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This paper aims to provide a starting point to discuss how social enterprises can drive systemic change in terms of social impact through operations and supply chain management.

This paper reviews existing literature and the four papers in this special issue and develops a conceptual framework of how social enterprises and their supply chains create social impact and further enable systematic change.

Our paper finds that social impact and systemic change can be shaped by social enterprises at three different levels of analysis (organization, supply chain and context) and through three enablers (cognitive shift, stakeholder collaboration and scalability). Such dimensions are used to position current literature and to highlight new research directions.

This paper proposes a novel understanding of operations and supply chain management in social enterprises intended as catalysts for systemic change. Based on this premise we distinguish different practices and stakeholders to be considered when studying social impact at different levels. The conceptual framework introduced in the paper provides a new pathway for future research and debate by scholars engaged at the intersection of social impact, sustainable operations and supply chain management.

While brand purpose has gained traction in academia and industry, it overlaps with other socially-oriented branding concepts, generating confusion and criticism around what brand purpose is and how it should be implemented. This study aims to clarify conceptualisations of brand purpose and related concepts, developing a managerial framework for effective implementation and contributing a future research agenda for scholars.

The paper presents the results of a systematic literature review on brand purpose, exploring the current knowledge. A total of 202 studies from 75 journals were drawn from a wide range of databases and met the identified criteria relevant to brand purpose, published up to and including 2023. Full papers were empirically analysed using qualitative iterative thematic analysis to identify common and emerging themes and synthesise this into a framework.

Beyond identifying the diverse applications of brand purpose, the BEING framework is proposed. This acronym captures five principles of brand purpose: beyond profit, enduring commitment, integrated values, nurturing stakeholders and genuine action.

The BEING framework provides clear managerial guidance for implementing brand purpose, urging brand leaders to enact meaningful brand purpose and champion purpose within organisations.

As more brands pursue a higher purpose, this research elucidates the meaning of brand purpose and offers an actionable framework for brands to contribute to a better world.

This work examines the related branding concepts, clarifying the brand purpose concept and offering the BEING framework to articulate essential components of effective brand purpose.

The purpose of this study is to explore Chinese women’s pursuit of entrepreneurship as a career choice through the intersectional lens of gender and culture. The study aims to identify factors that influenced Chinese women’s decisions to pursue entrepreneurship.

In this exploratory qualitative study, we conducted qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured and one-on-one interviews with 16 Chinese women entrepreneurs.

We identified various factors that influenced Chinese women’s career choice of entrepreneurship. The factors include entrepreneurial attributes, rapid economic growth, societal and cultural influences, the dual role of family influences and strategic entrepreneurship.

Our study provides a contextualized understanding of the experience of Chinese women’s entrepreneurship career choices. It enriches the existing literature on career choices within the career development for Chinese women entrepreneurs. By applying social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to a specific cultural and gendered setting, we proposed the social cognitive women’s entrepreneurial career theory, which offers fresh insights into the interplay of personal, contextual and behavioral dimensions in shaping Chinese women’s entrepreneurial career choices.

This study aims to explore academic women’s silence from the perspective of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), by examining the triadic influences of the individual, environment and behaviour, which impacts their silence. The study examines how women use personal, proxy and collective agency (Bandura, 2018) to reduce silence.

Interviewing 22 academics (20 women, 2 men) at a leading Polish university, this study used the Gioia et al. (2013) method to analyse the interviews, creating first- and second-order codes and final aggregated concepts.

This study finds, from an environmental perspective, that societal-level gendering, which is underpinned by critical social factors and institutional logics that are part of Poland’s culture promoting gender stereotypes and family values influences women’s silence. There is clear evidence for the regression of women’s rights, which compounds women’s silence. These societal-level factors influence a hierarchical, bureaucratic organizational structure, alongside gender segregation. From an individual perspective, reasons for silence include socialization, fear, women’s lack of power, inequality and self-silencing to mitigate harassment or discrimination. Collective agency was a strongly mentioned theme to help reduce silence, which includes implementing training and development initiatives, creating a safe platform to voice concerns, structural transformation and cultural change.

This study contributes to literature regarding women’s silence by exploring reasons for silence through the lens of Bandura’s social cognitive theory and agentic perspective, which demonstrates how silence could be reduced through collective action, in the understudied context of Poland, which highlights how country context intersects with organizational context and individual experience, influencing women’s silence.

Social impact research remains in its infancy. The purpose of the paper is to build on Keeling and Marshall’s (2022) “Call for impact” paper and develop a comprehensive social impact pathway (SIP) framework. The aim is to encourage marketing researchers, non-profits and corporations to pursue impactful work that is valued, planned, monitored and evaluated.

The conceptual paper explores the complexities of estimating social impact drawing from a range of illustrative cases.

The paper identifies a lack of clarity in the understanding and application of impact and presents a pathway aimed at increasing focus on social impact across future work to deliver the net-positive changes that are needed to reverse biodiversity decline, climate change and social and health inequalities that continue to be persist and be experienced by so many planet wide.

This paper contributes a pathway forward to encourage and support increased utilisation of the framework in future marketing research.

