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1 – 10 of 302
Book part
Publication date: 4 August 2017

Peter G. Roma and Wendy L. Bedwell

To better understand contributing factors and mediating mechanisms related to team dynamics in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments.

Abstract

Purpose

To better understand contributing factors and mediating mechanisms related to team dynamics in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments.

Methodology/approach

Literature review.

Findings

Our primary focus is on cohesion and adaptation – two critical aspects of team performance in ICE environments that have received increased attention in both the literature and funding initiatives. We begin by describing the conditions that define ICE environments and review relevant individual biological, neuropsychiatric, and environmental factors that interact with team dynamics. We then outline a unifying team cohesion framework for long-duration missions and discuss several environmental, operational, organizational, and psychosocial factors that can impact team dynamics. Finally, we end with a discussion of directions for future research and countermeasure development, emphasizing the importance of temporal dynamics, multidisciplinary integration, and novel conceptual frameworks for the inherently mixed work and social setting of long-duration missions in ICE environments.

Social implications

A better understanding of team dynamics over time can contribute to success in a variety of organizational settings, including space exploration, defense and security, business, education, athletics, and social relationships.

Originality/value

We promote a multidisciplinary approach to team dynamics in ICE environments that incorporates dynamic biological, behavioral, psychological, and organizational factors over time.

Book part
Publication date: 17 July 2014

Radiah Othman and Rashid Ameer

This paper proposes the concept of sustainability as a forward looking strategic intent of the organizations, which requires financing capabilities and investment. We structure…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper proposes the concept of sustainability as a forward looking strategic intent of the organizations, which requires financing capabilities and investment. We structure the relationship between financial capabilities, product-led and process-led innovation approaches and corporate financial performance, in particular, we attempt to answer an important question: is sustainability-corporate performance relationship contingent upon the access and use of the financial resources?

Design/methodology/approach

We used a sample of Top 100 Sustainable global companies and tested several hypotheses regarding the likely financing policies of sustainable firms underlying their product-led and process-led sustainability approaches and financial performance.

Findings

Our results show that investment in R&D and capital expenditures provide a reasonable prediction of financing strategy chosen by the sample companies. Furthermore, our findings show that surplus (deficit) in financial capabilities influence the financing trajectory of the companies. Our results show that financial capabilities of companies, that is, financing choice (conservative vs. aggressive) matter for sustainable development, and sustainability-corporate performance relationship is contingent upon the use of financial resources.

Practical implications

These findings imply that organizations should rethink themselves and be encouraged to evaluate their own progress on the path of sustainability in terms of protection of the environment and the advancement of those communities in which they operate.

Originality/value

This paper develops a classification of global companies’ sustainable development approaches using their investment in R&D and capital expenditures. Furthermore, we also develop classification of companies using their financing capabilities, that is, surplus (deficit) to highlight their impact on the sustainable-corporate performance link.

Details

Ethics, Governance and Corporate Crime: Challenges and Consequences
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-674-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 March 2020

Ufi Cullen and Chris Archer-Brown

The small size of female founded and owned businesses is discussed as a weakness towards business survival and growth and also as a solid foundation for sustainable innovation…

Abstract

The small size of female founded and owned businesses is discussed as a weakness towards business survival and growth and also as a solid foundation for sustainable innovation (SI) through maintaining stronger ties with suppliers and customers. In smaller businesses, the closeness to the key stakeholders facilitates knowledge transfer and internalisation of knowledge which leads to faster decision making and creating SI. This paper aims to examine networking strategies of established female entrepreneurs and to develop better insights into the extent of social dialogue, collaboration and cooperation maintained between the entrepreneur and her network contacts towards SI and value generation. Successful business sustainability strategies and subsequent outcomes of established female entrepreneurs are also examined. This paper presents the findings from quantitative survey-based research conducted with 240 established female entrepreneurs from the UK and Turkey (120 from each). The respondents were selected on the basis of business survival and success. National culture is used to identify the established authoritative guidelines for social behaviour. Hofstede’s Culture Model is applied to the case countries to describe the sociocultural institutional context. From the business sustainability strategies (BSS) perspective, the findings show that the studied elements of established female entrepreneurs vary between two different cultural environments. And yet, the both group reported a high level of social dialogue, collaboration and cooperation with their network contacts although they demonstrated fundamentally different networking patterns within the context of type of contact; networking motivation; frequency of contact; and helpfulness of contact. Also established female entrepreneurs’ business sustainability strategies show significant differences between the case countries linked to the level of power distance, individualism and uncertainty avoidance culture dimensions. The paper generates valuable insights into internationalisation strategies for female entrepreneurs and possible areas for facilitation for policy makers.

