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This paper examines the influence of the normal science tradition, epitomized by the notion that “theory is king”, on contemporary accounting research and the epistemological tensions that may emerge as this idea is applied to particular ways of studying accounting. For illustrative purposes, the authors focus on research informed by actor-network theory (ANT) which can be seen as an “extreme case” in the sense that it is, in principle, difficult to reconcile with the normal science aspirations.

The paper offers an analysis based on a close reading of how accounting scholars, using ANT, theorize, and if they do engage in explicit theorizing, how they deal with the tensions that might emerge from the need to reconcile its epistemological underpinnings with those of the normal science tradition.

The findings of this paper show that the tensions between normal science thinking and the epistemological principles of ANT have, in a few cases, been avoided, as researchers stay relatively faithful to ANT and largely refrain from further theory development. However, in most cases, the tensions have ostensibly been ignored as researchers blend the epistemology of ANT and that of normal science without reflecting on the implications of doing so.

The paper contributes to emerging debates on the role of the normal science tradition in contemporary accounting research, and also extends recent discussions on the role of theory in accounting research inspired by ANT. The paper proposes three reasons for the observed blending of epistemologies: unawareness of tensions, epistemological eclecticism and various political considerations.

This study aims to examine the concept of brand equity and willingness to buy second-hand products in the automobile context. The customer-based brand equity model is used as a theoretical lens to examine after-sales services, brand credibility and brand loyalty as drivers of brand equity and willingness to buy the second-hand product.

A survey questionnaire based on convenience sampling is used to collect the data from the car owners. A total of 433 survey responses were used to empirically test the measures and propositions by using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The findings suggest that after-sales services are a key factor in developing brand credibility and brand loyalty. Results are also in support of the positive and significant impact of brand credibility and brand loyalty on brand equity and willingness to buy second-hand products.

Brand equity represents a differential response and preference to marketing efforts that a product obtains as a result of its brand identification. Although practitioners are actively engaged to position themselves as a unique, attractive and strong brand, little is known about the equity of the brand in the case of second-hand products. This study provides an alternate branding view to the academic scholars and to the marketing manager as this study explicitly probes into the effect of after-sales services in developing brand credibility, brand loyalty, brand equity and wiliness to buy second-hand product as an outcome.

The paper aims to show that materiality in the EU's non-financial reporting directive (NFRD) is an ambiguous concept, that its meaning is contested and that this contest for materiality is a contest for the meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Thus, the paper shall highlight a new aspect of materiality as a core principle in non-financial reporting.

The paper combines a historical analysis of the EU's CSR policies, an in-depth textual analysis of the EU's 2014 NFRD and associated documents, of non-financial reporting frameworks and exemplary adoptions of the NFRD in national laws.

The paper identifies two conflicting views of materiality in the NFRD. It shows that these “additive” and “cumulative” views correspond to the approaches taken by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) frameworks and by different national adoptions of the NFRD. The paper concludes that this contest for materiality is a contest for CSR – focusing either on business risks or impacts, shareholders or stakeholders, the business case or the social case for such a responsibility.

The paper is mainly based on an in-depth analysis of the European debate on materiality in non-financial reporting. Some of the paper's descriptive results are thus limited to this particular case. However, the main conceptual findings are backed up by an analysis of internationally established reporting frameworks and scholarly debates on the issue.

The paper reveals the practical implications of the contesting “additive” and “cumulative“ understandings of materiality present in the NFRD. The paper thus further underpins the preference for a “double materiality” perspective in the revision of the NFRD and the EC's 2021 CSRD proposal.

The paper makes an original contribution in its explication of different understandings of materiality in non-financial reporting and how these eventually represent different, competing perspectives on the nature of the NFRD and of CSR.

The main purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of global carbon budget (GCB) as a key concept that should be introduced as a reference when countries formulate their mitigation contributions in the context of the Paris Agreement and in all the monitoring, reporting and verification processes that must be implemented according to the decisions of the Paris Summit.

A method based on carbon budget accounting is used to analyze the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) submitted by the 15 countries that currently head the ranking of global emissions. Moreover, these INDCs are analyzed and compared with each other. Sometimes, inadequate methodologies and a diverse level of ambition in the formulated targets are observed.

It is found that the INDCs of those 15 countries alone imply the release into the atmosphere of 84 per cent of the GCB for the period 2011-2030, and 40 per cent of the GCB available until the end of the century.

This is the first time the INDCs of the top 15 emitters are analyzed. It is also the first analysis made using the GCB approach. This paper suggests methodological changes in the way that the future NDCs might be formulated.

This study aims to assess the response of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to cleaner production and environmental sustainability, with a specific focus on identifying the leading countries and research networks driving these efforts.

A benchmarking academic journal was chosen, and the journal’s archive was comprehensively examined. To construct the data set, a conventional keyword search technique was applied in February 2023 to filter for ASEAN affiliations. The study used hybrid bibliometric analyses and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to analyze the collected data and address the research purpose.

The data analysis revealed a rising research trend, particularly after 2014. Malaysia had the most publications, followed by Thailand and Singapore, and their publications had the most cumulative citations among ASEAN countries. Research collaborations between Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore were frequent, but participation from other countries was low. The research topics on which ASEAN members focused were also identified, but it became apparent that there was little coordination. A scant few collaborations involving more than two countries were observed; thus, the MCDA analysis concluded that research leadership was absent in ASEAN countries.

