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As part of the European continuing vocational training survey, this paper aims to give an overview of the evolutions in continuing vocational training (CVT) in Belgian companies, by comparing both the results of the survey of 1994 and those of 2000/2001.

In Belgium 1,129 companies took part in the survey of 2000/2001. The sample was representative of Belgian companies with more than ten employees, making use of two criteria: company size and economic activity. The data were collected by telephone, post and face‐to‐face interviews based on a standardised questionnaire.

The findings suggest that the Belgian companies increasingly invested in both formal and informal learning. The results concerning “access to CVT courses” and “efforts in financial terms” also show a positive evolution. Finally, the study reveals that the CVT‐policy within companies has become more formal. Despite this positive tendency in general, not all employees seem to have the same opportunities to take part in CVT. The company size and, to a lesser extent, the activity of the company are two important determinants for the investment in CVT.

The study focused on the formal types of CVT; consequently, it gives only a partial outline of the training efforts in Belgian enterprises. Future research should also include the other forms of CVT. Furthermore, the data are taken from enterprises; as such, they do not enable us to take into account the individual heterogeneity.

A two‐track policy is required to stimulate both training and non‐training enterprises to invest in their human resources. More specifically, the opportunities of on‐the‐job training and external CVT courses should be enhanced and it is recommended to examine which role the different providers can play.

The CVT survey is a useful source of statistical information for monitoring continuing vocational training by both policy‐makers and enterprises.

E-learning programs exist in a wide variety of formats. Without a framework for distinguishing between different e-learning programs, it is a challenge for researchers to compare their effectiveness or identify characteristics of e-learning that contribute to learning effectiveness. Based on general theories of learning, we develop a typology that compares e-learning programs in terms of the nature of the learning interactions they provide for learners in three dimensions: degree of interaction, learner control of interactions, and informational value of interactions. The typology dimensions apply to learner–instructor, learner–learner, and learner–instructional material interactions. We also discuss important theoretical implications of the typology. First, we show the utility of the typology for comparing the effectiveness of different e-learning programs. Second, we apply the typology dimensions to develop a theoretical framework for e-learning research that provides a foundation for examining factors that influence learning effectiveness in an e-learning program. The framework identifies e-learning program characteristics, learner characteristics, and contextual factors that impact learning effectiveness in different e-learning environments. It also shows how the typology dimensions align with learning goals to influence learning effectiveness.

Within the scope of the Targeted Socio‐Economic Research (TSER) project (1998‐2000), that aimed to examine new human resource development (HRD) initiatives in learning‐oriented organisations throughout Europe, this paper confronts the Belgian findings with the European outlook. The study examines how HRD departments in learning‐oriented organisations envision their new role in stimulating and supporting employees to learn continuously, what strategies HRD departments adopt to realise their envisioned role and what inhibiting factors they encounter when tying to realise their new role. The results of a survey of 165 companies, of which 39 are located in Belgium, showed a paucity of innovative HRD practices. However, professionals indicate that strategies to support the business and to stimulate learning and knowledge sharing will become increasingly important strategies in the future. The factors that appear to significantly hinder the change process are also discussed.

M. Ronald Buckley holds the JC Penney Company Chair of Business Leadership and is a professor of management and a professor of psychology in the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma. He earned his Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from Auburn University. His research interests include, among others, work motivation, racial and gender issues in performance evaluation, business ethics, interview issues, and organizational socialization. His work has been published in journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and the Journal of Management.

In a past era, alchemists believed they could magically transmute lead into valuable gold. Science has progressed a substantial distance since then and for decades nuclear and particle physicists could change various materials into gold. When considering technology, leaders are faced with a comparable challenge: How does one leverage technology to create unique organizational value? To manage emerging technologies effectively to create organizational value, managers will need to lead the producers and practitioners of technology effectively. In the age of global interdependence, organizations must abandon old outdated perspectives.

Technology is a force which drives itself. Organizations must adopt to emerging technology or risk being obsolete. Leveraging technology to create value involves more then circumferentially managing technology. To create value, leaders must encourage staff to transmute technology. The principles and practices of quantum leadership provide for this possibility. This chapter will irradiate why simply managing technology does not offer organizations the maximum value from technology. The reader will be introduced to the four core features of quantum leadership: duality, superposition, entanglement, and observation. With this groundwork, the principles and practices of this leadership perspective will be discussed in context of transmuting technology into unique organizational value. Which lens one uses to see which possibility becomes reality are exclusively in the eyes of the viewer. Using information systems technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G technology as the exemplars, readers can decide whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgement on using quantum leadership as the perspective to transmute technology into valuable organizational gold.

Startups are associated with innovation, emerging technologies, digitalization and disruptive business models. This article aims to provide a better understanding of startups in logistics and supply chain management, organizes the contemporary discussion around startups in the supply chain ecosystem and outlines opportunities for future research.

This study draws on the prior supply chain, logistics and entrepreneurship literature and discusses key themes along the six identified startup issues. Furthermore, it proposes several perspectives and theories for grounding future research.

This study discusses the roles and success factors of startups in the supply chain ecosystem. It lays out how startups need to organize their own supply chains, how supply chain management (SCM) startups incubate and accelerate their ventures, the financing of SCM startups, as well as their positions as service providers, suppliers and customers.

This research brings together the sparse and dispersed literature on startups in the supply chain ecosystem, motivating scholars to increase the involvement of startups as important stakeholders in SCM research.

Purpose – To show the properties of performance measurement and management systems (PMMS) used dialogically and the association between the dialogic use of PMMS and the characteristics of the organizational relationships between parent companies and foreign subsidiaries.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Data were collected through a questionnaire e-mailed to large foreign subsidiaries of multinational firms operating in various industries. Hypotheses regarding factors associated with the extent to which PMMS are used dialogically between parent companies and foreign subsidiaries were tested based on responses to 136 usable questionnaires (45% response rate).

Findings – PMMS are used more dialogically within relationships between parent companies and subsidiaries characterized by subsidiary strategic role and organizational interdependence. Measurement diversity and perceived comprehensiveness of PMMS are higher if PMMS are used more dialogically. Finally, the dialogic use of PMMS is positively associated with subsidiary size and the emphasis on collaboration in the parent company’s national culture.

Originality/Value – In contrast to prior management accounting research that is focused on the outcomes of different styles of use of PMMS, this study shows organizational characteristics and PMMS properties associated with the dialogic use of PMMS. Moreover, this study advances the traditional view of the international business literature that conceives PMMS as bureaucratic systems employed by parent companies to coercively control foreign subsidiaries.