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The purpose of this paper is to define and analyze causal factors shaping the effectiveness of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) major projects in meeting the product objectives, from the end-user’s perspective.

An online survey questionnaire was developed and administered to end-users working in major oil and gas projects. Data collection process was initiated on, around 275 end-users, and 213 responses were received, achieving a high response rate of 77 percent.

The results indicate that both alignment of objectives and end-user’s engagement factors exhibit a positive influence on effectiveness of EPC, with the former having higher contribution than the latter. In this context, the product success triangle reveals higher preference of the end-user’s team toward quality than schedule and cost objectives.

Shifting the efforts of involving the end-user forward in time, starting from the planning stage, alleviates the adverse impacts of design changes as well as increases the ability to save cost, improve performance and increase end-user’s satisfaction.

The model raises the awareness of oil and gas industry practitioners toward the critical factors influencing the project effectiveness and proposes useful techniques for maintaining proper alignment between project and product objectives as well as facilitating end-user’s engagement at the site level. As such, it can serve as a motivation tool for aligning the objectives and acknowledging the engagement, with the aim of achieving the product success.

The effectiveness of EPC structural model was developed and tested using PLS–structural equation modeling statistical technique. The interpretation of the structural model demonstrated that both end-user’s engagement and alignment of objectives are essential to successfully achieve project effectiveness.

Knowledge management (KM) is associated with higher performance and innovative culture; KM can help the public sector to be fiscally lean and meet diverse stakeholders’ needs. However, hierarchical structures, bureaucratic culture and rigid processes inhibit KM adoption and generate inertia. This study aims to explore the nature and causes of this inertia within the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) public sector.

Using an in-depth case study of a UAE public sector organisation, this study explores how organisational inertia can be countered to enable KM adoption. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with 17 top- and middle-level managers from operational, management and strategic levels. Interview data is triangulated with content analysis from multiple sources, including the UAE Government and case organisation documents.

The results show transformation leadership, external factors and organisational culture mediate the negative effect of inertia on KM practices adoption. We find that information technology plays a key role in enabling knowledge creation, access, adoption and sharing. Furthermore, we uncover a virtuous cycle between organisational culture and KM practices adoption in the public sector. In addition, we develop a new model (the relationship between KM practices, organisational inertia, organisational culture, transformational leadership traits and external factors) and four propositions for empirical testing by future researchers. We also present a cross-case comparison of our results with six private/quasi-private sector cases who have implemented KM practices.

Qualitative data is collected from a single case study.

Inertia in a public section is a result of bureaucracy and authority bounded by the rules and regulations. Adopting a qualitative methodology and case study method, the research explores the phenomena of how inertia impacts KM adoption in public sector environments. Our findings reveal the underlying mechanisms of how internal and external organisational factors impact inertia. Internally, supportive organisational culture and transformational leadership traits positively effect KM adoption, which, in turn, has a positive effect on organisational culture to counter organisational inertia. Externally, a progressive national culture, strategy and policy can support a knowledge-based organisation that embraces change. This study develops a new model (interactions between internal and external factors impacting KM practices in the public sector), four propositions and a new two-stage process model for KM adoption in the public sector. We present a case-comparison of how the constructs interact in a public sector as compared to six private/quasi-private sector cases from the literature.

This study explores local Qatari job seekers' and employees' perceptions of the workforce nationalization strategy to address an inadequacy in the workforce nationalization literature in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. It also unpacks the factors that attract or discourage local job seekers and employees when considering a new job.

Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 28 local job seekers who were either currently unemployed or employed and seeking another job at the time of the interviews.

The data revealed that nationals perceive Qatarization as a means to replace expatriate employees with nationals, particularly in the public sector and leadership positions. This misinterpretation of the strategy leads to complications, such as the waithood phenomenon and a sense of entitlement for guaranteed employment. The findings also provide insights into nationals' attitudes toward employment, including job attraction and discouraging factors.

The results provide policymakers with insights into the misinterpretation surrounding nationals' perceptions of workforce nationalization and remedies for better implementation of the strategy.

The study addresses two clear gaps in the workforce nationalization literature: (1) examining how nationals perceive the workforce nationalization strategy and (2) unpacking the factors that make employment attractive or unfavorable for nationals.

The importance of modeling digital leadership in quickly digitizing countries, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is inevitable for building leadership capabilities to lead, engage and motivate remote employees in the digital environment. Using Blake and Mouton Grid, the current study examines the behavioral approach used by the leaders from both public and private sectors while managing their workforce digitally in the period of the pandemic, when 70% of the workforce worked remotely for the first-time in the region.

