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The purpose of this paper is to highlight a collaborative effort between academia (University of North Texas, Team Sciences) and practice (Toyota Connected (TC)). This study concentrated on current problems that had been experienced by TC: How to structure and manage multiteam systems (MTSs)?

This research study utilized a realist systematic review to address an existing problem by working collaboratively with TC and academia. This collaboration involved problem identification, the development of research questions and a full systematic review guided by the research questions.

This realist systematic review merged the literature with current practices at TC in an effort to gather evidence to support the best method of structuring and managing MTSs. The findings include a leadership structure that incorporates both shared leadership (bottom-up) and existing hierarchical structures (top-down).

The MTS models presented in this study provide new models for organizations/manufacturers/industries to use as a guide when structuring their MTSs.

This study provides an example of a collaborative research effort between practice and academia using a realist systematic review. The paper also provides some multiteam system models that could be implemented and tested in different organizations. Also, new responsibilities and roles for scrum and MTSs are presented as a new method of achieving Agile.

The article warns that genuine business agility is not easily achieved despite the many consultants offering their services as specialists. It lays out the elements of the best practice approach – the methodology of Agile management.

Using Toyota as an example, the article show how one company is taking an innovative approach to agile team work and decision making.

The concept of Agile management includes both operational agility – making the existing business more focused on customer value – and strategic agility – generating new products and services to bring in new customers.

The shadow of Agile management done too hastily or badly has fostered widespread cynicism.

The article is a clarion call to wake up bureaucratic organizations that pass decisions down a lengthy chain of command. The need now is to have decisions made as close as possible to those who have the best information to make the best decision, which often requires the teams themselves to be the deciders. 10;Leadership becomes a function shared by all the people participating in the team. The team itself becomes the leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between geographical traits consisting of institutional traits and cultural traits, and supply chain agility in third-party logistics providers.

A theoretical model was developed and assessed through a structured questionnaire survey using cross-sectional data from 170 third-party logistics providers registered in Uganda. To validate the suggested model, data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, correlations and regressions.

Correlation results revealed that all institutional and cultural geographical traits in the model, i.e. infrastructural frameworks, regulatory frameworks, organisational culture and national culture are positively and significantly associated with supply chain agility. However, a further analysis using regression revealed that regulatory framework and organisational culture are the only significant predictors of supply chain agility and together, all the four traits account for 28.1% variance in supply chain agility.

This study applies the institutional theoretical framework to provide an empirical understanding of the role of institutional and cultural factors in supply chain management practice. Furthermore, it confirms and expands on the existing theories about supply chain agility.

The findings provide firm ground for managerial decisions regarding emphasis on external factors in building firms' supply chain agility. Managers should scan the macro-environment and make conscious firm decisions regarding institutions and culture in certain geographical locations. The host countries should also be aware of their role in building firms' supply chain agility.

Distinctive from the literature on antecedents of supply chain agility, which predominantly focuses on the firm and supply chain capabilities, this study utilises the paradigm of institutional fit to empirically show how managers in a developing country wishing to build supply chain agility should not only focus on their supply chains and internal operations, but go beyond and consider geographical traits when making firm location and/or operational decisions for certain geographical contexts in order to achieve fit.

This article presents a historical investigation into the foreign policy messages of the British Union of Fascists' (BUF) publicity and propaganda from its foundation in 1932 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, along with a discussion of the methods and institutional arrangements used to propagate its ideas of peace, empire and transnational co-operation.

The historical investigation is based upon scrutiny of original BUF documents relating to the period 1932–1939 from various archives. After cataloguing of the relevant publicity and propaganda materials in time sequence and thematically, analysis was organised using a historical institutionalism approach.

The article explains the different phases of the BUF's message development and how publications, meetings and media were used to project its ideas. It also discussed the impact of support from Viscount Rothermere's newspapers and financial support from Benito Mussolini. Consideration of publicity materials alongside files from BUF headquarters enabled identification and investigation into the communicative actors who did the publicity work, including Director of Publicity, John Beckett.

The article reflects upon how the British Union of Fascists' publicity and propaganda relates to modern manifestations of the communication of authoritarian and nationalistic political propositions and the historical continuities that endure therein.

The project makes an original contribution to the history of British political propaganda and public relations through an inquiry based upon scrutiny of historical documents in UK archives relating to BUF publicity related to foreign policy.

The final decade of the twentieth century saw a major shift to self‐governance for schools in many countries, including the UK and Australia. This trend is underpinned by the assumption that greater autonomy will lead to improved educational outcomes. The impact of self‐management on principals and schools is now well documented but much less attention has been given to the implications for governance, a significant omission as the process of decentralisation transfers responsibilities to governing bodies rather than school principals. Reviews the main issues of governance and illustrates them from the research in England and Wales and in Australia. It joins the debate about the appropriate balance between governance and management for governing bodies and examines the lay/professional interface in school governance. It assesses governors’ role as representatives of school interest groups and concludes by setting out a research agenda for governance in self‐managing schools.