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Article
Publication date: 27 April 2023

Hidenori Sato and Kiyohiro Oki

This study aims to investigate the consequences of middle managers’ sensegiving for organisational change in neglected workplaces, where middle managers are given insufficient…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the consequences of middle managers’ sensegiving for organisational change in neglected workplaces, where middle managers are given insufficient resources because of receiving low attention from top management.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a case study of three call centres in the Japanese non-life insurance industry. To collect data, the authors conducted interviews with ten stakeholders and made multiple field observations.

Findings

The authors identified the following mechanism: in neglected workplaces, middle managers initially focus on sensegiving to employees because they recognise the difficulty of eliciting support from top management. However, as a result, they see sensegiving to employees as top priority and do not try to elicit the support of top management, which is necessary for further organisational change. As a result, organisational change stops at a certain level.

Research limitations/implications

The authors identified the following mechanism: in neglected workplaces, middle managers initially focus on sensegiving to employees because they recognise the difficulty of eliciting support from top management. However, as a result, they see sensegiving to employees as their top priority and do not try to elicit the support of top management, which is necessary for further organisational change. As a result, organisational change stops at a certain level.

Originality/value

First, this study contributes to the body of research on the effects of sensegiving on organisational change. It shows the new problems hidden behind organisational change, which existing research merely regards as independent successes. Second, this study identifies middle managers’ behaviour during organisational change in neglected workplaces. Instead of focusing on the factors necessary for successful organisational change, as in existing studies, this study extends the knowledge of the role of middle managers in organisational change by focusing on their behaviours when success factors are not aligned.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2023

Ahmet Coşkun Yıldırım and Erkan Erdil

This study aims to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on the progression of digitalization of banks in an emerging market. For this purpose, business model canvas (BMC) is used as…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on the progression of digitalization of banks in an emerging market. For this purpose, business model canvas (BMC) is used as a theoretical framework to explore these effects on each business elements of Turkish Banks’ business strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected through structured interviews with the top managers of seven diversified banks. Interview questions are designed based on BMC.

Findings

The results show that the onset of the Covid-19 is a shock that has made digitalization a strategic issue that necessitates an urgent change in many business elements of banks such as customer relationships, communication channels, resource allocation, partnerships and financing. Further, it has stimulated redefining value proposition and collaboration/interaction among all financial institutions through digital platforms.

Practical implications

BMC can be used to explain decision-making and business processes of banks for exploring the effect of recent and/or unexpected developments in the business environment of an emerging economy. The results provide insights and recommendations to managers of financial institutions into the impacts of Covid-19 on banks’ operational and strategic processes. That allows financial institutions, including Fintechs, to use this information for taking precautions and proactive actions against shocks.

Originality/value

This study is an initial attempt to explore the impacts of the Covid-19 on banks in an emerging economy by using BMC. With that, this study contributes to the literature by explaining the effect of progression of digitalization in banking from a strategic business model perspective using a qualitative research method.

Details

Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4179

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Mia von Knorring, Hanna Karlsson, Elizabeth Stenwall, Matti Johannes Nikkola and Maria Niemi

This study aims to analyse student and teaching staff views on how higher education (HE) can contribute to sustainable development, and to provide examples of how a medical…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse student and teaching staff views on how higher education (HE) can contribute to sustainable development, and to provide examples of how a medical university has adopted the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as part of its institutional strategies and practises.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on participant views from a conference, which aimed to identify actions needed for HE to contribute to the SDGs. More than 500 students, teachers and academic leaders participated at workshops to discuss and reflect on the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in sustainable development. The discussion key points were recorded on flipcharts, and the analysis builds on all written statements from the nine workshops. Based on the findings from the workshop, steering documents and activities of a medical university were identified as examples of implementation.

Findings

Two overarching interdependent themes were identified and indicated a need to rethink the role not only of HE per se but also that of HEIs at large, to meet the challenges of sustainable development. The study also provides an example of how such organizational change can be practically implemented at a medical university, through the establishment of overarching institutional strategies, funding opportunities and external collaborations.

Practical implications

The findings reflect a “bottom-up” call from students and educational staff for HEIs to step up and contribute to systems change – both through a change in pedagogies, as well as through an institution-wide approach and a shift in the role of HEIs in society.

Originality/value

The study is unique in providing an exemplar of the implementation of sustainable development in HE at a specific medical university.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2024

Vijay A. Ramjattan

This paper argues that accent modification acts as a mechanism that (re)produces workplace accentism, which is a set of ideologies and practices positioning some English accents…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper argues that accent modification acts as a mechanism that (re)produces workplace accentism, which is a set of ideologies and practices positioning some English accents as inherently superior/inferior to others in the context of work and careers.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper draws on existing literature mainly from critical sociolinguistic and labor studies to support its central argument.