Book part
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Maria Alejandra Calle

This chapter provides a legal and theoretical overview of environmental PPMs articulated in private standards. It seeks to expand the debate about environmental PPMs, elucidating…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter provides a legal and theoretical overview of environmental PPMs articulated in private standards. It seeks to expand the debate about environmental PPMs, elucidating important dimensions to the issue from the perspective of global governance and international trade law. One of the arguments advanced in this chapter is that a comprehensive analysis of environmental PPMs should consider not only their role in what is regarded as trade barriers (governmental and market driven) but also their significance in global objectives such as the transition towards a green economy and sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

Methodology/approach

This chapter is based on an extensive literature review and doctrinal legal research.

Findings

This research shows that environmental PPMs represent a key issue in the context of the trade and environment relationship. For decades such measures have been thought of as being trade distortive and thus incompatible with WTO law. Although it seems clear now that they are not unlawful per se, their legal status remains unsettled. PPMs can be regarded as regulatory choices associated with a wide range of environmental concerns. However, in trade disputes, challenged measures involving policy objectives addressing production issues in the conservation of natural resources tend to focus on fishing/harvesting techniques. On the other hand, an important goal of Global Environmental Governance (GEG) is to incentivise sustainable consumption and production in order to achieve the transition to a green economy. In this sense, it can be argued that what are generally denominated as ‘PPMs’ in the WTO terminology can alternatively be regarded ‘SCPs’ in the language of environmental governance. Environmental PPMs are not only limited to state-based measures, such as import bans, tariff preferences, and governmental labelling schemes. Environmental PPMs may also amount to good corporate practices towards environmental protection and provide the rationale for numerous private environmental standards.

Practical implications

Most academic attention afforded to environmental-PPMs has focused on their impacts on trade or their legality under WTO law. Although legal scholars have already referred to the significance of such measures in the context of environmental governance, this issue has remained almost entirely unexplored. This chapter seeks to fill the gap in the literature in this regard. In particular, it addresses the relevance of environmental PPMs in the context of decentralised governance initiatives such as the UN Global Compact and private environmental standards.

Originality/value

Overall, this chapter assists in the understanding of the significance of environmental PPMs in the context of private environmental standards and other governance initiatives involving goals related to sustainable consumption and production. This chapter adds to the existing body of literature on the subject of PPMs in international trade and environmental governance.

Details

Beyond the UN Global Compact: Institutions and Regulations
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-558-1

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Digital Health and the Gamification of Life: How Apps Can Promote a Positive Medicalization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-366-9

Book part
Publication date: 28 January 2015

Harish C. Chandan

This chapter discusses how businesses can create alignment between their corporate sustainability (CS) efforts that focus on the triple bottom line of the financial…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter discusses how businesses can create alignment between their corporate sustainability (CS) efforts that focus on the triple bottom line of the financial, environmental, and social, and the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact in the four core areas of environment, human rights, labor standards, and anticorruption.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the literature review, the relationship between CS and corporate responsibility is presented. Creating alignment between CS management and Global Compact initiatives requires knowledge of the Global Reporting Initiative (G4-GRI), third-party CS rankings, green supply chain management, and anticorruption strategies.

Findings

UN Global Compact is an international forum to promote and self-report CS and corporate social responsibility [Bitanga & Bridwell, 2010. CS is achieved through a triple bottom line – financial, environmental, and social (Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008). For CS management, businesses use four strategies including defensive, cost-benefit, strategic, and innovation/learning [Buchholtz & Carroll, 2008; Egbeleke, Journal of Management and Sustainability, 4(2), 92–105 (2014); Epstein, 2008; Epstein, Buhovac, & Yuthas, 2010]. The UN G4-GRI is the most widely used comprehensive sustainability reporting standard in the world (G4-GRI, 2013). Third-party, industry sector-specific CS ratings reinforce the self-reported sustainability reports. Each firm has to conduct their own CS cost-benefit analysis to determine how CS practices can lead to value creation for sustained competitive advantage. Creating alignment with Global Compact initiatives offers firms a marketing advantage. Conducting business in accordance with the Global Compact is a value-increasing business strategy [Kaspereit & Lopatta, 2011; Lopatta & Kaspereit, 2014; Michelon, Corporate Reputation Review, 14(2), 79–96 (2011)]. Green supply chain management is essential for CS (Penfield, 2014). Four prevailing anticorruption frameworks or intervention policy approaches include law enforcement, economics, moralism, and cultural relativism (Bellows, 2013). There is little sustainability reporting in the government and public-sector organizations (Adams, Muir, & Hoque, 2014).

