HEI Teacher Perceptions of Entrepreneurship Education

Teachers play a key role in implementing entrepreneurship education; however, little attention has been paid to teachers' perceptions of entrepreneurship education and factors affecting these perceptions. The objective of this chapter is to narrow this research gap by investigating the impact of organizational strategy and school leadership on a teacher's perceptions of entrepreneurship in teaching. This chapter explores the impact of a teacher's own entrepreneurial background and entrepreneurship training on these perceptions. The data consist of 1,119 answers from Finnish higher education institute (HEI) teachers. Findings show that managerial practices in the HEI in supporting entrepreneurship education have a positive impact on the teachers' perceptions. Additionally, a teacher's entrepreneurial background and entrepreneurship training play a role in shaping the teacher's perceptions of the importance of entrepreneurship education. Universities can become more entrepreneurial by developing management practices that support the implementation of entrepreneurship education.

What is a Theme Park? A Synthesis and Research Framework

Theme parks have attracted extensive scholarly attention within and outside the tourism literature. These parks have been studied from various stances, yet a uniform definition and integrated framework remain lacking for theme park research and practice. Based on a comprehensive review and research synthesis, this article defines a theme park as a dedicated space featuring five main characteristics: thematic identity, closed space with controlled access, hybrid consumption, performative labor, and merchandising. This article further considers multidisciplinary lenses in theme park studies, particularly in terms of how these five characteristics can be assessed. A research framework covering four domains (industry, tourists/visitors, environment, and impacts) is accordingly proposed to inspire theoretical advances, identify research gaps, promote relevant research, and facilitate managerial practices. This article encourages scholars to move beyond current empirical confines and shape the interdisciplinary future of theme park tourism research.

Universities of World-Class Scientific and Educational Centers and Their Importance in the Performance Indicators and Development of Regions

The article considers the sphere of education as one of the directions of political and managerial practices for the development of regions. The importance of educational institutions of higher education as part of world-class scientific and educational centers (RECs) created in the context of the implementation of the national project “Science” is evaluated. The task assigned to the centers to activate interregional interaction, as expected, will contribute to the innovative development of the subjects of the Russian Federation and the economic and technological connectivity of the territories. In the context of the task, data from the official REC websites, data from the international rating THE, the Moscow international rating MosIUR for 2020, regulatory legal acts, as well as secondary data on the problem under study are analyzed. It is shown that RECs have become a kind of superstructure (construction), uniting several groups of actors under one sign of the center: universities, scientific organizations, organizations from the real sector of the economy, supported by the subject of the Russian Federation under the personal control of the governors. The peculiarity of such centers was not only the association of universities with high international ratings from different regions, but also the participation of the same university in several RECs. Such an organizational technique, by pulling together the north and south, the west and the east, the inclusion of the same universities in different RECs, suggests that this, on the one hand, strengthens interregional interaction, increases the values of the performance indicators of the project participants, but on the other hand, complicates the objective assessment of the REC activities themselves. Based on the study, the hypothesis is expressed that the existing approaches to assessing the effectiveness of REC generate a variety of imitation forms of activity, including reporting, and need to be improved. It is concluded that the activities of RECs will contribute to the breakthrough development of those regions on the territory of which they are formed, but at the same time strengthen interregional imbalances.

Institutional Changes in State Policy of Re-Industrialization and Industrialization of Regions in Russia: the Factor of Industrial Parks (illustrated by regions of the Central Federal district)

Industrial and production parks in entities of the Russian Federation, on the one hand, act in research and managerial practices as the institution of sustainable development of the territory and as a mechanism of regional state industrial policy. On the other hand, they function as a project, which devises the institute of state and supports it on different stages of establishment and operation. In Russian regions industrial and production parks are integrated into the process of pursuing regional industrial policy by affecting through available samples and practices the federal policy in the industrial complex. Two-level state policy (federal and regional) itself obtains systematic and complex character, which fosters an increase in GDP, creation of highly-paid jobs and attaining competitiveness of manufactured goods of Russia on foreign markets. The article shows that the institute of industrial and production parks possesses both qualitative and quantitative estimation. In early July 2021 there were 179 industrial and production parks in regions of the Russian Federation and 99 parks were being established. In the process of institualization and development they became a key mechanism of productive changes in the industrial complex. Apart from that they were shaped as a mass phenomenon in pursuing state industrial policy. The authors proved that parks in view of regional state industrial policy can resolve three tasks: 1. Overcome negative consequence of de-industrialization; 2. Provide re-industrialization of the territory; 3. Pursue policy of new industrialization.

Managing the Uncertainties Inherent in Prohibitive Voice: How Leadership Interacts With Employee Political Skill

Drawing from the uncertainty management theory, we examine how authoritarian leadership and humble leadership interact with employee political skill to predict prohibitive voice. We conducted a two-wave survey study of 43 managers and 176 subordinates in a power company in China. Our findings indicate that authoritarian leadership has a minimal negative effect on the psychological safety of employees with higher political skill, which in turn leads to a minimal negative effect on their prohibitive voice. Moreover, humble leadership is positively associated with prohibitive voice for employees with lower political skill. For employees with higher political skill, no type of leadership behavior has a significant influence on their prohibitive voice. We outline the implications of these findings for both theoretical and managerial practices.

