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Knowledge management (KM) has been gradually established as a strong methodology to support business viability, competitiveness and growth; however, the lack of maturity is obvious, as evidenced by divergent points of view in critical sub‐domains of the related theory and practice, such as the spectrum of processes and the clusters of tactics scheduled to underpin them. The systems thinking logic, the discipline for seeing structures underlying complex phenomena, is perceived as a promising direction for consolidating the various approaches and developing a holistic KM paradigm. Through the integration of the fragmented landscape of knowledge management on a transparent and concrete framework based on cause‐effect relationships, not only the underlying theoretical assumptions are clarified and subjected to further analysis at a strategic level, but also practical issues concerning planning and decision making become less complicated, increasing effectiveness.

Investments in information systems (ISs) seem to suffer from the productivity paradox. In this article three interpretations of this paradox are explored and a business process (BP) oriented methodology to overcome it is suggested. The final goal is to investigate the relationship between a BP‐competent IS and improved business performance.

Verification of the hypothesis made that BP‐competent ISs have a positive impact on business performance, is expected to be validated by a quantitative research based on a questionnaire survey.

This is a conceptual article that suggests a new BP‐driven methodology to assess IS business value and impact on business performance.

Business process management (BPM) and the software tools that support it (i.e. business process management systems or BPMS) are quite new issues for the Greek business reality, and therefore there might be little evidence on application of such methodologies.

Focusing on the alignment of ISs to BPs helps a company solve misalignment that is due to many independent initiatives and deal with problems that cross‐departmental boundaries. It also prompts a company redirect focus from ISs to BPs and therefore resolve the problems rather than the symptoms. Knowing the positive impact of BP‐competent ISs on business performance makes it possible for an enterprise to realize the importance of pursuing a process‐oriented management style were focus is placed on value‐delivering

The value of the suggested methodology lies in the synthesis of distinct ideas and issues into a unique holistic assessment framework.

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to develop a measure of competitive advantage by identifying a stipulative definition, composing an operational definition and constructing a measurement variable.

The paper undertakes critical literature review, cognitive interviews as well as a pilot and full study, which were carried out by applying a cross-sectional, self-administered e-mail survey with questionnaire in a fillable text-processing file, in order to develop a valid and reliable measure of competitive advantage.

The results have led to the identification of a conceptually robust stipulative definition, the composition of a comprehensive operational definition and the construction of a qualified variable, making the development of a valid and reliable measure of competitive advantage possible.

The newly developed measure of competitive advantage, exempt from past conceptual problems, could be used for valid measurements in future empirical studies in the field of strategic management. At the same time, authors encourage future tests of the newly developed measure's reliability and validity.

The provision of a conceptually clear stipulating definition and a comprehensive operational definition for competitive advantage could increase practicing managers’ awareness relating to the conceptual nature as well as the latent expressions of competitive advantage.

The findings contribute to the evolution of the strategic management field by providing a valid and reliable measure of competitive advantage that is applicable under any leading theoretical perspective in strategic management and it could better serve the needs of both empirical research and management practice.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the theme of the special issue on global trends and challenges in services.

A brief review of the papers included in the special issue.

Contextualization of the papers and identification of their contribution and significance for research in services management.

Although the papers included in the special issue represent only a small sample of the global trends and issues facing services management nowadays, papers provide a good basis and implications for conducting future research and extending the area further.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the effect of different representations while teaching basic algorithmic concepts to novice programmers.

A learning activity was designed and mediated with two conceptually different learning environments, each one used by a different group. The first group used the learning environment “Visual Flowchart”, which enables the students to construct and examine an algorithm using visual representation based on actual flowchart objects. The second group used the software “Language Interpreter”, which allows the students to express an algorithms using pseudocode.

Analysis of results among the two groups showed no statistically significant differences in the students’ performance with respect to the tool they used to solve the activity, the school stream they followed in high school and their gender.

The lack of difference among the two groups could be attributed to the non‐complicated nature of the given activity. In addition, longitudinal studies of the effect of the different representation in the frame of an introductory first semester academic course in computer science could further validate the results.

Two alternative learning environments aimed to support learning of basic programming skills.

Two alternative learning environments were presented and discussed in detail, aimed to support learning of basic programming skills. The conclusions of the present study are in contrast to the research that has taken place in the past which compared usage of flowcharts and pseudocode to educate novice programmers, and wider adoption of “flowcharts” was depicted.

This paper seeks to contribute to the study of the relationship between savings and investment in a panel of five South Asian countries.

A number of unit root tests such as Levin, Lin, and Chu or LLC, Breitung, Im, Pesaran, and Shin or IPS, Fisher‐type tests using ADF and Fisher‐type tests using PP tests are conducted that confirm the non‐stationarity of data. Then the paper applies maximum likelihood‐based panel cointegration method to examine the relationship between savings and investment using data on investment and savings for five South Asian developing countries, namely, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka over the period 1973‐2007 compiled from the World Development Indicator (WDI) Database 2008 CD‐ROM.

The results obtained suggest that savings and investment are cointegrated, which implies that the Feldstein‐Horioka (F‐H) puzzle does not hold in this region. It is also found that most of these countries have maintained an international solvency condition.

This is another contribution that would enrich the existing literature on the F‐H puzzle. The paper includes data that involve the longest sample period. No other study, as of now, has employed the panel cointegration method to study the savings investment relationship in this region.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of integrated audit management and its impact on business sustainability for an emerging economy.

Drawing on the dynamic capability and contingency theory, the authors investigated the factors on integrated audit management implementation using a sample of 104 certified Malaysian manufacturing firms. The collected data has been analysed using the partial least squares through the structural equation modelling technique.

The findings have revealed that human resource capability, technological capability and quality capability have a robust influence on the importance of the internal audit process, which, in turn, leads to integrated audit management effectiveness towards the outcome of business sustainability. The results have also indicated the mediating effect of the internal audit process on the research model.

The contribution from the empirical findings will provide productive insights to help manufacturing firms devise an effective integrated internal audit management system to ensure business sustainability and increase competitiveness advantages for an emerging economy.