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Drawing on the experiences of healthcare professionals in one paediatric hospital, this paper explores the influence of context and organisational behaviour on the implementation of a person-centred transition programme for adolescents and young adults (AYA) with long-term conditions.

A single embedded qualitative case study design informed by a realist evaluation framework, was used. Participants who had experience of implementing the transition programme were recruited from across seven individual services within the healthcare organisation. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews (n = 20) and analysed using thematic analysis.

Implementation of the transition programme was influenced by the complex interaction of macro, meso and micro processes and contexts. Features of organisational behaviour including routines and habits, culture, organisational readiness for change and professional relationships shaped professional decision-making around programme implementation.

There exists a significant body of research relating to the role of context and its influence on the successful implementation of complex healthcare interventions. However, within the area of healthcare transition there is little published evidence on the role that organisational behaviour and contextual factors play in influencing transition programme implementation. This paper provides an in-depth understanding of how organisational behaviour and contextual factors affect transition programme implementation.

Youth and young adults with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties (EBD) face particularly difficult challenges in their efforts to fit into adult roles and functions. The purpose of this chapter is to assist providers, educators, and administrators from the mental health, education, child welfare, justice/corrections, and adult service system sectors understand (a) a practice for improving the progress and outcomes for young people in transition, and (b) how this practice model is implemented in communities to impact the lives of youth in transition to adulthood. This is accomplished in two major parts in this chapter. The first part provides an overview of the Transition to Independence Process (TIP) model, a description of its status as an evidence-supported practice, and tools and strategies that support its implementation in communities and regions across North America. The TIP model is further illustrated through a description of how it is applied with a young person. The second part of the chapter provides an overview of implementation science, a description of how its strategies and tools can guide the implementation of an intervention or model; and an illustration of a large-scale TIP implementation initiative with collaboratives of agencies and schools. This chapter concludes with implications regarding the importance of having effective transition-to-adulthood models; and ensuring the implementation and sustainability of these to improve the progress and outcomes of youth and young adults with EBD.

Although the financial shared service (FSS) mode has become a well-established organizational arrangement, current information system (IS) research remains limited and mixed. The purpose of this study is to narrow research gaps in the literature on shared services from an FSS practice perspective. The following research questions guide this study: (1) what are the important antecedents of FSS implementation? (2) what is the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance?

Drawing on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and previous innovation studies, this study explores the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted on Chinese firms using partial least squares (PLS) for data analysis.

The authors find technological, organizational and environmental factors affect the extent and depth of FSS implementation. The empirical results show that relative advantage, compatibility, top management support, managerial obstacles and competitive pressure significantly affect FSS implementation, but bandwagon pressure does not have a direct impact on it. Top management support is the most important factor, and managerial obstacles and compatibility are controllable and manageable factors for firms. The study confirms that FSS improves the financial and non-financial performance of firms significantly, and the degree of improvement in non-financial is greater than that in financial performance.

A comprehension of the key factors influencing FSS implementation will help companies predict weaknesses in their implementation plan and design suitable strategies to handle deployment to achieve these benefits. Managers can make a comprehensive decision regarding the long-term development of combining FSS and the suitability of companies.

The findings contribute to the shared services implementation theory by identifying a set of theoretical factors that shape a firm's shared service implementation. This study provides empirical support to gauge the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance and provides new evidence for a shared-service payoff study. Moreover, the study extends the applicability of the TOE framework and the balanced scorecard (BSC) viewpoint to the FSS implementation field.

This paper explores differences in the implementation of total quality management (TQM) in different types of service process, using a typology which distinguishes between services positioned along the continua of volume and variety. A case‐study‐based analysis of the implementation of six core TQM precepts was conducted to explore differences in implementation between professional (low volume, customised) services, mass (high volume, standardised) services and service shops (positioned midway on the continua). The study revealed some significant differences in the maturity of TQM implementation in the different types of service. The results suggest that mass services are conducive to the implementation of quality measurement, SPC and preventative approaches to quality improvement. However, professional services are more conducive to the cultural managerial changes associated with TQM. Interestingly, whilst it was hypothesised that TQM practices would be most readily transferable to mass services, the results suggested that the service shop was the most conducive environment for TQM implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and perceived value associated with e‐business implementation in service firms. E‐business has enabled the development of e‐services and thus introduced a new vehicle for customer and supplier transactions.

