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The purpose of this paper is to understand whether firms evolve towards more comprehensive postures of CSR and what strategic factors drive the change.

The approach is deductive‐inductive research based on six critical case studies and supported by extensive review of related literature. The paper provides historical analysis of six firms leaders in their industry (Nike, Shell, General Electric, 3M, CEMEX and IBM) combining primary and secondary data.

Firms evolve over time towards more complex CSR postures. This evolution is driven by some key strategic factors. The article sets out a three‐stage framework connecting CSR evolution and the strategic change factors.

The paper provides managers with a framework to promote strategic CSR change in their organizations.

The paper is a joint research study on the evolution of CSR and strategic drivers of change.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of marketing in small hotels specifically, and, more generally, to the area of SME or entrepreneurial marketing.

A deductive‐inductive approach based on interviews with 15 small hotel owner‐managers, supported by web site analysis and three in‐depth case study interviews, was used to provide a profile of marketing activities in small hotels in North Wales.

The application of Carson's levels of activity model to characterise and classify the marketing strategies and activities of the respondent hotels suggested that for these small hotels an additional category would be helpful in characterising marketing activities, inexpert marketing. On this basis, five of the hotels were in the non‐marketing category, eight in the inexpert category, and two in the implicit category; none were in Carson's sophisticated category. Further, any one hotel might fall into different categories on the basis of their engagement with different areas (such as marketing knowledge, or promotion).

These findings suggest that, whilst the search for a definition of entrepreneurial marketing is useful in articulating the difference between what SMEs do and marketing theory, there is also a need to recognise that there is a spectrum of different styles of and approaches to marketing adopted by different SME owner‐managers even within a specific sector, such that it is important not to neglect to develop models which help owner/managers, advisors, consultants and academics to understand the diversity in this sector.

The rise of CSR followed a demand for CSR standards and guidelines. In a sector already characterized by a large number of standards, the authors seek to ask what CSR schemes apply to agribusiness, and how they can be systematically compared and analysed.

Following a deductive‐inductive approach the authors develop a model to compare and analyse CSR schemes based on existing studies and on coding qualitative data on 216 CSR schemes.

The authors confirm that CSR standards and guidelines have entered agribusiness and identify a complex landscape of schemes that can be categorized on focus areas, scales, mechanisms, origins, types and commitment levels.

The findings contribute to conceptual and empirical research on existing models to compare and analyse CSR standards. Sampling technique and depth of analysis limit this research, but the authors offer insights into patterns of CSR standard development in agribusiness and point to important research avenues.

These findings can help agribusiness managers to select and analyse CSR standards and other forms of CSR guidance.

Standard and guidance setting activities can be expected to have real‐life effects on CSR outcomes. These effects need to be better understood by policy makers and stakeholders. The authors' meta‐analysis contributes to further research on who or what influences standard development.

Models to compare CSR schemes are rare and often focus on a small number of cases. The authors provide decision makers and researchers with insights into structural conditions through a meta‐analysis of a larger number of CSR schemes.

To construct a framework for exploring and discussing the use of different research approaches – deductive, inductive and abductive – in logistics.

A review of research articles in three major logistics journals (International Journal of Logistics Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management and Journal of Business Logistics) from 1998 to 2002.

Recognizes the dominance of deductive research in logistics, and the need for more inductive and, in particular, abductive research for theory development. Discusses the use of the abductive research approach in logistics.

Keywords searches led to a small sample size; more thorough content analysis is needed to apply the findings from the constructed framework.

Useful source of information on the three different research approaches, their possibilities and implications for research.

The abductive research approach has not yet been discussed in logistics.

Literature on nation branding is heterogeneous and varies significantly, not only in terminological terms but also in theoretical approaches and practical application. This paper aims to conduct an extensive exploratory study that empirically develops a comprehensive nation brand framework for Palestine, with international applications as well.

Initially, a conceptual framework for developing a nation brand is theoretically designed. Subsequently, through a methodologically deductive–inductive approach and qualitative means, it tests, adapts and refines the framework based on empirical data collected from key stakeholders, such as government officials, politicians, business people and academics.

The theoretical part of the research uncovers the extant key models and core concepts, and it identifies several gaps, with the more prominent one being the lack of an integrated and widely adopted framework for developing a nation brand. The research, thus, conclusively builds a holistic strategic framework towards a distinct nation brand for Palestine, with generic/international application and value, also presenting the practical implications of the findings and identifying avenues for further research.

There are varying extant perspectives on the topic, with these different views often reflecting scholars’ and stakeholders’ methodological approaches, perspectives and even deeper ontological beliefs and convictions. This paper is original consequent to its multi-perspective approach, the strength of its theoretical foundation, the extent and methodological approach of its empirical research, the uniqueness of its focus and the comprehensiveness of the framework developed that can also be used as the conceptual cornerstone for testing in other nations branding studies as well.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains a prevalent topic for businesses worldwide, especially for those operating in developing countries. The attention on small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs') CSR engagement in developing countries has been neglected, although SMEs play a vital role in socio-economic development in African countries like Kenya. This paper aims to conceptualize the relationship between the SME manager's values, ethics, emotional commitment to long-term socio-economic development and the firm's CSR practices.

