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This research paper aims to understand how givers characterise and manage their gift giving networks by drawing on attachment theory (AT). This responds to the need to illuminate the givers–receivers’ networks beyond traditional role-based taxonomies and explore their changing dynamics.

A multi-method, qualitative approach was used involving 158 gift experiences captured in online diaries and 27 follow-up interviews.

Results show that givers organise receivers into gifting networks that are grounded in a contextual understanding of their relationships. The identification of direct, surrogate and mediated bonds reflects three different dimensions that inform gift-giving networks of support, care or belongingness rooted in AT. The relative position of gift receivers in this network influences the nature of support, the type of social influences and relationship stability in the network.

This study illustrates the complexity of relationships based on the data collected over two specific periods of time; thus, there might be further types of receivers within a giver’s network that the data did not capture. This limitation was minimised by asking about other possible receivers in interviews.

The findings set a foundation for gift retailers to assist gift givers in finding gifts that match their perceived relations to the receivers by adapting communication messages and offering advice aligned with specific relationship contexts.

This study illuminates gift-giving networks by proposing a taxonomy of gifting networks underpinned by AT that can be applied to study different relationship contexts from the perspective of the giver. This conceptualisation captures different levels of emotional support, social influences and relationship stability, which have an impact on the receivers’ roles within the giver’s network. Importantly, results reveal that the gift receiver is not always the target of gift-giving. The target can be someone whom the giver wants to please or an acquaintance they share with the receiver with whom they wish to reinforce bonds.

This doctoral study arose from a need for policy and training change across further education (FE), to create competent practitioners and a whole college mental and emotional health training framework. Policy cites FE as key to supporting student mental health but there is a significant lack of training and research output supporting this ambition. As a mental health and well-being specialist, I became immersed in the context of FE to design, deliver and evaluate a whole college training model.

The study predominantly utilises qualitative methodology following constructivism as a theoretical framework. Utilising Goleman's (1995) and Mezirow's (2000) theories, the study seeks to redefine professional development by introducing transformational learning through Mental Health First Aid and Emotional training. A mixed-method approach ensures a demonstration of impact, specifically the confidence and knowledge of FE staff.

Thematic analysis allows for the contextualisation of staff experience and explores to which FE roles mental and emotional health support should belong. This enables prescribing of key elements for a whole college training approach. A diverse range of pastoral and academic staff demonstrate, via interviews and focus groups, a significant belief that FE mental and emotional health support cannot and should not solely be the responsibility of pastoral staff; this is an outdated model requiring regeneration. This research provides recommendations for FE practice; concluding with the recommendation that affective training must allow opportunity to explore pre-existing schemas and development of new constructions and conceptualisations; those in education require urgent opportunities to create new meanings of mental and emotional health. The study recommends a regeneration of the labelled ‘whole’ approach, including universal mandatory training for all FE staff.

Corporate diversity encompasses the different talents, knowledge, cultures, experiences and values of its employees. This diversity is reflected in multiple characteristics, such as race, age, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, culture and disability. The objective of this study is to identify if diversity is a value driver.

We take the diversity score from the Diversity Leaders Index 2023 published by Financial Times (FT) and Statista; this will be our independent variable in linear regression models whose objective variables are relevant fundamental indicators of the Euro Stoxx 50 companies. It is, therefore, a cross-sectional sample with financial data taken as of the current date. We have 37 Euro Stoxx 50 components included in the diversity ranking.

The results indicate that diversity is not a value driver for trading volume, for its revenue, or for systematic risk measured by the beta parameter. However, it is observed, in a confidence interval of 90%, that the most diverse companies are larger (according to their market capitalization). In addition, the most diverse companies are more profitable [return on assets (ROA)] and valued by the market [price to earnings ratio (PER)] in a confidence interval of 95%.

These results indicate that companies should promote corporate diversity as a management strategy, as it is observed that more diverse companies are more profitable and valued by the market. This study provides a quantitative vision in the context of homogeneous companies such as the Euro Stoxx 50 Index on the aspects in which diversity is a value driver.

