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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to set out guidelines to de‐mystify the publication process and increase opportunities for successful publication.Design/methodology/approachAn introspective method is employed based upon the author's experience as a reviewer and editor.FindingsFindings highlight some of the challenges facing researchers when writing research papers, pitfalls on the path to publication and possible remedial actions.Practical implicationsInformation gained may go some way to improve writing and increase the possibly of publication in international journals.Originality/valueThis paper is based on personal experience. The more information available to researchers regarding requirements for successful publication as well as greater transparency of the review process will improve writing quality and ultimately progress debate within academic disciplines.

Interest in the role that urban supply chain management can play in the future planning of cities, has accelerated with the rapid advance of the digital economy and the rise in popularity of smart city designs. The ""smart city"" concept can be used to link wider social concerns around inclusiveness, resilience, good governance, long-term sustainability and economic competitiveness with developments in Information and Communication Technologies

Challenges abound in assisting social work students to comprehend the value of scientific inquiry and to use research to inform their practice. Student research anxiety and low levels of research confidence are often at the heart of this reluctance. This article offers a conceptual rationale and strategies for developing a flipped classroom approach in teaching research. Kolb's experiential learning cycle provides a theoretical lens to understand the importance of hands-on experiences for student learning and how these experiences can assist student development of research-related competencies. The authors propose a conceptual model and application of Kolb's cycle through case examples at both the BSW and MSW levels. The authors recommend application of a flipped classroom approach to increase opportunities for self-paced learning and as a useful strategy for students who are second language learners.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to describe a transformative business sustainability (TBS) model of stakeholders and sources in sustainable business practices with an interface and exchange node of resource residuals.Design/methodology/approach– The research is based upon a grounded methodology drawn from four in-depth case studies, spanning over six years in different countries and industries. Data were gathered from multiple sources, and interview transcriptions were returned to interviewees for clarification, accuracy, final proofreading and approval.Findings– The TBS model complements existing research by emphasising the importance of commitment to an overarching vision through corporate leadership assigning areas of strategic priority that respond to current and future environmental regulation and social needs.Research implications/limitations– Efforts aimed towards business sustainability and application of sustainable business practices in business networks include interfaces and interactions between involved stakeholders and sources. We argue that stakeholders and sources should be recognised as intertwined, where resources used in activities in a business network causing resource residuals may be recovered and reused by other actors in the business network.Practice implications– The TBS model can be used by managers to plan, implement and assess practices to provide a holistic view of sustainable business activities that supports the development of a company and its network. It may also be used to map and navigate interactions between elements within and external to the company.Originality/value– The principal contribution of the current research is twofold, a TBS model and a tool to map and navigate corporate sustainability efforts.

Purpose
– This paper takes an exploratory approach towards understanding the applicability of established theoretical frameworks for cross-functional integration in different global environments. In particular, the role of culture is considered as its impact on organizations may affect the ability to create a global generic model for cross-functional integration in product development. In order to achieve this aim, the paper will explore two cases from different cultural environments, namely that of Slovenia and the UK.


Design/methodology/approach
– The authors compare two different companies, based on their case profile and cultural background. Both are heavy engineering companies involved in product development, one originating in the developing economy of Slovenia, the other from the developed UK economy. The authors have employed a mix methodology, including literature and documentation analysis, questionnaire surveys and interviews.


Findings
– Combining organizational climate and consequently informal cooperation with formal organizational schemes, when allowing moderate levels of authority, can be beneficial for NPD success and R&D-marketing integration. These findings confirm the theoretical principles of Gupta et al., but are to some extent actually directly connected to NPD success, rather than to the R&D-marketing interface. The framework might be valid when exploring a large sample of companies at national levels, but needs further specifications and expansion when employed in a single case company. Furthermore, the two studied cases show that special care needs to be placed on taking account of cultural differences, when employing NPD in different locations/international business units.


Originality/value
– The paper presents a case comparison of cross-functional integration in two different cultural contexts. From this exploratory research, the main contribution highlights the key role of cultural context in developing effective cross-functional interfaces in product development.

PurposeCompanies and their business networks impact on Earth's life and ecosystems must be seriously addressed and minimized. The purpose of this paper therefore proposes and describes a generic model as well as a network model of business sustainability.Design/methodology/approach"Business sustainability" is defined as a company's or an organization's efforts to manage its impact on Earth's life‐ and eco‐systems and its whole business network. The work concentrates on one research question, namely: how can business sustainability and E‐footprints be conceptualised?FindingsThe model introduced emphasises not only the importance of business networks adopting an E‐footprint and an Earth‐to‐Earth (EE) cradle‐to‐cradle approach, but also a transformative Earth (E) footprint‐model derived and inspired from a causal framework in complexity sciences.Research limitations/implicationsResearch is rare that simultaneously focuses on EE‐approaches, E‐footprint stakeholders and zero‐sum cycles. The authors have striven to address this gap by introducing a business sustainability model in an EE‐approach and with an interconnecting transformative E‐footprint‐model.Practical implicationsIt is crucial to embed appropriate routines and processes within the company in the first instance with the aim of business sustainability. This may cause a ripple effect in the company's business network as raw material producers, value‐adding suppliers and customers become drawn into make appropriate strategic, tactical and operative adaptations in their own business dealings. This stresses the importance of E‐footprint stakeholders fostering networks of both interdependent and collaborative corporate efforts aimed at business sustainability.Originality/valueThe main contribution should be a business sustainability model of life and ecosystems from an EE‐approach with a transformative E‐footprint.model. Each company within a business network must endeavour to minimise its E‐footprint through its zero‐sum cycles. These should be seen as interdependent and interconnected thereby contributing to the total E‐footprint of the business network.

