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Article
Publication date: 30 August 2011

Sarah Kovoor‐Misra and Marlene A. Smith

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which individuals' identification with a changed organizational artifact is associated with their cognitive, behavioral, and affective…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the extent to which individuals' identification with a changed organizational artifact is associated with their cognitive, behavioral, and affective support for change in the later stages of a change effort, and the role of contextual variables in mediating these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Primarily quantitative with some qualitative data from an online organization that had acquired the non‐personnel assets of its competitor.

Findings

The paper finds that: artifacts can be an important part of employees' perceptions of their organizations; artifact identification is associated with cognitive and behavioral support in the later stages of a change effort; a positive perception of the change mediates between identification and cognitive and behavioral support, and also facilitates affective support; emotional exhaustion is a marginal mediator; and trust towards top managers does not play a mediating role.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could study the factors that influence artifact identification. Studies of support for change must address its various dimensions to more accurately assess support.

Practical implications

During the later stages of change, managers can foster artifact identification, highlight the positives, and reduce emotional exhaustion to ensure support.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to examine the relationship between artifact identification and support for change in the later stages of a change effort, and the mediating role of contextual factors. In addition, it investigates the multi‐dimensional aspects of support for change, an area that has received limited empirical research attention.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2015

Sarah Kovoor-Misra and Paul Olk

The purpose of this paper is to investigate followers’ judgments of leader culpability and learning during a crisis, and the extent to which judgments of culpability create…

1440

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate followers’ judgments of leader culpability and learning during a crisis, and the extent to which judgments of culpability create hopelessness and reduce crisis learning. The authors also study factors that moderate these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the survey method the authors collected data from 354 individuals from a nonprofit organization that filed for bankruptcy. Respondents’ comments also provided qualitative data that was used to triangulate the findings.

Findings

The authors find that followers made judgments of leader culpability and reported crisis learning. However, followers’ judgments have no direct effect on their crisis learning, but have an indirect effect by increasing hopelessness. The authors also find that followers’ job satisfaction and perceptions of sufficient crisis communications moderate this relationship. The qualitative data provides insights into the areas on which leaders were judged, and what was learned during the crisis.

Research limitations/implications

More research on internal stakeholders’ judgments of their leaders during organizational crises is important as they affect followers’ psychological states and behaviors. Future research can test the findings in a longitudinal study.

Practical implications

Leaders need to pay attention to the judgments of their followers during a crisis as they could foster hopelessness and reduce learning. Providing sufficient crisis communications and enabling job satisfaction could lessen these negative effects.

Originality/value

Extant research tends to focus on the judgments of external stakeholders during crises. This study is one of the first to examine the effects of internal stakeholders’ judgments of leader culpability on their sense of hopelessness and crisis learning, and the moderating factors that reduce their negative effects. The authors also contribute to understanding what aspects of leadership are judged by followers during a crisis, and what followers learn from a crisis. These are areas that have not been previously examined in crisis management research. The authors also provide evidence from individuals in an actual organization in crisis which tends not to be the norm in crisis attribution and crisis learning research.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 36 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 February 2021

Sarah Kovoor-Misra, Shanthi Gopalakrishnan and Haisu Zhang

Organizational identification could play an important role during crises if it contributes to individuals' perceptions of control. This study examines this relationship and…

Abstract

Purpose

Organizational identification could play an important role during crises if it contributes to individuals' perceptions of control. This study examines this relationship and unpacks some of its complexities by investigating the mediating role of job satisfaction and citizenship behaviors that have previously been examined as outcomes of organizational identification in noncrisis contexts. The authors also investigate the moderating role of the perceived severity of the crisis on the relationships between organizational identification and job satisfaction and citizenship behaviors. There is limited empirical research on these relationships in a crisis context, and studying them is important for understanding the role of identification in diverse contexts and for crisis management research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the survey method, quantitative data were collected from 354 individuals from a nonprofit organization that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This was supplemented with qualitative data from respondents' comments in the survey.

Findings

Using process analysis, the authors find the following: (1) job satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between organizational identification and perceived control; (2) the perceived severity of the crisis moderates the relationship between organizational identification and job satisfaction; (3) citizenship behavior is associated with organizational identification but is not a significant mediator in the relationship between organizational identification and perceived control and (4) the perceived severity of the crisis is not a significant moderator of the relationship between organizational identification and citizenship behaviors.

Research limitations/implications

This study’s model can be further tested in public and private organizations that are experiencing bankruptcies to examine the robustness of our findings. Also, due to the cross-sectional design of this study, the findings need to be tested in a longitudinal study to examine if they persist over time during the recovery and growth phases of a crisis.

Practical implications

Leaders can rely on individuals who identify with their organizations during a crisis, such as bankruptcies because they experience job satisfaction and a sense of control. Additionally, these individuals also demonstrate citizenship behaviors in these challenging situations.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to empirically examine the association between organizational identification and perceived control, the mediating role of job satisfaction and citizenship behaviors and the moderating role of perceived severity in the context of an organizational crisis. An additional strength of this study is that it provides empirical evidence from individuals in an actual crisis rather than from laboratory studies.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 May 2021

Btissam Moncef and Marlène Monnet Dupuy

The purpose of this paper is to explore sustainability paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by focusing on logistics management in last-mile logistics.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore sustainability paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by focusing on logistics management in last-mile logistics.

