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The Deming management method, which encompasses the breadth of W. Edwards Deming's approach to quality management, has had significant impact on the practice and scholarship of quality management. In this paper we present a scholarly introspection and discussion on scientific research related to the Deming management method, the contributions of such research to theory development in quality management, and future research directions to pursue in order to continue to advance scientific knowledge in quality management. In doing so, we traced the historical development of the Deming management method. We present and discuss two streams of research related to the Deming management method, namely the concept of profound knowledge and the Deming‐based theory of TQM. We also highlight several opportunities for future research that would advance theory development in the TQM discipline – opportunities anchored by the imperative for confirmatory research that requires proper operationalization and primary data, and the plausibility of theory refinement and extension through the specification of new relationships and the inclusion of moderators and mediators.

The purpose of this study is to examine how a school leadership team in a rural, high-poverty elementary school learned to lead continuous school improvement in a research–practice partnership.

This case study draws on qualitative research methods, improvement science and Deming's notion of a system of profound knowledge to identify how members of the school leadership team understood and approached their school improvement work differently as a result of engaging in continuous improvement processes in a research–practice partnership.

The findings illustrate how engaging in continuous improvement processes in the research–practice partnership enhanced the leadership team members' capacities to prioritize and solve problems, incorporate multiple and diverse perspectives in problem-solving efforts and establish a culture of increased risk-taking and ownership of teaching and learning outcomes. In sum, the members of the leadership team became the drivers of their own change processes.

The findings provide insight into how leaders in rural, high-poverty schools can build capacity within their schools to meet the demand for increased student achievement by leading collaborative, continuous improvement processes grounded in improvement science in research–practice partnerships.

Deming’s quality managment principles (TQM) are widely used as a school restructuring vehicle and produce increases in student achievement and self‐esteem and increased teacher morale and self‐confidence. Application of Deming’s principles and the TQM problem‐solving tools and techniques can be used to solve noninstructional problems of schooling. These areas, which create unnecessary costs to the school and community, include vandalism, school dropouts and student absenteeism. This case study presents a model for principals to apply to provide quality outcomes, at reduced cost, in noninstructional areas. Using teachers, parents, community members, and applying the problem‐solving tools and techniques of TQM to identify root problem causes, principals can identify realistic solutions which yield positive results and reduce costs in academic and nonacademic areas.

The demand for professionals qualified for handling multimedia services and products has increased significantly in recent years and today there is a lack of staff with competencies corresponding to the demands of the information society in most businesses. However, new competencies are needed if new and interesting products are to be developed in order to make business prosperous. This is also an important issue for the cultural sector which needs to re‐qualify staff in order to compete with other businesses on the provision of information. This implies that information professionals and knowledge workers must be educated and further trained, requiring a qualification campaign on a broad basis. New qualifications are needed within the traditional cultural industries and institutions ‐ people with technical skills as well as readiness for lifelong learning ‐ if the new possibilities and challenges are to be met.

The aim of this study is to provide some important insights for knowledge stickiness from the perspective of the characteristic of knowledge and the people engaged in the knowledge transfer. It proposes an empirical model about factors that influence knowledge stickiness.

Based on knowledge-based view (KBV), this paper systematically elaborated the research model, and then conducted a survey to test the hypotheses. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews in R&D team of knowledge-intensive firms in China. The empirical results generally support the proposed hypotheses.

The paper provides empirical insights about how the knowledge transfer willingness, transfer ability, knowledge residence, knowledge articulability and absorption ability affect the knowledge stickiness in the process of knowledge transfer in R&D team.

This paper provides guidelines about how firms should optimally respond to knowledge stickiness in knowledge transfer process practically.

The proposed framework helps to understand what factors impact knowledge stickiness in R&D teams. Furthermore, the research also provides guidelines about how firms should optimally respond to knowledge stickiness in knowledge transfer process practically from both aspects of characteristics of knowledge itself and people involved in knowledge transfer.

This study, grounded on KBV, constructs a countermeasure model of weakening knowledge stickiness, which contributes to an understanding of factors leading to the success or failure of knowledge transfer. It eventually theoretically extends the KBV of the firm and commits to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of knowledge transfer practically.

