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11 – 20 of over 6000Changju Kim, Katsuyoshi Takashima and Stephen Newell
The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model investigating the relationship among inter-departmental communication, buyer innovativeness, and retail…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model investigating the relationship among inter-departmental communication, buyer innovativeness, and retail competitiveness. The authors also explore whether a retail strategy of supply base diversification for managing suppliers moderates the association between innovativeness and competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested using a structural equation model and survey data drawn from general merchandise managers of 149 supermarket retailers in Japan.
Findings
The results indicate that inter-departmental communication between merchandising and store divisions drives innovativeness among retail buyers and ultimately strengthens firm competitiveness. Moreover, when buyer innovativeness is evident and less actively the retail buyers utilize supply base diversification, the stronger is the retailer’s competitiveness. The study failed to find any direct impact of inter-departmental communication on retail competitiveness.
Practical implications
This study offers managerial insights into the roles that buyer innovativeness, inter-departmental communications, and supply base diversification play in developing effective competitive strategies.
Originality/value
This study makes two key contributions. First, it is novel in using inter-departmental communication to explain the antecedents of buyer innovativeness. Second, drawing on the power-dependence theory, the authors extend the well-established innovativeness-performance linkage by exploring the moderation effect of supply base diversification.
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The aim of this study is to examine the effect of strategic orientations on firm performance moreover, to assess the role of environmental munificence as a moderator for the link…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of strategic orientations on firm performance moreover, to assess the role of environmental munificence as a moderator for the link between strategic orientations and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study designed as quantitative research method. Data were collected by structured questionnaire and included 185 managers from various industries in Israel. The analysis of this study was done by Smart PLS-SEM 3 software. Based on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, the authors view departmental characteristics (conflicts and connectedness) as antecedents of strategic orientations (customer and competitor). These, in turn, affect firm performance, defined here with two facets: behavioral (team spirit and commitment) and bottom-line performance.
Findings
The analysis results show that customer and competitor orientations affect bottom-line performance. However, only customer orientation affected team spirit and employee commitment. Finally, environmental munificence had a limited moderation role, affecting the relationship between competitor orientation and between behavioral outcomes (team spirit and commitment).
Originality/value
This study defining the importance of firm's strategic orientations as key capabilities for achieving competitive advantage.
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Mahesh Gupta, Lynn Boyd and Frank Kuzmits
This article has two purposes. The first is to synthesize the important current concepts, definitions, and styles of resolving and/or managing workplace conflicts. The second is…
Abstract
Purpose
This article has two purposes. The first is to synthesize the important current concepts, definitions, and styles of resolving and/or managing workplace conflicts. The second is to introduce a systematic approach to resolving workplace conflicts.
Design/methodology/approach
Historical approaches to conflict management are briefly reviewed and Goldratt's evaporating cloud is introduced as a structured approach to achieving win‐win solutions to workplace conflicts. A comprehensive case is used to demonstrate the application of the suggested approach.
Findings
Goldratt's evaporating cloud provides a systematic approach to identifying the conflicting needs or interests of the parties to a conflict, and a process for making explicit the assumptions underlying the conflict and challenging their validity, leading to win‐win solutions to workplace conflicts. The evaporating cloud incorporates well‐accepted principles of achieving win‐win solutions and complements existing approaches.
Research limitations/implications
Although there is a growing community of users of the evaporating cloud, it is still a relatively new approach. Although anecdotal examples of applications of the cloud have been published in trade journals, web sites and conference proceedings, additional empirical research should be done to evaluate the usefulness of the cloud in resolving workplace conflicts once a critical mass of users exists.
Practical implications
The evaporating cloud is a practical and intuitive tool that can be used by employees at all levels of an organization to understand and resolve conflicts.
Originality/value
The paper identifies the shortcomings of existing conflict management approaches and shows how the evaporating cloud complements existing approaches. In addition, the applicability of the cloud to a wide range of workplace conflicts, from intra‐personal to inter‐organizational, is demonstrated.
