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The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative observational study of how middle managers in healthcare in the UK on a work-based masters programme in leadership were introduced to foundational aspects of creativity and delivering innovation through an assignment on contemporary architectural design.

The assignment involved individual research of a recent architectural design followed by group poster presentations of findings and structured analysis. No prior knowledge of design was required. An activity theory approach was used to explore common principles of creativity and leading innovation, key features of design processes and tools for facilitating implementation.

A total of 89 managers in seven cohorts completed the assignment. Data from process records and group work, artefacts and follow-up evaluation questionnaires were analysed within an interpretive approach. Analysis of data lent support for the view that exploring architectural design as an activity system helped participants to develop conceptual and applied links between management performance, creative collaboration and delivering innovation in their own, different field of practice. Where participants expressed limited self-efficacy regarding the capacity for fostering creativity, this was usually ascribed to systemic inhibitors.

Exploring architectural design could provide a relatively low-cost, highly stimulating component of management development programmes seeking to harness the contribution of creative industries to foster work-based creativity and innovation.

This study explores a novel use of architectural design within the context of work-applied development programmes for healthcare managers.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand how and why adoption and implementation of healthcare IT innovations occur. The authors examine two IT applications, computerised physician order entry (CPOE) and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) at the meso and micro levels, within the context of the National Programme for IT in the English National Health Service (NHS).

To analyse these multi-level dynamics, the authors blend Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory (DoIT) with Webster’s sociological critique of technological innovation in medicine and healthcare systems to illuminate a wider range of interacting factors. Qualitative data collected between 2004 and 2006 uses semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 72 stakeholders across four English NHS hospital trusts.

Overall, PACS was more successfully implemented (fully or partially in three out of four trusts) than CPOE (implemented in one trust only). Factors such as perceived benefit to users and attributes of the application – in particular speed, ease of use, reliability and flexibility and levels of readiness – were highly relevant but their influence was modulated through interaction with complex structural and relational issues.

Results reveal that combining contextual system level theories with DoIT increases understanding of real-life processes underpinning implementation of IT innovations within healthcare. They also highlight important drivers affecting success of implementation, including socio-political factors, the social body of practice and degree of “co-construction” between designers and end-users.

The originality of the study partly rests on its methodological innovativeness and its value on critical insights afforded into understanding complex IT implementation programmes.

In current era, firms are facing difficulties in aligning their capabilities with the hallmarks of the knowledge-intensive economy. Notwithstanding the fact that employees’ creativity ensures competitive advantage through innovation, firms are unable to reap the required level of performance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the linkage among knowledge processes, employee creativity and firm performance. Moreover, the current quantitative study measures the moderating effect of a knowledge-intensive culture on knowledge processes and employee creativity.

Surveys were conducted in eight services sector organizations operating in southern Punjab, Pakistan, and responses were obtained from 197 employees selected at random. To test the exposition using an empirical data analysis approach, three core hypotheses are drawn, and to test these hypotheses, multiple regression analyses, Preacher and Hayes (2004) mediation analysis and Aguinis (2004) guidelines were applied on 197 responses.

The results explain that knowledge processes have a positive impact on firm performance and employee creativity partially mediates their stated relationship. Moreover, a knowledge-intensive culture has a strengthening effect on the relationship between knowledge processes and employee creativity. In-depth investigation outlines that knowledge acquisition, sharing and application are more influencing processes to enhance firm performance. Furthermore, knowledge conversion and protection do not hold significant relevance with firm performance but are supportive elements for other processes.

In order to have a sustained performance, firms have to initiate steps to promote employees’ creativity by deploying an optimal mix of knowledge processes and flourish a knowledge-intensive culture in routine organizational life. Moreover, knowledge processes are important to promote creative behavior in employees that will lead to incessant innovation and firm performance.

This study gives meaningful thoughts to unexplored areas in the field of knowledge management. First, the indirect effect of knowledge processes on firm performance through employees’ creativity. Second, the importance of knowledge processes to enhance employees’ creativity in the presence of a knowledge-intensive culture. This study gets together the dynamic constructs in the field of knowledge management, such as knowledge-intensive culture and employee creativity, and describes the linkage between knowledge processes and firm performance.

States that the major reasons for difficulties in cross‐cultural communication stem from the fact that actors from different cultures have different understandings regarding the interaction process and different styles of dialogue. Suggests that better understanding of communication within other cultures is the key to success. Uses past literature to suggest a number of cultural variability constructs concerning preferred interaction behaviours and the common themes they share. Presents three case studies to illustrate this.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the automotive product recall risk in terms of social sustainability performance and to evaluate the role of buyer‒supplier relationships in improving social sustainability during product recall crises.

A multi-methodology approach is used to empirically analyse the interrelationship between the proposed constructs and enablers of the buyer‒supplier relationship. Structural equation modelling and interpretive structural modelling are followed to analyse the data gathered thorough a questionnaire survey of 204 executives and interviews with 15 managers from the automotive industry.

The results of the study provide evidence regarding the impact of the responsible buyer‒supplier relationship on customer recall concerns and the social sustainability performance of supply chains (SCs). This study also leads to the development of a conceptual model, providing a relationship between the three key concepts used in this study.

Following social sustainability principles, this study addresses the importance of developing strong, responsible relational ties with suppliers to reduce vehicle recalls or successfully recover from a product recall crisis.

This study contributes to the literature by providing theoretical and empirical insights for developing socially responsible SCs and confirming the role of the buyer‒supplier governance mechanism during product recalls in the context of the automotive industry.

Knowledge as a concept requires definition or reinvention in terms of delivering New Market Values of expectations. The ability to create knowledge about the future and learning to implement it quickly in the form of a technology will become a core organizational competence. A fundamental step towards future process‐thinking is to demonstrate purpose by introducing purpose‐correct language into the organization. This can be accomplished by applying the Data‐Information‐Knowledge‐Technology (DIKT) learning process and the consistent use of DIKT terms.