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Because technology innovation has changed the way people do business significantly, adopting information technology (IT) for strategic planning has become a vital issue for today's business management. However, most studies seemed to focus more on technology than on information in IT. Unfortunately, the way technology alters the business model is not as much as the way information changes an organization's managerial concept. The impact is beyond marketing issues and is very important to an organization's managerial philosophy. This study adopts a strategy concept called the co-alignment principle (Olsen, West, & Tse, 1998), to investigate how an information system (IS) could be designed to enhance and process the information flows involved in the processes of strategy formulation and implementation. It places IT implementation issues directly at the heart of strategic management for research. Using qualitative research approach with a single case-study method employed, 11 recommendations and 10 propositions were obtained to address and handle the newly discovered 7 key issues for strategy formulation and implementation. The study also exemplified that when these issues are being handled by an IS properly designed, a coordination strategic IT framework that goes beyond the thinking of cost saving and productivity increase is achieved as well.

The 15‐year study of excellence in public relations and communication management in the USA, the UK and Canada produced an explanation of the value of PR to an organisation and a set of theoretical principles describing how the communication function should be organised, structured and practised in an organisation. These principles provide a theoretical benchmark for auditing the quality of a PR unit. This paper identifies the implications of these principles for PR education at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education levels and for management education in MBA programmes. The excellence study suggests, first, that all PR education must instil in students the view that PR is a strategic managerial function rather than a technical support function for other managerial functions. Undergraduate programmes should continue to develop superior communication skills in their students, but they must frame these technical skills in principles of strategic management, research and ethics and social responsibility. Postgraduate and continuing education programmes should focus on strategic management and research skills and educate future managers to be ethics officers in the organisation. MBA programmes should include a unit on PR in a subject area such as strategic management, public affairs or corporate social responsibility to prepare them to work with PR professionals when they become senior executives. PR education at all of these levels and in both communication and MBA programmes should educate students to practise PR globally.

This paper aims to examine the research conducted between 1938 and 2023 on applying Gestalt principles in management research, focusing on publishing and citation trends in this field.

A systematic literature review was conducted using PRISMA criteria, forming a three-phase strategy. A total of 394 articles from the Scopus database were reviewed. Bibliometric analysis involving co-citation and co-word analysis was used to explore the intellectual structure of the research area.

Eight application clusters were identified through co-citation analysis using Gestalt as a keyword. Co-word analysis revealed key themes and keywords over the period. Substantial literature exists on topics like organization, strategy, physical servicescape, coaching, learning and human resource management. However, Gestalt principles are minimally applied to online retail, social media, website design, mobile app design and emerging areas like Industry 4.0.

The study suggests that Gestalt principles can enhance marketing, communication, decision-making and leadership, according to the study. Understanding Gestalt concepts and how different industries adapt and apply them helps enable cross-industry learning, where successful strategies from one sector can be creatively implemented in others to solve problems.

This study fills a significant gap in the literature by highlighting the underexplored application of Gestalt principles in emerging business and management sectors. It provides a comprehensive discussion on future research directions and identifies specific areas where Gestalt principles can be innovatively applied, offering fresh insights and expanding the theoretical and practical understanding of their utility in modern business contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges faced by corporations in incorporating ethics into their strategic management processes.

The research is based on a survey of the issues and the literature published in Europe, North America and Asia.

Findings indicate a definite gap between the implementation of strategy and the moral and ethical obligations of corporations. Given the decline in business ethics and recent corporate scandals it is proposed that ethics be brought back to the forefront of strategic management and integrated into the strategic management process.

The paper serves as a instrument for debate and future research in that the ethical issues faced by corporations will continue to gather momentum as will the issues faced by traditional strategists.

This paper allows researchers and practitioners to gain an understanding of the issues and shortcomings in strategy and ethical integration, which allows for future research.

Identity management (IdM) not only improves the process of creating and maintaining digital identities across business systems; it can, if implemented successfully, contribute to the strengthening and positioning of the business for success. In order to have a successful IdM implementation, an organisation must step back to determine a course of action that solves enterprise‐wide issues. Short‐sighted actions can lead to confusion, unnecessary expenses and the delay of beneficial results. The purpose of this paper is to deliver guidelines for the application of strategic management principles regarding IdM implementation, and propose a holistic model incorporating business strategy formulation with IdM strategy formulation.

