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With the premise that ontological assumptions about Homo academicus and Homo academicus dux (the academic leader) must include knowledge and analysis of the organisational context where they act, this chapter sets out to challenge some common (and we argue incorrect) assumptions in contemporary management literature regarding how power is distributed, the role of dependencies among units and practices, and how a sense of belonging is formed. Three (alternative) conditions are introduced—reversed hierarchy, lateral independence, and community-based belonging—upon which academic practice and leadership implications are discussed. The alternative conditions thus explain why and how Homo academicus and Homo academicus dux acts the way (s)he acts, which consequently makes out the contours of a new academic rationality.

We draw from resource orchestration and socioemotional wealth (SEW) arguments to examine radical innovation in multifamily firms. We theorize that the weak coordination mechanism associated with multifamily ownership has a negative effect on the positive SEW-radical innovation relationship. Additionally, we argue that low generational involvement – the number of family generations involved simultaneously in the family firm's top management team – mitigates the negative moderating effect of multifamily ownership. Low generational involvement is a mobilizing mechanism that ensures that the family firm uses its SEW to produce radical innovation. We use a sample of Spanish firms to test our expectations. Our results show that firms realize the positive effect of SEW on radical innovation in concert with the leadership governance mechanism of multifamily ownership and low generational involvement. These results are important in that evidence suggests that radical innovation plays a strong role in family firms' long-term survival, success, and renewal. We conclude our paper with a discussion of the study's theoretical contributions and opportunities for future research., This article forms part of the Special Issue on Strategic Leadership & Radical Innovation.

In an initial public offering (IPO) the firm can set the offer price of its shares, based on the valuation of the firm, by changing the number of shares. This study uses stock ownership records and hand-collected IPO data to analyze the offer prices, the underpricing of IPO shares (measured as the initial return, IR) and the relationship with the post-IPO ownership structure. Specifically, the paper focuses on individual IPO investors. The results show that for the lowest priced IPOs the IR is significantly higher priced IPOs. Furthermore, for the low-priced IPOs, there is a negative relationship between offer price and breadth of ownership. This implies that stocks with a low price can attract more investors than stocks with higher offer prices. However, for high-priced IPOs the relationship is positive, suggesting that also the IPOs with highest price attract more investors. Overall, this study shows that the offer price of an IPO firm may have a moderate effect on its post-IPO ownership structure.

Migration is one of the most pressing global issues of our time. However, relatively little is known about the factors and mechanisms that govern the post-migration experiences of skilled migrants. We adopt an acculturation- and social identitybased approach to examine how diferences between institutional characteristics in the destination and origin country, as well as migrants’ experiences with formal and informal institutions shape their identifcation with the destination and origin country and contribute to their community and career embeddedness. Our study of 1709 highly skilled migrants from 48 origin countries in 12 destination countries reveals that the institutional environment migrants encounter provides both sources of opportunity (potential for human development and value-congruent societal practices) and sources of disadvantage (experienced ethnocentrism and downgrading). These contrasting dynamics afect migrants’ destination-country identifcation, their origin-country identifcation and, ultimately, their embeddedness in the destination country. Our results have important implications for multinational enterprises and policy makers that can contribute to enhancing skilled migrants’ community and career embeddedness. For example, these actors may nurture a work environment and provide supportive policies that bufer against the institutional sources of disadvantage we identifed in this study, while helping migrants to leverage the opportunities available in the destination country

Foreign market selection and entry are important decisions for internationalizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because they involve uncertainty, and influence performance. While it is inherent in effectual foreign market entry (FME) decision-making to rely on international partners and relationships to develop international markets, causal foreign market selection and business relationships/networks have frequently been presented as alternative ways to expand abroad. We conceive SMEs' foreign market selection and entry as international business decisions and build on causal and effectual logic, and business network theory, to propose a model explaining SMEs' international performance. We contribute to international business and SME literature by uncovering two different paths (causal and effectual) to FME collaboration and international performance. FME collaboration mediates the relation between causal foreign market selection and effectual entry decisionmaking and international performance. Our theoretical explanation for the mediating mechanism through which international performance can be enhanced is the network approach.

We approach field-configuring events (FCEs) as gatherings that engender formative moments in the trajectory of technologies, professions, or industries. Previous research has focused on the field-level consequences of FCEs, implying we still know little about how these events are produced and sustained. Our aim in this paper is concomitantly to theorize the particular role of prizes as elements that help produce and sustain FCEs. Drawing on a qualitative case study of awards allocated at the 2018 Gothenburg Book Fair, we show how prize givers arduously attempt to raise issues and celebrate accomplishments in ways that are packaged for dissemination through media outlets. And these awards generate occasional visibility for prize givers and – by extension – for event organizers. Our paper contributes by highlighting how FCEs and prizes co-construct each other, and how such co- construction regularly unfolds in relation to a media logic that favors simplification and standardization.

In the context of developing a new era, the pharmaceutical supply chain market has gradually transformed from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. The closer the consumers are, the greater the market pricing power, so the pharmaceutical market power of manufacturers and retailers has also changed. This study considers the effect of service on the pricing strategy of the pharmaceutical platform supply chain. The study aimed to coordinate optimization, and the coordination strategy of the pharmaceutical platform supply chain of complementary products is discussed mainly by researching the price and service factors. Various situations are studied by hypothesis and model solving. This study uses Stackelberg game decision-making. Manufacturers are at the forefront of platform supply chain decisions. The research found that the price was lower under centralized decision-making than under decentralized decision-making. Coordination between price and service levels needs attention in the pharmaceutical platform supply chain of complementary products, and the service level should be controlled within a certain range. Only by improving the service level can enterprises maximize profits, providing a theoretical basis for pharmaceutical supply chain pricing strategy research. Supply chain members must strive to improve service levels to improve medical supply consumers’ (patients) psychological satisfaction level. Service levels do not fully mitigate channel conflict. Therefore, pharmaceutical complements have become a way to alleviate the conflicts in the pharmaceutical platform supply chain., QC 20240314

