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The purpose of this paper is to surveys classic and recently developed strategies for quality monitoring and real-time control of laser-based, directed-energy deposition.Additive manufacturing of metal parts is a complex undertaking. During deposition, many of the process variables that contribute to overall build quality – such as travel speed, feedstock flow pattern, energy distribution, gas pressure, etc. – are subject to perturbations from systematic fluctuations and random external disturbances.

Sensing and control of laser-based, directed-energy metal deposition is presented as an evolution of methods developed for welding and cladding processes. Methods are categorized as sensing and control of machine variables and sensing and control of build attributes. Within both categories, classic methods are presented and followed by a survey of novel developments.

Additive manufacturing would not be possible without highly automated, computer-based controllers for processing and motion. Its widespread adoption for metal components in critical applications will not occur without additional developments and integration of machine- and process-based sensing systems to enable documentation, and control of build characteristics and quality. Ongoing work in sensing and control brings us closer to this goal.

This work serves to introduce researchers new to the field of additive manufacturing to common sources of process defects during metal powder-based, directed-energy deposition processing, and surveys sensing and control methods being investigated to improve the process. The work also serves to highlight, and stress the significance of novel developments in the field.

Acquisitions are complex and ambiguous events fraught with information asymmetries emphasizing market failure before an acquisition or organizational failure during integration. While often treated in isolation, market and organization failure are intertwined in acquisitions as integration planning starts before a deal is closed. Effective integration begins with a deep understanding of the target to be able to share assets and knowledge. However, acquiring firms currently have limited solutions to address information asymmetries. Most remedies primarily aim at market failure using due diligence and external advisors, leaving information asymmetry due to organizational failure primarily unattended. The authors develop a typology that leverages informal and formal social ties to address information asymmetries across the acquisition process that jointly considers market and organizational failure. The typology of this study combines existing research to develop how social ties with stakeholders influence acquisitions and can increase their success.

We argue that entrepreneurship emerged as a celebrated global cultural ideology during the neoliberal era; it is a product of the intensified celebration of the individual as the source of progress. As a result of these cultural roots, contemporary ideas of entrepreneurship are constituted by intertwined dimensions that reflect the sacred status of individuals; namely, vision and leadership. We illustrate our arguments about the expanded discursive celebration of entrepreneurship and its dimensions using the empirical example of changes in the content of Harvard Business Review articles over time. Our analysis of 13,117 abstracts and titles over the period 1925–2019 show an early focus on concrete industry settings, followed by a period dominated by formal organization and management, and then the rise of a focus on entrepreneurship, vision, and leadership since the 1990s. As a cultural trend, the discursive valorization of entrepreneurship is disconnected from the typical entrepreneurial experience (of failure) and from actual founding rates of new ventures (which decline in recent years). Moreover, the shift from liberal to neoliberal cultural ideologies supported a fundamental transformation away from formal management and organization and toward leadership and entrepreneurship. If the cultural foundations shift again, as recent global declines in democracy and trade suggest may be occurring, we are likely to see changes in the nature of the favored models for structuring economy and society.

Human resource (HR) process research emerged as a response to questions about how (bundles of) HR practices related to organizational outcomes. The goal of HR process research is to explain variability in employee and organization outcomes by focusing on how HR practices are intended (adopted) by senior managers, the way that these HR practices are implemented and communicated by line managers, and how employees perceive, understand, and attribute these HR practices. In the first part of this chapter, we present a review of 20 years of HR process research from the start, to how it developed, and is now maturing. Within the body of HR process research, several different research theoretical streams have emerged, which are largely studied in isolation without benefiting from each other. Therefore, in the second part of this chapter, we draw on previous work to propose a staged process model in which we integrate the different research streams of HR process research, recognizing contingencies in the model. This leads us to an agenda for future research and practical implications in the final part of the chapter.

Entrepreneurship-related research in management and organizational journals has experienced rapid growth, particularly in the last several years. The purpose of this study is to identify the researchers and universities that have had the greatest influence on entrepreneurship research since the turn of the century. Using a systematic and comprehensive study identification protocol, the authors delve into the individual and institutional actors contributing to scholarship in entrepreneurial studies for the period from 2000 to 2015. Examination of top-tier management and organizational journals revealed that a total of 371 entrepreneurship-related articles were published during this period by 618 authors from 303 different institutions. Rankings for the most prolific individuals as well as institutions, adjusted and unadjusted for journal quality, are presented. The article concludes with a discussion of the limitations and implications of the research undertaken here.

