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The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore the role of strategic leadership under conditions of uncertainty and unpredictability. The authors argue that highly improbable, but high-impact events require the upper echelons of management, traditionally the custodians of strategy formulation to offer a new kind of strategic leadership focused on new mindsets, organizational capabilities, more in tune with high uncertainty and unpredictability.

Drawing on strategic leadership, and complexity leadership theory, the authors review the literature and present a conceptual framework for exploring the nature of strategic leadership under uncertainty. The authors conceptualize organizations as complex adaptive systems and discuss the imperatives for developing new mental models for emergent leadership.

Strategic leaders have a key role to play in preparing their organizations for episodic disruptions. These include developing their adaptive capabilities and building resilient organizations to ensure their organizations cannot only bounce back after a disruption but have the capacity for transformation to new fitness levels when necessary. Strategic leaders must engage with complexity leadership by seeing their organizations as complex adaptive systems, reconfigure their leadership approaches and organizations to build strategic adaptive capability.

This is a conceptual paper and the authors cannot make any claims of causality.

Organizational leaders need to reconfigure their mental models and leadership approaches to reflect the new normal of uncertainty and unpredictability. Developing the strategic adaptive capability of organizations should prepare them for dealing with high impact events. To assure business continuity in the face of disruptions requires building flexible, adaptable business models.

The paper focuses on how managers can offer strategic leadership for a new normal that challenges some of our most cherished leadership and strategic management paradigms. The authors explore the new mental models and leadership models in an era of great uncertainty.

This study aims to introduce an alternative model, “volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), Virtue and Vice” (3V’s), to unleash leadership skills, promote organisational collaborative change and impact sales performance during an unprecedented crisis.

The methodology outlines action research based on the 3V’s model and its application in an international business-to-business sales organisation during Covid-19. It explores alternative paths informed by play-at-work and Plato’s philosophy applied to work-based-learning. Each action/iteration adds to the model, which becomes more likely appropriate for various situations.

The 3V’s boosted change implementation and improved sales performance. The 3V’s conceptualised an invitation to immerse oneself in the constant “river of change” (VUCA) and a means of understanding the role of leadership in navigating this change by embracing simple rules: searching for justice (Virtue) and overcoming the barrier of public opinion (Vice).

The 3V’s model is grounded in leadership literature and a sole application, providing real international data relevant to organisations and leaders. This has yet to be evaluated further.

3V’s can enhance the understanding of a leading collaborative change and re-frame team dynamics in post-pandemic times for the broader public.

The approach advocated is a practice of “swimming alongside the team”, which should enable empowerment and collaboration rather than a top-down direction. Focussing on leaders who are moral people, this approach becomes a differentiator in a digital world.

This study examines Plato’s philosophy, play-at-work and other leadership theories in a model which prepares organisations to respond to crisis by providing the ability to reflect on human aspects and straightforward, transferable skills.

This study seeks to explore the strategies purchasing and supply managers can employ to navigate the challenges presented by low-probability-high-impact (LPHI) disruptions. The core aim is to create a process framework that provides a systematic, step-by-step method to help purchasing and supply managers effectively deal with the chaos triggered by LPHI events.

The study draws on qualitative data collected from eight firms operating within different industries (healthcare, fishing, food retail and manufacturing), where two firms represented each industry. The data underwent a thorough analytical process involving open coding, axial coding and aggregation of categories, resulting in the identification and formulation of overarching themes.

The analysis unveiled five primary challenges purchasing and supply management (PSM) encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include supply shortages, supplier opportunism, the imperative to build a new supply base, price volatility and the need to make critical decisions based on limited information. It also identified contingent factors that influenced the magnitude of these challenges and approaches applied to address them. Additionally, it identified five responses to the challenges and two contingent factors that affected the responses.

This study extends the existing body of knowledge in purchasing and supply management by developing a process framework tailored to assist purchasing and supply managers in effectively addressing LPHI disruptions. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to offer a structured, step-by-step approach that guides PSM professionals in navigating the chaos likely to be caused by such events.

This paper examines the evolution of massive open online courses (MOOCs) literature over the past 15 years and identifies its significant developments.

Utilizing main path analysis (MPA) on a dataset of 1,613 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) databases, the authors construct the main pathway in MOOC literature through a citation analysis. Pajek software is used to visualize the 34 influential articles identified in the field.

Three phases emerge in MOOC research: connectivism as a learning theory, facilitating education reform and breaking barriers to MOOCs adoption. Multiple-Global MPA highlights sub-themes including self-regulated learning (SRL), motivation, engagement, dropouts, student performance and the impact of COVID-19.