Describes an unusual quality improvement programme which started early in 1994 with a publishing company, MCB University Press. It points out the approach used, and progress made to date, 12 months on. The approach is described as insideout and outside‐in, meaning the focused creation of internal capability for effective quality improvement, driven by outside‐in customer‐defined quality indicators.

This paper focuses on the famous productivity paradox ‐ despite widespread investments in information technologies, very few of them can be shown to positively impact the productivity statistics. The authors argue that the way out of the productivity paradox is to transition out of traditional investments in information processing technologies, offering diminishing returns, to investments in knowledge technologies, offering increasing returns. They argue that such a shift, in order to be effective, must be built with a core focus on meeting the users’ needs in knowledge work. Topics reviewed include knowledge retrieval, including knowledge servers and their architecture; knowledge capture; and knowledge navigation and discovery. The paper concludes with an assessment of emerging knowledge technologies.

Blockchain is a disruptive technology that has matured to deliver robust, global, IT systems, yet adoption lags predictions. The authors explore barriers to adoption in the context of a global challenge with multiple stakeholders: integration of carbon markets. Going beyond the dominant economic-rationalistic paradigm of information system (IS) innovation adoption, the authors reduce pro-innovation bias and broaden inter-organizational scope by using technological frames theory to capture the cognitive framing of the challenges perceived within the world’s largest carbon emitter: China.

Semi-structured interviews with 15 key experts representing three communities in China’s carbon markets: IT experts in carbon markets; carbon market experts with conceptual knowledge of blockchain and carbon market experts with practical blockchain experience.

Perceived technical challenges were found to be the least significant in explaining adoption. Significant challenges in five areas: social, political legal and policy (PLP), data, organizational and managerial (OM) and economic, with PLP and OM given most weight. Mapping to frames developed to encompass these challenges: nature of technology, strategic use of technology and technology readiness resolved frame incongruence that, in the case explored, did not lead to rejection of blockchain, but a decision to defer investment, increase the scope of analysis and delay the adoption decision.

Increases scope and resolution of IS adoption research. Technological frames theory moves from predominant economic-rational models to a social cognitive perspective. Broadens understanding of blockchain adoption in a context combining the world’s most carbon emissions with ownership of most blockchain patents, detailing socio-technical challenges and delivering practical guidance for policymakers and practitioners.

While there has been great attention directed at innovation within organisations in business contexts, there has been less focus on the role of innovation at higher education institutions. A changing and turbulent environment is also placing more pressure on universities and business schools to re-imagine, inspire and design an innovation culture. This empirical case presents the innovation leadership team’s point of view on the effect of innovation leadership when integrating the ISO 56000 series-based innovation management system at the University of Ruse in Bulgaria. Several face-to-face interviews and questionnaires are conducted to uncover gaps in innovation leadership based on a comprehensive literature review and the current state of the innovation management system. These gaps hold potential for improvement of the existing management system which are discussed, and recommendations are formulated in the conclusions section of this chapter. Taking into consideration the specific context in which this case study has evolved can help readers and other innovation leaders adapt the facts, conclusions, and lessons learned for universities and business schools. This chapter presents lessons learned and best practices by the innovation leadership team, as demonstrated in several cases at the University of Ruse ‘Angel Kanchev’, Bulgaria.

Leadership has for a long time been a topic that attracts the attention of both academics and practitioners. In spite of the extensive literature on leadership and very little literature on leadership in Six Sigma, there is almost a complete absence to explain how and what leadership characteristics are needed for successful implementation of Six Sigma initiatives. This paper aims to address this issue.

This research adopts a triangulation method, however for the purpose of this paper; the focus is on a thorough review of literature.

From an exhaustive literature review, this research has made some observations and developed an agenda for research. This is presented in the form of an integrated leader, leadership and Six Sigma framework in addressing organisation sustainability issues.

The developed integrated framework for the successful deployment of Six Sigma contributes to knowledge which is underpinned by robust literature review.