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This paper aims to assess the combined application of Lean Six Sigma and agile approach for optimizing operational processes of order management in the seed industry.

This study is based on an action research case conducted in a multinational Brazilian Seeds Business enterprise. This paper reports on the application of the Lean Six Sigma define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC), using the steps of DMAIC cycle as a sprint of agile approach. The methodology involves outlining an operational process through sequential activities, each associated with a cycle time, equivalent number of full-time employee and number of orders. Performance metrics for the order management process include continuous monitoring of these activities, using monitoring systems, management software and manual records to collect data.

The findings reveal significant improvements in critical-to-quality measures related to customer care, planning and logistics. The implementation of the DMAIC methodology and agile approach resulted in tangible enhancements in cycle time, defects per opportunities and overall process efficiency. The results allow the classification of defects, the identification of their causes and, consequently, the presentation of a control plan to mitigate these problems. Furthermore, the study identifies key causes of operational issues and proposes a prioritized action plan.

The limitation of this research is its restriction to a single case. The external validity of the results and generalizability to other organizational contexts may be compromised due to the lack of case diversity. The fact that the research focuses on a single company, even if it is a large multinational company, may limit the applicability of the findings to different sectors, sizes and organizational structures, which may be an opportunity for future research.

The findings suggest that the integrated approach of DMAIC and agile methodology contributes to a culture of continuous improvement and operational efficiency. The systematic collection and analysis of data enhance evidence-based decision-making, providing a robust foundation for strategic and operational choices. Moreover, the successful integration of methodologies presents a comprehensive framework applicable to diverse organizational challenges.

The paper applies action research to understand and address operational challenges, emphasizing practical solutions. The integration of DMAIC and agile enhances the depth of process analysis, enabling the identification, implementation and control of improvements. This study offers a significant contribution both to practitioners, providing practical implications, and to academics, enriching the Lean Six Sigma and agile body of knowledge.

This paper aims to describe the product development process (PDP) of companies in the textile industry, seeking to understand the dynamics of their management from different actors along the production chain.

Qualitative empirical research adopted a multiple case studies design in five large Brazilian organizations, each representing a link in the production chain.

Textile PDP follows structured steps. However, it is still an informal process. The use of methodologies and tools for decision-making and control gates throughout the process is limited. Performance indicators do not cover all dimensions of the PDP since sales and profit are the main parameters for assessing projects. The predevelopment macro phase varies according to the product type and the company's business model, whereas the postdevelopment macro phase is nonexistent. PDP projects are executed through collective efforts of multiple departments in cross-functional teams, except for the commodities firms.

The study allows managers of Brazilian textile companies to understand the best practices in the PDP and those that require more attention, taking into account different business models and sectors of the production chain.

Our results contribute to the literature and practitioners by providing an overview of PDP management in the textile industry, covering its different production chain actors, types of projects and companies' characteristics.

This paper aims to critically examine how dual-listed multinational enterprises (MNEs) that are embedded across multiple national contexts interact with other actors to shape the diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) narrative, outcomes and the associated dynamics of social change in the mining industry.

The authors use data from the publicly available sustainability reports of two global mining conglomerates with dual-listing structure, Rio Tinto and Anglo American, alongside prevalent DEI regulations in the UK, Australia and South Africa to understand how DEI discourse and practice and the corresponding role of key actors have evolved since 2015. The authors combine a case study approach with topic modelling and qualitative content analysis to critically analyse the linkage between actors’ stated posture and actions in their DEI field and their impact upon various exchange relationships within the mining industry exchange field over the period 2015–2021.

The analysis revealed three broad phases of evolution in the DEI involvement of the MNEs emphasizing on diversity, equality and inclusion, respectively. Both firms progressed at a different pace across the three phases highlighting the need for a systemic perspective when addressing DEI concerns.

This paper is one of the earliest to adopt an issue and exchange field perspective towards examining the complexity of DEI. Taking a critical performative stance, the authors argue that for improving convergence between MNEs’ DEI rhetoric and reality and to advance DEI in new ways organizations and policymakers must devise structural interventions in the DEI field that substantively impact MNEs’ industry exchange field relationships.

Emerging market firms (EMFs) are increasingly expanding their global presence through cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs). While such deals are distinct from those by advanced market firms, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of how emerging home markets form this distinctiveness. This study aims to remedy this gap.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review of 84 empirical papers. Through a broad search string and seven exclusion criteria, the authors carefully select studies on country-level home factors of CBMAs by EMFs.

After summarizing paper volumes, journals and context factors of home/host countries and industries, the authors highlight different strands of institutional theory as the prevailing perspective and pre-M&A issues as the foremost theme. CBMAs by EMFs are influenced by distinct home-exclusive factors, and the mechanisms linking home-country factors to CBMAs by EMFs show significant inconsistencies across studies.

