<p> This is an empirical study of ecological worldviews and action logics of global sustainability leaders. Although a body of research has emerged in recent years focused on corporate sustainability practices at the organizational level, the literature has paid less attention to corporate sustainability at the individual level. As a result, little is known about the deeper psychological motivations of sustainability leaders and how these motivations may influence their behavior and effectiveness as change agents. </p><p> This study was based on theoretical insights from several social science disciplines including ecopsychology, integral ecology, environmental sociology, and developmental psychology. Drawing on interviews with 65 leaders in more than 50 multinational corporations, NGOs, and consultancies, the study presents three major propositions that illuminate specific ways that ecological worldviews and action logics are developed and expressed by sustainability leaders. Specific findings include five experiences that shape ecological worldviews over the lifespan and six ways that post-conventional action logics are expressed by sustainability leaders. Findings also include how the complexity of sustainability is driving highly collaborative approaches to leadership. Insights from this research can be integrated into leadership development programs in a wide range of public and private institutions and will be of interest to a range of sustainability scholars, social science researchers, sustainability executives, and social entrepreneurs. </p><p> Key Words: Sustainability leader, ecological worldviews, action logics, ecopsychology, developmental theory, new ecological paradigm, ecological self, corporate sustainability.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to examine the perceptions and lived experiences of senior leaders of three different small-to medium sized manufacturing companies, located in the state of Colorado, as related to success strategies and barriers to lean manufacturing implementation. Findings resulted in nine emergent themes: (a) lean manufacturing implementation should be implemented in a way specific to the context of the individual organization; (b) time, resources, and changes in customer demand present challenges in sustaining lean manufacturing implementation; (c) resistance to change is a barrier to lean manufacturing implementation; (d) small-tomedium sized companies use outside consultants and trainers for training staff on lean manufacturing implementation; (e) front line workers need to be trained to apply lean tools and concepts for successful lean manufacturing implementation; (f) front line workers have to own and believe in lean manufacturing for it to be successful; (g) senior leaders have varying definitions of what their role is in leading lean manufacturing implementation; (h) senior leaders have differing perspectives regarding the degree of leadership knowledge required for successful lean manufacturing implementation; and (i) senior leaders struggle to expand lean manufacturing implementation into support departments. Recommendations included (a) viewing lean as a philosophy for managing the business, (b) training and education for senior leaders, (c) defining senior leader roles in implementing lean manufacturing, and (d) strategies when using outside consultants in a company&rsquo;s lean efforts.</p>

<p> The percentage of failure in traditional project management is high, as nearly 70% of projects fail (The Standish Group, 2009). Unsuccessful projects impact businesses, customers, and society in sizable ways. </p><p> Project success and failure research fit into two categories: (a) project management methodological issues and (b) leadership and organizational behavior issues. Most research focuses on the former. This research addressed the later, specifically examining Information Technology (IT) project workers who reside in the United States. </p><p> The central research question was, What is the optimal organizational culture for IT project teams such that success factors are enhanced and failure factors are lessened? A mixed-methods study was designed and implemented. For Phase One, an internet survey was conducted using Cameron and Quinn's (2006) Competing Values Framework (Organizational Culture Assessment Inventory (OCAI)) and compared to a measure of IT Project Success. For Phase Two, qualitative interviews were carried out using Schein's (2004) Three Levels Model of organizational culture, and then a Thematic Analysis was completed to obtain an optimal culture model. </p><p> One hundred forty-one participants completed Phase One. Results showed no significant correlation between the four culture types (Clan, Adhocracy, Market, and Hierarchy) and IT project success. For Phase Two, 15 participants of varying job roles and demographics completed interviews. Applying Thematic Analysis techniques, 175 codes related to leadership and organizational behavior issues were determined, which produced twenty-six themes. </p><p> The findings from Phase Two produced a set of interrelated organizational culture factors that IT project workers believed were optimal for project success. The framework was termed Enlightened Information Technology Project Culture (EITPC)TM and comprised four dimensions: (a) organizational behavior/leadership, (b) processes, (c) support, and (d) technology. The results suggest that if managers and consultants implemented this model, or applicable factors, that their IT projects would likely have greater success, or lower degrees of failure. </p><p> Suggestions for future research is to continue to study leadership and organizational behavior issues of project teams. Additional research is needed on the Enlightened Information Technology Project Culture (EITPC)TM framework to determine whether differing demographics of IT workers and company (or project) types impact the results.</p>

