Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between corporate actions and the employees’ ethical sensitivity. Studies conducted so far yield conflicting results. Design/methodology/approach The study conducted simultaneously examined the ethical culture of company and ethical sensitivity of their employees. Ethical culture was examined using an adapted Corporate Ethical Virtues Model and ethical sensitivity was determined based on the Defining Issues Test. The survey was conducted among employees of the largest mortgage brokerage firms operating in Poland. The results were subjected to a range of statistical analyses. Findings Ethical sensitivity is positively correlated with ethical culture at the individual level. However, between-firm differentiation in both ethical culture and ethical sensitivity was limited. The specific nature of the profession under study may play a significant role in understanding such results. Practical implications Ethical culture may play a smaller role in the process of shaping proper attitudes if employees’ work involves high autonomy and commissions that depend on the quality of the relationships formed with customers. A good understanding of the specific nature of a given profession can be key for managers in the process of creating ethical principles within the company and the employee team. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to obtain primary data regarding both the ethical culture of companies and the ethical sensitivity of their employees, providing a new perspective on assessing the relationship between company actions and ethical decision-making by employees.
Purpose With rapid modernization and globalization, responsible tourism practices at cultural heritage sites are in decline, as many visitors disengage from activities like volunteering, donating or mindful visits. This shift presents a significant challenge for governments, organizations and societies working to promote meaningful interactions with cultural heritage. Encouraging responsible tourism – where visitors respect local cultures while minimizing negative impacts – is crucial. generative artificial intelligence (GAI) offers an emerging avenue for innovative management practices, providing personalized and emotionally resonant digital nudges that can influence visitor engagement. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding which types of nudges are most effective across cultural contexts. This study aims to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven nudges delivered on emotional response and engagement, aiming to foster responsible tourism behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-methods approach, this study adopted a three-stage investigation. Firstly, this study conducted a content analysis gathered from 262 articles via web scrapping which identified five key themes surrounding responsible tourism. Stage two consisted of 25 in-depth interviews, which provided deeper insights on the factors influencing emotional response towards cultural heritage tourism. In stage 3, this study conducted 300 experiments and surveys, focusing on responses to six cultural nudge images representing Indian and UK cultures. Each image was categorized into neutral, positive and negative nudges, capturing participants’ engagement. Findings The findings suggest that AI-driven nudges significantly enhance tourists’ emotional responses (β = 0.108, p < 0.05) and engagement towards cultural heritage tourism (β = 0.224, p < 0.001), leading to greater appreciation and respect for local cultures and in turn leads to responsible tourism behaviours. Most importantly, engagement was found to be a powerful predictor of responsible tourism behaviour, demonstrating a strong positive relationship (β = 0.792, p < 0.001). Negative nudges (afraid, bitter) were most effective in encouraging responsible behaviours. However, the effectiveness of nudges varied based on an individual’s cultural identity, perceived cultural accuracy and AI hallucination potential highlighting the importance of tailored approaches for diverse audiences. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by a small sample, focus on Indian and UK contexts to capture participants’ perceptions and immediate responses to AI-driven nudges. It examines short-term behavioural intentions within a controlled experimental setting and applies continuous moderation to explore cultural effects. Building on these insights, future research can expand to broader cultural contexts, adopt longitudinal designs to assess behavioural change over time, incorporate objective behavioural data and explore the role of AI transparency and immersive technologies such as VR and AR in enhancing responsible tourism engagement. Originality/value This study provides novel empirical evidence on the role of Generative AI–driven emotional nudges in shaping responsible tourism behaviour, integrating cultural identity, perceived cultural accuracy and AI hallucination as key boundary conditions in a cross-cultural context.
