A plethora of research exists on top management support and their support behaviors. There is a rising interest in how character in leadership impacts organizations, and the teams the top management of organizations lead. While competence has been the focus of traditional leadership theory, contemporary interest in leadership character is said to impact the sustainability of an organization. This research paper presents the support behavior of top management on strategic information technology projects, specifically drawing inferences to top management’s character as leaders and their subsequent impact on project delivery teams. By conducting a literature review, this paper advances academic discourse on character and its influence on leadership and team dynamics. There is an abundance of literature on research into information technology projects. However, the research on top management support behaviors and furthermore character in leadership is limited in this discipline. This paper also highlights the practical consequences of neglecting character in leadership, while underscoring the value of cultivating character in leaders. To research this phenomenon, the researcher constructed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 participants who have experience across 12 sectors namely: Banking, Mining, Healthcare, Oil and gas, Consulting, Electrical equipment, Media, FMCG, Cybersecurity, Automotive, Aviation and Legal. Participants were directly engaged if they worked in or led delivery teams that had implemented strategic information technology projects and directly interacted with the top management related to the project. Drawing on participants’ experience and opinions and using Gioia’s framework the researcher established a data structure outlining four aggregate dimensions. The conceptual model is rebranded as the Enlightened Leader Mental Model allowing key themes to be connected. In this model, the four aggregate dimensions presented are used to leverage leadership behavior into leadership character. This builds on existing literature that focuses on top management support behavior and leadership character indicators. The researcher poses that behavior and character are so intertwined that to influence one will influence the other. Senior leaders set the tone on projects and have the power and influence to impact their delivery teams, positively or negatively. The researcher challenges human resource departments to focus on character development in organizational senior leadership structures. This paper fervently argues that character in leadership matters and that the way character is displayed, through observed behaviors, is what leaves a lasting impact on project teams.

Identification of challenges to implementation of infection control guidance in primary care during COVID-19 incidents: Lessons for pandemic planning.

Multiple pathways to radical service innovation in manufacturing firms: a fuzzy-set analysis within digital innovation ecosystems

Blockchain has gained attention for its potential to verify health insurance records, allow secure data sharing, and protect patient privacy. Despite these benefits, blockchain adoption in Egypt remains limited, and little research has examined its drivers and barriers. This study contributes to the limited research on blockchain adoption in Egyptian public hospitals by extending the TOE model with context-specific factors and examining adoption decisions at the organizational level. The study was conducted in public hospitals operating within the Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) across six governorates. A quantitative approach was used, with data collected from a stratified random sample of 228 senior management and IT professionals across 53 public hospitals, analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that relative advantage, financial capability, and perceived trust positively affect adoption intention, whereas perceived risk and complexity negatively affect it. Security and privacy, as well as government support and regulations, significantly enhance perceived trust but do not directly affect adoption intention. Top management support and hospital readiness also strengthen perceived trust. The model explains 67.1% of the variance in blockchain adoption intention (R2 = 0.671) and shows predictive relevance (Q2 = 0.662). Perceived trust positively influences adoption intention and mediates selected relationships in the model, particularly for security and privacy, as well as government support and regulations, which indirectly influence adoption through trust. The proposed model provides practical insights for Egyptian public hospitals, blockchain providers, the Ministry of Health, and policymakers in designing strategies that may facilitate blockchain adoption in public hospitals in Egypt.

Electronic health records (EHRs) play a vital role in healthcare organizations to manage patients' health information. Implementing or transitioning to EHRs is often a large-scale implementation with many challenges. Organizational and individual readiness is crucial for successful adoption and implementation of an EHR system. The objective of this study was to explore clinicians' and administrative staff's experiences of a large-scale EHR implementation (Millennium) that was terminated shortly after its initial deployment. A qualitative design involving individual online interviews with 73 clinicians and staff investigated end users' experiences after a large-scale implementation of EHRs in Sweden. A semi-structured interview guide was used during the interviews and included broad questions on individual and collective readiness to change before, during and after the implementation. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that experiences from a failed implementation highlight inadequate communication with the management level, inadequate preparedness in understanding the change and education on how to use the system. The results also show that the end users felt deceived, disappointed and overwhelmed with stress. End users highlighted the need to be involved in the implementation process and understand the whole picture. Lack of dialogue and feedback between co-workers and top management negatively affected organizational and individual readiness. Incomplete readiness and system contributed to anxiety, feelings of abandonment and being in an abstract reality. The findings provide an empirically grounded account of a failed large-scale implementation, reinforcing and extending key insights from implementation science. The study underscores that implementation is inherently a socio-organizational process, where meaningful end-user involvement and continuous, bidirectional communication between frontline staff and management are not peripheral but constitutive conditions for successful change. Anchored in Organizational Readiness for Change, the findings illustrate how limited readiness, combined with misalignment between system design and local context, can drive non-adoption and rapid abandonment. The system's positioning as a comprehensive, modern solution raised expectations that were not met in practice, resulting in a sense of emptiness and disappointment among the participants, echoing the tale of the emperor's new clothes.

