Sourcing from Africa: A Systematic Review and a Research Agenda

The African continent is rapidly growing its global economic impact and becoming a more attractive sourcing context. However, very little is known about current purchasing practices, successes and challenges on this continent. The authors investigate the specific features that characterize supply management in Africa by conducting a systematic review of the literature on sourcing in and from Africa. Their aim is to help scholars direct their future research efforts. The authors take a thematic approach in their analysis of 57 articles, and identify key findings, research challenges and opportunities. They focus on four areas previously identified as distinguishing the sourcing context in Africa: African culture and ethics; the role of African countries and suppliers in global value chains; an increasing emphasis on sustainability; and the gradual development of professional procurement practices. It is found that research in the area of supply management in the African context is still scattered, with an evident need for more theoretically rich and methodologically rigorous inquiry. The authors propose a structured, theoretically grounded research agenda for each of the themes identified, and make general observations on potential future directions.     

Time and Organizational Learning: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

This paper examines the time dimensions of organizational learning. While several recent studies have addressed aspects of time in relation to organizational learning, the topic of time has received little attention in reviews of the field, and this promising domain of research is fragmented. The objective of this paper is to bring these dispersed conceptualizations and findings together and to provide a more solid conceptual foundation for the time dimensions of organizational learning as a new research avenue. Three sets of mechanisms are discerned: concerning time as duration; the timing of organizational learning; and the role of the past, present and future in organizational learning. Each of these perspectives offers unique insights, which when integrated can help map new directions for future research.     

Job Search: A Multidisciplinary Review and Research Agenda

Scholarly interest in job search has grown significantly over the years and can be located in diverse research streams: namely, economics, sociology and industrial/organizational psychology. This paper reviews these bodies of literature and makes a case for integration by proposing a multidisciplinary approach to understanding job‐seeking behaviors. To this end, the paper categorizes the respective literatures on the basis of common themes located in a conceptual multidisciplinary model of job search behaviors and outcomes. This model provides a more focused understanding of the job search literature and how it has developed in the related disciplines. Based on the review and conceptual model presented, the paper draws attention to several key areas for future research to advance the field further.     

Mechanisms for Managing Ambidexterity: A Review and Research Agenda

Ambidexterity is of central importance to the competitive advantage of the firm, yet to date there is limited understanding of how it is managed. The theorization of ambidexterity is inadequate for complex, practical realities and, in turn, this hinders the way in which it can aid the management of ambidexterity in practice. This paper asks: What are the mechanisms for achieving ambidexterity? The authors use a systematic review to develop a research framework which integrates intellectual capital resources (organizational, social and human capital) across various levels of analysis (organization, group and individual). This review extends understanding of the generic mechanisms (i.e. temporal, structural and contextual ambidexterity) that dominate the literature. This allows for a more fine‐grained understanding of how ambidexterity is achieved and enables avenues for further research to be identified.     

Expanding the Domain of Festival Research: A Review and Research Agenda

Festivals are an important sub‐field within event studies which, until recently, have not been studied as separate experiences. A systematic review of the emerging literature on festivals reveals several key characteristics. While festivals are diverse in nature and geographical location, scholarly interest focuses on five main themes: the motivations for organizing, funding and attending festivals; the experiences of festival attendees; the relationship between festivals and their local environments; the economic and sociocultural impacts of festivals; and the management of festivals. Despite growing interest in festivals as research sites, little attention has been afforded to investigating festival processes. In particular, considerations of how festivals are established, and which individuals are involved in their initiation and regular staging, offer opportunities for research. This paper highlights the significant role festivals play within their local communities, including their facilitation of social cohesion and regional identity. Our study reveals that the literature rarely discusses the development of festivals over time and the wider networks in which festivals are embedded. This critical review of festival research identifies various research gaps and directions for future research to develop theory and practical understanding of festivals.     

Corporate Political Activity: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

This paper reviews the diverse literature on corporate political activity (CPA) and develops a framework that details and integrates existing research in this field. A systematic analysis of extant CPA literatures is conducted to order them into domains that have implications for organizational performance. The paper is structured into three such domain emphases, which require further research investigation: resources and capabilities focus; institutional focus; and political environment focus. The contribution of each to an understanding of CPA in pursuit or defence of corporate competitive advantage is discussed. The authors also suggest that the internationalization of business, including the more recent emergence of developing country economies and companies, presents scholars with the challenge of understanding CPA in more varied institutional settings. CPA practices continue to expand as commerce goes increasingly global and, consequently, involves a wider array of political actors and institutions. The paper contributes by increasing the clarity of CPA classification, reflecting on the implications of a multi‐polar world for CPA research and advancing future agendas for scholars in this research community.     