First, data limitations from the WoS core collection might not cover all research, but using reputable sources enhances data validity. Second, despite careful algorithm selection to enhance accuracy, there remains a limitation inherent in the nature of citations. Such biased citations may result in findings that do not fully align with scholars' perspectives.

The authors' findings contribute to the understanding of MOOCs literature development, enabling educators and researchers to grasp key trends and focus areas in the field. It can inform the design and implementation of MOOCs for more effective educational outcomes.

This study presents novel methodologies and important findings for advancing research and practice in MOOCs.

Pandemics are frequent events, and the impact of each pandemic makes a strong and long-term effect on companies and markets. Given the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to investigate the crisis from a different perspective to know how companies have sustained growth in markets. The purpose of this paper is to understand how profit-oriented customer-centric companies (small, medium and large) have responded and adapted to COVID-19 crisis, using the complexity theory.

Drawing upon the complexity theory, a humble attempt is made to develop theoretical propositions by conceptualizing companies as complex adaptive systems. The paper examines companies from three dimensions (i.e. internal mechanism, environment and coevolution).

Companies self-organize, emerge into new states and become adaptive to the changing environment. Companies create knowledge to understand the dynamic anatomy and design survival and growth strategies during and post COVID-19 era. Complex adaptive systems perspective provides companies with insights to deal with complex issues raised due to COVID-19 pandemic. They can handle the impact of pandemic efficiently with complex adaptive systems by developing and implementing appropriate strategies post-COVID-19.

The study reveals how companies evolve and emerge into as complex adaptive systems to adapt themselves to the highly dynamic environment, which are uncertain, unpredictable, nonlinear and multifaceted, in the context of COVID-19. Implications for theory and practice of viewing companies as complex adaptive systems and coevolving structures in the COVID-19 context are discussed.

This paper aims to identify how the faculties of a Colombian University have understood the concept of sustainability and the way they have embedded it into their training.

Qualitative research was done using documentary and content analysis which allowed researchers to recognize features correlated to sustainability which are needed to promote and act for social equity, ecological care and economic development.

It was found that most faculties at the university do not conceptualize it; ergo, courses are designed neither for promoting sustainability nor sustainable education. Besides this, almost no level of integration was identified among faculties on this topic.

Many people agree education for sustainability is a key action to overcome the complex challenges the planet is facing; nevertheless, the prejudice that training to solve sustainability problems is an exclusive task of certain disciplines is common. This misunderstanding reduces the possibilities of pursuing a sustainable future, considering that these issues affect all humankind and that they can only be solved through interdisciplinary and collaborative work.

The paper also outlines some actions that Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) can take to consider sustainability issues, and they are as follows: identification of competencies to include in the curricula; recognition of the potential of integrating education for sustainable development (ESD) into the curricula by strengthening the competencies and capacities; strengthening the competencies and capacities of the academic staff through ESD training processes; articulation of research with the curricula in such a way that the results of research processes permeate the curricula.

This study has some limitations. For instance, regarding the survey, the size of the sample may seem too small, a bigger sample will allow better information for the results. Regarding the case studies, a greater diversity of programs could have provided a wider range of results. Despite these limitations, for UPB, the study shows a snapshot of the literature review and the articulation of sustainable development and climate change education (CCE) in all programs the university has. The implications of this paper and research are the following. First, it reiterates the importance of having within the same institution a common language to talk about sustainability. Second, it recognizes the competencies and skills that should considered when implementing ESD and CCE in curricula.

This idea corresponds to a lack of debate about what the term signifies and means. It is believed that, as sustainability has been highly researched in the past two decades, it is a cross-cutting element in any faculty proposal; however, due to the complexity of the term, it is understood differently by each member of the same academic community, affecting their ability to design a systemic and systematic curriculum that enables to educate for sustainable goals.

The process of talent development (TD) is one of the current trends in HRM and human resource development (HRD). Although scientific literature addressing the topic emphasizes that through development of talents, organizations can increase their productivity, performance and competitiveness, little is known so far concerning the development of this research field as a whole and particularly concerning theories prevailing in the area. While research into the field has been ongoing for two decades, the area has not yet been systematized based on key theories used as starting points for the research. The purpose of this paper is to focus on which theories in HRD are used in TD.

Concerning the topicality of TD, the present article provides a systematic review of literature summarizing current theories in TD based on the currently used typology of theories in HRD, adding the fourth pillar to the existing three, i.e. theories concerning adult learning and education, to increase the stability of the typology.

The paper argues that the area of TD prevalently uses sociological, psychological and ethical theories, which may be attributed to trends in HRD. The insufficient representation of theories of learning in TD, particularly in view of the fact that adult learning and development is the essence of TD, is an important finding. This finding is particularly important for science concerning adult learning and education.

