Research Streams Research Articles

Lean healthcare: a science mapping of current progress and future research avenues.

This study intends to reveal the existing research stream and predict future research avenues for lean healthcare (LH). This paper analyzes the progress of LH research and identifies key trends, research gaps and future directions. By mapping the knowledge structure, the study offers insights into the effects of LH on healthcare efficiency, patient care and organizational performance. The review used the bibliometric approach, involving 319 journal articles retrieved from the Web of Science database. Two science mapping approaches (i.e. bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis) were performed to investigate the current knowledge structure and future research direction in LH. The current research trend in LH focuses on developing frameworks and strategic implementation by considering critical determinants and decision-making strategies. In the future, the research on LH will emphasize the holistic frameworks and efficient strategies for healthcare excellence, along with strategies to overcome barriers to its implementation. This study will benefit researchers and practitioners by advancing their understanding and applying LH principles. This study provides valuable practical implications for healthcare managers to navigate the complexities of lean implementation, optimize processes and drive sustainable improvements in the healthcare context.

An Integrative, Systematic Review of the Situational Judgment Test Literature

Situational judgment tests (SJTs) are popular assessment approaches that present scenarios describing situations that one may experience in a job. Due to its long history and cross-disciplinary nature, today’s SJT literature is quite fragmented. In this integrative review, we start by systematically taking stock and synthesizing the SJT literature from the different scientific disciplines via bibliometric techniques on 524 unique documents. We identify six literature clusters (i.e., SJTs in the medical sciences, SJTs in personnel selection, methodological issues and SJTs for specific constructs, SJTs to assess emotional intelligence and related constructs, technological advances in SJTs, SJTs for teacher assessment and development) that correspond to academic disciplines and research streams within them. We also identify current trends in SJT research by examining the clusters formed by a recent subset of the SJT literature. We then build on the bibliometric analysis by categorizing the identified themes in an organizing framework with two fundamental dimensions: the main purpose of a study (i.e., conceptual understanding, prediction, other [e.g., understanding mean group differences, applicant reactions]) and its research focus (i.e., SJTs holistically, content, and design and methods). Finally, on the basis of this framework, we provide recommendations to encourage greater knowledge sharing between scientific disciplines. In addition, we outline an agenda for future research in terms of four broad directions: SJT theory, SJT constructs, SJT design and methods, and SJT application domains.

A bibliometric analysis of customer experience in the omni-channel era

ABSTRACT In the fiercely competitive market, coordinating physical and digital channels to deliver a seamless omnichannel customer experience (OCX) has become crucial after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, existing research on OCX lacks a comprehensive understanding due to fragmented approaches. This underscores the critical necessity of establishing a structured framework to formulate an omnichannel customer experience strategy. To bridge this gap, this study conducts a multifaceted approach bibliometric analysis to examine influential aspects of literature from 2014 to mid-June 2023 using science mapping techniques. This research contributes by identifying research streams related to the need for recognizing aspects that affect the customer experience, the influence of technology, logistical challenges, and omnichannel fulfillment strategies. Furthermore, the study proposes a new comprehensive theoretical framework for OCX strategy implementation, which includes a proposed omnichannel supply chain structure. Implications for managers and researchers, along with suggested research questions to guide future investigations, are provided

Environmental, social, and governance disclosure in supply chains: a systematic literature review

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure has garnered growing interest from both academia and practitioners. Despite this growing interest, significant gaps persist in understanding the motivations behind ESG disclosure, specific practices, and the consequences it causes from a supply chain management (SCM) perspective. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of 64 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2024. Using the belief–action–outcome framework, our review identified several SCM-related beliefs that drive firms’ ESG disclosures. We also detailed specific practices and outcomes at the supply chain level. Additionally, the review synthesized various SCM-related enablers and barriers to ESG disclosure. Finally, we integrated these insights into a conceptual framework and developed a research agenda to explore ESG further within the SCM context. This research represents the first comprehensive review to systematically analyze ESG disclosure with SCM, making a significant contribution to the ESG in the SCM research stream and laying a robust foundation for future studies.

