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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2014

Wenche Aarseth, Asbjørn Rolstadås and Bjorn Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to complement the research that has been done in global projects so far and has two objectives: to study organizational challenges in global projects…

6393

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to complement the research that has been done in global projects so far and has two objectives: to study organizational challenges in global projects, compared with those of traditional projects; and to define and analyze the main organizational challenges the project team members and project managers meet when assigned to global projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a survey sent to 550 project managers and people working in a global environment, data from 246 respondents, and 30 interviews with senior project team members.

Findings

The results show that the main organizational challenges are managing the external stakeholders in the global project; the local government in the country, local content demand, local authorities, local industry, and lack of support from the base organization and management. One of the conclusions is that companies need a relationship management approach to managing these challenges in global projects.

Originality/value

Organizational challenges are an underestimated area in projects and when it comes to an in-depth understanding of organizational challenges in global projects only a very few studies have been published compared with other project management issues. This article contributes to existing research by presenting the organizational challenges in global projects and how they differ from traditional projects.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2015

Busaya Virakul

This paper aims to propose an effective response by business organizations to the impact of global challenges and sustainable development (SD). It also presents an overview model…

3974

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an effective response by business organizations to the impact of global challenges and sustainable development (SD). It also presents an overview model of organizational performance employing such an approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a conceptual work based upon a review of theories, research findings and reports gathered from relevant literature. The review yielded the following research framework: many countries are facing global challenges; these global challenges are affecting business organizations as external factors; SD is a concept employed to address these challenges; SD can be applied in business organizations through corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance (CG) and sustainability policy and practices; and embedding CSR, CG and sustainability concepts at a strategic level is an effective response to global challenges.

Findings

Global challenges are impacting on business organizations and will continue to do so into the future. CSR, CG and sustainability concepts are increasingly being adopted by leading business organizations throughout the world. Embedding CSR, CG and sustainability concepts at a strategic level can sustain long-term organizational performance, as they help businesses face global challenges in a positive manner and maintain their position in societies on good terms with all stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

Different cultural or socio-economic environments may limit the interpretation and application of the findings or propositions in this research.

Practical implications

How CSR, CG and sustainability concepts can be holistically implemented in business practices.

Social implications

The role of business in lessening the effect of global challenges and supporting SD is illustrated in the proposed model.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates connections among the following critical influences on organizational performance: global challenges; SD; and CSR, CG and sustainability.

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2019

Busaya Virakul and Darlene F. Russ-Eft

This study aims to validate a model of organizational performance embedding corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance (CG) and sustainability concepts at a…

1848

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to validate a model of organizational performance embedding corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance (CG) and sustainability concepts at a strategic level. The model has been created in response to two significant global influences: global challenges and sustainable development (SD).

Design/methodology/approach

To validate the model created, executives from 10 of Thailand’s leading companies that have received CSR, CG, or sustainability awards during 2010-2015 were asked to complete a questionnaire and were later interviewed.

Findings

The findings indicate the appropriateness of the model in addressing the two significant global influences and highlight the critical issues in its implementation.

Research limitations/implications

Types of interviewees who are information sources, organization’s features such as size and industry and culture, appear to be critical factors in affecting the research findings and in limiting the interpretation and applications of the research model. All of those limitations have been explained in the research paper so that future research could be improved.

Practical implications

The model presents additional knowledge in relation to SD, business strategy, organizational performance and organizational sustainability. It shows how businesses can participate and respond to SD by embedding CSR, CG and sustainability concepts at the strategic level. It also shows that the outcome of such an approach will help business organizations sustain their existence by balancing financial, social and environmental dimensions.

Social implications

Business is one of the three key players (government, business and citizens) in managing global challenges and promoting SD. A business sector contains huge valuable resources (e.g. physical; financial; human; technology) for development capabilities. Therefore, this research shows a model which helps business organizations understand their significant role in SD.

Originality/value

Due to increased human population, climate change and deterioration of natural resources, social thinkers all around the world have been warning the seriousness of global challenges and the importance of SD. However, not many studies combine and connect the key concepts of global challenges, SD, CSR, CG and sustainability, all together to address the important role of business organizations. This research answers/gives such overall picture through a field research work for validation.

Book part
Publication date: 11 October 2023

Javier Peña Capobianco

The objective of this chapter is to identify the key characteristics of Global Services businesses that will thrive and achieve success in the future. These factors are integrated…

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to identify the key characteristics of Global Services businesses that will thrive and achieve success in the future. These factors are integrated into three main pillars, which we refer to as the Triple-Win. The first and most obvious pillar is technology as a tool. The second pillar is the design and sustainability of the business model, without which the previous factor would be merely a cost and not an investment. And last but not the least, there is the purpose which gives meaning to the proposal, focusing on the human being and their environment. The DIDPAGA business model sits at the intersection of these three elements.

