This study investigates how global retailers develop sustainability through network interactions that influence institutionalized sustainability perceptions. The findings enable…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates how global retailers develop sustainability through network interactions that influence institutionalized sustainability perceptions. The findings enable retailers to drive sustainability systematically and understand the critical internal and external issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The study investigates how retailers can work to increase support for sustainability through the normative, cognitive, and regulative institutional pillars. The network perspective suggests the need to offer relevant resources, involve influential actors and perform supporting activities to mobilise stakeholders. Empirically, qualitative case studies of IKEA and Hennes & Mauritz were conducted.
Findings
Based on the network and institutional perspectives, the study identified nine fields that retailers can use to develop sustainability internally and in their networks. The study shows that they can mobilise actors, resources, and activities to change institutionalised values and practices.
Originality/value
The developed model provides guidelines on how to systematically work with sustainability. The broad view developed is particularly relevant considering that most of the existing research on global firms and sustainability focuses on a narrow research problem without relating it to sustainability as a complex and overarching phenomenon.
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This study aims to understand and compare how the mechanism of innovative processes in the information technology (IT) industry – the most innovative industry worldwide – is…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand and compare how the mechanism of innovative processes in the information technology (IT) industry – the most innovative industry worldwide – is shaped in Poland and the USA in terms of tacit knowledge awareness and sharing driven by a culture of knowledge and learning, composed of a learning climate and mistake acceptance.
Design/methodology/approach
Study samples were drawn from the IT industry in Poland (n = 350) and the USA (n = 370) and analyzed using the structural equation modeling method.
Findings
True learning derives from mistake acceptance. As a result of a risk-taking attitude and critical thinking, the IT industry in the USA is consistently innovation-oriented. Specifically, external innovations are highly correlated with internal innovations. Moreover, a knowledge culture supports a learning culture via a learning climate. A learning climate is an important facilitator for learning from mistakes.
Originality/value
This study revealed that a high level of mistake acceptance stimulates a risk-taking attitude that offers a high level of tacit knowledge awareness as a result of critical thinking, but critical thinking without readiness to take a risk is useless for tacit knowledge capturing.
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Torbjörn Ljungkvist, Börje Boers and Christoffer Axell
This study explores how retail family firm managers’ cognitive capabilities are used to enable firm strategy in a context of economic uncertainty.
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how retail family firm managers’ cognitive capabilities are used to enable firm strategy in a context of economic uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a case study using 31 interviews with family firm managers and archival data from retail micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Findings
The results indicate how managerial cognitive enabling mechanisms shape the manifestation of retail family firm dynamic capabilities (DCs) configurations.
Originality/value
Three retail managerial cognitive strategic enabling mechanisms and their microfoundations are identified, explaining how three retail family firm DC configurations are shaped: (1) retail family firm customization-based sensing, (2) retail family firm lateral seizing and (3) retail family firm trust-based reconfiguring. The manifestation of these DC configurations illuminates how retail family firm managers can enable firm strategy in a context of economic uncertainty.
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Veronica Ungaro, Laura Di Pietro, Maria Francesca Renzi, Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion and Maria Giovina Pasca
This study aims to investigate the consumer's perspective regarding the relationship between services and well-being, contributing to the knowledge base in transformative service…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the consumer's perspective regarding the relationship between services and well-being, contributing to the knowledge base in transformative service research (TSR). More specifically the aim was to understand consumers' perceptions of the relationship between services and well-being and their views about how companies can contribute (directly and/or indirectly) to achieve the well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach the research aim, the study adopts an explorative inductive design, carried out through a qualitative approach and grounded in 30 in-depth interviews with consumers.
Findings
Service sustainability represents the fundamental characteristic that determines the service ability to be transformative, requiring the implementation of the triple bottom line dimensions: social, environmental and economic. It emerged that, in the consumer's mind, the service categories that present a stronger relationship between service and well-being are as follows: healthcare, financial and transport.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a conceptual framework to describe the consumer perspective of the services' transformative role in promoting well-being, providing a theoretical lens for conducting future research and continuing to expand transformative service research (TSR).
