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This paper presents a realist evaluation of leadership within an integrated care system (ICS) in England. This paper aims to examine which aspects of leadership are effective, for whom, how and under what circumstances.

Realist evaluation methodology was used, adopting prior realist review findings as the theoretical framework to refine explanations of how and why leadership within an ICS is effective. Between January and November 2023, 23 interviews with ICS leaders took place, alongside 7 meeting observations and documentary analysis. The Realist And Metanarrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards (RAMESES) guidance informed the study design, conduct and reporting.

The findings highlight two overarching infrastructural contexts influencing leadership in ICSs: the impact of the post-COVID-19 pandemic legacy and the differences between health and social care regulatory and financial environments. Findings demonstrate that ICS leaders identified a strong sense of purpose as crucial for guiding decisions and creating a psychologically safe environment for open, honest discussions, fostering calculated risk-taking. Whilst a shared vision directed priority setting, financial pressures led to siloed thinking. Leadership visibility was linked to workforce morale, with supportive leadership boosting morale amidst evolving ICS landscapes and confidence in data-driven decisions supported prevention activities. However, financial constraints hindered responsiveness and innovation in addressing health inequalities.

By examining ICS leadership post-COVID-19 pandemic and amidst varying regulatory and financial environments, this study contributes to the emerging literature on systems leadership and offers practical guidance for leaders navigating the complexities of integrated care.

This paper presents findings from an exploration of the experiences of staff employed on sessional, part-time or fixed-term contracts (termed contingent staff), focusing on their perceptions and experiences of identity within a UK higher education context.

A comparative case study approach was adopted within a qualitative, interpretivist framework. Semi-structured interviews were used to facilitate an in-depth comparative analysis of the experiences of 11 contingent staff. Thematic analysis was employed to compare identity and practice across two settings to uncover distinct and shared factors.

Participants highlight several critical issues within the study units, including identity and perceived value, team dynamics, clarity of roles and the sense of inclusion within the broader academic community. The findings also reveal that the boundaries between educational roles – including educator, facilitator, coach, mentor and those associated with pastoral care – are increasingly indistinct, suggesting a convergence of pedagogical approaches and holistic practice.

This study provides insights into the underexplored area of pedagogic practice and identity among contingent staff in the UK higher education sector. Unlike previous research, which may broadly examine mentoring roles or apprenticeship outcomes, this study specifically highlights educators' identity perceptions and experiences on contingent contracts, providing a lens on their professional landscape. Employing a comparative case study design enhances the findings by allowing an in-depth juxtaposition of experiences across two distinct higher education institutions.

Given the complex nature of integrated care systems (ICSs), the geographical spread and the large number of organisations involved in partnership delivery, the importance of leadership cannot be overstated. This paper aims to present novel findings from a rapid realist review of ICS leadership in England. The overall review question was: how does leadership in ICSs work, for whom and in what circumstances?

Development of initial programme theories and associated context–mechanism–outcome configurations (CMOCs) were supported by the theory-gleaning activities of a review of ICS strategies and guidance documents, a scoping review of the literature and interviews with key informants. A refined programme theory was then developed by testing these CMOCs against empirical data published in academic literature. Following screening and testing, six CMOCs were extracted from 18 documents. The study design, conduct and reporting were informed by the Realist And Metanarrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards (RAMESES) training materials (Wong et al., 2013).

The review informed four programme theories explaining that leadership in ICSs works when ICS leaders hold themselves and others to account for improving population health, a sense of purpose is fostered through a clear vision, partners across the system are engaged in problem ownership and relationships are built at all levels of the system.

Despite being a rigorous and comprehensive investigation, stakeholder input was limited to one ICS, potentially restricting insights from varied geographical contexts. In addition, the recent establishment of ICSs meant limited literature availability, with few empirical studies conducted. Although this emphasises the importance and originality of the research, this scarcity posed challenges in extracting and applying certain programme theory elements, particularly context.

This review will be of relevance to academics and health-care leaders within ICSs in England, offering critical insights into ICS leadership, integrating diverse evidence to develop new evidence-based recommendations, filling a gap in the current literature and informing leadership practice and health-care systems.

This case study deals specifically with the issue of manufacturing strategy, and business strategy.

The case can be used in a number of course contexts, including undergraduate and MBA programs. The focus is on both business strategy and manufacturing strategy issues. The case can be assigned as an opening vignette, during the initial phases of business strategy, since the case situations and concepts are both simple and clear. It can also be assigned for an in-depth treatment of manufacturing strategy.

