Search results

The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of the conceptualisation and operationalisation of public value in practice by applying Moore's (1995) strategic triangle as an analytical framework to study strategic management and management control practices in relation to public value.

The paper uses an interpretative longitudinal case study approach including qualitative methods of document studies and interviews between 2017 and 2019.

In the strategic triangle, the three nodes of authorising environment, public value creation and operational capacity are interdependent, and alignment is a necessity for a strategy to be successful. But this alignment is vulnerable. The findings suggest three propositions: (1) strategic alignment is vulnerable to management control practices having a strong focus on performance measurements, (2) strategic alignment is vulnerable to standardised management control practices and (3) strategic alignment is vulnerable to politically driven management control practices.

With the strategic triangle as a base, this paper tries to understand what kind of management control practices enable and/or constrain public value, as there has been a call for this kind of research. In this way it adds to earlier research on public value, to the growing interest in the strategic triangle as an analytical framework in analysing empirical material and to the request for more empirical studies on the subject. The strategic triangle also embraces political factors, government agendas and political leadership for which there has also been a call for more research.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the nature of public value in the context of Swedish public museum management and how it is created.

The museum context is introduced, and assumptions and principles underpinning new public management (NPM) and public value management, along with examples of applicability and implementation in museums, are presented. Three key issues of convergence and divergence within the theoretical framework – strategic orientation, accountability and performance – are identified and introduced as a gateway to the empirical findings and the ensuing discussion.

NPM-oriented values have become part of the strategic orientation of the museum sector. The results of this study show that there exist at least three conceptions of museum management that are based on two different strategic orientations, that is, accessibility and conservation, which also point to different conceptions of value.

Museum management can be seen as the management of tensions between conservation and accessibility and between customer orientation and stakeholder orientation towards the creation of museum value.

The findings will assist museum management determine not only what value is but also for whom it is valuable, taking into account both present and future generations.

In times of crisis, the fundamental principles of companies erode, leading to strategy shifts. This paper aims to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on management’s agenda in times of crisis, indicating CSR embeddedness into corporate strategy. The focus is on the four pillars of CSR: social, environment, economy and governance.

Starting points are competing hypotheses based on shareholder and stakeholder theory. Chief executive officer (CEO) letters to shareholders of German HDAX firms from 2003 to 2012 are analyzed by means of computer-aided text analysis.

The authors find that CEOs talk less about CSR in times of crisis, especially about social and governance issues, indicating that CSR is not fully embedded into corporate strategy, and that, in times of crisis, other aspects gain more importance on management’s agenda.

CEO communication is an indicator for management’s attention. Less talk about CSR in times of crisis does not automatically indicate less real CSR activity. This study is a starting point for analyses of the discrepancy between both, if any exists.

Managers should regard CSR as a strategic and trust enhancing element and stick to CSR even when under pressure from market distortions.

Environment issues – exposed to companies’ attention for a long time – are embedded into corporate strategy. More research and management attention is essential to get the other CSR aspects woven into company DNA as well.

The paper is the first to research CSR in times of crisis in depth: CSR as umbrella covers social, environment, economy and governance issues. The institutional level of analysis ensures that implications for the business-society link are central.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how CEO narcissism can be related to the usage of an abnormal optimistic tone in financial disclosures. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this paper suggests a link between CEO characteristics, such as narcissism, and accounting choices, such as optimistic financial reporting language.

To measure the narcissistic trait of a CEO, the study builds on a model using a set of 15 archival indicators. The usage of an abnormal optimistic tone is assessed quantitatively when looking at firms’ 10-K filings, where “abnormal” refers to tone that is unrelated to a firm’s performance, risk, and complexity. This approach allows for the use of firm-fixed effects for a sample of US listed firms over the period 1992-2012.

The results show that CEO narcissism is significantly positively related to abnormal optimistic tone in 10-K filings. If a highly abnormal optimistic tone is present, the level of CEO narcissism is positively related to the likelihood of future seasoned equity offerings and larger future investments in research and development.

The findings are relevant for shareholders and stakeholders as well as auditors and legislators. All stakeholders should be aware of the overly optimistic reporting language resulting from CEO narcissism and need to make allowances for it when assessing firm performance based on financial disclosures.

This study is the first to show in a large-scale sample how CEO narcissism can be related to a firm’s use of optimistic language, and thus contributes to the question of how personality traits affect an organization’s financial reporting strategy.

Gender diversity in higher management levels of companies is becoming an increasingly relevant topic – organizations in general are realizing the necessity of having a higher proportion of women in higher level management positions. This can only be achieved through actively promoting women in business. Various HR instruments are available to support a gender diversity strategy, one of which is mentoring. This chapter ascertains in what way mentoring is a sustainable instrument for the promotion of women in business specifically in Germany, by analyzing mentoring programs in various German companies from the points of view of both mentees and mentors. With the help of an online survey among female mentors and mentees and the theory given in the literature, the organizational aspects as well as the implementation of such programs are assessed with the aim of recognizing potential areas of improvement for companies in Germany in future. Based on this analysis, it can be concluded that mentoring for women is organized quite successfully in Germany, but that nevertheless certain areas of consideration exist in view of the general organization and the communication and marketing of the program.

WITH the Pompey doldrum in mind, many misgivings were expressed about the Rothesay conference as the delegated gravy trains raced north to Glasgow. (Incidentally Sir Brian Robertson will find comfort in our belief that rail travel is the most satisfying way to attend conference with corridor exchanges and dining car badinage shortening the long haul).

With the Pompey doldrum in mind, many misgivings were expressed about the Rothesay conference as the delegated gravy trains raced north to Glasgow. (Incidentally Sir Brian Robertson will find comfort in our belief that rail travel is the most satisfying way to attend conference with corridor exchanges and dining car badinage shortening the long haul).

This paper aims to present the Cultural and Organisational Diversity Evaluation (CODE) model and its subsequent electronic tool, aiming to assess the cultural fit of global partners.

The study is a longitudinal study for gaining profound insights into cultural differences and for increasing understanding of human dynamics influencing the success of global relationships. A multi-method including overlapping qualitative and quantitative research methodology was used comprising interviews, observations and questionnaires.

Incorporating cultural knowledge and understanding of the specific context of the partners in global transactions was found to bring added value to global partners. The results of the pilot studies suggest that increased appreciation and awareness of cultural diversity in global transactions are important factors for achieving harmonised distributed collaboration. Such awareness, also called cultural intelligence, can be reached by using a customised assessment tool that evaluates the particularities of the partners.

The conceptual CODE model has so far only been piloted in a few cases in a longitudinal study and is not a commercial tool.

Raising awareness of cultural concerns is important for organisations that are involved in global transactions to improve communication, mutual understanding and effectivity. The CODE assesses the cultural fit of partners in a global context.

Organisations involved in global transactions would benefit from understanding the culture of partners for improved effectiveness.

The CODE model, an instrument for assessing the fit between organisational and national culture, is a novel model developed by the authors.