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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the moderation effect of over-commitment in the job crafting–well-being relationship, in the elderly care sector in Spain.

A cross-sectional design was implemented and a final sample of 353 participants were assessed using the Job Crafting Questionnaire, an adaptation of the Over-commitment Scale from the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

A positive interaction between relational and task crafting and over-commitment is observed in the prediction of well-being levels. Specifically, the effect of over-commitment in the task crafting–well-being relationship proved to be statistically significant when opposed to low, medium and high levels of over-commitment. Additionally, the effect of over-commitment in the relational crafting–well-being relationship proved to be statistically significant only when opposed to medium and high levels of over-commitment. Finally, a direct and simple effect was observed between cognitive crafting and well-being, not moderated by over-commitment.

Implementation of non-behavioral measurements, and a non-longitudinal design are suggested. The development of behavioral measures for job crafting is encouraged, along with the implementation of longitudinal designs sensitive to changes in over-commitment. Possible over-commitment results are biased by an economically contracted environment.

Job crafting training, over-commitment early detection and further research on job crafting strategies’ preferences are suggested.

The moderating role of over-commitment in the job crafting–well-being relationship in the elderly care sector represents one of these attempts to better understand evidences of how work-related efforts modify a worker’s psychological functioning and adaptation, which is the reason why, specially in contexts of uncertainty, its study becomes relevant.

Hierarchical and flat organizational types are predominant in Spain and Sweden, respectively. To study how managers’ commitment and work overcommitment (WOC) affect employee well-being, and job perception in these different countries can shed insight on how to improve eldercare organization. The purpose of this paper was to study the association between eldercare employee exposure to managers’ commitment and WOC, and employee mental well-being and job perception and how these associations differed between Spain and Sweden.

A questionnaire with validated questions on commitment, WOC, mental well-being and job perception, operationalized as the perception of quality of care and turnover intent, was sent out to eldercare managers and employees in Spain and Sweden. t-Tests, χ² and linear regression were applied to study the associations and differences between the countries.

Interaction analyses revealed that Spanish employees’ mental well-being and job perception were influenced by their managers’ commitment and WOC in that manager commitment improved and WOC impaired well-being and job perception. However, the Swedish eldercare employees were not influenced by their managers on these parameters.

The impact of managerial commitment and WOC differed between employees in Spain and Sweden, possibly because the preconditions for leadership varied due to differences in organizational type.

This study compares the managers’ impact on employee health and job perception in two countries with different organizational prerequisites. Moreover, managers’ commitment and WOC were estimated by the managers themselves and did not rely on the employees’ perception, which improved ecological validity.

The purpose of this study is to examine and establish how sensemaking develops among a group of external change agents (ECAs) engaged to disseminate a national quality register nationwide in Swedish health care and elderly care. To study the emergent sensemaking, the theoretical concept of cognitive shift has been used.

The data collection method included individual semi-structured interviews, and two sets of interviews (initial sensemaking and renewed sensemaking) have been conducted. Based on a typology describing how ECAs interpret their work, structural analyses and comparisons of initial and renewed sensemaking are made and illuminated in spider diagrams. The data are then analyzed to search for cognitive shifts.

The ECAs’ sensemaking develops. Three cognitive shifts are identified, and a new kind of issue-related cognitive shift, the outcome-related cognitive shift, is suggested. For the ECAs to customize their work, they need to be aware of how they interpret their own work and how these interpretations develop over time.

The study takes a novel view of the interrelated concepts of sensemaking and sensegivers and points out the cognitive shifts as a helpful theoretical concept to study how sensemaking develops.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how external change agents (ECAs) engaged to disseminate a national quality register (NQR) called Senior alert nationwide in the Swedish health care and elderly care sectors interpret their work. To study this, sensemaking theories are used.

This is a qualitative inductive interview study including eight ECAs. To analyze the data, a thematic analysis is carried out.

Well-disseminated NQRs support health care organizations’ possibility to work with quality improvement and to improve care for patient groups. NQRs function as artifacts that can influence how health care professionals make sense of their work. In this paper, a typology depicting how the ECAs make sense of their dissemination work has been developed. The ECAs are engaged in prospective sensemaking. They describe their work as being about creating future good results, both for patients and affiliated organizations, and they can balance different quality aspects.

The number of NQRs increased markedly in Sweden and elsewhere, but there are few reports on how health care professionals working with the registers interpret their work. The use of ECAs to disseminate NQRs is a novel approach. This paper describes how the ECAs are engaged in prospective sensemaking – an under-researched perspective of the sensemaking theory.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate behavioural changes and operational outcomes resulting from a Master’s programme on improvement knowledge and leadership in the Swedish welfare sector. The welfare sector is the collective term for tax-funded services the state, county councils and municipalities are responsible to provide.

A survey combined open-ended and closed questions using a five-point Likert scale. The questions were based on the learning objectives of the Master’s programme. The survey was sent to 139 graduates and achieved a response rate of 41 per cent (57 respondents). Responses were entered into a survey programme to enable the descriptive presentation of data; open-ended responses were analysed using conventional content analysis.

