Search results
1 – 10 of over 98000Ashly H. Pinnington, Hazem Aldabbas, Fatemeh Mirshahi and Mary L. Brown
This study investigates the relationship between women’s networks perceptions and job satisfaction. It also examines the mediating effects of perceived organizational support…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the relationship between women’s networks perceptions and job satisfaction. It also examines the mediating effects of perceived organizational support (POS) for women’s work contributions on the relationship between networks perceptions and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants are female employees working in Scotland (n = 247). The data were collected using a survey questionnaire. PROCESS macro (model 4, Hayes, 2018) was used to test the proposed model.
Findings
The results revealed that (controlling for work time, age and sector) there is a significant relationship between women’s networks perceptions and job satisfaction. In addition, POS for women’s work contribution mediates the relationship between networks perceptions and job satisfaction. These findings show the significant effects of networks perceptions on employees’ job, satisfaction directly and through POS for women’s work contributions. Therefore, understanding the networks perceptions of employees and organizational factors will assist in improving job satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study is unique for examining the role of POS for women’s work contribution in the relationship between employees’ networks perceptions and job satisfaction. It addresses gender inequality in the workplace in terms of women’s career advancement and job satisfaction. In addition, this research offers insight into the development of a seven-item measurement scale related to networks perceptions.
Details
Keywords
Fabio Fonti, Massimo Maoret and Robert Whitbred
We extend the literature on network perception by introducing a novel view of how this perception is structured. We propose the concept of Cognitive Aggregated Social Structures…
Abstract
We extend the literature on network perception by introducing a novel view of how this perception is structured. We propose the concept of Cognitive Aggregated Social Structures (CASS) as a framework to capture perceptions of opaque networks – that is, networks where relations are difficult to observe due to their features, their members, and the characteristics of the environment in which they operate. We argue that actors simplify their perception of opaque network structures via “chunking,” that is, by cognitively representing network ties as between categories of actors rather than between specific network members. We test the validity of the CASS construct and its predictive power by showing how these representations affect actors’ perceptions of relevant network outcomes. Using data from a major inter-organizational technology consortium, we show that perceived density among “chunks” in the knowledge transfer network is positively related to perceived consortium performance. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the strategic management literature, highlighting potential contributions to strategic formulation and implementation, category emergence, industry evolution, and cognitive barriers to entry.
Details
Keywords
Kristin B. Munksgaard, Morten H. Abrahamsen and Kirsten Frandsen
This study aims to investigate how companies’ understanding of the business network influences the creation of value in business-to-business relationships. The authors do this by…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how companies’ understanding of the business network influences the creation of value in business-to-business relationships. The authors do this by analysing dimensions in actors’ “network pictures” and illustrating how value perception and network understanding influence actors’ mutual effort to create value. Approaching relationship value from the point of actors’ cognitive understanding of their business network has so far been largely overlooked in relationship value research.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a qualitative case study methodology whereby dyadic data from a well-established business-to-business relationship is collected from 18 company representatives through personal interviews and group interviews supplemented by participant observations and company data.
Findings
The findings contribute with new insight into how companies’ understanding of their surrounding network influence (facilitates or limits) relationship value creation. The authors find that companies continuously reflect on changes in their networks and the related changes in partners’ value perceptions. Through value articulations, companies seek to explicitly express their value perception. Value reflections and value articulations create a dynamic process formed not only by the individual actor but also through their relationship and engagement in their network environment. This requires companies to develop their networking capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
This paper presents findings, insights and contributions limited to a case study of a particular business relationship within an industrial setting. Although the findings and contributions are valid and in line with the criteria for rigorous qualitative research, the authors advocate and call for additional studies that investigate relationships value creation and address the interplay between actors’ network understanding and their actions and behaviour. One way to approach this would be to test the four propositions derived and presented as part of the present study.
Practical implications
The findings imply that management needs to be aware not only of the value created and delivered to a specific partner but also of how the partner’s understanding of the wider network will influence the value delivering and capturing process.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the growing literature on relationship value creation by outlining a dynamic process where relationship partners reflect upon and articulate value. Such activities are influenced by the partners’ network understanding and form the basis of the mutual relationship value creation effort. The findings also contribute to the network pictures literature by emphasizing insights into the formation of value perceptions through actors’ understanding of their surrounding networks.
Details
Keywords
Dimitrios Hatjidis and Andrew Parker
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the relationships formed between the universal network quality perceptions and the dyadic network quality perceptions that an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the relationships formed between the universal network quality perceptions and the dyadic network quality perceptions that an individual formulate through social ties at work and their effect on behavioral reaction toward organizational change.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 91 full-time hotel employees through a self-report survey. Using regression models and mediation method three hypotheses referring to the relationship between the universal and the dyadic perceptions as well as the indirect effect of the dyadic network perception on behavioral reactions to change, through universal network perceptions, are tested.
