Even though firms face strong influential environmental forces, they ‘are in some important sense a reflection of their top managers’ (Pitcher and Smith, 2001: 2). Despite the vast amount of TMT research, there are several areas where research remains sparse, rare and, when available, generates conflicting results (Menz, 2012; Hambrick, 2007; and Higgs, 2006). Researchers have attributed the lack of empirical research to the difficulty in gaining access to TMTs, resulting in a huge number of studies relying on demographic data and/or archival documents. The primary objective of the current study, and the main gap addressed, was the investigation of the TMT strategic decision making process and organisational outcome in a new cultural context, drawing conclusions from qualitative primary data. In addressing the research gap, a pragmatic ontology with a critical realism epistemology was adopted. The multi-case research design was informed by Eisenhardt (1989)’s research design, with Hambrick and Mason (1984) UET as the theoretical lens applied. A qualitative methodology was applied, assisted by mixed methods. Strategies for this research were: semi structured interviews, a survey in the form of a pre-existing questionnaire (Higgs, 2006), and document analysis. The data was collected in a cross-sectional research framework, looking at a particular event at a specific time in fourteen different private organisations. The data was collected from four cities, covering the three main regions of Saudi Arabia. Thirty two interviews were conducted with TMT members, who then completed a short survey. Documents were collected for analysis. The TMTs in the sample were demographically heterogeneous (nationalities, education, age, tenure, and experience), with team sizes between two and three members. TMT diversity led to conflict and slowed the decision process down. Politics, power, internal alliances within the firms, and lobbying were used to overcome conflict. Decisions were challenged by market labour laws and a lack of skilled nationals. Centralisation of decisions was witnessed via the strong grip held by the Board of Directors. This resulted in strong Board influence in order to enforce decisions. The current study contributes to TMT literature, national context and practice. The limitations and future research are discussed.

It is argued that healthcare governance should play an important role in the overall functioning and effective performance of hospitals. However, the literature is devoid of how healthcare governance influences the performance of hospitals in Africa and other developing countries. This study examines the effects of hospital boards and ownership structure on the performance of hospitals in Ghana. The study specifically examines the characteristics of hospital boards, ascertains whether the presence of a hospital board and ownership structure affect hospital performance, evaluates the effects of hospital board characteristics and ownership structure on hospital performance, and also investigates the interaction effects of hospital board characteristics and ownership on performance. Based on a sample of 132 hospitals, the study produces a number of results. First, the study indicates that 69% of the hospitals have a board in place. The results also show that all the mission hospitals have a board in place. Half of the public hospitals and 80% of the private hospitals also have a board. The hospitals with a board exhibit varying board characteristics. Using regression models, the results show that hospitals with a board demonstrate lower occupancy, higher discharge and deliver better quality healthcare. In terms of the effect of board characteristics on performance, smaller boards are associated with better health service quality and lower occupancy. Hospitals with greater proportion of outside board members assist management to be cost efficient and improve on their operations leading to higher discharge. The results also show that hospitals with greater representation of medical staff on the board perform better in terms of occupancy but are less cost efficient. Hospitals with CEO duality perform better in terms of efficiency. However, hospitals with separate positions for the CEO and chair perform better in terms of discharge and service quality. Additionally, the evidence suggests that boards with higher female representation deliver better quality of healthcare, resulting in higher discharge rate. Also, frequency of board meetings is associated with lower occupancy, higher discharge and improved health service quality. The results also show that mission-based and private hospitals perform better than public hospitals. Further, the results of the interaction effects suggest that mission-based and private hospitals with effective board governance exhibit better performance than public hospitals. This study makes a number of new and meaningful contributions to the extant literature and the findings support managerialism, stakeholder and resource dependency theories. The findings also have important implications for effective and efficient governance and management of hospitals.

In this thesis we develop exact and approximate algorithms for the inventory routing problem (IRP). The inventory routing problem is one of deciding an optimal delivery policy for a set of customers through a given planning period. Customers can hold inventory and do not need deliveries every day. Deliveries are carried out by a fleet of homogeneous vehicles that must be routed to travel a minimum distance while visiting all customers scheduled for that day. Decisions concern which customers to be visited and how much to deliver to each of them must be taken. A new formulation for the IRP is presented as a mixed integer programming model. This new approach allows split deliveries so customers can receive the inventory through more than one vehicle during the same day. It also seeks periodic solutions through a given planning period. Although throughout our research the planning period is fixed, all algorithms presented in this thesis can be applied to any length of the planning period. Special cases for this problem are also considered and optimal polynomial algorithms have been developed. We develop four constructive heuristics for the inventory routing problem. These heuristics are based on a schedule-first route-second approach. First, a decision is made on which customers to visit each day, and how much inventory they should receive on each delivery. Then, a vehicle routing problem is solved for each day to perform the deliveries to the customers. Several experiments are carried out to compare the performance of each heuristic. An iterated local search method is then applied to the best solution obtained with these heuristics. The local search is based on node interchange and aims to reduce the number of routes per day as well as the total distance travelled. Extensive computational tests are carried out to asses the effectiveness of this local search procedure.