Two Testaments to Tell: Biblical Theology and the Canonical Shape of the Gospel

Abstract The relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament within the Christian Bible should be the defining focus of the discipline of biblical theology. This characterization provides a strong contrast with some historically oriented models of biblical theology and can also inform several intramural discussions within confessional approaches to the discipline. The viability of this large-scale exegetical inquiry can be seen in a stream of recent research that articulates a canonical approach to biblical theology. Several strategic passages in the New Testament also encourage this particular mode of biblical-theological reflection. An orienting focus on the relationship between the Testaments will not resolve every riddle in the discipline of biblical theology, but it can produce a gravitational pull that can hold together a diverse constellation of methodological commitments and theological conclusions.

Accounting Conservatism In Non-State Companies And Consolidated Financial Statements

Abstract Research background Accounting conservatism has been a significant area of research in the last few decades due to its effects on financial reporting quality. Nevertheless, it has been influenced by many factors that lead companies to be more or less conservative. Purpose This paper aims to contribute to this research stream by exploring the impact of state ownership and consolidation on accounting conservatism. The literature has not given much attention to state ownership and has never explored consolidation. Research methodology The study employed the data of 90 Algerian companies from 2016 to 2021 and employed Basu’s (1997) model to measure conservatism. The relationships between variables were estimated using linear regression. Results The results indicate that Algerian companies’ financial statements are generally conservative. However, accounting conservatism is more prevalent in state companies and separate financial statements. Novelty The study is the first in Algeria and is among the few studies that are interested in accounting consolidation as a determinant of conservatism.

Exploring Respectful Inquiry in Leader-Team Interactions: The Differential Effect of Leader Question Asking and Listening on Team Interaction Dynamics in Decision Making

Despite extensive research streams on leadership and team processes, there is a surprising paucity of studies at their intersection. Both research streams share an increasing attention to the social interactions at the core of these phenomena. Leveraging this behavioral lens, this study draws on respectful inquiry theory to explore how specific leader communication behaviors affect team interaction dynamics during decision-making, as one important team process. We conducted a laboratory study with 22 four-person teams and a confederate leader who engaged in a hidden profile task in a personnel selection scenario. We manipulated the leader’s question asking behavior (open questions vs. statements only) and listening behavior (listening attentively vs. not listening) and randomly assigned teams to one of the four conditions. Team interactions were video-recorded and analyzed at the micro-level of communication. Specifically, we explored how leader communicative behaviors affected (1) the quality of team decision-making, (2) the conversational structure (via speaker turns), and (3) constructive communication patterns. We found that team’s yielded the lowest performance in the “disrespectful inquiry”-condition (i.e., asking questions but not listening). This condition was also characterized by increased levels of interaction amongst team members that could be interpreted as an attempt to compensate for the lack of functional leadership. By adopting a consistent, micro-level behavioral perspective, our findings bridge the literature of leadership and team interactions and suggest an update to extant theorizing on leadership substitutions.

Does CEO age matter in auditor choice and audit pricing? The role of CEO dominance

PurposeThis study examines the impact of the age of the chief executive officer (CEO) on the demand for audit quality, as reflected in auditor choice and audit fees. Furthermore, the study investigates whether CEO dominance moderates the association between CEO age, auditor choice and audit fees.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 14,066 firm-year observations from 2000 to 2017, the study employs logistic regression and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to estimate the research models. The study also employs various techniques to address the endogeneity issue in the findings.FindingsUsing industry specialist auditors and brand name (Big 4) auditors as proxies, the study finds that firms with older CEOs are more likely to appoint higher-quality auditors. The study also finds that firms with older CEOs pay higher audit fees than firms with younger CEOs, which is likely to be due to increased demand for higher-quality audits and to risk aversion among older CEOs. In addition, the study finds that CEO dominance attenuates the positive association of CEO age with auditor choice and audit fees. The findings are found to be robust in our analyses, which address the endogeneity issue with firm fixed effects, two-stage least squares (2SLS) regression and entropy balancing. In addition, the study provides evidence that the positive association between CEO age and audit pricing persists when firms replace younger CEOs with older CEOs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s findings suggest that the United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) may need to be more cautious when monitoring financial statements from firms with younger CEOs.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a growing stream of research investigating the links between managers’ idiosyncratic age differences and the quality of financial reporting and corporate decisions.

