International Journal of Management Reviews最新文献

The role that communication plays in social organization and processes of organizing has received considerable scholarly attention from multiple disciplines over several decades. This paper provides a review of the diverse literature that has sought to contribute to the understanding of communication and its implication for management and organization studies. An analysis of the SCOPUS database for the period 1980–2022 enabled us to cluster reference material and identify five perspectives which emerge from a review of the literature: communication as transfer, discourse, conversation (analysis), narrative, and Communicative Constitution of Organizations. These categories are not intended to be exhaustive, but they do provide a useful critical heuristic for navigating a field of study that might otherwise appear overwhelming. To map the terrain's theoretical underpinnings, our study also adopted a problematizing approach to the review which revealed various conspicuous conceptual and empirical absences at a ‘field level’ which merit further attention. The paper offers provocations and suggestions that we expect will inform future studies of organizational communication. Possibilities for developing the field include paying attention to: (a) paralinguistic dimensions of communication; (b) communication in relation to actual work practices; (c) monologic communication and (d) organizational communication in non-Western contexts.

This study aims to clarify the meaning of arrogance in the context of the workplace and leadership. Arrogance is reported to have detrimental workplace effects, yet there is no synthesis of the literature nor identification of future research directions. We systematically reviewed the literature to understand the definitions, antecedents and outcomes of workplace and workplace leader arrogance, with the aim of advancing theory and identifying potential oversights in the literature to create opportunities for future researchers. We identified 42 scholarly articles on workplace arrogance and workplace leader arrogance published between 2000 and September 2023. Arrogance, including workplace and workplace leader arrogance, is generally defined as a misplaced sense of superiority, manifested as disparaging behaviour towards others. Of the 42 studies reviewed, 18 (15 empirical and 3 non-empirical) purposefully investigated workplace and workplace leader arrogance. Using definitions from 37 of the studies, we discerned that workplace and workplace leader arrogance comprised a sense of superiority that manifested as unacceptable behaviour towards others, usually with damaging consequences. Further, we differentiated arrogance from similar constructs such as narcissism, hubris and pride by examining the purpose and role of each, as well as points of confusion. Whereas the antecedents of workplace and workplace leader arrogance include belief and bias, conceptions of the self and the broader work environment, the outcomes include people, culture and business. Our findings advance arrogance and leadership theory by clarifying the construct of workplace and workplace leader arrogance and providing a novel framework for understanding its antecedents and outcomes.

Scholars have long studied how organizations can transition towards greater sustainability, but it is only recently that they have begun to investigate a fundamentally new stream in sustainability thinking: the circular economy paradigm. Instead of the ‘make-use-dispose’ approach of a linear economy, a circular economy aims at eliminating waste and avoiding damage to the environment by closing resource loops. Given the recent surge of scholarly interest in the ways in which organizations can change towards working in a more circular way, it is important and timely to verify what scholars have learnt, what remains contested, and what should be done next. To this end, we are reviewing literature on the emerging field of ‘Organizational Change towards a Circular Economy’ (OCCE). We identify and analyse research that sits at the interface of organizational change theory and the circular economy paradigm and provide a systematic literature review. Our review reveals consensus, ambiguities, and differences in the OCCE literature along three main dimensions of organizational change (i.e., content, process, and context). Furthermore, we develop a novel and encompassing conceptualization of OCCE as well as outline future research opportunities. Overall, our study brings together the growing but fragmented body of OCCE research and outlines scientific and practical avenues for making progress in a more unified and systematic way.

Scholars across disciplines (e.g., medicine and health, human resource management, organizational behaviour) have paid increasing attention to employee assistance programmes (EAPs) over the past 40 years. Our study systematically reviewed 327 EAP studies published in peer-reviewed journals from 1980 to December 2021. We provided both descriptive and thematic analyses of this body of literature. We revealed that existing research has not paid sufficient attention to the role of multiple stakeholders, the importance of context and the strategic nature of EAPs, all of which are critical to EAP effectiveness. To fill these gaps, we develop an integrated conceptual model for EAP research that highlights the stakeholder perspective, strategic human resource management and contextual approach. We argue that EAPs cannot yield desirable outcomes without three forms of ‘strategic fit’: the internal fit between EAPs and a bundle of HR strategies; the organizational fit between EAPs and business strategies; and the environmental fit between EAPs and the environmental contexts. We suggest that employees and other diverse stakeholders should proactively engage in the EAP process to achieve mutual gains.

