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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Restoring Trust: Gratitude vs. Apology in Healthcare Service Recovery
(Emerald, 2026-02-20) Xu, Yingzi; Ling, I-ling
Purpose This study applies the Affect Theory of Social Exchange (ATSE) to examine how symbolic service recovery strategies, specifically apologies and gratitude expressions, influence patient empathy, forgiveness, and trust. It addresses the challenge of rebuilding trust following healthcare service failures through emotionally grounded mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Five experimental studies (N = 1,221) were conducted to assess patients' emotional responses and behavioral intentions across varying levels of error severity, attribution, and history, as well as patient trait empathy. Findings Gratitude expressions elicited stronger patient empathy than apologies in isolated, low-severity errors, particularly among individuals with high trait empathy. In contrast, apologies were more effective in high-severity, system-attributed failures, where explicit acknowledgment of responsibility was expected. Practical implications The findings provide evidence-based guidance for tailoring recovery communications to the severity, attribution, and recurrence of errors, as well as to patients' empathy levels. Implementing these strategies can help healthcare organizations strengthen patient trust and promote more empathetic, relationship-centred care. Originality/value This research extends ATSE to healthcare service recovery by demonstrating how affective mechanisms drive trust restoration. It positions gratitude as an effective yet underused recovery strategy, offering theoretical clarity and practical relevance in contexts where providers may be constrained in offering apologies due to legal or reputational concerns.
The Disclosure of Recognised and Unrecognised Intangibles: Evidence From New Zealand
(Wiley, 2024-05-26) Mehnaz, Laura; Scott, Tom; Zang, Zeting
We examine the reporting of intangible assets and the disclosures on intellectual capital activities by listed companies and public benefit entities in New Zealand and assess the usefulness of these disclosures. Comparing trends in intangible asset disclosure frequency, we note that the most common is capitalised software costs, followed by goodwill. For intellectual capital, we find that qualitative disclosures are more prevalent than quantitative, with disclosure on relational capital being the most frequent. In addition, we find that intangible assets are value relevant, and more intellectual capital disclosures increase the value relevance of goodwill. Finally, we consider intangible reporting by public benefit entities and show that while the rate of intangibles capitalised is similar, they are of less relative economic importance. Overall, our findings provide evidence of divergence in intangible categorisation practice, highlight the absence of reporting digital technologies and call for improved disclosure criteria for recognised and unrecognised intangibles.
Orchestrating Resources for Big Data Analytics Implementation in Manufacturing SMEs: Insights Into Managerial Role and Engagement
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-09-24) Dehe, Benjamin; Subasinghage, Maduka; Mirzaei, Maryam
Big Data Analytics (BDA) offers transformative potential for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), enabling enhanced performance, improved decision-making, innovation and business growth. Yet, manufacturing SMEs often face considerable constraints that hinder effective BDA implementation. This study adopts Resource Orchestration Theory (ROT) to explore how managers in manufacturing SMEs structure, bundle, and leverage resources to overcome these challenges and deploy BDA effectively. Using semi-structured interviews with 17 SMEs managers, we examine BDA deployment across supply chain operations guided by the SCOR model. The findings reveal key managerial roles and strategies, including approaches to selecting, configuring, and operationalising BDA solutions. This study contributes to theory by applying ROT to the underexplored context of BDA implementation in SMEs, highlighting the dynamic capabilities managers must develop to succeed. Practically, it provides actionable insights for SMEs managers navigating digital transformation in resource-constrained settings. The study proposes a roadmap to guide BDA adoption in manufacturing SMEs.