Design/methodology/approach

In this exploratory study, a total of 10 case studies were conducted in three categories of companies: anti-waste platforms, food delivery platforms and bicycle delivery companies. Twenty-seven face-to-face interviews with founders and/or managers and contractors (couriers, logistics service providers or volunteers) were the primary source of data collection. The heterogeneity of the sample enabled the authors to build an understanding of sustainability paradoxes in the logistics of sharing economy initiatives.

Findings

The findings indicate how logistics management impacts the sustainability of sharing economy initiatives in last-mile delivery. The authors identify seven paradoxical tensions (five of them social) generated by the contradictions between the organizations' promised environmental and social values and the impacts of their operations.

Research limitations/implications

This exploratory research is based on a qualitative study of 10 cases and 27 interviews from heterogeneous samples; further empirical research is needed to ensure generalization.

Practical implications

The paper increases the understanding of environmental and social paradoxical tensions and awareness of logistics challenges.

Social implications

The paper helps identify ways to reconcile promised values and impacts generated by sharing economy initiatives while managing last-mile delivery.

Originality/value

The results enrich the literature about the paradoxes in sharing economy initiatives by providing illustrations in last-mile logistics and exposing the underlying challenges for sharing economy logistics actors.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 51 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2016

Sarah Kovoor-Misra and Shanthi Gopalakrishnan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate followers’ judgments of the culpability of their leaders and the organization’s external stakeholders in causing a crisis. The authors…

1241

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate followers’ judgments of the culpability of their leaders and the organization’s external stakeholders in causing a crisis. The authors study the differences in effects of these judgments on their trust toward their leaders, their emotional exhaustion, and their levels of organizational identification.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the survey method the authors collected data from 354 individuals from an organization that filed for bankruptcy. Respondents’ comments also provided qualitative data that was used to triangulate the findings.

Findings

The authors find that individuals’ judgments that their leaders were culpable led to reduced trust, increased emotional exhaustion, and contrary to expectations reduced organizational identification. Therefore, it appears that in situations of perceived leader culpability during a crisis, followers tightly couple their leaders with the organization as a whole. In contrast, their judgments that external stakeholders were culpable were associated with increased trust toward their leaders, increased organizational identification, and they had no relationship with their levels of emotional exhaustion. The analysis of the qualitative data provides some insights into their judgments and the dependent variables.

Research limitations/implications

Organizational members’ judgments of culpability are important factors that should be considered in crisis management research, and in research on trust, emotional exhaustion, and organizational identification. A limitation of the study is that it is cross-sectional in nature. Therefore, future research could test the findings in a longitudinal study.

Practical implications

Leaders need to understand the judgments of their followers during an organizational crisis. These judgments have implications for when and how leaders can mobilize their followers and the leadership tasks during crisis containment.

Originality/value

Extant research tends to focus on the judgments of external stakeholders during a crisis. This study is one of the first to examine the effects of internal stakeholders’ judgments of culpability for causing a crisis on their trust, emotional exhaustion, and organizational identification. Further, existing empirical studies on followers’ attributions during a crisis tend to be laboratory based. The study provides empirical evidence from individuals in an actual organization in crisis.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 37 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2018

João Reis, Marlene Amorim and Nuno Melão

This paper aims to investigate how service providers are using their channels to support the handling of customer complaints in a technology-based business network (Tb2N…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how service providers are using their channels to support the handling of customer complaints in a technology-based business network (Tb2N) environment. It aims to discuss the implications from existing misalignments between the service delivery debilities and the complexity of the Tb2N recovery process.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used an exploratory case study research conducted in a Portuguese private bank. Data collection involved multiple sources for corroboration purposes, such as reports from customer complaints, semi-structured interviews, direct observation and official documents. Data were analysed to identify paths and relationships between constructs, to reduce data, to enable interpretation and to achieve valid and reliable results.

Findings

The case analysis revealed four types of Tb2N debilities: weaknesses in what concerns the channel migration to new technologies, automated physical and virtual barriers in accessing the firms’ common channel, non-automated barriers concerning the cross-training of employees and, finally, barriers concerning the service operations management.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to characterize the service failure and recovery in a Tb2N context. Complaint management is an essential tool for managers, as failures in service delivery are inevitable and the recovery of such encounters encompasses significant challenges. For academics, this is the first effort to discuss a growing topic in the operations management literature. Further investigation is needed, and with this contribution, the authors expect to stimulate other researchers to provide their contribution.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 38 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Ingrid Mulà, Daniella Tilbury, Alexandra Ryan, Marlene Mader, Jana Dlouhá, Clemens Mader, Javier Benayas, Jirí Dlouhý and David Alba

The world is shaped by an education system that reinforces unsustainable thinking and practice. Efforts to transform our societies must thus prioritise the education of educators…

