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The purpose of this paper is to present a general overview of the kinds of regional cooperation that are commonly found in the higher education (HE) sector among countries in Asia and the Pacific.

The research methodology is literature review, collecting primary data from the web sites set up by the various organizations that are being reviewed.

The types of university exchanges can be broadly categorized as academic exchange, research collaboration and university‐community engagement. Some of the regional cooperation are initiated by intergovernmental organizations while others are initiated by non‐governmental organizations. The paper reviews intergovernmental initiatives by UNESCO, SEAMEO RIHED, ASEAN, ASEM, EAS, and APEC. It also reviews several higher education networks including ASAHIL, UMAP, APRU, AUF, AAOU and APAIE, as well as two regional initiatives, APQN and the UNESCO Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific.

This is an original piece of analytical work on the roles and functions of various HE organizations and networks in the Asia‐Pacific region.

This paper aims to achieve a better understanding about the competitive and institutional pressures that can determine socially responsible corporate behaviours of organisations that operate in an organisational field.

The paper draws on New Institutional Sociology to analyse pressures on Spanish electricity companies to behave in socially responsible ways. Data collection covers the period 1997‐2008 and the data sources were the following: semi‐structured interviews, industrial regulation, documents, websites of organisations and associations, and informal discussions.

Socially responsible corporate behaviours of Spanish electricity companies were due not only to internal decisions based on economic rationality, but also to various institutional (coercive, normative and mimetic) pressures.

The study covers a specific organisational field, the Spanish electricity sector. Further research would be necessary in order to analyse other organisational fields and to compare the results.

Conditions under which organisations behave in socially responsible ways are contrasted in the case of Spanish electricity companies, for instance, the healthy economic environment, the monitoring of their behaviour and their participation in associations that promote Corporate Social Responsibility.

Generally, pressures of the environment on organisations to behave in socially responsible ways have received little attention and the specialised literature has focused on the individual organisation level of analysis. So, a contribution of the paper is to analyse the pressures of the competitive and institutional environment on a specific organisational field so that organisations adopt socially responsible corporate behaviours.

Analyses applications offered by different organisations in Uganda and gives a way forward for the use of digital libraries. A qualitative approach with a purposive sampling strategy was adopted. The study was limited to practical experiences on the services and applications that made the basis of analysis. The results indicated that the majority of organisations apply IT in bridging access across networks and sharing of information between different organisations. It was observed that the current ICT systems in Uganda do not enable it to reach the majority of the community. It is concluded that digital libraries and electronic technologies have contributed effectively to collaborative applications between institutions in Uganda. Recommends that services need to be integrated into the organisations’ strategic objectives coupled with knowledge and skills.

Society's concern about issues related to development aid to underdeveloped countries has grown significantly in recent years. The gross inequalities between North and South, constant conflicts, political crises, and natural disasters have sensitized society to the urgent need to help these depressed areas. The objective of the present study is to examine the role Spain's savings banks play in international cooperation and development as a field that society and the general public see as ever more crucial.

The paper describes an exploratory analysis of the interventions carried out by all Spain's savings banks during 2009.

The results of this exploratory study reflect an increasingly relevant role of these savings banks in cooperation for development, mainly due to pressure from their customers and from society in general. They also show the importance of so‐called “Works in collaboration”, mainly with non‐governmental organizations/non‐governmental development organizations, in designing and implementing corporate social responsibility programs.

Much of the value of the present work is because of the lack of previous studies focused specifically on analyzing the role of Spanish savings banks in the field of cooperation for development. Its originality also lies in its proposing new courses of action in this area to improve that role.

This study aims to examine how integrated thinking principles can be used to assist those charged with governance during and after a crisis.

An autoethnographic approach was used to collect and reflect on information related to the economic, social and environmental impact of COVID-19. This was complemented with a bibliometric analysis of academic articles including “corporate governance”, “integrated thinking” and “crisis” as a keyword. This information was used to produce a data mind map of core themes. This was supplemented with a qualitative exploratory approach based on semi-structured interviews with 16 participants comprising preparers of financial statements, board members and corporate governance specialists to obtain insights into using integrated thinking in corporate governance during a crisis.

The results of the study indicate that those charged with governance can use integrated thinking to repurpose their business model by considering a multi-capital and multi-stakeholder perspective to value creation. The study highlights the importance of implementing a holistic capital integration process to gauge risks, capitalise on opportunities and improve business processes in response to a crisis. This can be leveraged by both the private and public sectors to manage a crisis and deal with the long-term indirect impacts of a crisis.

An integrated thinking approach can be used by both the private and public sectors to bolster confidence, tackle pressing social and environmental challenges and contribute to improved performance relative to the sector.

The expert interviews contribute empirical evidence to the profile of mainstream social and environmental accounting literature and offer a practical contribution by offering insights that can directly be used by organisations’ investors, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to manage a crisis. This paper also advances the sustainability agenda by assessing how a crisis can be managed in the context of a developing economy and advancing normative recommendations which will be broadly applicable to an international audience.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and explore the possible underlying reasons for the differences in approaches adopted by organisations regarding the inclusion or exclusion of explicit statements in relation to the personal commitment and contribution of their employees within their publicized CSR strategies.

