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1 – 10 of over 37000Börje Boers and Thomas Andersson
This article aims to increase the understanding of the role of individual actors and arenas in dealing with multiple institutional logics in family firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to increase the understanding of the role of individual actors and arenas in dealing with multiple institutional logics in family firms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows a case-study approach of two family-owned newspaper companies. Based on interviews and secondary sources, the empirical material was analysed focussing on three institutional logics, that is, family logic, management logic and journalistic logic.
Findings
First, the authors show how and in which arenas competing logics are balanced in family-owned newspaper companies. Second, the authors highlight that family owners are central actors in the process of balancing different institutional logics. Further, they analyse how family members can become hybrid owner-managers, meaning that they have access to all institutional logics and become central actors in the balancing process.
Originality/value
The authors reveal how multiple institutional logics are balanced in family firms by including formal actors and arenas as additional lenses. Therefore, owning family members, especially hybrid owner-managers, are the best-suited individual actors to balance competing logics. Hybrid owner-managers are members of the owner families who are also skilled in one or several professions.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore how performance management practices are implicated in the exercise of power with particular reference to the ability of individual…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how performance management practices are implicated in the exercise of power with particular reference to the ability of individual managers to balance between more or less institutionalized conceptions of performance while pursuing organizational change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on a longitudinal field study in a Chinese local government department conducted over a period of six years.
Findings
Recent reforms in the Chinese government sector have resulted in an incomplete shift between moral‐ and merit‐based conceptions of performance. The focal manager in this analysis initially balanced successfully between these conceptions of performance whilst pursuing a degree of organizational change, but was ultimately transferred as the power relationships forged through her manoeuvring were radically reversed. Whilst this balancing act was facilitated by the simultaneous embeddedness of the manager in both conceptions of performance, she experienced growing difficulties in maintaining such a position as a means of nurturing critical power relationships.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical analysis underscores the importance of examining institutional embeddedness as a multi‐layered phenomenon constituted by institutionalized expectations as well as internalized values and beliefs of individual actors. The varying degree of alignment of these constituent elements of embeddedness has important implications for the ability of managers to balance between diverse conceptions of performance and effect change and the configuration of power relationships.
Originality/value
In contrast to much previous research on performance measurement and management the paper analyzes power as a dynamic and relational concept. The study also sheds new light on the notion of institutional embeddedness by underlining its multi‐layered nature and how this gives rise to potential value conflicts among individual actors.
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Corine Boon, Jaap Paauwe, Paul Boselie and Deanne Den Hartog
Research in strategic human resource management (HRM) has focused mainly on the effects of HRM practices or systems on organizational effectiveness. However, institutional theory…
Abstract
Purpose
Research in strategic human resource management (HRM) has focused mainly on the effects of HRM practices or systems on organizational effectiveness. However, institutional theory argues that besides being financially successful, organizations also need legitimacy to survive. Owing to the tension between competitive and institutional pressures, organizations balance between the degree of conformity and the degree of differentiation from competitors regarding HRM. The purpose of this paper is to address how institutional pressures help shape HRM.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the concepts of leeway, human agency and strategic choice, differences in three types of institutional fit are highlighted: innovative, conformist and deviant. A comparative case study approach is used in order to illustrate the framework, using document analysis and 43 interviews in three organizations in The Netherlands.
Findings
This paper shows how balancing competitive and institutional pressures in organizations affects HRM. The cases illustrate the proposed theoretical framework, showing leeway, human agency, strategic choice and the nature of institutional fit. The organizations each illustrate a type of institutional fit. Moreover, not the institutional context itself, but the organization's response seems to make a difference for the nature of institutional fit.
Originality/value
While previous studies focus on the effects of HRM on organizational effectiveness, this paper examines how the balance between competitive and institutional pressures affects HRM and aims to show that institutional fit can contribute to strategic HRM by providing insight in this more balanced goal setting of organizations.
