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1 – 8 of 8Deniz Zaptcioglu Celikdemir, Gonca Gunay, Alev Katrinli and Sebnem Penbek Alpbaz
The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainable university in Turkey, by considering perspectives of various stakeholders such as experts, intellectual, public, political…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainable university in Turkey, by considering perspectives of various stakeholders such as experts, intellectual, public, political parties and media using public opinion formation analysis. The paper aims to re-define the “sustainable university” with all dimensions including environmental, economic and social factors in Turkey.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the model of shaping the policy agenda and public opinion formation by certain groups, presented by Papadakis (1996), was used to determine the main characteristics of a sustainable university. Based on this model, the researchers collected data from intellectuals, experts, political parties, media and public simultaneously. Focus groups and archival search were used.
Findings
The results of the public opinion formation process presented that the definition of sustainable universities in Turkey includes the economic, ecological and social aspects and a holistic view of different groups. The findings of the study presented that the definition of sustainable universities in Turkey has many facets. Different groups in the public opinion formation process share almost similar views, though these points are usually mentioned under different headings. Thus, nearly each respondent in the public opinion formation process discusses the concept of being a “trade mark” as a university.
Research limitations/implications
The research may lack generalizability, as it takes place in Turkey, which is a non-Western country.
Practical implications
The research sheds a light for universities, which are the major cornerstones of higher education, especially in the area of sustainability and sustainable development. Also, universities have a great impact in regional development, which stresses once again the importance of sustainability in higher education. They should modify their education programs and curricula in accordance with sustainability. University–industry cooperation should be provided. They should manage to become a trademark.
Social implications
Universities being the major cornerstones of higher education play a vital role in regional development of countries; therefore, their sustainable development should be well handled to enable regional development.
Originality/value
The universities are the major actors which should pursue sustainability, as they affect society. The studies on sustainability and universities have been generally grouped under two main subjects in the literature. First group of studies highlights the support of universities for sustainability of corporations, whereas other studies stress the importance of becoming a sustainable university. There are not many studies on this subject which considers the public opinion formation process throughout the literature; therefore, this study contributes to the literature with this aspect. The study takes place in Izmir, Turkey, which is a non-Western country. Most of the studies on this subject take place in Western countries, so as the study is deployed in a non-Western country, it reflects a different point of view.
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Sevgi Emirza and Alev Katrinli
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of leader’s construal level, which is the tendency of the leader to construe things abstractly or concretely, on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of leader’s construal level, which is the tendency of the leader to construe things abstractly or concretely, on leader-member exchange (LMX) quality and the moderating role of relational demography, which is the comparative similarity between supervisor and subordinate in demographic characteristics. The authors hypothesize a positive relationship between leader construal level and the quality of relationship, such that, as the leader’s construal level increases and becomes more abstract, the quality of relationship improves. Furthermore, demographic similarity is expected to moderate the relationship between leader construal level and LMX quality.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 159 employees with an online questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis was used for hypothesis testing.
Findings
Results show that the leader’s construal level is positively associated with LMX quality. Moreover, demographic similarity moderates this relationship such that when subordinate and supervisor have similar demographic characteristics, the effect of leader construal level on LMX is higher.
Originality/value
This study addresses the call for further research on leader-related antecedents of LMX by showing that leader construal level predicts relationship quality. This study also enhances our understanding of how to leverage the construal level in leadership research. Moreover, this study provides a deeper and more integrated understanding regarding the development of LMX relationships by delineating the interactive effect of leader-related features and relational demography.
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Sevgi Emirza and Alev Katrinli
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether leader-follower similarity in construal level of the work, which indicates the degree of abstraction applied to mental…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether leader-follower similarity in construal level of the work, which indicates the degree of abstraction applied to mental representation of the work, influences the quality of interpersonal relationship at work.
Design/methodology/approach
First, an interview study was conducted to adapt the work-based construal-level (WBCL) scale. Then, a survey study was conducted for hypothesis testing. Data collected from 245 matched supervisor-subordinate dyads were analyzed using multi-level modeling.
Findings
Results revealed that dyadic similarity in work-domain construal level is positively related to leader-member exchange (LMX) quality. As a leader and a follower become similar to each other in terms of mental representation (i.e. construal level) of work, they experience higher relationship quality.
Originality/value
This study enhances the current knowledge of the role of cognition and cognitive similarity in leadership processes.