Shifting the context: reviews and research agendas for traditional, reputational and societal supply chain risk

PurposeThis study aims to shape the future trajectory of scholarly research on traditional, reputational and societal supply chain risks and their management.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a narrative literature review of the overview type. To control bias stemming from the subjectivity of the methodology, the authors synthesized the relevant literature transparently and established various safeguarding procedures.FindingsThe established research stream on traditional supply chain risk has generated a wealth of concepts that can potentially be transferred to the study of reputational and societal risks. The maturing research stream on reputational risks has mostly focused on risk manifestation, from the upstream perspective of the focal firm. The emerging scholarship on societal supply chain risks has anecdotally highlighted detrimental effects on contextual actors, such as society-at-large.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shifts scholarly attention to the role of the context in the risk manifestation process – as a potential risk source for traditional supply chain risk, during the risk materialization for reputational supply chain risk, and as the locus of the risk effect for societal supply chain risk.Originality/valueThis review is unique in that it fosters a holistic understanding of supply chain risk and underscores the increased importance of the context for it. The socioeconomic, institutional and ecological contexts connect the three reviewed research streams. Detailed research agendas for each literature stream are developed, comprising 23 topical areas in total.

The unintended consequences of targeted poverty alleviation: Evidence from China

This study examines the effect of corporate targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) activities endorsed by Chinese governments on audit outcomes. We find that firms engaging in TPA activities are less likely to receive modified audit opinions (MAOs) relative to those without TPA activities and more TPA investments induce less MAO issuance, documenting an unintentional beneficial consequence of TPA. These findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity tests, including addressing endogeneity issues and ruling out the alternative explanation. Our cross-sectional results show that the negative relation between TPA and MAOs is more significant for firms audited by non-industry specialists and short-tenure auditors, non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), and labor-intensive firms. We perform the mediation analyses and identify three potential channels- improved operating performance, enhanced information disclosure quality, and elevated reputation- through which TPA engagements influence the likelihood of receiving MAOs. Moreover, we find industrial development TPA has a more pronounced effect on audit outcomes due to its positive impact on firms’ business operations. Overall, our research documents an unintended consequence of firms’ TPA initiatives in mitigating audit risk. As a vital facet of policy-oriented CSR, TPA engagements exhibit unique characteristics compared to other CSR perspectives. Given its economic relevance and political features, our study contributes to this stream of research and offers implications for TPA initiatives.

Living Wages in Latin America: An Assessment of Disparities and a Stakeholder Roadmap for Action

ABSTRACTA living wage (LW) refers to the salary that would be sufficient to cover the costs of a decent living standard for the employee and his family in a specific place. The topic is scarcely discussed in Latin American countries, which could benefit from it since the population of these countries faces several social and economic challenges, such as poor minimum wages (MWs), inflation and high poverty levels, even among employed people. To address this gap, this paper explores the research streams on LWs through a bibliometric assessment and sheds light on three case studies from Latin America evidencing the minimum wage gap in some Latin American countries. The results indicate huge disparities between MWs and LWs and, based on the bibliometric analysis, provide a stakeholder roadmap for action and a maturity level model for companies to adopt LWs.

Shattering the glass ceiling: The unseen impact of gender diversity on financial transparency

This bibliometric analysis explores the relationship between financial reporting quality and top management team gender diversity within the field of management and business. A total of 395 journal articles related to financial reporting quality from 2003 to 2020 were reviewed. Utilizing ‘biblioshiny’, a web interface of the ‘bibliometric 3.0’ package in R-Studio, this study conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis and visualization. The research examines key sources, influential authors, countries, and thematic trends through co-occurrence network analysis and thematic mapping. By applying Bradford’s Law, core sources and publications are categorized based on output, distinguishing high-production from low-production sources. The findings highlight the increasing importance of gender diversity in top management teams and its positive impact on corporate governance and financial transparency. The presence of women in leadership roles fosters ethical behavior, reduces earnings manipulation, and enhances the overall quality of financial reporting. This analysis also reveals a strong connection between gender diversity and financial reporting quality, indicating that diverse leadership improves corporate governance practices. The study provides a foundation for future research, offering insights into key trends and research streams, and encourages further investigation into the impact of diverse leadership on financial outcomes across various organizational contexts.

