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The present investigation aimed to evaluate the influence of envy on the predisposition to innovative behavior, starting from a conceptual model that considers not only the direct influence of envy but its indirect influence through ostracism and alignment with the negative behaviors of superiors.

Using a survey applied to 168 individuals, a conceptual model was developed based on the relationship ignored in the literature between envy and innovative behavior. The model was validated using the multivariate statistical technique of structural equation modeling with partial least squares estimation (Partial least squares structural equation modeling [PLS-SEM]).

The results of the study suggest that envy not only has a direct positive influence on alignment with negative boss behaviors and ostracism, but also an indirect influence on ostracism mediated by alignment with negative boss behaviors. Another important result of the present investigation refers to the negative effect of envy on the predisposition to innovative behavior. The results suggest that the greater the envy, the lower the innovative behavior.

This research provides evidence that envy can act as a barrier to innovation by triggering counterproductive behaviors such as ostracism and a decrease in predisposition to innovative behaviors, either due to innovative individuals prematurely exiting the organization or due to them lessening/dampening their innovativeness to avoid the negative consequences. Given this scenario, it becomes necessary to increase managerial awareness on the subject to manage negative emotions to promote the conditions for organizational innovation.

The present research contributes in both practical and theoretical ways to understanding the effects of envy on the predisposition to innovative behavior. Adding to this, this research represents a conceptual advance by linking envy to innovative behavior, providing a promising avenue for extending the psychological relevance of the envy construct to organizational and management studies, which are generally positive, normative and outcome-oriented.

To be innovative is increasingly considered an imperative in modern society. The motto seems to be “the more, the better,” which is echoed in writings about phenomena such as “disruptive technologies” (Christensen, 1997), “disruptive innovations” (Christensen & Raynor, 2003), or radical innovation (Stringer, 2000; Leifer et al., 2000). Such phenomena are typically held up against “anti-innovative” phenomena, for example, “disruptive” is contrasted with “continuous,” and “radical” is contrasted with “incremental.” Distinctions drawn between being more or less innovative derive in part from studies that are based on stable causal factors that explain why some organizations happen to be more innovative than others.

This paper's purpose is to account for liberal education's characteristic incoherence.

Its approach is to sketch a dilemma created by cultures being inherently conservative, while nations, in order to be internationally competitive, need to be innovative. The definitional and systemic bases of culture's conservatism offer no point of attack; but a third base is enculturation, which does.

Shortly after puberty, society's more promising young people are strongly urged to leave home for an extended period, and be exposed to ways of acting and thinking that often clash with how they have been brought up. They are encouraged to explore new subjects and indulge their curiosity; they are encouraged to “think outside the box” of their own enculturation. The incoherence of liberal education leaves them not with a sense of closure, but in a state of constructive confusion conducive to innovation in all aspects of life. Liberal education thus serves the social function of countering the anti-innovative tendency of culture.

Attempts to impose coherence on undergraduate educational experience by “tying things all together” for students are ill-advised.

Seeing incoherence as a desirable rather than deplorable feature of undergraduate liberal education can help us facilitate rather than inadvertently inhibit innovative thought and action in the rising generation.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the consumer behaviour when choosing an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course in the Syrian market. Based on the student choice model, the study aims at exploring motivations, behaviour, decision‐taking factors and evaluation of purchasing process for the EFL service.

The study employs a case study for one of the biggest family business providers in the EFL market in the City of Damascus, in Syria. Semi‐structured styles of interviews were conducted with 30 currently registered students, in the studied centre, covering five main research questions.

Consistent with the previous literature of consumer behaviour, the findings show that EFL students may go through six steps of purchasing the EFL product. Accordingly, several detailed explanations for each step of the consumer behaviour of EFL, concluded from the study, were presented. Within the consumer behaviour model, the study highlights the importance of individual self study as a phase that should be given more consideration by researchers.

This study could provide bases for further research through a replication of the model of consumer behaviour and using the information offered by the survey. Further research could investigate the research questions in a wider student population employing a more quantitative approach.

People responsible for marketing in EFL institutes should pay more attention to understanding their customer behaviour, rather than engaging in reactive competition practices and focusing on marketing elements and promotion.

The importance of this study comes from the lack of research into understanding the private, fee‐paying EFL customer buyer behaviour in general and in the Syrian context in particular.

The purpose of this paper is to describe research that examined physician leadership development using complexity science principles.