The authors conducted seven semi-structured interviews with Kenyan and German SMEs located in Nairobi. A deductive-inductive analysis approach was chosen, confirming previous findings and contributing new ideas to the International Business (IB) literature.

This paper develops a concept linking the values and beliefs of the SME manager with the firm's CSR practices in developing countries via the manager's emotional commitment to local long-term socio-economic development. The Kenyan managers tend to show a higher degree of emotional commitment, which the authors explain by two drivers: (1) philanthropic, self-motivated driver and (2) expectation-based, environment-motivated driver. The authors' findings add to the literature on SMEs' CSR engagement in developing countries by looking at the individual level of analysis.

This paper develops a concept linking the values and beliefs of the SME manager with the firm's CSR practices in developing countries.

The effectiveness of non-governmental organization (NGO) participation in the healthcare sector has been demonstrated globally. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the status of Iranian NGOs’ contribution to health policy-making, the barriers to and strategies for developing their contribution.

In this qualitative study, 25 participants were recruited from health-related NGOs in Tabriz, Iran. Semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted. Furthermore, a set of relevant documents were collected and their contents evaluated. The text of documents and interviews were analyzed using a thematic (deductive–inductive) approach using NVivo software.

Most NGO activity has been in the area of providing services, whereas the least amount of activity has been in the domain of policy-making. Factors that were influential for NGO participation in policy-making were divided into three categories: those related to government, to civil society and within NGOs themselves. The primary barriers to participation in policy-making were related to government and the way that NGOs operated. Recommendations include the production of supportive law, financial aid to NGO and infrastructure that facilitates NGO participation.

Financial support from the government and legislation of supportive laws could help to realize the potential of NGOs.

No such research has been undertaken before to evaluate what activities health-related NGOs undertake, their contribution in health policy-making and obstacles and facilitators of this contribution. NGOs can play a key role in ensuring accountability, transparency and empower citizens to demand basic health services from government.

The purpose of this research paper is to provide a model for reporting quality of financial information based on behavior of listed companies in Tehran Stock Exchange which is based on structural equation modeling approaches.

This study uses applied research and postsemi experimental method of data collection in the field of proofing accounting research with deductive–inductive approach. The statistical population of this study includes the sample of 128 listed companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2007 and 2017. The behavioral characteristics of managers (hidden variables) are measured by observable variables of myopia, opportunistic behavior and overconfidence of managers. Reporting quality of financial information is also investigated based on the scores accrued to each company and the announcement published by the Tehran Stock Exchange based on the companies' rating in terms of the quality of reporting and proper notification.

After insuring the acceptable fitness of the measurement pattern and the structure of research in both approaches, structural equations modeling and regression, the results indicate that there is a significant negative relationship between the behavioral characteristics of managers and the reporting quality of financial information.

Accountants have a critical and difficult responsibility of dealing with transactions and presenting them in the form of financial reports that can be used by interest groups to assess the performance of companies. This critical responsibility becomes meaningful when professional and ethical behaviors are the basis for disclosure of financial reporting. Based on the behavioral characteristics of disclosing financial reporting in emerging capital markets such as Iran, this study can be successful in developing new and theoretical literature in this field.

Iran, home to 22 World Heritage Sites in 2017, is blessed with an abundance of breathtaking scenery and a multitude of historic environments for tourists to enjoy. This exploratory chapter investigates tourists’ perceptions about the nature of heritage tourism in Iran, using the five most important cultural attractions as a starting point. A total of 25 photos and 60 reviews constitute the sample. The data were content-analyzed using a deductive and inductive procedure. The results show the relevance of sensory perceptions as a way of creating a bond with cultural heritage that should be considered in the future when defining a brand for Iran as a destination.

General theories have been criticized for their inability to explore the mechanics of more specific domain knowledge and understand how, when and where general theory applies to and extends domain knowledge in supply chain management (SCM). Middle-range theorizing (MRT) is a potential solution to this limitation. This paper aims to assist researchers in understanding the relationship between MRT and general theorizing (GT) and connecting MRT research findings to general theory.

This research provides a structured literature review of 518 articles, from eight journals in logistics, SCM and operations management. Theoretically based articles are analyzed by primary domain and SCM context.

There are frameworks for conducting MRT; however, the literature does not sufficiently assist researchers in understanding how middle-range (MR) theory should relate to general theory. Findings include a better understanding of underserved areas in SCM, guideline frameworks for understanding when to apply MRT, when to apply GT and how MRT knowledge can be connected to SCM domain knowledge.

This study provides a timely and appropriate compilation of theory research in SCM, including significant implications for both theory and practice, by helping to articulate the evolving philosophy of science in SCM.