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Although the use of instant messaging (IM) at work has been studied in the IS field, its effective use and impact on performance have not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of the effective use of IM at work by adapting Burton-Jones and Grange’s theory of effective use.

The authors introduce “Comprehensive IM policy” as a facilitator of adaptation and learning actions to improve the effective use of IM, which will improve communication quality and productivity. The impact of IM competence on effective use is also discussed. Based on a survey of 215 managers, this study applies the partial least square technique to test the research model.

The results indicate that comprehensive IM policy encourages adaptation and learning actions, which improve the effective use of IM and thereafter improve communication quality and productivity. Meanwhile, IM competence has a substitutive interaction effect with IM reconfiguration and self-learning on effective use.

The results refine the general theory of effective use and provide managers with an approach to leverage IM use at work for performance gains.

This commentary discusses the key issues and challenges that face internal marketing research and for the future development of the concept and philosophy. Issues addressed include: the link between employee satisfaction and organisational performance; the need for research on how inter‐functional co‐ordination can be achieved for the effective implementation of marketing strategies; the need for relationship marketing perspective in internal marketing; the need for research in internal communication strategies; and the role of internal marketing for developing organisational competences.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for generic competencies based on lifecycle orientation of projects to support infrastructure managers (IMs) in India.

This study has reviewed literature on competency theories and their advancement of knowledge in management, construction and engineering projects. This study has applied exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to structure generic competencies founded on infrastructure practices in India. Further this study has applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test for confirmation on emerged dimensionality of the competence construct for IMs in India.

Using data collected from 175 usable questionnaires of managers serving in infrastructure firms in India for EFA followed by CFA, six generic competencies have been established in the domains of strategic, analytical, personal, managerial, professional and leadership dimensions significantly impacting competent performance.

This study has applied plausibility sampling and it presents only generic competencies for executives working in the infrastructure sector alone.

Due to the growth in number of executives to be employed in infrastructure firms in India, academic institutions in this subcontinent have gained momentum in offering programmes covering the field of infrastructure management. These institutions are believed to be covering domains of strategic, analytical, personal, managerial, professional and leadership dimensions for assuring competent performance of IMs in India.

Attention to these generic competencies can help IMs to contribute towards better performance, academic institutions to design curriculum, recruiters to acquire talent and executives to advance professionally.

Extant academic studies relating to generic competencies are available mostly in project and construction domains. There is a paucity of such academic studies in the domain of infrastructure.

Mobile peer‐to‐peer communications is an essential phase in the evolution of mobile communications technologies, motivating this research which aims to focus on how established industry stakeholders and new entrants can adapt themselves to the new situation.

Based on existing literature, the authors identified three distinctive evolution paths for mobile peer‐to‐peer communications and developed an analysis framework for their comparison. The authors validated the analysis by conducting a questionnaire study among domain experts, and analyzed its results using statistical analysis.

Internet‐driven evolution has high value proposition, is profitable and has subscription fees as an important revenue model. Telecom‐driven evolution creates value, leverages markets, leverages competence, is likely to encounter regulatory intervention and benefits all customer segments. Proprietary evolution has a successful revenue model, results in alliances of competitors and is competence‐enhancing to mobile device vendors.

Future work consists mainly of analyzing quantitatively the implications of the new technologies when they become readily available and evaluating the value analysis framework in other applicable cases.

Internet‐driven evolution enables new business opportunities to independent service operators and equipment vendors by enabling opportunities in profiting from sales of advanced devices and networks. Telecom‐driven evolution benefits mostly incumbent mobile network operators. Proprietary evolution enables limited competition against incumbent actors by independent service operators.

This study is one of the first journal publications on mobile peer‐to‐peer communications from a holistic techno‐economic point of view, beneficial to both academics and practitioners.

Purpose — The chapter discusses the challenges of developing a three year bachelor's programme in information management. The argument focuses on creating a programme that (1) facilitates cooperation with the business community, (2) represents a coherent whole that fosters student identity and (3) provides an explanatory framework for information management.

