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Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Toke Bjerregaard, Mai S. Linneberg and Jakob Lauring

The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of how the transfer and adoption of headquarters (HQ)-mandated work practices are shaped by ongoing struggles among the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of how the transfer and adoption of headquarters (HQ)-mandated work practices are shaped by ongoing struggles among the multiple actors of a subsidiary. This paper suggests an alternative perspective for theorizing and researching the management practices and structures that emerge in the face of HQ demands for divergent practice change in subsidiaries, namely, a theory of practice approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports the findings of an ethnographic field study in a UK subsidiary of a multinational corporation based in Denmark.

Findings

The study provides a relevant contribution by demonstrating how the degree of adoption of alternative, HQ-mandated work systems undergoes dramatic changes over time due to socially dynamic negotiations and struggles between interest groups in a subsidiary.

Research limitations/implications

A practice theoretical approach unveils the underlying social micro-dynamics that shape the degree to which employees in subsidiaries “internalize”, actively sustain or disrupt divergent practices representing a given contextual rationale.

Originality/value

The practice perspective provides a way for understanding how the practices and rationales that emerge locally in response to HQ-demands are under ongoing (re)reconstruction. It responds to calls for research on why and how contextual rationales, institutional or cultural features, actively are made salient, polarized or convergent, in conflictual practice transfer processes due to local contingencies.

Details

critical perspectives on international business, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-2043

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2011

Mai S. Linneberg

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of the paradoxical situation in which standard setters are placed when standardising human practice. Contrary to…

617

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of the paradoxical situation in which standard setters are placed when standardising human practice. Contrary to standards, human practices are ambiguous, heterogeneous, and highly context dependent; in contrast, standards are unambiguous and apply across cases.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is primarily theoretical and its analysis is based on conceptual content and extent analysis. For the purpose of illustration, the paper draws on the example of organic agricultural standards.

Findings

The author shows how illusion creation is innate in the practice of standardisation and therefore the risk of creating untrustworthy standards is prevalent for standard setters.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new understanding of standards and demonstrates the need to research standardization processes in depth and bring in a much more critical perspective to this prevalent but largely invisible practice.

Details

Society and Business Review, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5680

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2024

Margit Malmmose and Mai Skjøtt Linneberg

The objective of this study is to examine developments in the discursive practice of non-financial reporting in the public healthcare sector. In doing so, the authors investigate…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to examine developments in the discursive practice of non-financial reporting in the public healthcare sector. In doing so, the authors investigate how the main reform foci of productivity and quality are represented, with a specific focus on the patient.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on critical discourse analysis (CDA), the authors conduct a longitudinal study (2007–2018) of healthcare reporting foci across the five administrative regions responsible for public hospitals in Denmark. The study analyses sixty annual reports and draws on contemporary reform documents over this period. CDA enables a micro-textual analysis, combined with macro-insights and discussions on social practice.

Findings

The findings show complex webs of presentation strategies, but in particular two changes occur during the period. First, the patient is centred throughout but the framing changes from productivity and waiting lists to quality and dialogue. Second, in the first years, the regions present themselves as actively highlighting financial and quality concerns, which changes to a passive and indirect form of presentation steered by indicators and patient legislation enforced by central government. This enhances passivity and distance in healthcare regional non-financial reporting where the regions seek to conform to such demands. Simultaneously, however, the authors find a tendency to highlight very different local initiatives, which shows an attempt to go beyond a pure automatic mode of reporting found in earlier studies.

Originality/value

Responding to the literature on both healthcare and financial reporting, this study identifies novel links between micro-level texts and macro-level social practices, enabling insights into the potentially intertwined impacts of public-sector reporting. The authors offer insights into the complexity of the construction of non-financial reporting in the public sector, which has a wider impact and different intentions than private-sector reporting.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2019

Josefine Weigt-Rohrbeck and Mai Skjøtt Linneberg

Previous work on employee-driven innovation (EDI) has demonstrated the benefits of employees’ proactive behavior in achieving success with innovations. The purpose of this paper…

Abstract

Purpose

Previous work on employee-driven innovation (EDI) has demonstrated the benefits of employees’ proactive behavior in achieving success with innovations. The purpose of this paper is to employ the concept of personal initiative to investigate the underestimated role of employees’ agency in complex processes of innovation, showing the impact of personal initiative on employees’ innovation success.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on two embedded cases of environmental bottom-up innovation at a large manufacturing company, this study examines employees’ behavior in generating, championing and realizing such initiatives.