Building on the rich array of literatures that explore women's ageing and employment, we conduct a comprehensive review of research on middle- and older-age women and work (including menopause and post-menopause). In reviewing these studies, we blend our interdisciplinary discussions across several domains. We reflect on the question: How are employed, middle- and older-age women treated in organizations, and what are employers’ perceptions of these workers? Through our analysis, we identify and critique two predominant, conflicting yet inter-related themes. These are, namely, notions of constraint (and women's supposed/perceived reduced competencies as they age) versus ideas of flexibility (foregrounding assumptions that employed women experience fewer limitations as they age). As a theoretical lens for theorizing the constraints theme, we draw upon the concept of abjection, highlighting how employer perceptions of women's health as supposedly diminishing can lead to discriminatory treatment at work. In analysing theoretical assumptions regarding apparently enhanced flexibility among middle- and older-age women, we note how women's differing circumstances and requirements might go unrecognized. We argue the need to deepen theoretical understandings about ideas of flexibility during women's middle and older age. Reflecting on the limitations of both themes, we consider the implications for future research agendas.

Lack of transparency about conceptual and measurement choices in empirical studies on dynamic capabilities (DCs) amplifies difficulties scholars face on the road to conducting high-quality quantitative research. Building on the best practices of construct operationalization developed in the organizational research methods literature, we review 18 review studies on DCs research and conduct our own review of 185 quantitative studies published in 1994–2022 through the lens of an auxiliary theory development that formalizes and structures the process of translating a concept into a measurable construct. The present paper draws scholars’ attention to the importance of carefully choosing DCs measurement models as a consequential decision in DCs operationalization, which complements existing studies that either reviewed DCs conceptualizations or developed scales and measures of DCs. Besides providing scholars with an up-to-date map of quantitative research on DCs, our paper includes recommendations for consistent operationalization of DCs and identifies best operationalization practices in DCs quantitative research. Overall, the present paper advances DCs research by clarifying the construct of DCs, which is especially pertinent for future research in this area as it should strive towards robust advancement.

Stakeholders increasingly expect to be engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas through dialogue; the joint creation of meaning between firms and stakeholders, or among stakeholders. Dominant conceptions of stakeholder dialogue in CSR prioritize firm interests, and uncertainty as to what constitutes stakeholder dialogue, and how it should be practiced, permeates theory and practice. What is (and is not) stakeholder dialogue and how does it generate positive impacts for business and society? To unpack this question, we systematically reviewed 374 scholarly outputs across the CSR and stakeholder dialogue literatures over a 30-year timeframe. Operating at the intersection of these two literatures, we identify ‘conceptualizations’ of stakeholder dialogue in CSR as either integral (an intrinsic component of CSR) or incidental (a communicative response to CSR), as well as the ‘contours’ (i.e., boundaries) and ‘contexts’ of stakeholder dialogue in CSR. In doing so, we posit that the key to generating effective stakeholder dialogue for business and society lies not only in greater cohesion between CSR and stakeholder dialogue literatures, but in practicing dialogue that is ongoing, stakeholder (rather than firm) focused and avoids idealization. Herein, we stimulate a research agenda for scholars interested in communication and CSR at a time when the social and environmental demands placed on firms continue to escalate.

In expertise research, the focus is shifting from how one becomes an expert in a specific field towards understanding how workers sustain the value and recognition of their expertise by being flexible. This so-called flexpertise requires that workers meet new expertise needs within and across the boundaries of their current expertise domains and working contexts. The current study grounds a new theoretical paradigm regarding this individual adaptivity by introducing a ‘dynamic process model of flexpertise’. By deploying a system dynamics lens, it synthesizes the scholarly knowledge from different disciplines about flexible or adaptive forms of expertise. The model incorporates six categories of adaptation processes that involve intra-individual changes and social interactions over time, and that are interconnected by means of feedback loops without a single start- or endpoint. This enables scholars and practitioners to identify leverage points where small interventions can have a large effect on the individual's adaptivity. As such, the dynamic model provides a new paradigm on how to foster workers’ continued possession of expertise that is valuable to organizations’ competitive advantage and enables organizational and societal transitions and innovations, while safeguarding an individual's career sustainability.

Scholars have long debated the definition of social entrepreneurship, but disagreement persists. Despite sustained efforts to craft a universal definition, social entrepreneurship has been characterized as an ʻessentially contested concept’. However, little is known about the root causes of this ongoing contestation. Therefore, we delve into the literature's social entrepreneurship definitions to examine this complex issue. Our systematic literature review leverages insights from the philosophy of science and formal logic—specifically, a theory of definition—to present four rules for definitional evaluation in the social sciences. Accordingly, definitions should convey the essence of a concept (Rule 1: essence), differentiate between their defining and defined terms (Rule 2: expression), be phrased positively (Rule 3: explication), and avoid figurative and obscure language (Rule 4: eloquence). Using these rules to analyse 156 original social entrepreneurship definitions reveals varying interpretations of the concept's essence and sheds light on epistemological issues, such as tautological definitions. Integrating these findings into a practical ʻrulebook’ for definitional evaluation significantly contributes to the social entrepreneurship literature and other highly contested fields by helping to understand different sources of contestation. Guided by our rulebook, we suggest future research avenues and highlight diverse theorizing styles, the engagement of opposing and paradoxical definitional views and the role of academic language in shaping the social entrepreneurship field.