Aug 2026· Strategy & Leadership· pp. 1-35· 0 citations· 70 references
Abstract
This research addresses the escalating scholar-practitioner divide by investigating the conceptual divergence between academic leadership theory and dominant leadership discourse consumed and operationalized by practitioners. It seeks to synthesize fragmented perspectives into a coherent framework, identifying emergent imperatives and theoretical empty spaces necessitated by global organizational volatility.
The study employs a bifurcated methodological design. First, an inductive thematic analysis was carried out on executive-led discourse from select high-salience platforms. Second, a systematic morphological analysis mapped the current academic landscape. The findings of these studies were integrated via a cross-consistency assessment to bring together these disparate epistemological domains.
The study utilized an inductive thematic analysis that crystallized six core themes, outlining the current ontological shift in leadership discourse. Through the General Morphological Analysis (GMA) the mapping of a multi-dimensional configuration space, identifying 165 structural research gaps in academic inquiry. These distinct epistemological domains were integrated, culminating in a 2x2 analytical quadrant that effectively triangulates conversational salience with theoretical density which provides a predictive roadmap for high-impact, ecologically valid inquiry by demarcating research voids and scholarly foundations.
The study is limited by the temporal snapshot of digital discourse and the inherent subjectivity of morphological parameterization.
This study seeks to bridge the scholar-practitioner divide through bringing together topics of both temporal and research interest toward actionable strategic imperatives. These imperatives facilitate the immediate operationalization of constructs such as ontological self-development, social architecture and the human-technology counterbalance to transition from traditional command structures toward decentralized, adaptive leadership paradigms essential for contemporary high-volatility environments.
The study highlights a vital shift toward follower-centricity, ensuring that leadership transcends traditional power hierarchies to prioritize the well-being of the collective. These insights foster more resilient social structures capable of navigating the profound uncertainties of contemporary global disruption.
Unlike previous literature which treats the scholar-practitioner divide as a monolithic challenge, this study, via thematic analysis and General Morphological Analysis provides a granular, empirical mapping of the current leadership topography. By delineating three distinct archetypal zones and synthesizing them into an analytical matrix to offer a predictive roadmap ensuring that future scholarly inquiry is both theoretically rigorous and ecologically valid.
Abstract. Driven by institutional pressures on second-language scholars to publish in internationally indexed journals, this systematic review evaluates two decades (2006–2026) of empirical literature on research article introductions in the English-Vietnamese context to address the persistent divide between macro-structural and micro-linguistic analytical traditions. Guided by an adapted PRISMA 2020 protocol, 45 empirical studies retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were systematically selected and synthesized through qualitative thematic coding and descriptive content analysis. The synthesis demonstrates that existing literature has largely evolved along two parallel trajectories comprising macro-level move analyses (22 studies) and micro-level cohesion investigations (17 studies) with only six studies examining their interaction. While genre based research shows that Vietnamese authors frequently favor indirect niche establishment strategies in Move 2, cohesion focused studies report distinct tendencies in conjunction deployment and thematic progression, thereby uncovering three major gaps including the methodological separation between structural and textual analysis, the lack of move specific functional accounts of cohesive ties, and the limited integration of linguistic typology with discourse practices. To bridge these gaps, this review proposes an integrated conceptual framework that treats communicative functions as the functional context for lexicogrammatical choices, offering a unified model for future contrastive research and establishing pedagogical directions for academic writing instruction.
Duc V. Le· Technium Social Sciences Jou...· 0 citations
The purpose of this qualitative single-case study is to critically investigate the institutional, epistemological, and political friction experienced by dual-role academic–indigenous leaders at Makerere University as they navigate conflicting governance demands from traditional chiefly knowledge systems, corporate university management, and national political patronage networks. Guided by postcolonial institutionalism, the institutional logics perspective, and decolonial epistemic frameworks, the study examines how these leaders manage bureaucratic performance metrics, corporate auditing practices, and managerialist structures. Data collection involved 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight dual-role academic–indigenous leaders and four senior public law practitioners, alongside a focus group discussion with six senior faculty members, for a total of 18 participants. This qualitative data was complemented by doctrinal analysis of key Ugandan public law decisions and statutes. Findings reveal a complex trialectic friction between communal, consensus-driven accountability rooted in ancestral custom; the hyper-individualised, metric-centric audit culture of New Public Management; and the dominant influence of national political patronage. Indigenous administrative lifeworlds and restorative practices are systematically marginalised or co-opted by rigid statutory compliance barriers and partisan networks. The study concludes that the uncritical adoption of New Public Management in African higher education breeds institutional alienation. It recommends statutory reforms by the National Council for Higher Education and the establishment of operationally insulated hybrid governance mechanisms within university councils to foster genuine epistemic pluralism.
Joseph Kikomeko, Charles Muweesi· East African Journal of Arts...· 0 citations
This study aims to examine how organizational constraints and systemic contradictions shape the enactment of leadership competencies in public sector organizations. Drawing primarily on contradiction theory and complemented by systems theory and competency-based leadership perspectives, it reconceptualizes leadership development as a dynamic, context-embedded and tension-driven process in which competencies are selectively activated, reshaped and reconfigured rather than linearly applied.
