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This study aims to structure a model for integrating social value into strategic management based on identifying the critical success factors (CSF) for such integration in the investigated companies.

This research was based on the actor–network theory. Through a rigorous approach to the case study methodology in a two-stage process lasting 21 months, we carried out this study.

Companies that use the polyhedral social accounting model in their strategic management processes do so without a reference model. We identified CSF for integrating social value, which was incorporated into a protocol model based on stakeholder theory and the use of social accounting.

Practitioners can use the proposed model to maintain the alignment of strategic performance and purpose. Using social accounting based on indicators and financial proxies allows managers to incorporate social value into strategic management in terms of financial value.

The institutional demand for social information is based on the growing sensitivity of companies. Aligning social values with business strategies contributes to social sustainability.

This study focuses on an unresearched emerging phenomenon. Since the first approach to stakeholder theory, the development of a stakeholder-oriented strategy has faced the lack of a stakeholder accounting system. The polyhedral model of social accounting could help overcome this problem as it provides information that allows a novel and innovative method to make a stakeholder-oriented strategy effective.

The purpose of this paper is to propose two performance-based capital budgeting (PBCB) approaches. The proposed approaches aim to assign limited capital within different firms based on their performance. These approaches have been applied to capital budgeting process of the technical and vocational training schools of Semnan Province, Iran for the fiscal year 2014–2016. Although the current capital of each decision-making unit (DMU) is secured in the first approach, the second approach provides possibility of sharing the capital between DMUs.

Data envelopment analysis which is a broadly used mathematical programming technique for assessing performance of DMUs is utilized for the first phase of both approaches. The proposed models are based on linear programming. Different scenarios are presented and their pros and cons for the capital budgeting process are discussed.

The proposed approaches are applied to capital budgeting process for a fiscal year of technical and vocational training schools of Semnan Province, Iran. The budget allocation of the previous year has been found to be non-optimal in terms of budget consuming. This emphasizes reconsideration of budget allotment within schools. The results show a high potential for producing more outputs. The second approach that provides the possibility of sharing and realloting of budget between schools based on their performance may be crucial for those schools that are not performing efficiently because there is possibility of losing budget in each given year in contrast with the previous years.

This paper proposes two linear programming-based approaches for the PBCB. The author not only deals with static framework but also proposes dynamic structured models. Using performance-based budgeting in organizations has been emphasized by authorities in Iran for many years. Using the proposed approaches, different suggestion and policy recommendation for decision makers in process of capital budgeting process within period of study are provided for technical and vocational training schools of Semnan Province, Iran.

In the academic field of business management, several potential theories were established during the last decades to explain companies' decisions, organizational behavior, consumer patterns, and internationalization, among others. As a result, businesses and scholars were able to analyze and decide based on theoretical approaches to explain the current conditions of the market. Secondary research was conducted to collect more than 36 management theories. This chapter aims to develop the most famous theories related to business applied in the international field. The novelty of this chapter relies on the compilation of recognized previous research studies from the academic literature and evidence in international business.

Since the beginnings of the computing era it has been suggested that firm performance could be enhanced by the use of information technology which would help firms to score better on such indicators as productivity, profitability and market share. TCP/IP or the Internet are examples of the technology that is now available to help firms pursue their strategic aims. So far, however, their effects remain uncertain. In this paper we attempt to provide some evidence regarding the impact of the Internet on competitive advantage in a non “dot.com” industry in Spain. We also offer some ideas that may help to explain the role of the Internet as a competitive tool in modern firms.

Drawing on debates on deliberative and participatory democracy, I argue that social movements can be considered to be promoting democratization when they are able to compel governments to increase effective participation in the policy-making process, and/or when their democratic claims are translated into an agenda and/or policy impact. This indicates that a social movement has increased the responsiveness of the government it is challenging. Based on this premise, in this paper, I trace the political impact of the Student Movement in Chile. Spearheading the largest protests since the reinstatement of democracy, in 2006, and most notably, in 2011, the Student Movement forced a debate on education and political reforms, and a series of policies to address these issues. The analysis is grounded on more than 50 interviews, and an exhaustive analysis of organizational documents and newspaper data. The case examined in this paper illustrates how the expansion of political opportunities that is necessary for pursuing democratizing reforms not only is driven “from above,” but also “from below.” Studying this process, social movement scholarship can learn a great deal from recent cases of social mobilization in Latin America. These experiences also call for more attention to the role of social movements in democratization studies.

This study is an assessment of the impact of quality management training on workplace experience in a republic of the former Soviet Union. This preliminary study indicates that initial focus of quality in the republic is “conformance to specifications, and the reliance on improved engineering and operations”. While the concept of quality in an individual context is prized and recognized, when it comes to the collective, the emphasis is on quantity over quality. The immediate need is for training in principles, tools and practice of continuous improvement for a broad base of the population. The findings are particularly significant as they have implications for policy makers responsible for guiding the fledgling market economy that is developing in Kyrgyzstan in particular and other central Asian nations in general, to world class competitiveness.