Beatrice Avolio

Decisions to pursue graduate business studies are shaped by complex motivations, perceptions and behavioural orientations. Although demand for graduate business programmes in Latin America is growing, most evidence comes from North America and Europe, and segmentation models rarely integrate psychographic and contextual factors. This study examined the psychographic characteristics of Latin American graduate business students and how they form distinct ideal types within the Human Ecosystem Framework. A two-phase qualitative design combined phenomenological and ideal-type analyses. Data from 34 in-depth interviews with students enrolled in accredited graduate business programmes in Peru were analysed to identify psychographic characteristics and construct typologies. Fifteen characteristics were organized into four Human Ecosystem Framework domains: Human Environed Unit, Human Behavioural Environment, Human Constructed Environment and Natural Environment. Three ideal types emerged: status-oriented professionals, family legacy providers and self-actualizers. Findings show that students’ motivations are shaped by the interplay of personal aspirations, social expectations, institutional structures and societal concerns. The study contributes a contextually grounded framework integrating psychological, sociocultural, institutional and environmental dimensions, demonstrating the value of combining phenomenological and ideal-type analysis. Findings inform business schools’ design and positioning of graduate programmes for diverse psychographic profiles.

This study develops and evaluates preliminary psychometric evidence for the Organizational Gender Backlash Scale (OGB‐S), a candidate measure of gendered organizational practices through which women's authority, competence, legitimacy, and access to strategic resources are challenged when they occupy or exercise leadership in masculine‐coded domains. As exploratory nomological evidence, the study examines whether OGB is associated with leadership‐related psychological and health strain and symbolic career self‐limitation among women leaders. A non‐probabilistic, purposive sample of 271 women holding formal or informal leadership positions in Peruvian organizations participated in the study. The OGB‐S was evaluated as a theoretically specified set of organizational backlash indicators covering hostility/cognitive invalidation, sabotage/obstruction, exclusion, and gender stereotyping/role policing. The revised analytical strategy follows a preliminary validity‐evidence sequence: ordinal CFA model comparisons for internal structure, reliability estimation, item‐functioning analyses conditional on the supported structure, exploratory spatial and network mapping, and nomological associations with leadership‐related strain and symbolic career self‐limitation. The complementary analyses are interpreted as exploratory or nomological evidence, not as substitutes for CFA‐based structural validation. Ordinal CFA did not support strict unidimensionality or a completed validation claim. None of the tested CFA specifications reached conventional close‐fit thresholds because RMSEA remained elevated across models. The one‐factor model for the 16 theoretically specified core items showed acceptable incremental fit but elevated absolute misfit (CFI = 0.957, TLI = 0.951, RMSEA = 0.119, SRMR = 0.061). A correlated four‐factor model improved fit (CFI = 0.976, TLI = 0.970, RMSEA = 0.093, SRMR = 0.049), and a second‐order model remained plausible but still short of close fit (CFI = 0.973, TLI = 0.967, RMSEA = 0.097, SRMR = 0.052). Reliability was high (alpha = 0.947; omega total = 0.964; Schmid–Leiman omega hierarchical = 0.842). These findings support preliminary coherence and relative multidimensional structure, not definitive construct validation or readiness for applied diagnostic use. In the two‐stage PLS‐PM exploratory nomological model, OGB was positively associated with leadership‐related strain (beta = 0.597) and with symbolic career self‐limitation through strain (indirect beta = 0.311), accounting for 35.7% of variance in strain and 55.0% in self‐limitation. The study operationalizes Organizational Gender Backlash as role‐contingent practices reported by women leaders themselves, extending backlash research beyond experimental penalties and proxy outcomes. It offers the OGB‐S as an initial measurement framework for studying how women's authority is challenged after they enter or exercise leadership roles. Consistent with the CFA evidence, the scale should be treated as a preliminary instrument requiring further item refinement, replication, and external validation.

Drawing on the dynamic capabilities framework, this study addresses whether strategic agility directly influences organizational performance or operates through underlying mechanisms. We propose and test a dual‐path model in which strategic agility affects performance through organizational resilience and business model innovation. Data from 241 firms in Metropolitan Lima, Peru, were analyzed using PLS‐SEM. Results show that the effect of strategic agility on performance is primarily indirect, operating through both pathways rather than through direct effects. This finding refines the dynamic capabilities perspective by indicating that the performance effects of higher‐order capabilities may be realized indirectly through the organizational mechanisms they enable, positioning strategic agility as an enabling capability. Contrary to dominant expectations, environmental dynamism does not moderate the relationships between strategic agility, organizational resilience, business model innovation, and organizational performance, suggesting that the value of dynamic capabilities may reflect offsetting forces or operate consistently across varying levels of environmental dynamism.

