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With strategy-as-practice theory the authors explore successful business-owning families hand-over of roles to the next generation. The authors argue for the usefulness of strategy-as-practice theory in exploring the complexity and plurality of best practices in intergenerational hand-over. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A cross-cultural in-depth case study with best practice cases from China, Germany, Sweden, England, Tanzania, Israel and the USA, based on in-depth interviews of family members and non-family employees.

The authors identified three different succession patterns: a “monolithic practice,” a distributed leadership hand-over, and active ownership with a non-family managing director/CEO. Two other types of hand-over practices were categorized as incubator patterns that formed a part of, or replaced, what we traditionally see as a hand-over of roles. Families would switch between these practices.

Surprisingly, a monolithic succession practice (a one-company-one-leadership role) was rarely used. Quantitative and qualitative research should consider, as should advisors to family owners and family businesses, the plurality of succession practices. Education should explore a variation of succession and how the dynamic of gender influences the process.

Giving practitioners, such as research and practitioner, an overview of strategic options so as to explore these in a client or research case.

Adding the notions that the family is an incubator for new entrepreneurship makes it possible to show how not only sector or public policy generate new ventures. That family as source of entrepreneurship has been well established in the field but it mainstream policy thinking the family is not seen as such a source.

The paper offers an integrative model of the complexity of hand-over practices of ownership and leadership roles. It shows how these practices are fundamental for understanding how a family’s ownership and their leadership of businesses and new entrepreneurship develops.

When security managers choose to deploy a smart lock activation system, the number of units needed and their location needs to be established. This study aims to present the results of a penetration test involving smart locks in the context of building security. The authors investigated how the amount of effort an employee has to invest in complying with a security policy (i.e. walk from the office to the smart key activator) influences vulnerability. In particular, the attractiveness of a no-effort alternative (i.e. someone else walking from your office to the key activators to perform a task on your behalf) was evaluated. The contribution of this study relates to showing how experimental psychology can be used to determine the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of physical building security measures.

Twenty-seven different “offenders” visited the offices of 116 employees. Using a script, each offender introduced a problem, provided a solution and asked the employee to hand over their office key.

A total of 58.6 per cent of the employees handed over their keys to a stranger; no difference was found between female and male employees. The likelihood of handing over the keys for employees close to a key activator was similar to that of those who were further away.

The results suggest that installing additional key activators is not conducive to reducing the building’s security vulnerability associated with the handing over of keys to strangers.

No research seems to have investigated the distribution of smart key activators in the context of a physical penetration test. This research highlights the need to raise awareness of social engineering and of the vulnerabilities introduced via smart locks (and other smart systems).

Succession of family enterprises has been an issue of concern to a number of researchers, and extensive studies have been conducted on this. Transfer of family business from one generation to next has resulted in collapse of most family business in both developed and developing economies. This study looked at succession in family enterprise in Ghana using theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) and cognitive dimension of social capital theory to know the intention of founder/incumbent to hand over the family business to an internal successor.

Our target population for this study is family businesses run in Ghana, Western region. Ghana is not having statistical database on family businesses; therefore, the study relied on the database of registered SMEs which was gotten from Registrar General's Department, Ghana. This is the government department that is in charge of registering business in Ghana. A sample of 596 was used and received a response rate of 60%. The study used structural equation model to find out how the variables correlate to discover the intention of the founder/successor on internal succession.

It was discovered that intention of founder/incumbent to hand over to an internal successor is predominantly determined by attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and cognitive dimension of the social capital. Trust does not influence the intention of founder/incumbent but attitude; this rejects the findings of most researchers.

Most family enterprises were not registered, which made it difficult to reach out to all family businesses. This limited the authors approach to only the registered family enterprises.

Family firms are the backbone of any economy, which comprise mostly of SMEs. Therefore, the understanding of succession by incumbents/founders as well as policymakers enhances firms' value and continuity.

The study was conducted in Africa, Ghana in particular, owing to the limited studies in this region.

This research compares consultants' and contractors' professional practices and perspectives on the use of specifications in the engineering of built environment projects.

The study initiates with a review of literature, toward realizing (1) the need for inclusion of specifications, throughout the projects' stages (design, tender, construction and handing over), as well as the (2) causes and effects of defective specifications in design and execution of engineered projects. Additionally (3) the study investigates the challenges and causes of specification variations to projects' design and execution. The systematic methodology adopted in this research utilizes frequency indicators, to rank and correlate the perspectives of 60 professionals, who are experienced in consulting and contracting of mega public and private projects.

