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1 – 10 of 125Gianluca Vitale, Sebastiano Cupertino and Paolo Taticchi
This paper aims to investigate the relationships between business slack resources and environmental performance and considers the possible effects that management commitment…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationships between business slack resources and environmental performance and considers the possible effects that management commitment, corporate strategy to sustainability and innovation intensity can have on such interactions.
Design/methodology/approach
We performed partial least squares path modeling regressions on a sample of 697 non-financial listed companies worldwide, considering a time frame of 13 years.
Findings
Operational and financial slack resources are both detrimental to environmental performance in the short term. Nevertheless, financial slack resources are useful to boost innovation that enhances environmental performance. Environmental performance improvement seems to be more a matter of managerial commitment and strategic approach towards sustainability, rather than the availability of slack resources.
Research limitations/implications
Due to literature shortcomings on which effects slack resources can have on environmental performance, this paper sheds some light on the topic while also highlighting the role of management commitment, corporate sustainability strategy and innovation.
Practical implications
Managers should use financial slack resources in innovation activities to improve environmental performance. In doing so, they need to create retaining earnings to offset any costs using financial slack resources.
Originality/value
Adopting a holistic and net of endogeneity analytical perspective, this paper highlights some virtuous and critical interactions between the managerial commitment and strategic approach to sustainability, the availability of slack resources, innovation intensity and environmental performance to understand which aspects may foster or hinder the ecological transition of businesses.
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Nastaran Simarasl, Pooya Tabesh and Younggeun Lee
This research aims to theorize how a critical factor, resource access, can paradoxically impact the comprehensiveness of venture location decision processes and the relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to theorize how a critical factor, resource access, can paradoxically impact the comprehensiveness of venture location decision processes and the relationship between decision comprehensiveness and new venture performance. To do so, the authors focus on nascent entrepreneurs’ venture location decision processes and introduce resource access as a double-edged sword.
Design/methodology/approach
In this conceptual article, the authors draw from the strategic decision-making and resource mobilization literature to theorize about the new venture location decision-making process and its performance implications.
Findings
By uncovering the paradox of resource access, the authors propose that high levels of resource access create a paradoxical situation in which nascent entrepreneurs are less likely to use comprehensive decision processes when their benefits are at their greatest.
Originality/value
This work contributes to entrepreneurship research on new venture location and resource mobilization in three important ways. First, the authors advance the literature on nascent entrepreneurs’ location decision-making processes by introducing “location decision comprehensiveness” as a decision process construct and juxtaposing it with resource access to uncover the entrepreneurial decision-making process. Second, the authors develop a more nuanced theorization of the location choices made by nascent entrepreneurs instead of relying on generalized conclusions drawn from well-established corporations’ location decisions. Last, the authors extend the literature on resource mobilization in entrepreneurship by shedding light on the paradoxical aspect of resource access. While previous research has emphasized the favorable effects of resource access on new venture processes and outcomes, the authors contend that it can also negatively impact entrepreneurs’ ability to make effective decisions.
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Jurica Lucyanda and Mahfud Sholihin
This research aims to study budgetary slack from a behavioural perspective, especially examining the effect of gender and code of ethics on budgetary slack ethical judgment.
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to study budgetary slack from a behavioural perspective, especially examining the effect of gender and code of ethics on budgetary slack ethical judgment.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts the experimental method of 2 × 3 between-subjects mixed factorial design with 102 participants to test the hypotheses. The participants are undergraduate and postgraduate accounting students at a major university in Indonesia.
Findings
The results show that gender affects budgetary slack ethical judgment, in which women judge budgetary slack as more unethical than men. Additionally, the results indicate that individuals consider budgetary slack more unethical when a code of ethics is present than when it is absent.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the management accounting literature and behavioural research by understanding budgetary slack from an ethical perspective. Additionally, this study contributes to ethics literature by identifying the effect of gender and code of ethics on budgetary slack righteous judgment.
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Sebastiano Cupertino, Gianluca Vitale and Paolo Taticchi
This paper aims to investigate possible interdependencies affecting short-term profitability between internal and process business aspects which can play a critical role in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate possible interdependencies affecting short-term profitability between internal and process business aspects which can play a critical role in sustainability operationalisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted the panel data approach to perform a partial least square structural modelling equation analysis on a sample of 391 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) non-financial-listed companies, considering a timeframe of five years.
Findings
Corporate sustainability is a result of interplays between managerial commitment, strategy, slack resources’ exploitation, innovation, the sustainable management of internal production and procurement processes that managers can catalyse to foster short-term firms’ profitability.
