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This paper aims to explore the factors of quality control (QC) among key members of a supply chain and investigate the effect on supply chain management (SCM).

This research employs a case study approach of five firms in the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain in Jordan. Cases are first analysed individually. Then a cross‐analysis supplemented with archival material and non‐participant observation is made. A questionnaire is also conducted in order to analyse the effect of QC on SCM.

The findings identify the high‐order factors of QC and demonstrate the role of QC in SCM, acting as the main strategy to improve supply chains.

The case studies draw on the experiences and views of supply chain members in order to improve the understanding of the role of QC in SCM. The proposed conceptual framework can help managers in understanding the factors of supply chain QC.

This is one of only a few studies that examine QC in the supply chain. It is also one of only a few research studies to provide empirical evidence of the role of QC in SCM for the fruit and vegetable industry.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of image-repair strategies adopted by organizations to restore their public image and reputation following crisis situations, the lessons learned from these cases and the significance of contextual factors that are likely to affect image-repair efforts and strategies adopted.

Three cases have been reviewed in this paper: Weather, Jordan; Nestlé Waters, Jordan; and Victoria College School, Jordan. Information was obtained from published materials, such as YouTube commentaries, local newspapers and online news agents, primarily the Jordan Times, which is considered the number one daily in the country. The discussion of these cases is original and based on academic theory and literature.

Organizations differ in terms of the ways they respond to corporate crises and the strategies they are likely to adopt to restore/recover their reputation and public image.

Corporate reputation or public image is an asset that is built over time. Organizations within all industries seek to secure positive images in the minds of people. The image of an organization however can be threatened by crises. Trust and public image decline when stakeholders feel they have not been adequately informed in times of crises regarding the different attributes of the situation or how the organization is dealing with the crisis. Organizations have the choice to adopt one image-repair strategy at a time or a combination of strategies according to the requirements of the situation.

Image-repair strategies have been examined in American and European contexts but have, to the author’s knowledge, never been examined in the context of Arab organizations and more specifically in the context of Jordanian organizations. This paper therefore provides a new insight into how to apply these strategies in a unique and new context and will also motivate future research in this regard.

This paper aims to investigate the different patterns of organizational behavioural responses to major incidents and develop an original classification of these patterns.

An extensive literature review was made to investigate the different patterns of behavioural responses to major incidents and then to develop an original classification of these patterns. Several sources of information, such as case studies, technical reports, academic journal articles and organizational internal reports were used.

Organizations respond differently to major incidents. This was clear from the different behavioural patterns investigated and identified. Behavioural patterns determine levels of resilience and ability of organizations to overcome and ultimately survive major incidents.

To promote effective and organized behavioural response patterns to major incidents and improve consistency of responses across the organization, relevant authorities should demonstrate to all private and public enterprises the significance of effective behavioural responses, thus enabling them to better respond to various potential emergencies.

A number of models of human behaviour have been introduced in the literature to understand how people respond to emergency situations. They each take a different perspective on human behaviour but no single theory has emerged as the leading paradigm. This highlights the complexity of understanding human behaviour in such situations and the need for a better classification of behavioural patterns. To the author’s knowledge, this is one of very few studies to investigate, identify and categorize behavioural response patterns to major incidents. This research is expected to be of a substantial value for those interested in improving organizational behaviour during major incidents, as well as those interested in improving organizational resilience.

This study aims at investigating the evolution of disaster management by identifying the different phases it has gone through over time, and laying a ground for the next generation of disaster studies that focus on value-creating and value-adding activities.

An extensive review of the existing literature was made to develop an understanding of the evolution of disaster management. This study does not aim at assessing the tools or techniques used; rather it aims at identifying the major developments that took place over time.

Disaster management is a dynamic process. It has encountered/experienced different evolutionary phases that indicate that it has been developing over time. It continues to evolve until today as long as disasters occur. The nature and complexity of disasters are also changing. Most importantly, what seemed to be a practical approach for managing disasters yesterday might not fit for the use of today or tomorrow.

