Search results
1 – 10 of 245S.E. Galaitsi, Krista Rand, Elissa Yeates, Cary Talbot, Arleen O'Donnell, Elizaveta Pinigina and Igor Linkov
Water is a critical and contentious resource in California, hence any changes in reservoir management requires coordination among many basin stakeholders. The Forecast-Informed…
Abstract
Purpose
Water is a critical and contentious resource in California, hence any changes in reservoir management requires coordination among many basin stakeholders. The Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) pilot project at Lake Mendocino, California explored the viability of using weather forecasts to alter the operations of a United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reservoir. The pilot project demonstrated FIRO's ability to improve water supply reliability, but also revealed the key role of a collaborative Steering Committee. Because Lake Mendocino's Viability Assessment did not explore the features of the Steering Committee, this study aims to examine the relationships and interactions between Steering Committee members that supported FIRO's implementation at Lake Mendocino.
Design/methodology/approach
The project identified 17 key project participants who spoke at a FIRO workshop or emerged through chain-referrals. Using semi-structured interviews with these participants, the project examined the dynamics of human interactions that enabled the successful multi-institutional and multi-criteria innovation as analyzed through text-coding.
Findings
The results reveal the importance for FIRO Steering Committee members to understand the limitations and constraints of stakeholder counterparts at other organizations, the importance of building and safeguarding relationships, and the role of trust and belonging between members. The lessons learned suggest several interventions to support successful group collaboration dynamics for future FIRO projects.
Originality/value
This study identifies features of the Steering Committee that contributed to FIRO's success by supporting collaborative negotiations of infrastructure operations within a multi-institutional and multi-criteria context.
Details
Keywords
Saba Munir and Muhammad Zaheer
The first objective of this study is to review the mechanism of conducting extra-curricular activities (ECAs) in the open and distance learning (ODL) setting. To achieve this…
Abstract
Purpose
The first objective of this study is to review the mechanism of conducting extra-curricular activities (ECAs) in the open and distance learning (ODL) setting. To achieve this objective, the procedure of ECAs at the Virtual University of Pakistan has been studied. The second objective of this study is to find the impact of ECAs on student engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a cross-sectional quantitative study. The questionnaire has been used to collect the data. The purposive sampling technique has been used, while this study's sample size is 970. An independent sample t-test has been used to find the difference between the groups.
Findings
This study shows a significant difference between the engagement levels of students who have been part of any ECA at university compared to the students who never participated in any ECA.
Research limitations/implications
The results have been derived from the data gathered from one university only that might hinder the generalizability of the findings. The same study can be conducted in other ODL institutions to authenticate the findings.
Practical implications
This study will help in realizing the policymakers of ODL about the importance of ECCAs. This study has also discussed an existing system of conducting ECCAs in an ODL setting that can be generalized and implemented across all the ODL universities to enhance student engagement.
Originality/value
This study has highlighted the importance of ECAs in ODL institutions that have been neglected since forever. This study is novel because it has highlighted the importance of social interaction of students in ODL and its relation with student engagement that has not been highlighted by any study so far.
Details
Keywords
Susanne Colenberg, Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek, Natalia Romero Herrera and David Keyson
The purpose of this article is to aid conceptualization of social well-being at work by identifying its components in a contemporary office context, so adequate measures can be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to aid conceptualization of social well-being at work by identifying its components in a contemporary office context, so adequate measures can be developed to monitor social well-being and to assess the impact of interventions in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used existing interview data from recent post-occupancy evaluations of two large activity-based flexible offices in the Dutch public sector. Data-driven concept mapping of 182 different employees' statements on social aspects of well-being was used to find communalities in their perceptions.
Findings
From the data 14 key concepts emerged referring to employees' social needs, reactions to (anti-)social behaviour of others and perceived social affordances of the work environment. Contrary to established theory, social well-being appeared to be a context-bound phenomenon, including components of both short-term hedonic and long-term eudaimonic well-being.
Research limitations/implications
The findings serve as an inductive source for the further development of adequate measures of social well-being at work. Limitations concern the specific (cultural) setting of the cases and the use of existing data.
