Search results
1 – 10 of 169New managers in central and east European companies were faced with daunting challenges to manage their companies through the transition from central planning to competition and…
Abstract
New managers in central and east European companies were faced with daunting challenges to manage their companies through the transition from central planning to competition and to change their companies radically so that their firms would be capable of competing effectively. Based on the analysis of six longitudinal company cases from the Czech Republic, I identify the key skills that new managers had to have and where they were able to obtain those skills. The seeds of current managerial expertise could often be found in experiences under central planning, despite the fact that central planning more generally rewarded behaviors that were counterproductive in market‐based competition. Results are discussed in the context of leading radical organizational change.
Details
Keywords
Gary Garrison, Michael Harvey and Nancy Napier
This paper examines the role of managerial curiosity as a critical factor in determining the future impact of disruptive information technologies in a global organization…
Abstract
This paper examines the role of managerial curiosity as a critical factor in determining the future impact of disruptive information technologies in a global organization. Specifically, this paper presents curiosity as a managerial characteristic that plays an important role in identifying disruptive information technologies and facilitating their early adoption. Further, it uses resource‐based theory as a theoretical lens to illustrate how managerial curiosity can be a source of sustained competitive advantage. Finally, it examines the individual decision styles that are best suited in assessing disruptive information technologies.
Details
Keywords
Kamel Mellahi and Jedrzej George Frynas
This paper explores the issue of transferring western human resource management (HRM) practices to Algeria. Drawing on a case study of a large industrial company, the research…
Abstract
This paper explores the issue of transferring western human resource management (HRM) practices to Algeria. Drawing on a case study of a large industrial company, the research identifies the motives for the transfer and examines the selection and implementation process of western HRM practices in Algeria. Evidence generated from the case study reveals that while management justifications for the transfer of western HRM practices capture the economic and technical rationale for western HRM practices, they fail to identify local conditions under which these HRM practices might be transferred. The applicability of western HRM is hindered by the unplanned and haphazard importation of western HRM practices.
The term “globalisation”, although ubiquitous, has lost precision due to the fact that it can be applied in diverse ways. Here, multiple implications of globalisation are…
Abstract
The term “globalisation”, although ubiquitous, has lost precision due to the fact that it can be applied in diverse ways. Here, multiple implications of globalisation are discussed in order to clarify its impact upon modern business and vice versa. In specific, the concepts of homogenisation, polarisation, and hybridisation are examined. By comparing these models to earlier paradigms (such as those provided by the Enlightenment and the Romantic Movement), more precise discussions of globalisation result. The concept of dialectics, furthermore, provides a valuable tool to use when analysing the process of hybridisation.
Details
Keywords
Xiangfei Zeng, Ting Zhang and Yafei Zu
This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the law and logic mechanism of management control matching pattern and company strategy aggressiveness under different strategies by textual analysis, based on the empirical data of Chinese A-share listed companies during the period from 2010 to 2018. Additional analyses further investigate the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty and R&D intensity on the relationship between management control matching type and strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method system with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical reference for the matching mode of dual control.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the text analysis method. The main explanatory variables are analyzed using the computer SQL Server database software through the relevant text of the board of directors report in the company annual report. Other financial data came from the CSMAR database, excluding ST and PT and companies with missing data, and 16,902 samples were finally obtained. This paper conducted statistical analysis through Stata12.
Findings
This paper shows that the matching pattern between formal and informal control is divided into three types. They have different impacts on strategy aggressiveness. Specifically, consistent matching type II significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of offensive strategy. Consistent matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of defensive strategy. Complementary matching type I significantly positively influences the aggressiveness of analytical strategy. Additional analyses find that compared with non-high-tech companies, high-tech companies have more significant influence on the relationship between management control matching pattern and company strategic aggressiveness. And compared with other two “strategy-control” matching patterns, both environmental uncertainty and product innovation have more significant influence on the relationship between consistent matching II and offensive strategy aggressiveness.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper divides the formal and informal control matching patterns of management control into three categories for the first time. It examines the relationship between the formal and informal control matching of management accounting and the degree of strategy aggressiveness. The conclusion provides new empirical evidence to promote the effective implementation of development strategies for companies. It can help relevant departments to develop management control theory and method systems with Chinese characteristics and provide theoretical references for the matching mode of dual control.
