Project leadership requires a diverse blend of technical and behavioral skills. Researchers have focused on the technical aspects of project management, leaving a void in understanding the behavioral skills of project leadership. The purpose of this correlational study was to gain insights into the behavioral aspects of projects by understanding the social capital and knowledge integration abilities of project leaders. Nahapiet and Ghoshal's social capital definition and its structural, relational, and cognitive attributes form the basis for the social capital theory constructs used in this study. The focus of the research questions was on the relationship of social capital to knowledge integration and project success. A self-designed survey (α = .925) was used to measure the latent variables of a project leader's social capital and knowledge integration abilities on the observed variable of project success. Survey research, conducted using a sample of project management professionals (N = 108), elicited project members' perceptions on the behavioral aspects of project leaders. Structural equation modeling validated that knowledge integration assists in achieving project success and that 2 types of social capital, structural and relational, have a significant influence on knowledge integration. Structural social capital has a positive effect, and relational social capital has a negative effect. The findings indicated that project management professionals need not only technical skills, but also behavioral skills. Having project leaders with the right blend of competencies will improve project success rates, affecting social change by enabling organizations to achieve greater economic benefits from better understanding the behavioral aspects of project teams.

With the advent of knowledge-intensive economies, plus the ever-accelerating development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), organisational knowledge has become the key driver of an organisation's value and ultimately, an important source of an organisation's sustainable competitive edge. Thus, numerous organisations have started to invest heavily in establishing knowledge management systems (KMSs). Subsequently, they wish to access knowledge from individuals in order to enhance their acquisition of knowledge and ultimately transform this into organisational knowledge. Even though existing research studies have evidenced extensively the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of individuals' knowledge-sharing behaviour in organisations from diverse perspectives (e.g. organisational behaviour, sociology and psychology), individuals still seem inclined to hoard their knowledge, rather than share it with others in organisations. To this end, this research aims to investigate and identify essential elements related to individuals' knowledge-sharing behaviour within the complex context of the virtual organisation of Taiwanese Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), comprising the whole system of Taiwanese Farmers' Associations, by integrating multilevel perspectives of individuals in organisations (the micro-level), workplace networks in organisations (the meso-level) and organisational culture (the macro-level).

In the light of a post-pandemic world, the concept of hybrid work environments has become significantly more important since the way of working has changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not being dependent upon a set office spot to conduct one´s work-related tasks has created both positive and negative consequences for both the individuals and the organizations. In conjunctions with the increased importance of hybrid workplaces, we have seen an improved academic attention towards the area since scholars claim that the hybrid way of working is the future. Even though there has been an abundance of research conducted investigating the post-pandemic hybrid work environments, this thesis contributes to an area that according to us have been sparsely investigated through focusing on the effects on remote and/or hybrid workplaces and its employees due to the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic through the following research question:  “How has the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic affected remote and/or hybrid workplaces and employees?”  The research purpose of this study is to investigate how the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected hybrid and/or remote workplace solutions and its employees. We deem to broaden the existing research whilst concurrently develop new theoretical knowledge and expand the overall understanding of the investigated area. The purpose of this study was fulfilled through conducting a qualitative study with seven semi-structured interviews with people that have worked within the same organization before, during, and after the pandemic to obtain their own personal experience regarding the effects of the implementation of hybrid work environments. Through applying a qualitative thematic analysis, the empirical findings were categorized into three overarching themes with following sub-themes that were identified as adequate and relevant to highlight.  The result of this thesis indicates that the abruptness of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the organizations and the employees in both a positive and negative way since the changes were perceived to be needed and appreciated but at the same time implemented in an abrupt fashion which worked as an epiphanic force for several cultural and psychosocial related issues for the employees. Lastly, our findings indicates that there is a need for further research within the investigated area to hopefully facilitate and aid the future organizations, managers, and employees who are planning of or are currently in the process of implementing hybrid work environments.

