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This study explores the influence of informal “psychological contracts” (PCs), (as opposed to formal contractual relationships) on exporter–distributor relationships.

Data were obtained from a sample of 127 exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand. The authors employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for analyzing the measurement and structural models.

Psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) enhances affective commitment and calculative commitment. Moreover, affective and calculative commitments mediate the relationship between PCF and export venture performance (EVP). The authors also find that institutional distance (ID) weakens the relationship between PCF and both affective and calculative commitment. Additionally, ID moderates the strength of the mediating mechanism for affective commitment; thus, the authors present a moderated-mediation model.

To date, international relationship marketing (IRM) literature has focused on PC breach, and business-to-business (B2B) marketing literature has focused on the effects of PCs on affective/relational commitment. This study offers novel insights by demonstrating the positive indirect effect of PCF on EVP via the mediating variables – affective and calculative commitment. The authors' findings also present a conditioning role of ID on the micro-level relationships of PCs.

Taking a career capital approach, this paper addresses the issue of “pipeline block” frequently experienced by women seeking career advancement. Focusing on the Arab Middle East (AME) region, the authors take a contextually relevant multi-level approach to examine these issues.

The study uses a qualitative, interview-based approach, drawing on data obtained from women leaders from the AME region. Drawing on Bourdieu's capital-field-habitus framework, we explore how women in the AME developed career capital in particular organisational fields.

The findings show the importance of human and social capital, as well as the influence of habitus for women's career advancement in specific fields. The study also highlights the unique contribution of cultural capital in helping women to navigate organisational fields where it is necessary to both challenge, and conform to, traditional norms.

Limitations of the study include assumptions of homogeneity across countries of the AME, whereas differences are known to exist. Future research should consider these contextual differences, and also include a study of women who were not successful in gaining career advancement.

The study’s multi-level approach highlights practical implications for women, organisations and society. For organisations, the authors propose some context-relevant coaching strategies that can help women to attain leadership positions.

The study’s multi-level approach highlights practical implications for women, organisations,and society. Focusing on organisations, the authors propose some context-relevant coaching strategies that can help women to attain advancement in their careers.

The study demonstrates originality in the findings by showing how women overcome the pipeline block in relation to their career advancement. The use of the Bourdieusian framework, an in-depth qualitative approach, and the AME context also add to the study's originality.

This paper aims to extend the traditional conceptualization of localization, which has largely focused on recruitment, by examining “employability” and “retention” as crucial determinants of localization success.

Using survey data from local (Emirati) employees in private sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the authors develop a holistic model of localization and test the relationships between stereotypes, organizational socialization, employability and retention outcomes, using Smart-PLS.

Among the main findings are the significant influence of stereotypes on organizational socialization (OS) experiences of Emirati employees, with a negative relationship between “work ethics stereotypes” and perceptions of OS experiences. Strong evidence is also found for the indirect effects of OS experiences on retention of Emirati employees, mediated by employability.

This study contributes to the literature on localization by examining the relationships between key variables not examined together in previous research. In terms of limitations, the cross-sectional nature of the study prevents the identification of direction of causality among these relationships. Since employee integration, as part of localization efforts, is a gradual process, future research should include longitudinal studies.

Employability has emerged as a significant challenge for organizations and governments working to implement successful localization initiatives. This study’s findings highlight several opportunities for organizational and governmental policy interventions to support successful localization.

The authors’ holistic model extends localization literature by providing evidence for the role of stereotypes and employability as key constructs to be examined along with OS experiences and retention.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is manifested in the context of born global firms. Specifically, the authors investigate the extent to which the EO dimensions of the influential Miller/Covin & Slevin scale are demonstrated in born globals. In addition, following calls in the literature, some as-yet unrecognised dimensions of EO in born globals are examined.

The authors use a qualitative research approach by conducting semi-structured, in-depth interviews with eight born global firms from New Zealand and Australia.

The authors find that the EO dimensions of proactiveness and innovativeness are strongly prevalent in these firms. In contrast to the extant literature, the results also indicate that these born global firms generally display a relatively low level of risk-taking. The authors find strong empirical support for two additional emerging dimensions of EO: passion and perseverance.

The study provides two key contributions to the area of international entrepreneurship by investigating how EO is prevalent in the context of born globals and by proposing the new dimensions of passion and perseverance.

The purpose of the study is to explain why some foreign firms are accepted in a host country, while others are not.

The paper is conceptual. It first articulates the meaning of firm acceptability in the eyes of host country societies, which remains ambiguous in the current literature. Second, using a social psychological theory, the paper explores the firm-level attributes that can shape the societal judgment of firms’ acceptability.

The paper suggests that foreign firms’ acceptability pertains to the perception to which they can contribute to the host country’s economic development and societal well-being. The judgment of this is carried out by emphasizing three types of organizational cues, which indicate firms’ capacity to contribute.

This conceptual paper contributes to the understanding of firms’ social acceptance in a host country by explicating the meaning of social acceptability and exploring the evaluation mechanism local actors adopt to judge foreign firms. The paper would benefit from empirical investigation by future research.

The meaning of social acceptability of foreign firms remains largely implicit in the literature; likewise, the evaluative mechanism of the firms’ acceptability is little researched. The paper addresses these two issues by undertaking a critical theory stance. It builds on a social psychology theory, multinational corporation (MNC) literature and economic nationalism, thus demonstrating a multidisciplinary approach.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the impact of international outsourcing on manufacturing strategy and performance of apparel manufacturing firms. The authors aim to show how managers address the effects of international outsourcing on four dimensions of manufacturing strategy – cost, quality, flexibility and delivery.

