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Although the constitutive equations at elevated temperatures given in Eurocode 3 Part 1-2 are valid for steel grades up to S460, the experimental data base concerning the mechanical behaviour of this particular high strength fine-grained structural steel is very small. Especially its short time creep behaviour at high temperatures has not yet been analysed. A current research project, predominantly consisting of transient testing of numerous commercial S460 steels, targets a more precise determination of the stresss-train relationships at high temperatures. Additionally, the time-dependent strain components are extracted from test results gained at varying heating rates, and an empirical creep law, based on the concept of temperature-compensated time, is derived. As a result, the constitutive equations can be formulated taking the heating rate into account. The differences in the high temperature load-carrying capacity of steel structures made of S460 according to the research results and under the terms of Eurocode 3 Part 1-2 are assessed.

Even as retailers add digital features to their physical stores and equip their service teams with digital devices, no research has addressed the implications of frontline employees (FLEs) sharing a screen side-by-side with customers as a contemporary service practice. This paper aims to identify the potential customer benefits of this service practice.

Noting the lack of theoretical considerations of screen-sharing in marketing, this paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach and combines learning theories with computer-supported collaborative learning topics to explore how screen-sharing service practices can lead to benefits or drawbacks.

The findings specify three main domains of perceived benefits and drawbacks (instrumental, social link, individual control) associated with using a screen-sharing service. These three dimensions in turn are associated with perceptions of accepted or unaccepted expertise status and relative competence.

The interdisciplinary perspective applied to a complex new service interaction pattern produces a comprehensive framework that can be applied by services marketing literature.

This paper details tactics for developing appropriate training programmes for FLEs and sales teams. In omnichannel service environments, identifying and leveraging the key perceived benefits of screen-sharing can establish enviable competitive advantages for service teams.

By integrating findings of a qualitative research study with knowledge stemming from education sciences, this paper identifies some novel service postures (e.g. teacher, peer, facilitator) that can help maximise customer benefits.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse change processes in the post‐merger integration (PMI) phase from a complexity theory perspective. Therefore, it looks at the merged organisation as a complex adaptive system (CAS).

Post‐merger situations borrowed from literature and a one‐day expert workshop with integration managers are related to the characteristics of CASs. During the workshop, data of the change process in different PMI phases are collected and the integration activities are analysed with a coded event history analysis.

Change processes in the PMI phase are very complex and the newly merged organisations experience tension and non‐linear behaviour, but positive self‐organisation, a major property of CASs, cannot always emerge as the required prerequisites are sometimes not given.

Insights of the workshop are limited to personal statements of the participants. In order to further investigate the PMI process under a complexity perspective, additional research in the form of longitudinal case studies including methods of storytelling and narratives should be considered.

Leaders and integration managers need a great repertoire of behaviours in order to both manage the challenging change processes by planning and controlling the integration activities and allow self‐organisation to emerge.

The paper offers a deeper understanding of the complex change processes in the PMI phase by using the metaphor of complexity theory and CASs.

This paper seeks to examine an emerging synergetic model of organizational leadership that is founded on Chinese Taoism and complex adaptive system (CAS).

The paper is formed around a comparative analysis of two conceptual models – the CAS model that is founded on what is known as the new science and a more ancient model that is based on Chinese Taoism.

While the two models were developed more than 2,500 years apart, this paper shows a degree of alignment between Eastern wisdom and the latest Western scientific theory. The essence of what is characterized as Taoistic leadership emphasizes alignment with “The Way” and is based on the interplay of “Yin/Yang.” This is similar to the core elements of CAS that emphasizes the importance of “the Attractor” and the interplay of “Order/Disorder.”

This paper points out the promise of a convergence of ancient wisdom from China, with the latest new science view on organizational behavior. The outcome is a complementary leadership model that is undergirded by both ethical values and scientific support.

This paper goes one step beyond traditional analyzes by dissecting the two key streams of Chinese philosophy, comparing and contrasting these with CAS.

Chinese leaders today tend to be influenced by a leadership style that can be broadly characterized as reflecting principles of Confucianism. These principles support a more hierarchical formulation of leadership and organizations that are more centralized and less adaptive to today's dynamic environment. This paper offers an alternative leadership model, grounded in the Tao philosophy that is said to be more accommodating of the complexities of organizational behavior today. It also offers value to Western leaders in appreciation of the ancient wisdom and values in Taoism relating to today's organizational behavior and leadership.