Purpose This study aims to develop a typology and framework that can help for-profit firms address grand challenges through innovation theater. The authors reframe this construct as a potentially creative and efficient way to balance legitimacy-seeking with the generation of innovative solutions that can both weather uncertainty and transform or create markets in the grand challenges arena. This is particularly relevant to developing contexts such as Latin America, where institutional weakness is high, innovation is low, public policy to encourage innovation is largely absent and firms often lack resources to drive innovation. Design/methodology/approach The authors build their typology of innovation theater from prior literature on (a) symbolic action in corporate innovation contexts and (b) fiction in entrepreneurship. This, in turn, leads to a framework that describes how for-profit firms can leverage innovation theater to address grand challenges in developing regions such as Latin America. The framework includes three steps: (1) recognize the opportunity to lead innovation theater in response to contextual realities, (2) balance legitimacy-seeking with market opportunity and (3) unleash the potential generativity of innovation theater by moving away from legitimacy-seeking and toward connecting innovation with the firm’s core business. Findings The authors combine their theoretical grounding with anecdotal examples from Latin America to argue that firms can make strides in addressing grand challenges in this and similar regions by relying on a generative side of innovation theater. During this process, they increasingly identify market opportunities and accept greater levels of uncertainty, moving from symbolic signaling toward systemic innovation that ties grand challenges to their core business purpose. The authors outline four types of innovation theater: compliance theater, distracting theater, opportunistic theater and engaged theater. These lay the groundwork for a processual framework that can guide firms interested in addressing grand challenges through innovation. Originality/value The authors’ typology and framework challenge negative perspectives of innovation theater, showing how for-profit firms can leverage its more generative, future-making side to address grand challenges in developing regions such as Latin America. This is a useful first step that may open the door to future empirical work on innovation theater and grand challenges in developing regions.
Purpose This study aims to explore how storytelling can be used as a marketing strategy in the hospitality industry by developing and illustrating a time-based storytelling model. The study investigates how a hospitality business connects the past (heritage), the present (product) and the real-time customer experience to create meaningful, capturing value offerings. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts an exploratory qualitative case study approach centered on Silks Palace, a restaurant located beside the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The authors collect data through semistructured interviews, document analysis and participant observation. The data is analyzed using thematic analysis and triangulated to ensure validity and richness of interpretation. Findings This study develops a storytelling marketing model based on two temporal logics: (1) a past–present–real-time structure (triangular and circular), and (2) a present–future–expected experience structure. The model illustrates how storytelling, when grounded in cultural heritage, enables capturing customer experiences and strengthening brand identity. The authors find that authentic storytelling based on historical artifacts fosters credibility, emotional engagement and differentiated value in hospitality. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to storytelling literature by framing storytelling as a time-based experiential strategy and by distinguishing between authentic and fictitious narratives. The authors’ dual-model approach opens new avenues for research into the temporality of storytelling, authenticity and narrative design across sectors. The authors also highlight the role of sensory and spatial storytelling in shaping experiential consumption. Practical implications This study offers a practical framework for integrating storytelling into hospitality operations. Managers can use authentic historical and cultural references to design capturing customer journeys that enhance emotional connection and competitive positioning. The authors also warn against overreliance on fictional storytelling that may fail to deliver the promised experience. Originality/value This study introduces a novel time-based model of storytelling marketing grounded in cultural heritage and hospitality. By linking past, present and real-time experience, the model offers a new way to conceptualize storytelling as a dynamic and strategic tool for experience design. It is one of the first studies to compare authentic and fictitious storytelling logics in a hospitality context.
Purpose Despite growing evidence that firm-external market conditions shape sustainability transitions, the role of internationalisation scope as a driver of circular economy (CE) adoption remains underexplored, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This study aims to examine how the geographical scope of market operations – local, regional, national or international – relates to CE knowledge and the breadth of CE practice implementation in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach Survey data from 1,200 manufacturing firms in Poland were analysed using association tests and classification techniques. CE adoption was operationalised across five managerial domains: packaging, product life extension, production processes, waste management and industrial symbiosis. Findings Firms operating primarily in local markets report significantly lower levels of CE knowledge and implementation than internationally active SMEs. The strongest relationships appear in packaging and waste management, suggesting the influence of international regulatory and customer requirements. Cluster analysis indicates that internationally oriented firms pursue more comprehensive CE strategies across functional areas. Practical implications The results of this study suggest that international market engagement may function as a catalyst for managerial learning and the diffusion of circular practices. Policymakers and regional development agencies could strengthen SME sustainability transitions by integrating CE-related support into internationalisation programmes. Originality/value By conceptualising market scope as a strategic contingency factor, this study extends research on sustainability management and SME internationalisation. This study reveals domain-specific CE responsiveness to internationalisation, showing that the relationship varies with practice complexity, and provides evidence of size-contingent limits of sustainability diffusion from CEE, a region under-represented in the international business literature.
