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Amid challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, fostering employee creativity has become paramount for organizations. However, there is a scarcity of research on digitalization of the workplace and its implications for implementing high involvement work systems (HIWSs) in organizations, particularly in relation to their impact on employee outcomes, such as creativity and job satisfaction. Additionally, limited attention has been given to the role of job level and organizational type in driving change during times of adversity. This study aims to examine the factors within the HIWSs model using the PIRK model – power (P), information sharing (I), rewards (R) and knowledge (K) to explore how HIWSs shape the extent of power individuals have over their employment, the sharing of information, the types of rewards that engage and motivate employees and the knowledge required to fulfil employees’ responsibilities effectively, both individually and collectively.

Using a qualitative research methodology, this study uses thematic analysis for data collection, analysis and interpretation. Semi-structured interviews (n = 48) served as the primary data collection method. Using the theoretical lenses of high-involvement practices and employee perceptions of PIRK, the effect on employee creativity and job satisfaction is analysed.

The findings of this study reveal that employee creativity is significantly influenced by how employees perceive power, information, rewards and knowledge. Moreover, the study highlights the role of transformational and transactional leadership in shaping employee perceptions of power, information and knowledge within HIWSs. A high perception of PIRK is found to positively impact employee job satisfaction.

This study offers valuable insights for human resource management (HRM) professionals seeking to make informed decisions regarding best practices and initiatives for enhancing employee outcomes in the post-COVID era. By recognizing the pivotal role of HIWSs and their influence on employee perceptions, organizations can strategically implement HIWSs to foster creativity and job satisfaction. Furthermore, this research contributes to the existing literature by examining the interplay between HIWSs and the PIRK model in the context of workplace digitalization, emphasizing the importance of adapting HRM practices to address the evolving needs of the modern workforce.

This study will help HRM professionals in making informed decisions on the best practices and initiatives to enhance employee outcomes in the post-COVID era. This paper adds to the existing literature on HIWS and PIRK in the context of workplace digitalization.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between owner-manager or leader’s ambidextrous leadership style and its effect on human resource management (HRM) practices, contextual ambidexterity and knowledge-intensive small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) strategic agility.

This study presents an in-depth qualitative case study analysis of two knowledge-intensive SMEs from India’s information technology and health-care products industry serving a range of global clients. Using the theoretical lenses of empowerment-focused HRM practices, ambidextrous leaders, contextual ambidexterity and strategic agility, semi-structured interview data of leaders, managers and employees of the case organizations were analysed. Through a two-staged analytical process, we abductively developed a novel conceptual framework at the intersection of the above theoretical lenses.

The findings suggest that the knowledge-intensive SME’s strategic agility, ambidexterity and empowerment-focussed HRM approach was influenced by the owner-manager or leader’s ambidextrous leadership style and their philosophy towards managing people and had a positive impact in creating a culture of trust, participation, risk-taking and openness, and led to delivering innovative products and services as well as several positive employee-level outcomes.

Recent literature reviews on HRM In SMEs highlight several gaps, including the impact of owner-manager or leader’s philosophy of managing people in shaping HRM practices and employee outcomes. This paper thus adds to the existing literature on HRM and knowledge-intensive SMEs.

Based on the computers as social actors (CASA) theory, this study aims to explore the impact of three characteristics of virtual influencers (conversational tone, autonomy and responsiveness) on social presence, telepresence and customer engagement.

Using the purposive sampling technique, online survey was administered to Chinese Gen-Z consumers engaging with virtual influencers. Subsequently, 357 respondents were sampled. SPSS 29.0 and Smart PLS 4.0 were used to perform the analyses.

The results show that conversational tone and responsiveness have significant positive effects on both social presence and telepresence. Autonomy has a positive effect on telepresence, but not social presence. Social presence and telepresence have a positive impact on customer engagement.

As a burgeoning field, there is still uncertainty among both practitioners and researchers about the methods that virtual influencers engage their users in the context of social media. Limited research has focused on presence (social presence and telepresence) due to virtual influencers. Therefore, the CASA theory offers valuable insights into how virtual influencers’ characteristics contribute to the presence and customer engagement and provides practical guidance for the design of virtual influencers.

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on competency-based systems as a means of assessing employee performance. These systems assess the degree to which the competencies of employees align with the requirements of their employment positions. This study aims to identify, prioritize, and make contextual interrelationships of the competency dimensions that are relevant for evaluating employees in the context of Indian manufacturing MSMEs.

These dimensions were identified through an extensive literature review and interviews with industry experts. Further, a mixed-methods approach, including the “Bayesian Best-Worst Method” (BBWM), is applied for prioritizing important dimensions, whereas for making mutual relationships, the “Interpretive Structural Modeling” (ISM) method is utilized. “Matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment” (MICMAC) is also known as “cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification” is used for clustering competency dimensions based on their “driving power” and “dependence power”.

