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Although virtual worlds, such as the Metaverse, can disrupt the hospitality sector, few empirical investigations have critically evaluated the scope and scale of this disruption from an industry perspective. This study aims to rectify this knowledge gap by exploring the opportunities and challenges of the Metaverse as seen by hospitality professionals.

This is a Delphi study conducted with UK-based senior hospitality industry practitioners experienced in designing and implementing digital innovations within their organisations.

The Metaverse is most likely to be adopted by hospitality organisations willing and able to take risks, such as large and/or chain-affiliated enterprises. The Metaverse will not replace traditional hospitality services but supplement and enhance them with new layers of service. The main applications are in the context of events and experiences. The Metaverse will also provide the “try before you buy” option, revealing the opportunities to design digital twins of physical businesses. Young and technology-savvy individuals are most likely to first adopt the Metaverse. The key challenges of the adoption are attributed to the technological unpreparedness of hospitality organisations; market immaturity; inflated customer expectations; a skills gap among hospitality employees; and regulatory issues. These challenges require the engagement of various stakeholders to create an operational and monitoring framework for hospitality organisations to embrace the Metaverse.

This study highlights how the Metaverse can disrupt the hospitality industry at the level of strategic planning and business operations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical investigations of the potential of the Metaverse from the viewpoint of hospitality industry practitioners.

E-learning has become a polarizing issue. Some say that it enhances accessibility to education and some say that it hinders it. While the literature on the subject underscores the effectiveness of the pedagogical frameworks, strategies and distance learning technologies, the firsthand accounts of students, parents and practitioners challenge the validity of experts’ assessments. There is a gap between theory and practice and between the perceptions of providers and consumers of online learning. Following a period of lockdowns and a transition to online learning during the recent pandemic, the prevailing sentiment toward a distance mode of instruction became one of strong skepticism and negative bias. The aim of the study was to examine why e-learning has struggled to meet stakeholder expectations. Specifically, the study posed two research questions: 1. What are the reasons for dissatisfaction with online learning? 2. What are the implications for future research and practice?

The study used a mixed methods approach to examine the reasons behind negative perceptions of online learning by comparing the firsthand accounts posted on social media with the literature. To this end, n = 62,874 social media comments of secondary and postsecondary students, as well as parents, teachings staff and working professionals, covering the span of over 14 years (2008–2022), were collected and analyzed.

The study identified 28 themes that explain the stakeholder’s discontent with the online learning process and highlighted the importance of user-centric design. The analysis revealed that the perceived ineffectiveness of distance education stems from the failure to identify and address stakeholders’ needs and, more particularly, from the incongruence of instructional strategies, blindness to the cost of decisions related to instructional design, technology selection and insufficient levels of support. The findings also highlight the importance of user-centric design.

To address dissatisfaction with e-learning, it is imperative to remove barriers to learning and ensure alignment between technology and learners’ needs. In other words, the learning experience should be personalized to account for individual differences. Despite its cost-effectiveness, the one-size-fits-all approach hinders the learning process and experience and is likely to be met with resistance.

Drawing from the extensive literature, the study offers an explanation for stakeholders’ discontent with e-learning. Unlike survey research that is prone to social desirability bias, the sample provides a rare opportunity to observe and measure the visceral reactions that provide a more authentic sense of stakeholders’ perceptions toward online learning. The authors offer recommendations and identify areas for future research.

This study aims to help scholars comprehend the major research themes on sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education which researchers from various fields have explored and to propose several potential future research directions of the least researched SDG in higher education to support scholars in making up the gap in the field.

The authors adopted a bibliometric analysis method to review the extant literature from the Web of Science on SDGs in higher education from 2015 to 2023 and took a closer examination of the most researched SDGs discussed by scholars. This study specifically concentrated on studies that explicitly mentioned the term “Sustainable Development Goal” (or “SDG”) and applied VOSviewer to cluster common keywords of the most researched SDGs and explored related themes. Also, this study provided several potential future research directions of least researched SDG in higher education.

SDGs 3 and 4 were the most researched, and SDG 15 was the least researched. The three major themes of SDG 3 were Adult Issues of Sustainability, South Africa Issues of Sustainability, and Relationship between SDG 3 and SDG 4. The three major themes of SDG 4 were the Role of Universities in Sustainability, Sustainability during Covid-19, and Challenges of Implementation.

This study provided several potential future research directions of the least researched SDG in higher education to support scholars to make up the gap in the field. Also, this study pointed out some pedagogical strategies and competencies needed to aid higher education institutions in achieving the 17 SDGs.

