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The world is experiencing democratic backsliding such that the situation is down back to 1986. This has resulted in the global shrinking of civic space for civil society organizations (CSOs). NGOs engaging in advocacy activities are seen to be among the CSOs affected. Using four NGOs cases from Tanzania, the study contributes to the civic space debate by uncovering how advocacy NGOs become resilient.

The study is anchored in interpretivism and a cross-sectional case study design, following a qualitative approach path. Data were collected through interviews and a documentary review.

Results show that several strategies such as complying, building community back-up, collaboration, strategic litigation, using digital media and changing the scope are applied. However, strategies face obstacles including scope limitations, expected democratic roles, high cost, changes in the scope and being outsmarted by the government, and hence their effectiveness is questionable.

This study focused on advocacy NGOs. More studies can be conducted for other advocacy-related CSOs on how they become resilient.

While NGOs are allowed to exist in the country, their freedom continue to be curtailed. Even the effectiveness of resiliency becomes temporary and depends on the political will of the existing regime.

Tanzania NGOs have to build strong bonds with citizens, expand the scope of strategies and use deliberative democratic principles to educate the government to change laws and tolerate plural political culture. Also, NGOs in other countries with confined civic space can apply the same.

Grounded in the stakeholder theory and signaling theory, this study aims to broaden the research agenda on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing by uncovering public sentiments and key themes using Twitter data spanning from 2009 to 2022.

Using various machine learning models for text tonality analysis and topic modeling, this research scrutinizes 1,842,985 Twitter texts to extract prevalent ESG investing trends and gauge their sentiment.

Gibbs Sampling Dirichlet Multinomial Mixture emerges as the optimal topic modeling method, unveiling significant topics such as “Physical risk of climate change,” “Employee Health, Safety and well-being” and “Water management and Scarcity.” RoBERTa, an attention-based model, outperforms other machine learning models in sentiment analysis, revealing a predominantly positive shift in public sentiment toward ESG investing over the past five years.

This study establishes a framework for sentiment analysis and topic modeling on alternative data, offering a foundation for future research. Prospective studies can enhance insights by incorporating data from additional social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.

Leveraging unstructured data on ESG from platforms like Twitter provides a novel avenue to capture company-related information, supplementing traditional self-reported sustainability disclosures. This approach opens new possibilities for understanding a company’s ESG standing.

By shedding light on public perceptions of ESG investing, this research uncovers influential factors that often elude traditional corporate reporting. The findings empower both investors and the general public, aiding managers in refining ESG and management strategies.

This study marks a groundbreaking contribution to scholarly exploration, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, by being the first to analyze unstructured Twitter data in the context of ESG investing, offering unique insights and advancing the understanding of this emerging field.

This study examines the transformation of labour non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Mainland China since the enactment of the 2017 Overseas NGO Management Law, which aims to regulate foreign concerns functioning outside the direct control of the state. It focuses on the extent to which these organisations have responded to the rapidly changing political and social environment by altering their goals and strategies in support of migrant workers. It also considers the relevance of Western social movement theories (SMTs) to China's grassroots labour movement in the 2020s. 

The research is based on case studies of ten labour NGOs operating in Beijing, Tianjin and Yunnan. It draws upon fifteen semi-structured interviews with the founders, leaders and activists affiliated with those organisations, as well as records and documented information of each of those organisations.

While the power and influence of labour NGOs markedly diminished, most have been able to adapt their goals and the strategies remain sustainable amidst both China's changing political and social climates and the global pandemic. It suggests that conventional SMTs can still offer valuable insights into understanding the development of labour NGOs in China, although they might not fully interpret the specific conditions and challenges faced by these organisations.

This study stands out as one of very few to offer empirical evidence on the inner workings of China's labour NGOs over the last six years. It also contributes to our understanding of social movements in a non-Western context.

Transaction cost economics sees a broad spectrum of governance structures spanned by two types of economic adaptation: autonomous and cooperative. Stakeholder theorists have drawn much inspiration from transaction cost economics but have not paid explicit attention to the centrality of the idea of adaptation in this literature. This study aims to address this gap.

The authors develop a novel conceptual framework applying the distinction between the two types of economic adaptation to stakeholder theory.

The authors argue that the idea of cooperative adaptation is particularly useful for describing the firm’s collaboration with primary stakeholders in the joint value creation process. In contrast, autonomous adaptation is more relevant for firms interacting with secondary stakeholders who are not directly engaged in joint value creation and may not have formal contractual relationships with the firm. Accordingly, cooperative adaptation can be seen as vital for resolving team production problems affecting joint value creation, whereas autonomous adaptation addresses how the firm maintains legitimacy within the larger stakeholder environment.