Understanding impulse buying in interest-based e-commerce: the role of content creativity

PurposeThe popularisation of user-generated content has boosted the integration of social media with online retail, especially in the emerging context of interest-based e-commerce (IBEC). As the content brings new incentives for consumers’ impulsivity in consumption, it remains unclear understanding of the mechanism of impulse buying in IBEC from the current literature. This study aims to examine how content creativity encourages impulse buying intention though attitude, and whether the effect is moderated by consumers’ online shopping experience.Design/methodology/approachThis study administered a two-wave online survey to a purposive sample of 286 consumers with shopping experience in Douyin. The hypotheses and a moderated-mediation effect were tested using structural equation modelling in Mplus8.3.FindingsThe empirical results revealed that content creativity, including dual dimensions of relevance and divergence, can drive positive attitude towards platforms through the direct effect of subjective norm and mediation effect through perceived usefulness, which induces an urge to buy impulsively. The mediation effect is further moderated by consumers’ online shopping experience in IBEC.Originality/valueThis study expands the stream of impulse buying research in retailing by proposing a context of IBEC and bringing empirical evidence of the relationship between content and consumers’ urge to buy. The study provides strategic insights for retailers to achieve marketing value by managing consumers’ impulse purchases in IBEC.

Understanding the value of retail accessibility in private housing markets: A study from Turin, Italy

Numerous urban studies have explored the relationship between urban amenities and real estate value. However, a notable gap exists in the literature concerning the specific impact of retail activities on housing values, particularly within European contexts. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between housing values and accessibility to different retail typologies, expanding the research stream to a European city by applying the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. The results indicate that accessibility to shopping retailers, bars and restaurants has a positive effect. In contrast, accessibility to convenience retailers and traditional markets has a negative impact. No significant relationship is observed between housing values and accessibility to supermarket retailers. Furthermore, this study shows that retail accessibility typologies impact differs in different urban areas. These findings provide useful implications for planners and policymakers, highlighting the need for strategic support for the retail sector in safeguarding and enhancing the investments of investors and families.

EXPRESS: Conceptual Research: Multidisciplinary Insights for Marketing

Conceptual research is fundamental to advancing theory and, thus, science. Conceptual articles launch new research streams, resolve conflicting findings, explain new phenomena, and integrate divergent research areas. Yet, compared with other disciplines, marketing publishes little conceptual research. This paper provides a multidisciplinary perspective of conceptual research to help increase the quality and quantity of conceptual research in marketing. First, the authors compare conceptual research approaches across marketing, management, psychology, and sociology to provide a synthesis of existing conceptual research frameworks. Second, using citation analyses, the authors provide insights into the academic impact of conceptual research across disciplines, across marketing domains, and over time; they also assess its impact outside of academia. Third, to assist researchers, the paper offers a step-by-step process or “how to” guide for developing high-impact conceptual research, based on insights from the multidisciplinary analysis and interviews with conceptual researchers from different disciplines. Fourth, drawing on the interviews and keyword analysis of recent conceptual marketing articles, the authors suggest emerging opportunities for conceptual research and how to increase the value of conceptual papers for practitioners.

Noneconomic public value creation by private ventures: scale development and empirical validation in the academic entrepreneurship context

AbstractPublic value as such and contributions to public value by entrepreneurial universities have been of increasing interest to scholars over the past two decades. However, due to the lack of an adequate measurement scale, scholars have yet to link these research streams properly. While public value research acknowledges the multidimensionality of the construct, academic entrepreneurship research has rather approximated it using different unidimensional economic proxies. As a consequence, there is limited scholarly consensus about public value creation through spin-offs and other academic start-ups. To mitigate this issue and complement existing proxies, our study develops and validates a measure of noneconomic public value creation in the academic entrepreneurship context, capturing the subdimensions of social value creation, customer value creation, and efficient value creation. We employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The initial item pool incorporates relevant prior literature and insights from multiple pretests. Using two comprehensive surveys of academic entrepreneurs from Germany and Austria, we quantitatively confirm the reliability and validity of the final three-dimensional 11-item scale and its applicability to the intended context. Furthermore, we pave the way for future research by examining how the university entrepreneurial climate relates to public value creation.

