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PurposeThe paper aims to generate insights into practitioners' understanding of global knowledge work/workers by exploring the perspectives of an artist and economist.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured interviews with the two participants were conducted; and the interview material was transcribed and analyzed.FindingsGlobal knowledge work is a multifaceted concept; it can exist in different fields, including art, technology and social sciences. Global knowledge work is about knowledge that is acquired, accumulated, shared and enriched through relocation, travel or integration into networks. Global knowledge workers are equipped with some form of specialized knowledge, skills set and different communication strategies. Their motivation varies from intellectual curiosity, financial and career benefits, personal reasons to seek a life in another country to the prestige of global knowledge work.Practical implicationsDiversity is a defining attribute of global knowledge work. Diverse backgrounds, expertise and viewpoints of global knowledge workers are becoming an increasingly significant asset for organizations. This has implications in terms of developing effective diversity management strategies in global and knowledge‐intensive organizations, such as universities.Originality/valueThe paper draws on two interviews with practising global knowledge workers, in the fields of art and economy. Useful insights are generated for practitioners in all fields, combining interesting perspectives on global knowledge work and its future value.

PurposeThe present paper seeks to focus on the processes involved in the knowledge transfer of CSR and sustainability programs and theorises about a conceptual framework that addresses three aspects of such a knowledge transfer process: the "thinking", the "doing" and the "being".Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a theoretical interdisciplinary study, which combines insights from the theory of knowledge transfer within the application domain of CSR and sustainability, and looks into the ways the above impact aspects of diversity, career identity and career development of professionals in this field.FindingsHRM issues such as new competencies and differing approaches to career development options, talent retention and management, and a change of the notion of employment contract need to develop to successfully support the transfer of knowledge in terms of professionals in the domain of CSR and sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsFuture directions and implications of this research include furthering the understanding of career identities and their development in the milieu of globally mobile knowledge workers in the field of CSR and sustainability knowledge transfer and identifying relevant and necessary tools for HR management and stakeholder engagement in this field.Social implicationsThe establishment of career pathways and new career identities is an increasingly significant challenge in the workplaces of the twenty‐first century, and CSR/sustainability knowledge transfer processes highlight that.Originality/valueThe paper contributes an innovative angle to the topic of knowledge transfer in the area of CSR and sustainability, whilst also highlighting the importance of the role of knowledge workers with global mobility in this process, including their perceptions of career identities and development.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present knowledge as an important diversity dimension in globally operating companies and to illustrate how companies with corporate universities (CUs) proceed in order to achieve knowledge inclusion.Design/methodology/approachA model is developed regarding the management of knowledge diversity methodologically based on the grounded theory approach and examples in existing CUs are given.FindingsDifferent diversity learning approaches in corporate university programmes are explained and integrated in a model. The paper recognises the need to more actively manage knowledge diversity in companies.Practical implicationsThe paper gives advice to companies on how to better manage their diversity of knowledge and knowledge bearers for strategic learning purposes. The paper is a first step in the academic discussion of knowledge as a diversity dimension.Originality/valueKnowledge is defined as a diversity dimension by scientists but has not been discussed in depth so far. The paper distinguishes between knowledge diversity and inclusion and shows in which way companies can proceed in order to profit from the diversity in learning environments.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore whether highly educated refugees have the potential to become active members of the UK knowledge economy and to identify what socio‐political factors are currently excluding/marginalising them.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical work consists of semi‐structured interviews conducted with 15 highly educated refugees residing in the UK. The interviews, which contain theory‐driven and open‐ended questions, elicited how refugees themselves perceive their post‐migration experiences, and especially their employment experiences in the UK.FindingsThe participants do not perceive themselves as passive and incompetent, as they are often portrayed. They also claim that their exclusion/marginalisation from the UK economy is not due to any lack of qualifications and skills from their side, but due to ongoing discriminatory processes and to the long process of getting their qualifications validated.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of a single method and a cross‐sectional design does not allow an understanding of whether and to what extent the findings apply to other disadvantaged populations, which could be clarified through a comparative, longitudinal study.Practical implicationsHighly educated refugees have the potential to become knowledge‐workers, but certain barriers they face suppress this potential. This is why future policies should continuously support refugee agencies and communities that play a vital role in refugees' lives and work‐related adaptation and encourage the creation of new ones where they are most needed.Originality/valueThis research, by "giving voice" to the selected participants, reveals the existing contrast between highly educated refugees' own perceptions and the negative socio‐political discourse surrounding them and highlights the contribution that this population can make to the UK knowledge economy.