Businesses

As the strategic debate around corporate purpose intensifies, organizations face a persistent paradox: how to sustain purpose-driven commitments under the continuous pressure of exchange-system efficiency and competing institutional logics. This paper introduces affective infrastructure: the interdependent organizational systems through which firms cultivate and reproduce the emotional and evaluative dimensions of institutional identity. Building on a synthesis of Adam Smith’s moral philosophy and Kenneth Boulding’s integrative systems theory, the paper argues that corporations operate simultaneously as exchange systems and integrative systems and that institutional character emerges from the organizational systems that sustain integrative commitments alongside exchange efficiency. Four infrastructure components are identified (identity alignment systems, integrative human-resource architecture, stakeholder communion practices, and institutional memory mechanisms), and design principles, assessment methods, and organizational illustrations are developed for each. The paper situates the construct within seven adjacent literatures, develops a configurational diagnostic framework comprising six organizational types, and concludes with a structured empirical research agenda that includes proxies for each component. The governing proposition unifying these contributions is this: affective infrastructure explains how organizations sustain integrative capacity under exchange-system pressure as a system—not as a culture to be cultivated, not as a commitment level to be measured, not as a stakeholder orientation to be managed, but as the interdependent organizational architecture through which identity alignment, integrative membership, stakeholder communion, and institutional memory become simultaneously operative and mutually reinforcing. This is what the adjacent constructs, taken individually, cannot explain: no single tradition specifies the generative system through which all four domains become durable together. Full article

This paper examines whether randomized evaluations can fail to identify causal effects when outcomes include interactions between treatment and unobserved characteristics. We show that even under random assignment, standard regression estimators do not necessarily recover the structural causal effect if outcomes contain non-separable interaction terms between treatment and latent characteristics. When outcomes contain such non-separable interaction terms, the estimated treatment effect reflects interaction components embedded in the outcome construction and may fail to recover the structural policy parameter. We derive conditions under which unbiased identification is restored, highlighting the critical role of additive separability. The results provide a theoretical foundation for understanding when randomized evaluations may yield misleading conclusions in managerial and policy contexts. Full article

This study examines how heritage-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cope with economic shocks and institutional constraints in a semi-urban context. The study focuses on identifying context-specific barriers that shape SME growth and sustainability in heritage-based, semi-urban settings. Using a mixed-methods design, survey data from 200 SMEs were analyzed with PLS-SEM, and 20 semi-structured interviews were examined through thematic analysis, collected in Kashan, Iran (March–May 2025). We find that inflation and limited access to finance are the primary barriers to firm growth, followed by regulatory delays and administrative complexity. Qualitative findings reveal five recurring adaptive routines, short-cycle cash management, cooperative input purchasing, product simplification/micro-pivoting, reliance on local networks, and minimalist digitalization, that operate in a discernible temporal sequence to sustain firm continuity. By integrating resource-based and institutional perspectives, the paper advances meso-level theorizing on SME resilience and proposes a set of low-cost, actionable policy measures (e.g., streamlined e-licensing, targeted mobile microfinance, and buyer–supplier matchmaking) for local authorities and development practitioners. Full article

A recurring question in contemporary society is: How can one survive on a single income? Escalating socioeconomic challenges worldwide are pushing many households beyond their financial comfort zones. As a coping strategy, many individuals have adopted side hustles, income-generating activities pursued alongside full-time employment. However, a crucial question arises: do side hustles come at the expense of primary employment, particularly in terms of employee commitment and workplace loyalty? This study examined the moderating role of work–life integration in the relationship between side hustles, employee commitment, and workplace attachment. The unit of analysis consisted of academic and support staff at South African higher education institutions. Primary data were collected through a survey of a stratified random sample of 300 employees, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings support that side hustles offer meaningful opportunities to enhance individual livelihoods by mitigating the impact of declining income levels. Moreover, the results indicate that flexible work arrangements are critical for employees engaged in hustle, as such flexibility strengthens organisational commitment and workplace attachment. The study recommends adopting a humanistic management approach that promotes boundaryless jobs, thereby fostering employee commitment and workplace attachment through an inclusive, supportive, and empowering work environment. Full article

