Dr Nuttawuth (Wuth) Muenjohn

This study interrogates what we term the qualification-match myth—the assumption that higher qualifications and accumulated human capital necessarily improve skilled migrants’ employment outcomes. Focusing on migrants from non-English-speaking backgrounds in Australia, we examine whether advanced degrees, retraining, and accumulated human capital enhance or undermine employment prospects. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, we integrate survey data from 105 migrants with in-depth interviews conducted with the same migrants and 24 recruiters. Quantitative analysis using PLS-SEM reveals a negative association between advanced qualifications and employment outcomes, while qualitative findings illuminate the institutional logics and recruitment heuristics through which recruiters privilege local experience, communicative competence, and cultural familiarity over formal credentials. Host-country degrees offer limited advantage, and migrants respond to devaluation through strategies such as retraining, accepting survival jobs, or concealing qualifications. By integrating findings through meta-inferences, the study provides explanatory insights into paradoxical outcomes that would be inaccessible through a single method. Conceptually, we show how qualifications can shift from assets to liabilities, reframing them as weak, context-dependent signals rather than universally valued capital. Empirically, the findings challenge human capital–based selection and migration systems, highlighting risks of systemic skill underutilization and implications for employer practices, policy design, and social inclusion. While focused on Asian migrants in Australia, the study advances global mobility research by demonstrating the value of mixed methods for uncovering hidden labour market inequalities and questioning taken-for-granted assumptions about merit and employability

The theme of this special issue indicates an investigation of the bidirectional (two-way) relationship among management practices, innovation, and firm productivity across various types of organisations and countries. Drawing on data from developing, emerging, and least developed economies, this special issue assesses the interplay among firm-level management quality, innovation activities, and country-specific context to identify the factors contributing to differences in firm-level performance and competitiveness. A series of studies covers an array of topics, including management practices, R&D investment, digital transformation, blockchain use, AI adoption, sustainability, resilience, export performance, and innovation capability at both the small- and medium-sized enterprise and large-firm levels. While there was a strong association between effective management practices (i.e., performance monitoring, target-setting, and incentive-based systems) and increased innovation outputs (and thus productivity), the positive relationship between innovation and firm performance was found to depend on specific environmental, financial, institutional, or technological characteristics. An additional number of studies have identified the mediation effect of innovative activities (e.g., R&D, patents, intangibles), while other studies highlighted the inhibiting effect of financial constraints on innovation-driven firms without tangible assets. Also, a significant portion of the studies included in the special issue demonstrated that digital and technological innovations will play a key role in determining future business performance and sustainability. By integrating various theories and methodologies, the collection provides a comprehensive review of how firms can align their management practices and innovation activities to improve long-term productivity, competitiveness, and sustainable development in increasingly complex global markets.

Leadership and Digital Transformation explores how rapid advances in digital technologies are reshaping the way organisations operate, compete, and engage with stakeholders across the world. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars and practitioners, the book offers a global and contemporary perspective on leadership in the digital age, particularly in the post-COVID-19 context where digital change has accelerated significantly.

The book combines theory, research, and real-world case studies to explain how leadership is evolving in response to digital transformation. It examines key ideas such as how leaders make decisions in complex environments, manage technological change, and balance innovation with ethical and organisational responsibilities. Methodologically, the chapters draw on a range of approaches, including empirical studies, case analyses, and conceptual frameworks, making the content both rigorous and accessible.

A key strength of the volume is its balanced perspective. It not only highlights the opportunities digital transformation offers but also addresses the challenges, including ethical dilemmas, organisational disruption, and leadership pressures. By bringing these perspectives together in one volume, the book offers a distinctive and timely contribution, providing practical insights for leaders and valuable knowledge for researchers, students, and professionals seeking to understand and navigate leadership in a rapidly changing digital world.