<p> There is an extraordinary group of people, motivated by their Christian faith, starting businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa because they believe that business plays a key role in alleviating poverty. These faith-based social business (FSB) leaders face situations similar to those faced by leaders in other academic and practitioner fields including business as mission, social entrepreneurship, international business, and international development, given their pursuit of multiple-bottom lines, cross-cultural engagement in undeveloped nations, and a focus on integration of faith. The complexities of their contexts create opportunities and challenges in which their strategies and operations require further investigation and analysis. </p><p> This case study of six FSBs explores what this author labels the "domains of influence" of business structure, outcomes, and partnership that shape the thoughts and actions of these business leaders. It found that in the domain of structure, FSBs only allow limited forms of subsidizations based on their desire to steer clear of unhealthy dependency and avoid harm to the local economy. Furthermore, there is an expressed need for creative funding during the pioneering/incubation periods to allow for the pursuit of traditional investment after proof of concept. In the domain of outcomes, FSBs identify various understandings of, and pursue multiple strategies toward, economic, spiritual and social goals. Findings suggest that the primary economic goal of FSBs is sustainability, defined in multiple ways. In the spiritual arena, given the predominantly Christian location in which these FSBs were operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, a contextual understanding of local views of spirituality promotes a reactive form of evangelism. Moreover, FSB leaders view spiritual and social outcomes as inseparable and strategically target not only the product itself towards social impact, but also use the power they have as a business to promote justice. This practice of "justice" is accompanied by a social practice of "tough love" in regards to the employees, since it is believed to be better developmentally in terms of building dignity and hope than nonprofit handout efforts. Finally, in the domain of partnership, the findings show that the FSBs tend to employ a short-term expatriate rotation if U.S. partner exit strategies are not viable, and pay special attention to addressing pre-existing racial hierarchical stereotypes within the partnership.</p>

<p> Strategic enrollment management is a process where desired enrollment outcomes are achieved through the orchestration of several core functions of an institution including marketing, recruitment, admissions, pricing and aid, retention programs, academic support services and program development. The problem is that small private colleges may face significant demographic and economic challenges that could negatively affect future enrollment levels. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how three small private institutions in the Midwest increased full-time undergraduate enrollment by more than 100% within a 10-year period. Those colleges were Aurora University, Benedictine University, and Notre Dame College. The enrollment growth strategies utilized at each institution were examined in an attempt to combine various strategies to develop a model for enrollment growth that might be used by other small, private colleges and universities. The institutions in this study implemented several parallel strategic initiatives including those that focused on athletics, campus building investments, financial aid, academic programs, admissions recruiting, and pricing that yielded significant enrollment gains over a ten-year period. This research project achieved its purpose as the results of the study led to the development of a model of enrollment growth strategies that may be utilized by other small private institutions to explore future potential enrollment growth strategies. Recommendations for additional research include a) enrollment growth strategies at other small private institutions in different areas of the United States, b) enrollment growth strategies at larger institutions, and c) institutions that experience enrollment growth within a future ten-year period.</p>

<p> Since 2010, 2,000 U. S. leaders spent $150 billion on return on investment (ROI) training, yet questions still exist on how to measure the benefits of organizational change. The purpose of this embedded single-case study was to explore how business leaders could use ROI to characterize the benefit of intervention strategies for organizational change. Stakeholder theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A purposive sample of 20 civilian personnel managers located at a medical facility for veterans in central Texas participated in semistructured interviews. The 5 primary themes that emerged using thematic analysis were (a) training, (b) leadership, (c) communication, (d) recognition, and (e) consistency. Implications for positive social change include the possibility of organizational leaders applying these findings to develop better intervention strategies. Such interventions could improve processes for stakeholders and create an open dialogue with business leaders within the government sector.</p>