Allowing communities to become integral players in curriculum implementation conversation has not been taken seriously by academics and the educational leaders. Generally, there is a growing realisation in academic circles that knowledge and skills in primary school education cannot be solely owned by school heads and teachers for effective curriculum implementation to be realised. School heads and teachers need pedagogical support from members of the community around their primary schools who have the knowledge and skills that teachers can make use of in teaching and learning. Current curriculum implementation practices have seen community members as peripheral players whose knowledge and skills are of diminished value. The purpose of this study was to explore how community members’ knowledge and skills could be harnessed in curriculum implementation at primary school level in Zimbabwe’s Chivi district of Masvingo. The notion was to grow a partnership between community members, school heads and teachers. The study was informed by the Social Capital Theory, a theory devoted to the establishment of social networks, links and social relations among individuals and groups for the realisation of new ways of co-operation. The qualitative case study design was employed, where individual interviews, focus group discussions and open-ended questionnaires were the data-collection instruments. Four rural primary schools with their respective school heads, were randomly selected to participate in the study. Twenty teachers, two traditional leaders, two church leaders, two business people and eight parents comprised the purposefully selected participants. The study findings indicated that community members and the school community have not meaningfully engaged each other in curriculum implementation. The barriers to a successful relationship included: the language of education, feelings of inadequacy, time constraints, and the polarised political environment. Evaluated against the social capital theory, participants appreciated the need for partnerships in curriculum implementation for shared resources, knowledge and skills for the benefit of the learners. The study recommends a rethink by school heads, teachers and community members, aided by government policy to create space for community contribution in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

從時代趨勢中洞悉到女性創業議題的重要 ，爰發現青輔會「飛雁專案」下之非預期性政策產出(「中華飛雁創業互助協會」)的關鍵地位與價值，於檢視該組織背後的脈絡因素中覺察到「新制度主義之鑲嵌性概念」與「動態社會資本理論建構」間不謀而合，除確立女性創業環境下公部門（青輔會）、非營利組織（中華飛雁創業互助協會）及個人(微型女性創業者)間之互為鑲嵌關係，更因該組織成立而點明女性創業之動態社會資本建構過程，調和過去二元價值對立的窘境，透過實務與理論間交互檢證，開創女性創業、非營利組織及社會資本理論間之新紀元。 / Owing to the key status and value of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Taiwan (WEAT) and unpredictable policy output of the“Free & Yong Program ”of National Youth Commission of Executive Yuan (NYC), this paper seeks to identify the importance of current trend issue about women entrepreneurship. In viewing the inner factors of the organizational context, I find there’s a coincidence between the“ embedding concept of new institutionalism” and “dynamic construction of social capital theory”. It not only sets up the correlation among Gov (NYC), NPO（WEAT）and individual (women mircrobusinesses entrepreneurs), but also makes the process of dynamic construction of social capitals in women business clear, harmonizing the paradox of structural/rational dualism in the past. The Interviewing and case study design are mainly employed methods in this research to cross-check practice and theory and thus depicts a better interaction among women entrepreneurship, NPO and social capital theory.

