Search results

1 – 10 of 201
Article
Publication date: 30 April 2018

Dee Gray and Katherine Jones

Wellbeing at work inspires global interest (WHO, 1997, 2010) which shapes international wellbeing whilst ensuring national wellbeing initiatives are devolved. This study is set in…

1148

Abstract

Purpose

Wellbeing at work inspires global interest (WHO, 1997, 2010) which shapes international wellbeing whilst ensuring national wellbeing initiatives are devolved. This study is set in Wales, UK; the findings, however, are of interest to the global community as they present ways in which health promotion practices that are essentially salutogenic in nature (Antonovsky, 1987; Mittlemark and Bauer, 2017), may be operationalised through leadership development. The study is contextualised during a time of perceived public service overwhelm, and the purpose of this paper is to explore how a salutogenic model (Gray, 2017) captures a leadership narrative shaped by workplace stress, informing what the authors know about the resilience and wellbeing of leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

The salutogenic model used in this exploratory study is based on the theories of Antonovsky (1979, 1987), and the conceptual work of De la Vega (2009). Participants were invited to take part in qualitative conversations, designed to explore leadership from a sense of coherence (SoC) perspective, and identify resilience and wellbeing descriptors across sectors. The data represented the lived experience of leader’s resilience and wellbeing within their work role. A purposeful sample of leaders (N=356) were invited to take part in the project, others were suggested as part of a snowball sampling approach (N=36). The overall participant numbers were N=68.

Findings

Using the SoC framework to explore resilience and wellbeing in terms of leadership, enabled participants to make sense of a stressful workplace environment, and share experiential knowledge that contributes to leadership development. The narrative that emerges is one in which leaders are feeling overwhelmed, and the broader influences of BREXIT, workforce and service user demographics, and organisational change are challenges to sustaining resilience. Participants suggest that leaders need to develop self-knowledge/awareness first, and role model the “resilient and well leader” to others.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this study relate to the fact that given the potential for participation was nearer 400 leaders, the N=68 participants could not be deemed large enough to generalise the findings. However, this was a scoping study exercise, designed to explore resilience and wellbeing through SoC conversations and to surface descriptors that would add to what the authors know about contemporary leadership. The study could be improved in the future by the collection of more descriptors, and where practical segmentation of descriptors may provide further insight in terms of comparison between professions/sectors.

Practical implications

The authors know that leadership is linked to positive and negative outcomes for employees; it is, therefore, prudent to consider how the authors can support both current and future leaders, to incorporate their own and others’ resilience and wellbeing into their leadership repertoire. This may well be best facilitated through health leadership which is known to have a positive association in determining the psychological climate of the workplace. Leadership authenticity means leaders should be able to ask for help, if leaders are struggling with that, then the authors need to examine leadership from a cultural perspective. In practical terms, the generalised resistance resources (GRRs) put forward by the participants may also form local as well as national wellbeing action plans for the future.

Social implications

Leadership is socially constructed within the organisational context, and the resilience and wellbeing of leaders is affected by the organisational health determinants in the working environment. If the authors are to consider how leaders are to develop an SoC for themselves and others, the authors need to attend to how the leader learns in the context. This is because their SoC is also shaped by the challenges they experience, and socio-constructed learning becomes neurologically embedded, so that ways of thinking, feeling and behaving are reinforced and exhibited over and over again.

Originality/value

This exploratory study demonstrates the efficacy of the salutogenic model to stimulate dialogue about a potentially sensitive subject. Many of the answers rest with the leaders themselves. The authors held conversations with leaders from the public services in Wales, identified “best self” and “peripheral” variables that leaders manifest across the various organisations they lead, and leaders produced a range of GRRs to support resilience and wellbeing across sectors in the future. There is a growing recognition that in terms of health leadership capability, there will be a premium on knowledge capital that pertains to improving the resilience and wellbeing of employees.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 May 2016

Dee Gray and Katherine Fiona Jones

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of a collaborative organisational development and learning (OD/L) programme for small and medium-sized enterprise’s (SME’s…

9170

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of a collaborative organisational development and learning (OD/L) programme for small and medium-sized enterprise’s (SME’s) and micro businesses (MB) to contribute towards business resilience and sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an ethnographic case study that utilised an iterative interpretative approach to data collection and analysis, which was conducted around key OD/L interventions.

Findings

The findings demonstrate that the provision of an OD/L programme that focused on collaboration and learning, had both an immediate positive effect on business owners and long term effect in relation to business confidence, clarity, and action.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this study relate to the fact that the sample population is small so that the findings are not generalisable, and some of the challenges faced by SME business owners may be confined to socially deprived rural locations. Future research could focus on replicating the designed OD/L programme, or aspects of it, and a longitudinal study could be conducted over time.

Practical implications

The practical implications of this study are that it gives direction for those designing support for SME/MB’s to include tried and proven OD/L interventions.