This introductory chapter sets the foundation for Leadership and Digital Transformation by examining the dynamic and evolving relationship between leadership and the rapid advancement of digital technologies. As innovations such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics continue to reshape how organisations operate, compete, and create value, they also introduce complex challenges related to governance, ethics, and organisational identity. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the chapter highlights that digital transformation extends beyond technological change, representing a broader social, organisational, and institutional shift. It emphasises the critical role of leadership in navigating uncertainty, harnessing digital opportunities, and addressing emerging risks. The chapter further situates the contributions of the volume within existing academic debates, exploring how leadership both shapes and is shaped by digital transformation.

Purpose
Drawing on job demands-resources theory, this paper aims to investigate the impact of workplace spirituality on mindfulness and the subsequent effects of mindfulness on open innovation mindset and job embeddedness. Additionally, it examines the mediating role of mindfulness between workplace spirituality and key outcomes, including open innovation mindset and job embeddedness. Lastly, the study investigates the moderating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between workplace spirituality and mindfulness.

Design/methodology/approach
The research utilized multiple sampling techniques to collect data from employees across numerous sectors. A total of 197 viable responses were collected. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings
The results indicate that workplace spirituality has a positive impact on mindfulness, which in turn increases employees’ job embeddedness and an open innovation mindset. Additionally, it was found that mindfulness mediates the relationship between workplace spirituality and both job embeddedness and open innovation mindset. Surprisingly and unexpectedly, the results indicate a negative moderating impact of self-efficacy between workplace spirituality and mindfulness.

Practical implications
Cultivating a sense of purpose and meaningful work, alongside mindfulness programs and recruitment practices focused on cultural fit, can enhance both employee retention and innovation.

Originality/value
Little to no research exists that clarifies how workplace spirituality impacts employees’ job embeddedness and an open innovation mindset. Notably, the mediating role of mindfulness remains unexplored. This study is among the first to explore the mediating role of mindfulness between workplace spirituality and outcomes such as job embeddedness and an open innovation mindset. Additionally, the moderating role of self-efficacy between workplace spirituality and mindfulness is almost absent in the existing literature. Lastly, the unexpected findings on the role of self-efficacy in this study open fresh avenues for future research.

The literature is relatively silent in addressing design leadership in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) simultaneously in various industry workplaces across the globe. This comparative study draws on employees in SME leadership roles across three Western countries to investigate the relationships between design leadership, work values ethic, and workplace innovation. Based on a sample of 1,573 survey responses, the findings indicate that design leadership has a strong effect on workplace innovation, whereas work values ethic has a positive but insignificant effect on workplace innovation. In addition, a positive work ethic has a moderate effect on design leadership (f2 = +0.207) and a negative work ethic has a negative and insignificant effect on design leadership (f2 = -0.001). In summary, the findings indicate a positive association between work values ethic, design leadership, and workplace innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises across the three Western countries of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Innovation is growing in significance for business leaders, communities, governments, and nations due to its essential role in ensuring survival, competitiveness, growth, and marketplace dominance. Despite its growing prominence, innovation often falls short of delivering better efficiency and improved services. Therefore, this article aims to identify innovation in the public sector, and highlights the barriers to organizational innovation, leadership qualities, and organizational climates that foster innovation cultures. While interpretations of innovation vary, a recurring theme in the literature is that innovation primarily hinges on creativity (Houtgraaf, Kruyen & Van Thiel, 2023) and leadership, including competence rather than solely the effort and experimentation that creativity or invention demands (Chapman 2006). Given the ambiguity surrounding public sector innovation and the lack of managerial tools to navigate it, this article provides insights to understanding the dynamics of innovation in governmental settings.

Creative thinking is an essential competency for students of higher education. This study explores the relationships between personal characteristics, interpersonal relationships, and innovativeness in creative thinking among students at the Universiti Teknologi MARA, Melaka, Malaysia. Based on purposive sampling, the final data were drawn from 140 diploma and degree students enrolled in the Faculty of Business and Management. All three independent variables significantly predicted approximately 63.2% of the variation in creative thinking. However, personal characteristics and interpersonal relationships contribute considerably to creative thinking. The study emphasizes the importance of personal traits and behaviour in developing creativity among Malaysian undergraduates.