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Business process modeling faces a difficult balance: on the one hand, organizations seek to enact, control and automate business processes through formal structures (procedures and rules). On the other hand, organizations also seek to embrace flexibility, change, innovation, value orientation, and dynamic capabilities, which require informal structures (unique user experiences). Addressing this difficulty, the authors propose the composite approach, which integrates formal and informal process structures. The composite approach adopts a socio-material conceptual lens, where both material and human agencies are supported.

The study follows a design science research methodology. An innovative artifact – the composite approach – is introduced. The composite approach is evaluated in an empirical experiment.

The experimental results show that the composite approach improves model understandability and situation understandability.

This research explores the challenges and opportunities brought by adopting a socio-material conceptual lens to represent business processes.

The study contributes an innovative hybrid approach for modeling business processes, articulating coordination and contextual knowledge. The proposed approach can be used to improve model understandability and situation understandability. The study also extends the socio-material conceptual lens over process modeling with a theoretical framework integrating coordination and contextual knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to explore international market development for mature products and practices used in a novel business context.

Taking a qualitative approach, the case study method was chosen to investigate how firms develop markets in relation to a new international business context. Critical international decisions are analysed using a managerial perspective.

The success of international ventures depends on managerial learning and effectiveness. In this paper, the authors argue that decisions about international market development can add significantly to the understanding of how business firms enter and develop markets in novel business contexts. Two case studies show different approaches for meeting challenges in distant markets. Four propositions are developed.

A theoretical contribution of this study is the importance of factors that explain international market development decisions in novel business contexts. The balance between incomplete knowledge and making resource commitments is of central concern to international managers. Some of this is tacit knowledge that a firm achieves and learns during the process of market development and other knowledge can only become available after an actual market entry. A second theoretical contribution of this study is the significance of contextual market knowledge in a novel business context.

This study aims to explore how managers exercise agency in strategic investment decisions (SIDs) by drawing on their knowledgeability of the strategic context. Specifically, the authors address the role of position–practice relations and irresistible causal forces in this conduct.

The authors examine SID-making (SIDM) practices in four case organisations operating in highly competitive markets, conducting interviews with managers at various levels and analysing company documents. Drawing on strong structuration theory, the authors show how managerial decision makers draw upon their knowledge of organisational context when exercising agency in SIDs.

The authors provide insights into how SIDM behaviour, specifically agents’ conduct, is shaped by a combination of position–practice relations and the agents’ comprehension of their organisation’s context.

The authors extend the SIDM literature by surfacing the issue of how actors’ conjuncturally-specific knowledge of external structures shapes the general dispositions they draw on in exercising agency in practice.

The authors extend the SIDM literature by surfacing the issue of how actors’ conjuncturally-specific knowledge of external structures shapes the general dispositions they draw on in exercising agency in practice. Particularly, the authors contribute to this literature by identifying irresistible causal forces and illuminating why actors might not resist in SIDM processes, despite having the potential to do so.

The purpose of the present research is to introduce a combined framework that integrates innovative work behavior, product innovation process and customer knowledge management; then, to explore the mediating effect of customer knowledge management in the relationship between innovative work behavior and the product innovation process.

The basis for the present research is a cross-sectional design. Data collection from 154 employees occurred using the following structured questionnaires: Customer Knowledge Management (CKM), Innovative Work Behavior (IWB) and Product Innovation Process (PIP). Data processing used SPSS version 26.0, including the PROCESS (3.5) macro analysis.

The results show positive relationships between innovative work behavior and the product innovation process (r = 0.420, p < 0.01). Pearson's correlation shows a coefficient of 0.42, meaning that 42% of the variations in perceived product innovation are due to variations in innovative work behavior. The second condition of the mediation test involved testing the relationship between the independent variable (Innovative Work Behavior) and the mediating variable (Knowledge Management) and showed a significant relationship (r = 0.272, p < 0.01). The findings suggested that knowledge management that other determinants supported, such as collaboration in idea exploration, idea championing and encouragement of participation in idea implementation, significantly contributed to the product innovation process (r = 0.509, p < 0.01). The bootstrapping method confirmed that innovative work behavior supports product innovation through the mediation of customer knowledge management (z = 3.01, p = 0.002).

The cross-sectional design, along with the relatively low number of participants and the self-reporting nature of the questionnaires, represent the current study's main limitations. Developing the research model could integrate new variables, such as customer co-creation processes, performance-based compensation, employee citizenship activities and transformational leadership.

This research has both theoretical and practical implications. These emphasize the importance of further investigation into the factors influencing companies' innovation processes. They also provide managers with a means of finding a fit between the deployment of customer knowledge mechanisms and the achievement of innovative workplace behavior, to improve innovation process efficiency.

The current study broadens the empirical research area of customer knowledge management and its impact on both innovative work behavior and the product innovation process, particularly in knowledge-intensive market scenarios that require organizations to be innovative.

This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.

The authors conduct a systematic literature review of relevant theoretical and empirical studies covering over 20 years of research (from 2000 to 2023) and including 73 journal papers.

This review allows us to highlight a relationship between firms’ international strategies and the knowledge processes enabled by applying digital technologies. Specifically, the authors discuss the characteristics of patterns of knowledge flows and knowledge processes (their origin, the type of knowledge they carry on and their directionality) as determinants for the emergence of diverse international strategies embraced by single firms or by populations of firms within ecosystems, networks, global value chains or alliances.

