Search results

This paper addresses the issue of granularity. The authors argue that in routine dynamics research granularity can be usefully defined by the number of actors, the variety of places/contexts, and the amount of time it takes to successfully accomplish an action. This is an important but often overlooked aspect of studying routines. It is important because different granularities imply different challenges and opportunities for performing and patterning. The authors propose a framework to distinguish between fine-, medium-, and coarse-grained actions, illustrate how different granularities have been used in existing routine dynamics studies, and discuss the implications for understanding routine dynamics. The authors conclude that granularity is a key construct that needs to be taken seriously and suggest a four-step procedure to help researchers establish and report on the granularity of actions in their research process.

Multiple research studies show a positive correlation between library usage and student retention. At the same time, no formal research studies focusing on the effect of library usage on LGBT student persistence and retention exist. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about today’s LGBT undergraduates, their personal and academic needs, and how academic libraries may meet those needs.

The author will challenge the grand narrative perpetuated by LGBT librarians that “libraries save [LGBT] lives” through a review of existing research literature on LGBT undergraduates and their personal and academic needs, where libraries play a role in LGBT undergraduate life, and whether or not academic libraries actually meet those needs.

No formal research studies on how libraries play a role in the retention of LGBT undergraduates exist. While LGBT undergraduates share many similarities with their peers, they seek out resources and spaces that the library may be able to provide independently or through collaborations with other units on campus. The existence of campus LGBT resource centers may impact LGBT undergraduate use of libraries.

The author will provide suggestions for academic libraries to create appropriate resources, services, and spaces for LGBT undergraduates so that they persist at their institutions and graduate.

This is the first research paper to address the role that academic libraries play in LGBT student retention.

The way organizations cope with uncertainty in strategic decision making is prominently discussed. Concepts such as heuristics and simple rules are gaining increasing attention in strategic management research. However, despite their importance, little is known how heuristics and simple rules operate. Our qualitative study reveals that, first, strategic decisions consist of three basic elements: single rules, rule patterns, and emotional handling. Second, we find that firms develop generalizable rule patterns which follow a sequential order of inter-linked rules. Based on the findings we introduce the concept of organizational heuristics as inter-linked rule patterns drawing on organizational experience.

This paper aims at extending research on narrative knowledge sharing in organizations. Current literature often assumes that narratives can provide orientation and guidance in complex task environments by conveying embedded actionable problem‐solving knowledge or practices. In this paper an empirical example of narrative‐based knowledge sharing is used as a starting point to explore knowledge sharing via narratives in more detail. It turns out to be a much more ambiguous and problematic exercise than previous studies assume.

The paper is a conceptual paper but uses a case vignette from Shell to exemplify the problem of narrative‐based knowledge sharing discussed in the paper.

A possible model shall be outlined showing how inconsistent and questionable narratives could be handled in order to provide orientation. It concludes with stressing the importance of reflecting on narratives and suggests a generative interplay between narrative and argumentative modes of communication in knowledge sharing.

The paper is actually the first which deals systematically with the shortcomings of a narrative mode of knowledge sharing. It explores the potential problems and outlines some suggestions of how these problems could be addressed theoretically and practically.

Societal grand challenges have moved from a marginal concern to a mainstream issue within organization and management theory. How diverse forms of organizing help tackle – or reinforce – grand challenges has become centrally important. In this introductory paper, we take stock of the contributions to the volume on Organizing for Societal Grand Challenges and identify three characteristics of grand challenges that require further scholarly attention: their interconnectedness, fluidity, and paradoxical nature. We also emphasize the need to expand our methodological repertoire and reflect upon our practices as a scholarly community.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the healthcare management literature and improve the understanding of the slack and performance link by examining the hospital slack and performance relationship using a sample of 148 US hospitals.

Using cluster analysis, ANCOVA and means comparisons, this study identifies different hospital slack configurations and their associated performance implications.

The results demonstrate that different configurations of slack resources result in different levels of hospital performance. The findings also demonstrate equifinality in this relationship suggesting that some configurations of slack can result in similar levels of performance.

The results indicate that managerial attention should be paid to not only identifying appropriate levels and types of slack for hospitals but also to appropriate ways to bundle these resources. The findings also suggest there may be multiple ways for hospitals’ administrators to effectively manage and bundle slack resources.

Organizational slack and its impact on organizational performance is an important area of research within the management literature. Unfortunately, no known studies have examined how different types of slack resources are configured or bundled together in healthcare organizations and how this impacts firm performance. This study provides a significant contribution to the literature by providing a first step in understanding the slack and performance relationship in the hospital industry.