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This paper examines the relationship between chief executive officers' (CEOs') leadership behaviors (consideration and initiating structure) and firm and individual performance (i.e. profitability, affective commitment and employees' willingness to change) in small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) that need to adapt to changing environments.

Survey data was collected from SMEs (28 firms, 235 employees) in the accounting industry along with objective performance register data (profit and return on assets). The predicted model was tested with multilevel structural equations modeling (MSEM) using a maximum likelihood estimator.

The CEO leadership behavior of initiating structure was positively related to firms' profitability, while the CEO leadership behavior of consideration was positively related to employees' willingness to change and affective commitment.

Small accounting firms typically offer standard services that are now being replaced by digital solutions. These firms have an incentive to offer new services, such as business advisory services. Therefore, leaders should embrace the duality of consideration and initiating structure to gain employees' willingness to change and optimize overall firm performance.

The paper contributes to leadership literature by examining a novel context (CEO consideration and initiation of structure in SMEs in uncertain environments) using a combination of firm performance measures (e.g. objective outcomes at the firm level and employees' willingness to change as a new measure at the individual level). In addition, it reports a comprehensive test of the full model using MSEM, the findings of which demonstrate the importance of dual leadership behaviors for CEOs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate values are interpreted by local and international employees in a multilingual organisation that has opted for the local language, not English, as its corporate language.

This is a research paper exploring how the recontextualisation and resemiotisation of value terms impact on how corporate values are interpreted, employing triangulation of questionnaire and interview results.

When values are recontextualised in employee discourse, proficiency in the corporate language and cultural background was found to have an impact on their interpretation. Internationals were found to have a broader and not exclusively professional interpretation compared to the locals. Internationals with a low level of proficiency in the local language were more sceptical than the locals as to whether there was a shared understanding of the values.

The questionnaire yielded fewer respondents than the authors expected, which should be taken into account when interpreting the results.

The paper suggests best practices for communicating corporate values to a multilingual workforce.

This paper contributes to the understanding of linguistic challenges in the multilingual work contexts.

To the authors’ knowledge, there is little prior in-depth research on how language impacts on employees’ interpretation of corporate values. As values are cohesive devices in organisations, the language used to convey them is worth addressing as the present paper aims to demonstrate.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the precise role of intrinsic motivation and autonomy in relation to intellectual stimulation in creating a creative climate in a professional services firm. The intention is to discover whether theories that stress the primacy of the need for intrinsic motivation and autonomy over other managerial goals such as monitoring find support.

The authors propose and test a model for the relationship of interest. The theoretical model is tested through analysis of multilevel data gathered across in two iterations over two years from 177 employees and 64 teams in one company.

The authors find that intrinsic motivation and autonomy mediate the relationship between intellectual stimulation and creative climate. Autonomy exercises a stronger mediating effect than intrinsic motivation.

The single company research context’s specificity; causal relationships between variables cannot be empirically investigated; the verified research model cannot claim to represent how the organization actually functions, for which qualitative work is required.

Theories stressing the primacy of employee autonomy are supported over those stressing a need for management to monitor and control autonomy-seeking employees.

This paper shows the vital mediating role of employee autonomy and to a lesser extent intrinsic motivation in a professional service firm context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between networking ability, autonomy and work performance.

The data, collected from a sample of 510 employees in a professional service firm, were analysed using regression analysis.

First, networking ability and autonomy are positively associated with in-role and extra-role performance. Second, the greater the job autonomy, the stronger the effect of networking ability on in-role performance.

This paper adds to the growing body of literature on demand for social and interpersonal skills in organisations. The authors combine the literature on work design with the literature on networking ability and complexity in employment relations. The authors’ findings show the importance of networking ability and autonomy for work performance, as well as pointing to factors such as age and work experience.

Joint consultative committees (JCCs) involving employee representatives exist to stimulate positive employee relations and unlock employee involvement to build organisational performance. They are rare in Africa. Mauritius is a successful, beacon economy for Africa. We therefore investigate which categories of an organisation implemented the 2008 Mauritian government Code of Practice on JCCs, to discover how effective this “soft law” for of institutional change had been three years after its inception, when post-Code JCCs were formed.

We test propositions derived from institutional theory broadly conceived, through analysis of data from 120 organizations in Mauritius responding to a comprehensive HR survey covering a wide range of organisational level policies and practices conducted during the JCC formation period 2011–2012.

By 2012, nearly 30% of our sample had JCCs. Three quite distinct categories of an organisation created them, as follows: those with substantial union influence, those where strategic HRM was practiced and recently formed organisations. Remarkably, no interaction effects existed between the three categories.

