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Irrigation System Management (ISM) poses many issues in terms of social and technical aspects. These can be further elaborated as the issues toward the efficiency of infrastructure, equity of water sharing, environmental integrity and economic acceptability. Water losses and the structural changes of the system caused many issues putting the irrigation system into distress. Hence, this urges the need for sustainable ISM to improve social and technical attributes in ISM. This paper aims to apply the Socio-Technical Systems (STSs) theory for sustainable ISM.

The qualitative expert opinion survey method was selected as the research strategy to approach the research aim. Sixteen industry professionals in the ISM sector were selected through the purposive sampling method to conduct semi-structured interviews to collect data in the Sri Lankan context. Code-based content analysis through a directed approach was used to analyse the data.

Four main categories of strategies were emerged from the research findings as “engineering strategies”, “operational strategies”, “management strategies” and “regulatory strategies” through STS approach for sustainable ISM. The STS framework was developed by combining engineering and operational strategies into the technical subsystem and the management and regulatory strategies into the social subsystem to approach the aim of achieving contemporary system management in irrigation in a sustainable manner.

The research revealed the links between the strategies emerged from various disciplines to minimise the issues in ISM from the perspectives of technical and social subsystems. The study contributes to knowledge by providing a framework for sustainable ISM by applying the socio-technical systems theory by integrating the concepts of sustainability.

Compstat is a goal‐oriented strategic management process that uses technology, operational strategy and managerial accountability to structure the delivery of police services and provide safety to communities. This process originated with the New York City Police Department and is now being adapted by many law enforcement agencies throughout the USA. It thus represents an emerging police organizational management paradigm. This paper analyses the evolution of police management techniques and the emergence of this new paradigm. It concludes with an assessment of the organizational changes required for the adaptation of this process.

The aim of this paper is to introduce a framework that helps to identify strategic themes on which real estate investors form their strategies. A holistic approach to strategic management in real estate management has enjoyed popularity in corporate real estate research, while similar research has been lacking from the investor-based real estate management.

The research design consists of two main parts: 1) formulating propositions based on existing literature and 2) attempting to validate the propositions through a qualitative interview study with major real estate owners in Finland.

The main finding is that the current real estate investors reflect the transient nature of competitive advantages and assess their strategies accordingly. The companies consider the traditional profitability and revenue growth aspects of their business but also a more long-term future growth dimension. As an outcome, the investors base their strategies on eight strategic themes which are “Innovation”, “ESG”, “Marketing and sales”, “Financial management”, “Leasing management and tenant satisfaction”, “Competitive environment and portfolio management”, “Outsourcing and strategic partnerships” and “Cost and operation optimization”.

This paper opens opportunities for future research concerning different strategies in real estate investment business and their impacts.

The presented framework provides support for real estate investors to create real estate management strategy or to evaluate their current strategy and to recognize operational actions and decisions that are relevant for their strategy.

This paper provides an extension to corporate real estate (CRE) literature by showing that the CRE theories are adaptable to real estate investment and provide value for their strategic management. This paper also contributes to real estate investment literature by providing a well-founded and empirically contested strategic management framework, the IREM framework, for identifying strategic themes on which real estate investors form their strategies.

This paper aims to focus on the role of management control function in the strategies of corporate social responsibility adopted by companies. Since the years 1980/1990, multidimensional models appeared that give an integrated or balanced representation of performance. In parallel, facing the challenges of sustainable development (SD) and taking them into account in the management of companies, the concept of overall performance has developed. But, at the same time, research based on neo-institutional sociology suggests on the contrary the existence of a loose coupling between a management control oriented towards the search for legitimacy and the internal practices of management control.

The study took place between 2010 and 2015. In 2010, the authors conducted a primary exploratory survey of a sample of 40 management controllers. The study was continued in 2015 by a survey of 60 management accountants. The questionnaires were administered electronically. Sorting and cross-sorting, along with tests of independence based on the χ² test, were carried out.

The results of the surveys have allowed us to observe the absence of significant links between proactive strategies displayed by companies in SD and the missions and instruments of management control. These latter would focus solely on measurement, monitoring and reporting of an exclusively economic and financial performance.

