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This paper aims to investigate whether relational agency fosters relational people management using evidence from micro and small enterprises in Uganda, an African developing country. Specifically, the paper examines whether the individual relational agency dimensions (shared learning, mutual cooperation, collective efficacy and interaction enablement) also affect relational people management.

A cross-sectional survey design using a quantitative approach was used in this study. Data were collected from 241 micro and small enterprises in Uganda using a structured questionnaire and were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists.

The results indicate that relational agency is positively and significantly associated with relational people management. Findings further indicated that collective efficacy, mutual cooperation, shared learning and interaction enablement individually matter in relational people management.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study may be among the first to demonstrate that relational agency and its individual dimensions (interaction enablement, shared learning, mutual cooperation and collective efficacy) foster relational people management in the context of micro and small enterprises of Uganda, an African developing country. Consequently, this study contributes to both theory and literature via the cultural historical activity theory, hence, adding to the scant existing literature on relational agency and relational people management.

The reasons for and experiences during migration, as well as additional stressors in the new host country, may give rise to mental health problems and additional need for public services. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors related to service utilization among newly arrived refugee youth.

Cross-sectional data were gathered in Sweden where 37 youth aged between 19 and 23 reported on factors related to service utilization, encompassing health-care and support services in school. These factors included predisposition (demographic), need (migration status and mental wellbeing) and enablement (living situation). Service utilization was estimated using multiple logistic regression analysis.

About a fourth of the sample used psychosocial services. Use of general support was more common. Neither predisposing, need nor enabling factors were associated with the use of psychosocial or general health-related services.

Self-reported factors related to use of health-related services have previously not been investigated for refugee youth, which is important in assuring access to appropriate services for this exposed youth population.

Humane entrepreneurship (HumEnt) has been theoretically proposed as a new model of entrepreneurship supporting the idea of an enlarged entrepreneurial strategic posture. The aim of paper is to frame humane entrepreneurial orientation’s (HEO) characteristics by showing how firms apply the HumEnt approach, and to offer suggestions to build an HEO measurement scale.

The study adopts a case study approach, focusing on five Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The study (1) identifies which are the characteristics of HEO strategic posture in the enterprises under examination; (2) shows that entrepreneurs' personal values and credos are fundamental to having an HEO strategic posture adopted; (3) provides indications on the development of a measurement scale through a discussion of emerging HEO themes.

The value of the study is that emerging themes of HEO strategic posture was derived from the analysis of five Italian SMEs. Entrepreneur's personal values have been proven to be relevant in the implementation of HEO. Based on the emerging HEO themes, the study contributes to the literature opening the way toward the building of an all-encompassing HEO measurement scale.

In times of organizational thirst for employee engagement and meaning through designing corporate stories, the aim of this article is to explore and identify key sources (engines) of engagement during LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) corporate learning pre-pandemic events of various types and size in Poland.

This is a conceptual paper. The research was conducted using participant observation from the perspective of a certified facilitator of the method. This position ensures a prime access to the organizational events. Eight training sessions (four LSP and four non-LSP workshops) have been analysed using thematic analysis. The structure of thematic codes has been conceptualized and reflected as the EPIC framework.

The findings include (1) the importance of the experience of emerging realities as a key generator of engagement, (2) the significance of social collaboration and peer-to-peer interactions (experience of collective intelligence), (3) the observable rise in engagement and willingness to contribute when real business situations, especially labelled as “strategic issues” are discussed and (4) the role of image-capturing (“snapshot experience”) in creation of an engaging learning experience.

The limitations refer to the potential conflict of interests as the researcher is also the facilitator of the workshop. To ensure the neutral point of view of the researcher, the sessions have been recorded to enable transparency of the observation and non-biased logic of key findings. The “learning experience” research is also culture- and context-sensitive, thus it may be problematic to replicate the research procedure in different countries, however, the EPIC model can be treated as a universal framework to explore and identify the engines of engagement.

The concept of this paper is designed from the practical point of view. The findings are adaptable to the corporate practices aimed at empowering employees and are compatible with management models such as agile, human enablement and human-centred design in organizations.

Serious play methods of learning and experiencing are said to be of the highest importance when finding new ways of organizational learning in the pandemic situation and work from home as a standard learning environment.

The contribution of this paper is visible in the conceptualization of the moments that shape an engaging experience. This is also the first academic paper presenting the perspective of a certified facilitator of LSP from Central and Eastern Europe region.

This study aims to investigate the associations among decent work (DW), capabilities and the flourishing of employees in a South African context.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample (N = 436) of early childhood development practitioners from two South African provinces. A demographic questionnaire, the Decent Work Scale, the Capability Set for Work Questionnaire and the Flourishing-at-Work Scale were administered.

