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This article aims to illuminate the gendered organisational structure of higher education in Jordan by collecting and analysing a national-level snapshot of the current distribution of women and men in leadership positions and academic ranks across Jordanian universities to pinpoint inequalities in specific levels and fields.

Grounded in gendered organisational theory, this study presents a snapshot of the gender composition of 10 public and 14 private universities in Jordan. The snapshot, collected in September 2022 from these universities’ websites, examines counts of male and female administrative leaders as well as academic staff across all ranks for all faculties in both STEM and liberal arts fields.

The distribution of women and men in leadership positions in universities across Jordan is highly unequal, with men outnumbering women in the uppermost positions by nearly 10:1. This gap decreases as the rank of positions decreases, indicative of a highly gendered organisational structure, with only three to four fields approaching gender parity.

This paper offers a comprehensive and detailed quantitative foundation for researchers to investigate the underlying social, cultural, legal, political and economic factors perpetuating gender inequality in academia in Jordan and in comparative studies.

This study is relevant for targeting policies for advancing sustainable development goals, specifically 5.5, which aim at women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making.

This study provides the most detailed and extensive macro-level analysis of the gender composition of universities in Jordan.

This paper aims to assess the economic, environmental, policy-related and social implications of establishing green hydrogen production in Jordan.

The comprehensive analysis has been investigated, including economic assessments, environmental impact evaluations, policy examinations and social considerations. Furthermore, the research methodology encompasses energy demand, sector, security and supply analysis, as well as an assessment of the availability of renewable energy resources.

The results indicate substantial economic benefits associated with green hydrogen production, including job creation, increased tax revenue and a reduction in energy imports. Additionally, the study identifies positive environmental impacts, such as decreased greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Noteworthy, two methods could be used to produce hydrogen, namely: electrolysis and thermochemical water splitting. As a recommendation, the study proposes that Jordan, particularly Aqaba, take proactive measures to foster the development of a green hydrogen industry and collaborate with international partners to exchange best practices and establish the necessary infrastructure.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the first to provide a comprehensive perspective on the potential of green hydrogen production as a driving force for Jordan’s economy, while also benefiting the environment and society. However, the research recognizes several challenges that must be addressed to materialize green hydrogen production in Jordan, encompassing high renewable energy costs, infrastructure development requirements and community concerns. Despite these obstacles, the study asserts that the potential advantages of green hydrogen production outweigh the associated risks.

This study aims to delve into the lived experiences, challenges and visions of women entrepreneurs in Jordan, placing a magnifying glass on those spearheading or co-pioneering start-ups. It aims to understand the myriad factors that influence their entrepreneurial journey, from motivation to the future of their niche.

Adopting a qualitative lens, this study is anchored in semi-structured interviews encompassing 20 Jordanian women entrepreneurs. Following this, thematic analysis was deployed to dissect and categorize the garnered insights into ten salient themes.

The study reveals that personal experiences and challenges are pivotal in directing these women towards niche markets, aligning with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Tools such as digital instruments, customer feedback and innovative strategies like storytelling and augmented reality are integral to their entrepreneurial success, resonating with the resource-based view (RBV). Additionally, challenges like cultural barriers and infrastructural limitations are navigated through adaptive strategies, reflecting the resilience inherent in these entrepreneurs. Networking, mentorship, embracing technological advancements and implementing sustainable practices are highlighted as crucial elements underpinned by the social identity theory (SIT).

Contrary to the extant body of research, this study provides new insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Jordan, highlighting the practical relevance of theories like TPB, RBV and SIT for both policymakers and the start-up community in niche markets.

Water resources play a significant role in economic growth and socio-economic development. Jordan experiences water scarcity. As the water resources can be used in manufacturing and agriculture, their sustainable use and solutions to water scarcity problem can contribute to the sustainable economic and socio-economic development in Jordan. Furthermore, there are political and economic aspects of Jordan’s water scarcity. Jordan is trying to solve its water scarcity problem through projects. Based on an in-depth literature review, this chapter aims to investigate Jordan’s water scarcity problem, highlighting its political and economic aspects and their impacts on socio-economic development, and to propose solutions to the water scarcity problem in Jordan. Water is vital for economic development and political stability in Jordan. It is important for Jordan to use its water resources in an efficient, effective and sustainable way so that socio-economic development of Jordan can be supported. Unsustainable use of water resources can cause depletion of Jordan’s scarce water resources, which can exacerbate magnitude of water resource problem and hinder socio-economic development. This chapter can be beneficial to economists, politicians and academics.

