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Performance-driven culture has received extensive attention from both academics and practitioners because of its impact on organisations’ performance. Employees’ tacit knowledge about performance-driven culture is pivotal to identify, as it contributes to increasing the organisation’s performance. With the aim of enriching ongoing debate in human resources and knowledge management research, this paper proposes a conceptual model for emancipating and investigating the main factors of employees’ tacit knowledge that shape and affect performance-driven culture of a Saudi Arabian organisation.

The validity of the conceptual model is examined through a qualitative study developed using a thematic analysis of 134 employees’ unbridged computerised typewritten comments about organisation’s performance-driven culture.

Findings confirm the utility of conceptual models in explaining and categorising employees’ emancipated tacit knowledge, providing a potential contribution to academics and practitioners interested in developing managerial processes for improving organisation’s performance-driven culture.

Both the conceptual reflections and empirical-based evidence herein enrich ongoing debate in the area of human resources and knowledge management about employees’ tacit knowledge and performance-driven culture.

Open innovation (OI), by now one of the major concepts for the analysis of innovation, is seen as a methodology for collaboratively designing and implementing solutions by engaging stakeholders in an iterative and inclusive service design process. This paper aims to empirically investigate OI capacities, defined as a cooperative, knowledge-sharing innovation ecosystem, and to explore how it can lead to improved performance of firms in Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Southeastern European (SEE) countries.

The study builds on the World Bank/European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD’s) Business Environment Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) dataset for 2009, 2013 and 2019. Primarily, the research model was estimated using log-transformed ordinary least squares (OLS). Taking into consideration that this method might produce substantial bias, yielding misleading inferences, this study is fitting Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood estimators with robust standard errors and instrumental variable/generalized method of moments estimation (IV/GMM) approach for comparative results. Secondarily, the research model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the relationship between five OI capacities and firm performance.

The findings indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between most OI capacities and firm performance, except for innovation, which did not show a statistically significant relationship with firm performance. Specifically, research and development (R&D), knowledge and coopetition are statistically significant and positively associated with firm performance, whereas transformation is statistically significant but negatively associated with firm performance. The IV/GMM estimations’ findings support the view that the firm performance is significantly affected by OI capacities, together with some control variables such as size, age, foreign ownership and year dummy to have a significant impact on firm performance.

This paper fills an identified gap in the literature by investigating the impact of OI on firm performance executed in the specific CEE and SEE country context.

The effectiveness of the construction industry highly depends on the quality of the work practices, education and training. Based on the industry’s need to strengthen the productivity and performance improvement scopes in the construction education/training practices, this study aims to develop a guiding tool for designing new training programmes in different qualification levels considering the industry’s near-future challenges.

The study methodology encompassed literature reviews, experts’ discussions/reviews and problem-based communication approaches with qualitative methods to obtain a set of expected competency outcomes (COs) for each qualification level. The necessary mapping frameworks were used to display the cross section of each CO.

The study has presented a guiding model comprising three categories of qualification levels, where each consists of 12 COs with the mapping outcomes against learning domains of a conceptual framework. The guiding model also displays the detailed steps to develop detailed curriculums for different qualification levels of training.

Though the scope of the study was limited to the Sri Lankan context, the findings can be beneficial to many other countries in similar scenarios.

Overall study outcomes are expected to make an impact on the industry’s reskilling and upskilling practices resulting in a considerable level of improvement in the quality and productivity of work operations.

The experts’ reviews highlight the developed model as a valuable tool that provides a platform for upgrading the construction education and training practices based on the industry’s near-future circumstances in productivity and performance improvement practices, also revealing its future influences in training accreditation processes.

The lessons learned from the 2004 tsunami phenomenon fueled the government and other local authorities to strengthen the legitimate background to mitigate such devastation in future events. This study aims to propose a standardized tsunami-resilient construction guideline for Sri Lanka by integrating existing local and international standards.

A comprehensive literature survey was carried out to undertake the study, with a wide-ranging content and thematic analysis of existing tsunami-resilient construction aspects in Sri Lanka. Integrating all existing guidelines with international standards, finally, a consolidated guideline with significant tsunami-resilient building aspects was proposed for stakeholders involved with the resilient built environment in tsunami-prone areas, particularly during the building construction in the coastal belt.