Similar to its significance for transaction cost economics, the distinction between the two types of adaptation equips stakeholder theory with a new systematic understanding of a potentially broad spectrum of firm–stakeholder collaboration forms.

This study explores the evolving dynamics of participatory accountability within humanitarian contexts, where digitally connected crisis-affected populations demand better accountability from aid organisations, and as a result, shift traditional hierarchies and relationships between humanitarian agencies and beneficiaries.

This study employs a case study approach, focussing on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to investigate how participatory accountability manifests outside formal practices and re-emerges in social media spaces. The study analyses internal organisational challenges and explores the implications of digital platforms on humanitarian practices. The authors employ Chouliaraki and Georgiou's (2015, 2019, 2022) networks of mediation, particularly intermediation and transmediation, to understand how digital expressions translate to offline contexts and reshape meanings and actions.

The study reveals that social media platforms enable beneficiaries to demand participatory accountability beyond traditional practices, democratising humanitarian response and challenging power structures. These effects are multifaceted, introducing enhanced democratic and inclusive humanitarian aid as well as new vulnerabilities. Digital intermediaries and gatekeepers play pivotal roles in curating and disseminating crisis-affected voices, which, when transmediated, result in nuanced meanings and understandings. Positive effects include capturing the potential of digital networks for democratic aid, while negative effects give rise to moral responsibilities, necessitating proactive measures from the ICRC.

This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the impact of digital technology, particularly social media, on participatory accountability. It expands the understanding of the evolving landscape of accountability within the humanitarian sector and offers critical insights into the complexities and dual purposes of participatory accountability in contexts of resistance. Employing Chouliaraki and Georgiou's networks of mediation adds depth to the understanding of digital technology's role in shaping participatory practices and introduces the concept of transmediation as a bridge between digital expressions and tangible actions.

Carbon reduction in the construction supply chain can critically affect the construction industry’s transition to an environmentally sustainable one. However, implementing carbon reduction in all parties is restricted because of the poor understanding of the drivers influencing the low-carbon construction supply chain (LCCSC). The purpose of this paper is to systematically identify the drivers of LCCSC, analyze their causality, and prioritize the importance of their management.

A decision-making analysis process was developed using an integrated decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)–analytical network process (ANP). First, the hierarchical drivers of the LCCSC were identified through a literature review. The DEMATEL method was subsequently applied to analyze the interactions between the drivers, including the direction and strength of impact. Finally, the ANP analysis was used to obtain the drivers’ weights; consequently, their priorities were established.

Various factors with complex interactions drive LCCSC. With respect to their influence relationships, incentive policy, regulatory policy, consumers’ low-carbon preference, market competition, supply chain performance, and managers’ low-carbon awareness have more significant center degrees and are cause drivers. Their strong correlations and influence on other drivers should be noticed. In terms of weights in the driver system, regulatory policy, consumers’ low-carbon preference, supply chain performance, and incentive policy are the key drivers of LCCSC and require primary attention. Other drivers, such as supply chain collaboration, employee motivation, and public participation, play a minor driving role with less management priority.

Despite some contributing studies with localized perspectives, the systematic analysis of LCCSC drivers is limited, especially considering their intricate interactions. This paper establishes the LCCSC driver system, explores the influence relationships among the drivers, and determines the key drivers. Hence, it contributes to the sustainable construction supply chain domain by enabling decision-makers and practitioners to systematically understand the drivers of LCCSC and gain management implications on priority issues with limited resources.

Amidst compounding crises and increasing global population’s nutritional needs, food supply chains are called to address the “diet–environment–health” trilemma in a sustainable and resilient manner. However, food system stakeholders are reluctant to act upon established protein sources such as meat to avoid potential public and industry-driven repercussions. To this effect, this study aims to understand the meat supply chain (SC) through systems thinking and propose innovative interventions to break this “cycle of inertia”.

This research uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the meat supply network system. Data was gathered through a critical literature synthesis, domain-expert interviews and a focus group engagement to understand the system’s underlying structure and inspire innovative interventions for sustainability.

The analysis revealed that six main sub-systems dictate the “cycle of inertia” in the meat food SC system, namely: (i) cultural, (ii) social, (iii) institutional, (iv) economic, (v) value chain and (vi) environmental. The Internet of Things and innovative strategies help promote sustainability and resilience across all the sub-systems.

The study findings demystify the structure of the meat food SC system and unveil the root causes of the “cycle of inertia” to suggest pertinent, innovative intervention strategies.

This research contributes to the SC management field by capitalising on interdisciplinary scientific evidence to address a food system challenge with significant socioeconomic and environmental implications.

