Administrative Sciences

19 pages, 607 KB

Open AccessArticle

How Organizational Design Facilitates Team Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Knowledge-Creation Processes in Healthcare Organizations

by Hideaki Kanamori and Takayuki Harada

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 515; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100515 - 16 Oct 2026

Abstract

Knowledge-intensive organizations rely on multidisciplinary collaboration, yet the organizational structures that convert specialized knowledge into collective capabilities remain insufficiently understood. This cross-sectional study examined whether knowledge-creation processes mediate the associations between group formality and contextual performance and perceived emotional synchrony in Japanese healthcare [...] Read more.

Knowledge-intensive organizations rely on multidisciplinary collaboration, yet the organizational structures that convert specialized knowledge into collective capabilities remain insufficiently understood. This cross-sectional study examined whether knowledge-creation processes mediate the associations between group formality and contextual performance and perceived emotional synchrony in Japanese healthcare organizations. An anonymous online survey included 500 participants: 250 healthcare professionals and 250 medical administrative staff. Structural equation modeling showed that group formality was positively associated with knowledge-creation processes (β = 0.420), which were positively associated with contextual performance (β = 0.635) and perceived emotional synchrony (β = 0.492). The direct association between group formality and perceived emotional synchrony remained significant (β = 0.159), whereas its direct path to contextual performance could be omitted without worsening model fit. The revised model yielded RMSEA = 0.064 and SRMR = 0.055, although CFI = 0.890 and TLI = 0.886 remained slightly below the conventional 0.90 criterion. Multigroup analyses supported metric invariance, with no significant differences in focal structural paths between staff groups. These findings suggest that appropriately designed formal structures may support behavioral and affective team outcomes by facilitating knowledge creation rather than merely imposing control. Longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to assess temporal ordering and causal mechanisms. Full article

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23 pages, 2940 KB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Work Engagement in an Always-On Work Culture: A Systematic Literature Review

by Ivan Lehpamer and Danijela Sokolic

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 514; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100514 - 16 Oct 2026

Abstract

Digital connectivity, remote and hybrid work, and expectations of constant availability have made “always-on” work cultures a central feature of contemporary organising, yet work engagement research has only partially incorporated these conditions into its core theoretical frameworks. We conducted a systematic literature review [...] Read more.

Digital connectivity, remote and hybrid work, and expectations of constant availability have made “always-on” work cultures a central feature of contemporary organising, yet work engagement research has only partially incorporated these conditions into its core theoretical frameworks. We conducted a systematic literature review of empirical studies on work and employee engagement in always-on contexts in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus were searched for English-language, peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025 that examined engagement in work settings and always-on constructs. Studies involving non-work populations, studies that did not examine antecedents of engagement, studies unrelated to an always-on context, and non-empirical studies were excluded. The final sample comprised 36 studies. Risk of bias was formally assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools. We used narrative synthesis, frequency analysis, and bibliometric analysis to identify antecedents, theoretical frameworks, and boundary-related constructs. Job resources emerged as the dominant antecedent category. The Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model was the predominant explanatory framework, while key boundary mechanisms—psychological detachment, boundary control, and the right to disconnect—were rarely operationalised as distinct variables. We conceptualise these mechanisms as boundary resources and propose a boundary-sensitive extension of the JD-R model. The evidence is limited by conceptual dispersion, the under-measurement of always-on constructs, and the predominance of cross-sectional studies. The review was retrospectively registered in the OSF Registries on 23 September 2026 using the Open-Ended Registration template. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thriving Through People: Human-Centered Strategies for Organizational Sustainability in the Digital Age)

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35 pages, 2010 KB

Open AccessSystematic Review

GovTech Ecosystems in Latin America and the Digital Governance Paradox: A Systematic Review of Innovation Labs, Procurement Reform, and Collaborative Governance

by Omar Otalora-Barreto and Leonardo Parra-Agudelo

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100513 - 16 Oct 2026

Abstract

GovTech ecosystems in Latin America are expanding rapidly, yet many initiatives struggle to scale beyond isolated pilots. While prior research has identified technological and regulatory barriers, limited attention has been given to how technological, organizational, and environmental factors interact within public management systems. [...] Read more.

