Main Theoretical Perspectives Research Articles

Gender Inequalities in Academia: Multiple Approaches to Closing the Gap

This special issue aims to contribute to the debate on gender inequalities in academia and the gender equality policies that address them. In this introduction we offer an overview of the debate and of the main research issues and theoretical perspectives, showing how a multiplicity of approaches are needed for both understanding and transforming higher education institutions. Macro, meso and micro level approaches illuminate the gendered individual, cultural and institutional factors that constrain and enable academic life, with special attention paid to how the neoliberal turn, and its organizational consequences, exacerbates gender inequalities. Women, gender, care, and intersectionality approaches allow scholars to focus on the different gendered or intersectional relationships within academia. Policy-oriented approaches allow us to analyse and assess progress in institutional efforts to close the gap on gender inequalities in academia. Actor-centred studies expose the power struggles between actors that oppose or promote gender equality policies in academia.

Research on the Influence Mechanism of Global Enterprises' Return Investment on Enterprise Performance

This study focuses on the mechanisms by which global firms' return investment affects performance, using resource dependence, opportunity cost and capital structure as the main theoretical perspectives. The resource dependence perspective suggests that return investment is a strategy for firms to acquire and protect resources, and to reduce their dependence on external markets by repatriating capital, technology, and brand resources. This process may be achieved through internal resource reallocation, organizational culture adjustment and strategic innovation, which profoundly affects firm performance. Opportunity cost theory emphasizes the choice and abandonment in the return investment decision, and firms need to weigh the substitutability and long-term competitiveness of different opportunities, revealing the mechanisms of strategic choices, cultural changes, and business model innovations that may be involved in return investment, thus affecting long-term performance. Capital structure theory provides a framework for understanding the internal and external impacts of return investment on firms. The choice of capital structure directly affects a firm's competitive position in the domestic market, financial flexibility, and long-term value creation. Repatriation investments may adjust the capital structure through debt and equity adjustments to fit the needs of the home market. The capital structure perspective provides insights into the mechanisms by which return investment affects firms' financing decisions, resource allocation efficiency, and financial flexibility. At the industry and market level, return investment may lead to intra-organizational changes and market-level effects. Capital repatriation may drive firms to engage in industry consolidation, reposition themselves competitively in the market, and restructure supply and value chains. Through these mechanisms, firms will reshape their competitive position in their home markets, generate market strategies and competitive advantages that differ from those in international markets, stimulate innovation and development in their home markets, and influence the evolution of the industry as a whole and changes in the market landscape.

International Advances in Business Discourse Research (2013-2022): A CiteSpace-based Investigation and Analysis of WOS

This paper provides a quantitative and qualitative visual investigation and analysis of the advances in international research on business discourse over the last decade via CiteSpace. Primary findings are: 1) Based on Publication Trend, business discourse research has undergone an upward tendency with few fluctuations; 2) Regarding Keyword Clustering, heated emphasis is laid on research areas encompassing different business scenarios, disciplinary fields (e.g., pedagogy, sociology), and information technological methods (e.g., natural language processing) due to the globalization and digitalization of business activities; 3) Grounding Disciplinary Distribution and Co-occurrence, the main theoretical perspectives in business discourse research comprise linguistics, the interdisciplinary orientation of management and economics, and other applications and extensive research; 4) Topics in Keyword Timeline and Keyword Burst emerge (e.g., social media, systems, and impact). Visualization of business discourse research is expected to offer implications and insights for future research and business practices.

The benchmarking implementation and management control process as influenced by interplay of environmental and cultural factors: institutional and contingency perspectives