Purpose: The prominence of entrepreneurial marketing (EM) as the practice of exploiting market opportunities is becoming increasingly important to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). It has been stated that SMEs lack resources such as finance, knowledge, experience, and information, compared with larger firms that integrate marketing with innovativeness, which is critical to enhancing entrepreneurship. Therefore, this chapter aims at establishing the theoretical foundation that links entrepreneurial orientation with marketing practices in Jordanian SMEs. More specifically, this chapter provides deep recognition of the current status of EM opportunities and challenges in Jordanian SMEs.

Design/methodology/approach: As SMEs are one of the important components in the private sector in Jordan and contribute to the creation of almost half of the GDP. Accordingly, this chapter adopts a critical review of the relevant literature, governmental reports, business studies, and published surveys in EM among Jordanian SMEs. Moreover, this chapter will present a thorough analysis of the published statistics and insights about EM orientations from different sectors of Jordanian SMEs. Based on the reviewed and analyzed secondary data, EM initiatives, opportunities, and challenges can be extracted and highlighted to achieve the purpose of this chapter.

Findings: The expected outcomes of the chapter are to build the theoretical foundation and promote a deep understanding that bridges the knowledge gap about the status of EM in Jordanian SMEs supported by literature and published report evidence. Another outcome of this chapter is highlighting the important entrepreneurial issues and identifying areas for further research in the Middle East generally and Jordan particularly.

Practical implications: The chapter provides relevant knowledge, literature-based evidence, and lessons learned to empower entrepreneurs in SMEs. This chapter also enhances the best practices of EM for entrepreneurs, marketers, and policymakers. Moreover, this chapter proposes how to overcome potential challenges and threats that may be encountered by practitioners, especially in different cultural contexts such as the Middle East and North African (MENA) region.

Originality/value: The chapter proposed a conceptual foundation about EM in SMEs aimed at different cultural contexts like Jordan. Moreover, the chapter provides a critical review of published research that explains entrepreneurs aspirations for growth, expansion, and innovation, which is critical for the growth and sustainability of SMEs. Finally, the chapter concludes by providing policy implications and practical recommendations that can encourage policymakers in formulating and implementing the relevant interventions and strategic trends for enhancing entrepreneurship in Jordan.

The data used to present this case was collected from secondary data sources. These sources included media reports associated with Michael Jordan and his trajectory since entering the sport, as well as specific information published about his time at the Chicago Bulls. Another key source of information is the ESPN documentary conducted specifically on Jordan’s relationship with his National Basketball Association (NBA) team.

The case follows the story of Michael Jordan, who took his team, the Chicago Bulls, to fame in a rather controversial manner. To do so, Michael Jordan had to alter his leadership style over the years to be respected as a leader and motivate his team to win one NBA championship after another. On 20th April 2020, ESPN’s “The Last Dance”, a 10-part documentary about Michael Jordan and his time playing for the Chicago Bulls was released to much acclaim. The documentary became highly noted as Jordan himself, both directed and starred in the documentary. Jordan’s great achievements stood out, but so did the conflicts that the basketball star had with The Bulls’ management team and mainly, his teammates. Relationships between teammates were far from harmonious, which led to questions around whether Michael Jordan was as good a leader, as he was a star player. Cultural change within the organisation was primarily linked to the often-contested leadership of Jordan.

The case can be used at UG, MSc and MBA levels. It works for in-person teaching and for online teaching. It is most suitable in leadership, strategy and strategy in practice courses. However, it is critical to note that the case can shed light on the dynamics that leaders and teammates have within their teams. Therefore, this case may be valuable to students studying courses where they themselves must work in groups and oftentimes encounter challenges in managing their team. These challenges can arise at all levels of experience. As such, the case provides particularly useful reflection for decision makers who may be beginning to develop their leadership skill (UG), those who have already experienced working in teams (MSc) or leading teams themselves (MBA, Executive MBA). The case addresses the challenges associated with achieving high team motivation and performance. It also sheds light on the challenges associated with leading a cultural change within a team and the approaches of different actors involved. It may be best to introduce the case in the context of a (1.5–2 h) workshop once students understand the basic frameworks and tools used to analyse leadership styles and their characteristics.