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Lina Dagilienė, Viktorija Varaniūtė and Judith Maja Pütter
Taking into account retailers' critical position in the value chain, their sector's economic significance and environmental externalities, in addition to the institutional agenda…
Abstract
Purpose
Taking into account retailers' critical position in the value chain, their sector's economic significance and environmental externalities, in addition to the institutional agenda, this paper aims to explore the drivers influencing retailers to shift to more sustainable business models.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises the institutional competing logic, including in-depth interviews with major supermarket retail chains and one expert group discussion. The data gathered in Germany and Lithuania were complemented by desk research analysis, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and management reports.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights into how multiple drivers through institutional competing logic are brought about influencing the shift to more sustainable business models. The results show that retail chains in both countries implement their sustainability based on triple environmental-legal-financial drivers. However, different types of retail chains–namely premium retailers, typical retailers and discounters–implement their sustainability discourse differently.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the chosen research approach, the results may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.
Social implications
Interestingly, retailers “shift” their responsibility to the consumers rather than encourage themselves to make more sustainable choices. The authors observe a more passive and responsive role of retailing chains because of the inherent trade-off between revenue growth and sustainable consumption.
Originality/value
The original contribution lies in exploring how retail chains adapt institutional competing logic and are influenced by multiple drivers when implementing their sustainability activities. In addition, the authors propose a conceptual model for retailers' sustainability management, as well as formulate three research propositions.
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Wioleta Kucharska and Teresa Rebelo
This study aims to examine the micromechanisms of how knowledge culture fosters human capital development.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the micromechanisms of how knowledge culture fosters human capital development.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical model was developed by using the structural equation modeling method based on a sample of 321 Polish knowledge workers employed in different industries.
Findings
This study provides direct empirical evidence that tacit knowledge sharing supports human capital, whereas tacit knowledge hiding does not, and this hiding is considered a waste of knowledge. If tacit knowledge does not circulate within an organization, it is a severe waste of an organization. The findings indicate that shame from making mistakes might impede the sharing of knowledge gained from making those mistakes, and in such cases, the knowledge remains hidden.
Practical implications
Leaders aiming to ensure human capital growth should implement an authentic learning culture composed of a learning climate and mistakes acceptance components that enable open discussion about mistakes on each organizational level.
Originality/value
The knowledge culture is found to be an essential element of building human capital but, at the same time, not sufficient without a learning culture, and its mistakes acceptance component. A permanent organizational learning mode that supports a continuous organizational shared mental model reframing is an antidote to tacit knowledge hiding.
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This study aims to present the overview of intellectual capital creation micro-mechanisms concerning formal and informal knowledge processes. The organizational culture…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present the overview of intellectual capital creation micro-mechanisms concerning formal and informal knowledge processes. The organizational culture, transformational leadership and innovativeness are also included in the investigation as ascendants and consequences of the focal relation of intellectual capital and knowledge processes.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a sample of 1,418 Polish knowledge workers from the construction, healthcare, higher education and information technology (IT) industries, the empirical model was developed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) method.
Findings
The study exposes that the essence of transformational leadership innovativeness oriented is developing all intellectual capital components. To do so, leaders must support both formal and informal knowledge processes through the organizational culture of knowledge and learning. Furthermore, for best results of the knowledge transformation into intellectual capital, the learning culture must be shaped by both components: learning climate and acceptance of mistakes.
Practical implications
Presented findings can be directly applied to organizations to enhance innovativeness. Namely, leaders who observe that the more knowledge is formally managed in their organizations, the less effective the knowledge exchange is-should put more effort into supporting informal knowledge processes to smoothly develop human and relational intellectual capital components. Shortly, leaders must implement an authentic learning culture, including the mistakes acceptance component, to use the full organizational potential to achieve intellectual capital growth. Intellectual capital growth is essential for innovativeness.