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test the existing theoretical argument that the Indian software industry is a case of uneven and combined development by examining the workforce.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a survey conducted in two software organizations located in Bangalore. Data were collected through a combination of quantitative (114 questionnaires) and qualitative methods (62 semi‐structured interviews). Respondents were selected randomly from the work floor.FindingsThe paper observes that the workforce is uneven in nature and directly integrated with the global market. The workforce appears homogeneous. A typical software worker in India is a young male; hails from an urban and a semi‐urban locality; follows Hinduism, and belongs to the upper socio‐economic stratum of Indian society. He holds an undergraduate engineering degree, not necessarily in computer science, from a second‐grade educational institution. He is trained by the employers as per the needs of the Western market, and works for longer hours than required. He earns more than his counterparts in the other industries, and is promoted periodically based on work experience.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper suggests that Indian future policy initiatives should recognize the need for inclusion of the disadvantaged in this growing sector. Also, conclusions drawn from the study are useful for the developing countries that imitate Indian software industry to develop inclusive development policies.Originality/valueFrom the existing literature, it is not known whether the employment‐related benefits are reaching all the social groups, or uneven and combined development is reflected at the workforce as well. The paper fills the gap using triangulation of methods.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the knowledge work discourse has been transformed from a celebration of those who create knowledge to one of leaden prescription to purposively separate the knowledge from the knower.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of genealogical discourse analysis of the dominant and alternative knowledge work discourses.FindingsFrom its earliest conceptions, knowledge work as a discourse was conceived as creating a new class of worker who was highly educated, motivated and financially aspirational. Through alignment with significant discourses from such fields of knowledge as economics, the law and technology, knowledge has become an organisational asset, to be secured by technology and protected by law even from those who created it. Discursive transformation shows that knowledge work and those who perform it – the knowledge workers – have become marginalised in the discourses until they have virtually disappeared altogether.Research limitations/implicationsAs a conceptual paper, the analysis does not address an empirical research frame. However, the paper illustrates how power is implicated in all aspects of the knowledge work discourse.Originality/valueThe paper identifies how power relations are implicit in organisational discourses of knowledge work. Knowledge is seen to be central to studies of organisations, economics and globalisation, yet human beings as creators of knowledge have been marginalised in the knowledge discourses.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the capacities of different groups of actors, who initiate, support, and control (known as equal opportunity actors) equal opportunities and equal treatment in organizations in Austria.Design/methodology/approachBased on the concept of social positioning and a qualitative empirical approach, the paper provides an analysis of data deriving from 32 interviews with equal opportunity actors.FindingsThe main findings show that, depending on individual commitment, knowledge and abilities, equal opportunity actors have the capacity to influence official equal opportunity policies and to prohibit individual cases of discrimination. However, there are strong restrictions concerning a limited understanding of gender, an ignorance of more subtle forms of the practising of gender and acceptance of the gendered understructure of organizations.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relates to the Austrian labour relations system which is rather similar to the German system, but can hardly be transferred to other countries.Practical implicationsThe analysis of capacities and restrictions of single actors within organizations may be of general interest.Originality/valueThe paper explores a nearly fully ignored aspect of equal opportunity policies which is crucial for their success or failure.

Entrepreneurship research attracts scholars from a wide spectrum of disciplines. Yet the field is multi-paradigmatic and lacking consensus, even on the nature of core entrepreneurial phenomena. What is recognized is that it is characterized by dynamic and emergent processes - a complex interplay between actors, processes and contexts. As a result, post-positivistic approaches are gaining traction in a field long dominated by positivistic philosophies. This book reflects on the fundamental philosophical basis of entrepreneurship scholarship. It explores the shifting meanings of entrepreneur and entrepreneurship, the unexamined assumptions which lie behind the established discourses which legitimize or dismiss the possibilities for scholarship. Contributing scholars adopt a reflexive approach to entrepreneurship research challenging readers to question their approaches and assumptions and explicitly defend them against competing alternatives. Building on this critical reflection, this book provides space for philosophical reflexivity in the conduct and publication of scholarly enquiry and will be of great interest to scholars, researchers and advanced students in all aspect of entrepreneurship study.