Employee proactivity has been discussed as a key predictor of firm success and organizational performance. However, previous proactivity research has rarely focused on customers, and the few available proactivity studies from retail settings are either cross-sectional, solely based on subjective outcomes (e.g. customer satisfaction) or restricted to aggregated data of objective outcomes (e.g. profits per store). We investigate the causal effect of employee proactivity in retail service encounters on customers actual purchase behaviour and satisfaction ratings at the fine-grained level of individual customers. By integrating theories on social perception with prior proactivity findings, we find that employee proactivity positively predicts customers shopping responses. This finding extends from correlational to experimental designs across sample types and paradigms, is replicated in actual retail settings, and is mediated by customers perceptions of employee warmth and competence. Furthermore, the effect generalizes across several focal outcomes, including behavioural variables (spending and purchase likelihood), and is moderated by the time to employee-initiated contact in a way that goes against customers own beliefs. In sum, the present research quantifies the financial consequences of employee proactivity and indicates that in ordinary retail service encounters, high proactivity can compensate for delays, thus counteracting the aversive aspects of waiting., Funding Agencies|This research was supported by a grant from the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF), awarded to the first author. The authors are grateful to Jacob Dalgaard Christensen for help with visualizations.; Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF)

Digitalization, with its potential to enhance the openness of client–contractor knowledge collaboration (KC) at the front end of complex engineering projects, is gaining traction among project scholars and practitioners. Despite this growing interest, project actors still struggle to bring client and contractor experts into an open, digitally enabled collaborative space where they can freely access and cocreate project-related knowledge. In this context, our case study explores client–contractor KC in the front-end phase of oil and gas projects in Norway to understand why project actors struggle to achieve KC openness in the digital age. Based on our qualitative analysis, we developed a model that displays two intertwined aspects giving rise to tensions between knowledge sharing and protection. First, we show that these tensions stem from fragmented awareness of the expertise in the collaborating project organization. Second, we highlight how intrainstitutional complexity, instantiated in coexisting conflicting logics of digital and collaborative action, underlies divergent beliefs and behavior toward client–contractor KC and its digitalization. We offer novel insights into the project management literature by showcasing how organizational heterogeneity, in terms of expertise and institutions, challenges project organizations' pursuit of open, digitally enabled client–contractor KC during the front-end project phase., QC 20240201

Manufacturers are facing increased competitive pressure to strengthen their business ecosystems in order to adapt to ongoing twin transitions toward digitalization and sustainability and their associated trends. Yet, managing such ecosystems in complex inter- and intra-organizational settings requires a profound, yet little understood, shift in the role and capabilities of internal organizational functions. This study aims to investigate the composition of ecosystem management capabilities. We employ an in-depth single case study of a leading global solution provider in the automotive and transport industry, based on 51 interviews across the ecosystem management function, various organizational functions, and ecosystem actors. Our analysis, rooted in the dynamic capabilities perspective, highlights three sets of crucial ecosystem management capabilities: ecosystem foresight, ecosystem integration, and ecosystem governance. We further detail the underlying routines and micro-foundational activities enabling these capabilities. By illuminating the key capabilities, routines, and activities of ecosystem management in a dynamic context, this study makes significant contributions to management and strategy research on ecosystems and ecosystem management in rapidly evolving business landscapes., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-03-26 (signyg);Funder: Norges Forskningsråd;Full text license: CC BY

Intra-professional collaboration is essential as it enables professionals to learn, develop, and define the terms of the profession in their own way. Yet conditions for collaboration are shaped by how work is organized and governed. This article examines how conditions for intra-professional collaboration, where work takes place with colleagues within the same profession in same or similar roles, are perceived by teachers, in relation to how work is organized, by drawing on empirical insights from a study on teachers working in education systems defined by market-driven reforms. Our findings nuance ideas of professional connectedness by showing how the organization of work, affected by 'entangled institutional logics' (Blomgren and Waks 2015; Alvehus and Andersson 2018) and market-based governance reforms, shapes intra-professional collaboration. Our contribution is thus to take departure from established understandings of connectivity, that is, 'related to others and outsiders' (Noordegraaf 2020) by examining connectivity within professions, showing how there continues to be a struggle between the profession, organization, and market which shapes conditions for intra-professional work within the teaching profession. Our analysis of intra-professional collaboration holds significance for emergent understandings of connectivity (see Adams et al. 2020a; Alvehus, Avoon and Oliver 2021: 201; Kanon and Andersson 2023) by underscoring how the contemporary organization and management of work shape the conditions that enable, or augment, inwards connectivity and the ability for professionals to collaborate in meaningful ways., Validerad;2024;Nivå 1;2024-03-22 (joosat);Full text license: CC BY 4.0

Mental health issues are on the rise among early career researchers (ECRs), endangering the future of academia. Horizontal linkages among ECRs can play a role in building a reliable emotional support system. We offer four suggestions to overcome existing barriers and foster these linkages.

Low-technology firms face an increasingly disruptive innovation landscape as new legislation and changing market demands force them to dramatically reduce emission levels to become more sustainable. However, successfully developing and implementing sustainable technologies frequently presupposes alliances between low-technology firms (such as process industry companies) and high-tech firms (such as their specialized technology providers). Such alliances are asymmetric and problematic because of differences in approaches to learning, knowledge bases, collaboration routines, and high cognitive distance between high- and low-technology firms. Against this background, we performed a multiple case study of six asymmetric alliances operating in the food and food packaging sectors in the UK. The analysis reveals that technology distance asymmetry, technology integration complexity, and innovation capability incompatibilities prohibit technology transfer effectiveness. By mapping these themes across three phases of technology transfer, we identified a total of nine unique problems that hamper technology transfer effectiveness and, therefore, risk delaying or distorting the implementation of novel sustainable technology. The paper provides theoretical implications for the literature on innovation in LMT firms and for the literature on sustainability alliances along with practical implications for improving technology transfer between high-tech and low-tech firms considering climate change., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-03-22 (signyg);Full text license: CC BY-NC

