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1 – 10 of 185Marilyn A. Brown, Jasmine Crowe, John Lanier, Michael Oxman, Roy Richards and L. Beril Toktay
Now more than ever, climate action requires both private and public investment in building a sustainable future for all. COP26 affirmed the importance of collective action at all…
Abstract
Now more than ever, climate action requires both private and public investment in building a sustainable future for all. COP26 affirmed the importance of collective action at all scales coupled with supporting public policy to limit global warming to a 1.5-degree trajectory. This chapter outlines the process and building blocks that culminated in the launch of the Drawdown Georgia Business Compact, whose mission is to leverage the collective impact of Georgia’s business community to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the state by 2050. In bringing together companies across diverse industries, the Business Compact creates a community of practice where cross-sector collaboration accelerates Georgia’s path to actualizing COP26’s decarbonization vision while also considering ‘beyond carbon’ issues such as the economy, equity, public health, and the environment. This is a regional and voluntary approach to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 (Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development), which recognizes multi-stakeholder partnerships as important vehicles to achieve SDGs.
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Robin Edelbroek, Pascale Peters and Robert J. Blomme
This study aims to contribute to the open innovation (OI) literature by investigating the transitions between three phases in the OI process (i.e. idea generation, idea promotion…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to contribute to the open innovation (OI) literature by investigating the transitions between three phases in the OI process (i.e. idea generation, idea promotion and idea realization) and how these are moderated by different forms of shared leadership (i.e. transactional, and transformational) as perceived by participants in the OI process.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested a set of hypotheses using moderated mediation PLS-SEM models on a bootstrapped sample of OI participants (N = 173).
Findings
The authors found a direct relationship between idea generation and realization, as well as indirectly through idea promotion. This study implies that the promotion of ideas by participants can be beneficial in inter-organizational OI teams, as promotion of ideas provides a linkage between the generation of ideas and the idea realization phase. However, while shared leadership has been shown to be beneficial in conventional teams, the authors found evidence that this may not be the case in inter-organizational OI teams. Higher levels of shared transformational leadership from colleagues with whom employees do not share the same organizational background may hamper the promotion of ideas.
Originality/value
In contrast to the mainstream view, the authors found significant evidence that transformational shared leadership negatively moderates the direct relationship between idea generation and the promotion of ideas and the indirect relationship between idea generation and realization via idea promotion.
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Managing differences is a difficult undertaking, especially considering the difficulties arising from the unconscious functions of our brains. Organisations should strive to…
Abstract
Managing differences is a difficult undertaking, especially considering the difficulties arising from the unconscious functions of our brains. Organisations should strive to counteract the potentially harmful effects of unconscious bias by implementing policies that support bias-aware management and decision-making. Although it is obvious that bias cannot be completely eliminated, there is enough data, as discussed in this work, to demonstrate that unconscious bias and stereotypes can be addressed and decreased with mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to some extent. Mindfulness involves the process of bringing non-judgemental awareness to experience by striving for full attention in the present moment. In this context, including mindfulness practises into training programmes for equality, diversity, and inclusion may serve as an accelerator for recognising hidden biases, reducing stereotypes, eliminating discrimination, and encouraging cognitive changes. This chapter explains the ways in which MBIs can be used to promote cognitive changes and comprehend the automatic and unconscious nature of emotions and thoughts in order to remove barriers between all differences in the workplace.
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Kjersti Berg Danilova, Andreas Ulfsten, Tom Roar Eikebrokk, Jon Iden, Trond Vegard Johannessen and Daniel Johanson
This study investigates which factors are conducive to individual job performance in large-scale work from home (WFH) arrangements that rely on the current generation of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates which factors are conducive to individual job performance in large-scale work from home (WFH) arrangements that rely on the current generation of technology, such as information and communications platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers proposed a research model based on research on WFH arrangements. The model was tested based on a survey of 1,183 respondents who engaged in large-scale WFH arrangements during an extensive national COVID-19 lockdown.
Findings
The proposed research model explains 41% of the variance in individual job performance in WFH arrangements. The findings show that the strongest positive predictors for job performance are home office quality and the reach and communication quality of information and communications platforms. A sense of professional isolation was found to have a negative impact.
Originality/value
This study is based on a unique situation of large-scale mandatory WFH arrangements that are comparable to a natural experiment, and it is one of the first studies to conduct an extensive exploration of WFH that relies on the current generation of digital technology.
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Camille J. Mora, Arunima Malik, Sruthi Shanmuga and Baljit Sidhu
Businesses are increasingly vulnerable and exposed to physical climate change risks, which can cascade through local, national and international supply chains. Currently, few…
Abstract
Purpose
Businesses are increasingly vulnerable and exposed to physical climate change risks, which can cascade through local, national and international supply chains. Currently, few methodologies can capture how physical risks impact businesses via the supply chains, yet outside the business literature, methodologies such as sustainability assessments can assess cascading impacts.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a scoping review framework by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR), this paper reviews 27 articles that assess climate risk in supply chains.
Findings
The literature on supply chain risks of climate change using quantitative techniques is limited. Our review confirms that no research adopts sustainability assessment methods to assess climate risk at a business-level.