The findings reveal that among the primary dimensions, “creative performance,” and among the sub-dimensions, “innovative behaviors,” are the most critical competency dimensions for an employee assessment. The study also found that “smart working”, “factual and theoretical knowledge”, “empathy at work”, “understanding of specific knowledge”, and “engagement ideas and activities” are the main dimensions driving employees' competency.

This paper provides contribution to the competence literature by identifying and evaluating competency dimensions for assessing employees' performance within manufacturing MSMEs in an emerging economy such as India. The study also assesses the rank and contextual relationship between the identified dimensions as no past research focused on the same by using BBWM and ISM in the Indian manufacturing MSMEs context.

This study aims to explore the attitudes and perceptions of Chinese coffee consumers towards robot baristas, considering the proliferation of automated entities within China's coffee sector.

Employing the extended Technology Acceptance Model 2 as its theoretical framework, this research conducts in-depth interviews with 30 Chinese coffee consumers. The laddering technique is utilized, supplemented by video simulation. Thematic analysis is subsequently employed to scrutinize the data.

The findings delineate six pivotal themes encapsulating Chinese coffee consumers' perceptions of robot baristas – Perceived Introvert Friendliness, Perceived Novelty, Perceived Intellectual Discrepancies, Perceived Efficiency and Reliability, Perceived Emotional Disconnection, and Perceived Labour Market Disruption. Moreover, six motivational themes are identified - Social Status Boosting, Openness to Experience, Ease of Use, Tech-Driven Affordability, Reliable and Uncompromising Quality, and Resistance to Overbearing Service.

The study is limited by its focus on a specific cultural context. Future research could explore cross-cultural perspectives.

The findings of this study offer guidance on how to market and position robotic barista services to appeal to consumer preferences and drive adoption.

Understanding consumer perceptions of robotic baristas has broader social implications, particularly in terms of labour market disruption and the potential impact on traditional coffee professions. Businesses can navigate the social implications of automation more effectively and foster greater acceptance of technological innovations within society.

This study offers insights into the inclinations of Chinese coffee consumers, thereby facilitating informed decision-making and the formulation of effective strategies to expedite the adoption of robotic service.

The purpose of this study is to assess students' behaviors toward biodiversity management in higher education institutions. This study expands upon the value belief norm (VBN) theory by examining how environmental values, beliefs and norms impact students' engagement in biodiversity management.

An online survey was undertaken using a Google questionnaire. Convenience and snowball sampling techniques were adopted to reach the targeted students. The proposed associations were examined through the application of SEM with the use of AMOS software.

The findings provide valuable insights into students' behaviors regarding biodiversity management and demonstrate that extending VBN theory to the context of biodiversity, with the incorporation of environmental knowledge and environmental-friendly activities, resulted in a robust model for understanding students' behaviors toward biodiversity management in higher education institutions.

The findings can guide targeted interventions to boost student engagement in biodiversity management. Understanding the factors influencing their behaviors can aid in designing effective educational programs that promote biodiversity conservation and management.

This uniqueness of this study rests in its extension of the VBN theory to the context of biodiversity management, the exploration of environmental knowledge and environmental-friendly activities, and its focus on higher education institutions. Its value lies in guiding targeted interventions and campus sustainability strategies, aligning with UN SDGs to support global biodiversity and sustainable practices.

Ageing is a global concern that poses many challenges for governments, particularly in relation to the pressing issue of how to provide adequate social protection for the increasing number of elderly. Alongside rapid social and demographic transformation, Indonesia is especially challenged by the increasing number of elderly in need of formal care that is stretching the capacities of government and necessitates improvements in the social protection system. This study examines governance capacity in nursing homes and offers recommendations for improving the social protection system.

The research presents a qualitative case study of government aged care centres in East Java and the experiences of residents and staff of three centres managed by the Provincial Social Service of East Java. The case study is based on ethnographic fieldwork, semi-structured interviews with 32 informants comprising directors, managers, staff and elderly residents of nursing homes.

The research finds that while social protection is in place, governance capacities at the provincial and local level are thinly stretched. The research highlights the tensions between existent governance capacities – in terms of mobility, decision-making, implementation and established local structures of governance and management – and the inability to meet the increasing demands for government elder care services and resources amidst broader societal transformations such as shifts in cultural framing of familial care of elderly. The findings point to the importance of understanding the dynamic relationship between governance capacity and the shifting terrains of elderly care due to societal transformation.

The research brings attention to the pivotal role that governance capacity plays in shaping the experiences and challenges of local government level elder care provision and the growing need for elder care in the face of an ageing population and shifts in kinship and family elder care arrangements. Elder care is not simply about addressing basic needs but also the quality and dignity of elderly and this is not easy to address where social protection systems are stretched beyond capacity. Recommendations are provided for enhancing government policy and expanding the scope for building cross-sectorial partnerships.