Details

The New Era of Global Services: A Framework for Successful Enterprises in Business Services and IT
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-627-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2016

Norman Mugarura

The purpose of the paper is to examine the law and how it has been utilised in fostering proper functioning of global markets within member countries and globally. The term “law”…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine the law and how it has been utilised in fostering proper functioning of global markets within member countries and globally. The term “law” in this context refers to international law, whose primary function is to regulate activities of sovereign States and organisations created by a group of States. The Statute of the International Court of Justice 1907, which has been ratified as a treaty by all UN nations, provides the most authoritative definition of the sources of international law to date (Schachter, 1991). Under Article 38 of Statute of the International Court of Justice 1907, there four main sources of international law such as treaties, international customs, general principles of law recognised by civilised nations and judicial decisions of International Court of Justice and other internationally accepted tribunals. They are the materials and processes out of which the rules and principles regulating the international community are developed and sustained. The term “global Village” was coined by a Canadian scholar by the name of Marshall McLuhan to describe the contraction of the globe into a village because of advances in internet communication technology and increased consciousness and enhanced transport systems (McLuhan, 2003). The current “global village” is manifested by the growing interconnectedness of economies which has enhanced the ability of states to interact economically, politically and socially. It operates in a way that seems to defy common definitions such as delimitations of national borders and states. The global system has created shared synergies such as free movement of workers, capital, good and services. However, it has created varied challenges for individual states given that challenges in one part of the globe can easily navigate into the system to infest other countries including those that have nothing to do with its causes. This dichotomy is highlighted by the debt crisis in the Eurozone member countries which has been simmering since 2009 but has recently bubbled to the surface by the crisis in Greece. The challenges in Greece as well in other deeply integrated countries have not been confined within individual countries or regions but have had a domino effect farther afield due to the growing interconnectedness of economies. There are dualities in the global system manifested by the fact that developed countries are endowed with the means, and, therefore, they have requisite capacity to harness the law and markets easily as opposed to their counterparts in least developed countries (LDCs), where this leverage is non-existent. Less-developed economies are so described because they lack requisite capacity and cannot compete as efficiently as their counterpart in developed countries. This has translated into ambivalence and half-heartedness in some states attitude to embrace market discipline wholeheartedly. The foregoing challenges have been exacerbated by the tenuous legal systems, lack of robust infrastructure, oversight institutions and corruption, especially in the LDCs cohort. The paper utilises empirical data to evaluate the role of law in fostering the relationship between states and markets. In other words, are the rules governing global markets effectively working to ensure a harmonious co-existence of markets, states and various stakeholders? Can the recent global crises such as the debt crisis in Greece mean that the global village is in quandary? Is there any village that is devoid of challenges or they are part and parcel of life? The paper utilises empirical examples in both developed and developing countries to evaluate the current state of the contemporary global village in search for answers to the foregoing nagging questions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a selective review approach in analysing the most appropriate materials for inclusion in its analysis. It is an empirical study based on the most recent global developments such as the global financial crisis, the debt crisis in European Union (EU) to gains insights into the interplay of the relationship between law and markets and the occasional disharmony between these two regulatory domains.

Findings

The issues examined in this paper provide significant insights into the dynamics of the global village, law and markets. It has delineated that for markets to work effectively, the state needs to remain in the loop and to keep an arm’s length relationship with the market because it will have to come in to pick the pieces when things go wrong. The law cannot be pushed to the sidelines because it will have to provide the instruments for states and markets to operate efficiently within their respective regulatory domain. There is no state, including North Korea (not as open as other economies in Asia), which can close its door entirely to markets. Experience has demonstrated that law is more than rules which govern societies but a way of life such that a society is as developed as is its legal system. The State needs to use the leverage of the law and to take centre stage for markets to remain viable and relevant. Recent crises such as the debt crisis in Greece or the global financial crisis before provide lessons for proponents of the global market system to learn so that it can proportionately distribute benefits and not challenges.

