A Review of Entrepreneurial Higher Education Institution Activities Across the Dimensions of HEInnovate

This study provides an overview of the important initiatives higher education institutions (HEIs) are implementing to develop their entrepreneurial and innovative potential. The authors performed a systematic analysis of the 62 case studies reported on the HEInnovate website. The initiatives described within these case studies are classified under the eight dimensions of the HEInnovate framework and further grouped under new sub-dimensions which emerged inductively during content analysis. For each sub-dimension, the study analyses the similarities and specificities of the initiatives taken by universities and identifies key learnings and future challenges. The most frequently highlighted dimensions include entrepreneurial teaching and learning, knowledge exchange and collaboration, leadership and governance, and organisational capacity. Findings reveal the key role of strategy and organisational resources and capacities in developing the entrepreneurial agenda and the strong alignment of the entrepreneurial university to its three missions.

Realizing Collective Capacities to Navigate Complexity

In describing one experimental approach to building organisational capacity for navigating complexities, an evocative testimony about the shift to discovering a collective capability is embedded in a report on a sensitive research inquiry – into how sensing and perceptionsshape unfolding patterns of behaviour and prescribe or circumscribe action potential. The commentary discusses sensing as a tool and the potential role of action research as scientific inquiry into sensing.

Chinese Foundations and the Challenge of ‘Going International

China’s international cooperation strategies are gradually changing due to evolving views about the limits of its internationalisation approach, which has traditionally mainly focused on building governmental and business relationships. Intensified interactions with low-income countries in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative are perceived to benefit from an increased role for its domestic non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This article explores China’s initial steps in enabling the domestic NGO landscape to internationalise by looking at this development from an organisational capacity perspective. By assessing five key organisational characteristics of 36 Chinese foundations engaging in international cooperation, we find that the average organisational capacity for international cooperation is still limited but shows gradual improvement. While they all comply with government regulations in governance and several foundations have large budgets and capacity for domestic operations, our findings suggest that only a few currently mobilise substantial human and financial resources for their international activities.

Understanding Public Sector Innovation from A Local Perspective: Contra War (Contraceptive for Women at Risk) Innovation Study in Malang Regency

This research aims to understand public sector innovation from a local perspective with a study of the Contra War (Contraceptive for Women at Risk) innovation study in Malang Regency. This innovation aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. This research used a qualitative study with document analysis. Researchers analysed documents from various sources such as official government reports, government regulations, online media news, scientific literature, and books. The result shows that the Contra War innovation has not significantly reduced maternal and infant mortality, but gradually the Contra-War has reduced maternal mortality index (Angka Kematian Ibu/AKI) cases from 27 in 2019 to 14 cases. Meanwhile, infant mortality rate (Angka Kematian Bayi/AKB as many as 62 people in 2020. Another side, the sustainability of innovation has not gone well because of low participation, innovative organisational capacity, and transformational leadership. Therefore, researchers provide suggestions for increasing public participation, collaborating with third parties, and creating innovative work ecosystems and bureaucratic structures.

An Investigation into Organisation Capacity for National Disaster Management in Zimbabwe: The Case of the Department of Civil Protection

Across the globe, disasters – both natural and man-made – have threatened humanity. These disasters had grave and devastating impact on human life, infrastructure, and the environment as evidenced by the February 2000 Cyclone Eline and March 2019 Cyclone Idai. This research sought to investigate the Department of Civil Protection`s (DCP) capacity in national disaster management. The research examines how the DCP handled cyclones from 2000-2019 in Chimanimani District. Organisational capacity was assessed on the basis of its core principles which are: leadership, management and operations, community engagement, service and evaluation. The study discovered that inadequate financial and human resources, poor emergency response systems, weak learning and lessons drawing, reactive disaster management, weak pre-disaster management community engagement, poor reconstruction and failure to harmonise military and DCP operational structures are factors undermining DCP`s capacity for national disaster management. The research recommends that government should avail adequate resources, DCP should be proactive in disaster management, should openly contract-out reconstruction works, and collaborate with universities to strengthen organisational learning capacity, align military and DCP operational structures and processes and let Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) distribute food and other humanitarian aid.

