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Delves into the mind of the strategic thinker. The aim of this examination is to establish the conceptual foundations for a new theory of strategic thinking that looks at this process from an individual perspective. This will be accomplished by merging two separate strains of strategy research into a single strategic thinking philosophy. The two strains of strategy research that will be utilized include cognitive simplification tools and personal cognitive style. This foundational work opens the door to a new perspective on how strategic thinking is conducted and creates avenues for future empirical investigation into the mind of the strategist.

The purpose of the current study is to explain best practices for attempting humor in the workplace. Research on humor in the workplace has emphasized the use of leader humor but has neglected to provide guidance on how to successfully use humor. This is an important gap because unsuccessful humor attempts are associated with lowered status and disruptive behavior.

This paper summarizes three types of humor theories (i.e. cognitive, social and contextual) and derives principles from these theories that can be applied to improve humor success. Then, the authors apply the understanding of humor to workplace applications, providing suggestions for future empirical research inferred from the humor theories.

Humor attempts are most likely to land (i.e. invoke mirth) when they include a benign violation of mental schemas, societal norms or other expectations or when humor evokes shared feelings of benign superiority in the audience. Humor is less effective in goal-directed situations. Mirth is expected to increase group cohesion, leader trust and organizational identification and mitigate the effects of job stressors. Finally, employee learning and development activities (e.g. onboarding, training) seem like a good place to use humor to facilitate cognitive flexibility.

These suggestions from across psychological disciplines are synthesized to inform best practices for leader humor.

The purpose of this research is to study the effect of organizational innovation, in terms of the introduction of both new business practices and new methods of organizing workplaces, on firm growth, along with the moderating role of the firm size in this relationship.

A panel sample of 4,125 Spanish innovative firms taken from the Technological Innovation Panel for the period 2009 to 2014 was analyzed. Two-Step System-Generalized method of moments approach and instrumental variables approach with two-stage least squares have been used.

The findings remark the positive effect of organizational innovation on firm growth in case firms introduce both new business practices and new methods of organizing workplaces. Furthermore, the empirical evidences show that the firm size has a role, although partial, in moderating negatively the effect of introducing both new business practices and new methods of organizing workplaces on firm growth.

The study adds some new theoretical insights and empirical evidences into the literature related to the inertia theory in the perspective of the population ecology, incorporating it with the effect of firm size. Furthermore, the study may represent a further part of the complex literature puzzle that links organizational innovation to firm growth, and the inclusion of the moderating role of the firm size will partially provide a deeper understanding of this link.

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar el efecto de la innovación organizativa, en términos de introducción de nuevas prácticas de negocio, nuevos métodos de organización del trabajo, en el crecimiento empresarial, junto con el papel moderador del tamaño de la empresa.

Se analiza un panel de 4.125 empresas innovadoras españolas pertenecientes al Panel de Innovación Tecnológica (PITEC) para el periodo 2009 - 2014. Se estimaron modelos por GMM en dos etapas y mediante modelos de mínimos cuadrados en dos etapas con variables instrumentales.

Los resultados subrayan el efecto positivo de la innovación organizativa en el crecimiento empresarial en el caso en el que la empresa introduzca nuevas prácticas de negocio y de organización del trabajo. Más aún, el tamaño de la empresa también juega un papel, aunque parcial, moderando negativamente los anteriores efectos principales.

El estudio aporta nuevos ideas teóricas y evidencia empírica a la literatura relacionada con la teoría de la inercia en la perspectiva de la ecología de las poblaciones, incorporando el efecto del tamaño de la empresa. Es más, el estudio representa un paso más en la compleja literatura que ha vinculado la innovación organizativa con el crecimiento empresarial. La incorporación del papel moderador del tamaño de la empresa puede ayudar a entender mejor esta última conexión.

Innovación organizativa, Nuevas prácticas de negocio, Nuevos métodos de organización del trabajo, Crecimiento empresarial, Tamaño empresarial, España

Revisión general

O objetivo desta pesquisa é estudar o efeito da inovação organizacional, em termos da introdução de novas práticas de negócios e novos métodos de organização em locais de trabalho, no crescimento da empresa, juntamente com o papel moderador do tamanho da empresa nessa relação.

