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Item Embargo Christianity and migrant women’s entrepreneurship(Routledge, 2025) Mwila, Natasha Katuta; Woldesenbet, K.; Abi, MeskeremThis chapter examines the multifaceted role of Christianity in shaping the entrepreneurial journeys of migrant women. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of religion and entrepreneurship, it delves into the specific ways in which Christian beliefs and practices influence various aspects of entrepreneurship. Christianity is explored as one of the world's major religions. The chapter specifically considers its particular significance for migrant women as evidenced by primary data from internal migrant women entrepreneurs in Zambia. The chapter begins by providing an overview of the intersection of migration and entrepreneurship from a gender perspective, highlighting the unique challenges faced by migrant women in starting and sustaining businesses. It then explores a framework of Christian values to investigate how Christian migrant women entrepreneurs integrate these values into their ventures. The chapter delves into the role of faith as a coping mechanism and a source of resilience during the entrepreneurial journey. It illuminates how Christian practices act as powerful tools that enable migrant women to navigate through uncertainties and adversities, motivating them to persevere in their pursuit of business goals. While acknowledging the positive influence of Christianity, the chapter also critically analyses the potential challenges and tensions that may arise when religious beliefs intersect with business practices. It emphasises the need for greater recognition and understanding of the role of Christianity in migrant women's entrepreneurship. By harnessing the potential of religious beliefs, stakeholders can better support and empower migrant women.Item Embargo The role of informal networks in shaping HRM practices in emerging markets: Evidence from the Wasta and Guanxi Context(Taylor and Francis, 2025-05-11) Yahiaoui, Dorra; Jiang, Cuiling; Stokes, Peter; Sinha, Paresha; Pereira, VijayThis study contributes by investigating the nature and the role played by informal networks in human resource management (HRM) practices, focusing on wasta (linked with Arab cultures) and guanxi (associated with Chinese culture) in recruitment and selection, compensation, performance appraisal, and career development. Using inductivism, we analyzed qualitative data from 44 interviews with senior managers in Tunisia, Lebanon, and China. Findings reveal that culturally driven informal networks discreetly shape HRM practices in domestic firms, where they are seen as beneficial. However, their influence in HRM is weakening in foreign firms, which prioritize fairness, meritocracy and transparency due to headquarters’ pressure and employee expectations of equal opportunity. The study identifies both similarities and differences in how wasta and guanxi impact HRM practices in emerging markets, offering theoretical and practical insights into the role of informal networks in HRM.Item Embargo Filmed Entertainment Providers’ Streaming Subscription Services as an “Iron Cage” With No Escape – A Weberian Perspective(Academy of Marketing, 2025-07-10) Wohlfeil, MarkusBy drawing on Weber’s conflict theory, this research seeks to explore whether mainstream consumers may experience the digital filmed entertainment providers’ streaming subscription services as an(other) ‘iron cage’ limiting their choice of accessing movies and TV shows. We found that filmed entertainment providers, as producers of popular movies/TV shows, are in the powerful position of using them as exclusive ‘subscription bait’. Consumers increasingly fear of becoming trapped forever in the ‘iron cage’ of multiple streaming subscription services.Item Embargo Music streaming platforms: Are artists getting paid what they deserve?(Academy of Marketing, 2025-07-10) Akter Eti, Anowara; Wohlfeil, MarkusThe arrival of streaming platforms has significantly shaken up the recorded music industry with their subscription model. But while streaming services are said to offer independent artists the potential to reach a global audience, they are hardly able to make a living from the streaming of their music. This study critically examines musicians' experiences with the streaming platforms' present revenue distribution with a view of developing a fairer remuneration model that would benefit all stakeholders.Item Open Access Escaping the “Iron Cage” of Movie/TV Streaming Providers(Australian-New Zealand Marketing Academy, 2024-12-05) Wohlfeil, MarkusAlthough marketing scholars and media experts have championed the digitalized access to filmed entertainment, recorded music and books for the past 25 years as a disruptive technology that is revolutionizing and ‘democratizing’ how consumers would now read books, listen to recorded music and watch movies and TV shows, the persistent popularity of printed books and the recent resurgence of vinyl records have called this dominant discourse into question. But while the deep resonance of vinyl records with consumers has received some scholarly attention in recent years, hardly any research looked at whether similar trends occur in relation to other entertainment industries such as movies/TV