Design/methodology/approach — A model for curriculum development is presented which takes its starting point in the business community's perception of the graduates’ future practice. Interdisciplinary theory, and its continuum of integration from multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinarity to transdisciplinary is applied as the backbone of the programme structure, and its role in creating progression is discussed, together with the importance of problem-oriented work, and the interplay between problem-based and discipline-based elements of the programme. The information management programme distinguishes between ‘information management’ as an umbrella term for the whole programme and ‘information management’ in a more narrow and discipline-specific perspective rooted in information science.

Findings — It is shown how the programme elements (projects, internship, semester themes and courses) are combined so that each single element contributes to gradually build up a holistic view of information processes and practices in organisations. The underlying structure of the programme contributes to a coherent, theoretically based explanatory framework for information management.

Practical implications — The chapter describes benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary curriculum development and may be provide inspiration for curriculum developers.

Originality/value — Interdisciplinary theory may be useful to respond to the challenges of engaging several disciplines in the information management field. It is suggested that multidisciplinarity may be supplemented or replaced by more interdisciplinary approaches in the future.

This paper specifies how to construct and validate an instrument based on multi‐item scales for the cataloguing and measurement of managerial and organizational capabilities on the basis of management perceptions. The construction and reduction of the scales have been reinforced by the Delphi and retesting techniques. The use of this methodology was illustrated in a sample of Spanish industrial firms. The paper enhances the value of the instruments for a resource‐based view with regard to the faithful and rigorous measurement of its key concept, distinctive competences. The scales created provide consistent empirical evidence to remove doubts surrounding managerial self‐evaluation, including those arising from problems of self‐esteem and reinforcement effects. In addition, the paper provides empirical evidence to support the predictive ability of distinctive competences on current and long‐term performance variability.

A review of the approach adopted by the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) towards the use of management competences, drawing on contemporary research and journal articles, is made. In addition, use is made of insights and experience gained through involvement in the MCI Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) pilot project conducted at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. Three major assumptions associated with the MCI competence approach are evaluated and a specific facet of the Cheltenham and Gloucester College APL experience, that of high delegate wastage, is examined. An expectancy model of motivation is used along with an action feedback model to illustrate and explain some of the potential reasons for a high drop‐out rate. The model affords an opportunity to provide a rationale to underpin needed action on the part of the major actors within the APL management competence approach. In conclusion, a number of summary propositions predicated by the review are given.

Marketing capabilities of large- and medium-sized enterprise is well understood and focused, but little research has been done on microenterprise, especially in informal sector microenterprise. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what are the marketing capabilities of informal microenterprises (IMs) that could be sources of competitive performance.

At first, a literature review and pilot study was used to develop a list of marketing capabilities of IM street food vending. Then a quantitative approach was undertaken where questionnaire was developed and distributed to 42 street food vendors and 52 customers in Bangkok, Thailand. The collected data were analyzed using a descriptive statistic, principle component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and k-mean clustering technique.

Analysis revealed that IM street food vending has some unique marketing capabilities compared to formal restaurant. From the vendors’ point of view, it was found that cheaper pricing and quicker food delivery were the major contributors. On the other hand, from the customer point of view, convenient location, flexible business hours, fulfill customer food requirements, and cooking demonstration were noted significant.

Policy makers and development agencies could be developed using various policy strategies such as business development support services as a tool to support IM operators.

This study provides a first step toward marketing capabilities of IM and makes several contributions to the literature.

Interim managers (IMs) are consultants who take on managerial positions during limited periods to perform changes, handle crises or cover vacancies. The increasing use of these short-term outsiders shapes new conditions for organizational learning in contemporary work life. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to research-based knowledge and theoretical understanding of the relationship between interim management and organizational learning.

The paper presents a literature review on interim management published within the years 2000–2020 and analyzes it through the lens of organizational learning.

An interim management assignment is characterized by a period of uncertainty, a limited time frame, knowledge from the outside and rather invisible outcomes. The concepts of shared mental models, dialogue, knowledge creation and organizational culture shed light on possibilities and constraints for organizational learning in these arrangements. The findings highlight the IM’s position as central for transforming the organizational culture, put a question mark for the establishment of the IM’s knowledge, show the need for defining outcomes in terms of learning processes and indicate tensions between opportunities for dialogue and the exercise of power.

The study provides a new conceptual understanding of interim management, laying the foundation for empirical studies on this topic from an organizational learning perspective.