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In organizational research the object of study is often a process, that is, a complex of events and activities that unfolds over time. In this chapter we focus on temporally ordered configurations, which can be defined as those configurations in which conditions occur in a specific temporal order. We illustrate the aims, characteristics, and limitations of several approaches that have been proposed as tools for the analysis of temporal order. Our illustration involves an analysis of the “gestation activities” of nascent entrepreneurs, that is, persons involved in the creation of a new firm. We aim to identify temporal sequences of gestation activities that generate or allow a successful outcome of the gestation process, while an occurrence of the same activities in another temporal order will not generate or allow that outcome. First we discuss Event Structure Analysis and Optimal Matching and conclude that these approaches cannot provide the kind of analysis that we are aiming at in this chapter. Then we discuss Temporal Qualitative Comparative Analysis, for which our analysis points to technical limitations that constrain its application. We then present and discuss an alternative approach, Temporal Necessary Condition Analysis.

The effects of environmental change are becoming more noticeable in the Lower Mekong Basin, where there is growing pressure on the agriculture-based livelihoods of communities living along the mainstream of the Mekong River. This chapter presents an investigation of temporal seasonal variability in four communities of Kratie Province, Cambodia, including identification of locally developed strategies to adapt to temporal changes in weather patterns. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining historical hydrometeorological data with participatory seasonal calendars and daily routine diaries. Seasonal calendars were compiled from nine workshops across four villages in Kratie Province, and daily diaries were collected from seven individuals across three villages. The results indicate that patterns in rainfall, flooding and drought have become more variable due to the impacts of environmental change; a phenomenon that will likely continue into the future. Without effective, locally appropriate adaptation measures, changing weather patterns will likely continue to have adverse impacts on communities in the region due to their reliance on reliable seasonal rainfall and flooding events for crop cultivation. Households and communities in the study region have already developed a number of approaches to mitigate the adverse impacts of environmental change. This research also reiterated the importance of incorporating both local knowledge and scientific data to gain the most accurate understanding of the impacts of environmental change in a given region.

Purpose – The aim of this chapter is to find pathways for a better stakeholder involvement in land planning issues at regional level. The case study is the Madrid region (Spain).

Methodology/approach – The work presented in this chapter follows a methodological strategy called integrative research, as a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Research implications – This kind of research seems to be the most appropriate to deal with the conflicts we have in large urban regions with “rural landscapes”, and conflicts between antagonized stakeholders.

Findings – The region of Madrid has gone through irreversible, territorial changes during the last decade. Urban growth, tourist development and abandonment of agricultural land are some of the principal causes of these land-use changes. 80 per cent of the population live in the urban area of the region. In contrast, only 5 per cent of the population live in rural areas, i.e., municipalities that have less than 1.000 inhabitants. Nevertheless, rural areas in Madrid are of great importance due to their tourism value.

Practical implications – A participatory policy tool is developed on the basis of several analyses (spatial–temporal analysis and political–-institutional analysis) to formulate policy recommendations and scenarios for sustainability.

Originality – Integrative research, combining discursive and analytical phases of work, seems a good way to improve the sustainable configuration of the region of Madrid.

Given Bali's prominence in Indonesia's hospitality industry, tourist hypermobility regarding food preferences following the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a source of contention. As such, this chapter will investigate extreme mobility by examining how ‘the flashpackers’ construct their nomadic lifestyles. This chapter focuses on the ‘freedom to eat’ in a variety of different types of restaurants throughout the destination – creating a pattern of hypermobility. Flashpacker's hypermobility data come from a network analysis of TripAdvisor reviews – with Bali (Indonesia) serving as the case study location. According to the analysis's findings, there are eight distinct preference groups for food and beverage products in Bali. It was discovered that at least five ‘star factors’ contributed to preferences across the eight groups, including (1) ratings, (2) popularity, (3) ownership, (4) social media and (5) price. In light of these factors, the chapter concludes that research into hypermobility in small island destinations is still in its infancy. It is critical to promote thorough research into the influence and impact of hypermobility on all facets of the tourism industry, including local communities and to demonstrate the industry's economic contribution.

Given that a large proportion of refugees and forced im/migrants today are school-age, schools are widely assumed to be sites where integration will happen. How this integration will occur and whether education policies facilitate social cohesion is unclear. Focusing on California and Berlin as examples of politically left-leaning states that receive immigrants in substantial numbers, this chapter seeks to examine their immigration, integration, and education policies. Using an original conceptual framework, this chapter analyzes how relevant federal and state policies have evolved since the 1980s in these two contexts. This chapter considers integration to be the process by which immigrants identify with the receiving country (RC) and their previous contexts, provided that the RC is supportive and accepting. The goal of integration is less inequality along ethnic or cultural lines. By analyzing policies in terms of immigrant students’ identity formation and conceptions of equality, this chapter argues that the evolution of such policies in Berlin and California has not always been linear. Moreover, while both states consider diversity to be positive, their policies do not extend to facilitating a new culture that productively operationalizes the diversity of immigrant and non-immigrant students.

The notion of configuration – that the whole is best understood from a systemic perspective and should be viewed as a constellation of interconnected elements – is arguably one of the central ideas of organization studies. Yet, this idea also remains one of the field’s least understood aspects. In this volume and its introduction, we outline a new perspective for understanding configuration. Our starting point is the emergence of set theoretic configurational methods, and especially Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), which provides novel ways for analyzing configurations. Our volume goes beyond introducing a new method to the fields of management and organization, as these methods furthermore offer an opportunity to rethink our understanding of the field and to develop different ways of theorizing the rich complexity of relationships that characterize organizational life. In this introduction, we introduce some of the key themes that differentiate the approach taken here from previous work on organizational configurations and provide evidence for the emerging renaissance of the configurational approach in organizational theory and research.

This chapter explores the potential of social media in the context of festivals and shows how web platforms can better inform event managers’ understanding of how a festival’s social atmosphere (i.e. the socialscape) can be extended online and beyond the actual periods of the staging of a festival. This is possible as social media can help to build an online environment that favours social identification and user engagement. To illustrate such a mechanism, the chapter presents a multi-method analysis of Fotografia Europea, a photography festival held in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Results show the potential of a coordinated web and social media strategy for enhancing the festival’s atmosphere in terms of social identification and engagement.