The Business School - Te Kura Kaipakihi

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/1066

The Business School - Te Kura Kaipakihi conducts disciplinary research that is at the fore front of international knowledge. Their researchers are recognised experts in their fields and produce research of relevance to their academic and non-academic stakeholders. The Business School has research strength in: Accounting, Business Information Systems, Economics, Finance, International Business, Management (including Human Resource Management and Employment Relations), Marketing, Advertising, Retailing and Sales.

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Sustainable Living: The Push and Pull of Everyday Practices
(Emerald, 2026-06-22) Yap, Crystal Sheau-Fen; Stewart, Cordelia Rose; Rai, Meenal; Tan, LayPeng
Purpose This study aims to investigate the enactment of sustainability practices in everyday life through a “Living Green” campaign. The authors explore how these practices are embraced, challenged or renegotiated in situ within broader networks of routines and sociohistorical understandings. Design/methodology/approach A three-phase sequential qualitative multi-method approach was used. Data were collected through brainstorming workshops, in-depth interviews, digital diaries, participant observation and introspection journal entries. Findings The findings highlight the interplay between historically embedded practical understandings and daily (un)sustainable consumption. The authors develop an empirically grounded typology comprising four practice states – pro-transition, constrained embodiment, negotiated continuity and in-reversal – to illustrate how cultural frames and ontological concerns shape the fluidity of social practices throughout the campaign. Research limitations/implications The five-week duration of the campaign may limit insight into longer-term shifts in sustainable consumption. Study was conducted in New Zealand, often framed by a “clean, green” national identity which may limit generalisability of findings beyond this context. The predominance of younger participants may limit the applicability of findings to other demographics whose routines differ. Practical implications The findings inform the design of public campaigns and policy interventions promoting sustainable behaviours. They also provide guidance for individuals seeking to cultivate more sustainable lifestyles. Originality/value This study advances sustainable consumption research through a practice-theoretical lens, foregrounding the ontological underpinnings of everyday action. It offers theoretical insight into how sociohistorical meanings, teleoaffective orientations and sources of ontological security shape the fluid, contested nature of sustainability practices as they unfold in lived contexts.
Fostering Access to Justice: A Human Values-Centred Investigation of Bankruptcy Filing Innovation Through Its Design and Use
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-12-29) Safari, Narges; Techatassanasoontorn, Angsana
Although a fundamental human right, access to justice remains a persistent predicament that disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable in society. The challenge is particularly evident in personal bankruptcy filings, where individuals often face financial despair and lack the resources needed to navigate the process. Digital innovation holds promise for improving access to justice. Our study focuses on Upsolve, a digital innovation that supports users in bankruptcy filing. Drawing on value sensitive design and the concept of technological mediations, our study traces values from those embedded in design features to the realisation of values through user experiences with a digital innovation, by theorising mediation mechanisms that explain the connections between values in design and use. The findings suggest that a designer’s purposive values involving safe and equitable access, simplification, empowerment, compassion, and autonomy led to a design that enables users to be in control of the process. User interactions with Upsolve’s innovation shape their perceptions of bankruptcy filing and help them complete the process, enabling the realisation of values of support, dignity, destigmatisation, hope, and life chances. The study contributes to the literature and offers insights into engaging with human values when designing digital innovations to improve access to justice.
Digital Transformation of Public Service Delivery: An Institutional Logics Perspective
(British Academy of Management, 2025-09-01) Doolin, Bill; Techatassanasoontorn, Angsana; Díaz Andrade, Antonio; Singh, Harminder
Originating in the private sector, digital transformation has been heralded by governments as an inevitable and desirable path for citizens to thrive in the digital age. Digital transformation efforts are increasingly leading to public services being delivered as ‘digital first’ or ‘digital by default’. However, such an approach may have unintended consequences and risk excluding some members of society who are unable or unwilling to interact digitally with government. We use the concept of institutional logics to critically analyse the dominant discourse of digital transformation in the New Zealand public sector. In doing so, we unpack the logic underpinning government digital transformation initiatives that are driving the digital delivery of public services in many countries, including the UK. We identify five organising principles that collectively characterise the digital first institutional logic we observe in the digitalisation of public service delivery: values, norms, assumptions, focus of attention, and view of digital.