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Jashim Khan, Gary Rivers, Sonjaya S. Gaur, Ali Quazi, Na Zuo and Sunil D. Bhatia
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating role of organisational harmony and fellow-feelings in the relationship between intelligence generations, dissemination and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating role of organisational harmony and fellow-feelings in the relationship between intelligence generations, dissemination and implementation on business performance and explain how market orientation impacts certain aspects of organisational behaviour which in turn lead to the performance of service firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The data set comprises 108 responses of senior managers within the logistics sector. The multi-level sequential mediation path analysis is used to examine the above mediating role.
Findings
Results indicate that intelligence dissemination (ID), response implementation (RI) and business performance relationship is significantly mediated via fellow-feelings and organisational harmony. However, the relationship between dissemination, implementation and overall business performance is mostly mediated by fellow-feelings and followed by organisational harmony. Furthermore, when overall market orientation (intelligence generation, dissemination and RI) is used as a determinant of business performance, organsiational harmony emerged as the most significant contributor to organsiational performance.
Practical implications
Managers are urged to focus on building fellow-feelings among their employees, resulting in a harmonious work environment between functional units and market orientation organisation wide.
Originality/value
Compared to previous research, this is one of the first attempts to develop an understanding of fellow-feelings, contributing to organsiational harmony resulting market orientation and, hence, business performance. Market orientation conceptualisations lump intelligence generation, dissemination and RI of business activities together but do not explain how market orientation impacts fellow-feelings and organisational harmony which in turn leads to performance. The authors specifically address this important lacuna in our conceptualisation and propose that ID and RI lead to fellow-feelings within functional departments and results in organisational harmony.
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Marion A. Weissenberger‐Eibl and Benjamin Teufel
Firms engaged in new product development (NPD) have to achieve a balanced portfolio of NPD projects. Despite the large number of models purporting to support portfolio…
Abstract
Purpose
Firms engaged in new product development (NPD) have to achieve a balanced portfolio of NPD projects. Despite the large number of models purporting to support portfolio optimization, most of them do not take into account political bias in project selection decisions. This paper aims to analyze approaches of organizational politics to NPD project selection and their implications for NPD portfolio management and future research.
Design/methodology/approach
A review is made of the current literature at the intersection between organizational politics and NPD project selection. With regard to the underlying assumptions of organizational politics, similarities, differences, practical implications, and research perspectives are identified.
Findings
From the paper, insights could be gained into explaining the effects of organizational politics on NPD project selection. However, the differences in assumptions that can be generally observed in organizational politics are also reflected in the studies analyzed. Future research could benefit from integrating different political and methodological perspectives.
Practical implications
In order to reach a balanced NPD portfolio, the potentially dysfunctional biases which characterize political processes from idea generation to project selection should be addressed. A concept of NPD portfolio management is proposed which considers the management of power and politics.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a more comprehensive overview of political approaches of NPD project selection and serves as a sound basis for future research. The relevance and implications of politics for NPD portfolio management are demonstrated.
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Goal theory research has made an important contribution to understanding managers’ behaviour within organisations but most of this research has focused on single goal settings…
Abstract
Goal theory research has made an important contribution to understanding managers’ behaviour within organisations but most of this research has focused on single goal settings. Given the recent popularity of implementing balanced scorecards in organisations, generalising this research to multiple goal settings is important but problematic because multiple goals can complicate a manager's decision making which, in turn, can potentially affect the manager's job‐related tension and performance. Moreover, where multiple goals are pursued, the relative importance of those goals is also likely to affect job‐related tension and performance. These relationships are tested using questionnaire data gathered from interviews with managers. The results suggest that job‐related tension and performance deteriorate as managers pursue multiple goals although the relationship seems to be non‐linear. The relative importance of goals does not appear to be important. Some comments provided by the managers during their interviews offer some insights that help to explain these results.
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Households account for 27 per cent of the UK's total CO2 emissions therefore addressing housing energy efficiency has become a priority. Low-zero carbon technologies (LZCTs) for…
Abstract
Purpose
Households account for 27 per cent of the UK's total CO2 emissions therefore addressing housing energy efficiency has become a priority. Low-zero carbon technologies (LZCTs) for both new-build and the existing housing stock are one mechanism to reduce CO2. A gap in previous research into the subject was identified – the ongoing maintenance or “Asset Management” of LZCTs. This is important, inefficient or ineffective Asset Management may have a negative impact on the sustainability of energy efficient housing stock from a number of perspectives, including physical, social and economic. This paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presents a sector based study of the English social housing sector with seven individual organisations (known as “Registered Social Landlords”) represented by senior Asset Management practitioners, providing the units of analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to evaluate the past, current and future ability of the sector to successfully maintain LZCTs. The interviews were coded and a theme/sub-theme building process undertaken.