shows. Drawing on the author’s autoethnographic insights and phenomenological interviews with 12 informants, this ethnographic study draws on Weber’s conflict theory to explore whether consumers may increasingly experience filmed entertainment providers’ streaming subscription services as an(other) ‘iron cage’ limiting their access to filmed entertainment. We found that filmed entertainment streaming providers are in the powerful position of producing their own movies and TV shows that they increasingly use as exclusive ‘subscription bait’. Hence, consumers increasingly feel trapped an ‘iron cage’ of multiple streaming subscription services they are no longer able to escape from.Item Embargo Escaping the “Iron Cage” of Digitalized Music Platforms: A Weberian Perspective on the Vinyl Resurgence(Academy of Marketing, 2024-07-05) Wohlfeil, MarkusBy drawing on Weber’s conflict theory, this study aims to explore how the growing popularity of vinyl records with mainstream consumers may be an escape from an ‘iron cage’ increasingly imposed by digital music providers. We found that mainstream consumers increasingly feel oppressed, exploited and trapped into an iron cage created by the digital music providers’ irrational rationalization of their services. The resulting tensions encourage them to turn to vinyl records’ materiality for comfort.Item Open Access Self-Efficacy and Nontask Performance at Work. A Meta-Analytic Summary(Elsevier, 2025-03-28) Fida, Roberta; Marzocchi, Ivan; Arshad, Mamoona; Paciello, Marinella; Barbaranelli, Claudio; Tramontano, CarloSelf-effcacy plays a critical role in guiding and maintaining behaviours across various life domains, including organisational settings where it enhances task-specific performance. This paper extends the role of self-efficacy to non task or contextual performance, focusing on citizenship and counterproductive performance. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, we examine its role as both an antecedent and a moderator. Among 11,877 records, 176 papers (194 independent studies) were included in the systematic review, and 158 papers (172 independent studies) in the meta-analysis. Findings support our hypotheses. In relation to citizenship performance (N = 49,464) results showed that self-efficacious individuals are more likely to engage in extra-role activities, fostering personal, collective, and organisational development (ρ = .45). They exhibit proactive behaviours such as voicing concerns, providing exceptional customer service, and helping behaviours. Additionally, self-efficacy serves as a protective factor against counterproductive and antisocial performance detrimental to organisations and stakeholders (N = 12,498, ρ = − .24). While studies on the moderation of self effcacy are limited, our systematic review confirms its role in buffering the impact of adverse working conditions on counterproductive performance.Item Open Access Leadership-as-Sentiments: An afrocentric perspective(Sage, 2025-02-20) Mumbi, Henry; Eyong, Joseph; Amaugo, Amarachi; Muskwe, NeverThis paper examines how sentiments shape perceptions and practices of leadership in 20 local community councils in four African nations: Cameroon, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Theorizing emerged from data derived through interviewing, observation and historical culture analysis. Applying psychoanalytical discursive approaches and exploring through narrative encounter, microstoria and interpretation, findings indicate that sentiments is central to the conceptualization and practice of leadership in context. This makes reciprocity, respect, resilience, and representation essential for effective leadership. The sentiments perspective to leadership poses a challenge to the dominant focus on leader traits, behavior, and leader-follower dialogic dominant in mainstream accounts of leadership. The paper adds impetus to the new discourse on sentiments in leadership in cross-cultural leadership studies and locates avenues for future research.Item Open Access Do we measure what should be measured? Towards a research and theoretical agenda for STI measurement in Africa(Taylor and Francis, 2025-03-27) Kruss, Glenda; Petersen, Il-haam; Sanni, Maruf; Adeyeye, David; Egbetokun, AbiodunA persistent critique of standard science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators is that they remain reliant on concepts and theories transposed from the literature on STI in high-income countries. It is widely recognized that their relevance for African countries is limited, so we may not be measuring what we should be measuring, to promote development goals. To inform a shift from critique to building meaningful alternatives, the paper conducts a systematic review of the literature on STI measurement in Africa. The analysis highlights that STI measurement in Africa is under-researched, but the knowledge base is growing. The strongest trends relate to the adoption and extension of traditional standard STI indicators. More recent is a focus on environmental sustainability, digitalization and the informal sector, with most scholars based in South Africa and Nigeria. The main contribution is a research agenda to facilitate theory building as a foundation for designing contextually relevant STI indicators.Item Open Access Examining Perceptions of