The benefit of the presented analysis lies in a systematization of the individual theories and a comprehensive overview of the current theoretical framework of TD, as well as suggestions for future research making use of adult learning and education theories.

This study introduces an ecological framework for disabilities meant to provide a new model of viewing and learning about disabilities and special education. This model projects a multi-systemic view of factors that influence a person's life, where people with disabilities are active actors in the development of the world. The increased awareness about interconnectedness, globalization, inter- and trans-disciplinarity, influences on human experience, greening, sustainability, inequality, inequity and lack of opportunities is shifting how people think about potential and growth.

The methodological approach is qualitative, interpretive research.

In disability studies, the Ecological Model of Disabilities helps reframe this uniqueness as part of the spectrum of human experiences. In special education, the Ecoducation Model helps reframe the learning experience.

This research is conceptual, but it is also all-inclusive, rendering itself to a wide application in educational settings.

The Ecoducation Model for Special Education is specific to the education of children and adults with disabilities, and it is directly compatible with the broader Ecological Model of Disabilities. These ecological models can be applied to all levels of the ecological system, and to different ecodemes of population. Nevertheless, the ecological models need to be locally implemented, with general principles tailored to national traditions, laws and resources.

Advocating for the pursuit of individual well-being within the larger society, both models call for practical changes in a multitude of areas, including legislation and policy, training of professional personnel, sufficient financial input in programs designed for the care of children and adults with disabilities, change in societal mentalities to fight discrimination, disempowerment and isolation. Because the scope of ecological frameworks is incommensurate, being both interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, further research possibilities are countless. The ecological perspective opens the fields of disability studies and special education to new theoretical and empirical possibilities.

Two epistemological models are described as new frameworks in disability studies: the Ecological Model of Disabilities and the Ecoducation Model for Special Education. Both are original models that look into the education and inclusion of the person with disabilities.

Healthcare systems receive criticism from both providers and recipients. The diversity in these systems throughout the world makes innovation and change difficult. However, a structured analysis of healthcare systems is crucial to identify areas for improvement and to share best practices for the betterment of healthcare throughout the world.

The paper uses organizational theory as an unbiased tool for evaluating healthcare systems. This theory analyses healthcare systems across five dimensions: environment, culture, social structure, physical structure and technology. This analysis provides an in-depth understanding of the organization's surroundings, formation and function. It offers a lens through which healthcare systems can be envisioned and establishes a vocabulary for communication.

Organizational theory presents a multifaceted approach to initiate assessments aiming to enhance existing healthcare systems and customize them to serve all stakeholders within the focused ecosystem. It alters the dynamics of criticism and presents an opportunity to sustainably address unforeseen healthcare challenges in the future. As the author proceeds to understand healthcare organizations through the perspective of organizational theory, the author also uncovers subtle yet crucial issues such as resource dependence, cultural clashes, organizational silence, bureaucracy, hierarchy, ethics, values, engagement and burnout.

This paper was crafted from a collaborative paper for the final of a master's degree. A collaboration was conceptualized using organisation theory as the tool to align processes and achieve successful outcome. The narrative of the collaboration has been edited and paper presented highlighting the importance of the tool of organisation theory in healthcare systems.

This paper aims to map the antecedents and precursory contexts regarding the four principles of management. Moreover, a description of its codification and coalescence as a unified teaching framework is provided, critically reviewing key theoretical underpinnings of management principles in academic research and management textbooks.

A historiographic approach reviewed seminal works for theory origins of the four principles of management, by analyzing 260 management textbooks from 1935 to 2013 to document their adoption in management education. This study used critical hermeneutics (Prasad, 2002) to explore the framework’s progression by providing the context of cultural, political and economic influences.

This research study tracked and mapped the creation of the four principles of management, as it became the commonly accepted teaching framework in management education. Today, every predominant management principles textbook uses the four principles of management – plan, lead, organize and control – as the basis for teaching students.

There is limited research on the application of the four principles of management in contemporary management, despite its ubiquity in management education. The study’s historical account of its formation provides insights into its adoption and utilization in modern education context. The study’s primary limitation stems from the generalization of the representative sample of textbooks used in the study (1917–2013). However, data saturation was achieved for the scale of textbooks and writings which was reviewed.

Through a critical analysis into the formation of the four principles of management, this research not only provides a historical account of its construction but, as importantly, the influencing factors that led to its development. This research fills a gap in critical literature, as a post mortem exegesis has never been conducted on the four principles of management in the afteryears of its amalgamation.