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The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of strategic leadership (SL) on business operational resilience (OR) in the hotel industry in Egypt, namely, during and after the pandemic. This investigation also aimed to explore the mediating function of crisis response strategies (CRSs) and organisational e-readiness (Oe-R) in this relationship.

The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire as the primary data collection method. Using partial least squares structural equation simulation (PLS-SEM), the study used a comprehensive sample that targets the general managers of all five-star hotels in Egypt.

Results indicated that SL has a positive impact on CRSs and Oe-R. Furthermore, the results reveal a positive influence of Oe-R on both CRSs and hotel OR. On the other hand, CRSs do not influence hotel OR. The findings showed that CRSs fully mediate the link between SL and OR. However, CRSs do not serve as a mediator between Oe-R and OR. Furthermore, the findings showed that Oe-R partially mediates the link between SL and both OR and CRSs.

The study yields unique and valuable theoretical and practical insights to guide hotel leaders and managers towards adaptive recovery and resilience in turbulent and crisis-ridden environments by demonstrating that the combined mediating function of CRS and Oe-R is more effective in strengthening the relationship between SL and OR.

This study represents a pioneering investigation that establishes a correlation between SL and OR, either through direct or indirect means. The research examines the involvement of CRSs and Oe-R as collaborative mediators in this relationship. Previous studies undertaken in the hotel industry and service sector have not investigated this specific element.

This article aims to trace the historical development of the behavioral strategy (BS) field, which implements psychology in strategic management. Mainly, it provides a contextual understanding of how this stream of research has historically evolved and what relevant future trajectories are. This work is part of the “over half a century of Management Decision” celebrative and informal Journal section.

We consider BS literature produced in management decision (MD), the oldest and longest-running scholarly publication in management, as a proxy for the evolution of management thought. Through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) process, we collected – via the MD website and Scopus – a sample of 97 BS articles published in MD from its foundation (1967) until today (2024). Regarding the analysis, we adopted a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach to synthesize the main BS topics, then read from a historical perspective regarding three “eras” over which the literature developed. Selected international literature outside the Journal’s boundaries was considered to complement this historical analysis.

Historically, within the BS field, the interest passed from the rules to rationally govern strategic decision-making processes, to studying what causes cognitive errors, to understanding how to avoid biases and to being prepared for dramatic changes. The article also identifies six future research trajectories, namely “positive heuristics,” “context-embedded mental processes,” “non-conventional thinking,” “cognitive evolutionary triggers,” “debiasing strategies” and “behavioral theories for new strategic challenges” that future research could investigate.

The limitation of the study lies in its exclusive focus on MD for investigating the historical evolution of BS, thereby overlooking critical contributions from other journals. Therefore, MD’s editorial preferences have influenced results. A comprehensive SLR on the BS field is still needed, requiring broader journal coverage to mitigate selection biases and enhance field appraisal.

This contribution is the first to offer a historical evolutionary view of the BS field, complementing the few other reviews on this stream of research. This fills a gap in the study of the evolution of management thought.

Organisational slack has been widely considered in strategic management, but there is a gap in understanding the process of accumulation and application of slack resources. From a dynamic perspective and over an extended period of time, this paper analyses the management of slack resources and evaluates whether the different behaviours, in relation to the accumulation and consumption of slack resources, have any effect on performance.

The resource-based view and the dynamic extension of this theory, i.e. resource management and resource orchestration, were analysed in order to evaluate how slack resources can be managed and generate value. Assuming a configurational approach, the analysis was structured into two stages to answer the proposed hypothesis. The first stage studied whether there were different patterns of management of slack resources over time using the DistatisR package. The second stage evaluated which behaviours had the greatest impact in terms of profitability by using a dynamic panel data regression.

Three different types of slack resource management were found in companies: efficient, effective and erratic. Different types do not have the same impact on performance.

The dynamic management of slack resources has scarcely been considered, even during periods of crisis and economic expansion. This research advances the understanding of how firms transform slack resources into performance from a dynamic perspective.

The a priori identification and development of army personnel competencies are necessary to enable effective and efficient responses to rapidly changing climate conditions. Accordingly, this study aims to identify the performance requirements of a military flood responder and the competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) required to perform it.