3903

Abstract

Purpose

The world is shaped by an education system that reinforces unsustainable thinking and practice. Efforts to transform our societies must thus prioritise the education of educators – building their understanding of sustainability and their ability to transform curriculum and wider learning opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to focus on university educators and critically review the professional development and policy landscape challenges that influence their effective engagement with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The paper is informed by a pan-European collaboration involving 33 countries that identified emerging scholarship and practice in this area and assessed the lessons learned from ESD professional development initiatives. It sets the context for a special issue titled “Professional Development in Higher Education for Sustainable Development” that draws together a collection of articles focusing on professional development of university educators across the world.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a critical review of existing practice, international policy frameworks and literature relating to ESD, professional development and higher education. It examines innovative initiatives worldwide that seek to improve the capability of educators in higher education to integrate ESD into academic practice at individual, disciplinary and institutional levels. A rigorous process of selection was applied and overseen by an international expert group. This ensured that the initiatives sought educational change in ESD, and not simply the embedding of content about sustainability into learning opportunities. It also assured that the initiatives had a clear and intentional professional learning process to underpin the engagement of participants with ESD.

Findings

ESD has grown in visibility and status worldwide, with a clear increase in activity in higher education. The sector is viewed as a significant force for change in societies, through the education provision it offers to future professionals and leaders in all sectors. However, universities currently lack capacity to integrate ESD effectively into mainstream teaching practices and the training they provide for academic staff or to integrate ESD into their institutional teaching and learning priorities. Many ESD activities remain focused on teaching issues arising in sustainable development research and delivering specialist modules or courses in sustainability. Very few countries and institutions have significant staff development programmes to enhance the ESD competences of university educators and build their academic leadership capabilities for ESD. The contributions to this special issue show the need for greater understanding of the multi-level task of integrating ESD into professional development activities, not just for individual impact in the classroom but to advance institutional change and decisively influence the teaching and learning discourse of higher education.

Originality/value

There are few research studies and documented activities on ESD professional development in higher education available in the literature. This paper attempts to explore what ESD professional development involves and describes its complexity within the higher education sector. The special issue provides a collection of innovative research and practical initiatives that can help those involved in education and learning to develop ESD as a priority for future university innovative pathways.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 June 2020

Magdaline Wanjiru Mungai, Selikem Sebuava Dorvlo, Asaph Nuwagirya and Marlene Holmner

Copyright exceptions promote access to information by users without breaching copyright. This research paper reviews copyright exceptions in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda and how they…

Abstract

Purpose

Copyright exceptions promote access to information by users without breaching copyright. This research paper reviews copyright exceptions in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda and how they influence access to information in libraries. Objectives were to find out the implications of copyright exceptions in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda; advantages and disadvantages of copyright exceptions for libraries; and recommend best practices of copyright exceptions.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a desktop research reviewing empirical literature and incorporating authors' experiential knowledge in their information profession. Authors have interrogated copyright exceptions in their home countries' copyright acts, policy documents and peer-reviewed articles on copyright and information access. They analysed the documents as stated to deduce key recommendations regarding ideal copyright exceptions.

Findings

The study established that copyright exceptions do not always improve access as intended because they are inadequate, ignoring key library functions. Major inconsistencies exist in the exceptions in these countries; key terminologies have not been defined; and the concept is not well understood. Librarians lack sufficient knowledge on exceptions, hence lack self-efficacy in educating users. Kenya, Ghana and Uganda should improve and harmonize their copyright acts to cover key library functions.

Originality/value

This study provides in-depth analysis of historical and modern practices of copyright exceptions in the three countries revealing useful comparative insights. Previous studies looked at the issues from individual countries perspective.

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

Maneesh Kumar and Niraj Kumar

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the interrelationship between process recovery, employee recovery and customer recovery in a financial services call centre. The authors…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the interrelationship between process recovery, employee recovery and customer recovery in a financial services call centre. The authors also investigate how process recovery affects customer recovery via employees – the bridge between organisation and customers.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study–based approach is adopted in this study, and data triangulation is achieved through multiple data collection methods including semi-structured interviews, employees’ survey and company reports. Justice theory is the theoretical lens considered to understand the “service recovery (SR)” phenomenon.

Findings

This paper helps in understanding the relationship of process and employee recovery with customer recovery. Findings suggest that SR could be used for complaint management as well as in understanding and addressing the gaps in internal operations and employee skill sets. Factors such as training, operating systems, empowerment, incentives, and feedback were identified as critical in providing effective SR. Process improvement is necessary to control complaints by conducting root cause analysis and learning from failure.

Research limitations/implications

Findings are limited to a case company in financial services sector and thus limit its generalisability to other context. Questionnaire distributed to employees only included important dimensions of SR, which would be further developed in future research.

Originality/value

This paper explores the specific reverse exchange strategies, termed in this paper as SR, and analyses the different factors responsible for better performance in the exchange process. The paper highlights how the imbalance in the process and employee recovery dimensions can impact on customer recovery. Closing the customer complaint loop by using the SR perspective may help organisation to not only deal with complaints in a better way but also prevent such complaints in the future.

Details

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-8546

Keywords

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