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This study aims to integrate research on customer success (CS) management with the service ecosystems perspective of selling to enhance the understanding of the CS management function and the outcomes selling firms should expect based on implementation of CS management.

The authors apply the service ecosystems perspective of selling to describe how CS management is manifested in practice by offering relevant insights and practical industry examples.

Study findings identify relevant ecosystem actors, acting on behalf of the customer, required for the delivery of desirable customer outcomes. Study findings also link the orchestration efforts of CS managers to theory-based tenets for explanation of how CS management facilitates the attainment of competitive advantages via the thickening and thinning of ecosystem crossing points.

Given that the research is conceptual, additional research that empirically examines this framework and the insights presented would lend further credence to the recommendations the authors suggest.

From a practical perspective, the authors present a “Customer Relationship and Solution Innovation Matrix” which integrates necessary value-creating activities that CS managers perform and the coordination with internal actors that CS managers rely on to create value.

Although the practice of CS management is becoming increasingly common, theoretical approaches capable of explaining the function have been lacking. Similarly, while the service ecosystems perspective redefines selling to encompass a broader set of actors than traditionally examined, practical examinations of the theory are limited. The authors address these issues, integrating both research streams for an enhanced understanding of the CS management function through the service ecosystems perspective theoretical lens.

The relationship between trust, accountability and procedural justice is studied via research into British credit unions (CUs) following regulatory reform to remedy problems exposed by the 2007–2008 global financial crisis.

Interviews at 13 case studies of different types and sizes of credit unions in Glasgow, Scotland, are examined using template analysis and abductive theorizing to understand the effects of disproportionate reforms on small credit unions.

Smaller credit unions found three regulatory changes – namely dual regulators, increased minimum reserves and introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime – excessive. Excessive change generated distrust in regulators. Regulators' insufficient attention to procedural justice contributed to this distrust.

Linkage of multidimensional confluent trust to a multilevel system of accountability provides an original way of understanding how indiscriminate attempts at trust repair damage some elements of trust in formal regulatory systems. Recognition of the need for procedural justice to enable smaller credit unions to articulate their extant checks and potential exemption from formal regulations provides another valuable contribution. The explanation of the abductive logic employed is also original.

Teleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating current trends in work-from-everywhere (WFE) research. This article presents a systematic literature review of WFE research from 1990 to early 2023 to understand the transformation of the field.

The Web of Science database was used to conduct this review based on rigorous bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The prominence of the research studied using SPAR-4-SLR and a collection of bibliometric techniques on selected journal articles, reviews and early access articles. Performance and keyword co-occurrence analysis form the premise of cluster analysis. The content analysis of recently published papers revealed the driving and restraining forces that help define and operationalize the concept of WFE.

The major findings indicate that the five established and accelerated trends from cluster analysis are COVID-19 and the pandemic, telework(ing), remote working, work from home and well-being and productivity. Driving and restraining forces identified through content analysis include technological breakthroughs, work–life integration challenges, inequality in the distribution of jobs, gender, shifts in industry and sector preferences, upskilling and reskilling and many more have been published post-COVID in the restraining forces category of WFE.

A key contribution of this pioneering study of “work from everywhere” is the linking of the bibliometric trends of the past three decades to the influencing and restraining factors during the pandemic. This study illustrates how WFE could be perceived differently post-COVID, which is of great concern to practitioners and future researchers.

A wide range of publications on WFE and multiple synonyms can create confusion if a systematic and effective system does not classify and associate them. This study uses both bibliometric and scientometric analyses in the context of WFE using systematic literature review (SLR) methods.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the construction industry, it is still unclear from prior studies about adequately positioning the quality assurance (QA) for the post-pandemic era and future pandemics, especially cross-border construction logistics and supply chain (Cb-CLSC). Thus, this study aims to develop a managerial framework to position the QA of Cb-CLSC during pandemics and post-pandemics by taking lessons from how COVID-19 has impacted the existing QA systems and has been managed successfully.

This is achieved pragmatically through an embedded mixed-method design involving a literature review, survey and interview from experts within the Hong Kong SAR–Mainland China links, typically known as the world’s factory. The design is further integrated with the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.