This is an exploratory study among French controllers. This study could be deepened by an international survey of a larger sample and by case studies with different managers involved in SD steering.

The study highlights the need to involve management controllers in steering SD.

While the literature in management control highlights the role of management accountants in the strategic alignment of SD, this study has shown the weakness of this role.

The article shows the weak involvement of management controllers in the implementation of SD, while the latter would want to become more involved in the steering of SD.

This paper seeks to present a teaching tool (the Innovation Game) which aims to demonstrate the challenges of developing an effective innovation strategy in the context of new product development. The goal of the game is to enable participants to experience how strategic and operational choices made in relation to innovation strategy are interrelated and how these choices can impact on new product development success. Specifically the paper aims to explore the impact of choices made in relation to capability accumulation, capacity management and product‐portfolio management.

After presenting the learning objectives for the game with the support of relevant literature, the paper describes the design of the game and the context in which it was played. The paper reviews feedback (learning outcomes) from formal reflective post‐game sessions with participants. This feedback indicates that the learning objectives have been satisfied.

Through experiential learning and reflective practice participants learn, for example, that: capabilities need to match the intended strategy; investing in production capacity can be leveraged to aid negotiations with competitors, or it can be used as a bully tactic; and, it sometimes is better to be an R&D “follower” rather than a “leader”. The participants also learn that the alignment of operational and strategic choices is necessary in order to leverage success in developing new products but that the actions and strategies of competitors have a direct impact also and need to be considered carefully.

The teaching tool adopts a participative game playing and reflective learning approach to introduce into class some of the real‐life competitive dynamics of managing new product development and decision making normally confined to the boardroom. While it is argued that the game demonstrates the challenges of developing successful strategy, the game is set in a static context in which certain external contingencies are not accounted for.

Demonstration of the importance of strategy to new product development is particularly difficult because of the longitudinal nature of product development and the tacit nature of the decision making process which often transpires long after projects are completed. The paper posits that the value of the Innovation Game is in reflecting on it as a practical, interactive tool that helps participants appreciate the challenges inherent in strategic and operational decision making related to innovation strategy and new product development success.

The theories of transaction‐cost economics, the resource‐based view and the core competencies approach have been used extensively to justify the rationale behind strategic decisions on outsourcing, but their validity has not been investigated yet in comparative empirical research. Additionally, no study has examined the operational effects of these decisions in‐depth. The purpose of this paper is to fill these two gaps in the academic literature.

A literature review confirms the existence of these gaps and informs hypotheses based on the three theories. Additionally, the model for continuous decision making on outsourcing is used to systematically collect data from five cases studies. The cases – all make‐to‐order or engineering‐to‐order – have been analysed on effects for operational performance and control resulting from strategic decision making on outsourcing.

From this evaluation, it appears that these companies perform weakly on the control of the outsourced activities. Furthermore, it seems that the (manufacturing) strategy is disconnected from outsourcing practices and that outsourcing hardly contributes to competitive advantage. Moreover, from some of the case studies it appears that the decision for strategic outsourcing is irreversible. Finally, traditional criteria and behaviour during decision making prevail, i.e. a cost‐driven perspective, which does not address contemporary challenges.

Despite being explorative and based on only five cases, these findings indicate that strategic decision making on outsourcing based on the three theories insufficiently accounts for operational issues that emerge later during manufacturing; it might be necessary to revise the theoretical base for outsourcing to include management of outsourced manufacturing activities.

The findings imply also that managers in companies, in any case those firms that operate on the basis of make‐to‐order or engineering‐to‐order, should be less “rushed” into strategic decision making on outsourcing that has adverse effects. Rather, outsourcing requires integral decision making in contrast to factual decision making that displayed signs of bounded rationality (particularly expressed through the focus on cost savings).

The dominant, one‐sided view of the cost perspectives contributes to the notion that the shareholders' interests for short‐term profitability conflict with long‐term organisational health (apparent through the impact on operational management of outsourcing activities).

Stakeholders involved in strategic decision making might use this research to evaluate fundamentally decisions that cover outsourcing. At the same time, for consultants and practitioners it offers insight that is complementary to the often one‐sided strategic decision making with its focus on cost reductions. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates the limited validity of current theories that underpin strategic decision making on outsourcing and provides an impetus for academics to develop more appropriate theory.