The paper utilises a qualitative exploratory approach. The authors adopted a case study method, collecting data through face‐to‐face, semi‐structured interviews with managers of six apparel manufacturing firms, selected on the basis of a number of criteria, including their use of international outsourcing.

The findings show that international outsourcing generates both positive and negative effects on the firms' competencies in four manufacturing dimensions (cost, quality, flexibility and delivery). A conceptual framework is presented that shows how firms' managerial actions carried out to address the effects of outsourcing play a crucial role in determining their manufacturing performance.

Because the sample comprised small and medium‐sized apparel firms from New Zealand, the findings may lack generalisability. Further research could expand this work to large multinational companies and service providers in international outsourcing.

The findings suggest that managers of apparel firms which engage in international outsourcing of manufacturing need to consider the impacts on their manufacturing strategy, particularly with respect to the potential trade‐offs between the manufacturing priorities.

The paper addresses a research gap in the outsourcing and manufacturing literatures by exploring the effects of international outsourcing on manufacturing strategy, and the impact of managerial responses to these effects, on firm performance.

This article develops a new conceptual model of knowledge flows within international service firms. Our model takes explicit account of the critical role of relationships and the individual as being central to the process of knowledge transfer for service firms. The model is then validated with data collected from five international service firms using critical event analysis techniques. The findings reinforce our contention that the individual plays a critical role in the process of knowledge transfer and that relationships form an integral part of this process. The implications of this finding are also discussed.

Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy for people with learning disabilities has been more available since the 1980s, with numerous case studies and reports of effectiveness, yet little is know about the history of psychodynamic psychotherapy. This paper is a historical account of the international development of psychodynamic psychotherapy for people with learning disabilities. It discusses some of the clinicians' case reports, views and conclusions. It is important that, as therapists, we continue to learn and develop. This is a story of ‘opportunities lost’. Although a number of therapists were well‐placed to develop psychotherapy as a valuable treatment option, it did not happen. The paper discusses the reasons, ranging from widespread therapeutic pessimism to inability in the therapist to process the ‘disability transference’. It outlines the various British contributions before and since the ground‐breaking and well‐known work of Valerie Sinason, whose 1992 book is still the most influential contribution. Psychodynamic psychotherapy has developed more of a tradition than other therapy approaches in this field, but there is still only sparse literature on and recognition of this work.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of social networks, and the social capital embedded in them, to secure employment if someone had become unemployed after the age of 50 years and to reveal the process of accessing and mobilising that social capital.

A case study of a Scottish labour market was undertaken which involved an interview-based survey of those who became unemployed in their early 50’s and tried to regain employment. The interview had structured and unstructured parts which allowed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to compare those who were successful in regaining work with those who were not. The uniqueness of the paper is the use of social network components while controlling for other socio-economic and demographic variables in job search of older workers.

Those older people who were unemployed and, returned to employment (reemployed) had a higher proportion of contacts with higher prestige jobs, their job searching methods were mainly interpersonal and the rate of finding their last job via their social networks was higher than those who remained unemployed. Both groups mobilised social capital (MSC), but those reemployed accessed higher “quality” social capital. “Strong ties”, rather than “weak ties”, were found to be important in accessing and mobilising social capital for the older workers who returned to employment.

This work is limited to a local labour market and is based on a small but informative sample. However, it does show that policy is required to allow older people to enhance their social networks by strengthening the social capital embedded in the networks. The results support the use of intermediaries as bridges to help compensate for older people who have weak social networks. Besides the policy implications, the paper also has two distinct research implications. First, the use of social network component to the existing literature of older workers’ job search. Second, exploring the type and relational strength with network members to explain older workers’ reemployment.

The paper illustrates that how accessed and MSC can be measured.

As populations age, this work points to an approach to support older people to re-enter employment and to include them in society.

The paper extends social network and employment literature to fill gaps on how older people require to both access and mobilise social capital. The importance of “strong ties” in the reemployment of older workers contrasts with much of the literature on younger workers where the “strength of weak ties” so far has been regarded as essential for successful job search. Measures are forwarded to reveal the relevance of social capital. The policy value of the work is in suggesting ways to facilitate older people re-enter or remain in work and hence sustain their well-being.

For many nations, their workforces are ageing. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concerns and attitudes of employers to employing older workers and what information they require.

A questionnaire survey of workplaces was undertaken in the Fife region of Scotland, which in economic and demographic terms is representative of wider Scotland and other nations in Northern Europe. Descriptive analysis was undertaken to give insight into concerns and actions taken regarding ageing workforces.

Most workplaces perceive more advantages to employing older workers than challenges. Many have adapted training and work practices, but many have not. The majority surveyed believe that existing policies and strategies are sufficient. This points to the need for national and local government and employer associations to become more active to persuade workplaces to better manage future workplaces.

Generalisability is problematic and the small sample restricted the scope of statistical analysis.

The authors were unable to judge the severity of how an ageing workforce impacts on workplace performance, as employers found it difficult to conceptualise and identify the impact of ageing from market and economic pressures.

Resulting from population ageing the workforce of many societies are becoming older, this will impact on workplace relations and the social identity of those over the age of 50 years.

Little research has been undertaken to assess workplaces awareness of, and how to adapt to, an ageing workforce, and research is required to inform and guide management strategy of employers.