GovTech ecosystems in Latin America are expanding rapidly, yet many initiatives struggle to scale beyond isolated pilots. While prior research has identified technological and regulatory barriers, limited attention has been given to how technological, organizational, and environmental factors interact within public management systems. This study addresses that gap through a systematic literature review (SLR) conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and guided by the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework. A final sample of 90 studies was analyzed to examine how procurement regimes, innovation labs, and regulatory structures shape GovTech adoption and diffusion. The findings reveal a “Digital Governance Paradox”: although advanced digital tools are widely available, rigid procurement rules and institutional voids constrain experimentation and scaling. Innovation labs function as boundary-spanning intermediaries that partially compensate for environmental rigidity, yet their impact remains fragile without formal institutional embedding. These results suggest that scaling GovTech requires governance reform, particularly the transition from compliance-oriented procurement to challenge-based and iterative experimentation models. The study contributes a mechanism-based explanation of pilotization and advances innovation governance theory in emerging economy contexts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Management in the 21st Century: Innovations and Challenges in Governance)

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20 pages, 294 KB

Open AccessReview

Intergenerational Talent Management in Industry 4.0: Toward Organisational Cybernetic Autopoiesis

by Eben Haeser Swanepoel and Anna-Marie Pelser

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 512; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100512 - 15 Oct 2026

Abstract

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, brings to the fore various opportunities for organisations to globalise with more efficient ways of implementing processes, from customer relations through artificial intelligence to the automation of production. This article presents a desktop [...] Read more.

The advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, brings to the fore various opportunities for organisations to globalise with more efficient ways of implementing processes, from customer relations through artificial intelligence to the automation of production. This article presents a desktop review exploring the influence of generational factors on employee talent management, aiming to develop a cybernetic theory to account for autopoiesis. Framed through cybernetics and person–environment theory, this manuscript focuses on the tenets of systemic behavioural and communication patterns constituting generational cohorts subsumed by Generation Z, Generation X, Generation Y, and Baby Boomers, with specific reference to the global and South African context. Leadership should potentially account for generational feedback loops that influence organisational non-purposeful drift to sustain governance. A heightened awareness of generational cultures influencing communication and behavioural patterns may allow leaders to better manage key personnel and potentially optimise resource pooling and feedback loops within the system to retain organisational integrity and promote organisational autopoiesis during future world of work disruptions and uncertainty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Administrative Strategies and Practices for Economic Growth and Development: Governance, Sustainability, and Digital Transformation in the 21st Century)

33 pages, 3437 KB

Open AccessArticle

Concentration, Positional Persistence, and Institutional Mobility Across Five Major Public Research Funding Systems

by Wen-Ben Lin and Chao-Ming Yang

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 511; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100511 - 14 Oct 2026

Abstract

This study compares the concentration, positional persistence, institutional mobility, and performance associations observed in five major public research funding systems: NSF, NSFC, JSPS, NSERC, and NSTC. Institution-year funding records are linked to SciVal indicators, while explicitly recognising that agency funding and whole-institution bibliometric [...] Read more.

This study compares the concentration, positional persistence, institutional mobility, and performance associations observed in five major public research funding systems: NSF, NSFC, JSPS, NSERC, and NSTC. Institution-year funding records are linked to SciVal indicators, while explicitly recognising that agency funding and whole-institution bibliometric performance do not have identical coverage. RQ1 provides descriptive recipient-panel concentration diagnostics. RQ2 distinguishes system-level co-concentration from institution-level conditional associations and applies Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate adjustments to prespecified families of focal tests. Positive system-level slopes predominate, but only one of 123 main 41-indicator Funding Gini tests remains significant after FDR adjustment; the 24 principal pooled institution-level fixed-effects PPML specifications, covering eight outcomes under three FSL specifications, detect no consistent statistically distinguishable funding-share association. RQ3 shows substantial persistence in accumulated top-funded positions. Annual-funding and non-overlapping-window checks indicate that persistence remains when mechanical overlap is reduced, and current top-funded status is positively associated with later performance-elite status for most estimable indicators. These findings are noncausal distributional and positional diagnostics. They do not identify governance mechanisms or describe the entirety of national public research funding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Strategic Management)

