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The work of Michel Foucault is taken as inspiration for a study of the organizational field of asylums, prisons, orphanages, and other carceral organizations operating in New York City in 1888. Foucault argues that institutional power is organized into dually ordered system of truth and power. Using text data describing the clients and institutional technologies (organizational “power signatures”) of 168 organizations, we apply structural equivalence methods to unpack speech activity, showing that as Foucault suggests, there may be dually ordered sub-domains of truth and power that help define the underlying logic of this institutional field.

In this brief review, we do not attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of how the concept of ideology has developed in the different perspectives; this has been done in several publications that classify and discuss ideology in great detail (see Chiapello, 2003; Thompson, 1996; Eagleton, 1991; Lenk, 1984; Therborn, 1980; Larrain, 1979, among many others). However, the brief sketch below is intended to help us find venues for combining theories of ideology and institutions. Furthermore, it helps us to place the chapters of this volume in this broader context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine multiple channels in retail banking and demonstrate how qualitative market research investigations can inform strategic decision making. Research into customer acquisition and retention has only recently begun to consider them as part of a single marketing process Inviting exploratory qualitative expert investigation.

A review of the literature suggested an outline guide for interviewing a selection of expert informants, from a variety of high‐street banks and building societies. The interview data were analysed using both computer‐aided and manual techniques in parallel as part of strengthening the findings.

The analysis of the interview data suggest five themes of that make up the management of channels in UK high‐street banks that have an impact on customer acquisition and retention and which are as follows: customer groups, interaction style, relationship and loyalty, networks and service and satisfaction.

The themes identified in this preliminary investigation provide a model that maps five aspects that underpin customer acquisition and retention in traditional high‐street banks including for the purposes of this research, building societies in the UK.

Begins with a brief review of research in the area of performance, with particular emphasis on design and product development, highlighting the main weaknesses in work to date. Then presents a fundamental and generic model of performance, related to knowledge‐based activities in design, which describes performance in terms of its key elements, efficiency and effectiveness, and provides a basis for modelling performance across different process levels. Evolves this model further to describe performance measurement and management in design development. Concludes that it is not possible to distinguish the efficiency of the design activity from that of design management, and that, in addition, efficiency appears to be inherent to an activity, but is difficult to measure.

This study aims to investigate how radio frequency identification (RFID) is used and opinions about RFID in two world-leading logistics companies and four organisations in their supply network. Operations strategy was used to understand the sources of operations improvement and associated competitive advantage. However, the complexity of operations strategy hampers an evaluation of the benefits of RFID for logistics processes. We can evaluate RFID applied in logistics processes by thoroughly applying the theories of operations strategy.

Participants were recruited based on their roles and level of experience using non-probability purposive sampling. The findings were checked with participants to confirm interpretations and to ask confirming questions as necessary. Interviews were conducted as video chats. NVivo Pro was used for the fragmentation, classification, management and analysis of the primary and secondary data, allowing themes and relationships to emerge inductively. The literature was compared with the primary data.

The findings reinforce the argument that a firm can improve more than one performance objective at a time; show the relevance of technology and an operations performance objective; support the argument that top management strategies to implement technology should be aligned with the operations strategy and business aspirations.

This research area would benefit from more detailed investigation to strengthen the arguments for the relationships between RFID capabilities and elements of operations strategy for logistics processes. The findings indicate that top management support of strategically aligned RFID projects will have the best chance of success if they create and leverage valuable data whilst addressing identified competitive priorities.

Smart connected devices, such as RFID, give firms access to big data, which can be used to develop long-term processes, to achieve competitive advantage and access new forms of economic value. RFID cumulatively influences the operations performance objectives of cost, quality, flexibility, speed, dependability and technology. Business strategies based on technology should align with operations strategy.

The sharing of operational performance results, both before and after the implementation of RFID, will help to build learning within operations, increase the support of senior management and improve the performance of logistics processes with the associated benefits for society at large.

RFID is often evaluated in terms of theoretical technical or cost benefits. This research evaluates RFID by assessing and suggesting how it can contribute to operations strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrating framework for the configuration and performance of global engineering networks (GEN).

The reported study is based on a comprehensive literature review and refined by the practice of three global leading companies along key industry sectors.

This framework presents the key patterns of GEN from an evolution perspective and demonstrates the influence of the major driving forces.