Findings

Through acting as a skill, a technology and a commodified service, accent modification naturalizes linguistic hierarchies, which are racist, classist and colonial constructions, and reinforces the structural status quo in different contexts.

Practical implications

In order to move away from accent modification as a means to enhance oral communication at work, organizational attempts at fostering mutual intelligibility and undoing the role of accent in workplace communication are necessary.

Originality/value

Contrary to research that presents accentism as a purely interpersonal issue, the paper explores how accentism is institutionalized and is connected to linguistic profiling.

Details

Career Development International, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2024

Carla Ramos, Adriana Bruscato Bortoluzzo and Danny P. Claro

This study aims to capture how the association between a multichannel relational communication strategy (MRCS) and customer performance is contingent upon such customer…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to capture how the association between a multichannel relational communication strategy (MRCS) and customer performance is contingent upon such customer performance (low- versus high-performance customers) and to reconcile past contradictory results in this marketing-related topic. To this end, the authors propose and validate the method of quantile regression as an unconventional, yet effective, means to proceed to that reconciliation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected data from 4,934 customers of a private pension fund firm and accounted for both firm- and customer-initiated relational communication channels (RCCs) and for customer lifetime value (CLV). This study estimated a generalized linear model and then a quantile regression model was used to account for customer performance heterogeneity.

Findings

This study finds that specific RCCs present different levels of association with performance for low- versus high-performance customers, where outcome customer performance is the dependent variable. For example, the relation between firm-initiated communication (FIC) and performance is stronger for low-CLV customers, whereas the relation between customer-initiated communication (CIC) and performance is increasingly stronger for high-CLV customers but not for low-CLV ones. This study also finds that combining different forms of FIC can result in a negative association with customer performance, especially for low-CLV customers.

Research limitations/implications

The authors tested the conceptual model in one single firm in the specific context of financial services and with cross-sectional data, so there should be caution when extrapolating this study’s findings.

Practical implications

This study offers nuanced and precise managerial insights on recommended resource allocation along with relational communication efforts, showing how managers can benefit from adopting a differentiated-customer performance approach when designing their MRCS.

Originality/value

This study provides an overview of the state of the art of MRCS, proposes a contingency analysis of the relationship between MRCS and performance based on customer performance heterogeneity and suggests the quantile method to perform such analysis and help reconcile past contradictory findings. This study shows how the association between RCCs and CLV varies across the conditional quantiles of the distribution of customer performance. This study also addresses a recent call for a more holistic perspective on the relationships between independent and dependent variables.

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Cynthia Lum, Christopher S. Koper, Michael Goodier, William Johnson and James Krause

We present the results of one of the only in-depth studies of a police agency’s internal and external response to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 (COVID-19). This study…

Abstract

Purpose

We present the results of one of the only in-depth studies of a police agency’s internal and external response to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 (COVID-19). This study emphasizes the importance of law enforcement agencies conducting comprehensive case studies and after-action assessments to prepare, prevent and respond to prolonged public health crises and showcases the profound (and lingering) effects of COVID-19 on police organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This multi-method case study combines document analysis, a workforce survey, a community survey, interviews and analysis of administrative data to detail and assess the agency’s internal and operational responses to the pandemic and the reactions of employees and community members to those responses.

Findings

Despite agency strategies to mitigate the pandemic’s effects, employees cited very high stress levels one year after the pandemic and a third of sworn officers considered leaving the policing profession altogether during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several policies intended by the agency to protect employee health and maintain staffing needs kept workforce levels steady but may have increased feelings of organizational injustice in both sworn and non-sworn individuals, with variation across racial and gender groups. A jurisdiction-wide community survey indicated general support for the police department’s responses but a preference for in-person rather than telephone-based responses to service calls. Officers, however, preferred continuing remote responses even after the pandemic subsided.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the only in-depth case studies that examine a police agency’s internal and external responses to COVID-19 and the sworn, non-sworn and community reactions to those responses.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 47 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 May 2023

In-Jo Park and Shenyang Hai

Drawing on affective events theory, the purpose of this study is to examine the mediation effect of positive affect on the association between fit (e.g. person-organization fit…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on affective events theory, the purpose of this study is to examine the mediation effect of positive affect on the association between fit (e.g. person-organization fit and person-job fit) and organizational commitment in the hospitality industry. The secondary aim is to investigate the moderated mediation effect of hospitality employees’ calling on these associations.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from 248 hotel employees in China at three different time points. A moderated mediation model was examined by using the bias-corrected bootstrapping method.