Data were collected from top managers in 231 Belgian business‐to‐business service firms crossing a broad spectrum of industries. The statistical techniques employed included a confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical regression analyses.

The findings of the study suggest that technical infrastructure and external drivers influence e‐business implementation. Additionally, e‐business was found to create value for firms through efficiency, novelty, lock‐in, and complementarities.

The results imply that a firm's behavior, while driven in part by external factors (e.g. shareholders, competitors, customers, etc.), is largely contingent upon a firm's internal infrastructure and environment. It should be noted that only the firm side of the dyadic relationships was surveyed and examined.

Managers should assess a firm's technological infrastructure before launching an e‐business venture. Also, since firms believe that implementing e‐business has positive outcomes that extend beyond firm performance, it can be logically posited that these value drivers will positively influence a firm's overall performance.

The first empirical examination of the work of Javalgi et al. and Amit and Zott is integrated and provided to present a robust conceptual framework that incorporates the antecedents and value creation associated with e‐business implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore factors affecting implementing the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard on alcohol misuse (QS11) and barriers and facilitators to its implementation.

Qualitative interview study analysed using directed and conventional content analyses. Participants were 38 individuals with experience of commissioning, delivering or using alcohol healthcare services in Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham.

QS11 implementation ranged from no implementation to full implementation across the 13 statements. Implementation quality was also reported to vary widely across different settings. The analyses also uncovered numerous barriers and facilitators to implementing each statement. Overarching barriers to implementation included: inherent differences between specialist vs generalist settings; poor communication between healthcare settings; generic barriers to implementation; and poor governance structures and leadership.

QS11 was created to summarise alcohol-related NICE guidance. The aim was to simplify guidance and enhance local implementation. However, in practice the standard requires complex actions by professionals. There was considerable variation in local alcohol commissioning models, which was associated with variation in implementation. These models warrant further evaluation to identify best practice.

Little evidence exists on the implementing quality standards, as distinct from clinical practice guidelines. The authors present direct evidence on quality standard implementation, identify implementation shortcomings and make recommendations for future research and practice.

Since its introduction by Motorola in the 1980s, Six Sigma and its philosophy have found widespread application in many manufacturing and service industries. It is felt that there is a need to take stock of the spread of Six Sigma implementation in service organisations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate five main themes which have emerged from literature and to draw on those themes to reflect on wider applicability of Six Sigma in services.

The study involves two exploratory questionnaire surveys. The small‐scale survey is conducted in service organizations in Singapore. The large‐scale survey was web‐based and involved service organisations throughout the world. The objective is to explore and understand the issues highlighted by the service organisations during Six Sigma implementation.

The findings confirm the inclusion of critical success factors, critical‐to‐quality characteristics, and set of tools and techniques as observed from the literature. In the case of key performance indicators (KPIs), there are different interpretations about them in the literature and also by industry practitioners. Some literature explains KPIs as performance metrics whereas some feel they are key process input or output variables, which is similar to interpretations by practitioners of Six Sigma. The responses of “not relevant” and “unknown to us” as reasons for not implementing Six Sigma show the need for understanding specific requirements of service organizations.

The limited responses from the authors' surveys restrict the possibility of generalising the findings. Therefore, more extensive survey is required. The three‐phase approach with mixed method used in the overall study has been shown to be useful.