This chapter traces the origin of racism and reviews the historical and contemporary debates around race and racialisation in western thought. There are persistent disagreements surrounding the origin and nature of racism. Because of the evolution of racist ideas, behaviours and institutional practices and policies, there are various views about the meaning and analytical application of racism. This chapter explores how ideas of race – understood as innate and immutable human differences that can be classified and ranked hierarchically based on race – has emerged in western history and evolved over time. It examines how this has influenced social and political practices and associated policies across the evolution of modernity. The chapter specifically discusses the Atlantic slave trade and how it shaped the historical development of race and racism within the context of colonialism. It concludes with a discussion and critical review of some of the racist systems and policies which have been enforced across different multiracial countries.

This paper aims to point to the shift in the temporal orientation, going from reporting on the past to creating insights about the future, which might be suggestive of perennial managerial attempts to push the boundaries of bounded rationality.

In this essay, the authors want to critically engage with the concept of “data-driven management” in the context of digitalization. To do so, they sketch the edges of current discourses around the emerging idea of data-driven management and its relationship with the inner workings of organizations from an accounting perspective. They question the often-times supposed objectivity and increased rationality of the concept and instead introduce the idea of becoming “data-curious” (before being data-driven).

The authors observe that this push also seems to be accompanied by trends of individualized decision-making and prevailing hopes of technology to solve organizational problems. They therefore suggest that it is valuable for current debates to take a moment to give attention, in practice and in research, to the role of temporality, benefits of collective decision-making and changes in professions (of accountants).

The aim of this paper is to spark curiosity and engagement with the phenomenon of data-driven management by outlining a novel set of potential future pathways of research and point towards methods that might help studying the questions arising for a data-curious approach.

This study aims to examine hotel guests’ acceptance of technology agency – the extent to which they would let artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems make decisions for them when staying in hotels. The examination was conducted through the prism of several antecedents of acceptance of technology agency, including perceived ethics, benefits, risks and convenience orientation.

A thorough literature review provided the foundation of the structural model, which was tested using confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modeling. Data were collected from 400 US hotel guests.

The most important determinant of acceptance of technology agency was perceived ethics, followed by benefits. Risks of using AI-based systems to make decisions for consumers had a negative impact on acceptance of technology agency. In addition, perceived loss of competence and unpredictability had relatively strong impacts on risks.

The results provide a conceptual foundation for research on systems that make decisions for consumers. As AI is increasingly incorporated in the business models of hotel companies to make decisions, ensuring that the decisions are perceived as ethical and beneficial for consumers is critical to increase the utilization of such systems.

Most research on AI in hospitality is either conceptual or focuses on consumers’ intentions to stay in hotels that may be equipped with AI technologies. Occupying a unique position within the literature, this study discusses the first time AI-based systems that make decisions for consumers. The value of this study stems from the examination of the main concept of technology agency, which was never examined in hospitality.

This study aims to investigate the effects of sick-, well- and healed-baby appeals used in fashion products on purchase intentions through anticipated emotions. Consumers' perceived saliency of the environmental issues in the fashion industry was examined as an influencing factor that further explains the persuasion of the advertising appeals.

Two sets of experimental studies were conducted with 201 participants in Study 1 and 186 participants in Study 2.

The results demonstrated that well- and healed-baby appeals increased purchase intentions fully mediated by anticipated positive emotions. In particular, the mediation effect was conditionally significant when individuals' saliency of environmental issues was low. The three types of advertising appeals did not differ in consumers with high saliency for environmental issues. A sick-baby appeal did not induce purchase intentions through anticipated negative emotions. The mediation effect of anticipated negative emotions did not work with any appeal type.

Retail marketers can use the findings to create commercial messages to persuade their fashion consumers. If the brand has consumers with low saliency, either educating consumers about the importance of environmental issues in the fashion industry or using a well- or healed-baby approach in their advertising can increase purchase intentions due to the increased anticipated positive emotions. Increasing the threat level of environmental problems by using a sick-baby appeal would not work, as consumers' anticipated negative emotions (e.g. feeling of guilt from not buying green products) would not convince them to purchase the green product.