When deviants talk: the role of Dark Triad traits and moral reasoning in whistleblowing

AbstractWhistleblowing is an effective means to uncover fraud and other misconduct in organizations. However, it is puzzling why some employees come forward despite numerous disadvantages, severe retaliation, and negative social perceptions of the whistleblower within and outside the firm. Understanding whistleblowing as an act of deviance can enrich explanations for whistleblowing in such dilemmas. Drawing on psychology literature, we look at the moderating effect of the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), as well as moral reasoning on the factors behind the whistleblowing process. We surveyed 375 economics and business majors and found that both forms of deviance influence the decision process, making internal whistleblowing more likely. Dark Triad personalities are less influenced by adverse subjective norms and their attitude toward the consequences of whistleblowing. The negative impact of perceived retaliation on whistleblowing intention is lessened by high moral reasoning. Both types of deviations from the norm may foster whistleblowing, making it ex-post challenging to distinguish different types of whistleblowers. Importantly, we argue that specific policies, such as protection, may only serve one kind of whistleblower, disregarding the important influence of subjective norms, which may foster a more desirable type of whistleblower. Our research shows that deviant personality characteristics can counteract insufficient protection or negative cultural views on whistleblowing. These findings have direct practical implications for whistleblowing systems, corporate governance policies, and policymakers. Moreover, we contribute to an emerging stream of research that moves away from a purely pro-social view and toward a more comprehensive understanding of whistleblowing by introducing a holistic concept of whistleblowing as deviance.

CSR as a mediating to company characteristic, corporate governance, and firm value

Investors use the company's value as a benchmark to assess financial performance. Therefore, we must conduct research that uncovers factors capable of enhancing the company's value. Moreover, the majority of research conducted to date has primarily focused on direct testing. This research aims to explain the mechanism of comprehending factors in generating company value based on the signaling theory framework. This study investigates the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, as well as mediators such as profitability and size, on firm value in manufacturing firms that have listed their shares on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI). The data analysis was performed using the EViews application based on the collected sample of companies in the period 2019–2022. The results of this research indicate that the level of profitability, company size, and corporate governance effect firm value components directly. This study also suggests that, in line with the signaling theory stream of research, corporate social responsibility (CSR) acts as an important channel to bind the profitable and large-sized firms along with governance mechanisms through the utilization of signals by investors about influential variables such as profitability levels or company size; overall governance practices enacted.

Sub-national bureaucracies in the European administrative space

ABSTRACT An important stream of research has developed focusing on the embedding of national central government institutions into an emerging multilevel European Union (EU) administration. The role of sub-national governmental institutions within this integrated administration has however received relatively little attention. Assuming that sub-national bureaucracies are key vehicles in the ‘ground-level’ practicing of supranational law, this study examines how sub-national bureaucrats may find themselves in situations where they balance contending preferences and concerns of multiple, and competing, principals. Benefiting from original survey data gathered in Norwegian and Swedish municipalities, we assess how the notion of ‘multi-hatted’ bureaucratic agents noted in the multilevel union administration literature can be transferred to the sub-national level and provide insights into how sub-national bureaucrats relate to multiple principals and how policy conflicts are resolved in the ‘ground level’ implementation of supranational law.

Intercultural Experience as a Unique Facilitator of Immigrant Entrepreneurship

ABSTRACTThis study seeks to unpack some underlying factors for immigrant entrepreneurial success. Specifically, we develop an integrative framework for immigrant entrepreneurship utilizing three key pillars or building blocks: home–host cultural asymmetry (related to cultural distance), home–host cultural integration (related to cultural interface), and immigrant entrepreneurship (related to adaptive learning). Through a phenomenon‐driven research approach, our study finds (1) when the home‐cultural heritage and family values interface with host country's cultural values, such interface is likely to have significant effects on the process of immigrant entrepreneurship; (2) immigrant entrepreneurs may go through the same sequential stages of cultural shock and cultural adaptation that other immigrants do; (3) we further find that immigrant entrepreneurs' business success may depend on a process of effective intercultural integration, with the process of intercultural integration that may shape the microfoundations of immigrant entrepreneurship and the choice of entrepreneurial strategy. Our study contributes to the growing research streams on immigrant entrepreneurship: the specific intercultural integration for immigrant entrepreneurship and the unique microfoundations of immigrant entrepreneurship.