This study aims to systematically examine global research on digital human resource management (HRM) in healthcare using bibliometric analysis of 61 documents published between 1988 and 2024. This number reflects the emerging and highly specialized nature of digital HRM in healthcare research. VOSviewer software was utilized to map co-authorship networks and keyword co-occurrences and to generate overlay and density visualizations. A threshold-based approach was applied to identify key themes and research patterns across the literature. There has been significant publication growth, especially after 2018, with the United States, United Kingdom, and India emerging as the leading contributors. Results reveal four thematic clusters representing technological, organizational, demographic, and governance perspectives. These insights illuminate underexplored areas, such as leadership integration and equity, which are essential for guiding digital transformation in healthcare workforce management. Healthcare managers and policymakers should prioritize the strategic integration of digital HRM tools into system-level planning. Emphasis should be placed on aligning digital solutions with organizational leadership, workforce development, and public health goals, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

The article presents an approach to developing an integrated management system that combines the provisions of quality management systems and lean production. The harmonization of multiple management systems, amidst increasing competition and growing customer requirements, is not limited to the technical unification of documentation but represents a strategic task requiring top management involvement and corporate culture transformation. The establishment of integrated systems enables the elimination of function duplication and documentation redundancy, as well as the reduction of operational costs. Implementing this approach creates a foundation for continual improvement and enhanced competitiveness through a synergistic effect. As an optimal solution, a phased algorithm for implementing a model based on quality management principles is proposed, taking into account the requirements and approaches of the entire set of standards for lean manufacturing.

ABSTRACT This study examines how organizational capabilities and environmental conditions shape corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and, in turn, drive competitive advantage among Indonesian micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the tertiary sector. Drawing on survey data from 258 MSMEs located in the Riau Islands and Jakarta, the model tests the effects of top management team (TMT) behavioral integration, resource orchestration, and environmental dynamism on CE using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results show that resource orchestration and environmental dynamism significantly enhance CE, whereas TMT behavioral integration does not. CE has a strong positive effect on competitive advantage and mediates the impact of resource orchestration and environmental dynamism on competitive advantage, but not the effect of TMT behavioral integration. These findings highlight CE as a strategic pathway through which emerging-market MSMEs adapt to dynamic environments, leverage scarce resources, and build competitive advantage, offering implications for managers and policy makers.

Purpose This study aims to test the multidimensional relationship between the green banking practices (GBP), top management commitment (TMC), employee green behavior (EGB) and environmental performance (EP). To determine the mediating role of EGB and moderating influence of TMC on EP, this research proposes a conceptual framework, which is based on social identity (SI) and resource-based view (RBV) theories. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire and purposive sampling technique were used to collect data from 460 banking employees in Delhi NCR region of India. Then the data was analyzed using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS v4 software. Findings The findings showed that GBP significantly impact the EP of the banks with EGB as a mediator in this relationship. Moreover, TMC acts as a key moderator, further strengthening the impact of GBP on EGB. Overall, this analysis demonstrates how these variables work together in enhancing EP in the banking sector. Originality/value This study attempts to fill a significant research gap in the body of green banking literature through examining EP in the Indian banking sector. In addition to that, this research will have an innovative approach by exploring the mediating effect of EGB and the moderating effect of TMC between GBP and EP, from an employee perspective. Furthermore, it also justifies the application of the SI and RBV theories in the green banking context. Hence, this study provides novel insights through its theoretical and practical implications by considering both direct and indirect effects.

