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The purpose of this article is twofold. Its first objective is to bring to the fore the unexplored and neglected origins of social exchange theory (SET) to critique this body of conjecture. This unearthing is illustrated through focusing on the way the theory was developed and how this development was mischaracterised in literature. Its second objective is to invoke the methodological assemblage of ANTi-History and the “close reading” notion using multiple archival sources to demonstrate their usefulness within the critical qualitative method debate.

The historic character of management and organization studies is exemplified through utilizing a combination of textual sources to examine how SET emerged from within the human relations school of thought throughout much of the twentieth century. Specifically, an array of sources (including archival data) is deployed and closely examined to trace how SET formed and became prevalent in organizational studies over the last decades.

SET is not only indebted to the human relations movement in general and to Elton Mayo’s work in particular (as is well-known), but also to logical positivism and behavioralist-school psychology. As such, Homans’ work marked the beginning of a new era in organizational behavior research.

The article highlights the role of historical analyses in interpreting mainstream constructs in organizational behavior. In doing so, it reveals how critical qualitative research leads to understanding some shortcomings of a theory and indicates potential remedies.

We attempt to construct a grey three-way conflict analysis model with constraints to deal with correlated conflict problems with uncertain information.

In order to address these correlated conflict problems with uncertain information, considering the interactive influence and mutual restraints among agents and portraying their attitudes toward the conflict issues, we utilize grey numbers and three-way decisions to propose a grey three-way conflict analysis model with constraints. Firstly, based on the collected information, we introduced grey theory, calculated the degree of conflict between agents and then analyzed the conflict alliance based on the three-way decision theory. Finally, we designed a feedback mechanism to identify key agents and key conflict issues. A case verifies the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed model.

The results show that the proposed model can portray their attitudes toward conflict issues and effectively extract conflict-related information.

By employing this approach, we can provide the answers to Deja’s fundamental questions regarding Pawlak’s conflict analysis: “what are the underlying causes of conflict?” and “how can a viable consensus strategy be identified?”

The purpose of this systematic literature review (SLR) is to examine the theoretical landscape of knowledge hiding (KH) research, identifies prevailing theories, the different ways KH is understood within these theories and the underlying assumptions that shape these views. Based on this, ideas for further research are derived to advance the theoretical basis of KH studies.

Using a theory-based SLR, the authors analysed 170 scientific papers from Scopus and Web of Science. This involved thematic analysis to categorise theories frequently applied in KH research and a detailed examination to link core assumptions to these theoretical perspectives.

The analysis revealed a reliance on 86 distinct theories, with a notable emphasis on social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory. KH is predominantly conceptualised as a negative, objective, reactive and relational behaviour rooted in social reciprocity and resource conservation. The review uncovers the multifaceted nature of KH, challenging the field to incorporate broader theoretical views that encompass positive aspects, subjective experiences, strategic intentions and non-relational determinants of KH.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically map and analyse the theoretical underpinnings of KH research. It offers a unique contribution by categorising the diverse theories applied in KH studies and explicitly linking these theories to their inherent assumptions about KH. This approach provides a comprehensive overview that not only identifies gaps in the current research landscape but also proposes alternative theoretical perspectives for exploring KH, thereby setting a new direction for future studies in this field.

The motivation to participate in crowdsourcing (CS) platforms is an emerging challenge. Although researchers and practitioners have focused on crowd motivation in the past, the results obtained through such practices have not been satisfactory. Researchers have left unexplored research areas related to CS pillars, such as the evolution of the crowd’s primary motivations, seekers applying effective policies and incentives, platform design challenges and addressing task complexity using the synchronicity of the crowd. Researchers are now more inclined to address these issues by focusing on sustaining the crowd’s motivation; however, sustaining the crowd’s motivation has many challenges.

To fill this gap, this study conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) to investigate and map the challenges and factors affecting sustained motivation during CS with the overcoming implications. Studies that satisfied the inclusion criteria were published between 2010 and 2021.

Important sustainable factors are extracted using the grounded theory that has sustained participation and the factors' cohesion leads to the identification of challenges that the pillars of CS face. Crowds being the most vital part of CS contests face the challenge of engagement. The results reported the factors that affect the crowd’s primary and post-intentions, perceived value of incentives and social and communal interaction. Seekers face the challenge of knowledge and understanding; the results identify the reason behind the crowd’s demotivation and the impact of theories and factors on the crowd's psychological needs which helped in sustaining participation. Similarly, the platforms face the challenge of being successful and demanding, the results identify the latest technologies, designs and features that seekers proclaim and need the platforms designer's attention. The identified task challenges are completion and achievement; the authors have identified the impact of trait of task and solving mechanisms that have sustained participation.

