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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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Job performance reviews are outdated and often pointless.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
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.
Political Risk and Commodity Currencies
(Elsevier, 2026-05-05) Dodd, Olga; Fernandez-Perez, Adrian; Sosvilla-Rivero, Simon
We examine the impact of political risk on the relationship dynamics between commodity and currency returns in commodity-exporting countries. We find that the typically positive contemporaneous relationship between commodity and currency returns disappears when political risk increases. This finding is in line with the rare disasters model of Farhi and Gabaix (2016), with the negative effect of political risk being transmitted to foreign exchange rates indirectly by affecting the relationship between the foreign exchange and commodity returns. The results hold for various measures of political risk. The documented effect on the commodity-currency pricing relationship is driven by political risk, not economic uncertainty, and not by the appreciation of the US dollar during periods of heightened political risk. The documented effect is stronger for countries with high political risk. The implication is that commodity currencies do not benefit from commodity price increases during periods of heightened political risk.
Examining Grand Challenges Through a Systems Thinking Lens: An Innovative Multi-Day Case Study Approach to Exploring Sustainability
(SAGE Publications, 2026-01-12) Sankaran, Shankar; Hedges, Peggy; Kenworthy, Amy L; Wall, Tony; Dyer, Suzette; Jones, David R; Hurd, Fiona
In this article, we present an innovative 4-day intensive course which responds to the urgent need to explore issues related to the grand challenges of our time. The course was iteratively designed and developed over a 14-year period. It is designed to utilize systems thinking ideas within a management education domain to deepen student capabilities of collaboratively dealing with complex socio-ecological challenges. The aim is to encourage development of practical capabilities to transform multifaceted problems. To provide evidence for the efficacy of this approach, we draw learning themes from student feedback and faculty members’ reflections from the most recent iteration of the course. We highlight three key student learning themes related to a holistic systems thinking approach to understanding the complex issues within a selected sustainability issue in one of today’s grand challenges: (1) interconnectedness, (2) conceptual modeling as a basis for intervention, and (3) dialogic and participatory action planning. The information and materials we share are those used in recent iterations of this course, which focused on reducing poverty through an analysis of issues related to informal settlements.
The Path to Social License for Data Practices in Tourism and Hospitality: A Sufficiency-Necessity Analysis of Key Antecedents
(Haworth Press, 2026-02-09) Yallop, Anca; Moisescu, Ovidiu; Gică, Oana
In the digital age, tourism and hospitality organizations (THOs) rely on consumer data to inform strategy and maintain competitiveness. This study investigates how travelers’ interactional trust in THOs’ data-handling practices influences the social license to use such data. Drawing on social license to operate and social exchange theories, we analyze survey responses from 875 travelers. Results show that trust, shaped by perceptions of fairness, usefulness, privacy control, and transparency, significantly enhances the social license granted. Fairness and usefulness also exert direct positive effects, while privacy concerns undermine both trust and social license. Additionally, fairness, usefulness, and transparency represent necessary conditions, meaning their absence cannot be compensated by other factors. This is the first empirical study to examine social license in the context of data use by THOs, and the first to assess both the sufficiency and necessity of key factors, providing strategic guidance for ethical data governance.
Management Students Making Sense: Scaffolding Grand Challenges Through Threshold Concepts and Concept Maps
(SAGE Publications, 2026-02-28) Hurd, Fiona; Dyer, Suzette
In this article, we demonstrate how the iterative use of concept mapping develops business students’ competencies to analyze the complexity, uncertainty, and diverse views inherent in wicked problems and grand challenges. Focusing on the interconnectedness between business, government, and social actors, coupled with the iterative use of concept maps (as both a teaching technique and assessment tool) proved to be effective and powerful techniques to scaffold transformative deep learning in an international business course. Each subsequent experiential concept mapping exercise supported layers of sensemaking that resulted in deep learning. These layers included: (1) recalling pre-requisite foundation international business concepts and applying these to contemporary grand challenges, (2) sensemaking analytical interconnections between prior knowledge, and relationships between concepts, actors and institutions underpinning wicked problems, and (3) making connections between personal values, actions and worldviews and wicked problems, and drawing on current learning to conceptualize and construct possible future solutions to grand challenges. Our work reveals between-course and within course sensemaking obstacles that can be effectively overcome through scaffolding. We invite management educators to use visual pedagogies to scaffold deep learning and equip students with the confidence and skills necessary to sensemake complex wicked problems and address the grand challenges of our time.
