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This is the first of three articles which describe, from a human resource perspective, the various stages of an acquisition in the international financial services sector. Views this from the standpoint of human resource professionals employed by Royal Trustco at the time of the deal, under which most of that company’s businesses were bought by Royal Bank of Canada. Deals here with the problems involved in maintaining morale and motivation in the target company during the period when it was “in play”, and with the HR stratagems devised to deal with these problems. Suggests that because of the “people” nature of the businesses in question, failure to deal with these problems effectively would, at best, have had an adverse effect on the success of the combined operations after the deal, and might, at worst, have prevented the acquisition from going ahead.

The last in a series of three articles which deal with the human resources aspects of mergers and acquisitions, with reference to a particular transaction in the international financial services sector ‐‐ the purchase of most of the businesses of Royal Trustco by the Royal Bank of Canada. Deals with events after the merger from a human resources perspective, and describes how two very different international private banking organizations were integrated. The strategy adopted by the Royal Bank of Canada was designed to ensure success for the merged businesses, instead of the failure which research attributes to at least 50 per cent of mergers and acquisitions. Summarizes key learning points which it is believed can be used in other mergers and acquisitions.

The second in a series of three articles dealing with the human resources aspects of mergers and acquisitions, with reference to a particular transaction in the international financial services sector ‐ the purchase of most of the businesses of Royal Trustco by the Royal Bank of Canada. Describes the human resources challenges which emerged in a business which was not wanted by the acquiring organization and was therefore left out of the deal and wound down. Also describes key responses to these challenges: open communication of the business plan (including the manpower plan), innovative performance management and reward systems and unconventional approaches to redundancy planning. Considers that the learning points summarized in the article can be applied in other wind‐down situations where stakeholders’ investment is at risk.

Takes a social constructionist view of organizational change focusing on how to engage the multitude of internal and external stakeholders. Argues that current models of change often leave people feeling demoralized and presents appreciative inquiry (AI) as an aproach to organization development that deliberately focuses attention on learning and dialogue about what gives life to an organization. Explains AI principles and the 4‐D model for positive change. Provides some examples of this.

The aim of this study is to shed light on the mechanisms involved in, and consequences of, developing a sustainability report in a small to medium enterprise.

Action research is used to provide insights into the initial stages of the development of the sustainability report and its consequences. “Mike” is an Italian small organisation with a sustainability orientation selling products and services about wellness and health. It decided to develop a sustainability report in 2013.

The authors find that the organisation’s initial aim to report on its sustainability later extended beyond disclosure to using the information to enhance its sustainable development approach and awareness, consider long-term planning, support strategy-making based on the sustainable development concept and establish and enhance its reputation.

This research is limited to the analysis of only one small Italian organisation and as such cannot claim generalisability of its findings.

The findings indicate that the sustainability initiative of this organisation, while originally focussed on reporting, evolved into strategy and planning. Managers in similar organisations may learn from this experience to focus on strategy-making and social and environmental value creation.

The study examines sustainability reporting in the previously overlooked area of small and medium enterprises.

This study examines the impact of a leadership education retreat through the eyes of six undergraduate college men who participated in The Institute for Men of Principle at a midwestern college. What influences shape their definition and experience of leadership? Entry and exit interviews were conducted along with field notes from observations during the five-day curriculum. The study finds that early socialization experiences are paramount. In addition, participants uniformly struggle with acquiring and keeping the role of leader. Being a leader also plays a crucial role in the self-esteem of the participants. Analysis of the curriculum reveals that the application of leadership theory during hands-on activities was effective in shaping their views Framing leadership as a team endeavor and the need for personal congruence as a leader were the strongest consistent changes in participants' perceptions. The case is made for qualitative and longitudinal investigation for assessing leadership education programs.

This paper aims to investigate various institutional pressures driving the adoption and implementation of a new risk management system; enterprise risk management (ERM).

The implementation of ERM-related practices is analysed based on an institutional framework and drawing on empirical evidence from multiple sources in ten large/medium-sized insurance companies. This paper focuses on extra-organisational pressures exerted by political, social and economic institutions on insurance companies which drove the adoption decision.

It was found that different change agents have taken part in the decision to introduce new risk management system as a part of ERM implementation process. Further, the institutional pressures, coercive, mimetic and normative, were found to differ in character and strength over different intervals of time in relation to the adoption of ERM. Companies that adopted ERM early were mostly driven by internal strategic drivers, whereas the recent adoption decision was more driven by coercive and mimetic pressures. Thus, evidence of divergence between insurance companies was found.

The findings have implications for policy makers, regulatory agencies and innovation developers. ERM was considered not only as a necessity but also as a value added to the insurance companies under study. Thus, regulators and innovation developers should survey main players in any specific organisational field to understand their views before issuing new compulsory regulations or developing innovations. They also need to consider exploring companies’ experiences with ERM, which can provide a basis for the development of strengthened and more informative regulatory ERM frameworks. This will support a faster and easier understanding and implementation of ERM framework hindered by the confusions companies may face when considering the complicated/changing regulatory and risk requirements.

This study extends the scope of institutional analysis to the risk management field, particularly ERM and to the explanation of how different institutions affect the decision to move towards ERM and modify the risk management rules applied within the organisational environment. It looks not only at convergences but also divergences associated with the period of time when ERM adoption decision was made. Thus, it develops a processual view of change.

The closing years of the last decade saw the United Kingdom government trying to implement changes which could drastically alter the concept of the public library service in this country. These developments provoked a nationwide reaction from both librarians and the public which was expressed in the national and local press as well as in the anticipated professional sources. In the event the measures taken were not as draconian as feared, but the threat to the public library service remains. These events are chronicled and illustrated.