The setting up of “second registries” by European governments in the 1980s was a formative moment in contemporary maritime history. Developed in an effort to counteract the growing use of offshore flags of convenience, these registries provided European shipping companies with spaces of exception from normal regulation, lifting national manning requirements and allowing for foreign labor to be hired on local wages. This article investigates the emergence of the Nordic variants, called “international ship registries” (ISRs). Employing a global perspective which focuses on the interplay between business actors, narratives, and national politics, it argues that the influence of offshore actors in shaping the Nordic developments was more pronounced than previous research suggests. The ISR policy was originally proposed to Norwegian policymakers by an offshore shipowner living in Bermuda. From there, it transferred to Denmark and Sweden, shaping their policy debates in the 1980s and 1990s.

The paradox of environmental sustainability is often framed as a trade-off between profit and planet. Mainstream sustainability approaches remain constrained by anthropocentric and reductionist assumptions that treat economy and ecology as separable domains. Guided by Kaupapa Māori (Māori approach) principles, this research explores an alternative relational approach grounded in te ao Māori (Māori world view). Drawing on Kōrero (Māori narrative approach) with 11 participants, analysed through reflexive thematic analysis, the paper develops the Whakapapa–Mauri–Utu Regenerative Cycle. In this framework, Whakapapa (genealogy) establishes non-negotiable governance responsibilities, Mauri (life force) serves as an evaluative indicator of ecosystem health, and Utu (reciprocity) reorients economic activity toward restoration and collective wellbeing. This paper contributes to paradox scholarship by demonstrating that sustainability tensions are reframed when organisations are understood as genealogically embedded within spiritual and ecological systems. Rather than being managed through trade-offs between separable objectives, sustainability becomes a relational obligation enacted through genealogical integrity.

We examine the efficacy of product market discipline as a deterrent to corporate misconduct. Firms that are subject to greater competitive threats in the product market are less likely to commit violations and pay lower penalties. Stakeholders react negatively to various types of violations, with product market competition amplifying these stakeholder reactions. In response, firms under competitive pressure are more likely to incorporate ESG-related incentives into executive compensation, demonstrate better worker safety practices, invest in green innovation, and use credible auditors. Our findings suggest that product market competition deters misconduct by increasing the expected costs associated with violations.

Using a calibrated, collective life-cycle portfolio choice model for a dual-income couple, we show that an increase in the ability to share risk within the household due to a mean-preserving spread in the partners’ coefficients of relative risk aversion leads to a substantial increase in financial risk-taking. Importantly, we show that risk sharing has a larger economic impact on portfolio choice than risk diversification. While unitary models usually do not fully replicate the optimal portfolio choice of collective models, we propose approximations that work reasonably well for moderate background risk. We provide strong empirical support for our key findings.

Time has long been recognized as a foundational lens in management research, yet most theories draw on Western linear assumptions that overlook alternative temporal logics. This introduction to the special issue on Advancing Temporal Research in Chinese Management situates China as a unique context where rapid economic transformation intersects with enduring cultural traditions. We develop a 3C framework, compressing, cyclic, and continuing, that captures an understudied Chinese temporal lens. Compressing reflects the urgency of accelerated growth and time scarcity; cyclic emphasizes recurring rhythms rooted in agrarian heritage, cultural practices, and institutional cycles; continuing highlights persistence and long-term orientation embedded in Confucian values and historical endurance. By applying this framework, we synthesize insights from the eight accepted articles and demonstrate how temporal dynamics shape organizational identity, entrepreneurial reentry, innovation, ESG strategies, and performance persistence. The 3C framework not only enriches the two dominant streams of temporal research, activity mapping and actors’ temporal orientations, but also broadens their global relevance by integrating culturally infused perspectives. In doing so, this special issue advances comparative temporal research and positions time as a central construct for understanding Chinese management and its wider implications.