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Frequency of problem pregnancy and abortion is not always recognised – the British Pregnancy Advisory Service aims to liaise and advise large‐scale employers of women. The nature and scale of this health care problem are outlined; it is a problem for personnel managers who may need to supply counselling and employee support, confidentiality, information and access and benefits, professional agencies and facilities. Managers′ own attitudes may require modification.

The paper explores the impact of the quality of accounting in a given country, as measured by an index of earnings opacity, on the country's level of corruption. The results of a regression of corruption on earnings opacity for a sample of 34 countries show significant relationships between the level of corruption and the level of earnings opacity after controlling for economic development, human development, size of government and economic freedom.

Frank Lloyd Wright's famous house Fallingwater has been the subject of enduring scholarly debate centred on the allegedly clear parallels between its form and that of its surrounding natural setting. Despite these claims being repeated many times, no quantitative approach has ever been used to test this argument. In response, this paper uses a quantitative method, fractal analysis, to measure the relationship between the architecture of Fallingwater and of its natural surroundings.

Using fractal dimension analysis, a computational method that mathematically measures the characteristic visual complexity of an object, this paper mathematically measures and tests the similarity between the visual properties of Fallingwater and its natural setting. Twenty analogues of the natural surroundings of Fallingwater are measured and the results compared to those developed for the properties of eight views of the house.

Although individual results suggest various levels of visual similarity or difference, the complete set of results do not support the claim that the form of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater exhibits clear visual similarities to the surrounding landscape.

In addition to testing a prominent theory about Wright's building for the first time, the paper demonstrates a rare application of fractal analysis to interpreting relations between architecture and nature.

Based on data collected over a 15 year period (2000–2015) for 89 countries selected across nine geopolitical regions of the world, the purpose of this paper is to explore the role of economic development and the Hofstede index of national cultures in influencing level of government effectiveness and ICT diffusion; as well as the impact of ICT diffusion on government effectiveness. The level of economic development and a country’s ranking on the E-government index were found significant in explaining ICT diffusion and level of government effectiveness, respectively. But the findings also indicate that only the cultural factors such as Indulgence and long-term orientation (LTO) were quite significant in explaining level of government of effectiveness and ICT diffusion, respectively. The findings conclude that while some cultural factors may provide partial explanations for a country’s level of government effectiveness or ICT diffusion, but for other cultural elements, the path of influence is still unclear and at best debatable. Hence, in light of the growing emphasis placed on it in the literature, the effect of culture is limited and may have been overstated. ICT diffusion, while a necessary tool for administrative efficiency, is only but one piece of a larger puzzle and should be developed in consideration of and in the context of a broader framework of economic development, institutional design and behavioral practices.

This study examines how existing ICT diffusion and infrastructures among a set of 89 countries spread across nine world geopolitical zones has been able to improve their government effectiveness – as measured by their relative scores or rankings on the global “government effectiveness index” over a 15 year period (2000–2015); and also how specific cultural factors may influence the level of ICT diffusion. Drawing data from the United Nations e-Government knowledge database, the United Nations Development Program, the GlobalEconomy.com, as well as other socio-demographic sources, I examine key and associated indicators that influence information technology diffusion and its contributory effects on level of government effectiveness; as well as the impact of national cultures on ICT diffusion.

Overall, the finding from this analysis point to the fact that only two of the Hofstede national culture variables were significant (LTO and Indulgence). The other four national culture variables (Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity/Femininity and Uncertainty Avoidance) were not. Indulgence has a negative effect on level of government effectiveness, while LTO has a positive effect on ICT diffusion. The other culture variables were not significant in any of the regression models, but they seem to congregate much closer to or around the mean.

This is the only work of its kind that has utilized the seven Hofstede indicators to test for the relationship between culture and technology over a long period of 15 years.

This study aims to investigate how cultural factors – specifically power distance (PD) and uncertainty avoidance (UA) – affect employees’ use of neutralization techniques to rationalize deviant information systems (IS) behaviors. The goal is to enhance strategies for managing insider threats and improving security policies.

A cross-sectional survey was used to examine how national culture affects neutralization strategies related to IS misuse. A scenario-based survey was used to gather data from 292 employees, stressing four top ranked IS deviant behaviors in Ethiopian organizations. Using SmartPLS 4.0 software, the study validates measurement and structural models using partial least squares structural equation modeling. It then uses bootstrapping procedures to assess hypotheses that predict the use of justifications in situations of IS misuse.

The research finds that all four neutralization techniques – appeal to higher loyalty, claim of normalcy, defense of necessity and denial of responsibility – significantly predicted employees’ IS deviant use intention behaviors. PD and UA cultures also significantly influence IS deviant use intention, with neutralization techniques mediating this relationship, validating the model’s predictive relevance.

The reliance on self-reported data and a cross-sectional design may limit the accuracy and causal inference of the findings. Additionally, the focus on Ethiopian respondents may restrict generalizability, highlighting the need for research in diverse contexts. Future studies could explore longitudinal or experimental designs and examine neutralization techniques and knowledge management to understand IS security.

This study introduces a novel model illustrating how cultural values, such as PD and UA, influence employees’ use of neutralization techniques to justify deviant behavior in Ethiopian organizations. It emphasizes the mediating role of these techniques and the need for culturally tailored anti-neutralization strategies and effective security awareness programs.

Institutional theory is focused on the prevalence of social value over economic imperatives in organizational life, but what happens when taken-for-granted practices offer neither technical nor institutional value at all? In this paper, the authors theorize an important but omitted in the organizational literature scenario and a class of institutionalized practices. The authors conceptualize them as institutionary eclipsed practices. The paper offers a theory of institutional shadow and institutional eclipsed practices that explains the remarkable persistence of institutions despite the obvious absence of value.

