This paper identifies the development of and gaps in knowledge in business and management research on resilience, based on a systematic review of influential publications among 339 papers, books and ...book chapters published between 1977 and 2014. Analyzing these records shows that resilience research has developed into five research streams, or lines of enquiry, which view resilience as (1) organizational responses to external threats, (2) organizational reliability, (3) employee strengths, (4) the adaptability of business models or (5) design principles that reduce supply chain vulnerabilities and disruptions. A review of the five streams suggests three key findings: First, resilience has been conceptualized quite differently across studies, meaning that the different research streams have developed their own definitions, theories and understandings of resilience. Second, conceptual similarities and differences among these streams have not yet been explored, nor have insights been gleaned about any possible generalizable principles for developing resilience. Third, resilience has been operationalized quite differently, with few insights into the empirics for detecting resilience to future adversity (or the absence thereof). This paper outlines emerging research trends and pathways for future research, highlighting opportunities to integrate and expand on existing knowledge, as well as avenues for further investigation of resilience in business and management studies.
COVID-19 is profoundly affecting almost all aspects of economic and social life globally. Governments have closed borders, banned mass gatherings, and enforced social distancing, generating a new ...normal for businesses and individual citizens. Measures taken to protect public health have threatened the global economy, necessitating economic stimulus in most countries and reconfiguring the role of business in society. Will the role of business in society return to normal after COVID-19, or will it be reconfigured in enduring and impactful ways? We use Alexander's (2018, 2019) theory of "societalization" to examine how socially disruptive extreme events affect the role of business in society. To address this, we apply societalization to the revelatory example of COVID-19 and evaluate its impact on society. Our analysis of the societalization of COVID-19 in the United States shows that concern regarding pandemic disease has moved from the governmental inside to the civic outside, placing strain on society and leading to regulatory response and a significant societal backlash. We discuss three scenarios regarding the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the role of business in society, suggest that societalization provides useful insights into other socially disruptive extreme events, and identify implications for future business and society research.
Literature reviews play an essential role in academic research to gather existing knowledge and to examine the state of a field. However, researchers in business, management and related disciplines ...continue to rely on cursory and narrative reviews that lack a systematic investigation of the literature. This article details methodological steps for conducting literature reviews in a replicable and scientific fashion. This article also discusses bibliographic mapping approaches to visualise bibliometric information and findings from a systematic literature review. We hope that the insights provided in this article are useful for researchers at different stages of their careers - ranging from doctoral students who wish to assemble a broad overview of their field of interest to guide their work, to senior researchers who wish to publish authoritative literature reviews.
The circular economy is argued to be a way of organising industrial systems that support resilience through decoupling economic growth from material consumption. Yet, extant research exploring the ...impacts of circular economy business practices on resilience is nascent, with few studies detailing if and how these practices enable firms, industries and social‐ecological systems to adapt and transform in the face of shocks and disturbances. In this article, we seek to advance research on the circular economy by proposing a research agenda that connects the circular economy to resilience at multiple levels. Based on insights from resilience theory and findings from the limited literature on the circular economy that has considered resilience to date, our research agenda focuses scholarly attention on key areas of congruence and contestation. We posit that pursuit of answers in these areas has the potential for advancing circular economy business practices capable of supporting resilience at multiple levels.
The concept of corporate sustainability has gained importance in recent years in both organizational theory and practice. While there still exists a lack of clarity on what constitutes corporate ...sustainability and how to best achieve it, many scholars suggest that the pathway for the adoption of corporate sustainability principles leads via the adoption of a sustainability-oriented organizational culture. In this paper, we provide a closer examination of this suggested link between the cultural orientation of an organization and the pursuit of corporate sustainability principles. Specifically, we seek to assess (1) what constitutes a sustainability-oriented organizational culture, (2) whether it is possible for organizations to display a unified sustainability-oriented organizational culture, and (3) whether organizations can become more sustainable through culture change. Directions and challenges for practical management and future research are identified and outlined.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the state of research on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the context of multinational business research. This paper discusses research ...progress as well as various issues and complexities associated with using ESG ratings in cross-country studies and for assessing the performance of multinational enterprises (MNE) and emerging market multinationals (EMNEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies emerging literature that focuses on tracking the development and uptake of ESG ratings in the international context. It discusses three emerging research streams: Research examining the ESG-financial performance relationship in emerging markets, research tracking the ESG performance of multinationals in the various countries and regions they are operating, and frameworks for assessing ESG-related risks on a country level.
Findings
While the emerging body of work adds an important dimension to the identification and awareness of ESG issues globally, numerous unresolved issues become evident. ESG frameworks have been built to assess corporate sustainability as it relates to firms in their “home” countries (typically with a focus on developed countries), with limited applicability and transferability to emerging markets. International firm activities are often not captured in detail and not comprehensively mapped across firm subsidiaries and a firm’s corporate supply chain where ESG issues are prone to happen, and ESG scores do not comprehensively integrate views and voices from various local stakeholders that are impacted by firm activities, particularly indigenous communities.