Findings
The results show that universal network perception has a positive association with an individual’s behavior toward change, while the authors’ dyadic network perception hypothesis is not supported. Additional results highlight the indirect effect of dyadic network perception on behavioral reactions to change through universal network perceptions.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to the nature of the study, the inferences of causality might not be that strong as the authors’ findings are limited to the fact that the outcome variable is the behavioral intention toward a hypothetical organizational change rather than an actual change.
Practical implications
Although both types of perceptions are needed in affecting behavioral intentions, the universal network perceptions are the ones that need to be considered as indicators of the need for proactive non-conventional management planning with regard to the human element of change management.
Originality/value
The principal contribution of this study is that it brings greater clarity to how tie quality perceptions are constructed and their impact on employees’ behavior toward organizational change.
Details
Keywords
The study here examines how business actors adapt to changes in networks by analyzing their perceptions or their network pictures. The study is exploratory or iterative in the…
Abstract
The study here examines how business actors adapt to changes in networks by analyzing their perceptions or their network pictures. The study is exploratory or iterative in the sense that revisions occur to the research question, method, theory, and context as an integral part of the research process.
Changes within networks receive less research attention, although considerable research exists on explaining business network structures in different research traditions. This study analyzes changes in networks in terms of the industrial network approach. This approach sees networks as connected relationships between actors, where interdependent companies interact based on their sensemaking of their relevant network environment. The study develops a concept of network change as well as an operationalization for comparing perceptions of change, where the study introduces a template model of dottograms to systematically analyze differences in perceptions. The study then applies the model to analyze findings from a case study of Norwegian/Japanese seafood distribution, and the chapter provides a rich description of a complex system facing considerable pressure to change. In-depth personal interviews and cognitive mapping techniques are the main research tools applied, in addition to tracer studies and personal observation.
The dottogram method represents a valuable contribution to case study research as it enables systematic within-case and across-case analyses. A further theoretical contribution of the study is the suggestion that network change is about actors seeking to change their network position to gain access to resources. Thereby, the study also implies a close relationship between the concepts network position and the network change that has not been discussed within the network approach in great detail.
Another major contribution of the study is the analysis of the role that network pictures play in actors' efforts to change their network position. The study develops seven propositions in an attempt to describe the role of network pictures in network change. So far, the relevant literature discusses network pictures mainly as a theoretical concept. Finally, the chapter concludes with important implications for management practice.
Details
Keywords
Ajay Mehra, Stephen P. Borgatti, Scott Soltis, Theresa Floyd, Daniel S. Halgin, Brandon Ofem and Virginie Lopez-Kidwell
Social networks are not just patterns of interaction and sentiment in the real world; they are also cognitive (re)constructions of social relations, some real, some imagined…
Abstract
Social networks are not just patterns of interaction and sentiment in the real world; they are also cognitive (re)constructions of social relations, some real, some imagined. Focusing on networks as mental entities, our essay describes a new method that relies on stylized network images to gather quantitative data on how people “see” specific aspects of their social worlds. We discuss the logic of our approach, present several examples of “visual network scales,” discuss some preliminary findings, and identify some of the problems and prospects in this nascent line of work on the phenomenology of social networks.
Details
Keywords
Ravi S. Behara, Warren W. Fisher and Jos G.A.M. Lemmink
Effective measurement and analysis of service quality are an essential first step in its improvement. This paper discusses the development of neural network models for this…
Abstract
Effective measurement and analysis of service quality are an essential first step in its improvement. This paper discusses the development of neural network models for this purpose. A valid neural network model for service quality is initially developed. Customer data from a SERVQUAL survey at an auto‐dealership network in The Netherlands provide the basis for model development. Different definitions of service quality measurement are modelled using the neural network approach. The perception‐minus‐expectation model of service quality was found not to be as accurate as the perception‐only model in predicting service quality. While this is consistent with the literature, this study also shows that the more intuitively appealing but mathematically less convenient expectation‐minus‐perception model out‐performs all the other service quality measurement models. The study also provides an analytical basis for the importance of expectation in the measurement of service quality. However, the study demonstrates the need for further study before neural network models may be effectively used for sensitivity analyses involving specific dimensions of service quality.
Details
Keywords
Dimitrios Hatjidis, Mamie Griffin and Marylene Younes
This paper aims to examine empirically, within the context of the public sector, in what way the overall quality perception of an individual’s network relationships at work affect…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine empirically, within the context of the public sector, in what way the overall quality perception of an individual’s network relationships at work affect the psychological condition known as change readiness. Moreover, the research examines whether tacit knowledge and organizational climate can have indirect effects on the relationship between universal network quality perception and change readiness.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through a self-reported survey from 105 individuals employed on a full-time basis by the government sector in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Using regression and mediation analysis, three hypotheses are tested relating to the direct effect of universal network quality perception and change readiness, accompanied by the indirect effects of tacit knowledge and organizational climate on the preceding relationship.
