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This article aims to explain the role of philosophical anchors and research paradigms in business research, and how they can be extrapolated in the transformative era of automation, digitalization, hyperconnectivity, obligations, globalization and sustainability (ADHOGS) in the midst of disruption, volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (DVUCA).

This article entails a general review based on the 3Es of exposure, expertise and experience, delving into the ontological, epistemological, methodological, axiological and rhetorical aspects of the major research paradigms—i.e. positivism, post-positivism, constructivism, interpretivism and pragmatism—and their interplay with the emergent trends shaping business research.

This article underscores the multifaceted nature of business research in the modern day, with an increasing need for blending, or shifting between, research paradigms to address the complex issues arising from automation, digitalization, hyperconnectivity, obligations, globalization and sustainability (ADHOGS). This article also highlights the nuanced interplay between research paradigms and theoretical perspectives, demonstrating the rich, diverse potential of business research inquiries.

While this article provides a broad overview of the interplay between research paradigms and emerging trends, future research could explore each of these interplays in greater detail, conducting empirical studies or utilizing specific case studies.

Researchers and practitioners should be open to adopting, combining or switching between different paradigms according to the demands of their research questions, context and trends shaping the business landscape, thereby underscoring the need for methodological flexibility and reflexivity in business research.

The shift toward embracing digital transformations and integrating sustainability in business research holds significant implications, driving socially responsible and sustainable business practices at the micro-level, and by extension, industrial revolution and sustainable development at the macro-level.

This article offers a holistic and contextualized view of the philosophy of science and research paradigms for business research, bridging the gap between philosophical foundations and contemporary research trends.

The focus of this chapter is on micro-credentials in higher education. In the current complex and fluid context, there is a demand for higher education providers to be able to respond with flexible and targeted provision of learning opportunities. Crafting micro-credentials, or disaggregating credentials, can be effective in reaching target audiences. For students, the availability of micro-credentials allows them to satisfy immediate learning needs. For industry, micro-credentials can provide elements of vocational training. On the other hand, it is a challenge to design micro-credentials that provide the cognitive perspective associated with higher education to ensure an appreciation of an associated body of knowledge or field of study. Further, education offered by universities and other higher education providers needs to have the potential to support the ongoing academic life of the institution, which is dependent on teaching being informed by research and current understandings in the field, and the research area being refreshed with talent with an appreciation of their field of study and associated bodies of knowledge. This, therefore, can be seen as something of an eco-system, which is dependent for its sustenance on learners acquiring more than fragments of knowledge or information. There are consequences for devising policies and procedures for the design, recognition, and provision of micro-credentials in higher education. Policies and procedures need to explicitly relate micro-credentials to the current and emerging understandings in an academic discipline or field of study. Academic standards that apply to offering credentials need to be maintained. Associated staff support and development is a requirement.

In this chapter, we present a collaborative autoethnographic study with two main layers: first, we share experiences of two separate educational research projects and explore how different dialogic research practices facilitate both participants and researchers to discover the phenomenon being studied; second, we engage in a dialogic conversation to discover our own research practices. Focussing on projects in two different countries (Norway and Canada), our initial centring question for this chapter is: how do our research practices facilitate insight into participants’ real-life experiences and practices? Then turning the light on our own research practices, we ask: what onto-epistemological assumptions shape our dialogical research practices? The chapter reveals that dialogic research practices allowed collective wisdom to be discovered and ensured that we were able to break through the taken-for-grantedness both of the concept being studied and of our own research practices.

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a scale measuring artificial intelligence capabilities by using the resource-based theory. It seeks to examine the impact of these capabilities on the organizational-level resources of dynamic capabilities and organizational creativity, ultimately influencing the overall performance of government organizations.

The calibration of artificial intelligence capabilities scale was conducted using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis tools. A set of 26 initial items was formed in the qualitative study. In the quantitative study, self-reported data obtained from 344 public managers was used for the purposes of refining and validating the scale. Hypothesis testing is carried out to examine the relationship between theoretical constructs for the purpose of nomological testing.

Results provide empirical evidence that the presence of artificial intelligence capabilities positively and significantly impacts dynamic capabilities, organizational creativity and performance. Dynamic capabilities also found to partially mediate artificial intelligence capabilities relationship with organizational creativity and performance, and organizational creativity partially mediates dynamic capabilities – organizational creativity link.

The application of artificial intelligence holds promise for improving decision-making and problem-solving processes, thereby increasing the perceived value of public service. This can be achieved through the implementation of regulatory frameworks that serve as a blueprint for enhancing value and performance.

There are a limited number of studies on artificial intelligence capabilities conducted in the government sector, and these studies often present conflicting and inconclusive findings. Moreover, these studies indicate literature has not adequately explored the significance of organizational-level complementarity resources in facilitating the development of unique capabilities within government organizations. This paper presents a framework that can be used by government organizations to assess their artificial intelligence capabilities-organizational performance relation, drawing on the resource-based theory.

Consumer product firms renowned for marketing appear to be complementing brand creation, extension and acquisition with minority equity investments in entrepreneurial brand ventures (EBVs) for strategic purposes. Similarly, EBVs are looking for growth and resources that can be accessed via inter-organizational partnerships. This flourishing industry practice and the paucity of empirical research indicates the potential for new studies. The research objective was to examine why and how large incumbents were implementing strategic brand venturing (SBV), and with this understanding to develop a framework useful for descriptive and normative purposes.

This qualitative research study comprised in-depth interviews and multiple data sources across seven case studies drawn from US subsidiaries of global firms within the consumer products industry. Grounded in resource theory, the dimensions of strategic brand equity investments are abductively derived.

The findings delineate 16 process capabilities within four aggregate clusters entailing, the designing of the SBV program, opportunity identification, brand entrepreneur partnerships and venture portfolio management. Prefaced by endogenous and exogenous antecedents, these process capabilities help to contribute strategic and financial value when implemented.

This qualitative research study yielded analytical rather than statistical generalizations. A range of market and economic factors exist in the United States contributing towards a favorable entrepreneurial and brand incubation climate. This may render the SBV concept as contingent and contextual. Furthermore, the view of brand entrepreneurs' regarding the design of the process model were not explicitly sought but inferred from the discourses of the venturing units interviewed.

The article outlines several important implementation imperatives for corporations endeavoring to competitively advantage their brand portfolios via adoption of a minority equity investing strategy in EBVs. Practitioners are cautioned against myopically adopting this process alone as a success heuristic given other factors may impact success such as changes in corporate strategy or upper echelon sponsorship.

Mission preservation for social brand ventures being tethered to a large incumbent may need to be taken into account prior to and during SBV relationships.

The research contributes to the call for greater insights into the investment processes used in venturing relationships as well as coverage of new industry sectors beyond technology industries that often characterize corporate venture capital studies. Several novel findings emerged related to the importance of—the industry ecosystem; symbiosis between the founding brand entrepreneur and brand culture; synchronization of investment strategies with an emerging brand life-cycle model and serendipitous corporate entrepreneurial opportunities.