Mapping and measuring SIPs are concerted efforts directing understanding towards identifying the activities that are contributing to the delivery of outputs that can achieve intended outcomes. The measurement of impact directs investment towards activities that ensure net-positive gains are achieved.

Ever growing social inequities, health disparities, loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation occur when practices are left unchecked. A focus on impact avoids greenwashing practices, ensuring that an understanding of what has changed because of the work is transparently reported.

This paper aims to encourage marketing researchers to engage in social change projects, rather than solely disseminating academic findings. Emphasising the importance of an outside-in approach, this paper highlights the necessity of showcasing accumulated outcomes to demonstrate impact.

The case study can be used for the course of entrepreneurship and is appropriate for postgraduate students. Discussion would be the most appropriate method for teaching this case study. Through Nutan’s words, students could gain a first-hand glimpse into the transformative journey of a rural woman entrepreneur.

In 2018, Nutan Jha embarked on a remarkable journey by establishing Nutan Creations, a micro-enterprise situated in Kharrak village, Jhanjharpur, Bihar (India). This case study aims to achieve multiple objectives: understanding the operational obstacles confronted by a rural woman entrepreneur, acknowledging the inseparable connection between business and social issues in rural contexts, moreover shedding light on the intersection of gender, entrepreneurship and cultural preservation through traditional Madhubani painting art form products. This distinctive combination brings a fresh perspective to the research, offering unique insights into the challenges and triumphs experienced by rural women entrepreneurs. The findings of this case study exemplify the intricate interplay between business and social concerns in rural areas, portraying an inspiring depiction of how determination, adaptability and robust support networks can conquer hurdles and foster transformative changes.

The case study has been designed for the students of business administration and entrepreneurship who have completed their elementary model on marketing comprehend. The students should need to understand the concept of entrepreneurship and the basics of digital marketing strategy to ensure effective learning.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Building on a stress-related view, this study examines the impact of qualitative job insecurity on three indicators of career sustainability. It also examines the moderating role of employee age in this relationship.

Dutch respondents (N = 398) working in various sectors responded to an online survey. Our hypotheses were tested using path modeling with Mplus.

Qualitative job insecurity was negatively related to job satisfaction, general health, and employability. Moreover, a moderating effect of employee age on the relationship between qualitative job insecurity and job satisfaction was found.

Organizations need to take measures to prevent qualitative job insecurity, as this appears to be an essential hindering factor that might endanger an employee's career sustainability. Especially younger workers (<40 years) seem to suffer from qualitative job insecurity as this decreases their job satisfaction, urging management and HR professionals to protect them against it.

By focusing on qualitative job insecurity, this study helps to close an essential gap in the literature that so far has mainly focused on quantitative job insecurity. Besides, this is the very first empirical work investigating the link between qualitative job insecurity and multiple indicators of career sustainability. Finally, this research adds a developmental approach to sustainable careers by comparing younger and older workers.

In the evolving landscape of Industry 5.0 (I5.0), which emphasises sustainability, human-centricity and resilience, mapping the current interrelationship and future research directions, the role of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology remains underexplored. Our study addresses this gap by examining the potential of LSS to support I5.0 while identifying areas for further investigation.

This study's multifaceted approach, which includes systematic literature review (SLR), bibliographic network analysis (BNA) and expert validation (EV), provides a holistic exploration of the interaction between LSS and I5.0 as the basis for well-founded conclusions.

The analysis yields several valuable insights. Firstly, it demonstrates the absence of a direct link between LSS and I5.0. Secondly, the substantial body of literature analysed establishes connections between LSS and its pillars. Thirdly, the analysis identifies points of intersection, difference and similarity between LSS and I5.0, highlighting the potential of LSS to facilitate implementation of I5.0 through its proven methodologies, continuous improvement culture, risk management, error learning, human–machine collaboration and training and skill development.

This study pioneers the effort to realise the latent potential of LSS in the context of I5.0. Its systematic identification of the synergies between these paradigms fills a critical gap in the literature and gives policymakers, managers and researchers a guide for informed decision-making to maximise the benefits of I5.0 for individuals, companies, society and the planet.

A major portion of our social interaction now occurs online, facilitated by social networking sites (SNSs) that enable people to connect and communicate at will. However, the characteristics of SNS communication can introduce problematic outcomes on otherwise healthy processes, one of which is social comparison. In this work, we investigate whether compulsive SNS use could be driven by two phenomena related to social comparison: the fear of missing out (FoMO) and envy.

Using the stimulus-organism-response framework, we developed a model that was tested with data from a sample of SNS users (N = 330) based in the United States. The analysis was done through partial least squares structural equation modeling.

Our findings show FoMO's association with the two forms of dispositional experienced envy, benign and malicious, as well as expected envy of others (expected envy). Interestingly, benign and expected envy were associated with SNS stalking and self-disclosure, but malicious envy had non-significant associations. Finally, both SNS stalking and self-disclosure were linked to compulsive SNS use.

We study the nuanced ways in which the two forms of experienced envy and expected envy can be triggered by FoMO and result in users' engagement with problematic SNS use. Our research provides evidence that, in addition to benign envy being an antecedent of compulsive SNS use, the wish to invoke envious feelings in others can also significantly drive compulsive use.