Social Construction of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Issues and Moving International Business Research Forward
(Emerald, 2026-04-14) Onaji-Benson, Theresa; Hurd, Fiona; Raskovic, Matevz Matt
Purpose This scene-setting viewpoint aims to round up a two-part special issue focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in international business (IB). If the first part of the special issue focused on DEI blind spots and the juxtaposition between the DEI business case and the DEI social justice case, the second part critically discusses the social construction of DEI issues in IB settings and the role played by context in IB-DEI research. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss critically five IB-DEI research areas cover by the papers in this special issue. The first three examine gender in specific national cultures (i.e. Japan) and professional settings (i.e. academia), and look at making work-integrated learning more inclusive. The latter two address two particular DEI blind spots: neurodiversity and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other sexual orientation (LGBTQIA+) community. Underlying our critical discussion of the five IB-DEI research areas is the issue of their socially constructed nature. Findings Interrogating the social construction of DEI issues in IB settings calls for a shift from merely contextualising the local embeddedness of social identities and societal expectations/practices regarding DEI towards problematising power relations which reproduce structural barriers and social inequities that result in the exclusion (and sometimes oppression) of specific social identity groups. Such problematising, however, first requires stronger theorising of context and not merely contextualisation of existing DEI and IB theories. Originality/value The contribution lies in linking the social construction and context of IB-DEI, underscoring the importance of both etic and emic research approaches. The authors offer a bird’s-eye view of how gender roles at work, women’s voices in patriarchal professional settings, work-integrated learning, neurodiversity and issues linked to the LGBTQIA+ community, opening new avenues for IB-DEI theorising. Following positionality statements of the guest editors in the first editorial connected to the first part of the special issue, the second viewpoint linked to part two of the special issue provides positionality statements by lead authors from each of the five papers in this special issue.
Under Construction: How Managerial Cognition Shapes Sustainable Transition Pathways
(Emerald, 2026-04-15) Beach, Claire; Lee, Michael SW; Chen, Sitong Michelle
Purpose As concerns over climate change and social inequality intensify, firms are increasingly transitioning toward sustainable business models. However, the fragmented nature of the literature limits our understanding of how sustainable transition pathways are constructed. This paper aims to examine how managerial cognition, particularly managers’ cognitive frames and their underlying content, influences the construction and efficacy of sustainable transition pathways. Design/methodology/approach An integrative literature review of 184 studies was conducted using thematic analysis and dialectical interrogation. Findings Sustainable transition pathways emerge through repeated interventions, shaped by the cognitive frames managers use to guide their decision-making. The authors identify four managerial orientations toward sustainability: business-as-usual, instrumental, transition and transformation, each underpinned by distinct assumptions, values and priorities. These orientations influence how managers conceptualize sustainability, set objectives, operationalize interventions and define value. By integrating these insights, the authors theorize how differences in cognitive content explain variations in the construction and efficacy of sustainable transition pathways. Originality/value This study uncovers the overlooked role of managerial cognition in shaping sustainable transition pathways by synthesizing the fragmented literature. By identifying differences in cognitive content, the authors develop a conceptual framework of managerial orientations toward sustainability. This framework advances the understanding of how managers construct sustainable transition pathways, explaining why similar interventions can lead to divergent sustainability outcomes. Lastly, this paper offers conceptual insights that can help managers reflect on how to construct more effective sustainable transition pathways.
When Humans Stop Thinking: Tackling the Silent Threat of AI Complacency in Service Operations
(Emerald, 2026-04-13) Le, Khanh Bao Quang; Kunz, Werner H
Purpose This research investigates the phenomenon of AI complacency – The employee's tendency to intentionally neglect validating AI-generated output even in the presence of systematic errors. It identifies the lack of monitoring accountability as the underlying driver of this phenomenon, assesses its consequences, and offers strategies for mitigation. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in contingency theory, this research employs six experimental studies (N = 1,370 participants), including one study with service employees across industries (N = 160 participants), to examine how insufficient monitoring accountability facilitates the emergence of AI complacency. The research explores both the causal mechanisms and the boundary conditions that modulate this effect. Findings The results show that the primary driver of AI complacency is the lack of accountability in monitoring AI-generated outputs. This complacency leads to detrimental work-related outcomes, such as increased commission errors and a diminished willingness to evaluate AI-generated outputs critically. The research also identifies situational factors that exacerbate and buffer these effects. Practical implications The findings highlight the critical need for organizations to implement systemic accountability frameworks that ensure employees actively engage with and oversee AI-generated output. Originality/value This research is among the first to examine AI complacency in the context of service provision empirically. It provides a theoretical framework, robust empirical evidence, and practical recommendations for improving Employee-AI collaboration in service provision, contributing to both academic discourse and managerial practice.