Shrinking and aging societies undermine the economic viability of network-based infrastructure once supported by economies of scale and network externalities. This paper develops a conceptual framing of “Denetworking” as a possible reconfiguration strategy in the contraction phase: reducing dependence on highly asset-specific dedicated networks (e.g., pipes and rail tracks) and shifting service functions to distributed systems or generic shared networks (e.g., roads) while maintaining minimum service standards. Rather than presenting a calibrated optimization model or full life-cycle cost (LCC) estimation, the paper proposes a heuristic decision condition for comparing a “keep” scenario (renew and maintain the dedicated network) with a “shift” scenario (Denetworking) and uses quantitative anchors from public sources to illustrate the associated fiscal and institutional trade-offs. Two Japanese cases are used as contrasting illustrations: physical Denetworking, referring to the reduction in or substitution of dedicated physical network assets, in wastewater services (centralized sewerage to decentralized treatment); and functional Denetworking, referring to the transfer of service functions from dedicated networks to more generic shared networks, in regional mobility (local rail to bus/BRT on the road network). The cross-case discussion suggests that Denetworking may become a rational policy option under certain conditions, particularly when demand density declines near renewal-investment peaks and asset specificity increases lock-in. The paper contributes a conceptual vocabulary and comparative policy framing for discussing infrastructure reconfiguration in shrinking societies and highlights practical issues of timing, cost sharing, phased implementation, and stakeholder engagement. Full article

Platformized markets increasingly organize consumer encounters through adaptive ranking and personalization systems that learn from behavioral traces and reorder what consumers see over time. Although consumer identity theory explains how consumers use marketplace resources to express and negotiate the self, it does not fully explain how recursive ranked exposure shapes identity trajectories. This article develops Algorithmic Consumer Identity Theory (ACIT) to address that gap. ACIT proposes that identity formation in platformized markets is conditioned by three interrelated mechanisms: algorithmic mirroring, through which consumers interpret personalized outputs as self-diagnostic signals; algorithmic steering, through which ranking and recommendation systems structure future exposure; and reinforcement-loop strength, which captures the inertia generated by recursive feedback among behavior, inference, and exposure. Together, these mechanisms produce the steered self, an emergent identity configuration shaped through repeated interaction with curated exposure environments. The theory specifies how adaptive personalization can increase identity salience, strengthen or fragment coherence, intensify dissonance under conditions of misrecognition, and reduce perceived data agency when contestability is weak. By distinguishing representational feedback from directional exposure governance, ACIT offers a mechanism-based and empirically falsifiable framework for understanding identity in AI-mediated markets. The article contributes to consumer identity theory, platformization research, and AI-in-marketing scholarship, and identifies implications for platform governance and identity-safe personalization design. Full article

Purpose: This research investigates where formal responsibility for artificial intelligence (AI) lies within organisations and how the presence, absence, or structure of that responsibility affects their ability to govern AI effectively. Method: The study surveys 351 organisations across sectors and regions to examine AI governance roles. It focuses on authority, resources, and organisational integration, using hierarchical cluster analysis to identify governance configurations. Findings: The results indicate that formal AI governance roles are unevenly distributed and often weakly integrated into organisational structures. When these roles exist, they are usually placed below the executive level, lack sufficient authority, and differ greatly in the resources available to them. A cluster analysis reveals four governance configurations—Governance Absence, Symbolic Governance, Operational Governance, and Institutionalised Governance, indicating that governance capacity is primarily influenced by how well these roles are embedded in the structure, rather than just their presence. Implications: The findings suggest that AI governance may be better understood as a structural and organisational design issue, with potential implications for accountability and oversight. However, the relationship between governance configurations and outcomes, such as ethical risk and compliance, remains an area for future research. Originality: The study takes an absence-based approach to AI ethics, establishing a baseline for future research on governance maturity, compliance, trust, and ethical risk. Full article