Research limitations/implications

The global market system has imposed varied challenges on states at the scale never envisaged before. Some of the theoretical premises relating to the paper were based on secondary data sources and were evaluated based on a small sample of cases. The author, therefore, extrapolated that the law seems to have been relegated to the sidelines to not interfere with markets. The paper has evaluated the current global market system in the context of contemporary challenges in Europe and in other regions; it would have been better to explore examples from other regions. It is evident that the state and the market are two sides of the same coin – they are embedded in each other, and their relationship complimentary and will have to co-exist. They need to work in tandem because the market needs the state and the state needs the market. Meanwhile, both the state and the market need the law as an equalizer to ensure they are regulated according to engendered rules. It appears that the disharmony between the state and the market is because of the fusion of law and politics which often results in overlapping interests. The recent global financial crisis and the frantic efforts of EU government to bail out debt distressed countries like Greece have implied that governments will need to maintain an arms-length relationship with markets. When the state lets its hands off, literally speaking, in the author’s view, markets will veer off course.

Practical implications

The global system has created shared synergies such as free movement of workers, capital, good and services. However, it has created varied challenges for individual states given that challenges in one part of the globe can easily navigate into the system to infest other countries including those that have nothing to do with its causes. States and stakeholders will need to carefully evaluate the impact of global regulatory initiatives to make sure that in adopting them, they are not debased or undermined by those initiatives.

Social implications

For markets to work properly, the state must remain in the loop and keep an arms-length relationship with the market because it will have to come in to pick the pieces when things go wrong. The law cannot be pushed to the sidelines because it will have to provide the instruments for states and markets to operate efficiently within their respective regulatory domain. There is no state, including North Korea (not as open as other economies in Asia), which can close its door entirely to markets. Experience has demonstrated that law is more than rules which govern societies but a way of life such that a society is as developed as is its legal system. The State needs to use the leverage of the law in providing effective regulatory oversight of markets both domestically and globally.

Originality/value

The paper was written on the basis of recent global crises such as the debt crisis in Greece, Europe, which were evaluated in the narrow context and are objectives of the paper.

Details

International Journal of Law and Management, vol. 58 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-243X

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 29 March 2022

Katharina Dittrich

Scalar terms, such as “local” and “global,” “big” and “small” are fundamental in how academics and practitioners make sense of and respond to grand challenges. Yet, scale is so

Abstract

Scalar terms, such as “local” and “global,” “big” and “small” are fundamental in how academics and practitioners make sense of and respond to grand challenges. Yet, scale is so taken-for-granted that we rarely question or critically reflect on the concept and how it is used. The aim of this paper is to identify scale as an important concept in research on grand challenges and to point out why taking scale for granted can be problematic. In particular, I suggest that to date most research on grand challenges sees scale as a fundamental ontological feature of the world. Yet, scalar categories and hierarchies are not as self-evident and given as they may seem. Moreover, taking scale as an ontological fixed category limits our ability to make sense of, theorize and respond to grand challenges. As an alternative, I suggest seeing scale as an epistemological frame that participants employ in their everyday practices to make sense of, navigate and develop solutions to grand challenges. The chapter concludes with a research agenda for studying scale as socially constructed in practice.

Details

Organizing for Societal Grand Challenges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-829-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

Georgios I. Zekos

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…

86938

Abstract

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 45 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2013

Daniela Lehner and Julia Wurzenberger

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of Global Education (GE) from a “theory of action plan” and an “evolutionary and systems theory” approach as an educational…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of Global Education (GE) from a “theory of action plan” and an “evolutionary and systems theory” approach as an educational perspective to cope with globalisation – more specifically, the challenges of globalisation. Moreover, an additional aim is to analyse the linkages of GE according to global society, global citizenship and transformative learning concepts.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on a literature review regarding the challenges of globalisation combined with the theoretical pattern of GE separated into the following dimensions: objective/issues, temporal, spatial and social based on Lang-Wojtasik (2012), which will be further complemented with approaches from Selby and Rathenow (2006).

Findings

GE is an educational perspective to cope with globalisation in consideration of different definitions and approaches of GE. The methods of GE, such as promoting a holistic view on the world, are designed based on the challenges of globalisation and, as a result, GE can provide perspectives for coping with globalisation.

Originality/value

The challenges of globalisation are more and more noticeable in daily life. Therefore, it seems meaningful to the authors to resume an educational concept dealing with these challenges.

Details

Campus-Wide Information Systems, vol. 30 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1065-0741

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 6 March 2023

B. Sebastian Reiche

In this interview, Dr. Günter K. Stahl reflects on his career trajectory as a globally renowned educator and how he pivoted from being a global mobility scholar to one of the…

Abstract

In this interview, Dr. Günter K. Stahl reflects on his career trajectory as a globally renowned educator and how he pivoted from being a global mobility scholar to one of the pioneers of the responsible global leadership domain. For Dr. Stahl, the ethical component is an integral – and essential – part of any meaningful definition of leadership, and he illustrates this conviction with several examples from his research and corporate practice. Building on his trailblazing work in this domain, Dr. Stahl also identifies critical areas for future research that can help address our societies' grand challenges. He further draws on his deep involvement in designing and delivering postgraduate and executive education programs to discuss how educators can better incorporate these ideas into impactful educational interventions, which he refers to as “consciousness-raising experiences,” thereby inducing lasting positive change in participants.