Purpose: This study aims to examine the factors that influence the relationship between sustainability and financial performance (FP) of the European listed companies. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyzed data from 795 companies in 21 European countries by applying linear mixed-effects multilevel regressions, a two steps system generalized method of moments and quantile regression models to uncover the links between sustainability and FP. Findings: The past four decades have witnessed abundant research to determine the relationship between corporate sustainability and FP. Thus, conducting further research in 2023 could be seen as “reinventing the wheel.” Yet, earlier research considered firms as isolated entities with sustainability and FP being dependent only on that firm’s actions. By contrast, with the help of network governance theory, this study shows that a firm’s sustainability and FP depend on an interplay among interorganizational actors, such as institutional qualities, macroeconomic factors and an embrace of sustainability. Here, large firms play an essential role. Three significant findings are drawn. First, sustainability performance has a significant impact on FP in the European context. Second, the institutional quality (IQ) of the rule of law and control of corruption plays a crucial role in enhancing sustainability and FP, and finally the interaction of IQ and economic growth helps to increase companies’ market value (Tobin’s Q). The consistent and empirically robust findings offer key lessons to policymakers and practitioners on the interplay among multiple actors in corporate sustainability and FP. Practical implications: A synergetic multifaced relationship between governmental institutions and corporations is inevitable for ensuring sustainable development. The degree of intimacy in the relationship, of course, will be determined by the macroeconomic environment. Originality/value: In this research, this study theoretically and empir, Validerad;2024;Nivå 1;2024-03-18 (hanlid);Full text license: CC BY

As enterprise education plays a larger role in schools and young individuals increasingly become the target of entrepreneurial and enterprise policy initiatives, there is a growing need to understand how entrepreneurial intentions can be fostered. This study builds on analyses of interviews with young potential entrepreneurs and their young counterparts, delving more deeply into the identity construction that motivates some individuals, but not others, to develop entrepreneurial identities and enterprise intentions. The findings outline two contrasting routes to identity construction, shedding light on how enterprise intentions are motivationally embedded and providing details on the micro-foundations of identity formation that shape these identities and intentions toward enterprise activity., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-03-15 (hanlid);Full text license: CC BY

In recent years, attention toward Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues has become increasingly important in the investment decision-making process, prompting interest of investors, companies, regulators and researchers on the possible relationships between financial performances and sustainable variables. With the aim to increase our understanding of these relationships, we use a graphical modeling approach on the MSCI and Bloomberg sustainable dataset for years from 2017 to 2021. Our analysis shows that companies with a higher level of compliance with ESG standards have lower assets' volatility than others and are not penalized in terms of returns. Furthermore, the increasing level of mandatory disclosure within the European area, induced by the current regulation, has reduced the strength of the positive relationship between Disclosure Score and ESG Score. Moreover, the negative relationship between ESG Score and volatility remains consistent across temporal and geographic areas.

Purpose – The purpose is to apply the co-workership approach to contribute guidelines for manufacturing managers to exploit the potential of digital technologies through a human-centric perspective. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal single case study within manufacturing including a mix of qualitative methods with 18 in-depth interviews and focus groups with 25 participants covering all organizational levels and functions. Findings – Findings demonstrate that to re-interpret manufacturing management through the lens of Industry 5.0 (I5.0), managers need to respond to the call for a more human-centric perspective by focusing on organizational prerequisites, such as holistic understanding, inclusive organizational change, leadership practices, learning and innovation processes. Research limitations/implications – Limitations due to a single case study are compensated with rich data collected over time with the strengths of mixed methods through in-depth interviews and focus groups with participants reflecting and developing ideas jointly. Practical implications – Managers’ awareness of organizational prerequisites to promote human perspectives in all functions and at all levels in digital transformation is pivotal. Thus, proposed organizational prerequisites are presented as managers’ guidelines for future innovative manufacturing. Social implications – Findings emphasize the need for digital transformation managers to apply a human-centric perspective acknowledging how organizational changes affect the inclusion of employees, and thus challenge culture, structure, communication and trust toward I5.0. Originality/value – The study contributes to the emerging field of I5.0 by applying an interdisciplinary approach to understand the elusive phenomena of enfolding technology and humans., CC BY 4.0

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to review literature on the relationship between leadership and workplace learning, to critically analyze and discuss findings and to suggest future research paths based on the synthesis. Design/methodology/approach – This study applied a refined literature review process leading to a selection of 40 articles, which originated from 14 internationally acclaimed journals. Findings – When explaining leadership influence regarding individual and team learning, the concepts of role modeling behavior, relational support and negotiation of meaning is significant. If leaders provide support, show exemplary behavior and negotiate individual arrangements with employees, workplace learning development is positively affected. Research limitations/implications – Future studies should focus on empirical cases further illustrating how the leader–employee relationship is formed in practice, to further understand differences in leadership influence on employee workplace learning. Practical implications – The gathered knowledge implicates that carefully designed leadership training programs and personalized work arrangements between leader and employees are beneficial for leader’s ability to influence employee workplace learning. Originality/value – The reviewed studies were solely published in top management journals, which resulted in an original literature selection. This study also discusses implicit or articulated assumptions about the view of learning in the selected studies, offering additional understanding about the underlying learning views in leadership–workplace learning research., CC BY 4.0

In today's business landscape, corporate social responsibility is important as companies are expected to integrate social and environmental considerations into their operations and interactions with stakeholders. This involves adhering to codes of conduct, producing sustainability reports, and actively engaging with local communities. As a result, sustainable business models have gained prominence, focusing on societal concerns, environmental consciousness, and financial viability. While stakeholder management is recognized as vital in sustainable business models, there remains a gap in understanding how to implement stakeholder management within this business model effectively. This study uses sustainability reports from major mining and mineral firms to explore how stakeholder management practices might be used to benefit a wider variety of stakeholders. It provides information about stakeholder prioritisation, engagement, and sustainability communication strategies. While these companies attempt to address stakeholders' environmental and social concerns, the study recommends a proactive approach that widens stakeholder engagement, includes secondary stakeholders, leverages shared interests, and enhances stakeholder management reporting to maximize the impact of broad stakeholder value creation in sustainable business models to foster sustainable development., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-04-02 (signyg);Funder: SUN Research School;Full text license: CC BY

