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The purpose of this study is to examine the recruitment practice of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Czech Republic to learn whether it encourages or discourages former offenders from attempting to attain work after release.

A qualitative approach was taken to understand the perspective of SME company owners and decision-makers within the Czech Republic. In all, 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted which examined the current recruitment practice and individual attitudes towards employing former offenders.

Through a change of employer perception, working with support agencies and amending recruitment practice, opportunities can be created for former offenders in the workplace to assist their rehabilitation. This would assist with overcoming employer attitudes which have little sense of responsibility to helping former offenders with reintegration through employment. Recruitment practices focus heavily on past accomplishments and the existence of a criminal record which can disincentivise former offenders from applying for work because of their stigmatised identity. Prior experience with offenders can lead to a change of attitude and offers a vector for changing employer attitudes. In combination with linkage to agencies which work with former offenders, small businesses could amend their recruitment practice and provide support for former offenders on their rehabilitation journey.

This study is based on a limited sample size, only 25 responses, and the need for translation from English to Czech could have led to a loss of nuance in the responses gathered. With asynchronous interviews also being used, some brief responses limited the insight which could have been gained.

The findings of this study highlight areas of practice which can be amended to better attract former offenders, being future-focused rather than past-focused.

Enhancing employment opportunities for former offenders would be a major enhancer for their reintegration efforts and lower the associated social costs to society.

Prior research has been conducted into the offender experience, with recruiter/owner receiving far less attention. Most prior studies have been quantitative in nature, with few using a qualitative approach.

This research examined the role of post-conflict marketing in supporting businesses within conflict-affected regions, aligning with the objectives of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 to foster peaceful societies amid increasing global conflicts.

Drawing from the theories of social egalitarianism and consumer discrimination, the study explored the moderating influence of conflict stakeholder on consumer willingness to pay (WTP). Understanding such stakeholder roles underscores post-conflict marketing's potential for economic growth and stability. Two experiments assessed the WTP, WTP a premium price and expected attractiveness of strategic products and services developed by key stakeholders (ex-guerrilla, ex-paramilitaries, ex-militaries, victims and other citizens) in the Colombian post-conflict context among both local (Colombian) and foreign (Japanese) consumers.

Results revealed that products associated with victims consistently received higher ratings. A notable contrast emerged as Japanese consumers favoured products of victims over those of regular citizens while rating offerings from ex-paramilitary and retired military stakeholders similarly, unlike their Colombian counterparts.

The study acknowledges limitations regarding participants' geographic location and experimental design, providing insights for future research and potential refinements.

The findings offer insights into the impact of consumer attitudes on post-conflict stakeholder entrepreneurship in foreign and local markets, thus contributing relevant knowledge to support market success.

This is the first study assessing the role of various post-conflict stakeholders in influencing consumer evaluations of products and services. Consequently, these findings contribute to the foundational understanding of post-conflict marketing and offer a benchmark for business development in conflict-affected areas.

Examinar el papel del mercadeo en el apoyo a emprendimientos en regiones afectadas por conflictos, alineándose con el ODS 16 de la ONU para impulsar sociedades pacíficas en medio del aumento de los conflictos.

Basada en las teorías del igualitarismo social y discriminación del consumidor, el estudio exploró la influencia de las percepciones hacia actores del posconflicto en el comportamiento de consumo. Dos experimentos evaluaron la disposición a pagar (DAP), DAP un precio superior y la atractividad de productos y servicios desarrollados por actores del posconflicto colombiano (exguerrilleros, exparamilitares, exmilitares, víctimas, otros ciudadanos) entre consumidores locales (colombianos) y extranjeros (japoneses).

Los productos desarrollados por las víctimas recibieron valoraciones más altas. Además, los consumidores japoneses, a diferencia de los colombianos, prefirieron los productos de las víctimas a los de “otros ciudadanos” y valoraron de manera similar los de exparamilitares y exmilitares.

