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The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of adaptive governance, which is advocated for as a manner to deal with dramatic changes in society and/or environment. To re-think the possible contributions of organizations and organization theory, to adaptive governance.

Based on social systems theory this study makes a distinction between “governance organizations” and “governance communities.” Organizations are conceptualized as the decision machines which organize and (co-)steer governance. Communities are seen as the social environments against which the governance system orients its operations. This study considers the adaptive mechanisms of organizations and reflect on the roles of organizations to enhance adaptive governance in communities and societies.

Diverse types of organizations can link or couple in different ways to communities in their social environment. Such links can enhance the coordinative capacity of the governance system and can also spur innovation to enable adaptation. Yet, linking with communities can also slow down responses to change and complexify the processes of deliberation in governance. Not all adaptive mechanisms available to organizations can be used in communicating with communities or can be institutionalized, but the continuous innovation in the field of organizations can inspire continuous testing of small-scale adaptive mechanisms at higher levels. Society can thus enhance its adaptive capacity by managing the role of organizations.

The harnessing of insights in organization theory and systems theory for improving understanding of adaptive governance. The finding that both experiment and coordination at societal level are needed, toward adaptive governance, and that organizations can contribute to both.

The purpose of this paper is to examine which particular marketing strategies will work best in which particular business environments. It also aims to test a series of propositions that the choice of marketing strategy needs to be carefully considered so that it is appropriate for a set of environmental conditions, or business conditions.

The paper employs survey research, structural equation modelling and t‐tests.

Results in this study of 217 companies from Australia, Singapore, The Netherlands and China finds general support for the hypotheses that different environmental situations provide the suitable conditions for a customer, competitor or societal orientated strategy. In particular, customer‐oriented strategies are most effective in placid clustered and turbulent environments, while competitor orientated strategies work best in a placid‐clustered environment. Societal marketing based strategies were shown to be most effective in placid random and placid clustered environments. This suggests that firms may use social marketing strategies in a pre‐emptive manner to maintain favourable environmental conditions for the organisation.

The findings are limited somewhat by the size and nature of the sample, although this compares well to other studies in the area of marketing orientation. The research shows the importance of the match of the environment type with the business strategy, as certain strategies are most effective in particular environmental conditions.

Choice of an appropriate business strategy is moderated by the environment. Marketing‐based business strategies are not always the most effective. In turbulent environments, customer‐oriented strategies seem to be most effective. Societal marketing strategies seem to be used to manage and maintain placid environments or business conditions. Competitor‐based strategies are best suited to placid‐clustered environments, business conditions, which are favourable and therefore attract greater competition.

This study also introduces an important measure of the societal orientation of the firm. It provides empirical supports the thesis that marketing strategies need to be tailored for the environment and so adds to the understanding of the interplay between the effectiveness of business strategies in different business conditions. There is not a great deal of research which suggests what type of marketing strategy is best suited to what type of environment. This paper makes an important contribution to this area.

Based on the service eco-systems perspective, this paper evaluates the strategies and actions adopted by the Government of Pakistan to handle the COVID-19 crisis with the involvement of multiple actors including public, private, third-sector organizations and civil society.

The paper is based on an in-depth analysis of secondary sources including research articles, policy documents, policy briefs, governmental reports, third party evaluations/reports and media publications.

A multi-stakeholder approach was evident during the pandemic with an effort to better manage the crisis which has exerted immense social, cultural, economic and political impacts on the lives of the citizens. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders (government, private and third sector) were witnessed, resulting in a coherent response. The successful management of COVID-19 in Pakistan is attributed to multiple factors including the formation of a specialized public organization which effectively and proactively took data-driven informed decisions and aggregated the efforts of the federal and provincial governments for a timely response.

This paper gives insights for policymakers to create a sustainable post-pandemic socio-economic environment by building resilient structures across the government while promoting cooperation and collaboration. It suggests strategies for policymakers responsible for providing sustainable societal solutions to combat the social, economic and administrative challenges under the pandemic. As Pakistan has managed and contained the pandemic in a relatively efficient way, it is hoped that this paper can provide a learning experience for other countries with similar national contexts.

The mainstream climate change community has primarily concerned itself with mitigation and adaptation strategies, both of which require monitoring and prediction. These four inter-connected response actions (mitigation, adaptation, monitoring and prediction) constitute the main strategies for managing climate change. This paper aims to weigh in on policies and societal coordination for effective management of the earth’s climate with respect to these four elements in Africa because of its socioeconomic peculiarities.

The Delphi experts’ method backed by questionnaires was used to obtain relevant data for the study. The questionnaires were distributed to professionals dealing with issues related to climate change response and sustainability in various parts of the world, with a focus on Africa.

With respect to the strategies that are most needed for effective climate change actions in Africa, government’s policies, activities and decisions rank highest at 1.20 with a p-value of < 0.001, and financing is next at 0.93, mitigation is 0.83, prediction is 0.76 and adaptation is 0.68 (p = 0.048), at the 5 per cent cutoff. Also, for the most appropriate approaches to managing climate change across Africa, regional efforts are at least 8 times more effective than country-wide approaches, followed by continental efforts at 6.51 times, international cooperation at 3.99 times and inaction at 0.00 times.

