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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 conceptual chapter is to analyze the current state of the astructural bias in symbolic interactionism as it relates to three inter-related processes over time: (1) the formalization of critiques of symbolic interactionism as ahistorical, astructural, and acritical perspectives; (2) an ahistorical understanding of early expressions of the disjuncture between symbolic interactionism and more widely accepted forms of sociological theorizing; and (3) persistent and widespread inattentiveness to past and present evidence-based arguments that address the argument regarding symbolic interactionism as an astructural, ahistorical, and acritical sociological perspective. The argument frames the historical development of the astructural bias concept in an historically and socially conditioned way, from its emergence through its rejection and ultimately including conclusions about contemporary state of the astructural bias as evidenced in the symbolic interactionist literatures of the last couple of decades. The analysis and argument concludes that the contemporary result of these intertwined historical and social conditioning processes is that the astructural bias myth has been made real in practice, and that the reification of the myth of an astructural bias has had the ruinous effect of virtually eradicating a vital tradition in the interactionist perspective which extends back to the earliest formulations of the perspective. As a result, a handful of suggestions that serve to aid in reclaiming the unorthodox structuralism of symbolic interactionism and the related interactionist study of social organization are provided in the conclusion.

The authors of this study aim to test a possible turn toward relational, as opposed to agentic, management development program (MDP) content.

The authors performed a content analysis of the literature and qualitative interviews of management coaches/consultants from South Africa and the USA.

In both studies, the authors found more relational than agentic content comprising MDP content. Interviews revealed a predominance of relational strategies and that agentic and relational skills are often interwoven in development efforts.

This work may guide management coaches and consultants to offer clients management development (MD) with a greater focus on relational skills.

Future studies should build on our findings to explore whether leadership may now require more relational as opposed to agentic skills.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

In recent years, interest in analysing the conceptualisation, measurement, determinants and consequences of sustainability orientation (SO) has intensified. The authors respond to a growing demand for research that delves into external and relational factors of SO in the context of hospitality and tourism industry. This paper aims to analyse how market dynamism (MD) influences the SO of firms in heritage tourism destinations (HTDs) and how bridging capital affects this relationship.

The authors empirically analysed a sample of 238 companies in the UNESCO World Heritage Cities of Peru. The proposed hypotheses have been tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The results show a curvilinear relationship between MD and SO. Furthermore, bridging capital enhances the effects of MD, reducing the focal width of the U-shaped curve. Specifically, when hospitality and tourism firms (HTFs) in tourist destinations operate in environments with low-medium levels of dynamism, the diverse links generated slow down the development of an SO. However, the more dynamic the environment, the greater is the SO of firms with large amounts of bridging capital.

The findings highlight the importance of conducting an analysis based on a contingent approach that considers the coherence between external elements of the environment and internal factors. Such an approach helps to understand how HTFs in developing countries establish their SO. Managers should be aware of changes in demand and seek coherence between the level of MD and their inter-organisational relationships, and so be able to assess potential opportunities through developing an SO.

This study contributes to a better understanding of the sustainability commitment of HTFs in the sustainability of HTDs. This study connects the population ecology and social capital approaches, explaining this relationship from a disaggregated perspective – social and environmental – in the context of a developing country.

Research has shown evidence of the use of impression management strategies in corporate disclosures as a means of presumably tempering and swaying investors’ perceptions. These impression management strategies include shifts in the tone used when providing disclosures. However, recent research also provides evidence that such techniques can have a contrary effect when the tone of the message appears to be “too good to be true.” This study explores how the use of optimism and certainty in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) portion of the annual report affects nonprofessional investors’ investment decisions – a class of investors known to heavily rely on the MD&A portion of annual reports. We theorize a bifurcated effect where optimism and certainty have a positive and direct effect on investor willingness to invest, but at the same time optimism and certainty have a negative indirect effect on willingness to invest that is mediated through decreased perceptions of disclosure credibility. The results provide evidence supporting such a bifurcated effect from the use of tone in management disclosures.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of gamification as a novel technique in motivating community engagement in disaster-related activities in order to address the question of how gamification can be incorporated into disaster emergency planning.

This study conducts a systematic literature review and explores available gamified applications for disaster emergency planning and their purpose of use. In total, 51 scholarly articles on the topic and 35 disaster-related gamified applications are reviewed.

The findings reveal the following: (a) gamified applications (n = 35) are used for education, research and intervention purposes; (b) gamified applications create new opportunities for community engagement and raise disaster awareness among the community in virtual environments; and (c) gamified applications help shape a new culture – i.e. gamified culture – that supports smart disaster emergency planning practice.

During the recent years, utilisation of game elements in non-game contexts – i.e., gamification – has become a popular approach in motivating people in various actions. Increasing research highlighted the benefits of gamification in enhancing community engagement, creating interactive environments, providing better behavioural outcomes and influencing democratic processes. Despite some of the applications indicating the potential of gamification in disaster emergency planning, the use of gamification technique in this discipline is an understudied area. This study reveals gamification can be incorporated into disaster emergency planning.

This paper synthesizes existing experimental research in the area of investor perceptions and offers directions for future research. Investor-related experimental research has grown substantially, especially in the last decade, as it has made valuable contributions in establishing causal links, examining underlying process measures, and examining areas with little available data. Within this review, I examine 121 papers and identify three broad categories that affect investor perceptions: information format, investor features, and disclosure credibility. Information format describes how investors are influenced by information salience, information labeling, reporting and accounting complexity, financial statement recognition, explanatory disclosures, and proposed disclosure changes. Investor features describes investors’ use of heuristics, investor preferences, and the effect of investor experience. Disclosure credibility is influenced by external and internal assurance, management credibility, disclosure characteristics, and management incentives. Using this framework, I summarize the existing research and identify areas that would benefit from additional research.