Los resultados ofrecen una visión precisa del impacto de las actitudes de los consumidores sobre los productores del posconflicto en los mercados extranjeros y locales, contribuyendo a la reintegración económica, el crecimiento y la reconciliación social.

El estudio reconoce posibles limitaciones en el diseño experimental, proporcionando ideas para investigaciones futuras.

Se trata del primer estudio que evalúa el papel de los actores de un posconflicto como productores en la valoración de productos y servicios. Estos resultados contribuyen a la comprensión del mercadeo del posconflicto y ofrecen un punto de referencia para el desarrollo empresarial en zonas afectadas por conflictos.

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to draw insights from the rich literature on humanitarian operations efforts to combat human trafficking; second, to inspire humanitarian operations researchers to work more on human anti-trafficking.

This is a conceptual paper inspired by recent relevant reports, the academic literature and the authors’ years of involvement in both humanitarian operations and anti-trafficking.

Humanitarian supply chains and human trafficking supply chains very often operate in the same environments and hence face similar challenges. The paper highlights the overlaps between the two domains and demonstrates how two decades of learnings from humanitarian supply chain literature can help improve the understanding of the more recent academic field of human trafficking supply chains significantly.

This study is conceptual and illuminates numerous opportunities for research in anti-trafficking.

By inspiring more research on anti-trafficking, this paper hopes to facilitate enhancements to human trafficking operation to prevent more cases and protect victims.

There is an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of anti-trafficking activities, disrupt human trafficking and enlarge the “humanitarian space.”

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to discuss human trafficking operations in relation to humanitarian supply chains.

Although our understanding of mental health and well-being is continually evolving, certain populations such as individuals deprived of liberty remain understudied and stigmatized. Despite ongoing research in various countries, mental health exploration in Chile lags behind nations like the USA. Recognizing this gap, this study aims to address this disparity by analyzing subjective well-being and mental health levels within a Chilean prison setting in the postpandemic context.

Design was nonexperimental, cross-sectional, descriptive and relational using quantitative techniques. Data was collected using Ryff and brief DASS-21 scales into three different sections of the studied prison. In total, 97 people participated. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis.

Levels of subjective well-being range from mild to low, with best scores in environmental mastery and worst in autonomy. Women obtained best scores on purpose in life and positive relations with others. Mental health levels measured in terms of anxiety, depression and stress showed worst levels in males. A positive correlation was observed between mental health and substance use and between mental health and violence.

Answers depend on the victim's report, which is biased by its interpretation, along with fearing consequences from the answers and distrust in authorities. This can lead to altered (unrealistic) values in relation to substance use, violence suffered and levels of subjective well-being, among others. Another limitation is the number of participants of this study, along with the fact that it was carried out in only one penitentiary center in Chile.

A challenge and a practical implication of this study is the need to do more work to promote mental health and well-being. Specifically, within this limited context where survey can send bias responses, a challenge is to work and promote mental health from a gender a perspective.

Results presented here also highlight the relevance of studying in depth prisoners’ mental health, considering gender differences across well-being and mental health variables. Moreover, it shows the importance and urgence to advance in respecting human rights, as democratic and diverse societies, and in terms of ethical aspects linked to research of this type in vulnerable populations like prisoners.

This study contributes to the understanding on the intricated interplay between subjective well-being, mental health and various factors within prison environments, offering valuable insights for targeted interventions and policy considerations.

Hiring employees with criminal records has become a heightened topic of conversation for hospitality practitioners. The labor shortage in the hospitality industry has increased consideration for individuals impacted by the justice system, bolstered by programming such as second-chance vocational training programs. However, hospitality practitioners with second-chance employment practices have had challenges managing the multiple stakeholder relationships to employ and retain justice-impacted employees. The purpose of this paper is to aid practitioners in the hospitality industry with an innovative and inclusive hiring practice with timely implications in the United States.

