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The purpose of this research is to systematically review the properties of supply chains demonstrating that they are complex systems, and that the management of supply chains is best achieved by steering rather than controlling these systems toward desired outcomes.

The research study was designed as both exploratory and explanatory. Data were collected from secondary sources using a comprehensive literature review process. In parallel with data collection, data were analyzed and synthesized.

The main finding is the introduction of an inductive framework for steering supply chains from a complex systems perspective by explaining why supply chains have properties of complex systems and how to deal with their complexity while steering them toward desired outcomes. Complexity properties are summarized in four inter-dependent categories: Structural, Dynamic, Behavioral and Decision making, which together enable the assessment of supply chains as complex systems. Furthermore, five mechanisms emerged for dealing with the complexity of supply chains: classification, modeling, measurement, relational analysis and handling.

Recognizing that supply chains are complex systems allows for a better grasp of the effect of positive feedback on change and transformation, and also interactions leading to dynamic equilibria, nonlinearity and the role of inter-organizational learning, as well as emerging capabilities, and existing trade-offs and paradoxical tensions in decision-making. It recognizes changing dynamics and the co-evolution of supply chain phenomena in different scales and contexts.

To examine the lived experiences of the biological adult daughters of women with breast cancer.

Family systems theory and phenomenology were used to guide this exploratory, qualitative study. Qualitative data were collected via one-time, semi-structured interviews with adult daughters of women with breast cancer.

Predominant themes included: close mother–daughter relationships, untimely disclosure of information, attentive fathers, optimistic outlooks, and influences on participants’ intimate relationships. Perceived strong familial and intimate relationships prior to breast cancer diagnosis helped ensure that mother–daughter relationships would remain strong, or even improve. Fathers’ attentiveness to mothers was pivotal in determining positive and negative attributes in daughters’ own intimate relationships.

Based on the findings from this study, family scientists and healthcare professionals may have a better understanding of the patients’ young adult daughters’ concerns throughout breast cancer treatment and follow up.

Daughters may be at a loss when their mothers are diagnosed with breast cancer. Healthcare professionals can be equipped to recognize these signs when meeting with patients and families, offer suggestions for family members’ coping, and encourage daughters to consider their own breast cancer risk and screening.

This study will provide a new insight into the experiences of daughters of women with breast cancer, and help family and health professionals understand how to support the relatives of breast cancer patients.

Tackling social exclusion, which can lead to social isolation and loneliness, is an important current issue. People with a learning disability have a right to be full members of their communities, yet often experience social exclusion. Community connections play a key role in people developing reciprocal relationships. It is therefore important to know the barriers to full inclusion. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

This paper builds on an inclusive research project exploring these issues (Mooney et al., 2019) and aims to place that study’s main findings in a broader academic, policy and practice context.

Whilst there is a wide range of literature about social exclusion, lack of friendships and loneliness experienced by people with a learning disability, there is a gap in knowledge regarding some of the specific social barriers that prevent wider social inclusion, and therefore opportunities to make and keep friends.

This paper relates the findings of an inclusive research project to the current literature. It identifies the social barriers that limit community involvement and draws on the experience of people with a learning disability to find possible ways forward.

Psychotropic medications are a treatment commonly used for people with learning disabilities. Legislation and guidance suggest that, for a person to give informed consent to treatment, they must have knowledge of the potential treatment. This study of 21 people with learning disabilities, and their carers and prescribers, living in four different regions of England, suggests that few of the people with learning disabilities were fully informed about their treatment. Many of their carers said that although they knew how to administer the medication, they knew little about why the person was taking it and what the implications might be. Despite this, people with learning disabilities made the general assumption that carers would, or should, know everything about their medication. The current provision of information to people with learning disabilities and carers was found to be poor. Four key strategies identified in supporting people with learning disabilities in obtaining information about medication were spending more time providing and reiterating key information, providing accurate, up‐to‐date, accessible information about medications, providing training for carers in wider aspects of medication usage, and tailoring information to each person's individual needs.

Describes how the Buckinghamshire Medical Audit Advisory Group have approached the introduction of medical audit in primary care. Outlines how the original facilitator model, which proved so successful in encouraging initiatives in coronary heart disease prevention, is now being used to encourage and promote quality initiatives using medical audit techniques. Explores use of the audit cycle and emphasizes the importance of teamwork in enabling change to occur. Outlines the special personal and professional skills required to work in the increasingly complex and dynamic arena of primary care, with a description of how the National Facilitator Development Project has taken on board these educational needs.

