Search results

The search for top executives is fraught with pitfalls. Understanding them will set the process off on a strong footing and maximize the chances of a sustainable hire. This chapter examines three aspects of the search dynamic: “stakeout,” “trust-building” and the search consultant’s “ambassador role.” We reveal nine important insights. Has digitization made headhunting any easier? We correct common misconceptions and reveal the difficulty of approaching top executives with role propositions, the building of trusted relationships with clients, and the ambassador role of the executive search consultant. We examine the need for empathy and deep discernment in reading candidates. We next go more deeply into the full search process: the selection of the search firm, the search itself, the presentation of the chosen candidate and onboarding. We reveal points of attention for clients and candidates that underpin best practice.

An earlier form of this chapter by the author was published in Dutch in “Bestemming Boardroom: over zoeken en gevonden worden” (Boom, Amsterdam, 2018).

This study aims to identify specific factors that facilitate engagement and stay intention among Generation Z employees in the Indian banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) context. Furthermore, using the frequency distribution of the identified factors, this study has ranked them in order of their association with stay intention.

Data were collected from 22 Gen Z employees working in the Indian private BFSI sector using unstructured interviews. Inductive content analysis was applied to identify the factors improving engagement and stay intention. Moreover, quantitative content analysis was applied to calculate the frequency distribution of the identified factors.

The study identified six prominent factors, namely, transformational leadership, employee investment practices, egalitarian practices, work-life balance, job crafting and sustainability, which significantly enhance employee engagement and stay intention among Gen Z employees. Moreover, based on the results of quantitative content analysis, it was found that transformational leadership exhibited the highest frequency in association with employee engagement and stay intention. Following this were employee involvement, egalitarian practices, work-life balance, job crafting and sustainability.

In the coming days, Generation Z will contribute to almost one-third of India’s workforce, of which the BFSI sector will be the major employer. However, the issue with this generation is their retention. Hence, the study identifies factors ensuring engagement and stay intention.

Owing to the paucity of research on stay intention as a variable of interest, this study tries to capture the perceptions of Gen Z towards factors inducing their engagement and stay intention. This study assesses intention to stay (ITS) as compared to intention to leave (ITL) as it is a proactive indicator of turnover. Lastly, this study uses a qualitative approach to identify factors influencing stay intention and engagement based on interactions with employees, which, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior study has attempted.

Climate change poses risks to society and the demand for carbon literacy within small and medium-sized enterprises is increasing. Skills and knowledge are required for organizational greenhouse gas accounting and science-based decisions to help businesses reduce transitional risks. At the University of Copenhagen and the University of Northern British Columbia, two carbon management courses have been developed to respond to this growing need. Using an action-based co-learning model, students and business are paired to quantify and report emissions and develop climate plans and communication strategies.

This paper draws on surveys of businesses that have partnered with the co-learning model, designed to provide insight on carbon reductions and the impacts of co-learning. Data collected from 12 respondents in Denmark and 19 respondents in Canada allow for cross-institutional and international comparison in a Global North context.

Results show that while co-learning for carbon literacy is welcomed, companies identify limitations: time and resources; solution feasibility; governance and reporting structures; and communication methods. Findings reveal a need for extension, both forwards and backwards in time, indicating that the collaborations need to be lengthened and/or intensified. Balancing academic requirements detracts from usability for businesses, and while municipal and national policy and emission targets help generate a general societal understanding of the issue, there is no concrete guidance on how businesses can implement operational changes based on inventory results.

The research brings new knowledge to the field of transitional climate risks and does so with a focus on both small businesses and universities as important co-learning actors in low-carbon transitions. The comparison across geographies and institutions contributes an international solution perspective to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The present study aims to gauge the experience of gender non-binary (NB) employees in the context of employee value propositions (EVP) in Indian enterprises and make suggestions for organizations to align their gender-aligned interventions with the EVP framework.

Qualitative methodology was used for collecting data through semi-structured interviews and subsequent analysis of the transcripts. The data was gathered from 10 NB participants working in Indian enterprises with the use of non-probabilistic purposive snowball sampling.

The analysis revealed eight themes representing the good, bad and ugly experiences of NB individuals within the context of EVP. These findings underscore the potential of enriching value propositions for employees to promote gender inclusion in corporate settings, contributing to long-term organizational success.

The study offers both theoretical and practical implications for fostering inclusivity at the workplace. It suggests that policymakers and organizations should align EVP with diversity and inclusion initiatives, re-evaluate hiring processes and promotion policies to ensure equal opportunities for NB individuals, provide regular staff training to address biases and implement inclusive insurance policies and representation in employee resource groups (ERGs).

This study provides unique insights into the experiences of NB employees within the framework of EVPs in Indian organizations.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like conversational AI and HR chatbots in international human resource development (HRD) presents both productivity benefits and ethical challenges. This study aims to examine the ethical dimensions of AI-driven HR chatbots, emphasizing the need for fairness, autonomy and nondiscrimination. It discusses inherent biases in AI systems and addresses linguistic, cultural and accessibility issues. The paper advocates for a comprehensive risk assessment approach to guide ethical integration, proposing a “risk management by design” framework. By embracing ethical principles and robust risk management strategies, organizations can navigate AI-driven HR technologies while upholding fairness and equity in global workforce management.