An online survey was conducted by the managerial employees working in different firms using self-administered questionnaires and adopting the snowball sampling technique. In total, 476 respondents participated in the study from both the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The analysis using IBM SPSS and Smart PLS software reported that 9 out of 10 leaders positioned their digital leadership style well above the middle-of-the-road management style (5,5) oriented towards team management (9,9); with 7 out of 9 displaying high team management leadership style, while managing remote workers. However, millennials displayed higher task orientation when compared to generation-x leaders, who concentrated more on their relations with the workers.

The findings have implications for practitioners in technology driven regions. Also the results highlighting the task-oriented approach of millennials digital leaders have implication for owners and board of directors of the firms that seniority is not the only credible approach for leadership positions.

The study reveals the behavioral styles beneficial for digital leaders to develop their leadership capabilities and increase their effectiveness while managing the workforce digitally. Black Mountain Grid and its two-dimensional leadership matrix has been found to be a useful conceptual approach for understanding digital leadership behaviors, and based on study findings, recommendations have been provided to effectively improve its utilization for leading teams. The findings have implications for practitioners in technology driven regions as well as digital leadership field scholars.

An emphasis on school performance is not just a national issue, but must be examined within the global context. Successful leadership is ensured by school leaders’ compliance to a set of basic practices within particular school contexts. The impact of leadership styles on performance, the work environment and job satisfaction is emphasized, while the appropriate leadership style could make teachers more effective in terms of job productivity. The adoption of different leadership styles by school leaders shows positive results with regard to school effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to describe school leadership styles and the influence the styles have on school performance.

A quantitative approach with a post-positive paradigm was followed. A systematic random sample of 72 secondary schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was selected. The Cronbach’s α coefficient, statistical significance (p-values) and effect size (d-values) were calculated, and a factor analysis was conducted.

The results show a difference between teachers and principals regarding the transformational leadership style. The principals in the high-performing schools were perceived as less passive-avoidant in practice than those in the low-performing schools. A principal manages and leads a school effectively by applying an appropriate leadership style.

For future research, it will be advisable to make use of a mixed-method design. Although the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire addressed numerous aspects of leadership and leadership styles, the “voice” of the respondents lacked. Furthermore, more leadership styles could be investigated in different contexts.

A chosen principal leadership style is not necessarily the best style for this purpose. School principals and teachers interpret leadership styles differently. Communication is therefore important.

The principal leadership style is not always necessarily the teachers’ and learners’ choice. It is important that schools keep up with a constantly changing world.

If school principals and teachers agree upon a specific leadership style, there may be better collaboration which enhances better academic performance as well as effectiveness regarding schools.

This paper aims to design a hybrid model of knowledge-based performance management system (KBPMS) for facilitating Lean Six-Sigma (L6s) application to increase contractor productivity without compromising human safety in Indonesian upstream oil field operations that manage ageing and life extension (ALE) facilities.

The research design applies a pragmatic paradigm by employing action research strategy with qualitative-quantitative methodology involving 385 of 1,533 workers. The KBPMS-L6s conceptual framework is developed and enriched with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize fit-for-purpose Key Performance Indicators. The application of L6s with Human Performance Modes analysis is used to provide a statistical baseline approach for pre-assessment of the contractor’s organizational capabilities. A comprehensive literature review is given for the main pillars of the contextual framework.

The KBPMS-L6s concept has given an improved hierarchy for strategic and operational levels to achieve a performance benchmark to manage ALE facilities in Indonesian upstream oil field operations. To increase quality management practices in managing ALE facilities, the L6s application requires an assessment of the organizational capability of contractors and an analysis of Human Performance Modes (HPM) to identify levels of construction workers’ productivity based on human competency and safety awareness that have never been done in this field.

The action research will only focus on the contractors’ productivity and safety performances that are managed by infrastructure maintenance programs for managing integrity of ALE facilities in Indonesian upstream of oil field operations. Future research could go toward validating this approach in other sectors.

This paper discusses the implications of developing the hybrid KBPMS- L6s enriched with AHP methodology and the application of HPM analysis to achieve a 14% reduction in inefficient working time, a 28% reduction in supervision costs, a 15% reduction in schedule completion delays, and a 78% reduction in safety incident rates of Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Days Away Restricted or Job Transfer (DART) and Motor Vehicle Crash (MVC), as evidence of achieving fit-for-purpose KPIs with safer, better, faster, and at lower costs.

This paper does not discuss social implications

This paper successfully demonstrates a novel use of Knowledge-Based system with the integration AHP and HPM analysis to develop a hybrid KBPMS-L6s concept that successfully increases contractor productivity without compromising human safety performance while implementing ALE facility infrastructure maintenance program in upstream oil field operations.

