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This study aims to understand the mechanisms driving individuals to utilise and engage in edu-business and contribute to the industry’s development, even when they face criticism. To that end, this paper, focussing on corporate stories, explores the cultural strategies education companies employ to expand their businesses overseas.

This paper examines the case study of Kumon Institute of Education, a key player in the Japanese edu-business sector. The analysis is based on interviews conducted between 2019 and 2021 with four public relations officers who possess extensive knowledge of the company’s history. Additionally, it draws on government and company documents, as well as newspaper articles. The analysis focusses on the narrative isomorphism between the company and the government from the provider’s perspective.

Kumon’s corporate stories and narratives have been shaped by the history, culture and policies of Japan, its country of origin, rather than adopting a bottom-up approach or embracing neoliberal values. As the company expanded its international reach, its Japanese identity became a cornerstone of its narrative, heightening the appeal of its stories through the use of expert discourse and historic cultural resources. Recently, a synergy has developed between the public and private sectors in the realm of education export, reinforcing the distinctly Japanese nature of the company, which is particularly appealing to both users and employees.

This paper focusses on the edu-business itself, analysing cultural strategies that go beyond the functional aspects of management or services to understand how edu-businesses have attracted people.

Using the residual dividend theory, this study examines the impact of capital expenditures and working capital on the dividend policies of publicly listed companies in Indonesia.

Using data on public companies (other than those in the financial sector) listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2020, this study collected 870 observations (firm-years). This study employs a regression analysis technique using the STATA application program. The main variables in this study are capital expenditure and working capital, and the control variables are sales growth, firm size, leverage, profitability, liquidity and dummy variables for state-owned enterprises. The dependent variable of dividend policy is proxied by the dividend payout ratio.

This study’s results support the residual dividend theory’s hypothesis, in which capital expenditure negatively affects a company’s dividend policy. This study also analyzes this effect on companies that pay cash dividends at quantile positions of 25, 30, 50 and 60. The results show that the effect of capital expenditure on cash dividend payments is more pronounced in the case of companies whose cash dividends are in the 50th quantile. This result holds across different specification and endogeneity tests.

This study analyzes the residual dividend theory in Indonesian companies, focusing on localized factors and investment priorities. It challenges traditional Western dividend policies and provides empirical data that enhances the theory’s robustness. The findings have practical implications for investors, policymakers and corporate decision-makers in the Indonesian market.

This conceptual article provides a basis for designing leader development programs that assess and train leaders to recognize demands for communication and how their personality affects the ways they transmit information, influence others and form positive relationships.

Adult attachment theory, Big Five personality dimensions (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience and neuroticism) and pro-social and social sensitivity personality traits are proposed to shape the extent to which leaders enact relational, transmission and manipulative models of communication. These personality dimensions and communication models are the basis for assessment and training leaders to use in-person and various electronic media in ways that promote listeners’ attention, understanding and psychological safety.

Secure attachment leaders who are extraverted, prosocial and socially sensitive are proposed to use high touch media to communicate in ways that establish positive relationships. Avoidant and anxious attachment leaders use low-touch media that are manipulative or mitigate accountability.

The behaviors associated with transmitting information, influencing others and forming relationships can be a basis for assessing leaders’ attachment styles. Leaders can learn to diagnose situations to determine the best mixes of communication models to meet the demands of the situation.

Leaders who are promoted to higher levels of responsibility need to learn how to communicate with multiple stakeholders often during times of challenge and stress. How they communicate is likely to be a function of their comfort with interpersonal relationships, which in turn affects their use of personal and impersonal media.

Based on social exchange theory and social identification theory, I investigated how employee organizational identification affects the effectiveness of commitment-based human resource (HR) practices. I focused on employee attitudes (job satisfaction) and behaviors (proactive knowledge seeking) as HR practices’ outcomes.

Using a structural equation modeling analytical approach, I tested the hypotheses with data from a web-based cross-sectional survey of 208 specialists and engineers of manufacturing subsidiaries in Poland.

Results showed that the positive relationship between commitment-based-HR practices and job satisfaction is weakened for employees strongly identified with the organization. Simultaneously, the connection between seeking knowledge and job satisfaction is stronger and more important for people who identify moderately to strongly.

The study limitations regard mainly its cross-sectional design and single cultural and industrial context.

From the managerial perspective, the study suggests that to enhance proactive employee behavior, companies need to increase employee organizational identification and ensure that employees have a positive perception of the implemented HR practices.

