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The purpose of this paper is to use a theoretical framework (institutional theory) to predict international market selection (IMS) for the direct selling industry.

The authors use independent variables taken from institutional theory to predict IMS for the direct selling industry, allowing the authors to show the relationship between institutional theory – defined independent variables and the relative attractiveness of international markets. The model is applied to a broad sample of 51 developed and emerging nations that comprise 91 percent of worldwide GDP.

The authors found that the hypotheses were confirmed. Institutional theory – defined independent variables did a good job of predicting the relative attractiveness of international markets.

The authors used cross sectional country level data to validate their model. One major implication: institutional theory appears to do an excellent job of predicting IMS in contrast to geographic proximity or cultural similarity for the direct selling industry.

Managers should consider formal and informal aspects of the institutional environment, when selecting new international markets.

In contrast to most IMS papers, the authors apply a theory to predict IMS outcomes, helping to provide greater potential generalizability. The authors show that selected dimensions of institutional theory do a good job of predicting IMS for the direct selling industry. Future efforts may wish to apply institutional theory to new IMS contexts. The authors conclude with managerial implications.

During a good chase, galloping 35 miles an hour over fences and walls and rapidly changing terrain, globe‐trotting chairman and CEO J. Patrick Michaels pursues his sport as intensely as he runs Communications Equity Associates.

Purpose: This chapter explores the strategic role of human resource development (HRD) as a function of talent management (TM) and discusses how HRD activities can help to facilitate more creative behaviours, in the international hospitality industry.

Approach: We focus on TM and HRD research exploring how these lenses are conceptually positioned given our current knowledge on creativity. We draw on the system-based approach to creativity and reconceptualise the creativity components by levels of flexibility/plasticity and outline how such approaches can help creative practice development.

Findings: We rationalise the existing conceptual approaches to creativity and propose a simplified model considering the developmental aspects of creativity. First, we theorise the TM/HRD strategies, such as training and development via learning, as a mechanism to connect TM/HRD to creativity in the organisational setting. We inform the current literature on whether and how creative processes emerge at work and affect creative flow in the bottom-top and top-bottom directions. Second, we advance the development of creativity theory by reconceptualising the established creativity components by degrees of flexibility/plasticity. Such re-conceptualisation allows for more nuanced examinations of organisational stimuli (i.e. training and development) on developmental conceptions of creativity.

Originality: This is the first piece of work that has investigated the fit between TM/HRD and creativity research. Our conceptual model illustrates that creativity can be promoted and developed at work by incorporating developmental initiatives such as TM/HRD.

Invented in late 1890s, asbestos cement sheeting rose to prominence during the post-Second World War period as a building material for low-cost housing by state housing commissions and low-income families (“fibro homes”). The adverse health effects of asbestos fibres in the building industry and home renovation activities are well documented. Fibro homes of the 1950s and 1960s are increasingly coming under the gaze of heritage studies, which brings to the fore the question of how to deal with the asbestos cement sheeting most are clad with.

This paper provides the first systematic review to assess the literature (126 papers were identified in Google Scholar and scanned for content) on the conservation management of asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties.

Overall, engagement with the conservation management of asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties was low, with only two sources dealing with asbestos cement sheeting in any level of detail. The studies note that if asbestos cement sheeting is in good condition, it should be left alone. Numerous conservation and repair options do exist, in particular the application of (coloured) sealants that extend the life of asbestos cement sheets and asbestos cement roofing.

This paper represents the first systematic review to assess conservation management options for asbestos cement sheeting in heritage properties.

Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (E/BD) have been consistently experiencing dismal outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of outcomes for this population, examine school-based instructional and behavioral strategies, and discuss transition related practices intended to improve present and future outcomes. It is recommended that while transition-specific practices are essential in maximizing the potential for success in post-school environments, it is also necessary to ensure that students with E/BD are engaged in school through evidence-based practices in early intervention/prevention, instructional, and behavioral interventions.

Based on the significance of ectomycorrhizae (ECM) and increased publication activity on this subject, it was decided to carry out a bibliometric analysis of scientific outputs in this area. The purpose of this study is to reveal the research trends of scientific outputs on ECM for the past 30 years and provide a potential guide for future research.

A method of bibliometric analysis was performed, based on the online version of the Science Citation Index Expanded, Web of Science, from 1986 to 2017. The authors evaluated the publication types, languages, source countries, journals, the patterns of publication outputs, most-cited articles, most-productive authors, institutional distributions, subject categories, high-frequency keywords and keywords plus and high-frequency terms in the title and abstract of ectomycorrhizal research. Keywords, keywords plus and high-frequency terms in the title and abstract were analyzed via VOSviewer to illustrate the extent of co-occurrence. This study further describes the recent research priority or hotspots and reveals the research trends.

From 1986 to 2017, the publication output on ECM showed a rising trend; the number of articles has rapidly increased after 2003. Based on co-occurrence analysis for keywords, keywords plus and terms in the title and abstract, “ectomycorrhizal fungi” is the most popular keyword and keywords plus; “concentration” is the most high-frequency terms in the title and abstracts. Plant biology, mycology and ecology are the hotspots in the ectomycorrhizal research. Ectomycorrhizal taxonomy, the molecular mechanisms of ectomycorrhizal symbioses and the common mycorrhizal networks are the future direction.

A bibliometric analysis has been carried out to analyze the trends of ECM research with 30 years. This study provides a potential guide for future research related to ectomycorrhizae.

