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Our study centered on activity-based workspaces (ABWs), unassigned open-plan configurations where users’ activities determine the workplace. These workspaces are conceived and shaped by accommodation professionals (APs) like managers and architects and are loaded with their ideas, ideals, norms and values; therefore, they are normative and hegemonic. Previous research has largely failed to consider how APs’ spatial conceptions materialize in the workplace. To address this omission, we adopted a narrative approach to study APs’ impact during the conceptualization stage.

The data were collected via a 10-year at-home ethnographic study at a Dutch university, including observations, interviews, documents and reports. Studying the researchers’ organization allowed for a longitudinal research approach and participative observations. The data focused on the narrative techniques of APs when establishing an ABW.

In introducing ABWs, APs resorted to two principal narrative strategies. Firstly, the ABW concept was lauded as a solution to a host of existing problems. Yet, in the face of shortcomings, lecturers were often blamed.

Despite the considerable influence of APs on both the physical layout of workspaces and the nature of academic labor, there is little insight into their conceptions of the academic workspace. Our research contributes a novel perspective by revealing how APs’ workspace conceptions drive the narratives that underpin the roll-out of ABWs and how they construct narratives of success and failure.

This study aims to examine academic staff’s engagement with sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education institutions.

The triangulation, convergence model of the mixed methods research design was adopted as the strategy for inquiry. A total of 56 questionnaires and 25 interviews were used to collect the data, and this was buttressed by document review and use of secondary data obtained from Scival.

The results show moderate levels of engagement of academic staff with the SDGs. However, SDGs familiarisation is not correlated with the rate of localisation. The lack of funding deflated political will by university management, demotivated academia and shrinking government support are the leading impediments to SDGs localisation.

The results could be improved by using a larger sample size equally distributed across disciplines. Triangulation of academics’ views with those of students and non-academic staff could have improved the understanding of other dynamics involved in the localisation of SDGs by university teaching staff.

The results point towards the need for a university-based framework that interweaves national, institutional, thematic, structural and personal aspects into the SDGs implementation matrix. The underlying determinants of successful localisation of SDGs by academia need to be addressed through a bottom-up approach.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt in Zimbabwe to exclusively look at University teaching staff’s engagement with SDGs.

This chapter focuses on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) as a new approach for academic institutions, such as universities and Universities of Applied Sciences (UASs) as organizations based on empirical evidence. A University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland was selected as a case. An analysis of the organization's most representative documents, extensive interviews with employees having expertise in the different RRI keys (public engagement, gender equality/diversity, science education, open access, ethics) and Anticipation, Inclusiveness, Reflexivity, Responsiveness (AIRR) dimensions, as well as a focus group produced interesting insights regarding the discourse and institutionalization of the RRI approach in the organization. Furthermore, the drivers, barriers, best practices, and monitoring of each of the RRI keys and AIRR dimensions were further described. The findings suggest that RRI could be a helpful policy framework at a time that universities are going through a systemic change.

The purpose of this study was to obtain valuable insights into students’ engagement and experiences within the virtual learning environment, especially in the context of crises. Among the innumerable challenges people throughout the world faced during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, those of students in institutions of higher education needing to engage in online academic studies are of special interest. Using an online survey, this study could predict students’ online engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic through three theoretical frameworks: the students’ academic motivation to study, the Big Five personality traits, and loneliness, and with a new tool measuring the participation in the Zoom platform.

To examine the psychological and technological factors predicting the students’ engagement, this study surveyed 547 students from different academic institutions of higher learning.

Findings show that the less lonely the students felt, the less neurotic they were, and the higher they scored in levels of extroversion, agreeableness, consciousnesses and openness to experience, the greater their engagement in their academic studies. In addition, students who were older, more educated, with higher intrinsic motivation and lower lack of motivation were more engaged in their online academic studies. Finally, participating in classes through the Zoom platform and experiencing it positively was a significant predictor of higher academic engagement.

Recognizing these factors can enable educators, institutions of higher learning, counselling services and students to obtain tools for higher engagement in online learning.