Respondents reported their increased knowledge and changed behaviours had impacted operational outcomes, e.g. processes efficiency, compliance with guidelines and quality. They said the programme was of value to themselves and society but requested more leadership knowledge. All respondents recommended the programme to others.

By operationalizing the Kirkpatrick framework, the paper describes outcomes on levels three and four, and the use of numerous best practice techniques for adult learning. This is valuable knowledge for organisers of improvement knowledge educations.

The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) is a rigorously designed tool for measuring inpatient safety culture. The purpose of this paper is to develop a cross-cultural HSOPSC for Hungary and determine its strengths and weaknesses.

The original US version was translated and adapted using existing guidelines. Healthcare workers (n=371) including nurses, physicians and other healthcare staff from six Hungarian hospitals participated. Answers were analyzed using exploratory factor analyses and reliability tests.

Positive responses in all dimensions were lower in Hungary than in the USA. Half the participants considered their work area “acceptable” regarding patient safety. Healthcare staff worked in “crisis mode,” trying to accomplish too much and too quickly. The authors note that a “blame culture” does not facilitate patient safety improvements in Hungary.

The results provide valuable information for promoting a more positive patient safety culture in Hungary and for evaluating future strategies to improve patient safety.

Introducing a validated scale to measure patient safety culture in Hungary improves healthcare quality.

The specification of business services (BS) is one of the key factors for success in service provision. Researchers and practitioners have identified a set of problems in BS specification, namely: communication problems between providers and buyers, inaccurate specifications and changes in requirements. These problems were identified in the software engineering (SE) field many years ago, resulting in the development of many techniques and tools to address them. Given the similarities between the two fields, the purpose of this paper is to identify the main lessons learned in SE and to propose how they can be adapted to the BS field.

The paper takes the form of a literature study and presents a conceptual solution.

To address communications problems and inaccuracies in BS specification, a formal requirements specification stage is required. Requirements should be set out in a well‐structured written, definition, document which can be used at a subsequent stage for design of the service (the definition of the solution). A requirements document for BS is proposed based on BS literature and SE methods. This document is based on the approaches used in the SE field for improving communication and reducing inaccuracies and covers the information needed in the BS field for specifying a business service. Second, a life cycle approach is proposed based on SE practice. It is shown that different lifecycle sequences can be used depending on the degree of fluidity in the communication between buyer and provider, the complexity of the BS and the stability of their requirements, with a repetitive process where specification and design are revisited iteratively and/or incrementally often being the most appropriate. This approach helps to stabilise requirements and to avoid inaccuracies being made in the specification.

This paper is literature based. Although still untested empirically in the BS field, the recommended approach has been intensively proved in the SE field.

Requirements specification is a necessary (monetary, time and resource) cost for successful BS provision. The BS industry must realise that requirements have to be set down in writing and agreed upon with customers before initiating the design of the service.

Companies are increasingly implementing business process management systems (BPMSs) to support their processes. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding whether users also use BPMSs to manage the knowledge needed for processes to be completed. This study aims to analyze the factors that cause users to use BPMSs to manage the knowledge required in business processes.

The paper proposes an original model that integrates two successful information system models applied to BPMSs and knowledge management systems. To test the hypotheses derived from this new model, data were collected from 242 mature BPMS users from 12 Spanish and Latin American companies. Structural equation modeling with AMOS was used to examine the model.

Users’ perceived usefulness of a BPMS when using it for knowledge management (KM) is the only factor influencing them to use it for KM.

This study has practical implications for managers wishing to successfully implement a BPMS to support processes and for employees to use the knowledge embedded in the tool. The latter will only happen if users perceive the tool’s usefulness for KM.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this model is the first empirically validated model to successfully analyze BPMS users’ tendency to use BPMSs as a tool to support necessary KM in processes.

Toyota had mature lean capabilities when developing its supplier network. This paper aims to explore how companies can develop a Toyota-style supplier network (TSN) while their lean capabilities are still evolving.

Theoretically, this paper relies on the literature on lean maturity levels and lean supplier network development. Empirically, the paper portrays a Toyota-style initiative, detailing the buyer’s efforts to develop internal lean capabilities concurrently with developing lean in its supplier network. It compares the Network for supplier innovation (NSI) initiative with TSN development regarding activities, organizations and knowledge-sharing routines.

Unlike the sequential development in the case of Toyota, NSI improved performance and capabilities in the buyer’s supplier network by implementing lean in the firm and its supplier network concurrently. Third-party involvement was the key to the initiative’s success.

The findings are based on an in-depth single-case study which allows theoretical generalization but not statistical generalization. Furthermore, the case study concerns an initiative with Norwegian firms during a financial recession. Future studies should consider these limitations on how firms with evolving lean capabilities can develop a TSN-style supplier network and the importance of involving third parties operating in the role of lean master.

This study suggests what buying firms should consider when designing a TSN initiative, enrolling suppliers and engaging third parties that can take on the role of lean master.

Previous research has focused on how mature lean firms develop lean suppliers and networks. This paper extends this to firms whose lean capabilities are still evolving.