The case focuses on Capital Mills Limited (CML), a flour milling company, and concentrates on whether the company should refurbish its two 40-year old flour mills at a cost of US$6 million or if the company should invest US$15 million in the construction and installation of a new, fully-automated “Lights out” flour mill. This decision is viewed as a “make or break” decision for CML, since for the first time in the company's 40 year history will it face significant direct competition, in the form of the impending entry of a second flour milling company.

The case has four primary learning objectives, namely to: illustrate the linkages between business level strategy and the functional level, manufacturing strategy; discuss the role of a company's history and internal resource structure in the decision making process; explore how operational issues influence capital expenditure decisions; and explore the perspective of managers in different functions in an organization that is facing a new competitive challenge.

Teaching notes are available – consult your librarian for access.

Extant research has studied how entrepreneurial cognition influences firm international performance but what mechanisms translates entrepreneurial cognition into international performance remains a puzzle in the field. In this paper, the authors utilize effectuation theory to theorize this association.

Using a survey of 164 internationalizing small firms from New Zealand, the authors examined a model of entrepreneurial cognition, action and gaining new knowledge as a framework to explain how effectual control, partnership for new opportunity creation and gaining new knowledge influence small firms' performance.

The authors found that partnership for new opportunity creation, and gaining new knowledge are two important mediation mechanisms in the focal association between effectual control and international performance.

This study is a cross-sectional design. Considering the importance of time in cognition and action, future research should utilize longitudinal research design.

The authors’ findings provide implications for both small firms' managers and policymakers. These findings identify the critical importance of continuous knowledge development in internationalization process. Policymakers can help small firms gain more relevant and timely information about international markets and incorporate them in their decision-making to further develop international opportunities.

The authors contribute to international entrepreneurship research by delineating and verifying the important associations between entrepreneurial cognition, action and gaining new knowledge and their outcomes for firm's international performance. The authors also contribute to effectuation theory by elaborating on effectual control and how this logic leads to the development of new knowledge.

This is the eleventh article on business and law (BSL) databases in a continuing series of articles summarizing and commenting on new database products. Two companion articles, one covering science, technology, and, medicine (STM) appeared in Online & CD‐ROM Review vol. 22, no. 2 and the other covering social science, humanities, news, and general (SSH) appears here in Online & CD‐ROM Review vol. 22, no. 3. The articles are based on the newly appearing database products in the Gale Directory of Databases. The Gale Directory of Databases (GDD) was created in January 1993 by merging Computer‐Readable Databases: A Directory and Data Sourcebook (CRD)together with the Directory of Online Databases (DOD) and the Directory of Portable Databases (DPD).

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the political attitudes, experiences, and habits of young adults in the USA, with particular focus on their voting habits. Since young adults are just beyond Kindergarten-12 (K-12) schooling they are the voting segment arguably most affected by this experience, and their political habits and attitudes inform educational policy and practice. The concern under focus is that studies have found that this group votes at low rates, especially during mid-term elections (just 22 percent of citizens ages 18-29 voted in the 2014 elections).

Relevant theoretical and empirical research on these topics were reviewed and interviews were conducted with 40 young adults. They were asked to reflect on their childhood, adolescent, and adult familial, social, and academic experiences; their voting habits throughout their lives; and their interpretations of factors that encouraged or discouraged their habits and dispositions toward citizenship.

The majority of participants reported that they did not vote in the 2014 mid-term elections and provided a range of reasons why they did not vote. Many participants also reported a reluctance to discuss politics with family members and friends.

Building on theories regarding the role of voter turnout for democracy and juxtaposing them with competing theories of neoliberalism and individualism, and in light of the struggles for suffrage and against voter suppression in the USA, this paper argues educators can take action to better prepare young adults for participation in electoral politics.

This is the eleventh article on science, technology, and medicine (STM) databases in a continuing series of articles summarizing and commenting on new database products. Two companion articles, one covering social sciences, humanities, news, and general (SSH) (Online & CDROM Review, vol. 22, no.3) and the other covering business and law (BSL) (Online & CDROM Review, vol. 22, no. 3) will appear in the next issue of this journal. These articles are based on the newly appearing database products in the Gale Directory of Databases. The Gale Directory of Databases (GDD) was created in January 1993 by merging Computer‐Readable Databases: A Directory and Data Sourcebook (CRD) together with the Directory of Online Databases (DOD) and the Directory of Portable Databases (DPD).