Nada K Kakabadse

• PhD
• University of Northampton

Leadership is a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon essential for guiding individuals and organizations toward shared goals. Despite its importance, leadership is constrained by various limitations, including political, contextual, ethical, emotional, communicational, institutional, motivational, and introspectional factors. These limitations impac...

Leadership of Rebellion: Navigating Unconventional Paths to Drive Change - Leadership has traditionally been linked to order and adherence to norms, but history shows that rebel leaders, who challenge the status quo, are crucial for transformative change. These leaders possess courage, vision, and resilience, and thrive in chaos, seeing disruption...

The present study examines two board behaviors, their antecedents and their consequences in the COVID‐19 crisis. The two behaviors are (1) board involvement in crisis management planning and (2) board creative effort in finding solutions. The antecedents are board expertise and cognitive diversity. The consequence is firm resilience. The study buil...

Purpose This study empirically examines the impact of board diversity on environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes in organizations from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study aims to extend prior literature by covering the impacts of the institutional context on board diversity and ESG outcomes. Design/methodology/approach Using a th...

Purpose This study aims to develop a theoretical framework that marketing practitioners and scholars can adopt to enhance their understanding of how firms can effectively deploy and use digital human avatars as part of their global digital marketing strategy. By doing so, we inform investors of ongoing digital transformations of marketing practices...

Despite an increasing remit and recognition of the role of the board Chair, resources that effective Chairs of the 21st century deploy remain inadequately explored in the existing literature. This article addresses this gap through the innovative use of 57 face-to-face, elite interviews with board members and provides new insights into the best pra...

We explore the impact of board resources arising from diverse board members on the achievement of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. Employing resource dependence theory as our frame and drawing on qualitative data from 41 interviews with board directors of publicly traded and privately held companies in the United Arab Emirates (UA...

Our aim is to design a conceptual model illustrating the impact of corporate boards on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Scholars and researchers from various disciplines have all pointed out the increasing importance of CSR as a corporate strategy, and the question of how to manage the corporate attention allocation to CSR issues has shown it...

Purpose Using the attention-based view, this paper aims to examine whether and how board composition might influence the allocation of board attention to corporate sustainability. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that uses a theoretical perspective pointing to the importance of generating a board composition that might benefi...

This exploratory qualitative inquiry examines the perspectives of 26 board members in medium-sized, privately held companies operating in the United Kingdom. The study question investigates how digital technologies (DT)¹ are impacting on board director capabilities. Different board members’ experiences from their own perspectives are examined, with...

The deleterious effects of a black-swan event, COVID-19, on companies and their governance are likely to be wide-ranging and unprecedented. To survive a potentially existential crisis that organizations are currently facing and remain sustainable, they may have to look beyond the standard governance models, leadership styles, and leaders’ attribute...

Despite regulatory efforts to promote gender diversity on boards, women are still severely underrepresented in board leadership in the UK, beyond FTSE 100 companies. Evidence suggests that women, when poorly represented inthe workplace, are more likely to suffer discrimination. In this study we report the first‐hand experiences of gender discrimina...

The desire to be more responsive to the demands of citizens complicates the relationship between Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary and has an impact on policy delivery capacity. This article considers four separate contributions to effective policy delivery in a context of increasing and increasingly variegated demands: those provided by t...

Using Stewart's (1976a, 1976b) role framework as an analytical lens, this paper examines how business incubator managers perceive their role and performance, and the choices they make in dealing with constraints and competing demands. Given that the literature in this domain has not considered how these types of managers experience agency and struc...

Purpose Boards presently are considered the most critical component in improving corporate governance (CG). Board diversity is increasingly being recommended as a tool for enhancing firm performance. Academic research and regulatory action regarding board diversity are focussed mainly on gender and ethnic composition of boards. However, the perspec...

Global cities with a largely cosmopolitan environment, such as Auckland, Berlin, Dubai, London, New York, Shanghai or Singapore, are successfully developing and attracting entrepreneurs from all over the world. This book elucidates the policy approaches related to the formation of the cosmopolitan environment that supports entrepreneurship in large...