Of Faith and Forks: The Role of Religiosity and Uncertainty in Food Technology Adoption Readiness
(Elsevier BV, 2026-03-16) Lin, Brian; Errmann, Amy; Conroy, Denise
Novel food technologies, such as genetic editing, cell-cultured foods, and controlled environment agriculture, offer potential solutions to global challenges like climate change and resource scarcity, yet their success depends on consumer readiness to adopt them. This research examines how cultural uncertainty avoidance and religiosity jointly shape adoption readiness for these technologies. Two studies were conducted with participants from Japan (a high uncertainty avoidance culture; n = 1214) and Singapore (a low uncertainty avoidance culture; n = 1189). Study 1 showed that in Japan, highly religious consumers were more willing to pay for and support novel food technologies than their secular counterparts, whereas in Singapore, secular consumers expressed greater support than more religious consumers. Study 2 demonstrated that symbolic value mediates these cross-cultural patterns, revealing how consumers interpret novel food technologies through identity- and value-based meanings that vary by cultural and religious context. These findings offer theoretical insight into the sociocultural predictors of technology adoption and provide practical guidance for tailoring strategies for adoption readiness across diverse markets.
ESG Expertise and Analysts' Roles in Capital Markets
(Elsevier, 2026-02-16) Wei, Yixin Lucy; Cahan, Steven F; Chen, Li
Financial analysts are key information intermediaries and external monitors in capital markets, producing earnings forecasts and revisions that shape investors' expectations and asset prices. This study examines whether analysts differ in their ability to process an increasingly important but complex information dimension, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, and how such differences affect forecast performance, market reactions, and monitoring outcomes. We use the extent of prior exposure to ESG information as a proxy for analyst ESG expertise and examine its influence on their roles in the capital market. For the information intermediary role, we find that analysts with more industry-specific ESG expertise issue more accurate forecasts and their upward forecast revisions evoke stronger market reactions, indicating that ESG expertise is positively related to analysts' forecast quality. In terms of the external monitor role, we find that more coverage by analysts with greater industry-specific ESG expertise (ESG expert analysts) is positively associated with firms' ESG performance. Additional analysis shows that ESG expert analyst coverage increases after a firm receives its initial third-party ESG rating, suggesting that ESG expert analysts do consider ESG-related firm information when making coverage decisions.
Job performance reviews are outdated and often pointless. Why do we still use them?
(The Conversation, 2026-03-13) Morrow, Jeremy; Anderson, Danae
Modeling the Supply Chain Sustainability Imperatives in the Fashion Retail Industry: Implications for Sustainable Development
(Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2024-12-31) Tariqul Islam Imran, M; Karmaker, CL; Karim, R; Misbauddin, SM; Mainul Bari, ABM; Raihan, A
The resilience of established business strategies has been tested in the wake of recent global supply chain upheavals triggered by events like the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine combat, Hamas-Israel war, and other geopolitical conflicts. Organizations are compelled to integrate sustainable practices into their supply chains to navigate the complexities of the post-COVID-19 era and mitigate the far-reaching consequences of such disruptions. However, exploring supply chain imperatives from sustainability dimensions still remains underexplored, presenting a significant research gap, particularly in the fashion retail sector. In response, this study aims to pioneer an innovative approach by amalgamating Pareto analysis, Bayes theorem, and the Best-Worst Method to evaluate sustainability imperatives comprehensively. Focusing on emerging economies like Bangladesh and its fashion retail industry, this methodology synthesizes insights from literature reviews, expert feedback, and Pareto analysis to curate a definitive set of influential imperatives. Finally, the Bayesian Best-Worst Method is applied to examine them. The results reveal the availability of government support schemes to promote sustainability, developing strategic supply chain interventions to ameliorate the impact of disruptive events, and digitalizing the supply chain as the most monumental imperatives under economic, social, and environmental perspectives, respectively. The study’s innovative methodology and its implications for sustainable supply chain management offer valuable insights for both academic research and practical application, presenting a strategic blueprint for the fashion retail industry to navigate and thrive in the post-COVID-19 era. This work can not only advance the theoretical understanding of supply chain sustainability but also provide actionable guidance for industry leaders in developing robust, resilient, and sustainable supply chain strategies.
Cross-Country Differences in Consumer Acceptance and Advocacy of Novel Food Technologies
(Elsevier BV, 2026-07) Lin, Brian; Conroy, Denise; Errmann, Amy; Gan, Caixia; Fahn, Hugo
Novel food technologies can contribute to more sustainable and resilient food systems, but their success depends on public acceptance. This study examines cross-country and demographic differences in consumer responses to three novel food technologies, gene editing, cellular agriculture, and controlled-environment agriculture, using data from 14,617 participants across eight countries. Adoption readiness was assessed across four dimensions: perceived safety, willingness to buy, willingness to encourage others to buy, and support for government initiatives. Results show substantial variation across countries and demographic groups, underscoring the importance of national contexts and sociodemographic factors in shaping acceptance, social endorsement, and policy support. These findings offer a multi-dimensional understanding of how consumers evaluate novel food technologies and provide insights for industry, researchers, and policymakers advancing future food innovations.