Auto-Pilot, Co-Pilot and Pilot: Human and Generative AI Configurations in Software Development
(AIS Electronic Library, 2024-10-24) Safari, Narges; Techatassanasoontorn, Angsana; Diaz Andrade, Antonio
Generative AI (GenAI), with its versatility and general-purpose capability for content creation, has the potential to shape a wide range of professional work across different industries. This research-in-progress identifies emergent configurations of humans and GenAI to offer an understanding of the changing nature of software development tasks and work practice in general. The empirical materials are drawn from 15 interviews with software developers with different levels of experience who use GenAI as part of their work. Our abductive analysis, grounded in the notion of configurations and a work design perspective, identifies three configurations – i.e., GenAI as auto-pilot, GenAI as co-pilot, and human as pilot-in-command – that explain the manifestations of automation and augmentation and the distribution of responsibilities between humans and GenAI. Overall, the findings shed light on the changing nature of software development work where human agencies are crucial in managing emergent configurations with AI.
Embedding Human Values Into Legal Tech Innovation: A Case of Upsolve
(Wiley, 2025-12-08) Techatassanasoontorn, Angsana; Safari, Narges; Jackson, Ben
The access to justice gap, understood as people with at least one unmet justice need, is one of the long‐standing social problems that prevents people from obtaining the justice they need, thereby reinforcing the poverty trap and entrenching marginalisation. Legal tech innovation, involving the use of digital technologies to provide legal help or services online to ordinary citizens, has significant potential to bridge the access to justice gap at scale. We report on the case of Upsolve, a non‐profit legal tech startup that has revolutionised access to personal bankruptcy filing for low‐income Americans. Upsolve's free digital platform guides users through the step‐by‐step bankruptcy process with extensive and carefully curated information, thus enabling users to navigate bankruptcy filing without needing an attorney. We trace how Upsolve uses human values, namely, safe access, empowerment and psychological well‐being, to guide the design process to ensure that its solution is not only safe for users but also takes special care to empower and support them through the emotionally challenging process of bankruptcy filing. Also, we underscore how Upsolve manages the unauthorised practise of law (UPL) compliance, which prohibits nonlawyers from giving legal advice. Based on our analysis, we derive recommended actions for other organisations to use human values as guidelines in designing and continuously evolving their legal tech innovation to benefit users.
Why the tax NZ never wanted to talk about is back on the political agenda in 2026
(The Conversation, 2026-06-08) Ali, Irshad
For Richer or Poorer: The Emotional Experiences of Entrepreneurs’ Spouses in the Context of Venture Failure
(SAGE Publications, 2026-10-01) Singh, Smita; Woodfield, Paul; Corrick, Steven; Ho, Marcus
This article explores spousal lived experiences in the broad context of entrepreneurial venture failure, focusing on their emotions, the situations that evoked them, and how they managed them. We highlight that there is limited qualitative research on emotions in entrepreneurship, and much of this research is focused on the lone entrepreneur. We shift the focus of this emotion research to include an understanding of spousal emotions. Our exploratory inductive study of thirteen spouses is critical to building our understanding of entrepreneurship and failure from a relational and socially embedded perspective. Our study underscores the adaptive functions of distinct emotional responses in shaping how spouses navigate the complexities of loss and transformation following entrepreneurial failure. We articulate the theoretical contributions and delineate the practical implications derived from these findings.
Artificial Intelligence in Academic Research: Contributor, Constructivist or Cheat?
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-01-29) Scott-Kennel, Joanna; Zhang, Rongmei; Scott, Jonathan
The role of generative AI (Gen-AI) in the academic research process remains underexplored. This paper examines how Chatbots might be integrated into academic research, distinguishing this application from traditional uses of machine learning in marketing research and data analysis. Using Constructivist Learning Theory (CLT) as a framework, we experiment with queries at different stages of the research process, including the literature review, research gap identification, theory alignment, and method selection. The study contributes to understanding how AI can support academic research in marketing. Responses from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude are compared and potential benefits and limitations for marketing scholars discussed.