Research limitations/implications

It is difficult to quantify the financial and social benefits of aligning the CS efforts with the 10 principles of UN Global Compact [Parisi, Journal of Management and Governance, 17(1), 71–97 (2013); Nilipour & Nilipour, Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(9), 1084–1092 (2012)]. The environmental impact can be easily quantified.

Practical implications

As the primary driver of globalization, businesses and other organizations can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology, and finance advance in ways that benefit environment, economies, and societies in both developed and developing countries leading to sustained development.

Originality/value of the chapter

The role of green supply chain management and anticorruption strategies in CS management is explored.

Details

The UN Global Compact: Fair Competition and Environmental and Labour Justice in International Markets
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-295-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 October 2020

Resat Aydin, Ferhat D. Zengul, Jose Quintana and Bunyamin Ozaydin

Purpose – The numbers of health care transparency initiatives are increasing. Despite the growing availability of quality data, there seems to be a shortage of evidence about the…

Abstract

Purpose – The numbers of health care transparency initiatives are increasing. Despite the growing availability of quality data, there seems to be a shortage of evidence about the effects and effectiveness of such initiatives. The aim of this systematic review is to document the effects of transparency, defined as the public release of quality performance data, on hospital care outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach – Through a review of the literature, we chose 46 keywords to use in our searches and focused on empirical studies published in English between 2010 and 2015. The use of combinations of these keywords in searches of four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library) generated 13,849 publications. The removal of duplicates and exclusion of studies that were not empirical or not relevant to transparency and quality resulted in 39 studies to be reviewed.

Findings – Our review of the literature confirmed the growth of health care transparency efforts, led by the United States, and found mixed results regarding the effects of transparency on hospital care outcomes. For example, mortality, the most frequently researched performance measure (n = 15), exhibited this mixed pattern by having studies showing a reduction (n = 4), increase (n = 1), mixed findings (n = 4), and no significant relationship (n = 6) as a result of public release. We also found a limited number of articles related to unintended consequences of public reporting. When compared with earlier systematic reviews, there seems to be a trend in the reduction of unintended consequences. Therefore, we recommend exploration of this potential trend in future studies empirically.

Practical Implications – The research findings summarized in this systematic review can be used to understand the results of existing transparency efforts and to develop future transparency initiatives that may better enhance hospital quality performance.

Originality/value – This is the latest and most comprehensive systematic review summarizing the effects of transparency of quality metrics on hospital care outcomes.

Book part
Publication date: 5 November 2021

Justin M. Jones, Dorothy R. Carter and Noshir S. Contractor

Research on organizational teamwork is increasingly highlighting the patterned nature of the relational processes (e.g., communication, backup behavior) and psychological states…

Abstract

Research on organizational teamwork is increasingly highlighting the patterned nature of the relational processes (e.g., communication, backup behavior) and psychological states (e.g., trust, shared cognition) that underlie team effectiveness. However, studies of teams often rely on methodologies that do not explicitly assess the underlying patterns of relational processes and states. Social network approaches offer an appealing alternative to the typical methodologies used in team research given that network approaches provide both the theory and methodology necessary to conceptualize and investigate patterns of interactions among group members. Despite the advantages of social network approaches, many team researchers are unfamiliar with the network paradigm and its associated methodologies. The purpose of this chapter is to clarify how networks can be leveraged to answer key research questions related to the study of team functioning and effectiveness. We begin by discussing the evolution and eventual convergence of team research and network approaches. Then, we examine the current state of the literature at the intersection of teams and networks in order to identify key takeaways and remaining questions. We conclude by highlighting opportunities for the future of team network science.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Group and Team Communication Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-501-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2018

Philip Miles

Abstract

Details

Midlife Creativity and Identity: Life into Art
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78754-333-1

Book part
Publication date: 7 December 2017

Eva Tutchell and John Edmonds

Abstract

Details

The Stalled Revolution: Is Equality for Women an Impossible Dream?
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-602-0

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