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Research consistently shows that non-scientific bias, equity, and diversity trainings do not work, and often make bias and diversity problems worse. Despite these widespread failures, there is considerable reason for hope that effective, meaningful DEI efforts can be developed. One approach in particular, the bias habit-breaking training, has 15 years of experimental evidence demonstrating its widespread effectiveness and efficacy.

This article discusses bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts from the author’s perspective as a scientist–practitioner – the author draws primarily on the scientific literature, but also integrates insights from practical experiences working in DEI. The author provides a roadmap for adapting effective, evidence-based approaches from other disciplines (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy) into the DEI context and review evidence related to the bias habit-breaking training, as one prominent demonstration of a scientifically-validated approach that effects lasting, meaningful improvements on DEI issues within both individuals and institutions.

DEI trainings fail due to widespread adoption of the information deficit model, which is well-known as a highly ineffective approach. Empowerment-based approaches, in contrast, are highly promising for making meaningful, lasting changes in the DEI realm. Evidence indicates that the bias habit-breaking training is effective at empowering individuals as agents of change to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity, both within themselves and the social contexts they inhabit.

In contrast to the considerable despair and pessimism around DEI efforts, the present analysis provides hope and optimism, and an empirically-validated path forward, to develop and test DEI approaches that empower individuals as agents of change.

This research investigated inertia in a financial‐services context, with particular focus on the reasons for consumers’ dissatisfaction and inert behaviour, and studied customers’ complaining behaviours and past and future inertia. The study utilised a two‐part methodology, including both qualitative and quantitative research. A total of 20 in‐depth interviews provided the preliminary data required for developing a questionnaire that was subsequently completed by 410 respondents. Determinants of dissatisfaction included the number and size of account fees, whilst determinants of inertia were the perception of similarity between financial institutions and the complexity, costs and time inherent in switching. Factors differentiating future inertia and future active customers included the type of account, length of time the account had been held, membership of a number of financial institutions, income and level of consideration given to changing financial institution.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a process model on how mindfully performed organisational routines can simultaneously enable organisational stability and organisational change.

Via conceptual analysis, the authors develop several propositions and a process model integrating the theory of mindfulness and performative aspects of organisational routines with organisational stability and change. To do so, the authors review the literature on organisational routines, mindfulness, stability, inertia and change.

First, the authors demonstrate that, based on levels of mindfulness employed, performative aspects of organisational routines can be categorised as mindless, mindful and collectively mindful (meta-routines). Second, in the process model, the authors position the mindless performance of routines as enabling organisational stability, mediated through inertial pressure and disabling change, mediated through constrained change capacities. Finally, the authors state that engaging routines with mindfulness at an individual (mindful routines) or collective (meta-routines) level reduces inertia and facilitates change. Such simultaneous engagement leads to either sustaining stability when required or implementing continuous organisational change.

The framework uses continuous, versus episodic, change; future research can consider the model’s workability with episodic change. Future research can also seek to empirically validate the model. The authors hope that this model informs research in organisational change and provides guidance on addressing organisational inertia.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to categorise the performative aspects of organisational routine based on the extent of mindfulness employed and propose that mindfulness-based practice of routines stimulates either inertia-induced or inertia-free stability and continuous change.

The purpose is to analyse the influence of inertia and group conformity on loyalty in healthcare.

Structural equation model developed from the literature and tested with cross-sectional data from a patient online survey.

Inertia is a significant antecedent of loyalty and has a stronger effect in healthcare than in other service sectors. Group conformity has no significant effect in healthcare.

The strength of the impact of inertia [group conformity] on loyalty depends on the importance of the customer need that the service industry satisfies, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Where inertia (stability need) is equally or more [less] important than the customer need, the influence of inertia on loyalty should be positive and strong [weak or insignificant]. In services that satisfy needs more [equally or less] important than group conformity (belonging need), there may be an insignificant [significant] influence of group conformity on customer loyalty, even [especially] in credence services.

Healthcare providers can exploit the stronger effect of inertia in healthcare through development of inertia-based loyalty policies. Regulatory authorities should be vigilant to ensure that these policies are not detrimental to patients. ‘Inert’ patients must become responsible for assessing their loyalties. Authorities and reference groups must stimulate customer loyalty assessments, and assist by providing impartial information.

This is the first study to address the influence of inertia and group conformity on loyalty in the healthcare sector and, from the perspective of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it is the first to do so in any service sector.

Although materializing the benefits of social media substantially depends on sustained user participation, social media service providers are experiencing a decline in the number of users. Despite the relevance of studying and managing discontinuance behaviors, a systematic empirical investigation remains lacking. The present study draws on the idea of a two-factor model and aims to examine the enabler, inhibitor and their antecedents in the context of social media discontinuance.

The proposed theoretical model was empirically validated through an online survey study of 238 social media users in China.

Findings indicated that two negative outcomes of social media use (i.e. social overload and invasion of privacy) induce regret experience and ultimately foster discontinuance intentions. The development of discontinuance intentions was undermined by the level of inertia, which is rooted in social media habit, sunk costs and affective commitment.

