Search results

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effect of individual and organizational dimensions on creating the resistance to change according to the role of unlearning and knowledge stickiness in merging of libraries as planned change.

Borrowing from the Lewin’s field theory, knowledge stickiness theory and unlearning the framework of planned change process designed. The paper opted for a survey study using the questionnaire, five depth interviews and focus group discussion with librarians, middle and senior managers.

The paper provides empirical insights about pattern of planned change in the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad library. The role of knowledge stickiness and unlearning factors associated with process of planned change. It suggests that successful change act as overcoming forces of unlearning to knowledge stickiness on two dimensions: individual and organizational.

Because of the chosen research case, the research results may lack statistical generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

The importance of managing obsolescence knowledge in individual and organizational dimensions in process of planned change is highlighted as managerial point of view.

This paper aims to investigate how restraining forces and driving forces impact SC collaboration in the context of Nigeria.

A qualitative approach was adopted. Using semi-structured interviews, data was obtained from manufacturers and third-party logistics providers in Nigeria’s food and beverage sector. The data was analysed using the thematic analysis method.

Interesting findings were revealed regarding how some underlying forces impact SC collaboration. These findings were categorised into internal, SC and external environment level factors. However, certain forces were also identified at these distinct levels which can sustain the collaboration between SC partners in emerging markets such as Nigeria.

The issues highlighted in this paper create opportunities for future studies to dig deeper into the concept of SC collaboration in emerging markets. Future studies may find other unique contextual factors which may influence SC collaboration asides from those identified in this paper.

This research aids managerial understanding of the restraining forces and drivers of SC collaboration in an emerging market. The research also provides new insights on how to manage SC collaboration in emerging markets.

Many studies on supply chain management have wholly focussed their attention on developed countries, often neglecting emerging markets such as Nigeria in the discourse. Although SC collaboration has been well researched, the study attempts to shift the attention to the most populous country in Africa. With the help of the force field theory, this research reveals new insights on the restraining forces and drivers of SC collaboration, offering the foundation for a new line of research on this subject in emerging markets.

Teleworking, working from home and flexible work have gained popularity over the last few years. A shift in policies and practices in the workplace is required owing to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating current trends in work-from-everywhere (WFE) research. This article presents a systematic literature review of WFE research from 1990 to early 2023 to understand the transformation of the field.

The Web of Science database was used to conduct this review based on rigorous bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The prominence of the research studied using SPAR-4-SLR and a collection of bibliometric techniques on selected journal articles, reviews and early access articles. Performance and keyword co-occurrence analysis form the premise of cluster analysis. The content analysis of recently published papers revealed the driving and restraining forces that help define and operationalize the concept of WFE.

The major findings indicate that the five established and accelerated trends from cluster analysis are COVID-19 and the pandemic, telework(ing), remote working, work from home and well-being and productivity. Driving and restraining forces identified through content analysis include technological breakthroughs, work–life integration challenges, inequality in the distribution of jobs, gender, shifts in industry and sector preferences, upskilling and reskilling and many more have been published post-COVID in the restraining forces category of WFE.

A key contribution of this pioneering study of “work from everywhere” is the linking of the bibliometric trends of the past three decades to the influencing and restraining factors during the pandemic. This study illustrates how WFE could be perceived differently post-COVID, which is of great concern to practitioners and future researchers.

A wide range of publications on WFE and multiple synonyms can create confusion if a systematic and effective system does not classify and associate them. This study uses both bibliometric and scientometric analyses in the context of WFE using systematic literature review (SLR) methods.

Reveals that the available literature on TQM implementation emphasizes the experiences of firms in industrialized nations, and studies dealing with the challenges of implementing TQM in less developed countries (LDCs) are limited. Examines the factors that influence the successful implementation of TQM in LDCs with a particular focus on the countries of Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Using force‐field analysis, identifies the primary environmental factors expected to drive or restrain TQM implementation in SSA and proposes some approaches for enhancing its success. Suggests that advance knowledge of the factors that are likely to promote or obstruct TQM implementation would enable managers in SSA countries to develop more effective strategies that will enhance the chances of implementation success. Asserts that adopting the TQM approach can help to improve the quality of goods and services in SSA countries, increase their export capabilities and facilitate the achievement of their development goals. Cautions that in SSA countries it is not enough that top managers in individual firms commit to the TQM process, noting that, in contrast to industrialized nations, SSA governments play a much more prominent role in economic activity, including direct ownership of major enterprises. Hence, argues that the unwavering support of African governments is crucial if TQM is to be successfully introduced and sustained in private and public organizations in SSA.

This study aims to explore the critical resisting and driving forces that inhibit or promote the implementation of total quality management (TQM) strategy in Egypt, in an attempt to determine whether TQM can be implemented effectively in this developing country. The domain of empirical study is the Egyptian ex‐public manufacturing firms. A mail questionnaire was used to collect the required data. A force‐field analysis was used for identifying the salient factors affecting TQM implementation in Egypt. Surprisingly, the findings indicated that forces that promote or prohibit TQM implementation obtained in one developing country might be generalizable to another less developed country. The investigation identified some driving forces that promote the implementation of TQM strategy by the Egyptian manufacturing firms. On the other hand, the investigation identified some roadblocks that prohibit the implementation of TQM by manufacturing firms. Managerial implications for the successful implementation of TQM are provided, and finally avenues for further research are recommended.