Global businesses are transforming towards capturing more value from services, a business model transition called servitization. Digital servitization can help create and maintain a competitive advantage, as well as offering opportunities to tackle major challenges related to environmental pressures and rapidly changing market conditions. This study aims to bridge the gap between the theory of digital servitization and its implementation in the maritime shipping sector. This paper presents a multi-case study that explores the status, perceived challenges, and enablers for the adoption of digital servitization. Empirical data were collected from interviews with 13 companies and analyzed using the PESTEL and DPSIR frameworks. The results are presented across three categories based on the PESTEL framework: organizational context, global priorities, and sustainability. This study contributes to theory by providing empirical insights from the status of digital servitization in the maritime shipping industry. Also, it identifies challenges and needs that can support the transition towards digital servitization and the development of more sustainable solutions. Future research avenues are suggested to advance digital servitization in other industrial sectors., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-01-22 (joosat);Full text license: CC BY

This study aims to explore the significant factors driving food consumption through three e-commerce modes: Business-to-Consumer, Online-to-Offline Food Delivery Service, and Click & Collect in developed Western 98countries. A total of 1,461 samples were collected through online surveys in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Descriptive analysis and ordered logistic regression were employed for data analyses. Overall, consumers’ food consumption frequencies with e-commerce were found to be significantly influenced by several socio-demographics, e-commerce food choice motives, innovation-adoption characteristics and e-service quality attributes., Errata: Wang O, Cueto F J A P, Scrimgeour F, E-commerce food choice in the west:comparing business-to-consumer, online-to-offline fooddelivery service, and click and collect. Electronic Commerce Research (2024) 24:1461–1462. DOI:10.1007/s10660-024-09827-4

The construction industry, a pivotal business sector facilitating physical infrastructure and equipment provision, holds a significant indirect influence on diverse industries. This study investigates the role of supply chain management in enhancing sustainable construction practices within the Algerian construction industry. The research delves into the relationship between traditional supply chain management and sustainable construction, employing a quantitative approach. Data collection involved a survey comprising 61 items, utilizing a five-point Likert scale, gathered through an online survey method targeting managers, supervisors, executives, and suppliers in the Algerian construction industry. With 237 participants from construction companies in Algeria, the study utilized Smart PLS for data analysis, confirming a positive relationship between traditional supply chain management and sustainable construction through partial least squares (PLS) path analysis. The findings provide valuable insights for future stakeholders, guiding employers, designers, manufacturers, contractors, and suppliers to enhance supply chain management practices for sustainable construction in Algeria. Consequently, this study offers significant results with practical and theoretical implications, contributing to the integration of sustainable supply chain management in Algerian construction. In summary, the research addresses the relationship challenges between traditional supply chain management and sustainable construction practices in Algeria., Validerad;2024;Nivå 1;2024-04-02 (joosat);Full text license: CC BY

This article explores the role of start-ups within entrepreneurial ecosystems in driving the transition towards a circular economy. It emphasises the importance of understanding and supporting circular start-ups for broader sustainability impacts. Unlike established firms, start-ups can readily adopt ambitious circular business models (CBMs) without the risk of business model cannibalisation and with the agility to adapt to market trends. CBMs enhance value creation, delivery and capture resource flows in an optimised non-linear fashion. Scaling up CBMs is crucial for overall economic, social and environmental benefits. Hence, leveraging the key entrepreneurial ecosystems actors, such as universities, business incubators and related venture development intermediaries, is vital for start-up support. In this special issue, we have invited researchers to submit contributions that delve into the dynamics among start-ups, entrepreneurial ecosystems and the circular economy, aiming to enrich our understanding of the early stage start-up development process with the aim of promoting the circular economy at a firm, regional or national level., Funding agencies: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: We are grateful for financial support from FORMAS – A Swedish research council for sustainable development (Grant number – 2020-00815) for funding our project “Entrepreneurial ecosystems for start-ups developing circular business models” that has made this special issue possible.

Research on digital transformation focuses on business models and technological innovation but it often lacks a detailed exploration of how firms develop, execute, and evaluate related and unrelated digital diversification strategies. To address this gap, this study employs a multiple case study approach to uncover the varied processes and outcomes of implementing digital diversification programs in established firms. The findings reveal that established firms frequently refine and adjust their digital diversification strategies to achieve desired results. Specifically, related digital diversification strategies benefit from well-defined market segments, clear technological focus, and robust senior management support. In contrast, unrelated digital diversification strategies thrive through extensive exploration and experimentation with novel digital technologies and markets, reduced senior managerial intervention and increased middle- and lower-level management involvement. Semi-related digital diversification strategies, which incorporate elements of both related and unrelated approaches, often encounter tensions owing to conflicting traditional and new program execution methods, posing significant realization challenges. Key factors identified as instrumental in the success of digital diversification strategies include technology, markets, management & organization, and program execution. The study concludes by discussing the managerial and academic implications and offers recommendations for future research in this domain., QC 20240307

Participation of women on corporate boards has long been a topic of debate in academia and practice. Yet, the threshold of women's participation in a corporate board to obtain a synergetic impact on corporate sustainability performance remains to be examined. Data from 19 European countries, having 2640 firm-year of observation, this study revealed that women on boards positively affect corporate sustainability performance in the European context, with an approximately 30% participation of women on boards (WoB) ensuring synergetic impact. This study further revealed that after the threshold of WoB participation, the market value of companies tends to be negative in the European setting. An indication of investors' reactions. The issue was first examined through the lens of the resource-based view, social role, agency and critical mass theories and then empirically tested. To reach a conclusion, this study employs both static and dynamic econometric models; thus, the finding is consistent and empirically robust. The research findings contribute to the current discussion on corporate governance and corporate sustainability performances issues, especially in the European context, and have implications for researchers, business practitioners, and policymakers. © The Author 2024., Funding: Open access funding provided by Halmstad University.

This study analyzes the interaction between sustainability preferences and investment behavior, particularly in the context of mutual fund investments. Based on survey data from a representative sample of Swedish mutual fund investors, we observe that while a majority of respondents express a willingness to sacrifice returns for more sustainable investments, only a minority claim to have actively invested in sustainable funds. This highlights a discrepancy between preferences and behavior, which we show can be understood by (in)attentiveness in the financial decision-making process. We reveal that sustainability-motivated investors are less attentive than those motivated by returns, leading to potential misalignment with their preferences. This finding emphasizes the significance of banks taking (in)attentiveness into account when communicating with customers. Information is effective for return-focused investors, while nudges and boosts may better facilitate decisions for sustainability-focused investors.