Purpose: This study systematically examines the invisible costs that women experience while occupying leadership positions, identifying the structural and cultural mechanisms that erode the sustainability of their careers. It consolidates dispersed cross-disciplinary evidence and proposes an integrative, theory-informed framework that captures the gendered dynamics embedded in organizational leadership. Design/methodology/approach: A three-phase systematic conceptual review was conducted using the Scopus database, focusing on peer-reviewed English-language publications from 2010 to 2024. From an initial sample of 85 records, 36 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed through thematic synthesis in Atlas.ti (v.25). The analysis followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines and employed a hybrid inductive–deductive coding strategy to identify conceptual regularities and theoretical relationships. Findings: The review identified six interrelated categories of invisible costs: (a) motherhood and caregiving demands, (b) likability pressure, (c) networking exclusion, (d) continuous validation effort, (e) gender backlash, and (f) mental health strain. These burdens operate cumulatively across organizational, interpersonal, and individual domains, reflecting how gendered norms and institutional biases create persistent professional disadvantages for women leaders. The study proposes an Integrative Framework of Invisible Costs, conceptualizing how gendered structures, relational expectations, and psychological internalization interact to undermine the sustainability of women's leadership. Originality/Value: This study advances leadership scholarship by shifting the analytical lens from representation to sustainability. It introduces a comprehensive framework theorizing the invisible, relational, and psychological costs of maintaining leadership legitimacy in gendered systems. The findings call for intersectional, longitudinal, and cross-cultural research, as well as structural reforms in organizational policy, leadership development, and workplace culture to foster inclusive, enduring pathways for women's leadership.

Gender-based violence continues to undermine women's well-being globally, particularly in Latin America, where sociocultural norms sustain unequal power relations. However, these patterns are often excluded from empirical analyses. This study develops a structural index based on the ecological framework—individual, microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem levels—to identify economic and sociocultural risk factors associated with violence against women. The index is applied to Peru, where 54.9% of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced domestic violence. This integrative approach constitutes an original contribution to devising targeted strategies for addressing violence against women and informing culturally sensitive public policies.

Purpose: The study compares the quality performance of craft SMEs in Peru based on their adoption of environmental sustainability practices, using Total Quality Management (TQM) dimensions. Methodology/Approach: A comparative analysis was conducted using 262 responses from craft SMEs, evaluating six TQM dimensions. Findings: SMEs oriented towards environmental sustainability practices outperformed others in all quality dimensions, except for Process Control and Improvement. Research Limitation/Implication: The study is limited to craft SMEs in Peru. Originality/Value of paper: This study highlights the positive link between environmental sustainability and quality performance in the craft sector. It not only advances the current knowledge but also provides policy recommendations to promote quality and sustainability in SMEs.

This paper examines the moderating effect of university environment on the relationship between family environment and entrepreneurial intention among university students in Spain. The empirical study was conducted with a sample of 118 participants enrolled in the Start your business: Turn your idea into a business model course at the University of Granada, Spain. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire. The study assessed the influence of the family environment on entrepreneurial intentions while examining three dimensions of the university environment. Structural equation modeling and maximum likelihood estimation were applied to analyze the data and determine the direction and strength of the relationships among the variables. The results confirmed the positive effect of family environment on the students’ entrepreneurial intention. This effect was strengthened by a heightened perception of support from the university environment, particularly in terms of educational and conceptual development assistance. The study confirmed that the university is an environment that allows students to take opportunities provided by the family environment, resulting in a greater intention to engage in entrepreneurial activities. The originality of the study lies in the identification of specific dimensions of family and university environments that shape entrepreneurial intention. In turn, the results were used to design specific strategies for practitioners to support social groups and foster entrepreneurial intentions among students.

INPLASY202540044 The Impacts of Digital Inclusion on the Development and Sustainability of Rural Women’s Ventures: A Scoping Review Keywords: Digital inclusion; women; rurality; ventures. Rea…