Review of Business Management

Avatar of the self: Governing meta-body elaborated based on embodiments of consumption

Bruno Melo Moura — 2024-04-22

Purpose – The aim of the current study is to investigate how consumer performativity is enacted through embodiment transformation, based on the theoretical elaboration of the body in three dimensions, namely: resistance, utopia and desire.

Theoretical framework – Based on previous literature, the study proposes a theoretical framework when embodiment transformations – i.e., politics, pleasures, and affects – overlap through consumer performativity, evoking Foucauldian concepts to understand the dispositif sustained in a consumption ethos.

Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted by investigating the cosplay practice based on the use of an ethnographic Foucauldian genealogy.

Findings – The results evidenced three consumption embodiments based on dispositifs circumscribed amidst pairs of body dimensions: redemption, related to politics; reward, regarding pleasure; and rapport, about affection.

Practical & social implications of research – Presumably, these representations are evidence of an attempt to improve the body that represents the best way to experience this consumption ethos, which is herein called the “avatar of the self”: a governing meta-body used to mediate consumption experiences through performativities.

Originality/value – Avatar of the self is an interpretation of the theoretical generalization of phenomena of consumption embodiment through performativities.

Negative online word-of-mouth and consumers’ product attitude: A nonlinear relationship

Fei GAO — 2024-04-22

Purpose – Word-of-mouth (WOM) valence refers to the favorable impact of positive WOM on marketing outcomes. However, studies have shown that negative WOM can have a greater influence. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of negative online WOM (OWOM) on marketing.
Theoretical framework – Drawing from the perspectives of psychology and communication, and using the sender-message-channel-receiver (SMCR) communication process theory, we construct a moderated mediation model to explore the mechanism and threshold of WOM recipients’ product involvement in reversing the impact of WOM valence on product attitude.
Design/methodology/approach – SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 3.0 were used to empirically analyze the survey data from a sample of 1,107 consumers.

Findings – Our study reveals a nonlinear relationship between negative OWOM recipients’ product involvement and consumer product attitude, mediated by risk perception and moderated by sender characteristics and WOM characteristics. The relationship shows a U-shaped curve between product involvement and product attitude, and an inverted U shaped curve between product involvement and risk perception. Risk perception mediates the relationship between product involvement and product attitude, which varies with the strength of the senderrecipient relationship and the amount of negative WOM. Sender professionalism moderates both the U-shaped and the inverted U-shaped curves.

Practical & social implications of research – From a practical standpoint, our findings have implications for the management of OWOM marketing for fresh agricultural products.

Originality/value – Our study provides a more nuanced understanding of the impact of negative WOM on consumer attitudes, challenging the one-sided focus on strengthening positive WOM valence in the context of the Internet.

Keywords: Negative online word-of-mouth, recipient characteristics, fresh agricultural products, product attitude, product involvement.

Effects of Big Data Capacity on Sustainable Manufacturing and Circular Economy in Brazilian Industries

Luciana Klein — 2024-04-22

Purpose – The objective is to analyze the relationship between big data analytics (BDA) capability and the development of sustainable manufacturing and circular economy (CE) in Brazilian industries.

Theoretical framework – The construction of BDA capability, according to the resource-based theory, is established through the implementation, integration and processing of big data resources. It is argued that BDA capability can contribute to the sustainable development of industries based on the collected data, as well as influencing the development of CE.

Design/methodology/approach – The research was descriptive and quantitative, and was conducted using a survey of employees in Brazilian industries that use big data. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

Practical & social implications of research – BDA capability has a positive and significant relationship with sustainable manufacturing and CE. Sustainable manufacturing is a complementary mediator between BDA capability and CE.

Originality/value – The study provides knowledge on the interaction between BDA and the development of sustainable and circular practices in Brazilian industries, providing incentives for changes in manufacturing companies that can successfully reduce social pressures due to resource scarcity, sustainable production and supply chain uncertainty.

Keywords: Resource-based theory, big data capability, sustainable manufacturing, circular economy

Readability and Understandability of Notes to Financial Statements

Samantha Telles — 2024-04-22

Purpose – Our research examined the impact of readability on the understandability of notes to the financial statement and investigated the influence of a glossary on understandability.

Theoretical framework – Previous studies have treated readability and understandability as synonymous, but understandability is a broader concept influenced by contextual complexity, syntax, and individual characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach – We conducted an experiment involving 111 participants in Brazil with a background in accounting. We manipulated components of the Flesch readability metric and assessed their impact on understandability,
as measured by the Meaning Identification Test.

Findings – Enhancing the readability of financial statement notes did not improve their understandability. However, participants’ overall comprehension abilities and personal characteristics were found to significantly influence understandability. Additionally, the inclusion of a glossary of technical terms had a positive impact on understandability only for users with limited prior knowledge.

Practical & social implications of research – Researchers should consider alternative metrics to assess understandability. Standard setters and regulators should reconsider the effectiveness of presenting a glossary. Investors can advocate for
improved text quality measures and the presentation of high quality information.

Originality/value – Most readability studies focus on reports written in English, and they are mainly applied to Anglophone countries. Our study extends this area of research in Brazil to reports written in Portuguese. Additionally, it highlights
the need to explore the relationship between readability and understandability, as traditional readability formulas may not fully capture the comprehensibility of a text.