The study revealed 10 critical managerial practices (MPs) to position the QA to be adequate for the post-pandemic and during future pandemics, with the top three including “strict observance of government regulations (MP1)”, “planning ahead the period of quality assurance with the quarantine days in host countries (MP6)” and “modification of contract to cater for uncertainties (MP4)”. This attained a relatively good percentage agreement of 53% between the industry and academia. However, the top four MPs regarded as very effective include “implementing digital collaborative inspections with subcontractors and trades (MP8)”, “implementing a digital centralized document and issue management system (MP7)”, “strict observance to government regulations, including vaccination of workers, social distancing, use of prescribed nose masks, etc. (MP1)” and “planning ahead the period of quality assurance with the quarantine days in host countries (MP6)”. Two underlying components of the MPs were revealed as policy-process (PP)-related practices and people-technology-process (PTP)-related practices, and these can be modelled into a managerial framework capable of effectively positioning the QA to be adequate during pandemics through to the post-pandemic era.

The findings of this study depicted significant theoretical and practical contributions to the proactive management of QA activities during pandemics through to the post-pandemic era. It could empower organisations to pay attention to smartly and innovatively balancing people, processes, pandemic policy and technology to inform decisions to effectively position the QA for the post-pandemic era and survive the risks of future pandemics.

The study contributes to the body of knowledge in that it develops a managerial framework to position the QA of Cb-CLSC during pandemics and post-pandemics by taking lessons from how COVID-19 has impacted the existing QA systems and has been managed successfully. It is original research with invaluable primary data in the form of surveys and interviews from experts within the Hong Kong SAR–Mainland China links, typically known as the world’s factory.

This study aims to analyze the relationships between cultural orientation and normative knowledge, in a direct and moderate way, on the whistleblowing intentions of accountants from Hispanic American countries.

This study used responses from a sample of 410 accountants, preparers and auditors of financial statements from Hispanic American countries. Descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests and structural equations with partial least squares algorithm were applied for data analysis.

The results emphasized the cultural positioning of horizontality, in which an individual perceives themselves as equals to their colleagues, allowing discussions on various aspects of individual behavior. The knowledge variable is proved to be important in explaining the intention to report and can also moderate the influence of cultural variables on intentions.

These findings contribute to the literature by offering a clearer definition the normative knowledge variable, and to organizations, which can explore the research’s evidence to improve their training and qualification programs, thereby generating significant knowledge for their employees.

Whistleblowing is the main tool for identifying organizational frauds, but it is differently perceived in several cultural contexts. The results demonstrated the ethical cultural positioning of these Hispanic American professionals in relation to cultural aspects of other countries. Some studies highlight knowledge as a relevant factor in the organizational environment, but this study innovates by testing and demonstrating its impact on whistleblowing and culture.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to map and analyze existing complexity typologies and (2) to develop a framework for characterizing complexity-based approaches.

This study was conducted in three stages: (1) initial identification of typologies related to complexity following a structured procedure based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol; (2) backward and forward review to identify additional relevant typologies and (3) content analysis of the selected typologies, categorization and framework development.

Based on 17 selected typologies, a comprehensive overview of complexity studies is provided. Each typology is described considering key concepts, contributions and convergences and differences between them. The epistemological, theoretical and methodological diversity of complexity studies was explored, allowing the identification of the main schools of thought and authors. A framework for characterizing complexity-based approaches was proposed including the following perspectives: ontology of complexity, epistemology of complexity, purpose and object of interest, methodology and methods and theoretical pillars.

This study examines the main typologies of complexity from an integrated and multidisciplinary perspective and, based on that, proposes a novel framework to understanding and characterizing complexity-based approaches.

Previous studies have shown how the nature of businesses and the strategies pursued by their owners are affected by the personality traits of their owners. These personality traits can be formed in the early stages of life due to experiences and the surrounding context, where religion is a particularly important aspect of this context. This study aims to explore how religion affects entrepreneurial activities through the personality traits created.

This study uses interviews with 43 Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland to examine the role played by religion. This ensures that the national institutional context is kept consistent but also allows an in-depth examination of relationships, which are likely to be interlinked and recursive.

