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Compared to traditional (domestic) e-commerce consumers, cross-border electronic commerce (CBEC) consumers may face greater information asymmetry in the CBEC purchase process. Given this background, however, the literature has paid limited attention to the informational antecedents that influence consumers' perceptions of transaction costs and their CBEC purchase intentions. To fill this gap, this study integrates the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and transaction cost theory (TCT) to develop a model for exploring how product (website informativeness, product diagnosticity and website interactivity as the central route) and external (country brand, website policy and vendor reputation as the peripheral route) informational antecedents affect consumers’ evaluations of transaction costs in terms of uncertainty and asset specificity and their CBEC purchase intentions.

This study employs a survey approach to validate the model with 766 Generation Z CBEC consumers based on judgment sampling. The partial least squares (PLS) technique is adopted for data analysis.

The results show that all the proposed central and peripheral informational antecedents reduce consumers’ perceptions of uncertainty and asset specificity, which in turn negatively influences their CBEC purchase intentions.

Through this investigation, this study increases our understanding of how product and external informational antecedents affect consumers’ evaluations of transaction costs, which subsequently determine their CBEC purchase decisions. This study offers theoretical contributions to existing CBEC research and has practical implications for CBEC organizations and managers.

This study explores the differences and similarities of work value profiles in samples of business students from four countries with markedly different cultures and labor markets.

We used multiple-group latent profile analysis (LPA) to explore the differences and similarities in work value profiles across cultures (n = 317 from Switzerland, n = 313 from Spain, n = 326 from the United States and n = 327 from China).

The latent profiles mostly show similarities across countries: the largest profiles are a want it all and a humble profile with overall high and intermediate levels in all work values. An overall low work value levels profile and one stressing high security and pay emerged in all countries except Switzerland. In the Swiss sample, two unique profiles emerged: the no status and freelancers profiles.

This study has implications for employee attraction, relations and career counseling with culturally diverse populations.

Studies on work values across cultures most often make direct comparisons between samples, which can lead to excessive emphasis on sometimes small differences. By first studying within-culture differences before comparing the results across cultures, we find that there may be more similarities than differences in work values across cultures and that cross-cultural differences may have often been overstated.

International assignments are not just opportunities for career advancement but also for personal growth and exploration. This paper, by capturing the changing expectations and success parameters across the assignments, is a timely and relevant resource for individuals navigating the complexities of international careers. In addition, the paper aims to help organizations build policies for enabling successful assignments for international assignees and managers.

Our research took a unique two-pronged approach to understanding the success parameters of international assignments. We first interviewed 16 managers to understand the success parameters they set for expatriates. Then, we interviewed 19 international assignees to explore their choices and how they defined success in their international experiences.

Our comprehensive research, based on 35 interviews with international assignees and their supervisors, reveals that an assignment's success evolves with different stages of the assignment, over the assignments that the assignees choose, and varies according to the intent of the mobility.

This paper makes a significant contribution to the field of cross-cultural management and international assignments. By discussing the evolving definition of success across various international assignments, it not only provides valuable insights for expatriates in their international careers but also to managers to build aligned policies and practices.

This study aims to assess the readiness of Islamic Higher Education Institutions (IHEIs) to enter the third wave of education or future quality assurance.

This study used a descriptive quantitative method with observation, documentation, a questionnaire and an interactive model. The sample population included lecturers and quality assurance managers in IHEIs, totaling 129 respondents.

The results showed that IHEIs were prepared to implement future quality assurance to meet individual and societal needs. Furthermore, readiness was also shown in the following matters: Relevance of higher education institution vision, implementation of tripilization learning in higher education institutions, understanding of other cultures (cross-cultural sharing), application of multiple development models and noble values of local wisdom and national culture in tri-dharma.

This study focused on the third wave of education quality assurance in IHEIs in Indonesia. However, the analysis was not conducted in all Indonesian universities as it specifically examined the readiness for implementing future quality assurance.

Policymakers should follow up on the readiness for implementing future quality assurance as a form of continuous improvement in managing the quality of IHEIs.

Most publications of quality assurance focused on compliance-oriented issues. However, this study aimed to fill the literature gaps and discuss the future quality assurance of IHEIs in Indonesia. In this context, future quality assurance was also known to guide IHEIs in rendering education relevant to the future needs of generations (graduates).

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the development of social media marketing strategy in an international context. We specifically look at the potential drivers and barriers throughout the social media marketing strategy development process and how cultural differences shape social media marketing strategy decision-making among firms in international markets.

The study is conducted with an inductive research approach involving in-depth interviews with 32 firms from Finland, China and Brazil. Using inductive data analysis, we identify both internal and external factors that drive and hinder the development of firms’ social media marketing strategies. Moreover, we explore the essential elements in social media marketing strategy development based on the key practices observed among these firms, which enables us to conduct a comparative analysis of how cultural values influence the development of social media marketing strategies.

Our findings underscore the importance of both internal (i.e. resources and capabilities) and external (i.e. market-level and country-level) factors that influence the development of social media marketing strategy. Our analysis also unveiled four key practices throughout the social media marketing strategy development process: social selling, content marketing, risk management and relationship management. Additionally, we identified three distinct mindsets regarding firms’ social media selling objectives across companies in the three countries.

The comparative approach provides novel insight into firms' international social media marketing strategy. Our proposed conceptual model shows the development process of social media marketing strategy in the international context. The research propositions highlight the role of cultural values and open up new avenues for future research.

This paper aims to investigate the concept of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) in the field of cross-cultural management.

The related literature has been analysed from various paradigmatic lenses.

