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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of power in cases of upwards bullying by examining the bases of power that staff members use, and how these bases create power imbalances.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six managers from several organisations. After completion of each interview, verbatim transcripts were created and examined using NVivo, allowing in-depth thematic analysis. The broad coding schema, developed through a review of the literature, was refined as analysis progressed.

Three major themes emerged: a loss of legitimate power, coercive power, and structural power. The findings suggest a “power cycle” exists in upwards bullying episodes, which is presented diagrammatically. Discussion focusses on the processes that commence with a decrease or loss of a manager’s legitimate power, associated with a lack of organisational support, and staff members’ perceptions of illegitimacy. Managers indicated vulnerability to inappropriate behaviours by staff members, and the potential for greater power imbalances to build due to these behaviours triggering a feedback mechanism, with managers experiencing a further loss of legitimate power.

The study recommends that research into the perspectives of staff members (such as alleged perpetrators) can further strengthen our understanding of the use of power in workplace bullying, and in upwards bullying in particular. Given the applicability of the outcomes of this research to our understanding of workplace bullying, such theory development can also foster practical approaches to addressing workplace bullying within organisations. Understanding the nature of power within workplace bullying processes can inform organisational strategies to disrupt the cycle of inappropriate behaviours, upwards and otherwise.

Given that the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varies greatly between countries, it becomes relevant to explore self-initiated expatriate (SIE) health workers' perceptions of home vs host country safety during a global pandemic. Thus, the paper aims to study the effects of COVID-19 on the expatriation experience of Spanish SIE nurses in Germany, focussing on perceptions of home and host country safety as push/pull forces on their intentions to repatriate or stay.

Semi-structured interviews (n = 10) were conducted with Spanish SIE nurses in Germany between April/June 2020 followed by instant messaging interactions with the same participants in October/November 2020. Data analysis was assisted by NVivo software.

Overloaded by information from social networks about the impact of COVID-19 in Spain compared with the situation in Germany, Spanish SIE nurses had exacerbated feelings of stress, and some reported having experienced guilt for not being in their home country. Nevertheless, the contrasting impact and management of the crisis and its relative effect on health workers and the larger society in Spain and Germany reinforced the nurses' intention to stay in Germany.

The research offers insights to organisations and public authorities involved with providing support to SIEs during crises, highlighting the implications of SIEs' social networks and dual allegiance to home and host countries during a global health emergency.

The study contributes to the growing literature on SIEs, whilst adding to the research on expatriates' well-being and safety during crises.

Despite over 50 years of expatriation research, the implications of expatriation for identity remains an under-researched topic in mainstream international human resource management (IHRM) literature. Expatriation can cause disruption to expatriates' familiar sociocultural environment, which can often pose challenges to their self-concept and identity. The study underpinned by identity and social identity theories explores the perceptions of Spanish self-initiated expatriate (SIE) nurses living in Germany and other Spanish nurses who repatriated from Germany to understand the influence of expatriation on their self-concept and identity.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Spanish SIE nurses in Germany (n = 20) and others who had repatriated from Germany (n = 10). Data analysis was assisted by NVivo software.

The study identified that low proficiency in the host country language (HCL) and the problematic workplace interactions that ensued, challenged the participants' self-conceptions as competent professionals and prompted their reliance on social networks of fellow Spaniards for social validation.

Although focused on a specific context, the study not only enhances practical understanding of Spanish SIE nurses in Germany but also offers valuable insights to organisations working with SIEs. It adds to extant knowledge on language and identity in the expatriation context and discusses the implications for global HRM related to underutilisation of SIEs' knowledge and skills within organisations.

The study contributes to theory building on the under-researched link between expatriation and identity, while adding to the growing literature on SIEs.

