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In this paper we explore potential barriers for commodification of academic research in emerging countries.

We carried out an exploratory study employing a mixed-method sequential exploratory design. Initially, qualitative interviews were performed to identify cognitive, structural, and ideological barriers associated with commodification. Subsequently, we administered a survey at three universities in Kazakhstan to gather quantitative data. The quantitative insights served to complement our qualitative findings and facilitate the interpretation of the observed patterns within the broader population.

We found that a too rapid shift toward commercialization exacerbated concerns among faculty members and created obstacles to commodification. The obstacles identified through inductive clustering of themes from exploratory qualitative interviews were grouped into three intentionally broad categories: cognitive, structural, and ideological barriers. We argue that in emerging economies, the path to commodifying academic research should start with developing local infrastructure to address identified structural, cognitive, and ideological barriers. This, in turn, will lead to more successful commercialization and redefine the role of academics in society.

Our study has several limitations related to its empirical scope. We concentrated solely on one country, Kazakhstan. For future research, it is crucial to broaden the investigation to include more studies from the Central Asia region and other emerging economies. We believe that while there may be some minor institutional differences, the findings are generalizable to all post-socialist countries. However, incorporating a diverse range of institutions, particularly those with foreign ownership or private capital, would enhance the comprehensiveness of the findings. Furthermore, collecting a more extensive and balanced sample of responses from industry partners, academics, and students would have provided more valuable insights. By including a broader representation of stakeholders, we could have gained a more nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding commodification in higher education. Given the exploratory nature of this study, it is essential to regard the findings as a source of inspiration rather than empirical confirmation.

Our research has practical implications for managing universities in emerging markets, as well as important policy implications, both for international actors and local governmental bodies.

Our findings carry implications for policymakers. The focus that international institutions place on the matter of commodification and commercialization of knowledge is a positive step. Challenges emerge when this matter is approached with a narrow perspective. Drawing on the empirical context of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a country often overlooked in the literature on emerging markets, we find evidence that knowledge has indeed transformed into a commodity. The rapid shift toward commercialization, driven by substantial institutional pressures, may have occurred too precipitously in this particular context. In light of these findings, we advocate for a more balanced and contextually nuanced discourse concerning both the commodification and commercialization of knowledge.

This study represents one of the few endeavors into exploring commodification within the context of emerging economies. In recent decades, universities have faced substantial pressures to commodify academic research. While there has been a significant volume of research discussing and documenting the success of commodification in developed country universities, those in emerging economies have faced similar pressures without achieving comparable success. This paper delves into the reasons why.

This paper aims at further developing and empirically examining the concept of knowledge‐sharing hostility. It seeks to analyze reasons for hoarding knowledge, reasons for rejecting external knowledge, and attitudes towards mistakes, as well as the influence of these factors on actual knowledge‐sharing behavior. The paper aims to examine how two specific knowledge‐governance mechanisms – commitment‐based and transaction‐based mechanisms – affect knowledge sharing

The authors test the hypotheses on a sample of 1,639 respondents in 15 organizations in Denmark.

The authors find that the use of transaction‐based mechanisms promotes knowledge‐sharing hostility by strengthening individuals' reasons for hoarding and rejecting knowledge, and by negatively affecting individuals' attitudes towards sharing knowledge about mistakes. In contrast, the use of commitment‐based mechanisms diminishes knowledge‐sharing hostility among individuals.

The contribution of the paper is two‐fold. First, it responds to the clear need to examine individual characteristics related to withholding knowledge in organizations. Second, by delineating specific organizational governance mechanisms that are critical for dealing with knowledge‐sharing hostility, the research responds to the call for research aimed at explaining and detailing problems that lie in the intersection of organization and knowledge processes.

The purpose of the paper is to determine and empirically examine the effect of human resource management (HRM) practices on knowledge transfer within multinational corporations.

It is suggested that the employment of human resource practices, which affect absorptive capacity of knowledge receivers and support organizational learning environment, is positively related to the degree of knowledge transfer to the subsidiary. Moreover, the higher degree of knowledge transfer is expected when HRM practices are applied as an integrated system of interdependent practices. Hypotheses derived from these arguments are tested on the data from 92 subsidiaries of Danish multinational corporations (MNCs) located in 11 countries.

Results of the analysis indicated the existence of two groups of HRM practices conducive to knowledge transfer. The simultaneous effect of the first group of HRM practices consisting of “staffing”, “training”, “promotion”, “compensation” and “appraisal” on the degree of knowledge transfer was found to be positive and substantial. The hypothesis regarding the effect of corporate socialization mechanisms and flexible working practices (the second group of HRM practices) was not supported by the data. The analysis also indicated that some HRM practices have a complementary effect on the degree of knowledge transfer when they are applied as a system.

While this study makes a contribution to our understanding of the relationship between HRM practices and knowledge transfer in the MNC, clearly, additional research is needed to develop this link further, which until now has been largely black‐boxed.