This paper will emphasize the correctional system actors, community-based partners, and justice-impacted employees as salient stakeholders in such hiring contexts. Employing a stakeholder theoretical perspective, we outline a stakeholder map for hospitality practitioners with fair chance hiring practices to better understand second-chance employees.

Organizations do not sit on the periphery of a community; they are interconnected with the community in many direct and indirect ways. Past research has yet to identify a relationship between stakeholder theory and second-chance employment when the stakeholders involved in this employee population are arguably extended. By providing a stakeholder mapping process second-chance employment context, the interwoven actors’ needs can be more holistically assessed.

In America, individuals with a criminal record are often a forgotten and stigmatized labor pool. With this paper, we aim to break down barriers of bias while encouraging the narrative toward true Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) hiring practices. Multiple stakeholder management is often an organizational challenge, and by providing this framework, we provide guidelines to practitioners while highlighting the opportunity for community leadership. To that end, we provide guidelines for hospitality practitioners intending to increase justice-involved employee retention through stakeholder relationship management.

In recent years, the acronym VUCA has gained traction in strategic communication (SC) as an umbrella term that summarizes the recurrent challenges (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) of digital communication environments. However, an integrated reflection on how the VUCA dimensions facilitate a deeper understanding of specific digitalization challenges and how to navigate through these challenges is lacking. This article aims to explore and substantiate the descriptive (how) and prescriptive (how to) potential of VUCA for SC under digitalization conditions.

We first provide a systematic discussion of the four VUCA dimensions based on the general strategy literature. While their descriptive value is undisputed, prescriptive advice on how to respond to these challenges is contradictory. We substantiate this observation in a second empirical step based on problem-centered interviews with strategic communicators at the agency and corporate levels.

Our findings reveal that VUCA facilitates a systematic mapping of digitalization challenges consistently identified by professionals. The proposed strategic responses, however, remain contradictory at the theoretical and empirical levels. Hence, we propose the VUCA radar as a comprehensive descriptive and prescriptive framework.

The radar provides (a) a systematic overview of recurrent digitalization challenges to SC at the industry and practice levels and (b) prescriptive advice on how to navigate through these challenges by balancing contradictory strategic responses at the levels of vision, understanding, clarity and agility.

The purpose of this study is to fill the research gap that exists with respect to availability of research on correctional facilities in India, which restricts one’s ability to comprehend the prison environment and recidivism from the perspective of the inmates. By examining inmates’ perception of their environment within correctional facilities, researchers and policymakers can identify specific aspects of the prison climate that may contribute to increased risks of reoffending. This understanding would not only help to improve prison conditions and encourage humane treatment, but it is also essential to support the inmates in their efforts to find and retain employment, achieve self-sufficiency and personal growth. It is also necessary to encourage the inmates to participate in a variety of therapeutic and prison programmes both inside and outside of prison to help them reintegrate into the community.

The present research investigated the association between negative perceptions of prison climate and the heightened probability of recidivism among a sample of 37 adult women convicts incarcerated in Tihar Prisons, Delhi. Data were obtained by administering CSS-M Hindi version and PCQ Hindi version to the convicts in person in the prison premises. Furthermore, the collected data were subjected to Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient to analyse the correlation between the probability of recidivism and the dimensions of prison climate.

Results suggested that negative perceptions of relationships in prison (staff–inmate relationship, inmate–inmate relationship), safety, facilities (cell conditions, food quality, etc.), meaningful activities (recreation, education, yard time, etc.) and autonomy in prison were inversely associated with a higher probability of recidivism. The results from the current study demonstrated that recognising and taking cognisance of the inmates’ perceptions of prison environment on their well-being and their probability of recidivism is crucial for the successful implementation of interventions and policies within correctional systems.

The sample size procured for the research was relatively small, as the number of available women convicts in Tihar Prison at the time of the research was limited, making it difficult to generalise the findings. In addition, this investigation included solely women convicts, while undertrials and detenues were excluded, and thus does not represent all the individuals in conflict with the law.