In the 1960s, influential thinkers defined design as a rational problem-solving approach to deal with the challenges of sustainable human development. In 2009, a design consultant and a business academic selected some of these ideas and successfully branded them with the term “design thinking.” As a result, design thinking has developed into a stream of innovation management research discussing how to innovate faster and better in competitive markets. This article aims to foster a reconsideration of the purposes of design thinking moving forward, in view of the sustainable development challenges intertwined with accelerating innovation in a perpetual economic growth paradigm. To this end, we use a problematization method to challenge innovation management research on design thinking. As part of this method, we first systematically collect and critically analyze the articles in this research stream. We uncover a prominent focus on economic impact, while social and environmental impacts remain largely neglected. To overcome this critical limitation, we integrate design thinking with responsible innovation theorizing. We develop a framework for responsible design thinking, explaining how to apply this approach beyond a private interest and competitive advantage logic, to address sustainable development challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, poverty, and injustice. The framework contributes to strengthening the practical relevance of design thinking and its theoretical foundations. To catalyze this effort, we propose an agenda for future research.

For over a decade, sharing economy companies ("sharecoms") have been operating on an international stage with novel digital platform-based business models that create and capture value through unique dimensional configurations. However, the relationship between these business models and the international expansion of sharecoms remains under-theorized. This longitudinal study addresses this gap and presents new empirically driven insights. Based on a cross-border, cross-sector case study of six sharecoms, we investigated the evolution of the business model in relation to internationalization. The results showed that multidimensional changes took place within the business models, impacting the sharecoms' internationalization in terms of speed, scale, and scope through circular causality. Moreover, by creating virtuous cycles of business model change and internationalization, sharecoms were able to achieve network effects and unlock value.

The biotechnology industry is known for being highly networked and knowledge-intensive, as well as highly internationalized. Young firms within this sector are reliant on long term support from financiers, research collaborators and supply of highly skilled human capital. Further, contributing to the unique circumstances for entrepreneurship in this industry, it is not uncommon for firms to have no product or service, nor revenues, many years or even decades after its founding. Creating and maintaining relationships with their external environment therefore becomes essential for survival. This thesis aims to study how interorganizational networks form over time and to contribute to the understanding of how activities of entrepreneurial actors draw on and shape the networks in which they are embedded. To achieve this, 319 Swedish firms in the Swedish biotechnology industry were studied longitudinally over a period of ten years. Data was collected on their activities and relationships with actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem surrounding biotechnology firms. A relational database of 7,745 interactions between 2,868 unique actors was constructed and analyzed using social network analysis, and additional statistical analysis was performed using panel data linear regression modeling. The findings suggest that there are significant differences in how structural characteristics of the different layers within interorganizational networks enable and constrain entrepreneurial firms in their relationships with external stakeholders. The entrepreneurial ecosystems are presented as supra-local phenomena, integrated in and through networks transcending traditional geographical confines of ecosystems. The result of this thesis underscores the importance of understanding the multi-layered and international dimensions of interorganizational networks, particularly in a knowledge-intensive and globally interconnected industry like biotechnology. An important outcome of this researc, Den bioteknologiska industrin är kunskapsintensiv och till hög grad både sammanlänkad i nätverk och internationaliserad. Unga företag i denna bransch är beroende av långsiktigt stöd från finansiärer, partners inom forskningssamarbeten och tillgång till högkvalificerat humankapital. En ytterligare omständighet som bidrar till de unika förutsättningarna för entreprenörskap i denna miljö är att det kan dröja år, ibland årtionden, efter företagets grundande innan deras produkter och tjänster når marknaden, med total frånvaro av intäkter som följd. Att skapa och underhålla relationer med sin externa miljö blir därför avgörande för överlevnad. Denna avhandling syftar till att studera hur interorganisationella nätverk bildas över tid och att bidra till förståelse för hur entreprenöriella aktörer utnyttjar och formar de nätverk de är inbäddade i. För att uppnå detta syfte studerades 319 svenska företag inom den svenska bioteknologiindustrin longitudinellt över en tioårsperiod. Data samlades in om deras aktivitet och relationer med aktörer i det entreprenöriella ekosystemet kring bioteknologiföretag. En relationsdatabas med 7 745 interaktioner mellan 2 868 unika partners konstruerades och analyserades med hjälp av social nätverksanalys, och ytterligare statistisk analys genomfördes med linjär regressionsmodellering för paneldata. Resultaten tyder på att det finns betydande skillnader i hur strukturella egenskaper hos de olika lagren inom multi-lager interorganisationella nätverk möjliggör och begränsar entreprenöriella företag i deras relationer med externa intressenter. De entreprenöriella ekosystemen presenteras här som supra-lokala fenomen, som integreras i och genom nätverk som överskrider traditionella geografiska begränsningar av ekosystem. Resultaten i denna avhandling visar betydelsen av att förstå lagren och internationella dimensionerna av interorganisationella nätverk, i synnerhet i en kunsk, QC 20240109

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impacts of remote auditing on auditors’ work and work-life balance. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopted a qualitative online survey approach using open-ended reflections from 98 highly experienced auditors. The survey design aligns with a “Big Q” approach to qualitative data. The reflections were interpreted through the theoretical lens of the social presence theory. Findings Auditors underscore that remote auditing has improved their work-life balance since it offers flexibility, greater autonomy and efficient use of time. However, they believe less social contact due to remote auditing can hurt their work. Research limitations/implications This study aimed to holistically comprehend the concept of work-life balance in a remote auditing setting. Therefore, the study refrained from making comparisons based on demographic information (e.g. gender, experience and type of audit firm). Practical implications The findings highlight the need for adopting flexible work arrangements that prioritise auditors’ well-being. This is critical for making the audit profession attractive and enhancing overall audit quality. Updated regulatory guidance and controls are needed concerning the use of technologies in remote auditing to ensure high-quality audits. Social implications The findings of this study can positively reshape public perception of the audit profession. Firstly, enhanced work-life balance can improve audit quality. Secondly, incorporating emerging technologies in auditing can result in society perceiving auditors as adaptive to innovation and technological advancement that has been touted for their potential for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of audit and audit quality, potentially enhancing societal trust in auditing. Originality/value The findings of this study complement the auditing literature that has mainly focused on the traditional work paradigm, requiring in-person presence. The authors identify p