Social implications

The social implications include that by demonstrating targeted support to SME business owners in socially deprived areas, the potential for growth in terms of survival and flourishing are increased and economic regeneration is positively influenced.

Originality/value

There are few studies in this area, the OD/L programme highlights that collaboration, and sustainable actions to develop resilience, have a part to play in supporting the SME/MB population, and a contribution to make towards a more buoyant economy.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 1998

Serge Evraert and Ahmed Riahi‐Belkaoui

Provides a useful summary of research on value added (VA) reporting and shows how income statements can be rearranged to show gross or not (of depreciation) VA. Starts with…

1043

Abstract

Provides a useful summary of research on value added (VA) reporting and shows how income statements can be rearranged to show gross or not (of depreciation) VA. Starts with descriptive research on its use in various countries, enumerates its advantages and limitations and goes on to review empirical research on VA firm performance, the informational content of VA (as against conventional) data in market valuation and its predictive ability. Suggests that VA disclosure should be mandatory in the USA and calls for further research on its usefulness.

Details

Managerial Finance, vol. 24 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4358

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2012

Dee Gray and Sion Williams

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a study that illuminates how leadership can be engendered in one context and transferred to another.

1191

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a study that illuminates how leadership can be engendered in one context and transferred to another.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents some of the findings from a longitudinal study on individual and organisational learning from adverse incidents, action research was the overarching methodology. The study (fourth in a total of six) was developed out of and embedded within a series of action research cycles. The study is presented in two phases (interviews and field observation); the approach incorporates Goffman's frame analysis to identify whether espoused aspects of educational leadership would manifest if given the opportunity, and whether the principles of Bordieuan “values” placed by the participants on educational leadership would be a useful lever to support change.

Findings

The study findings demonstrated educational leadership can be inculcated and actioned by creating real life frames and reinforced through association with those already considered to be world leaders.

Research limitations/implications

The numbers of participants in this qualitative study limit the finding to an non‐generalisable population, suggestions for future research include replication of the principles of transfer to other contexts.

Practical implications

Practical implications from this research include identification of activities that will encourage change agent and leadership activities that are designed to impact on organisational performance.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper relates to identifying barriers to leadership in two different contexts (fields) and using frames to overcome these barriers to performance.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2011

Dee Gray and Sion Williams

This paper aims to discuss and present research findings from a proof of concept pilot, set up to test whether a teaching intervention which incorporated a dual reporting and…

1712

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss and present research findings from a proof of concept pilot, set up to test whether a teaching intervention which incorporated a dual reporting and learning approach from adverse incidents, could contribute towards individual and organisational approaches to patient safety.

Design/methodology/approach

The study formed part of a series of six iterative action research cycles involving the collaboration of students (all National Health Service (NHS) staff) in the co‐creation of knowledge and materials relating to understanding and learning from adverse incidents. This fifth qualitative study involved (n=20) anaesthetists who participated in a two phase teaching intervention (n=20 first phase, n=10 second phase) which was premised on transformative learning, value placed on learning from adverse incidents and reframing the learning experience.

Findings

An evaluation of the teaching intervention demonstrated that how students learned from adverse incidents, in addition to being provided with opportunities to transform negative experiences through re‐framing learning, was significant in breaking out of practices which had become routine; propositional knowledge on learning from adverse incidents, along with the provision of a safe learning environment in which to challenge assumptions about learning from adverse incidents, were significant factors in the re‐framing process. The testing of a simulated dual learning/reporting system was indicated as a useful mechanism with which to reinforce a positive learning culture, to report and learn from adverse incidents and to introduce new approaches which might otherwise have been lost.

Practical implications

The use of a “re‐framed learning approach” and identification of additional leverage points (values placed on learning and effects of dual reporting and learning) will be of significant worth to those working in the field of individual and organisational learning generally, and of value specifically to those whose concern is the need to learn from adverse incidents.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to individual and organisational learning by looking at a specific part of the learning system associated specifically with adverse incidents.

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Jane Yann Ching Chang, Abdelhafid Benamraoui and Alison Rieple

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of income generation projects as a pedagogic method to assess students’ learning about social enterprises. The authors are…

1547

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of income generation projects as a pedagogic method to assess students’ learning about social enterprises. The authors are interested in how and why this innovative approach might improve students’ understanding of the different aspects and attributes of social entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used thematic analysis of qualitative data comprising the reflective logs of 87 students on an undergraduate entrepreneurship module in a university business programme. The major attributes of social entrepreneurship were identified from a review of literature, and the paper uses the logs to judge whether students had learnt about these attributes.

Findings

The results show that students developed an understanding concerning social enterprises’ diverse stakeholder environment, market needs, social enterprises’ ideological foundations, resource mobilisation processes and performance measurement – both social and financial. In addition, they developed skills in reflection and self-awareness, communication, empathy and the generation of new ideas.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited in that it focused on only one cohort of students, undergraduates. The authors cannot claim that the findings are generalisable to other students or contexts.

