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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 11 January 2024

Ermiyas Tsehay Birhanu and Mulugeta Awayehu Gugssa

The purpose of this study is to investigate the driving factors for staff cohesiveness in the workplace and how they are related to workplace learning and development…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the driving factors for staff cohesiveness in the workplace and how they are related to workplace learning and development opportunities. Two research questions guided the inquiry: (1) What are the driving factors for staff cohesiveness in the workplace? and (2) How does staff cohesiveness influence workplace learning?

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a phenomenological research design. The data collection involved interviews and focus group discussions with 22 lecturers in two public universities. Thematic analysis was followed to analyse and interpret data.

Findings

The findings of this study indicate that staff cohesiveness is greatly influenced by several factors. Firstly, the presence of shared visions and goals plays a significant role in fostering staff cohesion. In addition, the similarity of age and gender among employees, as well as the presence of mutual support and a sense of belongingness, trust and solidarity, managerial support and the nature of the job that requires collective action, all contribute to staff cohesiveness. It is worth noting that previous studies have not reported the influence of age, gender and job characteristics as factors influencing staff cohesiveness.

Practical implications

Employers should not only focus on the knowledge and hard skills of applicants but also on the soft skills which support teamwork and cohesion in the workplace. Managers who want to enhance workplace learning should create opportunities for social gatherings and informal contacts in the workplace to facilitate informal learning in the workplace. Researchers focusing on workplace learning should include tacit learning practices that occur in the workplace as a result of the closeness between teammates.

Originality/value

This manuscript, which the authors hereby present, is the result of own original work. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors wish to emphasise that it has not been submitted for publication in any other journals.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2023

Pratibha Maan and Dinesh Kumar Srivastava

The study intends to examine the generational differences between GenY and GenZ Indian generational cohorts on the study variables, i.e. core self-evaluations (CSE), team…

Abstract

Purpose

The study intends to examine the generational differences between GenY and GenZ Indian generational cohorts on the study variables, i.e. core self-evaluations (CSE), team cohesion, organizational culture and team performance. Further, the present research aims to analyze the impact of CSE, team cohesion and organizational culture on team performance as antecedents.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey method where the data were collected from Indian working professionals who belonged to GenY and GenZ generational cohorts. Further, a total of 370 responses were received, and thereafter, the data were analyzed by employing significant statistical tests such as exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM) and an independent samples t-test.

Findings

The study results revealed that GenY and GenZ cohorts significantly differ on CSE, team cohesion and organizational culture. However, no significant difference was reported in team performance between these two generational cohorts. Also, the study results disclosed that CSE, team cohesion and organizational culture positively influence team performance by acting as its determinants.

Practical implications

The study reports differences between GenY and GenZ that would assist managers in effectively dealing with these generational cohorts and formulating human resource (HR) policies that can accommodate the needs of these two cohorts. Additionally, the study benefits managers by highlighting the importance of core-self evaluations, team cohesion and organizational culture to enhance team performance.

Originality/value

Existing research depicts that there lies a paucity of generational studies in the Indian context. The present study attempts to address this lacuna by putting pioneering efforts into this field. The main contribution of the study lies in empirically investigating the Indian generational cohorts (GenY and GenZ) in the organizations. Further, the study has also conceptualized and examined a team performance model by considering factors at three levels (individual, team and organization).

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 42 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 February 2024

Sarah Mueller-Saegebrecht

Managers must make numerous strategic decisions in order to initiate and implement a business model innovation (BMI). This paper examines how managers perceive the management team…

738

Abstract

Purpose

Managers must make numerous strategic decisions in order to initiate and implement a business model innovation (BMI). This paper examines how managers perceive the management team interacts when making BMI decisions. The paper also investigates how group biases and board members’ risk willingness affect this process.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were collected through 26 in-depth interviews with German managing directors from 13 companies in four industries (mobility, manufacturing, healthcare and energy) to explore three research questions: (1) What group effects are prevalent in BMI group decision-making? (2) What are the key characteristics of BMI group decisions? And (3) what are the potential relationships between BMI group decision-making and managers' risk willingness? A thematic analysis based on Gioia's guidelines was conducted to identify themes in the comprehensive dataset.

Findings

First, the results show four typical group biases in BMI group decisions: Groupthink, social influence, hidden profile and group polarization. Findings show that the hidden profile paradigm and groupthink theory are essential in the context of BMI decisions. Second, we developed a BMI decision matrix, including the following key characteristics of BMI group decision-making managerial cohesion, conflict readiness and information- and emotion-based decision behavior. Third, in contrast to previous literature, we found that individual risk aversion can improve the quality of BMI decisions.

Practical implications

This paper provides managers with an opportunity to become aware of group biases that may impede their strategic BMI decisions. Specifically, it points out that managers should consider the key cognitive constraints due to their interactions when making BMI decisions. This work also highlights the importance of risk-averse decision-makers on boards.