Professional Identity and Stigma in the Context of War
(Emerald, 2026-03-11) Earl, Anna; Raskovic, Matt; Iskhakova, Marina; Iskhakov, Fedor
Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of critical events, such as wars, on the professional identities and stigmatization of academics living abroad. Through the theoretical lenses of stigma and identity research, the study explores the coping strategies of the impacted academic professionals. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed-methods approach. The findings are based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 30 academics of Russian origin residing abroad, along with 265 survey responses from the same population. Findings The results indicate a significant impact of the war on stigmatized academics’ professional identities, due to political and social environments. Stigmatized academics’ research, teaching and service/leadership has been impacted with research being impacted the most. We identified four stigma coping strategies – dilution, information management, reconstruction and emotion work. These strategies were the most utilised by academics to reduce the impact of stigmatization through social identification. Originality/value The study serves as a valuable contribution to the literature on professional academic identity, as well as stigma in international business within the context of war.
The Influence of Sentiment and Emotion on Helpful Reviews: Machine Learning Analysis of Emotion Dynamics in Online Reviews
(SAGE Publications, 2026-01-21) Lee, SJ; Tipgomut, P; De Villiers, R
Previous research on sentiment’s impact on perceived helpfulness shows mixed results; while some highlight the benefits of positive valence, others favour negativity or balanced (50/50) reviews. These inconsistencies may arise from sentiment polarity approaches that overlook emotional complexity. This study examines how sentiment and emotions expressed in online customer reviews on platforms such as TripAdvisor influence perceived helpfulness. We analysed the differences in three sentiments and eight emotions between helpful and unhelpful reviews (n = 2,785,999) using sentiment analysis (e.g., positive, neutral, and negative) and emotion analysis (e.g., anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, happiness, and love). To achieve this, we developed and trained an artificial intelligence emotion detection model using a transformer-based machine learning algorithm on a tweet emotion dataset (n = 2,774,566). Findings reveal that a slight increase in negative emotions (from 11% to 17%) significantly enhances perceived helpfulness, supporting negativity bias theory. These findings are further enriched by broader psychological theories such as emotional salience and diagnosticity, which help explain why certain emotional expressions in reviews may be more cognitively and behaviorally impactful. Reviews blending high positive and low negative emotions are most helpful, while extreme or balanced sentiments are less impactful. Additionally, negative emotions (notably sadness) are more prevalent in helpful reviews as price levels rise, suggesting an even stronger negativity bias. Logistic regression analysis further confirms emotion-focused models, particularly those emphasising negative emotions, exhibit greater explanatory power than sentiment-based models, particularly in the high-price context.
Through the mill: Tokoroa’s tough year was about much more than job losses
(The Conversation, 2025-12-10) Hurd, Fiona; Dyer, Suzette
Non-Economic Quality of Life and Population Density in South Africa
(Springer, 2016-10-25) Greyling, T; Rossouw, S
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life. Popular opinion has generally been that population density can be seen as beneficial for economic growth, as it allows for greater productivity, greater incomes and can be translated into higher levels of quality of life. Recently though, growing evidence tends to suggest the exact opposite in that increases in productivity and incomes are not translated into better quality of life. As economic or income variables have always played a significant role in this research, questions regarding the relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life has largely remained unanswered. In this light, the paper utilises a panel data set on the eight metropolitan cities in South Africa for the period 1996–2014 to determine the relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life in the South African context. In the analyses we make use of panel estimation techniques which allows us to compare changes in this relationship over time as well as adding a spatial dimension to the results. This paper contributes to the literature by firstly studying the aforementioned relationship over time and secondly conducting the analyses at a sub-national level in a developing country. Our results show that there is a significant and negative relationship between population density and non-economic quality of life. Based on our findings policy measures to encourage urbanisation should not be supported if the ultimate outcome is to increase non-economic quality of life.