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of environmental and cultural factors on the benchmarking implementation process and management control within organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). By exploring the complex interplay of these factors, the study aims to uncover how environmental considerations and cultural dynamics shape the effectiveness and outcomes of benchmarking initiatives in the UAE's unique business environment. The research seeks to provide valuable insights for organizations in the UAE to optimize their benchmarking practices and enhance their overall performance and competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to comprehensively explore the influence of environmental and cultural factors on benchmarking implementation and management control in the UAE. This study draws on the integration of two main theoretical perspectives: institutional theory and contingency theory. This is the first attempt to integrate these different frameworks in a single study. The study presents a case study of Emirates Industrial City (EIC), which has been recognized by global industries for boosting efficiency, cost control, quality and overall operations. The quality method known as benchmarking maximizes the potential for organizations to achieve optimal levels of production efficiency.FindingsThis paper provides compelling evidence that the benchmarking implementation process and management control in the UAE are significantly influenced by the complex interplay of environmental and cultural factors. By recognizing the importance of environmental sustainability and cultural values in guiding benchmarking practices, UAE organizations can optimize their performance and competitiveness. The findings contribute valuable insights to the existing literature, offering practical implications for UAE organizations seeking to leverage benchmarking as a strategic tool for growth and continuous improvement. The findings reveal that UAE organizations incorporating environmental considerations into benchmarking practices demonstrate a proactive approach to sustainability, aligning their goals with eco-friendly practices. Cultural influences, including a culture of collaboration and openness to external learning, contribute to successful benchmarking adoption and knowledge sharing. Moreover, the study highlights that the integration of benchmarking outcomes into the management control process positively correlates with organizational performance. UAE organizations that leverage benchmarking data for decision-making and performance evaluation exhibit higher levels of competitiveness and efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper has important implications for organizations in the UAE seeking to optimize their benchmarking practices and management control. The study's findings can guide organizations in aligning their benchmarking efforts with environmental sustainability goals and cultural values to enhance performance and competitiveness. Understanding the influence of environmental and cultural factors on benchmarking adoption and implementation allows organizations to foster a benchmarking culture that embraces knowledge sharing and learning. Managers can tailor their approaches to accommodate cultural nuances and enhance the effectiveness of benchmarking initiatives.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge in several ways. Integrated approach: By examining the complex interplay of environmental and cultural factors, this study takes an integrated approach of institutional and contingency theories to understanding their influence on benchmarking implementation and management control. It offers a comprehensive view of how these factors interact to shape organizational practices and outcomes. UAE context: The study focuses specifically on the UAE, providing insights into benchmarking practices within the unique environmental and cultural context of the nation. This research addresses a gap in the literature by examining the influence of these factors in a distinct business environment.

Mapping the knowledge base and theoretical evolution of workplace conflict outcomes: a bibliometric and qualitative review, 1972–2022

Purpose This study aims to understand workplace conflict outcomes (WCO) literature and identify the research gaps by mapping its knowledge base and theoretical evolution. Design/methodology/approach This study combines bibliometric and qualitative analysis and encompasses 1,043 Scopus-indexed documents published between 1972 and 2022. The bibliometric analysis used VOSviewer, Excel and Tableau software for descriptive statistics, citation and co-citation analyses of publication patterns, authors, documents and journals. The qualitative analysis critiqued main theoretical perspectives and topical interests. Findings This study revealed a significant increase in literature after 2000, with authors representing 70 societies, primarily the USA, China, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. Influential authors and their canonical articles were identified, including Jehn, De Dreu, Spector, Amason and Pelled. Highly cited articles focused on task, relationship, role and process conflict. Four main theoretical schools were categorized: conflict type paradigm, individual differences, conflict cooccurrence and conflict dynamics. Influential journals spanned psychology, management, negotiation and decision-making and business and marketing fields, including JAP, AMJ, ASQ, JM, JOB, AMR, IJCMA and OS. Research limitations/implications This study provides implications for future bibliometric analyses, theoretical and empirical studies, practitioners and society based on its quantitative and qualitative findings. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study represents the first bibliometric review of WCO literature, serving as a baseline for tracking the field’s evolution and theoretical advancements.

Retailers’ foreign market exits over time: A strategic management perspective

Foreign divestment research has focused on identifying divestment drivers but has only rarely investigated the long-term divestment behavior of companies. This study uses longitudinal case studies to explore the foreign market exit behavior of all seven of the ten largest store-based retailers in the world that had exited any foreign market between 2005 and 2020. It considers the three main theoretical perspectives in the field of strategic management, i.e., the industry-based, the resource-based, and the institution-based view. We find that retail market exits are often connected actions within certain epochs. The resource-based view seems the most appropriate strategic view to explain retailers’ long-term market exit behavior because their exits are often triggered by their idiosyncratic resources. However, we find some common patterns across the retailers’ market exit behavior that show the relevance of the industry-based and the institution-based view. Furthermore, the study detects the recently increasing phenomenon of partial exits which can be explained by the real options theory.