The impact of environmental uncertainty on business–IT alignment: A study in Sri Lanka

<p>Despite the widely held belief that organisational performance can be enhanced through the alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy, alignment remains a top concern for IT and business executives. This means that the challenges of attaining strategic alignment have not been overcome. Environmental uncertainty, in particular, is one of the key challenges to achieving strategic alignment. Organisations continually adapt their strategies due to rapid changes in the market, technology and regulations. Either the business strategy changes and the IT strategy has to adapt to remain in alignment, or new IT emerges and business and IT strategies have to be revised to seize opportunities. Changes in the regulations can also have a significant impact on organisational strategy. Uncertainty increases the difficulty of understanding the environment and places executives in a challenging situation with regard to strategic decision making. It is thus important for executives to develop an understanding of the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. This issue has received little attention in the alignment literature. The literature presents mixed arguments on the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. There is literature which explain the implications of the antecedents of strategic alignment; however, it does not consider these antecedents in the context of a highly uncertain environment. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the extent of the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment and to determine how this affects the impact of other antecedents. This research adopts a post-positivist approach. Using the perspectives of the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a conceptual model is presented which examines the impact of antecedents and environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Three antecedents – shared domain knowledge, relationship management, and prior IS success – were selected as key antecedents. Environmental uncertainty was also proposed as an antecedent. This research assumes that the effect of these antecedents on strategic alignment is mediated by two managerial practices: communication and planning connection. Based on data collected from 212 organisations in Sri Lanka, the conceptual model is tested against the research objective. As a developing country, Sri Lanka has a highly turbulent environment and thus provides a suitable setting in which to examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on strategic alignment and that it is mediated by managerial practices. All the antecedents were also found to have a positive effect on managerial practices. As a managerial practice, planning connection has the stronger influence on strategic alignment, while communication plays a contingent role in the alignment process. Moreover, organisation size also has an influence on the alignment process. The relative influence of antecedents and environmental uncertainty differs between SMEs and large organisations. This suggests that the mechanisms used to attain strategic alignment vary by organisational size. The findings contribute to the literature and practice of strategic alignment in several ways. One of the contributions is the introduction of environmental uncertainty as an antecedent to strategic alignment and the identification of the influence of three sources of uncertainty: market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and regulatory uncertainty. Another contribution is a theoretical explanation of the strategic alignment process using the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm. Further, this research extends the validity of the alignment process to a developing country context. From the practitioners’ point of view, this research provides valuable guidance about aligning IT strategy with business strategies in an uncertain environment. Moreover, this research provides prescriptive insights for attaining business–IT alignment for both SMEs and large organisations.</p>

The impact of environmental uncertainty on business–IT alignment: A study in Sri Lanka

<p>Despite the widely held belief that organisational performance can be enhanced through the alignment of information technology (IT) and business strategy, alignment remains a top concern for IT and business executives. This means that the challenges of attaining strategic alignment have not been overcome. Environmental uncertainty, in particular, is one of the key challenges to achieving strategic alignment. Organisations continually adapt their strategies due to rapid changes in the market, technology and regulations. Either the business strategy changes and the IT strategy has to adapt to remain in alignment, or new IT emerges and business and IT strategies have to be revised to seize opportunities. Changes in the regulations can also have a significant impact on organisational strategy. Uncertainty increases the difficulty of understanding the environment and places executives in a challenging situation with regard to strategic decision making. It is thus important for executives to develop an understanding of the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. This issue has received little attention in the alignment literature. The literature presents mixed arguments on the effect of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. There is literature which explain the implications of the antecedents of strategic alignment; however, it does not consider these antecedents in the context of a highly uncertain environment. Hence, the objective of this research is to identify the extent of the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment and to determine how this affects the impact of other antecedents. This research adopts a post-positivist approach. Using the perspectives of the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, a conceptual model is presented which examines the impact of antecedents and environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Three antecedents – shared domain knowledge, relationship management, and prior IS success – were selected as key antecedents. Environmental uncertainty was also proposed as an antecedent. This research assumes that the effect of these antecedents on strategic alignment is mediated by two managerial practices: communication and planning connection. Based on data collected from 212 organisations in Sri Lanka, the conceptual model is tested against the research objective. As a developing country, Sri Lanka has a highly turbulent environment and thus provides a suitable setting in which to examine the impact of environmental uncertainty on strategic alignment. Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling is used to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that environmental uncertainty has a positive impact on strategic alignment and that it is mediated by managerial practices. All the antecedents were also found to have a positive effect on managerial practices. As a managerial practice, planning connection has the stronger influence on strategic alignment, while communication plays a contingent role in the alignment process. Moreover, organisation size also has an influence on the alignment process. The relative influence of antecedents and environmental uncertainty differs between SMEs and large organisations. This suggests that the mechanisms used to attain strategic alignment vary by organisational size. The findings contribute to the literature and practice of strategic alignment in several ways. One of the contributions is the introduction of environmental uncertainty as an antecedent to strategic alignment and the identification of the influence of three sources of uncertainty: market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and regulatory uncertainty. Another contribution is a theoretical explanation of the strategic alignment process using the resource-based theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm. Further, this research extends the validity of the alignment process to a developing country context. From the practitioners’ point of view, this research provides valuable guidance about aligning IT strategy with business strategies in an uncertain environment. Moreover, this research provides prescriptive insights for attaining business–IT alignment for both SMEs and large organisations.</p>