Originality/value

This qualitative study contributes to the literature on decision-making by revealing key cognitive group biases in strategic decision-making. This study also enriches the behavioral science research stream of the BMI literature by attributing a critical influence on the quality of BMI decisions to managers' group interactions. In addition, this article provides new perspectives on managers' risk aversion in strategic decision-making.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 62 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2024

Muhammad Sabbir Rahman, Md Afnan Hossain, Md Rifayat Islam Rushan, Hasliza Hassan and Vishal Talwar

The mental healthcare is experiencing an ever-growing surge in understanding the consumer (e.g., patient) engagement paradox, aiming to vouch for the quality of care. Despite this…

Abstract

Purpose

The mental healthcare is experiencing an ever-growing surge in understanding the consumer (e.g., patient) engagement paradox, aiming to vouch for the quality of care. Despite this surge, scant attention has been given in academia to conceptualize and empirically investigate this particular aspect. Thus, drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) paradigm, the study explores how patients engage with healthcare service providers and how they perceive the quality of the healthcare services.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 279 respondents, and the derived conceptual model was tested by using Smart PLS 3.2.7 and PROCESS. To complement the findings of partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modeling (SEM), the present study also applied fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions to explore substitute conjunctive paths that emerge.

Findings

Findings show that patients’ perceived intimacy (PI), cohesion and privacy enhance the quality of mental healthcare service providers. The results also suggest that patients’ PI, cohesion and privacy have indirect effects on the perceived quality of care (PQC) by the service providers through consumer engagement. The fsQCA results derive that the relationship among conditions leading to patients’ perception of the quality of care in regard to mental healthcare service providers is complex and is best reflected as multiple and conjectural causation configurations.

Research limitations/implications

The findings from this research contribute to the advancement of studies on patients’ experiences by empirically examining the unique dynamics of interaction between consumers (patients) and mental healthcare service providers, thereby enriching both the literature on social interactions and the understanding of the consumer–provider relationship.

Practical implications

The results of this study provide practical implications for mental healthcare service providers on how to combine the study variables to enhance the quality of care and satisfy more patients.

Originality/value

A significant research gap has ascertained the inter-relationship between PI, cohesion, privacy, engagement and PQC from the perspective of mental healthcare service providers. This research is one of the primary studies from a managerial and methodological standpoint. The study contributes by combining symmetric and asymmetric statistical tools in service marketing and healthcare research. Furthermore, the application of fsQCA helps to understand the interactions that might not be immediately obvious through traditional symmetric methods.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 November 2023

Delin Meng, Yanxi Li and Lan Wang

Utilizing the expectation states theory in sociology, this study probes into the influence of the board's informal hierarchy on the quality of enterprise innovation, originating…

Abstract

Purpose

Utilizing the expectation states theory in sociology, this study probes into the influence of the board's informal hierarchy on the quality of enterprise innovation, originating from the perspective of internal directorial interactions, while analyzing the boundary effects exhibited by the nature of property rights and the intensity of geo-culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The study selects China's A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021 as the research sample, employing the Tobit regression analysis method to scrutinize the hypotheses presented in the text.

Findings

The regression results demonstrate a positive correlation between the board's informal hierarchy and the enterprise innovation quality (EIQ). Upon introducing variables specific to property rights and geographical culture, the authors found that in comparison to non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), the influence of the board's informal hierarchy on the quality of corporate innovation is diminished in SOEs. Conversely, the intensity of geo-culture across Chinese provinces enhances their mutual positive influence. In the additional analysis, the authors also found that the elevation of corporate risk tolerance is a significant pathway for the positive effect of the board's informal hierarchy on EIQ. Moreover, this positive influence is more profound in high-tech enterprises, businesses implementing equity incentive plans and companies that have subscribed to director and officer liability insurance.

Originality/value

The findings not only deepen the understanding of how the board's internal status characteristics influence corporate decision-making but also enrich the application scope of expectation states theory. Furthermore, this study offers valuable guidance for optimizing innovation decision-making by adjusting the personnel structures of corporate boards.

Details

Management Decision, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Frank Fitzpatrick

Abstract

Details

Understanding Intercultural Interaction: An Analysis of Key Concepts, 2nd Edition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-438-8

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2023

Keyhan Shams, Mehrnegar Barahouei and Kerry L. Priest

This paper introduces a conceptual lens for leading social change in slums and informal settlements. In line with this aim, the purpose of this case study is to describe the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper introduces a conceptual lens for leading social change in slums and informal settlements. In line with this aim, the purpose of this case study is to describe the public problem-solving approach of a social change organization situated in an informal settlement through the lens of adaptive leadership, complexity theory and social change leadership (SCL).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows an engaged reflection tradition. First, the author-practitioners describe an informal settlement case hereafter called ISC in southeast Iran where many people have historically remained undocumented and uneducated. Using complex adaptive systems theory, adaptive leadership and SCL as the conceptual lens, the paper analyzes ISC as a complex adaptive context in which the community and the government are in tension in solving problems, particularly illiteracy. The instrumental case study draws from participant observation and document analysis to describe and examine the endeavors of a community office operating within ISC. Through this reflective analysis, the authors illustrate how a social change organization can effectively tackle public issues like illiteracy within informal settlements.