Research limitations/implications
Research on ESG ratings in the context of multinational business research is generally sparse and fragmented, thus creating opportunities for future research to expand on existing and emerging findings.
Practical implications
The paper creates awareness of issues to consider when using ESG ratings in cross-country studies and for assessing the ESG performance of MNEs and EMNEs: ESG scores can be subject to bias and are not weighted by materiality, which can be misleading for portfolio construction and performance measurement purposes. Managers need to be aware that ESG scores are often not capturing ESG issues occurring in supply chains and ESG issues affecting local communities.
Originality/value
This study enriches the understanding of ESG in the context of multinational business research practice.
Display omitted
•Proteins with a SPX domain are involved in phosphate homeostasis in eukaryotes.•SPX domain binds inositol pyrophosphates at high affinity.•Inositol pyrophosphates promote the ...interaction of SPX with other proteins.•Inositol pyrophosphates are a key component of phosphate-deficiency signaling.
Proteins containing a SPX domain are involved in phosphate (Pi) homeostasis, including Pi transport and adaptation to Pi deficiency. The SPX domain harbors a basic surface binding Pi at low affinity and inositol pyrophosphates (PP-InsPs) at high affinity. Genetic and biochemical studies revealed that PP-InsPs serve as ligands for the SPX domain. Residues in the PHO1 SPX domain involved in PP-InsPs binding are critical for its Pi export activity, and the interaction between SPX proteins and the PHR1 transcription factor, which results in PHR1 inactivation, is promoted by PP-InsPs. Changes in PP-InsPs levels in response to Pi deficiency may thus contribute to the adaptation of plants to stress via the modulation of the activity of SPX-containing proteins and their interactors. Modulating PP-InsP levels or the affinity/specificity of the SPX domain for PP-InsP could potentially be used to engineer crops to maintain high yield under reduced Pi fertilizer input.
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient taken up by organisms in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi). Eukaryotes have evolved sophisticated Pi sensing and signaling cascades, enabling them to stably ...maintain cellular Pi concentrations. Pi homeostasis is regulated by inositol pyrophosphate signaling molecules (PP-InsPs), which are sensed by SPX domain-containing proteins. In plants, PP-InsP-bound SPX receptors inactivate Myb coiled-coil (MYB-CC) Pi starvation response transcription factors (PHRs) by an unknown mechanism. Here we report that a InsP
-SPX complex targets the plant-unique CC domain of PHRs. Crystal structures of the CC domain reveal an unusual four-stranded anti-parallel arrangement. Interface mutations in the CC domain yield monomeric PHR1, which is no longer able to bind DNA with high affinity. Mutation of conserved basic residues located at the surface of the CC domain disrupt interaction with the SPX receptor in vitro and in planta, resulting in constitutive Pi starvation responses. Together, our findings suggest that InsP
regulates plant Pi homeostasis by controlling the oligomeric state and hence the promoter binding capability of PHRs via their SPX receptors.
Aneuploidy, an abnormal number of copies of a genomic region, might be a significant source for neuronal complexity, intercellular diversity, and evolution. Genomic instability associated with ...aneuploidy, however, can also lead to developmental abnormalities and decreased cellular fitness. Here we show that neurons with a more-than-diploid content of DNA are increased in preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and are selectively affected by cell death during progression of the disease. Present findings show that neuronal hyperploidy in AD is associated with a decreased viability. Hyperploidy of neurons thus represents a direct molecular signature of cells prone to death in AD and indicates that a failure of neuronal differentiation is a critical pathogenetic event in AD.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative disorder where the distribution of pathology throughout the brain is not random but follows a predictive pattern used for pathological staging. While the ...involvement of defined functional systems is fairly well established for more advanced stages, the initial sites of degeneration are still ill defined. The prevailing concept suggests an origin within the transentorhinal and entorhinal cortex (EC) from where pathology spreads to other areas. Still, this concept has been challenged recently suggesting a potential origin of degeneration in nonthalamic subcortical nuclei giving rise to cortical innervation such as locus coeruleus (LC) and nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM). To contribute to the identification of the early site of degeneration, here, we address the question whether cortical or subcortical degeneration occurs more early and develops more quickly during progression of AD. To this end, we stereologically assessed neurone counts in the NbM, LC and EC layer-II in the same AD patients ranging from preclinical stages to severe dementia. In all three areas, neurone loss becomes detectable already at preclinical stages and is clearly manifest at prodromal AD/MCI. At more advanced AD, cell loss is most pronounced in the NbM > LC > layer-II EC. During early AD, however, the extent of cell loss is fairly balanced between all three areas without clear indications for a preference of one area. We can thus not rule out that there is more than one way of spreading from its site of origin or that degeneration even occurs independently at several sites in parallel.
PDF
