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1 – 10 of 683Stephanie L. Savick and Lauren Watson
This paper will discuss one university’s efforts to initiate a process to better support PK-12 continuous school improvement goals for all 13 schools in their PDS network as a way…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper will discuss one university’s efforts to initiate a process to better support PK-12 continuous school improvement goals for all 13 schools in their PDS network as a way to broaden the university’s mission and respond more formally to the individual school communities with which they partner.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is conceptual in that it presents an innovative idea to stimulate discussion, generate new ideas and advance thinking about cross-institutional collaboration between universities and professional development schools.
Findings
The paper provides insights and ideas for bringing about change and growth in a seasoned PDS partnership network by connecting PK-12 continuous school improvement efforts to PDS partnership work.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to study how seasoned partnerships can participate in simultaneous renewal by offering ideas that school–university partnership leaders can build upon as they make efforts to participate in the process of growth and change.
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Barbara Da Roit and Maurizio Busacca
The paper aims to analyse the meaning and extension of discretionary power of social service professionals within network-based interventions.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to analyse the meaning and extension of discretionary power of social service professionals within network-based interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirically, the paper is based on a case study of a network-based policy involving private and public organisations in the Northeast of Italy (Province of Trento).
Findings
The paper identifies netocracy as a social policy logic distinct from bureaucracy and professionalism. What legitimises netocracy is neither authority nor expertise but cooperation, the activation of connections and involvement, considered “good” per se. In this framework, professionalism and discretion acquire new and problematic meanings compared to street-level bureaucracy processes.
Research limitations/implications
Based on a case study, the research results cannot be generalised but pave the way to further comparative investigations.
Practical implications
The paper reveals that the position of professionals in netocracy is to some extent trickier than that in a bureaucracy because netocracy seems to have the power to encapsulate them and make it less likely for them to deviate from expected courses of action.
Originality/value
Combining different literature streams – street level bureaucracy, professionalism, network organisations and welfare governance – and building on an original case study, the paper contribute to understanding professionalism in welfare contexts increasingly characterised by the combination of bureaucratic, professional and network logics.
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Matteo Moscatelli, Nicoletta Pavesi and Chiara Ferrari
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) recognizes the right of disabled people to access work. Against this legislative backdrop, this…
Abstract
Purpose
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) recognizes the right of disabled people to access work. Against this legislative backdrop, this study explores the strengths and weaknesses of the Italian system of targeted placement for disabled people, based on Law 68/1999, which delegates to regional authorities the management of the labor market. The examination centers on the perspective of companies, the primary stakeholders in the inclusion of persons with disabilities within organizational structures.
Design/methodology/approach
The article discusses the results of focus groups conducted with 28 managers of large, medium and small enterprises in Lombardy (Italy). Qualitative analysis was employed, and the results were structured using a simplified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis, incorporating practical recommendations.
Findings
The analysis leads to practical suggestions to improve the entire targeted placement process at the regional level, from selection and accompaniment to evaluation, such as improving the networking of local stakeholders who deal with the inclusion of disabled people, homogeneity of the procedures in different regions, making all employees aware of diversity management, etc. The territorial network and the welfare environment are particularly important in achieving a successful targeted placement and to promote an inclusive corporate culture.
Research limitations/implications
This study is not representative of Italy as a whole, as it remains a qualitative investigation focused on a single region.
Originality/value
This contribution accomplishes an in-depth study of the law of labor inclusion of people with disabilities observed from the point of view of companies, which are still usually reluctant to integrate people with disabilities into their organizations or encounter difficulties in doing so.
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The very essence of internationalisation, which depends heavily on academic mobility and cross-border interactions, has been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and…
Abstract
The very essence of internationalisation, which depends heavily on academic mobility and cross-border interactions, has been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been associated with a significant decline in student and staff mobility in South Africa and around the world. Nonetheless, it has also catalysed innovation and inspired new approaches to teaching and learning that have the potential to transform the future of higher education. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions are grappling with a fundamental question that goes beyond the practicalities of internationalisation: How can we re-envision the concept of internationalisation to meet the challenges of the new normal? This question calls for a deeper reflection on the nature of internationalisation itself. How can we ensure that cross-border interactions and exchanges continue to foster a sense of global community and intercultural understanding, even in a world that is physically distanced? This chapter seeks to explore the profound implications of the pandemic on the internationalisation of higher education (IHE) in South Africa. It aims to critically examine the present challenges to internationalisation and the strategies that have been developed to address them in the context of the post-pandemic world. The chapter employs a critical reflection approach through the use of qualitative research, systematic literature review, and document analysis. By utilising these methodologies, it seeks to delve deeper into the implications of the pandemic on the IHE in South Africa.