Understanding the evolution of disaster management mirrors the evolution of mankind and the ways people survived major incidents. As life itself evolves, disasters will continue to evolve which subsequently triggers the need for broader management insight to cope with.

This study traces the evolution of disaster management and the development of research and practice in this field over time. The existing literature rarely addresses the uniqueness of individual disasters and the need to treat them differently even the recurrent ones. To the best of the author’s knowledge, there is no single study that attempted to capture the evolution of disaster management during the 20th century until today. This study aims to achieve this goal.

The purpose of this paper is threefold: identifying the root causes and other causal factors of terrorism, exploring the recent shifts in terrorist activity, and proposing a context-centred framework for deterring terrorism risk.

The first part of this research is based on extensive up-to-date observations made by the author and extracted from real-life settings and social interactions. The second part is based on a survey questionnaire reflecting public views on terrorism and related issues.

The risk of terrorism risk is increasingly becoming a major concern of all societies including Jordanian. The results have shown that terrorism is context related and that there are several and different root causes for this phenomenon. Many other causal factors have the potential to increase the impact or probability of terrorism risk in Jordan. The existing framework(s) for deterring terrorism risk in Jordan is not adequate and need to be reformed extensively.

This study provides insight to the root causes of the potential terrorist activity in Jordan, as well as other causal factors. It is expected to establish a foundation for policy-makers and decision-makers to start considering the causes of social unrest and subsequently develop appropriate frameworks for mitigating terrorism risk.

This study is made in a time of unprecedented political instability and terrorist activity in the Middle East and the Arab World. It reflects genuine observations and public opinions, thus providing authentic findings and better understanding of the concerns of the society. Most importantly, the study proposes context-related framework for counteracting terrorism activity and future evolution of this phenomenon in the Middle East, in general, and Jordan, in particular.

The purpose of this study is to aim at: (1) investigating the vulnerabilities/obstacles that hinder refugees in hosting countries from obtaining quality and adequate education and (2) proposing a Framework for Action to transform these vulnerabilities into capacities.

Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) was used for the purpose of this research. A survey strategy was adopted and data were collected using semi-structured interviews with refugee families. One hundred and twenty families were interviewed.

The study identified a number of vulnerabilities; including mainly unavailability of educational facilities; quality of the available education; social challenges and psychological needs. The findings revealed that there was a lack of comprehensive and strategic frameworks for mitigating refugee educational crises.

The lack of adequate and quality education for refugees in host countries is likely to increase illiteracy levels and subsequently trigger humanitarian and natural disasters on the long run. This research emphasizes the importance of developing comprehensive frameworks for quality and adequate refugee education.

To the author's knowledge, and after an extensive review of the existing literature, this is the first study to employ VCA to investigate the extent of the current refugee educational crisis in Jordan. VCA is more commonly used in the context of natural and environmental disasters threatening societies. Relevant authorities need to be aware of the significance of refugee education at individual, communal and national levels, as well as the significance of education to refugee well-being.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between job characteristics (JC) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) moderated by job satisfaction (JS) among educators in the higher education institutions in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman, taking into consideration that most educators at the higher education institutions in this area are expatriates.

A sample of 157 faculty members and instructors was used. Five job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback) and five OCB behaviors (altruism, civic virtue, courtesy, conscientiousness, and sportsmanship) were studied. The overall job satisfaction was measured with seven general items adopted from Al-Damour and Awamleh (2002). Data were collected voluntarily using social media network announcements and pencil and paper. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was used in testing this moderation relationship.

Results showed that job satisfaction plays a significant moderating effect in enhancing the relationship between four out of the five job characteristics (feedback, skill variety, task identity and autonomy) and only two out of five OCB behaviors, namely, altruism and courtesy. Also, culture showed no significant impact on results.

Using a self-reporting tool, the respondents could give biased responses that might influence results. In addition, the use a complex relationship to establish a causality relationship among many variables measured with many items did make it difficult and sometimes errored out using SEM analysis.

This study delivers important suggestions to the management of these institutions as well as higher education administration about how to enhance their educators’ OCBs as a source of competitive advantage taking into consideration that expatriates work within certain legal and social contexts.

