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1 – 7 of 7The case is set in the emerging markets of Central Europe, shortly after the fall of communism. IQSOFT Ltd Hungary is a small information technology firm spun off from a…
Abstract
The case is set in the emerging markets of Central Europe, shortly after the fall of communism. IQSOFT Ltd Hungary is a small information technology firm spun off from a centralized government agency. With very little capital, IQSOFT Ltd found itself competing in the same market with large multinational companies. The situation presents the delicate balance between traditional beliefs and values and the need to survive. As an organizational change problem there is an interrelationship between the strategy of the firm, the organizations capabilities, and the capacity to change. These interrelationships must then be meshed within the human context. The biases, opinions, agendas, and experiences of the key decision makers all have an impact on the feasibility of any change recommendation. Balint Domolki, Managing director of IQSoft, realized that the organization had evolved to meet the firm's survival needs, but was it positioned correctly for the future?
Identifying the state of alignment, when there is misalignment, and the path to achieve alignment are of central importance to decision makers today. This paper seeks to offer…
Abstract
Purpose
Identifying the state of alignment, when there is misalignment, and the path to achieve alignment are of central importance to decision makers today. This paper seeks to offer decision makers some actionable guidance in narrowing the search for possible solution methodologies and to develop a generalized decision alignment framework that can be applied to real decision problems.
Design/methodology/approach
Alignment is viewed as a goal of decision makers and the correct matching of decision and action is essential to achieving consistently high performance. Drawing on parallels with the duality problem in linear programming, decision alignment is defined. The decision alignment framework is theoretically developed using examples from a diverse application set, including quantitative research, decision making, education, and e‐commerce.
Findings
The evidence shows that good research conforms to the decision alignment framework and poor research violates it. Similarly, good decisions conform to the decision alignment framework and poor decisions violate it. The decision alignment framework guides decision makers in constraining and redefining problems to optimize outcome performance, and shows the importance of addressing the dual problem of learning and understanding the phenomena.
Research limitations/implications
The theoretical foundation developed can be used to promote future research in decision alignment. By providing a theoretically derived framework, rich opportunities for empirical testing are offered. Researchers are also given guidance on how alignment research can be conducted.
Practical implications
The examples presented highlight the prescriptive, communicative, and descriptive value of the decision alignment framework. Practitioners are provided with examples for using the decision alignment framework to build toolboxes of approaches that can be aligned to a characterization of real‐world decision problems to improve performance.
Originality/value
The introduction of a decision alignment framework is a significant contribution to the management decision literature. By introducing a decision alignment framework, the rather ambiguous term alignment is precisely defined as the matching of decision problem characterization (primal problem) with the approach possibility set (dual problem).
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The proper identification of a decision problem is paramount to finding a course of action or solution. This paper attempts to capture the general laws or principles that define…
Abstract
Purpose
The proper identification of a decision problem is paramount to finding a course of action or solution. This paper attempts to capture the general laws or principles that define decision problems. These principles are then used to establish a decision classification system called the decision‐order taxonomy.
Design/methodology/approach
The decision‐order taxonomy is developed by performing a content analysis on the seminal literature in the natural, social, and applied sciences. By identifying the semantic descriptors used to partition various domains, an implicit taxonomy for proper identification of decision problems is hypothesized.
Findings
The multidimensional taxonomic classification system and defined nomenclature, together with the identification process, comprise the complete decision‐order taxonomy developed in this paper. While applying the decision‐order taxonomy to an actual decision problem, insights are exposed which will guide the decision maker toward appropriate solution methodologies.
Research limitations/implications
The theoretical foundation developed can be used to promote future research in decision classification. By providing a theoretically derived model, rich opportunities to test the taxonomy empirically are offered. Researchers are also given a foundation upon which they can build interdisciplinary decision models.
Practical implications
For practitioners, the decision‐order taxonomy provides a new paradigm for communicating decision problems across disciplinary boundaries. The taxonomy also provides guidance to the practitioner as they search for appropriate solution methodologies in unfamiliar disciplines.
Originality/value
The establishment of a useful decision‐problem taxonomy is a significant contribution to understanding the multidimensional interdisciplinary nature of real world decision problems. The original classifications will promote cross disciplinary communication, a central element in business success.
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Gary J. Summers and Christopher M. Scherpereel
This paper proposes a relationship between decision making and key qualities of business systems.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper proposes a relationship between decision making and key qualities of business systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors explore the relationship between decision making and systems by contrasting the decision making in two well‐known systems: MRP and JIT. The two systems present two sets of opposing qualities. By considering the relationship between a decision and its environment, we propose that these sets of qualities are not unique to MRP and JIT. They arise from two general approaches to decision making. Having introduced the two approaches, we analyze three product development systems: Stage‐Gate, Agile and Lean.
Findings
In manufacturing, MRP is a push system; JIT is a pull system. MRP seeks perfection; JIT seeks consistency. MRP gives decision makers great discretion; JIT constrains decisions. These opposing qualities, and others, arise from two general approaches to decision making: outside‐in and inside‐out. As the difficulty of decisions increase, relative to a decision maker's ability, the cost of mistakes becomes significant. In these situations, the inside‐out approach should outperform the outside‐in approach. The inside‐out approach constrains decision making to limit the cost of errors. The outside‐in approach embraces complexity, exposing itself to more decision errors. In product development, the Lean and Agile systems exploit the inside‐out approach. They constrain decisions and reduce the cost of errors that arise from two sources. Lean addresses interactions, which add complexity to business systems. Agile addresses unpredictability, which adds uncertainty to business systems.