The existing tsunami-resilient guidelines in Sri Lanka follow similar aspects but in different dimensions. Compared to the international standards, few significant aspects create a gap in local guidelines. Thus, the findings demonstrated that the existing local guidelines must be modified and strengthened by mainstreaming into international practices.

Existing guidelines are more concerned with structural aspects. Nevertheless, proper integration of local and international guidelines would be more favorable to minimizing existing local guidelines’ gaps. Further, a standardized tsunami-resilient building guideline would be a referring document for all stakeholders in tsunami-resilient constructions.

By aligning local guidelines with international standards, the reliability of the guidelines will be increased and direct the built environment to quality disaster-resilient constructions.

Through a standardized guideline, the community can rely on tsunami-resilient construction in coastal cities.

The consolidated guideline further contains the essentials of city resilience in tsunamis and would be an excellent reference for relevant stakeholders than aligning with several guidelines.

Modular construction is an innovative method that enhances the performance of building construction projects. However, the performance of steel modular construction has not been systematically understood, and the existing measurement methods exhibit limitations in effectively addressing the features of steel modular building construction. Therefore, this study aims to develop a new performance measurement framework for systematically examining the performance of steel modular construction in building projects.

This study was conducted through a mixed-method research design that combines a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art practices of construction performance measurement and a case study with a 17-story steel modular apartment building project in Hong Kong. The case project was measured with data collected from the project teams and other reliable channels, and the measurement practices and findings were referenced to establish a systematic performance measurement framework for steel modular construction.

Considering steel modular construction as a complex socio-technical system, a systematic performance measurement framework was developed, which considers the features of steel modular construction, focuses on the construction stage, incorporates the views of various stakeholders, integrates generic and specific key performance indicators and provides a benchmarking process. Multifaceted benefits of adopting steel modular construction were demonstrated with case study, including improved economic efficiency (e.g. nearly 10% cost savings), improved environmental friendliness (e.g. approximately 90% waste reduction) and enhanced social welfare (e.g. over 60% delivery trips reduction).

This paper extends the existing performance measurement methods with a new framework proposed and offers experience for future steel modular construction. The measured performance of the case project also contributes in-depth understanding on steel modular construction with benefits demonstrated. The study is expected to accelerate an effective uptake of steel modular construction in building projects.

This study aims to investigate two public private partnership (PPP) road projects in Nigeria for exploring factors that can motivate end-user stakeholders for contributing towards sustaining a PPP project in the long-term.

Using a case study methodology approach, this study adopts two-way data collection strategies via in-depth interviews with PPP experts and end-user stakeholders in Nigeria host communities and a questionnaire survey to relevant stakeholders.

The study identifies an eight-factor structure indicating critical success factors for ensuring end-user stakeholders support PPP projects on a long-term basis in their host communities.

Results of the study have huge implications for policymakers and project companies by encouraging the early integration of far-sighted measures that will promote long-term support and sustainability for PPP projects amongst the end-user stakeholders.

The need to enhance student support is evident in higher education (HE) curricula. In addition to the complications created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current strategies used in academia are criticised for their lack of appropriate student support in HE. The study focused on the themes under Section 4 of the National Student Survey (NSS): availability to contact tutors, receiving good advice and guidance and availability of good advice. The study aimed to provide recommendations for enhancing academic support by developing drivers that need implementation during course delivery.

A documental analysis and a qualitative survey were adopted for this study. A documental analysis of 334 mid-module reviews (MMRs) from levels three to six students in the built environment (BE) discipline. Critical themes identified from the MMRs were fed forward in developing a questionnaire for academics. A sample of 23 academics, including a Head of school, a Principal lecturer, Subject leads and Lecturers, participated in the questionnaire survey. Content analysis is adopted through questionnaire data to develop drivers to enhance academic support in BE. These drivers are then modelled by interpretive structural modelling (ISM) to identify their correlation to NSS Section 4 themes. A level partition analysis establishes how influential they are in enhancing academic support.