The paper concludes that a holistic climate change management approach is important in Africa to contain the impacts of climate change in the continent.

The erosion of ‘trust’ (among citizens as well as within and between institutional levels) is a worrying aspect of these turbulent times in Europe and beyond. Trust (between citizens and institutions, citizens and experts, policymakers and experts, and among different levels of governance) is crucial in all dimensions of disaster resilience. Risk perceptions stem from a complex web of feedback between individuals, communities, institutions, and experts. Sometimes, institutions and experts are slow or even resistant to accepting signals and knowledge about risks coming from the grassroots. Or, it is the other way around, and citizens are skeptical about the information coming from institutions and experts. Thus, trust must work in all directions (from citizens to institutions, from experts to citizens, etc.) to build a cooperative framework for action.

Our article aims to explore the construction of trust and distrust in communities dealing with historical, actual, or potential disasters by putting forward a three-dimensional approach (societal, cooperative, and institutional). We convey the idea that less tangible aspects such as culture, contextual history, knowledge, and habits shape the perception of risk, the degree of preparedness and, ultimately, the impacts of environmental changes.

These elements affect cooperative behaviors, and it is expected that the institutional environment – which will vary across domestic, national, and regional contexts – will play a significant role in nurturing trust or distrust in relation to disaster risk.

This article will offer valuable insights by developing a new conceptual framework that can be translated and validated by future research.

The purpose of this paper is to argue for inclusion of evasive foreign direct investment (FDI) into search-based motivation typologies in international business.

Critically reassessing academic literature and using anecdotal evidence, the authors augment the theory of FDI motivation with the concept of evasion.

Evasive FDI is a firm-level response to denial-of-privilege by a state. Divergence of policy environments between home and host prompts relocation or international expansion of productive assets and often the affectation of ‘foreignness’ by the multinational enterprise (MNE). The role of responsibility evasion via FDI is understood in the research literature, mainly because of an emphasis on search-based motives and a failure to distinguish between escape and evasion. International business research is vulnerable to mis-identification of FDI motive which consequently distorts its strategic and policy implications.

The argument for inclusion of evasive FDI serves to augment the established, yet asymmetrically focussed typology of search FDI, demonstrating that evasion is conceptually and analytically distinguishable from search. Further, an augmented typology lends accuracy and insight to research into the reconfiguration strategies of MNEs and legitimation of the international business discipline itself, providing researchers with a more comprehensive account of FDI causation and offering new research paths.

To explore the sociological concept of autopoiesis (N. Luhmann), investigate its interdisciplinary roots and demonstrate its practical relevance.

The biological concept of autopoiesis (H. Maturana/F. Varela) and the philosophical concept of meaning (E. Husserl) are first discussed with respect to their contribution to the development of the sociological concept of autopoiesis. The autopoietic mechanism of three different social systems is then described, and the practical relevance of the sociological concept of autopoiesis demonstrated using the example of governance.

The scientific positioning of the sociological approach to autopoiesis is two‐fold. On the one hand, it is firmly rooted in the scientific tradition and, on the other, its originality is determined by the adaptation and new combination of existing concepts. Although this adaptation‐combination process has provoked some criticism, the result does matter because it enriches the theoretical and empirical analysis which we use to explain the dynamics of modern societies.

The application of the sociological concept of autopoiesis to politics gives new insights into the opportunities and barriers of governance processes.

Positioning of the sociological concept of autopoiesis within the scientific tradition and its application (beyond metaphorical usage) as an analytical tool.

This study aims to offer a value chain (real options) approach for reducing uncertainty exposure by pursuing a global frictionless trade ethos almost exclusively. Jolts of significant proportion, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding reshoring phenomena observed in Mexico and Central America, enhance the topic’s relevance.

This conceptual study sheds light on heightened systemic uncertainty because of extreme events; proposes a mitigation protocol rooted in real options (ROs); and prescribes incentivizing regional value chains through public–private partnerships (PPPs).

This study identifies a systemic multinational enterprise (MNE) response aimed at mitigating the repercussions of the most recent jolt of significant worldwide proportions and suggests developing regional value chains through PPPs. In doing so, the authors recognize an incipient MNE trend toward nearshoring and backshoring to achieve this end. This phenomenon is relatively underdeveloped in Europe, where fewer than 4% of firms have engaged in backshoring activities, even in the three-millennia-old Basque region. In contrast, last year’s backshoring of global value chains (GVCs) in Mexico and Central America was noticeable.

This study is among the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to explore the nearshoring phenomenon as a response mechanism, and it opens avenues for finding better ways to mitigate worldwide uncertainties and exposure to extreme events.

This model would benefit MNEs and governments by keeping their operations running as close to capacity as possible, even when external jolts cause a partial or total system shutdown of MNEs’ GVCs. The proposed solution, namely, PPPs, can achieve these objectives through real options.