Quality improvement is imperative for healthcare organisations. Despite the importance of the topic, many efforts have been wasted on failed improvement programs. Various studies have tried to identify the failure factors in improvement programs, but the divergences in the results hamper this research field’s evolution. This study reviews scientific activity from 2000 to 2019 on failure factors in Healthcare Quality Improvement Programs (HCQIP) to help academics and managers understand the field’s evolution better. This research intends to answer four questions on failure factors in HCQIP: Who are the most active authors in this field?; Which journals have been used as diffusion channels?; What are the themes addressed the most in this field?; and What are the themes considered to be emerging?

The authors conducted a bibliometric-based literature review on a sample of 5,137 articles, and 104 studies were included in this review, covering a longitudinal analysis in two periods (P1: 2000–2010 and P2: 2011–2019). Performance analysis, citation, co-citation, co-words analysis and network mapping identified the authors in this scientific field, the journals, the number of articles, along with the current and emerging themes that reveal the latent structure of the factors associated with failures in HCQIP.

The number of articles in P2 (83 studies) is almost four times higher than in P1 (21 studies). The results reveal a dynamic field attracting more authors since 2013, expanding from 5 to 42 journals that publish on the topic. Furthermore, research has evolved from comprehensive manufacturing programs to more theory-based and contextualised health care. In this sense, the recent literature (P2) suggests that failure factors related to quality improvement programs can be minimised if these initiatives align with the human centrality paradigm.

Analysing the evolution of failure factors in HCQIP helps redesign research and management for better quality health outcomes. Knowledge of the scientific community trajectory over nearly 20 years enables better planning from the patient's perspective and contributes to reducing failures in quality programs.

This study contributes to developing the field of failure factors in HCQIP by providing researchers and managers with an evolutionary, systematic and pioneering view of the theme.

Impoverished employee mental health is harmful to employees and organisational performance. There is emerging interest in employee mental health in the human resource management (HRM) field. The majority of these studies mainly focus on the organisational and individual levels from the psychological and managerial perspectives without considering the sectoral characteristics and societal context.

This perspective paper draws on extant literature as well as 10 informal interviews with medical professionals, organisational leaders in the public sector, teachers and HR professionals to shed light on employee mental health research, practice and challenges in the Chinese context.

This paper reveals national, sectoral, occupational and individual factors that shape mental health problems, individual coping mechanisms and organisational interventions. It also shows international influence on employee mental health in the form of institutional pressure and knowledge transfer.

There is limited research on employee mental health and HRM in the Chinese context, which restricts the scope of discussion in this paper, but at the same time presents rich future research opportunities that may be relevant to other national settings.

Managing the mental health of the workforce is part of the mental health management of the population, which means a holistic approach to building a mental health eco-system needs to be adopted. The authors call for more research on employee mental health in the Chinese context to provide evidence to support policy development and organisational efforts to scale up mental health services at the national and organisational levels. The authors also provide practical recommendations for policymakers and employing organisations.

The authors present a multi-level and multi-factor overview related to employee mental health in the Chinese context. The authors argue for a resource-based and multi-stakeholder approach, which will help inform and improve mental health policy and practice. The authors present several avenues for future scholarship and research. The authors extend the research frontiers of employee mental health issues by calling for the inclusion of a broader range of theoretical lenses including institutional theory, cultural and spiritual perspective and critical sociology to understand more fully how employee mental health conditions may be undermined or improved.

The various quality improvement (QI) frameworks and maturity models described in the health services literature consider some aspects of QI while excluding others. This paper aims to present a concerted attempt to create a quality improvement maturity model (QIMM) derived from holistic principles underlying the successful implementation of system-wide QI programmes.

A hybrid methodology involving a systematic review (Phase 1) of over 270 empirical research articles and books developed the basis for the proposed QIMM. It was followed by expert interviews to refine the core constructs and ground the proposed QIMM in contemporary QI practice (Phase 2). The experts included academics in two academic conferences and 59 QI managers from the New Zealand health-care system. In-depth interviews were conducted with QI managers to ascertain their views on the QIMM and its applicability in their respective health organisations (HOs).

The QIMM consists of four dimensions of organisational maturity, namely, strategic, process, supply chain and philosophical maturity. These dimensions progress through six stages, namely, identification, ad-hoc, formal, process-driven, optimised enterprise and finally a way of life. The application of the QIMM by the QI managers revealed that the scope of QI and the breadth of the principles adopted by the QI managers and their HOs in New Zealand is limited.

The importance of QI in health systems cannot be overstated. The proposed QIMM can help HOs diagnose their current state and provide a guide to action achieving a desirable state of quality improvement maturity. This QIMM avoids reliance on any single QI methodology. HOs – using the QIMM – should retain full control over the process of selecting any QI methodology or may even cherry-pick principles to suit their needs as long as they understand and appreciate the true nature and scope of quality overstated. The proposed QIMM can help HOs diagnose their current state and provide a guide to action achieving a desirable state of quality improvement maturity. This QIMM avoids reliance on any single QI methodology. HOs – using the QIMM – should retain full control over the process of selecting any QI methodology or may even cherry-pick principles to suit their needs as long as they understand and appreciate the true nature and scope of quality.

This paper contributes new knowledge by presenting a maturity model with an integrated set of quality principles for HOs and their extended supply networks.