Originality/value
Alongside the need to quantify physical risks to businesses is the growing awareness that climate change impacts traverse global supply chains. We review the state of the literature on methodological approaches and identify the opportunities for researchers to use sustainability assessment methods to assess climate risk in the supply chains of an individual business.
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The existence and growth of research administration in the United States has been largely guided by the requirements imposed on recipients of federal funding and it continues to…
Abstract
The existence and growth of research administration in the United States has been largely guided by the requirements imposed on recipients of federal funding and it continues to be influenced by those requirements today. What has changed over the past 80 years is how research administrators learn their craft and share their knowledge, how the profession has moved from mostly male dominated to being largely female, and how their roles expanded. The formation and growth of professional organisations has allowed research administrators to take an active role in development of regulations and policy and to advocate for the profession. The challenges faced by research administrators since the turn of the century have served to show the vital role played by the profession in moving the research enterprise forward.
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Uma Jogulu, Nicola Green, Esme Franken, Alexis Vassiley, Tim Bentley and Leigh-ann Onnis
This study explored one form of remote working – work from home – to understand the impact of work disruptions on workers and human resource management (HRM) practice and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explored one form of remote working – work from home – to understand the impact of work disruptions on workers and human resource management (HRM) practice and therefore how to adapt to future crises. Specifically, the purpose is to understand the impact of events on employees when they are forced to move back and forth (yo-yoing) between work from home and a central office, using the case of Perth, Western Australia (WA).
Design/methodology/approach
Thirty-nine interviews with leaders, managers and co-workers working in private and public organisations suggest that forced changes to work arrangements affect job content and demands, well-being and potentially career trajectories.
Findings
The authors critically applied and developed the tenets of event system theory (EST) (novelty, disruption and criticality) by analysing an ongoing or “long” event rather than a discrete or time-limited one. The study found that the work-from-home experience influenced the individual perception of whether remote working would suit employees in the future, potentially influencing career paths. In addition, the selection of locations to live, preferred properties (e.g. home office space) and access to services (e.g. broadband infrastructure) has also become dominant features of work decisions.
Research limitations/implications
While the study generated rich data, it is not without limitations. The participants were from one Australian state which may not reflect the COVID-19 experiences of other jurisdictions. In addition, the participants were mostly female so this may offer a different perspective than a more gender-balanced sample. The study was limited to the perspectives of employees and middle managers.
Practical implications
The authors note three areas of implications for practitioners. First, the findings suggest that strong organisational and HRM support assists employees to cope well with change. Second, the importance of technological and social preparedness in improving employee experiences highlights the role of HRM in job design. Third, it is key that salient events are recognised as potential determinants of career pathways.
Originality/value
The evidence from this research broadens the application of EST showing that forced flexibility has an influence on work arrangements by influencing a series of changes in features of work and experiences of employees. As such, this impacts employee's well-being and potentially future career decisions.
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Laxmikant Manroop and Daniela Petrovski
This article identifies the contextual demands impacting the work from home (WFH) experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and considers their respective impact on employees'…
Abstract
Purpose
This article identifies the contextual demands impacting the work from home (WFH) experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and considers their respective impact on employees' personal and work-related outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a qualitative methodology, the authors thematically analyzed written narratives from 41 employees who had been required to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
Data analysis identified four layers of contextual demands (omnibus, task, social and personal) that had resulted in participants being required to work from home. Drawing on this finding, the authors develop a conceptual process model to extend current theory and explain how the respective demands impact individual affective reactions and work-related experiences, health and wellbeing. The authors’ findings offer new insights into contexts where WFH becomes mandatory, indicating that it is characterized by a range of challenges and opportunities.
Practical implications
This paper signals the need to provide employees with a realistic preview of working from home demands, including interventions to better prepare them to navigate the daily stressors of working from home; and provision of virtual employee assistance programs in the form of online counseling.
Originality/value
This paper explores a unique phenomenon – the mandatory requirement to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on employees' personal and work-related experiences and outcomes.
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Arosha S. Adikaram and N.P.G.S.I. Naotunna
This paper aims to explore how Human Resource Management (HRM) practices were adopted to implement and manage remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify whether and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how Human Resource Management (HRM) practices were adopted to implement and manage remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify whether and how remote working would/should continue in the future, in a developing and a unique cultural set up in the Asian context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted using qualitative methodology with semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 26 Human Resource Professionals (HRPs) of different industries in Sri Lanka. The information was collected in two phases; at the initial stages of the pandemic during May–June 2020 and after one year and four months, in October–November 2021.
Findings
The findings explain the different HRM activities executed by HRPs, such as employee engagement activities, setting guidelines, employee support, performance management and training, to make remote working successful when it was implemented as an emergency and involuntary work arrangement with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. However, over time, the interest and interventions of HRPs appeared to have dwindled, and many companies are waiting to revert to on-site work when the pandemic situation settles. It appears that remote working will remain a transitory work arrangement to respond to crises or exceptional circumstances rather than a permanent work arrangement for many companies in Sri Lanka.
Originality/value
The study contributes to and expands the knowledge of HRM in managing remote working during and beyond the pandemic in a developing Asian country perspective and the suitability of remote working and HRM practices for specific national cultural contexts.
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