Findings

This paper applies complexity leadership theory to a social context. The study illustrates how social change organizations can support the transformation of informal spaces into adaptive spaces to enact social change.

Originality/value

This paper reflects on engagement activity near the insecure borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. By extending an organizational-level theory to the public sphere, this paper contributes theoretically to the complexity theory literature. Moreover, it provides a practical insight for community development and slum upgrading projects.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 December 2023

Cayce Jamil

This study examines whether there are unintended consequences that emerge from status interventions in task groups in relation to cohesion and solidarity. Past theorists have…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines whether there are unintended consequences that emerge from status interventions in task groups in relation to cohesion and solidarity. Past theorists have argued that inconsistent status structures produce weaker levels of cohesion and solidarity in comparison to consistent status structures.

Methodology/approach

Data come from an online experiment involving mixed-sex dyads interacting in one of three conditions. Participants individually completed an ambiguous problem-solving task and then worked together over Zoom audio to form a group decision. In the three conditions, participants were either given no performance feedback before the problem-solving task or were informed the male or the female participant performed better on a pretest related to the task. The conversations were recorded and analyzed using measures related to paraverbal synchronization and accommodation.

Findings

In terms of self-reported cohesion, there appeared to be a difference, albeit a weak one, in only the inconsistent-status condition, with female participants reporting higher levels of cohesion in comparison to males. However, in terms of solidarity, there was no significant difference between the conditions.

Discussion

Although inconsistent status structures were associated with weaker perceptions of cohesion, it did not appear to impact solidarity like theorists have suggested. Status structures do not appear to impact group solidarity.

Implications

The nature of group membership in conjunction with status consistency/inconsistency may produce the significant differences in solidarity that theorists have suggested.

Originality/value of paper

To date, there has been little empirical examination of how status consistency affects cohesion and solidarity. Relatedly, the current study advances the research on vocal accommodation by analyzing status and solidarity simultaneously.

Details

Advances in Group Processes
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83797-477-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2024

Daryl Mahon

Psychotherapy and clinical supervision outcomes are influenced by client and supervisee factors, one of which is cultural identity. Those with diverse racial and ethnic…

Abstract

Purpose

Psychotherapy and clinical supervision outcomes are influenced by client and supervisee factors, one of which is cultural identity. Those with diverse racial and ethnic minoritised identities often experience disparities in therapy outcomes. Therapists and supervisors need to be responsive to the identity of those they support. The multicultural orientation (MCO) framework is an emerging concept in psychotherapy and clinical supervision that may offer these practitioners a framework to be responsive.

Design/methodology/approach

A preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews was conducted. Six databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Academic Search Complete, Web of Science and PsychInfo, were searched for peer-reviewed literature published in English between the years 2000 and 2023.

Findings

A total of 1,553 sources were identified, of which (n = 42) are included in this review. Findings suggest that MCO is still in its infancy as applied to therapy and clinical supervision. Most of the research has been conducted in America, using quantitative methodologies with white western populations. Cultural humility is the most studied MCO pillar, and variables such as reductions in psychological stress, the working alliance and microaggressions are reported on as outcomes. MCO applied to the group therapy process is an emerging finding of interest. However, more research is needed, especially experiential designs across different and diverse populations and contexts.

Originality/value

MCO is an emerging therapy and clinical supervision process that has the potential to improve the outcomes for therapy clients and supervisees. Further research is needed to replicate current studies, and further research with diverse populations, countries and contexts should be undertaken as a priority.

Details

Mental Health and Social Inclusion, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-8308

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2023

Maryam Taji, Ali Siadat and Leila Moghtadaie

The present study aimed at developing and validating a self-development training package and determining self-development's effectiveness on job variables and human capital…

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aimed at developing and validating a self-development training package and determining self-development's effectiveness on job variables and human capital agility among secondary school principals in Isfahan.

Design/methodology/approach

In the first phase, the researcher conceived a full version of the self-development training package by studying the theoretical evidence of research and interviewing experts as well as using content analysis. The questionnaire was presented to several experts (n = 8) in that field of study for evaluation after compiling the initial version of the self-development training package, with the aim of determining the face and content validity. In the second phase of the study, the effectiveness of the self-development training package was experimented on secondary school principals using a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design and follow-up with a control group.

Findings

The evaluation results were suitable for the training package based on the proposed Lawshe method. The results also indicated that the implementation of a self-development training package in the experimental group had a significant effect on job performance and its dimensions, as well as human capital agility. The effect of the training package on increasing job performance in the post-test stage was 55.3% and was 50.2% in the follow-up stage. Also, the effect of this package on increasing the agility of human capital in the post-test phase was equal to 34.8% and was equal to 28.9% in the follow-up stage.

Originality/value

Question 1: What are the components of a self-development training package? Question 2: What is the credibility of the developed training package from the experts' point of view? Question 3: Does the self-development training package have an effect on job performance and its dimensions? Question 4: Does the self-development training package have an effect on human capital agility?.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 37 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000