Governments usually justify private sector involvement in financing and delivering public services by citing a lack of funds, pressure from citizens to receive public services sooner and the need make use of private firms’ technological and management expertise (Grimsey and Lewis 2004; Hall 2008). There is little doubt that infrastructure, specific...

In Kazakhstan and Russia, progress with accelerated partnership creation remains slow, as the governments themselves are undecided as to how to define certain aspects essential for PPP development. Specifically, the governments lack effective solutions regarding risk allocation between partners, how to mitigate risks and what mechanisms the partner...

When scholars and practitioners in Kazakhstan and Russia consider PPPs, the discussion often becomes unbalanced. In addition to noting traditional justifications for PPP deployment, such as a lack of budget for the provision of much-needed public services, a long list of advantages is assigned to partnerships. These advantages are discussed in a ma...

Concessions are broadly used in many nations around the world and were used in Tsarist Russia long before the Soviet Union. Furthermore, in the 1920s, Soviet Russia also launched concessions, including those with foreign investors. It is not surprising that, due to concessions’ long history and accumulated experience, both domestic and internationa...

PPP development in Kazakhstan began in 2006, when the government adopted the law on concessions. Subsequently, the government formed the national, and several regional, PPP centres and approved seven PPP projects, although some went on to close down. Despite government efforts to expand PPP implementation in Kazakhstan, private investor interest re...

This chapter reviews various meanings attached to the term ‘public–private partnership’ (PPP) in Western literature, contrasts and compares them, and identifies commonalities and differences between them. The chapter highlights the concepts underpinning different meanings and surveys the understanding of what are called PPP forms, as well as models...

In the search for ways to ensure sustainable economic and social development, many nations are increasingly using PPPs as a tool to attract private funding for the implementation of public sector tasks (Osborne 2000; Grimsey and Lewis 2004). As a contractual long-term arrangement between the government and private actors, PPPs are often deployed wi...

This concluding chapter offers insights into three areas. First, it highlights critical issues in PPP development in Kazakhstan and Russia. Second, it discusses why the current public policy regarding PPP deployment in Kazakhstan, and to an even greater extent in Russia, can be viewed as a paradigm. Third, it outlines the future of partnerships, th...

The number of partnerships in Russia, mostly concessions, grew to over 600 in 2016. Although there was a notable increase in the number of concessions at the municipal level, progress at the federal and regional levels remains small. What hinders the formation of PPPs? If partnerships can be formed more quickly and easily, this offers societal bene...

Many governments are increasingly turning to PPPs as an alternative method of delivering public services, as opposed to traditional public procurement contracts or in-house government provision. Partnership projects can be implemented in many sectors, including transport infrastructure (such as the construction and management of roads, railroads, s...

PPP development in Russia and Kazakhstan is still in its infancy. The two nations are eager to learn how to form and govern PPPs efficiently. Although the implementation of a number of PPP projects has been initiated, none of these has yet been completed. It is, nevertheless, possible to discern certain trends and patterns of activity. This chapter...

Academics and practitioners in Kazakhstan and Russia pay significant attention to the legal aspects of PPP formation and implementation. PPP policy documents, such as the laws on concessions and PPPs within each country, and the Russian-language literature, emphasise a contract to be the only document that can ensure successful management for the p...

The paper proposes a conceptual model to understand female entrepreneurial leadership through an exploration of the perceptions and experiences of women entrepreneurs within their leadership roles. The paper addresses an existing knowledge gap on entrepreneurial leadership by bringing together three key constructs of gender, leadership and entrepre...

The book discusses public-private partnerships from the policy and governance perspective in countries, such as China, Croatia, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The ‘Davos dilemma’ posits a sustainability crisis, provoked by rising human population and intense competitive behaviours, in terms of control and access to depleting natural resources. More broadly understood as an ecological problem, rather than just socio-economic behavioural deficiencies, the call is for better integrated social, natural and b...

This innovative new book examines government approaches to Public-private partnership (PPP) formation. It explores the management experience and challenges that key stakeholders involved in PPP governance face in Russia and Kazakhstan. An increasingly common method of delivering public services, PPP deployment in these two countries is still in its...