Findings

Results revealed that person-organization fit and person-job fit indirectly influenced organizational commitment via positive affect. Calling was found to moderate the indirect influences of person-organization and person-job fit on organizational commitment via positive affect.

Practical implications

Managing employees’ affective experiences in the hospitality industry and promoting their organizational commitment are key strategies for hospitality organizations to promote service quality and retain their employees. This study suggests that hospitality organizations should actively attempt to improve employees’ fit perceptions and promote their sense of calling.

Originality/value

By theorizing and investigating the mediating role of positive affect and the moderating role of calling in the association between fit and employee commitment, this research extends existing knowledge on the association between fit–job attitudes and makes notable contributions to the hospitality literature on fit, affect, calling and job attitudes.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Joshua J. Davis and Michael L. Birzer

The study examined rural police culture in one Kansas police agency.

Abstract

Purpose

The study examined rural police culture in one Kansas police agency.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a qualitative ethnographic approach using in-depth interviews and non-participant observations to construct and interpret the culture of rural police through the lens of officers working in one rural police agency.

Findings

Five themes were found that described the complexities rural police officers face at this research site, including the law being at the center of officers’ actions, the nature of crime, officers serving as jack of all trades, community relationships and enforcement of crimes by teenagers, and how outside pressures from the community and increased concern for citizens' safety affect officers' daily lived experiences.

Originality/value

There is a dearth of scholarly literature addressing rural and small-town policing. This study is the first known qualitative study to be conducted on rural Kansas police, allowing a snapshot of the workings of rural Kansas police.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 May 2023

Hanuman Reddy N., Amit Lathigara, Rajanikanth Aluvalu and Uma Maheswari V.

Cloud computing (CC) refers to the usage of virtualization technology to share computing resources through the internet. Task scheduling (TS) is used to assign computational…

Abstract

Purpose

Cloud computing (CC) refers to the usage of virtualization technology to share computing resources through the internet. Task scheduling (TS) is used to assign computational resources to requests that have a high volume of pending processing. CC relies on load balancing to ensure that resources like servers and virtual machines (VMs) running on real servers share the same amount of load. VMs are an important part of virtualization, where physical servers are transformed into VM and act as physical servers during the process. It is possible that a user’s request or data transmission in a cloud data centre may be the reason for the VM to be under or overloaded with data.

Design/methodology/approach

VMs are an important part of virtualization, where physical servers are transformed into VM and act as physical servers during the process. It is possible that a user’s request or data transmission in a cloud data centre may be the reason for the VM to be under or overloaded with data. With a large number of VM or jobs, this method has a long makespan and is very difficult. A new idea to cloud loads without decreasing implementation time or resource consumption is therefore encouraged. Equilibrium optimization is used to cluster the VM into underloaded and overloaded VMs initially in this research. Underloading VMs is used to improve load balance and resource utilization in the second stage. The hybrid algorithm of BAT and the artificial bee colony (ABC) helps with TS using a multi-objective-based system. The VM manager performs VM migration decisions to provide load balance among physical machines (PMs). When a PM is overburdened and another PM is underburdened, the decision to migrate VMs is made based on the appropriate conditions. Balanced load and reduced energy usage in PMs are achieved in the former case. Manta ray foraging (MRF) is used to migrate VMs, and its decisions are based on a variety of factors.

Findings

The proposed approach provides the best possible scheduling for both VMs and PMs. To complete the task, improved whale optimization algorithm for Cloud TS has 42 s of completion time, enhanced multi-verse optimizer has 48 s, hybrid electro search with a genetic algorithm has 50 s, adaptive benefit factor-based symbiotic organisms search has 38 s and, finally, the proposed model has 30 s, which shows better performance of the proposed model.

Originality/value

User’s request or data transmission in a cloud data centre may cause the VMs to be under or overloaded with data. To identify the load on VM, initially EQ algorithm is used for clustering process. To figure out how well the proposed method works when the system is very busy by implementing hybrid algorithm called BAT–ABC. After the TS process, VM migration is occurred at the final stage, where optimal VM is identified by using MRF algorithm. The experimental analysis is carried out by using various metrics such as execution time, transmission time, makespan for various iterations, resource utilization and load fairness. With its system load, the metric gives load fairness. How load fairness is worked out depends on how long each task takes to do. It has been added that a cloud system may be able to achieve more load fairness if tasks take less time to finish.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

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