Using an abductive approach, the authors conducted both secondary and primary research to generate a validated framework of performance criteria and competencies for army personnel responding to floods. This literature review integrated both the peer-reviewed academic literature and public sector grey literature. Using the critical incident technique, the authors then conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) who had previously been tasked with flood response operations. Participants were asked about the tasks required while conducting flood response operations. Interview transcripts were then content analysed to identify themes regarding those tasks, and the competencies needed to perform those tasks were then extracted and contrasted with the literature review findings. Inter-rater reliability for the analysis was established via iterative discussion between the two co-authors.

The primary data reinforced and expanded the list of performance expectations that the authors deductively identified from the integrated literature review, adding granularity to each. It also identified competencies (including both hard and soft skills) and highlighted previously neglected contextual antecedents of military flood response effectiveness.

though knowledge saturation was achieved from the 15 interviews conducted, further research with larger samples could more deeply ground the evidence discovered in this study. Nevertheless, the competencies identified in this paper could serve as a starting guide to staffing and/or training interventions targeted at improving these competencies for personnel responding to flood scenarios.

The theoretical findings also have immediate practical relevance to training for flood response operations. In particular, the subtle challenges in competency crossover from military operations to flood response operations may facilitate not only more efficient, targeted training (that could improve the effectiveness of army personnel involved in humanitarian roles), but could be applied to the selection of army personnel as well. This study may also help provincial/municipal operators and emergency planners by better communicating the strengths and limitations of army personnel in addressing civilian military cooperation for humanitarian operations. Thus, the findings of this research study represent an important first step in prompting attention to the strategic human resource planning studies required to make all responders more efficient and effective in their respective division of labour within the humanitarian domain.

Peering a little beyond these research findings, human-induced climate change is expected to continue increasing the frequency of such events (IPCC, 2021), and a timely, national force is likely to be increasingly required for Canadians impacted by major disasters stemming from natural hazards when local resources become overwhelmed. Yet, there is some concern from the CAF that increasing responsiveness to disaster operations will affect their military readiness (Leuprecht and Kasurak, 2020). One can indeed envision a paradox whereby the CAF is both a “force of last resort” while increasingly becoming a “first choice for domestic disaster and emergency assistance”. The practical implications from this research also suggest that military personnel, while fully capable of successfully conducting flood response operations, may become overburdened and less able to adopt yet greater capacity and training for other additional humanitarian work. Nevertheless, the competencies highlighted by participants can help inform the next flood response operation in Canada.

Most literature in the field of emergency response focuses on cooperation between civilian and military resources and other strategic-level themes. The findings address critical granularity missing at the operational and tactical levels of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief research. The authors also draw implications beyond the military context, including for local/regional governmental players (operators and emergency planners) as well as for volunteers in flood response roles.

Motivated by the severe impact of global supply chain disruptions and the lack of understanding of supply chain resilience from an SME exporter perspective in the international marketing literature, this paper sets out to explore how SME exporters achieve resilience through strategic choices related to sourcing and manufacturing during global disruptions.

The study adopts a qualitative, multiple-case-studies approach to identify the key strategic drivers and contextual factors influencing SME exporters’ supply chain resilience. Our study adopted an SME exporter perspective and featured an unprecedented global supply chain disruption context. New Zealand (NZ) was chosen as the key home country context for the participants of this study. Five NZ SME exporters were selected for our case studies.

This study redefines buffering, bridging and a mixed strategy for an SME exporter facing global supply chain disruptions. SME exporters with high situational control are likely to pursue a buffering strategy that reduces their resource dependence on foreign suppliers and their reliance on information support from these suppliers. In contrast, when the firm perceives little control over the supply chain, it will decide upon a bridging strategy that aims to build solid relationships with supply chain partners. Exporters opt for a mixed strategy when they do not see themselves clearly in high or low situational control.

As global disruptions arise and evolve, supply chain uncertainty and exporters’ sense of situational control manifest differently across industries, product lines, markets and sourcing countries. It is essential to understand that firms can choose a mixed strategy based on these supply chain conditions. While our study was fortuitously timed, conducting multi-country studies could provide more comparative insights that transcend national borders. Additionally, our study did not examine organizational and capability-based factors. Future research may benefit from exploring how an SME exporter develops strategic capabilities to achieve resilience over its lifetime.