Social Capital and Open Innovation are important for organisational growth, as both of them influence Innovation, Learning and Job Satisfaction. The literature indicates that informal network measured as social capital and formal network measured as open innovation influences positively to organizational innovation performance, learning and job satisfaction. Most of the studies in this area have been carried out using univariate approaches, and only few dimensions of both Social Capital and Open Innovation have been considered. Current literature outlines the positive influence of Social Capital and Open Innovation on Learning, Innovation and Job Satisfaction. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop a multi-dimensional framework for Social Capital and Open Innovation, in order to better understand the nuances of Learning, Innovation and Job Satisfaction in an R&D setting. Another important factor influencing the R&D outcomes is Absorptive Capacity; it is the capacity of the organisation to identify and use external knowledge. The direct and moderating role of Absorptive Capacity has been examined. Both theoretical and conceptual models have been proposed, and a measurement scale in form of a questionnaire has been developed. Data was collected from 35 organisations across India operating in the field of defence R&D. The sample included Government-run R&D organisations, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and private firms, and total of 331 engineers/scientists responded to the survey. Data was analysed using statistical methods such as Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Common Method Variance (CMV), and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Reliability and validity of the proposed scales for the constructs have been verified using appropriate techniques, and further inferences have been drawn by using regression techniques and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the proposed relationships. It has been found that both Social Capital and Open Innovation have positive influence on Learning, Innovation and Job Satisfaction. Further, it was found that Absorptive Capacity had a positive association with both Innovation and Learning. However, Absorptive Capacity did not moderate the relationship of Social Capital with both Innovation and Learning, but was found to moderate the relationship between Open Innovation and Innovation, for both outbound and inbound approaches of Open Innovation. Bonding Social Capital had a relatively stronger positive association with Learning, while Bridging Social Capital was found to have a stronger relationship with Innovation. In summary, networking factors Social Capital and Open Innovation have strong positive association with R&D outcomes measured as innovation performance, learning and job satisfaction.

Allowing communities to become integral players in curriculum implementation conversation has not been taken seriously by academics and the educational leaders. Generally, there is a growing realisation in academic circles that knowledge and skills in primary school education cannot be solely owned by school heads and teachers for effective curriculum implementation to be realised. School heads and teachers need pedagogical support from members of the community around their primary schools who have the knowledge and skills that teachers can make use of in teaching and learning. Current curriculum implementation practices have seen community members as peripheral players whose knowledge and skills are of diminished value. The purpose of this study was to explore how community members’ knowledge and skills could be harnessed in curriculum implementation at primary school level in Zimbabwe’s Chivi district of Masvingo. The notion was to grow a partnership between community members, school heads and teachers. The study was informed by the Social Capital Theory, a theory devoted to the establishment of social networks, links and social relations among individuals and groups for the realisation of new ways of co-operation. The qualitative case study design was employed, where individual interviews, focus group discussions and open-ended questionnaires were the data-collection instruments. Four rural primary schools with their respective school heads, were randomly selected to participate in the study. Twenty teachers, two traditional leaders, two church leaders, two business people and eight parents comprised the purposefully selected participants. The study findings indicated that community members and the school community have not meaningfully engaged each other in curriculum implementation. The barriers to a successful relationship included: the language of education, feelings of inadequacy, time constraints, and the polarised political environment. Evaluated against the social capital theory, participants appreciated the need for partnerships in curriculum implementation for shared resources, knowledge and skills for the benefit of the learners. The study recommends a rethink by school heads, teachers and community members, aided by government policy to create space for community contribution in curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Cette thèse étudie les principales caractéristiques, le développement, les dimensions sociales, les avantages ainsi que les défis de la franchise dans le secteur de l'éducation au Pakistan. En outre, les résultats de notre étude montrent que la franchise de l'éducation au Pakistan fonctionne essentiellement comme une forme de franchise sociale. L'étude illustre également comment la dimension sociale de la franchise, dans le paysage éducatif pakistanais, est contrebalancée avec le côté commercial de cette pratique. Une approche qualitative multi-perspective a été adoptée. Cela a consisté à mener et à enregistrer 44 entretiens approfondis avec les franchiseurs, les franchisés, les enseignants, les employés du réseau, les parents, les étudiants et les représentants du gouvernement. Les données secondaires ont été collectées sur les sites Web des franchiseurs. Les données ont été transcrites et analysées par NVivo. Nos résultats mettent en évidence un lien entre l'émergence de la franchise sociale et la performance des établissements d'enseignement du secteur public. Nos résultats montrent également que les réseaux de franchises d'éducation au Pakistan ont eu une contribution significative sur le plan social, dans la mesure où, les taux d'alphabétisation ont augmenté et que les inégalités entre les sexes ont été réduites. Cela peut, par conséquent, être considéré comme une forme de franchise sociale. Certaines caractéristiques des réseaux de franchises éducatives au Pakistan sont les mêmes que celles de la franchise dans des secteurs plus traditionnels tels que les hôtels et les restaurants. Il est intéressant de noter que la fourniture de la marque, du transfert de savoir-faire, de l'assistance et de la formation, ainsi que l'uniformité du réseau, ont été aussi importants que dans les secteurs traditionnels de franchise. Les résultats suggèrent par ailleurs que les utilisateurs et le public ont une perception positive de la franchise dans le secteur de l'éducation et cela est considéré comme une meilleure alternative par rapport aux autres options disponibles. / This study investigates the main characteristics, development, social dimensions, benefits and the challenges of franchising in the education sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, it highlights that education franchising in Pakistan is mainly operating as a form of social franchising. The study also discusses how the social dimension of education franchising in Pakistan is counterbalanced with the commercial side of this business. A multi-perspective qualitative approach was adopted. This involved conducting and recording 44 in-depth interviews with franchisors, franchisees, school teachers, network employees, parents, students and government officials. Secondary data was collected from franchisor websites. Data was transcribed and analyzed by NVivo. The findings suggest a link between the emergence of social franchising and the performance of public sector educational institutions. Moreover, findings elaborate that education franchising networks in Pakistan have made a significant social contribution by increasing literacy rates and reducing gender inequalities. Therefore, it can be considered as a form of social franchising. Some characteristics of educational franchise networks in Pakistan are the same as those of franchising in more traditional sectors such as hotels and restaurants. Interestingly, the provision of brand name, transfer of know-how, assistance and training, as well as network uniformity, were found to be just as important as they are in traditional franchising sectors. The findings also suggest that users and public have a positive perception of franchising in the education sector and it is regarded as a better alternative as compared to other available options.