The study contributes to the ongoing discussion on whether individual contingencies affect the effectiveness of commitment-based HR practices in the form of individual attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The findings revealed that the contingent effect of organizational identification depends on the type of individual outcomes, suggesting that the strength of organizational identification affects how employees decide to reciprocate the organization’s attention and investment.

Considering the important development that research on debt financing decisions of family firms (FFs) has undergone in recent years, we aim to assess the current state of the literature with the latest advances in this field.

We undertake a systematic review of 42 journal articles published on this topic in recent years.

As a result of our work, new directions for the advancement of this research field are established, such as the consideration of different methodologies and sources of heterogeneity of FFs, the need for an integration of the supply and demand side of funds or the importance of evaluating a diversity of firm-specific and contextual factors affecting the debt financial behaviour of FFs.

Considering the notable development of the field of debt financing decisions of FFs in recent years, we find it opportune and valuable to revise the advances and trends published in the most recent papers. Thus, by connecting previous and current knowledge, we provide an updated integrative model of the state of the art and posit key research questions to solve in the future.

In light of Bangladesh’s economy, the goal of this study is to examine the “Twin Deficit Hypothesis (TDH),” which refers to a link between the budget deficit and the current account deficit. This study used yearly time series data from 1980 to 2020 to investigate the phenomena.

A multivariate autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) model has been presented for empirical investigation, with the ARDL bound test investigating the co-integration between the inadequacies. As some of the variables in the bound test lack co-integration, the study adds a multivariate vector autoregressive (VAR) model later on.

With evidence of the result, the study supports the validation of twin deficit hypothesis in Bangladesh economy since both current account deficit and fiscal deficit affects each other significantly whereas Granger causality test confirms that fiscal deficit causes current account deficit but not the other way around.

The government should maintain a restrictive monetary policy in order to stabilize the current account deficit.

The novelty of this study is the incorporation of inflation, real exchange rate and GDP per capital to TDH that together form the basis for a macroeconomic snapshot of the economy.

Prior research and theory have shown that transformational leadership can be developed through leader development programs (LDPs). To explain how this happens, research suggests a strong connection between an individual’s leader self-concept and their leadership behavior that can be manipulated through LDPs. The purpose of this article is to delve deeper into this phenomenon to understand how development occurs and to better understand how an LDP can improve leadership behaviors by influencing one’s self-concept and ultimately reduce the training transfer gap. As a broader goal, this article contributes to the existing literature on the value proposition of investing in LDPs.

We conducted an explanatory sequential design mixed-methods study to measure the development of participants and the impact of the program. The quantitative phase of the study used self-report surveys to measure the LDP’s impact on participants’ transformational leader behavior (TLB) and concept of themselves regarding leadership, their leader self-views (LSVs). The study also measured the relationship between LSVs and later enactment of leadership behaviors as the second hypothesis. The subsequent qualitative study was designed to understand the mechanisms that might explain the quantitative results.

The study’s empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between LSVs (efficacy, self-awareness and identity) and distal leader development outcomes (TBLs). The study’s findings also provide support for the claim that LDPs convert knowledge and skills into TLB, expanding an individual’s capacity to be effective in leadership roles and processes (Day & Dragoni, 2015). Qualitative results also show LDPs improve leader behavior by influencing their self-efficacy via providing tools and knowledge as well as building experimental mindset.

By showing LDPs' long term impacts, this paper demonstrates why short-term leadership development programs are worth investing.

This project inquires whether transitioning to adopting sustainable practices involves emphasizing the significance of education and skill development that aligns with employees' knowledge. Additionally, this project explores whether soft skills can act as a means for effective communication, collaboration and ethical decision-making when addressing the intricate and socially interconnected nature of sustainability challenges. Thus, this research explores employee sustainability knowledge and soft skills to gain a more nuanced understanding to provide evidence-based recommendations to enhance organizational sustainability initiatives.

This study used a form of chain-referral sampling with two populations. A two-step cluster analysis with a log-likelihood distance measure and Schwarz’s Bayesian criterion was employed to identify communities of employees with different levels of sustainable practices and soft skills knowledge. A corresponding analysis was conducted to better understand different communities in terms of industry and managerial experience. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using a covariance-based measurement model to establish measurement validity and reliability and to impute latent variables (i.e. constructs) scores.