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Alexander Styhre, Adam Roth and Jonas Roth
Health care organizations are increasingly demanded to balance the institutional logic of “medical professionalism” and “business-like health care,” that is, to both recognize…
Abstract
Purpose
Health care organizations are increasingly demanded to balance the institutional logic of “medical professionalism” and “business-like health care,” that is, to both recognize physicians’ professional expertise while locating it in a wider social, economic, and political organizational setting. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications from this shift in terms of leadership work in health care organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study methodology including interviews with 15 residents in Swedish health care organizations.
Findings
A study of the willingness of residents to take on leadership positions show that leadership roles are treated as what is potentially hindering the acquisition of the know-how, skills, and expertise demanded to excel in the clinical work. Consequently, taking on leadership positions in the future was relatively unattractive for the residents. In order to overcome such perceived conflict between professional skill development and leadership roles, top management of health care organizations must help residents overcome such beliefs, or other professional groups may increasingly populate leadership positions, a scenario not fully endorsed by the community of physicians.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates how complementary or completing institutional logics are influencing debates and identities on the “shop floors” of organizations.
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David S. Timmons and Benjamin Weil
Many institutions of higher education have committed to carbon neutrality. Given this goal, the main economic issue is minimizing cost. As for society as a whole, dominant…
Abstract
Purpose
Many institutions of higher education have committed to carbon neutrality. Given this goal, the main economic issue is minimizing cost. As for society as a whole, dominant decarbonization strategies are renewable electricity generation, electrification of end uses and energy efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to describe the optimum combination of strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
There are four questions for eliminating the primary institutional greenhouse gas emissions: how much renewable electricity to produce on-site; where and at what price to purchase the balance of renewable electricity required; how to heat and cool buildings without fossil fuels; and how much to invest in energy efficiency. A method is presented to minimize decarbonization costs by equating marginal costs of the alternates.
Findings
The estimated cost of grid-purchased carbon-free energy is the most important benchmark, determining both the optimal level of campus-produced renewable energy and the optimum efficiency investment. In the context of complete decarbonization, greater efficiency investments may be justified than when individual measures are judged only by fossil-fuel savings.
Practical implications
This paper discusses a theoretically ideal plan and implementation issues such as purchasing carbon-free electricity, calculating marginal costs of conserved energy, nonmarginal cost changes, uncertainty about achieving efficiency targets, and dynamic pricing. The principles described in this study can be used to craft a cost-minimizing decarbonization strategy.
Originality/value
While previous studies discuss decarbonization strategies, there is little economic guidance on which strategies are optimal, on how to combine strategies to minimize cost or how to identify a preferred path to decarbonization.
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David Walton and Seraphim J. Rose Patel
Whole system working is critical to improving health and social care services while using scarce resources more efficiently and this article aims to look at the urgent need to…
Abstract
Purpose
Whole system working is critical to improving health and social care services while using scarce resources more efficiently and this article aims to look at the urgent need to develop measures for it. It seeks to describe the development of a simple, practical, set of measures for benchmarking and analysing local use of key whole system resources as the basis for discussion and planning. Practical and usable tools are needed urgently as national measures are not available at present and key resource decisions need to be made now.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper looks at a simple framework for looking at integration in localities and some proposed measures as the basis for discussion. It describes the development and application of a simple, practical set of measures to use locally in the absence of a national set. It uses nationally available, comparable measures wherever possible to minimise work. It briefly describes how the comparative data enables localities to identify key differences in use of resources and outcomes and areas for improvement.
Findings
Taking a whole system, whole person approach and applying it across localities provides a useful framework to help local health and social care systems focus on improving patient outcomes while reducing unnecessary costs – particularly unnecessary use of high cost institutional care. The measures including the Audit Commission whole system measures identified key issues re different use of resources, costs and outcomes between localities. This article looks ahead to the implications of greater personalisation of services and the need to develop more effective information systems based on the individual patient which allow more rigorous measurement of service effectiveness including outcomes as well as activity.
Practical implications
In the absence of national measures of whole system integration, this paper describes how a simple, practical framework and measures were developed to analyse use of resources and identify key areas for improvement. It can be used by localities to provide a quick benchmark of use of resources and outcomes (especially whole system use of expensive institutional resources) to support value for money and service effectiveness work. It describes how it worked in practice and looks at how information systems could be further developed in line with personalisation to allow ongoing improvement based on individual outcomes, costs and service effectiveness.