In order to deepen the understanding of self-organization, the purpose of the paper is to raise and analyze the state of the art in the area of innovation networks, particularly the characteristics of self-organizing, relying on the theory of complex systems to overcome any shortcomings.

The databases selected for the search were Web of Science and Scopus; the keywords searched in the titles of articles were innovation networks, complex systems, self-organization and self-organizing; the timeline of the search covers the period between 2000 and 2014 due to the presence of important studies in the field of networks starting in the early 2000s; only studies published in English were used; the articles selected were examined by first reading the titles, then the abstracts, and finally the texts in full.

The way the main constructs from the analytical perspective of innovation networks intersect with complex systems explains how self-organization is presented and how it can be allowed to occur within a view of expected benefits for the purposes of these networks.

The originality of the research lies in the questioning of the classical form of organizational management in innovation networks, essentially based on the concentration of hierarchical power.

Canada's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI) uses an operating model that is unusual in government. It is created to enable cross‐boundary capability and capacity building and learning. Some consider it a model for other federal science initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of leadership – and its relationship to perceived effectiveness – in this complex network of counter‐terrorism communities, where parts of the network are functioning better than others. At a more academic level, it explores whether complexity theory can inform leadership theory.

This qualitative, empirical study uses phenomenography and elements of ethnography as methodologies. Data are gathered through interviews and observation.

CRTI personnel refer to their initiative as a counter‐terrorism network of communities. The leader of each community works – without positional authority – with participants from many organizations and locations. The paper reveals qualitatively different ways of understanding leadership. Even though CRTI groups have much in common, participants' ways of understanding that work vary greatly. Some understand their work environments as complex systems rather than as traditional government structures; this way of understanding is associated with perceptions of effectiveness. This finding can change the ways in which science and technology professionals make sense of their work in complex, trans‐disciplinary fields such as counter‐terrorism and global warming.

This qualitative, empirical research complements and supports some of the conceptual work about leadership and learning in complex environments.

The primary objective of this paper is to explore antecedents for developing different types of services. A second objective is to address the neglected role of service development in manufacturing firms.

A qualitative research approach is used. While the study is qualitative due to its context, it is positioned between deductive and inductive qualitative studies, being neither a test of an already developed theory nor a development of a new theory. Rather, it is an extension of existing theories on service development through dialectic interaction between field studies and existing theory.

The findings suggest that three types of service (customer service, product‐related services, and customer support services) differ in their configuration of antecedents for service development.

The study is based on case‐study research, but the external validity (generalisability) of the antecedents could not be assessed. Future research would benefit from insights obtained from quantitative data.

The combination of different service types and antecedents forms a model that can guide managers in typical product manufacturing companies who wish to extend the service business by developing services successfully.

Based on three in‐depth case studies and 18 bi‐polar mini cases, this paper explores the relationship between types of services in manufacturing companies and typical antecedents that are necessary for service development.

The purpose of this paper is to give some theoretical foundation to leadership function and style for managing knowledge workers whose work, by definition, is non-routine, thrives on innovation, and places a special demand on autonomy for its execution.

Extant search of literature to look for evidence supporting successful leadership theories and practices that are shown to improve performance of knowledge workers. Synthesis of findings to structure a framework in the form of major propositions for their testing by future research.

The authors begin with establishing the first finding that states that leadership of knowledge organizations is different from the leadership of traditional organizations. Then the authors build six additional findings for shaping a successful leadership process for knowledge organizations.

Since it is a theoretical paper built on a search of literature in the field of leadership, there is a need to empirically test the findings to give them their final shape. Each of the seven propositions in this paper would result into many hypotheses that should initiate several empirical studies.

The authors consider individual and organizational/group contexts of the leadership proposed here, and also provide recommendations for carrying out this research further. While the paper is written more specifically with regard to the leadership of knowledge organizations where its findings should be fully implantable, however, to some extent, they would apply to all organizations.

Leadership is a ubiquitous social phenomenon. It affects not only organizations, but also every aspect of human activity. This paper is an attempt to alter the fundamental thinking of leaders, suggesting to not to use authority, and instead, to allow everyone connected with the task the opportunity to lead. This shift in leadership paradigm will have an impact on the behavior of all involved, and steadily, will bring a change in the norms of social behavior.

This paper is a move toward giving the knowledge organization leadership some theoretical framework, as it is still in a state of flux in spite of attracting a lot of research.