A method for integrated brand analysis and strategy is developed in this work. The foundation of this method is market research, through which the relevance of brand attributes, their evaluation for competing brands and the market performance of these brands on the steps of the buying process are determined. On this basis, the overall evaluation of brands and their number of brand attributes with the best evaluation are calculated so that strategic decision guidelines for overall brand positioning can be deduced. These strategic decision guidelines are securing the brand based on the existing identity/image, developing the brand based on the existing identity/image, developing (pivoting to) a new brand identity/image, whilst securing the strengths of the existing identity/image, and developing a new brand identity/image. On the level of brand attributes, the weighted relevance of attributes and their evaluation difference to the best competitor are calculated so that, again, strategic decision guidelines can be deduced. The strategic decision guidelines on brand attribute level are securing the attributes as the core brand identity (first priority), selecting and developing the attributes to the core brand identity (second priority), securing the attributes as the extended brand identity (third priority), and selecting and developing the attributes as the extended brand identity (fourth priority). Based on the market performance of brands across the stages of the buying process, the conversions between these steps are determined. On this basis, strategic decision guidelines for market cultivation are deduced, i.e., awareness, image, sales, and loyalty strategies. To gain first indications of the validity of the method for integrated brand analysis and strategy, it is applied to food retail and chocolate brands in the German market. Future research should focus on further validating the method and enhancing it by integrating segmenting and targeting processes and, potentially, marketing measures on an operational level. Full article

Sustainable environmental performance (SEP) among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has attracted researchers and practitioners’ attention. The achievement of sustainable environmental performance has been largely dependent on the prevailing external ecosystem conditions. Yet in emerging economies such as Ghana, there is limited research and evidence on the extent to which external ecosystem resources influence sustainable environmental performance. This study aims to investigate how external entrepreneurial ecosystem resources including policy, access to finance, market availability, institutional support, human capital and culture influence the sustainable environmental performance (SEP) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using sample data from Ghana. A total of 386 SME manufacturing and service firms were sampled to participate. Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tested a multi-theory framework grounded in the Resource-based View (RBV), Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Stakeholder Theory. The results indicate that policy, finance, institutional support, and markets exert significant positive effects on SMEs’ SEP. Culture and human capital were found to have a weaker contribution to SMEs’ SEP. The novelty of this study lies in empirically demonstrating the primacy of ecosystem structural levers over softer ecosystem factors in driving SME sustainable environmental performance, thereby offering a new explanatory hierarchy of ecosystem drivers for sustainability in developing economies. We advance the RBV, RDT and the Stakeholder Theory by showing that external ecosystem resources act as critical environmental enablers for SMEs in developing economies. The findings offer globally relevant policy insights for advancing SDGs 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action) through targeted ecosystem interventions. Full article

In recent years, consumer preference for sustainable food product attributes has increased. This research aims to investigate the moderating influence of consumers’ shopping motives on the interplay among gender, preferences for sustainable attributes, and brand loyalty. An online cross-sectional study was undertaken with 506 food consumers. Structural equation modeling was used to estimate direct, indirect, and moderating effects between the studied constructs and variables. We found that high quality positively moderates the relationships between gender and sustainable attributes and between gender and brand loyalty, while price as a shopping motive (marginally) negatively moderates these relationships. These findings suggest that brand managers aiming to strengthen brand loyalty among sustainability-oriented consumers—particularly where gender-based differences emerge—may benefit most from pairing sustainability positioning with strong-quality retail settings. In contrast, price-focused retail settings are less effective for activating sustainability-based brand loyalty. Full article

This study investigates tax evasion and the informal economy in Greece through an integrated research design that combines bibliometric analysis with large-scale survey data to examine both the structure of scholarly discourse and public perceptions of economic non-compliance. The analysis integrates a bibliometric analysis of the academic literature with survey data from 1074 respondents, enabling patterns of scholarly attention to be assessed alongside public evaluations of institutional performance and economic behavior. The bibliometric findings indicate that academic research is organized around Greece and the tax system as central reference points, while governance-related themes such as transparency and public policy occupy comparatively peripheral positions within the thematic landscape, suggesting a field structured predominantly around country-specific institutional analysis. The survey results reveal a broadly comparable configuration, with political institutions, corruption, and tax evasion identified among the most salient national problems. Respondents differentiate among distinct forms of economic non-compliance and attribute tax evasion primarily to systemic factors, including high taxation, perceived injustice, ineffective revenue management, and corruption, rather than to individual moral failings. Overall, tax evasion in Greece is thus evaluated predominantly in institutional and governance-related terms. Future research could extend this approach through longitudinal bibliometric mapping, multivariate survey modelling, and sectoral or regional comparative analyses. Full article

