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The purpose of this article is to study how two different managerial environments of the state‐controlled economy in Belarus – “private small business management” and “state or privatized large enterprise management” – influence middle managers' implementation of decisions. Two kinds of data are analyzed: “should” option or presented data, and “would” option or managers' preferred in reality option of activity.

The research was completed in two stages: survey research based on open‐ended questions and face‐to‐face structured interviews based on the principle of controllable projection. A total of 193 decisions are analyzed.

Managers of large and state enterprises should present an appearance of active tactics, but in reality they would prefer tactics of delay or no‐action. Managers of small private businesses should present all varieties of tactics except a tactic of inaction. In reality, they would prefer to act directly, or less often, to wait or not act at all.

The effect of other organizational factors than the size and form of ownership should be subjects of future research. The comparison of decision implementation tactics of mid‐level managers in large and small organizations, in state‐owned and private companies in countries with different economies should also be studied.

The findings of this paper have managerial implications for companies willing to open subsidiaries or establish partnership with enterprises from countries with a state‐controlled economy.

The paper is original research that proves the influence of the business environment and characteristics of a company on a middle manager's behavior.

Today, more than ever, businesses need to improve strategy implementation. Part of achieving implementation requires strategies to be embedded in the daily activities of executors (practitioners) – thus to embed strategy in implementation. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a “lesser acknowledged” strategy type that is ill-considered by management and leadership alike. “Covert tactics” are described.

Through dialectic conversation and applying the devil’s advocacy approach to challenging embeddedness and implementation liabilities, the phenomenon of “covert tactics” was identified. Purposively selected subjects participated in the dialectic conversations. Their opinions were collected and patterns identified until their “tactics” became apparent. Another element of interest was the underlying thinking of subjects to understand what drives them to follow covert tactics.

Covert tactics are phantasmal individual ploys that employees take in response to their own micro situation. Higher-level managers are often not aware of their existence, as these tactics are not spoken about but do exist. Such managers assume the organisation’s professed strategies are pursued but are oblivious to the “real tactics” that are pursued.

The research proposes an “invisible concept” and depends on one individual view point.

Understanding and accepting the existence of covert tactics gives managers flexibility to respond.

To address their existence, there is no need to expose and oppose covert tactics, as this will make them more “invisible”. The innovative approach is to recognise their existence and align them to the organisation strategy. The quality of the strategy message was shown to be the fundamental tool that managers can use to address covert tactics by replacing the need for their existence.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Covert tactics are individual ploys that employees take in response to their own micro situation. Higher-level managers are often not aware of their existence because these tactics are not spoken about but do exist. Such managers assume the organization’s professed strategies are pursued but are oblivious to the “real tactics” that are pursued.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategic leveraging goals associated with a portfolio of small-scale events and to analyze their implementation process (actors/tactics: who did what?) in order to propose new leverage typologies through new empirical research evidence.

Three techniques of data collection conducted the fieldwork: qualitative interviewing, direct observation and documental research. Based on the principles of grounded theory and using qualitative data analysis software (Nvivo) data were inductively analyzed.

Results showed the coexistence of a plurality of strategic leveraging goals, namely: “strengthen political advantage”; “integrate and retain partners/sponsors”; and “develop sports dynamics”. There was a set of tactics and actions identified and successfully implemented due to the coordination of the network of organizations part of the events, which included local and external actors.

Researchers realized that it was impossible to take a neutral research stand. In fact, in qualitative research, the investigator is the first instrument of data collection. In this sense, it was important for researchers to constantly reflect on their role, as Pelias (2011) says “reflexive writing strategies include indicating how the researcher emerged as a contaminant, how the researcher´s insider status was revelatory or blinding, and how the researcher is implicated in the problem being addressed” (p. 662). It is also considered that, when organizing events, the network of interactions is extremely complex, making it difficult to capture all the actors’ perspectives.

In relation to the practical implications, it is important that sports event managers have in-depth knowledge and skills on event leveraging; it is also important that managers understand the sports culture in order to recognize the multidimensionality of strategic leveraging in sporting events. The strategic dynamic should be developed and coevolved with community/local and external actors. The coordination between the actors is a key point to achieve successful leveraging.

A theoretical implication related to the event leverage is the creation of a new strategic objective – “developing the sport dynamics”. The sport participation tactic among other tactics were found, namely “enhancing of the sports shows” and “tuning of skills in sports management”.

The dynamics and plurality of strategic goals associated with the leverage of an event portfolio, namely the actions that were developed and also the actors’ interaction in small-scale events. Another factor is the identification of the prominent role of the external event organization committee in the dynamics of event leveraging, as well as the deep analysis of the leveraging process supported by the observation of all the events.

In the 1990s, North American archivists and records managers shifted some of their concern with electronic records and record keeping systems to conducting research about the nature of these records and systems. This essay describes one of the major research projects at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, supported with funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Specifically, the essay focuses on the project's four main products: recordkeeping functional requirements, production rules to support the requirements, metadata specifications for record keeping, and the warrant reflecting the professional and societal endorsement of the concept of the recordkeeping functional requirements.

