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This study aims to contribute to the existing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by examining the influence of national media environments on the economic consequences of CSR. Drawing on signaling theory, this study distinguishes between two country-level media environments − digital media accessibility and media freedom − of which the prior research has often implied their value in cultivating the stakeholders’ awareness about the firms’ socially responsible behavior, suggesting that they amplify the benefits of CSR actions.

This study conducts multilevel analysis with a sample of 44,222 firm-year observations representing 6,726 companies from 57 countries over the period 2003–2019.

This study finds supportive evidence that CSR is more positively related to financial gains in countries with greater digital media accessibility. This study concludes that digital media accessibility affects a firm’s reputation and legitimacy benefits derived from CSR actions, resulting in better financial performance (FP).

The findings of this paper contribute to the existing literature on the CSR–FP relationship by demonstrating the relevance of considering the media environment to better explain the link between CSR and FP. In doing so, this study enriches our understanding of the importance of the media at macro-level institutions by examining how and why these media environments cultivate a culture of CSR as a strategic tool for firms.

This study aims to conduct an extensive bibliometric analysis of research across COVID-19 and human resource management (HRM). It captures an exhaustive conceptual understanding of theoretical foundations, research trends, developments and research directions in the HRM domain.

A set of 505 HRM and COVID-19-specific articles collected from the Scopus database were systematically analyzed using a two-tier method. In the first tier of analysis, the evolution and current state of research are identified using citation analysis. In the second tier, network analysis and content analysis of research clusters and thematic mapping are done to identify the prominent research themes and research gaps and suggest future research directions.

The study highlights the emergence of six research clusters: SHRM and competitive advantage, employer branding and employee engagement, crisis management and resilience, challenges, career shock and job demand resources and burnout. The thematic mapping categorizes the themes into four categories: motor, basic, emerging or declining, and niche research themes published on COVID-19 and HRM. To understand the socio-cultural dynamics and cross-cultural issues during human resource management, the findings emphasized the need for the increased contribution of researchers and practitioners, especially from the developing and emerging nation’s context. Increased co-authorship among influential authors and institutions will also help formulate strategies and policies to effectively deal with similar pandemics.

Unlike the previous literature review, the present findings provide meaningful insights for formulating people management techniques, policies, and practices in response to COVID-19 or similar pandemics.

The ongoing paradigm shift in the energy sector holds paramount implications for the realization of the sustainable development goals, encompassing critical domains such as resource optimization, environmental stewardship and workforce opportunities. Concurrently, this transformative trajectory within the power sector possesses a dual-edged nature; it may ameliorate certain challenges while accentuating others. In light of the burgeoning research stream on open innovation, this study aims to examine the intricate dynamics of knowledge-based industry-university-research networking, with an overarching objective to elucidate and calibrate the equilibrium of ambidextrous innovation within power systems.

The authors scrutinize the role of different innovation organizations in three innovation models: ambidextrous, exploitative and exploratory, and use a multiobjective decision analysis method-entropy weight TOPSIS. The research was conducted within the sphere of the power industry, and the authors mined data from the widely used PatSnap database.

Results show that the breadth of knowledge search and the strength of an organization’s direct relationships are crucial for ambidextrous innovation, with research institutions having the highest impact. In contrast, for exploitative innovation, depth of knowledge search, the number of R&D patents and the number of innovative products are paramount, with universities playing the most significant role. For exploratory innovation, the depth of knowledge search and the quality of two-mode network relations are vital, with research institutions yielding the best effect. Regional analysis reveals Beijing as the primary hub for ambidextrous and exploratory innovation organizations, while Jiangsu leads for exploitative innovation.

The study offers valuable implications to cope with the dynamic state of ambidextrous innovation performance of the entire power system. In light of the findings, the dynamic state of ambidextrous innovation performance within the power system can be adeptly managed. By emphasizing a balance between exploratory and exploitative strategies, stakeholders are better positioned to respond to evolving challenges and opportunities. Thus, the study offers pivotal guidance to ensure sustained adaptability and growth in the power sector’s innovation landscape.

The primary originality is to extend and refine the theoretical understanding of ambidextrous innovation within power systems. By integrating several theoretical frameworks, including social network theory, knowledge-based theory and resource-based theory, the authors enrich the theoretical landscape of power system ambidextrous innovation. Also, this inclusive examination of two-mode network structures, including the interplay between knowledge and cooperation networks, unveils the intricate interdependencies between these networks and the ambidextrous innovation of power systems. This approach significantly widens the theoretical parameters of innovation network research.

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model explicating the development of expatriate social capital and its influence on expatriate effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer and adjustment. Drawing upon social capital theory and weak tie theory, we elucidate the process through which expatriate social capital facilitates expatriate knowledge transfer and adjustment via greater access of role information and social support.

This study reviews and distills research on expatriate social capital development and proposes a conceptual model of expatriate effectiveness and suggests potential research avenues for global mobility scholars.

This study contributes to the understanding of the development of expatriate social capital in the host country and its impacts on expatriate effectiveness as a process. With regard to expatriates’ social capital accumulation, this study also highlights the important but less-known role of accompanying spouse/family members as expatriates’ weak tie enablers. We articulate a framework that outlines the sources of social capital for expatriates and the processes through which social capital transmits (via expatriates’ access to role information and social support) and then enhances expatriate effectiveness. This conceptual model aims to establish a basic “roadmap” for use by practitioners and researchers.

Before the proposed conceptual model can be theoretically refined or extended by future research, its veracity needs to be tested empirically. Although we do not incorporate “time,” “personal characteristics” and “context” in our model, we recognize their potential importance and urge future researchers to incorporate them in studying the role of social capital on expatriate effectiveness.