His Faith, Her Consumption: Halal Food Decisions in UK Interfaith Family Households
(Emerald, 2026-06-16) Ibrahim, Khaled; Burnett, Megan; Sarfo, Christian
Purpose: This study aims to investigate how religious obligation, Halal purchase decision and spousal decision-making jointly shape Halal food consumption within interfaith marriages, specifically focusing on non-Muslim wives married to Muslim men in the United Kingdom. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of 103 non-Muslim wives in interfaith households was conducted. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess direct and indirect relationships among religiosity, spousal decision-making, Halal purchase decision and gendered consumption. Necessary condition analysis (NCA) was also used to identify non-compensatory conditions for gendered consumption. Findings: The results indicate that religiosity and spousal decision-making significantly influence both Halal purchasing and gendered Halal consumption. Halal purchase decisions partially mediate the effect of religiosity and spousal influence on consumption outcomes, revealing that religious obligation is enacted through relational processes within the household. Furthermore, NCA confirms that both religiosity and spousal decision-making are non-compensatory preconditions for high levels of gendered Halal consumption, reinforcing their essential role in shaping domestic religious practices. Practical implications: Marketers should recognise that non-Muslim partners are active agents in religious consumption and tailor Halal messaging accordingly, highlighting the theme of shared domestic practice. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to examine Halal food practices as relational and gendered outcomes of religious commitment in interfaith households. It contributes to further understanding the theory of family buying decisions by integrating value asymmetry and moral salience into domestic consumption models.
Professional Confidence and Expertise in Allied Health: A Narrative Study of Critical Incidents
(SAGE Publications, 2026-05-28) Jackson, Bianca; Purdy, Suzanne; Cooper-Thomas, Helena
Highly experienced allied health professionals possess extensive knowledge and skill developed through sustained professional practice and have the potential to support the development of others. However, their willingness, capacity, or opportunity to enact an identity as an expert varies. This study explored how highly experienced allied health professionals in Aotearoa New Zealand construct and negotiate expert identity through narratives of critical workplace incidents. Focusing on therapy professionals across disciplines, the study examined how expertise is narrated, recognised, and sustained within professional communities rather than treating expertise as a fixed individual attribute. Using an interpretive, critical pragmatic methodology, critical incident narratives were collected from 45 highly experienced practitioners, most of whom were women and did not identify as Māori or Pacific peoples. Affirming, challenging, and transformative incidents provided insight into how participants made meaning of their professional experiences and positioned themselves as experts in relation to colleagues, organisations, and professional norms. Analysis showed that professional confidence was central to the construction and expression of expert identity. Confidence functioned both as an outcome of experience and as a narrative resource that enabled practitioners to act, share knowledge, and navigate uncertainty and vulnerability. Affirming incidents often reinforced expert identity through role clarity, professional recognition, and value alignment, while challenging incidents prompted reflection, narrative reframing, and changes in practice. The findings highlight expertise as a relational and socially supported identity, constructed through storytelling, professional interaction, and collective recognition, offering a nuanced understanding of how expert identity is sustained in allied health practice.
Cognitive Mapping of the Key Factors Influencing Blockchain Adoption in Iran's Food Supply Chains
(Ram Arti Publishers, 2026-06-04) Mohemmi, Zahra; Mostofi, Amirhossein; Jain, Vipul; Samarghandi, Hamed; Dadmand, Fatemeh; Mehrparvar, Maryam
It is worth mentioning that Blockchain Technology can enhance transparency, trust, and efficiency in a supply chain in general and in food supply chains in particular. Nonetheless, its application in Iran’s food industry is still limited due to technological, organizational, strategic and operational challenges. Unlike previous studies, this paper identifies and structures the key factors influencing blockchain implementation in the food sector supply chain through expert confirmation and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). Twenty-six critical drivers were analyzed to reveal their interdependencies and hierarchical significance. The results of this work highlight that developing efficient and effective food supply chain strategies is the most critical factor for successful blockchain adoption, supported by components such as technological readiness, management commitment, transparency, trust, and system quality. The findings also provided a strategic roadmap, which emphasizes aligning technology adoption with organizational preparedness and policy support. This research contributes to the understanding of blockchain diffusion in emerging economies and offers practical and actionable insights for decision-makers seeking to enhance traceability, efficiency, and stakeholder trust in the complex operations of the food supply chain.