Makes a contribution to our understanding of the relationship of HRM practices and knowledge transfer in MNCs.

According to the significant growth of literature and continued adoption of people analytics in practice, it has been promised that people analytics will inform evidence-based decision-making and improve business outcomes. However, existing people analytics literature remains underdeveloped in understanding whether and how such promises have been realized. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the current reality of people analytics and uncover the debates and challenges that are emerging as a result of its adoption.

This study conducts a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles focused on people analytics published in the Association of Business School (ABS) ranked journals between 2011 and 2021.

The review illustrates and critically evaluates several emerging debates and issues faced by people analytics, including inconsistency among the concept and definition of people analytics, people analytics ownership, ethical and privacy concerns of using people analytics, missing evidence of people analytics impact and readiness to perform people analytics.

This review presents a comprehensive research agenda demonstrating the need for collaboration between scholars and practitioners to successfully align the promise and the current reality of people analytics.

This systematic review is distinct from existing reviews in three ways. First, this review synthesizes and critically evaluates the significant growth of peer-reviewed articles focused on people analytics published in ABS ranked journals between 2011 and 2021. Second, the study adopts a thematic analysis and coding process to identify the emerging themes in the existing people analytics literature, ensuring the comprehensiveness of the review. Third, this study focused and expanded upon the debates and issues evolving within the emerging field of people analytics and offers an updated agenda for the future of people analytics research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the implementation of headquarters-originated employment practices affect multinational corporation (MNC) ability to exploit the value of organizational social capital of the acquired subsidiary.

The authors use qualitative insights collected over 16 years from a Danish company to illustrate how a foreign MNC’s interference with the balanced structure of relations, norms, and roles in a subsidiary jeopardized the value of existing social capital.

The authors argue that changes in the collective perception of employment practices create the collective response, constructive or destructive, resulting respectively in the gain or loss of the performance benefits arising from organizational social capital.

The authors suggest two guidelines and two general propositions for future research on the value of organizational social capital in international takeovers.

The results indicate that local management and employees could use organizational social capital as a unique feature of the local business system when competing with other subsidiaries in the same MNC.

Research on multinational corporation (MNC) knowledge transfer has argued continuously for the behavior of knowledge senders to be a determinant of knowledge transfer. Although the importance of disseminative capacity regarding knowledge transfer has been illustrated in numerous conceptual studies, substantial empirical support is largely absent. Based on previous studies, re‐operationalizes disseminative capacity as being dependent upon the ability and the willingness of organizational actors to transfer knowledge where and when it is needed in the organization. Using the context of expatriation, suggests that MNCs may apply different mechanisms depending on whether they want to develop expatriates' ability or willingness to transfer knowledge. Suggests that MNCs may enhance expatriates' willingness to transfer knowledge through the employment of long‐term expatriate assignments, whereas expatriates' ability to transfer knowledge may be increased through their involvement in temporary assignments such as short‐term assignments, frequent flyer arrangements, and international commuting. Tests the hypotheses empirically based on data from 92 subsidiaries of Danish MNCs located in 11 countries.

Purpose: To analyse the acceleration of artificial intelligence (AI) operations and robotic process automation (RPA) by comparing its market size and revenue worldwide during the pandemic and, measuring the impact of AI investment levels on jobs human resource functions, and analysing the role of AI in future work.

Design/Methodology: The archival data analysis technique is used to fetch data from sources like the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Statista, Deloitte, Mc Kinsey, Strata, Tractica, and IDC. Descriptive analysis with supporting literature has been contextually used for each objective which further establishes practical and theoretical implications of AI, intelligent process automation (IPA), and RPA in different industries during Covid-19 pandemic. This study analysed active scholarly articles from the Scopus database and presented results and findings.

Findings: The findings of the study state that emerging technologies such as AI, IPA, and RPA have a strong potential impact on market size, revenue, number of jobs, and investments levels during the pandemic. The global investment in AI is projected to witness an upsurge from 2018 to 2027, which significantly impacts the human workforce in various industries. The results of the study state that AI/RPA seems to be a crucial technological intervention, especially in times of the pandemic.

Originality/Value: This study contributes to the body of knowledge by constructing a base for understanding the pace of AI/RPA/IPA intervention and its significant impact on organisation process, structure, and people in different sectors. The timeline and forecast of this study intend to make industry consultants future to prepare to align themselves in an era of digital disruption.

This introductory paper aims to outline the reasons for optimism as well as for skepticism in regard to Russia's position in the group of BRIC nations and in the global economy.

The paper presents a brief overview of developments in Russia. This discussion serves as a contextual introduction to this special issue by embracing some of the common themes elaborated in the other papers that are featured in the issue.

The paper takes a balanced perspective by discussing both positive and negative trends in Russia's development.

The paper sets the context in which the other papers that comprise this special issue can be situated.