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In today’s world, CEOs are frequently dismissed following corporate misconduct or poor performance. Yet, it is often difficult to predict when boards will dismiss the CEOs, as the same behavior often results in different decisions across firms. Taking a socio-cognitive perspective, this article explores the factors that lead a CEO to become tarnished. It then uses expectancy violation theory combined with attribution theory as well as stakeholder theory, concepts of legitimacy, and motivational theory to understand how the board evaluates the tarnished CEO. Given the increasing incidence of CEO dismissal, this paper provides an important contribution to both academic research and to corporate boards who face the responsibility of deciding how to respond to instances of poor firm performance and corporate misconduct.

Research Summary: A market entrant often challenges the incumbent using creative imitation: The entrant creatively combines imitated aspects of the original with its own innovative characteristics to create a distinct offering. Using lab and field experiments to examine creative imitation in China, we find the effects of creative imitations on the originals depend on the creative imitation's quality. We explore the underlying mechanisms, and show that including a low-quality creative imitation in the retail choice set increases satisfaction with and choice of the original, while a moderate-quality creative imitation does the opposite. Moreover, creative imitation affects consumers' satisfaction with the original by influencing whether their experience with the original verifies their expectations. Our paper reveals creative imitation effects to help incumbent firms effectively address them. Managerial Summary: When the incumbent is challenged by an entrant using creative imitation, consumers may react differently to the incumbent, and understanding consumers' reactions allows the incumbent to make better strategic decisions about how to address the challenge. Using lab and field experiments, we investigate creative imitations with two quality levels common in our empirical context, low quality and moderate quality, and examine how and why they differentially affect the originals. We find the presence of a low-quality creative imitation actually increased choice of the original by enhancing consumers' satisfaction with it, while a moderate-quality creative imitation reduced choice of the original by undermining satisfaction with it. Our research suggests the incumbent should address moderate-quality creative imitations' challenges to customer satisfaction, while temporarily tolerating low-quality creative imitations.

This study investigates the relationships between the use of various organizational ICTs, communication visibility, and perceived proximity to distant colleagues. In addition, this study examines the interplay between visibility and proximity, to determine whether visibility improves proximity, or vice versa. These relationships are tested in a global company using two waves of panel survey data. ESM use increases communication visibility and perceived proximity, while controlling for prior levels of visibility, proximity, and the use of other organizational ICTs. The influence of ESM on network translucence and perceived proximity is generally stronger than the impact of other technologies on these outcomes. These results highlight the importance of considering various aspects of the technological landscape conjointly, as well as distinguishing the two dimensions of communication visibility. Finally, the results indicate that perceived proximity has causal priority over communication visibility, indicating that communication visibility exists partly as an attribution of perceived proximity to distant colleagues, and is not solely inferred from the use of organizational ICTs.

Problem definition : This paper studies the optimal design of referral priority programs, in which customers on a waiting list can jump the line by inviting their friends to also join the waiting list. Academic/practical relevance : Recent years have witnessed a growing presence of referral priority programs as a novel customer-acquisition strategy for firms that maintain a waiting list. Different variations of this scheme are seen in practice, raising the question of what should be the optimal referral priority mechanism. Methodology : I build an analytical model that integrates queuing theory into a mechanism design framework in which the objective of the firm is to maximize the system throughput, that is, accelerate customer acquisition as much as possible. Results : My analysis shows that the optimal mechanism has one of the following structures: full priority; partial priority; first in, first out (FIFO); and strategic delay. A full-priority (partial-priority) scheme enables referring customers to get ahead of all (only some) nonreferring ones. A FIFO scheme does not provide any priority-based referral incentive. A strategic-delay scheme grants full priority to referring customers but artificially inflates the delay of nonreferring ones. I show that FIFO is optimal if either the base-market size or the referral cost is large. Otherwise, partial priority is optimal if the base-market size is above a certain threshold; full priority is optimal at the threshold base-market size; strategic delay is optimal if the base-market size is below the threshold. I also find that referrals motivate the firm to maintain a larger capacity and therefore can surprisingly shorten the average delay, even though more customers sign up and strategic delay is sometimes inserted. Managerial implications : My paper provides prescriptive guidance for launching an optimal referral priority program and rationalizes common referral schemes seen in practice.

Purpose: This study explored the state of the literature on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in two subject areas: (1) economics, econometrics, and finance, and (2) business, management, and accounting. The study focused on the most productive and influential journals, countries, institutions, documents, and clusters of keywords.Methods: Data were retrieved from Scopus on November 21, 2020. The search term was the keyword “COVID-19” in the title, abstract, and author’s keywords, and the articles were limited to two subject areas. The data were analyzed using VOSviewer and Excel.Results: In the analysis of 1,719 articles on COVID-19, the most productive journal that published these articles was Gender, Work, and Organization (n=49). The most productive country and institutions were the United States (n=526) and Universiteit van Pretoria (n=16) and the University of Oxford (n=16), respectively. Based on citations, the most influential authors, countries, and journals were Dmitry Ivanov (n=233), the United States (n=1,027), and Finance Research Letters (n=326), respectively. The most cited article was authored by Stefan Gossling (n=157) on the impact of COVID-19 on society, the economy, and tourism. The articles were from 111 countries, of which 85.6% had collaborations. The keywords of research on COVID-19 formed 14 clusters (e.g., small and medium enterprises, aviation, tourism, banking and finance, supply chain, economic growth, and the digital economy).Conclusion: The number of COVID-19 articles related to economics and business is fairly large and is continuing to grow significantly. The keyword analysis showed that COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on all economic sectors.