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32 pages, 3007 KB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Compulsive Social Media Use Among Employees: The Roles of Public Social Media Usage, Workplace Fear of Missing Out and Employee Ambition

by Yi Li and Renjing Liu

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100510 - 14 Oct 2026

Abstract

The increasing integration of public social media (PSM) into workplace practices has transformed employee communication and collaboration while also creating new challenges for managing digital connectivity. Drawing on the Stressor–Strain–Outcome (S–S–O) framework, this study examines how work-related and social-related PSM usage are associated [...] Read more.

The increasing integration of public social media (PSM) into workplace practices has transformed employee communication and collaboration while also creating new challenges for managing digital connectivity. Drawing on the Stressor–Strain–Outcome (S–S–O) framework, this study examines how work-related and social-related PSM usage are associated with employees’ compulsive social media use and explores the mediating role of workplace fear of missing out (WFoMO) and the moderating role of employee ambition. Using survey data from 326 employees in China, this study finds that both work-related and social-related PSM usage are positively associated with compulsive social media use. Furthermore, WFoMO mediates the relationships between both forms of PSM usage and compulsive social media use, indicating that workplace PSM usage may contribute to compulsive use behavior through employees’ concerns about missing important information, interactions, and opportunities. The results also show that employee ambition strengthens the relationships between both forms of PSM usage and WFoMO. The moderated mediation analysis further indicates that the indirect effect of work-related PSM usage on compulsive social media use through WFoMO is stronger among employees with higher ambition. This study extends research on workplace digital technology usage by highlighting the psychological mechanisms and individual differences underlying employees’ digital behaviors. Full article

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29 pages, 2159 KB

Open AccessArticle

Entrepreneurial-Oriented Thinking and Physical Wellbeing: An Empirical Test of a Sequential Mediation Model Involving Self-Efficacy and Sports Motivation

by Ardita Malaj and Nizamettin Bayyurt

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 509; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100509 - 14 Oct 2026

Abstract

Entrepreneurial mindset has traditionally been examined in relation to entrepreneurial behavior and business performance; however, its role in promoting individual wellbeing remains underexplored. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Determination Theory, this study investigates whether self-efficacy and sports motivation explain the relationship between [...] Read more.

Entrepreneurial mindset has traditionally been examined in relation to entrepreneurial behavior and business performance; however, its role in promoting individual wellbeing remains underexplored. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Determination Theory, this study investigates whether self-efficacy and sports motivation explain the relationship between entrepreneurial-oriented thinking in physical-activity settings and physical wellbeing. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 462 participants in Saudi Arabia, and the proposed model was tested using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). The results indicate that entrepreneurial-oriented thinking is positively associated with self-efficacy, sports motivation and physical wellbeing while self-efficacy is positively associated with sports motivation and physical wellbeing. Moreover, self-efficacy mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial-oriented thinking and physical wellbeing, whereas neither sports motivation nor the sequential mediation of self-efficacy and sports motivation was supported. These findings suggest that entrepreneurial-oriented thinking may be indirectly associated with health-related outcomes through self-efficacy. The study contributes to the entrepreneurship and management literature by integrating Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Determination Theory into a unified framework explaining how entrepreneurial-oriented cognition is associated with wellbeing. The findings also offer practical implications for educators, managers, and policymakers seeking to promote entrepreneurial competencies and healthier lifestyles, particularly within the context of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Full article

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10 pages, 183 KB

Open AccessEditorial

From Surviving Disruption to Thriving Through It: Resilience, Humanity, and the Future of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship

by John C. Camillus and John Lipinski

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 508; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100508 - 13 Oct 2026

Abstract

Societal disruptions have ceased to be exceptional events around which organizations can plan temporary responses [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship in the Time of Societal Disruptions)

16 pages, 508 KB

Open AccessArticle

Storytelling in Brand Activism: Narrative Structure and Word-of-Mouth

by Sara Santos, Pedro Espírito Santo and Sónia Ferreira

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 507; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100507 - 13 Oct 2026

Abstract

Consumers increasingly evaluate brands based on the causes they choose to support, alongside product performance, raising the question of how storytelling can effectively convey this social commitment. This study examines whether narrative structure in brand-created activist video advertising is positively associated with narrative [...] Read more.