The authors offer a theoretical framework for studying institutional practices that have neither economic nor social value. The authors illustrate institutionally eclipsed practices with an example of educational organizations and practices, but the theory of institutional shadow developed in this paper goes beyond this case.

Organizations adopt global institutional standards for local organizational fields where different institutional norms prevail and different meanings and values are attached to these global institutions. In some cases, such institutions may lose their technical value and have no social (legitimizing) value in a new institutional context. Such practice is taken for granted, enacted, reproduced and maintained as necessary because it is encoded into the very institutional image of a profession (and social role). An institutionally eclipsed practice becomes a taken-for-granted, integral part of organizational members’ daily routines. Still, neither efficiency nor social benefits and value are offered by such a practice for organizational members. At the same time, as institutionalized practices are resistant and usually immune to technical, economic and social changes, they tend to endure and persist in organizations. Both a disintegrated practice and organizational members who enact it get into the limbo of the institutional shadow.

The authors distinguish and theorize three main conditions that allow institutionally eclipsed practices to emerge, proliferate and persist in organizations and across organizational fields. These factors include the presence of institutional meaning, the taken-for-granted quality (which means the immunity to technical, social and material changes) and the absence of contradictions. Together these three virtues allow institutionally eclipsed practices to be easily embedded into organizational contexts, being enacted by organizational members and avoiding abandonment and deinstitutionalization despite uselessness.

Drawing on institutional theory, this study investigates the role of individual cultural values on the adoption of socially sustainable supply chain management (socially SSCM) for Chinese suppliers facing the normative institutional pressures of guanxi (interpersonal relationships).

Using empirical data collected in three waves from 205 Chinese manufacturers supplying international markets, the proposed theoretical model is tested through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results indicate that guanxi has a positive impact on socially SSCM, and this positive effect is strengthened when the individual cultural values of the supplier's representative embody high collectivism and low uncertainty avoidance.

This study highlights the leading role of guanxi in improving socially SSCM practices due to its normative institutional force. In addition, the findings suggest that future studies should consider individual differences in supply chain partners, which may lead to distinct reactions when facing normative institutional pressures.

This study suggests international buyers should adopt guanxi management with their Chinese suppliers to encourage them to adopt socially SSCM. In addition, managers should note that the guanxi strategy is more effective when the supplier's representative collectivism is high and uncertainty avoidance is low.

This study contributes to socially SSCM research in emerging economies by unveiling the role of guanxi as a key driver of socially SSCM in the Chinese market and providing empirical evidence of the moderating effect of individual culture on the guanxi normative institutionalization process.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interaction between legal origin and cultural distance and its impact on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the OECD.

Ordinary least squares regression analysis is used to evaluate FDI flows into OECD countries between 2003 and 2012. Estimations use fixed effects and clustered standard errors.

FDI flows from civil to common law countries are greater than vice versa. Further, cultural distance impacts FDI flows depending on the legal origin of the source country. Specifically, more FDI flows from civil and common law countries, when the host country has a higher (lower) power distance (individualism) score. Civil law countries send more FDI into countries with higher masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and indulgence scores and with lower long-term orientation scores. The opposite is the case with common law source countries. The findings remain robust for various changes to the sample selection.

The concepts of cultural distance and legal origin have been criticized. However, neither concept has been rejected; rather, both concepts persist as robust empirical research tools.

Scholars, managers and investors can gauge the impact of cultural distance on FDI flows based on the legal family of the source country. Further, policy makers might want to consider rebranding their countries in terms of cultural perceptions to show the attractiveness of specific cultural dimensions to foreign companies and investors.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that jointly investigates FDI, legal origin and national culture.

There are many frameworks and methods for involving children in design research. Human-Computer Interaction provides rich methods for involving children when designing technologies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper examines various approaches to involving children in design, considering whether users view children as study objects or active participants.

The BRIDGE method is a sociocultural approach to product design that views children as active participants, enabling them to contribute to the design process as competent and resourceful partners. An example is provided, in which BRIDGE was successfully applied to developing upper limb prostheses with children.

Approaching design in this way can provide children with opportunities to develop social, academic and design skills and to develop autonomy.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine, theoretically and empirically, the two time orientation dimensions – long‐term orientation (LTO) and future orientation (FO) – in the national culture models of Hofstede and GLOBE, respectively.

Following Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's past‐present‐future theoretical lens, the Hofstede LTO and GLOBE FO measures are analysed to understand the conceptual domain covered by these two dimensions. Next, the authors empirically examine the relationship of Hofstede LTO and GLOBE FO with secondary data from Hofstede, GLOBE, and the World Values Survey.

This paper shows that Hofstede LTO and GLOBE FO dimensions capture different aspects of time orientation of societies. In particular, Hofstede LTO focuses on past (tradition) versus future (thrift) aspect of societies, GLOBE FO practices capture the present versus future (planning) practices of societies, and GLOBE FO values reflect societal aspirations and preferences for planning.

A specific implication of these findings is that the three dimensions of time orientation are not interchangeable since they represent different characteristics of societies. A wider implication for researchers is to ensure high level of precision in and congruence among construct labels, definitions and measures to avoid confusion and misapplication of cross‐cultural concepts.

In an increasingly globalized world, a clear understanding of societal time orientation will help managers deal more effectively with their counterparts in other countries.

The key contribution of this paper is in identifying and clarifying, both theoretically and empirically, the anomalies in the labels, definitions and measurement of Hofstede long‐term orientation and GLOBE future orientation national culture dimensions. It also shows a useful way forward for researchers on how to use these national culture dimensions to explain other phenomena of interest to cross‐cultural scholars.