Author(s): Ketokivi, Mikko; Bromiley, Philip; Awaysheh, Amrou | Abstract: We argue that in analyzing panel-data econometric models, researchers rely excessively on statistical criteria to determine model specification, treating it primarily as a matter of statistical inference. This inferential emphasis is most obvious in the common practice of using statistical tests (e.g., the Hausman test) to choose between fixed- and random-effects specifications, often ignoring the assumptions underpinning these tests. For instance, the Hausman test depends on the true within-panel (longitudinal) and between-panel (cross-sectional) parameters being equal. This assumption is often not justified, because longitudinal and cross-sectional variances and covariances may manifest different underpinning mechanisms. In addition to different mechanisms often resulting in different variables determining within and between effects, within and between variables may also have different meanings. To help researchers make theoretically informed choices, we formulate five questions that can help researchers think of model specification in a theoretically rigorous way. We examine these issues with examples from both the general management and operations management research. Importantly, we argue that addressing the questions regarding model specification must involve primarily theoretical and contextual judgement, not statistical tests.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of effectuation when used by small suppliers within key account management (KAM) relationships. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory longitudinal case study approach was used to examine a single small supplier operating in the snack foods sector of the UK foods industry, as it entered into a new KAM relationship with a major retailer and undertook four new product development projects. Findings Findings suggest effectuation may positively moderate the ability of a small supplier to enter into a KAM relationship by enabling it to obtain resources and limit risk. However, once within the relationship, the use of effectuation may negatively impact success by increasing the potential for failure to co-create new product development, leading to sub-optimal products, impacting buyer confidence and trust. Furthermore, a failed KAM relationship may impact other customers through attempts to recover revenues by selling these products, which may promote short-term success but, in the long-term, lead to cascading sales failure. Research limitations/implications It cannot be claimed that the findings of just one case study represent all small suppliers or KAM relationships. Furthermore, the case presented specifically concerns buyer-supplier relationships within the food sector. Practical implications This study appears to suggest caution be exercised when applying effectuation to enter into a KAM relationship, as reliance on effectual means to garner required resources may lead to the production of sub-optimal products, which are rejected by the customer. Additionally, a large customer considering entering into a KAM relationship with a small supplier should take care to ensure their chosen partner has all resources needed to successfully deliver as required or be prepared to provide sufficient support to avoid the production of sub-optimal products. Originality/value Findings suggest the use of effectuation within a KAM relationship has the potential to develop a dark side within business-to-business buyer-supplier relationships through unintentional breaches of trust by the selling party.

Previous research indicates that tailoring lifestyle interventions to participant characteristics optimizes intervention effectiveness. Our objective was to assess whether the effects of a preconception lifestyle intervention in obese infertile women depended on women's exposure to adversity in childhood. A follow-up of a preconception lifestyle intervention randomized controlled trial (the LIFEstyle study) was conducted in the Netherlands among 577 infertile women (age 18–39 years) with a body mass index (BMI) ≥29 kg/m2 at time of randomization; N = 110 (19%) consented to the follow-up assessment, 6 years later. A 6-month preconception lifestyle intervention aimed weight loss through improving diet and increasing physical activity. The control group received care as usual. Outcome measures included weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure and metabolic syndrome. The potential moderator, childhood adversity, was assessed with the Life Events Checklist-5 questionnaire. Among the 110 women in our follow-up study, n = 65 (59%) reported no childhood adverse events, n = 28 (25.5%) reported 1 type of childhood adverse events and n = 17 (15.5%) reported ≥2 types of childhood adverse events. Regression models showed significant interactions between childhood adversity and effects of lifestyle intervention at the 6-year follow-up. Among women who experienced childhood adversity, the intervention significantly reduced weight (−10.0 [95% CI −18.5 to −1.5] kg, p = 0.02), BMI (−3.2 [−6.1 to −0.2] kg/m2, p = 0.04) and body fat percentage (−4.5 [95% CI −7.2 to −1.9] p < 0.01). Among women without childhood adversity, the intervention did not affect these outcomes (2.7 [−3.9 to 9.4] kg, p = 0.42), (0.9 [−1.4 to 3.3] kg/m2, p = 0.42) and (1.7 [95% CI −0.3 to 3.7] p = 0.10), respectively. Having a history of childhood adversity modified the effect of a preconception lifestyle intervention on women's body composition. If replicated, it may be important to consider childhood adversity as a determinant of lifestyle intervention effectiveness.

PurposeThe aim of this study is to develop a 3D model of decision- making grid (DMG) considering failure detection rate.Design/methodology/approachIn a comparison between DMG and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), severity has been assumed as time to repair and occurrence as the frequency of failure. Detection rate has been added as the third dimension of DMG. Nine months data of 21 equipment of casting unit of Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC) has been analyzed. Then, appropriate condition monitoring (CM) techniques and maintenance tactics have been suggested. While in 2D DMG, CM is used when downtime is high and frequency is low; its application has been developed for other maintenance tactics in a 3D DMG.FindingsFindings indicate that the results obtained from the developed DMG are different from conventional grid results, and it is more capable in suggesting maintenance tactics according to the operating conditions of equipment.Research limitations/implicationsIn failure detection, the influence of CM techniques is different. In this paper, CM techniques have been suggested based on their maximum influence on failure detection.Originality/valueIn conventional DMG, failure detection rate is not included. The developed 3D DMG provides this advantage by considering a new axis of detection rate in addition to mean time to repair (MTTR) and failure frequency, and it enhances maintenance decision-making by simultaneous selection of suitable maintenance tactics and condition-monitoring techniques.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the moderated-mediation effects of employees’ Islamic work ethic (IWE) on their promotive and prohibitive forms of constructive voice behaviors through the integrated frameworks of social identity theory and self-consistency theory.Design/methodology/approachUsing two-source data collection from employees and supervisors, data were collected from 217 participants working in various companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After initial data screening, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test for the factorial validity of the used measures with AMOS. The hypothesized relationships were tested in the PROCESS macro for SPSS.FindingsThe results of this study supported the integration of social identity theory with self-consistency theory in explaining the indirect effects of employees’ IWE on their promotive and prohibitive forms of constructive voice behaviors through the mediation of moral identity. Furthermore, this study also indicated that the indirect effect was conditional on the employees’ perceptions of perceived voice opportunity, which significantly moderated the relationship between their moral identity and their prohibitive voice. However, no such effect was recorded for promotive voice.Originality/valueThis study is the first that explains how and when employees’ IWE leads them to exhibit promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors through the mediation of moral identity and the moderation of perceived voice opportunity. Thus, this study contributes to the IWE, moral identity and employee voice literature by addressing questions with useful theoretical and managerial implications for employees’ promotive and prohibitive forms of constructive voice behaviors in the workplace.

