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21 – 30 of 194Carolyn Ten Holter, Bernd Stahl and Marina Jirotka
The purpose of the study detailed here was to engage with Directors of Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) during the first year of their new Centres to form a snapshot view of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study detailed here was to engage with Directors of Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) during the first year of their new Centres to form a snapshot view of the nature and type of training that was being incorporated and how this might affect the wider institution – in this case the university. Using an organisational learning lens, this paper empirically examines the work-in-progress of the responsible innovation (RI) training in CDTs to assess how new RI understandings are being created, retained and transferred within the CDTs, questioning whether this process represents a programme of “institutionalisation”.
Design/methodology/approach
During the past decade, RI has become increasingly embedded within the EU and UK research context, appearing with greater frequency in funding calls and policy spaces. As part of this embedding, in its 2018 funding call for CDTs, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) required RI training to be included in the programme for all doctoral students.
Findings
The paper concludes that, at present, institutionalisation is highly variegated, with the greater organisational change required to truly embed RI mindsets.
Originality/value
The paper provides original, empirical research evidence of RI institutionalisation in UK CDTs, and, using a “learning organisation” lens, examines areas of value to both RI and learning organisation theory.
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Johnny Jermias and Fatih Yigit
The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating roles of innovation intensity and lenders’ monitoring on the relation between financial slack and performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating roles of innovation intensity and lenders’ monitoring on the relation between financial slack and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts an empirical method using data from firms listed in both the Compustat S&P500 and Boardex for the period 2010 to 2019 to analyze the effects of innovation intensity and lenders’ monitoring on the relation between financial slack and performance.
Findings
The authors find that financial slack is positively related to performance, and this relation is stronger as innovation intensity increases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that lenders’ monitoring strengthens the positive relationship between financial slack and performance.
Research limitations/implications
First, this study focuses on the effects of financial slack, research and development (R&D) intensity and lenders’ monitoring on financial performance. Future research might extend this study by investigating the effects of these variables on non-financial performance. Second, the data and results do not provide insights into the reasons for firms to accumulate financial slack. Future research might conduct a longitudinal field study to understand why firms build financial slack. Finally, this study only uses R&D intensity and lenders’ monitoring as the moderating variables. Future studies might incorporate other contingency variables such as firms’ budgeting and budget-based compensation systems to provide useful insights into the relationship between financial slack and performance.
Practical implications
This study provides important insights into the value of financial slack for firms that invest heavily in R&D activities. This study also provides useful insight into the benefits of lenders’ monitoring to mitigate managers’ unethical behavior.
Social implications
This study provides useful insights for companies that invest heavily in innovation activities by showing that financial slack is beneficial for this company and lenders’ monitoring is needed to discipline managers in using the slack resources.
Originality/value
This study is the first to investigate the moderating effects of innovation intensity and lenders’ monitoring on the relation between financial slack and performance. Previous studies focus their investigations on the direct effect of financial slack and performance.
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Juan Gabriel Brida, Bibiana Lanzilotta and Lucia Rosich
From these data, the authors construct an uncertainty index through the use of a vector autoregressive (VAR) model to measure the impact of uncertainty on GDP, controlling for…
Abstract
Purpose
From these data, the authors construct an uncertainty index through the use of a vector autoregressive (VAR) model to measure the impact of uncertainty on GDP, controlling for inflation, which may affect macroeconomic performance. Results indicate that uncertainty is negatively correlated with the economic cycle and the inter-annual variation of the biannual average product.
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically explores the dynamics of expectations of the Uruguayan manufacturing firms about industrial economic growth. This study explores the dynamics of the industrial economic growth expectations of Uruguayan manufacturing firms. The empirical research is based on firms' expectations data collected through a monthly survey carried out by the Chamber of Industries of Uruguay (CIU) in 2003–2018.
Findings
Granger causality tests show that uncertainty Granger-causes industrial production growth and a one standard deviation shock on uncertainty generates a contraction in the industrial production growth rate. Finally, the authors use statistical and network tools to identify groups of firms with similar performance on expectations. Results show that higher uncertainty is associated with smaller, more interconnected groups of firms, and that the number of homogeneous groups and the distance between groups increases with uncertainty. These findings suggest that policies focused on the coordination of expectations can lead to the development of stable opinion groups.
Originality/value
The paper introduces new data and new methodologies to analyze the dynamics of expectations of manufacturing firms about industrial economic growth.
Highlights
An empirical approach to compare expectations of firms is introduced.
The occurrence of groups of opinion is tested.
Central companies in the network of expectations are detected.
More uncertainty implies a higher degree of discrepancy between the overall firm’s opinions and more compact opinion groups.
An empirical approach to compare expectations of firms is introduced.
The occurrence of groups of opinion is tested.
Central companies in the network of expectations are detected.
More uncertainty implies a higher degree of discrepancy between the overall firm’s opinions and more compact opinion groups.
