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In Indonesia, the usage of natural resources is one of the three main conflict issues (Directorate General of Politics and Public Administration, Ministry of Home Affairs, 2016; Habibie Center, 2013). Forty-Seven percent of the conflicts are between communities and the extractive companies (Agrarian Reform Consortium, 2014). Many of these extractive companies choose to implement a short-term conflict management approach, which include charitable programs or the usage of security, as a way to interact with the locals. However, they do tend to ignore the local wisdom of the community in resolving the issues, or even apply a different parameter to acknowledge the developmental progress in the community. Due to their short-term, unsustainable approach, the communities’ trust in these extractive companies is very low, perceiving that the companies are treating them unfairly. To cultivate trust in the community, an integrative stakeholder engagement process must be implemented by the extractive company through concrete actions for the community. These actions should involve the active participation of the communities from time to time, not only in times of crisis. This chapter argues that to be able to handle external conflicts, the extractive company must first resolve its internal conflicts by adjusting its perspective, orientation, and mindset between its leaders and followers. Another important aspect is that the companies need to develop an understanding regarding the cultural diversity and customs in Indonesia. The extractive company should implement an integrated stakeholder engagement approach which provides a platform for followers and leaders in the company to be able to work together in managing the conflict in the community. This chapter proposes the principles underlying the dynamics of the relationship between the management and staff in the field during the stakeholder engagement process to achieve perceived social justice in society.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tendency of leaders to select their followers depending on their human capital factors such as age, education level, previous working experience and training.

The participants were 1,388 employees working in a randomly selected sample of 289 small-sized businesses operating in Yemen. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect the data. The correspondence analysis method was used to explore the tendency of leaders to select their followers depending on their human capital factors.

We found significant corresponding relationships between leadership styles and the selection of the followers' human capital factors. The passive avoidant style was found to select middle-age, long-experience and fully-trained followers. Transactional style on the other hand was found to select young, middle-level experience and non-trained followers. The transformational leadership style was found to have no selection preferences towards any of the human capital factors except for working experience.

Although, some previous studies tried to understand the leaders–followers relationships, no one investigated the tendency of leaders to select their followers according to their preferences. This study contributes significantly to the leaders–followers theory by studying the selection process of the leadership style of their followers' human capital factors. Understanding this phenomenon could help explain why some leadership styles are more effective than others, especially in very limited resources contexts such as micro-sized businesses.

Based on a study of internationally oriented Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and using the lens of institutional theory, this paper extends the understanding of the extent to which Greece's institutional context influences talent management (TM). In so doing, the authors focussed on the key TM practices employed by SMEs to enhance and sustain TM: talent acquisition, development and retention. The authors also explore how these practices are shaped by the Greek institutional context.

Employing a multiple case-study approach, the authors conducted 18 interviews in six distinctive SMEs operating in north, central and southern Greece. The data were thematically analysed to identify patterns across all SMEs.

This study found that unlike multinational corporations, internationally oriented Greek SMEs adopt a more inclusive approach to TM practices as well as that the country's institutional context presented important yet not deterministic hurdles. The authors also found that SMEs adopt an opportunistic approach to talent acquisition by utilising appropriate available sources to reach out for available talent. The authors provided evidence that SMEs adopt a hybrid approach to talent development in addressing talent scarcity. Finally, this study reported that talent retention is significantly appreciated by SMEs, who offer a range of intrinsic and extrinsic incentives to retain their talented workforce.

This study provides stakeholders with insights into how effective TM practices can be considered a lifeline to organisational sustainability – particularly for SMEs in the contemporary challenging and fiercely competitive business environment. It also highlights the potential of inclusive TM practices to be part of an effective workforce management strategy: Relative to the prevailing institutional dynamic, stakeholders (policymakers and human resource practitioners) must engage in the multiple areas of individual talent acquisition, development and retention.

In a context of reforms, this study reports on TM practice in internationally oriented Greek SMEs. The authors also add to the literature on TM in SMEs by providing evidence on the conceptualisation and management of global talent in this context.

With refineries contributing 68% of CO₂ emissions from stationary combustion sources alone, smart technologies and the circular economy (CE) model for resource loop optimization can be a solution for carbon neutrality, especially within petroleum. Thus, this study aims to explore energy conservation by green technology improvement as a CE strategy for resource loop optimization and digital incorporation to maximize reprocessing lead ability rate and carbon-neutral benefits.

A game theory approach with Stackelberg equilibrium is considered under government cap-and-trade regulation to stimulate green technology improvement. The refinery acts as a Stackelberg leader and invests in green technology and the retailer as the Stackelberg follower, collects end-of-life lubricants against refund price and offers a two-part-tariff contract to the manufacturer having a significant role in smart technologies.