The findings of the current investigation allow for the formulation of potential policy recommendations for improving the prison climate, which in turn might consequently impact future criminality.

Policymakers may use these findings when developing policies that foster a rehabilitative prison environment, as it can help in reducing the incidence of recidivism.

This study is unprecedented in its approach, especially with respect to the Indian context, as it sheds light on the relatively understudied association between the variables of perceived prison climate and the probability of recidivism among women convicts in India. The findings of this study add to the current body of research indicating that subjective experience and perception of prison climate have a substantial influence on the likelihood of recidivism.

This paper explores the attractiveness of TVET in Sierra Leone, a post-conflict West African country. It aims to unpack structural factors which contribute to the low repute of TVET.

The paper uses qualitative interviews with employers, government and third sector organisations, focus group discussions with young Sierra Leoneans and analysis of key government policy documents. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, and the empirical analysis is grounded in Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making and Social Cognitive Career Theory. The paper is interdisciplinary, drawing on literature from economics, psychology, political science and development studies.

The paper argues that TVET is in low repute in Sierra Leone owing to low prioritisation by the national government in terms of policy focus, budgetary allocations and provision of training facilities; the proliferation and continuation of a post-war style of TVET programmes by development partners which initially targeted ex-combatants and thus carry reputational baggage; and colonial legacies of preferences for university education and white-collar jobs.

The research contributes to the academic and policy discourse by providing new empirical insights from an under-studied country (and region), and arguably one where evidence-based policy is much needed.

This study examines the relationship between multi-layer supply chain flexibility (MSCF) and Supply chain resilience (SCR). Further, it looks at the moderating effect of environmental dynamism (ED) and supply chain risks (SCRI) on the relationship between MSCF and SCR.

Executives from the pharmaceutical, agri-food, electronics, automobile and textile industries were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire. We received feedback from a total of 302 participants. Prior to conducting the primary analysis, we addressed the potential for nonresponse bias and verified the assumptions of homoscedasticity and normal distribution of the data. The reliability and validity of the constructs were established through confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling is employed for the purpose of conducting hypothesis testing.

The results demonstrate a notable influence of MSCF on SCR, particularly in settings characterized by high levels of ED and SCRI. The study highlights the importance of flexibility in multiple aspects of the supply chain to build resilience against a range of disruptions and uncertainties.

The study presents the fundamental role of Multi-Layer Flexibility in building up SCR. The results of this study reinforce the existing literature and offers empirical evidence for how ED, SCRI moderates the influence between MSCF to SCR. These results offer valuable information to both supply chain specialists and researchers for building comprehensive strategy to bring resilience in supply chains.

Even if there is a wealth of research highlighting the key role of values and cultural significance for heritage management and, defining specific interventions on built heritage, seldom the relation to their leading values and values hierarchy have been researched. How do values and interventions relate? What values trigger most and least interventions on heritage? How do these values relate and characterize interventions? And what are the values hierarchy that make the interventions on built heritage differ?

This paper conducts a systematic content analysis of 69 international doctrinal documents – mainly adopted by Council of Europe, UNESCO, and ICOMOS, during 1877 and 2021. The main aim is to reveal and compare the intervention concepts and their definitions, in relation to values. The intensity of the relationship between intervention concepts and values is determined based on the frequency of mentioned values per intervention.

There were three key findings. First, historic, social, and aesthetical values were the most referenced values in international doctrinal documents. Second, while intervention concepts revealed similar definitions and shared common leading values, their secondary values and values hierarchy, e.g. aesthetical or social values, are the ones influencing the variation on their definitions. Third, certain values show contradictory roles in the same intervention concepts from different documents, e.g. political and age values.

This paper explores a novel comparison between different interventions concepts and definitions, and the role of values. The results can contribute to support further research and practice on clarifying the identified differences.