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are becoming an increasingly common method of delivering public services. A PPP arrangement exists when a government agency assigns public responsibility to a private company in order to improve delivery efficiency, increase customer satisfaction and attract private funding. PPP deployment in Kazakhstan and Russia...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to survey various meanings attached to a public–private partnership (PPP) and related aspects in Western literature and to identify commonalities and differences between them. Additionally, the article intends to critically assess conflicting and overlapping views on contractual and institutional PPPs, their fo...

Classic leadership theory is presented here in a fresh and fashionable framework in this new, practical book for managers.The authors are very well known expert academics and practitioners, with links to many academic institutions and international organizations. They have authored many highly acclaimed books and papers. This is a practical guide f...

In Kazakhstan, a transitional nation in Central Asia, the development of public–private partnerships (PPPs) is at its early stage and increasingly of strategic importance. This case study investigates risk allocation in an ongoing project: the construction and operation of 11 kindergartens in the city of Karaganda in the concession form for 14 year...

If successful, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union (EU) will account for over 40% of global GDP,1 making it the world’s largest free trade zone.

Half a decade after the financial crisis that imploded from within the United States (Knyght et al., 2011), the sluggish economic growth of advanced countries remains a concern (World Economic Forum, 2013). In this regard, compared with the quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve Bank in America, the Bank of England in the United Kingdom and the...

Globalisation generates a paradox of power by simultaneously strengthening and weakening the State (Phillips, 1998). As Evans (1992) further highlights, economic globalisation restricts State power, but transnational capital needs capable States as much, or even more than, as domestically oriented business does.

Destructive leadership behaviour often results in damage to the organisations that the individual is entrusted to lead. Although accurately pinpointing the type of destructive behaviour is difficult, this article seeks to offer suggestions as to why leaders spiral into such unattractive behaviour. After reviewing the literature, this paper highligh...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the critical assumptions lying behind the Anglo American model of corporate governance. Design/methodology/approach Literature review examining the concept of a nexus of contracts underpinning agency theory which, it is argued, act as the platform for neo‐liberal corporate governance focusing on shar...

There is no surprise that the list of economic issues that have moral implications is very long, encompassing many aspects, and some are hotly debated in the media. Financial crisis and executive remuneration is under intense scrutiny. That economic decisions involve morality and that the two cannot be easily separated was clear to Adam Smith (1776...

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC) surfaced the continuing “Great Debate” over the purpose and contribution of the firm. This ongoing discussion has been present for the last two centuries and particularly over the last 80 years. The publicly held company (as we know it today) became firmly established in the earlier part of the...

Whilst government response to corporate scandal and market failure has been to spawn ever greater regulation and/or comply or explain protocol, it has also been long recognised that a formulaic approach to governance codes limits the contribution and value the board can offer the business (Steiner, 1972). Even the proponents of role duality, namely...

Governance oriented boards are prevalent across different economic systems (Hall and Soskice, 2001), cultures (Hofstede et al., 2010) and national boundaries (single/dual structure) in which they are the leading clique within private, not-for-profit, public and hybrid organisations (Hermalin and Weisbach, 2003). Their purpose goes beyond regulation...

The field of leadership, both in terms of academic and practitioner contribution, has attracted substantial attention since the beginning of the 20th century. The debate has fluctuated between understanding what capabilities of leadership can transform the status quo versus the recognition that situations restrain leaders’ discretion and despite th...

Board composition and its impact on board performance has been an area of significant corporate governance research activity (Dulewicz et al., 1995; Leblanc and Gillies, 2005; Charan, 2005; Nadler et al., 2006; Ehikioya, 2009). Boardroom dynamics has also been identified as both positively and adversely effecting boardroom performance and, in turn,...

Income inequality has been an important concern for scholars and practitioners alike. Concerns about income inequality contributed to both the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Bill of Rights in 1689. Despite steady progress over the centuries towards the equality ideal, which has continued to be elusive, income inequality has increased significantly in...

After centuries of established corporate governance practice and a variety of national (Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002; UK Codes of Corporate Governance, 1992–2010; Viénot Reports, 1995–99, 2000) and international codes of good corporate governance practices (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 1999, 2004) it seems that either the reg...

Executive remuneration has attracted much attention from both academics and practitioners in the past two decades (Murphy, 1985; Bebchuk and Fried, 2003). A well-designed executive remuneration is significant to a firm’s performance, especially during financial crisis (Bebchuk and Weisbach, 2010). An astonishing survey shows that the average execut...