Interest in organic food has grown steadily, driven by its health and environmental benefits and concerns about conventional production. Yet organic rice remains largely overlooked, while imported, low-cost inorganic rice dominates the market. This study addresses that gap by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to include environmental concern and knowledge, alongside health consciousness and status, as predictors of purchase intention, and the TPB constructs as mediators. Using survey data from 401 Haitian consumers, we applied structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Results show health consciousness as the strongest and most consistent driver, shaping attitudes, norms, and perceived control, while environmental concern also plays a significant role. Environmental knowledge proved context-dependent, and health status and perceived control were not significant. The mediation analysis revealed several significant indirect effects. Environmental concern influenced behavioral intention through both attitudes and subjective norms, while environmental knowledge showed a significant indirect effect via subjective norms. Health concern demonstrated the strongest mediation effects, with significant pathways through attitudes and subjective norms. In contrast, mediations through perceived behavioral control were consistently non-significant across all tested relationships. The fsQCA analysis identified environmental concern, environmental knowledge, health consciousness, attitudes, and subjective norms as necessary conditions for consumers’ intention to purchase organic rice to occur. This analysis also revealed 22 pathways to high purchase intention, with most pathways including two or three of the identified necessary conditions. These findings advance TPB and offer practical insights for promoting sustainable consumption. Full article

The expansion of wind energy projects in Indigenous territories has intensified debates about the social legitimacy of corporate practices. In the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, the main wind corridor in Mexico, wind farms coexist with deeply rooted Zapotec governance systems, creating a complex interface between corporate responsibility and community well-being. Based on a survey of 184 workers employed by wind companies in the region, this study examines the relationship between perceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in its ethical, legal, and philanthropic dimensions, and social and economic well-being. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and Importance–Performance Map Analysis (IPMA), we found that legal and philanthropic CSR significantly enhance both types of well-being, whereas ethical CSR only affects social well-being. These findings reflect the perspective of workers as hybrid actors, simultaneously employees and members of Zapotec communities, and should be interpreted in light of the study’s limitations: its focus on employed individuals, cross-sectional design, and reliance on self-reported perceptions. The results contribute to global debates on symbolic versus substantive CSR, distributive justice, and the risk of “green colonialism” in energy transitions. Full article

This study conducts a meta-analysis to assess the impact of tourism on employment, synthesizing 401 partial correlation coefficients extracted from 39 empirical studies. Employing partial correlation coefficients (PACs) as the effect size measure, the results indicate a modest but statistically significant positive association between tourism and employment, with an average effect size ranging from 0.095 to 0.113. The meta-regression results indicate that the estimated effect varies systematically with the type of tourism indicator, employment definition, use of fixed effects, panel data and macroeconomic controls. Evidence of publication bias and small-study effects is detected, yet robust estimation techniques confirm the presence of a genuine effect. The findings imply that tourism should be considered a complementary and context-dependent instrument for employment policy, with stronger effects associated with tourism intensity measures such as overnight stays and with weaker effects in studies employing more rigorous empirical designs. Full article

This study investigated the impact of pricing strategies on the growth and sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study employed a quantitative research approach and sampled 132 SMEs operating in a municipality in South Africa. A self-administered, closed-ended questionnaire was tested for reliability and validity and thereafter used to collect data from the respondents. This study employed simple linear regression analysis and performed the reliability test. In this study, the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that SMEs primarily used cost-plus, value-based, and competitor-based pricing strategies. However, frequently modifying prices in response to market competition and technological advancements improves business performance. The study found a significant and positive relationship between pricing strategies and growth. Furthermore, a positive and significant nexus between pricing strategies and the sustainability of the SMEs. The practical implication of this study informs the SME managers and owners that SMEs that apply strategic and market-oriented pricing practices are more likely to achieve improved performance outcomes. The study, therefore, emphasises the importance of effective pricing in promoting both growth and long-term sustainability among SMEs. The findings of this study are expected to persuade the SMEs to pay crucial attention to the pricing strategies implemented in the business. Full article