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Keywords
Begum Dikilitas, Burcu Fazlioglu and Basak Dalgic
This paper aims to examine the effect of exports on women's employment rate for Turkish manufacturing firms over a recent period of 2003–2015.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effect of exports on women's employment rate for Turkish manufacturing firms over a recent period of 2003–2015.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors establish treatment models and use propensity score matching (PSM) techniques together with difference-in-difference methodology.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that starting to export increases women’s employment rate for manufacturing firms. Gains in female employment rates are observed for the firms operating in low and medium low technology intensive sectors, low-wage sectors as well as laborlabor-intensive goods exporting sectors.
Originality/value
The authors complement previous literature by utilizing a rich harmonized firm-level dataset that covers a large number of firms and a recent time period. The authors distinguish between several sub-samples of firms according to technology intensity of the sector in which they operate, wage level and factor intensity of exports and investigate whether or not women gain from trade in terms of employment opportunities.
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Mershack Opoku Tetteh, Albert P.C. Chan, Amos Darko, Sitsofe Kwame Yevu, Emmanuel B. Boateng and Janet Mayowa Nwaogu
International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) are an effective strategy for construction companies worldwide for delivering large and complex projects. Despite numerous ICJVs…
Abstract
Purpose
International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) are an effective strategy for construction companies worldwide for delivering large and complex projects. Despite numerous ICJVs studies, there is a lack of comprehensive empirical examination of what drives ICJVs implementation. This study aims to investigate the key drivers for implementing ICJVs through an international survey.
Design/methodology/approach
Grounded on a comprehensive literature review and structured questionnaire survey, 123 ICJV experts' responses from 24 different countries/jurisdictions were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine any divergence of ranking of the drivers by the experts. Factor analysis (FA) was used to identify the clusters underlying the key drivers. Rank agreement analysis was later used to investigate the consensus between experts from developing and developed countries/jurisdictions on their ranking of the clusters.
Findings
Out of 34 factors, 26 factors greatly drive the implementation of ICJVs. Mann–Whitney U test results prove the absence of significant disparity among the experts in the ranking of the drivers. Six clusters were obtained through factor analysis (FA), namely, market-penetration and innovation-driven drivers, legal and market-driven drivers, fiscal incentives and market expansion drivers, personal branding drivers, sustainable advantage/power drivers and industrial and organizational promotion drivers. Rank agreement analysis exhibited varied levels of concurrence between professionals from developed and developing countries/jurisdictions.
Practical implications
The appreciation of the factors motivating ICJVs is beneficial to the successful implementation of ICJV strategies. A clear understanding of the drivers can help practitioners and policymakers to customize their ICJVs to reap the expected benefits.
Originality/value
The study has generated valuable insights into the factors that are greatly driving the implementation of ICJVs worldwide. While the findings of this study provide a profound contribution to theory and practice, it contributes to sustainable growth in different perspectives.
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– This paper aims to show new ways of overcoming resistance during organizational change by applying insights from New Institutional Economics.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to show new ways of overcoming resistance during organizational change by applying insights from New Institutional Economics.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper that adapts findings from New Institutional Economics.
Findings
The paper highlights the relevance of interactions between managers and employees for value creation processes: interactions can generate either win–win or lose–lose situations. By altering the restrictions on managers’ and employees’ behavior, change managers can create mutual benefits for the staff and the firm. The paper thus explicitly considers the individual interests of employees and managers and highlights an approach to link individual interests with the collective interests of the firm by means of appropriate interactions. Additionally, the paper elaborates the relevant factors that determine the success of classical change management measures, like communication or participation, to overcome resistance during organizational change.
Research limitations/implications
The developed framework also indicates important conditions where approaches inspired by management, psychological and sociological theories can be successfully applied and where change management will benefit from being complemented by New Institutional Economics.
Practical implications
Change managers can optimize inter-organizational competition or cooperation to generate a win–win situation by means of appropriate formal or informal restrictions (like incentives or binding mechanisms).
Originality/value
This paper applies insights from New Institutional Economics to show how organizational change can be facilitated by producing mutual benefits. This paper postulates that organizational change often fails or, at the very least, meets with stiff resistance due to dysfunctional interactions within the company. However, such interactions actually contain great opportunities for change managers: by shifting the focus of these interactions, they can generate the potential for win–win situations. In this approach, mutual benefits are a decisive factor in increasing the acceptance to organizational change and overcoming resistance.
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Kofi Agyekum, Ernest Kissi, James Cofie Danku, Godslove Ampratwum and Gideon Selorm Amegatsey
This paper aims to examine the factors that drive the career progression of construction project managers (CPM) in the Ghanaian construction industry.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the factors that drive the career progression of construction project managers (CPM) in the Ghanaian construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the quantitative approach, the views of 80 CPMs working with D1 building construction firms were elicited using a structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using one-sample t-test, which was used to examine the relative significance of the variables. The mean scores, standard deviations and significance values (p-values) of each variable were used to examine the outcome of the survey.
Findings
The findings suggest that “existence of organizational support systems”, “ability to create identity”, “having an influential mentor and coach”, “accepting complicated and high visibility assignments” and “ability to gain managerial or leadership experience” are the key factors that drive the career progression of CPMs in Ghana.
