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1 – 10 of over 3000Jeroen van Strien, Cees Johannes Gelderman and Janjaap Semeijn
Performance-based contracting (PBC) plays an increasingly important role in the defense industry. This paper aims to investigate factors that influence service provider’s…
Abstract
Purpose
Performance-based contracting (PBC) plays an increasingly important role in the defense industry. This paper aims to investigate factors that influence service provider’s willingness to accept PBC-induced risks. It also shows how these risks could be managed in a military service supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study focused on the relationship between a service provider and a customer that acted on behalf of other users in the defense sector. The contract involved the sustainment of a military engine in a complex supply chain.
Findings
The service provider’s performance attributability appeared to have a strong impact on its willingness to take PBC-induced risks. For the parts where the service provider did not have full control over the service performance, exclusions and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) were used to manage and mitigate the risks associated with uncontrolled performance. The service provider’s willingness to accept PBC-induced risks was also affected by its ability to make accurate forecasts, the applied growth path and the length of the contract.
Research limitations/implications
This case has specific characteristics, unique by time (maturity of the technical system and supply chain) and place (market). It is recommended that results are tested in other research settings.
Practical implications
Organizations should be aware of the factors that influence a service provider’s willingness to bear PBC-induced risks. Customers should limit PBC to those parts of a contract where risks are of an acceptable level. Also, it is recommended to follow a phased growth path when it is not possible to make accurate forecasts in a PBC context.
Originality/value
This study is the first to address critical issues concerning the identification and management of risks under PBC in the defense industry.
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Consumer psychology research has established the importance of customer satisfaction as a determinant of customer repurchasing intention…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer psychology research has established the importance of customer satisfaction as a determinant of customer repurchasing intention. Nonetheless, even satisfied customers switch brands. Also, even dissatisfied customers have repurchasing intentions. This means that customer repurchasing behaviour is extremely difficult to predict, necessitating additional research to identify additional factors that can help organizations better understand the methods to predict customer repurchasing intention. To fill this knowledge gap, this study examined the mediating effects of brand love (BL) and positive word of mouth (PWOM) on psychological contract fulfilment (PCF) and customer repurchasing intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a cross-sectional study. The study used structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse relationships from a sample size of 400 beauty salon customers. Also, a process macro mediation test was used to analyse the mediating effects of BL and PWOM on the relationship between PCF and customer repurchase intentions.
Findings
The findings indicate that transactional and relational psychological contracts have a positive and significant relationship with BL and PWOM. As well, BL and PWOM positively and significantly influence customer repurchase intentions. Finally, the findings indicate that BL and PWOM mediate the relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and customer repurchase intentions.
Research limitations/implications
This survey sampled beauty salons solely. Given that each type of organization may have a unique way of fulfilling psychological contracts, future studies may include more categories such as restaurants and craftsmanship to broaden the sample. Additionally, this study utilized female beauty salons. Therefore, future research could include salons that cater to women and men to boost the sample's generalizability. Finally, this study concluded that BL and positive recommendations are the most effective variables for resolving consumer satisfaction challenges. However, additional factors can probably amplify this fact by focusing on additional elements to broaden the arguments.
Originality/value
Past studies have extensively covered customer repurchasing intention in relation to customer satisfaction. However, it was noted that even some satisfied customers could switch to other brands, and those who were dissatisfied could repurchase the brand. Given that little is known about how other factors than customer satisfaction can affect repurchasing intentions, this study examines the mediating effects of BL and PWOM on PCF and customer repurchase intentions.
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Rob Vluggen, Relus Kuijpers, Janjaap Semeijn and Cees J. Gelderman
Social return on investment (SROI) is a systematic way of incorporating social values of different stakeholders into public sector decision-making on sustainability. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Social return on investment (SROI) is a systematic way of incorporating social values of different stakeholders into public sector decision-making on sustainability. This study aims to identify salient factors that influence SROI implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
The interactions of four Dutch municipalities and their social enterprises were examined, by analyzing relevant documents and interviewing key actors.
Findings
External forces appear to have little influence on SROI implementation. Management systems, legal restrictions in relation to privacy and the administrative burden appear to hinder SROI implementation. Findings suggest that trust among the parties involved and their representatives is a major driver for SROI development. SROI is not measured well enough, which complicates analyzing and reporting its development.
Research limitations/implications
Achieving collaboration through trust is a characteristic of stewardship theory, and therefore useful for studying social sustainability. Combining agency and stewardship theory provides useful insights concerning the application of control mechanisms versus empowerment.
Practical implications
Barriers can be overcome by informing and engaging suppliers in SROI initiatives. Furthermore, findings of this study suggest that it is easier for municipalities to incorporate SROI when social firm activities are insourced. An independent procurement function stimulates SROI development. Engaged professionals can make the difference in SROI policy implementation, more so than written policies.