In addition, this study also identifies research opportunities in two areas: further testing the theory of GEN with a broader range of industry sectors, and expanding the study to inter‐firm engineering activities. The further study is planned accordingly.

The paper offers a systematic view of GEN and can help companies in the design and operation.

There are several strands that cope with particular intangible resources, such as intangible assets, intellectual, human, and organisational capital, data and information, knowledge and capabilities. However, until now there have been no attempts to define and identify all intangible resources systematically in one framework. The purpose of this paper is to show how an exhaustive and exclusive categorial system of all intangible resources can be generated.

Following the idea of comparative analyses by grounded theory, it will be referred to relevant approaches which can be defined in academic literature. It is investigated how types of intangible resources, that share common attributes, can be grouped together, which categories emerge, and how these categories can be defined. This gradually leads to the creation of the whole categorial system based on empirical inductionism. At the same time, the categorial system is created based on logical deductionism. Having defined intangible resources as the objects of reasoning and by which leading principles will be looked at, the class of intangible resources will be broken down into categories or sub‐classes with the help of precisely formulated attributes.

Generation of a comprehensive, consistent, and complete categorial system of all possible types of intangible assets.

Solely a theoretical paper. Although empirical examples are provided it might be interesting to demonstrate the application of this categorial system.

With such a categorial system we are in the position to identify and locate the uncountable number of “real world” types of intangible resources more precisely and efficiently.

With such an attempt it may become clearer how to cope with different types of intangible resources, how to gather, create, use, share and develop them more appropriately.

Assistive technology can support and enhance the learning, independence, and daily living skills of students with disabilities, including students with intellectual disability (ID). Assistive technology is not generally disability dependent; however, for students with ID we decided to focus on assistive technology across two areas: instructional aids – with a focus on reading, writing, and mathematics – and transition and independence. Throughout our focus on these two categories of assistive technology, we discuss low-tech, mid-tech, and high-tech options to support students with ID.

Advocates and critics of target‐setting in the workplace seem unable to reach beyond their own well‐entrenched battle lines. While the advocates of goal‐directed behaviour point to what they see as demonstrable advantages, the critics of target‐setting highlight equally demonstrable disadvantages. Indeed, the academic literature on this topic is currently mired in controversy, with neither side seemingly capable of envisaging a better way forward. This paper seeks to break the current deadlock and move thinking forward in this important aspect of performance measurement and management by outlining a new, more fruitful approach, based on both theory and practical experience.

The topic was approached in three phases: assembling and reading key academic and other literature on the subject of target‐setting and goal‐directed behaviour, with a view to understanding, in depth, the arguments advanced by the advocates and critics of target‐setting; comparing these published arguments with one's own experiential findings, in order to bring the essence of disagreement into much sharper focus; and then bringing to bear the academic and practical experience to identify the essential elements of a new, more fruitful approach offering all the benefits of goal‐directed behaviour with none of the typical disadvantages of target‐setting.

The research led to three key findings: the advocates of goal‐directed behaviour and critics of target‐setting each make valid points, as seen from their own current perspectives; the likelihood of these two communities, left to themselves, ever reaching a new synthesis, seems vanishingly small (with leading thinkers in the goal‐directed behaviour community already acknowledging this); and, between the three authors, it was discovered that their unusual combination of academic study and practical experience enabled them to see things differently. Hence, they would like to share their new thinking more widely.

The authors fully accept that their paper is informed by extensive practical experience and, as yet, there have been no opportunities to test their findings, conclusions and recommendations through rigorous academic research. However, they hope that the paper will move thinking forward in this arena, thereby informing future academic research.

The authors hope that the practical implications of the paper will be significant, as it outlines a novel way for organisations to capture the benefits of goal‐directed behaviour with none of the disadvantages typically associated with target‐setting.

Given that increased efficiency and effectiveness in the management of organisations would be good for society, the authors think the paper has interesting social implications.

Leading thinkers in the field of goal‐directed behaviour, such as Locke and Latham, and leading critics of target‐setting, such as Ordóñez et al. continue to argue with one another – much like, at the turn of the nineteenth century, proponents of the “wave theory of light” and proponents of the “particle theory of light” were similarly at loggerheads. Just as this furious scientific debate was ultimately resolved by Taylor's experiment, showing that light could behave both as a particle and wave at the same time, the authors believe that the paper demonstrates that goal‐directed behaviour and target‐setting can successfully co‐exist.