<p> The objective of the mixed-methods research project was to expand understanding of economic incentives and barriers to international expansion for small and medium sized enterprises located in the coastal counties of South Carolina. Growing global markets are linked to increased opportunities for smaller enterprises to participate in international commerce. Limited understanding of incentives that enable success and techniques effective for overcoming barriers that restrict South Carolina firms from rewarding participation in international markets was the research problem addressed in the study. The purpose of the study was to explore the international expansion experience of leaders for South Carolina small and medium-sized enterprises and examine differences in leader-perceived levels of success for Lowcountry firms because of international status. The project was a mixed methods study using an exploratory, sequential design with an initial stream employing qualitative techniques followed by a subsequent stream using quantitative tools to analyze survey data. Qualitative interview techniques were used to engage a limited number of firms to acquire data on common internationalization experiences among participants. Three internationalization incentives and three barriers were identified. Hypotheses developed from the initial strand of the project were then answered using analysis of survey data collected via a census of the available population. Triangulation of data from two phases of the mixed-methods study revealed foreign market opportunity and supply chain resources as incentives, and ample domestic-market opportunity as a significant barrier to international commerce. Leaders of internationally active firms reported larger customer bases, larger numbers of employees, higher levels of competition, and higher five-year average rates of revenue growth.</p>

<p> This qualitative study, using a two iteration Delphi method, identified five supply chain leadership best practices. The primary focus of the best practices is to provide proven practices that meet the needs and requirements of supply chain leaders to effectively lead supply chains. A panel of experts selected from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals online database provided data for the study via a commercial electronic survey service. The expert panel provided open and closed ended, subjective responses to the study questions. The survey service collected and summarized the raw data. Manual analysis provided the basis for modifications to the Delphi survey instruments after the pilot study and the first iterations of the Delphi process. The findings allowed validation of three of the four candidate best practices identified during the literature review and two best practices identified during analysis of the first iteration responses. The five leadership best practices could provide leaders the knowledge to improve innovation and strategic leadership within supply chains.</p>

<p> The question is regularly posed within communication academia as to whether computer mediated communication (CMC) is a "richer" form of communication than face-to-face (FtF). Similarly, the necessity of meeting FtF with regard to business has been repeatedly called into question since the downturn of the economy in 2008-2009. One reason professionals gather FtF is for tradeshows. </p><p> This thesis looks at the quality of the communication that takes place at FtF tradeshows, and reveals attitudes and opinions with regard to the importance of the relationship-building and commerce that occurs in person and/or online. The results inform what we can and cannot accomplish in these different environments. </p><p> 331 professionals who have worked in tradeshows as a planner, an exhibitor, an attendee, or an executive took an online survey designed to reveal how they felt about the relationship-building and commerce that occurs in the tradeshow environment. The questions were focused on whether FtF, CMC, or a combination of the two is the solution, exploring the value and necessity of tradeshows. Additionally, an autoethnography highlights some personal experiences, having served within each of the professional roles with regard to tradeshows. </p><p> The results showed the respondents felt that CMC is not a replacement for the FtF communication that occurs at tradeshows, but it is a useful supplement to the FtF experience. The autoethnography echoed these sentiments, in addition to echoing the short answers of many of the respondents.</p>

<p> The terrorist-controlled surface-to-air fire (SAFIRE) threat places U.S. air-carrier pilots and passengers at significant risk. The problem addressed in this study is that air-carriers do not provide pilots with risk-reduction training designed to prepare them to deny, detect, defeat, and report SAFIRE attacks, and there is limited scholarly research to address this topic. The purpose of this quantitative, comparative study was to analyze U.S. air-carrier pilot SAFIRE risk-reduction training as related to the principles of adult learning theory that state adult learners will be more successful when they perceive training as valuable and applicable to their daily tasks and responsibilities. The analysis included descriptive statistics to determine the majority (70.5%) of 112 U.S. air-carrier pilots contained in the self-selected purposive sample perceived SAFIRE risk-reduction training as valuable. The analysis conducted using comparative statistics indicated there was not a statistically significant difference in the perception of the value of SAFIRE risk-reduction training between the four sample groups. The findings indicated the majority (85.7%) of air-carrier pilots believed an effective SAFIRE risk-reduction training program must consist of a combination of computer-based training, classroom training, and simulator training methods. Recommendations for future research are to determine if the results of this study apply to non-U.S. air-carrier pilots, identify parameters for specific countertactics, and generate specific objectives for potential training programs.</p>