The study identified nine drivers, where two drivers were categorised as fundamental, two as significant, four as important, and one insignificant in enhancing academic support in HE. Module leaders’/tutors’ improving awareness and detailing how academic support is provided were identified as fundamental. Differentiating roles in giving advice and the importance of one-to-one meetings were identified as significant. A level partitioning diagram was developed from the nine drivers to illustrate how these drivers need to be implemented to promote the best practices in academic support in HE.

The identified drivers and their categories can be used to set prioritised guidelines for academics and other educational institutions to improve students’ overall satisfaction.

Novelty from the study will be the developed drivers and the level partitioning diagram to assist academics and academic institutions in successfully integrating academic support into HE curricula.

Lack of appropriate student support and drawbacks in academic progression signify the importance of enhancing assessment and feedback in higher education (HE). Although assessment and feedback are significant in HE, minimal empirical research holistically explores the best practices. This study aims to address the niche and develop a decisive guideline for enhancing assessment setting and feedback provision within HE curricula.

A systematic approach was taken to obtain data for the study: a literature review underpinning the thematic content analysis of study documents, followed by semi-structured interviews. Document analysis contained mid-module reviews/student feedback; rubrics used in assessment; and formative/summative feedback provided for the graded work. Documental analysis informed the key attributes of the semi-structured interview. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) analysis identified the influence and reliance of each driver.

This study revealed 15 drivers – 4 fundamental, 6 significant and 5 important – for enhancing assessment and feedback. The level partitioning from the ISM analysis established that all assessment and feedback needs to be underpinned by the university policy and fed into the assessment regime and marking scheme. This study identified that National Student Survey results were significantly improved due to implementing said drivers compared with the national and sector benchmarks.

The developed drivers enable the best practices in assessment setting and feedback provision. The level partition diagram can be used as a decisive guideline or a provisional framework in assessment and feedback provision for quality assurance in HE.

This study is one of, if not the only, to develop a guideline for signposting drivers and their influence and reliance to enhance assessment and feedback in a holistic HE setting. The developed drivers and the level partition diagram bring novelty and add to the current body of knowledge.

In the Netherlands, thesis assessment quality is a growing concern for the national accreditation organization due to increasing student numbers and supervisor workload. However, the accreditation framework lacks guidance on how to meet quality standards. This study aims to address these issues by sharing our experience, identifying problems and proposing guidelines for quality assurance for a thesis assessment system.

This study has two parts. The first part is a narrative literature review conducted to derive guidelines for thesis assessment based on observations made at four Dutch universities. The second part is a case study conducted in one bachelor’s psychology-related program, where the assessment practitioners and the vice program director analyzed the assessment documents based on the guidelines developed from the literature review.

The findings of this study include a list of guidelines based on the four standards. The case study results showed that the program meets most of the guidelines, as it has a comprehensive set of thesis learning outcomes, peer coaching for novice supervisors, clear and complete assessment information and procedures for both examiners and students, and a concise assessment form.

This study is original in that it demonstrates how to holistically ensure the quality of thesis assessments by considering the context of the program and paying more attention to validity (e.g. program curriculum and assessment design), transparency (e.g. integrating assessment into the supervision process) and the assessment expertise of teaching staff.

The purpose of this study is to identify and address significant quality gaps present in business school dissertations in India. Dissertations, an integral and a special component of the overall business school learning process, acquaint students with the practical business world.

The authors benchmarked the dissertation processes of business schools in India against those of reputed business schools in Germany, France, Sweden and Australia. Using a survey questionnaire, the authors checked whether business schools in India followed international processes and, if not, what could be done to adopt such processes. A sample of 367 business schools was studied to obtain reasonable evidence.

There were major quality issues in the dissertation process across business schools in India. Serious groundwork preparation issues were identified, such as an absence of research proposals. Most business schools also reported that there were no rubrics for dissertation evaluation, resulting in high subjectivity in the evaluation process. Supervisor interactions and control over the progress of the dissertation were also found to be very weak. As a result, the authors conclude that dissertations from business schools in India have major gaps in quality.

This is a novel study that examines the quality assurance of business school dissertations. It highlights major quality concerns surrounding the business school dissertation process and suggests measures to address quality issues. The study’s implications apply to business schools in all developing countries and not just India.