Intensive interviewing of 21 participants and document review provided data regarding physician leadership development in health-care organizations using five principles of complexity science (connectivity, interdependence, feedback, exploration-of-the-space-of-possibilities and co-evolution), which were grouped in three areas of inquiry (relationships between agents, patterns of behaviour and enabling functions).

Physician leaders are viewed as critical in the transformation of healthcare and in improving patient outcomes, and yet significant challenges exist that limit their development. Leadership in health care continues to be associated with traditional, linear models, which are incongruent with the behaviour of a complex system, such as health care. Physician leadership development remains a low priority for most health-care organizations, although physicians admit to being limited in their capacity to lead. This research was based on five principles of complexity science and used grounded theory methodology to understand how the behaviours of a complex system can provide data regarding leadership development for physicians. The study demonstrated that there is a strong association between physician leadership and patient outcomes and that organizations play a primary role in supporting the development of physician leaders. Findings indicate that a physician’s relationship with their patient and their capacity for innovation can be extended as catalytic behaviours in a complex system. The findings also identified limiting factors that impact physicians who choose to lead, such as reimbursement models that do not place value on leadership and medical education that provides minimal opportunity for leadership skill development.

This research provides practical applications for physician leadership development and emphasizes that it is incumbent upon physicians and organizations to focus attention on this to achieve improved patient and organizational outcomes.

This study pairing complexity science and physician leadership represents a unique way to view the development of physician leaders within the context of the complex system that is health care.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how different country-specific institutional healthcare settings affect an international new venture’s (INV’s) selling strategies and internationalization process when commercializing a medical technology innovation.

The study is based on a longitudinal in-depth case study approach with a comparative healthcare analysis in Sweden, UK, Germany and the USA.

An institutional framework helps elucidate the regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive dimensions in different healthcare settings. National markets differ when operating in a healthcare setting and thus affect both sales patterns and the internationalization process. In this study, three different sales patterns emerged from the countries’ and even regions’ distinctive institutional differences. Although the actual internationalization process starts from the INV’s inception, the subsequent internationalization process was both slow and focused due to institutional diversity and complexity.

Every nation has its own unique healthcare structure, indicating the importance of choosing markets that facilitate a swift uptake of a specific medical technology innovation. Commercializing a medical technology innovation in different country-specific healthcare settings is a lengthy, complex and costly process, especially if new behaviors and routines need to be created.

The paper contributes to the international entrepreneurship-marketing interface by developing an analytical framework for understanding country differences in relation to regulative, normative and culture-cognitive dimensions and by advancing six propositions related to the role of institutional healthcare settings and their impact on INVs’ sales patterns and internationalization processes.

Even though entrepreneurship and new venture creation is extremely important to the future market orientation of the new Russia, there is little information on the state of entrepreneurship in the country. Based on a review of previous literature on Russian entrepreneurs, a survey of Russian entrepreneurs and the new ventures created was undertaken. Results indicate that entrepreneurs are indeed operant in the new Russia and with better infrastructure support, could have an even greater impact on the market‐oriented movement of the country.

Traditionally, information security management standards listing generic means of protection have received a lot of attention in the field of information security management. In the background a few information security management‐oriented maturity criteria have been laid down. These criteria can be regarded as the latest promising innovations on the information security checklist‐standard family tree. Whereas information security maturity criteria have so far received inadequate attention in information security circles, software maturity endeavours have been the focus of constructive debate in software engineering circles. Aims to analyze what the alternative maturity criteria for developing secure information systems (IS) and software can learn from these debates on software engineering maturity criteria. First, advances a framework synthesized from the information systems (IS) and software engineering literatures, including six lessons that information security maturity criteria can learn from. Second, pores over the existing information security maturity criteria in the light of this framework. Third, presents, on the basis of results of this analysis, implications for practice and research.

Focuses on Russia and examines the development and significance of attaining an entrepreneurial business culture together with clear enforceable property rights within a legal framework. The connection between property rights, entrenched economic growth and an entrepreneurial culture together with the influence of history and culture on the Russian legal system is reviewed and assessed. There is an overview of recent relevant business and property law legislation including the land codes of 200 I and 2002 and the civil code of 1995 and the connected problems as Russia strives to become a market economy. The article also incorporates a Finnish perspective which comprises of the authors own views whilst working in Finland together with aspects of the Finnish outlook in relation to their business dealings with Russia. This also includes an interview with a company’s managing director (specialising in Russia’s business environment and the development of Finnish entrepreneurial activity’. The author concludes on the significance of the socialist legacy and its effect on Russia’s legal system and property rights. In particular how it is perceived by entrepreneurs and the effect on the purchase of land and production facilities because of the risk involved.