Latent class analysis showed four capability sets: robust, relational, knowledge/skills and weak capability sets. Employees with a robust capability set were more inclined to report DW than those with knowledge/skills and weak capability sets. Employees with a weak capability set were significantly less inclined to report organisational values that complement family and social values than the other three capability sets. Employees with a robust capability set reported significantly higher emotional well-being (EWB), psychological well-being (PWB) and social well-being (SWB) levels than those with relational, knowledge/skills and weak capability sets. DW was significantly related to EWB, PWB and SWB.

This study contributes to the literature regarding DW, capabilities and flourishing of employees in a non-western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic and non-POSH context. The study highlights the need for well-being policies that focus on DW and the capabilities of people in disadvantaged positions. These together would strengthen their agency for converting capabilities into well-being.

This paper aims to present findings from an EU-funded international student-led energy saving competition (SAVES) on a scale previously unseen. There are multiple accounts of short-term projects and energy saving competitions encouraging pro-environmental behaviour change amongst students in university dormitories, but the purpose of this research is to provide evidence of consistent and sustained energy savings from student-led energy savings competitions, underpinned by practical action.

A mixed-methods approach (pre- and post-intervention surveys, focus groups and analysis of energy meter data) was used to determine the level of energy savings and quantifiable behaviour change delivered by students across participating university dormitories.

This research has provided further insight into the potential for savings and behaviour change in university dormitories through relatively simple actions. Whilst other interventions have shown greater savings, this project provided consistent savings over two years of 7 per cent across a large number of university dormitories in five countries through simple behaviour changes.

An energy dashboard displaying near a real-time leaderboard was added to the engagement in the second year of the project. Whilst students were optimistic about the role that energy dashboards could play, the evidence is not here to quantify the impact of dashboards. Further research is required to understand the potential of dashboards to contribute to behavioural change savings and in constructing competitions between people and dormitories that are known to each other.

SAVES provided engagement with students, enabling, empowering and motivating them to save energy – focusing specifically on the last stage of the “Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action” framework. Automated meter reading data was used in the majority of participating dormitories to run near real-time energy challenges through an energy dashboard that informed students how much energy they saved compared to a target, and encouraged peer-to-peer learning and international cooperation through a virtual twinning scheme.

Findings from energy saving competitions in universities are typically from small-scale and short-term interventions. SAVES was an energy-saving competition in university dormitories facilitated by the UK National Union of Students in five countries reaching over 50,000 students over two academic years (incorporating dormitories at 17 universities). As such it provides clear and important evidence of the real-world long-term potential efficiency savings of such interventions.

Humane Entrepreneurship (HumEnt) is strongly purpose-oriented and characterized by a focus on inclusiveness and social and environmental sustainability, with attention to both internal and external stakeholders and their needs. In the attempt to provide new research in this field, this study aims to conduct an empirical investigation within the theory of HumEnt and, in particular, of the Human Resource Orientation (HRO) model among Italian Small and Medium-size Enterprises.

Based on quantitative data, this study used a deductive approach to investigate the relationship between the HumEnt model and firms’ relational embeddedness with different types of stakeholders (value chain stakeholders and societal stakeholders, respectively). More concretely, to investigate the relationships between the dimensions of the HumEnt model and firms’ relational embeddedness, partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied.

Findings of this study suggest that Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) directly contributes only to value chain embeddedness. However, the results also show that if EO is mediated by an HRO (i.e. companies with a high HRO), a high level of societal embeddedness is also present.

This study represents a first attempt to provide comprehensive empirical evidence about the different dimensions characterizing the HumEnt theoretical model, and to highlight their relevance in supporting companies’ relational embeddedness capacity with different categories of stakeholders.

The purpose of this study is to provide a contextualized understanding of how business-to-business (B2B) firms use the sales development function for efficient and effective lead funnel management.

The authors adopted a qualitative field-study approach and interviewed 13 people from eight firms. While software as a service (SaaS) firms are the most prevalent application context for the sales development function, the authors also included respondents from non-SaaS firms to develop an in-depth understanding of the contextualized nature of the sales development process.

Sales development processes can be applied in outbound prospect-focused, outbound account-based, inbound prospect-focused and inbound account-based lead management contexts. The sales development processes of lead research, engagement and handover vary depending on the nature of the lead management context. These processes are supported by the appropriate design of organizational, technological and people platforms.

The authors explain how sales development as a form of inside sales can support effective lead funnel management in B2B firms through technology-enabled lead research and nurture processes designed to prepare customers for meaningful conversations with field sales.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to focus purely on the sales development function as a form of inside sales. They explain how the sales development processes relating to lead research, engagement and handover are conducted in four distinct application contexts to qualify leads for the outside salesforce.