The study identifies, explores and summarizes the challenges on CS pillars researchers are facing now to sustain contributions by keeping participants motivated during online campaigns. Similarly, the study highlights the implication to overcome the challenges by identifying and prioritizing the areas concerning sustainability through the adoption of innovative methods or policies that can guarantee sustained participation.

Theories are crucial for addressing research questions and advancing the boundaries of knowledge. However, in the field of strategic management, the existence of diverse schools of thought from various disciplines, including economics, politics, and sociology, poses significant challenges for researchers seeking to develop theories for argumentation and theorization. In this study, we have conceptualized a novel approach to selecting an appropriate theory for addressing specific research questions.

Thought experiment, disciplined imagination, and a conceptual examination of a diverse set of theories.

Because the central focus in the field of strategic management revolves around how firms achieve sustainable high performance, a research question should initially clarify the fundamental phenomenological issues it aims to address. Subsequently, the process of problematization should identify the ontological assumptions and premises that establish a connection between the research question and existing theories. Finally, the identification and abstraction of rhetorical concepts derived from these assumptions and premises lead to theory selection criteria, namely connectedness, reliability, parsimoniousness, and falsifiability.

Although we believe that our model for theory selection is generalizable to a wide range of management disciplines, we have primarily focused on its application in the field of strategic management. Future work could validate and further explore the applicability and effectiveness of this model in selecting appropriate theories for conceptual development in other domains.

While many researchers have proposed methods for writing theoretical papers, few have provided suggestions specifically focused on theory selection. This paper stands out as one of the few that not only attempts to address this gap but successfully develops a comprehensive model for theory selection.

To overcome the limitations of traditional multi-attribute decision making (MADM) methods, which only provide deterministic rankings of decision objects, this paper proposes a novel multi-attribute 3WD model. This model presents three-parameter interval grey number decision-theoretic rough sets (TPIGNDTRSs), aiming to offer a reasoned interpretation of loss functions in grey environments and ensure objective assessment of conditional probabilities.

Firstly, the traditional equivalence relation is replaced with the probabilistic dominance relation (PDR), categorizing decision objects into two state sets in DTRS for more objective conditional probabilities. Secondly, as the three-parameter interval grey number (TPIGN) introduces the most probable value on the basis of the traditional two-parameter interval grey number, it provides a more comprehensive method for describing grey information. Consequently, integrating TPIGN into DTRS refines the interpretations of loss functions in grey environments. Finally, by utilizing two main sorting techniques, relative kernel and degree of accuracy ranking and possibility ranking, two types of 3WD rules with TPIGNDTRSs, are constructed.

This study has successfully developed and validated a new multi-attribute 3WD model. The model was tested in two distinct domains: evaluating innovation efficiency in high-tech enterprises and recommending movies in a practical case. The findings reveal that the model can effectively integrate relevant information of high-tech enterprises, provide the government with enterprise-level assessments, and gather consumer preferences to recommend the most suitable movies.

This study treats the loss function as grey information in the 3WD model but overlooks the grey nature of evaluation values, limiting its applicability. Additionally, the model’s reliance on subjective expert judgments and historical data to establish the loss function may affect its objectivity. The implications of this research are that the novel model overcomes traditional MADM limitations, enhancing decision-making quality and efficiency in complex and grey scenarios. The model’s successful application in evaluating high-tech enterprises and recommending movies illustrates its dual value in both theory and practice.

Initially, the model proposed in this study is of significant importance for the development of the 3WD field, as it successfully addresses the challenges of uncertain loss functions and unknown conditional probabilities in grey information environments. Moreover, by integrating the 3WD model with MADM problems, it has broken through the bottlenecks of traditional MADM methods, offering new perspectives and strategies for solving MADM issues. Therefore, this research not only advances theoretical research but also provides powerful tools for practical applications.

Toward sustainable development, radical green innovation (RGI) is necessary. Despite extensive research on the factors influencing green innovation, few studies have been conducted on the precursors. Based on upper echelons (UE) theory, dynamic capability (DC) theory, “stimulus-organism-response” (SOR) theory, social information processing (SIP) theory and cognitive appraisal (CA) theory of emotion, the study explores how digital leadership (DL) affects RGI and investigates the mediating effects of green organizational identity (GOI) and the moderating effects of digital threat (DT) and technology for social good (TSG), as well as the multiple concurrent causalities that trigger high RGI.

The method of combining structural equation model (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs QCA) is adopted in the study. Data from 233 questionnaires were collected at two different time points.

