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1 – 10 of 535Thomas Dahl and Eirik J. Irgens
Is there a specific way of thinking about organisational learning in Nordic countries? Are concepts such as organisational learning and learning organisations imported, or do they…
Abstract
Purpose
Is there a specific way of thinking about organisational learning in Nordic countries? Are concepts such as organisational learning and learning organisations imported, or do they emerge with specific meanings from more local discourses? Beyond that, are they supported by specific learning theories? The purpose of this paper is to trace the way that the concepts of organisational learning and learning organisations appear in research and policy documents in Norway and to identify what sort of learning theories pertain to those concepts. The authors discuss whether Norway’s case exemplifies a Nordic way of thinking about learning in organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an archaeological investigation into the concepts of organisational learning and learning organisations, the authors explore the theoretical and cultural framing of the concepts in research and policy. The authors limit our work to large industrial field experiments conducted in the 1960s and to large education reform in the 2000s.
Findings
During the industrial field experiments in the 1960s, the concept of organisational learning evolved to form participatory learning processes in non-hierarchical organisations able to contribute to democracy at work. Education policy in the 2000s, by contrast, imported the concept of the learning organisation that primarily viewed learning as an instrumental process of knowledge production. That strategy is incommensurable to what we define as a Nordic way, one in which learning is also understood as a cultural and social process advanced by democratic participation.
Originality/value
The authors add to organisational learning theories by demonstrating the importance of cultural context for theories and showing that the understanding of learning is historically and culturally embedded.
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This chapter is based on the findings of the empirical material gathered in Finland and Sweden through interviews with education and audiovisual (AV) media actors and policymakers…
Abstract
This chapter is based on the findings of the empirical material gathered in Finland and Sweden through interviews with education and audiovisual (AV) media actors and policymakers in 2017–2018. The aim of the chapter is to discuss the innovation systems of the education sector and Finland and Sweden in general, compare the sectoral innovation models of the two sectors, and conclude with discussing the resulting challenges for policymakers. Our results show that a new EdTech sector employing the competences of the education, information and communication technology, and AV media sectors has begun to emerge and actors in the both countries have eagerly taken actions to boost its development as a business and export field. We discuss the reasons and consequences of this development.
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Elin K. Funck, Kirsi-Mari Kallio and Tomi J. Kallio
This paper aims to investigate the process by which performative technologies (PTs), in this case accreditation work in a business school, take form and how humans engage in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the process by which performative technologies (PTs), in this case accreditation work in a business school, take form and how humans engage in making up such practices. It studies how academics come to accept and even identify with the quantitative representations of themselves in a translation process.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved a longitudinal, self-ethnographic case study that followed the accreditation process of one Nordic business school from 2015 to 2021.
Findings
The findings show how the PT pushed for different engagements in various phases of the translation process. Early in the translation process, the PT promoted engagement because of self-realization and the ability for academics to proactively influence the prospective competitive milieu. However, as academic qualities became fabricated into numbers, the PT was able to request compliance, but also to induce self-reflection and self-discipline by forcing academics to compare themselves to set qualities and measures.
Originality/value
The paper advances the field by linking five phases of the translation process, problematization, fabrication, materialization, commensuration and stabilization, to a discussion of why academics come to accept and identify with the quantitative representations of themselves. The results highlight that the materialization phase appears to be the critical point at which calculative practices become persuasive and start influencing academics’ thoughts and actions.
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This paper aims to emphasize two key research priorities central to the domain of service marketing.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to emphasize two key research priorities central to the domain of service marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
Reflections based on conceptual analysis of the current level of knowledge of service as an offering and of the nature of service marketing in the literature.
Findings
It is observed that research into marketing and into service as an object of marketing, or as an offering, has been neglected for two decades and more. It is also shown that to restore its credibility, marketing needs to be reinvented. Furthermore, the point is made that if a proper understanding of service as an object of, for example, innovation, design, branding and development is lacking, or even only implicitly present, valid research into those and other important topics is at risk.
Research limitations/implications
This paper discusses two neglected topics within the domain of service research. Other important areas of future research are not covered. However, the paper offers directions for service marketing research fundamental to the development of the discipline.
Originality/value
In earlier discussions of service and service marketing research priorities, the observation that service and marketing are neglected topics that need to be studied and further developed has not been made. The paper emphasizes that service marketing research also needs to return to its roots and suggests possible directions for future research.