Adoption of building information modeling (BIM) by the construction industry signifies a paradigm shift in its project management and design approaches. This study uses a serial mediation model to explain the relationship between BIM benefits and project success (PS), focusing on the crucial aspects of BIM implementation (BIMI), internal stakeholder satisfaction (ISS), and top management support (TMS). A survey was conducted, and a structural equation modelling approach (SEM) was used to validate the constructs. A total of 314 valid responses were collected from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) registered firms to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that BIMI mediates the relation between BIMB and PS. Also, ISS mediates the relation between BIMB and PS. Furthermore, BIMI and ISS sequentially mediate the relationship between BIMB and PS. However, the moderation of TMS was not established between BIMB and BIMI. Findings show that the influence of BIM benefits on project success follows a sequential mediation pathway organized by effective BIM implementation and internal stakeholder satisfaction with BIM outputs. This study indicates future research direction by providing both theoretical insights and practical consequences for construction project management, as well as concrete tactics to maximize project success in the BIM environment in the construction industry.

BackgroundThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain are transforming their health care systems toward more self-sustained, autonomous systems. Effective leadership at all management levels, particularly middle management, is critical for operational success.ObjectiveThe study aimed to develop a feasible, reliable, and valid scale for measuring leadership and managerial competencies of middle managers in health care and medical education in the Gulf region.MethodsA mixed methods approach was adopted. Semistructured interviews were conducted with top management, middle management, and lower management staff (N=27). Reflexivity of coders and thematic saturation were considered to ensure the reliability and transparency of qualitative findings. Thematic analysis informed scale item creation. A total of 202 participants from medical education and health care sectors completed the scale. Cronbach α, exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring), and confirmatory factor analysis validated internal consistency and factor structure. Responses marked as “6=unable to assess” were treated as missing data during quantitative analysis.ResultsSeven themes emerged: personality, agility, attitude, managerial skills, work ethics, mental ability, and interaction. Three constructs were identified: professionalism and problem-solving, team management and adaptation, and time management and expertise. A validated scale with 17 competency measure points and 16 characteristic items was finalized. Only competency measure points underwent exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, while characteristic items were retained for descriptive evaluation.ConclusionsThe Leadership and Managerial Competency Scale for Middle Managers in the Gulf Region reflects perceived competencies valued at all management levels. The scale measures perceived importance, not actual performance; the conclusions align with the validated scope.

ABSTRACT A prominent trend in Western democracies is an increased political fragmentation and polarization. As top managers in the public sector work close to elected politicians, characteristics of the political sphere are essential in understanding why managers stay or leave their jobs. Applying the theory of professional public managers, we study chief municipal officers (CMOs) in Norway, their intentions to leave their jobs and actual turnover, and how and whether this is related to political conflict and fragmentation. Findings indicate an indirect effect of political fragmentation on actual turnover mediated by perceived conflict and turnover intentions.

How corporate ESG performance drives green innovation: The roles of R&D investment and scientific expertise in the top management team

Behavioural or outside influences? A triple bottom line review of supply chain performance measurement in SMEs within a developing economy

Despite the growing adoption of ERP systems in educational institutions, there is a lack of research examining the user perspectives and lived experiences in navigating the implementation and usage of these complex systems. This study examines the challenges faced by end users and the refinements required to implement ERP systems in Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) in the Klang Valley region of Malaysia. A qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with twelve ERP end-users from public and private IHLs. The respondents were academicians who used ERP systems at each relevant IHL in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study conducted a manual thematic analysis to identify the primary challenges users face. The findings indicate that the effective implementation of ERP systems in IHLs faces significant challenges, including user readiness and resistance, communication barriers, inadequate top management commitment and support, and issues with user interfaces. The findings also highlight the need to refine user interfaces, enhance system integration, provide comprehensive training, ensure system accessibility and stability, and secure top management commitment. The study emphasizes the importance of a user-centric approach in implementing ERP. It also underscores the need for continual refinement to address the evolving needs and challenges that end users face in higher education institutions. The paper discusses both the practical and theoretical implications of ERP implementation in this context. Due to the small sample size in the present study, conducting a further quantitative study with a larger sample across different developing economies would provide a clearer understanding of the challenges in implementing ERP in IHLs.