A total of 20 per cent of Australian universities are ranked in the top 500 exporters and since 1987 international student growth in Australia has exceeded 60 per cent each year. Few investigations have been directed to measuring the effectiveness of international advertising and promotional material. This article examines this aspect with a focus on content analysis of the international student study guides. The investigation used a qualitative research approach comprising a blend of the convergent interview technique and Delphi method. The outcomes were that there was a significant disparity between student perceived needs and those communicated by the universities printed material. Although the methodology was created to investigate the effectiveness of promotional publications in higher education, the methodology can be applied to other industries where there is a high interface between written advertising material and the recipient.

This article provides a brief overview of some of the applied approaches being taken in four countries to deal with workplace bullying and serves as a preamble to the articles by Archer, Crawford, Lewis, Sheehan and Zapf in this section. The work undertaken by the Beyond Bullying Association in Australia and that of the Anti Bullying Centre in Dublin is discussed. Swedish legislation that addresses bullying and the ways that employers, unions, university researchers and voluntary sector organisations attempt to deal with bullying in the UK follows. The article concludes by mentioning the likely legal and economic implications for organisations and society.

This article provides a brief overview and commentary on theoretical approaches discussed in the articles by Einarsen, Liefooghe and Olafsson, and Rayner in the theoretical section of this special issue. In highlighting the difficulty in defining bullying, this article suggests that definitional boundaries ought to be all encompassing and open for discussion as a way of further developing the debate about workplace bullying. A discussion of methodological approaches, including those used by the authors in the theoretical section then follows. The article suggests that a collaborative approach between employers and researchers would help further address the problem of workplace bullying.

This paper aims to investigate the career experiences of female academics in a Western and in an Indian cultural setting in order to gain an in‐depth understanding of the factors contributing to their career progression. The paper also examines the factors such as national culture, gender stereotypes and leadership, work and family conflict, mentoring and informal networks that impact on the career progression of women academics in two different cultural settings, namely Mauritius and Australia.

Thirty in‐depth interviews from two universities were used.

The findings illustrate that the barriers to progression are remarkably similar to women from both universities despite their different cultural background. Women in the Mauritian context face a considerably more conservative cultural climate that may negatively impact on their career progression. Women from both cultural settings face significant barriers to career progression in their academic roles.

This paper compares Australian and Mauritian women academics experience in academia. The paper also offers practical guidance that can be used by management and women academics to facilitate career progression of women in academia.

Global citizenship, social responsibility and sustainability are constructs increasingly used in business schools. Yet, there is no widely accepted definition or conceptualization of the global citizen, nor is there strong evidence of how the global citizen is effectively translated into university ethos, culture and practice. This paper aims to conceptualize the global citizen in higher education broadly and more specifically in regard to business schools.

International higher education, social science and business literature has been reviewed to present an integrated understanding of the global citizen; contextualized to higher education generally and business schools specifically.

It is argued that the global citizen, viewed through a moral and transformative cosmopolitan lens, provides an alternative to the rhetoric frequently paid to the construct. This paper describes “global citizen learning” underpinned by the social imaginary, relationality and reflexivity. These virtues equip the students' global business mindset for complexity and ambiguity.

The interdisciplinary literature reviewed in this paper brings a focus to moral reasoning, sensitivity and values-based teaching. These aspects create new ways for the global citizen to be more explicitly integrated into business ethos and curricula.

Global citizen learning provides the “conceptual glue”, needed to link social responsibility, sustainability and ethical principles to business curricula. Also, the paper outlines how “global citizen learning” can be utilized in existing curricula from a practical perspective.

This paper discusses values and moral reasoning in business education. It is proposed that the global citizen conceptualized through moral and transformative cosmopolitanism provides a humanistic buffer to the neoliberal growth paradigm.

Reports the findings from a study examining how overseas students adapt to their new country of residence. Looks at the place attachment process of migrant students studying in Australia and Singapore. Focuses the analysis on adaptation to the physical and social environments. Discusses attachments to objects and provides suggestions as to how universities can assist in the adjustment process.