Dr. Stahl is a Chair and Professor of International Management and Director of the Center for Sustainability Transformation and Responsibility (STaR) at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna). Prior to joining WU, he served for eight years on the faculty of INSEAD, and he is an Academic Fellow and/or Visiting Professor of several renowned institutions, including the Centre for International HRM at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, the Centre for Global Workforce Strategy at Simon Fraser University, Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and Hitotsubashi University.

Dr. Stahl is an expert on purpose-driven leadership, the drivers of corporate responsibility and irresponsibility, grand societal challenges and their implications for strategy and management, and the changing nature of global work. His research has been published in leading academic journals, profiled in a wide range of media outlets including the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, and been recognized by prestigious awards including the Carolyn Dexter Award of the Academy of Management, the JIBS/Palgrave Macmillan 2020 Decade Award for the most influential article in international business studies over the past decade, the SAGE/Journal of Leadership Award for the most significant contribution to advance leadership and organizational studies, and the Academy of Management Best Paper in International Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability Award.

Dr. Stahl is also an accomplished teacher who has won numerous Outstanding Teacher and Program Director awards, including six CEMS Course of the Year Awards for the most highly rated course in the CEMS network worldwide, the Award for Teaching Excellence in the Executive MBA Program of HEC Université de Genève, and the Outstanding Teacher Award of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management Executive MBA Program. He serves on the advisory boards of several for-profit- and nonprofit organizations, and he has been involved in consulting and executive teaching for a variety of industrial and professional services companies, as well as for organizations in the nonprofit sector.

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Jerry D. Mahlman

In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third Assessment Report revealed an important increase in the level of consensus concerning the reality of human-caused…

Abstract

In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third Assessment Report revealed an important increase in the level of consensus concerning the reality of human-caused climate warming. The scientific basis for global warming has thus been sufficiently established to enable meaningful planning of appropriate policy responses to address global warming. As a result, the world's policy makers, governments, industries, energy producers/planners, and individuals from many other walks of life have increased their attention toward finding acceptable solutions to the challenge of global warming. This laudable increase in worldwide attention to this global-scale challenge has not, however, led to a heightened optimism that the required substantial reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions deemed necessary to stabilize the global climate can be achieved anytime soon. This fact is due in large part to several fundamental aspects of the climate system that interact to ensure that climate change is a phenomenon that will emerge over extensive timescales.

Although most of the warming observed during the 20th century is attributed to increased greenhouse gas concentrations, because of the high heat capacity of the world's oceans, further warming will lag added greenhouse gas concentrations by decades to centuries. Thus, today's enhanced atmospheric CO2 concentrations have already “wired in” a certain amount of future warming in the climate system, independent of human actions. Furthermore, as atmospheric CO2 concentrations increase, the world's natural CO2 “sinks” will begin to saturate, diminishing their ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Future warming will also eventually cause melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, which will contribute substantially to sea level rise, but only over hundreds to thousands of years. As a result, current generations have, in effect, decided to make future generations pay most of the direct and indirect costs of this major global problem. The longer the delay in reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, the greater the burden of climate change will be for future life on earth.

Collectively, these phenomena comprise a “global warming dilemma.” On the one hand, the current level of global warming to date appears to be comparatively benign, about 0.6°C. This seemingly small warming to date has thus hardly been sufficient to spur the world to pursue aggressive CO2 emissions reduction policies. On the other hand, the decision to delay global emissions reductions in the absence of a current crisis is essentially a commitment to accept large levels of climate warming and sea level rise for many centuries. This dilemma is a difficult obstacle for policy makers to overcome, although better education of policy makers regarding the long-term consequences of climate change may assist in policy development.

The policy challenge is further exacerbated by factors that lie outside the realm of science. There are a host of values conflicts that conspire to prevent meaningful preventative actions on the global scale. These values conflicts are deeply rooted in our very globally diverse lifestyles and our national, cultural, religious, political, economic, environmental, and personal belief systems. This vast diversity of values and priorities inevitably leads to equally diverse opinions on who or what should pay for preventing or experiencing climate change, how much they should pay, when, and in what form. Ultimately, the challenge to all is to determine the extent to which we will be able to contribute to limiting the magnitude of this problem so as to preserve the quality of life for many future generations of life on earth.

Details

Perspectives on Climate Change: Science, Economics, Politics, Ethics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-271-9

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