Originality/value
This study presents the “big picture” of all intellectual capital creation micro-mechanisms linking transformational leadership with organizational innovativeness and explains the “knowledge paradox” identified by Mabey and Zhao (2017). This explanation assumes that intellectual capital components are created informally (i.e. human and relational ones) and formally (i.e. structural ones). Therefore, for best effects, both formal and informal knowledge processes, must be supported. Furthermore, this study exposes that the intensity of all explored micro-mechanisms is industry-specific.
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Jannatul Ferdous and A F M Abdul Moyeen
In recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a prominent endeavour in numerous enterprises and organizations. The purpose of this article is to…
Abstract
In recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a prominent endeavour in numerous enterprises and organizations. The purpose of this article is to investigate the theoretical aspects of CSR's commercial significance, as well as to identify and analyse CSR practices during COVID-19 in Bangladesh and Singapore. Government funding alone may not be sufficient to offset any adversity's economic and other consequences. Hence, CSR has evolved. This article examines what role CSR played during the difficult COVID-19 pandemic in two countries. The private sector made significant contributions through CSR to healthcare infrastructure and mitigating the economic burden of COVID-19 in both countries.
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Rafael Barreiros Porto, Carla Peixoto Borges and Paulo Gasperin Dubois
Human brands in the music industry use self-presentation tactics on social media to manage audience impressions. This practice has led to many posts asking followers to adopt…
Abstract
Purpose
Human brands in the music industry use self-presentation tactics on social media to manage audience impressions. This practice has led to many posts asking followers to adopt behaviors favoring the human brand. However, its effectiveness in leveraging relevant performance metrics for musicians outside social media, such as popularity in specialized media, music sales and number of contracted concerts, needs further exploration. This study aims to reveal the effect of impression management tactics conveyed on social media on the market performance of musicians’ human brands.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data research classifies 5,940 social media posts from 11 music artists into self-presentation tactics (self-promotion, exemplification, supplication and ingratiation). It shows their predictions on three market performance metrics in an annual balanced panel study.
Findings
Impression management tactics via posts on social media are mostly self-promotion, improving the musicians’ market performance by increasing the number of contracted concerts. Conversely, ingratiation generated the most positive effect on the musician’s popularity but reduced music sales. Besides lowering the musicians’ popularity, exemplification also reduced the number of contracted concerts, while the supplication had no significant effect.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the research is the first to use social media postings of musicians’ official human brand profiles based on self-presentation typologies as a complete impression management tool. Furthermore, it is the first to test the effects of these posts on market performance metrics (i.e. outside of social media) in a longitudinal study.
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Hai Hong Phan and Hung Ngoc Tran
This study aims to use the SmartPLS method for empirical analysis and explore the impact of various factors on the enhancement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) application…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to use the SmartPLS method for empirical analysis and explore the impact of various factors on the enhancement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) application among listed companies in Vietnam. With the increasing scrutiny over CSR disclosures and the pivotal role of internal and external factors, the research seeks to uncover how factors such as management’s perception, big data application, firm characteristics, organisational culture and stakeholder pressure significantly influence CSR application.
Design/methodology/approach
The research assesses the relationships among these factors by drawing on a sample of 255 listed Vietnamese companies across various sectors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (SmartPLS) is applied to analyse the data and uncover the impact of the identified factors on CSR application.
Findings
The findings demonstrate that big data applications, organisational cultures and firm characteristics significantly impact CSR applications. Additionally, management’s perception, directly and indirectly, influences CSR applications through its effect on big data applications.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to listed companies in Vietnam, which may affect the generalizability of the findings to other contexts. Further research is needed to validate these findings in different markets and settings.
Practical implications
These results provide valuable insights for corporate governance practitioners in Vietnam and similar emerging markets. By highlighting the critical role of big data applications in CSR practices, the study suggests pathways for enhancing corporate governance frameworks to improve CSR applications.
Social implications
Improved CSR practices driven by the factors identified in this study can lead to more sustainable and socially responsible business operations.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by using the SmartPLS method to analyse the impact of various factors on CSR applications in an emerging market. It emphasises the importance of big data applications in shaping effective CSR practices and offers valuable recommendations for corporate governance enhancements.