Keywords: Readability, understandability, notes to the financial statements

The Impact of Social Intelligence on Engagement and Person-Organization Fit: A Mediation Analysis through Political Skill

Özge Mehtap — 2024-04-22

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to measure both the effects of social intelligence (SI) and political skill (PS) on work engagement (WE) and personorganization (P-O) fit, and the role that PS plays as a mediator in the relationship between SI and the other two variables.

Theoretical framework – The model proposed in this study is grounded in the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. In the context of this study, SI and PS are considered as job resources. The study seeks to provide insights into how these job resources contribute to employees’ WE and P-O fit.

Design/methodology/approach – Using the survey method, data were collected from 246 employees working in the information technology sector in Turkey using the convenience sampling method. The obtained data were analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) path analysis method in the AMOS program.

Findings – The results of the study reveal that PS and SI have significant effects on WE and P-O fit, and that PS mediates the relationship between SI and the outcomes.

Practical & social implications of research – This study makes a valuable contribution to the field of management, both in theoretical and practical terms, by uncovering the impact of SI on PS and the subsequent effects of these factors on employees’ P-O fit and overall WE. This study is important for two main reasons. First, no previous research was found that explicitly examines the relationship between both SI and PS and P-O fit. Second, PS is a relatively underexplored area within organizational studies, despite organizations often being perceived as political arenas.

Originality/value – This study is the first to analyse the proposed model, as no previous studies were found that explore the relationship between these variables simultaneously within the same model. Additionally, there is a lack of research examining the direct effects of PS and SI on P-O fit. As a result, this study is expected to address a significant gap in the management literature and contribute to the understanding of these relationships.

Keywords: Social intelligence, political skill, work engagement, person-organization fit.

Perceived Overqualification and Job Attitudes of Public Servants

João Moreira Gonçalves Neto — 2024-04-22

Purpose – This study investigated the relationship between perceived overqualification and job attitudes (affective and continuance organizational commitment and turnover intention) in the public sector.

Theoretical framework – The theoretical framework was based on theories about perceived overqualification, human capital, equity, relative deprivation, organizational commitment, and turnover intention, as well as Brazilian civil service legislation.

Design/methodology/approach – Brazilian public servants (n = 243) answered scales of perceived overqualification, affective and continuance commitment, and turnover intention, and these data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling.

Findings – The results showed that affective commitment was negatively related to turnover intention and mediated the relationship between perceived overqualification and turnover intention.

Practical & social implications of research – The findings suggest that overqualification is an inevitable phenomenon that needs to be managed, as rejecting overqualified workers (as is done in the private sector) may be a discriminatory practice and crime.

Originality/value – Overqualification has been present in the Brazilian civil service for a long time, but it has not been fully investigated. The present study is one of the few empirical studies on the overqualification phenomenon in the Brazilian civil service.

Keywords – resource management, civil service, professional qualification, job attitudes.

Enabling the Management of Diverse Employees in the Hybrid Work Model: A Qualitative Study

Selçuk Yeke — 2024-04-22

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to reveal how employee diversity is managed in the hybrid work model.

Theoretical framework – A link was established between the diversity management literature and the hybrid work model.

Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative research method was used in this study. Interviews and document analysis, which are qualitative data collection methods, were preferred. Purposive sampling was used.

Findings – A total of 64 categories and 11 themes emerged. Each theme offers different perspectives and suggestions regarding the management of employees with different qualifications and characteristics.

Practical & social implications of research – There are no limitations to the scope of the study. The study contributes to theory development by combining the diversity management literature with the hybrid work model and revealing new insights on the management of diverse employees in the hybrid work model. There are also practical implications for managers. The concerns of managers implementing the hybrid work model about how to manage employees with diverse characteristics and attributes can be addressed by considering the results of this study.

Originality/value – The study makes significant contributions, especially to the field of business administration. Diversity management, which has not been considered in the hybrid work model, was examined in this study, paving the way for further studies in the field of business administration.

Keywords: Diversity management, hybrid work model, qualitative methods, interview, document analysis.

Corporate Controversies and Market-to-Book: The Moderating Role of ESG Practices

Caroline Keidann Soschinski — 2024-04-22

Purpose – The aim of this study is to analyze the moderating role of ESG practices in the relationship between corporate controversies and companies’ market-tobook performance.

Theoretical framework – ESG effect, ESG controversies and market performance.

Design/methodology/approach – We investigated 3,267 companies from 20 countries with the highest GDP in 2021. ESG ratings and other variables were collected from the Refinitiv database. The cross-country analysis considered panel data regressions with fixed effects by year, industry and country from 2016 to 2020.

Findings – The results showed that corporate controversies have a negative effect on companies’ market performance, while engagement in ESG practices has a positive effect. However, when analyzing the relationship between corporate controversies and market-to-book value in companies with high ESG ratings, the negative effect of controversies is not significant.

Practical & social implications of research – This research contributes by indicating the negative consequences of corporate controversies in terms of market performance and signaling that ESG practices are important to meet the needs
of stakeholders, but are not enough to mitigate the impact of ESG controversies on market performance.

Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to demonstrate that ESG practices are not strong enough to mitigate the negative effects of ESG controversies on market performance in a large sample.

Keywords: Corporate controversies, ESG, market-to-book.