Purpose: This study aims to examine the diffusion and implementation of trust-based management (TBM) in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). TBM is a novel “anti-New Public Management (NPM)” innovation within the realm of New Public Governance (NPG), which asserts that leadership and control in public sector organizations should be practiced and designed based on the assumption that civil servants and employees in general are trustworthy. The research questions are as follows: How has TBM been diffused and implemented in Scandinavia? To what extent can the institutional logics framework increase understanding of similarities and differences between the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)? Design/methodology/approach: The authors designed and submitted surveys to the municipal directors of the three Scandinavian municipal populations, thereby producing a unique cross-country dataset on TBM diffusion and implementation in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). Findings: The authors' study shows that TBM has diffused widely among Scandinavian municipalities and has developed into a municipal-level concept across policy fields and sectors. While Denmark stands out as an earlier and more decisive TBM reformer, the results show that similarities in the diffusion and implementation of TBM in Scandinavian countries are more apparent than the differences. Originality/value: This study contributes to the public management literature and research on anti-NPM and NPG concepts by being the first wide-scale empirical study of TBM diffusion and implementation in the Scandinavian municipal sectors.

The introduction of technology has caused an improvement in the recruiting sector, replacing old methods with more simplified and effective procedures. Recruiters can now access a wide range of technical developments by integrating digital platforms and tools, which helps them more successfully attract and hire top talent. This study employs the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine blue-collar workers’ intentions to use an e-recruiting platform. The study, which included 212 respondents, provided insight into the variables of performance expectation, effort expectation, social impact, and facilitating conditions that affect people’s propensity to use the job-seeking platform. The analysis of the data showed that effort expectations and social influence had an impact on behavioral intention, and behavioral intention had an impact on usage behavior. A thorough strategy was developed through data analysis, utilizing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) matrix and the Reach, Impact, Confidence and Effort (RICE) rating system. The conclusions and prioritized methods provided by the researchers serve as valuable tools for those engaged in the recruitment sector. This information empowers them to leverage technology effectively and make informed decisions to enhance the acceptance and utilization of e-recruiting platforms among blue-collar employees., QC 20240229

Prior research has highlighted coopetition as a successful strategy for enterprise performance during a crisis; this has largely focused upon large firms therefore, limiting our knowledge of network coopetition in micro-enterprises. This article explores the impact of network coopetition on the robustness of micro-enterprises during COVID-19. A survey and interviews with craft food producers in Sweden were conducted; a measurement for firm robustness was created, indicating that 46% of respondents had successfully weathered the pandemic and were thus, considered robust. The findings show that micro-enterprises employing network coopetition as a strategy during the pandemic exhibited robustness. This article stresses the importance of micro-enterprises that broadly embrace network coopetition to withstand the negative effects of crises.

Women's entrepreneurship is often presented as important for creating economic prosperity at the national level and is said to offer freedom, independence, and emancipation for women. The purpose of this study is to explore the conditions of women entrepreneurs who have different backgrounds in Sweden. To achieve this purpose, this study focuses on the challenges women entrepreneurs perceive and the coping strategies they employ to navigate these challenges. The study adopts an intersectional gender perspective, grounded in research on entrepreneurship, gender, and ethnicity. It draws on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in Sweden who have different backgrounds. The findings show that the challenges experienced by the women entrepreneurs included lack of support, being belittled, being excluded, having to work harder and be strong and having to adapt. The analysis discusses that these challenges can be understood as a result of gendered perceptions of entrepreneurship and processes of Othering. Ethnicity and race also play a role in shaping these conditions. The interviewed women deal with the conditions through four strategies: the assimilation strategy; the positive strategy, the ambiguity strategy, and the change strategy. The coping strategies are discussed in relation to empowerment and emancipation. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to developing concepts and conceptual relationships to capture how gender, ethnicity, and race impact women's conditions as entrepreneurs., Kvinnors entreprenörskap framställs ofta som viktigt för att skapa ekonomiskt välstånd på nationell nivå och sägs erbjuda frihet, oberoende och bemäktigande för kvinnor. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka villkoren för kvinnliga företagare med olika bakgrunder i Sverige. För att uppnå detta syfte fokuserar studien på de utmaningar kvinnliga företagare upplever samt de strategier de använder för att hantera dessa utmaningar. Studien anlägger ett intersektionellt genusperspektiv som grundas i forskning om företagande, genus och etnicitet. Den bygger på kvalitativt empiriskt material som insamlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga företagare i Sverige som har olika bakgrunder. Huvudresultaten visar att de utmaningar som de kvinnliga entreprenörerna handlar upplevelser av brist på stöd, att bli förminskad, att bli exkluderad, att behöva arbeta hårdare och vara stark, samt att behöva anpassa sig. I analysen diskuteras hur dessa utmaningar kan förstås som ett resultat av könsmärkta föreställningar om entreprenörskap och s.k. Andrafieringsprocesser. Etnicitet och ras spelar också en roll i hur dessa villkoråterskapas. De intervjuade kvinnorna hanterar villkoren genom fyra strategier: assimileringsstrategin, den positiva strategin, tvetydighetsstrategin och förändringsstrategin. Dessa strategier diskuteras i relation till begreppen bemäktigande och emancipation. Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar denna studie till att utveckla begrepp och begreppsrelationer för att fånga hur kön, etnicitet och ras påverkar kvinnors villkor som företagare och deras strategier.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between consumers’ emotions towards emerging e-banking technology, perceived risk and subsequent intention to adopt emerging e-banking technology. Design/methodology/approach: An online questionnaire was used to collect data, which were analysed in a quantitative study. The final sample of 224 educated young consumers, familiar with emerging e-banking technology, allowed testing of the research hypotheses by applying confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings: The empirical results indicate that deterrence emotions and hedonic motivation are associated with consumers’ perceived risk and, subsequently, their intention to adopt emerging e-banking technology. Additionally, analysing the moderating role of hedonic motivation in the association between consumers’ deterrence emotions towards emerging e-banking technology and their perceived risk highlights the significant association of deterrence emotions with perceived risk, regardless of the presence of hedonic motivation. Originality/value: This study demonstrates the association between consumers’ emotions, perceived risk and subsequent intention to adopt emerging e-banking technology whilst underscoring the importance of distinguishing between different types of emotions and their corresponding appraisals.