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Alice Schmuck, Katarina Lagerström and James Sallis
This study aims to understand the performance implications of when a business internationalizes. Many managers take the performance implications of internationalization for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the performance implications of when a business internationalizes. Many managers take the performance implications of internationalization for granted. Whether seeking a broader customer base or cost reduction through cross-border outsourcing, the overwhelming belief is that internationalization leads to higher profits.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper offers a systematic review, content analysis and cross-tabulation analysis of 115 empirical studies from over 40 major journals in management, strategy and international business between 1977 and 2021. Focusing on research settings, sample characteristics, underlying theoretical approaches, measurements of key variables and moderators influencing the multinationality and performance relationship, this study offers a detailed account of definitions and effects.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest a tenuous connection between internationalization and performance. No strain of research literature conclusively identifies a consistent direct path from internationalization to performance. The context specificity of the relationship makes general declarations impossible.
Research limitations/implications
Future researchers should recognize that internationalization is a process taking different forms, with no specific dominant form. General declarations are misleading. The focus should be on the process of internationalization rather than on the outcome.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the international business literature by exploring reasons for the inconsistent results and lack of consensus. Through a detailed account of definitions and effects, this paper explores the lack of consensus as well as the identified shapes of the relationship.
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Mette Liljenberg, Helene Ärlestig and Daniel Nordholm
The purpose of this article is to expand knowledge on Swedish principals' professional development (PD) from the perspectives of superintendents. In particular, the article…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to expand knowledge on Swedish principals' professional development (PD) from the perspectives of superintendents. In particular, the article analyzes how superintendents understand and organize PD for principals.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data are derived from a strategic sample of ten (n = 10) superintendents. Transcribed interviews were analyzed in two steps. The first step was carried out inductively to identify prominent aspects of PD for principals. In the second step, the detected themes and categories were analyzed more deductively through the theoretical lens of learning in organizations.
Findings
The analysis revealed that the purpose of PD for principals and the principal leadership that must be nurtured from the perspective of superintendents spans a scale, from knowing what is already required to critically examining and exploring the unknown. In addition, the understanding of learning stretches from an individual enterprise to a collective activity. However, noteworthy differences between the superintendents were detected and organized into three ideal types.
Research limitations/implications
Despite a profound research design and a careful selection of superintendents, the sample sets some limits because of the plurality within the decentralized Swedish school system.
Practical implications
The results can support strategies from superintendents, principals and educational authorities to build infrastructures that foster PD at different levels of school systems.
Originality/value
This article offers a novel perspective by analyzing principals' PD from the perspectives of superintendents.
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Sabina De Rosis, Kendall Jamieson Gilmore and Sabina Nuti
Using data from a continuous and ongoing cross-sectional web survey on hospitalisation service experiences in two Italian regions, the authors used multilevel and multivariate…
Abstract
Purpose
Using data from a continuous and ongoing cross-sectional web survey on hospitalisation service experiences in two Italian regions, the authors used multilevel and multivariate logistic regression models to identify factors related to users' demographics, emotional and informative support, technical and physical aspects of the provision, influencing satisfaction and willingness-to-recommend, before and during a crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
The value-in-use, defined in terms of a positive or negative value given by the experience with services, can be evaluated by users and influenced by the context of provision. The authors tested whether and how the value-in-use of services changed in a context of crisis. This study is applied to the healthcare sector during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, by evaluating the impact of the pandemic on hospitalisation experience.
Findings
Overall, analyses of 8,712 questionnaires found a greater value after the pandemic spread. In a time of crisis, technical and informative aspects of care were found to be most valued by patients that may recognise the extraordinary professionalism of workers during the crisis.
Research limitations/implications
This study empirically suggests that context can affect the evaluation of value-in-use by patients during unprecedented circumstances, producing additional value-in-context.
Practical implications
These findings imply that during critical periods where there is less scope for expressions of gratitude and appreciation towards front-line workers, user-reported data can be used for motivating professionals and increase resilience. These results reiterate the need to continue collecting and reporting the service users' voices, including as activity within plans for managing challenging situations.