PurposeBlockchain is expected to have a significant impact on Systems of Innovation as the new General Purpose Technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Blockchain can revolutionise the Systems of Innovation by investigating its overall structure, actors and relationships.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the systematic mapping method to explore and integrate the Blockchain and Systems of Innovation literature for the creation of a new conceptual model of Blockchain-enabled Systems of Innovation. In that scope, 37 Blockchain-related and 32 Systems of Innovation-related papers, besides two major books in the field of Blockchain, have been reviewed and then integrated based on the Systems Thinking approach.FindingsThe key findings for Blockchain-enabled Systems of Innovation are that there is (1) an increased distribution of networks and collaborations, (2) increased trust through the use of reputation systems, (3) an emerging new nature of platform characteristics, (4) a democratisation of entrepreneurship by the new funding landscape and (5) an increased significance of technological drivers, such as energy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study shows new Systems of Innovation-related research implications. Accordingly, a new type of actor, relationship and attribute has been introduced where the boundaries of the role definitions are blurred and more distributed. This is where larger organisations can expect to lose their central position. The different types of actors are replaced by a network of actors as a result of the distributed new Blockchain-based system. The threshold for the Bottom of the Pyramid is expected to be reduced, leading to a more democratised innovation system.Practical ImplicationsBlockchain appears to reduce the effects of distrust in collaborative innovation practices with its consensus mechanisms and the new Blockchain-enabled Systems of Innovation is expected to revolutionise the interactions in the future.Originality/valueThere are very few studies that have been found to integrate innovation management practices with Blockchain. This is the first Blockchain-based Systems of Innovation study enabling the fundamental revision of its structure, types of relationships and actors.

It is fair to assume that the main challenge in maintenance decision making is the existence of a gap between theory and sustainable practice which is attributable to complexity, too much emphasis on development of new models that only serve to criticise earlier ones, underrepresentation of case study-based researches and lack of adequate incorporation of industry-based knowledge into most theoretical studies. In this paper, we revisited the application of the decision making grid (DMG) for maintenance optimisation but the main novelty here is to harmonise the strengths of the two most popular DMG approaches as opposed to the previous trends of advocating one over the other. Additionally, the current initiative limits assumptions associated with the process, since both DMG approaches depend on the main objective and nature of data involved. The data required for implementation are frequency of breakdown events and downtime for each event, which is readily available in all computerized maintenance management systems. This implies that we rely on just having access to some sort of a counter of faults and a timer for each event.

A key challenge facing global teams lies in overcoming status differences in order to elicit participation and input from all members. This study extends prior research – which has focused largely ...

Air pollution has a significant impact on health but is often invisible to the naked eye. Real-time air quality information can help people take action to protect their health. However, little is known on how to most effectively frame air quality information to promote public health. We conducted a field experiment to study people’s engagement with real-time air quality information provided through a smartphone application (app). We tested 12 different messaging strategies on both intent to engage with air quality information (through a survey), and actual engagement with air quality information tracked through the app in response to the messaging strategies. Our results, based on 835 survey respondents and 2,740 app users, show that intent to engage and actual engagement differ. Overall, users’ demographics were the most important predictor of engagement with messages. This research demonstrates the significance of testing messaging strategies through field experiments rather than through surveys, and the importance of targeted messages.

Research Summary Combining insights from the behavioral theory of the firm with sociological research on local embeddedness, we propose that community‐oriented firms respond differently to performance relative to aspirations than noncommunity‐oriented firms. Community‐oriented firms develop long‐term relations with local constituents and emphasize community goals. This orientation should buffer them from the risk‐inducing effects of falling below financial aspirations, and encourage them to pursue community goals more intensely when exceeding financial aspirations. Using U.S. bank data from 2005 to 2013, we find that community orientation—exemplified by community banks—attenuates the influence of performance below aspirations on risk‐taking, but amplifies the influence of performance above aspirations on community investments such as small business loans. We discuss implications for a sociologically informed view of performance feedback processes. Managerial Summary Relative to their size, locally embedded community banks take less risk and make more small business loans than do larger banks. We find that they also respond differently to performance relative to aspirations than do noncommunity banks. Specifically, while community‐oriented banks increase risk‐taking when their performance is below aspirations, they do so less intensely than larger banks. This is because factors related to ownership and community embeddedness make such banks more risk averse than large banks. Also, performance above aspirations provides freedom of action, and community banks use that freedom to increase small business lending. Such lending benefits the community and improves the business environment in which the community bank operates important secondary goals to community‐embedded firms.

This paper contributes to the dynamic capabilities (DCs) literature by delving into the relationship between DCs, corporate control style (CCS), and high margin product development (HMPD)-company performance. Our qualitative results are based on semi-structured interviews conducted within a multinational telecommunication corporation. The narratives indicate that DCs positively influence HMPD/company performance. The level of positive influence of DCs on performance will depend on the CCS of the organization, since CCS directly affects the seizing and transforming activities of DCs. CCS also regulates the link between sensing and shaping DCs activities and HMPD/performance. We find evidence that there is no specific order in which the sensing, seizing, and transforming activities occur. We suggest that the identification of “Surge” and “Lurch” events is a key channel for managers to enhance DCs management in their organisation. Our findings are compared to relevant studies on EMNEs.

Purpose Prior research shows that universities differ in the knowledge exchange (KE) activities they pursue, but little is known about universities’ strategies regarding their portfolio of KE activities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the KE strategy of UK universities in specific relation to their portfolio of KE activities with small- and medium-sized enterprises. Design/methodology/approach Based on the 2015–2016 Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey data set, this study employs the Preference Ranking Organisation METHod for the Enrichment of Evaluations to assess the KE activities from 162 UK higher education institutions. Findings The study reveals that entrepreneurial universities valorise university knowledge assets through five SME-focussed KE activities most beneficial to measuring the entrepreneurial university. It also uncovers four different archetypal categories (groupings) of universities based on their strategic focus of KE activities. Originality/value This study contributes to the entrepreneurial university literature by considering universities’ overall KE portfolio rather than examining individual KE activity in isolation. It provides a clearer understanding of universities’ KE strategies that help define and delineate entrepreneurial universities regarding their range, focus and the combination of KE activities.

The on-going offshore outsourcing processes have resulted in complex, global and more vulnerable supply chain to disruptions. However, a good supplier choice would preserve or even improve supply chain resilience. Despite this critical potential effect, this topic remains relatively underdeveloped in the literature. Accordingly, this study proposes a coupled method based on Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The final model shows the impact of locational decision in offshore outsourcing process on supply chain resilience. Moreover, it allows simulating locations scenarios over time through an inference process. The simulations foresee the impacts of three alternative locations on capabilities required in a resilient supply chain. The sensitivity analysis of the findings reveals that one location would improve supply chain resilience meanwhile the others would damage it. This FCM-AHP analysis enhances the understanding of academics and practitioners about the importance of locations criteria and their influence in the supply chain resilience capabilities.