Practical implications

Students are better able to understand the needs and values of social enterprises. However, this is a resource intensive process for educators with implications for curriculum design and management.

Social implications

This study sheds new light on how experiential learning helps to raise students’ awareness of social enterprises.

Originality/value

This study sheds new light on how experiential learning in the form of income generation projects helps to raise students’ awareness of social enterprises. Its value lies in helping to develop a novel and effective pedagogy for entrepreneurial learning.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 October 2021

Elizabeth A.M. Searing, Simone Poledrini, Dennis R. Young and Marthe Nyssens

This paper aims to examine the applicability of the benefits theory of nonprofit finance to an international sample of social enterprises (SEs).

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the applicability of the benefits theory of nonprofit finance to an international sample of social enterprises (SEs).

Design/methodology/approach

This research analyzes the revenue sources of SEs through the lens of benefits theory. In particular, the authors test the links between revenue sources and the character of an enterprise’s mission. This study uses data on 545 SEs collected by the International Comparative Social Enterprise Models project, which was an international collaborative effort of more than 200 researchers. The authors use cross-sectional multivariate regression to identify the factors which influence the revenue portfolios of SEs.

Findings

The findings provide evidence of SE revenue portfolios that are nuanced and complicated. Benefits theory helps to illuminate this nuance. The application of benefits theory to SE goes beyond the traditional characterization of the publicness and privateness of goods and services to include the intended beneficiaries, the nature of benefits they receive and the management practices followed to assure distribution of benefits to intended beneficiary groups. By analyzing the public (and private) goals of SEs, such as employment generation and food security, the authors gain an understanding of what they really do, and hence, how they can be best financed.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical support to the applicability of benefits theory to SEs, which provides both theoretical advancement and practical implications.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 20 September 2011

Henk Eijkman

445

Abstract

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 18 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Sherwat Elwan Ibrahim and Raghda El Ebrashi

This paper supports the call for using a separate research stream for long-term recovery vs disaster relief in humanitarian studies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper supports the call for using a separate research stream for long-term recovery vs disaster relief in humanitarian studies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the thematic shift towards service operations during this developmental phase and explores the role of social entrepreneurial organizations. It builds from the literature on service operations management and social entrepreneurship to promote theory in humanitarian operations management.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study uses literature concepts and field data from multiple development case studies of social entrepreneurial organizations and social enterprises in Africa and the Middle East to analyze service operations.

Findings

Clear contributions to the role of social entrepreneurship in providing humanitarian and development services were identified and categorized according to service operations management stages.

Practical implications

This paper has important practical implications. The positioning of social entrepreneurial organizations as humanitarian service providers would open opportunities for new collaborations between donors and social organizations. Mainstream NGOs dominate the scene of servicing local communities; leaving aside social entrepreneurial organizations with substantial room for innovation that they might bring to the sector. In addition, social entrepreneurial organizations’ ability to build business models and design sustainability and scalability aspects for their operations may bring long-term development to impoverished communities. Global NGOs as well as government actors who carry out the first three stages of humanitarian operations could plan on working with (or even help creating) social entrepreneurial organizations to help with long-term recovery.

Originality/value

This study examines the implications of two bodies of literature; service operations management and social entrepreneurship on humanitarian operations management research. It concludes with a conceptual framework emphasizing the contributions of social entrepreneurship in planning, development, delivery, and distribution of services in the long-term recovery humanitarian and development operations.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 June 2021

Melissa Intindola and Laurel Ofstein

The purpose of this paper is to explore bricolage as the missing link in understanding how cross-sector social partnerships form and operate in response to grand challenges. It is…

1012

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore bricolage as the missing link in understanding how cross-sector social partnerships form and operate in response to grand challenges. It is proposed that the weaving together of resources employed by members of cross-sector social partnerships (CSSPs) is bricolage in action and can be linked to Gray's (1985) facilitating conditions for collaboration. While existing research examines bricolage primarily at the individual level, this research studies collective bricolage, as implemented by a cross-sector social partnership in its process to address a grand challenge.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors follow the evolution of a Midwestern initiative aimed at the grand challenge of generational poverty. The deductive case study approach identifies the mechanisms of bricolage being employed in the initiative's evolution and ties these to Gray's (1985) seminal paper on interorganizational collaboration.

Findings

This case study has implications for academics conceptually struggling to understand grand challenges and the role of entrepreneurial initiatives in the public and nonprofit sectors, as well as practitioners currently involved in collaborative efforts to address said challenges.

Originality/value

This study enriches the discussion and enhances the link between the CSSP literature and new notions of social entrepreneurship that embrace the collective as their unit of analysis. This is the first work of its kind to link bricolage to a nascent CSSP and demonstrate how the entrepreneurial concept of bricolage is an inherent part of CSSP formation and operation.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

1 – 10 of 201