This thesis focuses on the causes of corporate insolvency, and understanding the characteristics of insolvency risk in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Multiple studies are employed to address some of the gaps which have been identified in the literature. The first study analyses corporate insolvency in the GCC region between 2004 and 2011 using multiple methodologies: a Logit model, supplemented by a Probit model and a 3-way MDS model, which enables the visualisation of key differences between insolvent and solvent firms, supplemented by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. The Logit regression with best-subset selection criteria suggests that profitability and leverage ratios, as well as cash flow-based ratios, can predict insolvency in GCC literature. MDS results indicate that insolvent firms attach most salience to the ‘Non-strategic sales activities', unlike solvent firms which attach more salience to the other dimensions: 'Profitability and financial stability balance’, ‘Sales activities against capital conversion’, and ‘Market value against cash generation’. Hence, the results suggest that firms’ managers should focus less on non-strategic sales activities to reduce susceptibility to insolvency. Taking a multilevel perspective, the second study attempts to contextualise the nature of corporate insolvency in the GCC, using samples of firms from the UK and the USA as comparators. MDS and cluster analysis reveal four dimensions of ratios across the samples: 'effectiveness of sales and cash-generating activities ', 'trade-off between debt management and cash generation/profitability', 'usage of debt versus usage of own assets', and 'trade-off between profitability and cash-generating activities'. Unlike solvent firms, insolvent GCC firms appear very specific in the third dimension, 'usage of debt versus usage of own assets’, which did not appear as associated with macroeconomic variables. The third study is to examine the dynamic causal relationships among macroeconomic indicators of the corporate failure rate in the GCC region by using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) bound test, which use quarterly dataset. These results provide evidence that oil prices in the GCC region combined with other macroeconomic indicators have an impact on the failure rate in the long-run equilibrium. In terms of the short-run, the ARDL model confirmed that the corporate failure rate is mainly determined by the previous period’s failure rate.

Self-management has emerged as an approach to enhance quality of care for patients suffering from long term conditions, and to control costs of health services. So far, however, the effects of this approach as adopted by the Saudi healthcare system in the early 1990s remain unclear. Although current models define the concept of self-management, they do not provide a systematic development or an explanatory theory of how self management affects the outcomes of care. The objective of this research is to develop a framework applicable to the evaluation of self-management programmes. The evaluation model is built on patient-related intervention. The effectiveness of these interventions is determined by the levels of patient engagement and effective participation. Therefore, studying factors that influence patients‘ adherence to self-management activities is crucial to explain the outcomes of these interventions. We apply this framework to the case of diabetes mellitus, one of the most common chronic conditions in Saudi Arabia, causing huge burdens on patients and healthcare providers. A non-experimental retrospective cross-sectional survey research design has been employed to conduct this research using a self-administered questionnaire. Closed-ended questions were used to measure all study variables related to model construction. One open-ended question was used to investigate barriers to diabetes self-management. A non-probability convenient sample design was used to select diabetes centres participated in this study and a systematic approach for selecting patients in these centres. Research data were collected from five diabetes centres and clinics in the main five regions in Saudi Arabia. Quantitative data were analysed using simple, multiple and logistic regressions, whereas a directed content analysis approach was used to analyse qualitative data. The results of this study revealed that diabetes self-management improves clinical outcomes and reduces utilization of health services. The theoretical approaches underpinning self-management were based on established models from the field of health psychology. By investigating the effect of self-efficacy patients‘ beliefs, and locus of control on self-management, we found that these behavioural theories support the core assumptions of self-management. Self-efficacy was the most significant predictor of self-management followed by patient beliefs. Social support, effective communication between patients and health providers in addition to diabetes knowledge were all important factors to positively influence diabetes self-management. However a new construct, misconception of fatalism from the Islamic point of view, was found to play a negative role in diabetes management. The research model also suggests that diabetes knowledge was influenced by several factors. Education level was the most significant predictor of diabetes knowledge followed by age and diabetes education. It was also found that group education improves diabetes knowledge more than individual education. This model is a valid tool that could be used to evaluate self-management programmes in other chronic diseases. It can be used as a decision making supporting tool; to identify different components of self-management interventions, and to compare outcomes of programmes. It can also be used to group patients into different categories to facilitate providing tailored services suitable for each group. It could assist health providers to plan new interventions or to refine existing ones by allocating efforts and financial resources toward the most influential factors that affect patients‘ adherence to self-management activities.

