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While businesses seek to engage customers, their efforts are often met with varied results, as some customers are more predisposed to engage than others. Understanding customers’ dispositions to engage is central to understanding customer engagement, yet research examining customer engagement dispositions remains sparse and predominantly focused on personality traits. This paper aims to consider the general nature of a disposition and draws on qualitative findings to depict a framework for customer engagement dispositions.

To investigate customer engagement dispositions comprehensively and in-depth, an exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with customers in ongoing relationships with financial planners residing in Australia.

Nine attributes reflecting customer engagement dispositions emerge from the data. These include the customer’s internal tendency to engage (confidence, desire for control, extroversion and enthusiasm); a tendency to engage determined in the interaction with the service provider (sense of similarity, sense of social connection and trust in the service provider); and the capacity to engage (expertise and knowledge and time availability).

This study provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical measurement of customer engagement dispositions and their nomological network.

This study establishes a foundation for managers to build distinct engagement disposition profiles and segments and target initiatives to maximize engagement activity.

This research challenges the view of customer engagement dispositions as largely personality factors, or exclusively cognitive and emotional dimensions of engagement, and offers a comprehensive framework reflecting a customer’s disposition to engage with a service provider.

A priority for initial teacher education (ITE) is the development of reflection by pre-service teachers (PSTs) in preparation for transition towards qualified teacher status. Whilst much literature exists on the practice of reflection, little attention has been placed on under-standing and developing the processes that inform this practice. Drawing upon the concepts of strong structuration theory (SST), the purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the role Lesson Study can play in developing PSTs’ processes of reflexivity whilst enhancing their reflective practice.

Participants were two cohorts of Secondary Physical Education PSTs (n=40), completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course (PGCE). Action research methodology was adopted during school placements, when PST dyads engaged in cycles of Lesson Study. Data obtained through group discussion boards, questionnaires, group and individual interviews, were subjected to inductive analysis, comparing key patterns to locate themes.

Drawing upon illustrations collated when exploring the enhancement of their reflective practice, the findings illustrate how PSTs (agents-in-focus) were able to pre-reflectively and critically draw upon embodied dispositions and practices to engage with the external structural elements of their training programme. Such interactions enabled them to demonstrate enhanced forms of active agency and knowledge, developing practices beyond traditional support structures of the training programme.

In drawing upon these illustrations, this paper explores how the application of SST further enhances understanding of the underlying reflexive processes that shape PST’s interaction with the structures of ITE. Furthermore, it draws attention to the part Lesson Study can play in developing creative, confident and reflective pedagogy by PSTs. In doing so this paper contributes to the growing body of literature that illuminates how Lesson Study may enhance the experiences and professional development of PSTs.

Actor engagement (AE) literature shows inconsistent understandings of engagement intensity. However, a holistic picture of the nature of AE intensity is foundational to advance empirical AE models and measurement frameworks. This paper provides a nuanced understanding of what engagement intensity is and how it unfolds on different network levels.

This conceptual study draws from a literature review and offers a comprehensive classification scheme of AE intensity. The literature review extends beyond marketing and service research and draws from the etymology of AE intensity in management and social science, specifically, the fields of student, employee and civic engagement.

The classification scheme clarifies that AE intensity at the individual level refers to actors' affective and cognitive tone and varying magnitudes (i.e. efforts, duration, activeness) of resource investments. At the dyad level, AE intensity represents relational strength, and at the network level, it refers to the degree of connectedness in the network.

The research reconciles conceptual inconsistencies in the AE literature. Our classification scheme goes beyond the individual actor and actor–actor dyad and offers a holistic overview of possible ways to operationalize AE intensity in networks.

The classification scheme can be used as a strategic checklist to include AE intensities of individual actors (e.g. customers and employees), relationships between these actors and network connectedness, when further developing engagement measurement tools and benchmarks.

This is the first study providing a comprehensive understanding of AE intensity from an individual, dyadic and network perspective.

Supermarket scans in the contextual non-Western markets (Pakistan and China) revealed that the majority Western consumer products are available in both global (English) and the vernacular language (Urdu, Chinese) packaging. The availability of two different packaging raises a question – which is more effective and under what situation. This study aims to address this question by investigating the roles of an internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality) and an external-oriented disposition (social consciousness) on packaging choice, under different consumption situations (conspicuous versus inconspicuous). The conceptual model tested concern for quality as a mediator on the influence of social consciousness on packaging choice, under the moderating effects of conspicuous versus inconspicuous consumption situation.

