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This paper systematically reviews the evolution of Internet of Things (IoT) research in business and management over the past decade and a half. It synthesizes current knowledge, identifies major themes, gaps, and future opportunities to guide scholars on potential research directions within this exponentially growing domain.

A structured systematic literature review methodology filtered IoT publications across business/management journals using Scopus database. Detailed thematic and bibliometric analyses chronologically mapped the progress of peer-reviewed articles from 2005–2023. Both quantitative metrics and qualitative coding inductively revealed historical trends, topics, applications and research implications.

Analysis uncovered six primary IoT research themes - business models, technology, data, customers, organizations, and sustainability. Dominant focuses were found on technological enablers, business model innovation and customer experience transformations. While technical aspects are well-documented, strategic technology integrations and organizational change management require greater emphasis.

Focus restricted to academic articles published in management journals risks missing relevant papers published in other fields. Screening process involved some subjectivity. Lacks geographic analysis of research contexts. The rapidly evolving nature of technology domain risks findings’ generalizability.

Key enablers and success factors that we identified may support managerial decision making when it comes to IoT adoption.

We discuss advancing IoT innovation through ethics and sustainability lenses and these may help ensure responsible adoption.

This analysis weaves together the extant literature and offers an evidence-based research agenda for management scholars by chronicling the state, evolution, influential factors, and future opportunities within IoT literature. It highlights major thematic shifts and priority gaps to address.

The paper aims to understand the stages of the social innovation process and how it can be used for sustainable development.

This single case study used multiple sources, especially data from extensive field visits and selective in-depth interviews. Direct observation, web content analysis, journals, annual reports and news articles were also used.

The findings show that BRAC institute of skills development (BISD) adopted a unique formula for the social innovation process: problem identification, new idea, design prototype, pilot, perfect and scale up. This study also finds that BISD has a significant socio-economic impact in Bangladesh. The impacts of BISD are associated with several United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1 on poverty, SDG 4 on inclusive learning, SDG 5 on gender equality and women empowerment, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth and SDG 16 on social inclusion.

The discussions of this study ultimately pave a clear roadmap for policymakers, practitioners and academics to improve mechanisms for sustainable development through social innovations in emerging countries.

This paper provides a practical application of the social inclusive innovation process theory by which vocational training institutes can scale their sustainable impact. More knowledge is needed on how organisations can implement social innovation projects in emerging countries. This paper provides exploratory evidence to fill this gap. It demands a promising area of interest to investigate further research on the compatibility of social innovation in skills development programmes to gear up the status of an underprivileged community.

Kerala is one of India's most advanced states in human development and other social indices. This study aims to look at the management education scenario in Kerala from a macro-perspective and examines the existing trends, major issues and present challenges facing the sector.

The study is driven by previously unexplored secondary data published by India's apex technical education regulator–All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Qualitative and quantitative assessments are assimilated from the organization, dissection and categorization of unit-level data.

Business schools (B-schools) in the state are facing acute distress in enrolments. There are intra-regional variations in institution count and occupancy rates. The vast majority of the institutions have no accreditation at all. The entire sector is facing a protracted decline.

The study has relied primarily on descriptive statistics considering a single discipline within the higher education sector in Kerala. Future studies should look at other disciplines (engineering, medicine) simultaneously. Use of statistical methods like panel data regression would be beneficial to find hidden trends in cross-sectional and longitudinal time-series data.

Management education in Kerala is facing an existential crisis. This has implications for the state's economic development. The paper creates strong imperatives for government policymaking to forestall the complete decline of the sector.

A highly literate state with advanced human development indices need not be a suitable location for building a knowledge-based economy. Government policy has strong implications for the development and sustenance of higher education. The relationship between government and business schools are symbiotic.

The paper maps the progression of B-schools from local to global. A typology of privately funded B-schools is proposed. The conceptual framework advanced in this study can contribute to further literature development. The suggested policy initiatives are applicable not only to Kerala but also to other tightly regulated markets.

The goal was to improve the quality of the hospitalization process and the management of patients, allowing the reduction of costs and the minimization of the preoperative Length of Hospital Stay (LOS).