How Mess Becomes Pollution: Spatiotemporal and Relational Dynamics of Domestic Disorder
(Informa UK Limited, 2026-05-22) Abarashi, Jamal
This study theorises how consumers interpret and respond to material disorder in domestic spaces, reconceptualising why some forms of mess are tolerated, while others become symbolic pollution that prompts tidying action. Drawing on symbolic pollution theory, the study demonstrates that pollution is constituted through spatiotemporal and relational processes rather than fixed spatial violations. It identifies three interrelated mechanisms shaping this transformation: perceived control, the symbolic elasticity of space across time and use, and family dynamics through which disorder is collectively negotiated. The study extends symbolic pollution theory by shifting its ontology from spatial to spatiotemporal and conceptualising disorder as moving between liquid and solid states. It reframes ordering as the ongoing management of time, relationships and material arrangements through which disorder is rendered acceptable or polluting.
Job performance reviews are outdated and often pointless. Why do we still use them?
(The Conversation, 2026-05-29) Anderson, Danaë; Morrow, Jeremy
Over the past 15 years, NZ moved its fuel safety net offshore - now it's being exposed
(The Conversation, 2026-05-06) Dodd, Olga; Fernandez-Perez, Adrian
More Than Saying “It's AI”: How Role Disclosure Transparency in AI‐Generated Ads Influences Persuasion
(Wiley, 2026-05-28) Le, Khanh Bao Quang; Khan, Hina; Li, Fangfang; Kunz, Werner H
This research examines how AI role disclosure transparency—the consumers' subjective perception of how clearly and informatively an advertisement communicates the role that AI played in the ad creation process—influences consumer evaluation of AI‐generated ads via ad creation process credibility. A high level of perceived transparency enhances ad creation process credibility, which, in turn, leads to a more favorable attitude toward the ad (Study 1 and 2). In addition, the effectiveness of AI role disclosure transparency is also amplified under two conditions: when the disclosure motive is framed as reactive rather than proactive (Study 3) and the presence of a regulatory compliance signal (Study 4). This research advances current understanding of strategic disclosure in AI‐assisted advertising and provides actionable insights for optimizing consumer response to AI‐generated content. From a managerial perspective, it offers a decision‐making framework grounded in empirical findings to guide marketers on how best to communicate AI involvement in ad creation.
Reshaping Business Education: An Activity Theory Analysis of AI Teaching Assistants
(The Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE), 2026-03-16) Gedera, Dilani; Griffiths, Chris
This study examines how an AI-powered teaching assistant was integrated into business courses at the Auckland University of Technology to address the limitations of traditional, large-scale teaching models. Business education increasingly demands flexible and individualised learning support, yet empirical evidence on the pedagogical value of purpose-built AI tools remains limited. Guided by Activity Theory and using an explanatory sequential mixed-method design, this research analysed survey data, semi-structured interviews, and reflective field notes to explore how AI mediated learning, shaped educator and student roles, and influenced academic outcomes. The findings indicate that NF AI enhanced engagement, efficiency, and self-directed learning through instant formative feedback, while also easing lecturer workload. However, issues such as inconsistent feedback, limited linguistic adaptability, and institutional integration challenges revealed systemic tensions in AI adoption. The study extends Activity Theory by identifying two new analytical constructs: the community-embedded artefact, where AI acts both as a mediating tool and a social participant in the learning environment, and the spatial misalignment contradiction, highlighting infrastructural frictions between local institutions and external AI providers. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of AI’s pedagogical implications in business education, emphasising the importance of ethical, context-specific integration and sustained human oversight to ensure learning remains meaningful, equitable, and pedagogically grounded.
Navigating Vulnerability in Elite Organizational Socialization: Insights on New Politicians’ Use of Reputational Behaviors
(SAGE Publications, 2026-05-13) Cooper-Thomas, Helena; Silvester, Jo; Greenslade-Yeats, James
Elites have significant influence on their institutions and therefore whether elite newcomers sink or swim has important ramifications for many stakeholders, including elites’ colleagues, organizations, and wider society. And yet ‘sinking’ seems to be relatively common outcome for elite newcomers, whose high failure rates might suggest a sub-par socialization process. Given this problem, surprisingly little research has investigated how elite newcomers experience and respond to socialization. We address this lack of research through a qualitative study of elite newcomers, specifically new politicians entering a national legislature for the first time. Drawing on interviews and archival data, we illuminate the complex and at times ruthless process of elite newcomer socialization. Specifically, we identify four new socialization challenges that impact elite newcomers and suggest how these can develop socialization tactics theory. We identify reputational vulnerability as a novel motivator, caused by these challenges and compelling elite newcomers to respond. Finally, we reveal a range of protect and promote reputational behaviors elite newcomers use to respond in order to establish and maintain their elite position.