Several contributions are made to shed light on a previously unstudied institution. First, we empirically establish that over a limited period in response to institutional change in the form of the code of practice, JCCs increased from 10% of organizations to almost 30%. Our second central contribution is to show three principal, quite separate organisational antecedents of JCCs, which do not interact statistically.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain in the future by focusing on investigating the impacts of COVID-19 on the fashion supply chain and review sustainable supply chain.

A systematic literature review (SLR) and a case study have been undertaken to explore the innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain developed after the COVID-19 outbreak. Having conducted a comprehensive literature search in electronic databases Google Scholar, Emerald Insight, ScienceDirect and ProQuest, 69 articles were selected and reviewed. A case of the Kering Group was used to explain the results.

This paper highlighted the basic concepts of a sustainable supply chain, reviewed the 10 principles of the United Nation Global Compact and their connections to promoting supply chain sustainability, as well as the three components of a sustainable supply chain: green supply chain, transparent supply chain and circular supply chain. Based on the results of a SLR and a real case of Kering Group, the paper identified 12 innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain: (1) biodegradable and natural materials, (2) textile recycling, (3) nearshoring, (4) artificial intelligence (AI), (5) robot, (6) 3D printing, (7) Internet of Things, (8) blockchain, (9) reverse resources; (10) bio-packaging, (11) augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) and (12) digital runway.

The epidemiological situations of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding innovative ideas for a sustainable supply chain may change over time. While this paper provides a comprehensive literature review and case study, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts in the development of a sustainable fashion supply chain through collecting both quantitative and qualitative data.

Embracing the issues from the COVID-19 pandemic, the results of this study are further explained by the case of Kering Group in the fashion industry. The managerial implications of the results and discussion are the need to adopt innovative ideas for a more sustainable fashion supply chain in the future. The success of sustainable supply chains work by leveraging the best available technologies such as robot, 3D printing, AR and VR, setting consistent standards for sustainability such as Environmental Profit and Loss and Kering & Textile Exchange and communicating with all parties throughout the supply chain, such as blockchain and AI. Investment in developing technology and innovative ideas will be the key of future to supply chain sustainability. Nonetheless, the specific approach used by each organization must be tailored to its characteristics, goals and circumstances.

Bringing upon unprecedented challenges, the pandemic has shown both companies and consumers just how fragile our planet is. Thus, to protect our planet in the long run, we need to not only make businesses more sustainable but also live more eco-friendly lifestyles.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that conducts a systemic review of the relevant academic journal articles addressed to the managerial audience on sustainable (fashion) supply chain. In addition, this paper also adds some consideration to this gap by exploring the innovative ideas for a sustainable fashion supply chain in the future and using a case to illustrate how these ideas can be put in a real-life context. This paper discusses the impact of COVID-19 on different stages of the supply chain and gives innovative ideas that can be used in response to the changing epidemiological situations of the pandemic.

This chapter examines the oil and gas industry and the efficacy of vertical integration strategies. Using multiple theoretical lenses ranging from the resource-based view, transactions costs, and parenting perspective, the chapter considers different arguments associated with vertical integration. The 2011 breakup of ConocoPhillips and its global value chain helps address the question of which strategy is best – integrated or nonintegrated. We provide several conclusions about the structure of integration and value chains within the oil and gas industry. First, vertical integration based on the physical transfer of products between value chain activities will generate little firm advantage in the form of classical integration benefits, such as control over input quality or speed to market. Second, competing across the industry value chain as a hedge or strategy against industry cyclicality is not theoretically defensible. Third, pure play industry specialists can create value through management focus, agility, and, transparency for investors. Fourth, firms that compete across a wide range of industry value chain activities can create value-adding corporate strategies if they are able to leverage knowledge and assets across different industry sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of market orientation on exploratory and exploitative innovation, and the moderating effects of family ownership on these relationships.

This study utilizes multi-group path analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in LISREL on data from 228 firms in the Australian service sector.

This study establishes that both customer and competitor innovation are positively related to exploitative and exploratory innovation. However, customer orientation does not lead to significantly stronger effects on exploitative innovation than on exploratory innovation, and competitor orientation does not lead to significantly stronger effects on exploratory innovation than on exploitative innovation. In addition, the study found that the relationship between customer orientation and exploratory innovation was stronger for family firms, while the relationships between competitor orientation and both exploratory and exploitative innovation were stronger for non-family firms.

The cross-sectional design is one weakness of this study. In addition, as firms in the present study came from the service sector the generalizability of the findings to other sectors of the economy need to be determined.

These findings of this study highlight the need for managers to build a strong market orientation in order to promote innovation, and consider the effects of ownership structure on innovation strategies.