Findings
The interview analysis yielded three main themes (Asset Management Planning, Maintenance Skills and Occupier Impacts) and 12 sub-themes. Some of these confirmed findings from the literature review but others had not been previously located including inter-departmental conflicts and occupiers taking responsibility for maintenance.
Originality/value
A paucity of previous work specifically relating to Asset Management and LZCTs in the social housing sector was found. The findings should therefore be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders including registered providers, asset managers, surveyors, developers and policy makers.
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Debra Zahay, James Peltier, Anjala S. Krishen and Don E. Schultz
The objective of this paper is to investigate IMC metrics in the lens of an institution-wide change management process, and to do so, the authors develop and test an…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to investigate IMC metrics in the lens of an institution-wide change management process, and to do so, the authors develop and test an organizational data quality enhancement model.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative research was conducted, with a follow-on quantitative pre-test. A subsequent, larger-scale quantitative survey resulted in a total of 128 responses, 124 useable. A regression analysis was conducted using the factor scores of the six organizational dimensions as independent variables and overall data quality as the dependent variable.
Findings
The findings show that overcoming poor IMC data quality requires a corporate culture that reduces cross-functional and departmental divides. The authors also support the idea that horizontally organized learning organizations not only have superior IMC data, but they also achieve higher rates of return on their cross-platform IMC efforts.
Research limitations/implications
The research has limitations in terms of substantive generalizability, since it focuses on one industry within the USA. Future research can expand to other industries and expand to a global setting in order to replicate these findings.
Practical implications
Most improvement seems to be needed in the area of sharing customer data. The findings provide a signal to marketing organizations that want to connect with their customers that data quality must be a strategic priority, with appropriate processes in place to manage data at every touch point.
Originality/value
Research is needed that establishes effective methods for measuring the success of data-driven communication efforts to support management.
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It is increasingly being recognised that cross‐unit working relationships have a key role to play in the successful implementation of marketing decisions. Although there is a…
Abstract
It is increasingly being recognised that cross‐unit working relationships have a key role to play in the successful implementation of marketing decisions. Although there is a substantial body of literature on marketing's interactions with other functions, particularly technical units such as R&D, within the context of the new product development (NPD) process, linkages between marketing and human resources (HR) have not been empirically investigated although they are widely advocated in both the marketing and HR management literatures. The conceptual model presented and tested in this paper focuses on the antecedents of effective marketing/HR interactions and posits successful marketing strategy implementation as an outcome of these. Results from a study of UK service organisations suggest that implementation effectiveness is affected negatively by conflict and positively by communication and specifically, interpersonal, not written. In turn, these interdepartmental dynamics are affected by senior management support, joint reward systems, and informal integration. A number of conclusions are drawn which have important implications for managers and researchers alike.
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Keywords
Organisational behaviour, strategic management and management of change, human resources management, business management.
Abstract
Subject area
Organisational behaviour, strategic management and management of change, human resources management, business management.
Study level/applicability
Undergraduate and post-graduate management degrees: including courses on organizational behaviour, human resources management, marketing, business management and strategic management.
Case overview
Dandiraz an electric appliance manufacturing company in Zimbabwe has an aggressive marketing director who had increased exports from 15 percent of the company's production to 40 percent and the company had won the National Exporter of the Year Award twice as a result of his efforts. The chairperson was uncomfortable with the outbursts of the marketing director when he talked to him about the production department. There was a disagreement between the marketing director and production director in the way certain issues were to be implemented. The chairperson was undecided on whose suggestions to follow since both directors were giving valid contributions but opposing each other.
Expected learning outcomes
Students can focus on the importance of how departmental conflicts can harm an organisation if not managed properly. Students will also appreciate the importance of making quality decisions by top management as an important ingredient for the success of an organisation.
Supplementary learning materials
Teaching notes are available. Consult the librarian for access.
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