Details
Keywords
Karen Landay and Rachel E. Frieder
Stress and the military go hand-in-hand, particularly in combat environments. While some personality traits or types weaken relationships between stress and performance, others…
Abstract
Stress and the military go hand-in-hand, particularly in combat environments. While some personality traits or types weaken relationships between stress and performance, others, such as psychopathy, may strengthen them. In the present chapter, we consider the ramifications of individuals with high levels of psychopathy or psychopathic tendencies in the military with regard to both their own stress and performance and that of those around them. We discuss different reactions to psychological and physical stress, as well as the implications of psychopathic tendencies as they relate to current military issues, including gender, leadership, teamwork, turnover, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide. By juxtaposing relevant research findings on stress and psychopathy, we conclude that psychopathic tendencies should have neither uniformly negative nor positive effects on stress and performance in the military. Rather, effects on such individuals and the peripheral others with whom they interact will likely vary greatly depending on numerous factors.
Details
Keywords
John Robinson, Andi Darell Alhakim, Grace Ma, Monisha Alam, Fernanda da Rocha Brando, Manfred Braune, Michelle Brown, Nicolas Côté, Denise Crocce Romano Espinosa, Ana Karen Garza, David Gorman, Maarten Hajer, John Madden, Rob Melnick, John Metras, Julie Newman, Rutu Patel, Rob Raven, Kenneth Sergienko, Victoria Smith, Hoor Tariq, Lysanne van der Lem, Christina Nga Jing Wong and Arnim Wiek
This study aims to explore barriers and pathways to a whole-institution governance of sustainability within the working structures of universities.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore barriers and pathways to a whole-institution governance of sustainability within the working structures of universities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on multi-year interviews and hierarchical structure analysis of ten universities in Canada, the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil, the UK and The Netherlands. The paper addresses existing literature that championed further integration between the two organizational sides of universities (academic and operations) and suggests approaches for better embedding sustainability into four primary domains of activity (education, research, campus operations and community engagement).
Findings
This research found that effective sustainability governance needs to recognise and reconcile distinct cultures, diverging accountability structures and contrasting manifestations of central-coordination and distributed-agency approaches characteristic of the university’s operational and academic activities. The positionality of actors appointed to lead institution-wide embedding influenced which domain received most attention. The paper concludes that a whole-institution approach would require significant tailoring and adjustments on both the operational and academic sides to be successful.
Originality/value
Based on a review of sustainability activities at ten universities around the world, this paper provides a detailed analysis of the governance implications of integrating sustainability into the four domains of university activity. It discusses how best to work across the operational/academic divide and suggests principles for adopting a whole institution approach to sustainability.
Details
Keywords
Whiton S. Paine, Karen Stewart and Evonne Kruger
Proposes a general rationale for acting cautiously when marketing to children, and indicates some possibly inappropriate managerial attitudes: for instance that minors are…
Abstract
Proposes a general rationale for acting cautiously when marketing to children, and indicates some possibly inappropriate managerial attitudes: for instance that minors are basically small adults, that parents rather than companies should protect children in the marketplace, that all marketing is directed at adults, that certain practice are acceptable because they were done in the past, that managers were once children, and that the company’s practices must be acceptable if they are legal. Suggests ways that companies can remedy this: appoint an ethics officer and take ethics training seriously, avoid dubious products and marketing that support premature maturation and the end of childhood, accept an “in loco parentis” role with regard to children, and remain alert to new threats.
Details
Keywords
David B. Grant, Gyöngyi Kovács and Karen Spens
The purpose of this paper is to discuss questionable research practices (QRPs) in business research, particularly in the logistics and supply chain management discipline, in light…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss questionable research practices (QRPs) in business research, particularly in the logistics and supply chain management discipline, in light of antecedents influenced by the current academic environment and the consequences for academic rigour and relevance to stimulate thinking and debate among the academic community.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review and autoethnographic approach were used to examine these issues based on over 60 years’ collective academic experience of the authors. Data were collected from discussions among the paper’s authors as well as recounting open discussions with other academics and journal editors to collate their observations.
Findings
Evidence is provided of issues the authors have seen first-hand where antecedents in the academic environment influences QRPs, which then detrimentally affect research rigour and relevance, integrity and proper contributions to ground-breaking research and knowledge advancement.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on personal observations and experiences of the three authors as well as open-ended discussions with others in the academic community. Suggestions are provided for various academic stakeholders to address these issues.
Practical implications
Practical implications are only provided for academics in their roles as authors, journal editors and reviewers.
Social implications
Encouraging the academic community to eliminate QRPs to improve the rigour, relevance and quality of research will provide more credibility and integrity resulting in better impact and outcomes for society at large.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is in stimulating thinking and debate among academics to return to core issues and values in academia opposed to focusing on narrow university goals focussed on other antecedents of QRPs.
Details