The influx of expatriates to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has led to labor imbalance inducing these countries to initiate workforce nationalization policies. However, despite the policies' emphasis on increasing the presence of nationals in all sectors, employing nationals in the private sector is still a critical challenge for policymakers. This paper explores local job seekers' and employees' perceptions of employment choices in the private and public sectors.

Adopting a qualitative approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 28 local job seekers, either not currently employed or employed but seeking another job.

The data revealed a contextualized understanding of positive and negative connotations pertaining to employment in the private and public sectors in Qatar.

Understanding nationals' negative preconceived notions against working in the private sector and the perceived benefits of public sector employment lays the groundwork for developing measures to help policymakers to create labor market-oriented policies that stimulate mobility between the public and private sectors.

This study contributes to the workforce nationalization literature in the GCC countries by examining local job seekers' perceptions associated with employment in the private sector and the public sector. A closer examination of why nationals are hesitant to enter the private sector can propel the pendulum towards higher success rates of workforce nationalization.

A number of previous studies have investigated international construction project risks and have proposed risk mitigation measures without examining their interdependence. The purpose of the current study is to identify the influence of various risk mitigation measures on macro-level risk factors in the international marketplace.

The authors initially identified 26 risk variables and nine risk mitigation measures through a literature review, which were then verified for their pertinence to international projects by three experts. Subsequently, 105 questionnaire survey responses were collected and analysed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the interrelations between the risk variables and mitigation measures.

The findings suggest that joint ventures with local partners is emerged as the most critical risk mitigation measure that influences the international projects, which are exposed to political, project and firm-specific risk factors. Further, it is worth noting that among the recognised risk mitigation measures in international projects, offering more local employment is the least critical mitigation measure in the international projects.

The findings of this study are based on the macro-risk factors encountered by Indian construction firms in international projects, mostly from specific Asian and African regions. Thus, the opinions of construction firms from the developed countries might be different.

The main contribution of this study to existing knowledge is empirical evidence of the interrelationships between risk mitigation measures and risk factors that are portrayed as latent variables of different manifest risk variables. The generated model can assist construction firms in emphasising several risk mitigation methods, in order to reduce risk and enhance performance in international construction projects.

Seasonal influenza epidemics accounted for significant morbidity and mortality loads worldwide despite the availability of a safe vaccine as an efficient tool against severity of the disease. However, the uptake of the latter was sub-optimal. This study aims to identify predictors and barriers related to seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

A cross-sectional study enrolled 502 individuals attending primary healthcare centers in Bahrain for ambulatory care between July and August 2022. The data were collected using an interviews-based questionnaire which included questions on demographic data, knowledge and attitudes and practices toward influenza vaccine. The authors identified the barriers as well as the determinants of the vaccine uptake and its recommendation to others.

The mean age of participants was 35.07 years (SD = 13.9). Most of the respondents were Bahraini (86.5%) and 53.4 % were females. The results revealed that 34.1% have previous information about the influenza vaccine and 36.9% versus 69.9% are willing to receive the vaccine or advice it to others, respectively. Determinants of vaccine uptake were identified.

This study confirmed a sub-optimal influenza vaccine acceptance in the general community of Bahrain despite a global access in primary care. Health professionals need to be more proactive in mobilizing the community and particularly females toward influenza vaccination.

The new ways of working (NWW), a contemporary work environment with temporal and spatial flexibilities, has become an enforced reality after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted workplaces. However, the understanding of how it impacts employee well-being perceptions is limited. Hence, the current study aims to examine how the NWW facets, namely, time- and location-independent work, management of output, access to organizational knowledge and flexibility in working relations relate to employees' life satisfaction, mediated by psychological capital.

A cross-sectional survey was designed to collect data from 459 Indian knowledge workers. Model fit and the hypothesized relationships were tested using IBM SPSS 25, AMOS and PROCESS Macro.

All four NWW facets positively relate to psychological capital, which in turn associates with life satisfaction. Except for the facet “management of output”, the other three facets associate positively with life satisfaction before accounting for the mediator. Indirect effects of all four facets on life satisfaction via psychological capital were established. Overall, the findings establish the important mediating role of psychological capital in relating the NWW facets with life satisfaction.

By examining the previously unexplored relationships between NWW, psychological capital and life satisfaction, this study provides novel insights into the role of personal resources in maximizing the beneficial effects of the NWW practices and is highly relevant in the current context where organizations are trying to identify coping mechanisms that help employees adapt to workplace transformations.