The traits created influence the nature of the entrepreneurial activities undertaken with the potential to harm and support the entrepreneurial endeavours. It is the combination of personality traits that are formed which have the greatest effect. As such, it is found that Muslim entrepreneurs display less openness and creativity associated with new ideas, but this does not reflect risk aversion rather hard work in itself is valued, and patience combined with an external locus of control mean entrepreneurial behaviours are not altered to boost poorly performing business activities.

For Muslim entrepreneurs in Scotland, their traits explain why growth may not be a foremost consideration of these entrepreneurs rather they may value hard work and meeting the ideals of formal and informal institutions associated with religion. For those seeking to support minority groups through the promotion of entrepreneurship, either they must seek to overcome these ingrained traits or alter support to complement the different objectives held by Muslim entrepreneurs.

Despite being one of the most used dependent variables in expatriate management research, no clear-cut understanding exists of what expatriate success means. Thus, this study aims to propose an integrative definition of expatriate success by providing an overview of expatriate success's dimensions, antecedents, and their interplay.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to achieve the purpose. A total of 249 empirical studies (quantitative 111, qualitative 50, mixed-methods 17), literature reviews (67) and meta-analyses (4) on expatriate success were reviewed from Web of Science and Scopus databases published from 1990 until December 2021. The study selection criteria followed the PRISMA flowchart steps, and then descriptive and network analyses were performed to identify expatriates' success dimensions, antecedents and their interplay.

The findings show the interplay among antecedents and dimensions of expatriate success across three levels (individual, interpersonal and organisational) to clarify the concept of expatriate success. Also, the study offers a comprehensive definition of expatriate success based on the dimensions identified.

The suggested definition of expatriate success elucidates the “atheoretical”, multidimensional and socially constructed nature of the construct and hence, calls for more “theoretical”, multidimensional and subjective considerations of the term to ground human resource management practices addressed to attain expatriates' success.

This paper provides an integrative definition of expatriate success, giving greater insight into the construct, in addition to critically reflecting on it.

An integrative model that predicts users' stickiness to WeChat is built. In the proposed model, perceived value plays a dual mediating role in the causal pathway from users' immersive experiences of presence and flow to their engagement and stickiness. Furthermore, presence is treated as a bi-dimensional construct made up of spatial feelings and the sense of being in company, and users' engagement is conceived as cognitive, affective and behavioural contributions to WeChat's marketing functions.

The authors develop a measurement instrument and analyse data from a survey of 917 WeChat users. They use a hybrid partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and neural network approach to confirm the reliability and validity of the measurement items and all the relationships between the constructs.

The paper provides robust evidence about the mediating influences of both utilitarian and hedonic value on users' engagement with the immersive experiences of presence and flow. An additional finding highlights the role of social norms in engagement and stickiness.

Rather than studying the effects of the immersive experiences of presence and flow from either a hedonic or a utilitarian perspective, the authors consider how immersive experiences shape both utilitarian and hedonic value, as well as their joint impact (along with that of social norms) on users' engagement and stickiness.

There is a gap in understanding with regards to the discrimination and prejudice experienced by gay entrepreneurs. To address this, an intersectional perspective is adopted to facilitate a better understanding of how lesbian and gay entrepreneurs may experience heterosexism.

This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of 14 lesbian and gay entrepreneurs as they navigate homophobia and heterosexism.

The study contributes novel insights to the field of entrepreneurship, extending the study of lesbian and gay entrepreneurs to include gender and a fine-grained analysis of the experience of heterosexism. Its inclusion of an intersectional perspective of the lesbian-female entrepreneur expands the emerging body of literature examining intersectional identities of minority entrepreneurs.

The authors provide a more nuanced understanding of the impact of heterosexism on LGBT+ entrepreneurial activities. This is facilitated by the authors' adoption of an intersectional perspective which shows how the different axes of identity influenced gender identity performance in relation to the model of perceived neutrality in LGBT+ entrepreneurship. The authors also make an original contribution to minority stress literature through the authors' exploration of one facet of minority entrepreneurship, namely the impact of heterosexism on LGBT+ entrepreneurial activities.