S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, known as SPJIMR, is a private non-profit post-graduate management school based in Mumbai, India. Founded in 1981 under the aegis of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, The Institute offers several full-time and part-time management programmes.
Influencer marketing has rapidly become a cornerstone of modern advertising, yet sponsored posts often underperform compared to organic content in terms of consumer engagement. This study investigates how brand-imposed language constraints affect engagement in sponsored influencer content. Drawing on Media Naturalness Theory and the control paradox, we hypothesize that language formality disrupts the authenticity of influencer communication, leading to lower engagement. Using a dataset of 1.4 million Instagram posts, including around 200,000 sponsored postings, our analysis reveals that formal language reduces engagement, while informal language features, specifically higher use of netspeak and emojis, enhance engagement. To further validate these findings, we conducted a controlled experiment examining the effect of language style on engagement and perceived authenticity. These findings suggest that informal language fosters a more genuine connection between influencers and their audiences, increasing interaction in sponsored content. The paper provides practical recommendations for brands, urging them to co-create flexible language strategies with influencers, allowing for more authentic expression and boosting consumer engagement. The current study also uses the latest agentic AI models to replicate similar results through additional experiments, contributing to the theoretical understanding of influencer marketing and the practical strategies for optimizing influencer collaborations.
Information disorders such as disinformation, misinformation, polarization, and conspiracy theories on social media pose severe challenges for platforms, users, and institutions at large. There is a limited understanding of how power imbalances govern users’ interpretation of information on social media platforms. We address this asymmetry using Foucault’s power-knowledge lens and systemic episodic view of power. Using inductive top-down theorizng we identify reinforcing and resistance mechanisms at the individual, platform, and institutional level. Our propositions explain the mechanisms behind information acceptance, believability, and amplification, followed by resistance mechanisms, such as information evaluation and rejection. Our study advances IS scholarship by explaining bottom-up and top-down power embedding at the platform and institutional level. We also identify specific power techniques leveraged by authoritarian and democratic countries, through implicit and explicit application of power. Our study proposes policymakers and platforms as a collaborative unit to design robust interventions that minimize interpretation biases and information amplification.
Gen AI (generative AI) is bringing a paradigm shift in how brands craft narratives by generating the context and content of storytelling in a fraction of a second. This chapter examines the role of context in brand storytelling and how generative AI transforms content creation processes. We review traditional perspectives on storytelling in content marketing, where human creativity permeates authenticity and emotional resonance, and contrast them with the emerging shift toward AI-generated content. Through real-world case studies, e.g., Coca-Cola's AI-infused campaigns, Heinz's ‘AI Ketchup' stunt, Amazon's generative content tool, Visit Denmark's AI-written tourism ad, and Lexus's AI-scripted commercial, we illustrate opportunities and challenges of AI-driven storytelling.
Technology is becoming increasingly important in the workplace, as it can help reduce manual routines for human resources (HR) administration, such as payroll. This enables HR professionals to focus on core activities such as talent development. But this gain is accompanied by a paradox. Most HR leaders perceive that spending on technology often fails to add value in key functions such as talent retention, better hiring and stronger productivity. HR leaders are experiencing a vital gap: how to frame guidelines that balance work efficiency with human-centric responsibilities? Recent research by Sunghoon Kim, Violetta Khoreva and Vlad Vaiman outlines a threelens framework that can improve job design, work structure and HR service delivery, ensuring effective management of technology and workers1
Introduction. Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all. Systematic understanding of its research landscape from a management and policy perspective remains limited. Given education’s central role in advancing sustainability and evidence-based governance, this study systematically analyses the global Sustainable Development Goal 4 research landscape to identify dominant themes, collaboration patterns, and underexplored areas relevant to management and policy discourse. Materials and Methods. The analysis is based on 2,164 peer-reviewed journal articles indexed in the Scopus database. Performance analysis and science mapping techniques were conducted using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. Analysis of annual publication trends, top authors and institutions, co-authorship patterns, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic clustering. Results. Three research clusters emerged: teachers’ attitudes and challenges in inclusive education, professional development and institutional support; cross-cultural perspectives on self-efficacy and teaching quality, reflecting cultural influences on pedagogical practices; e-education and lifelong learning. Analysis shows dominant contributions from the USA, the UK, and Australia, with increasing participation from Asia and Africa as well as strong interdisciplinary links between business, policy, and sustainability. The findings further indicate a strong concentration of research around teacher-related issues and inclusion, alongside a rapid expansion of digital and lifelong learning themes in recent years. Interdisciplinary linkages across education, business, policy, and sustainability domains are also evident. Discussion and Conclusion. This study maps the evolving research landscape of Sustainable Development Goal 4 and identifies gaps, especially in underrepresented regions. The results offer valuable insights for researchers, educators, and policymakers focused on advancing inclusive and sustainable education worldwide. This study advances Sustainable Development Goal 4 scholarship by exposing systematic thematic and regional imbalances and identifying neglected areas of critical policy relevance. These insights help recalibrate research priorities and support more effective, evidence-informed policy interventions to advance inclusive and sustainable education.