This study's findings indicate that the four dimensions of DL can positively influence RGI and GOI partially mediates between the four dimensions of DL and RGI. DT has a negative moderating effect between DL and GOI, while TSG is positively regulated between them, DT and TSG linkage moderates the partial mediating effect of GOI in DL and RGI. Further, fs QCA is used to analyze the causal complexity of DL dimensions and GOI to RGI and nine effective configuration paths are identified. It is found that the synergy of digital thinking ability (DTA), digital detection ability (DDA), digital social ability (DSA), digital reserve ability (DRA) and GOI is crucial to high RGI. Among them, GOI core appears the most times, indicating that GOI plays a vital role in improving enterprise RGI.

This study expands the literature on leadership and innovation by constructing a framework of “DL-GOI-RGI” and exploring the transmission of GOI and the boundary effect of DT and TSG. The study used fs QCA and SEM to better understand the statistical associations and the set relations between the conjunctions and conditions.

Sustainability continues to be put forth as a strategic priority. However, sustainability efforts are often deemphasized for short-term profitability. This study explores the nuances in managerial decision-making related to adopting sustainability initiatives within food supply chains in an emerging economy. We identify a complex interaction between sustainability efforts and risk mitigation. We derive a model to explain conflicting company goals, managerial decisions and system design.

We followed an exploratory research design with an inductive approach. We analyzed data from semi-structured interviews with 29 companies representing different tiers in Turkish food supply chains. We refined and validated the interview findings through a focus group with nine senior managers. We conducted open, focused and theoretical coding in an iterative and reflective manner to analyze the data and derive our results.

From the data, three themes emerged, indicating that managers are pursuing different, often conflicting, goals concerning value creation, risk management and sustainability performance. Managers identified and commented on new risks brought on by sustainability initiatives. These sustainability-induced risks were seen as a threat to operational performance, a driver of increased costs and a negative impact on product quality and delivery performance. Trade-offs across operating, sustainability and risk management systems create transformational tension that confounds the sustainability adoption decision-making process.

The data from the study was contrasted with a theoretical framework derived from systems theory, goal-setting theory of motivation and the theory of planned behavior. We identified four distinct decision paths that managers pursue. Increased awareness of transformational tension and how it influences managerial decision-making can enhance strategic sustainability system design and initiative success.

The increasing popularity of live-streaming commerce has provided a new opportunity for e-retailers to boost sales. This study integrated signaling theory and social exchange theory to investigate how streamer- and product-centered signals influence customers’ likelihood of making an impulsive purchase in the live-streaming commerce context.

An online survey was designed and distributed to the target respondents in China using purposive sampling. A total of 735 valid responses were analyzed with partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Both streamer-centered signals, i.e. streamer credibility and streamer interaction quality, were discovered to significantly influence product-centered signal, i.e. product information quality. Additionally, streamer interaction quality was found to have a significant impact on streamer credibility. Furthermore, it was observed that customer engagement played a significant mediating role in the relationship between product information quality and impulsive buying tendency. Moreover, the paths between product information quality and customer engagement, as well as the connection between engagement and impulsive buying tendency, were found to be moderated by guanxi orientation.

Despite the prevalence of impulsive purchases in live-streaming commerce, few studies have empirically investigated the impact of streamer and product signals on influencing customers’ impulsive purchase decisions. Consequently, to the best of our knowledge, this study distinguishes itself by offering empirical insights into how streamers use reciprocating relationship mechanisms to communicate signals that facilitate impulsive purchase decisions.

The development of an effective corporate vision is a necessary issue for corporate performance, and it is a key issue for corporate sustainable development as well. The recognition of questions like “what is the role of corporate vision in corporate performance” is directly related to the attitude and practice of entrepreneurs and managers toward the development of corporate vision as well as the effectiveness of the corporate vision itself. To better answer the questions concerning the role of corporate vision development and effectively guide the practice of corporations, the authors study the pathways and mechanisms by which corporate visions operate to assist businesses in achieving high performance.

The article completes the construction of indicators to measure each dimension of the corporate vision in line with social cognitive theory and analyzes the relationship between corporate vision and corporate performance by combining qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) research methods. The article provides insights into the logic of constructing and adjusting corporate visions from a process perspective.

The mechanisms by which corporate visions can be articulated, accepted and transformed within the organization are also the means by which corporate visions can improve corporate performance. In a dynamic environment, the corporate vision setting and acceptance process integrates the requirements of various stakeholders, leading to the adjustment and acceptance of the corporate vision. As a result, the vision has continuous validity in a changing environment. Both start-ups and non-start-ups can benefit from the guidance provided by a strong corporate vision in overcoming a variety of issues and obstacles to produce strong business performance.

This is the first study that shows the relationship between corporate vision and corporate performance from a process perspective. The authors are interested in understanding which characteristics for building a corporate vision are more accepted by organizational members and, in turn, create high corporate performance. The authors also explore the conditions for corporate vision acceptance. This research has positive implications for shedding some light on the mechanisms by which corporate visions improve corporate performance.