The methodology used to improve the quality of the hospitalization process and patient management was Lean Thinking. Therefore, the Lean tools (Value stream map and Ishikawa diagram) were used to identify waste and inefficiencies, improving the process with the implementation of corrective actions. The data was collected through personal observations, patient interviews, brainstorming and from printed medical records of 151 patients undergoing oral cancer surgery in the period from 2006 to 2018.

The authors identified, through Value Stream Map, waste and inefficiencies during preoperative activities, consequently influencing preoperative LOS, considered the best performance indicator. The main causes were identified through the Ishikawa diagram, allowing reflection on possible solutions. The main corrective action was the introduction of the pre-hospitalization service. A comparative statistical analysis showed the significance of the solutions implemented. The average preoperative LOS decreased from 4.90 to 3.80 days (−22.40%) with a p-value of 0.001.

The methodology allowed to highlight the improvement of the patient hospitalization process with the introduction of the pre-hospitalization service. Therefore, by adopting the culture of continuous improvement, the flow of hospitalization was redrawn. The benefits of the solutions implemented are addressed to the patient in terms of lower LOS and greater service satisfaction and to the hospital for lower patient management costs and improved process quality. This article will be useful for those who need examples on how to apply Lean tools in healthcare.

This conceptual article provides a basis for designing leader development programs that assess and train leaders to recognize demands for communication and how their personality affects the ways they transmit information, influence others and form positive relationships.

Adult attachment theory, Big Five personality dimensions (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience and neuroticism) and pro-social and social sensitivity personality traits are proposed to shape the extent to which leaders enact relational, transmission and manipulative models of communication. These personality dimensions and communication models are the basis for assessment and training leaders to use in-person and various electronic media in ways that promote listeners’ attention, understanding and psychological safety.

Secure attachment leaders who are extraverted, prosocial and socially sensitive are proposed to use high touch media to communicate in ways that establish positive relationships. Avoidant and anxious attachment leaders use low-touch media that are manipulative or mitigate accountability.

The behaviors associated with transmitting information, influencing others and forming relationships can be a basis for assessing leaders’ attachment styles. Leaders can learn to diagnose situations to determine the best mixes of communication models to meet the demands of the situation.

Leaders who are promoted to higher levels of responsibility need to learn how to communicate with multiple stakeholders often during times of challenge and stress. How they communicate is likely to be a function of their comfort with interpersonal relationships, which in turn affects their use of personal and impersonal media.

The purpose of this study is to critically synthesize and integrate conceptual and empirical research on the behavioral perspective on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and explain why it is useful and necessary, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explain why CSR can result in both positive and negative outcomes and provide future research directions and recommendations for practice and policymaking.

This study focuses on critical literature review and synthesis.

CSR policies in response to COVID-19 are created by organizations but are implemented by individual employees. The way employees perceive and react to CSR actions are key determinants of CSR’s implementation and success. CSR can be embedded within or peripheral to a firm’s core functioning. While embedded CSR is linked to several positive outcomes if correctly implemented together with employees, peripheral CSR is linked to “the dark side” of CSR and can result in negative employee outcomes.

Using the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors detail types of CSR actions that governments and organizations can implement and their relative effectiveness; why “one size fits all” top-down CSR does not work; how firms can use human resource management practices to re-engage employees through finding meaning in work; and the “dark side” of CSR.

Using the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors detail types of CSR actions that governments and organizations can implement and their relative effectiveness; why “one size fits all” top-down CSR does not work; how firms can use human resource management practices to re-engage employees through finding meaning in work; and the “dark side” of CSR.

CSR research has focused mostly on why and when firms choose to engage in CSR. A behavioral perspective on CSR facilitates, through an employee-centric conceptual framework, a deeper understanding of when and why employee reactions lead to positive and unintended negative outcomes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sintetizamos críticamente e integramos la investigación conceptual y empírica sobre la perspectiva conductual de la responsabilidad social corporativa (RSC) y explicamos por qué es útil y necesaria, especialmente a raíz de la pandemia del COVID-19. Explicamos por qué la RSC puede dar lugar a resultados tanto positivos como negativos y sugerimos propuestas para investigaciones futuras y recomendaciones para la práctica empresarial y la formulación de políticas.

