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1 – 10 of over 29000The purpose of this paper is to argue that in cross-cultural and strategic management, we must pay attention to the processes creating and maintaining culture. How can everyday…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue that in cross-cultural and strategic management, we must pay attention to the processes creating and maintaining culture. How can everyday interactions give rise to national, “deep” cultures, recognizable across centuries, or organizational cultures, recognizable across decades?
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper using the evidence provided by research about cultural patterns, and using sociological status-power theory to explain the causation of these patterns. Emergence, also called self-organization, is introduced as mechanism connecting individual-level causation with resulting system-level patterns. Cases are used to illustrate points.
Findings
Simulation gaming and computational social simulation are introduced. These methods allow “growing” a system, thus allowing to experiment with potential interventions and their unanticipated effects.
Research limitations/implications
This essay could have major implications for research, adding new methods to survey-based and case-based studies, and achieving a new synthesis. Strategic management today almost invariably involves cross-cultural elements. As a result, cross-cultural understanding is now strategically important.
Practical implications
The suggestions in this essay could lead to new collaborations in the study of culture and organizational processes. Examples include team formation, negotiation, mergers and acquisitions, trans-national collaboration, incentive systems and job interviews.
Social implications
The suggestions in this essay could contribute to our ability of proactively steering processes in organizations. In particular, they can provide a check to the notion that a control measure necessarily results in its intended effect.
Originality/value
The synthesis of biological, sociological and cross-cultural psychological viewpoints with design-oriented method, using games or social simulations as research instruments, is original in the field.
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Aparna Samaraweera, Sepani Senaratne and Y.G. Sandanayake
Cultural differences cause conflicts amongst construction project participants, deterring the success of projects. Understanding such different cultural manifestations could help…
Abstract
Purpose
Cultural differences cause conflicts amongst construction project participants, deterring the success of projects. Understanding such different cultural manifestations could help the removal of the misunderstandings amongst sub-cultural groups and removal of formal irrationalities deterring the progress of construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of project cultures in the public sector construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory case study was selected as the research strategy to achieve the research aim. Three public sector building construction projects were used as case studies. Nine semi-structured interviews and observation of two progress review meetings per case were used for data collection.
Findings
As per the research findings, contractors believed that construction project culture emerged and transferred through continuous interactions and socialisations with time. Consultants believed that culture was emerged focusing on clearly defined project objectives. In addition, all members assumed that project members at high authority levels were contributing more for the emergence and transfer of cultural aspects. Levels of culture and power existed within the public sector project culture as clients with the highest power, consultants the next and contractors with the least power. Public sector project culture was not leader centred. Shared behavioural norms were not much popular in project culture. Highly differentiated behavioural norms, demonstrating clear professional sub-cultures for the client, contractor and consultant, were available.
Originality/value
The research findings are helpful to construction project managers to enhance the level of motivation, productivity, commitment, continuous interactions and socialisations of project participants and to avoid any negative outcomes in behaviours.
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Previous research has shown that eras of managerial rhetorics have alternated between normative and rational ideologies. The purpose of this study is to test the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has shown that eras of managerial rhetorics have alternated between normative and rational ideologies. The purpose of this study is to test the influence of generational membership on this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
Examining data for the past 130 years, eras of managerial rhetorics are matched with recurring generational archetypes.
Findings
Empirical evidence is analyzed and found to be generally supportive of the hypotheses: generational membership is associated with the timing of the alternation in managerial rhetorics.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of association suggest generational change could be a causal driver of long‐term change in managerial rhetorics.
Practical implications
The model tested implies a predictive ability to anticipate the movement from the current normative rhetoric to a new rational rhetoric in the near future.
Originality/value
This study is the first to find evidence that the alternation between rational and normative managerial rhetorics is related to generational effects.
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Fredrik Karlsson, Ella Kolkowska and Frans Prenkert
The purpose of this paper is to survey existing inter-organisational information security research to scrutinise the kind of knowledge that is currently available and the way in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to survey existing inter-organisational information security research to scrutinise the kind of knowledge that is currently available and the way in which this knowledge has been brought about.
Design/methodology/approach
The results are based on a literature review of inter-organisational information security research published between 1990 and 2014.
Findings
The authors conclude that existing research has focused on a limited set of research topics. A majority of the research has focused management issues, while employees’/non-staffs’ actual information security work in inter-organisational settings is an understudied area. In addition, the majority of the studies have used a subjective/argumentative method, and few studies combine theoretical work and empirical data.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest that future research should address a broader set of research topics, focusing especially on employees/non-staff and their use of processes and technology in inter-organisational settings, as well as on cultural aspects, which are lacking currently; focus more on theory generation or theory testing to increase the maturity of this sub-field; and use a broader set of research methods.
Practical implications
The authors conclude that existing research is to a large extent descriptive, philosophical or theoretical. Thus, it is difficult for practitioners to adopt existing research results, such as governance frameworks, which have not been empirically validated.
Originality/value
Few systematic reviews have assessed the maturity of existing inter-organisational information security research. Findings of authors on research topics, maturity and research methods extend beyond the existing knowledge base, which allow for a critical discussion about existing research in this sub-field of information security.