Systematic literature review.

The paper advocates for a comprehensive risk assessment approach to guide ethical integration, proposing a “risk management by design” framework.

By embracing ethical principles and robust risk management strategies, organizations can navigate AI-driven HR technologies while upholding fairness and equity in global workforce management.

This study explores the intricate ethical landscape surrounding AI-driven HR chatbots, spotlighting the imperatives of fairness, autonomy, and nondiscrimination. Uncovering biases inherent in AI systems, it addresses linguistic, cultural, and accessibility concerns. Proposing a pioneering “risk management by design” framework, the study advocates for a holistic approach to ethical integration, ensuring organizations navigate the complexities of AI-driven HR technologies while prioritizing fairness and equity in global workforce management.

The purpose of this paper is to provide rich, qualitative insights around internal communication in strategic communication agencies, addressing the evolutions in expectations and best practices for agency leadership through COVID-19.

Qualitative interview study with 18 US-based leaders of public relations and advertising agencies to examine their experiences of leading and managing strategic communication teams during COVID-19.

Synthesized findings around changes in leadership values and important facets of ongoing internal crisis communication led to the development of the following five categories—Improvisation and Flexibility, Transparency and Trust, Ownership and Embodiment, Care and Empathy, Relationships and Resilience.

Using a high-value sample, the study is the first (to the best of the authors' knowledge) to focus on the crucial context of agencies and internal communication around COVID-19; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and other pandemic-era challenges. It provides theoretical implications around ongoing, internal crisis communication and practical implications for agency leaders in crisis.

Leadership assessment programs are intended to ensure that the organization retains or hires high-quality leadership. Among the many skills that must be included, executive communication is a cornerstone of effective leadership. However, there are many techniques to assessing executive communication that impose numerous advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of this study is to explore several techniques for evaluating executive communication skills in leadership assessment programs.

Building upon case studies from novel commanding officer selection efforts in the military, the current study outlines three possible areas of executive communication for leadership assessment programs: panel-based interviews, guided discussion and executive writing.

Although each technique offers some advantages, the best technique depends upon the context. Panel-based interviews can provide excellent depth in evaluating candidates, whereas executive writing focuses more upon crafting a deliberate and clear message without the ability to clarify or use nonverbal cues. Selecting an appropriate technique depends greatly upon the workload imposed on the leadership assessment team and the number of candidates available.

Leadership selection programs are often done piecemeal or based on local experience. By building upon novel efforts in military commanding officer selection, the goal is to promulgate effective executive communication techniques that will enhance leadership selection through more effective communication across all levels of leadership positions.

The importance of financial dependence of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on their performance is a relatively unaddressed area of research. Relatedly, whether and to what extent foreign bank penetration exerts an impact in the presence of financial dependence also remains an open question. The purpose of the paper in this regard is to exploit unit-level data on Indian SMEs and assess the independent and interactive effects of financial dependence on SME behaviour, in the presence of foreign banks.

This study uses fixed effects specification to address the issue. In subsequent analysis, this study also uses an instrumental variable approach for robustness.

The results indicate that financial dependence improves investment and employment, although there is a decline in productivity. These findings differ across size classes of SMEs. Similar is the evidence in the presence of foreign banks. In particular, foreign bank penetration leads to a decline in investment for micro and medium SMEs, although for small SMEs, the impact is found to be the opposite.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the early within-country studies to examine the interface between SMEs and financial dependence and the role played by foreign banks in this regard.

To investigate the influence of logistics and transportation workers’ perceptions of their management’s simultaneous safety and operations focus (or lack thereof) on related worker safety and operational perceptions and behaviors.

This multi-method research consisted of two studies. Study 1 aimed to establish correlational relationships by evaluating the impact of individual-level worker perceptions of operationally focused routines (as a moderator) on the relationship between worker perceptions of safety-related routines and workers’ self-reported safety and in-role operational behaviors using a survey. Study 2 aimed to establish causal relationships by evaluating the same conceptual relationships in a behavioral-type experiment utilizing vehicle simulators. After receiving one of four pre-task briefings, participants completed a driving task scenario in a driving simulator.

In Study 1, the relationship between perceived safety focus and safety behavior/in-role operational behavior was strengthened at higher levels of perceived operations focus. In Study 2, participants who received the balanced pre-task briefing committed significantly fewer safety violations than the other 3 treatment groups. However, in-role driving deviations were not impacted as hypothesized.

This research is conducted at the individual (worker) level of analysis to capture the little-known perspectives of logistics and transportation workers and explore the influence of balanced safety and operational routines from a more micro perspective, thus contributing to a deeper understanding of how balanced routines might influence worker behavior when conducting dynamic tasks to ensure safe, effective outcomes.