Businesses see survival as the most pivotal concern during a global supply chain disruption. Many companies have had to make on-the-spot decisions about whether they should shift or redesign their supply chains in the middle of a global disruption. There is no “best strategy” for an SME exporter to take. Rather, managers should make strategic decisions based on how much control or influence they have over a particular part of their supply chain. The level of control is determined by the SME exporter’s overall resource dependencies and information needs in particular parts of their supply chain.

We adopt resource dependence theory and information processing theory to guide our study and place exporters' situational control in the centre of drivers to firms' strategic choices during global disruptions. We make a novel attempt to incorporate the contextual conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic into the theorization of supply chain resilience. We make managerial recommendations to help SME exporters navigate global supply chain disruption challenges.

This study aims to explore the strategic decisions at innovation level implemented by firms to thrive and transform themselves during crises. This study also aims to provide insights to answer the question: Why do some firms decide to implement certain types of innovation during a crisis?

This research was carried out through a multiple case study involving 22 firms. The methods were implemented in three steps to increase rigor and the replication of the study: identification and selection of cases, data collection through interviews triangulated with online information and analysis based on aggregating themes and finding patterns.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies analyzed focused their activities mainly on developing new features or functionalities for their products or services. Most of the firms implemented innovations across nearly all ten categories outlined by Keeley et al. (2013). Many of the implemented innovations involved personalized and superior service enhancements, process efficiency optimizations, channel diversification initiatives and new ways to collaborate to generate value. In general, the main drivers that led firms to decide to implement these innovations include reducing costs, enhancing operational efficiency, generating new revenue streams, augmenting sales and enhancing client relationships.

This research significantly advances the convergence of innovation, strategy and crisis in three impactful ways. First, it constructs a pragmatic and evidence-based framework, consolidating the primary catalysts, innovation categories and strategies adopted by firms in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. Second, it offers insights for guiding decision-making processes related to innovation, presenting actionable recommendations derived from the study’s findings. Thirdly, this study highlights critical perspectives that can guide governmental intervention, facilitating the formulation of more tailored and effective policies to assist companies during crisis periods.

This study centers on developing countries, specifically examining Colombian firms, considering their unique characteristics and priorities. Surprisingly, there is a scarcity of studies delving into the innovation and transformation of firms during the COVID-19 crisis in nations sharing cultural, economic and political similarities with Colombia.

This paper aims to investigate how the technical logics of a World Bank-led performance management reform interacted with the social, political and historical logics within a developing country (DC) regulatory organisation. The institutional environment both within and outside the organisation was considered to understand the performance management reform experience.

An interview-based, longitudinal, qualitative case study approach was used to locate accounting in its technical, social and political space. A large regulatory organisation in Bangladesh was investigated as a case study to reveal how traditional organisational practices and public sector norms mediated a performance management reform. Informed by the institutional logics (IL) and economies of worth perspectives, interviews were used to locate IL at macro-level and associated organisational actors’ strategic responses that ultimately shaped the implementation of a performance management system (PMS).

This paper reveals how accounting, as a social and political practice, influences accountability reform within a regulatory organisation. It provides an account of both the processes and resultant practices of an accounting reform initiative. While a consultative and transparent performance management process was intended to enhance accountability, it challenged the traditional organisational authority structure and culture. The new PMS retained, modified and adjusted a number of its characteristics over time. These adjustments reflected an amalgamation of the influence of institutional pressures from powerful constituents and the ability of the local agents (managers) in negotiating and mediating the institutionalisation of a new PMS.

The findings of this paper carry major implications for policy makers, particularly with respect to the design of future reform programs on PMS.

This paper offers a theoretical mapping of IL and its organisation-level interpretations and practices. Thus, the authors locate power and influence at field and firm levels. The findings of this study reflect historical, political and cultural backgrounds of the case study organisation and how these contextual forces were active in shaping the meaning of reform logics. Though the institutional environment and agents were unique to the case study organisation, this research offers a “process generalisation” that reveals how a best practice PMS was translated and transformed by the traditional organisational practices in a DC regulatory context.