This study draws attention to the fundamental difference between continuance and discontinuance behaviors, advances the existing understanding of postadoption behaviors by focusing on discontinuance inhibitors (e.g. inertia) and develops the first two-factor model for social media discontinuance by integrating the regret and status quo bias literature.

Sports events are tourist attractions and their image components can relate to the destination image concept and structure. This study examined sports event images held by active and passive sports tourists at four marathon races in Germany. Some differences in the perception of event images were found for active and passive sports tourists as well as for different types of destinations. For active sports tourists, emotional, physical and organisational image associations were clustered closer. For passive sports tourists, social and historical image associations were clustered closer. The type of destination elicited different event images among active and passive sports tourists.

This study looks to understand the opposing forces that would influence continuance intention. This is significant as users will take into account the positive and negative use experiences in determining their continuance intention. Therefore, this study looks to highlight the opposing forces of users’ continuance intention by proposing the Expectation-Confirmation-Resistance Model (ECRM).

Through an online survey, 411 responses were obtained from mobile payment users. Subsequently, a hybrid approach comprised of the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was utilized to analyze the data.

The results revealed that all hypotheses proposed in the ECRM are supported. More precisely, the facilitating and inhibiting variables were found to significantly affect continuance intention. In addition, the ECRM was revealed to possess superior explanatory power over the original model in predicting continuance intention.

This study successfully developed and validated the ECRM which captures both facilitators and inhibitors of continuance intention. Besides, the relevance and significance of users’ innovative resistance to continuance intention have been highlighted. Following this, effective business and research strategies can be developed by taking into account the opposing forces that affect users’ continuance intention.

The purpose of this paper is to model the aircraft-cargo’s coupling dynamics during ultra-low altitude heavy cargo airdrop and to design the aircraft’s robust flight control law counteracting its aerodynamic coefficients perturbation induced by ground effect and the disturbance from the sliding cargo inside.

Aircraft-cargo system coupling dynamics model in vertical plane is derived using the Kane method. Trimmed point is calculated when the cargo fixed in the cabin and then the approximate linearized motion equation of the aircraft upon it is derived. The robust stability and robust H_∞ optimal disturbance restraint flight control law are designed countering the aircraft’s aerodynamic coefficients perturbation and the disturbance moment, respectively.

Numerical simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed control law with elevator deflection as a unique control input.

The model derived and control law designed in the paper can be applied to heavy cargo airdrop integrated design and relevant parameters choice.

The dynamics model derived is closed, namely, the model can be called in numerical simulation free of assuming the values of parachute’s extraction force or cargo’s relative sliding acceleration or velocity as seen in many literatures. The modeling is simplified using Kane method rather than Newton’s laws. The robust control law proposed is effective in guaranteeing the aircraft’s flight stability and disturbance restraint performance in the presence of aerodynamic coefficients perturbation.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the role of resistance at team level in a change project focused on the maintenance activities of a high reliability organisation (HRO) that operates in the electricity distribution field.

A grounded theory is built, analysing a large dataset of material (project reports, processes descriptions, internal memos and presentations), direct observation and semi‐structured interviews.

The paper documents a model where resistance has evolved over time. Differentiated responses to change of employees during the project and also different forms of resistance are observed. The outcome of the analysis shows the positive role of mindful inertia in the change project.

Outcomes are, by the nature of the research, deeply rooted in the context and the study is focused on a specific service of an organisation that is high reliability‐oriented. Future studies should look at whether these insights are also relevant for other organisations.

Mindful inertia can prove useful in achieving better performances in implementing change.

With respect to the existing literature, the paper shows that in HROs acceptance of change and mindful resistance to that change interacts to improve the outcome process. Resistance, under certain conditions, can provide the very insights needed to implement change.

This paper, examines why CEOs often misunderstand and therefore mismanage the reputations of their companies. The paper describes the way corporate reputations are built, maintained and enhanced and suggests that a good reputation needs several elements: (1) that it be part of the corporate strategy, not just a public relations or advertising slogan; and (2) that it be built from differentiating, sustaining activities of the company. The author couples his own experience with the literature on corporate strategy, noting that reputation is part of the corporate positioning process, which has long been considered the core element in strategy. Fortune magazine’s “Most admired companies” and research conducted by the author are used to highlight the variables of corporate reputation and how perceptions of reputation differ internationally. Using these variables, companies can maintain consistency in their reputation globally, while at the same time allowing regions and countries to customise to meet local needs. The paper argues that companies often fail to achieve their desired reputations because of two primary factors: (1) the failure to identify a clear core competency, relying instead on claims of superiority that have little value to the intended audience; and/or (2) “active inertia”, or continuing to do the same things that made the company successful, despite the fact that these things are no longer relevant to the current situation. Examples of companies that have done a good job at building their corporate reputation and examples of some who have had problems are provided, along with a check list of “warning signs” that a company’s reputation is in trouble, along with some suggested actions.