Two in-store choice experiments were conducted in Pakistan and China. Shoppers who agreed to participate were first primed to either of the two conditions (conspicuous and inconspicuous). They were then shown two packaging types (global versus local language) on store shelves and asked to pick the preferred packaging. Finally, the participants completed a paper-based questionnaire containing the scale items and demographics variables.

Participants with high social consciousness preferred the global (English) packaging. The interaction effect of social consciousness and consumption situation moderated the choice. Concern for quality mediated the influence of social consciousness on global packaging preference.

This study extends the research into packaging by considering the mediating relationship and conceptualisation between external-oriented personal antecedent (social consciousness) and internal-oriented disposition (concern for quality), under different consumption (conspicuous versus inconspicuous) situation. The findings will inform brand managers’ packaging strategies in non-Western markets.

The purpose of this paper, three-study research project, is to establish and validate a two-dimensional scale to measure teachers’ and school administrators’ accountability disposition.

The scale items were developed in focus groups, and the final measure was tested on various samples of Israeli teachers and principals. Real-life accountability scenarios, individual work characteristics and performance evaluation were used for the validation. Correlational as well as multi-level statistical procedures were employed.

Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-dimensional structure: external and internal. Study 1 confirmed the convergent validity of the scale vis-à-vis accountability scenarios in teachers’ work. Study 2 confirmed its construct validity vis-à-vis related individual work characteristics such as goal orientation, work ethic and conscientiousness, using school principals as participants. Study 3 confirmed the scale’s predictive validity vis-à-vis teacher work performance.

The scale developed in this study may be used to enhance research on the personal aspect of accountability, contributing to a better understanding of educational systems operating in an accountability environment.

The study offers researchers a tool to measure accountability from an individual perspective. The two-dimensional scale developed in this study may help to point out individual differences in teacher accountability disposition.

The ability to assess personal accountability may contribute to society’s concern with school accountability and its effect on educators’ work.

Educational research in recent years is replete with studies on school accountability, but relatively little has been written on accountability at the individual level of analysis. Few scales exist that measure educators’ self-report accountability.

The purpose of this paper is to utilize the three abstract-concrete levels of ontology of strong structuration theory (strong ST) to examine how, and to what extent, was the development of carbon accounting frameworks at the policy, industry, and organizational levels enabled by external structures as conditions of action, that is, what was the nature of active agency within a field of position-practice relations that led to the development of these frameworks.

A case study was undertaken drawing upon interviews that were undertaken between 2008 and 2011 at the industry and organizational levels as well as documentary evidence relating to carbon accounting policy development at the macro, or policy level.

The parliamentary committee hearings into the development of the carbon price legislation represented fields of position-practice relationships which highlighted the interplay of the internal structures, capabilities and the roles of both power and trust of the agent(s)-in-focus. A meso-level analysis of the Victorian water industry highlighted how it was able to mediate the exercise of power by the macro level through the early adoption of carbon accounting frameworks. At the ontic or micro level of the individual water business, the development of a greenhouse strategy was also the outcome of position-practice relationships which highlighted the interplay of the internal structures and dispositions of the agent(s)-in-focus. The position-practice relationships at both the industry and organizational level were characterized by both soft power and trust.

Future research could investigate how the withdrawal of the carbon pricing mechanism in Australia has affected the development of carbon accounting practices whilst overseas research could examine the extent to which carbon accounting frameworks were the outcome of position-practice relationships.

Given the global significance of carbon accounting, this paper provides an overview as to how the early adoption of voluntary carbon accounting practices resulted in a reduction in carbon emissions within the water industry and therefore limited its liability for the carbon price.

This paper illustrates how the strong ST ontological concept of position-practices can be utilized at the macro, meso, and ontic levels and how these relationships mediated the impact of the carbon price upon both the water industry and the individual water business.

The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of various attitudes and personality characteristics on environmentally‐friendly behaviors, from a locus of control (LOC) perspective. Specifically, we developed and tested a model linking a related construct, environmental locus of control (ELOC), to a series of pro‐environmental behaviors.

The context related to various personal and household behaviors vis‐à‐vis the environment, and the subject pool consisted of a diverse group of urban consumers. A survey was employed to measure various attitudinal and personality variables corresponding to internal/external locus of control, as well as a battery of pro‐environmental behaviors. The research propositions were tested using a structural equation modeling approach.