Author(s): Raveendran, M | Abstract: Research Summary: This article develops theory on how an organization's structure affects future reorganizations. I highlight that a firm's structure shapes not only the locus of decision-making power (i.e., centralization and decentralization) but also the employees' interaction structure. I develop microlevel theory that connects the firm's structure to the interactions among its employees—for instance, its influence on the time employees spend adjusting their behavior after a reorganization. This theory predicts that some structures are more likely than others to promote a reorganization to occur sooner. I use a unique, hand-collected data set of reorganizations in the cell-phone manufacturing industry to test and find directional support for this theory. Managerial Summary: I examine the effect of a firm's current structure on its corporate reorganization decisions, which are defined as the addition and/or removal of business units. I posit that the way employees are grouped into those business units may affect both the type and timing of subsequent reorganizations; the reason is that employees of similar (resp. different) backgrounds should need less (resp. more) time to achieve effective collaboration. Using data on the reorganizations of cell-phone manufacturing firms during 1983–2008, I find directional support for the theory. This result implies that managers may need to watch closely any reorganization that shifts the firm toward more heterogeneous interaction structures—because its implementation may well require additional time.

The field of entrepreneurship is growing rapidly and expanding into new areas. This article presents a new compilation of administrative panel data on the universe of business start-ups in the United States, which will be useful for future research in entrepreneurship. To create the US start-up panel data set, the authors link the universe of non-employer firms to the universe of employer firms in the Longitudinal Business Database (LBD). Start-up cohorts of more than five million new businesses per year, which create roughly three million jobs, can be tracked over time. To illustrate the potential of the new start-up panel data set for future research, the authors provide descriptive statistics for a few examples of research topics using a representative start-up cohort.

Managing meetings effectively is vital in the fast-paced, complex environment of the modern workplace. However, direct scholarly attention to work meetings is still limited, making an understanding of what makes meetings successful elusive. In this article, we examine the particulars of successful and unsuccessful meetings from a participant’s perspective. Employing a conceptual mapping approach, we analyze open-ended statements collected from meeting participants to identify three broad themes associated with meeting success: (1) participant learning and development; (2) the coordination of performance, including the creation of links between meeting episodes; (3) and the development of common understanding and alignment among attendees. By more fully taking these themes into account, managers can be better equipped to design, organize, and manage their work meetings successfully.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore older people’s food consumption experiences. Specifically, the paper seeks to provide understanding on the influence of food intake on consumer vulnerability and how this manifests within people’s lives. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an interpretive, exploratory approach, using in-depth interviews with 20 older consumers in the UK. Thematic analysis is conducted, establishing patterns and contradictions with the data. Findings The findings demonstrate how biological, psychological and social age-related changes can contribute to reduced food intake in later life. The loss of control over one’s consumption experiences as a result of inappropriate portion sizes acts as a source of both immediate and future vulnerability. Resultant food wastage can serve as an immediate reminder of negative associates with ageing, while the accumulative effect of sustained under-consumption contributes to increased frailty. As a result, consumer vulnerability can pervade other contexts of an individual’s life. Practical implications The research reveals opportunities for firms to use packaging development to reduce experiences of consumer vulnerability through reduced apportionment of packaged food products. However, this needs to be considered within a multi-demographic marketplace. Originality/value This paper contributes to literature by providing a unique lens with which to understand consumer vulnerability. The findings offer a developmental perspective on the experience of consumer vulnerability, revealing the stages of proximate, immediate, intermediate and ultimate vulnerability. This perspective has the potential to offer more detailed, nuanced insights into vulnerability in other contexts beyond food consumption.

Building on social commerce (s-commerce) perspectives and the trust transfer theory, this study develops a theoretical model that explains the indirect effects of two types of s-commerce attributes (community and platform) on behavioral outcomes (s-commerce intentions and e-Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM) intentions) through trust in community and platform. We analyze data collected from s-commerce users on travel booking websites using structural equation modeling technique. Results confirm that s-commerce intentions and e-WOM intentions are contingent upon s-commerce community and platform attributes. Moreover, the results provide evidence for the mediating effects of trust in community and platform on the relationship between s-commerce attributes and behavioral outcomes. The study provides further insights about the impact of s-commerce experience on s-commerce intention and e-WOM intention. Moreover, this study contributes to s-commerce research and practice by developing and validating the role of s-commerce community and platform attributes in forming consumers’ s-commerce behavioral outcomes.

Because of increased carbon emissions, environmental protection initiatives have gained significant attention at global level. One of the major initiatives taken by the industrial sector to minimize the negative environmental effect of the value chain activities is Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). In industry, soft (human resource-related) dimensions influence the implementation of GSCM process greatly. In the literature, relatively less discussion is provided on assessing the significance of soft dimensions in efficient GSCM acceptance in industry. The present work is an attempt to construct a structural framework for assessing the significance of the soft dimensions in adopting GSCM concepts by taking a case of automotive company in India. A hybrid approach of Best Worst Method (BWM) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is employed in this work. BWM is used to prioritize the GSCM oriented soft dimensions, and DEMATEL is employed to extract interrelationships among them. The result shows that ‘Top management commitment’, ‘Employee involvement’, ‘Organizational culture’ and ‘Teamwork’ are the highly prioritized causal soft dimensions in efficient GSCM adoption. This research work would help industry managers and practitioners to decide where to concentrate for GSCM concepts in context of soft dimensions for sustainable business development.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of stakeholder pressures on firm’s circular economy (CE) initiatives. The organizational responses are quite heterogeneous even when the firms face similar pressure. The authors have tried to explain this heterogeneity by using innovative capability as mediating variables. Design/methodology/approach Empirical survey data from Indian manufacturing firms are obtained to test the proposed hypotheses. The hypotheses are grounded in resource-based view of the firm. The authors used structural equation modeling approach with maximum likelihood methods of approximation. Findings The results indicate that exploratory innovation positively influences the firms to adopt CE practices. Whereas, exploitative innovation capability inhibits the adoption of CE practices. Practical implications This study guides business managers to focus on develop exploratory innovative capabilities before the adoption of CE practices. This study also provides guidance to policy maker about the role of regulatory mechanism plays to encourage/inhibits firms for adoption of CE practices. Originality/value This is first study to analyze the idiosyncratic behavior of the firms when subjected to stakeholder pressure for CE practices adoption. Innovative capabilities (exploratory/exploitative) are able to explain the reason for diverse response to stakeholder response.