Pre-19th-century notions of the governance of the enterprise were based on trust, namely that the stewards of the firm could be trusted to make best use of the assets of the organisation on behalf of the owners (Kakabadse and Kakabadse, 2008). At that time, governance processes were informal by nature but that soon changed. The birth of the joint s...

Purpose ‐ Characteristics of leaders whose behaviour is visceral include taking action based on instinct rather than intellect and exhibiting coarse, base and often negative emotions. Despite the challenge of precisely defining the nature of visceral behaviour, the purpose of this paper is to provide insight into this less attractive side of boardr...

Purpose The purpose of this article is to survey various meanings attached to a public‐private partnership (PPP) and related aspects in Western literature, and identify commonalities and differences between them. Additionally, the article intends to critically assess conflicting and overlapping views on contractual and institutional PPPs, their for...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce three fundamental concepts of Jewish thought that act as the basis of society. The authors use these concepts to examine standard organisational behaviour in modern society and highlight basic shortcomings of modern organisational thought. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is a concep...

Since the Roman Republic, members of groups at the top of the social stratum have interacted and continue to interact with each other socially and business wise, deeply conscious of and responsive to each other’s interest (Mills, 1956). These intricately connected networks, the so-called elite connections, come about through the influential roles i...

Forbes and Milliken (1999: 493) characterise boards of directors as ‘large, elite and episodic decision making groups that face complex tasks pertaining to strategic-issue processing’. From an individual director perspective some scholars have argued that individuals join boards for financial remuneration, prestige and contacts that may prove usefu...

Exploring contributions in the policy science, political economy and power literatures, this theoretical chapter proposes that a fundamental effect of structural economic and political interactions within, and between, polyarchies — or liberal democracies — has potentially far-reaching consequences related to the capacity for societal change. Furth...

This chapter presents a practical framework useful to both young and well-seasoned researchers who are about to embark on qualitative research studies requiring interviews with the elite, ‘a short-hand term for those actors who [people] perceive as more powerful or privileged than some undefined group’ (Woods, 1998: 2101).

Rooted in mythology, ancient Greek society considered hubris as man’s capital sin (Wiener, 1973). Hubris (or hybris) is the pretension to be godlike, and thereby fail to observe the divine equilibrium among god, man and nature. The essential element of hubris is extreme confidence that can lead to arrogance and other dark side leadership attributes...

Exploring the nature, configuration and influence of global elites, this book examines the impact of elites on transnational policy development and strategically on corporations as board members of PLCs and international joint ventures. Overall, the book provides a balanced view of how our present day elites operate.

Recent scholarly discussion on open innovation put forward the notion that an organisation’s ability to internalise external knowledge and learn from various sources in undertaking new product development is crucial to its competitive performance. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to how growth-oriented small firms identify and exploit e...

Public policy in Neo-liberalism is fraught with crisis vulnerability. Crises, as “created” opportunities, compound the situation. Rent seeking answers the proposition in the positive. Public Choice ideological agendas and the imperial extension of such agendas into other disciplinary discourses represents the clearest, continuing danger to democrat...

Managers occupy a particular position in organisations that make them morally responsible for their own actions as well as key influences on the moral mindset of the staff they supervise. Nevertheless, the concepts of “manager” and “management” remain elusive. Successive management theories have unveiled various organisational and moral implication...

The aim of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is to restore one of the most critical resources for businesses’ sustainability: trust. However, the current practice of CSR begs the question whether CSR initiatives restore trust or simply relieve mistrust in the marketplace. Because people do not really understand what trust implies, they often us...

Purpose This paper seeks to make the case for new research into the perceived fairness and impact of executive pay. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the literature regarding executive compensation and corporate performance and examines the evidence that a more egalitarian approach to pay could be justified in terms of long‐term shareh...

Purpose This paper aims to examine current research trends into corporate governance and to propose a different dynamic, humanistic approach based on individual purpose, values and psychology. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews selected literature to analyse the assumptions behind research into corporate governance and uses a multi‐disc...