The approach is based on a longitudinal study involving interviews with 47 UK National Health Service (NHS) managers between 2000 and 2009. Theoretical frameworks and literature related to CSR, organisation culture and institutional theory are drawn upon in an integrated manner to analyse and discuss the findings.

Although the majority of NHS managers report holding core altruistic values they believe the general public does not recognize this and views them negatively. It is suggested that a combination of direct and indirect strategies aimed at highlighting the socially responsible role of NHS managers and their overall commitment and contribution to the NHS would help challenge the existing negative public image of NHS managers.

The study is based on a relatively small number of London based NHS managers consisting mainly of managers occupying senior and middle management positions and who may not necessarily represent the views of all managers nationally.

Whilst issues related to CSR are of concern to a wide range of organisational stakeholders, there appears to be relatively limited research undertaken in the context of directly exploring issues of concern from the employee stakeholder perspective. Within the context of the aims of this paper, this paper addresses this relative gap. The paper is of interest to a wide range of readers including NHS and non‐governmental organisation (NGO) policy formulators and practitioners; academics and students.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the information about haze, a term used in China to describe the air pollution problem, is portrayed on Chinese social media by different types of organizations using the theoretical framework of the health belief model (HBM).

A content analysis was conducted based on the 756 posts retrieved from Sina Weibo, the top microbloging platform in China, following the simple random sampling method. χ2 analysis was conducted to examine the relationships across the three types of organizations (governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and corporations) and the use of the HBM concepts (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action) in terms of haze and its threat to health.

The results of this study indicated that corporations posted more Weibo messages categorized as perceived benefit and most of these posts are related to their products, while governmental organizations posted fewer Weibo messages categorized as perceived severity.

This study provides health decision makers and media consumers with knowledge about how to use social media more effectively in terms of haze-related issues.

Given the severity of air pollution and the influential role microblogging takes, the study aims to fill the gap in the limited literature on haze information dissemination on social media in China. In addition, this study aims to shed theoretical light on HBM as applied to a non-westernized context.

Stakeholder management is not yet incorporated into the standard practice of most healthcare providers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the applicability of a comprehensive model for stakeholder management in mental healthcare organization for more evidence-based (stakeholder) management.

The assessment was performed in two research parts: the steps described in the model were executed in a single case study at a mental healthcare organization in the Netherlands; and a process and effect evaluation was done to find the supporting and impeding factors with regard to the applicability of the model. Interviews were held with managers and directors to evaluate the effectiveness of the model with a view to stakeholder management.

The stakeholder analysis resulted in the identification of eight stakeholder groups. Different expectations were identified for each of these groups. The analysis on performance gaps revealed that stakeholders generally find the collaboration with a mental healthcare provider “sufficient.” Finally a prioritization showed that five stakeholder groups were seen as “definite” stakeholders by the organization.

The assessment of the model showed that it generated useful knowledge for more evidence-based (stakeholder) management. Adaptation of the model is needed to increase its feasibility in practice.

Provided that the model is properly adapted for the specific field, the analysis can provide more knowledge on stakeholders and can help integrate stakeholder management as a comprehensive process in policy planning.

Women’s participation in the formal labour force has increased over the past three decades and continues to do so in Bangladesh. This paper aims to look at trends in that phenomenon and how it has been influenced by privatization in the economy and the social transitions that have occurred during this process.

The findings are based on a survey of women in large formal sector organizations in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study focuses on the adjustment of women in various ranks to work in different organizations – public, non-profits, and private – and makes comparisons among these workplaces. Seven individuals were interviewed and filled out questionnaires on work–life balance and job satisfaction.

Results show that although private organizations pay better, non-governmental institutions evoke a greater sense of employee commitment to organizational mission and public organizations provide women with a greater perception that their work is valued and respected. It is found that stated and implemented policies with respect to family-friendly work environments are variable.

The sample size has some limitations that were addressed through interviews.

Each type of organization has its own set of advantages and setbacks with respect to work-life balance and job satisfaction, pointing to the need for concerted policies that could encourage women to choose and remain in their professions.

Work–life balance is a new concept in developing countries. As they go through the second phase of demographic transition, this is a key factor in stabilizing population growth. A comparison of the three types of organizations as workplaces for women has not been done. The phenomenon is not unique to Bangladesh and has lessons for many developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether non‐governmental organizations' (NGOs') managers think and use strategy in their daily operations, to assess the impact of its applications on the performance of NGOs and to test the validity of the “dynamic model of strategic management” originally used for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

This empirical study is concerned with NGOs' managers located in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. Survey questionnaire was the main data collection instrument. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, triangulation, is employed for data analysis.

It was discovered that most NGOs used strategic management systems and perceived strategic management as an important tool for increasing the quality of service delivery, achieving goals and increasing overall organizational performance. Moreover, the principles of the “dynamic model” developed for SMEs are applicable to the NGOs in Palestine.

This research focused on local NGOs in Gaza Strip, while the contribution and significance of local NGOs and the civil society sector as a third sector is recognized around the world, inclusion of a number of international NGOs in the study would have yielded more significant results and would have helped to identify best practices in the sector.

NGOs in Palestine and elsewhere must become more strategic in their planning and operations in order to increase their performance, productivity and efficiency in providing quality service.

This first‐time study contributes to the current stock of knowledge and our present understanding of strategic management, as perceived by NGO managers, by contextualising its use in Palestine.