The gravity of insurance within the financial sector is constantly increasing. Reasonably, after the events of the recent financial turmoil, the domain of research that examines the factors driving the risk-taking of this industry has been signified. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the interplay between national culture and risk of insurance firms. We quantify the cultural overtones, measuring national culture considering the dimensions outlined by the Hofstede model and risk-taking using the ‘Z-score’. In a sample consisting of 801 life and non-life insurance firms operating across 42 countries over the period 2007–2016, we find a strong and significant relationship among insurance firms' risk-taking and cultural characteristics, such as individualism, uncertainty avoidance and power distance. Results remain robust to a variety of firm and country-specific controls, alternative measures of risk, sample specifications and tests designed to alleviate endogeneity.

A total of 16 percent of hourly workers and 36 percent of workers paid on some other basis experience unstable work schedules due to irregular, on-call, rotating, or split shifts, which negatively impact workers’ ability to manage family responsibilities, finances, and health. Primarily drawing on data from in-depth interviews conducted in Oregon in 2016, this study expands research on how workers navigate through “bad jobs” by exploring the ways in which they respond in an attempt to manage the individual impacts of precarious work arrangements. We found that workers respond to unpredictable scheduling in four ways: they acquiesce, self-advocate, quit, or directly oppose employers. Our findings highlight the “impossible choices” workers face as they negotiate prevalent, unpredictable work conditions, juggle work-life obligations, and struggle to remain employed. We conclude with fair week, work policy recommendations.

We develop a theory explaining how collectivism causes people to “blur” demographic differences, that is, to see less diversity than actually exists in a group, and reconciling contradictions in how collectivistic norms influence group performance. We draw on the perceived diversity literature, hypothesizing that collectivistic norms cause group members to blur demographic differences, resulting in perceptions that group members are more similar than they actually are. Whether this benefits or harms group performance depends on the group’s objective diversity and the relevance of the perceived diversity attribute for accomplishing the task. For conjunctive tasks, the group’s performance is determined by its weakest member, demanding high levels of cohesion. Our theory suggests that collectivism benefits group conjunctive performance when objective national diversity is high by blurring divisive relational differences but has no effect in groups with low objective national diversity. In contrast, for disjunctive tasks, the group’s performance is determined by its best member. We predict that collectivism harms group disjunctive performance when objective expertness diversity is high by blurring differences in task-relevant expertness but has no effect in low objective expertness diversity groups. We find support for our theory in two studies, an archival study of 5,214 Himalayan climbing expeditions and a laboratory experiment assessing 366 groups. Our results show that collectivism has benefits and detriments for diverse groups and that these contradictory effects can be understood by identifying how the collectivistic blurring of perceived group diversity helps or hurts groups based on the type of tasks on which they are working.

Most research on private governance examines the design and negotiation of particular initiatives or their operation and effectiveness once established, with relatively little work on why firms join in the first place. We contribute to this literature by exploring firms’ willingness to participate in two recent, high-profile private initiatives established in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) sector: the Accord on Building and Fire Safety and the Alliance for Worker Safety in Bangladesh. Using novel shipment-level data from U.S. customs declarations, we generate a set of firms that were “eligible” to join these remediation initiatives. We are able to positively attribute only a minority of US RMG imports from Bangladesh to Accord and Alliance signatories. Firms with consumer-facing brands, publicly-traded firms, and those importing more RMG product from Bangladesh were more likely to sign up for the Accord and Alliance. Firms headquartered in the USA were much less likely to sign onto remediation plans, especially the Accord.

This paper aims to explore the emergence of ‘Green Banking’ in Bangladesh, with a focus on the role of financial regulation and regulators in greening the financial sector. It also examines the contribution and involvement of banks and non-bank financial institutions in promoting green economic transition. The study is based on the review of secondary data collected from various sources, such as quarterly reports, annual reports, websites of the central bank of Bangladesh, and other commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions as well as various articles, and newspapers reports on green banking in Bangladesh. The collected data is reviewed using descriptive statistics. The research results reveal that the central bank of Bangladesh played a major role in greening the financial system of the country by implementing various green policies and regulatory measures. Although Bangladesh is still far behind the developed countries in terms of environmental performance, the country has made a remarkable progress in initiating and expanding green banking practices, infrastructure development, and accelerating green growth in recent years.

"Our Extractive Age: Expressions of Violence and Resistance emphasizes how the spectrum of violence associated with natural resource extraction permeates contemporary collective life. Chronicling the increasing rates of brutal suppression of local environmental and labor activists in rural and urban sites of extraction, this volume also foregrounds related violence in areas we might not expect, such as infrastructural developments, protected areas for nature conservation, and even geoengineering in the name of carbon mitigation. Contributors argue that extractive violence is not an accident or side effect, but rather a core logic of the 21st Century planetary experience. Acknowledgement is made not only of the visible violence involved in the securitization of extractive enclaves, but also of the symbolic and structural violence that the governance, economics, and governmentality of extraction have produced. Extractive violence is shown not only to be a spectacular event, but an extended dynamic that can be silent, invisible, and gradual. The volume also recognizes that much of the new violence of extraction has become cloaked in the discourse of "green development," "green building," and efforts to mitigate the planetary environmental crisis through totalizing technologies. Ironically, green technologies and other contemporary efforts to tackle environmental ills often themselves depend on the continuance of social exploitation and the contaminating practices of non-renewable extraction. But as this volume shows, resistance is also as multi-scalar and heterogeneous as the violence it inspires. The book is essential reading for activists and for students and scholars of environmental politics, natural resource management, political ecology, sustainable development, and globalization"

