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The sustainability of the construction industry is associated with the productivity, profitability and competitiveness of the firms, which are significantly affected by inefficient site supervision and labour management approaches. This study aims to use a case study with mixed methods to evaluate the site supervisory characteristics in labour management, labour performance assessment and labour productivity measurement towards developing meaningful guidelines in polishing construction supervision attributes.

Well-developed modern apprenticeship elements were applied to 62 construction supervisors who were selected using the snowball sampling method, and their relevant competency characteristics were assessed using a comprehensively developed grading mechanism connected with useful training manuals/tools. Academic reviews, experts’ consultations and other meticulous mixed approaches were applied at different stages of the research plan’s sequential layout.

The mean performance scores of supervisors indicate proficient-level grades in the competency characteristics related to applying efficient labour management procedures and developing-level grades in designing productivity measurement tools, performing assessments on efficiency and productivity and proposing enhancement practices on efficiency and productivity for site operations. The findings point to a modern generalised guideline that establishes the ranges of supervisory attributes within the scope of the study. The validity, reliability, adaptability and generalisability of the findings were assured by using pertinent statistical tests and professional assessments.

Though the study’s conclusions/findings are primarily applicable to the construction environment of a developing country comparable to the Sri Lankan context, they will considerably impact current/future industrial practices in various other countries and emerging industries.

The research has produced a conceptualised modern tool that guides determining the capacity levels of supervisory attributes for carrying out labour management, labour performance assessment and labour productivity measurement aspects in construction. The research has opened a pump that inflows new values of highly workable supervision features for strengthening the site management structures and filling the industry’s knowledge vacuum in the methodical execution of apprenticeships.

This chapter critically examines the unique challenges and opportunities faced by family-owned startups in emerging economies, a topic that has received limited attention in existing literature. Recognizing the high failure rate of startups, particularly in family firms, this study seeks to understand the factors contributing to their success or failure. Employing a qualitative analysis, the chapter explores various economic, legal, and cultural dimensions that influence these businesses. It provides a comparative perspective, drawing insights from various emerging economies to identify patterns and differences in the experiences of family-owned startups. The chapter aims to fill the knowledge gap by offering a comprehensive view of the success and failure dynamics in family-owned startups, with a focus on strategic, managerial, and operational aspects. This approach offers valuable insights for both academics and practitioners, aiming to guide future research and practical interventions to support the sustainability and growth of family firms in these dynamic markets.

The purpose of this paper is to garner a deeper understanding of the site of influence of aspects of risk management for tax practitioners.

The research design is twofold. Phase one consisted of a wide-scale international survey with 1,061 tax experts across 59 jurisdictions. In phase two, the authors followed up with 68 semi-structured interviews with tax practitioners working in 11 different countries.

The findings recognise the importance of the firm as a significant “site of influence” for tax practitioners in shaping their risk appetite in their tax work. The firm eclipses other influences of risk such as professional body oversight, public interest and demographic markers such as gender and career stage. The authors show that firm is significant, irrespective of size of firm.

This work has practical implications as the findings highlight the importance of oversight of professional service firms by both the professional accountancy bodies and revenue authorities. The findings may have impact on the ethical training and guidance for trainee accountants in terms of an increased awareness on the employing firm as a site of influence for tax practitioners.

This research is important as it adds to the significant body of work on firm socialisation and highlights the important role that the firm holds in moderating (or exacerbating) the risk appetite of tax practitioners, which has significant implications in terms of pushing the boundaries of tax aggressive behaviours. The work aims to recognise the important role that tax practitioners can have in moderating aggressive tax practice, and, thus, reducing tax inequalities and shaping a better world of “Reduced Inequalities” (SDG10).

This paper aims to unravel the puzzle that the United Kingdom’s high-quality government accounting and fiscal architecture is associated with low-quality outcomes, including poor productivity growth, high public debt, public services which do not meet citizen expectations and historically high levels of taxation. It contributes to public sector accounting research in the fields of fiscal transparency and governance.

This paper uses Miller and Power’s (2013) economization framework and Dunsire’s (1990) concept of collibration to explain why being a global leader in public sector accounting reform and in fiscal and monetary architecture has not protected the UK from weak governance. The intersection of economization’s roles of accounting with modes of government accounting clarifies the puzzle.

Whereas accruals government accounting contributes to fiscal transparency, this is not a sufficient condition for well-judged policy and its effective application. Collibration is the dominant mechanism for mediation in the fiscally centralized UK, but it has failed to deliver stable outcomes, in part because Parliament is limited in its ability to hold back inappropriate behaviour by the Executive. Subjectivization has disrupted adjudication because governments at all levels resist constraints on their behaviour, with unpredictable and often damaging consequences.

This paper provides insights through the combined lens of economization and modes of government accounting, demonstrating the practical value of this conceptualization. Although some causes for unsatisfactory outcomes are specific to the UK, there are cautions for accounting and fiscal reformers in other countries, such as Member States of the European Union.

This paper investigates how various emergent theoretical perspectives in entrepreneurship research, representing diverse decision-making logics, influence firm growth and evolution. It explores the interaction among decision-making logics, including experimentation, affordable loss, flexibility and pre-commitment as components of effectuation, alongside causation and bricolage and their synergistic effects on firm growth.

This study uses a multi-phase, discovery-oriented approach. Initially, insights from existing literature on decision-making logic were combined with in-depth interviews with 10 Iranian entrepreneurs within the food sector. This phase used alternative template research to evaluate the principles of effectuation, causation and bricolage within case study data depicting firm growth. Subsequently, a self-administered survey was developed based on these insights and distributed to 205 entrepreneurs in Iran. The survey data was analysed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify key factors and pathways influencing firm growth.

Using a discovery-oriented approach, this study formulates a comprehensive framework detailing decision-making logics that influence firm growth. Through fsQCA, 12 distinct paths are identified, highlighting the complex interplay of causation, effectuation and bricolage in high-growth firms within the food sector.

This study has limitations. FsQCA identifies only logically sufficient combinations, suggesting potential for exploring alternative pathways in future research. Given COVID-19’s impact on the food sector, examining decision-making logic across diverse contexts and industries is advisable. Additionally, exploring how bricolage, causation and effectuation affect outcomes like new product development and innovation is essential in a growth-focused context. It is also important to consider environmental and organizational factors influencing growth.

This paper pioneers the examination of emerging theoretical paradigms in entrepreneurship and their impact on firm growth. It identifies critical configurations of causation, effectuation and bricolage, providing actionable insights for navigating dynamic business environments.