Background: Street food vending plays a central role in urban nutrition and informal employment across South Africa; however, its sustainability largely depends on consumer trust, which is strongly influenced by perceptions of hygiene. Objectives: This paper investigates customer expectations, observed hygiene behaviours, and purchasing decisions within Johannesburg’s informal food economy. Drawing on the Health Belief Model and behavioural economics, this study examines how visible hygiene practices shape customer trust, repurchase behaviour, and gendered risk perceptions. Methods: A cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted among 110 consumers of street-vended food in Johannesburg’s inner city. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to assess associations between observed hygiene practices, trust, and purchasing behaviour, while qualitative open-ended responses were analysed thematically. Results: Seventy-four per cent of customers reported preferring vendors with visible hygiene practices, defined as the use of gloves or aprons, clean food displays, and observable handwashing. However, only 41% consistently observed handwashing between transactions, and just 45% had seen any form of hygiene certification displayed. An association was observed between customer trust and repeat purchases (p < 0.001) and between PPE use and customer trust (p = 0.011). Women were significantly more hygiene-sensitive (p = 0.029), expressing greater concern about exposed food, hand contact, and environmental conditions. Thematic analysis revealed that over half of the respondents indicated that trust, once compromised by unhygienic conditions, frequently resulted in permanent customer loss. Conclusions: Customer trust in street food vendors is contingent on hygiene. Hygiene visibility is a core driver of loyalty, especially among female consumers. Interventions to improve food safety should incorporate behavioural insights, vendor-customer feedback loops, and public-facing certification strategies. Full article

Sick leave in physically demanding warehouse logistics poses persistent challenges for employee well-being, operational performance, and sustainable work participation. This study investigates how warehouse employees and supervisors understand drivers of absence and presence, and which workplace resources are perceived as most important for sustaining work happiness and attendance. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, phase 1 comprised in-depth interviews with warehouse leaders and focus groups with employees (N = 20). Qualitative findings highlight physical strain and sustained pace demands, but also emphasized psychosocial drivers such as emotional exhaustion, limited recognition, insufficient relational support, and a “push-through” culture that normalized strain and hindered recovery. At the same time, collegial support, humor, and everyday recognition were described as critical resources for coping and maintaining presence. Building on these insights, we used a cross-sectional survey (N = 99) to assess work happiness and perceived negative workplace conditions. Exploratory factor analysis identified four work happiness dimensions—supervisor support and recognition; self-development, meaning and autonomy; interpersonal relationships; and collaboration to achieve goals and four dimensions of negative workplace conditions: structural alienation, work-related exhaustion, adverse social climate, and work intensity. Multiple regression analyses showed that interpersonal relationships were the most consistent protective resource, negatively associated with exhaustion, adverse social climate, and work intensity, while supervisor support and recognition primarily reduced structural alienation. Overall, the findings suggest that social relationships constitute a central resource for sustainable well-being and attendance in physically demanding work, offering actionable implications for HRM. Full article

This study investigates why companies sponsor individual athletes in sports with low media coverage and how such athletes secure sponsorship agreements. While sport sponsorship research has predominantly focused on mainstream sports and event-based contexts, limited attention has been given to individual athletes in niche sports. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with Norwegian sponsors and elite athletes in long-distance running, trail running, and orienteering. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis, informed by the Sponsorship Motive Matrix and the Model of Athlete Brand Image. The findings indicate that sponsorship decisions are primarily driven by market-related motives, complemented by bond and society motives, with cost-effectiveness, authenticity, and value alignment playing important roles. Sponsors prioritize athlete performance, personality, and social media presence, while athletes emphasize financial support and performance optimization. Sponsorship activation is generally limited, and agreements are predominantly in-kind or hybrid. The study concludes that sponsorships in low-media-coverage sports are relational and selective, relying heavily on athlete-driven outreach and social media visibility. These findings extend existing sponsorship frameworks to an underexplored context and offer practical insights for sponsors and athletes in niche sports. Full article

Through systematic literature synthesis (2000–2024) integrating Foucault’s disciplinary power theory, Nissenbaum’s contextual integrity framework, and job design theory, this paper develops the Autonomy-Surveillance Conceptual Framework to explain differential psychological impacts of digital workplace surveillance. The embrace of remote work has increased surveillance practices among organizations as an increased need to ensure employee productivity in remote settings appears, along with a drive to ensure data security and streamline workflows. Many employees perceive such practices as a breach of privacy, signifying employer distrust. The framework predicts that surveillance creates varying degrees of contextual integrity violation based on job autonomy: high-autonomy knowledge workers experience severe violations through trust erosion, procedural injustice, and temporal autonomy loss, while low-autonomy workers evaluate surveillance primarily through fairness criteria. This paper addresses a critical gap in existing research, which has focused on low-autonomy roles. By examining which roles are most impacted by digital surveillance, this paper seeks to highlight transparency and autonomy-sensitive policies to maximize the associated benefits of digital surveillance, while calling attention to employee well-being, trust, and organizational performance. Full article