BackgroundMedication regimen simplification has gained increasing attention as a strategy to reduce treatment burden and improve medication use. However, the overall development, knowledge structure, and emerging themes of this field have not been systematically mapped, hindering efforts to identify clear research priorities and support strategies that facilitate the translation of simplified approaches into optimized medication management.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine global research trends, collaboration patterns, and research hot spots in medication regimen simplification.MethodsA bibliometric analysis was conducted to characterize the research landscape of medication regimen simplification. Publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2025) were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 365, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Bibliometrix in R for publication trends, countries and regions, institutions, authors, cocited references, keyword co-occurrence, clustering, and thematic evolution.ResultsA total of 468 publications were included in this bibliometric analysis. Annual publication output showed an upward trend, although fluctuations occurred across years. The United States ranked first in publication output and total citations, and Monash University was the most productive institution. Collaboration was concentrated in a limited number of country, institutional, and author clusters, with the strongest international links between North America and Europe. Cocitation and keyword analyses showed that the field evolved from a focus on HIV-related regimen optimization and medication adherence to broader themes in chronic disease management, including type 2 diabetes, heart failure, long-term care, and medication regimen complexity.ConclusionsResearch on medication regimen simplification has grown over time, but collaboration remains relatively concentrated. Current hot spots center on its use in specific disease settings and on medication complexity and adherence, whereas recent trends highlight real-world implementation. Future research should further examine the long-term impact and sustainability of simplification strategies.

Background: Although research on cultural intelligence remains limited, interest in the topic has grown significantly in recent years. Since cultural diversity and cultural understanding play important roles in innovation, cultural intelligence is increasingly recognized as a critical factor for organizational competitiveness. A key challenge related to cultural intelligence (CQ) lies in the gap between increasing workplace cultural diversity and organizations’ limited capability to manage it effectively. This lack of CQ hinders collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation performance, preventing organizations from fully leveraging diversity for competitive advantage.Purpose: This study aims to analyze the theoretical and practical influence of cultural intelligence on innovation, particularly within the service industry.Design/Methodology/Approach: A qualitative approach was employed through a systematic review of 42 Scopus-indexed journal articles, involving the identification, evaluation, and interpretation of relevant studies. The findings from the review were further enriched with quantitative insights drawn from exploratory interviews with eight industry practitioners, analyzed using a simple scoring approach.Findings/Results: The results reveal that only 30.6% of the CQ practices identified in the literature were found to be implemented by the surveyed companies. Moreover, the study identifies emerging variables in cultural intelligence development, including the creation of a harmonious and flexible work environment between senior and junior employees, competitive advantage, alignment of organizational culture with business strategy, and customer demand generation.Conclusions: The findings suggest that companies should better leverage their available resources to enhance cultural intelligence, thereby fostering greater innovation capacity. Key actors, including top management, HR professionals, team leaders, and employees, play essential roles in developing and implementing cultural intelligence. Each contributes strategically to embedding CQ through leadership, talent management, training, and collaborative practices that enhance innovation and competitiveness.Originality/Value (Sate of the Art): This research contributes to the literature by integrating systematic review with industrial practice analysis, highlighting underexplored cultural intelligence variables and offering state-of-the-art insights into how cultural intelligence can be leveraged to strengthen innovation in the service sector. Keywords: cultural intelligence, innovation, systematic review, service industry, organizational culture

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between green product innovation (GPI) and firm financial performance, and how top management (TMT) diversity, as a multidimensional construct, moderates this relationship. Drawing on the dynamic capabilities and upper echelons theories, it proposes a conceptual framework and empirically tests it using a mixed-effects regression model and a comprehensive panel dataset comprising 16,152 new product introductions from 46 publicly traded U.S. firms in the food and beverage industry. Findings extend existing knowledge on the relationship between GPI and firm financial performance by identifying TMT diversity as a new boundary condition. They further contribute to upper echelons theory by conceptually and empirically distinguishing how observable and non-observable dimensions of TMT diversity shape strategic effectiveness of GPI. This research also provides nuanced insights by highlighting the conditions under which GPIs yield favorable financial outcomes, guiding firms in configuring their TMTs to enhance innovation-driven competitive advantage and sustainability initiatives.