This chapter explores the role and impact of adaptive thinking and transformational leadership in developing and leading an enabling culture that aligns with a school’s vision and mission. This chapter will also probe the varying dimensions that enable or inhibit a school culture and the tools needed to shape and maintain it including the challenges posed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In this chapter, examples of adaptive challenges, data-driven instructions, and effective use of technology, will be referred to as one dimension of a culture that shows alignment or lack of it with the school’s vision and mission, the role and impact of transformative adaptive leadership on school’s overall culture, especially in the UAE, and MENA region. Finally, this chapter will examine the impact of adaptive and distributed leadership in leading a cultural change.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of perceived group inclusion on the innovative work behavior of consulting team members, as well as to analyze its subsequent impact on team performance. In addition, the authors investigate whether the effect of perceived group inclusion on innovative work behavior could be moderated by two aspects of team characteristics: team size and the gender composition of its members.

The authors collected questionnaire data from 229 team members from 24 consulting firms located in Bangkok, Thailand. Team performance was assessed by team leaders to prevent common method bias. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

The results support the positive association between perceived group inclusion and innovative work behavior among consulting team members. Innovative work behavior also mediates the positive association between perceived group inclusion and team performance. Moreover, the authors found that the degree to which perceived group inclusion affects innovative work behavior is stronger in larger teams than smaller teams. However, the degree to which perceived group inclusion affects innovative work behavior tends to be weaker in teams that have a higher proportion of female members than in teams that have fewer female members.

Because employees are the most valuable asset contributing to the innovative performance of consulting firms, it is crucial to understand how members within a team should be properly managed so that the firms can maximize the benefits from their human capital. Essentially, management and practitioners in the consulting business can use the insight from this research regarding the essential roles of group inclusion and team composition to create a favorable and effective team environment that enhances collaboration and helps their firms to gain the full benefits of team synergy. In particular, group inclusion is the issue that management should emphasize. Moreover, the team should be large enough and have a decent level of gender diversity to strengthen the benefit of group inclusion.

The research extends the knowledge boundary in inclusion research, which still lacks evidence about the moderating role of team characteristics that might strengthen/weaken the effect of perceived group inclusion on innovative behaviors.

This paper aims to establish a service efficiency-oriented framework for training design and evaluation as a pivotal service procedure in the workplace to fill the gap between training and organizational performance in a service context.

A semi-structured interview was first employed to confirm the primary indicator for training programs and criteria design as the pivotal factor for operational efficiency. An observation experiment was subsequently conducted to reveal that the training program can be redesigned according to the concrete operation effects and influencing factors for operational efficiency in the workplace.

The proposed service efficiency-oriented training model is suggested to underline and guide the activities for training requirements, training methods, training criteria and training evaluation for the service sector. Training auditing, analyzing and redesigning based on service efficiency could help to integrate service efficiency so that service organizations can readjust their specific training needs and concise the training program in the human resource management practice.

This study only conducted an on-site observational experiment on one of the casinos in Macau. An observational method assessed the conceptual model in the context of table game operations. More quantitative approaches like AI-assisted systems may be employed in the future. The representativeness of the sample is somewhat limited. In addition, the service efficiency-oriented training concept model is an open system that any organization could extend by incorporating more elements in each part that can be developed to meet their human resource management needs. Finally, other service-oriented organizations like airlines and banks can learn from the theoretical model proposed in this article. It is suggested that non-profit organizations would be a better research area.

The finding can provide organizations and practitioners with insights and tools on how to provide and evaluate service efficiency and assess employee performance.

The proposed service efficiency-oriented training model provides a theoretical foundation for training and organizational performance for service organizations.

This study is the first to develop a service efficiency-oriented training framework with training needs, methods, criteria and evaluation. A service industry sample was used to verify the framework in the context of casino game pace and dealer training for table games. Suggestions for a combination of management are provided for casino operators to redesign and evaluate the dealer training program for service improvement.

