Research Output
Articles
Publication Date: 2025
Journal of Workplace Learning (13665626)pp. 1-19
Purpose – Despite growing interest in sustainable human resource management (HRM), limited attention has been given to how sustainability is enacted through everyday human resource (HR) practice. This study aims to examine how HR professionals define sustainability within HRM, interpret and position their role in sustainability work and engage in and reflect on learning related to sustainability in everyday practice. Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study draws on interviews with 13 municipal HR professionals in Sweden and workplace shadowing of eight. Using reflexive thematic analysis within a workplace learning perspective, this study explores how the meanings, roles and practices of sustainability unfolded in context. Findings – HR professionals view sustainability primarily as a moral and relational responsibility, rather than a technical or policy-driven task. Through situated practices of trust-building, ethical reflection and value-driven dialogue, they translated abstract goals into locally meaningful concerns. Their connective work bridged tensions across competing demands, acting less as policy implementers and more as relational enablers. Learning related to sustainability emerged informally, through negotiation, role experimentation and everyday interactions that shaped professional identities and required strong social competence. Practical implications – Organizations must recognize and support HR’s connective work by legitimizing reflexive practices, enabling HR to mediate across stakeholder groups and embedding supportive infrastructures for everyday workplace learning. Originality/value – This study advances sustainable HRM and workplace learning by shifting focus from formal strategies to HR’s relational and connective practices. It emphasizes how sustainability is enacted through micropractices and how HR professionals’ learning and identity work are integral to sustaining organizational change. © 2025 Maria Holmbom, Camilla Seitl and Ali Kazemi
Kazemi, A.,
Andersson, T.,
Elfstrand corlin, T.,
Tengblad, S.,
Wickelgren, M. Publication Date: 2024
Psychology of Leaders and Leadership (27696863)27(2)pp. 183-207
Leader–member exchange (LMX) is the foremost relational approach to leadership. Building upon the LMX theory, this study aimed to examine the associations between three types of relationship appraisals in the workplace: leader–member (leader LMX), member–leader (member LMX), and member– member relationships (collegial climate), and their impact on employee work attitudes (i.e., employee job satisfaction and commitment). Questionnaire data were obtained from a sample of retail managers (n = 113) and retail workers (n = 555) in the Swedish retail sector. Mediation analyses confirmed the novel hypotheses that member LMX and collegial climate fully mediate the association between leader LMX and employee job satisfaction. However, in predicting employee commitment, the only significant mediator was member LMX. This study not only contributes to the existing LMX theory and research but also adds to the expanding body of knowledge in the field of positive organizational scholarship exploring the significance of positive workplace relationships in shaping employee attitudes. © (2024), (American Psychological Association). All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2024
Journal of Product and Brand Management (10610421)33(8)pp. 1088-1100
Purpose: To thrive in today’s competitive market, international small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recognize the importance of building strong brands. Choosing the right capabilities to effectively drive brand performance remains a key challenge for SMEs. This study aims to explore how marketing capabilities affect brand orientation and performance. Specifically, the study considered the mediating impact of value cocreation and the moderating effect of innovation capabilities on the association between brand orientation and performance. Design/methodology/approach: The population of interest included SMEs exporting food and agricultural products. A sample of 296 managers and export executives completed the questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using Smart PLS3 was applied to analyze the data. Findings: The findings revealed that export market planning capabilities positively affect brand orientation, but the impact of marketing information capabilities on brand orientation was not supported. The results showed that brand orientation was directly and indirectly associated with brand performance through the mediating effect of value cocreation, and that innovation capability adversely moderated the relationship between brand orientation and performance. Research limitations/implications: This research focused only on two primary internal marketing capabilities affecting brand orientation, i.e. market information and product planning capabilities. Practical implications: Explaining why some international SMEs adopt brand orientation activities, the results may help international firms increase their brand performance by emphasizing their marketing capabilities and creating covalue with their customers. Originality/value: This research expands the existing knowledge of branding in international markets. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Publication Date: 2024
Social Responsibility Journal (1758857X)20(2)pp. 363-382
Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the link between internal capabilities, innovation strategies and export performance (EP), considering the corporate social responsibility (CSR) principle as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach: The statistical population of the current study is the food and agricultural products exporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) which participated in the 27th International Agrofood Exhibition (2021) in Tehran, Iran. A sample of 296 managers was selected, using systematic random sampling, to answer the questionnaire. To analyze the data, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) and Hayes PROCESS in SPSS. Findings: Results show that just manufacturing capabilities affect both exploratory and exploitative innovation, in contrast to marketing capabilities that does not have any significant impact on these two innovation strategies. Moreover, the impact of both explorative and exploratory innovation on EP is supported in the context of food and agricultural SMEs. However, CSR positively moderates the impact of exploratory innovation on EP, showing it has a negative effect on the impact of exploitative innovation on EP. Originality/value: By addressing the research gap on the link between internal capabilities, innovation strategies, EP and CSR among SMEs, the current research provides valuable body of research that later studies in the literature can leverage or build upon. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Publication Date: 2024
International Journal of Bank Marketing (2652323)42(7)pp. 1736-1759
Purpose: Customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions substantially affect the overall service experience. This study attempts to provide a better and deeper understanding of C2C interactions during the customer journey in the banking industry. The study aims to investigate the complexities of these interactions and to detect their outcomes and further implications in banking services. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a sequential mixed-method approach. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the components of C2C interactions during the customer journey. Subsequently, thematic analysis was performed to categorize the data and extract relevant components. Secondly, structural equation modeling was used to investigate the role of C2C interactions in behavioral outcomes. Findings: The findings reveal that during the customer journey, C2C interactions plays a key role by providing information, managing queuing behavior, providing resources, and addressing issues related to other customers’ misbehavior. Additionally, C2C interactions have a positive direct effect on the customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. Customer experience, in turn, affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value: This study highlights the need for academic scholars to prioritize customers’ interaction during the customer journey in financial services, addressing a gap between industry directions and academic research in customer experience. Also, the findings help service providers develop effective strategies to enhance the customer experience by focusing on C2C interactions during the customer journey. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.