PurposeThe purpose of the article is to describe the consequences for the purchasing and supply management field of its current focus on the behaviours and concerns of extremely large corporations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a short viewpoint article.FindingsIt is found that there is a lack of research in purchasing and supply management in SMEs. Small and medium sized companies are in need of a deeper understanding of dyadic relations. Sadly, as fashion in the field has embraced metaphors‐fit‐only‐for giants, it may be increasingly difficult to get studies published that adopt this ancient, diminutive metaphor.Originality/valueThe main contribution of the piece is to draw attention to the current lack of research in the field to the dominant form of company in every economy – the SME.

PurposeOne field in business where there is a purported gap between theory and practice is in marketing. This paper aims to examine one area of the debate, the degree of congruence between the established textbook theories of marketing and the practical activity of marketing managers.Design/methodology/approachPhenomenological interviews were carried out with senior marketing managers from a diverse range of organisations. The aim was to establish what types of factors inform manager's approaches to practice. Meaningful comparisons were made possible, as a range of marketing texts were also examined.FindingsTextbook theories represent a flawed view of the practitioner's world. Many texts are very similar, based on an implicitly systems based paradigm. Universal truths are seen as indispensable modes of representational language. In contrast, the interviews with managers show that marketing is a locally contingent activity, occupying a discursive space separate from that of textbook theory.Research limitations/implicationsScholars desire to reduce real world activity to over arching explanations has led to the simplification of theory. Textbooks should embrace an approach based on interpretative insights into the realities of marketing practice. Moves away from the "one size fits all" theory need to occur, to a situation where marketing is recognised as being about a socially mediated, multifaceted approach to business activity.Originality/valueSubstantial attention has been paid to what many commentators regard as an academic practitioner divide in marketing. Most of this concerns the status of research into marketing. Considerably less attention is devoted to the position of the marketing textbook. This paper helps to remedy the situation. Ideas are offered up for the development of marketing knowledge and ways are suggested to help close the theory practice gap in the discipline, through the medium of the textbook.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate about the existence and nature of a "gap" between theory and practice in management.Design/methodology/approachThe putative theory/practice "gap" in management is investigated by examining the theory/practice debate in three cognate fields–economics, nursing and marketing.FindingsThe relationship between theory and practice is actively debated in all three of the fields. In economics, criticism has been directed at the implicit ontological assumptions made in formal mathematical methods employed by orthodox neoclassical economists. In nursing the debate has centred on the practical issues associated with implementing evidence based practice; in particular identifying and seeking to overcome barriers to implementation. In marketing, managers find most academic theory difficult to read and irrelevant; this may be because the goals of academics and the goals of practitioners are different.Research limitations/implicationsPotentially fruitful topics for further research are identified at the pragmatic, epistemological and ontological levels.Originality/valueThe paper identifies lessons for the field of management research from economics, nursing and marketing. Each of these three areas provides a unique lens through which to view the research/practice "gap" in management.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue that critically examines topics informing long‐standing disputes concering the status of theory and practice in management studies. Contributions explore the character of the imputed relationship between theory and practice.Design/methodology/approachThe editorial introduction sets the discussion of topics in the context of institutional change influencing the production, circulation and consumption of knowledge products in the economy of relevance and reputation. It also presents an overview of the papers included in the special issue.FindingsThe main themes addressed in the papers represent a call for change; a call to radicalize the approaches to understanding ways of knowing; a call to re‐evaluate relations with practitioners; and a call to reimagine ways of representing knowledge to various constituencies, including fellow academic practitioners, management practitioners, students, and policy‐makers and other opinion‐formers.Research limitations/implicationsThe key message is one of the importance of encouraging broad discussions concerning the direction and impact of flows of knowledge and the various products in which that knowledge is embedded. It calls for a more market‐oriented approach to understanding the knowledge economy and the mediating role of various institutional players, including the academy, in the circulation, creation and destruction of knowledge products.Practical implicationsThat a more‐market oriented approach to arrangements for the distribution of research resources in management studies calls for the development of more market‐oriented institutions capable of shaping relationships of collaboration, involvement and accountability.Originality/valueContributions expand the understanding of the problems and opportunities of imputing links to theory and practice.

PurposeThe purpose of this short opinion piece is to focus on the role of marketing, its theory and practice, and its relevance now and in the future.Design/methodology/approachThe article analyses the present situation – which is not new – the perceived divide between marketing theory and marketing practice and, therefore, the issue of what academics should research and teach that might be of relevance to practitioners.FindingsThe article shows that if marketers – both academic and practitioner – are to meet and resolve the present challenges then they need to be customer focused, build long‐term relationships with customers, and think of their life‐time value as opposed to their short‐term profitability.Originality/valueThe article highlights issues of relevance to those involved with marketing theory and practice.

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss issues concerning the desirability of finding ways to close the gap between academic research and management practice – especially in the case of marketing and consumer research.Design/methodology/approachThe issues are addressed by means of a personal essay.FindingsThe discussion adopts the extreme viewpoint that achieving a reconciliation or resolution of the differences between scholarly inquiry and managerial relevance in either research or teaching constitutes an undesirable or even deplorable form of compromise.Originality/valueThe essay concludes that – contrary to the wisdom of Goldilocks – compromise between academic scholarship and practical relevance merits opprobrium rather than approbation.

With the ongoing growth of international trade between developed and developing countries the environmental, social and economic performance of supply chains is constantly under the spotlight, with reviews by academics (see a sample for the controversial textile and apparel industry in Ngai et al., 2014) and emphasis on practice (Zhou et al., 2014) to the fore. Focal companies are challenged to manage risks of media coverage often focusing on discovering social and environmental problems in the supply chains. The safest way to manage these risks is to prevent undesired sustainability problems