Consumers increasingly evaluate brands based on the causes they choose to support, alongside product performance, raising the question of how storytelling can effectively convey this social commitment. This study examines whether narrative structure in brand-created activist video advertising is positively associated with narrative transportation and, consequently, brand–cause fit, brand reputation, and word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions. Data were collected through a self-administered online survey completed immediately after participants (n = 213) watched a branded activist video produced by a Portuguese telecommunications company. The proposed model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4, following established two-stage procedures for assessing measurement and structural model quality. Results support all five hypothesised relationships: narrative structure is strongly associated with narrative transportation, which is positively related to both brand–cause fit and brand reputation; brand–cause fit is further associated with a stronger reputation, which in turn is positively related to WOM. These findings suggest that narrative transportation plays a central role in linking coherent storytelling to favourable brand outcomes. The study also extends the Extended Transportation-Imagery Model to the activist advertising context and offers brand managers practical guidance for designing narrative-driven communication that strengthens brand–cause congruence, reputation, and consumer advocacy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Reputation: Why It Matters and How to Manage It)

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21 pages, 852 KB

Open AccessArticle

Powering Up for a Greener Future: Employee Empowerment and Green Product Innovation in China’s Manufacturing Industry

by Yue Yu, Rui Shen, Chong Xin and Jiaxuan Wang

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 506; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100506 - 13 Oct 2026

Abstract

Growing environmental pressures have increased the need for the manufacturing industry to develop greener products. Employee empowerment is closely associated with green product innovation (GPI). Higher levels of employee empowerment are typically accompanied by greater employee autonomy, which may provide more favorable conditions [...] Read more.

Growing environmental pressures have increased the need for the manufacturing industry to develop greener products. Employee empowerment is closely associated with green product innovation (GPI). Higher levels of employee empowerment are typically accompanied by greater employee autonomy, which may provide more favorable conditions for GPI. However, existing research offers limited insight into how empowerment specifically influences GPI during the R&D process. To address this gap, this study draws on social exchange and social learning theories to explore the impact of GPI from the perspective of employee empowerment. Moreover, by positioning knowledge sharing (KS) as a mediator and green transformational leadership (GTFL) as a moderator, this study aims to explain the internal mechanisms and boundary conditions. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 199 employees in the R&D departments of Chinese manufacturing firms and used hierarchical regression to analyse the data. The findings show a positive relationship between employee empowerment and GPI, with KS playing a mediating role. We also find that GTFL strengthens the effect of KS on GPI. This study contributes to the existing knowledge by offering new insights into the association between employee empowerment and GPI. For R&D department heads in manufacturing companies, this study provides valuable recommendations for green product development by highlighting the importance of employee empowerment and GTFL. Full article

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17 pages, 2964 KB

Open AccessHypothesis

AI-Mediated Apprenticeship: Rethinking Follower Development in Servant Leadership Under GenAI Delegation

by Ozgur Ertem

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 505; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100505 - 13 Oct 2026

Abstract

Generative AI can now perform routine and first-pass knowledge work that has also helped less-experienced employees develop. This creates a leadership problem for servant leadership, which treats follower growth as a constitutive priority. This article introduces developmental work access (DWA): the breadth and [...] Read more.