Social implications
SROI enables social sustainability. SROI can be used by public agencies to provide meaningful activities for the long-term unemployed and underprivileged adolescents.
Originality/value
The study is the first empirical work that relates public procurement to SROI implementation and its effect on suppliers. The findings provide valuable insights into government influence on social enterprises.
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Ilona Toth, Sanna Heinänen and Kaisu Puumalainen
In response to the increasing interest in entrepreneurs' well-being in both the entrepreneurship and management research fields, this study builds and tests a research model on…
Abstract
Purpose
In response to the increasing interest in entrepreneurs' well-being in both the entrepreneurship and management research fields, this study builds and tests a research model on the role of entrepreneurial passion for inventing in work engagement in the context of modern knowledge work. The research argument is built on the job demands–resources model, the most commonly used frame for measuring employee well-being in work and organization psychology. The research setting in this study compares digital entrepreneurs and freelancers with traditional knowledge workers and part-time platform workers in terms of passion and engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quantitative research design, the authors collected data from 349 highly specialized knowledge workers through anonymous questionnaires. The research hypotheses were tested with linear and logit models.
Findings
The results show that entrepreneurial passion is positively related to increased job demands and work engagement and that job demands can have a positive effect on work engagement in highly complex knowledge work.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by expanding the analysis of entrepreneurial passion outside the entrepreneurship context and into work engagement theory by adding passion for inventing as an important motivational factor in modern knowledge work. Extant literature on the consequences of work digitalization is still scarce, and this study provides insights into successful working on digital platforms.
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Stefan Thalmann, Ronald Maier, Ulrich Remus and Markus Manhart
This paper aims to clarify how organizations manage their participation in networks to share and jointly create knowledge but also risk unwanted knowledge spillovers at the same…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify how organizations manage their participation in networks to share and jointly create knowledge but also risk unwanted knowledge spillovers at the same time. As formal governance, trust and observation are less applicable in informal networks, the authors need to understand how members address the need to protect knowledge by informal practices. The study aims to investigate how the application of knowledge protection practices affects knowledge sharing in networks. The insights are relevant for organizational and network management to control knowledge risks but harvest the benefits of network engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors opted for an exploratory study based on 60 semi-structured interviews with members of 10 networks. In two rounds, network managers, representatives and members of the networks were interviewed. The second round of interviews was used to validate the intermediate findings. The data were complemented by documentary analysis, including network descriptions.
Findings
Through analyzing and building on the theory of psychological contracts, two informal practices of knowledge protection were found in networks of organizations: exclude crucial topics and share on selected topics and exclude details and share a selected level of detail. The authors explored how these two practices are enacted in networks of organizations with psychological contracts.
Originality/value
Counter to intuition that the protection of knowledge can be strengthened only at the expense of knowledge sharing and vice versa, networks benefitted from more focused and increased knowledge sharing while reducing the risk of losing competitive knowledge by performing these knowledge protection practices.
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Constructive deviance is a behavior that can contribute to the effectiveness of an organization despite its problematic nature. Too few studies have examined the correlates of…
Abstract
Purpose
Constructive deviance is a behavior that can contribute to the effectiveness of an organization despite its problematic nature. Too few studies have examined the correlates of this behavior. The purpose of this study is to examine variables that represent exchange and organizational culture and their relationship to supervisor-reported and self-reported constructive deviance.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey data were collected from 602 employees (a response rate of 67 per cent) in a large municipality in central Israel. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were performed for each of the dependent variables (three self-reported constructive deviances and three supervisor-reported constructive deviance) controlling for divisions and departments.
Findings
The findings showed that self-reported constructive deviance was explained much better by the independent variables than supervisor-reported deviance. Organizational justice and moral identity had a strong direct effect on constructive deviance (self-reported). The mediation effect showed that an organizational climate for innovation had the strongest mediation effect among the mediators. Psychological contract breach was found to have a limited effect on constructive deviance.
Practical implications
Organizations should encourage procedural justice to encourage their employees to act in support of the organization, whether openly (formal performance) or more secretly (constructive deviance). Also, organizations should support innovation climate if they want to increase constructive deviance of their employees.
Originality/value
In a time when innovation and creativity are gaining increasing importance as behaviors that contribute to organizational success, more research on constructive deviance is expected. This study increases our understanding of this important concept stimulates additional studies of it.