A Review of Organizational Stress Management Research:

Evaluation studies of worksite stress management training (SMT) are reviewed and methodological considerations are offered regarding (1) program orientation, (2) experimental design, (3) worker participants, (4) outcome measures, and (5) duration of training effects and worker compliance. Suggestions for additional research include the need to (1) employ additional comparison groups in order to detect training-specific effects, (2) evaluate SMT in blue-collar settings, (3) expand the scope of outcome measures to include employee behaviors, and (4) assess long term effects of SMT and factors associated with worker maintenance of learned skills. It is concluded that SMT has value as a prevention activity in work settings but its use as a treatment strategy for troubled workers is not supported conceptually or empirically. Companies and practitioners are encouraged to view SMT not as an isolated activity but as one component of occupational health and safety activities. A holistic approach which incorporates stress management into company health and safety philosophies is viewed as the optimal strategy.     

Asian Family Firms through Corporate Governance and Institutions: A Systematic Review of the Literature and Agenda for Future Research

Although the corporate governance model of Asian family firms has recently gained increased attention, it remains unclear how these firms’ corporate governance mechanisms (and their effectiveness) differ from those of family firms in the western world. Drawing upon a comparative institutional perspective, this paper systematically reviews 148 published articles in peer‐reviewed journals from 1980 to 2015. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of institutional complementarities that constitute informal governance mechanisms adopted by Asian family firms by considering a wider set of institutional factors (i.e. political environment, cultural values and social norms) embedded in the Asian context. The main findings suggest that: (i) given the lack of market‐supporting institutions and the presence of strong political control over Asian economies, family firms tend to cultivate political connections to respond to the failure of legal systems; (ii) Asian family firms still rely heavily on personal networks (e.g. guanxi) to reduce uncertainty, strengthen business ties, and gain access to external resources; and (iii) cultural values and social norms (e.g. ‘face’ saving, reputational concerns and adult child adoption) lead to functionally equivalent corporate governance mechanisms in Asian family firms. The downstream effects of such mechanisms are also discussed, and future research avenues are identified.     

Maternity Management in SMEs: A Transdisciplinary Review and Research Agenda

This paper provides a transdisciplinary critical review of the literature on maternity management in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), embedded within the wider literatures on maternity in the workplace. The key objectives are to describe what is known about the relations that shape maternity management in smaller workplaces and to identify research directions to enhance this knowledge. The review is guided by theory of organizational gendering and small business management, conceptualizing adaptions to maternity as a process of mutual adjustment and dynamic capability within smaller firms’ informally negotiated order, resource endowments and wider labour and product/service markets. A context‐sensitive lens is also applied. The review highlights the complex range of processes involved in SME maternity management and identifies major research gaps in relation to pregnancy, maternity leave and the return to work (family‐friendly working and breastfeeding) in these contexts. This blind spot is surprising, as SMEs employ the majority of women worldwide. A detailed agenda for future research is outlined, building on the gaps identified by the review and founded on renewed theoretical direction.     

Social Enterprises as Hybrid Organizations: A Review and Research Agenda

The impacts of the global economic crisis of 2008, the intractable problems of persistent poverty and environmental change have focused attention on organizations that combine enterprise with an embedded social purpose. Scholarly interest in social enterprise (SE) has progressed beyond the early focus on definitions and context to investigate their management and performance. From a review of the SE literature, the authors identify hybridity, the pursuit of the dual mission of financial sustainability and social purpose, as the defining characteristic of SEs. They assess the impact of hybridity on the management of the SE mission, financial resource acquisition and human resource mobilization, and present a framework for understanding the tensions and trade‐offs resulting from hybridity. By examining the influence of dual mission and conflicting institutional logics on SE management the authors suggest future research directions for theory development for SE and hybrid organizations more generally.     

组织研究方法的回顾与评述

如何处理内外部环境因素、组织结构和组织成员之间的关系这一经典的组织管理问题,在当前复杂快变的环境下有很多新的问题需要重新思考。本研究回顾了组织研究基本范式的发展演变,指出在快变环境中,运用结构形态(Configuration approach)的思想指导组织研究,可以很好地解决诸如整体性割裂、因果链模糊等问题。     

Green Human Resource Management: A Review and Research Agenda*

The paper makes a case for the integration of the largely separate literatures of environmental management (EM) and human resource management (HRM) research. The paper categorizes the existing literature on the basis of Ability–Motivation–Opportunity (AMO) theory, revealing the role that Green human resource management (GHRM) processes play in people‐management practice. The contributions of the paper lie in drawing together the extant literature in the area, mapping the terrain of the field, identifying some gaps in the existing literature and suggesting some potentially fruitful future research agendas. The findings of the review suggest that understanding of how GHRM practices influence employee motivation to become involved in environmental activities lags behind that of how organizations develop Green abilities and provide employees with opportunities to be involved in EM organizational efforts. Organizations are not using the full range of GHRM practices, and this may limit their effectiveness in efforts to improve EM.     