Although much theoretical description is available about Six Sigma, there has been limited rigorous academic research on it. This gap is far more pronounced about Six Sigma implementation in service organizations, where the theory is not yet mature. Identifying this need, the paper contributes, by empirical research through surveys, to understand the issues involving Six Sigma implementation in service organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the problems associated with the development of e‐government in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries and propose a novel framework for adopting service orientation. This framework includes a new approach and architecture for implementing service orientation called SBA‐eGOV (Service Based Architecture for E‐Government).

A comprehensive literature review was carried out to study various service oriented architecture (SOA) adoption strategies and implementation methods. The most appropriate adoption strategy and implementation method were selected. Web service adoption and implementation/development methodologies were designed separately, and then integrated to form one single framework. Web services best practices were studied to identify the specificities of web services for e‐government projects in SADC countries. A service orientation framework, which includes a service orientation development/implementation method, was developed for e‐government projects. Data from the UN report on e‐government readiness for year 2004‐2010 were analysed.

The trend showed that the e‐government index of SADC countries has been stagnating (even degrading) since 2005. One of the main reasons is the lack of software application integration. The main area of weakness is the lack of a complete framework for adopting and implementing web services. A framework for adopting service orientation, developing web services and deploying e‐services is required to enable application software integration.

By applying the proposed framework, e‐services can be deployed more rapidly to citizens, businesses and government departments.

SBA‐eGOV can be adopted by countries where e‐government projects have completed the “Internalisation” and “Interaction” stages and use to deliver e‐services to citizens.

This work comprises development of a new framework, SBA‐eGOV, which consists of a service‐orientation adoption methodology, a service‐orientation implementation methodology and a service‐based architecture for government. SBA‐eGOV is a novel and complete framework which addresses service‐orientation adoption, development and implementation. To date, no such research work has been undertaken to analyse and solve the problems surrounding e‐government projects in SADC.

Few service organizations in the US and Europe have not by now attempted to implement at least some of the principles of TQM in their operations. Indeed some service organizations have made repeated attempts to re‐invigorate their quality management programmes and have experienced waves of waxing and waning enthusiasm about TQM. How should service managers determine whether TQM is realized within their organizations? Is their implementation partial or comprehensive? Should it be refocused on improvement areas hitherto neglected? Presents a model of TQM which is translated into an auditing tool to enable service managers to determine the maturity of TQM implementation in their organizations and refocus their improvement initiatives.

This study aims to investigate the conditional relationships among sustainability implementation, brand awareness, brand attitude and brand loyalty through the lens of transformative service research (TSR). The research also aims to explain how brand loyalty moderates the mediated effect of brand awareness and attitude in the context of social and environmental sustainability initiatives.

Using both primary and secondary data sources from 31 prominent service companies and their 6,891 customers, this paper investigates the impact of sustainability practices and brand awareness on customer attitude. The paper also examines the moderated mediation effect of brand loyalty, explaining how it alters brand attitudes in the context of sustainability implementation. Finally, the study conducts a comparative analysis of how environmental and social shape brand attitudes in loyal customers.

Sustainability implementation has a negative impact on both brand awareness and customer attitude. However, this negative influence is mitigated for highly brand-loyal customers, resulting in a positive brand attitude. Further, the comparative analysis reveals that social implementation positively influences brand attitude in high-loyalty contexts.

This research uses subjective judgments of researchers regarding companies’ sustainability practices, combining them with customer attitudes gathered through survey questionnaires. Additionally, the data set comprises data from 31 large service companies, potentially limiting the generalizability of findings to large service companies. Nevertheless, this paper extends TSR into the realm of sustainability and branding.

The positive outcomes of sustainability implementation practices are most pronounced when customer loyalty toward a brand is strong. Social implementation has a more potent effect on brand attitude, particularly among loyal customers. Companies can tailor their sustainability efforts more effectively.

With the lens of TSR, this research deepens our understanding of how sustainability affects consumer psychology but also offers a methodological advancement by using advanced statistical models and a variety of data sources. The distinctiveness of this research is also highlighted in the examination of how environmental and social sustainability initiatives influence brand attitude, especially among customers who exhibit strong brand loyalty.