Findings

This paper provides insights into how employees succeeded, through taking initiative in generating, championing and realizing environmental initiatives despite facing high complexity, and resource constraints. Without being prompted from the top down, employees started these initiatives themselves and showed phase-specific behavior in overcoming the various challenges. Thus, self-starting behavior was found dominant in generating ideas, whereas proactive and persistent forms of behavior were found to be prevalent in championing and rolling out the initiatives.

Originality/value

Current understandings of EDI highlight the importance of developing employees’ potential capabilities and organizational-level guidance. Using an active performance perspective, this study emphasizes the importance of employees’ agency in ensuring EDI success, even when conditions are not conducive to their doing so.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 22 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2019

Mai Skjott Linneberg and Steffen Korsgaard

Qualitative research has gained in importance in the social sciences. General knowledge about qualitative data analysis, how to code qualitative data and decisions concerning…

17142

Abstract

Purpose

Qualitative research has gained in importance in the social sciences. General knowledge about qualitative data analysis, how to code qualitative data and decisions concerning related research design in the analytical process are all important for novice researchers. The purpose of this paper is to offer researchers who are new to qualitative research a thorough yet practical introduction to the vocabulary and craft of coding.

Design/methodology/approach

Having pooled, their experience in coding qualitative material and teaching students how to code, in this paper, the authors synthesize the extensive literature on coding in the form of a hands-on review.

Findings

The aim of this paper is to provide a thorough yet practical presentation of the vocabulary and craft of coding. The authors, thus, discuss the central choices that have to be made before, during and after coding, providing support for novices in practicing careful and enlightening coding work, and joining in the debate on practices and quality in qualitative research.

Originality/value

While much material on coding exists, it tends to be either too comprehensive or too superficial to be practically useful for the novice researcher. This paper, thus, focusses on the central decisions that need to be made when engaging in qualitative data coding in order to help researchers new to qualitative research engage in thorough coding in order to enhance the quality of their analyses and findings, as well as improve quantitative researchers’ understanding of qualitative coding.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2022

Mehdi Dadkhah, Fariborz Rahimnia and Viachaslau Filimonau

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the potential of the blockchain technology in tourism. The blockchain technology (BCT) holds potential to contribute…

666

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the potential of the blockchain technology in tourism. The blockchain technology (BCT) holds potential to contribute significantly to tourism policy and practice. Academic interest in the BCT is rapidly growing with studies looking at the opportunities and challenges of its application. The shortcoming of research on the BCT in tourism has however been in its conceptual nature. The lack of empirical investigations hinders an understanding of how the BCT can be more broadly adopted in tourism, especially from the viewpoint of minimizing its risks.

Design/methodology/approach

The initial screening of the opportunities, challenges and risks is undertaken via a systematic literature review. The Delphi study is subsequently applied to empirically confirm what opportunities, challenges and risks can be attributed to the BCT use in tourism. Twelve industry and academic experts have contributed to the Delphi study.

Findings

The risks identified have been categorized as societal, technical, financial and legal. Propositions have been made on how these risks can, at least partially, be overcome.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first known attempt to study the BCT from the perspective of academic and industry experts. This research is also one of the first to evaluate the risks of the BCT use in tourism. Most risks are identified as not critical and can be addressed as the BCT develops.

摘要

研究目的

区块链技术(BCT)具有为旅游政策和实践做出重大贡献的潜力。随着研究着眼于其应用的机遇和挑战, 对 BCT 的学术兴趣正在迅速增长。然而, 旅游业中 BCT 研究的不足之处在于其概念性。缺乏实证研究阻碍了对如何在旅游业中更广泛地采用 BCT 的理解, 特别是从最小化其风险的角度来看。这项研究代表了第一次从学术和行业专家的角度实证评估 BCT 在旅游业中的潜力的已知尝试。

研究设计/方法/途径

机会、挑战和风险的初步筛选是通过系统的文献回顾进行的。德尔菲研究法随后被应用于实证确认哪些机会、挑战和风险可归因于 BCT 在旅游业中的使用。 12 位行业和学术专家是德尔菲研究法的主要贡献人员。

研究发现

已识别的风险分为社会、技术、财务和法律。研究就如何至少部分地克服这些风险提出了建议。

研究原创性

从学术和行业专家的角度研究BCT是已知的第一次尝试。该研究也是最早评估 BCT 在旅游中使用风险的研究之一。大多数风险被确定为不重要的, 可以随着 BCT 的发展而得到解决。

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