Lean Thinking has been highlighted as one of the significant quality improvement approaches that focuses on the fulfilment of customer value and the elimination of waste. It has also been suggested as the major concept that can help an organisation to achieve the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) and receive the National Quality Awards (NQAs). Thus, Lean Thinking and TQM could be combined in order to solve problems continually and improve the whole of an organisation. This thesis, therefore, investigates how Lean Thinking was implemented alongside TQM in award winning organisations in Thailand. The ultimate outcome of this study provides a conceptual academic model of Lean Thinking implementation, which demonstrates a high comprehensiveness of significant Lean elements prioritising of Lean tools, decision criteria and supporting factors. Construction of the model was preceded by a systematic literature review and a field study, where both online questionnaires and interviews were applied to gather relevant data from 22 award winning organisations in Thailand. The developed model was tested by academics and practitioners who are professionals in Lean Thinking and quality management and subsequently refined. The key contributions of this research are to the theory of Lean Thinking and its applicability to various industrial settings as well as providing a model of Lean Thinking which has been developed and refined. The model was also validated for its theoretical soundness and potential for practical application from both the comparative analysis and the review by experts. Finally, a model for Lean Thinking implementation as a new theoretical construct is suggested for each industrial sector and incorporates a comparative view between the implementation in manufacturing and service sectors.

This research explores the perceptions of management accountants and their work community within a UK university, during a departmental restructure, when new roles and responsibilities emerged. Current literature on the role of management accountants suggests a lack of understanding as to how their role has developed over the years, with research being fragmented and rarely undertaken from the perspective of the service users, or the role holders. Research has predominantly concentrated on organisational aspects of change in management accounting, there being a dearth of research on the effect that role change has on the management accountant’s perception of their role, identity and associated power within the organisation. In addition, there is lack of field-based research and of practitioner research that is undertaken by qualified management accountants working in situ. A qualitative approach was adopted, wherein the author acted as an insider researcher. As an employee and qualified management accountant, the researcher was part of the community being investigated, which enabled observing-participant techniques to be used. Formal data generation spanned a two-year period, wherein semi-structured interviews were undertaken with nineteen key actors, including the accountants and those they served. Throughout, a research diary was maintained to record observations from meetings, face-to-face encounters, and the verbal and written communications associated with the accountant’s role. Cultural Historical Activity Theory was adopted as a lens with which to explore the perceived changes in perceptions that occurred between the management accountants and their wider organisational community. A thematic analysis of the data revealed three key themes: role, identity and power relations. On further analysis, inconsistent actor reports were apparent which referred to the decentralisation process and the change element of the managing accountants’ role. The resultant tensions and contradictions were analysed in detail as activity developed and altered over time. The effectiveness of the finance business partner model was seen to be flawed. In addition, the perceptions management accountants held of their role, identity and power within the university were impacted on negatively. Overall, analysis provided a rich picture that detailed the experiences of the difficulties and ambiguities brought about by change in the management accountants’ role. In investigating professional accountant practice in situ this study makes a strong contribution to the limited research that addresses the changing perceptions and roles of management accountants in the public sector. The insights further contribute to the literature of management accounting activity, in making a theoretical contribution to knowledge in the field of change, with specific reference to power relations, resistance to change, identity and role perception. With respect to the future, as the finance business partner role has become established in recent years, there is a need for a wider understanding of the transition in the management accountants’ role, as a finance business partner and further research is recommended both in the public and private sector.

