Editorial

We Need Innovative Research Topics

We are in 2017 and in need of innovative and futuristic topics in research that results in sound administration articles with potential to contribute to frame the future of management and its functional areas. The internet and the web have already changed our life, and technology will continue to do it so, in a faster way. Unimaginable and taboo topics are being discussed in academic conferences around the world. For instance, this year will happen in London the third academic meeting to discuss love and sex with robots (Third International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots [LSR], retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://loveandsexwithrobots.org/)! Yes, robots will soon be part of our life in many different ways. Let's picture this topic in our field: humanoid robots at organizations. Robots have already replaced workers on manufacture plants, but will they be part of our job environment in different kinds of organizations? How artificial intelligence is changing our work design? Will it change the academic field too? At the previously mentioned academic conference, different topics will be discussed such as robot emotions, humanoid robots, robot personalities, gender, affective, psychological, sociological and philosophical approaches, all related to sex and love with robots. What if we bring this discussion to the organizational and managerial sites? Is this all fictional? Do we have to wait until it really happens, maybe in 50 years from now, or can we start the discussion right now. I mean, how would it be to have a humanoid robot cleaning our office or discussing strategies? Is this science fiction or reality? In Japan, a hotel (The Henn-na - or Weird Hotel) were guests are checking in with robots which also deliver their luggage to rooms. "The English-speaking receptionist is a vicious-looking dinosaur, and the one speaking Japanese is a female humanoid with blinking lashes. The hotel manager insists using robots is not a gimmick but a serious effort to use technology and achieve efficiency" (The Guardian, 2015). Anyway, in this editorial I mean to provoke readers to bring innovative topics, different kinds of organizations, methods, approaches, when submitting articles to BAR. I realize that some areas of our field are easier to bring out of the box topics than others. Let's lead and not follow the academic administration area. We need to challenge our Ph.D. students to really innovate when choosing their research topic. I will point out some topics that in my opinion need to be better investigated in the organizations: haters in the organizational environment, corruption and its effects in the organization, the end of globalization as we know it and its impact on international business, interdisciplinary limits in the management field research, the multiplication of articles and academic productivism, augmented and virtual reality in marketing, and many others, just let creativity emerge!

We would like to thank Prof. Ricardo Leal for his contribution to BAR during the many years he has been Associate Editor, with his expertise in Finance. Prof. Leal has demonstrated a great deal of professionalism, and he was always ready to help our Journal. Thank you so much! This is the last number that Prof. Ricardo Leal served as AE in Finance.

In this number BAR presents all the reviewers, Associate Editors and Action Editors that have contributed with us in 2016. Your job was superb and we would like to count on your contribution for the years to come.

In the first issue of 2017, BAR presents five articles as follow:

The first article, Ethical Decision-Making: The Role of Self-Monitoring, Future Orientation, and Social Networks, by Ana Carla Bon, Roger James Volkema and Jorge Ferreira da Silva study examines the influence of individual factors (self-monitoring, temporal orientation) on social networking, and their relationship with unethical decision-making The authors have found evidence that individual factors influence the development of social networks and, along with self-monitoring, the likelihood of unethical decision-making.

The second article, Networks, R&D Projects and Subsidiary Behavior in a Host Country, by Camila Franco, Samuel Façanha Câmara, and Ronaldo Couto Parente, verify how multinational subsidiaries establish their networks in a host country this paper focuses on two subsidiaries located in Brazil belonging to a group that carries out R&D projects in partnership with several organizations in the country and creates research and development networks in their sector.

The third article, Are Country and Size Risks Priced in the Brazilian Stock Market?, by Antonio Zoratto Sanvicente, Hsia Hua Sheng, and Luiz Felipe Poli Guanais, initially, the paper measures and tests the degree of integration for the Brazilian market and does not reject the hypothesis of integration and then it tests directly the relevance of country risk premium in individual stocks' expected returns in the Brazilian market.

The fourth article, Gender Differences and Professional Identities in Health and Engineering, Adriane Vieira, Alexandre de Pádua Carrieri, Plínio Rafael Reis Monteiro and Fátima Ferreira Roquete, compares the professional identity perceptions among undergraduate students enrolled in predominantly female and male courses, and it confirms that the professional identities include gender-related attributes, leading to the conclusion that health professions remain vulnerable to gender domination relations.

The fifth article, Reverse Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Companies: A Systematic Literature Review, Clarice Secches Kogut and Renato Cotta de Mello, applies a systematic review over a 15-year period in top-tier journals, finding literature gaps to be filled and proposes a theoretical framework that conceptualizes the reverse knowledge transfer as a complex process; offering a detailed view on the phenomenon of reverse knowledge transfer.

Enjoy the reading, learn and share the knowledge!

References

• The Guardian. (2015, July 16). Japan's robot hotel: a dinosaur at reception, a machine for room service. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from Retrieved March 28, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/16/japans-robot-hotel-a-dinosaur-at-reception-a-machine-for-room-service
  » https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/16/japans-robot-hotel-a-dinosaur-at-reception-a-machine-for-room-service

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  22 May 2017
• Date of issue
  2017