Drawing insights from institutional theory, this paper aims to examine whether and to what extent banks have reconfigured their management control systems (MCSs) in response to growing institutional pressures towards sustainability, understood as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

The authors conducted an exploratory study at the three largest Italian banking groups to shed light on changes made in MCSs to account for ESG issues. The analysis is based on 12 semi-structured interviews with managers from the sustainability and controls areas, as well as from other relevant operational areas particularly concerned with the integration process of ESG issues. Additionally, secondary data sources were used. The Malmi and Brown (2008) MCS framework, consisting of a package of five types of formal and informal control mechanisms, was used to structure and analyse the empirical data.

The examined banks widely implemented numerous changes to their MCSs as a response to the heightened sustainability pressures from regulatory bodies and stakeholders. In particular, with the exception of action planning, the results show an extensive integration of ESG issues into the five control mechanisms of Malmi and Brown’s framework, namely, long-term planning, cybernetic, reward/compensation, administrative and cultural controls.

By identifying the approaches banks followed in reconfiguring traditional MCSs, this research sheds light on how adequate MCSs can promote banks’ “sustainable behaviours”. The results can, thus, contribute to defining best practices on how MCSs can be redesigned to support the integration of ESG issues into the banks’ way of doing business.

Overall, the findings support the theoretical assertion that institutional pressures influence the design of banks’ MCSs, and that both formal and informal controls are necessary to ensure a real engagement towards sustainability. More specifically, this study reveals that MCSs, by encompassing both formal and informal controls, are central to enabling banks to appropriately understand, plan and control the transition towards business models fully oriented to the integration of ESG issues. Thereby, this allows banks to effectively respond to the increased stakeholder demands around ESG concerns.

Disruptive events caused by cyber incidents, such as supply chain (SC) cyber incidents, can affect firms’ SC operations on a large scale, causing disruptions in material, information and financial flows and impacting the availability, integrity and confidentiality of SC assets. While SC resilience (SCRES) research has received much attention in recent years, the purpose of this study is to investigate specific capabilities for building SCRES to cyber risks. Based on a nuanced understanding of SC cyber risk characteristics, this study explores how to build SC cyber resilience (SCCR) using the perspective of dynamic capability (DC) theory.

Based on 79 in-depth interviews, this qualitative study examines 28 firms representing 4 SCs in Central Europe. The researchers interpret data from semistructured interviews and secondary data using the DC perspective, which covers sensing, seizing and transforming.

The authors identify SCRES capabilities, in general, and SCCR-specific capabilities that form the basis for the realignment of DCs for addressing cyber risks in SCs. The authors argue that SCRES capabilities should, in general, be combined with specific capabilities for SCCR to deal with SC cyber risks. Based on these findings, 10 propositions for future research are provided.

Practitioners should collaborate specifically to address cyber threats and risks in SCs, integrate new SC partners and use new approaches. Furthermore, this study shows that cyber risks need to be treated differently from traditional SC risks.

This empirical study enriches the SC management literature by examining SCRES to cyber risks through the insightful lens of DCs. It identifies DCs for building SCCR, makes several managerial contributions and is among the few that apply the DC approach to address specific SC risks.

This paper examines how firms respond to local government’s environment initiatives through textual analysis of government work reports (GWRs). This study aims to provide insights into how firms strategically respond to government’s environmental initiatives through their disclosure and investment practices.

This study uses a textual analysis of GWRs from China’s provinces. The frequency and change rate of environmental keywords in these reports are used as a measure of the government’s environmental initiatives.

This study finds that environmental disclosure scores in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports increase with the frequency or change rate of environmental keywords in provincial GWRs. This effect is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises, firms in highly marketized provinces or those listed in a single capital market. However, there is no significant relationship between firms’ environmental investments and government initiatives, except for cross-listed firms in provinces with consistently high frequency of environmental keywords in their GWRs.

The findings indicate that government environmental initiatives can shape firms’ disclosure behaviors, yet have limited influence on investment decisions, suggesting that environmental disclosure could potentially be opportunistic. This underscores the need for more effective strategies to stimulate firms’ environmental investments.

This study provides valuable insights into the differential impacts of government environmental initiatives on firms’ disclosure and investment behaviors, contributing to the understanding of corporate environmental responsibility in the context of government initiatives.