Practical implications
Preliminary suggestions for fostering social well-being include change management, participatory design, being alert of the identified risks of activity-based offices and supporting privacy regulation, identity marking and a sense of community, as well as a diversity of informal face-to-face interactions balanced with quiet spaces.
Originality/value
This article contributes to the conceptualization of social well-being in contemporary offices by discussing established social well-being theory and analysing real-world data, using a method novel to management research.
Details
Keywords
Harun Sesen, Senay Sahil Ertan and Gözde Inal Cavlan
The aim of this research is to investigate the association between perceived overqualification and leisure crafting in the context of immigrants. Drawing on the cross-cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to investigate the association between perceived overqualification and leisure crafting in the context of immigrants. Drawing on the cross-cultural adaptation theory, the study tests the moderating role that acculturation plays in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a total of 226 immigrants living in Northern Cyprus. In the initial survey, data were collected on perceived overqualification and acculturation, which was followed by the measurement of leisure crafting. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Perceived overqualification asserts a significantly positive impact on leisure crafting. Assuming that acculturation plays a moderating role, the research shows that the positive effect that perceived overqualification has on leisure crafting is increased in cases where positive acculturation is elevated as opposed to reduced.
Research limitations/implications
The study results were based on self-reported surveys and data were limited to overqualified immigrant groups in Northern Cyprus.
Practical implications
The study provides significant practical implications for management teams. They can design managerial interventions to increase the acculturation of immigrants, which may in turn reduce the perceived overqualification and increase the positive impact of leisure crafting. Also, the government needs to implement policies targeted at immigrants in order to help them rapidly adapt to the host society.
Originality/value
This research will be a pioneering attempt to explore the positive relationship between perceived overqualification and leisure crafting. The results suggest actions that can be taken to promote leisure crafting behaviors through the use of acculturation to enhance organizational commitment, belongingness to the host society, and well-being in overqualified immigrants.
Details
Keywords
Zoë Sedlářík, Robin Bauwens and Marloes van Engen
Drawing upon self-determination theory (SDT) and the proactive motivation model, this study examined how inclusive leadership is related to organizational citizenship behavior…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon self-determination theory (SDT) and the proactive motivation model, this study examined how inclusive leadership is related to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through psychological need satisfaction (PNS).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a large Dutch private company in the financial sector (N = 264) and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
Inclusive leadership positively influenced all three PNS dimensions (autonomy, competence and relatedness). Both autonomy and relatedness fully mediated the relationship between inclusive leadership and OCB. However, this was not the case for competence, although additional analyses revealed the serial mediation of all three PNS dimensions.
Originality/value
By highlighting the mediating role of PNS, this study contributes to the inclusive leadership literature by helping unravel the underlying process through which leaders influence team outcomes. The findings emphasize the importance of inclusive leaders in satisfying employees' individual psychological needs, so that they can redirect their attention toward prosocial behaviors.
Details
Keywords
Elina Närvänen, Hannu Kuusela, Heli Paavola and Noora Sirola
This paper's purpose is to develop a meaning-based framework for customer loyalty by examining how consumers make sense of customer loyalty through meanings and metaphors.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper's purpose is to develop a meaning-based framework for customer loyalty by examining how consumers make sense of customer loyalty through meanings and metaphors.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews and focus group data in the retail context was conducted with Finnish customers. The data were analysed with qualitative data analysis techniques such as the constant comparative technique.
Findings
The empirical findings comprise eight loyalty meanings characterised by two dimensions. The first dimension is reflexive vs. routinised, and the second dimension is private vs. social. The loyalty types are dimensionalised through four metaphors: loyalty as freedom of choice; as being conventional and binding; and as belongingness.
Practical implications
The findings improve the way customer loyalty currently is understood in the retail setting. The paper proposes that customer insight that utilises thick data can be used to grasp loyalty meanings. These data are rich in context and detail, and they take into account customers' everyday lives. Utilising thick data in the form of storytelling fuels customers' meaning-making related to customer loyalty, potentially enriching their relationship with the retailer.
