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The study aims to investigate the effects of a remote energy management service to the energy consumption of retail buildings. The study focuses on analysing the changes in energy consumption after the implementation of a facility service concept where building processes are optimized with a remote energy management system. The paper seeks to demonstrate that remotely operated building management practices, which allow high competence service for all facilities, have a positive impact, beyond traditional facility services, on energy and environmental performance of buildings.

The research analyses the metered energy consumption of two retail building portfolios comprising altogether 44 properties. Additionally, secondary data are collected from archive reviews, observation and interviews.

The research shows that remote energy management service reduced the total energy consumption during the two-year service period by 12 and 6 per cent depending on the portfolio. Electricity consumption was found to decrease by 7 per cent and heating energy by 26 per cent on the average in the first portfolio, and 7 and 4 per cent in the second one, respectively.

Variation between buildings was found to be relatively high as the individual characteristics and history of the different buildings inevitably affect the achieved results.

The study indicates that remote energy management offers an effective means to reduce the energy consumption and costs, and ultimately climate impacts derived from buildings.

The study adds to the knowledge of facilities management in context to energy management and environmental performance of buildings.

This monograph has been written after a number of years spent considering the many issues in new companies. I see it as a collage of experience gained over some 16 years of direct and indirect association with new companies, rather than a clinically exact study of such organisations.

Recognizing that the nature of research and scholarly communication is changing rapidly, an institutional repository (IR) is a tool for collecting, storing, accessing and disseminating scholarly communication within and without the institutions. The primary reason for establishing an IR is to increase the visibility of the institution’s research output by making it an open access with regard to copyright issues. This paper aims to propose a conceptualmodel for scholarly communication through IRs to provide an opportunity to integrate and facilitate knowledge sharing so as to enrich knowledge content and enhance global access.

This paper proceeds in three phases. In the first phase, the published literature on IRs and scholarly communication has been reviewed critically considering their empirical applications. Next, based on the understanding gained from the previous stage, a conceptual model for scholarly communication through IRs has been proposed. In the third phase, the proposed model has been developed and finalized toward its maturity.

Based on the literature, the authors have developed a conceptual model for understanding the factors that characterize not only the design but also the development of IRs practically. An IR appears theoretically sound, but it is a difficult task in practice because of some complexities. This paper attempts to set a theoretical model for IRs as a foundation to address the gap in the current literature for researchers, experts and librarians who create, maintain and use IRs, though it does not claim to be comprehensive.

A few attempts have been made to investigate scholarly communication through IRs, but this is the one of its first kind that provides a theoretical model for it. It serves as a useful starting point for those interested in knowledge management and IRs.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative, although complementary, system for the evaluation of the scholarly activities of academic organizations, scholars and researchers, based on web indicators, in order to speed up the change of paradigm in scholarly communication towards a new fully electronic twenty‐first century model.

In order to achieve these goals, a new set of web indicators has been introduced, obtained mainly from data gathered from search engines, the new mediators of scholarly communication.

It was found that three large groups of indicators are feasible to obtain and relevant for evaluation purposes: activity (web publication); impact (visibility) and usage (visits and visitors). As a proof of concept, a Ranking Web of Universities has been built with Webometrics data. There are two relevant findings: ranking results are similar to those obtained by other bibliometric‐based rankings; and there is a concerning digital divide between North American and European universities, which appear in lower positions when compared with their USA and Canada counterparts.

Cybermetrics is still an emerging discipline, so new developments should be expected when more empirical data become available.

The proposed approach suggests the publication of truly electronic journals, rather than digital versions of printed articles. Additional materials, such as raw data and multimedia files, should be included along with other relevant information arising from more informal activities. These repositories should be Open Access, available as part of the public web, indexed by the main commercial search engines. It is expected that these actions could generate larger web‐based audiences, reduce the costs of publication and access and allow third parties to take advantage of the knowledge generated, without sacrificing peer review, which should be extended (pre‐ and post‐) and expanded (closed and open).

A full taxonomy of web indicators is introduced for describing and evaluating research activities, academic organizations and individual scholars and scientists. Previous attempts for building such classification were incomplete and did not take into account feasibility and efficiency.

Against the background of earlier publications on the future of facilities management (FM) and acknowledging digitalization and sustainability as two major shaping forces, the purpose of this paper is to place contributions to the special issue in the perspective of current opportunities for FM research.

After a review of publications since the 1980s, dealing with the future of FM, there is an analysis of how the forces of digitalization and sustainability have emerged over five decades. The articles of this special issue are introduced against this background. Opportunities for future FM research are identified, and the relation between research, education and practice is discussed.

Megatrends outlined in the 1980s still shape how FM develops. Digitalization supports sustainability not only through workplace change and building design but also through performance measurement, certification schemes and an awareness of the wider urban context.

Opportunities for FM research are created by digitalization and concerns with sustainability, combining environmental and social aspects. Relations between organizations studied in an FM context are important. Within organizations, employee issues and risk management are emphasized.