Se analizou uma amostra de painel de 4.125 empresas inovadoras espanholas retiradas do Painel de Inovação Tecnológica (PITEC) durante o período de 2009 a 2014. Foram usadas a abordagem do Sistema GMM em duas etapas e a abordagem IV com 2SLS.

Os resultados mostram o efeito positivo da inovação organizacional sobre o crescimento da empresa, no caso das empresas introduzirem novas práticas de negócios e novos métodos de organização nos locais de trabalho. Além disso, as evidências empíricas mostram que o tamanho da empresa tem um papel, ainda que parcial, de moderar negativamente o efeito de introduzir novas práticas de negócios e novos métodos de organização dos locais de trabalho no crescimento das empresas.

O estudo acrescenta alguns novos conhecimentos teóricos e evidências empíricas à literatura relacionada à teoria da inércia na perspectiva da ecologia populacional, incorporando-a ao efeito do tamanho da empresa. Além disso, o estudo pode representar mais uma parte do complexo quebra-cabeça da literatura que liga a inovação organizacional ao crescimento da empresa e a inclusão do papel moderador do tamanho da empresa que fornecerá, em parte, uma compreensão mais profunda desse elo.

Inovação organizacional, Novas práticas de negócios, Novos métodos de organização de locais de trabalho, Crescimento da empresa, Tamanho da empresa, Espanha

Revisão geral

This paper aims to examine the role of electronic governance (e-governance) in enabling asylum seekers’ access to public services in the city of Durban, South Africa. Because of COVID-19, the government scaled down its operations, limiting access to public services, including among migrants.

Because of COVID-19-related restrictions, a systematic review was conducted of the relevant academic literature as well as the information portals of relevant government departments, municipalities and research reports on migration and refugees in South Africa. A total of 320 peer-reviewed research articles were identified. These were filtered and 68 relevant articles were selected.

The study found that asylum seekers have limited access to public services via information communication technology-enabled mechanisms. Whilst the city government has embraced e-governance, it is still in its nascent stages.

This study was limited to a desktop one because of COVID-19 restrictions and it focused exclusively on asylum seekers. Therefore, its findings can only be generalised to this category of people.

Future studies on this subject should gather data from all categories of migrants to gain in-depth perspectives.

All spheres of governance in South Africa should recognise asylum seekers as a constituency that deserves access to public services. E-governance can facilitate easier access to these services, and policies need to be aligned with this reality.

This study examined the efficacy of e-governance in enabling access to government services by asylum seekers during COVID-19. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study on this subject was conducted during this period.

The National Association for Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) recognizes that there is a tendency for the term “PDS” (Professional Development School) to be used as a catch-all for various relationships that constitute school–university partnership work. The intent of this NAPDS statement is to assert the essentials, or fundamental qualities, of a PDS. NAPDS encourages all those working in school–university relationships to embrace the Nine Essentials of PDSs communicated in this statement. The Essentials are written in tangible, rather than abstract, language and represent practical goals toward which work in a PDS should be directed.

Policy statement.

NAPDS maintains that these Nine Essentials need to be present for a school-university relationship to be called a PDS. Without having all nine, the relationship that exists between a school/district and college/university, albeit however strong, would not be a PDS. How individual PDSs meet these essentials will vary from location to location, but they all need to be in place to justify the use of the term “PDS.”

For those in established PDSs, some aspects of this document will be confirmed, while other aspects may be identified as needing attention. For those aspiring to establish PDSs, the authors offer this statement as a useful guide for their work. NAPDS invites individuals involved in school–university partnerships to share this statement with colleagues in the spirit of continuous improvement. By coming to terms with the challenges and opportunities inherent in this statement, the study can collectively fulfill the vision of this remarkable and distinct partnership called PDS.

This policy statement articulates how the Nine Essentials are the foundation of PDS work.