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the effect of entrepreneurial competencies and the moderating effect of business environment on business success in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.

A sample of 212 Malaysian SME owner‐founders participated in this study. The structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure was used to test the proposed model.

The results showed that entrepreneurial competencies were strong predictors of business success in SMEs in Malaysia. It was also found that the association between entrepreneurial competencies and business success was more strongly evident in hostile and dynamic environments than in more benign and stable environments.

Self‐report was used as the source of all data. This approach, even though criticised by some, was deemed necessary because of difficulties associated with the independent assessment of each of these variables. Nevertheless, future studies should identify ways to obtain competency data from multiple informants to minimise the possibility of response bias.

It was suggested that understanding business success through the lens of entrepreneurial competencies is important because it provides entrepreneurs with knowledge about the way they should operate their business and encourages them to be conscious of the potential positive or negative impacts of their own behaviour.

The study shows that entrepreneurs are capable of minimising the negative impact of business environment if they are willing to equip themselves with the appropriate competencies.

This paper synthesises the literature on the issues related to the older patient, health service quality and its measurement. It discusses the need to consider these perspectives in the definition and assessment of quality of a community‐focused aged healthcare programme, and critically examines the existing evaluation of quality in healthcare, contrasting the patient's role and impact on the quality of the service and its outcome. The paper then reviews the documented problems associated with using satisfaction as an indicator of the patient's view of quality. An alternate validated approach to measuring the patient's perception of the quality of the service is identified in the services literature; this multidimensional hierarchical tool and scale, which specifically measures the patient's view of quality, is presented. The tool covers nine sub‐dimensions, four dimensions and the global perspective of quality as perceived by the patient. An adaptation of this tool is presented to measure the patient's view of quality using the relatively new Transition Aged Care programme as an example, and make the argument for the holistic measurement of transitional aged care quality, using a validated and reliable patient‐specific tool. Importantly, the paper proposes that the identification of the patient view of service quality will offer information that could specifically assist with service improvement.

The questions of when and what types of human resource (HR) support are needed tend to be unanswerable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article addresses this gap in the strategic HR literature. Hiring, training, employee retention/satisfaction, wages and benefits programs, and worker's compensation insurance are important to SMEs seeking to build strong capabilities and resources and to increase their competitive advantage.This article presents an analysis of the existing HR literature for SMEs. It introduces a decision model to help SMEs choose a cost-effective HR strategy, listing a range of options from hiring the HR function to electronic HR (eHR) and outsourcing

In this paper we (a pracademic, a practitioner, and an academic) aim to explore the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. We also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area. Insights from prior research, coupled with the co-authors’ experience and observations, indicate that a disconnect does exist between academia and practice within social marketing, though it is admittedly and unsurprisingly not uniform across contexts and disciplinary areas. Given social marketing’s identity as a practice-oriented field, there are many existing examples of academic/practitioner collaboration and the successful linkage of theory and practice that deserve to be amplified. However, the challenges associated with the very different systems and structures affecting both worlds mean the disconnect is problematic enough to warrant systematic change to ensure the two worlds are more aligned.

This paper (a pracademic, a practitioner and an academic) explores the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. The authors also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area.

The authors suggest five key reasons that focus should be placed upon closing the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing: demonstrating societal value by contributing to practice; embedding and developing theories in practice; adding to the social marketing literature; contributing to social marketing teaching; and communicating the value and effectiveness of social marketing. To close the gap, the authors propose specific recommendations within four broad areas: marketing the academia and practitioner collaboration offer; building ongoing relationships; creating collaborative partnerships; and changing the publishing model ensuring communications are accessible to all. They also suggest ways for social marketing associations and peak bodies to play a role.

The concept of a disconnect between academia and practice is by no means new; it has been a pervasive issue across disciplines for decades. However, this issue has not been the subject of much discussion within the social marketing literature. Recommendations outlined in this paper serve as a starting point for discussion. The authors also acknowledge that due to long standing “bright spots” in the field, numerous examples currently exist. They place an emphasis upon highlighting these examples while illuminating a path forward.