Focussing on the UK’s institutional real estate universe, this paper analyses variations in the operational management of real estate investment portfolios. For the main categories of institutional investors, the key tasks in real estate operational management, and the ways in which these tasks are typically bundled and categorised by investment managers are reviewed. Three broad operational management models are outlined. Case studies of real estate operational management models in practice are discussed.

The research approach is primarily descriptive, drawing upon illustrative investor case studies.

A range of operating models are identified for managing real estate investment portfolios. Specialists real estate investors tend to have highly vertically integrated operating models viewing most operational management functions as core operational capabilities. Multi-asset owners tend to have a vertically disintegrated operating model outsourcing fund, asset, property and facilities management. Investing institutions such as fund houses and specialist real estate investment advisors seem to have converged upon a common hybrid operating model with high margin, analytical functions such as fund and asset management being insourced and low margin, routine functions such as property and facilities management being outsourced.

Despite the size of the global, institutional real estate investment universe (estimated by DTZ to be worth more than USD 13.6 trillion in 2015), the topic of how (and how effectively) these assets are managed by institutional investors has attracted very little attention from the real estate research community. This paper provides some initial analysis and insights into operational management models for real estate investment portfolios in the contemporary real estate investment management landscape.

The purpose is to examine the role of TQM in a strategy‐TQM‐performance model. More specifically, it seeks to investigate whether TQM has a driving role in the formation of strategy or has a mediating effect in the strategy‐performance relationship.

A survey was used to collect data. The instrument was assessed for its validity and reliability. Structural equation modelling was employed.

TQM influences strategy formulation process and it is a dynamic resource that contributes to the achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, soft TQM has a higher impact than hard TQM on competitive strategy formulation and on performance.

The model developed and tested can be enriching to the TQM, strategic management, and quality management fields. Future research is recommended to use methods other than self‐report questionnaires and to account for certain behavioral factors that can influence the relationships investigated in the study.

The findings provide insights to the need to integrate TQM with the various stages of the strategy formulation process, with an emphasis on the soft elements of TQM, including customer satisfaction, management and leadership, and employee relations.

Despite the remarkable contributions of existent research, there is a lack of substantive research that examines the relationship between the hard and soft components of TQM on one hand and the two types of competitive strategy – differentiation and cost leadership – on the other. This gap is filled by this study.

The effect of exchange rate movements on firm value is important to firms engaged in international transactions. These accounting exposures can be managed using financial instruments. However, the competitive or strategic effects that create economic exposure require firms to adopt a strategic approach. This paper reports on the extent to which large, publicly‐listed UK firms adopt a strategic approach to the management of exchange rate risk. Unlike earlier studies, the results indicate the widespread use of a range of operational hedging techniques. A significant proportion of firms are also found to incorporate currency risk management as a factor in decisions made by their operating departments. However, the study also indicated considerable variation in the application of operational techniques between firms and industry sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to find a means of connecting strategic management and operative performance measurement.

The paper focuses on the balanced scorecard (BSC), its levels of use and utilization, the influence of specific features, the most used metrics and features of successful implementation of the BSC in the energy sector. The paper is based on empirical interviews with 16 locally operating energy companies and business units of larger corporations. BSC is a wide spread strategic management system which originated in the early 1990s. The aim of the BSC is to facilitate in depth discussion about a company's vision, strategy and critical success factors and translate them into specific measures and objectives in action.

The study shows that maintaining a vision and a strategy has not been very prevalent in Finnish electricity companies. However, the deregulation of the energy markets in Finland, from the mid‐1990s, has increased the competition and made maintaining a strategy all the more important. Adjustment to this deregulation and the large number of different businesses are special features of the electricity sector. It can be concluded that benchmarking on other industries, where BSC has been in use, leads to better results faster in the energy sector. However, it has to be noted that strategy and management have to be seen as a unique set of activities. In the construction phase of the BSC, the process of searching for the metrics is more important than finding them.

The paper offers insights into linking strategy into operational management.