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1 – 10 of 509Ernesto R. Wagner and Eric N. Hansen
Aims to explain the effect of firm size on company innovation inside one industry context: the wood products industry.
Abstract
Purpose
Aims to explain the effect of firm size on company innovation inside one industry context: the wood products industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The strategic issues under study (innovation, corporate strategy) are typically managed by the firm's top executives. Also important is the fact that the response rates of questionnaires targeting this group are generally very low. Consistently, the data for the project were obtained from 43 in‐person interviews with top executives of wood products companies of different sizes in two countries, i.e. the USA and Chile.
Findings
Finds that firm size does impact the innovation type pursued by companies, at least in the wood products industry. Indeed, large companies of this study clearly outrun smaller companies in process innovation. However, our analysis also shows that small companies level the field with larger companies when considering all three innovation types (process, product, business systems).
Practical implications
The capital enjoyed by large companies allows them to excel in process innovation. This article suggests that managers of small companies should compete in a different arena from large companies and emphasize product and business systems innovation, as they can do very well in these areas even with limited resources.
Originality/value
There is very little research about innovation in the wood products industry. This article contributes to the knowledge in this area, also providing new insights about the validity of Schumpeter's assertions regarding the role of company size in innovation.
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Rajat Panwar, Eric Hansen and Roy Anderson
From the standpoint of the future of corporate social responsibility, students' perceptions are an important research proposition. Several studies have been conducted to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
From the standpoint of the future of corporate social responsibility, students' perceptions are an important research proposition. Several studies have been conducted to examine this phenomenon, yet sector‐specific studies are rather scant. The primary purpose of this work is to examine students' perceptions regarding social responsibility in the context of the US forest products industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 257 graduate and upper level undergraduate students from Oregon State University and University of Montana, pursuing different academic majors, were surveyed to examine the differences in their perceptions of the US forest products industry's success in fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities.
Findings
Results suggest that business and forest ecology/environmental science students were least satisfied with industry fulfilling its economic responsibilities. Regarding fulfillment of socio‐environmental responsibilities, forest ecology/environmental science students were significantly less satisfied than any other study major. Additionally, a comparison between male and female students suggested that males and females have a similar level of satisfaction regarding industry fulfilling its economic responsibilities. However, males were found to be more satisfied with industry fulfilling its socio‐environmental responsibilities than females.
Research limitations/implications
Students for the study were not selected randomly and as such the results of the study can, at best, be considered indicative. Study findings have implications for academic curriculum designers as well as for industry policy makers.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to examine students' perceptions about the social responsibility success of the US forest products industry.
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Derek W. Thompson, Rajat Panwar and Eric N. Hansen
The aim of this paper is to examine the social responsibility orientation (SRO) gaps between the forest industry executives and societal members in the US Pacific Northwest.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine the social responsibility orientation (SRO) gaps between the forest industry executives and societal members in the US Pacific Northwest.
Design/methodology/approach
Using mail survey responses to pre‐existing SRO scales, the two samples are grouped into distinct social orientation clusters and compared based on demographic and firm characteristic variables.
Findings
The forest industry executives were found to have a significantly lower SRO than societal members, indicating a more individualistic social orientation. Demographic analyses suggested that individualistic beliefs were more prominent in males and rural residents among general society respondents. However, SRO among business executives showed no significant differences based on demographics or firm characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted within a specific region of the USA and as such these findings may not be generalized to other regions. The paper argues that one's SRO may have an impact on one's corporate social responsibility orientation; however, this remains an area that must be empirically investigated, both within and beyond the geographic and industrial context presented here.
Practical implications
Previous research has shown that executives with more egalitarian orientations can be more successful and inclusive problem‐solvers and negotiators. As businesses continue to face the challenge of balancing multiple stakeholders' demands, an understanding of gaps in SRO between business executives and general society provides a preliminary basis for companies to understand their misalignment with societal values and to find appropriate ways to narrow these gaps, wherever feasible.
Originality/value
The study represents the first region‐specific assessment of SRO. Additionally, the originality of the study lies in examining the SRO gap between industry executives and general society. Results prompt discussion surrounding the influence of social responsibility orientation gaps on an executive's ability to balance the demands of the firm and stakeholders.
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Jari Kärnä, Eric Hansen and Heikki Juslin
Companies along the forestry‐wood value chain from four European countries were surveyed in order to examine social responsibility in values and environmental emphasis in their…
Abstract
Companies along the forestry‐wood value chain from four European countries were surveyed in order to examine social responsibility in values and environmental emphasis in their marketing planning. Most of the Finnish, Swedish, German and UK companies emphasise environmental issues in their values, marketing strategies, structures and functions. The companies were classified into three groups according to their responsibility values based on the concepts of redirecting customers towards sustainability and the role of governmental balancing of markets. “Proactive green marketers” (companies emphasising pursuing sustainability and believing in free market system) emphasise environmental issues in their marketing planning clearly more than traditional “consumption marketers”, and more than “reactive green marketers” (companies emphasising pursuing sustainability under governmental balancing). We interpret that proactive marketers are the most genuine group in implementing environmental marketing voluntarily and seeking competitive advantage through environmental friendliness. Thus, the example of these progressive companies should be the direction towards sustainable development in business and society. The results also give evidence that green values, environmental marketing strategies, structures and functions are logically connected to each other as hypothesised according to the model of environmental marketing used to guide this study.