Strategic flexibility: a systematic review and future research directions

PurposeStrategic flexibility (SF) has become an important factor for firm viability and success amidst uncertain and fast-changing environments. Firms should supplement their primary strategy with alternative ones to change courses of action whenever required. Despite these benefits, some firms are constrained by the high costs of investments. Hence, this paper aims to synthesize and systematically review extant empirical studies on SF and to provide suggestions for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a systematic review following the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methods (TCCM) framework based on 88 journal articles from 34 high-ranking publications.FindingsThe study shows that extant SF literature focuses on antecedents and outcomes and draws on three main theoretical perspectives. It also presents a growing trend of SF literature in various contexts.Originality/valueThis study provides a systematic review of SF literature from both theoretical and empirical perspectives using the TCCM framework. It highlights the significance of SF in management research and global context.

Analysis of Structural Theory in Economic and Social Tensions: Guatemala Country Case Study

One of the relevant issues in the field of studies into not-for-profit organizations is to understand the singular characteristics of this organizational phenomenon. In this work we have turned to the basis of the Structuration Theory for analyzing such organizatiosn. We propose that its contribution to the advance of knowledge in this field is its use of the concept of structural processes, prepared from work originally done by British sociologist, Anthony Giddens. The conceptual framework identiefis and analyses the ideas contained in the main theoretical perspectives found in academic works on Social Economics and not-for-profit organizations (NPO). This work makes a double contribution: by means of a case study, it offers empirical experience that takes a structuration analytical approach, and moves forward the discussion on singlaur characteristics of not-for-profit organizations as an organizational phenomenon, which increased during the last two decades of the XXth century. The concept of structuration processes allows for the analysis of organizational paradoxes and conflicts, taking the structure not as a stiac object that defines the restrictions to action or limits the scope of authority, but as an abstraction that reveals how the rules and resources oaf social system relate with each other in a process defined by Giddens as the duality of structure.

HIPNOSE: definição, importância, limitações e possibilidades baseadas em evidências

The primary objective of this review is to analyze the main theoretical perspectives that define hypnosis, the value of considering it as a unique phenomenon, the evidence that sustains that view, and its effect on research. For more than a century in which the subject has been studied, the results are still hampered by a methodological flaw since the beginning of the research, the definition of the phenomenon. This review used the Medline via Pubmed as database for bibliographic search, including a total of 41 studies, where it could be found that 72,7% of the surveyed studies, adopt the approach in which there's an alternate state of consciousness to explain the phenomenon and to guide its interpretations, even though there isn't enough evidence to sustain the existence of an alternate state of consciousness exclusively hypnotic and it's relation to the capability of hypnotic response. In conclusion, it's suggested the performance of more studies that bring a merger between sociocognitive and state of mind perspectives, so that the findings can come to help with the evolution of hypnosis, which already presents strong results when applied in different medical and psychotherapeutic treatments, predominantly in the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

Middle East Conflicts with a Comprehensive Approach Toward Stability and Sustainable Cooperation

In this paper, two major ethnic conflicts in the Middle East region are considered, namely, the Kurdish issue in Iraq and Syria, as well as recent conflicts in Syria. Three main theoretical perspectives on identity divides and conflicts are discussed in the context of the Middle East region. The considered conflicts are then analyzed separately, giving a brief overview of the main sources of conflicts in the ethnic context, including the influence of international factors and the current situation on the global scene. A comprehensive strategy for regional socio-economic integration is proposed with possible directions for establishing sustainable peace and stability in the Middle East region. The aim is to interconnect the particular directions toward a unified regional integration approach for solving the problems which cause significant instability in this region. The solution needs to be obtained by combining an appropriate external factor influence and mediation fostering regional cooperation with the forms of institutional engineering. Based on the theoretical and extensive empirical analysis, the European Union is chosen as an external factor having a great capacity and multiple interests in providing stability which will lead to the collaboration with this region.

