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The purpose of this chapter is to provide fresh evidence and insights on a causal link from product market competition to the nature and scope of employee involvement using a case study of two Japanese manufacturing firms.

The firm’s investment decision on two kinds of innovation activities, discrete innovation and continuous improvement, is likely to be a key driver for the adoption (or lack thereof) of the high-performance work system (HPWS) and employee involvement programs. As product market competitionintensifies (e.g., rising international competition and weakening exclusivesupplier–manufacturer relationships), the firm is likely to shift its innovation strategy from bottom-up continuous improvement activities, which almost always accompany employee involvement, to top-down discrete innovation activities, which downplays employee involvement. Such a shift of the firm’s innovation strategy results in declining employee involvement.

This study will inform policymakers, practitioners of management, and the public about the importance of paying particular attention to the firm’s innovation strategy in understanding the interplay between product market competition and the HPWS and employee involvement.

In spite of the rich body of evidence on the effects of HPWS, there are at least two relatively unexplored yet potentially important questions: (i) The conditions under which the HPWS is best introduced and best sustained; and (ii) in what way the HPWS will need to evolve when external environments change. Our findings fill this important gap in the literature by providing novel evidence and insight on the causal link from product market competition to employee involvement.

This paper aims to explain the occurrence of sustainable entrepreneurship in the underresearched sub-Saharan Africa context and to improve the understanding of how effectuation manifests in this context.

This study uses a qualitative research approach based on multiple case studies. Responses were sourced from owners, employees, suppliers, the community and customers of sustainable entrepreneurial firms. Data collection methods included in-depth interviews, document reviews and observations. The Gioia analytical approach was used.

Overall, the authors find the concept of effectuation to be well-suited to capturing the processes through which individuals with limited means seek to engage in sustainable entrepreneurship. The authors also identify three pervasive practices that are key to understanding effectuation in the developing country context: complementation of indigenous knowledge with modern science, compassion and pluriactivity.

This study underscores the importance of co-creation, diversification of revenue sources and the role of emotional awareness and interpersonal skills in entrepreneurial endeavors.

This study, therefore, contributes new knowledge about the mechanisms through which entrepreneurs faced with resource constraints use control as opposed to prediction strategies to exploit sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities. In so doing, this study contributes to entrepreneurship theory by proposing the integration of cognitive and affective dimensions in realizing sustainable entrepreneurship goals.

The purpose of this research is to present a new theoretical framework concerning subjective career development in Japan. The framework consists of three concepts, namely, career “drift,” “mist,” and “hope”.

This paper introduces these concepts, including how they were discovered, and the potential strength they possess in expressing the subjective side of a career. The main method used to develop these concepts was the “grounded theory approach” advocated by Glaser and Strauss.

Although findings from this framework alone are limited, it is possible to point out several advantages of this framework compared with traditional stage models of career development. The framework expresses the complex state of mind in which an individual may be placed in the process of career management, especially on how people design or gain direction in an uncertain situation.

This framework stands purely in an arena of theoretical arguments. Future research, including both quantitative and qualitative, must be conducted to test the generalizability of this framework. Each concept can be operationalized and scales should be developed.

This paper introduces original concepts and a framework derived from qualitative studies in Japan. By looking into different cultural settings, it may trigger a discussion on what is universal and what is local in career theories. Also, the new framework may be used to make sense of careers, which could not be done based on traditional values.

Almost everyone is familiar with the word “robot” in our civilized society. A man‐made man first appeared as Talos, a bronze giant of Creta in the remote past of greek mythology. Since ancient times, the robot has been an object of human imagination. Unexpectedly, the word “robot” was used for the first time relatively recently. It was a drama title “Rossum's Universal Robots (RUR)” which Karel Capek, a Czechoslovakian dramatist produced in 1920. “Robot” was a new word which was coined from “robota” which means to work or a serf in Czechoslovakia. Hence, the robot is a man‐made man who works for and serves a human being. In the meantime, the pedigree of automata which started with Heron in about 100 B.C. uninterruptedly continues until today. An outstanding example of all those in existence is the three automata which still please people in a historical museum by the lake of Neuchatel, Switzerland. The automata, which were made in the middle of the 18th century, play the organ, write sentences and draw pictures as if they were alive. (Photo 1).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical, social and moral aspects of accounting through the implementation of a novel balanced scorecard (BSC) that addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation – within the Portuguese water utilities sector.

A novel research design is adopted, using actor network theory (ANT) as a broad approach to frame the study. ANT emphasizes the importance of ever-evolving networks of relationships and how concepts such as the BSC are just as important in structuring social practice. A set of expert interviews was conducted with stakeholders in the water utilities sector in Portugal, which led to the iterative development of a context-relevant BSC proposal and associated indicators.

A novel BSC architecture to achieve UN SDG 6 is proposed through a unique engagement between professionals and academics. The BSC, and the specific definition of indicators for an entire sector (water), contribute to bridging business processes with the common good to improve life and planetary conditions. Ultimately, the study discusses how the technical aspects of accounting can be enhanced to achieve social and moral imperatives. The paper also reflects on the limitations of broadening existing technical practices.

There is a burgeoning literature on how organizations are engaging with the UN SDG agenda. However, there is a dearth of studies on how management control systems are currently addressing, or can potentially contribute to measuring and managing specific UN SDGs such as Clean Water and Sanitation. This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by developing a novel BSC solution to SDG 6 measurement and management using a novel practitioner-led approach. Ultimately, our study highlights how accounting can be broadened to enhance technical practices while also serving a moral and social purpose.

The purpose of this paper is to show the need for new conceptualizations to explain international career behaviors emerging from increasing international migration flows.

The career diversity and growth of Indian knowledge workers in Tokyo is estimated through the analysis of secondary data and previous qualitative studies.

The shortage of skills in IT and liberalization of migration policies is enabling diverse international career development. Individuals' career stories are suggested as a key to understand differences in career behavior.

Further studies with more concrete data on employment, larger samples and comparison with different international career patterns will enhance understanding of international careers.

Individuals with international careers are potentially beneficial for organizations, but diverse career behaviors demand adaptable support systems. Using career stories is suggested as a suitable strategy to understand individual priorities and values.

The paper bridges the gap between research on careers, IHRM and highly skilled migration.

This case study aims to demonstrate that lean principles and practices utilized in industry can be successfully applied to improve higher education administrative processes through an innovative and engaging learning experience involving undergraduate students.

This is a first‐hand account by the instructor of a small group of undergraduate students in a seminar course working as a team to identify waste and redesign the university's grade change administrative process.

This case study found that a small group of undergraduate students can quickly learn basic lean principles, tools and practices, and reinforce that learning by applying them in a team effort to significantly improve a university administrative process.

With the changing higher education environment, where efficiency and effectiveness have become more imperative due to increasing budget constraints and competition for students, this case study shows that students can play a major role in the improvement of university administrative processes while at the same time gaining new knowledge and skills that are highly valued in industry.

This case study confirms an opportunity for universities to create a valuable learning experience for their undergraduate students, by involving them in improving the administrative processes of the university.