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Jonathan Mukiza Kansheba, Clavis Nwehfor Fubah and Mutaju Isaack Marobhe
Despite the popularity of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) concept, research on its value-adding activities receives less attention. Thus, in this article, the authors…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the popularity of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) concept, research on its value-adding activities receives less attention. Thus, in this article, the authors investigate the role of EEs in supporting global value chain (GVC) activities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) technique to identify practical configurations of EE’s framework and systemic conditions spurring GVC activities in 80 countries.
Findings
The findings suggest different configurations of EE`s framework and systemic conditions necessary for various GVC activities regarding input-output structure, geographical scope, upgrading, and forward and backward participation.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the extant literature by pioneering the EE approach to explaining GVC development. Moreover, the findings provide novel insights for understanding the EE – GVC interplay. As a result, the study offers a more nuanced understanding of how the EE supports GVC activities.
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Melanie Luise Krenn and Maria Chiarvesio
This empirical paper investigates how entrepreneurial firms change their business models in the context of internationalization by identifying different forms of business model…
Abstract
Purpose
This empirical paper investigates how entrepreneurial firms change their business models in the context of internationalization by identifying different forms of business model innovation (BMI) and exploring the interrelationship between BMI and internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the dynamic states approach of entrepreneurship (Levie and Lichtenstein, 2010), this paper analyses primary and secondary data from nine European firms following a multiple case study approach.
Findings
This paper presents four patterns of radical change and eight types of incremental adaption with-in business models in the context of internationalization. We describe these BMI patterns and types, and we also show how they contribute to increasing involvement in international business activities and the internationalization-related triggers that might cause them.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a better understanding of the BMI process in the course of internationalization. It also highlights the complex interrelationship between BMI and internationalization by building on a progressive theoretical approach.
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Paul J. Jackson, Nicolette Michels, Jonathan Louw, Lucy Turner and Andrea Macrae
This chapter contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship education. It draws on research from two annual ‘Business…
Abstract
This chapter contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning in extracurricular enterprise and entrepreneurship education. It draws on research from two annual ‘Business Challenge Weeks’ (BCW) held at Oxford Brookes University in 2021 and 2022, in which teams of postgraduate students from three faculties worked on external client projects, supported by an academic mentor. It presents and discusses findings derived from a survey and interviews conducted after the second of these years. The chapter takes a transdisciplinary perspective, after Budwig and Alexander (2020), Piaget (1972) and Klein et al. (2001) and explores the relationship between this and the enterprise and entrepreneurship development pipeline set out by QAA (2018). It analyses the experiences of the three main participating groups engaged in the challenge weeks – students, external clients and academic mentors – and explores the organising challenges inherent in multiparty pedagogical initiatives. The chapter contributes to knowledge in this area by revealing and reflecting on the motivations and expectations of the three participant groups, the roles they played during the week and the outcomes they reported. It also expands understanding of transdisciplinary enterprise pedagogy.
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Sehrish Huma, Sidra Muslim and Waqar Ahmed
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of organizational intellectual capital (IC) components on absorptive capacity (ACAP) such as potential…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of organizational intellectual capital (IC) components on absorptive capacity (ACAP) such as potential absorptive capacity (PACAP) and realized absorptive capacity (RACAP). Furthermore, it attempts to investigate the mechanism through which PACAP and RACAP jointly influence innovation strategies (i.e.) exploitative and exploratory innovations.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an explanatory research using a deductive approach. This study uses survey data from 184 manufacturing export firms analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results have found that the cognitive and social capital of a firm positively affects PACAP and RACAP, whereas relational capital has a significant effect on RACAP. Moreover, the study reveals that both potential and realized absorptive capacities considerably lead to the development of organizational exploitative and exploratory innovation strategies.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused on two driving factors, i.e. IC components and ACAP dimensions, and overlooked how each component of IC and ACAP influences ambidextrous innovative strategy.
Practical implications
Providing managers with insights about the critical role of developing IC to facilitate the transfer and exchange of crucial absorptive capacity necessary for ambidextrous innovative strategy.
Originality/value
This study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by highlighting the importance of ACAP and provides useful insights for firms in developing economies to improve their exploitative and exploratory innovation capability. This study likewise reveals the significance of the four dimensions of IC, which can facilitate bringing in knowledge from developing economies.
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