Global translation history

AbstractThis paper aims to offer theoretical and methodological insights on global approaches applied to literary translation history. I claim that the impact of the global has not been sufficiently addressed in translation studies and that we need to define the global as a necessary condition for new and more inclusive translation histories. The paper reviews the main theoretical perspectives accounting for the study of literary translation history within a sociological approach, including the problems and pitfalls of previous approaches, while presenting a more encompassing conceptual model for the study of global translation flows in an entangled world society. I focus on the entanglements between translation and global history, sociological and globalization theories, as well as digital methods. The paper deals with the analysis of translation flows through the lens of five fundamental concepts: space, time, scale, connectivity, and agency.

Entrepreneurial e-equity crowdfunding platforms: antecedents of knowledge acquisition and innovation performance

PurposeThe crowdfunding concept and activities have recently been the focus of attention of many researchers and practitioners over different business contexts. However, there is a dearth of literature considering the main aspects of e-equity crowdfunding activities and their impact on the innovation performance for entrepreneurial business. Therefore, this study aims to explore how entrepreneurs' engagement in e-crowdfunding activities could enhance both knowledge acquisition and innovation performance.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual model will be proposed based on three main theoretical perspectives: relationship marketing orientation (RMO); Kirzner's alertness theory; and the DeLone and McLean model of information systems. The data of the current study were collected using an online questionnaire from a sample of 500 entrepreneurs who have actively engaged in e-crowdfunding in Saudi Arabia.FindingsThe statistical results of structural equation modelling (SEM) approved the impacting role of RMO, entrepreneurial alertness, system quality and service quality on the entrepreneurs' engagement in e-equity crowdfunding, which in turn, predicts both knowledge acquisition and innovation performance.Research limitations/implicationsThere are several limitations which could be addressed in future studies, for example, this study has only considered one form of crowdfunding (equity based crowdfunding) and due to its nature these findings would not be easily generalized to other kinds of crowdfunding (i.e. donation-based crowdfunding; rewards-based crowdfunding; and debt-based crowdfunding). Future studies could consider these kinds of crowdfunding activities.Originality/valueThis study has contributed to the understanding of e-equity crowdfunding in several aspects. For example, this study presents results that assist both researchers and practitioners in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia to develop an in-depth knowledge of e-equity crowdfunding by considering new dimensions such as RMO and information system success factors.

Being a part of and apart from. Return migrants’ ambivalent attachment to rural place

This study is concerned with the return migration of highly educated young people to rural places. It seeks to understand the drivers and concerns behind their migration patterns and how they deal with own and others’ conflicting perceptions of rurality. Place attachment and place ambivalence in the context of life course changes are the main theoretical perspectives that help us to understand return migration. They are applied in a Danish context and based on analyses of qualitative interviews the concepts are further developed. A main contribution of the study is to look at rural place from the different identity positions of returnees and on that basis nuance the concept of place ambivalence. Another contribution is the identification of specific discursive and action-based coping strategies that returnees utilise to counter external stigmatisation and inner identity battles.

Wiedza wyciszana i jej status w strukturze środowisk wychowawczych - wybrane perspektywy teoretyczne

Introduction : The topic of analysis is socio-cultural practices of silencing and the status of unwanted and denied knowledge in the curriculum structure. Paradigmaticallly analyses are enrooted in the new sociology of education. In the structure of the paper there are distinguished three parts: the first one is focused on the chosen practices of silencing components of common knowledge, the topic of the second part is silencing the contents related to the socio-cultural trauma, the third one is related to the status of silenced contents in the structure of power. Research Aim : The analysis aims to emphasise the main theoretical perspectives and net of notions characteristic for the studies on silenced knowledge as well as indicating the views of applying theoretical matrices in identifying spaces of silencing in the curriculum. Evidence-based Facts : Studies on silencing processes are enrooted in the new sociology of education paradigm. They correspond with the research related to educational inequalities (of access to schools and chances of academic success) experienced by youth representing different identity features (related to ethnicity, gender, position in the stratification structure). In the studies characteristic for the new sociology of education, research was also focused on the characteristics of content transmitted in the curriculum. Realised since 70s, research has been related to discursive practices stimulating students’ educational activity or discouraging them from academic success. Mentioned issues correspond with the sociology of knowledge, collective memory and socio-cultural trauma. Summary : In the studies focused on the problems of silencing it is justified to consider theoretical matrices and nets of notions characteristic for the studies on collective memory, resistance, socio-cultural trauma. Mentioned components help identify practices of silencing the content and identities. They have application in the process of comprehension of the basis and aetiology of silencing strategies.

