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In this paper, I demonstrate an alternative explanation to the development of the American electricity industry. I propose a social embeddedness approach (Granovetter, 1985, 1992) to interpret why the American electricity industry appears the way it does today, and start by addressing the following questions: Why is the generating dynamo located in well‐connected central stations rather than in isolated stations? Why does not every manufacturing firm, hospital, school, or even household operate its own generating equipment? Why do we use incandescent lamps rather than arc lamps or gas lamps for lighting? At the end of the nineteenth century, the first era of the electricity industry, all these technical as well as organizational forms were indeed possible alternatives. The centralized systems we see today comprise integrated, urban, central station firms which produce and sell electricity to users within a monopolized territory. Yet there were visions of a more decentralized electricity industry. For instance, a geographically decentralized system might have dispersed small systems based around an isolated or neighborhood generating dynamo; or a functionally decentralized system which included firms solely generating and transmitting the power, and selling the power to locally‐owned distribution firms (McGuire, Granovetter, and Schwartz, forthcoming). Similarly, the incandescent lamp was not the only illuminating device available at that time. The arc lamp was more suitable for large‐space lighting than incandescent lamps; and the second‐generation gas lamp ‐ Welsbach mantle lamp ‐ was much cheaper than the incandescent electric light and nearly as good in quality (Passer, 1953:196–197).

Research on informal social networks is gaining momentum. However, there is still much we do not know about these networks and how they impact business practices in the countries in which they operate. This chapter presents the authors' perspectives on the current state of wasta (as a case study of informal social networks) research and the future directions that need to be explored in relation to wasta to further unpack this practice and to capture its complexity in a way that allows both researchers and practitioners to manage it. It is observed that wasta research is currently too reliant on short timeframe case studies which are mostly qualitative. While these have improved in their theoretical, practical and methodological rigor, it is suggested that there is a need for more mixed methods longitudinal and statistical modeling research. We conclude this chapter by suggesting ways in which wasta researchers can “borrow” from other disciplines to enhance our understanding of this practice.

This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.

The topic of offender rehabilitation has been subject to much research over the past decade. Numerous meta‐analytic reviews of offender treatment, particularly group treatment based on cognitive behavioural principles, have been reported. Together with the ‘triad of principles’ — risk, need and responsivity — they have formed the foundation upon which most offending behaviour interventions have developed. However, outcome data from existing programmes provides mixed evidence, and evidence for interventions for those in forensic mental health settings are still in their infancy. This paper critically considers the current evidence for the treatment of offending behaviour, and its application in forensic mental health settings, in order to inform development of such treatments in low secure mental health care. Most of the research focuses on non‐mental health settings, and is largely what will be considered here. The paper concludes that low secure interventions need to capitalise on the evidence of ‘what works’ while revisiting key concepts such as ‘dose’ and responsivity in order to design appropriate treatments. Individual outcome evaluation needs to form part of development in this area.

Despite the fact that about 90 percent of all the businesses in the US and Canada are family‐owned and operated, very little research has been undertaken on how strategy is shaped in family businesses. This paper tracks strategy in two family firms since their inception to their present third generation management, to investigate the unique factors influencing strategy in family businesses. The paper accentuates issues relating to the intensive grooming process and the involvement of the different family and non‐family members in the strategic decision making processes of the family business.