Policies and schemes for sustainable buildings should be linked to sustainable FM more clearly. The relation between research, education and practice needs to be consolidated as a basis for research and development, as illustrated by a number of studies belonging to this special issue. To reach the goals of sustainable development, we need to develop the knowledge and theoretical frameworks that can be applied to and used by practice. The recent ISO FM definition appears as narrow and should be extended to recognize facilities’ life-cycle issues as well as broader urban and social concerns.

This paper highlights the importance of basing FM research on an understanding of the fundamental forces that shape change.

The paper explores the role of the strategic partner in the Management Development (MD) process at Jordan Telecom (JT) by surveying the attitudes of 243 Jordanian managers and by testing the relevant hypothesis. The findings reveals that the strategic partner contributes to the development of Jordanian managers' skills in areas such as time management, performance appraisal, job design and communications and cooperation. A limited significant impact of relevant demographic and managerial factors on managers' attitudes towards their MD and strong corelational relationships among MD dimensions are also revealed through the findings. The conclusions highlight the positive outcomes and implications of the strategic partnership at JT. The recommendations emphasized the need for further partnerships in Jordan because of their influential effects on Jordanian businesses.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the information shared by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers and its implications on their performance.

The paper puts forward the concept of arcs of communication based on the frequency and direction of the information exchanged by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers. SMEs are classified by the arc of communication they belong to using data from a survey carried out in the Canary Islands (Spain). The Rasch Measurement Theory is applied.

The largest group of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) shares information frequently with both customers and suppliers (broad arc of communication). Differences were detected in the performance of SMEs belonging to this broad arc, as well as, in those firms that communicated frequently with their main suppliers (asymmetrical arc of communication towards suppliers). In both cases, these firms were better than their competitors in innovation.

This study demonstrates the need for better management of the links between SMEs and their suppliers and with their customers in accordance with their strategies, promoting a greater cooperative behaviour throughout the supply chain.

SMEs’ customers and suppliers are their main sources of information compared to large firms, which have greater resources to search for and acquire information. This paper investigates the information exchanged by SMEs with their main customers and suppliers from a strategic focus by adding to the literature the concept of arcs of communication. It also has the added value of applying the Rasch Measurement Theory (Rasch, 1960/1980).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the beginning of the Internet Age means for the functions and structures of scholarly information and communication by looking at and evaluating today's usability and usage of the digital information infrastructure for and by academic scholarship.

The paper gives an overview of the current state of development of digital information in the scholarly cultures and stresses the importance of data as the crucial – and considerably extended – basis of scholarly work. The central role of the publishing world for the academic rewards system is analyzed to consider continuities and discontinuities in scholarly publication.

The paper advances the thesis first coined by Christine Borgman that today we have an information infrastructure of, but not for, scholarly information. Some ideas and proposals of what should be done to move towards an information infrastructure for scholarly work conclude the paper.

The paper tries to bridge the gap between information professionals as producers and scholars as users of information and communication technologies and shows that a joint debate on these issues is necessary.

The aim of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the evolution of a new e‐research paradigm and to outline key projects and developments in Europe, North America, Canada and Australia. The article also provides a detailed summary of the Dataset Acquisition, Accessibility and Annotation e‐Research Technology (DART) project.

A review of relevant government reports, documents and general literature was conducted.

Projects currently being conducted in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia are part of an international movement that aims to use modern ICTs to enhance e‐research. The DART project is a significant part of this movement as it has adopted a “whole process” approach to e‐research, and provides a platform for the examination of the technical, legal and policy issues that arise in the new e‐research environment.

Provides an overview of current projects that concern the development of e‐research, with a particular focus on Australian research and the DART project.

This paper investigates how companies become resilient to supply chain (SC) piracy through using transactional and relational governance mechanisms to develop strategies effective in environments characterized by weak regulative institutions and mistrust.

This study developed case studies of nine large manufacturers with operations in Brazil.

The companies employed transactional and relational governance mechanisms to learn from past incidents, anticipate, and respond to the threat of SC piracy, becoming more resilient over time. Transactional governance mechanisms reduced risk triggers through technology, while relational governance mechanisms enhanced trust between SC and non-SC members, allowing the members to build social capital.

The authors provide practical guidance for managers and policymakers in developing risk management strategies based on technology and collaboration to reduce SC piracy in environments characterized by mistrust.

SC piracy is a serious problem for global operations and SCs in many low-cost manufacturing locations. Besides the cost and service level consequences, the authors also highlight worker safety consequences, including the potential for kidnapping, psychological trauma, injuries, and death.

This study focuses on the little-researched topic of SC piracy. The authors examine the negative effects of a weak institutional environment, while most prior research focuses on the positive effects of a strong institutional environment. The authors position transactional and relational governance mechanisms as essential elements of SC risk resilience.