Introduced into the literature a decade ago, grit originally defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals has stimulated considerable research on positive effects primarily in the academic and military contexts, as well as attracted widespread media attention. Despite recent criticism regarding grit’s construct and criterion-related validity, research on grit has begun to spill over into the work context as well. In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of the initial theoretical foundations of grit as a motivational driver, and present newer conceptualizations on the mechanisms of grit’s positive effects rooted in goal-setting theory. Furthermore, the authors also draw attention to existing shortcomings of the current definition and measurement of grit, and their implications for its scientific and practical application. After establishing a theoretical understanding, the authors discuss the potential utility of grit for human resource management, related to staffing and recruitment, development and training, and performance management systems as well as performance evaluations. The authors conclude this chapter with a discussion of necessary and potential future research, and consider the practical implications of grit in its current state.

Understanding student’s intentions with regard to entrepreneurship as a possible career pathway is important for the development of the formal economy. Presented here are the results from a longitudinal study conducted between 2010 and 2014 involving a sample of 1,513 undergraduate students, of which 54 agreed to be interviewed. The research is qualitative and has combined the Opportunity Structure with the Theory of Planned Behavior to understand the reasons why students chose to start a business either just prior to or within one year of entering university, and their intentions upon graduating. The results show that many of these businesses sit within the informal economy, and may be categorized as low growth businesses with few skill requirements. Importantly, the research has discovered that these students are also highly strategic with regard to educational pathways, and many of these businesses are focused on delivering and/or sustaining a particular lifestyle while at university.

Today, long-term success requires firms to sense changes in their environments early and react efficiently to them. Increasing middle managers’ participation in decision-making about market-related and product-related questions has been suggested as one way of enhancing this strategic responsiveness; abandoning formal planning, such as annual budgets, has been another. Yet, empirical evidence on the matter is scarce and conflicting. Drawing on data from Denmark’s 500 largest firms, we show that participation of middle managers in decision-making about new products and markets to serve, in-deed, increases firms’ strategic responsiveness as assessed by a reduction in firms’ downside risk. However, this effect is not a direct one. Nor does it interact positively or negatively with the emphasis put on formal planning as submitted in literature. Our evidence suggests that emphasis on planning mediates the relation between stronger participation of middle managers in decision-making and the increase in firms’ strategic responsiveness. This has implications for ongoing theory building and practice.

The rate of alliance formation by firms has greatly increased over the past two decades. Congruently, firm interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives has also increased. Signaling theory suggests that firms may be increasing their CSR strategies in an effort to signal their willingness to operate within social mores. However, firms are faced with the problem of how to communicate their social commitment objectively to stakeholders. We argue that firms are forming CSR alliances in an attempt to signal an objective message to stakeholders concerning their commitment to CSR. To provide insight into these explanations, we compare the Total CSR performance (TCSR) scores of firms that form CSR alliances with those firms that do not. We control for firm size, leverage, profitability, and industry. We find that firms that form CSR alliances generally have higher TCSR scores, which suggests that one of the reasons that firms form these alliances is to publicize their stronger social and environmental records to stakeholders.

This study aims to examine the influence of employee performance appraisal (PA) formalization on changes to one component of the employee–leadership social exchange relationship within the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, it builds upon extant research on human resource management within SMEs, performance appraisals and social exchange theory to consider the role of performance appraisal formalization in effecting change in the level of trust employees have in their leaders.

To test study hypotheses, this study analyzes responses to two survey waves completed by employees of a US-based SME operating within the commercial construction industry. This SME formalized the PA process in between the administration of the first and second surveys. Study data were analyzed using hierarchical ordinary least squares regression.

The results of this study suggest that the formalization of PA has a positive effect on change in trust in leadership (TIL). Study results also suggest that employee perceptions of PA utility, procedural justice and satisfaction with the PA process are positively related to changes in TIL. This study also found that the effects of employee perceptions of PA utility and procedural justice on changes in TIL are mediated by employee satisfaction with the PA process.

As a consequence of study design, the results found in this study may be limited with respect to their external validity. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to use caution before generalizing study findings to other contexts.

This study suggests that PA formalization represents a means of increasing employee trust. Moreover, study results suggest that SME leaders hoping to increase employee TIL should be thoughtful about how they implement the PA process, paying particular attention to the usefulness of the feedback they provide and ensuring that the process of PA is viewed as being fair by employees. In doing so, SME leaders will enhance their employees’ satisfaction with the PA process, thereby increasing the trust they place in SME leadership.

This study extends research by considering the consequences of PA formalization with respect to changes in SME employee TIL. In doing so, this study heeds calls for additional research on the consequences of PA within SMEs, as well as sheds light on how PA formalization shapes the relationship between SME employees and leaders.