Generative AI can now perform routine and first-pass knowledge work that has also helped less-experienced employees develop. This creates a leadership problem for servant leadership, which treats follower growth as a constitutive priority. This article introduces developmental work access (DWA): the breadth and continuity of meaningful participation in development-bearing work across the part of a follower’s portfolio that a focal leader can materially allocate. It distinguishes general AI use from efficiency-first managerial AI delegation (EFAID). In EFAID, speed, cost, throughput, or reduced managerial burden guide delegation, while follower development is absent from the material allocation decision. Four propositions link servant leadership, EFAID, DWA, leader-designed AI-mediated apprenticeship (AMA), and role-relevant capability development. AMA comprises verified review, specification authorship, and reflective human–AI comparison. It is a design-side moderator; DWA records realised participation. This article also specifies how to measure eligible work, participation, breadth, continuity, portfolio compensation, and construct denominators. The model neither assumes that AI causes deskilling nor that AMA works in every setting. It identifies when manager-authorised delegation may restrict developmental participation and how leaders may reconstruct it while protecting genuine human execution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Leadership)

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32 pages, 390 KB

Open AccessArticle

Entrepreneurial Investment Decisions in Blockchain Startups: Structured Criteria and the Provisional Moderating Role of Investor Personality

by Andrei Davydovitch and Andrejs Čirjevskis

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100504 - 12 Oct 2026

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of investors’ perceived decision-process quality, addressing a critical gap in the entrepreneurial finance literature, where blockchain ventures have been examined predominantly through speculative asset lenses rather than as entrepreneurial firms. Drawing on a sample of 51 blockchain investors, [...] Read more.

This study investigates the determinants of investors’ perceived decision-process quality, addressing a critical gap in the entrepreneurial finance literature, where blockchain ventures have been examined predominantly through speculative asset lenses rather than as entrepreneurial firms. Drawing on a sample of 51 blockchain investors, we employ partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test a model integrating investment criteria, investor personality traits, and demographic characteristics as predictors of the Successful Investor Profile—a perceptual construct measuring perceived decision-process quality rather than realized investment success. We collected data through a structured online survey administered via Typeform. The aim of this study is to identify the determinants of the Successful Investor Profile in early-stage blockchain startups and to clarify the role of personality traits in this process. The findings show that structured investment criteria exert the dominant influence (β = 0.509, f² = 0.649, R² = 0.919), while personality traits show evidence of moderating rather than directly predicting outcomes, although this moderation is specification-dependent (see below). A significant interaction is observed at the position of emotional stability (β = 0.870, p = 0.002), but emotional stability is not empirically separable from conscientiousness at this sample size, so the finding is reported as dispositional conditioning of the criteria–profile relationship rather than as the effect of a named trait. This conditioning is provisional: it is not observed when the five traits are combined into a single composite personality score (interaction β = 0.018, not significant), which instead shows a significant direct effect (β = 0.312, p = 0.007) on the Successful Investor Profile, so the result should be read as specification-dependent rather than established, whereas demographic characteristics, except for investment experience duration (β = 0.275, p = 0.008), show no significant effects. We contribute to entrepreneurship theory by specifying boundary conditions for rational choice and identity economics in the blockchain context, and to practice by proposing a transparent, criterion-referenced evaluation framework for entrepreneurial venture assessment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Entrepreneurial Innovation in the New Normal: Navigating Hybrid Uncertainty)

40 pages, 5878 KB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Initial Calibration of a Five-Dimensional Sustainability-Focused Digital Marketing Scale for Thai SMEs

by Patrick Leelayana, Somchai Lekcharoen and Sumaman Pankham

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 503; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100503 - 10 Oct 2026

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly combine digital customer engagement with sustainability practices, yet the literature reviewed for this study offered limited evidence of an integrated measure. This study initially calibrates a sustainability-focused extension of the 4E marketing mix, adding Environmental Responsibility as [...] Read more.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly combine digital customer engagement with sustainability practices, yet the literature reviewed for this study offered limited evidence of an integrated measure. This study initially calibrates a sustainability-focused extension of the 4E marketing mix, adding Environmental Responsibility as a bounded practice dimension to Experience, Exchange, Everyplace, and Evangelism. Three rounds with 23 experts refined 65 indicators; an adapted multi-stakeholder rough-set screen retained 62. Same-sample, model-generating calibration produced a 28-item specification, which was held fixed and reassessed after exact-copy screening using 541 nonduplicate Thai SME responses. Conventional reliability estimates met the stated criteria. Average variance extracted exceeded 0.50 for all dimensions in the primary model, but fell below this criterion for Experience in several sensitivity specifications. The principal correlated five-factor model fit better than the theory-specified second-order model (comparative fit index = 0.944 versus 0.939; root mean square error of approximation = 0.057 versus 0.059). Robust maximum-likelihood results were broadly supportive, whereas ordinal weighted least squares evidence was mixed. Discriminant validity remained provisional for Experience–Exchange and Exchange–Everyplace. The study integrates established rough-set principles into multi-stakeholder screening and offers an initial five-dimensional operationalization. A general 5E score is not established; independent-sample confirmation is required before scoring or benchmarking. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Administrative Strategies and Practices for Economic Growth and Development: Governance, Sustainability, and Digital Transformation in the 21st Century)