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Tomi Amberla, Lei Wang, Heikki Juslin, Rajat Panwar, Eric Hansen and Roy Anderson
The basic purpose of this research is to compare and describe various aspects related to student perceptions of forest industry CR performance in Finland and the USA.
Abstract
Purpose
The basic purpose of this research is to compare and describe various aspects related to student perceptions of forest industry CR performance in Finland and the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
With a quantitative research method, this study investigated 568 students. CSR and CSR reporting are the fundamental concepts that shape the development of the hypotheses and thus are integral to this empirical study.
Findings
Finnish students have a stronger belief that reporting is reliable and open than their US counterparts. Finnish students show more positive views on the way forest industry companies implement environmental responsibility than their US counterparts. US students show more positive views on social responsibility, especially those connected with stakeholder relations, than their Finnish counterparts.
Originality/value
The obvious connections between reporting views and perceptions of corporate responsibility highlight the significance of reliable reporting in the context of CR. Major fields of study significantly affected student perceptions of CR. The results of the study can help schools and enterprises to design proper CR‐related education courses or programs. Results of this study indicate that the CR weakness of the industry still lies in environmental responsibility. Thus, while forest industry companies should strive to apply a multi‐dimensional CR strategy, emphasis should still be on the environmental component.
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Erik S. Rasmussan, Tage Koed Madsen and Felicitas Evangelista
Attempts to consider how a founder has reduced equivocality in relation to support networks and reducing risks, especially in an international environment. Presents the case…
Abstract
Attempts to consider how a founder has reduced equivocality in relation to support networks and reducing risks, especially in an international environment. Presents the case studies of five Danish and Australian born global companies. Considers different global models and their limitations. Presents the findings of recent surveys in this area. Concludes that internationalization has not been the primary objective in the founding process and gives direction for further research.
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This article aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
The briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Strategic design is increasingly at the heart of organizations' corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Immediate evidence of this, as Koo and Cooper point out, can be seen in the way that the term is heard increasingly these days in the business world. In other words, a previously philanthropic term has become an ever more strategic one.
Practical implications
The article provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
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Federal budget problems have been significant national issues throughout the 1980s. One can hardly read a newspaper or listen to the broadcast media without reference to…
Abstract
Federal budget problems have been significant national issues throughout the 1980s. One can hardly read a newspaper or listen to the broadcast media without reference to budget‐related topics. Public opinion supports this concern. Seventy‐six percent of those responding to a Gallup Poll taken prior to the 1988 presidential election indicated they consider reduction of the budget deficit the new administration's top priority. An additional 21 percent believed it should be a medium priority. A second poll taken in late January 1989 found that 59 percent of the respondents favored a constitutional amendment that would require Washington to balance the budget. In 1985, the figure was only 49 percent.
Five groups of searchers each performed two of four pre‐selected searches on the DIALOG system using ONTAP, the 1975 subset of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC…
Abstract
Five groups of searchers each performed two of four pre‐selected searches on the DIALOG system using ONTAP, the 1975 subset of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. The groups were novices, moderately experienced searchers without ERIC experience, moderately experienced searchers with ERIC experience, very experienced searchers without ERIC experience, and very experienced searchers with ERIC experience. Data were collected on the education, online training, online experience, institutional setting, and personal characteristics of the rearchers. Variables that describe the search process (e.g. number of commands used) and variables that describe the outcome of searches (e.g. recall) were measured by examination of the search transcripts. The results showed that, compared to the experienced subjects, the novices performed surprisingly well. Although, as a group, they searched more slowly than the experienced subjects and scored lower on most (but not all) outcome measures, the differences were not as great as might be expected. Three meaningful patterns were identified among the experienced subjects' searches: (1) the group with the greatest overall experience and the greatest ERIC database experience achieved the highest recall and had the highest values of a subset of search process variables designated ‘search effort’ variables (e.g. number of commands and descriptors, connect time); (2) in general, the moderately experienced searchers with ERIC experience performed the briefest, most cost effective searches (when cost effectiveness is measured in terms of time per relevant reference retrieved). This pattern is attributed to the fact that 75 percent of this group work in academic libraries that charge individual users for online connect time. In this situation pressure to keep costs low appears to be great; (3) the subjects with ERIC experience used more thesaurus terms than the subjects without ERIC experience. The subjects without ERIC experience tended to prefer free text to thesaurus terms. In regard to outcome, only slight evidence was found to support the hypothesis that ERIC database experience leads to greater success in searching.