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Yanan Yu, Marguerite Moore and Lisa P. Chapman
The study primarily aims to examine an emerging fashion technology, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, using data mining-driven social network analysis (SNA). Simultaneously, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The study primarily aims to examine an emerging fashion technology, direct-to-garment (DTG) printing, using data mining-driven social network analysis (SNA). Simultaneously, the study also demonstrates application of a group novel computational technique to capture, analyze and visually depict data for strategic insight into the fashion industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 5,060 tweets related to DTG were captured using Crimson Hexagon. Python and Gephi were applied to convert, calculate and visualize the yearly networks for 2016–2019. Based on graph theory, degree centrality and betweenness centrality indices guide interpretation of the outcome networks.
Findings
The findings reveal insights into DTG printing technology networks through identification of interrelated indicators (i.e. nodes, edges and communities) over time. Deeper interpretation of the dominant indicators and the unique changes within each of the DTG communities were investigated and discussed.
Practical implications
Three SNA models suggest directions including the dominant apparel categories for DTG application, competing alternatives for apparel decorating approaches to DTG and growing market niches for DTG. Interpretation of the yearly networks suggests evolution of this domain over the investigation period.
Originality/value
The social media based, data mining-driven SNA method provides a novel path and a powerful technique for scholars and practitioners to investigate information among complex, abstract or novel topics such as DTG. Context specific findings provide initial insight into the evolving competitive structures driving DTG in the fashion market.
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Abstract
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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between neoliberal institutional management of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake and the local dwelling practices, which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between neoliberal institutional management of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake and the local dwelling practices, which consequently originated in the new urban layout.
Design/methodology/approach
It presents itself as a post-catastrophe ethnography carried out from a specific approach, that is, the street ethnography that consists of collecting the practices and discourses of inhabitants, administrators, experts and commercial operators, which take place on or around the street.
Findings
Illustrating the stages from the declaration of the state of emergency to the expertise-proposed reconstruction models, it shows the differences between resilient strategies and policies of urban management and resistant dwelling practices that are analyzed progressively focusing on a particular social group: the teenagers of the alleys.
Research limitations/implications
Descending in the alleys means to take a micro-sight that ables to identify present living paths.
Practical implications
Based on a long fieldwork, it bridges the gap between “theories” and practices, and it highlights those fields of action that despite being dominated by wide-ranging disaster management and urban planning logics bring out the work of social life in reweaving its threads in contexts of crisis.
Social implications
Paying attention to a social portion that often escapes from ethnographic investigation, this study has the merit of dealing with teenagers in this kind of situation.
Originality/value
Indeed, this part of society and its creative “culture” receive the focus of a few studies, especially in case of catastrophes.
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This paper investigates the factors responsible for the emergence of different arrangements of state–society relations. Being concerned with the relations related to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the factors responsible for the emergence of different arrangements of state–society relations. Being concerned with the relations related to the industrial sector, this study focuses more on state–business–labor relations (SBLRs), especially on power dynamics between the main actors in these relations, namely, the state, tycoons, entrepreneurs and labor.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on power dynamics, four SBLR modes are identified and differentiated according to state power vis-à-vis non-state actors and tycoon power vis-à-vis the other non-state actors. The balanced mode is characterized by balanced power relations among the four considered actors. In the capture mode, tycoons are more powerful than other actors, including the state, although other nonsocial actors have organizational rights. The crony mode has powerful state, subservient tycoons who enjoy high levels of favoritism and low organizational power for the other social actors. Finally, the state-dominance mode has powerful state, low levels of favoritism to tycoons and low organizational power for all social actors. The paper then explores the factors responsible for the emergence of each of these modes by investigating the factors’ effects on state power and favoritism to tycoons. The investigated factors include historical political–economic, geographical, legal and cultural factors. The hypothesized effects of these factors are then tested using a random-effects probit regression model, investigating how the different factors affect the probability of the existence of the studied SBLR modes.
Findings
The results support much of the hypothesized relations and place more emphasis on some of the investigated factors. Earlier development is clearly responsible for the emergence of either the balanced or the state-capture SBLR mode. Geographical conditions favorable for development, such as latitude and metal richness, also lead to the emergence of either mode. The communist heritage, and more accurately the post-communist economic and incomplete political liberalism of the transition stage, contributed to the emergence of the state-capture SBLR mode. The British legal system, with the power it provides to non-state actors through the independence of judges and other measures, contributes to the emergence of the balanced SBLR mode. Cultural factors are largely responsible for the emergence of the crony SBLR mode, especially hierarchical and collectivist cultures, as well as ethnic fractionalization. On the other hand, the culture of Confucians has the strongest influence on the emergence of state dominance, while other cultures play a marginal role in its rise, and ethnic fractionalization marginally defuses the ability of the state to dominate without resorting to favoritism. Finally, access to rich natural resources, by enriching the state independently from social actors’ financial resources (e.g. taxation), marginally increases the probability of the emergence of the state-dominance mode.