A total of ten senior managers involved in IdM implementation projects were interviewed. Face‐to face interviews were conducted, with 30 minutes allocated per participant, and an assistant present to administer the proceedings. Primary data was collected using a semi‐structured questionnaire. Part A of the questionnaire collected the respondent's details and provided definitions of IdM to clarify the concept. Part B consisted of descriptive questions which dealt with the following three categories: IdM as part of the business strategy, IdM challenges in the company, IdM implementation approach used by the company and strategic framework used.

Findings indicate that IdM is seen as part of strategy and as such IdM implementations consist of a strategic thinking process accompanied by an incremental tactical implementation. Challenges facing IdM centred not on technological issues, but on implementing IdM as a competitive tool. Unfortunately, lack of commitment and external environment analysis; relegate IdM planning to remain on a tactical, rather than a strategic level.

A strategic planning process is presented in this article to model the interdependence between IdM implementation planning and strategic management (business strategy formulation). This model enables the organisation to develop and communicate its vision for IdM, to link IdM and business plans, and to gain the support of the whole enterprise in this endeavour. By leveraging the proposed model, organisations can gain a bird's eye view of IdM as an integral part of the business strategy, and ensure an IdM implementation that has enterprise‐wide support and benefits.

There are two major objectives in the research. First, the authors investigate the impact of knowledge integration in terms of joint decision-making and joint sense-making, on relational performance, including operational efficiency and innovation. Second, the authors examine the key antecedents that might facilitate knowledge integration: strategic supply management and trust. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper expands and tests theory drawing upon survey data from 133 buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs). The authors employed a two-step process of analysis to evaluate first the measurement model and then the structural model. The measurement model test built upon confirmatory factor analysis, while the structural model quality test built upon path analysis.

The results suggest that both integrative mechanisms, joint decision making and joint sense making, affect performance although in different ways. This study also finds that while trust has multiple significant influences and consequently must be viewed as an organizing principle, strategic supply management is required to jointly understand the dynamic and complex context but not to jointly make ongoing decisions.

Three limitations: first, this study was cross-sectional rather than longitudinal. Second, in line with accepted practice, the authors surveyed only one side of the relationship. The suppliers’ viewpoint is thus not fully taken into account. Third, another potential limitation of the study is that the sample stems from just one country and its size does not distinguish subgroups in the analysis of the path model.

Managers should be advised that: first, a trusting partnership built on knowledge integration is a hard order, especially with a new, unknown supplier in a low-cost country, where intellectual property protection is less obvious; second, strategic supply management may not improve cost or operational performance, but in its absence, it is unlikely that a supplier has insight into the exact needs of its buyer and thus, may not add considerable value to their customers; third, building a dynamic knowledge integration capability (valuable, rare, and difficult to imitate) takes time, as does creating reliable learning mechanisms. Joint teams, visit partners’ workplace, early involve suppliers in developing new products or selection of supplier with high-learning capabilities may help to create a knowledge integration capability.

The authors suggest that companies should move from an arm-length relationship and turn their supplier relationships into a tool for innovating faster while cutting cost. In order to do this, joint sense-making and joint decision should be seen as institutionalized inter-firm routines rather than ad hoc activities. Thus, the authors recommend managers to proactively build certain knowledge-based capabilities that hinges heavily upon a strategic stance toward supply management and trustful relationships with selected suppliers.

The major intent of this research is to expand understanding of knowledge integration by building a more testable, complex model around its creation. While previous research relied on a configuration approach to explore the relationship between knowledge integration and performance, the authors evaluate causal relationships at the level of the formative dimensions rather than higher order knowledge integration, as this has proven to be a superior analytical method. Second, although supply chain scholars have expressed great interest in trust, an in-depth examination of prior studies in knowledge integration indicate that trust has been analyzed alone. In contrast, the study empirically examines the simultaneous effect of trust and strategic supply management in BSRs.

The purpose of this paper is to help enrich the body of knowledge of public relations by exploring the status of the practice in Kuwait. Using the generic principles of public relations, a well-known theoretical framework in the field, we study the three major types of organizations: government agencies, nonprofits and corporations.

The authors gathered data using a self-administered survey and qualitative interviews. In total, 250 questionnaires were distributed (both printed and electronic) to employees working in public relations departments in all sectors and received 66 completed responses for a response rate of 26%. In addition, the first author conducted nine elite interviews with a chief executive officer (CEO) of a non-profit organization, a CEO of public relations (PR) agency, four directors of PR department in the private sector and three directors of the PR department in governmental organizations.