We found four distinct dimensions of ELOC, two of which relate to an external LOC (“biospheric‐altruism” and “corporate skepticism”) and the other two relate to an internal LOC (“economic motivation” and “individual recycling efforts”). We then linked these four dimensions to a variety of pro‐environmental behaviors. Highly variable patterns were obtained, with different dimensions assuming a greater or lesser impact, or no role at all, depending on the specific behavior under analysis.

Generalizability of the findings is limited due to the sample (urban consumers from one major city), and the method employed (validity of self‐report measures and the non‐experimental nature of the field study).

Our findings highlight the importance of considering the specificity of pro‐environmental behaviors, when assessing the antecedent roles of pro‐environmental attitudes/dispositions, which are in‐and‐of‐themselves, complex and multidimensional.

In this era of environmental degradation, researchers, managers, and public policy makers alike need to consider that pro‐environmental attitudes are composed of multiple dispositional facets, and that the role of these facets is highly context‐specific.

Governance network managers are charged with triggering and sustaining collaborative dynamics, but often struggle to do so because they come from and interact with hierarchical and competitive organizations and systems. Thus, an important step toward effectively managing governance networks is to clarify collaborative dynamics. While the recently proposed collaborative governance regime (CGR) model provides a good start, it lacks both the conceptual clarity and parsimony needed in a useful analytical tool. This theoretical chapter uses the logic model framework to assess and reorganize the CGR model and then amends it using Follett’s theory of integrative process to provide a parsimonious understanding of collaborative dynamics, as opposed to authoritative coordination or negotiated cooperation. Uniquely, Follett draws from political and organizational theory practically grounded in the study of civic and business groups to frame the manner in which integrative process permeates collaboration. We argue that the disposition, style of relating, and mode of association in her integrative method foster collaborative dynamics while avoiding the counterproductive characteristics of hierarchy and competition. We develop an alternative logic model for studying collaborative dynamics that clarifies and defines these dynamics for future operationalization and empirical study.

Valence is one of the key dimensions underlying actor engagement, yet there is limited research to provide a comprehensive understanding of the concept. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise engagement valence in actor networks and develop an agenda for future research.

The exploration of the psychological foundations of the concept of valence and a systematic literature review from a multiple database search contribute to four sets of propositions defining the domain of the concept of actor engagement valence.

The propositions posit that valence resides in the engaging actor’s past, current and future psychological dispositions, which can shift between positive, negative and ambivalence. Actor engagement valence is triggered by the engagement objects and value propositions of other actors in the network. The antecedents of actor engagement valence comprise individual factors such as cognitive evaluations and hedonic feelings, as well as network-related factors such as social norms and shared beliefs, and the network structure. The net balance of actor engagement valence determines the actor’s engagement behaviours, and this relationship is moderated by individual and network factors.

This is the first study to conceptualise actor engagement valence, which contributes to the refinement of the actor engagement concept. This research defines the conceptual domain, deepens the understanding and provides an agenda for future research into the valence of engagement among actors in networks. The study recognises the institutional influences on actor engagement valence, and contributes to an understanding of the nature of actors’ psychological dispositions and how their valence determines the actors’ behavioural engagement manifestations.

This study aims to explore how managers exercise agency in strategic investment decisions (SIDs) by drawing on their knowledgeability of the strategic context. Specifically, the authors address the role of position–practice relations and irresistible causal forces in this conduct.

The authors examine SID-making (SIDM) practices in four case organisations operating in highly competitive markets, conducting interviews with managers at various levels and analysing company documents. Drawing on strong structuration theory, the authors show how managerial decision makers draw upon their knowledge of organisational context when exercising agency in SIDs.

The authors provide insights into how SIDM behaviour, specifically agents’ conduct, is shaped by a combination of position–practice relations and the agents’ comprehension of their organisation’s context.

The authors extend the SIDM literature by surfacing the issue of how actors’ conjuncturally-specific knowledge of external structures shapes the general dispositions they draw on in exercising agency in practice.

The authors extend the SIDM literature by surfacing the issue of how actors’ conjuncturally-specific knowledge of external structures shapes the general dispositions they draw on in exercising agency in practice. Particularly, the authors contribute to this literature by identifying irresistible causal forces and illuminating why actors might not resist in SIDM processes, despite having the potential to do so.