With very limited related research covering this region, this study provides an insight into how educators’ OCBs can be enhanced within unique employment structures and policies designed for expatriate educators in the GCC countries.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to estimate the water demand elasticities using a parametric linear programming (LP) model to provide an insight into the accurate and flexible pricing policy of irrigation water in the Jordan Valley; and second, to highlight key risk aspects, related to water demand, which are likely to impact the community.

A parametric LP model was used in this research. Primary and secondary data were collected.

Results revealed that the demand elasticity is high in Spring and Summer than in Fall and Winter, meaning that during Spring and Summer farmers are willing to forgo larger amounts of water than in other months. This is because of areas planted during Spring seasons are much less than those of Autumn and Winter.

The Jordan Valley suffers from water scarcity risk, and consequently the area to be planted is not fully utilized, leading to lower cropping intensities. Responsible authorities in Jordan need to address these issues and propose proper solutions in order to reduce further escalation of this risk and subsequent impact on local communities. Insight into the value of water demand elasticities is essential to support and mitigate policy decision making under risk conditions, concerning investments in water supply systems; investments in the water distribution and irrigation systems; efficient allocation of water with competing sectors; setting water pricing and tariffs; setting cost recovery mechanisms, and the risks encountered under lack of mitigated policy decision making.

This is one of few studies that addresses in detail using a parametric LP model the issue of water scarcity, related risks and subsequent impact on society in Jordan. It is expected to help policy and decision makers better formulate future estimates and demand which subsequently reduce related risks.

There is a noticeable confusion in the literature between Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP). The two expressions are very often used interchangeably especially when it comes to their application. In this paper, the differences between business continuity and disaster recovery are discussed. The disaster management cycle is also addressed in order to highlight the importance of having plans before, during and after the occurrence of an incident.

A review of the extant literature on business continuity and disaster recovery was made. A number of different views were then presented in order to provide a better understanding of the two concepts and their potential overlap/connection. The literature review was conducted in 2020 using a variety of academic resources ranging from journal articles to text books and credible Internet websites. Relevant journal articles were obtained from two primary databases: Emerald Insight and EBSCOhost. Keywords, such as DRP, continuity, disruption and BCP, were mainly used to facilitate the search for these resources and other related material.

Reviewing the literature revealed that BCP and DRP are not the same. Yet, they are used interchangeably very often in the literature. This indicates a possible relationship/overlap between the two. The relationship between BCP and DRP can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, which altogether provide a better understanding of their purposes and application.

On top of the need to differentiate between business continuity and disaster recovery, the widespread impact of the current COVID-19 crisis, especially on businesses and supply chains, has unfolded the necessity to deal with business disruptions in all their forms and the significance of quick and effective recovery. This research clarifies the purpose of BCP and the purpose of DRP and their role in combating impacts of disruptive incidents on businesses and organizations.

BCP and DRP are discussed extensively in the literature. Yet, few studies attempted to address the precise functions of the two resulting in an obvious confusion between their meaning and purpose which subsequently reduced the uniqueness of their application and the uniqueness of the application of each. Only a small minority of practitioners and academics recognise the precise differences between the two. This study aims at clarifying this misconception to a wider set of readers and interested parties.

This study aims to investigate how organizations from different sectors interpret the meaning of business continuity management (BCM) in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey was conducted to capture the views of organizations across five different sectors. The sample consisted of ten senior managers; two from the banking sector; two from the supply chain sector (agricultural and food supply chains); two from the tourism sector; two from the services sector; and two from the higher education sector. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. One manager from each sector represented a local business/enterprise and the other represented an international business/enterprise.

It was found that different organizations/businesses understood BCM differently. Therefore, a variety of interpretations have been obtained.

This study sheds light on how different organizations understand BCM in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. By understanding the different interpretations, it becomes clearer whether or not these organizations have applicable business continuity plans in place.

This is the first study to investigate the different interpretations of the meaning of BCM across different business sectors. The majority of the existing studies on BCM discuss the process from the perspective of a single business or sector. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that witnessed prolonged and critical disruptions facing almost all businesses and organizations and which threatened the survival of some of them.