Explainable artificial intelligence (X-AI) techniques aim to make the actions and decisions of autonomous systems understandable to humans interacting with these systems. In human–AI teams, explainability supports individual understanding and coordination, shared mental models, and collective decision-making among humans and AI agents. Research has shown that X-AI enhances trust in autonomous systems, improves human–AI team performance, and supports collaboration across domains including aviation, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and sports. However, X-AI technologies face difficult challenges, including a lack of transparency and interpretability due to complex underlying models, also known as the “black-box” nature of AI systems. These technologies also lack any universally accepted evaluation metrics and have limited generalizability across applications. One deficit in the X-AI literature is that most frameworks focus on individual-level outcomes, with limited attention to team-level processes. The current study conducted a systematic literature review adhering to PRISMA guidelines and the SALSA framework. This study introduces the Implementation-Design (I-D) framework that organizes X-AI approaches along two dimensions: implementation, ranging from visual to interactive approaches, and design, ranging from isolated explanations to workflow-integrated systems. This framework captures lower-level engagement, involving individual users, to higher-level understanding that is necessary for teams and collectives. Findings indicate that visual explanation approaches support user engagement, while interactive workflow approaches promote deeper understanding, appropriate reliance, and distributed cognition within human–AI teams. Implications highlight the need for team-oriented explainability grounded in shared mental models, transactive memory systems, and collaborative X-AI artifacts. Practical guidelines are included to support researchers and practitioners in selecting appropriate X-AI techniques based on their context and level of analysis. The I-D framework is offered as a conceptual organizing model to guide research and practice, and empirical validation is identified as a priority for future work.

Purpose. The purpose of the current study is to identify emergent collective leadership theories, compare these theories, capture the characteristics of each theory, and to identify the multilevel and multidimensional characteristics around these theories.

Design/methodology/approach. This study conducted a systematic literature review looking at current collective leadership theories. The leadership theories reviewed included collective leadership, adaptive leadership, agile leadership, complex adaptive leadership, complexity capacity, complexity leadership, sapient leadership, system leadership, distributed leadership, network leadership, relational leadership, shared leadership, and team leadership.

Findings. This study synthesized the literature and compared each theory by looking at its associated levels of analysis, epistemology, and how each is integrated with other theories or constructs. This study also highlighted four main levels of analysis (higher-level, team, psychological, leader) found in collective leadership theories. The current study introduced the collaboration, open systems, reflection, and empowerment (CORE) framework as a unifying model for understanding the multidimensional phenomenon of collective leadership.

Originality/value. This study synthesized collective leadership theories into multilevel, multidimensional characteristics and presented the CORE leadership framework. This framework connects disparate collective leadership theories into a dynamic, multilevel, holistic framework that better represents how leadership is practiced in the real world. This framework can serve as a guide for future research and for practitioners evaluating leadership within their organizations.

Problem. The increasing complexity and interconnectedness of modern organizations have amplified the need for professionals who can operate across boundaries. Yet, the role of boundary spanners, especially within Human Resource Development (HRD), remains underexplored. This study addresses the problems of limited conceptual clarity and empirical understanding of boundary spanners in HRD, which hinders practitioners’ ability to facilitate collaboration, manage knowledge, and drive organizational change.

Solution. Through an integrated literature review, we identify and synthesize 10 key characteristics that define effective boundary spanners, offering a comprehensive framework for HRD practitioners to navigate ambiguity, build trust, and foster innovation across diverse contexts.

Stakeholders. The findings provide actionable insights for HRD scholars and practitioners, organization development practitioners, and organizational leaders who routinely manage across epistemic, intellectual, institutional, organizational, and role boundaries.

There are several key sensemaking models and theories that have attracted a lot of attention among researchers and practitioners in the last few decades. The adaptation and application of sensemaking has varied by field of study, organizational type, and industry. This study explored these sensemaking models and theories to better answer the following questions: what is sense-making/sensemaking? How is sensemaking practiced today compared to the original sensemaking frameworks, models, and theories? To answer these questions, the current study conducted a systematic literature review and content analysis of current research involving sensemaking methods, practices, and techniques. As a result, topic modeling and data analytic techniques were used to construct a multifaceted conceptual framework that has been contrasted and compared with previous sensemaking frameworks, models, and theories to show its coverage and coherence. The new multifaceted sensemaking (MSM) theory consists of nine stages with defining characteristics for each stage that were either derived from the data analysis or conceptualized by the researcher based on the literature review. The new theory presented demonstrates how previous sensemaking theories evolved and have influenced both practice and research today. The multifaceted sensemaking theory is influenced by previous sensemaking theories while also representing sensemaking in current practice. The multifaceted sensemaking theory contributes to the sensemaking field of study a new theory with nine stages and defining characteristics.

The current research study presented assemblages theory and the theory of affordances to identify the elements that make up the processes of creativity, innovative, and creativity and innovation. Assemblages involve heterogeneous elements that are associated with and interact with external components. Assemblages include elements that can be either independent or as part of an assemblage. The assemblage comprises elements that contribute to the assemblage, but not all elements are active simultaneously. Each element’s activation and intensity level varies based on context, environment, and constraints. This activation level is represented by lines of flight that aid in showing movement across the elements. Affordances identify agent-to-environment relationships that promote action (abilities and effectivities). The current article identified that creativity affords innovation and innovation affords creativity, interconnecting these two processes as a holistic and composite process from the perspective of affordances theory. The current article provides assemblage maps showing the elements related to creativity, innovation, and creativity and innovation. These assemblage maps highlight virtual and dynamic flight lines that represent potentially active components with varying intensity and direction. Mapping these lines of flight along with the elements for a particular construct (e.g., creativity and innovation) provides a tool for managers and practitioners to identify potentialities for future predictions better.

The substrate-independence theory utilizes sensemaking techniques to provide cognitively based scaffolds that guide and structure learning. Scaffolds are cognitive abstractions of constraints that relate to information within a system. The substrate-independence theory concentrates on the flow of information as the underlying property of the host system. The substrate-independence theory views social systems as complex adaptive systems capable of repurposing their structure to combat external threats by utilizing constructors and substrates. Constructor theory is used to identify potential construction tasks, the legitimate input and output states that are possible, to map the desired change in the substrate’s attributes. Construction tasks can be mapped in advance for ordered and known environments. Construction tasks may also be mapped in either real-time or post hoc for unordered and complex environments using current sensemaking techniques. Mapping of the construction tasks in real-time becomes part of the landscape, and scaffolds are implemented to aid in achieving the desired state or move to a more manageable environment (e.g., from complex to complicated).