Several studies have found that traditional design planning to be unreliable and a cause of workflow variability during design development. The reason given for this is that traditional design planning lacks a mechanism to control workflow. Other studies have shown that the Last Planner system (LPS) of production planning and control reduces workflow variability during the construction stage of building projects by increasing planning reliability through greater collaboration in the planning of construction tasks and better coordination of work between the building trades. It is believed that LPS can also reduce workflow variability during the design stage by increasing planning reliability through greater collaboration in the planning of design tasks and better coordination of work between the design disciplines. In recent years, there has been a move toward collaborative and coordinated working practices in design firms, which has necessitated the formation of architectural/engineering (AE) firms, where all the design disciplines are involved in developing a design, aided by Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools. It is believed that, as processes that promote collaboration and coordination, LPS and BIM can be combined to improve design workflow beyond the degree to which it might be improved by the application of either of these innovations independently. It has also been suggested that there are synergies between Lean and BIM that can be exploited during design development to remove waste, reduce workflow variability and thus improve design workflow. These theories need further testing. Using action research (AR) and working closely with thirty-three design practitioners, the researcher facilitated the implementation of LPS weekly work planning (LPS WWP) and the realization of lean principles through BIM during the design development phase of a seven-story hotel and a six-story apartment at two different AE firms in Florida. Implementation of LPS WWP focused on increasing planning reliability to reduce workflow variability. The realization of lean principles focused on reducing waste in the BIM process through greater collaboration and better coordination between the various design disciplines. A Lean/BIM interaction matrix developed by Sacks et al. (2009) was used as a framework for exploring positive interactions between twenty-four lean principles and seven BIM functionalities. Percent Plan Complete (PPC) measurements taken before and after the implementation of LPS WWP suggest that LPS WWP was effective in improving workflow in both design projects: PPC increased by an average of 12.1% in the hotel project and by an average of 13.9% in the apartment project after LPS weekly work planning was implemented, representing an upward trend in PPC and continual improvement in design workflow. Eight lean principles were realized through the seven BIM functionalities used in both design projects, resulting in thirty-three discernible positive interactions in the hotel project and twenty-nine discernible positive interactions in the apartment project and contributing to the overall improvement in design workflow. This research has demonstrated that LPS WWP can reduce design workflow variability by increasing design planning reliability and that lean principles can be realized through greater collaboration and better coordination between the various design disciplines during the BIM process to reduce waste and improve design workflow during design development. It recommends that future implementation of LPS in design projects should consider LPS at the WWP level only and during the design development phase only. It also recommends that BIM should be used during design development as a design tool and not just as a visualization tool so its lean potential can be fully exploited. Further research is suggested for identifying and addressing causes of variability in design workflow other than poor design planning.

Talent identification (TID) has implications for practice and theory in light of the increasing popularity of talent management (TM). However, because of the diverse ways and settings in which it occurs, the field of TM lacks conceptual and theoretical boundaries concerning what it means and how it is practiced. Most research takes place in large profit-seeking firms and the main focus of this thesis is to explore how talent and TM are conceptualised in public sector organizations. A qualitative case study methodology was used to gain insights from three public sector organizations and one large retail organization in the UK. The theoretical framework is pitched on multi-levels drawing largely on Institutional Theory with sub-levels being organisational justice, Resource Base View and Human Capital Theories. Key findings include a more inclusive TM philosophy operating in the retail company in contrast to relatively exclusive approaches in two public organizations and a hybrid approach pursued in a third public organization. A second contribution comprises two new aspects of the definition of ‘talent’ namely people who are ‘inclusive’ in their management approach and the idea of ‘talent’ as the ‘art of the conversation’. Both aspects expand the concept of ‘talent as object’ and are useful to practice and policy by driving knowledge of equality and diversity as well as promoting managerial responsibility and competence in conducting career conversations and in driving talent development which is a generic challenge for managers. A third contribution to debates around clarifying the boundaries of the meaning of ‘exclusive’ and ‘inclusive’ talent in relation to inclusion and exclusion is typified by local government’s ‘inclusion’ add-on to its ‘exclusive’ talent approach, which enabled identification of talent from everyone in specified targeted grades as well as those from diverse backgrounds who were under-represented in its leadership team. This finding from local government is important to the TM field as other findings suggest that ‘exclusive’ talent implies ‘exclusion’. A fourth contribution from the health sector highlights the importance of evaluating TM programmes in order to drive continuous organisational support and manage the challenges of poor leadership whilst tracking the progression of talent cohorts.

The present research, conducted with the ultimate goal of preventing, detecting, and controlling harmful deception, aims to understand deceptive behaviour by exploring the potential effects of situational factors on interpersonal deception. Given the deliberateness of the deception targeted in this research, the first part focuses on how situational factors influence the early stage of deception, i.e. the forming of intentions and the second part focuses on how situational factors alter the late stage of deception, i.e. the exhibition of behaviours (in this study I target nonverbal behaviours). By conducting six experimental studies in diverse research contexts, this research contributes to the knowledge of deceptive behaviour in four major areas: (1) It reveals that the situational factor of the probability associated with receiving negative outcomes for deceiving influences deception from the forming of intentions to the exhibition of nonverbal behaviours. (2) It shows that situational factors enhancing the fundamental psychological processes of deception (i.e. emotion, cognitive effort, and attempted behavioural control) can consequently alter deceptive intentions as well as elicit nonverbal indicators associated with these processes. (3) Specifically, the findings suggest that people tend to deceive when they perceive serious negative impact for themselves if not doing so, and such a trend is moderated by the extent of the negative impact in relation to the victims of their deception. (4) The findings also partially support my proposition that explains deception leakages using the failure of self-regulation of behaviour led by ego-depletion, which suggests that self-regulation failure is a key part of the cognitive mechanism behind the behavioural leakages of deception. This research also benefits practitioners with the understanding regarding deceptive behaviour in a range of contexts, as well as providing useful information about the situational factors that can influence deceptive intentions and behaviours.