Social implications
The level of healthcare system distress, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, positively affects patients' propensity to recommend, which the authors suggest is driven by healthcare services' feelings of reverse compassion. These findings imply that during critical periods where there is less scope for expressions of gratitude and appreciation towards front-line workers, user-reported data can be used for motivating professionals and increase resilience, which can have positive social implications. These results reiterate the need to continue collecting and reporting the service users' voices, including as activity within plans for managing challenging situations.
Originality/value
Research based on the intersection of theoretical and empirical research regarding value-in-use, value-in-context and service quality measured through user experience is scarce, in particular in the healthcare sector. The authors' findings set the direction for future research on the influence of context on value creation and value creation's perception by users, on the concept of reverse compassion and on reverse compassion's impact on organisational well-being, particularly in times of crisis.
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Marco Tregua, Danilo Brozovic and Anna D'Auria
The purpose of this article was to provide an outline of the citation practices of “Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing” by Vargo and Lusch (2004) to identify and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article was to provide an outline of the citation practices of “Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing” by Vargo and Lusch (2004) to identify and discuss the most prominent research topics in which citations were used and to suggest future research based on the results of the analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a comprehensive framework of citation practices based on iterations of previous literature to analyze the relevant literature, which they identified by accessing, systematically and rigorously, every available contribution matching a set of criteria. The authors then categorized these contributions and highlighted the main topics of research interest in each category.
Findings
The findings identify some of the factors in the continuous development of SDL, the way this new marketing logic permeated the scientific debate, the infusion of Vargo and Lusch (2004) into several contributions framed in the new logic or justified through it, and a general perception of a default reference. Additionally, the findings highlight the main topics of research interest in each category.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis enabled the detection of the original paper's influence through advances in service studies, pollination into other fields of research and continuous scientific debate. The authors have highlighted several avenues for research and proposed future research directions.
Originality/value
This research analyzed the effects of the spread of the SDL cornerstone article and emphasized the advantage of using an in-depth approach to the analysis of studies through a framework applied to more than 4,600 studies.
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Anders D. Olofsson, Ola J. Lindberg and Göran Fransson
The purpose of this paper is to explore upper secondary school students’ voices on how information and communication technology (ICT) could structure and support their everyday…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore upper secondary school students’ voices on how information and communication technology (ICT) could structure and support their everyday activities and time at school.
Design/methodology/approach
In all, 11 group interviews were conducted with a total of 46 students from three upper secondary schools. NVivo PRO 11 was used for a qualitative content analysis.
Findings
The results show that ICT plays a central role in the students’ schooling, not in terms of “state-of-the-art” technology, but rather as “state-of-the-actual”, by for example supporting the writing process and for peer support, digital documentation and storage.
Research limitations/implications
A relatively small number of students in three schools and three specific programmes make generalisations difficult.
Practical implications
Students’ perspectives on the “state-of-the-actual” could influence teachers’ use of ICT in education, their professional development activities and the development of an in-school ICT infrastructure.
Social implications
The study could lead to a better understanding of students’ expectations and use of ICT at school and in everyday life.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper is the focus on students’ voices about how the basic use and functionality of ICT could structure and support their everyday activities at school.
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As the consumer experience literature broadens in scope – specifically, from dyads to ecosystems and from provider-centric to consumer-centric perspective – traditional data…
Abstract
Purpose
As the consumer experience literature broadens in scope – specifically, from dyads to ecosystems and from provider-centric to consumer-centric perspective – traditional data collection methods are no longer adequate. In that context, the paper aims to discuss three little-used data collection methods that can contribute to this broader view of consumer experience.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies methodological requirements for exploring the broadened view of consumer experience and reviews data collection methods currently in use.
Findings
The paper elaborates tailored guidelines for the study of consumer experience through first-hand, systemic and processual perspectives for three promising and currently underused data collection methods: phenomenological interviews, event-based approaches and diary methods.
Research limitations/implications
Although the list of identified methods is not exhaustive, the methods and guidelines discussed here can be used to advance empirical investigation of consumer experience as more broadly understood.
Practical implications
Practitioners can apply these methods to gain a more complete view of consumers’ experiences and so offer value propositions compatible with those consumers’ lifeworlds.
Originality/value
The paper principally contributes to the literature in two ways: by defining the methodological requirements for investigating consumer experience from consumer-centric, systemic and processual perspectives, and by specifying a set of data collection methods that meet these requirements, along with tailored guidelines for their use.
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