Institutional staff perceptions on the impact of accreditation: A study in two Vietnamese vocational training colleges

<p>Governments in many countries worldwide have increasingly focused on accreditation as an important strategy to improve the quality of vocational education and training (VET). In Vietnam, accreditation in vocational training is still in its initial stage of development. The first cycle of accreditation at institutional level was conducted in 2008, and accreditation at programme level was piloted for the first time in 2012. The purpose of this mixed method study was to investigate the actual effects of institutional and programme accreditation from the perspectives of staff members in two Vietnamese vocational training colleges. Sixty staff members in these two institutions participated in the study. A questionnaire combining closed-ended and open-ended questions was administered to all participants. To obtain more in-depth responses about the impact of accreditation, individual interviews were conducted with eight participants. The findings suggest that the staff members overall had a positive perception towards the impact of accreditation regardless of the type of accreditation. The three main perceived benefits of accreditation included the increased awareness amongst staff of QA, its role as a catalyst for institutions’ change and enhancement, and the improvements in managerial practices. However, the study found support for the view that accreditation seemed to have been geared towards accountability rather than improvement. Many staff members observed that accreditation did not lead to a significant increase in teaching and learning quality or the institutions’ reputation. The effects of accreditation were also seen to be temporary rather than long-lasting. In conclusion, the study argues that though accreditation in vocational training in Vietnam has gained some preliminary success, there is still a mismatch between policy and reality. A number of important implications at both national and institutional levels for more effective accreditation are identified.</p>

Institutional staff perceptions on the impact of accreditation: A study in two Vietnamese vocational training colleges

<p>Governments in many countries worldwide have increasingly focused on accreditation as an important strategy to improve the quality of vocational education and training (VET). In Vietnam, accreditation in vocational training is still in its initial stage of development. The first cycle of accreditation at institutional level was conducted in 2008, and accreditation at programme level was piloted for the first time in 2012. The purpose of this mixed method study was to investigate the actual effects of institutional and programme accreditation from the perspectives of staff members in two Vietnamese vocational training colleges. Sixty staff members in these two institutions participated in the study. A questionnaire combining closed-ended and open-ended questions was administered to all participants. To obtain more in-depth responses about the impact of accreditation, individual interviews were conducted with eight participants. The findings suggest that the staff members overall had a positive perception towards the impact of accreditation regardless of the type of accreditation. The three main perceived benefits of accreditation included the increased awareness amongst staff of QA, its role as a catalyst for institutions’ change and enhancement, and the improvements in managerial practices. However, the study found support for the view that accreditation seemed to have been geared towards accountability rather than improvement. Many staff members observed that accreditation did not lead to a significant increase in teaching and learning quality or the institutions’ reputation. The effects of accreditation were also seen to be temporary rather than long-lasting. In conclusion, the study argues that though accreditation in vocational training in Vietnam has gained some preliminary success, there is still a mismatch between policy and reality. A number of important implications at both national and institutional levels for more effective accreditation are identified.</p>

The Impact of Performance Audit: the New Zealand Experience

<p>Performance audit, compared to the traditional financial and compliance audits, is a relatively new innovation that emerged amidst accountability concerns in the public sector. Economic crises, ministerial scandal and inefficiencies were among the impetus that led the public to demand better performance and greater accountability in the public sector, and performance audit was among the many responses to such demand. In New Zealand, performance audit is carried out by the Controller and Auditor General (the AG) under the mandate granted by the Public Audit Act 2001. Adapting the methodology from grounded theory, this study looks at the impact of performance audit on seven entities audited in 2006 by the AG. This study found that the entities were impacted through the manifestation of implemented audit recommendations and the attainment of performance audit goals. In particular, there is a high acceptance and implementation rate to the audit recommendations made in the seven audits. The implementation of accepted recommendations consequently led to the changes within the entities in terms of managerial practices, as well as internal systems and processes. In some entities, these changes were translated into performance improvement, where the entities experienced changes in the way that they carried out their operations. However, based on interviewees' accounts being the auditees of the audits, most interviewees viewed performance audit as having a greater role for performance accountability compared to performance improvement. Whilst the auditees found the audit recommendations useful, the impact on performance in their view has not been significant. Rather, the auditees viewed performance audit as having a more important role as an assurance tool in terms of their accountability to the public.</p>