Trafikverket upphandlade varor, tjänster, och byggentreprenader för nästan 62 miljarder SEK 2022 och har ett uppdrag att särskilt verka för innovation, effektivitet och produktivitet på den svenska anläggningsmarknaden. Som en del i sitt strategiska arbete har Trafikverket tagit fram en kontraktsmodell för ökad samverkan och tidig involvering av entreprenören, något som också har efterfrågats av entreprenadföretagen. Internationellt används ofta begreppet Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) för den här typen av kontrakt, och syftet kan vara att öka möjligheterna att anpassa projektens innehåll till förändrade förutsättningar, få in entreprenörens produktionskunskap i projekteringen eller att alls få anbud på projekt med stora risker. Trafikverkets modell benämns Samverkan Hög med Tidig Entreprenörmedverkan (TEM) och ingår i Trafikverkets övergripande affärsstrategi från 2016 (TDOK 2016:0199). Den baseras på ett tvåfaskontrakt, där entreprenören upphandlas för att i ett första steg gemensamt med beställaren ta fram en teknisk lösning och en riktkostnad, med en option på kontrakt för detaljprojektering och byggande. I den här rapporten redovisar vi resultaten från ett doktorandprojekt som har följt de sju första TEM-projekten i Trafikverket under tiden 2016–2023, baserat på framför allt intervjuer och projektdokumentation. Erfarenheterna från projektens uppstart och tidiga skeden har beskrivits i en omfattande delrapport (Rosander, Kadefors och Eriksson, 2020). Denna slutrapport har ett mer övergripande perspektiv och fokuserar på lärande över tid på projektnivå, organisationsnivå och branschnivå. Sammantaget är erfarenheterna av TEM i fallstudieprojekten huvudsakligen positiva och de intervjuade projektledarna uppfattar att modellen har stor potential och i flera fall har varit avgörande för att kunna genomföra projekten. Man har i varierande grad mött utmaningar, men dessa har framför allt varit relaterade till kontraktsupplägg och tidiga skeden i de första projekten, QC 20240214

This paper addresses the ‘digital imperative’ and how organisations are pressured to digitalise. In comparison to previous studies that often emphasise market pressures to digitalise, this paper focuses on institutional pressures exerted on organisations that lack competitive pressures. By drawing upon institutional theory, which considers the social embeddedness of organisations, it acknowledges that social expectations and approval can shape the way organisations respond to technological change. Based on a study of digitalisation within the water sector, where the perceived benefits of digital technologies are advocated under the label of ‘digital water’, it shows that there are isomorphic processes in place through which the idea of digital water is legitimised. Hence, water utilities are under institutional pressures to digitalise which, in turn, can influence how they respond to digitalisation., QC 20240125

Entrepreneurs need to mobilize funds, but they do so under considerable uncertainty about resource holders’ preferences, leading often to fundraising attempts that perform below entrepreneurs’ aspirations. Past research has offered contrasting theorizing and evidence for why entrepreneurs then make changes to their product offering during such attempts as well as for why entrepreneurs refrain from taking such action. This paper develops and tests behavioral theory to reconcile this tension, explicating when and why entrepreneurs change their product offering during underperforming fundraising attempts. Specifically, we argue that entrepreneurs draw on three sources of information that are inherent to fundraising attempts and that inform the extent of their actions to change their product offering: the degree to which they perform below their own fundraising aspirations, the degree to which they fall below peer fundraising performance, and the time that remains until the deadline for the fundraising attempt. Longitudinal data on 576 fundraising campaigns (6,758 observations) published on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter support our theory. By developing novel behavioral theory on when and why entrepreneurs take action during resource mobilization, we offer contributions to research on entrepreneurial resource mobilization, the crowdfunding literature, and the Behavioral Theory of the Firm.

Validerad;2024;Nivå 1;2024-02-20 (hanlid);Full text license: © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. This AAM is provided for your own personal use only. It may not be used for resale, reprinting, systematic distribution, emailing, or for any other commercial purpose without the permission of the publisher.

Robo-advisors, also known as robo-advisory services, significantly reshape customer service in financial advisory industries, transforming retail investor markets by substituting human financial advisory experts with artificial intelligence empowered services. However, existing literature remains scattered across disciplines, with theories on financial customer service predominantly focused on Internet banking, neglecting artificial intelligence empowered interactions. Thus, service providers need a framework for implementing robo-advisors in frontline service and researchers require an advanced agenda to stimulate future research. Through a systematic, interdisciplinary literature review based on Belanche et al.’s service robot framework, this article contextualizes service robot theories into financial advisory services, synthesizing knowledge on artificial intelligence empowered customer service. We contribute to literature on service robots by contextualizing, refining, and extending the original framework by Belanche et al. and by developing a research agenda with critical perspectives. Moreover, the study yields practical and theoretical insights into artificial intelligence empowered financial advisory services., QC 20240116

The challenges encountered by established firms transforming their linear business models into circular business models (CBMs) have received extensive research attention. Such firms have experience and market foothold but tend to adopt an incremental approach to CBMs due to risks of business model cannibalization. However, there is relatively limited research on the challenges experienced by new ventures developing CBMs from scratch – circular new ventures. New ventures are often agile, experimental and deploy disruptive CBMs even though they lack resources. The lack of knowledge specific to this topic is constraining for entities such as incubators and accelerators that seek to facilitate the emergence and scale-up of circular new ventures. Furthermore, researchers cannot presume that the challenges experienced by established firms are the same for new ventures when developing CBMs. Thus, the aim of this article is to explore the challenges that new ventures experience while developing circular business models from scratch, synthesize the sources of these challenges and provide practitioner implications to overcome them. In doing so, we studied 70 circular new ventures across Europe. Our article makes four original contributions to the literature. First, our study is seminal in using a large cross-country dataset to qualitatively analyse the empirical challenges of new ventures developing circular business models. Second, we identify which challenges are generic for CBMs, which challenges are specific for certain CBM types and for circular new ventures in particular. Third, we show that the challenges of circular new ventures are determined by their: (i) type of circular business model, (ii) industrial sector, (iii) institutional context, and (iv) new ventures liabilities. Altogether, we highlight that while circular new ventures and new ventures experience several similar challenges, circular new ventures particularly struggle to scale-up due to their liabilities, Funding Agencies|FORMAS - A Swedish research council for sustainable development [2020-00815]