A hub and spoke nuclear lamina architecture in trypanosomes

The nuclear lamina supports many functions, including maintaining nuclear structure and gene expression control and correct spatio-temporal assembly is vital to meet these activities. Recently, multiple lamina systems have been described that, despite independent evolutionary origins, share analogous functions. In trypanosomatids the two known lamina proteins, NUP-1 and NUP-2, have molecular masses of 450 and 170 kDa respectively, which demands a distinct architecture from the ∼60 kDa lamin-based system of metazoa and other lineages. To uncover organisational principles for the trypanosome lamina we generated NUP-1 deletion mutants to identify domains and their arrangements responsible for oligomerisation. Both N- and C-termini act as interaction hubs and perturbation of these interactions impacts additional components of the lamina and nuclear envelope. Further, the assembly of NUP-1 terminal domains suggests intrinsic organisational capacity. Remarkably, there is little impact on silencing of telomeric variant surface glycoprotein genes. We suggest that both terminal domains of NUP-1 have roles in assembling the trypanosome lamina and propose a novel architecture based on a hub and spoke configuration.

The role of universities in regional development strategies: A comparison across actors and policy stages

The emergence of collaborative approaches in innovation policy and regional governance has increased expectations for universities to engage in strategy making and assume broader roles and responsibilities. Nonetheless, complexities inherent to the policy process, regional context and universities’ own institutional and organisational capacity are often ignored or under-explained when framing universities’ roles. Although these roles are frequently introduced, they have been superficially conceptualised in the literature. This study develops a deeper theoretical and empirical understanding of universities’ contributions in the different stages of regional innovation strategy processes. Through a comparative case study of four European universities, it explores the variation of these roles by policy stage and university actors involved in the strategies. Findings suggest universities have expanded to perform new planning-related roles (e.g. consultation, mediation) and that diverse factors (e.g. the regional context, such as urban versus peripheral) determine their participation in regional strategies. However, strategic coordination within universities and with regional bodies is needed for the optimisation of their engagement in the regional governance process. JEL Codes: I23, I25, O20, O30, R58

Dynamic managerial capabilities, organisational capacity for change and organisational performance: the moderating effect of attitude towards change in a public service organisation

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore dynamic managerial capabilities (DMCs) and their effect on public organisational performance. While the previous research has focused on how leadership style impacts on organisational performance, the authors have investigated how the dynamic managerial capabilities of middle managers and their organisational capacity for change as well as their attitude towards the change are linked to organisational performance.Design/methodology/approachThe dataset was gathered during the field research carried out in a large public Indonesian government institution. In total, 313 managers and their direct followers participated in this study. The authors have employed structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of this study demonstrate the role of the dynamic capabilities of the middle managers associated with organisational performance. The results show that dynamic managerial capabilities and organisational performance are mediated by the organisational capacity for change.Practical implicationsMiddle managers should equip and develop their capabilities in order to embrace change in the organisation through the communication between the different staff levels, uniting the vision and mission with the organisational members. Further, the organisation should empower the role of the middle managers by increasing their authority and participation in the policy-making that is part of the change process. In addition, the workplace could implement interventions to optimise the dynamic managerial capabilities held by the middle manager and employees through assessments and mentoring. Finally, particular training programmes could be implemented to boost the employees' skills and flexibility, thereby keeping them agile in the context of the changes in the work environment.Originality/valueThe role of the dynamic managerial capabilities of the middle manager is a prominent factor when facilitating a high level of organisational performance in a public organisation. However, the role of dynamic managerial capabilities does not have a direct effect on organisational performance if the organisation does not have the capacity to change, particularly in the Indonesian context.