The primary objective of this paper is to explore how space organizations can incorporate children and imagination in their accountability-based accounting and decision-making processes.

This study centers on stakeholder engagement with children, specifically examining the drawing competition associated with the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) space exploration mission. We employ a multidimensional research design consisting of both an interpretive approach to the 2,748 space-related drawings submitted by children across Europe to the CHEOPS drawing competition in 2015 and a content analysis of 46 media releases published by ESA and the University of Bern, the key partners of the CHEOPS mission.

Our analysis of the children’s drawings and the CHEOPS media releases indicates that the related organizations account for some of the children’s visions and imaginations, but shortcomings exist in addressing the ethical and space environmental concerns related to space exploration. We explore implications for the space accounting agenda by applying the critical dialogic accountability framework proposed by Dillard and Vinnari (2019), which allows for a discussion on an outline for action by incorporating intergenerational equity (Thomson et al., 2018) and moral imagination (Werhane, 1999).

This study offers a novel exploration of a largely overlooked yet crucial stakeholder group: children. By focusing on their unique perspectives and imaginative capabilities, the paper brings forth the voices of those who will inherit the future of space exploration. Employing children’s drawings as a medium of symbolic communication, this research study offers fresh insights into their perceptions, particularly relevant to space accounting. This innovative approach not only enriches the literature on stakeholder engagement and accountability but also provides space organizations with valuable guidance on fostering inclusivity and ensuring that the interests of future generations are considered in decision-making processes.

This study aims to examine the role of hospitableness towards refugees, as embraced by local hosts, in engendering positive social outcomes, including fostering favourable attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees in private dwellings and advocacy for hosting them.

Rooted in the contact theory and drawing on a hospitality social lens framework, the study uses a mixed-methods approach using a sequential quantitative-qualitative design to understand the interface between hospitableness, attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees in private dwellings and advocacy for hosting them. A conceptual model is proposed and tested using 160 valid surveys collected from individuals hosting Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia. SEM-PLS is used to test the proposed model. A total of 25 in-depth interviews with Slovakian individuals hosting refugees in private dwellings were also conducted to explain and further explore the initial quantitative results.

The findings indicate that hospitableness has a positive effect on attitudes towards refugees, fosters a sense of empathy and results in satisfaction from hosting refugees. Interestingly, while hospitableness per se does not directly affect advocacy for hosting refugees, it does so indirectly via favourable attitudes towards refugees and satisfaction from the hosting experience. While qualitative findings largely support and further explain the quantitative results, interesting insights are also obtained.

The study advocates that hospitableness should be addressed through a social lens beyond its traditional commercial boundaries. Several implications for policymakers, NGOs and other stakeholders involved in hosting refugees are proposed. Overall, policies need to be oriented towards harnessing the power of refugee hosting schemes, thus increasing the role of hospitableness in addressing societal challenges such as the refugee crisis.

While not new, private hosting of refugees has recently gained momentum following the outbreak of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. In spite of some valuable research delving into hosting experiences from the refugees’ and hosts’ perspectives, this research stream is notably fragmented and largely exploratory. Specifically, there seems to be no comprehensive understanding of how hospitableness towards refugees, as embraced by hosts, can engender positive social outcomes, including fostering favourable attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees and advocacy for hosting refugees in private dwellings. Overall, hospitality research is notably biased towards commercial settings, focusing on instrumental benefits rather than societal outcomes. This study focuses on the societal outcomes of hospitableness as a tool to address the refugee crisis.

This study aims to identify the critical factors contributing to India-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) capacity building and value creation for beneficiaries.

A total interpretive structural modeling technique has been used to develop a hierarchical model of critical factors and understand their direct and indirect interrelationships. The driving force and dependence force of these factors were determined by using cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification analysis.

This study identifies 12 critical factors influencing NGO capacity building in India’s intellectual disability sector across four dimensions. Internal organizational capabilities include infrastructure, staff qualifications, fundraising, vocational activities and technical resources. Second, coordination and stakeholder engagement highlight government and agency collaboration, dedicated board members and stakeholder involvement. Third, adaptability and responsiveness emphasize adjusting to external trends and seizing opportunities. Finally, impact and value creation emphasis on improving value for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The findings of this study have practical implications for Indian NGOs working for PWDs. The study provides NGOs with a structural model for improving organizational capacity by identifying and categorizing critical factors into the strategic model.

There is a scarcity of literature on capacity building for disability-focused NGOs in India. This study seeks to identify critical factors and develop a hierarchical model of those factors to assist policymakers in India in building the capacity of NGOs.