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20 pages, 2127 KB

Open AccessArticle

Women at the Helm: Female Top Managers and Business Process Innovation in Ecuadorian Firms

by Gustavo Hermosa-Vega, Giovanni Herrera-Enríquez, Lili Salcedo-Vallejo and Diego Sande-Veiga

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 502; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100502 - 10 Oct 2026

Abstract

Women’s participation in senior management has increased, yet evidence regarding its relationship with different forms of business innovation remains inconclusive, particularly in emerging economies. This study examines whether formal Ecuadorian firms with a woman as their top manager are more likely to report [...] Read more.

Women’s participation in senior management has increased, yet evidence regarding its relationship with different forms of business innovation remains inconclusive, particularly in emerging economies. This study examines whether formal Ecuadorian firms with a woman as their top manager are more likely to report business process innovation than firms led by men. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design was applied to firm-level data from 345 enterprises included in the World Bank Enterprise Survey Ecuador; 66 firms (19.1%) reported a female top manager. Process innovation was measured from WBES item H5, which asks whether the establishment introduced a new or improved process during the preceding three years, including production or service methods, logistics/delivery/distribution, or supporting activities. Weighted logit models with firm controls and sector and region fixed effects were estimated. In the main specification (n = 327), female top management was associated with higher odds of process innovation (OR = 3.475; 95% CI [1.570, 7.688]; p = 0.002), and the direction remained positive across robustness checks. No statistically significant association was found with product innovation, R&D expenditure, or green-practice adoption. The findings therefore support a differentiated interpretation: female top management is associated with internal process change, but not uniformly with every innovation outcome. Because the data are cross-sectional and the female-manager group is comparatively small, the estimates are associational, their precision and heterogeneity are limited, and generalization is restricted to the formal non-agricultural private-sector population represented by the WBES sampling frame. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gender and Leadership: Advancing Equity and Empowerment in Executive Roles)

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22 pages, 1486 KB

Open AccessArticle

Humble Leadership: Psychometric Validation of a Scale Adapted to the Peruvian Organizational Context

by Elizabeth Emperatriz García-Salirrosas, Miluska Villar-Guevara, Ledy Gómez-Bayona and Ghenkis Amilcar Ezcurra-Zavaleta

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 501; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100501 - 9 Oct 2026

Abstract

Humble leadership has been recognized as a relevant style for organizational performance and well-being; however, empirical evidence on its psychometric properties comes primarily from English-speaking contexts, and validated instruments for Spanish-speaking populations, particularly in Peru, remain limited. This study aimed to psychometrically validate [...] Read more.

Humble leadership has been recognized as a relevant style for organizational performance and well-being; however, empirical evidence on its psychometric properties comes primarily from English-speaking contexts, and validated instruments for Spanish-speaking populations, particularly in Peru, remain limited. This study aimed to psychometrically validate the Spanish-language version of the Expressed Humility Scale in a Peruvian organizational sample. We used an instrumental, non-experimental, cross-sectional design with a sample of 411 employees. We conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and assessed reliability, convergent validity, and validity based on relationships with other variables. The results revealed a unifactorial structure with nine items, factor loadings between 0.72 and 0.90, excellent fit after specifying theoretically justified error covariances (CFI = 0.990; RMSEA = 0.058), high reliability (α = 0.955; CR = 0.954), and adequate convergent validity (AVE = 0.701). Furthermore, we found a positive and significant correlation with work engagement (r = 0.53, p < 0.001), supporting its criterion validity. These findings provide a valid and reliable instrument for assessing humble leadership in the Latin American organizational context, thus helping to close a relevant methodological gap in leadership research in the region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-Cultural Leadership: Managing Across Borders and Cultures)

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29 pages, 1688 KB

Open AccessArticle

Public Management and Public Security Policy: An Integrated Conceptual Governance Framework with a Mexican Documentary Illustration

by David Sanchez-Hernandez, Israel Alvarado-Martínez, Gerardo Reyes-Ruiz, Guillermo Urriolagoitia-Sosa, Beatriz Romero-Angeles, Jacobo Martinez-Reyes, Julian Patiño-Ortiz, Miguel Patiño-Ortíz, Flavio Arturo Dominguez-Pacheco, Claudia Hernández-Aguilar, Jonatan Mireles-Hernandez, Candy Esmeralda Hernandez-Bravo, Francisco Chávez-Gutiérrez, Ana Paulina Castellanos-Santibáñez, Jonathan Rodolfo Guereca-Ibarra, Luis Itzcoatl Lugo-Chacón, Fernando Rene Esquivel-Patiño and Jorge Alberto Gomez-Niebla

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 500; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100500 - 9 Oct 2026

Abstract

Public-security policy is commonly assessed through operational outputs and crime-related indicators, yet policy performance also depends on the administrative and governance arrangements through which priorities are diagnosed, coordinated, implemented, evaluated, corrected, and subjected to public accountability. This conceptual study develops an integrated governance [...] Read more.

Public-security policy is commonly assessed through operational outputs and crime-related indicators, yet policy performance also depends on the administrative and governance arrangements through which priorities are diagnosed, coordinated, implemented, evaluated, corrected, and subjected to public accountability. This conceptual study develops an integrated governance framework for evidence-informed public-security policy through a theory-driven synthesis of public management, policy capacity, collaborative governance, whole-of-government coordination, evidence-informed policymaking, performance management, organizational learning, public value, police legitimacy, accountability, and security-governance scholarship. The synthesis distinguishes five management functions—strategic diagnosis, policy design, collaborative governance, implementation capability, and evaluation and organizational learning—and connects them to a multilevel capability-to-legitimacy architecture. The framework’s incremental contribution lies not in introducing these constructs individually, but in specifying the interfaces through which mandates, resources, evidence, coordination arrangements, implementation capabilities, performance information, accountability mechanisms, and legitimacy conditions interact across the public-security policy process. Particular attention is given to construct boundaries, level-of-analysis distinctions, feedback mechanisms, and conditions under which otherwise desirable management arrangements may fail or produce trade-offs. Mexico is included as an illustrative documentary vignette rather than as an empirical validation case, using current federal planning and public-security instruments to demonstrate how the proposed analytical categories can be operationalized. The framework is presented as a candidate integrative heuristic whose propositions, measurement structure, and cross-level relationships require future empirical testing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Administrative Strategies and Practices for Economic Growth and Development: Governance, Sustainability, and Digital Transformation in the 21st Century)

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18 pages, 583 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Paradox of Compliance: Procedural Signal Saturation and Conditional Distrust in Public Organizations

by Yunike Puspita, Hilmiana, Sunu Widianto and Dina Sartika

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100499 - 9 Oct 2026

Abstract

Public organizations communicate procedural compliance through audits, certifications, and disclosures, but additional communication need not increase trust. This conceptual article asks when repeated procedural signals cease to improve audience judgments and may contribute to distrust. A problem-oriented synthesis connects signaling, bounded rationality, institutional [...] Read more.

Public organizations communicate procedural compliance through audits, certifications, and disclosures, but additional communication need not increase trust. This conceptual article asks when repeated procedural signals cease to improve audience judgments and may contribute to distrust. A problem-oriented synthesis connects signaling, bounded rationality, institutional decoupling, procedural justice, and public value research, with persuasion knowledge providing an attributional bridge. Procedural signal saturation is proposed as a condition in which repetition supplies little additional usable information relative to available attention. Saturation alone predicts diminishing informational returns. Distrust requires an additional inference that repetitive self-justification evades a salient concern. This audience pathway is distinguished from an organizational pathway in which reporting demands displace responsiveness. Five propositions specify these relationships and a conditional feedback process termed the Compliance Trap. A measurement framework separates conduct, exposure, processing, attribution, trust, and legitimacy. Existing research informs the mechanism’s components without establishing the complete sequence. The contribution is a bounded account of repeated compliance evidence that specifies contrasting predictions for information uptake and intent attribution, while retaining inattention, performance disappointment, and means–ends decoupling as alternative explanations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Management in the 21st Century: Innovations and Challenges in Governance)

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21 pages, 366 KB

Open AccessArticle

Beyond Pay: Job Quality and Job Satisfaction Among Private-Sector Workers in Ecuador

by José Morales, Karen Balladares, Danny Arévalo, Carolina Molina, Carmen Padilla, Rober Luciano and Holger Cevallos

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 498; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100498 - 9 Oct 2026

Abstract

Job quality extends beyond earnings to encompass employment stability, social protection, skill-development opportunities, and working-time conditions. This study examines how these employment characteristics are associated with global job satisfaction among private-sector employees in Ecuador. Using repeated cross-sectional microdata from the National Survey of [...] Read more.

Job quality extends beyond earnings to encompass employment stability, social protection, skill-development opportunities, and working-time conditions. This study examines how these employment characteristics are associated with global job satisfaction among private-sector employees in Ecuador. Using repeated cross-sectional microdata from the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment (ENEMDU), the principal analysis covers 27,150 workers observed in the December waves of 2017–2019, with 2020 treated as a temporal sensitivity extension. Survey-weighted ordered-logit models account for the complex sampling design. The proportional-odds restriction is formally assessed and complemented by a survey-adjusted partial proportional-odds specification, binary-logit models, alternative functional forms, subgroup analyses, and a Guayaquil domain analysis. Real earnings, permanent employment, and social-security coverage are positively associated with job satisfaction, whereas longer weekly working hours are negatively associated with it. Employer-provided training does not exhibit a uniform association across satisfaction thresholds, while tenure and establishment size show no robust independent associations. The central patterns remain broadly stable across alternative specifications, although the 2020 extension indicates modest joint temporal heterogeneity. The findings show that workers’ evaluations of their jobs are associated with several distinct employment attributes beyond pay in an underexplored Latin American setting. Full article

15 pages, 503 KB

Open AccessArticle

Public or Private? An Exploratory Study of Career Preferences Among Business and MPA Students in Norway

by Leiv Opstad

Adm. Sci. 2026, 16(10), 497; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci16100497 - 9 Oct 2026

Abstract

This exploratory study examines preferences for public- and private-sector employment among two groups of students in Norway with different educational and professional backgrounds: 145 bachelor’s students in business administration and 56 Master of Public Administration (MPA) students. Cross-sectional survey data from two higher [...] Read more.

This exploratory study examines preferences for public- and private-sector employment among two groups of students in Norway with different educational and professional backgrounds: 145 bachelor’s students in business administration and 56 Master of Public Administration (MPA) students. Cross-sectional survey data from two higher education institutions were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, comparisons of means, and linear regression. The groups differed substantially in their sector preferences and in the importance they attached to several job attributes. However, the research design cannot separate differences related to the programmes from differences arising from self-selection, age, work experience, occupational background, or career stage. Business students showed a stronger preference for the private sector and placed more emphasis on status and prestige. MPA students showed a stronger preference for the public sector and placed more emphasis on societal contribution and teamwork. Societal contribution was positively associated with a public-sector preference in both groups, although the separate models do not show whether the associations were equally strong. The groups did not differ in their ratings of the combined measure of job security and flexibility. Norway’s welfare and labour-market institutions are discussed as a possible contextual explanation, but this mechanism was not tested. The study provides an exploratory and context-sensitive account of how public-service motives and more self-regarding job attributes may coexist in career preferences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managerial Effectiveness and Corporate Governance: Behavioral and Strategic Foundations of Organizational Performance)

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