The special issue as a whole was designed to enhance critical approaches to the discussion in the field of health and social care. This editorial hopefully raises awareness of CMS and serves as an opening for further discussion on critical views in the research on management and organization in this field.

This article takes a critical look at the unconscious and unnoticed effects of materiality on care workers' identity. The data was collected through nonactive role-playing using written accounts, in which the respondents described how they felt about working in fictitious 'good' or 'bad' elderly

By identifying the prevailing discourses the study attempts to cast doubt on the taken-for-granted understandings about the agency of patients with multimorbidity.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to address the construction of trust in leader member exchange (LMX) relationships as a multidimensional phenomenon and identify the importance of emotional and collective factors contributing to this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachTen health care professionals (five leaders and five members) were interviewed to subject to qualitative thematic analysis.FindingsFour main themes in the data were identified (work roles, collectivity, interaction and participation) and linked to two main elements of LMX trust relations: core and contextual. The results extend understanding of the construction and maintenance of trust in LMX relationships, indicating that it is a more complex and socially constructed phenomenon than previously described.Research limitations/implicationsDespite identified limitations of the study (the small amount of empirical material, interpretive research method and purposive sampling of participants), the findings reveal that constructing trust in LMX relationships is more multidimensional than generally portrayed in traditional LMX theory and its three-stage continuum. This study suggests that a broader perspective should be adopted in LMX research, treating it not only as a collective phenomenon but also considering leaders and members as emotional individuals.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the multidimensional nature of LMX relationships is helpful for developing interpersonal relationships in organizations and leadership practices through recognition of the importance of the transparency, practices and adequacy of mutual interaction. The results presented here may contribute to such understanding and help leaders to relate to members as both subjective individuals and parts of a complex social network. The results may also increase members' awareness of possible ways that they can promote the development of good LMX relationships in organizations.Originality/valueThe novelty of the study relates to the identification of the collective, emotional and multidimensional nature of LMX relationships.

This paper discusses a teaching experiment in which 20 university students in Finland participated in the course Critical and Novel Approaches to Management and Organisational Studies, which familiarized them with the method of embodied reflection of images. First, the paper presents the method and the teaching experiment. Then, it presents and discusses the students’ experiences while experimenting with the method. The students’ written reflections form the data of the study, which were analyzed qualitatively using content analysis. The findings of this small-scale study show that the method of embodied reflection of images provided students with a novel perspective into management and organization, fostered collaboration, and promoted critical thinking. In addition, rational knowledge was furnished with experiential and affective modes of knowledge. Based on students’ positive feedback, the experiment succeeded in elucidating the method and its applicability in research on management and organization. This study promotes teaching arts-based research methods in higher education.