A social benefit of the regionalization of MNEs’ GVCs would be helping to resolve societal grand challenges, including lowering their global carbon footprint and reducing poverty. This is because having a regional supply facility close to their home market would not only lead to cost reductions for MNEs but also allow them to conduct more on-site quality control checks.

The regional real options concept offers an excellent opportunity for practitioners and governments to improve MNEs’ success via the mitigation of uncertainties and, concomitantly, the lives of billions of people.

El presente estudio ofrece un enfoque de cadena de valor (opciones reales) para reducir la exposición a la incertidumbre de perseguir casi exclusivamente un ethos comercial global sin fricciones. Los eventos externos de proporciones significativas, como la reciente pandemia de COVID-19 y los correspondientes fenómenos de relocalización observados en México y América Central, aumentan la relevancia del tema.

Este estudio conceptual 1) arroja luz sobre la mayor incertidumbre sistémica debido a eventos extremos, 2) propone un protocolo de mitigación basado en opciones reales, y 3) prescribe incentivar las cadenas de valor regionales a través de asociaciones público-privadas.

Este estudio identifica una respuesta sistémica de las EMN destinada a mitigar las repercusiones de la sacudida más reciente de proporciones significativas en todo el mundo y sugiere desarrollar cadenas de valor regionales a través de asociaciones público-privadas. Al hacerlo, reconocemos una incipiente tendencia de las EMN hacia la nearshoring y la backshoring para lograr este fin. Este fenómeno está relativamente poco desarrollado en Europa, donde menos del 4% de las empresas se han dedicado a actividades de deslocalización, incluso en la región vasca de tres milenios de antigüedad. En contraste, el retroceso del año pasado de las cadenas globales de valor en México y América Central fue notable.

Nuestro estudio es uno de los primeros en explorar el fenómeno de la nearshoring como mecanismo de respuesta, y abre vías para encontrar mejores formas de mitigar las incertidumbres mundiales y la exposición a eventos extremos.

El concepto de opciones reales regionales ofrece una excelente oportunidad para que los profesionales y los gobiernos mejoren el éxito de las empresas multinacionales mediante la mitigación de las incertidumbres y, al mismo tiempo, la vida de miles de millones de personas.

O presente estudo oferece uma abordagem de cadeia de valor (opções reais) para reduzir a exposição à incerteza de buscar quase exclusivamente um ethos de negócios global sem atrito. Eventos externos de proporções significativas, como a recente pandemia de COVID-19 e os correspondentes fenômenos de realocação observados no México e na América Central, aumentam a relevância do tema.

Este estudo conceitual 1) lança luz sobre o aumento da incerteza sistêmica devido a eventos extremos, 2) propõe um protocolo de mitigação baseado em opções reais e 3) prescreve o incentivo às cadeias de valor regionais por meio de parcerias público-privadas.

Este estudo identifica uma resposta sistémica das empresas multinacionais com o objetivo de mitigar os impactos do choque mais recente de proporções significativas a nível mundial e sugere o desenvolvimento de cadeias de valor regionais através de parcerias público-privadas. Ao fazer isso, reconhecemos uma tendência emergente de multinacionais em direção ao nearshoring e backshoring para atingir esse fim. Este fenómeno está relativamente subdesenvolvido na Europa, onde menos de 4% das empresas se dedicaram a actividades de offshoring, mesmo na região basca de três milénios. Em contraste, a retração das cadeias globais de valor no México e na América Central no ano passado foi notável.

Nosso estudo é um dos primeiros a explorar o fenômeno do nearshoring como um mecanismo de resposta e abre caminhos para encontrar melhores maneiras de mitigar as incertezas globais e a exposição a eventos extremos.

O conceito de opções reais regionais oferece uma excelente oportunidade para profissionais e governos melhorarem o sucesso de empresas multinacionais, mitigando incertezas e, ao mesmo tempo, a vida de bilhões de pessoas.

Purpose – Reform, transformation and restructuring have become endemic in public services. This paper aims to examine the central “modernisation” and improvement themes of public service reform in Denmark and the UK. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the authors' reflections on experience and analysis, drawing on the UK and Denmark as sites where there have been substantial efforts to undertake public services reform. It argues that there has been a weakening of the hierarchically organised state in favour of more differentiated governance regimes that cut across the public, private and voluntary sectors. However, the new dynamic image of public leadership and the apparently enlarged opportunities for managerial discretion seem to be counter‐balanced by a strengthening of central interventions and controls. Findings – The paper identifies that managing the tensions and paradoxes of governance regimes has become a key element of the work of public service managers, and that this means that three sets of dynamics need to be worked with. First, the dynamics of self‐creation means that authority is not solely formal but that self‐constitution is necessary. Second, the dynamics of strategising means that managers cannot rely on a fixed legal or professional set of values but must be able to decode, challenge and develop varied sets of values and goals, working with varied rationales for action. Third, the dynamics of networking and negotiation mean that management and leadership positions are partly created through negotiated relations in a network‐like governance structure. Practical implications – These dynamics mean that teaching and learning have to address new challenges if programmes for public service leaders and managers are to be enabling. Originality/value – The paper highlights the challenges facing public sector leaders and managers.