PurposeThe instrumental-normative divide that has historically characterized approaches to societal sustainability has also resulted in a rift between underlying mental models and methods destined to address the issue. This separation makes our understanding and tackling of the present global ecological problems only limited and ineffective. The present work aims to draw on theoretical background to develop a conceptual framework for transitioning to integrated corporate sustainability.Design/methodology/approachDrawing inspiration from Luhmann’s (1995) theory of social systems, we consider the instrumental (hard) and normative (soft) methods (Jackson 2019) for corporate sustainability as “conceptual systems” that derive much of traditional social systems’ attributes. These systems are autopoietic, complexity-reducing and functionally differentiated. Following Luhmann’s philosophical grounding, we suggest that integrating the two systems of hard and soft methods boils down to constraining both systems’ internal complexity by imposing limitations on their operational structures. This translates into a decodification–recodification process whereby new methods emerge as a combination of initially disconnected structures.FindingsThe proposed conceptual integration framework is applied to the case of the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) which has been recently subject to inconclusive controversy. Our work demonstrates that redesigning the SBSC’s architecture following the presented framework leads to embracing complexity, tensions and conflict all the while offering a systematic approach for properly identifying and quantifying cause–effect relationships. Moreover, the proposed framework scores high in Complexity and Systemicity measures, making it both durable and practically useful. More generally, this work drives home the point that an integrated approach to sustainability management is not only important but also feasible and theoretically durable.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, the present work underscores the contribution of systems theory, and particularly the Luhmannian perspective, to transcending some of the most salient “divides” in approaches to societal sustainability. The decodification–recodification process not only enables integrating two distinct conceptual systems, but it also transforms the divide into an opportunity to gain a fresher perspective on one of the most challenging issues of our time. This process may demand, however, some adjustments as we move across various function systems, which requires solid knowledge and understanding of the underlying “codes” that define the systems subject to integration.Practical implicationsThis work implies that integration of varied and sometimes outwardly opposed function systems can and must be carried out to achieve larger societal impact. With respect to the illustrated case, the emerging dynamic SBSC offers a viable strategic planning platform whereby managers and stakeholders can concurrently define, forecast and adjust the societal strategy that maximizes triple bottom-line indicators and sustainable development impact.Social implicationsProviding decision and policymakers with integrated sustainability management approaches and instruments will have a direct benefit on enhancing the way systems, and large corporations in particular, treat and deal with nature and human beings.Originality/valueWe propose that proper integration of multiple function systems, employing integrative, unbiased and structured methodologies, can be decisive in challenging current practices in sustainability management and in providing informed guidance for making the high-stake decisions needed in the transition towards sustainable development of business and society.

PurposeEntrepreneurial orientation (EO) is an exploratory orientation because its dimensions such as innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking are the essence of exploration that entails uncertain returns. While literature suggests firms might need to counterbalance and complement EO with another orientation for organisational success, research on this area remains limited. Drawing on organisational learning theory, the purpose of this article is to explore whether and how the EO dimensions and organisational ambidexterity complement each other to enhance new product performance. More specifically, the authors explore the configurations of innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking and ambidexterity for superior new product performance under different levels of market turbulence.Design/methodology/approachBased on a configurational perspective, the authors applied fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 88 small and medium-sized firms from the UK. Using fsQCA allows the authors to uncover the potential complementary role between the EO dimensions and ambidexterity for superior new product performance.FindingsThe results of this paper reveal three configurations that are sufficient to produce superior new product performance. The results suggest that the EO dimensions and ambidexterity can complement each other to enhance new product performance. Further, under the turbulent market environment, the EO dimensions are also sufficient to produce superior new product performance.Originality/valueBy adopting a configurational perspective using fsQCA, the study provides a more holistic understanding of how the EO dimensions work together to influence new product performance. It also contributes to the literature by uncovering the complementary role of the EO dimensions and ambidexterity in shaping new product performance.

The further education sector is a challenging working environment with expectations to deliver high-quality education against a backdrop of continuous policy and structural reforms. Further education managers play a key part in how further education institutions respond to this dynamic operating environment. However, despite the importance of this role there is an absence of an agreed set of professional expectations for further education middle managers. Sector bodies have commissioned research to address recruitment challenges and support workforce development, but this is often directed towards teachers. As a result, the credibility of further education teachers has increased markedly, which is welcomed. However, further education middle managers who are responsible for the management of teachers and operationalisation of organisational strategies have not benefited from comparable opportunities for professionalisation. In contrast, they suffer from a lack of support when assimilating into the role. This paper investigates the role of further education middle managers through the lens of those responsible for their recruitment and development, human resource managers. Through the administration of a national survey of human resource managers, drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, this paper establishes a new theoretical framework: four pillars of professional expectations for further education middle managers. Furthermore, it highlights the value in a contextualised approach, moving away from generic management standards.

A large body of research shows that the migration of managers from one professional service firm to another weakens the old employer’s relationship with its clients, because migrating managers remove their relationship‐specific knowledge and expertise – i.e., human and social capital – from their old employers, redeploying it to their new employers. This study extends this research by introducing a bi‐directional perspective of social capital in which both firms and managers may exploit these relationship‐specific resources. We use theory on social capital to build arguments about how one form of manager mobility, manager migration between two service providers in a single market, can both lead and lag the movement of client ties between those providers, and signaling theory to hypothesize the conditions under which this is likely to occur. Analyses using longitudinal data on New York City advertising agencies generally support our arguments. Our findings contribute to theory and research on manager migration, social capital, and signaling, and raise new questions for how the portability of relationship‐specific social capital shapes markets.