Coping With Crisis: The Paradox of Technology and Consumer Vulnerability
(Wiley, 2021-06-21) Yap, SF; Xu, Y; Tan, LP
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in consumers’ daily lives. Regulations imposing social distancing, quarantine and full-scale lockdowns have heightened the risks amongst vulnerable consumer groups such as the elderly and socially or financially disadvantaged. However, these restrictions have also caused transitory vulnerability in many people who are not considered vulnerable under normal circumstances. Digital technology has become central to almost every aspect of consumers’ lives in response to restriction measures and in coping with pandemic-induced stress and anxiety. Technology-mediated consumption as a coping strategy amidst a crisis is an under-researched topic within the marketing literature. This paper discusses four paradoxes of technology central to understanding the nexus between technology consumption and consumer vulnerability. We propose a comprehensive research agenda and call for future research that could overcome the limitations of traditional research designs. Our work serves as a springboard for future scholarship and opens doors for other researchers to continue exploring this critical research area.
Currency and Commodity Return Relationship Under Extreme Geopolitical Risks: Evidence From the Invasion of Ukraine
(Taylor & Francis, 2022-09-14) Dodd, Olga; Fernández-Pérez, Adrian; Sosvilla-Rivero, Simon
We examine the relationship between currency and commodity returns around the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. We find that the expected positive contemporaneous relationship between currency and commodity returns reverses and becomes negative during this period of extreme geopolitical risks. In addition to commodity returns, currency returns around the invasion of Ukraine are significantly affected by geopolitical factors, particularly geographic distance to the war. Our results indicate that a war between two major commodity-exporting countries significantly affects global currency pricing.
NZ is slowly slipping on the global corruption index. Is it time for an anti-corruption agency?
(The Conversation, 2026-02-18) Raskovic, Matt
Decoding University–Industry Collaboration: A SEM-ANN Quadruple Helix Approach
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2025-09-24) Hossen, Mohammad Awal; Misbauddin, SM; Molla, Chanchal; Nabi, Md Noor Un; Sakib, Md Nazmus
University–industry collaboration (UIC) has received special emphasis from academicians and policymakers due to its potential for innovation diffusion and knowledge dissemination, leading to innovation ecosystem development and socio-economic advancement. Though extant literature has explored mechanisms to enhance university–industry collaboration, it has not investigated the quadruple helix model by integrating the role of academia, business firms, government, and civil society in fostering UIC. Grounded in the quadruple helix model, the objective of this research is to unveil the determinants of university–industry collaboration through developing an integrated framework. Data were gathered through a cross-sectional survey with 253 faculty members involved with the academia–industry collaboration research projects in Bangladeshi universities. To detect nonlinear relationships among variables, data were analyzed using a novel dual-staged structural equation modeling-artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) approach. The university’s innovation climate, mismatch of orientation in the academia–industry, and motivation-related constraints were found to have significant influence on university–industry collaboration (UIC). Besides, government support and input from civil society moderate the relationships between the predictors and UIC. However, the alignment of mutual goals does not have significant impact on harnessing UIC. Based on the normalized importance imputed from the ANN algorithm, the university’s innovation climate was proved to be the strongest predictor, followed by motivation-related constraint and mismatch of orientation between the university and industry. In light of the results, several insightful theoretical and practical implications are discussed for enhancing university–industry collaboration.
Employee Change Orientation (EChO) Framework: A Meta-review and Taxonomy
(Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2025-10-01) Brazzale, Paulette; Cooper-Thomas, Helena; Smollan, Roy K; Haar, Jarrod
Given the ubiquity of organizational change, it is fitting that considerable research has focused on employees’ responses to change, much of it collated in review articles. With the aim of integrating this diverse review literature and providing an employee-centric theorization, we provide a meta-review, a systematic review of reviews. We present the meta-construct of employee change orientation (EChO), which aggregates employee responses, attitudes, behaviors, and the associated psychological mechanisms related to organizational change. Our meta-review includes 50 scholarly reviews published between 2001 and June 2025, drawing on 1,606 primary studies. Through a synthesis of these reviews, we present the EChO framework and taxonomy. We identify areas for improvement, particularly for research design, and generate key insights for change practitioners working with employees experiencing change. Our meta-review contributes by clarifying well-researched areas, extending theorizing, and highlighting the need for further research to understand how employee responses to change influence outcomes.

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