Originality/value
Customer loyalty has been driven largely by a transactional and company-centric perspective. This article presents an alternative view of customer loyalty that accounts for the variety of meanings that customers may assign to their loyalty-related thoughts and behaviours.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this article is to investigate the communicative constitution of organizational inclusion and/or exclusion through humorous acts at the expense of members of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate the communicative constitution of organizational inclusion and/or exclusion through humorous acts at the expense of members of minorities and/or historically disadvantaged groups.
Design/methodology/approach
Semistructured interviews with 84 employees in Austria and Germany dealing with their experiences regarding diversity and inclusion (D&I) at work were conducted and analyzed in two steps. First, a thematic text analysis was performed to structure the content and identify relevant themes and anecdotes for further analysis. Second, a ventriloquial analysis sought to identify the physically absent yet present voices in these anecdotes.
Findings
The interviews revealed that jokes and quips mostly target colleagues of observable foreign origin. The analysis further identified three themes that show that disparaging humor can simultaneously reinforce inclusion/exclusion across hierarchies and create boundaries within teams – but in different ways. The findings also indicate that above all prejudices “participate” in such events and that in most cases the collective is invoked to increase the joke's “authority”.
Originality/value
This research is the first one that investigates humor in the context of D&I through a communicative constitution of organization (CCO) lens, which facilitates studying the constitutive character of humorous communication in terms of inclusion and exclusion. Moreover, this is one of the first empirical humor studies to draw on established theory-driven concepts of inclusion-exclusion in its analysis.
Details
Keywords
Daniel Wolfgruber, Lina Stürmer and Sabine Einwiller
The purpose of this article is to examine the communicative factors that facilitate or hamper the development of an inclusive work environment with an emphasis on the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine the communicative factors that facilitate or hamper the development of an inclusive work environment with an emphasis on the communication about equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), while taking diversity characteristics of employees into account.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 84 persons employed in Austria and Germany, who feature various observable and non-observable diversity characteristics, were interviewed following a problem-centered approach.
Findings
The results indicate that employees with (observable) diversity characteristics, who tend to feel less included, observe more excluding and marginalizing communication and practices in their organizations. Moreover, formal interpersonal communication appears to be more important to develop a highly inclusive workplace than informal interpersonal communication and other forms of communication about EDI.
Research limitations/implications
The sample was rather imbalanced and comprised only employees in Austria and Germany, which limits the study's explanatory power. However, the findings stress the significance of formal interpersonal communication as the cornerstone of an inclusive workplace, which should be followed up in future research.
Practical implications
In terms of the development of an inclusive work environment the findings suggest that strategic (i.e. formal) organizational communication about EDI issues is key to increase the perception of inclusion.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating the importance of interpersonal communication as a key factor that facilitates, but also hampers an inclusive work environment.
Details
Keywords
The paper aims to considering quality that comes from quality employees taking discretionary efforts, having right perception towards quality, getting satisfied from their…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to considering quality that comes from quality employees taking discretionary efforts, having right perception towards quality, getting satisfied from their contribution. Exploring the relationship of engagement, perception and satisfaction, and mapping the levels and identifying managerial implications for improving the levels.
Design/methodology/approach
William Kahn’s employee engagement dimensions, Parasuraman and Zeithaml’s quality dimensions and Harter et al.’s satisfaction dimensions applied and variables framed in health-care context, tested and applied. Survey data collected from randomly selected medical and non-medical employees from south Indian state Tamil Nadu health-care organizations, using structured questionnaire.
Findings
Age, experience and roles of the respondents in work have a significant association with the levels. It explores a significant positive relationship of perception, engagement and satisfaction. The study explores an average 28% of employees have high level of engagement, perception (18%) and satisfaction (22%), and the rest fall under moderate and low levels. The roles of the respondents significantly predict the levels.
Originality/value
The study focuses on engagement, perception and satisfaction of employees, not of patients. It registered the responses of trained physicians, nurses and administrative staff. It illustrates human resource strategic importance to improve the levels concerning quality measures.
Details