What is 'neuromarketing'? A discussion and agenda for future research

Recent years have seen advances in neuroimaging to such an extent that neuroscientists are able to directly study the frequency, location, and timing of neuronal activity to an unprecedented degree. However, marketing science has remained largely unaware of such advances and their huge potential. In fact, the application of neuroimaging to market research - what has come to be called 'neuromarketing' - has caused considerable controversy within neuroscience circles in recent times. This paper is an attempt to widen the scope of neuromarketing beyond commercial brand and consumer behaviour applications, to include a wider conceptualisation of marketing science. Drawing from general neuroscience and neuroeconomics, neuromarketing as a field of study is defined, and some future research directions are suggested. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Can grassroots organisations and NGOs substitute for the State in Russia? A review of the literature and suggestions for a future research agenda

The paper investigates the relationship between civil society and the state. Using the unique lens of the state-substitution (the process whereby civil society organisations take on government roles) the paper reviews the literature and highlights three key issues: - Civil society is weak in Russia and its contribution to democracy development is limited - The Russian State has be withdrawing from its responsibilities to care for its citizens, leaving a field of opportunity for civil society organisations. - The state has subsequently began to encroach on civil society organisations mainly through the use of legislative changes and government sponsored organisations These trends have far reaching implications for civil society organisations, in particular those which take up or take over government roles and responsibilities. The literary evidence shows that the Russian state leverages its political power into the sphere of civil society similar to how it regained control over the economy in the early 2000s. This Russian variant of civil society attributes the state as a key player in all societal spheres.

Purchasing in small firms – past assumptions, current evidence and future research

This paper reviews the literature on purchasing in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), in the context of the wider literature on SMEs. Evidence from these sources is related to insights from exploratory interviews with the owner-managers of 15 small firms, to derive recommendations for further research. Our findings complement those of Ellegaard (2006) but also extend these with specific proposals for the process and settings of future research, notably that the priority is to understand purchasing in small firms (cf medium or micro-firms) firms and research should be ‘small firm-centric’.

Future research on human resource management systems in Asia

Re-emphasizing the need to examine human resource management (HRM) in context, this article builds around four themes. First, it analyses the main issues discussed in the existing literature regarding HRM in the Asian context. Second, it highlights the critical challenges facing HRM function in the region. Third, along with the analysis, it presents an agenda for future research. Fourth, it presents a framework useful for highlighting the context specific nature of Asian HRM functions and the main determinants of HRM policies and practices from a cross-national comparative perspective.

Managing diversity in organizations:an integrative model and agenda for future research

The literature on policies, procedures, and practices of diversity management in organizations is currently fragmented and often contradictory in highlighting what is effective diversity management, and which organizational and societal factors facilitate or hinder its implementation. In order to provide a comprehensive and cohesive view of diversity management in organizations, we develop a multilevel model informed by the social identity approach that explains, on the basis of a work motivation logic, the processes by, and the conditions under which employee dissimilarity within diverse work groups is related to innovation, effectiveness, and well-being. Building on this new model, we then identify those work group factors (e.g., climate for inclusion and supervisory leadership), organizational factors (e.g., diversity management policies and procedures, and top management's diversity beliefs), and societal factors (e.g., legislation, socioeconomic situation, and culture) that are likely to contribute to the effective management of diversity in organizations. In our discussion of the theoretical implications of the proposed model, we offer a set of propositions to serve as a guide for future research. We conclude with a discussion of possible limitations of the model and practical implications for managing diversity in organizations. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Leadership and management research in Africa:a synthesis and suggestions for future research

Although we are aware of some positive cases of leadership and management emerging on the African continent, very little empirical or theoretical work has addressed leadership and management in Africa. This raises a challenge for African nations in that ultimately a country's economic performance is contingent on the effectiveness of its leadership and management practices that serve to unlock the potential of its workforce to effectively implement the strategic goals of organizations. Against the backdrop of an increasingly knowledge-dependent global marketplace, the centrality of leadership and effective management systems as drivers of individual and organization performance has never been more critical. This special section brings together a compendium of papers that advances the science of leadership and management within the African context. Our principle goal was to examine what is unique, what generalizes, and what does not generalize from the West and East to Africa, as well as within different regions of Africa and then offer ideas to guide future research and practice. The papers in this section provide a broad and indeed innovative approach to studying leadership and management in Africa by including historical, philosophical, economic, and socio-political perspectives, as part of the analyses of leadership and management in the African context. Our editorial provides an integration of this work and a launching point for some audacious goals for future leadership and management science and practice in Africa and beyond. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Convergence-divergence of HRM in the Asia-Pacific:context-specific analysis and future research agenda