Syftet med denna studie var att öka kunskapen om motiv som leder till att medborgare organiserar sig mot vapenvåld och för en tryggare ort, efter att en ung man i området skjutits till döds på öppen gata. Vidare var syftet att få en förståelse för hur de mobiliserande processerna tar sig uttryck i Skarpnäck. Studiens frågeställningar har besvarats genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sju medborgare som deltar i mobiliseringen, samt ostrukturerade observationer av mobiliseringens skeende. Studiens data har analyserats med teorin om sociala rörelser, samt Bourdieus kapitalformer i kombination med begreppen fält och habitus. Resultaten visar på att motiven till deltagandet grundar sig i en kombination av faktorer, som exempelvis sociala relationer, platsidentitet och gemenskap. Vidare framkommer det av resultatet att området präglas av bland annat boendesegregation och resursbrister i den kommunala skolan, som på olika sätt bidrar med en distans mellan medborgarna och aktörer inom den offentliga sektorn. Mobiliseringen i Skarpnäck utgörs av ett kritiskt och kollektivt handlade som fokuserar på att kartlägga behov i området, vilket sedermera framförts till Stadsdelsnämnden i form av ett medborgarförslag. / The aim of this paper is to increase knowledge on the motives that lead to citizens organizing against gun violence and for a safer neighborhood, after a young man in the community was shot to death on an open street. Furthermore, the aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of how the process of mobilisation took place in Skarpnäck. The study’s questions have been answered through two research methods; qualitative interviews with seven citizens who took part in the mobilization, as well as by unstructured observations of mobilising events. Theories applied whilst analysing the collected data were social movement theoryand Bourdieu’s theory of capital as well as the terms field and habitus. Results show that citizen participation is motivated by several factors, such as social ties,  place identity and  community. Results also show that the neighborhood, amongst other things, is affected by segregation and lack of resources in the local public school, which in different ways  contribute to a distance between citizens and civil servants in the public sector. Mobilisation in Skarpnäck takes form through critical and collective action that focuses on mapping needs in the neighborhood, which are then presented to the districts committee as citizen proposals.