Codesign in resource-limited societies: theoretical perspectives, inputs, outputs and influencing factors

Codesign with resource-constrained people living in developing countries is crucial for sustained adoption and use of designed solutions. Several studies have investigated codesign with resource-constrained people. It is, therefore, important to understand what has been investigated and learnt so far as well as to plan for further scholarly exploration of this field. To address this, I applied a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to understand main sources, definitions, and theoretical perspectives regarding codesign with resource-constrained people. The SLR also aimed to understand inputs and outputs of codesign as well as factors influencing the codesign process. The findings portray a multifaceted picture regarding these aspects of codesign. I discuss implications of review findings for the practice of codesigning solutions with resource-constrained people, identify concerns that researchers should have about this field, and offer suggestions for future research in this field of codesign.

The evolution of service systems to service ecosystems: A literature review

AbstractHigh academic interest and numerous theoretical and practical studies on service systems and service ecosystems, paired with the accelerated evolution of the service (eco) system concept, have resulted in complex research in this field. Multiple perspectives from which service systems were studied added to this complexity and inadvertently produced conceptual confusion regarding service (eco) systems. This literature review addresses this confusion by focusing on the evolution of service systems to service ecosystems to consolidate and clarify the field. Therefore, this article's purpose is to systematise the extant research on service (eco) systems and indicate future research directions based on the analysis. Specifically, the article systematically reviews 770 publications on service (eco) systems from 2020 and earlier and identifies the main research topics (focusing on service [eco] systems’ constituent elements, inherent processes, and outcomes), theoretical perspectives, and bridging elements, and suggests future research based on the review results. The article concludes by providing a foundation for continued research emerging from the analysis, with emphasis on five aspects that may stimulate new avenues of research: service ecospheres, service ecosystem simplicity, failures of service ecosystems, paradox in service ecosystems, and panarchy and service ecosystems.

What is that I hear? An interdisciplinary review and research agenda for non‐native accents in the workplace

SummarySpeaking with a non‐native English accent at work is a prevalent global phenomenon. Yet, our understanding of the impact of having a non‐native accent at work is limited, in part because research on accents has been multidisciplinary, fragmented, and difficult for scholars to access and synthesize. To advance research on accents in the workplace, we provide an interdisciplinary and integrative review of research on non‐native accents drawing from the communications, social psychology, and organizational sciences literatures. First, we briefly review the dominant approaches taken in each literature. Second, we organize and integrate extant research findings using a 2 × 2 framework that incorporates the two main theoretical perspectives used to explain the effects of accents—stereotypes and processing fluency—and the two primary categories of workplace outcomes examined—interpersonal (i.e., others' evaluations of speakers with non‐native accents, such as hiring recommendations) and intrapersonal (i.e., non‐native‐accented speakers' own evaluations and experiences, such as sense of belonging). To facilitate future research, we end by articulating a research agenda including theoretical and methodological expansions related to the study of accents, identifying critical moderators, adopting an intersectional approach, and studying group‐level and potential positive effects of speaking with non‐native accents.

