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1 – 10 of over 243000This study aimed for the examination of the change decision-making approaches utilised by academic library directors and the identification and explanation of the determinants of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed for the examination of the change decision-making approaches utilised by academic library directors and the identification and explanation of the determinants of the utilised approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from a survey. The content analysis was utilised to analyse the qualitative data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data.
Findings
The findings resulted in the identification of the approaches used to make change decisions and three categories of determinants. Directors actually utilised multiple and dual approaches more than single approaches to make change decisions. The determinants of number of library branches, number of subordinates, total years of directorship and years of present position played a significant role in the utilised approaches to making change decisions. However, the findings demonstrate that the determinants of age, gender, library size, library type, number of different positions, total years of library service and education level were not significant determinants of the utilised approaches to making change decisions.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation is that the results of this study are not applicable and generalisable to academic libraries beyond this classification using in this study.
Practical implications
The change decision-making approaches and the identified determinants will be useful and valuable for leaders and managers to make better decisions while managing change in the digital age.
Originality/value
The identification of the approaches and determinants provides information professionals with new knowledge and enables them to reflect the determinants of the utilised approaches and to make better change decisions in a given situation.
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Michael Halinski and Linda Duxbury
– The purpose of this paper is to examine how the group decision-making process unfolds over time in a transorganizational system (TS) planning change.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the group decision-making process unfolds over time in a transorganizational system (TS) planning change.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal qualitative case study was designed to enable researchers to identify different stages in the group decision-making process.
Findings
The findings from this case study indicated that the group decision-making process in a TS planning change could be conceptualized to include five distinct steps: working in solitude; starting a dialogue; finding a common goal; suggesting decision alternatives; and deciding among alternatives. The group proceeded through these steps sequentially over time.
Practical implications
The paper offers TS practitioners a framework to follow when making group decisions within TSs.
Originality/value
The study develops a conceptual framework that describes how the group decision-making process unfolds over time in a TS planning change. This framework can be tested in other contexts and advance theory in both the TS and group decision-making areas.
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The aim of this paper is to look beyond the application of quality management controls, assurances and standards which have already been widely addressed in the quality…
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to look beyond the application of quality management controls, assurances and standards which have already been widely addressed in the quality literature. Instead, the focus is on quality in management performance, particularly in relation to effective decision making and the resultant marketing activity against a background of organisational variables and environmental change. Some of the influences on management development are considered. These include: the effect of the organisational structure on managerial decision making; the nature of decision making within organisations; individual responsibility for planning and implementation; and continual managerial development. These aspects are then illustrated using a brief case description of a large multinational company offering a consumer service. The description illustrates the importance of developing the key decision makers in an organisation, particularly in relation to the changing and evolving nature of responsibilities and tasks required from them.
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Lawton R. Burns, Rajiv J. Shah, Frank A. Sloan and Adam C. Powell
Change in ownership among U.S. community hospitals has been frequent and, not surprisingly, remains an important issue for both researchers and public policy makers. In the past…
Abstract
Change in ownership among U.S. community hospitals has been frequent and, not surprisingly, remains an important issue for both researchers and public policy makers. In the past, investor-owned hospitals were long suspected of pursuing financial over other goals, culminating in several reviews that found few differences between for-profit and nonprofit forms (Gray, 1986; Sloan, 2000; Sloan, Picone, Taylor, & Chou, 2001). Nevertheless, continuing to the present day, several states prohibit investor-ownership of community hospitals. Conversions to investor-ownership are only one of six types of ownership change, however, with relatively less attention paid to the other types (e.g., for-profit to nonprofit, public to nonprofit). This study has two parts. We first review the literature on the various types of ownership conversion among community hospitals. This review includes the rate at which conversions occur over time, the relative frequency in conversions between specific ownership categories and the observed effects of conversion on hospital operations (e.g., strategic direction and decision-making processes) and performance (e.g., access, quality, and cost). Overall, we find that the impact of ownership conversion on the different measures is mixed, with slightly greater evidence for positive effects on hospital efficiency. As one explanation for these findings, we suggest that the impact of ownership conversion on hospital performance may be mediated by changes in the hospital's strategic content and process. Such a hypothesis has not been proposed or examined in the literature. To address this gap, we next study the role of strategic reorientation following hospital conversion in a field study. We conceptualize ownership conversion within a strategic adaptation framework, and then analyze the changes in strategy content and process across sixteen hospitals that have undergone ownership conversions from nonprofit to for-profit, public to for-profit, public to nonprofit, and for-profit to nonprofit. The field study findings delineate the strategic paths and processes implemented by new owners post-conversion. We find remarkable similarity in the content of strategies undertaken but differences in the process of strategic decision making associated with different types of ownership changes. We also find three main performance effects: hospitals change ownership for financial reasons, experience increases in revenues and capital investment post-conversion, and pursue labor force reductions post-conversion. Membership in a multi-hospital system, however, may be a major determinant of both strategy content and decision-making process that is confounded with ownership change. That is, ownership conversion may mask the impact of system membership on a hospital's strategic actions. These findings may explain the pattern of performance effects observed in the literature on ownership conversions.
