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Purpose The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of Japanese Lean management principles in South African contexts using Ubuntu, to improve buy-in during Lean implementation. Design/methodology/approach A scoping systematic literature review (SLR) was used to investigate the correlations and variations between Lean management principles and Ubuntu management principles. Findings Both similarities and differences were discovered between Ubuntu and Lean. It was noted that Lean adopts principles that do not have corresponding Ubuntu principles, such as levelling out workload, continuous process flow, stopping to fix the problem and visual management. Research limitations/implications While this research only used a South African concept (Ubuntu) to develop a novel Lean analogy, future research could be pursued in a similar vein for other countries outside of Japan. Practical implications The similarities could assist in “translating” Lean concepts to a South African context, ergo improving the understanding of the Lean principles and possibly contributing to more successful Lean implementations. Originality/value To the researcher’s knowledge at time of publication, this study is the first comparison of these two management philosophies. Ergo, the Lean–Ubuntu analogy is a novel comparison of Lean.

The Coronavirus pandemic, as a global and total risk of our time, has imposed the need for a more complete and comprehensive review of existing approaches to crisis prevention and preventive management in general. This crisis also pointed to some shortcomings in quality management, risk management and change management, which had not been removed in a timely and adequate manner in more stable conditions in order to function better in crisis situations. Accordingly, the structure of this paper was conceived, which, in addition to an introduction and concluding remarks, has five short, but thematically complete, units. In the first part, preventive management is seen as a paradigm of the successful management of problems, incidents and crises. In the second and third parts, the influence of the principles of quality management and the principles of risk management on the prevention of a crisis, as well as their cooperation, effectiveness and synergistic effects are discussed. The fourth part analyses the key processes of change and conflict management in terms of crisis prevention. In the fifth part, an effective, complete and comprehensive crisis prevention model based on quality management, risk management and change management is created, with the primary goal of achieving sustained success in all business conditions. Bearing in mind that the processes and conse-quences of the Coronavirus pandemic have still not been completed or become clear, the concluding remarks identify certain messages and lessons that could have been learned in its initial stages.

We argue that female representation in top management brings informational and social diversity benefits to the top management team, enriches the behaviors exhibited by managers throughout the firm, and motivates women in middle management. The result should be improved managerial task performance and thus better firm performance. We test our theory using 15 years of panel data on the top management teams of the S&P 1,500 firms. We find that female representation in top management improves firm performance but only to the extent that a firm's strategy is focused on innovation, in which context the informational and social benefits of gender diversity and the behaviors associated with women in management are likely to be especially important for managerial task performance.

This research reexamines the equivocal relationship between top management team (TMT) diversity and firm performance. Combining upper echelons theory with insights from institutional theory, we establish a new, timely dimension of TMT diversity—nationality diversity—and develop an integrated multilevel framework explaining how its performance implications vary across contextual settings. We find that nationality diversity is positively related to performance; and this effect is stronger in (a) longer tenured teams, (b) highly internationalized firms, and (c) munificent environments. More generally, our research demonstrates that the consequences of TMT diversity depend on the (1) specific attributes of diversity being considered and (2) firm and industry conditions under which strategic decisions take place.

This paper contributes to the understanding of the executive team dynamic managerial capabilities by developing theory about the interplay between the firm's dominant logic and dynamic managerial capabilities (including managerial human capital, social capital, and cognition). We underscore the criticality of the two key CEO-level functions: configuration and orchestration of senior executive team dynamic capabilities. We develop theory on how these functions create and sculpt the management team's absorptive capacity, which in turn shapes the team's adaptive capacity. We present theory about the distributed nature of efforts for organizational renewal where CEO's dynamic managerial capabilities in concerto with senior executive managerial capabilities will drive top management's ability to revitalize the firm's dominant logic and to achieve evolutionary fit.

Behavioral strategy merges cognitive and social psychology with strategic management theory and practice. Despite much progress, the aims and boundaries of behavioral strategy remain unclear. In this paper we define behavioral strategy and identify the main unsolved problems. We propose a unifying conceptual framework for behavioral strategy and conclude by introducing the papers of the Special Issue on the Psychological Foundations of Strategic Management.

A new research area linked to ethics, virtues, and morality is servant leadership. Scholars are currently seeking publication outlets as critics debate whether this new leadership theory is significantly distinct, viable, and valuable for organizational success. The aim of this study was to identify empirical studies that explored servant leadership theory by engaging a sample population in order to assess and synthesize the mechanisms, outcomes, and impacts of servant leadership. Thus, we sought to provide an evidence-informed answer to how does servant leadership work, and how can we apply it? We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR), a methodology adopted from the medical sciences to synthesize research in a systematic, transparent, and reproducible manner. A disciplined screening process resulted in a final sample population of 39 appropriate studies. The synthesis of these empirical studies revealed: (a) there is no consensus on the definition of servant leadership; (b) servant leadership theory is being investigated across a variety of contexts, cultures, and themes; (c) researchers are using multiple measures to explore servant leadership; and (d) servant leadership is a viable leadership theory that helps organizations and improves the well-being of followers. This study contributes to the development of servant leadership theory and practice. In addition, this study contributes to the methodology for conducting SLRs in the field of management, highlighting an effective method for mapping out thematically, and viewing holistically, new research topics. We conclude by offering suggestions for future research.

This paper develops a dynamic capabilities-based theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE). It first reviews scholarship on the MNE, with a focus on what has come to be known as \"internalization\" theory. One prong of this theory develops contractual/transaction cost-informed governance perspectives; and another develops technology transfer and capabilities perspectives. In this paper, it is suggested that the latter has been somewhat neglected. However, if fully integrated as part of a more complete approach, it can buttress transaction cost/governance issues and expand the range of phenomena that can be explained. In this more integrated framework, dynamic capabilities coupled with good strategy are seen as necessary to sustain superior enterprise performance, especially in fast-moving global environments.Entrepreneurial management and transformational leadership are incorporated into a capabilities theory of the MNE. The framework is then used to explain how strategy and dynamic capabilities together determine firm-level sustained competitive advantage in global environments. It is suggested that this framework complements contract-based perspectives on the MNE and can help integrate international management and international business perspectives.

Qualitative research in international business has been rare, the main research streams of the field relying more on quantitative methods. This paper first outlines why qualitative research has been scant. It then presents areas, such as theory building, where qualitative research could make a substantial contribution. Third, it reviews approaches to high standards of qualitative research and criteria for evaluating qualitative research. Finally, some possible research areas where qualitative research might prove fruitful are suggested.

This essay examines links, similarities, and dissimilarities between stakeholder theory and sustainability management. Based on the analysis a conceptual framework is developed to increase the applicability and the application of stakeholder theory in sustainability management. Concluding from the analysis, we identify three challenges of managing stakeholder relationships for sustainability: strengthening the particular sustainability interests of stakeholders, creating mutual sustainability interests based on these particular interest, and empowering stakeholders to act as intermediaries for nature and sustainable development. To address these challenges three interrelated mechanisms are suggested: education, regulation, and sustainability-based value creation for stakeholders.