Indigenous Social Marketing: The Mānuka Honey Pūrākau (Māori narrative)
(Emerald, 2026-03-06) Phillips, Megan; Henry, Ella
Purpose: This paper aims to examine the appropriation of Te Reo (Māori language) by Manuka honey producers to support a billion-dollar industry. It critiques the failure of New Zealand and Australian producers – and successive governments – to acknowledge the cultural significance of the word “Manuka,” despite recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal. Through an Indigenous Māori lens, it challenges the ongoing colonial agenda that disempowers Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) mana and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) over language and culture. Design/methodology/approach: Using a Kaupapa Māori approach focused on purakau (Māori narrative, akin to narrative inquiry) and reflexivity, the paper presents the Mānuka honey pūrākāū from a Māori perspective. Findings: Applying Kaupapa Māori ethics (Whakapapa, Tika, Manaakitanga, Mana) to the Manuka purakau reveals the unauthorised and misuse of kupu (term) Maori by marketers. While the term “Manuka” can enhance product value, a lack of consultation and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) with Māori communities undermines whakapapa (relationships) and reflects cultural insensitivity (not tika or manaakitanga). This appropriation disrespects Māori heritage and limits economic benefits from cultural taonga (treasures). Social implications: The paper recommends strengthening cultural competency, fostering genuine co-production and advocating for structural change. It calls on social marketing practitioners, educators, policymakers and researchers to uphold Maori rights, respect taonga and actively support tino rangatiratanga (self-determination). Originality/value: This paper introduces purakau as a decolonial methodology and ethical tool in social marketing. It presents a definition of Indigenous Social Marketing and provides an indigenous-led counter-narrative to dominant social marketing logics. It contributes a rights-based, culturally accountable ethical framework for social marketers working in Indigenous social marketing contexts, particularly with Maori.
Rethinking Sustainable Luxury Fashion: The Role of Serendipitous Sustainability in Second-hand Markets
(Informa UK Limited, 2026-03-02) Thomas, Laura; Kapitan, Sommer; Vredenburg, Jessica
The increasing normalisation of sustainable marketplace practices has enabled consumers to engage in sustainable behaviours without holding corresponding sustainable attitudes. Participation in second-hand luxury fashion markets often occurs in the absence of strong pro-sustainability beliefs. Building on attitude–behaviour gap literature, this study introduces serendipitous sustainability, defined as the enactment of sustainable behaviours that arise incidentally from social, structural, and market conditions rather than from internalised sustainability values. This research examines when and how consumers engage in second-hand luxury consumption without holding congruent sustainable attitudes. A literature-derived consumer typology informs an interpretive research design comprising 31 in-depth interviews with Generation Z and Millennial consumers of second-hand luxury fashion in New Zealand. Thematic analysis reveals that social context, sustainable attitudes (or their absence), self-efficacy, and sustainability knowledge interact dynamically to shape sustainable behaviour. We conceptualise a cyclical Social Determinants of Sustainable Consumption (SDSC) model grounded in these themes, positioning social context as a central, compensatory force that can bridge gaps between attitudes and actions. The model explains how sustainable behaviours can be initiated and sustained in the absence of sustainable attitudes through reinforcing feedback loops between social context, self-efficacy, and behavioural practice, captured by the concept of serendipitous sustainability. Managerially, the SDSC proposes a framework for identifying dominant behavioural pathways and activating social and structural determinants through targeted marketing initiatives. The findings suggest that the future of sustainable retail may depend less on changing consumer attitudes and more on designing marketplaces where sustainable actions are socially appealing, normalised, and structurally supported, allowing serendipitous sustainability to become an everyday practice.
Board Gender Diversity and Investment Efficiency: Evidence From UK Private Firms
(Informa UK Limited, 2026-03-14) Zhang, X; Biswas, PK; Ranasinghe, D; Roberts, H
This paper examines the relationship between private firm investment efficiency and board gender diversity in the UK from 2006 to 2019. The findings indicate that board gender diversity has a positive impact on private firm investment efficiency, with the effect primarily driven by reductions in overinvestment rather than underinvestment. Contrary to the critical mass hypothesis, even the presence of a single woman director is associated with improved investment efficiency, and this positive effect becomes more pronounced as women's representation increases. Further analysis reveals that the effect of women directors is stronger in financially constrained firms and more pronounced in non-family firms. The findings support regulations to increase the representation of women directors in private firms.