As the VUCA world concept originates from business circles, several key articles were published in non-academic journals. Two distinct groups of publications can be identified: consulting literature and academic literature on the VUCA world. While both consulting literature and academic literature about the VUCA world can be associated with functionalism, alternative research paradigms can easily accommodate new studies in connection with the VUCA world: interpretive, critical and postmodern works would fit the features of the VUCA world, along with multi-paradigm studies.

It is advisable to investigate emergent contemporary issues, often labelled VUCA, according to multiple paradigms and to conduct multi-paradigmatic research.

While consulting literature on the VUCA world implicitly assumes functionalist paradigms, academic literature might provide alternative assumptions. Interpretative, critical and postmodern paradigms more accurately address the issues raised by VUCA.

The purpose of this study is to explore how intercultural competencies impact the employment of young people, and to showcase virtuous examples of practices by the University of Turin and the company Global Mindset Development.

Drawing upon a comprehensive review of relevant literature, this paper highlights the theoretical foundations of intercultural competencies and their relevance to labor market integration. It examines their multidimensional nature, encompassing knowledge, skills, attitudes and awareness necessary for individuals to effectively navigate and engage with diverse cultural contexts. The paper then presents several good and promising practices realized by the University of Turin and the training and consultancy company Global Mindset Development. Furthermore, it addresses potential challenges associated with developing and implementing intercultural competencies in practice.

The study enriches the body of literature on the importance of intercultural competencies for young workers acquired through experiences such as international mobility for labor market integration.

The study presents some innovative approaches to training through experiential and mobility training programs. These new examples of practices can inspire further research and implementation.

The wine market has witnessed intensified competition across all aspects. However, there is a limited systematic assessment of wine marketing literature. This study employs bibliometric and thematic content evaluation methodologies to present a comprehensive summary and trend of the existing research in wine marketing.

This integrates bibliometric and thematic content analytical techniques to trace the evolutionary arc of wine marketing research, underpinned by a framework-based evaluation - the 4 Ws (what, where, why, and how) to give a thorough overview of wine marketing literature. We draw on the thematic structure of wine marketing research by conducting keyword co-occurrence, thematic, social network, and cluster-based content analyses. A total of 291 publications from peer-reviewed journals, spanning the years 2001–2023, were examined in the present study.

The bibliometric analysis is used to determine the most notable journals, authors, nations, articles, and themes, thereby offering a comprehensive understanding of the publication trends within the sphere of wine marketing. Based on the findings, this study advocates a research agenda to extend further contributions to the field of wine marketing.

The study performs a comprehensive analysis of the publication patterns, influential authors, and emerging trends within the wine marketing research field. It provides a unique insight into the evolution and development of wine marketing as a scholarly discipline, facilitating future research directions and knowledge advancement.

This study explores the integration of corporate reporting by Mitsubishi, a large Japanese company, using a culturally sensitive narrative that combines and reconciles Japanese and Western corporate values in one story.

We use an analytical framework drawing on insights borrowed from narratology and the notion of wrapping – the traditional art of packaging as communication.

We find that Mitsubishi is a survivor company that uses different corporate reporting frameworks during its reporting journey to construct a bespoke narrative of its value creation and cultural values. It emplots narratives to convey a story presenting the impression that Mitsubishi is a Japanese corporation but is compatible with Western neo-liberal ideology, making bad news palatable to its stakeholders and instilling confidence in the future.

Wrapping is a culturally sensitive form of impression management used in the integration of corporate reporting. Therefore, rather than assuming that companies blatantly manipulate their image in corporate reports, we suggest that future research should focus on how narratives are constructed and made sense of, situating them in the context of local culture and traditions.

The findings should interest scholars, report preparers, policymakers, and the IFRS, considering the recent release of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards designed to reduce the so-called alphabet soup of corporate reporting. By following Mitsubishi’s journey, we learn how and why the notion of integrated reporting was adopted and integrated with other reporting frameworks to create narratives that together convey a story of a global corporation compliant with Western neoliberal ideology. It highlights how Mitsubishi used integrated reporting to tell its story rather than as a rigid reporting framework, and the same fate may apply to the new IFRS Sustainability Reporting Standards that now include integrated reporting.

The study offers a new perspective on corporate reporting, showing how the local societal discourses of cultural heritage and modernity can shape the journey of the integration of corporate reporting over time.

This paper aims to examine primarily the readiness for change at an individual level. Additionally, this study examines the impact of internal change factors on individual readiness for change as well as their effect across nations.

The research relies on a quantitative research approach. A survey was conducted among 241 managers across 33 countries. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) approach and multigroup analyses have been applied for hypothesis testing.

Our research contributes a novel perspective on individual readiness for change and unveils how employees' perceptions of context, process and intensity as internal change factors influence their readiness for change. The findings give support to the assertion that employees' attitudes toward change are altered by individual perceptions.

Our research explores the moderating effect of nationality used through a grouped variable and finds significant impacts of clusters of nationalities. Thus, nationality may serve as a proxy for culture that might be examined in future research studies in a more deeply focused way to include beliefs, values and societal norms.

The new understanding of the topic “individual readiness for change” opens up new research directions and enriches ongoing discussions about societal change and sustainable project management. This topic creates a link to situational leadership principles, considers cultural factors and, therefore, advocates for a people-centric approach to modern stakeholder management in order to achieve commitment toward change initiatives and consequent project success.

Considering that the path toward the successful implementation of any change project is highly contingent on personal dispositions to change, our research uncovers the potential impact of individual perceptions on employees' readiness for change.

Our major contribution is to highlight the importance of considering individual perceptual drivers of readiness for change and to acknowledge the moderating effect of nationality as a contextual factor altering the relationship between perception of change and individual readiness for change.