Originality/value
This study describes the need to develop whole system measures to show the effectiveness of moves towards integration. In the absence of national measures, it describes the development of a simple set of local whole system outcome measures based on a framework based on recent work on whole system integration. The paper uses both health and social care evidence and summarises key elements that work. It shows how the measures have been applied in practice in localities as a first step in a local system improvement programme.
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In 2022, US financial regulators proposed to mandate a single central clearing mechanism for treasury bonds and repo transactions to stabilize financial markets. The systemic…
Abstract
In 2022, US financial regulators proposed to mandate a single central clearing mechanism for treasury bonds and repo transactions to stabilize financial markets. The systemic risks inherent in repo markets were first highlighted by the global financial crisis and, as a response, global financial authorities such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have advocated for the introduction of a central counterparty (CCP). This study examines the structural characteristics of Korean repo markets and proposes the introduction of CCPs as a way to mitigate systemic risk. To this end, the author analyzes the structural differences between US and European repo markets and estimates the potential consequences of introducing CCP clearing in local repo markets. In general, CCPs offer two benefits: they can reduce required capital through netting in multilateral transactions, and they can mitigate the effects of risk transfer by isolating counterparty risk during periods of turbulence. In Korea, the latter effect is expected to play a pivotal role in mitigating potential risks.
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Looks at adult identity development issues that arise during periods of organizational flux. Begins with theoretical perspectives on adult identity development as a continuous…
Abstract
Looks at adult identity development issues that arise during periods of organizational flux. Begins with theoretical perspectives on adult identity development as a continuous life‐long process. Continues with a discussion on the compatibility of individuals and their jobs and the issues of accommodation that arise between the two; introducing studies on the relationships among employees, managers and employers. Aims to explore the need to increase management sensitivity to experiences of employees during the change process, and to consider possibilities for future exploration in the areas of significance. Concludes that leadership and members should both pay attention to the problems that arise for employees to benefit.
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Mariana Ferreira de Mello Silva and Eduardo Raupp de Vargas
This study aims to examine the extant literature to analyze the relationship between quality assurance (QA) and innovation in the higher education context.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the extant literature to analyze the relationship between quality assurance (QA) and innovation in the higher education context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study selected 63 articles through a systematic literature review in Scopus and Web of Science databases and performed a descriptive and thematic synthesis-analysis on the sample.
Findings
The research identifies several perspectives discussed on QA systems covering experiences, criticisms and practice implications. The literature review shows there is no clear consensus on whether innovation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is fostered or hindered by QA processes. However, it seems that the likelihood of innovativeness and positive QA outcomes are directly linked to how these processes are managed in universities.
Research limitations/implications
This review highlights the university management concerns that emerge with QA issues as it is not yet clear to what extent innovation is actually promoted in scenarios where QA is applied. Hence, this literature review could be considered comprehensive but not exhaustive. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of how HEIs can both innovate and ensure quality at the same time.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by advancing the opportunities and challenges that HEIs face due to QA system features.
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Yolanda Ramírez, Carmen Lorduy and José Antonio Rojas
The purpose of this paper is to provide assistance to universities in the process of developing their ability to identify, measure, manage and value their intangible assets.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide assistance to universities in the process of developing their ability to identify, measure, manage and value their intangible assets.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of a review of the most important intellectual capital management initiatives at Spanish public universities.
Findings
The experience gained from the case studies provides a basis for understanding how Spanish universities are measuring and managing their intellectual capital.
Research limitations/implications
Despite its importance, intellectual capital at universities is scarcely dealt with in a specific manner. Up to now, only a few universities have taken the challenge of trying to measure, manage and report on intangible assets.
Practical implications
This study offers a perspective on how Spanish universities deal with their intellectual capital. In this sense, the first step would be the definition and diffusion of the organisation's strategic objectives. Then, critical intangibles related to these objectives should be identified and the causal network of relationships among them should be established. Afterwards, a set of indicators is defined and developed for each intangible.
Originality/value
This paper shows the importance of intellectual capital approaches as instruments to face the new challenges in Spanish universities. It offers practical help to universities to develop means to identify, measure, manage and value their intangible assets.
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