A conceptual model is presented that enables multinational corporations (MNCs) to map their current (and future) strategies to enhance expatriate effectiveness by further strengthening the expatriate social capital.

Drawing upon social capital theory and weak tie theory, this paper links various sources of expatriate social capital to expatriates’ access to role information and social support in supporting expatriate effectiveness. From this, several avenues of future research are drawn.

This study aims to define, classify and interconnect the wide range of known entrepreneurial abilities with terms such as skills, capabilities and competencies, which have been used inconsistently within the entrepreneurial field.

This investigation is based on a systematic literature review and strengthened by a meta-analysis equipped with a bibliometric study to assist the generation of outcomes with a quantitative investigation.

This study proposes an evolving entrepreneurial ability model which interconnects genetic and acquired skill types, capabilities and competencies and is equipped with an Entrepreneurial Skills Map essential to operate in the 21st century.

The proposed model is specific to the entrepreneurial field.

This study supports universities and government agencies for the development of educational programs to prepare current and future entrepreneurs to match the changes in the new environment that has emerged with the COVID-19 pandemic.

This research contributes to the entrepreneurship research domain by shedding light on the inconsistent use of non-standardised terminologies and providing an entrepreneurial model and updated skills map to guide scholars to frame research in the post-COVID era with more clarity.

Self-initiated international placements by students have been largely ignored in the literature on outward mobility in higher education. The support given to self-initiated international placement students, if any, has received even less attention. This study aims to address this lacuna.

Drawing on insights from global mobility literature, we conducted a survey of UK university students who engaged in self-initiated international placements to various countries such as France, China, Brazil and Ghana. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis.

Findings reveal that these “voluntary” placements can improve language fluency, increase self-confidence, renew stress management abilities and enhance cross-cultural competencies and intercultural sensitivity. The study problematises the lack of support given to these students particularly in terms of career development.

Our paper is one of the first to bring this under-studied population to the attention of career guidance scholars. We propose that scholarly attention should be directed toward the agency of self-initiated international placement students and that targeted career guidance must be provided through more inclusive career services.

Losing indigenous knowledge is to lose the future and impoverish the societies because indigenous knowledge is considered one of the cornerstones and survival of communities, societies and economies. This study, thus, aims to explore and assess the contextual enablers of indigenous knowledge and their role in developing and sustaining the Ewe communities in Ghana.

The qualitative research design, which enabled the researcher to engage the participants in an interview process and observation, was used in this study. It was augmented with a quantitative design using structured questions. Data analysis was guided by the basic principles of grounded theory. The coding system was aided by NVivo to analyze the qualitative data, while the quantitative data was analyzed using the SPSS. Descriptive analysis and graphs were deployed in the presentation of the findings.

The study discovered that the communities are in possession of several types of indigenous knowledge, ranging from tacit to explicit knowledge, which are embedded in their cultural and traditional systems and unique to every community; the culture of trust among the citizens and motivation to create and share knowledge in communities was high. Same time, family heads, farmer groups, libraries and museums played key roles in the preservation and management of indigenous knowledge in the communities. On the other hand, information officers and institutions like churches and police posts played insignificant roles in the management and preservation of knowledge in the communities just as the absence of a culture of willingness by the community members to create and share knowledge. Additionally, there was an absence of technological infrastructure, platforms, databases and policies to aid the management and preservation of knowledge in the communities. The study concludes that indigenous knowledge plays a vital role in the development and sustainability of communities in Ghana.

Community leaders and political leaders need to invest in systems and structures that will promote the management and preservation of indigenous knowledge for the development of the communities and the state as a whole.

The study demonstrates its originality in terms of scope, setting, population and empirical evidence by focusing on the role of indigenous knowledge in the sustainability and development of Ewe communities in Ghana.

This paper aims to determine the impact of perceived virtuality on team dynamics and outcomes by adopting the Input-Mediators-Outcome (IMO) framework. Further, it also investigates the mediating role of team processes and emergent states.

The authors collected survey data from 315 individuals working in virtual teams (VTs) in the information technology sector in India using both offline and online questionnaires. They performed the analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

The authors investigated two sets of hypotheses – both direct and indirect (or mediation interactions). Results show that psychological empowerment and conflict management are significant in managing VTs. Also, perceived virtuality impacts team outcomes, i.e. perceived team performance, team satisfaction and subjective well-being.

The interplay between the behavioural team process (conflict management) and the emergent state (psychological empowerment) was examined. The study also helps broaden our understanding of the various psychological variables associated with teamwork in the context of VTs.

Findings from this study will aid in assessing the consequences of virtual teamwork at both individual and organisational levels, such as guiding the design and sustainability of VT arrangements, achieving higher productivity in VTs, and designing effective and interactive solutions in the virtual space.

The study examined the interplay between behavioural team processes (such as conflict management) and emergent states (such as psychological empowerment). The study also theorises and empirically tests the relationships between perceived virtuality and team outcomes (i.e. both affective and effectiveness). It may serve as a guide to understanding team dynamics in VTs better.

This exploratory study attempts to enhance the current understanding of the research and practice of VTs within a developing economy.

Entrepreneurial mindsets differ in diverse cultural contexts affecting the perceptions of business opportunity as well as the strategic posture and how to network to successfully implement it. For example, many scholars have shown that risk taking and proactiveness (i.e., characteristics of the strategic posture) are affected by cultural characteristics. The aim of the chapter is to shed light on the relationship between socio-cultural practices (using the GLOBE cultural theoretical framework) and entrepreneurial behavior understanding how culture may foster or hinder the entrepreneurial mindsets. The authors discuss how certain cultural dimensions may be linked to various aspects of entrepreneurial mindsets. Furthermore, the authors make some reflections with regard to the contextual conditions shaped by cultural factors that seem to be the most appropriate to spread the Humane Entrepreneurship Model.