Research limitations/implications
Findings from this study is limited to CPMs, specifically within the Ghanaian construction industry. This implies that with the fragmented nature of the construction industry, adopting these findings in construction settings within other countries may not yield the desired results, especially, if those countries do not share similar characteristics and context with Ghana.
Practical implications
Practically, this study highlights for the benefits of project managers (PM) (especially those in the construction industry) the key factors that drive their career progressions. Identification of these drivers offers the professionals with those factors to be prioritized when seeking to progress their careers in the construction industry.
Originality/value
Empirical research on the factors that drive the career progression of CPMs has not been fully examined in previous studies, though such studies in other sectors aside construction are prevalent. Hence, the identification of the drivers for career progression of construction PMs advances literature in the area and offers the professionals with those factors to be prioritized when seeking to progress their careers.
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Birgit Schenk, Mateusz Dolata, Christiane Schwabe and Gerhard Schwabe
By increasing the digitalization of commercial services citizens' expect more from public services. First of all, this study will strive to identify which problems citizens…
Abstract
Purpose
By increasing the digitalization of commercial services citizens' expect more from public services. First of all, this study will strive to identify which problems citizens encounter when they use a complex public service: preparation of an application for a building permit. In the light of the popularity of omnichannel approaches, the study then explores how omni-channel could help to address the problems which have been identified.
Design/methodology/approach
We implement the first phases of an action design science research project. We collect data both from citizens and public agencies and frame them as transparency problems. These abstract problems are then addressed by an omnichannel service provision as an abstract solution. The abstract solution is then instantiated in a design in the form of a user scenario developed in collaboration with current and future public officials.
Findings
The analysis uncovers multiple transparency issues: it distinguishes between process, case, language, cross-channel and cost transparency. One root cause of the transparency issues observed is the lack of service transparency which defines the purpose and scope of a ser-vice. We therefore recommend defining a service-strategy before informational and technical aspects of an omnichannel approach can be implemented. Following this strategy, omnichannel offers public administrations unique opportunities to excel in citizens' service provision.
Originality/value
The study provides insights into how citizens view complex public services. For researchers, this study offers the conceptualization as transparency issues. Practitioners from the public administrations can also benefit from the concept and vision of omnichannel public services.
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Aziz Ur Rehman, Ejaz Aslam and Anam Iqbal
This study aims to apply the extended theory of planned behaviour (ETPB) to investigate the factors influencing the intention to give zakāt on employment income.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to apply the extended theory of planned behaviour (ETPB) to investigate the factors influencing the intention to give zakāt on employment income.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws the required data through a survey in three main cities Makkah, Medina and Jeddah in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The final data sample is consisting of 650 useable questionnaires to analyse the objective of this study.
Findings
The study finds that moral norm, injunctive norm, descriptive norm and past behaviour have a significant influence on the intention to pay zakāt on employment income. The perceived behavioural control and attitude have a negative and weak impact on the intention to give zakāt on income.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study can be useful for the policymakers and regulators to enhance peoples' awareness to give zakāt to eradicate poverty and inequality in Muslim societies. zakāt is for the deprived people, so the consequences of this study might help to improve their liveability.
Originality/value
This study is unique because it identified the behavioural factors that affect the peoples' intention to give zakāt in KSA have yet to be profoundly explored in the literature. This study has gathered primary data and applied the ETPB to identify the factors influencing the zakāt compliance behaviour in KSA.
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Yanqi Wang, Xiangyu Guo and Hongman Liu
The purpose of this paper is to establish a synthetic evaluation index system of new socialist countryside (NSC) development at county level in China, and by which to evaluate the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish a synthetic evaluation index system of new socialist countryside (NSC) development at county level in China, and by which to evaluate the level of NSC construction among different regions in China. Then, some problems of rural development can be found and corresponding measures can be proposed, which could provide references for policymaking.
Design/methodology/approach
First, from agricultural, rural and farmers' perspective, a preliminary index system which containing 44 indicators was put forward. Then, combining with a series of subjective and objective indicator screening methods, such as fuzzy synthetic evaluation, clustering analysis, correlation and variation coefficient analysis, the final index system containing 22 indicators was established. Third, combining with factor analysis, the final index system was used to evaluate the level of NSC construction in 28 counties of China in 2007. Finally, we calculated district factor scores by a model and gave an aggregate index ranking of different regions.
Findings
NSC construction at county level is not well developed in China and there are significant geographical differences among different districts. First, NSC construction in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou is relatively better. Second, NSC construction of East China is better than that of North China and Central China. Northeast of China is better than Southwest and Northwest. Third, NSC construction in municipalities is higher than non‐municipalities. Rural development in Western regions of China needs to be paid special attention.
Originality/value
A final evaluation index system including 22 indicators was designed. These indicators are complete, independent, weakly correlative and stable. The index system can be further applied to evaluate other regions' NSC development. The evaluation results can provide useful references for NSC reform in the whole nation.
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