Aligning human resource (HR) strategies with these identified knowledge communities enables organizations to strategically enhance comprehensive training programs promoting sustainable practices and soft skills. Tailored training and workforce development programs for each community are recommended, with the proposal of active training methods like Lego Serious Play to dynamically engage employees. As organizations increasingly invest in training, this research offers valuable insights for educators and industry professionals to better cultivate and apply soft skills to develop employee sustainability practices and enhance employee development.

Although this study’s findings are not generalizable to the population, they are useful when considering critical sustainability knowledge and soft skills necessary for employees in the hospitality industry. The convenience sample of this study could have been more robust, with participants with greater tenure in the industry or a better understanding of sustainable practices and soft skill competencies. This research used a Qualtrics survey to gather subject responses. This may have caused biases in responding to the survey, such as a central tendency, immediacy, the rater’s knowledge about each criterion or boredom with the survey length.

The practical implications drawn from this study’s findings offer actionable insights for organizations seeking to enhance sustainability practices within their workforce. As one navigates the diverse landscape of employee categories, including sustainable champions, emerging learners and skillful initiators, it becomes evident that a one-size-fits-all approach to training and workforce education is not conducive to cultivating a sustainable culture. In this section, some possible practical strategies tailored to each employee category are suggested, ensuring that organizations can effectively harness the unique strengths and development needs within their workforce.

Using a social cognitive theoretical lens (Bandura, 1977), sustainable catalysts' elevated knowledge levels make them influential contributors to the organization’s sustainability goals, while their adeptness in soft skills positions them as effective communicators, collaborators and leaders in fostering a culture of sustainability. Figure 1b displays this idea. As such, sustainable catalysts were present four times in the effectiveness of the top five soft skills, meaning these sustainable catalysts should be the area of primary focus as they can assist organizations by educating other employees due to their enhanced soft skills and level of sustainability knowledge.

Rooted in social cognitive theory, this study investigated how HR practices can effectively shape sustainability-related workforce development in the workplace. The results identified distinct knowledge communities – sustainable catalysts, skillful initiators, emerging learners and sustainable champions – aligned with quadrants of sustainable practice effectiveness. Aligning HR strategies with these identified knowledge communities enables organizations to strategically enhance comprehensive training programs promoting sustainable practices and soft skills.

In the process of one stop border posts (OSBP), market access is dynamic. In this context, administrative practices and cross-cultural competence among traders are crucial for market access. However, there is limited research on how cross cultural competences can strengthen the influence of administrative practices on market access among small traders. This study therefore aims at exploring this relationship.

This study used structured questionnaire to collect data from 328 traders of maize, onion and tomatoes at Namanga OSBP. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM.

The results of this study imply that administrative practices and cross-cultural competences significantly and positively influence market access. Finally, cross-cultural competence is a significant positive moderator of the relationship between administrative practices and market access.

The results suggest that cross-cultural competence is a significant moderator of the relationship between administrative practices and market access. This adds new knowledge in the literature on how cross-cultural competences of the traders can strengthen the influences of administrative practices at the OSBPs for high market access.

This study explores the interplay between levels of cultures and aspects of quality management (QM), aiming to develop a conceptual framework and introduce propositions regarding managing quality in a multinational company (MNC).

A conceptual framework delineating the relationship between the levels of cultures in MNCs and various aspects of QM is proposed. Thereafter, based on a theory elaboration approach, a case study in Swedish facilities of MNCs is used to further illustrate the link between constructs of the framework, contributing to the identification of challenges and possibilities in managing quality in MNCs.

The research identifies key propositions regarding the intricate relationship between levels of cultures and their influences on aspects of QM in MNC. Proposition 1 emphasises the impact of national cultural differences on perceptions of QM principles. Proposition 2 reveals that diverse QM perceptions affect global consistency in QM practices. However, proposition 3 suggests that emphasising technical aspects in common QM practices fosters shared perceptions and a cohesive organisational culture, leading to Proposition 4, that a QM-centric organisational culture mediates national cultural differences, facilitating the management of quality globally.

This research relies on a case study from a Swedish perspective. There is a need for quantitative or mixed method approaches to validate the proposed framework.

This research yields practical insights into cross-cultural QM challenges and possibilities in MNCs.

By integrating national and organisational culture into the QM framework, this research offers a conceptual model and propositions as a foundation for future cross-cultural QM research in MNCs.