Insights From Academic Research on IFRS 9: A Review of the Literature
(Wiley, 2026-04-08) Zang, Zeting; Kabir, Humayun; Scott, Tom
International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9 Financial Instruments replaced International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, effective 1st January 2018. This study synthesises empirical research on IFRS 9, focused on the three phases of the standard-setting process: classification and measurement, impairment and hedge accounting. The analysis is guided by accounting choice theory and international accounting literature. The impairment requirements received the most attention in the literature, followed by classification and measurement, and hedge accounting. The review of evidence indicates that firms generally apply the classification and measurement requirements consistent with IFRS 9. It also suggests that impairment losses under IFRS 9 are timelier, are less procyclical and are relevant to stock pricing and future bank risks. In line with accounting choice theory and international accounting literature, the evidence implies that management incentives and institutional contexts influence the effects of IFRS 9, particularly on impairment losses. Finally, the paper highlights gaps in the existing literature and suggests areas for future research.
Privacy in Smart Health Monitoring: A Systematic Review and Research Directions
(Association for Information Systems, 2025-05-08) Zhang, Jingjing; Hassandoust, F; Johnston, AC
Privacy concerns related to surveillance technologies are a primary deterrent for consumers hesitant to share their health data with service providers in smart health monitoring systems (SHMSs). These concerns can impede the adoption and operational success of SHMSs, leading to dissatisfaction among both consumers and service providers. Despite the significance of privacy, existing literature on SHMSs tends to offer a somewhat fragmented exploration of this concept due to the complex nature of surveillance and the involvement of multiple stakeholders. To address this gap, this study develops a contextual framework based on a systematic review of 49 peer-reviewed articles, offering valuable insights for scholars seeking to understand the multifaceted privacy concerns in SHMS contexts. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating theoretical perspectives that better capture the intricate dynamics of smart health environments, helping healthcare providers and policymakers identify and address potential privacy issues when developing and implementing surveillance systems for personal health information. Additionally, the study highlights existing knowledge gaps and proposes six research avenues to achieve a deeper understanding of privacy in SHMSs.
You Are “My People”: A Gamified, Experiential Exercise Illustrating Social Identity Theory and Group Dynamics
(SAGE Publications, 2026-04-24) Morrison, Rachel; Cooper Thomas, Helena
Forming teams, developing relationships, and building trust can be challenging when dealing with increasingly socially anxious, disconnected, and diverse student cohorts. We describe an icebreaker that, through low-risk classroom interactions, allows students to socially identify with an in-group and compete with out-groups in a classroom environment. The activities provide abundant opportunities to relate in-class experiences to Social Identity Theory and other relevant management and OB theories.
Climate risk is changing where investors put their money – even as NZ relaxes disclosure rules
(The Conversation, 2026-05-14) Badshah, Ihsan; Hegde, Prasad; Ali, Sara
[From introduction] Across New Zealand and Australia, the impacts of a warming climate have been slowly changing how investors weigh up risk and returns. Both countries have been experiencing more extreme events such as floods and bushfires, all while policy shifts and rising carbon prices increase pressure on firms to adapt. As these risks grow more visible, investors are increasingly interested less in how well a fund has previously performed, and more in how likely it is to hold up in an uncertain future.
Caught in a "Triple Bind": How the Physical Body Experiences Paradox
(SAGE Publications, 2026-03-04) Greenslade-Yeats, James; Mharapara, Tago; Ravenswood, Katherine; Clemons, Janine; Staniland, Nimbus
What does it mean to “embody” paradox? In this paper, we adopt a "literal" interpretation of this question, examining how physical bodies experience, enact, and respond to knotted paradoxical tensions within the context of interpersonal and structural power relationships. We draw on a qualitative study of self-employed, community midwives (N=47) whom we interviewed jointly with their family members (N=51). Our findings paint a rich picture of how midwives experience knotted tensions through embodied polarities of presence-absence and energy-fatigue. We also elucidate how paradox knotting and power relations combine to transform midwives’ experiences of embodied tensions into a restrictive “triple bind,” where physical depletion adds a “third dimension” of material constraint to the interpersonal and structural constraints that characterize double binds. We detail three response patterns midwives use in attempting to navigate the triple bind, highlighting both the importance and limits of interpersonal support and gendered role negotiations. Our work advances understanding of paradox as a non-rational, embodied phenomenon, the navigation of which may require radical systemic change.

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