First, green technology improvement is directly influenced by the reprocessing capability and refund price and digital technologies are significant to consider. Second, a two-part-tariff contract coordinates the supply chain for limited reprocessing capability by the retailer. Lastly, the government can effectively manipulate the development of green technology by changing the permit price depending on the intentions.

The primary limitation is this study has focused on the petroleum sector and data was referenced from the oil refineries of a single country.

Overall, this study provides empirical guidance for policymakers on how to leverage energy-efficient smart technologies for lubricant reprocessing, enabling resource optimization as part of a CE strategy in the petroleum industry and advancing sustainable development goals.

The suggested model responds to the contemporary literature related to CO₂ emissions and CE initiatives across the petroleum sector with the extended role of smart technologies and government cap-and-trade regulations.

The purpose of this study is to address the relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and grand challenges. Stressing the moderating impact of stakeholders and governments, it frames and introduces the six contributions of the special issue, equally divided into those illustrating how MNCs contribute to the existence of grand challenges and those exploring how MNCs contribute to addressing grand challenges.

Based on a review of the existing literature on the relationship between MNCs and grand challenges and recent developments in mainstream international business, the viewpoint emphasizes the need to move beyond a one-sided focus on the positive contributions of MNCs to grand challenges.

The special issue contributions reveal that even established MNCs are actively engaged in strategic efforts to perpetuate unsustainable practices and minimize the impact of societal rules and stakeholders. The contributions also highlight the complications when MNCs aim to tackle grand challenges.

Displaying positive practices of how MNCs contribute to the solution of grand challenges should not be considered a functional substitute for regulatory action, contrary to the frequent assertion of MNCs and their political representatives.

This special issue is the first one in IB to address the relationship between MNCs and grand challenges from an empirical vantage point.

To boost the fiscal revenue, i.e., government revenue over GDP and central government revenue over government total revenue, China conducted the 1994 fiscal reforms. According to some observers, the results of the initial reforms were mixed. This study reveals, contrary to most examinations of previous studies, the 1994 fiscal reforms have been an enormous success in achieving the original policy purposes, although remaining problems still present a daunting task for the Chinese government. This paper examines the factors triggering the 1994 fiscal reforms, reveals the contents and accomplishments of the reforms, explores unfinished tasks and ultimately proposes some policy implications.

With its rapid economic expansion and its growing environmental and social issues, China has introduced explicit corporate social responsibility (CSR) regulations since 2006 as part of its social harmony policy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the CSR disclosure practices of the historically unaccountable mining firms in China’s current regulatory context.

The sample covers all 60 listed mining firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 2007 and 2012, totalling 360 firm-year observations. The authors adopt the “Chinese CSR Report Preparation Guide” as the benchmark for content analysis. To strengthen the analysis, the authors apply binary logistic regression with the determinants of state government, social responsibility index, and cross-listing overseas status.

The authors discover that mining firms rapidly adopt CSR disclosure in response to the regulatory pressures from the state government and the stock exchanges to maintain legitimacy and survival prospects. However, the quality of CSR disclosures becomes a new concern.

The most environmentally and socially sensitive mining sector can provide good samples of firm CSR practice in the second largest economy. Although mandatory requirements may result in the firms’ passive compliance, strict regulation is still the key to the changes in corporate accountability and transparency. China may need to strengthen its CSR regulation for its sustainable growth in the coming Asian Era.

In the institutional context of China, the imposition of strict regulation seems to be the key to improving CSR practice. However, the mandatory requirements may also result in passive compliance without effective change in corporate accountability and transparency. The sustainable development of the mining sector and advocacy of CSR behaviour require cooperation at national, social and corporate levels.

This study contributes to the evolving CSR literature about China and the literature from an industry perspective where governance and regulation are highly influential. The methodology may also enrich future research in the area with a fairly long sample period.

The purpose of this paper is to reveal how Chinese private entrepreneurs behaved in a transition economy with a weak institutional environment to obtain organizational legitimacy.

Drawing on five consecutive nation‐wide surveys from 1997 to 2006 in China, the study provides empirical evidence and theoretical explanation on private entrepreneurs' behaviors in obtaining organizational legitimacy in China's transition economy.

The paper finds that the institutional environment in China's transition economy for private firms was weak. Specifically, weak property protection and Three Payouts showed a high risk of property confiscation for private firms; an under‐developed (discriminatory) financial system and a weak credit system had been big obstacles for the development of private firms, which resulted in debt chain among firms, a substitution for the weak financial system. Under such a hostile institutional environment where firms have been facing a high risk of organizational legitimacy, private entrepreneurs have great willingness to connect with government officers, participate in PC or CPPCC which are likely be politically connected, employ isomorphism in organizational structure, apply government‐oriented corporate social responsibility behaviors, on which they depend to obtain organizational legitimacy in transitional economy.

The paper exhibits the institutional environment in the past ten years in China's transition economy, and proposes the likely ways in which private entrepreneurs choose to establish legitimacy under a weak institutional environment.