Gossip in organisations: Contexts, consequences and controversies

This article examines the key themes surrounding gossip including its contexts, the various outcomes (positive and negative) of gossip as well as a selection of challenges and controversies. The challenges which are highlighted revolve around definitional issues, methodological approaches, and ethical considerations. Our analysis suggests that the characteristics and features of gossip lend itself to a process-oriented approach whereby the beginning and, particularly, end points of gossip are not always easily identified. Gossip about a subject or person can temporarily disappear only for it to re-surface at some later stage. In addition, questions pertaining to the effects of gossip and ethical-based arguments depend on the nature of the relationships within the gossip triad (gossiper, listener/respondent and target)

Very important, yet very neglected: Where do local communities stand when examining social sustainability in major construction projects?

Major construction projects are characterized by a heterogeneous audience of stakeholders who can create severe reputational risk to project organizations when not properly addressed. The inclusion and support that project organizations devote to local communities form a crucial part of a project's delivery and social sustainability considerations, yet this has only recently attracted attention in project studies. To address social sustainability, project managers should reinforce accountability and the inclusion of ‘new voices’ in the project decision-making process. Through mixed-methods research, this paper contributes to the project stakeholder engagement discourse and normative stance of stakeholder theory concerning the role of local communities and examines the ways in which inclusion can provide a response to the sustainability challenges of major projects. Findings suggest means-ends decoupling situations where current project management practices towards communities' engagement are weakly linked to their goals and induced by convergent pressures and reactive mechanisms, thus preventing an inclusive decision-making process

The Paradoxical Profession: Project Management and the Contradictory Nature of Sustainable Project Objectives

Professions are undergoing a significant change in how they integrate environmental and social objectives into their core values. This article examines the situation in which those working in the project management profession are expected to work under contradictory sustainability constraints. In this article, we investigate the tensions project managers experience when addressing sustainable objectives. Results show that when tensions arise over sustainable objectives (temporality of objectives, organizational barriers, and lack of control), they are addressed only when anchored to an economic one in the form of a business case for sustainability. We also find that when matching traditional project objectives with sustainable ones is not possible, practitioners enact a set of reactions characterized as greenwashing, it can’t be one person, no space for sustainability in my job, other actors involved, or pushing back, depending on the specific project context. Adopting the paradox theory lens, we provide an alternative approach to the business case for sustainability. The practical contribution of this article lies in suggesting the need to find strategies to embrace paradoxical situations and we provide some suggestions to illustrate this

Oxidative phosphorylation in bone cells

The role of energy metabolism in bone cells is an active field of investigation. Bone cells are metabolically very active and require high levels of energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to support their function. ATP is generated in the cytosol via glycolysis coupled with lactic acid fermentation and in the mitochondria via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). OXPHOS is the final convergent metabolic pathway for all oxidative steps of dietary nutrients catabolism. The formation of ATP is driven by an electrochemical gradient that forms across the mitochondrial inner membrane through to the activity of the electron transport chain (ETC) complexes and requires the presence of oxygen as the final electron acceptor. The current literature supports a model in which glycolysis is the main source of energy in undifferentiated mesenchymal progenitors and terminally differentiated osteoblasts, whereas OXPHOS appears relevant in an intermediate stage of differentiation of those cells. Conversely, osteoclasts progressively increase OXPHOS during differentiation until they become multinucleated and mitochondrial-rich terminal differentiated cells. Despite the abundance of mitochondria, mature osteoclasts are considered ATP-depleted, and the availability of ATP is a critical factor that regulates the low survival capacity of these cells, which rapidly undergo death by apoptosis. In addition to ATP, bioenergetic metabolism generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intermediate metabolites that regulate a variety of cellular functions, including epigenetics changes of genomic DNA and histones. This review will briefly discuss the role of OXPHOS and the cross-talks OXPHOS-glycolysis in the differentiation process of bone cells

When Do Sustainability Tensions Harm or Benefit Innovation Portfolios? A Paradoxical Perspective

The coexistence of a competitive and sustainability strategy often introduces tensions within organizations. These tensions, if not appropriately managed, can lead to defensiveness and destruction, while they also have the potential to drive creativity and foster sustainability. This study examines how these strategic tensions affect innovation portfolio decision-makers, specifically their decision to select more or less innovative projects. Drawing on paradox theory and innovation management literature, the study investigates the role of contextual factors in moderating the influence of strategic sustainability tensions on portfolio innovativeness. When faced with sustainability tensions, we posit that a firm's entrepreneurial orientation and innovation climate act as contextual factors shaping decisions toward more innovative projects. We test our hypotheses through a multi-informant cross-industry survey of 106 innovation portfolios. Our findings reveal that strategic sustainability tensions are associated with higher portfolio innovativeness only when entrepreneurial orientation and innovation climate are high. Conversely, strategic sustainability tensions are associated with lower portfolio innovativeness when these contextual factors are low. The study adds empirical evidence to organizational context factors in paradox theory and contributes to the literature on innovation portfolio decision-making. Finally, the results add to the importance of sustainability as a strategic orientation in innovation management. Decision-makers are encouraged to recognize and harness strategic tensions in sustainability, fostering an environment where challenges are transformed into opportunities enhancing the portfolio's innovativeness

Aquatic biological invasions exacerbate nutritional and health inequities

Fish are a critical source of accessible nutrition. However, when non-native species introduced through aquaculture establish in the wild, they inevitably alter the structure of ecological networks. This could have unprecedented outcomes for nutrient and toxin accumulation when aquatic food is consumed by humans, with socioeconomically variable impacts

The impact of language barriers on trust formation in multinational teams

This study systematically investigates how language barriers influence trust formation in multinational teams (MNTs). Based on 90 interviews with team members, team leaders, and senior managers in 15 MNTs in three German automotive corporations, we show how MNT members’ cognitive and emotional reactions to language barriers influence their perceived trustworthiness and intention to trust, which in turn affect trust formation. We contribute to diversity research by distinguishing the exclusively negative language effects from the more ambivalent effects of other diversity dimensions. Our findings also illustrate how surface-level language diversity may create perceptions of deep-level diversity. Furthermore, our study advances MNT research by revealing the specific influences of language barriers on team trust, an important mediator between team inputs and performance outcomes. It thereby encourages the examination of other team processes through a language lens. Finally, our study suggests that multilingual settings necessitate a reexamination and modification of the seminal trust theories by Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) and McAllister (1995). In terms of practical implications, we outline how MNT leaders can manage their subordinates’ problematic reactions to language barriers and how MNT members can enhance their perceived trustworthiness in multilingual settings