The purpose of this study is to explore the human resource development (HRD) implications of perceived higher education (HEd) leadership effectiveness on academics’ quality of worklife (QWL) in the context of COVID-19. Drawing on conservation of resource theory, this study explains the mediating role of resource adequacy (RA); then this study investigates the moderating role of COVID-19-related risk perception (CRP) on the relationship between university leadership (UL) and both academics’ turnover intention (TI) and academics’ QWL.

This study used a quantitative research exploiting the pandemic experiences and perceptions survey, PEPS, to collect data from 300 academic staff in private and public HEd institutions in Lebanon. The analyses include the test of the mediating effect of RA as well as the moderated mediation effect of CRP through regressions, PROCESS and bootstrapping.

The findings suggest that by enhancing RA, effective UL positively influences the QWL and mitigate the TI in Lebanese HEd. Furthermore, this study found that CRP weakens the direct relationship of UL on RA and the indirect effect of UL on the QWL and TI via RA such that the relationships are weakened when COVID-19 risk perception was high rather than low.

The results imply that HEd HRD professionals could think of effective human resource interventions of how to maintain good working environment where academics are facilitated to acquire high level of resources which lead to improving their QWL and mitigating the negative outcome (TIs).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been made to investigate the moderated mediation model of the “pandemic experience and leadership perceptions” (PEPS) in the HEd sector in Lebanon, addressing academics’ experiences in business schools. This study is unique because it was conducted during the utmost pandemic outbreak (mid academic year 2021) collecting data in real time. This research contributes to the HRD literature by showing empirical evidence of the relationships in the context of Lebanese HEd institutions.

Our study aims to understand what is known about happiness at work (HAW) in terms of publication, citations, dimensions and characteristics, as well as how knowledge about HAW is generated regarding theoretical frameworks, context and methods. Additionally, it explores future directions for HAW research.

This paper conducts a systematic literature review of 56 empirical articles published between 2000 and 2022 to comprehensively explore HAW. It examines publication trends, citation patterns, dimensions, characteristics, theoretical frameworks, contextual factors and research methodologies employed in HAW studies.

Our findings suggest that while HAW research has gained momentum, there is still a need for exploration, particularly in developing countries. Various theoretical frameworks such as the job demand-resources model, social exchange theory and broaden-and-build theory are identified, with suggestions for the adoption of less popular theories like the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment (PERMA) model and flow theory for future investigations. The review contributes to workplace happiness literature by offering a comprehensive analysis spanning two decades and provides valuable insights for guiding future research toward exploring factors influencing employee well-being.

Our article offers a structured analysis of HAW literature, emphasizing the necessity for more extensive research, especially in developing nations. It provides valuable insights into the theories and dimensions associated with HAW, guiding future research and assisting organizations in formulating strategies to enhance employee happiness and overall well-being.

This study aimed to develop a psychometrically reliable job satisfaction (JS) measure for university employees, guiding administrative decisions and monitoring satisfaction over time in public universities.

A JS survey developed by a Brazilian federal university’s sustainability committee containing 58 items across physical, cognitive and organizational domains was longitudinally tested with 1,214 responses collected. The data were analyzed using Item Response Theory (IRT) analysis, employing the Graded Response Model, with tools such as frequency analysis, item characteristic curve, and full-information factor analysis in RStudio. The scale’s criterion validity was also established via expert qualitative interpretation.

The instrument’s internal consistency was confirmed as the results demonstrated its high reliability with a marginal reliability coefficient of 0.95. Significant findings revealed that recognition and supervisor relationships were key discriminators of JS and that workers began to perceive satisfaction when basic environmental conditions were met.

It is important to mention that the application of this scale is specifically limited to higher education institutions and may not be directly applicable to other educational settings or industry sectors without modifications.

Although numerous measures and scales have been developed to assess JS, one elaborated by using IRT in a public university environment was lacking. Due to shifting dynamics in the workplace, traditional measurement of JS has proven inadequate, necessitating a more precise, accessible and updated tool. The developed scale allows precisely targeted interventions to improve JS and can be reapplied to evaluate their effectiveness. This research thus contributes a valuable tool for academic organizational psychology, enhancing the understanding of the measurement of JS.