Дослідження миру: основні теоретичні перспективи

The article attempts to outline the main theoretical perspectives in the study of peace. The author analyzes the dynamics of the characteristics of peace in international relations and identifies the role of different theoretical approaches and scientific schools in shaping the concept of peace. It is emphasized that in the modern world order it is important to develop a common understanding of peace, the values of conflict resolution and effective approaches to peacebuilding. Given these challenges, the theoretical basis for building peace needs to be reconsidered and rethought in order to identify the most promising areas of research. It is noted that theoretical issues of peace theory are rarely the subject of scientific research of domestic researchers. The main theories of peace have been formed and developed mainly by foreign scholars, but there is a contradiction of images of peace, serious discussion and criticism of most concepts of peace, which gives rise to new approaches and comprehensive research, opening the way for Ukrainian scientists.The author of the article acknowledges that the liberal-idealist paradigm is dominant in the understanding of peace, so its analysis is given considerable attention. However, the article describes the realistic vision of the problem of peace, which forms the basis of the framework of peace research with the liberal-idealist tradition and is the so-called «orthodoxy». Unorthodox theories are described in detail, including the English School of International Relations, Marxists and Neo-Marxists, critical theories, constructivism and post-constructivism, and interdisciplinary research, the most important of which is Peace and Conflict Studies. The article analyzes and compares these scientific approaches and schools, identifies the strengths and weaknesses of research, the main discussions and the reasons for criticizing each of them. It is suggested that the debate on international conflicts and wars in the era of globalization and posttruth is erroneous and inexpedient, and instead the emphasis in the theory of international relations is shifted towards the formation of a modern concept of peace and peaceful coexistence.The author emphasizes that each theory and approach has its own concept of peace, but this variability allows to develop a broad discussion of peace, propose new methodologically compatible approaches and develop a modern comprehensive understanding of peace, principles and mechanisms for its development.

A person-centered investigation of two dominant job crafting theoretical frameworks and their work-related implications

There are currently two main theoretical perspectives that explain how employees engage in job crafting, namely Wrzesniewski and Dutton's (2001) original theory and the Job Demands-Resources model framework by Tims et al. (2012). The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare these two perspectives on job crafting and operationalizations based thereon using a person-centered methodology. We also examined whether the use of different job crafting strategy combinations manifests in differences in work engagement and person-job fit. Study participants were Finnish managers (n = 419) who completed both the Job Crafting Questionnaire (Slemp & Vella-Brodrick, 2013) and the Job Crafting Scale (Tims, Bakker, & Derks, 2012). Latent Profile Analysis yielded four job crafting profiles: 1) Average crafters (47%), 2) Avoidance-oriented crafters (30%), 3) Approach-oriented crafters (19%) and 4) Self-oriented task crafters (4%). Approach-oriented crafters were significantly more engaged and fitted better to their job than those in the other profiles. Furthermore, those in the Average crafters profile were more engaged and had higher person-job fit than Avoidance-oriented crafters or Self-oriented task crafters. Overall, our findings provide new implications for the theoretical categorization of job crafting and knowledge on how the use of different combinations of job crafting strategies is related to work engagement and person-job fit.

Contesting large-scale land acquisitions in the Global South

• The analysis synthesizes the case study literature to explain how communities contest large-scale agricultural investment. • Communities use varied tactics, mostly from the repertoires of everyday resistance, collective action, and rights-based means. • Rural communities face unfavorable circumstances for organized protests. • Certain political opportunities and involvement of local leaders enable contentious collective action or rights-based resistance. As agricultural investors have acquired large tracts of land in the Global South recently, many affected communities and civil society groups have contested what they perceive as land grabbing. These communities have struggled to retain their land, protect their livelihoods, or benefit from the investment. There has been much academic interest in these conflicts. Studying the emerging literature, this review identifies the main theoretical perspectives and synthesizes the case study evidence. The goal is to better understand how communities contest large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) and to explain their tactics. For this purpose, a sample was collected that consists of 46 studies and 28 LSLA cases from the Global South. Since most of these studies adopt single theoretical perspectives from resistance research, the present study links multiple theoretical strands, most importantly everyday resistance, contentious politics, and legal mobilization. Based on the cases reviewed, the analysis shows that the tactics of contention are diverse but can also be grouped into three repertoires. It is found that affected communities use everyday resistance mostly when they face particularly unfavorable circumstances. In contrast, certain political opportunities and involvement of local leaders enable organized protests through either collective action or rights-based contention. Overall, this study contributes to the literature not only by bringing together case observations to see the big picture, but also by identifying the main repertoires, tentative frequencies of tactics, and less relevant circumstances and mechanisms. In practical terms, the findings suggest that development and civil society actors can play important roles for assisting rural populations and local leaders in fending off land grabs.