This study is the first to measure the relative influence of customer and competitor orientation on a firm’s use of exploitative and exploratory innovation strategies.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, employers struggled to develop virtual onboarding (VO) experiences among new employees. Prior research has examined VO processes. This study, by contrast, compares online commentaries in relation to current research findings to determine a functional description of effective VO.

Using a qualitative, inductive thematic analysis, the researchers explored new employees' online, anonymous, public commentary about the employers' VO experiences. Through analyzing 83 posted communications, the researchers sought to not only categorize themes, but to also identify meaning within the employees' commentary. From the thematic analysis, meaningful themes were established and compared to existing literature to identify comprehensive trends in effective VO.

The analysis developed nine themes of discussion question (DQ) prompts and nine themes of discussion responses. The professionals' online discussion about VO in the workplace as well as attributes of each theme was compared to contemporary VO research. In combination with a review of established literature of effective VO and an examination of organizational socialization theory, the study confirms that some virtually onboarded employees are excelling with, and some are challenged by the communication deficiencies of the remote experience. Employee experiences are highlighted to develop a description of contemporary effective VO experiences to support future workplace efficiencies.

Data were gathered via Blind and each response shared on Blind is subject to the viewpoint of the participants. For future research, face-to-face interviews might offer context regarding new hires' VO experiences. Also the generalizability is impacted because not all participants of VO participate via Blind. Participant bias is possible given the perceived dissatisfaction or negative experiences. Future research can perform a national random study of employees. Finally, the data and participants in this study were USA based. Future research should consider other international contexts such as Europe.

The thematic findings of this study yield valuable practical recommendations. New hires that experience VO are seeking improved virtual communication channels between themselves and the managers and colleagues of the hires. As such, corporate managers/trainers can implement a virtual mentoring program to have senior employees prepare and guide new hires into employees' new remote working environment to reduce employees' uncertainty. To improve VO processes in a post-pandemic society, corporate managers/trainers can incorporate social media communication given that employees participate in social media to develop their careers. With social media work groups, new virtual hires can be better socialized through effective peer-to-peer informal internal communications where the hires can freely ask questions and build better work relationships.

In each onboarding experience and evident in each of the five themes, learning is an underlying concept. New employees are describing that it is challenging to development organizational shared values, skills, attitudes, knowledge, abilities, behaviors and relationships in a VO process. As organizational leaders continue to develop VO experiences, a focus on learning as dependent on the virtual learning process and content can be significant in terms of creating a positive employee VO learning experience.

The findings are unique in exploring new hires' self-reported VO experiences. This study offers insight into effective VO practices such as developing virtual trainings that are well planned, engaging and supporting of relationships, collaborations and career goals.

The purpose of this paper is to identify different types of organizational innovativeness in Austrian hotels and analyze their connection to (innovation) success. In the face of growing international competition, innovation is becoming increasingly important for Austria’s hotel industry. A prerequisite for innovation is organizational innovativeness.

This paper is based on a quantitative survey of 255 Austrian hotel businesses with a minimum of five employees. Innovativeness was measured by three dimensions (willingness, ability and possibility to innovate) and success by five dimensions (overall performance: financial, market and employee-related success; innovation success: product and process innovations). Findings were obtained by combining an exploratory factor analysis with a cluster analysis.

Factor analysis reveals five factors determining organizational innovativeness: “cooperation as trigger for change”; “acceptance of change”; “resource based scope for change”; “pluralism as trigger for change”; and “loose coupling and error-tolerance”. The cluster analysis identifies four types of hotels regarding organizational innovativeness indicating differences regarding the success dimensions: “potential innovators hindered by scarce resources and unsupportive structures”, “well-resourced conservatives”, “potential innovators hindered by a haphazard approach” and “cautious idea hunters”. On the whole, results show that a balanced configuration of organizational innovativeness combined with a cautious approach is connected with greater (innovation) success.

Key-informant and survivor biases have to be considered as all items in the questionnaire were evaluated by self-assessment of the hotel management and only successful hotels (in the sense of survival) were analyzed. One important implication is that (innovation) success depends on the system that enables it; therefore, organizational innovativeness is a precondition of successful innovations. Nevertheless, there is little research on organizational innovativeness in the service sector so far.

This paper supports tourism businesses in understanding the concept of organizational innovativeness and its relation to (innovation) success. SMEs, which dominate the Austrian hotel industry, tend to focus on the financial aspect of innovativeness and, in general, do not consider the range of factors that constitute an organization’s innovativeness (willingness, ability and possibility to innovate) and the various outcomes.

By combining organizational innovativeness and (innovation) success, the paper applies an important element of innovation theory to the Austrian hotel industry. The characterization of different types of hotels regarding organizational innovativeness and success enables a (self-) assessment for hotel businesses and the deduction of customized implications.