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The purpose of the study is to explore, with anchorage in theories about the normalization of corruption, under what conditions blockchain technology can mitigate corruptive practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in emerging markets (EMs).

By synthesizing a technological perspective and theory on corruption, the authors examine the feasibility of blockchain for fighting corruption in MNEs’ business operations in EMs.

Blockchain technology is theorized to have varying mitigating effects on the rationalization, socialization and institutionalization of corruption. The authors provide propositions describing the effects and the limitations of blockchain for mitigating corruption in EMs.

This paper offers a perspective for how to tackle acute business problems and social problems pronounced in international business but also prevailing elsewhere.

The study contributes to literature in international management by systematically exploring how and under what conditions blockchain can mitigate the normalization of corruption.

The purpose of this paper is to reach a deeper understanding of the Lean principle of respect for people (RFP to facilitate Lean implementation in Western organizations outside Toyota.

This study uses an interpretative, hermeneutic approach to understand the RFP concept through a literature study of existing research about Lean implementation, and an inquiry into the underlying meaning of the RFP principle, by studying sources from Toyota and discussions about the RFP principle in Japan.

RFP is seen as a central principle in Lean implementations, but the failure of RFP is believed to cause Lean implementations to fail. The literature about Lean discusses the RFP principle both as a general positive atmosphere and as focused on developing the work capacity of employees. By studying the sources from Toyota, it could be understood that RFP is based on ought-respect. The authors also find that RFP is related to takumi, a perfected form of craftsmanship. The authors translate the concept to English by tying it to the recent literature about craft to develop RFP as RFC – respect for craftsmanship.

As this is a conceptual paper, it is difficult to translate the findings into a tool for companies and organizations to use. However, that is the point of the paper: that the most important ideas are not translatable into tools.

It is necessary in Lean implementations to connect people’s work to craftsmanship. Through a discussion of craftsmanship before Lean implementations, it might be possible to nurture an understanding of the underlying values of Lean.

The authors have not found any papers that propose takumi as the base of the RFP principle, nor as a foundational concept at Toyota. It is necessary to understand the concept of takumi, as perfection in craft, to understand the RFP principle.

Voice assistant (VA) technology is one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence applications at present. However, the burgeoning scholarship argues that there are ethical challenges relating to this new technology, not the least related to privacy, which affects the technology’s acceptance. Given that the media impacts public opinion and acceptance of VA and that there are no studies on media coverage of VA, the study focuses on media coverage. In addition, this study aims to focus on media coverage in Indonesia, a country that has been underrepresented in earlier research.

The authors used critical discourse analysis of media texts, focusing on three levels (text, discourse practice and social practice) to study how VA technology was discussed in the Indonesian context and what power relations frame the representation. In total, 501 articles were collected from seven national media in Indonesia from 2010 to 2020 and the authors particularly focus on the 45 articles that concern ethics.

The ethical topics covered are gender issues, false marketing, ethical wrongdoing, ethically positive effects, misuse, privacy and security. More importantly, when they are discussed, they are presented as constituting no real critical problem. Regarding discursive practices, the media coverage is highly influenced by foreign media and most of the articles are directed to well-educated Indonesians. Finally, regarding social practices, the authors hold that the government ideology of technological advancement is related to this positive portrayal of VAs.

First, to provide the first media discourse study about ethical issues of VAs. Second, to provide insights from a non-Western context, namely, Indonesia, which is underrepresented in the research on ethics of VAs.

In this chapter, four different theorizations of corruption are presented. The first concerns the principal–agent understanding of corruption. The second explains how a person is socialized into corruption. The third builds on philosophy and posits that corruption is degeneration from an ideal, presenting a multifaceted view of different goods and their respective corruptions. The fourth is inspired by psychoanalysis and explains why corruption is often externalized and seen as a feature of other people, companies, sectors, and countries. The chapter claims that to understand corruption fully without running into simplistic analyses, one always needs to reflexively consider various perspectives, of which these four are important examples.

This paper aims to suggest that ethical issues in information and communications technology (ICT) should be researched from a holistic perspective, including environmental values and other values inherent in ICT. This paper thoroughly discusses the value of speed by drawing on ICT advertisements and theories of speed, primarily Paul Virilio’s work.

The methodology consists of a semiotic analysis of ICT-related advertisements primarily from Sweden. These empirical data are combined with a close reading of Paul Virilio’s work, and the analysis moves abductively between theory and empirical data.

Speed is promoted in ICT-related advertisements and may be analyzed using concepts of dromology, dromocracy, dromoscopy, the dromosphere, instantaneity and grey ecology.

Most of the data are from the Swedish context.

To create a sustainable society, one must explicitly discuss how speed forms and shapes society.

The paper combines philosophical theories with everyday commercials. It draws on the work of Paul Virilio, whose theories are seldom used in studies of information ethics, and redraws attention to the need for a holistic perspective to understand the values of ICT.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of information and communication technology (ICT) for promoting environmental sustainability in a changing society. Isolated studies exist, but few take a holistic view. Derived from a Marxian tradition, the authors propose Ecological World Systems Theory (WST) as a holistic framework to assess the environmental impact of ICT. The theory is adapted responding to theoretical critiques of absence of change, namely state-centrism and structuralism.

Theoretical study. Empirical examples derived from already published literature.

Ecological WST focuses on the unequal distribution of environmental degradation, sees technological development as a zero-sum game rather than cornucopia and holds that technology is often seen as a fetish in today ' s society. The findings are that popular discourses on ICT and sustainability are since the 1990s becoming increasingly cornucopian, while conditions in the ICT value chain are less cornucopian.

Theoretical contributions to Marxian critiques of ICT, with more environmental focus than earlier Marxian critiques, for example Fuchs’ work. Develop a theoretical framework for ICT and sustainability which could be compared with works of e.g. Hilty, Patrignani and Whitehouse. The work is mostly based on existing empirical studies, which is a limitation.

This theoretical framework implies that unequal environmental degradation in different parts of the world should be taken into account when assessing environmental impact, for example by means of LCA.

The framework brings together questions of environmental effects of ICT and global justice.

The authors apply a rarely discussed theoretical framework to ICT and environmental sustainability. By doing this the authors suggest how the discourses and the value chain of ICT is intrinsically tied to the world system.