Neurodivergent employees have atypical needs that require distinctive leadership approaches. In this study, the specific nature of a relationship between neurodivergent employees and their neurotypical leaders is explored through the lens of the leader–member exchange (LMX) theory.

This two-phased qualitative study builds on 12 semi-structured interviews with neurodivergent employees and an unstructured focus group with 15 individuals with professional and/or personal interest in neurodiversity. The researcher spent almost 13 h listening to the lived experiences of research participants concerning neurodiversity and leadership.

Leaders who exhibit empathy and understanding were noted to provide greater support. The findings also highlight the complexity of neuro-inclusion in the workplace. Specifically, the delicate balance between accommodation and avoiding stigmatization is emphasized, addressing the concerns raised regarding the legal risks associated with neurodivergent inclusion. Additionally, the findings underscore the necessity for leaders to avoid patronizing behaviors while catering to the diverse needs of neurodivergent employees. This underscores the importance of supporting both neurodivergent employees and leaders navigating such challenges.

The findings help establish inclusive and accommodating employee relations practices that conscientiously address the requirements of neurodivergent employees while providing support for those in leadership roles.

This study constitutes a direct answer to recent calls to develop a more nuanced understanding of workplace neurodiversity, with a specific focus on neuro-inclusive leadership. Acknowledging that we still use inappropriate, old tools in new situations that require novel approaches to leadership helps set the agenda for future research in this area.

The widespread integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled personalization has sparked a need for a deeper understanding of its transformative potential. To address this, this study aims to investigate the mental models held by consumers from diverse cultures regarding the impact and role of AI-enabled personalization in their lives (i.e. individual well-being) and in society (i.e. societal well-being).

This paper uses the theories-in-use approach, collecting qualitative data via the critical incident technique. This data encompasses 487 narratives from 176 consumers in two culturally distinct countries, Belgium and Pakistan. Additionally, it includes insights from a focus group of six experts in the field.

This research reveals that consumers view AI-enabled personalization as a dual-edged sword: it may both extend and restrict the self and also contribute to an affluent society as well as an ailing society. The particular aspects of the extended/restricted self and the affluent/ailing society that emerge differ across respondents from different cultural contexts.

This cross-cultural research contributes to the personalization and well-being literature by providing detailed insight into the transformative potential of AI-enabled personalization while also having important managerial and policy implications.

University-industry collaboration studies have placed greater emphasis on intrinsic motivators that drive academic researchers to pursue collaboration. This paper explores the relationship between spiritual motivation and collaboration intentions mediated the antecedents of university-level collaboration through theories of self-determination and planned behaviour. This study was conducted to validate the proposed relationship between spirituality and academic researchers in the field of engineering affiliated with higher educational institutions in India.

This study surveyed 242 participants and utilised structural equation modelling. Research has found that the beneficial relationship between spiritual motivation and collaboration intentions is mediated by attitudes and perceived behavioural control. This study represents a quantitative investigation within the realm of university-industry collaboration, which aims to document the ways in which spiritual motivation can augment collaboration with industry. The study employs self-determination theory and the theory of planned behaviour to elucidate the underlying mechanism to support entrepreneurial debate.

This study identified attitude and perceived behavioural control as mediators in the relationship between spiritual motivation and collaboration intentions.

The results of this study provide additional support for existing theories and present a diverse perspective on the intrinsic motivation of academic researchers to adopt UIC.

The combination of action and process has remained the attention of the psychology of entrepreneurship research. Moreover, special attention has also been paid to the whens and hows of entrepreneurial psychological training. Keeping this in view the current study has tested the impact of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) training on small business entrepreneurial career resilience. Using action regulation theory (ART), a serial mediation model of IEO behaviour and entrepreneurial career adaptability is hypothesised.

This study used a longitudinal randomised controlled field experiment in which the data were collected at four points. A total of 546 small business owners from Lahore, Pakistan, participated in this research (training group = 265, control group = 281). The data were analysed using ANCOVAs and PROCESS Model 6.

The research has found that IEO training impacts the entrepreneurial career resilience of small business owners through the development of IEO behaviour and career adaptability.

This experimental inquiry is a novel attempt to extend the career-related outcomes of IEO training (career resilience) based on ART through the mediating role of IEO behaviour and career adaptability. In addition, it has tested the IEO training in the developing country of Pakistan, which is a relevant context for enhancing its socio-economic growth.