Purpose This study examines how statutory governance reforms requiring CEO–chair role separation reconfigure top executive relationships. Drawing on social exchange and triadic interaction theory, the authors analyze how formal structural mandates interact with informal leadership bonds to influence trust, loyalty, authority and cohesion among the CEO, executive chair and members of the top management team. The authors explore how senior executives negotiate continuity and change in their relationships while adapting to global governance norms and balancing local relational traditions with international accountability and legitimacy expectations. Design/methodology/approach The authors pursued a revelatory case study in an emerging markets context with rare access into an emerging market multinational corporation that transitioned from CEO–chair duality to separate roles following regulatory reform. Data collection included 22 semi-structured interviews with the CEO, chair and all TMT members; over 450 hours of site visits; observations of meetings; and internal documents. The authors categorized and coded data thematically and structured their approach conceptually around an emergent triadic social exchange theory and methodologically to capture interdependencies across CEO–chair–TMT interactions. Findings Formal governance reforms reshaped executive role definitions but did not eliminate longstanding informal ties. Trust, loyalty and familial-style bonds persisted, influencing triadic dynamics in ways that sometimes reinforced and sometimes undermined formal structures. The executive chair exerted disproportionate influence, while prior TMT membership constrained the legitimacy of the new CEO. Triadic configurations highlighted asymmetries of power, mutual dependence and relational cohesion, showing how persistent socioemotional connections mediate formal institutional change. Research limitations/implications The study derives from a single firm in one emerging market regulatory context, limiting broad generalizability. Nevertheless, findings extend social exchange theory by applying a triadic lens to governance reform, moving beyond dyadic models of CEO–chair or CEO–TMT relations. Future research should explore multi-actor interactions across different governance systems, industries and regions and consider the inclusion of boards, additional heterogeneity dimensions and comparative institutional frameworks. Practical implications For boards and policymakers, findings underscore that mandating role separation alone does not guarantee stronger accountability or independence. Informal ties, often culturally embedded, can sustain influence and blur authority lines even after reform. Effective governance, therefore, requires not only formal structural compliance but also careful attention to relational dynamics among executives. Practitioners should proactively manage transitions, clarify expectations and cultivate balanced trust to ensure that role reconfiguration achieves both oversight and collaboration goals. Social implications The authors highlight how institutional reforms aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability intersect with relational traditions in emerging markets. By demonstrating how executives rely on personal trust and quasi-familial loyalty to navigate structural changes, the authors show the continuing salience of social capital in organizational governance. Findings encourage policymakers to consider cultural embeddedness when designing reforms, ensuring that governance frameworks accommodate both global legitimacy demands and local relational practices without creating unanticipated tensions. Originality/value The authors advance understanding of governance by applying a triadic social exchange perspective to the CEO–chair–TMT constellation, involving multple triadic groupings of the CEO, chair and individual members of the TMT. The authors show how formal governance reforms intersect with informal executive bonds to create hybrid relational structures. Through rare empirical access to elite leadership in an emerging market multinational, the authors contribute novel theoretical, contextual and practical insights to the governance literature. This study informs both scholars and practitioners seeking to understand the relational undercurrents of governance reforms in globalizing firms.

Purpose This study aims to use variables of the contingency theory to assess the influence of maintenance contingency factors on occupant behaviour in the use of energy in public university buildings in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach Aligned with quantitative research, the study used survey to gather data from 456 senior members across 9 public universities in Ghana. Data gathered was analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. Findings The findings revealed that situational factors of buildings and maintenance task structure have a significant influence on occupant energy use behaviour. Maintenance leadership style and leader–member relations were found to be statistically insignificant to occupant behaviour in the use of energy. However, they exhibit a hidden potential of indirect effect that is worth exploring. Research limitations/implications The findings of the study will encourage top university management to prioritise maintenance needs of existing buildings among other contingency factors to enhance building operations and efficient use of energy in university buildings. Originality/value Grounded in the contingency theory, this study presents rare findings on the explanatory power of maintenance contingency factors in explaining the variance in occupant energy use behaviour in public university buildings.