Research limitations/implications
The study is focused on internal process business determinants of sustainability, and the analysis is limited to a short-term timeframe and on non-financial OECD-listed companies.
Practical implications
Managers searching for trade-offs between financial and non-financial performances should enhance their commitment towards sustainability by defining appropriate strategies suitable to employ mainly slack resources derived from core business activities enabling innovation processes, which, in turn, are able to foster sustainability of internal production and procurement processes.
Originality/value
The execution of sustainability is a complex process that needs to be investigated using a holistic approach net of endogeneity biases to better appreciate those interrelationships within multiple drivers determining the firm sustainable growth.
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Jungsik Kim, Hun Whee Lee and Goo Hyeok Chung
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have experienced a sudden and unprecedented drop in revenue and productivity. However, the pandemic did not…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations have experienced a sudden and unprecedented drop in revenue and productivity. However, the pandemic did not exclusively negatively impact organizations; rather, it resulted in both negative and positive effects. To delve into the multi-level process through which organizational outcomes change from negative to positive indicators, this study focuses on organizational resilience as a theoretical concept to overcome pandemic-related turmoil.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a multi-level analysis based on grounded theory with a sample of 30 healthcare employees who worked in hospitals and were simultaneously enrolled in a part-time master of business administration (MBA) program at a university in the Midwest. Of the 30 participants, 21 were from a single university hospital (UH), and the remaining 9 participants were from other hospitals (non-UH).
Findings
The authors analyzed the data and incorporated three existing perspectives of organizational resilience (attribute, process and multi-level views) into an integrated model. The authors identified 25 first-order concepts and 8 second-order themes and categorized them into 4 aggregate dimensions at different unit levels: organizational field, leadership, operation and individual units.
Practical implications
A resilient hospital operates as a cohesive system, with entities at various levels – from individuals and teams to the broader organization – collaborating seamlessly to foster resilience. Top management team (TMT) should persistently communicate with employees to provide information about the current crisis and clear strategic directions to reduce employees' fear and prevent anomie stemming from future uncertainty. Managers should not only be concerned about employees' physical safety from infection and psychological safety from isolation but also encourage employees to elicit meaningfulness from their work. Furthermore, TMT and human resource (HR) teams should adapt human resource management (HRM) practices to allow for flexibility and optimism in employee roles.
Originality/value
In this study, the authors utilized a qualitative methodology with grounded theory in order to develop a comprehensive model that holds theoretical, methodological and practical significance. Theoretically, the authors' novelty lies in the synthesis of three distinct perspectives: attribute, process and multi-level. The authors merged these approaches into a unified model, identifying precursors of resilience at different levels. Methodologically, the authors focused on hospitals as target samples, which were the foremost and representative organizations severely confronting the crisis and turmoil brought by the pandemic. The authors documented organizations' experiences amidst the crisis as they unfolded in real time rather than in hindsight. This approach highlights the immediacy and significance of the authors' research in the realm of crisis management. Practically, the authors' findings illuminate that organizational resilience can be developed through a collaborative effort. It emerges from coordinated interactions across various organizational actors, from employees and middle managers to the TMT.
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Stephanie Moura, Christian Daniel Falaster and Thomas C. Lawton
This study aims to explore how the absorptive capacity of emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) facilitates increased acquirer performance in industry exploration and technology…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how the absorptive capacity of emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) facilitates increased acquirer performance in industry exploration and technology exploration cross-border acquisitions (CBAs).
Design/methodology/approach
The research context for this study is Brazilian EMNEs and their CBAs. The final database contains 101 CBAs.
Findings
The authors find that industry exploration strategies negatively affect financial performance, but technology exploration strategies have a positive effect. The acquirer’s absorptive capacity can exacerbate the negative effects, except in instances of technology exploration strategies, where there is a demonstrable benefit from the acquirer’s absorptive capacity.
Originality/value
The study contributes first by providing a more nuanced understanding of the effects of absorptive capacity on postacquisition performance, depending on the type of knowledge explored. Second, by drawing on EMNE learning perspectives, the authors demonstrate the versatility of absorptive capacity in emerging markets.
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Sergio Barile, Maria Vincenza Ciasullo, Mario Testa and Antonio La Sala
Rooting in the literature on training and laying on Kirkpatrick model, this paper aims to explore key drivers of corporate training to identify how they can be combined into an…
Abstract
Purpose
Rooting in the literature on training and laying on Kirkpatrick model, this paper aims to explore key drivers of corporate training to identify how they can be combined into an integrated framework of learning for human capital development.
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting the constructivist grounded theory, this contribution analyzes the experience carried out in the last ten years by Virvelle, an Italian corporate training firm.
