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This paper addresses the significance of training students in entrepreneurship to enable sustained national and international competitiveness in the knowledge-based global marketplace. Entrepreneurial education is varied, ranging from basic to in-depth courses, including customer-focused programs, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. This program is nationally-renowned with strong academic roots. A full site was launched at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in January 2015 and was the first I-Corps program in the state of Florida.

This paper addresses the importance of entrepreneurship education, reviews the available national training programs in entrepreneurship, presents the design methodology of the NSF I-Corps program, and analyzes the results of the teams who have participated in the NSF I-Corps program.

The results are categorized into innovative areas and show the percentage of teams who participated in the I-Corps program in each area. It also identifies the percentage of teams who engaged in actual startup activities following I-Corps participation.

Educators, students, and trainers can use the findings to benchmark the outcomes of training programs in entrepreneurship. Students and innovators interested in participating in I-Corps can use this paper to obtain insights and a broader understanding of what was done in terms of results and implications.

This paper contributes a unique analysis of the I-Corps program approach and its outcomes since its launch in 2015 and can be used as a reference for any training program in entrepreneurship.

The authors employed the three different versions (Charnes–Cooper–Rhodes, Banker–Charnes–Cooper and slack-based measure of efficiency) of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the comparative efficiency/inefficiency of aircraft maintenance performance during the previous 41 months in United States Air Force (USAF). As a complimentary tool, the authors also adopted Tobit regression analysis to identify factors affecting efficiencies and inefficiencies.

This paper aims to measure the relative efficiency of maintenance performances for a type of USAF aircraft in an effort to enhance aviation safety and combat readiness.

Through this study, the authors have two noteworthy findings. These are (1) an increased number of “cannibalization” (extracting necessary parts from the existing aircraft) practices tended to reduce maintenance efficiency; (2) The number of mission-capable aircraft turned out to be the most important factor for maintenance performance efficiency.

This paper is one of the first studies on aircraft maintenance that considered popular but neglected cannibalization practices as a new variable for assessing the maintenance efficiency. In addition, this paper is one of the few studies that performed a post-ad hoc analysis as a follow-up to DEA analysis.

Forecasting techniques improve supply chain resilience by ensuring that the correct parts are available when required. In addition, accurate forecasts conserve precious resources and money by avoiding new start contracts to produce unforeseen part requests, reducing labor intensive cannibalization actions and ensuring consistent transportation modality streams where changes incur cost. This study explores the effectiveness of the United States Air Force’s current flying hour-based demand forecast by comparing it with a sortie-based demand forecast to predict future spare part needs.

This study employs a correlation analysis to show that demand for reparable parts on certain aircraft has a stronger correlation to the number of sorties flown than the number of flying hours. The effect of using the number of sorties flown instead of flying hours is analyzed by employing sorties in the United States Air Force (USAF)’s current reparable parts forecasting model. A comparative analysis on D200 forecasting error is conducted across F-16 and B-52 fleets.

This study finds that the USAF could improve its reparable parts forecast, and subsequently part availability, by employing a sortie-based demand rate for particular aircraft such as the F-16. Additionally, our findings indicate that forecasts for reparable parts on aircraft with low sortie count flying profiles, such as the B-52 fleet, perform better modeling demand as a function of flying hours. Thus, evidence is provided that the Air Force should employ multiple forecasting techniques across its possessed, organically supported aircraft fleets. The improvement of the forecast and subsequent decrease in forecast error will be presented in the Results and Discussion section.

This study is limited by the data-collection environment, which is only reported on an annual basis and is limited to 14 years of historical data. Furthermore, some observations were not included because significant data entry errors resulted in unusable observations.

There are few studies addressing the time measure of USAF reparable component failures. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no studies that analyze spare component demand as a function of sortie numbers and compare the results of forecasts made on a sortie-based demand signal to the current flying hour-based approach to spare parts forecasting. The sortie-based forecast is a novel methodology and is shown to outperform the current flying hour-based method for some aircraft fleets.

The purpose of this research is to explore the potential role and the measurement of the effectiveness of boards of directors in strategy formulation and implementation – two aspects that have so far been left largely unaddressed by corporate governance research and practice.

Based on insights from strategy process literature, the paper suggests that, by ensuring consistency between resource allocation processes and the firm's intended strategy, boards could fulfil a meaningful role in strategy implementation. The proposed outside‐in analysis of resource allocation decisions is illustrated by a single case study of a major Swiss pharmaceutical company.

The proposed approach enables corporate governance scholars to look at how boards fulfil their role in strategy implementation from a perspective similar to that of financial analysts. It might thus be suited to complement existing methods in empirical corporate governance research.

The presented outside‐in analysis of resource allocation decisions helps board members to prevent role conflicts with executive management. In addition, boards may benefit from an analysis of implementation consistency, because it enables them to detect weak early warning signals of strategic divergence that require early intervention.

The paper contributes to the discussion of alternative methods for exploring strategy issues in corporate governance research. The suggested approach outlines a potential new vantage point to investigate board involvement in strategy implementation in the event that action research is not feasible. The tentative findings from the case study put forward a set of indicators for measuring the effectiveness of boards in guiding strategy implementation.

