainstream sustainable practices, and finally, public outreach's role is to inculcate principles of environmental conservation as well as knowledge in climate.

This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the tensions and opportunities for achieving social responsibility and climate change and the SDGs harmoniously in South Asia, incorporating an evaluation of institutions, governments and strategies.

This paper contributes to the literature on exchange rate exposure by assessing the extent to which exchange rate risk is priced in both African emerging and developed equity markets. It examines whether this risk leads to a premium or discount in market returns. The study uses the United States and South Africa as representatives for developed and emerging economies, respectively.

The paper employs two-factor and three-factor conditional CAPM approaches with a two-stage estimation process. In the first stage, time-varying risk exposures are derived using the ICAPM model estimated through rolling regression. In the second stage, the impact of these risk exposures, particularly exchange rate risk exposure, is assessed on stock market returns using Generalized Linear Model (GLM) regression.

Unlike previous studies that suggest exchange rate risk is not necessarily priced in the equity market due to hedging, this paper finds that exchange rate risk is indeed priced in both African and developed equity markets, albeit to different extents. The African equity market demands a higher premium compared to the developed equity market.

The findings of this paper have significant implications for policymakers, asset managers, and investors. They provide insights for making more informed decisions, implementing effective risk management strategies, and fostering a more stable and appealing investment environment.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the degree of exchange rate exposure in environments characterized by high currency volatility versus those with low volatility, all within the context of the conditional ICAPM model.

Personalized learning plans (PLPs) are increasing in use and USA state-level educational policies. PLPs are key components in proficiency-based learning reforms and flexible pathways to graduation. Although the theoretical and implementation literature is increasing, evidence of student outcomes is more difficult to readily identify. The purpose of this paper is to report on a comprehensive systematic literature review summarizing student outcome data for the use of PLPs. The search began in 2019 and concluded in 2020, and updated in 2023, with 330 documents, yielding just four that met inclusion criteria for this study.

The design and methodological approach follows the conventions of a systematic literature review using Cochrane Collaboration recommendations and PRISMA reporting standards.

Findings indicate of 330 documents, fewer than five met criteria for measures of student outcomes. Interestingly, the studies occur within a five-year period, reflecting four different research teams and appear predominantly in nonpeer refereed journals.

The authors discuss the importance of outcomes research for this area and identify strengths and needs for this body of literature. Although application of a broader definition of personalized learning might have enabled us to identify more studies, the generalizations of findings would be limited in proportion to the degree of vagary around operationalization.

Identifying the outcomes in student learning associated with personalize learning plans will require agreement around operationalizing definitions.

No review of this literature exists to date, making this work completely original. The data leads us to articulate a need for the field to better understand how to measure and report flexible practices such as a PLP.

The extensive brand associations research lacks organisation when it comes to the used information cues. This paper aims to systematically map and categorise the brand knowledge associations’ components and develop a typology applicable to any brand.

Using the restaurant and hotel industries in four different European cultural clusters as contexts, this work uses well-established systematic qualitative analysis approaches to categorise, code and model pictorial content in two studies. A four-stage sampling process identified Instagram brand-posted signals (photos), 243 from 26 restaurants in Madrid, Paris and Rome for study one and 390 from 29 hotels in Moscow, Berlin and Stockholm for study two. Adhering to relevant guidelines, the manual coding procedures progressed from 246 for restaurants and 231 for hotels initially generated free information coding inductive codes to a theory-informed categorisation. Quantitative analysis complemented the qualitative analysis, revealing the information cues relative utilisation.

For both studies, the analysis produced a typology consisting of two high-level and five lower-level brand knowledge association categories, namely: (a) brand characteristics consisting of the brand as a symbol, the brand as a product and the brand as a person, and (b) brand imagery consisting of user imagery and experience imagery. The five lower-level categories comprise of sub-categories and dimensions, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the brand associations conceptual structure relevant to brands operating in any industry.

Researchers can use this typology to holistically encapsulate brand associations or design projects aiming to deepen brand knowledge association aspects/dimensions understanding.

Managers can use this typology to portray brands. Some of the identified lower-level categories and/or sub-categories and dimensions are likely to need customisation to fit specific contexts.

The suggested categorisation offers a solid, comprehensive framework for effectively categorising and coding brand knowledge associations and proposes a new theory in the form of a typology.

This study aims to examine the financial investigation system in Ghana in relation to tax evasion and money laundering practices among multinational corporations (MNCs).

The study adopted the qualitative case study design. The population was 15 officials, comprising 14 highly qualified tax enforcement and anti-money laundering officers from key state agencies, as well as a tax consultant. The data was gathered using a semi-structured interview and analysed thematically.

The study found that there is an effective financial investigation system in Ghana that regulates tax evasion and money laundering practices among MNCs; however, more can be done to perfect the system. There is an effective collaboration among financial investigation agencies in terms of intelligence sharing, although it is often marred by bottlenecks and unnecessary bureaucracies. Finally, there was no consensus that the financial investigation system in Ghana has helped to prevent/retrieve the proceeds of tax evasion and money laundering among MNCs. The study concludes that Ghana’s financial investigation system is well-placed to deal with tax evasion and money laundering practices among MNCs. Notwithstanding, there is room for improvement.

This study only focused on the financial investigation system in Ghana in relation to tax evasion and money laundering practices among MNCs. It did not give attention to other entities, individuals or crimes.

The study offers an inside perspective into the financial investigation system in Ghana in relation to tax evasion and money laundering among MNCs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study of this nature has been conducted in Ghana or elsewhere.