This study adopts a qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) of 208 secondary sources (2000–2025), using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-adapted selection procedures. Data were analyzed through interpretive thematic synthesis guided by contradiction theory and an E1–E6 framework. Open, axial and selective coding were applied. Quantitative findings were used only descriptively, without statistical re-analysis.
The synthesis indicates that while leadership development programs emphasize competencies such as innovation, strategic thinking and problem-solving, their enactment is systematically conditioned by bureaucratic, hierarchical and regulatory constraints. Rather than merely restricting leadership behavior, these constraints structure how competencies are interpreted and enacted in practice. Leaders respond through adaptive strategies, including incremental innovation and coalition-building, which enable performance stabilization within persistent systemic contradictions. Apparent weak quantitative relationships are interpreted as evidence of contextual and relational leadership dynamics rather than methodological failure.
Leadership development should extend beyond competency acquisition to strengthen leaders’ capacity to interpret and navigate systemic contradictions through adaptive judgment in constrained governance environments
This study advances leadership theory by demonstrating that contradictions function as both structural and interpretive mechanisms shaping leadership enactment, reframing effectiveness as an emergent, context-conditioned outcome rather than a direct output of competencies.
Raed Atef· International Journal of Pub...· 1 citation
School management has increasingly been conceptualized as a multidimensional and strategic process that extends beyond administrative coordination to encompass pedagogical leadership, participation, and organizational sustainability. Despite the growing volume of research, the field still lacks conceptual convergence regarding its definitions and strategic dimensions, limiting theoretical accumulation and coherent policy and practice development. This study aims to analyze recent trends in the definitions and strategic dimensions of school management and to identify dominant, emerging, and tension-laden conceptual patterns in the literature published between 2021 and 2025. A systematic literature review of a conceptual–narrative nature was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches were performed in Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest, restricted to the title field to ensure high conceptual relevance. From an initial corpus of 233 records, 39 studies met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to thematic coding, narrative synthesis, and complementary bibliometric analysis. The findings reveal a clear shift toward integrative definitions of school management that combine instructional leadership, participatory governance, and teacher well-being. Rather than representing competing paradigms, accountability-oriented and human-centered approaches coexist in hybrid configurations characterized by persistent structural tensions, particularly between bureaucratic control and professional autonomy. Six interdependent strategic dimensions were identified, with educational leadership, teacher development, and well-being emerging as central mediating mechanisms linking management practices to educational quality, equity, and sustainability. Bibliometric patterns further indicate epistemic diversification and contextual reinterpretation of management theories, especially in non-central regions, rather than linear theoretical consolidation. Overall, the study contributes to conceptual clarification by synthesizing fragmented definitions into an integrative framework and by modeling school management as a context-sensitive and relational system. These findings highlight the need for future research to adopt longitudinal, mixed-methods, and contextually grounded approaches to better understand how strategic dimensions interact across diverse educational settings.
This study examines the theoretical trajectory, methodological openings, and conceptual patterns of assemblage theory in 21st-century urban research. Moving beyond structuralist limitations in explaining urban complexity, the research evaluates assemblage's capacity to conceptualize the city as a relational process of becoming rather than a static object. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted in Web of Science and Scopus databases in accordance with PRISMA 2020 standards; following a rigorous screening, 33 core articles were included. The research employs bibliometric mapping via VOSviewer, synthesized with a qualitative thematic synthesis to decode the field's intellectual structure. Results indicate that the literature is organized through a horizontal and relational distribution of multiple theoretical intensities rather than a single center. The thematic synthesis reveals four primary clusters: Relational urbanism and the ontology of becoming, urban spatial politics and power struggles, ethical and methodological transformation in planning, and affective micro-practices. These clusters function as interconnected multiplicities with fluid boundaries, indicating that assemblage has evolved from philosophical abstraction into a functional methodological toolbox equipped with techniques such as tracing, mapping, and case-study analysis. The study concludes that assemblage is a relational reading practice offering a new research opening where structuralist readings falter. However, a strategic gap is identified regarding the concept of "desire," which remains overshadowed by "affect" in empirical studies. This highlights that the field maintains a theoretically open structure conducive to further ethical, political, and methodological deepening. Cite this article as: Sayi, O., & Kaymaz, S. (2026). From philosophical plateaus to analytical toolboxes: A systematic review of the methodological evolution of assemblage theory in urban research. Megaron, 21(2):212–227.
ABSTRACT Objective: this article offers an overview of research on racial diversity within organizations, mapping its foundations, tensions, and theoretical horizons. Methods: we analyze the intellectual structure and evolution of the field using an integrative literature review employing mixed methods (scientific mapping and content analysis) on Web of Science data. Results: key findings reveal thematic stratification by journal impact tier, theoretical progression from foundational studies towards dynamic perspectives, performance debates shifting focus to causality and context, and predominantly US-centric collaboration networks. Conclusions: synthesizing the reviewed literature underscores that the organizational impact of racial diversity is not automatic but highly sensitive to the dynamic interplay between managerial approaches, internal organizational factors (e.g., culture, leadership, context), and the external business environment. Effectively managing racial diversity thus requires moving beyond simplistic paradigms towards systemic, context-dependent understandings. This highlights the critical need for tailored organizational strategies and points towards future research investigating these complex, interacting conditions to better harness racial diversity’s potential.
Humberto Reis Santos Santos-Souza, Orlando C. Richard, Pedro Jaime· BAR: Brazilian Administratio...· 0 citations
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