Findings
Results show the rise of five core categories, g1iving rise to an integrated model of Kirkpatrick. Their dynamic interplay led to a new orientation of Kirkpatrick model giving rise to a metalearning ecosystem.
Research limitations/implications
Managerial implications have identified key factors on which building and implementing appropriate corporate training programmes capable of triggering co-generative processes of value creation. Particularly, the essential role of learning quality culture, digital technology and personalization are detected in integrating not only hard but furthermore soft shades of learning. Concerning theoretical implications, the emergence of key structural and systems enabling dimensions for learning, and contextual mechanisms involved in reshaping training effectiveness and achieving integrated learning outcomes are detected. The main limitation of this study lies in the need to generalize results: the conceptualized framework needs to be empirically tested.
Originality/value
The value of this research is built along three main points. The first is the integration among the core categories that an integrated learning system can be built on, promoting learning quality culture through positive feedback loops. The second is represented by the chance to enhance an integrated mutual knowledge development among engaged actors, thereby shaping a more holistic and multidimensional learning model. The third is related to the transversal role that digital technology plays in all phases of the training process as it integrates and enriches them.
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Lara Agostini, Anna Nosella, Riikka Sarala and Corinne Nkeng
Strategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an…
Abstract
Purpose
Strategic flexibility (SF) has become increasingly important for firms because of the fast changes in the external environment. In line with the practical importance of SF, an emerging research field has developed around it that has attempted to understand the nature of SF and the key relationships. The aim of this study is to unveil the semantic structure of the recent literature on SF and to suggest new promising areas for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a systematic literature review with a bibliographic analysis technique, which allows authors to identify the main recent streams in the literature, as well as offer reflections and suggestions for future research.
Findings
The authors uncover three main emerging areas in the research on SF, namely SF as a dynamic capability, the role of knowledge management for SF and the relationship between a firm SF and the external environment. The authors put forward three avenues for future research on SF: Avenue 1. SF, business model innovation (BMI) and other dynamic capabilities (DC), Avenue 2. Digital technologies and SF/organizational agility and Avenue 3. SF and sustainability. Articles included in the special issue entitled “A strategic perspective on flexibility, agility and adaptability in the digital era” contribute to Avenue 2, thus paving the way for filling some of the identified gaps regarding the relationship between SF and digitalization.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first literature review on SF that uses a bibliometric approach to draw conclusions on the findings in the literature. The review contributes to the theoretical understanding of SF by illustrating and explicating core topics that have persisted over time, as well as by presenting three main avenues for further developing authors’ knowledge around SF.
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Mariola Ciszewska-Mlinarič and Piotr Wójcik
The purpose of this study is to synthesize the literature on the topic of strategic renewal by identifying the key dimensions of extant research and the connections between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to synthesize the literature on the topic of strategic renewal by identifying the key dimensions of extant research and the connections between fragmented research domains.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies systematic literature review to identify the level of consistency and generalizability of research findings across existing studies in a comprehensive manner.
Findings
This study identifies six main themes of strategic renewal in the extant literature: (1) antecedents, (2) initiation, (3) logic, (4) structure, (5) process and (6) outcomes of strategic renewal.
Research limitations/implications
By integrating the current streams of research, the review offers a conceptual model of strategic renewal that maps the current state of the research and provide insights into key themes for the future research.
Originality/value1
This study, identifies connections between fragmented research domain and offers a conceptual framework of strategic renewal.
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Maria Carmela Annosi, Elena Casprini and Hector Parra
The aim of the paper is to analyze how actors in foodservice companies organize for inbound open innovation (OI).
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to analyze how actors in foodservice companies organize for inbound open innovation (OI).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper conducted a case analysis of a large and successful foodservice company operating in the Dutch market. Furthermore, drawing on 18 interviews and archive data, we identified the main organizational practices involved in the implementation of inbound innovation activities and the ways they are embraced are defined.
Findings
The results provide a holistic view of the main organizational practices a foodservice company implemented at different organizational levels, to exploit external knowledge coming from third parties and to promote the sharing and recombination of knowledge resources within the organization. The identified organizational practices reveal the main interaction patterns between relevant internal actors and other external parties in the company network, as well as between actors on different hierarchical organizational levels which allows processing relevant innovation information and make relevant decisions about it.
Research limitations/implications
Implications are provided in terms of both theory and practice. This paper helps foodservice companies to create an internal organizational environment that supports the exploitation of customer knowledge.
Originality/value
There are few studies on how companies organize themselves for OI in general, and especially in the foodservice sector.
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