Revisión crítica y síntesis de literatura.

Las políticas de RSC en respuesta a COVID-19 son creadas por organizaciones, pero implementadas por empleados. La forma en que los empleados perciben y reaccionan a las iniciativas de RSC es clave para la implementación y el éxito de la RSC. La RSC puede integrarse o ser periférica al funcionamiento central de una empresa. Si bien la RSC integrada está vinculada a varios resultados positivos si se implementa correctamente junto a los empleados, la RSC periférica está vinculada al “lado oscuro” de la RSC y puede generar resultados negativos para los empleados.

La investigación de la RSC se ha centrado principalmente en cuándo y por qué las empresas eligen participar en la RSC. Una perspectiva conductual de la RSC facilita, a través de un marco conceptual centrado en los empleados, una comprensión más profunda de cuándo y por qué las reacciones de los empleados a la RSC conducen tanto a resultados positivos como a resultados negativos no deseados, especialmente durante la pandemia de COVID-19.

Utilizando el telón de fondo de la pandemia de COVID-19, detallamos (1) los tipos de acciones de RSC que los gobiernos y las organizaciones pueden implementar y su relativa efectividad; (2) por qué la RSC de arriba hacia abajo y de “talla única” no funciona; (3) cómo las empresas pueden utilizar las prácticas de gestión de recursos humanos para volver a involucrar a los empleados mediante la búsqueda de significado en el trabajo; y (4) el “lado oscuro” de la RSC.

Sintetizamos e integramos criticamente a pesquisa empírica e conceitual sobre a perspectiva comportamental da responsabilidade social corporativa (RSC) e explicamos por que ela é útil e necessária, especialmente após a pandemia do COVID-19. Explicamos por que a RSC pode levar a resultados positivos e negativos e sugerimos propostas para pesquisas futuras e recomendações para práticas de negócios e formulação de políticas.

Revisão crítica e síntese da literatura.

As políticas de RSC em resposta ao COVID-19 são criadas por organizações, mas implementadas pelos funcionários. O modo como os funcionários percebem e reagem às iniciativas de RSC é a chave para a implementação e o sucesso da RSC. A RSC pode ser integrada ou periférica à operação central de uma empresa. Enquanto a RSC integrada está vinculada a vários resultados positivos se implementado corretamente junto com os funcionários, a RSC periférica está vinculada ao “lado sombrio” da RSC e pode levar a resultados negativos para os funcionários.

A pesquisa em RSC se concentrou principalmente em quando e por que as empresas optam por participar da RSC. Uma perspectiva comportamental da RSC fornece, através de uma estrutura conceitual centrada no funcionário, uma compreensão mais profunda de quando e por que as reações dos funcionários à RSC levam a resultados negativos positivos e indesejados,especialmente durante a pandemia de COVID-19.

Usando o pano de fundo da pandemia do COVID-19, detalhamos (1) os tipos de ações de RSC que governos e organizações podem implementar e sua relativa eficácia; (2) por que a RSC de cima para baixo e tamanho único não funciona; (3) como as empresas podem usar as práticas de gerenciamento de recursos humanos para reativar os funcionários buscando significado no trabalho; e (4) o “lado sombrio” da RSC.

The purpose of the paper is to test and analyze the equilibrium economic relationships of the East Africa Community (EAC).

To attain the study's purpose the authors applied the Johansen cointegration test, including long-run structural modeling (LRSM), vector-error-correlation-model (VECM) and variance-decomposition (VDC).

At I(1), both Philips‐Peron (PP) and Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS) tests show that the East Africa member states' economies are cointegrated. The result was further substantiated by the tests based on Johansen cointegration and VECM procedures, showing significant long-run and short-run economic relations. The result further reveals that despite some uncommon issues among member states such as Tanzania and Kenya, however, their economic relationships remain significant though it is negative. Moreover, the finding revealed positive and significant short-run economic relationships between Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda.

The paper applies the cointegration techniques in the context of EAC. The result is likely to be adding value to the policymaker and also to the existing literature on the subject. This may trigger policy implications and open new research direction within the region and out.

Despite the growing interest in blockchain technology (BCT) applications in the agri-food industry, evidence of their economic and strategic implications remains scarce. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap by jointly investigating how BCT adoption affects transactional relationships, and how it contributes to the firm’s strategic resources.

An explanatory case study is conducted based on a theoretical framework grounded on transaction cost economics and the resource-based-dynamic capabilities view. Six BCT implementations by agri-food firms are studied. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings reveal that BCT benefits depend on how companies integrate technology across their supply chains. In fact, the results suggest that overall transaction efficiency within the supply chain is enhanced only for those firms prioritising stakeholder engagement during technology implementation and leveraging existing trust relationships with economic agents. Moreover, the results suggest that BCT is not yet perceived as a strategic resource, but rather that it has the potential to enhance firms’ operational-adaptive, absorptive and innovative capabilities. When all supply chain actors clearly understand blockchain’s functionality and value, the development of these capabilities becomes more pronounced.

The study identifies two BCT adoption configurations. One primarily focuses on enhancing supply chain efficiency and transparency (dynamic BCT), while the other uses BCT mainly for marketing purposes (static BCT). These configurations lead to varied possibilities for leveraging BCT’s potential advantages. Furthermore, they show how a mismatch between a strategic approach and its chosen configuration could work against any positive impact and lead to disillusionment with the BCT. Thus, managers should assess carefully the impact of such different configuration choices on performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to attempt to analyse the economic implications of adopting BCT in the food sector from both a firm and supply chain perspective. Additionally, it shows how interpreting these impacts is contingent on the diverse modalities for embedding BCT into existing supply chains.

The paper aims to present a systematic literature review (SLR) showing the benefits, challenges and future research of blockchain technology (BT) for the supply chain (SC), also suggesting how the features of BT can change the organizational aspects of the SC.

An SLR has been conducted to detect papers that contained the word “Blockchain” in their titles, keywords or abstracts. Consequently, a second filter to analyze BT papers for the SC was applied.

This paper shows through 31 variables classified into positive, negative and future directions of technology for the SC. For instance, BT will reduce time consuming of operations management and payments using smart contracts. In addition, integrating BT with other technologies will allow product tracking and sustainable production management.

The selection of papers is limited to Scopus database and specifically to the Management Journal.

BT creates collaborative peer-to-peer and business-to-business markets. The technology automates several tasks such as order management, payment for goods, waste reduction and process control. Therefore, its use within the SCs will improve the productivity and profits of the participants.

This paper is focused on BT for the SC area with 60 articles analyzed. In addition, 13 variables on benefits, eight variables on challenges and 12 points on future research directions were analyzed. This work will help researchers and entrepreneurs to deepen about the changes that BT offers in SC.

This study investigates the relationships between team dynamics and performance in healthcare operations. Specifically, it explores, through wearable sensors, how team coordination mechanisms can influence the likelihood of surgical glitches during routine surgery.

Breast surgeries of a large Italian university hospital were monitored using Sociometric Badges – wearable sensors developed at MIT Media Lab – for collecting objective and systematic measures of individual and group behaviors in real time. Data retrieved were used to analyze team coordination mechanisms, as it evolved in the real settings, and finally to test the research hypotheses.

Findings highlight that a relevant portion of glitches in routine surgery is caused by improper team coordination practices. In particular, results show that the likelihood of glitches decreases when practitioners adopt implicit coordination mechanisms rather than explicit ones. In addition, team cohesion appears to be positively related with the surgical performance.

For the first time, direct, objective and real time measurements of team behaviors have enabled an in-depth evaluation of the team coordination mechanisms in surgery and the impact on surgical glitches. From a methodological perspective, this research also represents an early attempt to investigate coordination behaviors in dynamic and complex operating environments using wearable sensor tools.