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Apithamsoonthorn Sompong and Suthiwartnarueput Kamonchanok
Outsourcing is recognized as one of the critical factors for efficient execution of pharmaceutical supply chain management (PSCM), and many pharmaceutical companies engage in…
Abstract
Outsourcing is recognized as one of the critical factors for efficient execution of pharmaceutical supply chain management (PSCM), and many pharmaceutical companies engage in international outsourcing of services (IOS) to survive in global highly competitive business. Since the key success factors for both domestic & international alliances are partnership characteristics and strategic fit management, but there is no empirical research on this issue in Thai pharmaceutical partnership offshore outsourcing. Therefore, this survey of Thai and foreign companies, both contract providers (CPs) and contract manufacturers (CMs), seeks to indicate significant relationships among both outsourcing strategic fit and partnership types, including outsourcing performance outcome. This research is two-fold. First, the partnership types (Type I, II, & III), the strategic fit types (low fit, moderate fit, and good fit), and their correlations are analyzed. And second, their outsourcing performance (company revenues and growth rates) are presented. The results showed that the most of the Thai pharmaceutical outsourcing manufacturing are classified as the partnership Type II, as well as the moderate strategic fit, and strongly support the relationship between the two models. Both of the companies’ revenue and growth rate could predict the companies’ performances outcome for each of partnership and strategic fit types. However, it is not necessary that the most integrative type of partnership, Type III, will be always the best, because it depends also on the strategic fit between each pair of partners as well.
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Oluyemi Theophilus Adeosun and Adeku Salihu OHIANI
Understanding matching patterns and determinants of attracting quality talents is an under-researched area, especially from a firm perspective. Firm’s recruitment strategies have…
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding matching patterns and determinants of attracting quality talents is an under-researched area, especially from a firm perspective. Firm’s recruitment strategies have an impact on the sorting patterns in the labour market which remains undetermined. This paper aims to explore the drivers of attracting and recruiting quality talents. Also, the role of policies including the national labour laws, industry norms and localised firm policies have on hiring practices and drivers in a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is underpinned by network theory, equity theory, social exchange theory and resource-based theory. The authors leveraged on a mixed methodology that is a structured questionnaire administered to 200 firm representatives in Lagos and interviews with key informants from the demand side for labour.
Findings
The study revealed that firms can leverage on salary, brand name, referral, job security as core factors in attracting and recruiting quality talents. Also, digitisation is a key strategy leveraged on attracting and recruiting quality talents. Techniques such as the use of social media, traditional media, online interviews, physical interviews have proven to help in selecting quality talents.
Originality/value
Specifically, the paper throws light on how firms use different recruitment channels for hiring workers, and how the use of these channels affects the quality of matches. Furthermore, the role of social networks, wages and benefits for firm recruitment and matching efficiency was well highlighted.
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Per Fridtjof Larssen, Atle Engebø, Ola Lædre and Ole Jonny Klakegg
This paper aims to examine how a partnering contract facilitates project values and the culture in a construction project and the consequences of said facilitation. Hence, it…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how a partnering contract facilitates project values and the culture in a construction project and the consequences of said facilitation. Hence, it answers the following research questions: 1) How does the contractual framework in Bispevika facilitate relational culture? 2) What effects of this facilitation can be identified in the early phase of development?
Design/Methodology/Approach
An explorative approach is taken into a single case. A literature study into the topics of relational contracting and culture provides a backdrop for the study. The empirical work consists of a study of the construction contracts and six in-depth interviews with actors from the supply-chain.
Findings
Contractual elements affect the project organizations’ motivation. On the basis of existing literature, five contractual elements are identified explicitly in the contracts: “shared goals”, “incentives and bonus”, “open book”, “colocation”, and “design-build”.
Research Limitations/Implications
The data collection is restricted to a single point in time in a single project. Further research is necessary both at a later stage in the same case and in similar projects.
Practical Implications
The paper identifies the effects that proper use of contractual elements has on the relational culture in a construction project and is, therefore, important for subsequent research within the area.
Originality/Value
In addition to identifying the existing contractual elements, the interviews also revealed two additional practices that might be useful for subsequent research: “involvement of executive management” and “subsequent contracts dependent on previous project performance”.
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Mark Traynor, Can Chen and Miranda Kitterlin
The purpose of this paper is to examine the decision to contract school meal services and the associated nutritional and financial impacts on school districts. Given the increase…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the decision to contract school meal services and the associated nutritional and financial impacts on school districts. Given the increase in the use of competitive contracting of public school meal services and the critical role that school meal services play in public health, this is an important subject to investigate.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was performed using one US school district with privatized food service. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with school food service decision makers. Other data collection included the analysis of public documents such as the school district’s budgets and financial statement reports (the cost per lunch and breakfast meals, the cost for labor, contract, transport, supplies and food expenses) and school food service policies (contract policies). Supplementary data pertaining to district social-demographic profiles and full-time equivalent enrollment figures were also collected from state departments.
Findings
Analysis of interviews revealed that positive financial motivations and impacts were dominant factors related to contracting food services in the district. A significant finding was the relatively short turnaround in the district’s negative financial situation as a result of contracting out the food services. These findings provide valuable insight and support for rural school districts in similar negative financial situations seeking to contract out food services.
Originality/value
Many studies have examined contracting out of technical services, such as transport and waste management, and social services, such as correctional services and health; however, there is a lack of studies documenting the effects of contracting out of school meal services.
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