This study contributes insights to the existing literature and offers a valuable overview of the research direction and collaboration status of cleaner production and environmental sustainability in the ASEAN region, thus benefiting policymakers. Additionally, this study introduces a novel approach combining bibliometrics analysis with MCDA to assess research collaboration, thus providing a novel methodology for future research policy evaluations.

Although the Net Promoter Score (NPS) index is simple, NPS has weaknesses that make NPS's interpretation misleading. The main criticism is that identical index values can correspond to different levels of customer loyalty. This makes difficult to determine whether the company is improving/deteriorating in two different years. The authors describe the application of statistical tools to establish whether identical values may/may not be considered similar under statistical hypotheses.

Equal NPSs with a “similar” component composition should have a two-way table satisfying marginal homogeneity hypothesis. The authors compare the marginals using a cumulative marginal logit model that assumes a proportional odds structure: the model has the same effect for each logit. Marginal homogeneity corresponds to null effect. If the marginal homogeneity hypothesis is rejected, the cumulative odds ratio becomes a tool for measuring the proportionality between the odds.

The authors propose an algorithm that helps managers in their decision-making process. The authors' methodology provides a statistical tool to recognize customer base compositions. The authors suggest a statistical test of the marginal distribution homogeneity of the table representing the index compositions at two times. Through the calculation of cumulative odds ratios, the authors discriminate against the hypothesis of equality of the NPS.

The authors' contribution provides a statistical alternative that can be easily implemented by business operators to fill the known shortcomings of the index in the customer satisfaction's context. This paper confirms that although a single number summarizes and communicates a complex situation very quickly, the number is ambiguous and unreliable if not accompanied by other tools.

The surging demand for higher education in Africa for expedited socio-economic growth and global sustainable development demands customising gains made elsewhere for local benefit through quality provision. This study contributes to local and international discourses on the refinement of results-based university learning content determination on the lines of the Bologna Process, and advocates the development of situationally relevant curricula for successful national advancement in Zimbabwe.

The qualitative study uses records and documentary analysis, interviews and meetings with key participants involved in shaping academic processes at one of the country's young and fragile universities. The introspective research approach enabled the cumulative experiential and reflective contributions of participants to shape both the dialogue and follow-up action on the adoption of minimum bodies of knowledge in university curriculum reform.

Participants celebrated efforts to pit harmonisation alongside autonomy in academic discourses, and suggested improvements on the mechanisms to define policy and operational frameworks for diversely-oriented academic establishments. They lauded and interrogated the discourse around minimum bodies of knowledge, calling for further critical research and analysis for defining clarity on its harmonisation function.

This paper traverses the rapidly expanding Zimbabwe higher education system's endeavours to regulate mandates and operations, in pursuit of relevance, quality and excellence and examines stakeholder efforts at determining streamlined university curricula. It contributes uniquely to collective regulation of multiple institutions towards quality academic agendas that underpin the life-long competences of the institutions' graduates.

Multinational business deliver value via multiple sites with similar operational capacities. The age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) delivers significant opportunities for the deployment of digital tools for business optimization. Therefore, this study aims to study the Industry 4.0 implementation for multinationals.

The key objective of this research is multi-site systems integration using a reproducible, modular and standardized “Cyber Physical System (CPS) as-a-Service”.

A best practice reference architecture is adopted to guide the design and delivery of a pioneering CPS multi-site deployment. The CPS deployed is a cloud-based platform adopted to enable all manufacturing areas within a multinational energy and petrochemical company. A methodology is developed to quantify the system environmental and sustainability benefits focusing on reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and energy consumption. These results demonstrate the benefits of standardization, replication and digital enablement for multinational businesses.

The research illustrates the ability to design a single system, reproducible for multiple sites. This research also illustrates the beneficial impact of system reuse due to reduced environmental impact from lower CO₂ emissions and energy consumption. The paper assists organizations in deploying complex systems while addressing multinational systems implementation constraints and standardization.

This paper aims to analyze the evolution and interaction over time of the functions of a technological innovation system (TIS) based on the concept of an innovation motor.

It is a case study of the innovation system associated with the technology for producing cage-free pullets for laying eggs in Pelotas/Rio Grande do Sul (RS).

The motors proposed by the TIS approach evolve sequentially and are associated with cumulative causality mechanisms. The study's results identified two functionalities: analysis of the chain as a whole and coordination of the actors involved in the system. The study's results also identified the presence of inflection points at the beginning of each of the motors.

The absence of a more accurate detailing of the market motor in discussions of the evolution of the motors and functions of TIS cage free Pelotas.

Innovation Motors as a new guiding approach for participatory innovation initiatives in rural areas.

Application of the TIS approach in agribusiness and proposition of two new functions for motor analysis, in addition to including inflection points as activation triggers in the evolution between motors.

This study is intended to motivate and guide future researchers to rethink and update their theories of operational capability development. By examining the extensive body of research on operational capabilities and working closely with an industry partner, the authors are iteratively developing new thinking about why our existing models seem to be failing and what aspects are likely to be useful in updating them.

This pathway paper is based on observations gained through a structured literature review, close collaboration with an industry partner and discussions with other industry partners and executives.

The authors identify ways in which the operations management community could begin to challenge and expand existing models of operational capability development. They provide reflections on the network structure of operational capabilities, i.e. their interconnectedness and interactions, which are likely to evolve dynamically over time and have not yet been part of the authors’ thinking about operational capability development.

The authors hope to stimulate new research through this pathway paper. By synthesizing their existing knowledge of operational capabilities and collaborating with an industry partner, the authors have attempted to highlight their limited knowledge of capability development. In addition, the authors offer several opportunities to rethink their existing models.