This chapter develops a framework for classifying approaches to conceptualizing and measuring implementation of innovations. It first develops a typology that distinguishes rollout, modification, programmatic and transformation conceptualizations of implementation. The implications of each conceptualization for measurement of implementation are discussed. Following this a classification scheme for implementation measures is presented that distinguishes measures on the basis of their: (a) criterion for success of the implementation; (b) innovation unit; (c) source of data; (d) measurement scale; and (e) level of analysis. Issues related to various measurement choices are discussed along with recommendations for future research and development in the measurement of implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the integrative influence of content, context, process, and individual differences on organizational change efforts.

Data were collected from employees involved in a recent de‐merger. Using structural equation modeling, a hypothesized model that integrated individual differences with change content, context, and process factors was tested.

Results led to the acceptance of a model indicating that change context mediated the relationship between individual differences and change process and content. Similarly, change content and process mediated the relationship between change context and organizational change commitment.

Owing to the nature of the study, inferences of causality cannot be made. Additionally, common method bias may be a concern because criterion and response variables were collected at the same time.

An organization's prior change history (i.e. context) has the potential to negatively influence change success. In order to counteract these effects, change agents should concentrate on clearly communicating the change details (i.e. process) to employees.

This study is one of the first to integrate factors common to all change efforts, i.e. content, context, process and individual differences. Further, it elaborates on how these factors interact to influence change success.

Introduces a set of JIT house of matrices (collectively called here JIT quality matrices (JQM) and a matrix‐based procedure to analyse the results of strategic planning and implementation. Discusses the application of this matrix‐based approach to quantify and rank a set of chosen JIT tactics (called quality characteristics) at various points during its (JIT) implementation. The JQM and the matrix‐based procedure together define a measure of merits (a rating system) to prioritize a set of chosen JIT tactics. The rating system is derived from the same principles on which quality function deployment (QFD) was based. By providing the manufacturing and strategic development teams with a dynamic rating system, it has been possible to measure the progress and strategize a new line of JIT tactics, whenever the company′s situation or priority changes. With JQM, it is possible to realize an incorporation of continuous improvements (CPI) into the JIT implementation process. Inclusion of CPI is an inherent part of this procedure requiring no additional effort. The benefit of integrating CPI with JQM is manifested by its ability to reconfigure the chosen implementation strategies dynamically. The procedure allows the strategic team, at the start (based on its rating), to select an optimal mix of JIT tactics. Later, anytime during its implementation cycle, the team can monitor the process dynamically by analysing a quality characteristics trade‐off to see whether a mid‐course correction or change in the line of JIT tactics is necessary. This enables the planning team to sustain a series of successful planning activities throughout the strategic implementation process. This also prevents the manufacturing and strategic teams from unknowingly making any possible implementation mistakes.

This study focuses on the key success factors (KSFs) for strategy implementation in the fisheries industry in Iceland identified by chief executive officers within the industry. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive categorization of KSFs that influence how strategy is mobilized. The secondary aim is to uncover the level of priority that companies place on the dimensions of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The methodology involves qualitative case studies based on in-depth elite interviews with nine chief executive officers of Icelandic fishing companies.

The research indicates strategy implementation can be improved in four main areas. First, by engaging and involving all employees in the implementation process. Second, by enhancing bottom-up innovation and communication. Third, through alignment of the corporate strategy and the UN SDGs, and fourth, by following rigorous action plans with clear, measurable and prioritized objectives and timeframes for the managers to follow. These improvements have both theoretical and practical implications for the fishing industry. Consequently, a conceptual framework for integrated strategy implementation in the fisheries industry is proposed.

A limited number of in-depth elite interviews were conducted since access to the chief executive officers of the country’s largest fishing companies proved challenging. However, the nine companies collectively hold nearly 50% of the country’s total quota, thereby proving a deep understanding of the topic relevant to the industry. The research uncovered a substantial cross-section of viewpoints, and as such, the results are relevant for both academia and practitioners alike.

This study contributes to the debate on KSFs relevant to strategy implementation within a specific industry but also aligns with the UN SDGs by proposing a dedicated framework for implementing strategies in the fisheries industry. Overall, this study can help managers achieve strategy implementation.

Intranets hold great promise as “organizational Internets” to allow information sharing and collaboration across departments, functions and different information systems within an organization. Yet not much is known about how to implement intranets. We adapt a taxonomy based on institutional theory and distinguish six broad diffusion drivers that might be considered to sustain the implementation process. An exploratory field study of four intranet implementations was conducted to analyze which drivers were used and the results that were yielded. We draw several conclusions. First, all six drivers were deployed in the analyzed cases. Second, the choice of drivers varied with the level of the intranet (corporate or unit), the implementation stage, and existing organizational practices and contingencies. Third, it seems that the critical drivers are knowledge building, subsidy and mobilization in the early stages of implementation. In the later stages knowledge deployment, subsidy and innovation directives were most commonly used.