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Firms in the apparel industry seek operational information on ways to implement mass customization. The purpose of this research is to investigate the potential for concurrent engineering (CE) to realign the traditional, linear apparel product development process to a more concurrent and consumer‐focused process in order to facilitate the implementation of the new supply chain process (i.e. mass customization) with sensitivity to time‐to‐market demands.

The case study method was used with three non‐competing apparel firms. Survey instruments and focus group feedback were utilized, which allowed the researchers to collect in‐depth information about the apparel product development process, often considered proprietary in many industries.

Product development activities in the lengthy apparel product development process were realigned with many activities being ranked as early or middle activities. This realignment into a compressed and nearly simultaneous process supports activities that must be done early and often simultaneously rather than late to support a mass customization strategy.

The case study approach and apparel‐oriented sample reduces generalizability of findings; however, realignment of activities and provided operational information encourage future research to document the findings for apparel and other industries.

Suggested movement of activities can be used as a guide for designers and manufacturers when trying to improve their product development process.

The paper provides needed detailed or operational information about implementation of mass customization in the apparel industry.

The aim of this study is to empirically test the link between employee ambidexterity and two supportive organizational cultures, namely, a perceived culture of empowerment and a knowledge-sharing culture. Furthermore, the paper addresses the mechanisms through which these supportive organizational cultures work to enable employees to engage in ambidextrous behaviour. Specifically, the role of intrinsic motivation is investigated.

Data were obtained from 136 managers employed in the five main Belgian service sectors.

The findings indicate that a perceived culture of empowerment is positively related to intrinsic motivation, which in turn facilitates employee ambidexterity. Also, a moderating effect of extrinsic motivation on employee ambidextrous behaviour is found. At the same time, a perceived knowledge-sharing culture is having no effect on ambidexterity or intrinsic motivation.

Insights into the roles of individuals in achieving ambidexterity help to advance the theoretical understanding of how a supportive organizational context may enhance employee ambidexterity.

Despite the growing body of research on antecedents of ambidexterity, there is still lack of thorough understanding of how a supportive organizational context may enhance employee ambidexterity and the roles of individuals in achieving ambidexterity. This is one of the first studies that investigate these factors in relation to individual level ambidexterity (as opposed to organization level ambidexterity).

This service evaluation study aimed to demonstrate the impact of implementing ward‐based multidisciplinary therapy input on an acute psychiatric ward in a London hospital for a six‐month period. The results indicated a high level of patient engagement with the project and referrals facilitated for patients following discharge. A reduction of incidents on the ward was reported over the project period compared to the previous year and there was less use of containment measures by staff by the end of the project. Recommendations are made for service improvement.

This paper examines how the properties and patterns of a collaborative “networked hierarchy” incident command system (ICS) archetype can provide incident command centres with extra capabilities to manage public service delivery during COVID-19.

The paper illustrates the case of Sri Lanka's COVID-19 administration during its “first wave” (from 15 February to 1 September 2020). Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews with government officials who were directly involved in the administration of the COVID-19 outbreak. Secondary data sources were government publications and web sources. The data were analysed and interpreted by using narrative analysis and archetype theory respectively.

The findings highlight how Sri Lanka's public sector responses to COVID-19 have followed a collaborative “networked hierarchy” ICS archetype. More specifically, the government changed its normative ICS “properties” by incorporating a diverse group of intergovernmental agencies such as the police, the military, the health service and administrative services by articulating new patterns of collaborative working, namely, organisational values, beliefs and ideas that fit with the Sri Lankan public service context.

In responding to high magnitude healthcare emergencies, the flexibility of a collaborative networked ICS hierarchy enables different balances of organisational properties to be incorporated, such as hierarchy and horizontal networking and “patterns” in public service provision.

This paper aims to study the effects of solid additives and compounding processes on the selective laser sintering (SLS) behavior of composite powders.

Composite powders were prepared from TrueForm™ acrylic‐styrene co‐polymer and SiO₂ powder. Dry mixing and melt extrusion were used as the blending processes to produce the composite powders. Some SiO₂ powder was ground and treated with silane coupling agent before blending to study the effects of particle size and surface treatment of the filler, respectively. The temperature of the powder bed was monitored using an infrared thermometer. The fusion behaviors of the powders were investigated in situ using an optical microscope and the sintered specimens were examined by scanning electron microscopy.

For a given volume fraction of the filler, reducing its particle size will hinder fusion between the polymer particles and weaken the sintered specimens. Surface treatment of the filler by silane coupling agent had little effect on the morphology of the sintered specimens; however, it slightly improved their strength. The blending method plays an important role in the sintering behavior of the composite powders. Although melt blending improved the polymer‐to‐polymer contact between the composite powder particles, the high‐resultant viscosity of the material adversely affected the densification of the powder bed, leading to a highly porous structure of the sintered specimens.