the Tripartite Relationship in Higher Degree Apprenticeship Programmes(Emerald, 2025-03-28) Evans, Marian; Cloutier L. MartinThe study aims to examine conceptualisations and perceptions of key stakeholders involved in the tripartite relationship of a Higher Degree Apprenticeship (HDA) - apprentice, employer, and higher education institution (HEI) - and how these contribute towards the successful outcomes of a Leadership and Management Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship (SLA Level 7). The potential of these HDAs to contribute towards progression pathways is essential for integrated learning programmes, as they support strategic business goals and future economic growth. Group concept mapping (GCM), is used to analyse conceptualisations and perceptions of that relationship. Data were collected using group discussions, analysed using multivariate statistical methods, and debriefed with participants. HDAs support personal and professional development for senior leadership progression. Three main tensions were identified; the employer-HEI relationship should be contextually matched for work-based learning (WBL), mentors should be trained by the HEI, and soft skill development for demonstrating leadership capability and executive behaviours must be a requirement. The scope of the study conducted was during a change and update of HDA standards and qualification credit requirements for the SLA. There is still a need to improve delivery of work-based learning (WBL), addressing practice-theory issues across workplace and academic learning environments. This article provides an alternative method for examining of the impact of the tripartite relationship on the delivery and outcomes of the SLA.Item Embargo Defining Corruption(Routledge, 2025) Rose, JonathanItem Embargo Strategic adaptation in a cold funding climate: Third sector experiences of employability funding and commissioning in the UK after ‘Brexit’(Bristol University Press, 2025) Rose, Jonathan; Payne, Jonathan; Butler, PeterThe ability of third sector organisations (TSOs) to strategically navigate commissioning environments in ‘marketized’ public services is much debated. This article addresses those delivering employability support outside the UK’s marketized public employment system following the end of European funding. Focusing on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and No One Left Behind in Scotland, it examines TSOs’ views on the localisation of employability support under ‘austerity localism’ in the contrasting governance contexts of England and Scotland. The data derives from two surveys of TSOs and interviews with 17 chief executives/senior managers. Reductions in the amount and duration of funding are compounded by fragmented and inefficient commissioning processes as well as competition for funding with local authorities. Whilst organisations of all sizes have been adversely affected, smaller organisations are particularly at risk of closure. The findings indicate common problems across both governance contexts, raising important questions for the ‘localisation’ of employment support.Item Metadata only Female entrepreneurs innovativeness in digital business ecosystems(Edward Elgar, 2022-04-19) Ojo, Ngozichukwuka M. Eneh; Mafimisebi, Oluwasoye; Arndt, FelixThis chapter discusses the role of the digital business ecosystem for improving the levels of female entrepreneurship in developing economies. While female entrepreneurs drive both economic and social development, they encounter severe challenges simultaneously fulfilling entrepreneurial roles and family life requirements. Enablers of digital businesses of female entrepreneurs include financial, technological, infrastructural, socio-cultural, entrepreneurship educational elements as well as family and work balance. To thrive amidst uncertainties and severe challenges common in most developing countries, female entrepreneurs need to innovatively take advantage of innovative business models, entrepreneurial education, entrepreneurial networks, and digitally enabled investment platforms. Although finance is a key constraint to entrepreneurship in developing countries, socio-cultural factors can influence financial access for female entrepreneurs. Hence, attempts to address sociocultural factors that impede financial access may contribute to addressing gender-based barriers. This chapter provides a foundation for the development of gender-inclusive policy in developing economies.Item Metadata only Resource Integration and Motivation in the Subsistence Marketplace: The Social Constructivist Perspective(The Academy of Marketing Conference 2025 University College Cork, Ireland, 2025-03-24) Bannor, Bernard Frimpong; Ojeme, Mark; Takhar, Amandeep; Nyame-Asiamah, FrankItem Open Access Entrepreneurial marketing networks for strategic resources: the perspective of the smallholder farmer in a developing economy: A Research Proposal for a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurial Marketing(European Academy of Management, 2021-01-19) Bannor, Bernard FrimpongLimited access to agribusiness marketing resources such as credit facilities, post-harvest services, and market information flow is a crucial challenge for smallholder farmers in a developing country. Although there are rising opportunities from export