This review focuses on home country influence and thus goes beyond general characteristics of CBMAs by EMFs. The authors highlight more diverse types of home country factors and CBMA outcomes and, more importantly, take a closer look at involved mechanisms. Doing so, the authors identify gaps and disparities that have limited the understanding of home country influence in CBMAs by EMFs. To correct this, the authors offer a comprehensive roadmap for future research, contributing to EMF studies in particular and CBMA and international business research in general.

This study describes how a multinational enterprise (MNE) gains acceptance after rebranding acquired brands from different countries among its internal and external stakeholders and identifies factors that influence this process.

The study employed a single case-study approach, including 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees of a firm involved in the rebranding process in six countries. The countries are Sweden, Germany, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

The findings reveal how the MNE integrated brands it acquired in different international markets into one overarching corporate brand. The study shows that in emerging countries, external legitimation (external implementation process, country profiles and customer buy-in) constitutes the most significant challenge. By contrast, in developed countries, internal legitimation (employee buy-in and internal implementation process) is more challenging.

The study contributes to and extends the rebranding literature by using a legitimation lens to analyze the rebranding process. This lens shows how internal and external stakeholders are both crucial to successful rebranding. The study provides a comprehensive perspective of the process, identifies challenging factors and differentiates between their importance in emerging and developed countries.

To address the dearth of research on how firms legitimize a new brand in different national contexts, the study compares the rebranding process in multiple countries and discusses the factors influencing the rebranding process.

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.

This study aims to examine the role of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) in attracting higher foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the major emerging economies namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) from the source developed, developing and other emerging economies over a period of 18 years from 2001 to 2018.

To estimate the results, panel data regression on a gravity-knowledge capital model has been used. To account for the problem of endogeneity we have used the two-step difference Generalised Method of Moments estimator proposed by Arellano and Bond (1991).

We find that contradictory to theory and expectations, BITs result in a fall in FDI inflows in BRICS economies. BITs ratified by BRICS economies are not able to provide a sound and secure investment environment to foreign investors, thereby discouraging FDI in these economies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the impact of BITs on FDI inflows into the emerging BRICS economies. Further, the impact of BITs on FDI flows among developed nations, i.e. north-north FDI and from developed to developing countries, i.e. north-south FDI has already been studied by many researchers. But so far, no study has examined this impact on FDI among developing and emerging economies (south-south FDI), despite an increase in FDI flows among these economies. Therefore, this study seeks to overcome the limitations of previous studies and tries to find out the impact of BITs on FDI inflows in BRICS economies not only from source developed but also from source developing and other emerging economies.

The aim of this study is to analyze the existing literature available on corporate strategy and capital structure with the help of a bibliometric analysis.

A total of 133 studies indexed in the Scopus database over the period from 1979 to 2024 are included and analyzed using the Biblioshiny package in RStudio along with VOSviewer for network visualization. Additionally, this study used biblioMagika and OpenRefine to harmonize and clean the data.

This study identified the leading contributors in terms of countries, authors, sources and documents and used various analysis techniques. The USA, Canada and the UK exhibited the most significant level of contribution. Furthermore, Bradford’s Law is applicable to the results of this study. The bibliographic coupling resulted in the five clusters indicating emerging themes in the field.

The study’s findings will contribute to the academic landscape by providing an exhaustive examination of the concerned research field and will guide potential researchers for future research avenues. This study will also highlight the need for managers and policymakers to factor in diverse corporate strategies when shaping organization’s capital structures.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to map the landscape of this field through the presentation of insights derived from bibliometric analysis.

Does the simultaneous vertical and horizontal alignment of HR systems positively impact innovation? The authors use the “innovation value chain” model to explore the interplay between the central strategic human resource management concepts of vertical and horizontal fit of HR systems and their role in positively impacting product innovation management.

The authors use the findings from a case study of a large multinational organization in the high-tech sector for the present study. In the first phase, the authors analyse responses to 20 qualitative interviews with senior business and HR executives at the organization using the grounded theory approach. In the second phase, the authors analysed six years of performance ratings and salary data for 4,500–5,500 employees.

Phase 1 of the study established the importance of innovation management as a strategic priority and the role of vertical and horizontal fit of HR systems and practices in positively impacting innovation management. Phase 2 reinforced the findings from Phase 1 by demonstrating the vertical and horizontal fit of the performance and compensation management processes towards furthering innovation management. Our study findings suggest that both forms of fit boost innovation management and interact to reinforce each other mutually, magnifying their respective positive effects towards improving innovation management.

While past studies have generally focused on the isolated role of either the HR system or that of a bundle of HR practices on innovation, the present study empirically demonstrates the simultaneous role of vertical and horizontal fit of HR systems and practices in furthering innovation management. The authors use interviews with senior executives and objective performance and salary data to provide the first experimental evidence of the mechanism of the interplay between the two forms of fit.