The results indicate that the press-agentry and technical functions dominate PR practice in the country. However, there appears to be a slow momentum for more specialized PR practitioners, who can assist their organizations in coming up with strategies and thus help organizational effectiveness. PR in Kuwait continues to suffer reputationally including the assumption that someone with no relevant knowledge or experience can be employed and succeed.

To the authors knowledge, this is the to study the present some of the generic principles of PR in Kuwait. Therefore, this paper contributes to the PR in Kuwait body of knowledge and provides the generic principles of PR in a new cultural context to test its applicability.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether non‐governmental organizations' (NGOs') managers think and use strategy in their daily operations, to assess the impact of its applications on the performance of NGOs and to test the validity of the “dynamic model of strategic management” originally used for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

This empirical study is concerned with NGOs' managers located in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. Survey questionnaire was the main data collection instrument. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, triangulation, is employed for data analysis.

It was discovered that most NGOs used strategic management systems and perceived strategic management as an important tool for increasing the quality of service delivery, achieving goals and increasing overall organizational performance. Moreover, the principles of the “dynamic model” developed for SMEs are applicable to the NGOs in Palestine.

This research focused on local NGOs in Gaza Strip, while the contribution and significance of local NGOs and the civil society sector as a third sector is recognized around the world, inclusion of a number of international NGOs in the study would have yielded more significant results and would have helped to identify best practices in the sector.

NGOs in Palestine and elsewhere must become more strategic in their planning and operations in order to increase their performance, productivity and efficiency in providing quality service.

This first‐time study contributes to the current stock of knowledge and our present understanding of strategic management, as perceived by NGO managers, by contextualising its use in Palestine.

This chapter’s goal is to define the kind of seeds to be planted for moving forward in the safe and stable drive toward a leading central banking role directed at achieving a sustained Islamic banking and finance development within the global financial system. The system witnessed the input of Islamic banking with its fruitful contribution as a feasible banking structure in both implementing agreed reforms and shaping the next steps directed toward crisis prevention and crisis resolution.

The adopted approach is based upon scientific conceptual basis as well as the practical experience related to the central banking role and Islamic banking evolution. This chapter will define the strategic role of Central Banks and highlight the conceptual basis governing the leading role of central banks as well as the practical basis derived from our central banking and Islamic banking experience.

In light of the conceptual and practical basis for enabling an efficient and effective role of Central Banks as a regulatory body in shaping the future of the Islamic Financial System. Legal, institutional and managerial strategic determinants for this role have been defined.

The analytical work of this chapter crystallises in a pioneering initiative the main determining factors governing the role of central banks as the main regulatory body for Islamic banking, and how this role could be effective in affecting the future role to be played by the Islamic banks in the global financial system. Also, to this end, the integrated required role by central banks, public policies, multilateral institutions and Islamic banks are illustrated.

Energy and cooperative hard work and commitment from all players, including the regulators of Islamic banks supported by public policies, international and multilateral institutions and members of the Islamic banking family is thought to be the main determining factor for transforming the Islamic banking family into one that will make the Islamic people and all humanity – through the global financial system – live with more stability, welfare and happiness.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a comparative conceptual framework to analyze hybrids of western and Chinese strategic management types, where the foundation is an institutional strategic management theory.

This framework is then applied to develop a research instrument that is used in a pilot study of 21 cases in China, primarily Swedish MNCs.

In this study, a complex picture emerges of the various mixes of management types in international firms operating in China. The results demonstrate that the comparative institutional strategic management framework developed seems to work for studying such mixtures of management types.

The discussion is based on the assumption of two dominating management types in international firms in China. The authors have found different mixtures among the firms. Besides strategic management, the theory and instrument might also be useful for human resource management issues like recruitment and talent management.

Practical implications include a potentially useful measurement tool for strategic management in international firms and for evaluating executives in existing and new positions. Moreover, a contribution is made to global management, since the framework is also useful for comparing strategic management types of international firms in and outside China.

This paper contributes to this research in two ways. First, a comparative theory is specified to study the hybrids of strategic management types of international firms, especially for firms in China. Second, an instrument is developed for researching such management mixes and used on a pilot study of international firms operating in China.