The focus of this paper is to compare access to higher education by Syrian refugees in Jordan and Germany. Background of the Syrian refugee crisis and its scope are provided before delving into a description of the university-age population among Syrian refugees in both countries. The nature of access to higher education in both countries is first examined before conducting a comparative analysis of the two. Implications and recommendations for policy and practice are provided.

This paper applies a stakeholder salience theoretical framework to facilitate the understanding of the roles salient stakeholders can have in the integration of education for sustainable development, one of the important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), into Jordan’s university accounting education.

We used stakeholder salience theory to inform our study. This study adopted a qualitative research method. The study used semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative, open-ended data that explored the salient stakeholders’ thoughts, beliefs and feelings about their roles in influencing the integration of education for sustainable development into the Jordanian accounting curriculum.

The results indicate that education for sustainable development in accounting is important; however, most Jordanian salient stakeholders indicate their inability to integrate sustainable education into the accounting curriculum due to their lack of power to do so. The findings show that there is currently an inappropriate distribution of power, legitimacy and urgency amongst the salient stakeholders, who indicate that a progressive education solution is required in the critical area of education for sustainable development in accounting. This research indicates that a significant number of salient stakeholders would like the Jordanian government to provide power, legitimacy and urgency to enable accounting educators to become definite stakeholders as this will enable them to integrate sustainable education into the accounting curriculum.

The study is limited to Jordan only. The paper draws attention to the need for an appropriate distribution of power, legitimacy and urgency amongst salient stakeholders in Jordan.

This paper provides evidence that the salient stakeholders in this emerging economy want to make changes in their education system to address climate change concerns, an important SDG, through a better education curriculum for sustainable development in Jordanian universities.

Accounting educators should be given the power to make changes in the accounting curriculum, such as integrating education for sustainable development.

There is an inappropriate distribution of power, legitimacy and urgency amongst the Jordanian salient stakeholders and this imbalance hinders the integration of education for sustainable development into the accounting curriculum.

Islamic tourism has developed rapidly since 2001, and Jordan has embraced this movement and encouraged the construction of important infrastructure around mausoleums. Based on an analysis of official speeches and on fieldwork with tourism specialists, the impact of Islamic tourism on political and geopolitical matters in Jordan will be considered. Leaning on different scopes and levels of analysis, it will be shown that the promotion of Islamic tourism in Jordan not only bears a major economic impact on the country, but also permits it to rewrite its national history for internal and international political purpose. Further, the discussion considers how other countries are being targeted by this new kind of tourism, and the limits of its potential development.

World has started to observe important level of global warming fostered by the industrial growth which resulted in the increase in CO₂ emissions and in the environmental pollution (e.g. water and air) affecting total factor productivity growth. Energy is vital for all industries and their growth. Energy generation and energy intensiveness affect carbon emissions. Energy generation relies on water as water is a vital input to the energy generation. Furthermore, water supply is affected by the energy supply and energy dependence. Water is at the core of the industrial growth. It is vital for all productions. Water scarcity problem is becoming more severe due to the climate change. Some regions and countries are more vulnerable to the water scarcity. Middle East countries face significant water scarcity problem. Among these countries Jordan stands out as one of the most vulnerable countries with respect to water scarcity. This chapter emphasises the importance of green and sustainable total factor productivity. Despite of their recent water policies, Jordan started to experience adverse consequences of severe water scarcity problem. The dependence of and relationship between energy and water are vital pillars of economic growth. There is carbon trade-off in their supply. For this reason, conservation capital policies can affect productivity and efficiency. Middle East has scarce water resources and can be affected due to the climate change. Jordan faces most water scarcity among Middle East Countries. This chapter aims to investigate the interaction between industrial growth and climate change as well as their effects to Jordan’s water resources and economy. Furthermore, this chapter emphasises water scarcity problem and water policies in Jordan. This chapter provides recommendations for preventing environmental degradation and mitigating water scarcity problem of Jordan so that its industrial growth can be sustained and its economic growth can become more resilient to the climate change. This chapter is expected to be useful to academics, policy makers, and politics in the relevant field.