Although shrouded in convention and mystery, the Minister of the Crown is critical to the effective functioning of the British political system. To date, studies determining the role and contribution of the Minister have drawn heavily from the political science perspective, particularly concerning ministerial responsibility and accountability, thei...

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how to further embed CSR thinking and practice into corporations, particularly in emerging markets, by reviewing and drawing similarities between key issues faced by all senior managers, namely ethics, leadership, personal responsibility and trust. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a conceptual...

The balance between self and organisation need for success

Much has been written about Wall Street and the global financial crisis (GFC). From a fraudulent derivatives market to a contestable culture of banking bonuses, culpability has been examined within the frames of American praxis, namely that of American exceptionalism. This study begins with an exploratory analysis of non-US voices concerning the na...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the serious limitations of neo‐liberal capitalism and urge for a shift to socialized capital before further economic deterioration leads to a succession of global conflicts. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper adopts a macro perspective in presenting argument on how global, financial...

Purpose Effective leadership action requires managers to harness power that is intrinsically political. This paper aims to study and characterise the political nature of a manager's behaviour when taking leadership action. Design/methodology/approach The methodological approach is qualitative and examines three organisations over a three‐year peri...

In striving for greater integration of children services across a number of government and non government agencies, this paper examines the effect of drawing on deliberative inquiry as the lever for realising greater alignment across agencies. The paper discusses the need for improvement in UK local government children’s services and then offers a...

This paper argues that the self, as both the centre of our identity and the focus of our spiritual life, has not been given enough consideration with regard to the ethics of managers and leaders. Informed by models of self-realisation and the Jungian process of individuation, our discussion suggests that the way we perceive and interpret our self a...

Purpose – Employee ownership has attracted much attention across the globe. Whether affected by the global financial crisis (GFC), or not, this paper seeks to canvass what is known about employee ownership in neo-liberal political economies. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a literature review, cross cultural analysis and critique. Findi...

Aimed at reinforcing the democratic values of freedom of speech and increased diversity in civic access to the means of communication, this paper examines the concept of democracy within an information and communication technology-mediated context. Discussion proceeds with an analysis of orthodox views adopted by Jefferson and the architects of the...

Purpose This study seeks to propose self‐governance in organisations based on choice‐making behaviour. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines selected literature on the behaviour of choice, moving from the individual as the unit of analysis to the organisation, in order to draw lessons for proper governance. To do so, it refers to a series...

Purpose The primary aim of this paper is to examine whether boards of directors with independent members function as effective corporate governance mechanisms in Chinese State‐Owned Enterprises (SOEs), by analysing four characteristics of non‐executive directors (NEDs) that impact on their effectiveness, namely their degree of independence, informa...

This paper reports a study into the nature, dynamics and effects of the ‘chemistry’ of the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) relationship. A qualitative, semi-structured interview, narrative analysis methodology over a twenty-eight month period was adopted. A sample of CEO’s, Chairmen and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) across the boards of nin...

Purpose The paper seeks to analyze the discourse of meaning and interpretation in the social sciences. It aims to provide a historical overview of the hermeneutics and the need for scientific as well as general understanding, and to emphasize the importance of the interpretive approach in management history. Design/methodology/approach The paper p...

Being the chairman of a company is the top job. Forget the hyperbole and hero-worship surrounding CEOs, it is the world's chairmen who call the real corporate shots. It is chairmen who hire and fire CEOs. Little wonder that some CEOs choose to neuter the chairman by combining the two roles. "Leading the Board" provides unique and powerful insights...

Technological innovation continually shifts boundaries of possibilities and at the same time challenges ethical dimensions. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology challenges both what is possible and what is ethical. On this basis, this paper incorporates an analysis of RFID development and provides penetrating insight concerning the ethi...

Purpose This paper seeks to explore whether the Western concept of servant leadership holds the same meaning in the public sector of the cross‐cultural context of China and to identify whether there is an alternative term in the Chinese language that closely relates to the concept of servant leadership Design/methodology/approach An inductive appr...

Purpose This paper seeks to report on the findings of a recent study which explores the ways/factors which influence and/or determine the effectiveness of the senior management in the Muscat Municipality, Oman, by assessing the perception of senior managers concerning the influences (parameters) on their effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach...