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Article
Publication date: 11 October 2021

Grzegorz Leszczyński, Tibor Mandjak, Tihamér Margitay and Marek Zieliński

This paper aims to introduce the concept of business paradigm to conceptualize and explain differences in business interaction patterns in the IMP research.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce the concept of business paradigm to conceptualize and explain differences in business interaction patterns in the IMP research.

Design/methodology/approach

The concept of the interaction and the concepts related to and driven from it describe the business at both a general level. At the same time, the IMP points out the uniqueness of business interactions. This paper addresses the specific lies between the general and the particular by referring to various patterns of interactions. To close that gap, this paper implies the Kuhnian philosophy of science to conceptualize the business paradigm.

Findings

The business paradigm is a socially constructed collective term. It simultaneously captures the cognitive (what business is and what rules it has) and social (business community) dimensions of the actor’s behavior and actions. It has two interdependent dimensions: cognitive and social. It determines how the actors view and do business, and it explains the variations of interactions.

Research limitations/implications

Not applicable as it is a conceptual paper.

Practical implications

Not applicable as it is a conceptual paper.

Social implications

Not applicable as it is a conceptual paper.

Originality/value

The concept of the business paradigm is a theoretical extension of the IMP actor’s theory. The dimensions of the business paradigm capture the psychological and sociological characteristics of the business actor. The business paradigm application provides an opportunity to find that business can be different because actors in various communities have various views on what business is and how it should be properly run. Adding the business paradigm concept to the IMP theory implies strengthening the theory explanation power because the interaction explains the business’s general characteristics. The business relationship explains the business’s unique features, and the business paradigm explains the various interaction patterns.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 37 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 October 2023

Weng Marc Lim

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…

2605

Abstract

Purpose

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).

Design/methodology/approach

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.

Findings

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.

Research limitations/implications

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.

Practical implications

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.

Social implications

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.

Originality/value

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.

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2010

Lorraine Eden and Li Dai

John Dunning introduced the OLI (Ownership‐Location‐Internalization) paradigm 37 years ago to explain the origin, level, pattern, and growth of MNEs’ offshore activities. Over the…

10966

Abstract

John Dunning introduced the OLI (Ownership‐Location‐Internalization) paradigm 37 years ago to explain the origin, level, pattern, and growth of MNEs’ offshore activities. Over the years, OLI has developed into perhaps the dominant paradigm in international business (IB) studies. However, the costs of being a paradigm are reflected in Dunning’s efforts to include an ever‐expanding array of IB theories and phenomena under the OLI “big tent.” In this paper, we focus specifically on the O in the OLI paradigm, tracing the history of Dunning’s ownership advantages. We argue that the modifications of O advantages over the past 37 years, as Dunning attempted to bring all IB phenomena and IB‐related theories under the OLI “big tent,” has had mixed results. However, we continue to believe that the typology of ownership advantages retains its relevance for IB scholars; that O advantages cannot and should not be subsumed within internalization advantages; and that O advantages are necessary for explaining the existence and success of the MNE as an organizational form

Details

Multinational Business Review, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1525-383X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2015

Thomas Clarke

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of corporate governance through a series of changing paradigms in response to wider transformations in the political economy…

1352

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of corporate governance through a series of changing paradigms in response to wider transformations in the political economy, business and society. The different eras of governance, and the dominant theoretical and practical paradigms are highlighted. In a context where the adequacy of the dominant paradigms of corporate governance is increasingly challenged, the search for coherent new paradigms is a vital task in corporate governance.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a conceptual analysis of evolving paradigms in corporate governance.

Findings

To meet the imminent challenge of social and environmental sustainability in a post-carbon economy, further rethinking of corporate purpose, corporate governance and directors duties will be essential. This sustainability revolution has only just commenced, but in the course of the twenty-first century, it will transform both business and society.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of the research concern the importance of conceptualising corporate governance through different eras and paradigms, and appreciating that further paradigm shifts will occur in response to transformations in the political economy and ecology.

Practical implications

This paper informs on the importance of the transformation of business purpose and objectives in response to the imminent dangers of environmental and social collapse.

Social implications

This paper emphasises the social and environmental dimensions of corporate activity, and how these must be considered in the definition of wealth generation.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is to focus upon the increasing integration of corporate governance and corporate sustainability, and how this is essential for the reformulation of corporate purpose and objectives.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2008

Ben Tran

It has always been claimed that business ethics are ambiguous and thus hard to define. As such, with recognizable unethical corporate behaviors as an epidemic, it is hard to hold…

3456

Abstract

Purpose

It has always been claimed that business ethics are ambiguous and thus hard to define. As such, with recognizable unethical corporate behaviors as an epidemic, it is hard to hold perpetrators accountable. Even more detrimental are the miscommunication, the misunderstanding, the misinterpretation, and the misuse of the various paradigms in business ethics. Such flawed values and legality of business ethics paradigms cannot persist. There exist a gap and a bridging in the analysis of the paradigms in business ethics between the practitioners and the ethicists. This paper aims to provide an elaborate analysis of the values, trust, and legality of corporate behaviors in business ethics utilizing various paradigms.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of this paper focused on the founding values and legality of business ethics and the underlying paradigms that practitioners and ethicists adopt.

Findings

The limitation of this study is that the probability of the diverse schools of thought intertwining is smaller than that their coexisting.

Originality/value

It is this coexistence of schools of thought that makes corporate USA humane, civilized, and balanced. Thus, to maintain this coexistence, if not improve it, this paper maintains that practitioners of higher education and corporate USA must take responsibility in training, educating, and producing future ethical business practitioners.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 4 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 July 2019

Tariqullah Khan

This paper aims to enhance the impact of incorporated waqf institutions by blending their resources to promote responsible small businesses that are inclusive of human…

5888

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to enhance the impact of incorporated waqf institutions by blending their resources to promote responsible small businesses that are inclusive of human development, service to society and preservation of ecological environment and other species. This is expected to shift the paradigm of businesses from the current waste-oriented linear economy to ideally a zero-waste circular economy.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an analytical study building on the experience of European Venture Philanthropy Organizations (VPOs) that work with the primary objective of making impactful businesses successful, with capital protection and return on investment being of secondary concern. This paper suggests an incorporated institutional design that blends resources for promoting responsible businesses using a new hybrid financial mechanism, namely, equity-at-default (EaD) to replace collateral and foreclosure requirements with responsibility and compassion.

Findings

The research calls for changing the business paradigm from linear to circular, an incorporated institutional framework for venture waqf, purpose of the waqf to make impactful small businesses successful and designing a financial contract to loan in favor of responsible businesses that convert to equity stake for the waqf in case of default (EaD) replacing collateral and foreclosure requirements.

Research limitations/implications

This is a theoretical study motivated by the success of VPOs but assigns a new role to waqf institutions. Furthermore, the incorporated nature of waqf is a new idea and EaD is a new mechanism. Being new, these ideas have the risk of not being implemented. However, the broader message that waqf shall promote businesses that are inclusive of ecological concerns is generally applicable.

Practical implications

The paper has a significant practical implication to transform the responsibility and consciousness of businesses. Waqf is fundamentally a compassionate institution, and it must enhance the responsibility of businesses to become more inclusive of the environment and other species. It should also become more compassionate toward businesses that are in distress and default. In this sense, the paper tries to internalize compassion in financial contracting that can potentially change the architecture of lending.

Social implications

Altering businesses’ mindset from a waste-driven extractive linear economy to inclusive circular economy has a tremendous transformative role. This will have implications for enhancing business consciousness and responsibility. As poverty is a phenomenon of state of mind, changing the society’s state of thought in Muslim communities is expected to have basic positive implications. Entrepreneurs with a new mindset can have far-reaching positive impacts on the society.

Originality/value

The paper offers potentially innovative perspectives in four key areas and blends the different resources in an incorporated waqf that makes responsible entrepreneurs assume a partnership role in times of distress through EaD. Furthermore, the integration of compassion in financial contracting could have better implications for return on investment as well. The ideal state of an economy is where waste is turned into wealth and well-being is something that all policymakers must keep on the top of their agendas.

Details

ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0128-1976

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 August 2022

Caroline Ntara

The purpose of this paper is to analyse international business (IB) scholarship and present current gaps and new realities to enhance scholarly discourse.

1642

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse international business (IB) scholarship and present current gaps and new realities to enhance scholarly discourse.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper divides the scholarship into three distinct sections. First, it interrogates the changing definitions of the field from the 1880s to date. Secondly, IB paradigms are cross-examined while highlighting the understudied emerging interaction paradigm. Lastly, literature gaps, methodological gaps and new realities in IB are presented.

Findings

This research shows that IB inquiry has concentrated on firm-level paradigms, leaving the emerging interaction paradigm understudied. As a result, there is a deficit of novel ideas and limited research on critical emerging issues affecting IB. Further, simplistic methodologies are prevalent, making IB scholarship weak. Additionally, a majority of studies concentrate on the Americas, Europe and Asia, leaving Africa understudied.

Originality/value

This research augments the need for scholars to cross-examine the best approach to apply in IB discourse and presents gaps calling for new insights and future research directions.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1996

Toivo S. Aijo

Discusses the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of relationship marketing (RM) to show that RM is but one, albeit perhaps a major, manifestation of the ongoing paradigm

8115

Abstract

Discusses the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of relationship marketing (RM) to show that RM is but one, albeit perhaps a major, manifestation of the ongoing paradigm shift in business and marketing. The rapid revolutionary changes in the economic and technological environment of business (such as the information revolution) made simultaneously both possible and necessary the changes that can be summarized as a fundamental paradigm shift. Further, it can be argued that this paradigm shift itself is a logical end result of two phenomena: the perennial quest to get closer to the customer and the ever widening scope of business and marketing towards a holistic view of the processes. The external and internal forces that led to the paradigm shift in business and marketing were manifested early in service marketing for natural reasons. Thus it is understandable that the concept of RM was first conceived of in service marketing but it is by no means limited to it. The parallel development in business is often labelled partnering (strategic alliances and partnerships).

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2011

Gary L. Karns

A new vision for the purpose of business is vitally and urgently needed for emerging and developed markets to replace the shareholder wealth maximization paradigm that has

4924

Abstract

Purpose

A new vision for the purpose of business is vitally and urgently needed for emerging and developed markets to replace the shareholder wealth maximization paradigm that has contributed to contemporary ethics scandals, creating a credibility and trust crisis for business. In response, this paper seeks to present the stewardship model, a new, humane, and sustainable vision for the role of business as a contributor to human flourishing.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper builds on the thinking of those who have championed various reformulated paradigms in pursuit of responsible business behavior.

Findings

The center of economic gravity is shifting towards emerging markets. During this time of transition there is both a window of opportunity and an urgent need to change the social contract with business to achieve human flourishing, a more desirable goal than mere economic growth. Efforts to promote virtuous personal and corporate behavior need the mutually reinforcing element of a new business paradigm. The stewardship model casts business in the role of being a responsible steward contributing to the wellbeing of customers, employees and the community; acting with positive ethics; and partnering with other social institutions for the common good.

Practical implications

Business people and business educators should give the Stewardship Model serious consideration.

Originality/value

The paper offers a new paradigm for business that aligns with human flourishing and fits the emerging market context. Adopting this new vision will help to re‐write the social contract under which business operates and to rebuild business credibility and trust in emerging and in developed markets.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2013

Lorna Collins, Claire Seaman, Stuart Graham and Martin Stepek

This practitioner paper aims to question basic assumptions about management education and to argue that a new paradigm is needed for UK business schools which embraces an oft…

11699

Abstract

Purpose

This practitioner paper aims to question basic assumptions about management education and to argue that a new paradigm is needed for UK business schools which embraces an oft neglected, yet economically vital, stakeholder group, namely family businesses. It seeks to pose the question of why we have forgotten to teach about family business management in the management portfolio.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a stakeholder approach, building on nominal stakeholder theory to justify a change to the teaching paradigm in business schools. It builds on discussions in the extant literature about failures of business schools to address modern needs.

Findings

The authors find that business schools in the UK need to begin to engage with family businesses through embracing the next generation from families in business. Policy needs to be developed that will support the next generation in a positive way by teaching about the family in business.

Originality/value

The paper aims to stimulate discussion about key stakeholders and prompt review of neglect of this key area of business study in the UK.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 55 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

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