The sintering experiments were conducted in ambient conditions using a laser engraving machine instead of a commercial SLS machine with atmospheric control. The temperature gradient within the powder bed was expected to be higher than that in normal SLS processes.

The SLS behavior of a composite powder not only depends on its composition but also on the powder preparation method or powder morphology.

This paper provides some useful information for future development of composite powders for SLS applications.

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Networking behaviours are important for a range of work outcomes. Little empirical evidence of how internal vs external networking behaviours influence job commitment and job performance exists and whether political skills moderate these relationships. Using theories of social capital and personal initiative, this study examines the effect of internal and external networking behaviours on job commitment and job performance in the context of political skills.

Based on a sequential mixed-method research design with a four-month time lag, Study 1 data on networking behaviours, political skills and work outcomes were collected via a survey of middle managers and their supervisors from ten private sector organisations operating in Sri Lanka. Study 2 data were collected via interviews of a set of middle managers and their supervisors.

Study 1 findings indicate a positive relationship between internal networking behaviours and both job commitment and job performance. The authors also found a moderating effect of political skills on internal networking behaviours and job commitment. Study 2 findings explained, strengthened and extended results of Study 1.

Middle managers can use these research findings to understand how internal networking behaviours improve their job commitment and job performance. These managers can use their political skills and internal networking behaviours to improve their job commitment. They can also advance their career through improved job commitment and job performance. Senior managers and human resource managers should facilitate and encourage internal networking behaviours. Training and development managers should develop middle managers' networking behaviours and political skills.

This study provides pioneering evidence of how internal networking behaviours impact middle managers' job performance and job commitment, and how internal networking behaviours improve job commitment for middle managers with high political skills.

This paper constitutes the reaction of an administrator and of a theoretician to Hannah's attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice in Educational Administration. (Journal of Educational Administration. Vol. XVIII, No. 1. July, 1980. pp. 114–131.) The authors find that, overall, Hannah's approach toward the development of philosophies leading to a more humane administrative style is disappointing. His psychological naivety and philosophically obfuscatory approach leave the practitioner still searching for solutions to everyday administrative problems.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the previous regulatory focus and sales force control literature suggesting that organizational control system not only moderates but also mediates the interactive effect of the assessment × locomotion on salesperson ambidextrous behavior. Organizational control system, which has behavior and outcome dimensions, moderates the effects of employee regulatory focus on their ambidextrous behavior, sales performance, and satisfaction.

The authors conducted a survey with 163 bank frontline employees (FLEs) who sell financial products to final consumers. Each respondent was approached by a professional interviewer who presented the questionnaire and collected the answers. These respondents are FLEs, who are the ones that sell financial services and are responsible for post-sales services, such as answering customer questions and account problems. In the sample, FLEs are the primary source of revenue generation and services activities (ambidextrous features) in banking sector, similar to Bailey et al. (2016).

First, the moderating and mediation analysis showed that the interactive effect of both regulatory focus, locomotion and assessment, predicts FLE ambidextrous behavior. Second, this interaction effect suffers a three-way interaction under organizational control system. Third, organizational control system also moderates the impact of ambidextrous behavior on performance, such that outcome-based control system amplifies the relationship. Fourth, the authors found a conditional indirect effect, in such ambidextrous behavior, mediates the indirect effect of control system on sales performance, generating stronger (vs weaker) results under an outcome-based control system (vs behavior-based control system).

Since this study adopts the cross-sectional research design, the authors could not empirically demonstrate the causality of the relationships among constructs. The authors also analyzed the organizational control system from the FLEs perspective and not from the supervisors/managers perspective, who daily control employees activities.

The authors propose a conditioning indirect mediating impact of control system on performance and consumer satisfaction through ambidextrous behavior and explore the regulatory focus-ambidexterity-performance moderating chain, theorizing that this sequence depends on the level of control system.

This paper introduces “virtual fun at the virtual workplace” and conceptualizes its impact on virtual socialization and the formation of virtual professional ties. The conceptual model also recognizes the moderation of a few variables: “awareness of being observed,” “diversity in the virtual workplace” and “virtual impression management.”

The paper takes a theoretical approach to develop a conceptual framework of virtual fun in the virtual workplace, drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and social network theory (SNT).

The study extends the tenets of the SET and extends the applicability of SNT to a virtual workplace. The study suggests that managers should introduce semi-organized virtual fun during scheduled breaks within work hours to aid in virtual socialization, which further aids in the formation and strengthening of “professional ties” in the virtual workplace.

This study is the first of its kind to conceptualize a model for virtual fun in the virtual workplace.