Originality/value
The relationships the authors propose show how decision making affects the development, control and performance of business systems.
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Christopher M. Scherpereel and Jeffrey R. Lefebvre
Although this article's objectives include providing a primer on internet business strategy and a design guide for future management development efforts, the motivating objective…
Abstract
Purpose
Although this article's objectives include providing a primer on internet business strategy and a design guide for future management development efforts, the motivating objective is to expose traditional business leaders to the need to shock the legacy mindset of their organizations so that they will remain competitive in the twenty‐first century.
Design/methodology/approach
Uses Lewin's three‐step change model – unfreeze, change, and refreeze, involving the IMPACT internet business simulation.
Findings
Just as information technology progress has been slowed by the need to integrate with legacy systems, the new business opportunities available on the internet have been slowed by the legacy mindsets of traditionally trained managers. These legacy mindsets have become systemic in the conversations and cultures of most traditional organizations. Thus, an established company's successful venture into the internet space will likely depend on a significant change in organizational culture.
Research limitations/implications
Although this article was not developed to empirically explore the link between changed mindsets and organization success, some anecdotal evidence is offered that may motivate significant future research.
Practical implications
Through the use of business simulations new conversations can be introduced and the organization change process can be started. By detailing some of the design considerations in the development of the IMPACT internet business simulation, this article exposes management development professionals to the benefits of business simulations and the educational challenges presented by the internet.
Originality/value
The article challenges business leaders and management development professionals to look at the internet as a threat to their organizational culture. If managers want to prepare their organizations for the future, they are going to need tools such as business simulations to shock their organization's legacy mindsets.
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Being clear and specific on what moderating and/or mediating variables are included and what effects are observed in academic research helps the reader to better understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
Being clear and specific on what moderating and/or mediating variables are included and what effects are observed in academic research helps the reader to better understand the academic research context and results. But in terms of managerial relevance, it is also important to do this in a way that it provides descriptive, goal and operational relevance to decision makers in practice, depending on the type of intended research. This article wants to provide “a question-based step-by-step guide” on how to make the analysis of moderating/mediating variables and their observed effects more managerially relevant.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a critical review of the literature, important criteria of managerial relevance are confronted with important aspects of theory building with respect to mediating and moderating effects, leading to best-practice insights and recommendations. Moreover, exemplary articles are used to illustrate these findings.
Findings
The insights and step-by-step recommendations assist the academic researcher in making choices when analyzing moderators and mediators, by not only taking a theoretical perspective, but also a managerial (relevance) perspective. Adding moderators/mediators may for instance challenge the “core logic of managerial practice” (in terms of thinking and decision making), even if it does not change the “core logic of a theory” as such. In the other direction, academics (and their theory) may be challenged by practitioners, in the way they define moderators/mediators and their levels. The steps in this article relate to aspects such as measurability, controllability and role of moderators and mediators in managerial problem and decision contexts. In case of multiple moderating and/or mediating variables, the decision architecture for managers becomes more complex, especially when the effects are countervailing/opposite. Multiple studies in this article illustrate that in that case, making optimal decisions becomes a “balancing” act for managers/decision makers and may even challenge their common beliefs (e.g. linear thinking).
Originality/value
The guidelines on managerial relevance of moderating and/or mediating variables and their effects can be used by academic researchers and editors of academic journals, pursuing not only academic rigor, but also managerial relevance. Besides being a guide for managerially relevant output, it also helps in determining for which questions in the research process, input from practitioners or at least insights from practice (e.g. through sources such as business magazines and portals) may be needed. The guidelines may also be used for teaching purposes, complementing more theoretical articles that mainly focus on methodological/statistical issues of moderating/mediating variables and their effects.
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Vinayak Kalluri and Rambabu Kodali
The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review and analysis of existing research articles on new product development (NPD) published in the 12-year period starting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review and analysis of existing research articles on new product development (NPD) published in the 12-year period starting from 1998 to 2009.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the articles related to NPD, four key words namely new product, product design, product development and product innovation were used in combination of title or abstract or keyword of the articles through several knowledge databases. The abstracts of journal papers were read and a decision as to whether article belongs to any NPD research issue or not was made. In total, 1,127 research articles were categorized systematically and then analyzed on various principal NPD information groups.
Findings
Analysis of selected articles led to a certain level of dispersion in the publication of NPD research in different journals. It is found that more attention needs to be on knowledge and creativity management, communication and information transfer in any NPD process.
Originality/value
By observing extended literature from authors reviewing articles from various journals, growth in research, and variety of topics covered in NPD, a broad systematic multi journal review of NPD literature is clearly overdue. The authors have developed a comprehensive listing of publications on NPD where they have classified the surveyed papers according to various principal NPD information groups like: published year, NPD research stream, type of organization studied (industrial/consumer/service), level of innovation (high/moderate/low), NPD focus on frameworks, performance perspective (success, failure or both), NPD research design (conceptual/empirical and qualitative/quantitative) and NPD relevant best practice element. Based on the classification scheme, the issues were analyzed from the system's perspective and their implications to NPD research.
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