Interorganizational Relationships in Marketing: A Critical Review and Research Agenda

Over recent decades, the area of marketing interorganizational relationships (IORs) has received increasing attention from both academics and practitioners, even if a comprehensive portrayal of past research is still lacking. Hence, the aim of the present paper is to review the literature on marketing IORs in order to develop a framework meant to organize the different contributions in this area and suggest new paths for future research. The analysis suggests that three main streams of research can be identified with regard to the type of relationship between variables investigated by each article. Moreover, taking into account the purpose of the IOR, common patterns within each stream may be identified. A critical analysis of articles grounded on both the streams and the purpose of marketing IORs suggests there are still substantial gaps in knowledge, which open new paths for future research regarding both methodological issues and hot topics.     

双元创新研究述评及开展中国情境化研究的建议

基于1991~2020年发表在Web of Science(WOS)核心数据库的双元创新学术论文,对双元创新研究进行了可视化计量分析和系统性内容梳理:①从文献产出趋势、合作网络、发表平台和关键节点文献等方面呈现双元创新研究概况;②总结双元创新的基本思想与逻辑,提炼分析双元创新的4种基本关系,构建基于“影响机制-作用过程-作用效果”的双元创新整合研究框架;③在对比中英文代表性文献的基础上,提出应基于跨学科、多层次与多因素交互、多研究方法、智能化和数字化驱动等视角开展中国情境下双元创新研究的建议。     

The Informal Sector: A Review and Agenda for Management Research

Despite its connotations of non‐compliance, illegality, social exploitation and marginality, the informal sector is a substantial contributor to economic life in developing countries and, increasingly, in more technologically advanced activities. Its prevalence in developed economies has also become more widely recognized. In light of its significance, this paper reviews research on the informal sector from a management and organization scholarship perspective, rather than from an entrepreneurship view, as has been the focus until now. It sets out the atypical management practices that are inherent in the sector, explores the under‐researched relationship between formal and informal firms, and highlights definitional, conceptual and other limitations in extant research. As a step in resolving these issues, the authors present a conceptual model of formality and informality in a three‐dimensional framework that highlights an organizational infrastructure dimension, a view of firms operating along a continuum, and a multi‐level analytical context. Building on this, the authors detail opportunities for enhanced appreciation of in situ management and organizational practices in the informal sector and outline tools for pursuing a management and organization scholarship agenda. Overall, the authors argue that management scholarship has great potential to improve understanding of the informal sector, and that the informal sector provides opportunities to advance management theory, research and practice.     

International Business and National Culture: A Literature Review and Research Agenda

This literature review analyzes leading international business and management journals from 2000 to 2012 in order to explore the role of national culture in international business research. Through the analysis of the 265 selected articles, the study thematically maps the field and identifies research challenges and opportunities. It reflects on avenues for future research related to both thematic and methodological issues, among them: research focused on the impact of the home/host national culture on internationalization processes (as existing literature mainly focuses on cultural distance); the role to be played by new theoretical frameworks; and the need to consider cultural positions and cultural friction rather than traditional cultural distance when analyzing internationalization decisions.     

The Concept of Distance in International Business Research: A Review and Research Agenda

This paper reviews the literature on the effects of distance arising from country differences on outcomes at the firm and subsidiary level. It provides some clarity on what has been learned so far about distance by answering four questions: Which distance? Why does distance matter? What outcomes are affected by distance? and What aggravates or alleviates the effects of distance? Based on the review of the literature, a set of future research suggestions are developed, intended to direct attention to research questions that the authors believe are among the most pressing questions in distance research and that may have the potential to advance the field substantially.     

和谐管理视角下的领导研究发展初探

从3个方面系统回顾了和谐管理视角下的领导研究,分析了和谐管理视角下战略、组织与领导研究之间的关系。和谐管理视角下的战略、组织和领导研究均基于演化、情境、互动的视角,依据不同的基本问题和侧重点对环境、组织和领导三元关系进行探索;领导作为"能动者",串联起了和谐管理视角下的战略、组织和领导的研究。此外,基于管理环境新变化、现有研究不足及和谐管理视角下领导研究特色围绕领导支配权、领导心智和行为以及领导作用讨论了和谐管理视角领导研究的未来发展。     

The Role of Emotions in Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions: A Systematic Review of the Inter-Disciplinary Literature and Future Research Agenda

Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are highly emotional events for the employees of involved organizations. The strength and directionality of emotional reactions can result in positive or negative employee outcomes contributing to success or failure of cross-border M&As. Existing studies on emotions and cross-border M&As have identified various underlying mechanisms and factors that influence employee emotions in cross-border M&A activities, leading to a fragmentation of current research on this topic. In this article, we systematically review the interdisciplinary literature on the role played by emotions in cross-border M&As by analyzing a sample of 78 articles published between 2000 and 2021. We contribute to the current literature by (1) providing a holistic and deeper understanding of the role played by emotions in cross-border M&As; (2) mapping the current state of the interdisciplinary literature on emotions and cross-border M&As; and (3) developing a multi-level framework, and identifying key theories and emerging themes to be examined in future studies.