This paper aims to uncover how employees make sense of the implementation of holacracy in their organization.

Our research is based on a case study of a Swiss SME (of 160 employees) that is about to implement a holacratic mode of governance. Data was collected using questionnaires (completed by 57 employees) and 12 interviews.

At the level of individual, team and organization, driving forces toward implementing holacracy are stronger than restraining forces.

Implementing holacracy requires careful planning, detailed communications, strong support and training of employees by managers to ensure that they are less fearful of holacracy’s structures and more positive and understanding of its benefits.

This study contributes to a better understanding of holacracy and employees’ sensemaking of the added value of this unconventional structure.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of art and architecture by leadership as a driving force to effect change of perception of an organization's identity. While some claim life imitates art, from a management discipline lens the paper aims to state that art imitates life through introduction of a conceptual model.

A literature review of organizational art and architecture, leadership, identity and change is undertaken and synthesized with Lewin's theory and concepts of force field analysis. Case studies from Africa, Europe and the USA are analyzed.

Organizational leadership uses art and architecture as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This is exemplified through evaluation of choices in the organizations examined.

This paper establishes a relationship between choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity and proposes a conceptual model for further study. This model opens potentially several new streams of research in management and organizational change disciplines.

There is a small subset of scholarship and studies in the fields of management and organizational change, with a scant amount focused on choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This paper attempts to initiate further research and empirical studies.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the strengths and areas of improvement for taking organizations one step ahead in terms of adopting digitalization, analytics and governance. Also, the paper aims to identify the organizational cultural traits that influence the adoption of digitization and technology, analytics and governance.

A quantitative analysis of survey questionnaire collected from working professionals of various manufacturing industries to find out the driving traits and the restraining traits and to propose which is dominating. Sector: manufacturing, sample: working professionals across functions and sample size: 80–100 people.

This research suggests the cultural traits that influence the adoption of digitization and technology, analytics and governance in any organization.

As organizations explore new ways of working, their organizational culture and employee perspective would play an important role in prioritizing the interventions. This research aims to suggest a strategy to strengthen the driving forces and/or weaken the restraining forces.

There are various papers available on the individual topics but the uniqueness of this paper is that it represents all three factors in a single research and their influencers.

This paper aims to investigate the forces that influence the shifting of professional boundaries on the entry of a new medical occupation in Dutch hospitals – non‐specialist emergency physicians.

Five case studies of Dutch hospitals were conducted and the emergency physicians' implementation process was analyzed by means of force field analysis.

Emergency physicians were conceptualized as being the answer to unequivocal contextual changes. However, their contribution to better performance varies due to problems in the implementation process. Strong socio‐political forces between traditional specialties and these new doctors mediate the intended improvement. The emergency physicians aim to establish their own organizational‐, patient‐ and knowledge‐domain by redrawing professional boundaries but they are not on a par with the specialists who set these boundaries. Consequently, emergency physicians only gradually redraw the existing boundaries, resulting in limited added value. Their reaction is to obtain power by striving to develop into a recognized specialty; ironically, by becoming an additional layer in the traditional medical hierarchy they might lose their envisaged added value.

This paper is based on the first Dutch hospitals that implemented emergency physicians. The number of cases is therefore limited. Moreover, the study took place at an early stage of emergency physician implementation.

The extent of successful redrawing depends on the implementation's transition logic, the existing degree of differentiation and boundary permeability and on the ideological power developed by the leaders.

The introduction of emergency physicians is currently being discussed in many countries worldwide, and some countries consider following the Dutch example of non‐specialist doctors. This paper supports health professionals and hospital managers in not falling prey to the same pitfalls as some Dutch hospitals.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of mediation on two long-running collective industrial disputes in Ireland using a theoretical framework established in the literature.

The paper presents a detailed qualitative analysis of two disputes. In both cases a panel of mediators was invited to intervene when the established dispute resolution structures and processes had failed and impasse had been prolonged. Each member of the mediation panels, and the lead union representative, was interviewed about their perception of the mediation process and its impact. Interview questions centred around a set of mediation “Outcome Determinants” identified by Wall et al. (2001). Following Wall et al.'s proposal, Lewin's (1951) Force Field Analysis theory is applied as a theoretical lens for understanding the subtle impact of mediation in these cases.

The empirical evidence suggests that while mediation did not lead directly to settlement, it influenced the resolution of these disputes. The disputes were a-typical in that most collective disputes in Ireland are resolved through established industrial relations structures and processes, either at firm level or through State-funded agents/agencies. However, intractable disputes occur periodically and there is an on-going need of this type of specialised ad hoc mediation. The Wall et al. framework combined with Force Field Analysis theory, provide a theoretical lens through which these disputes can be analysed and understood.

An understanding of the nuanced impact of mediation is useful for justifying the continuation of this valuable approach. There is also some scope for predicting the likely impact of mediation in advance of engagement or at least allowing the mediators to explore the status of the Outcome Determinants related to a specific case in order to develop a tailored mediation strategy.

This paper is unique in that it takes an existing theoretical framework and tests its application in two case disputes. The value of the framework is thus highlighted. Further application of the framework to other dispute scenarios would facilitate its development as a tool of understanding and some limited prediction. Mediation in this type of context has not been formally researched before. Public policy and theoretical implications of the work are highlighted in the concluding section.