Nagoya University of Commerce and Business

The study examines the mediating effect of trust on the relationship between procedural fairness and voluntary tax compliance among employees required to report underpaid tax returns due to a regulatory change. This study surveys employees of a state university in Central Java, Indonesia. Our sample comprises 165 employees. The results suggest that procedural fairness and trust in authorities play crucial roles in promoting voluntary tax compliance. This study also reveals the complementary and partial mediation effect of trust on the relationship between procedural fairness and voluntary tax compliance. This study is the first to investigate the process of achieving voluntary tax compliance among employees in a regulatory-alteration context in a developing country. This study highlights the importance of tax authorities moving beyond the traditional compliance model by building trust through fair treatment when seeking to encourage honest tax reporting among employees.

Purpose This study explores how organizational artificial intelligence (AI) adoption influences employee voice behavior through psychological mechanisms. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we investigate job engagement as a mediator and leader-member exchange (LMX) quality as a moderator in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach We employed a 3-wave time-lagged design with 327 employees from South Korean organizations. Data were collected at six-week intervals: organizational AI adoption and LMX (T1), job engagement (T2) and voice behavior (T3). Moderated mediation analysis tested our hypothesized model. Findings Organizational AI adoption positively relates to voice behavior through enhanced job engagement. This indirect effect is strengthened by high-quality LMX relationships. Employees experiencing high LMX show stronger positive relationships between AI adoption and job engagement, subsequently exhibiting more voice behavior. The moderated mediation index confirms that LMX quality significantly influences how AI adoption affects voice behavior through engagement. Originality/value This study advances understanding of AI's human-side implications beyond productivity metrics. By revealing how technological and relational resources interact to influence discretionary behaviors, we contribute to literature on technology adoption, employee engagement and leadership. The findings demonstrate that AI adoption can enhance rather than diminish employee voice when supported by appropriate leadership relationships.

ABSTRACT This study investigates how municipalities in Japan strategically leverage the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Future City designation to advance sustainability-driven place branding. While city branding is increasingly recognised as a governance tool, limited empirical research examines how state-led sustainability branding initiatives function as governance mechanisms. Addressing this gap, the study draws on 80 interviews conducted across 30 designated municipalities and employs thematic analysis to explore patterns of strategic use. The findings reveal that municipalities use the designation to enhance symbolic recognition, attract external resources, reinforce local identity, promote interdepartmental coordination, and foster participatory engagement. The study proposes a hybrid branding model that combines top-down institutional recognition with bottom-up civic initiatives. It contributes to urban governance and sustainability branding scholarship by demonstrating how place branding can operate as an integrated governance strategy.

Purpose This study explores the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation’s impact on research and teaching in an accredited business school. Despite many studies focusing on AACSB accreditation's positive impact on research output, its potential drawbacks for teaching quality have been insufficiently researched. Specifically, this study investigates how accreditation influences faculty priorities, institutional support and the perceived tradeoffs between research productivity and teaching effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Using an exploratory case study approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with full-time faculty members of an accredited school. The response data were examined using thematic analysis, focusing on the research and teaching changes experienced following the accreditation process. Findings While some faculty members felt that the increased emphasis on research improved teaching quality by integrating current research into the curriculum, others believed that it weakened their teaching effectiveness, revealing a nuanced relationship between the two. The findings suggest that apart from focusing on increasing research output, schools must also recognize and reward effective teaching, ensuring a more integrated approach to faculty evaluation and institutional priorities. Originality/value Besides contributing to the limited empirical literature on AACSB accreditation’s dual impact on research and teaching, this study provides theoretical and practical insights for business schools seeking to balance accreditation demands, offering recommendations for optimizing faculty evaluation and support to ensure the prioritization of both research excellence and teaching quality.

This paper examines the role of intra-firm competition as a strategic mechanism for enhancing innovation performance, emphasizing the contingent conditions that determine its effectiveness. By developing a theoretical framework grounded in contingency theory, the paper identifies market volatility, slack resources, and procedural justice climate as key factors shaping the impact of intra-firm competition on the innovation performance of internal teams. The theoretical framework highlights that while intra-firm competition can accelerate experimentation, challenge organizational inertia, and drive creative problem-solving, its benefits are not universal. Instead, its effectiveness is contingent on external market conditions, the strategic configuration of high organizational slack and distinct team problem domains, and employees’ perceptions of fairness in competition. This paper contributes to the literature on innovation management and competitive strategy by clarifying the enabling conditions for productive intra-firm competition, resolving prior conflicting perspectives, and providing a structured framework for future empirical investigation. The paper underscores the need for deliberate managerial design and calibration of competitive structures, ensuring that internal competition fosters sustainable innovation rather than inefficiencies or counterproductive rivalry.

Abstract The most distinctive characteristic of Japanese heir managing firms is that founding families keep sending top management without influential voting rights in a substantial number of cases. Why is it possible? To answer the question, we draw attention to the huge difference of managerial ownership of heir managing firms and listed non-family firms in Japan. Does management ownership (vs. family ownership) drive performance in Japanese heir managing firms? Our regression analysis reveals that management ownership is positively correlated with firm performance, as measured by ROA and ROE. Importantly, this positive effect is observed even in firms with low family ownership, suggesting that management incentives play a crucial role in driving performance. Our research suggests that management’s equity incentives may play a crucial role in driving firm performance, even in the absence of strong shareholder-oriented corporate governance in stakeholder systems.

Purpose This study aims to examine how perceptual congruence between supervisors’ provided and team members’ received knowledge sharing influences group performance outcomes, with group felt obligation as a mediating mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on social exchange theory, the authors conducted a time-lagged study with 318 police officers in 107 teams in South Korea. Using polynomial regression and response surface methodology, the authors tested knowledge-sharing congruence effects on group performance outcomes, with block variable approach and bootstrapping to examine group felt obligation’s mediating role. Findings Results reveal three key insights into knowledge-sharing dynamics. First, perceptual congruence between supervisors’ provided and team members’ received knowledge sharing enhances both dimensions of group performance outcomes. Second, these effects intensify at higher levels of congruence, indicating greater performance benefits when supervisors and team members both perceive extensive knowledge sharing. Third, perceptual incongruence produces asymmetric effects on group performance outcomes − specifically, outcomes decline more severely when team members overestimate the knowledge they receive compared to when supervisors overestimate the knowledge they provide. In addition, mediation analyses confirm group felt obligation as the key mechanism linking knowledge-sharing congruence to group performance outcomes. Originality/value This research advances knowledge management literature by shifting focus from knowledge transfer to perceptual alignment in knowledge utilization. Effective knowledge sharing depends not only on quantity but also on perceptual congruence, shaping both task performance and discretionary contributions at the group level.

ABSTRACTThe COVID‐19 pandemic has fueled debate over whether democracies or autocracies exhibit more effective leadership in crises. This study examines the role of unilateral executive power, arguing that presidents in democracies, especially those with independent media, are more likely to act decisively to mitigate the pandemic. Using a fixed‐effect model analysis of over 30 presidencies, we find that democratic leaders more frequently employ unilateral measures, even in areas requiring significant restrictions, such as emergency declarations. These findings support the democratic advantage in crisis management, challenging the notion of autocratic superiority during the pandemic.