Anil Kumar, Sachin Kumar Mangla, Sunil Luthra, Nripendra P. Rana and Yogesh K. Dwivedi
Consumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further increases the challenges for the service providers to predict their buying pattern. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to propose a structural hierarchy model for analyzing the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market by taking an Indian context.
Design/methodology/approach
To accomplish the objectives, the research is conducted in two phases. An extensive literature review is performed in the first phase to list the factors related to the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and then fuzzy Delphi method is applied to finalize the factors. In the second phase, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to find the priority weights of finalized factors. The fuzzy set theory allows capturing the vagueness in the data.
Findings
The findings obtained in this study shows that consumers are much conscious about innovative and trendy products as well as brand and quality; therefore, the service providers must think about these two most important factors so that they can able to retain their consumer in their online portal.
Practical implications
The analysis shows that “innovative and trendy” is the first priority factor for the consumers followed by “brand and quality” and “fulfilment and time energy.” The proposed model can help the marketers and service providers in predicting customers’ preferences and their changing pattern efficiently under vague surroundings. The outcomes of this research work not only help the service provider to update their products and services according to consumers’ needs but can also help them to increase profit and minimize their risk.
Originality/value
This work contributes to consumer research literature focusing on problem evaluation in the context of changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital era.
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Sajjad Haider and Francesca Mariotti
The purpose of this paper is to examine strategic decisions surrounding critical events to show how the decision-making processes evolve and how the dominant logic changes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine strategic decisions surrounding critical events to show how the decision-making processes evolve and how the dominant logic changes vis-à-vis those decisions. Further, this study explores the processes of managerial decision making focusing on spatial and temporal cognition dimensions.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology adopted in this study is a case study using the retrospective processual analysis approach. Data were collected using both primary and secondary sources. In all, 40 years of secondary data on key critical events and decision making were collected using a range of secondary sources. Those events were further examined using 49 in-depth semi structured interviews.
Findings
The findings of this study explain the relationship between operant conditions, strategic actions and outcomes of strategic decisions by highlighting the significance of knowledge strategy, strategic agility and intentionality in shaping and reshaping managers’ dominant logic. Further, the authors show that the dominant coalition, among other factors, plays an important role in building decision-making capacity and in the formation and transformation of an existing dominant logic.
Research limitations/implications
The study identified a number of limitations. First, the issue of generalization as the data were collected from only two case study companies. Second, in some cases respondents were asked to respond to research questions using “memory of the events” which took place a long time ago, hence the issue of credibility. Further, sometimes respondents reported information collected through hearsay. To overcome the limitations of this research, the authors made all efforts to ensure that the data collected were reliable and credible such as by using diverse data sources, confirmation of events at multiple level and personal observations.
Practical implications
The study identifies and explains a number of factors which influence decision making. The authors also present the revised dominant logic model which can act as a tool in managerial decision making.
Originality/value
The paper shows how managerial decision making changes knowledge strategy, which in turn leads to changes in existing dominant logic or the creation of a new dominant logic, hence looking at the issues of decision making using an evolutionary perspective. Second, the paper empirically tests and explains the relationship between intentionality, actions and organizational outcomes using spatial and temporal learning. Finally, the use of the longitudinal retrospective processual analysis and events analysis, is a novel way of understanding a particular phenomenon.