Network Structures of Workplace Sustainability and Employee Outcomes: A Two-Wave Study
(Emerald, 2026-05-06) Sheeran, Zane; Sutton, Anna; Cooper-Thomas, Helena
Purpose This study examines how employees’ perceptions of their organisation’s environmental sustainability relate to their well-being and performance. This study aims to clarify these relationships by investigating the role of individual differences within the interconnected networks linking sustainability, well-being, performance, person–organisation fit (P–O fit), self-determination and environmental attitudes and behaviours. Design/methodology/approach Australian employees completed a two-wave online survey (Time 1: n = 628; Time 2: n = 493). Network analysis was used to examine the associations between perceived organisational sustainability and a range of individual factors and outcomes, allowing for the assessment of stability in the network structure over time. Findings Across both timepoints, strong and stable positive associations were found between perceived sustainability, well-being, performance and P–O fit. Self-determination was also strongly linked to well-being and performance. P–O fit emerged as a central component within the network, emphasising its role in supporting positive employee outcomes in sustainable workplaces. No significant structural or global strength differences were observed over time, indicating that the network’s overall structure and density remained stable. Originality/value This study provides novel evidence using network analysis to map the relationships among sustainability perceptions, key individual variables and employee outcomes. This paper demonstrates that these relationships are robust over time and highlights P–O fit as a core mechanism underpinning how sustainability initiatives contribute to a healthy, productive and sustainable work environment.
One of Us is Dying: Musings on Love, Loss, and the Beauty of a Möbius Strip Metaphor
(SAGE Publications, 2026-05-04) Kenworthy, Amy L; Hurd, Fiona; Dyer, Suzette
In this essay, we vulnerably reflect upon an exploration of love and loss in academic life grounded in nine months of shared reflective musings following one of us receiving a terminal brain cancer diagnosis. Together, we harness the powerful metaphor of the Möbius strip to conceptualize love and loss as inseparable, co—constitutive forces shaping identity, relationality, and meaning—making. We offer four interwoven themes and the tensions we felt within them—emotional (grief/gratitude), social (isolation/connection), ethical (extraction/generativity), and temporal (very little time/lots of time)—as an invitation to reflect upon how we each engage within our roles, with our ‘academic work’, and with those around us. We view these tensions as both an illustration of the profound intertwining between personal and professional and love and loss and an affirmation that being an academic is not merely a cognitive pursuit, but a deeply human one.
Drowning in Danmaku: The Dual Effects Community Interaction in Live Streaming Commerce
(SAGE Publications, 2025-12-17) Xu, Yujun; Kapitan, Sommer; Phillips, Megan
This study examines the dual effects of co-creation in live streaming commerce by investigating how synchronous community interaction (danmaku), in the form of scrolling comments, questions, gift-sharing, testimonials and interactions, shape consumer responses. Integrating theories of co-creation, source effects and information overload, we propose and test a model of how community interaction in streaming can (1) co-create social impact such as trust and (2) build commercial impact such as engagement and purchase intention, but can also lead to co-destruction with excessive danmaku content with (3) social impacts that overwhelm viewers’ information sensitivity to lower their trust and (4) distract from the streamers’ commercial message to reduce conversion. Findings reveal that macro-streamers (>100,000 followers) directly enhance consumer outcomes. Yet when community chat danmaku becomes excessive, positive effects are attenuated due to information overload and disrupted viewer immersion, demonstrating a co-destructive effect. In contrast, micro-streamers build consumer trust gradually, and danmaku does not alter their impact. Their influence operates indirectly via trust-based parasocial bonds, reinforcing co-creative engagement. This research offers actionable implications for brands, platforms and influencers aiming to balance community engagement with message clarity to optimise consumer impact.

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