The research considers the uncertainties and differences that could be present in engineering developments and use of design specifications for projects' execution and handing over. The two groups of experts' (consultants and contractors) perspectives are usually observed as conflicting, in practice. Practices comparison of their experiences with engineering projects' specifications usability provides unique empirical findings. The analysis and assessment of the experts' knowledge, this research addresses gaps identified in the literature, providing valuable insights.

The study provides in-depth recommendations and discusses possible trends and methods for enhancing specifications' usability in design engineering and execution of built environment projects. The analysis and recommendations present and assess experts' knowledge while bridge gaps identified from the literature.

The recent handing over of Hong Kong to China was an important landmark in British history. One might question, however, whether Hong Kong is still going to be of great significance to Britain and Europe in future years and whether future business and trade will remain important. The key to the question is very much now linked to Europe. Britain’s foreign and even domestic policies are increasingly linked to our continental European partners; at the same time Europe is beginning to see Hong Kong as one of the increasingly important East Asian economies, and European businesses are starting to pay more attention to focusing on new opportunities in rapidly expanding South‐East Asian markets and indeed China. Hong Kong now with its attachments to China will be focusing more on Europe as a whole and trying to gain access to the single European market for enhanced prosperity. The recent inclusion of China in the GATT talks and the collapse of communism have made way for increased opportunity for business in the global economy. This article questions the future importance of Hong Kong for Britain and Europe and assesses whether trade links and business opportunities are likely to be greater in the future for Hong Kong and Europe. It puts specific emphasis on the more recent change in role for Hong Kong and Europe.

This study aims to shed light on the phenomenon of intellectual capital (IC) risks. More precisely, the perception of such risks in the context of the job rotation process often applied in multinational corporations (MNCs) is to be investigated.

Eleven semi‐structured interviews are conducted in an exemplary knowledge‐intensive MNC operating in the construction industry. Six interviews among top managers and five interviews among participants in the job rotation process are carried out to gain insights from different perspectives.

The study underlines the influence of time pressure on the perception of the variety of IC‐related risks in general and of those related to the job rotation process. As a result, the risks are not tackled even though the managers are aware of some of them.

The data were collected in one organization, making inferences about the findings not possible. Future studies should consider multiple organizations.

A list of potential IC risks triggered during the job rotation process is presented and suggestions to tackle them are discussed. Furthermore, the findings can contribute to the further development of an overall overview of IC risks.

The study provides fresh insights into the relationship between IC risks and job rotation as perceived by different organization members.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between management accounting software and the management accountant, as (re)produced in adverts appearing in professional management accounting journals. The paper analyses how such adverts have shaped the management accountant and the social practice of management accounting; in particular, whether these adverts are producing an image of management accountants who are in control of their management accounting system or who are controlled by it. The paper also discusses whether these adverts reflect changes in broader social practices.

The paper analyses two software adverts that were published in Chartered Institute of Management Accountants' professional journal. It uses discourse analysis to understand both the image of management accountants and the nature of the management accounting software portrayed in these adverts, as well as to explore the relationship between management accountants and their control systems.

It is concluded that the software adverts project an image of management accountants who are effectively handing over control to their systems, and who are encouraged to place substantial trust in the software. The paper relates these changes to trends in contemporary social practices, and reflects in the light of recent events in the financial markets and global economy more generally.

This paper contributes by adding more insight to the diffusion of the images of the accountant as a more action oriented and hedonistic person (while the software system “does the work”), as well as considering the broader implications of such diffusion in the context of the recent financial crisis.

The basement and the first 11 floors, including the superb banking hall, were handed over in July and became fully operational at the beginning of August. The upper sections of the building are being progressively handed over; the whole building will be completed by November. Architects Foster Associates have worked with their client, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, to produce far more than a serviced shell; the building incorporates a host of sophisticated systems related to the various operational functions of the bank and has been termed a ‘finance factory’.

October 18, 1967 Contract — Plant hire — Hirer to put competent man in charge and service — Breach of obligations — Mobile crane — Accident to hirer's workman due to faulty adjustment — Finding of negligence against both hirer and owner — Some maladjustment present when crane handed over to hirer — Whether owners negligent — Whether contractual obligation on owners to indemnify hirer for damages arising from their own breach of duty towards their workman.