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Lisbeth Nielsen and John W.R. Phillips
Purpose – This chapter offers an integrative review of psychological and neurobiological differences between younger and older adults that might impact economic behavior. Focusing…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter offers an integrative review of psychological and neurobiological differences between younger and older adults that might impact economic behavior. Focusing on key health economic challenges facing the elderly, it offers perspectives on how these psychological and neurobiological factors may influence decision-making over the life course and considers future interdisciplinary research directions.
Methodology/approach – We review relevant literature from three domains that are essential for developing a comprehensive science of decision-making and economic behavior in aging (psychology, neuroscience, and economics), consider implications for prescription drug coverage and long-term care (LTC) insurance, and highlight future research directions.
Findings – Older adults face many complex economic decisions that directly affect their health and well-being, including LTC insurance, prescription drug plans, and end of life care. Economic research suggests that many older Americans are not making cost-effective and economically rational decisions. While economic models provide insight into some of the financial incentives associated with these decisions, they typically do not consider the roles of cognition and affect in decision-making. Research has established that older age is associated with predictable declines in many cognitive functions and evidence is accumulating that distinct social motives and affect-processing profiles emerge in older age. It is unknown how these age differences impact the economic behaviors of older people and implies opportunities for path-breaking interdisciplinary research.
Originality/value of the chapter – Our chapter looks to develop interdisciplinary research to better understand the causes and consequences of age-related changes in economic decision-making and guide interventions to improve public programs and overall social welfare.
Koen van den Oever and Xavier Martin
We study the decision-making process behind business model change, focusing specifically on the tactics managers employ to gain support for such changes. We first argue for the…
Abstract
We study the decision-making process behind business model change, focusing specifically on the tactics managers employ to gain support for such changes. We first argue for the prominent role of middle management in business model change, and second, we revisit the literature on issue selling and championing as they may apply to business model change decision-making. We subsequently analyze the case of a business model change initiative in the Dutch water authority sector, revealing two specific tactics that middle management employed to obtain top management’s agreement to business model change: leveraging external agreements and continuously informing top management. We discuss how these findings extend and in some ways suggest a rethink of the literature on organizational change. Finally, we describe the specificities of business model change that distinguish it from other types of change. In sum, this paper demonstrates the interest of research at the nexus of business models and organizational change.
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Steven Lysonski and Srinivas Durvasula
India has undergone dramatic change in its retail markets since economic liberalization in 1992. The authors aim to use the framework of consumer decision making styles to…
Abstract
Purpose
India has undergone dramatic change in its retail markets since economic liberalization in 1992. The authors aim to use the framework of consumer decision making styles to investigate longitudinally how these styles have changed from 1994 to 2009. They also conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 2009 data to determine whether decision making styles are shaped by psychological variables: perceived time pressure, shopping opinion leadership, shopping self-confidence, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and materialism.
Design/methodology/approach
The eight different consumer decision making styles were measured with instrument by Sproles and Kendall. The psychological variables were measured with established instruments with adequate reliabilities. The survey was administered to young adults. The Indian samples from 1994 and 2009 were matched allowing for comparisons.
Findings
The longitudinal analysis showed that four of the eight decision making styles changed statistically between 1994 and 2009; there were increases for brand consciousness, novelty-fashion consciousness, and impulsive-careless shopping while perfectionist-quality consciousness decreased. The cross sectional analysis of the psychological variables showed that perceived time pressure had minimal impact while shopping opinion leadership and shopping self confidence had a major impact. Materialism and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence had a moderate impact.
Research limitations/implications
The authors used an urban sample; a rural sample would also be useful. Future research could examine other emerging markets such as Brazil and Vietnam to identify the impact of the psychological variables on decision making styles in those countries.
Practical implications
The study shows that decision making styles do change as an emerging economy becomes more developed. The study also shows that psychological variables can explain some of the differences in decision making styles among consumers. Retailers and marketers can use this information to be more strategic in the way they develop their planning.
Social implications
Changes in decision making styles show that consumers are now more brand and fashion conscious while being more impulsive and careless in their shopping. These changes may signal that Indians are becoming more materialistic and more focused on brands and fashion which can lead to excessive buying and debt.
Originality/value
The paper offers a longitudinal view of changes in decision making and a cross sectional analysis of how psychological variables affect decision making styles. This study focuses on issues not presently discussed in the literature.
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