Research limitations/implications
There is room for path dependency to explain the emergence of different SBLR modes in many countries. Unfortunately, the introduced regression model and any quantitative empirical work would not be able to effectively investigate such a process. Instead, an approach depending on case studies and a deeper investigation of country-specific historical political development is needed to complement the research done here. Conducting such an additional quest would help in reaching a more comprehensive understanding of why different countries have different SBLR modes. This should ultimately help in answering an equally important question: How to reverse engineer the emergence of favorable SBLR modes?
Practical implications
Although this paper did not investigate the economic merits or mischiefs of each of the studied modes, it is plausible to think of the balanced SBLR as the best mode. This is supported not only by the fact that most of the countries of this mode are developed countries but also by the attractiveness of the power dynamics governing this mode—a more balanced power among different SBLR actors. While some factors are almost impossible to replicate, for example, geographical factors, reform could target the factors that could be changed or mitigated. This is true for legal reform, especially for fostering the independence of judges. Culture is often regarded as a sticky institution. However, this is not always true, even though the change happens in the long run. A sort of dynamism should always be considered when referring to culture through time and space. Institutional reform could be instrumental in the long run in this regard. Conducting such reform with the help of such “exogenous” institutions should always consider the match between these institutions and “endogenous” institutions, such as culture. That is to say, the connection between democratization, fostering accountability and curbing favoritism and cultural values leaning toward these principles should be firmly established. Finally, a point of optimism is that—based on the results of this paper—reaching a high state of development could increase the chances of realizing a more balanced SBLR mode in the long run.
Originality/value
This paper represents a novel contribution to a topic that has hardly been addressed in the literature. The methodology that is used identifies different state–society relation modes and focuses on power relations in SBLRs is another important contribution to the present literature in many fields, such as institutional economics, socioeconomics and political economy.
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Robert Gregory, Michael Prifling and Roman Beck
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how individual project members in IT offshore outsourcing projects cope with culture‐specific behavior, and how the project members'…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how individual project members in IT offshore outsourcing projects cope with culture‐specific behavior, and how the project members' cultural intelligence enables the emergence of negotiated culture.
Design/methodology/approach
The employed research approach is an interpretive, in‐depth single‐case study based on 31 qualitative interviews. The cultural intelligence framework serves as a “sensitizing device” to develop a model of cross‐cultural interaction in IT offshore outsourcing projects.
Findings
The paper presents a model explaining cross‐cultural interaction at the individual level in IT offshore outsourcing. The analysis shows that effective cross‐cultural interaction manifests itself in active cross‐cultural adaptation behavior, which is driven by motivational and cognitive factors. Cultural intelligence, including cognitive, motivational, and behavioral elements, is found to be an important driver for the development of a negotiated culture, characterized by trust‐based interpersonal relationships, shared understanding, and the effective resolution of conflicts in IT offshore outsourcing projects.
Practical implications
This study helps to understand how the emergence of a negotiated culture depends upon the cultural intelligence of individual project members. Practitioners need to focus on the accumulation of cultural intelligence in their project teams.
Originality/value
This study makes a theoretical contribution to the IT offshore outsourcing domain by presenting a model of individual‐level cross‐cultural interaction in this context. Furthermore, it represents one of the first qualitative case studies on cultural intelligence in IS.
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Rossella Canestrino, Pierpaolo Magliocca, Marek Ćwiklicki and Barbara Pawełek
Adopting more sustainable and social-oriented perspectives is crucial for the emergence of the so-called humane entrepreneurial ecosystems (HEEs), the last ones supporting the…
Abstract
Purpose
Adopting more sustainable and social-oriented perspectives is crucial for the emergence of the so-called humane entrepreneurial ecosystems (HEEs), the last ones supporting the improvement of both economic, environmental and social wealth. Entrepreneurs act as keystone players in each entrepreneurial ecosystem, thus the emergence of Humane Entrepreneurship (HumEnt) is crucial in shaping HEEs. Given the role of culture in affecting HumEnt, the relationships between Humane Orientation (HO) – as defined in the GLOBE project – and the basic components of Humane Entrepreneurship (HumEnt) were, particularly, explored in a selected sample of countries. Both Intellectual Capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM) perspectives were adopted in pursuing the research goal.
Design/methodology/approach
The study approaches this by the mean of the Ward method with Euclidean squared distance and the k-means method. The GLOBE project, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) were used as data sources. Correlations between HO “as is” scores and each components of HumEnt were checked for the world sample (N = 36), as well as for the groups of innovation-driven countries (N = 17) and European countries (N = 14).
Findings
Research results show a conditional confirmation of the developed hypotheses, depending on countries cultural levels of HO, with a moderating role exercised by the economic development on the relationship between culture and HumEnt.
Originality/value
Given the increasing pressure of fundamental societal challenges, such as climate change, poverty and increasing inequality within and between countries intensified by pandemic (UN report, 2021), integrating the more traditional approaches to profit seeking with the more sustainable and human-centric perspective is a priority for both scholars and society at large. Previous researches do not provide explanation about the contextual factors responsible for the emergence of more humane-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystems, especially when referring to culture. This article broadens our understanding about the reason why both HumEntr and HEEs differently arise and develop in different cultural contexts.
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