In this article, we highlight the significance and need for conducting context-specific human resource management (HRM) research, by focusing on four critical themes. First, we discuss the need to analyze the convergence-divergence debate on HRM in Asia-Pacific. Next, we present an integrated framework, which would be very useful for conducting cross-national HRM research designed to focus on the key determinants of the dominant national HRM systems in the region. Following this, we discuss the critical challenges facing the HRM function in Asia-Pacific. Finally, we present an agenda for future research by presenting a series of research themes.

An analysis of research on the future of purchasing and supply management

Business organisations are going through rapid external environmental and internal organisational changes due to increasing globalisation, E-business, and outsourcing. As a result, the future of purchasing and supply management—as a function within organisations, as a process that spans organisation boundaries and as a profession—raises important concerns for both organisations and the purchasing professional. This paper considers a broad and rather fragmented body of empirical evidence and analyses 42 relevant empirical studies on the future of purchasing and supply management. The major findings are reported in terms of changes in business contexts, purchasing strategy, structure, role and responsibility, system development and skills. Cross-sectional comparative analyses were also conducted to examine variation by sector, firm type, people's roles in purchasing, and country. A number of major implications for the purchasing function, process and professional bodies are presented together with suggestions for future research to address significant gaps in the current body of knowledge.

Rethinking comparative and cross national human resource management research

This article first briefly highlights the rapid development of the human resource management (HRM) discipline and the need for more cross-national HRM studies. The universal applicability of Anglo-Saxon models of HRM is then questioned. To examine the applicability of HRM models in different settings (national and international), five main HRM models are critically analysed and their main research propositions are identified. This provides the basis for a framework for HRM evaluations in different contexts. Based on such a framework and developments in the literature, finally, a contextual model is proposed for conducting cross-national and comparative HRM studies. The paper also indicates some related directions for future research.

Guest editorial: Market orientation and service firm performance - a research agenda

The service sector is an increasingly important source of job creation and economic wealth, and accounts for more than 75 per cent of the GDP of many developed economies. Yet there has been surprisingly little research into the relationship between market orientation and service firm performance. This editorial reviews the major research themes relating to market orientation and service firm performance and suggests an agenda for future research to improve understanding of this important marketing and management issue.

Strategy-as-practice:a review and future directions for the field

This review maps and critically evaluates the rapidly growing body of research in the strategy-as-practice field. Following an introduction on the emergence and foundations of strategy-as-practice, the review is structured in three main parts, based on the terminology, issues and research agendas outlined in the field. First, the paper examines the concepts of practitioners and praxis. A typology of nine possible domains for strategy-as-practice research is developed, based on the way that different studies conceptualize the strategy practitioner and the level of strategy praxis that they aim to explain. Second, the paper reviews the concept of practices, which has been adopted widely but inconsistently within the strategy-as-practice literature. While there is no dominant view on practices, the review maps the various concepts of practices that inform the strategy-as-practice field and outlines avenues for future research. The final section attends to the call for strategy-as-practice research to develop and substantiate outcomes that may better explain or inform strategy praxis. Five categories of outcomes are found within existing empirical studies, and an agenda for building upon this evidence is advanced. The paper concludes with a summation of the current state of the field and some recommendations on how to take strategy-aspractice research forward.

Cohesion or confusion? Towards a typology for organizational learning research

The study of organizational learning is no longer in its infancy. Since Cyert and March first introduced the notion in the early 1960s, a plethora of books and journal publications have presented their own interpretations of the meaning and significance of the term. Despite such endeavours, there is little common agreement about what organizational learning represents and how future research may build cumulatively upon the many diverse ideas articulated. The intention here is by no means to address these issues, which have been comprehensively examined elsewhere. The purpose is rather to compare and contrast approaches in order to analyse similarities and dissimilarities, together with research challenges, for each approach. This is achieved by presenting a comparative framework to categorize the literature according to (a) its prescriptive/explanatory bias and (b) in line with the level of analysis, examining whether there is a focus on the organization as a whole or upon individuals and their work communities instead. The review concludes by presenting some preliminary suggestions for cross-quadrant research. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2006.