Skilled migrant workers often experience downward career mobility post-migration. We investigate how diversity climate as an organizational response to support migrants affects the career satisfaction of migrant employees. Survey data from 179 skilled migrants working in Sweden reveal that perceived diversity climate impacts career satisfaction through a dual-path model. It negatively affects perceived overqualification, which correlates with lower career satisfaction, while positively relating to perceived organizational justice, which correlates with higher career satisfaction. These effects are contingent on individual factors. Lower career adaptability amplifies the negative impact of perceived overqualification, and higher career adaptability strengthens the positive influence of perceived organizational justice. The findings highlight the boundary conditions of workplace diversity climate–career outcome relationships and underscore the interaction of organizational and individual factors and, in particular, the agency and proactivity of skilled migrants through career adaptability.

We investigate the propagation of environmental performance among competitors and in customer–supplier relationships. We find a significant causal effect among competitors, while the propagation from customers to suppliers and vice versa appears insignificant or does not survive identification tests. The effect is stronger among firms in highly concentrated competitor networks and toward firms with less market and bargaining power than their competitors. We also find significantly stronger propagation of environmental performance among competitors engaged in joint research and development activity. These results show that the propagation stems from both competitive pressure and technological spillover. Importantly, we find that propagation is strong when the competitor improves its environmental performance and when the firm’s own environmental performance is poor initially, alleviating concerns that improvements in performance are concentrated among firms, which are already green. Overall, network effects among competing firms are a significant force shaping environmental performance, and a force mostly for good.

This study explores the interlink between AI capabilities and circular business models (CBMs) through a literature review. Extant literature reveals that AI can act as efficiency catalyst, empowering firms to implement CBM. However, the journey to harness AI for CBM is fraught with challenges as firms grapple with the lack of sophisticated processes and routines to tap into AI's potential. The fragmented literature leaves a void in understanding the barriers and development pathways for AI capabilities in CBM contexts. Bridging this gap, adopting a capabilities perspective, this review intricately brings together four pivotal capabilities: integrated intelligence capability, process automation and augmentation capability, AI infrastructure and platform capability, and ecosystem orchestration capability as drivers of AI-enabled CBM. These capabilities are vital to navigating the multi-level barriers to utilizing AI for CBM. The key contribution of the study is the synthesis of an AI-enabled CBM framework, which not only summarizes the results but also sets the stage for future explorations in this dynamic field., Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-02-16 (joosat);Funder: Norwegian Research Council;Full text license: CC BY

The purpose of this study is to extend current understanding of disabling marketplaces by substantiating embodied interaction, between service providers and disabled consumers, as interlinked multimodal activities in a material environment. The study is based on three extensive datasets on service production and provider-consumer interactions, gathered from several public sector markets containing private service providers. Using different qualitative and semi-ethnographical methods, the study makes three contributions: i) a more embodied construct of disability, materialised in a conceptual typology of embodiment and materiality, advancing research into what disables consumers from being active members of marketplaces; ii) identifying themes of disabling marketplace interactions which contribute a more fine-grained understanding of the relationship between embodiment and how consumers experience vulnerability - an explanation of how consumers with disabilities appropriate space and ascribe meanings to a place; and iii) substantiating previous research into 'bodily dys-appearance'.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is shed light on the underlying forces behind entrepreneurship within a regional innovation system (RIS) in a remote rural region. The authors examine the following questions: Which are the main underlying forces behind the entrepreneurial process in a rural RIS characterized by traditionally low-tech, small-scale businesses? How can the development of a low-tech regional innovation system be conceptualized? DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The design of the study is based on entrepreneurship theory. Data analysis followed practices used in phenomenography, a research approach used to analyse and identify commonalities and variations in populations' perceptions of a certain phenomenon. Data are composed using semi-structured interviews and a database composed of company information of all firms in the population. FINDINGS A proactive mobilization of regional stakeholders and resources can be an important driving force behind the entrepreneurial process and generation of a rural RIS. Innovation can be generated within low-tech industries turning the rural context into an asset. An RIS in a remote rural context can be initiated and orchestrated by regional authorities, but knowledge brokering and orchestration can also be managed by networks of small-scale businesses brought together by mutual benefit and common interests. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS Regional innovation systems theory is most often used to study high-tech industries. But by combining regional innovation systems with rural entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship context theory is a fruitful avenue to understand the role of rural entrepreneurship in regional development, even in remote and peripheral regions. Innovation does not need to entail high-tech international environments; it can appear as the result of efforts in low-tech industries in rural and remote environments. The authors’ findings need to be scrutinized; therefore, the authors call for more research on r, Advancing sustainable regional development: Opportunities for the creative industries through food, culture and tourism, Enhancing Entrepreneurship in Rural Areas through Local Food System

Significant efforts have been made to promote competition in public service sectors, expanding the reach of competition into non-economic fields. Surprisingly little is, however, known about the process by which competition is introduced into such settings. We examine this process, focusing on a Swedish municipality’s efforts to implement competition for students among its schools. By incorporating recent theoretical advancements regarding competition as an organized relationship, and utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative data, we shed light on the organizational efforts undertaken by politicians and bureaucrats to teach their schools to compete. We find that introducing competition can be complex, time-consuming and that it requires substantial organizational commitment. We highlight the existence of varying perceptions of competition among different stakeholders following its introduction. These findings suggest the need for future research that addresses questions about the costs of, and interests behind, introducing competition, as well as questions about responsibility for the subsequent effects of competition.