Blockchain is considered to be a General-Purpose Technology (GPT) by many scholars. However, previous studies offer no proof that Blockchain is a GPT. Thus, approximately 2500 Blockchain-related patent data are investigated by deploying the mixed-method approach, using patentometrics with the support of semi-structured interviews conducted with Blockchain experts. This study investigates six main GPT indicators: pervasiveness, improvement, spawning, prevalence, reallocation of resources and inclusive democratisation. Overall, the results demonstrate that Blockchain has not yet become a GPT, though it already shows some GPT characteristics. There are six specific findings: (1) Blockchain shows pervasive characteristics; (2) Blockchain is capable of further improvement; (3) Blockchain facilitates and encourages the creation of innovations; (4) several countries with strong R&D capabilities, particularly China and the United States (US), are showing the prevalence of Blockchain technology; (5) the Blockchain landscape is witnessing greater participation of “younger” companies; and (6) Blockchain is strongly related to the Information and Communication Technology domain with the potential of inclusivity and democratisation. China and the US have the potential to influence the future development of Blockchain technology. This study is assumed to be of great interest to a broad spectrum of stakeholders, such as scholars and policymakers.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the portfolio of knowledge transfer (KT) activities in 162 UK higher education institutions. In doing so, this study creates an index and ranking, but more importantly, it identifies specific groupings or strategic profiles of universities defined by different combinations and strengths of the individual KT activities from which the overall rankings are derived. Previous research, concentrating on entrepreneurial universities, shows that individual knowledge transfer (KT) activities vary substantially among UK universities. The broad portfolio of universities' KT activities, however, remains underexplored, creating gaps in terms of the relative strength, range, focus and combination of these activities, and the degree to which there are distinct university strategic KT profiles. By examining KT activities and grouping universities into KT “types”, this research allows universities and policymakers to better develop and measure clearer KT-strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe present study applied the Preference Ranking Organization Method for the Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE) to rank universities based on their portfolio of KT activities. It utilised data from the 2015–2016 Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey dataset.FindingsFindings show that universities differ substantially in their portfolios of KT activities. By using PROMETHEE, a new ranking of universities is generated, based on their KT portfolio. This paper also identifies four distinct types or groups of universities based on the diversity and intensity of their KT activities: Ambidextrous, broad, focused and indifferent.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature, and more specifically entrepreneurial activities of universities through new knowledge generated concerning university KT activity. The research extends the existing literature on university archetypes (including those concerned with the Entrepreneurial University) and rankings using a new technique that allows for more detailed analysis of the range of university KT activities. By applying the PROMETHEE approach, results illustrate a more nuanced definition of university KT activities than before, by simultaneously evaluating their overall strength, range, focus and combination, allowing us to identify the universities' strategic profiles based on their KT portfolios. Implications of the findings for key stakeholders include a potential need for government higher education policymakers to take into account the different mixes of university archetypes in a region when considering how best to support higher education and its role in direct and indirect entrepreneurship promotion through regional policy goals.

Recently, Smartphone sales have surpassed the sales of all other computing devices including desktops, laptops and tablet PCs. Moreover, Smartphones have become a primary device to access the Internet as well as the most commonly used infotainment gadget among the Generations Y and Z (those born in 80s and 90s). Despite this widespread adoption of Smartphones among the youth, its usage in higher education is still a novice idea specifically in developing countries. This study is aimed at capturing the views of faculty members regarding usage of Smartphones for promoting learning at the tertiary level. In-depth interviews of 22 faculty members from different academic departments were conducted for this purpose. Responses of the interviewees were recorded which were later transcribed and analyzed to draw inferences. Results of this study indicate that the faculty members considered Smartphones to be an effective medium for off-campus learning and communication with peers and students. They also considered Smartphones suitable for explaining complex topics to their students as audio-visual content available over the Internet can easily be shared. However, majority of the respondents were skeptical about using Smartphones for educational purposes as they considered them to be a source of distraction, wastage of time, technostress, and emotional detachment. Moreover, they reported small size of both the screen and keyboard as an important limiting factor undermining the effective use of Smartphones in education. Lack of training and support, lack of technical knowledge and background, excessive work load and lack of incentives for using technology in education were reported as major barriers in adoption of Smartphones in higher learning landscape.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic is a global public health crisis of a scale not previously experienced in modern times (Kickbusch et al., 2020). Governmental ‘lockdown’ measures aimed at minimizing virus transmission including ‘stay at home’ orders, closure of businesses and places of congregation, and travel restrictions have had a substantive societal impact that permeates almost every facet of daily life (Gostin & Wiley, 2020; Shanafelt, Ripp, & Trockel, 2020). These widespread changes represent considerable sources of stress in the population and will have deleterious effects on mental and physical health going forward. As nations begin to emerge from ‘lockdown’, the collateral damage to human health caused by these restrictions has taken centre stage, and mental health issues, particularly stress‐related conditions and outcomes, are prominent among them. The imperative for strategies to assist in managing stress and minimizing concomitant health problems has become a priority. In this commentary, we outline how stress reappraisal interventions, which have come to the fore in recent years, may be a potentially efficacious, cost‐effective way to manage stress during and post‐pandemic, and minimize the health consequences.

Our review of acquisition research from the 2008 to 2018 period shows that a large and quickly growing portion of this work has focused on the behavioral aspects of acquisitions. Although this cont...

This research devotes theoretical and empirical attention to the understudied relationship between corporate brand value and cash holdings. We draw on existing firm valuation theorizing at the marketing–finance interface to propose that branding can alter the probability distribution of the firm’s revenues, lower potential operating shortfalls (negative operating earnings), and thereby reduce the firm’s cash holdings. The negative corporate brand value–cash holdings relationship is empirically tested using Brand Finance’s brand valuation metric as the predictor. Based on a pooled cross-section time-series design of up to 115 firms across 10 years, we find: that (1) support for the predicted negative association between brand value and cash holdings and (2) that the long-term cash holdings elasticity of brand value is between − 0.16 and − 0.22. Interestingly, these results are not replicated when using a traditional consumer-based brand equity measure. This study informs the debate on whether and how brand assets can impact firm cash holdings, reaffirms that results are sensitive to the operationalization of brand assets, and recognizes a new role for brands—as a “downside risk” (not variance) management tool for the top management team. An overarching implication of this research is that brands should be viewed as a firm-wide strategic asset with a sphere of influence that transcends the marketing function.

The amount of job advertisement data is rapidly growing, and this rich dataset is expected to have implications for the employment market, sector trajectories, and the education sector. Most significantly, human resources (HR) data has never previously been examined with the lens of tech mining for science and technology analyses. This article is the first to examine job advertisement data considering research and development (R&D) progress and requirements, and hereafter, we refer to this as HR mining. The aim of this article is to use HR mining with the purpose of R&D and human capital intelligence using the job advertisement data of Turkey for the 2015–2017 period. The method of this study follows classification as part of the preprocessing step to determine R&D, engineering, and high-tech industry-related job advertisements. Afterward, we use clustering methods to identify areas where key human capital is required, and investments are made by R&D-oriented companies. The results show that it is possible to identify sector-oriented skill requirements and that the significance of the R&D skills varies. For the case of Turkey, we can clearly show the national human capital and R&D by identifying nine key clusters that indicate R&D progress and directions.

