Joyce Payne and Aurelia Stephen
If you are 30 or older, you are middle‐aged by someone's criteria. When the college students of the 1970s declared “Don't trust anyone over 30,” did you think they would be…
Abstract
If you are 30 or older, you are middle‐aged by someone's criteria. When the college students of the 1970s declared “Don't trust anyone over 30,” did you think they would be someday talking about you? And what about those who say “Life begins at 40”? Did you ever believe them?
Aurelia Engelsberger, Jillian Cavanagh, Timothy Bartram and Beni Halvorsen
In this paper, the authors argue that multicultural skills and relational leadership act as enablers for open innovation, and thereby examine the process through which teams can…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors argue that multicultural skills and relational leadership act as enablers for open innovation, and thereby examine the process through which teams can utilize multicultural skills to support the development of relational leadership and knowledge sourcing and sharing (KSS) through individual interaction and relationship building. The authors address the following research question: How does relational leadership enable open innovation (OI) among employees with multicultural skills?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies a multi-level approach (team and individual level) and builds on interviews with 20 employees, middle and senior managers with multicultural experiences, working in open innovation environments.
Findings
The authors’ findings shed light on the process through which social exchange relationships among team members (e.g. R&D teams) and knowledge exchange partners are enhanced by the use of multicultural skills and support the development of relational leadership to facilitate KSS and ultimately OI. The decision for participants to collaborate and source and share knowledge is motivated by individual reward (such as establishing network or long-lasting contacts), skill acquisition (such as learning or personal growth in decision-making) and a sense of reciprocity and drive for group gain. The authors encourage greater human resource (HR) manager support for relational leadership and the development and use of multicultural skills to promote KSS.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the value of our findings, this paper is not without limitations. The authors explained that the focus of this study design was on the work activities of the participants and their skill development and not specific projects or organizations. It was outside the scope of this study to examine variations across organizations and individuals as the authors wanted to focus on multicultural skills and relational leadership as enablers for OI. The authors recommend that future studies extend our research by unpacking how various boundary conditions including relational leadership and multicultural skills impact KSS and OI over the life cycle of innovation teams within large multinational organizations, across countries and ethnicities.
Practical implications
The study’s findings provide managers with improved understandings of how to enable an individual's willingness and readiness to source and share knowledge through multicultural skills and relational leadership. Managers need to ensure that human resource management (HRM) practices celebrate multicultural skills and support relational leadership in innovation teams. The authors suggest managers engaged in OI consider the components of social exchange as described by Meeker (1971) and utilize reciprocity, group gain, rationality and status consistency to support the emergence relational leadership and KSS in innovation teams.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors contribute to the dearth of literature on the boundary conditions for OI by examining the role of relational leadership and characteristics/skills of the workforce, namely multicultural skills and contribute to the scarce research on the role of employees with multicultural skills and their impact on OI and present multicultural skills/experiences and relational leadership as enablers for OI.
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Marta Aurelia Horianski, Juan Manuel Peralta and Luis Alberto Brumovsky
The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of epichlorohydrin (ECH) concentration and reaction time on the food-grade resistant starch production and its pasting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of epichlorohydrin (ECH) concentration and reaction time on the food-grade resistant starch production and its pasting properties by using native cassava starch of Misiones-Argentina origin.
Design/methodology/approach
Cassava starch was modified using ECH (0.30 and 0.15 per cent) during 4 or 8 h. Digestibility was evaluated by determining resistant starch as total dietary fiber. Pasting properties and the cross-linking degree were studied using a micro-viscoamylograph (Brabender).
Findings
Resistant starch content was not influenced by ECH concentration and reaction time. Cross-linking was detected at higher reaction times (8 h) and ECH concentrations (0.30 per cent), where a decrease in viscosity peaks by more than 80 per cent was observed. Both pasting temperature and breakdown were increased, whereas a decrease in retrogradation was detected.
Practical implications
Starches can be suitable for different food applications. This is because of the ability to modify its pasting properties and the invariability of the in vitro digestibility of cassava starch as a result of using ECH (at concentrations approved by local and regional legislation) and reaction times of 4 and 8 h.
Originality/value
Information related to the modification of cassava starch using ECH is scarce or not available nowadays in literature.
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César da Silva Robusti, Aline Bento Ambrósio Avelar, Milton Carlos Farina and Claudio Alexandre Gananca
This study conducts a systematic review to analyze the impact of blockchain technology and smart contracts on digital entrepreneurial finance and venture funding. It aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study conducts a systematic review to analyze the impact of blockchain technology and smart contracts on digital entrepreneurial finance and venture funding. It aims to investigate how these technologies can transform business operations, offering enhanced transparency, security and efficiency in various financial contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines to assess the effectiveness of blockchain and smart contracts in generating business value. The study used the Scopus database to identify relevant articles published between 2015 and 2023. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed on the data using IRAMUTEQ software and Bibliometrix tool, both based in the “R” programming language.
Findings
The study reveals significant potential for blockchain and smart contracts to disrupt traditional venture funding models by automating contract execution and reducing administrative costs. Blockchain’s secure, decentralized ledger offers advantages in peer-to-peer transactions and risk mitigation, particularly in supply chain management and international trade. However, challenges related to scalability, energy consumption and regulatory compliance were also identified.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the contributions, systematic review of the literature has limitations. Only articles in English, published in journals, were considered for this research, omitting, for example, conference articles and research in other languages, which may also contain relevant information.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the existing literature by synthesizing recent advancements in blockchain and smart contract applications within entrepreneurial finance. It highlights the transformative potential of these technologies while addressing their limitations and offering insights into future research directions. The findings provide valuable implications for academics, practitioners and policymakers interested in leveraging blockchain for financial innovation.
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Kavya Shree Kuduvalli Manjunath, Safoora Habeeb, Priya Solomon, Charles Jebarajakirthy, Haroon Iqbal Maseeh, Raiswa Saha and Anju Bharti
The aim of this study is to perform a systematic literature review on retail agglomeration literature and present an agenda of future research in this domain.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to perform a systematic literature review on retail agglomeration literature and present an agenda of future research in this domain.
Design/methodology/approach
To synthesize and evaluate the retail agglomeration literature, the study adopts a structured systematic literature review approach. Additionally, the study employs the Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methodology (TCCM) framework to present future research directions in the retail agglomeration domain.
Findings
This review proposes a conceptual framework showing the relationships between the antecedents, mediators and consequences reported in the retail agglomeration literature. Lexicometric analysis shows that the key themes of retail agglomeration research are retail store selection and retail performance, retail location strategy and store format, customer perceptions, behavior and expectations.
Research limitations/implications
Specific criteria used for the inclusion of literature limits articles considered for the current systematic review. Also, only those articles published in English were considered.
Practical implications
Based on the proposed model, this review presents strategies to enhance the performance of retail agglomeration.
Originality/value
This study has systematically synthesized the retail agglomeration literature to explore its development over time and proposes a research framework which provides a comprehensive understanding of retail agglomeration literature.