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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The old nature versus nurture argument has doubtless been raging since Homo Sapiens developed consciousness: are people the way they are because of innate qualities or because of personal experiences?

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

This paper provides an overview of transition strategy, focusing specifically on the Chinese business world, where the common practice is for founders to pass their companies on to their children, the younger generation. This paper describes how Chinese businesses are invariably adopting the western‐style management practice of instituting the various offices of chairman, chief executive officer, president, etc. primarily because the children of those founding fathers have been mostly sent to the USA, the UK and Canada to receive higher education. This paper concludes that these second‐generation operating managers have essentially transformed their business environments with great success, modernizing the Asian business community as a whole and competing effectively with the western world.

Management means “getting things done effectively through people”. This implies the importance of leadership and people skills in management practice to achieve optimal results. Great managers usually succeed for a number of reasons. They usually possess nine common management practices. This paper aims to identify these common denominators in their character and management practice that define them.

Case examples are used to illustrate the application of those management practices. Successful managers from well‐known industry giants such as IBM, Nestle's, P&G, Apple, Loews', GE and PepsiCo are profiled to demonstrate how their success can be traced back to those practices.

The paper demonstrates that every manager can easily apply the nine management practices daily to achieve a successful outcome. While some of these traits appear to be personal habits, it is these simple management habits that influence subordinates to perform their best.

Most good managers are trained, not born. The nine personal practices identified in this paper can be easily adopted on a daily basis. With consistent practice, the nine personal traits help train managers to become more effective leaders in driving optimal performance and motivating subordinates to “get things done effectively”.

A fundamental change in the planning and delivery of new housing projects has taken place in the last years, with the focus shifting towards adding value to projects based on a better understanding of housing preferences. This issue becomes even more critical when it is intended to the provision of affordable houses for low and middle income groups. This paper describes a model designed to help developers and housing users to achieve their expectations regarding quality, affordability and including also reasonable profits. Developed through a “methodological pluralism”, this study identifies people-oriented variables and assumptions. The model was developed based on a case study in the city of Guayaquil-Ecuador, and information obtained from field work research was used to test it. The study examines implications and limitations of the model for inclusion of housing preferences considering local conditions and cultural values. The different parts of the model along with data requirements for each part are described. The paper concludes with findings regarding the identification of most preferred attributes by housing users and the use of alternatives methods to incorporate additional value into projects, translated into more appealing profits for developers and the provision of better and more affordable houses for users.

This paper aims to analyze the effects of enabling management control systems (MCSs) and relational capabilities (interorganizational learning and coordination) on conflict management in innovation ecosystems.

Shedding light on relational governance, structural equation modeling (symmetric analysis) and qualitative comparative fuzzy-set analysis (asymmetric analysis) were applied to a sample of 164 Brazilian firms associated with science and technology parks (STPs), a specific type of innovation ecosystem.

The results of the symmetric analysis showed that enabling MCSs have a direct and positive effect on conflict management, as well indirect effects through interorganizational learning and coordination. The results of the asymmetric analysis indicated four solutions to promote high levels of conflict management, with enabling MCS solutions standing out, as they are present in the majority of cases in the sample.

Interorganizational conflict in innovation ecosystems are inevitable, but the previous literature is inconclusive about how the interrelation between MCS and relational capabilities can foster the management of these conflicts. By providing evidence on the predictors and solutions that lead to high levels of conflict management, this study presents valuable insights into how firms and STPs can mutually promote organizational and relational benefits throughout the innovation activities developed among those involved in innovation ecosystems.

Social movements, justice campaigns and civil activism have gained recent scholarly attention among non-Western democracies since the end of the Cold War. Yet the meaning and practical implications of civil activism remain contested especially in contexts linked to militarised democracy and the criminalisation of civil activism. Importantly, the broader political terrain within which militarised democracy is situated is increasingly changing, bringing new challenges to its understanding. This chapter builds on liberal democratic theory and discusses militarised democracy in Nigeria to critique state-centric notion of criminology. It draws on two case examples, namely the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in 2017 by the federal government against its organised protests for self-determination and the state repressive response to the nation-wide protest against police brutality of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) known as the #End SARS protest in 2020. Both provide on-the-ground evidence of the criminalisation of civil activism. In the alternative, this chapter reflects on how transforming democracy can redress state repression and offer a better understanding of civil activism, which can strengthen developing democracies, including addressing questions of political marginalisation, distributive justice, police brutality, inequality, repressive state response and unequal state structure accounting for organised protests.