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the control role of independent non-executive directors (INEDs) in Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs), as prescribed in the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG).The MCCG (2000) requires substantive involvement of INEDs on the audit, nomination and remuneration board sub-committees. The study also examines the effectiveness of INEDs in discharging their monitoring roles in these sub-committees.

A qualitative research design consisting of a series of interviews with board members of Malaysian-owned PLCs on the board of Bursa Malaysia was used.

Interviews with 27 company directors reveal that, due to their independence, INEDs are crucial in safeguarding the interests of smaller investors if situations arise in which shareholders’ interests may be threatened. The interviews also disclose that the audit committee possesses the most authority among the sub-committees, as it derives its power not only from the Listing Requirements but also from statute, as well as being involved in areas of the company not traditionally associated with the committee. The study also reveals the differences in opinion between executive directors and INEDs with regard to the extent of INEDs’ effectiveness.

This research utilises interviews. Generalisation may be an issue when interviews are used as the method of inquiry. In addition, the sample is not random, as access to many directors is dependent on recommendations. In addition, the respondents have been consciously selected to cover various board positions, including independent and non-independent directors.

The findings from this research suggest that INEDs are able to discharge their responsibilities in overseeing the conduct of executives and protecting the interests of investors. In addition, the interviews disclose that the effectiveness of INEDs depends on how non-executive directors view INEDs being on the board. Rather than focusing solely on their control role, INEDS are expected to have a more proactive and progressive role in ensuring sustainable growth and the expansion of the business entity.

There are limited studies using qualitative research design in investigating the effectiveness of INEDs in the control role of the board in developing countries. Prior studies were predominantly based upon the experience of Western economies.

The aim of the present paper was to examine strategy formation in construction firms. Strategic thinking has become increasingly important because the environment of construction has changed dramatically in recent years. An organizational strategy is the result of a formation process over time and an organization uses strategy when dealing with a changing environment. Therefore, strategies are formed in an iterative process of social interactions involving various activities. The basic unit of analysis strategy must be a distinct business and corporate entity. Corporate strategy should grow out of a deep understanding of how construction firms prosper in individual business areas, i.e. ‘the parenting advantage’. Parenting advantage is a criterion for guiding corporate strategy formation. Business strategy is formed by accepted common thinking and on the basis of business strategy in general. Business strategy and competitive advantage is based on the competencies and resources of firms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between environmental reporting and corporate governance attributes of companies in Australia.

The paper adopts a quantitative analysis approach. It examines the 2008 annual reports of the largest 100 Australian firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to determine the amount of environmental reporting – these data are compared with various corporate governance measures.

Analysis found a significant positive relationship between the extent of environmental reporting and the proportions of independent and female directors on a board. The analysis did not, however, support a negative relationship between the extent of environmental reporting and institutional investors and board size as has been previously predicted, rather, it showed a positive relationship.

This paper offers insights to both regulators and company strategists. Regulators such as the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) could consider expanding its Corporate Governance Council guidelines to include consideration of the environment, which is increasingly considered to be an important aspect of corporate social responsibility, and one of the responsibilities of the board of directors. In addition, for companies which include a commitment to the environment in their mission and strategies, it suggests consideration of the impact of board structure and composition is important as both of these are shown to have a significant effect on the amount of environmental information disclosed by companies.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

Although board expertise has been identified as an important determinant of board performance, some surveys are still reporting that the overall level of board expertise is insufficient to carry out current and emerging roles. Consequently, companies must ensure that board members have the required skills and knowledge. This study aims to examine three board processes aimed at developing and improving board expertise.

Based on disclosures in the corporate governance guidelines of 100 leading US companies, the study focuses on three board processes, i.e. director nominations, orientation and education programs, and board performance evaluations.

Based on the initial findings, it is found that most companies in the sample were in compliance with stock exchange requirements and provided information on director nominations, orientation and education programs and board performance evaluations. All too often, however, the companies disclosed generic, non‐specific information; this provides little reassurance that the proper processes are in place to promote companies' long‐term interests.

By examining these key board processes, the paper contributes to the governance literature by providing empirical evidence on this important topic and offering guidance to companies examining board processes aimed at improving directors' overall expertise.

By focusing on disclosures in corporate governance guidelines, the authors also gain insight into decisions made by companies under increased pressure from securities regulators and other stakeholders to provide increased transparency on governance issues.

Awareness of the need for board and director performance evaluation is growing, but implementation has been both partial and slow. It is unusual for boards to undertake evaluations of their own performance, and more so to evaluate individual directors. Directors often feel that individual director evaluation has several drawbacks including undermining collegiality in the boardroom. There is thus a perceived attractiveness of director self‐assessments rather than peer review or outsider assessments. Self‐assessment, even though subject to a higher degree of biases than a combination of self‐assessment and peer assessment, is less likely to give rise to defensive routines and can provide a psychologically safe environment for a director to evaluate their own knowledge. Bearing in mind the above, we developed a 20‐question self‐assessment tool, which aims to assist directors in evaluating their understanding of important governance concepts and principles, as well as their legal duties as directors.