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Ayça Kubra Hizarci Payne and Alev Katrinli
This study aims to investigate how employees in export departments help firms develop dynamic capabilities that drive firm performance in global markets. It draws from the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how employees in export departments help firms develop dynamic capabilities that drive firm performance in global markets. It draws from the previous scholarship in organizational behavior and international business.
Design/methodology/approach
Since microfoundations of firm capabilities have not received adequate attention in the context of international business, a qualitative research was carried out by conducting semistructured interviews with export managers to provide new theoretical and practical insights about the role of export department employees in developing firm capabilities.
Findings
The results show that organizational citizenship behavior and communication skills are the most highlighted characteristics of export department employees that underpin the improvement of firm capabilities, which in turn, boosts export performance. In addition, teamwork emerged as another contributing factor to firm capabilities.
Originality/value
This study addresses the microlevel foundations of firm capabilities within the context of international business by uncovering the characteristics of export department employees and their team-level contributions to the capabilities of exporting firms.
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Romie F. Littrell, E. Serra Yurtkoru, Handan Kepir Sinangil, Beril Durmuş, Alev Katrinli, Remziye Gulem Atabay, Gonca Günay and Burcu Güneri Çangarli
In this study the authors endeavour to further develop and validate the Behavioural and Contingency theory of leadership.
Abstract
Purpose
In this study the authors endeavour to further develop and validate the Behavioural and Contingency theory of leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
In a field survey research study, the authors collect, analyse, compare, and discuss explicit leader behaviour preferences of employed businesspeople in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey, rating their “ideal managerial leader” and their actual organisational manager.
Findings
In Istanbul and Izmir businesspeople tend to prefer leaders who focus on managing the business system over other considerations such as relationship management; task orientation is more important than relationship orientation. In the business environment, there appear to be little or no differences in preferences relating to gender; men and women have nearly identical preferences; age has some influence; generally, older businesspeople tend to have higher preference scores for a managerial leader who clearly defines his or her own role, and lets followers know what is expected, and pushes them to work harder and exceed past performance. Subordinates neither received nor expected Paternal leader behaviour. They expected and did receive moderately Authoritarian leader behaviour.
Originality/value
The large majority of studies of leadership focus on implicit leadership theory, describing characteristics and traits of leaders. This study employs explicit leader behaviour theory and operationalisations to identify subordinates’ ideal leader behaviour compared to actual organisational manager behaviour in Turkey.
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Romie Frederick Littrell, Gillian Warner-Soderholm, Inga Minelgaite, Yaghoub Ahmadi, Serene Dalati, Andrew Bertsch and Valentina Kuskova
The purpose of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid field survey research instrument to assess national cultural cognitive templates of preferred leader behaviour…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a reliable and valid field survey research instrument to assess national cultural cognitive templates of preferred leader behaviour dimensions to facilitate education, development, and training of managerial leaders operating across diverse organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consists of focus group evaluations of the validity and the translations to local languages of a survey instrument assessing leader behaviour preferences in business organisations.
Findings
The studies find that the survey instrument and its translations are valid and reliable for assessing preferred leader behaviour across national cultures. The length of the survey is problematic, and a new project is underway to produce a shorter version with equivalent reliability and validity.
Research limitations/implications
As the research project is long term, at this point, a relatively long survey is available for research, with a shorter version planned for the future.
Practical implications
Practical implications include producing and validating a field survey research instrument that is reliable and valid across cultures and languages, and can be employed to improve the understanding, development, and education of managers and leaders of international business organisations.
Social implications
Management and leadership processes are employed in all aspects of life, and can be better understood and improved through this research project.
Originality/value
The majority of cross-cultural research is leader-centric studies of implicit leader characteristics; this project expands the scope of studies further into follower-centric studies of observed leader behaviour.
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Isik Urla Zeytinoglu, Omur Timurcanday Ozmen, Alev ErgençKatrinli, Hayat Kabasakal and Yasemin Arbak
Based on an empirical data set including 432 managers, of whom 41 are women, this paper examines factors affecting female managers' careers in Turkey. Focusing on behavioral…
Abstract
Based on an empirical data set including 432 managers, of whom 41 are women, this paper examines factors affecting female managers' careers in Turkey. Focusing on behavioral, human capital and demographic factors, results show that there are no differences in leadership styles and personalities between female and male managers. There are, however, differences in the level of education and family's socio-economic status by sex. We argue that higher socio-economic status of female managers' families affects their careers positively. By contrast, the lower level of female education as compared to males in addition to culturally pervasive and legally institutionalized discriminatory societal attitudes negatively affect female managers' career progress.