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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This paper explores student reflections during entrepreneurial learning, revealing new insights into the interaction between cognition, conation and affection and finding patterns in individual learning profiles that indicate four specific learning pathways.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Expatriate workforces are growing as a result of globalisation and the considerable cost associated with expatriation is a strong incentive to identify which employees are most likely to adjust to the host nation. One area relevant to cross-cultural adjustment is interpersonal needs. The theory of fundamental interpersonal relations orientation as measured by the fundamental interpersonal relations orientation-behaviour (FIRO-B) may offer insights as to the relationship between interpersonal needs and cross-cultural adjustment. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In total, 180 paper and pencil measures of the FIRO-B and expatriate adjustment scales (general, work, and interaction) were distributed via informed international associates and convenience and snowball sampling. In total, 112 expatriates from the UK (44 percent), South Africa (22 percent), India (20 percent), and other nations (14 percent) returned completed questionnaires.

Expatriates with higher levels of wanted affection were higher on all subscales of cross-cultural adjustment. Those who wanted and expressed the need for inclusion were significantly higher in interaction adjustment while those who expressed and wanted control were less adjusted to work.

The cross-sectional design limits the extent to which these findings can be interpreted as causal and the small sample size may limit the generalisability of the findings and common method via self-report may also inflate inter-relationship. However, the underlying theoretical premise would strongly support the hypothesised directional relationships in the normal population. A number of factors beyond the scope of this study may play a fundamental role including cultural similarity.

Whilst not predictive, and acknowledging that environmental factors may vary, these results give an indication that interpersonal needs are related to successful adjustment in expatriates. As such these findings could be used to help inform the recruitment and training of expatriates in areas of interpersonal interaction taking into consideration intrapersonal needs.

No study to date has explored the inter-relationship between the interpersonal needs and expatriate adjustment. This is the first paper to do so and identify that there is a significant association between expatriate’s motives for interaction and their level of cross-cultural adjustment.

The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated model to explain the simultaneous impact of gastronomy and destination attractiveness on tourist behaviour.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Melaka and Penang, Malaysia, targeting international tourists. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to examine and explain the relationships hypothesized in the proposed model.

The fit indices indicated the model structure was satisfactory. Examination of the specific paths in the model indicated that gastronomy attractiveness was positively associated with destination attractiveness and tourist behaviour. Meanwhile, the effect of tourists’ variegated gastronomy affection on the perceived attractiveness of a destination and the area’s gastronomy produced mixed results.

The study contributed to the theoretical understanding of two important theories which are recreation specialization and attitude in the context of gastronomy tourism. The linkages in the model were empirically supported by statistical analyses.

The varying degrees of gastronomy affection amongst tourists can be used as an input to examine tourist behaviour within the gastronomy tourism context while simultaneously highlighting the importance of gastronomy to tourist destinations.

The findings of this study are also deemed to assist destination marketers who observe that tourists have become more demanding in search of unique experiences offered by destinations. Based on the hypothesized model, tourists’ past gastronomy experience was a superior predictor than gastronomy involvement and knowledge on perceived gastronomy attractiveness which sequentially elevate tourist’s perceived destination attractiveness.

The study provided an integrated model for predicting tourist behaviour using tourists’ gastronomy affection.

The purpose of the paper is to present and discuss the Kansei engineering (KE) methodology, and to reflect on the future development of KE. The paper presents a model of the KE methodology and illustrates how this model was applied on a simple example which all may understand – design of a new chocolate bar.

The research methodology is a combination of desk research (literature analysis), data collection, data analysis, reflections and model building.

The paper suggests a structural model as a possible expanded framework for future Kansei/affective engineering research studies. According to the model profound affection is a result of the following six enabler factors: sensing experience; emotional experiences (Kansei); behavioural experiences/action; social experiences/interactions and relations; spiritual experiences/moral, ethics; intellectual experiences/cognition.

The paper defines “Profound affection” as a very comprehensive state, which is a result of a combination of sensing, intellectual/cognitive, emotional, social, behavioural and spiritual experiences. “Profound affection” is not only a result of sensing or emotional experiences.

This research aims to explore and explain the determinants of irrational financial decision making, especially the day‐of‐the week anomaly, by using psychological approach.

As it is a conceptual paper, this research explores the psychological biases literature and links it to the day‐of‐the week anomaly. Using Ellis' ABC (Activating Event, Belief, and Consequences) Model, the authors survey and classify the stimulant as the occasion that stimulates the psychological biases of investors, and these psychological biases will bring a consequence in behaviour which is irrationality in weekend effect.

Adopting Ellis' ABC model, the paper constructs a theoretical framework that link the psychological biases and day‐of‐the week anomaly. The theoretical model is also given as a proposed model for future empirical research.

This paper contributes to research by giving the theoretical model and its framework. The latter, future research can examine the proposed psychological biases as the determinant of day‐of‐the week anomaly empirically.

This paper conceptually builds a framework and derives a proposed equation model linking the psychological biases (weather, moon, attention bias, heuristic bias, regret, and cognitive bias) to the day‐of‐the week anomaly.

The thinking of the philosopher Baruch Spinoza is gradually entering the field of social science. In this paper, we are particularly interested in applying his theory of affects to the analysis of passionate collective behaviours at work in the field of financial markets. The general hypothesis that underpins our work is the idea that, in a context of radical uncertainty about the future, the succession of common affect regimes translates into passionate sequences that determine investor behaviour and produce market dynamics. Using an analysis of the stock market cycles of Taffler, Bellotti, and Agarwal (2018), Taffler, Agarwal, and Wang (2019), we show that the Spinozist concept of common affects can help us to understand the mechanisms in the production of collective emotion and to account for the speculative dynamics at the origin of the great financial bubbles.

Leaders of global virtual teams (GVTs) during the economic crisis of 2008–2009 faced a leadership challenge very different from leadership of traditional, face-to-face teams during normal economic conditions. Previous research has shown that the effect of leadership tends to become diminished in virtual team situations, due to well-known challenges of virtual working (geographic dispersion, computer-mediated communication, time zone, cultural and language differences); however, little empirical research has been undertaken during crisis periods such as experienced in 2008–2009 to evaluate the effect of leadership on team outcomes during times of crisis. We present findings which shed light on the impact of three sets of leadership behaviour, as described by FIRO theory (Schutz, 1958), that is, inclusion (participation), control (structure) and affection (personal support), on virtual team motivation and cohesiveness spanning the time of the recent global economic recession. Beginning in March 2008 spanning one year to March 2009, 221 team members within 31 operational GVTs located across 22 countries responded to a three-part, online survey relating to perceptions of team leader behaviour, team motivation and cohesiveness. Findings showed significant positive relationships between leaders' perceived expression of inclusion and personal support and motivation and cohesiveness outcomes. In addition, perceived team cohesiveness was positively correlated to perceived team motivation. Results suggest the need for virtual leaders to ‘turn up the volume’ in their initiated inter-personal behaviour, that is, to increase efforts in participation and supportiveness to bridge the considerable gaps between themselves and team members working virtually and to maintain motivation during difficult times. Correspondent to these findings, we surmise that leadership development programs need to be adjusted to include training and feedback mechanisms to support these types of GVTs leadership behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that will assist in understanding the adoption of digital food shopping. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the demand for digital shopping, but the adoption of digital shopping for food has not accelerated as fast as in other product categories. This study considered the role of socio-cultural factors to understand the reason for slow adoption of digital technology to access food. A cultural framework that can be used to investigate socio-cultural factors in this context was lacking, however, this paper provides a discussion of social and cultural factors and developed measurement scales to assist in understanding cultural change acceptance in consumers' adoption of digital technology to purchase food.

Using Hayes' process analysis, this paper investigated how cultural acceptance – mediated by consumer affection and appeal and measuring the moderated effects of digital trust (DT) – determined the eventual impact on consumer intention to adopt digital food retailing. This paper also considered moderated mediation with parallel mediations (consumer affection and appeal, digital convenience (DC) and consumer digital readiness) interacting with DT and consumer learning.

The authors found that cultural acceptance of digital technology (CADT) is an antecedent to the adoption of digital shopping for food, but this is also mediated by consumers' appeal and affection for digital technology and consumers' digital readiness.

This study also indicates that DT influences consumer appeal and affection (CAA), especially amongst female consumers.

The paper represents an empirical investigation of a new conceptual framework that considers socio-cultural factors to understand consumers' use of digital technology in food shopping which has been an existing knowledge gap in current literature.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how fashion consumers behave when they make purchases using social media platforms – specifically, Instagram. In particular, the work examines the role played by consumer–brand involvement and self–brand connection (SBC) as predictors of customer brand engagement (CBE).

In this paper, social commerce-adoption is modeled, using three variables: customer engagement, SBC and fashion-consumer brand-involvement. Using a personal online survey, data on social media users classified as millennials and Generation Z were collected. The model is analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Consumer involvement in fashion has a positive effect on cognitive processing and activation, but not on affection. SBC has a positive effect on all three analyzed dimensions. Finally, gender is found to exert a moderating effect on the relationship between the “CBE activation” dimension and brand loyalty.

The research was conducted during the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have influenced the responses. Other limitations and potential lines of research for the future are presented at the end of the paper.

Some of the results of this study can directly inform the social media strategies of fashion companies that use Instagram as a channel of communication with their customers. They can also contribute to incentivizing co-created content and increasing consumption among both men and women.

The present study contributes to addressing the scarcity of studies dealing with CBE and social commerce in the fashion sector and, in particular, fashion-consumer behavior on social media (specifically, Instagram).