Despite digital technologies constituting important antecedents and critical factors for the internationalization process, and international businesses in general, and operating cross borders implies the enactment of highly knowledge-intensive processes, current literature still fails to provide a holistic picture of how firms strategically use what they know and seek out what they do not know in the international environment, using the affordances of digital technologies.

This paper aims to explore the impacts of remote auditing on auditors’ work and work-life balance.

This paper adopted a qualitative online survey approach using open-ended reflections from 98 highly experienced auditors. The survey design aligns with a “Big Q” approach to qualitative data. The reflections were interpreted through the theoretical lens of the social presence theory.

Auditors underscore that remote auditing has improved their work-life balance since it offers flexibility, greater autonomy and efficient use of time. However, they believe less social contact due to remote auditing can hurt their work.

This study aimed to holistically comprehend the concept of work-life balance in a remote auditing setting. Therefore, the study refrained from making comparisons based on demographic information (e.g. gender, experience and type of audit firm).

The findings highlight the need for adopting flexible work arrangements that prioritise auditors’ well-being. This is critical for making the audit profession attractive and enhancing overall audit quality. Updated regulatory guidance and controls are needed concerning the use of technologies in remote auditing to ensure high-quality audits.

The findings of this study can positively reshape public perception of the audit profession. Firstly, enhanced work-life balance can improve audit quality. Secondly, incorporating emerging technologies in auditing can result in society perceiving auditors as adaptive to innovation and technological advancement that has been touted for their potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of audit and audit quality, potentially enhancing societal trust in auditing.

The findings of this study complement the auditing literature that has mainly focused on the traditional work paradigm, requiring in-person presence. The authors identify potential challenges emanating from auditors’ remote work and propose solutions for audit firms to improve work-life balance in a remote work setting.

This study builds on previous theoretical work that considered artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential for creating “teacher-centaurs” whose labor could be accelerated through the use of generative AI (Fassbender, in review). The purpose of this paper is to use empirical methods to study centaur teachers and the division of labor (Durkheim, 1893/2013) that arise from outsourcing teaching tasks to AI.

Multiple case study (Stake, 2006) was used to collect data on two secondary English teachers who were early adopters of generative AI. Data included semi-structured interviews as well as ChatGPT chat logs, which helped in describing how teaching approaches evolved using AI technology.

Results showed that teachers used AI for planning, instruction and assessment. AI-augmented teaching practices allowed teachers to complete tasks with greater speed, which in turn increased stamina and short-term work–life balance. Given the novelty of AI, concerns about data privacy and academic integrity raised ethical questions.

ChatGPT’s rise to popularity in 2023 brought with it significant discussions about education, specifically how students would use AI primarily as a tool for plagiarism. This study takes a different focus, considering how early adoption of AI has begun changing teacher labor, offering implications for the future of the teaching profession.

This study aims to propose an analytical tool based on the activities–resources–actors (ARA) model to understand the coordination mechanisms in humanitarian action. The tool identifies the phases of humanitarian action and analyzes the underlying mechanisms that facilitate coordination among organizations.

This study uses a literature review to develop analytical grids and theoretical propositions based on the ARA model.

The ARA model is a useful tool for understanding coordination mechanisms in humanitarian action. The study identifies key elements of interaction systems and characterizes the phases of humanitarian action. Effective coordination among organizations is essential for successful aid delivery. The study provides four theoretical propositions.

Future research could validate the propositions formulated in this study through case studies.

The analytical grids proposed in this study can be used by humanitarian organizations to improve their coordination mechanisms and aid delivery processes.

Effective humanitarian action can help alleviate the suffering of individuals affected by crises and contribute to the overall well-being of communities. The analytical tool proposed in this study can improve the effectiveness of humanitarian action and ultimately benefit society.

This paper presents an original approach by leveraging the ARA model to develop an analytical tool for humanitarian action, which is useful for both practitioners and researchers. In addition, the paper attempts to overcome the siloed vision of humanitarian action by highlighting “emergency-development” aspect.

Retaining critical knowledge is relevant for all organizations, knowledge-intensive ones in particular. Failure to do so can, in the worst case, lead to an organization being unable to act. Acknowledging the role of context in this regard, the purpose of this paper is to examine knowledge retention (KR) in the banking sector of a developing country. A particular focus is placed on exploring various contextual factors that influence the retention of critical knowledge taking into consideration the setting.

Following a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers from private and public banks in Pakistan. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

The findings suggest that the existence of a collectivist society, gender differences, few job opportunities, power distance and the late IT Boom are vital factors to be considered regarding KR in the setting studied. The findings are summarized in a conceptual framework that highlights critical factors of KR to be studied in a broader context and which are viewed as relevant for informing future research in this underdeveloped area of knowledge management (KM).

The data were collected from a small number of individuals working in different banks in only one country. Future studies should consider research designs across multiple organizations involving more people representing different roles, functions and age groups.

Existing KM research has emphasized the role of context while research on KR is underdeveloped in this regard. By exploring different contextual factors this study advances current understanding in the KM domain.

The purpose of this study is to identify contextual antecedents for team learning in professional service firms.

Structural equation modelling was applied to establish reliability and validity and to measure the size of relationships. Evidence was drawn from an empirical sample of 210 consultants in the Nordic professional service industry.

The findings of this study reveal and strongly support that two important contextual antecedent factors that facilitate for team learning in professional service firms are market orientation and leader support for collaborative learning practices. The effect of leader support on team learning is also mediated by a market orientation.

There is a paucity of knowledge on contextual factors that contribute to team learning. This study provides insight of theoretical and practical value.