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This paper aims to examine the discursive constitution of leadership identities by senior women leaders working in the City of London. This study draws on postfeminism as a critical concept to explore this constitution, as it has produced the cultural conditions for the reconfiguration of masculine and feminine gender norms in leadership.

In a qualitative study, 13 women leaders in positions of power in the City of London were interviewed. Discourse analysis techniques were used to unpack the postfeminist shaping of leadership identities

At the heart of the leadership identities that senior women leaders construct is a gendered hybridity that is a multifaceted calibration of masculine and feminine attributes and behaviours. Postfeminist discourses of individualism, choice and self-improvement are entangled with discourses of authenticity, relatability and connectivity as particular leadership assets. The gendered hybridity of leadership identities unfolds the possibility for a fundamental makeover of leadership by opening-up space for a transformative change that accommodates women leaders.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the very few studies that foreground the leadership identities that women leaders construct within the confines of postfeminist gender regimes. It shows how these women invoke authenticity, unfolding possibilities for the transformational change of and political challenge to traditional gendered leadership in their organizations.

Although firm growth through the acquisition of independent players is at a record high, market reports reveal a parallel increase in independent firms that enjoy noticeable consumer support across industries and threaten MNC-owned brands in several countries. Despite this evident contrast, no research has investigated how independent firms stack up against their non-independent counterparts from a consumer perspective. This study examines this standoff and proposes that independent firms outperform their non-independent contenders in fostering perceptions of product craftmanship and warmth in specific product categories and cultures.

Three experimental studies were conducted across five countries (Study 1: N = 360; USA and China – Study 2: N = 487; UK and India – Study 3: N = 323; Italy). Data were analysed using experimental techniques (Analysis of Variance) and conditional process analyses (Moderated Mediation) using PROCESS.

The findings suggest that (1) firm independence fosters perceptions of product craftmanship and warmth in individualistic cultures, (2) consumers view products sold by independent firms as warmer and more authentic than products sold by non-independent firms in hedonic but not in utilitarian product categories, (3) the positive effects of firm independence on product craftmanship and warmth are neutralized for vertically collectivist cultures (India) and reversed in horizontally collectivist cultures (China), (4) loss of firm independence leads to higher drops in perceived craftmanship and product preference when it is caused by a takeover from a foreign multinational (compared to a domestic corporation).

This research provides a first account of how perceptions of firm independence drive assessments of product craftmanship and authenticity, elicit feelings of warmth and build product preference. The findings inform decisions of multinational corporations regarding (1) how to communicate the acquisition of independent firms in local markets, (2) how to balance an international brand portfolio in culturally diverging markets and different product industries, (3) how to optimize brand architecture through the relative exposure of the corporate brand image vis-à-vis the image of standalone brands owned by the corporation and (4) offer smaller independent players an alternative positioning strategy to differentiate from global competitors enjoying the resources or support of bigger corporations.

The tourism experience model (TEM) is a meta-analytical, phenomenological inspired model of how tourists experience destinations. This essay argues that social and cultural psychology form only part of the analysis of how the tourist’s consciousness filters interactions. By considering the existential self versus the role-authentic self of social psychology, the TEM adds to social psychology’s scope explaining how and why tourists may experience social interactions. In addition, it models the dynamics of how the tourist experiences his own activity (exploratory vs. recreational). The model thereby goes beyond both the exclusive social focus and the ego-centric notion of the Individualism–Collectivism dichotomy.

This study explores the impact of ethical and authentic leadership on employees' workplace perceptions, focusing on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), trust in leader, commitment, employee voice and empowerment in independent hotels across two contrasting Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) clusters: Germanic and Middle-Eastern clusters. It examines how national culture influences these relationships in the hospitality industry.

Data were collected from 1,678 employees in independent hotels in the Germanic European cluster (Germany and the Netherlands) and the Middle-Eastern cluster (Qatar and Turkey) using selective and snowball sampling techniques. Hypotheses were tested using two-stage structural equation modelling.

Ethical leadership significantly affects employee voice in Germany and the Netherlands but not in Qatar and Turkey. Authentic leadership positively influences employee voice in Qatar, Turkey and Germany but does not significantly impact trust in leader in any of the four countries. The study underscores the role of cultural dimensions, particularly power distance, in shaping these relationships.

This research contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of ethical and authentic leadership on key organisational variables in culturally diverse contexts within the hospitality industry. The findings highlight the necessity of considering national culture in leadership practices and suggest practical implications for independent hotels to adapt their leadership approaches to enhance employee outcomes. Future research should explore cultural dimensions as moderators in organisational relationships.

Introduction Today we find ourselves at a rather curious historical juncture. World poverty is more of a problem today than it was three decades ago. North‐south relations are more disharmonious than ever and, as a result, the development of the south is more urgent than ever. Yet, at the same time, the main tool of modern social science to tackle this problem, development economics, has turned out to be rather ineffective, throwing thereby the entire field into a deep crisis. It is not much of an exaggeration to claim that development economics as traditionally conceived is so seriously ill that it is not clear whether there is any life left. A leading scholar of the discipline, Alfred Hirschman, has found it necessary to write an essay that sounds more like an obituary than anything else (Hirschman, 1986). The basic tasks that now remain are to assess what went wrong and to explore new directions.

This study aims to identify the intermediate psychological mechanism – organizational identification – that links authentic leadership with follower’s organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Moreover, it examines the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS) in the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational identification.

This study uses a cross-sectional research design involving 356 employees from diverse corporations in South Korea. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire to measure perception of authentic leadership, organizational identification, POS and OCB.

The results indicate that organizational identification significantly mediates the relationship between the perception of authentic leadership and follower’s OCB. Furthermore, POS acts as a moderating variable, strengthening the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational identification. Specifically, followers who perceive strong support from their organization are more likely to develop a robust sense of organizational identification under authentic leadership, which in turn, enhances their OCB.

This study offers a novel integration of social identity theory and organizational support theory to examine how authentic leadership influences follower’s OCB. It is among the first to introduce organizational identification as an intermediary in this context and to investigate the moderating effect of POS. The findings provide valuable insights for managers aiming to cultivate a workplace culture that fosters organizational identification and citizenship behaviors, thereby enhancing organizational effectiveness. Future research directions are also highlighted.

This paper examines the social and ideological significance of selfies as a manifestation of networked culture and individualism. The aim is to illustrate the meaning and affordances of selfies by investigating their potential for (post)feminist empowerment.

The analysis entails an exploration of the form, content, and context of (post)feminist selfies. This includes a review of popular expressions of selfie-empowerment as well as an in-depth ideological analysis of several revealing case studies.

As a result, this paper identifies a (dis)empowerment paradox marked by a divide between material and affective conceptions of empowerment. According to this paradox, self(ie)-expressions may feel empowering to the individual(s) controlling the camera while concurrently conforming to hegemonic norms – a trend which is particularly pertinent to many networked selfies shared via social media. Accordingly, the paper concludes by critiquing the discourse of selfie-empowerment and considering the significance of cultural context in shaping meaning and ideology.

By addressing these implications in light of broader shifts toward networked individualism and post-feminism, this paper critically examines the ideological significance of selfies and demonstrates a need to reconsider what sociological perspectives can contribute to the study of selfies within the context of networked cultures.