The study investigates the underlying motives facilitating users’ continuance intention for digital content in academic settings. Extending the expectation confirmation model of IS continuance (ECM-ISC), the study proposes a conceptual model by incorporating personal and technological antecedents of users’ continuance intention for digital content. In addition, users’ environmental concerns and price value are considered as potential moderators in the relationship between their satisfaction and continuance intention for digital content. An online survey was used to collect data from 311 digital content users of a large public university in Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships in the conceptual model. The results obtained from SmartPLS 3.2 confirm that compatibility, convenience, self-efficacy, and facilitating conditions are the predictors of confirmation and usefulness of digital content. The confirmation of expectations and perceived usefulness result in greater satisfaction with the digital content, which in turn leads to users’ continuance intention. In addition, the article provides empirical evidence for the impact of environmental concerns on the satisfaction–continuance intention relationship, thus opening a novel research debate. The study is expected to offer new insights both for academicians and managers of digital content.

Transformational leaders challenge the status quo, provide a vision of a promising future, and motivate and inspire their followers to join in the pursuit of a better world. But many of these leaders also fit the American Psychiatric Association classification for narcissistic personality disorder. They are grandiose, entitled, self-confident, risk seeking, manipulative, and hostile. This article reviews the literature on narcissism and shows how what we think of as transformational leadership overlaps substantially with grandiose narcissism. As grandiose narcissists can appear as transformational leaders, it is important to distinguish between what leadership scholars have characterized as “transformational” and these “pseudo-transformational” candidates.

Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) were introduced by the UK government in 2010 to promote local economic development. There is, however, a minimal pre-LEP baseline analysis concerning aspirations of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in LEP geographies. Employing Federation of Small Businesses 2010 data gathered before LEP policy activities began. This study examines growth and innovation intention of SMEs in LEP-defined areas. The analysis demonstrates how key internal SME strategic focus areas of staffing levels, training investment, research and development and online presence support their growth and innovation intentions. Results from fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis demonstrate that SMEs’ growth and innovation intentions and strategic areas that drive these intentions differ substantially between LEP-defined regions. This study contributes to knowledge providing baseline data outlining objectives and strategic foci of SMEs in different LEP areas, allowing LEPs to effectively evaluate programmes aligned with the requirements of their SMEs, potentially informing future policymaking.

Poor sleep quality is associated with numerous physical and mental health problems. The purpose of this study is to analyze the occupational and demographic factors associated with sleep problems among a sample of urban transit operators. The sample consists of 676 workers (44% female, 67% African American) at a Northern California public transit agency who participated in a cross-sectional worksite tobacco survey. Approximately 27% of the sample reported that they often had trouble going to sleep or staying asleep in the past 12 months. Results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that frequency of job stressors (e.g., equipment problems, road or traffic problems, poor access to bathrooms) and amount of time needed to unwind and relax after work were significantly associated with often experiencing insomnia symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.76 and 2.44, respectively). Younger workers, females, and nicotine-dependent smokers were more likely to report often experiencing sleep problems than older workers, males, and nonsmokers. Employment length and work shift were not associated with the outcome. The findings indicate that transit operators experience elevated prevalence of past-year sleep problems, and occupational factors play a role in their occurrence. Future research should explore if policies that help reduce frequency of job stressors can mitigate poor sleep quality among this occupational group.

PurposeThe purpose of this study to shed light on the importance of social media hosted content related to socially-motivated discussions. Moving from the field of communication for development, the research leverages social media as a powerful tool for collecting and analyse peer-to-peer communication towards the conceptualization of eVoices of Unheard. The deep understanding of these conversation can generate recommendations for organizations and governments designing and providing interventions fostering local socio-economic development.Design/methodology/approachThe study presents a large-scale analysis of social media interactions on the topic “#favela” to generate insights into a social network structure, narrative contents and meaning generated.FindingsStructurally, the analysed networks are comparable with those presented in current academic literature; automatic text analysis confirmed the promise of the inner value of communication for development opening the floor to conceptualization of the “eVoices of unheard”, which is the collective and conscious use of social media to mediate community discussions about tangible and intangible issues related to socio-economic development.Originality/valueFramed within the rise of interactive communication for development this research show that social media an support the notion of voice proposed by Couldry (2010) moving from process (i.e. the recording of the voice) towards value (i.e. the possibility of giving an account of one’s life and its conditions to have an impact on human life and resources) thereby understanding intangible issues related with socio-economic development.

In the era of industrialization, environmentalists are more concerned with the environment and so are continuously interested in investigating organizational factors that can facilitate the transition towards sustainability. This research systematically investigates the impact of the supply chain partner’s collaborative approach towards green practices on a firm’s sustainability performance. Stakeholder and coordination theories are used to underpin the study. A structural equation modeling technique is adopted to analyze data collected from 126 green supply chain professionals working at various manufacturing firms operating in Pakistan using a survey questionnaire. The results indicate significant and positive impacts of institution pressure and customer monitoring on the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices by organizations. This study also explains that organizational GSCM practices, external GSCM practices and performance measures have positive and significant relationships. These findings reveal that it is important for managers to address external GSCM pressures by adopting green practices and being a focal firm should undertake GSCM initiatives in collaboration with their suppliers and customers to achieve a holistic impact which ultimately leads to betterment in overall sustainability performance.

Design thinking is gaining widespread attention in the practitioner and academic literature. Successful implementation has been documented, and its value shown in empirical studies. There is little examination, however, of how design thinking practices fit with other approaches from which firms might choose to frame and solve problems such as agile, lean startup, scientific method, Six Sigma, critical thinking, and systems thinking. By digging into the basic capabilities underlying design thinking, academic researchers might better understand problem framing and solving in general and provide insight for practitioners as to where alternative approaches might be applied.

open access article This data article revealed data about the UK long-term insurance market performance for over a decade. The data was acquired from the ABI and contains important trading results (i.e. premiums generated) across different types of long-term insurance. It also revealed the outgoings (i.e. claims incurred) and data on total individual business in force at year end – relating to number of policies. The data relates specifically to life and annuities, individual pensions, occupational pensions, income protection and other insurance business. The dataset revealed some important information on long-term insurance products within the UK insurance market which could serve as a high-quality resource for longitudinal analysis in the field. Thus, the data can provide crucial insights about UK long-term insurance market resilience during the global financial crisis and can be compared with a different era, sectors, and countries to show hidden business resilience factors, competitiveness, and survival strategies.