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Is academic leadership unique? Is it special? Do academic leaders require certain knowledge, skills and behaviours that only a career in academic can develop – or is it fundamentally the same as traditional leadership? This paper explores whether or not academic leadership is special or simple. It starts by defining the context and environment academic leaders find themselves in, moving onto explore characteristics and the overlap with traditional leadership thinking and finally concludes with current trends and a working definition of what academic leadership really is. The purpose of this paper is to explore the uniqueness of academic institutions and whether or not they require certain leadership characteristics which can only be found in academic career progression or could an exceptional individual from outside academia lead academics, researchers, administrators and support staff?

Based around a literature review of current thinking on academic leadership and then the production of a Venn diagram to compares these current trends with more traditional definitions of leadership.

The key findings of this paper include a definition of academic leadership, and how it is similar in many ways to traditional leadership thinking. However, there is a uniqueness centred on the culture and politics of an academic institution which many traditional leaders would not need to work within.

This paper is part of a wider research project relating to academic leadership and Lean Six Sigma and thus the author has searched out papers which support both areas of the author’s interest.

Anyone in a position of academic leadership may be interested in how it relates to traditional leadership concepts and where their field differs from others.

No research current exists which overlaps academic leadership with traditional definitions and characteristics and thus this paper is a new view of academic leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the significant contributions of Lillian M. Gilbreth through the lens of critical biography to put her work in the context of her life events, her key roles, the turning points in her life and the societal context within which her contributions to management thought were made.

Critical biography examines the interaction of a person’s life events with the social, economic and political contexts surrounding his or her life and draws inferences as to why the person made specific decisions and contributions.

Key contributions to management thought made by Lillian M. Gilbreth are linked to her biographical events, including the multiple roles she played as daughter, student, wife, mother, author, engineer, psychologist, breadwinner, domestic scientist and teacher. Various turning points in her life are identified, including being allowed to go to college, taking her first psychology course, marrying Frank Gilbreth, publishing Fatigue Studies and Frank’s death. Key societal factors that influenced Gilbreth’s contributions were the growing interest in scientific management, the status of women and the increased interest in domestic science.

The qualitative technique of critical biography is demonstrated as a useful methodology for examining individual contributions to management history. The authors acknowledge the limitation of subjective interpretation.

The reasons behind Lillian Gilbreth’s contributions, which were considered a precursor to the human relations era, are extrapolated from this research.

The influence of social context is examined, as it pertains to the life and work of Lillian Gilbreth.

This paper provides a critical biography of Lillian M. Gilbreth and her work within the context of her life and times.

There is a paucity of studies on the complex longitudinal dynamics of innovation incorporation within family‐based small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in response to market and technological change. Attempts at innovation implementation are likely to be influenced by the dynamic effects of critical incidents or crisis points in small family‐based firms. The aim of this EU‐funded study is to explore the effects of critical incidents on innovation implementation within a regional cluster of family‐based SMEs over a two‐year period.

The research methodology involves the longitudinal study of a regional cluster of five family‐based businesses in relation to innovation implementation at firm level. A participant observation and critical action learning methodology was used to study the firms over the two‐year period of the study.

The findings, as summarised using a conceptual model, show that the critical incidents acted interactively with the firm's lifecycle stage and its approach to family versus business, to either act as a catalyst for developing more radical innovation or in maintaining the status quo or continuous improvement.

The findings can act as a guide for how family‐based firms can evaluate and maximise their responses to critical incidents and leverage them to encourage more radical approaches to innovation implementation.

There is a paucity of longitudinal studies on the effect of critical incidents on approaches to innovation implementation in family businesses.

The paper aims to present and discuss research into the relationship between influencing behaviour and impact, including gender and seniority differences.

The paper builds on previous articles considering influencing behaviour in the workplace. These articles present a model of interpersonal influence and describe how individual influencing behaviour varies in different contexts. They identified the need for further investigation into the effectiveness of such behaviours in those contexts. This research utilises 360‐degree performance assessments as an indicator of the “effectiveness” or impact of workplace influencing behaviours.

The findings extend previous work supporting the idea that there are few, if any, influencing behaviours that apply to all situations and highlight the role of expectancies in work place assessments of influencing behaviours.

The research highlights ways in which the relationship between influencing behaviour and impact differ according to both the gender and seniority of those seeking to influence. This indicates that the “expectancies” of the influence or target affect perceptions of influencing behaviour and assessments of impact. This is consistent with the model of interpersonal influence previously developed, which includes explicit reference to feedback loops between behaviour, responses and expectancies. This raises further questions as to the impact of expectancies on 360‐degree assessment, and the nature and fairness of assessment within organisational performance management systems.

This paper challenges the idea that there are influencing strategies and styles that are effective, irrespective of context. It also highlights the role of expectancies within behavioural assessments in the workplace.

The purpose of this paper is to model the relationship between influencing behaviour, personality traits, work roles and role orientation. It builds on previous research into team roles, highlighting the relationship between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour.

Statistical analysis on questionnaire data from a mixed, work‐based, UK sample is used to assess relationships between influencing behaviour, role expectations, role orientation and team role behaviour.

The paper argues that team roles access different types of power and influencing behaviours depending on role and role orientation. Findings establish a link between influencing behaviour and team role behaviour, as well as personality traits, developing the idea that there is a significant social dimension to team roles.

The research does not consider specific influence attempts, nor does it present evidence regarding the effectiveness of patterns of influencing behaviour in particular contexts.

The paper highlights the relationship between influencing behaviour and personality and contextual variables. Considering “when” different strategies and styles are used may offer guidelines for action. Findings reinforce the significance of the social dimension of team roles and indicate a need for further research to consider the success of influencing behaviour in different contexts.

Previous research into influencing behaviour has focused on its relationship to either situational variables or personality traits and, where personality variable have been studied, they have been specific traits. This research considers both sets of variables simultaneously and covers the whole personality domain. This is the first study of the relationship between team role behaviour and influencing behaviour.

This paper presents an in‐depth case study of a medium sized company's attempt to plan and implement a TQM program. It discusses antecedents to TQM initiation, planning issues, and challenges involved in defining and monitoring quality in such functional areas as manufacturing, sales, marketing, customer service, R&D, accounting, finance, and human resources. The focus of this paper is mainly on the humanistic aspects of planning and implementing a TQM program.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.