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As a critical component in the entrepreneurial process, knowledge is essential to the study of how entrepreneurs compete under constraints. Research in this area is challenged by the unobservable and imprecise nature of knowledge which inhibits advanced theory building and testing, and we explore this problem by analyzing the relationship between the entrepreneurial process, constraints to the process, and knowledge flows. We apply and extend a systems-theoretic framework that identifies the knowledge system in entrepreneurial organizations, and develop an integrative model to guide future research.

This article provides a snapshot of several innovative and underused methodological approaches employed by scholars from across public management.

A comparative review of methodological approaches to public management research is used.

The authors find evidence of scholars applying numerous novel methodological approaches to study social science phenomena, including agent-based modeling, nonparametic approaches, social network analysis, Granger equations and techniques for correcting selection bias.

The review does not cover all of the innovative methodological approaches used in social science. However, the methodological techniques showcased offer promise for advancing public management research, whether used as primary applications or as one of multiple methods (triangulation) to test the validity of research findings and/or to more comprehensively understand the phenomena being studied.

The techniques reviewed include example applications to aid researchers who may wish to apply them in their own research. The novel tools and methods already in use by public management researchers contradict the perception that public management methods have lagged behind other social science disciplines.

Public management researchers have successfully leveraged theory to advance the understanding of contracts and the different governance structures that underpin contract relationships. Yet there is still much to learn about the implications for different governance structures. Applying insights from property rights, the purpose of this paper is to examine the substance of initial government contracts and their subsequent amendments in order to determine whether allocation of decision rights leads to better or worse contract amendments.

The authors evaluate the text of initial contracts and their subsequent amendments in 258 government–business relationships and focus on the implications of assigning key decision rights to the party with most relevant knowledge expertise.

Two primary findings are presented. First, initial contracts where knowledge expertise and the associated decision rights are co-located (i.e. integrated) are likely to be associated with ex post adjustments that benefit both parties to the contract. Second, the authors find that this initial finding is likely a result of government integration as opposed to supplier integration.

Given that we know most professional service contracts require some form of contract amendment over time, this research helps us understand why some amendments will reinforce the collaborative (Pareto enhancing) nature of the relationship, while others may be more one sided (rent seeking). Unlike other theoretical approaches (e.g. transaction cost theory), property rights theory provides guidance for such decision making.

Based on the tasks and responsibilities of global leaders, the benefits of a holistic view in global leadership talent acquisition are identified. The main areas of this integrating process, such as succession planning, attracting, and mobilizing talents, selection, training and development, and retaining global leadership talents, are described. The success factors and principles of a global talent acquisition process are presented and explained. Furthermore, this chapter shows that a proactive step for global organizations is to build an in-house global leadership talent pool to ensure having the right global leaders in the right places at the right time.

As a result of several high profile food scares in recent years, the practices of key players in the UK food industry have been called into question on ethical grounds. These practices include a range of operational activities including those concerned with supply chain management which form the focus of this study. This paper utilises an interpretive methodology to examine the buyer‐supplier relationships in the food industry from the perspectives of manufacturing managers and food regulators. The paper utilises the transcripted data from 20 interviews with senior officials from the UK’s food regulation services and from marketing and quality managers working in the food processing and production industry. The study demonstrates the application of interpretive analysis and interview technique to establish the issues concerning the food industry network in the UK today. This is set against Craig Smith’s model of ethical stance and decision making which serves as the backdrop to explicating the respondents’ perspectives on the food industry of the UK. Reveals coercive practices at work in the supply chain and details how this manifests in the lives of regulators and manufacturing managers and in the operations of the companies they work with.

This paper examines instructional coaching as a means to support teachers at all levels in primary and secondary schools in implementing new and innovative practices using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework as a design guide.

This mixed-methods study compared the impact of an instructional coaching intervention around the implementation of the UDL framework on educators versus the UDL implementation efforts of educators who did not receive the coaching intervention. Coached participants shared their experiences with the coaching cycle. These qualitative data were collected through teacher interviews, self-assessments, and observations. The data assisted in the interpretation of the quantitative findings from a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test comparison group design.

The results of this study revealed positive outcomes for teachers in knowledge and application of UDL, although not at statistically significant levels. The qualitative data collected supported the positive gains and revealed that teachers valued and changed their practices from the use of coaching as they navigated the implementation of UDL in their learning environments.

One limitation to be noted includes the district site that participated in this study had used the UDL framework for several years and maintained high expectations for teachers to increase their UDL-aligned practices each year. Therefore, all teachers who participated in this study were under the same district evaluative expectations to participate in professional development at some level to increase proficiency with UDL implementation, whereas a district in the beginning stages of UDL implementation might serve as a better gauge of growth. Additionally, the control participants were self-identified and not randomly assigned.

This study is one of the first conducted that investigates the effect of instructional coaching on teachers' increased understanding and implementation of the UDL framework. This study examines instructional coaching as a stand-alone professional development in supporting teachers' use of UDL in design-inclusive classrooms. Written into US law, the UDL framework is a scientifically valid framework that supports teachers with the design of flexible and accessible classrooms for an increasingly diverse population of students.