market, local supermarkets, and new processing firms, farmers are usually unable to take advantage of these value-chains because of the high cost of complying with these markets' quality and quantity requirements. Access limits farmers to lower-value food markets, which compel them to sell at relatively lower prices and settle for lower returns in the value-chain. Our understanding of farmers' marketing issues has largely been influenced by collective marketing models and cooperative theories in agribusiness literature. In the past decade, policymakers and development agencies have also responded by investing in programmes that promote farmer groups and marketing cooperatives formation. Despite the benefits of cooperatives, previous studies have revealed contrasting findings on farmer groups' effectiveness in addressing farmers' marketing challenges. Previous studies' contrasting results indicate that cooperative theory falls short in understanding the marketing issues confronting farmers. A shortcoming of cooperative research lies in focus on higher analysis levels such as the variations in overall group performance. As a result, lower levels of analysis such as the farmer's inter-personal networks that could have significant implications on access conditions have not received much attention in the literature. To contribute a more profound understanding, this study argues that research on farmers' marketing issues must move away from investigating cooperatives' characteristics to consider individual actors and their networks' attributes. Although recent agribusiness studies have identified a relationship between farmers' social networks and access to credit facilities and information, they fail to consider how different networks characteristics influence different access outcomes. Also, prior studies on farmer networks have adopted quantitative approaches, limiting their contributions to the structural dimensions of networks without considering the contents of farmers' interactions. The relevant question that arises from the gap in our understanding of farmer networks and access condition is: How do marketing networks contribute to smallholder farmers' access to strategic resources? From the context of agribusiness in Ghana, my study adopts an inductive approach to demonstrate how individual network characteristics (such as network type, the system of marketing, farm business category) contribute as moderators of the network's effect on farmers' access to strategic resources. Delimiting the study to farmer networks related to marketing, I expect my investigation to bring network research to the interface of marketing and entrepreneurship, establish networking as a critical entrepreneurship marketing dimension for resource acquisition. I also seek to demonstrate entrepreneurial behavior (networking) in marketing practice.Item Open Access Foodbank Operations in Leicester(2025-03-21) Igudia, Eghosa; Dalziel, Nurdilek; Cartwright, EdwardFoodbanks play a crucial in our society. For example, during periods of rising cost and economic crisis studies have reported a significant increase in the use of foodbanks. Not only that, there are suggestions that some foodbanks offer a diverse range of services. However, significant differences exist in both the offerings and quality of services rendered by foodbanks. This makes it imperative for a deeper study to better understand the level and quality of foodbank offerings in Leicester. In this report, we present a summary of the findings from the interviews and focus group meetings we undertook across seven (7) foodbanks in Leicester.Item Embargo Green influencers and consumers’ decoupling behaviors for parasocial relationships and sustainability. A comparative study between Korea and Vietnam(Elsevier, 2025-02-10) Mai Le, H.; Nguyen, P.; Stokes, PeterThis study develops a comprehensive model of green social media influencers (GSMIs) to examine their role in shaping consumer green behaviors through parasocial relationships (PSRs). Particularly, it investigates the interrelationships between trust in GSMIs, perceived risk, and PSRs, as well as the connections among PSRs, perceived guilt, environmental decoupling, and consumer green behaviors. It also aims to identify the key determinants of retail consumer green behavior and explore the moderating effects of perceived greenwashing and follower density. Addressing the limited exploration of these dynamics in the Asian context, the research compares conceptual models of developed and emerging GSMI markets through cross-country surveys conducted in South Korea (n = 306) and Vietnam (n = 309), focusing on national retail consumers. The findings largely confirm the proposed relationships, except for the links between PSRs, environmental decoupling, and perceived guilt, which showed significant variations between the two countries. Furthermore, perceived greenwashing and follower density emerged as critical moderators, significantly shaping the relationships within the model. This study enhances the theoretical understanding of consumer decoupling and influencer marketing while providing practical insights for designing effective green marketing strategies that utilize GSMIs to promote sustainable consumer behavior.Item Open Access Effectuated Spirituality: How Spiritual Beliefs Influence Social Entrepreneurship in a Low-income Country Context(Emerald, 2025-02-16) Osunmakinde, Ayodele; Kolade, Oluwaseun; Owoseni, Adebowale; Mwila, Natasha KatutaPurpose This study explores how social entrepreneurs in Nigeria integrate spiritual beliefs with pragmatic business strategies through the lens of effectuation theory. It aims to extend the knowledge of social entrepreneurial business management practices and models in a low-income context. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted a hybrid of phenomenological and case study qualitative research approaches. Through thematic analysis of interviews with 30 social entrepreneurs across Nigeria, the study identified 15 constructs. Seven of these constructs characterize notions of spirituality, while eight reveal social entrepreneurial actions across four phases of business development: ideation, formation, operation, and scaling. Findings Spirituality for social entrepreneurs is exhibited in practices such as meditating, praying, believing, faithing, discerning, sensing, and trusting, which act as critical drivers in the journey of social entrepreneurship. The findings suggest that Nigerian social entrepreneurs are guided not only by market dynamics but also by spiritual insights. This indicates a paradigm where business strategies are informed by a blend of market considerations and spiritual beliefs, often with a pronounced emphasis on the latter. Originality The integration of spirituality within the entrepreneurial domain challenges and expands the conventional understanding of effectuation theory, which traditionally lacks explicit spiritual dimensions. This study makes a unique contribution by identifying new constructs for the contextual interpretation of spirituality, effectuation, and social entrepreneurship in Nigeria. It enhances understanding of their interplay in a low-income context and introduces a new conceptual framework of effectuated spirituality. Research limitations/implications As the study focuses on social entrepreneurs in Nigeria, the findings may not be generalizable to other cultural or economic contexts. Future research could explore the intersection of spirituality and effectuation in different settings to validate and expand upon the proposed conceptual framework. Practical implications The study argues for the significance of spirituality and effectuation in social entrepreneurship. It posits that spirituality should be a major consideration in framing policies and stakeholder engagements that promote social entrepreneurship in low-income countries like Nigeria. Social implications By highlighting the role of spirituality in guiding social entrepreneurial actions, the study underscores the potential of integrating spiritual beliefs into business practices. This integration can foster more effective social entrepreneurship initiatives that address societal challenges in low-income contexts.Item Open Access Digitalisation, unions and ‘country-effect’: does union strength at the workplace matter?(Sage, 2025) Lloyd, Caroline; Payne, JonathanTrade unions are potentially important actors in shaping digitalisation to benefit workers. Research suggests supportive national labour market institutions can help unions to influence digital change in the workplace. This article considers the reach of national institutions, or ‘country effect’, and its relationship with union strength at the workplace. It applies a multi-level analysis to explore union influence over digital technology in the food and drink processing sector in Norway and the UK, two countries with starkly contrasting institutions. Drawing on interviews with officers and shop stewards in two unions, it compares a sample of workplaces with relatively strong and weak union organisation. The findings indicate union strength at the workplace has a more significant impact on union’s role in digitalisation in Norway, where there are strong institutional supports, than in the UK where these are lacking. The article contributes to analysing the relationship between ‘country-effect’ and union strength at the workplace in the shaping of digitalisation.Item Open Access How managers ‘make meaning’ of business tournament rituals(Elsevier, 2025-01-23) Sarpong, David; Asante, Shadrack; Siaw, Christopher Agyapong; O’Regan, Nicholas; Boakye, DerrickIn this paper, we examine how managers ‘make meaning’ of business tournament rituals (BTRs)— recognition-based contests in which participating firms get social endorsements and winners receive prestigious awards. In exploring two UK BTRs, we found that managerial orienting systems, made up of beliefs about the identity of their firm, competitors, and customers, and what it takes to compete in their environments, drive managers to compete in BTRs. Their interpretive view of BTRs as sources of strategic capabilities and hard market power, we argue, is constructed, and projected to the viewing public through a set of four distinct but ‘durationally indivisible’ temporal frames: validating identity and values, competence signalling, product/service differentiation, and market and industry visibility; these may operate in combination or serially account for the observed managerial preoccupation with BTRs. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory, practice, and future research.