Findings
The results emanated from statistical analysis show that universal network quality perception has a positive association with change readiness, and tacit knowledge and organizational climate mediate significantly the relationship between the universal network quality perception and change readiness.
Research limitations/implications
Considering the nature of the study, conclusions with regard to causality might not be that strong as the findings relevant to the dependent variable represented by change readiness are not based on longitudinal research and the sample comprises only local people with similar cultural background. Therefore, study conclusions may not be suitable for generalization.
Practical implications
The mediating effects highlight the consideration of tacit knowledge and organizational climate as influential organizational mechanisms within the framework of a proactive change management practice due to their positive impact on the psychological uncertainty and lack of job content competencies that a change initiative might cause to employees and their behavioral reactions.
Originality/value
The paper reveals the role of universal network quality perception as a conduit of positive social influence on change readiness. This role becomes significantly elastic when tacit knowledge and organizational climate become notable links of relationship quality because of their ability to trigger favorable psychosocial behavioral patterns toward organizational change. Furthermore, this study expands the literature on organizational change readiness factors in the UAE, for which few studies currently exist.
Details
Keywords
Tibor Mandják, Ágnes Wimmer and François Durrieu
Following industrial network theory, this paper aims to address network behavior from a focal company’s perspective. Special attention is paid to examining the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
Following industrial network theory, this paper aims to address network behavior from a focal company’s perspective. Special attention is paid to examining the effect of perceptions of the economic crisis on network behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is built on a quantitative analysis of an empirical database of 300 companies based on a survey completed in 2013 in Hungary. A focal company network behavior model was developed and applied to investigate the link between variables (valuable customer relationships, valuable supplier relationships, relationship strategy and relational outcomes) and the effect of managers’ perceptions about the intensity of the crisis. To obtain a deeper understanding of the effect of the crisis, structural modeling methodology was applied during data analysis.
Findings
How crises are perceived has a moderating influence on companies’ network behavior. In a context in which a crisis is strongly perceived, valuable customer relationships are considered more important than valuable supplier relationships; relationship strategy becomes more intensive; and performance is increasingly focused on operations and less on innovation. The main difference in network behavior is found with the management of the supply side. A different level of attention is paid to supplier relationships in a high crisis-perception context than when a crisis is perceived as being less critical.
Research limitations/implications
Results emphasize the importance of perceptions as a key factor in managerial attitudes, behavior and, ultimately, decision-making. This finding merits more attention from both researchers of business relationships and networks.
Practical implications
From a managerial point of view, the results emphasize the existence of potentially new opportunities in network management. The reinforcement of attention to the customer during a period of crisis implies the importance of the customer orientation, but also suggests that firms may have unexploited opportunities and more potential resources on the supplier side.
Originality/value
The paper combines an analysis of network behavior and perceptions of crisis, helping to explain managerial decisions and attitudes. Analysis was undertaken from a focal firms’ perspective and differences were investigated in attitudes concerning both supplier- and customer-side relations. How crises are perceived is a moderating variable of network behavior.
Details
Keywords
Reihaneh Bidar, Alistair Barros and Jason Watson
In the co-creation process from a network perspective, service is produced, designed, and evaluated entirely by the actors with dynamic roles and with less participation by the…
Abstract
Purpose
In the co-creation process from a network perspective, service is produced, designed, and evaluated entirely by the actors with dynamic roles and with less participation by the firm's employees in the service process. The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model that represents environmental stimuli and value perceptions that contribute to service co-creation behaviour in an online network.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 36 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of two online programming communities – GitHub and Stack Overflow co-creators, with the data analysed using thematic analysis. The stimulus-organism-response model guided the development of the final model.
Findings
Social influence and trust are influential in actor value perceptions, including primary and network value, the interplay of which leads actors to co-production, supportive, and administrative behaviour. Environmental factors do not directly drive actors; rather it is the value that initiates and drives actors, which, by extension, initiates and drives the co-creation of services.
Research limitations/implications
The service co-creation behaviour model provides a basis for future research in the co-creation and co-destruction context to model behaviours within the online network organisation setting and thereby enable improvement of such systems. This model can be operationalised in a network environment through design features.
Originality/value
This paper provides a rich understanding of environmental stimuli and value perception factors that contribute to the co-creation of services, and identifies different types of behaviours in dynamic online networks. This paper presents a new model of different types of behaviours emerging from actor participation in the co-creation process.
Details