The transition toward sustainable cities has garnered significant attention from governments, policymakers, and researchers. Mirroring these developments in the academic world, organizational researchers are investigating sustainable placemaking and identifying the conditions that favor such a vital process. Building on a case study of an urban planning committee in the Swiss town of St. Gallen, this research studies how spaces (temporary social settings that enable the negotiation of new ideas) can initiate sustainable placemaking. The interplay between the expansion of space members’ role identities and their imagination of sustainable places is essential to sustainable placemaking. Generalizing these findings, our process model sheds light on the mutual constitution between imagination and role identity expansion inside spaces. The model makes two contributions to the organizational literature: (i) it highlights the importance of role identity expansion in sustainable placemaking processes through spaces and (ii) it discloses the interplay of imagination and identity expansion in spaces.

The article discusses key insights gained from a webinar series that the authors of this article launched when founding the “Centre for African Smart Public Value Governance” (C4SP). As a research centre that aims to improve the quality of public governance approaches in Africa, C4SP invited international scholars and practitioners to talk about their perspectives on “Public Value Governance”, “Unpacking the African Context”, and “Smart Government” during four webinars, taking place between April 2021 and March 2022. The discussions revealed that: i) Smart Public Value Governance (SPVG) is a promising approach to tackle grand challenges; ii) local particularities might hamper the implementation of SPVG approaches in African countries; iii) it exists as a necessity to “listen” deeply to Africa. On this basis, we provide an outlook for future research on SPVG by suggesting studies that can be conducted along three guiding questions that can be addressed by a people-oriented or a concept-oriented research approach.

Digitalization is fundamentally reshaping the professional–client relationship and altering how professional services are organized, delivered, and used. However, understanding successful relationship-building practices in the digital era remains underdeveloped. We aim to address this gap in the following three steps. First, we map how digital technologies affect the professional–client relationship by reviewing the generalist organizational and management literature to identify four key contextual aspects as well as eight critical themes in that regard. Second, we identify critical generic practices to orchestrate professional–client relationships by reviewing leading addiction counseling research (a domain with indicative, sophisticated, and pertinent professional–client relationships). Thirdly, we juxtapose, synthesize, and consolidate the findings of the first two steps in a conceptual model that serves as a map to outline a future research agenda. We demonstrate our reasoning and the usability of the map by outlining four key tensions for future research in that regard.

Positive public administration is the call to focus research on positive examples from which other public organizations can learn. One aspect of achieving positive public value is sensegiving; the influencing of people’s sensemaking in uncertain situations toward a preferred outcome. Such sensegiving has been proven essential in public contexts, especially when dealing with many stakeholders. But how does sensegiving succeed in multicultural contexts with a high risk of misunderstanding, mistrust, and conflict? This chapter addresses this question with a single case study about the implementation of the new Light Rail Transit System in Mauritius; a country known for its cultural diversity and multi-ethnic society. Through the analysis of various collected qualitative data, it identifies the role of cultural chameleonizing as a moderator that can foster successful sensegiving in multicultural contexts. The findings contribute to PPA and sensegiving literature by highlighting mechanisms for better management in an increasingly diverse world.

This study examines the role of organizational place and space in shaping the social behavior of unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs). To accomplish this, the perception of spatial conditions at two Swiss UMR accommodation centers was compared using a multiple case study approach. By collecting, analyzing, and comparing various qualitative data from both cases (interviews, observations, documents), the following spatial conditions influencing the social behavior of UMRs were identified: i) environment of the place, ii) facilities of the space, iii) expectations of the space, and iv) atmospheric design options. The study highlights that the arrangement of spatial conditions in UMR accommodations can promote positive social behavior among their inhabitants if the place and space are selected and designed to support UMRs’ emotional regulation or lessen the need for it. These findings hold theoretical and practical significance, particularly for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding factors that affect the social development of UMRs. Zusammenfassung In der Studie wird die Rolle von Organizational Place und Space auf das soziale Verhalten von unbegleiteten minderjährigen Asylsuchenden (UMA) untersucht. Mittels einer multiplen Fallstudie konnten vier räumliche Einflussfaktoren identifiziert werden. Die räumliche Ausgestaltung einer UMA-Unterkunft kann das soziale Verhalten der Bewohnenden positiv beeinflussen, wenn der Ort Möglichkeiten zur selbständigen Emotionsregulationen erlaubt bzw. deren Notwendigkeit verringert. Résumé L’étude examine le rôle du ‘Organizational Place and Space’ sur le comportement social des Requérants d’asile mineurs non accompagnés (RMNA). À l’aide d’une étude de cas multiples, quatre facteurs d’influence spatiale ont été identifiés. L’aménagement spatial d’un logement RMNA peut avoir une influence positive sur le comportement social des résidents si l’emplacement permet une régulation indépendante des émotions ou en réduit le besoin. Schlagworte: Organizational Place and Space; Unbegleitete minderjährige Asylsuchende Mots-Clés: Organizational Place and Space; Requérants d’asile mineurs non accompagnés

The Corona pandemic has accelerated the growing trend for organizations to adopt so-called new ways of working, including practices such as conducting meetings and teachings through video conferenc...