Search results

By adopting a paradox lens, the purpose of this study is to explore paradoxes in relation to work organization, recruitment and competence development in growth-oriented companies.

The study is a qualitative content analysis based on research interviews of managers responsible for human resource management (HRM) in Finnish small and medium-sized growth enterprises (SMEs).

The results show four themes, namely, (1) individualized work, (2) cultural cohesiveness, (3) experimental organization and (4) personal closeness. These identified themes are interpreted as mutually enabling, active responses to the underlying paradoxes of individualism – community and stability – change.

The results contribute to research on tension and paradox in HRM by taking the still unexplored opportunity to apply paradox theory to HRM in SMEs.

Innovation ambidexterity is crucial for fostering growth and gaining a competitive advantage in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous research indicates that achieving a balance between exploration and exploitation is a multifaceted phenomenon occurring across various levels. This paper aims to examine the influence of individual, organizational and institutional factors on the ambidextrous innovation of Chinese niche leaders using a configurational perspective.

This study uses secondary data collected from 69 Chinese niche leaders in the new equipment manufacturing industry. The authors use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to investigate how owner openness, age, digitization, the formal institutional environment and the informal institutional environment jointly influence innovation ambidexterity.

By using fuzzy set analysis, this study categorizes combinations of interdependent factors that promote innovation ambidexterity. In particular, the authors pinpoint three configurations that foster high innovation ambidexterity and two configurations that lack such high levels of innovation ambidexterity. The analysis results suggest that innovation paradoxes in SMEs are linked to a nested system comprising leadership, organizational factors and the institutional environment.

This study elucidates the mechanism of innovation ambidexterity through a configurational perspective. This research proposes and validates a framework that enables SMEs to develop ambidextrous innovation capabilities, thereby integrating organizational ambidexterity theory and shedding light on the intricately complex nature of innovation ambidexterity.

This paper aims to focus on collaborative consumption, that is, the peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of goods and services facilitated by online platforms. Anchored in the access paradigm, collaborative consumption (e.g. accommodation rental and ridesharing services) differs from commercial services offered by firms (e.g. business-to-customer [B2C] carsharing). The aim of this study is to examine the nuanced styles of collaborative consumption in relation to market-mediated access practices and socially mediated sharing practices.

Following the general research trend on mobility services, the context of long-distance ridesharing is chosen. Data collection was conducted using participant observation as peer service provider, 11 ethnographic interviews of consumers and a netnographic study of digital artifacts.

Using practice theory, ten ridesharing activities were identified. These activities and the nuances in the procedures, understandings and engagements in the ridesharing practice led to the distinction of three styles of collaborative consumption: communal collaborative consumption, which is when participants seek pro-social relationships in belonging to a community; consumerist collaborative consumption, performed by participants who seek status and convenience in the access lifestyle; and opportunistic collaborative consumption, when participants seek to achieve monetary gain or personal benefits from abusive activities.

By taking a phenomenological approach on collaborative consumption, this study adds to the understanding of the sharing economy as embedded in both a utilitarian/commercial economic system and a non-market/communal social system. The three styles of collaborative consumption propose a framework for future studies differentiating P2P exchanges from other practices (i.e. B2C access-based services and sharing).

Most of the research on collaborative consumption platforms (CCPs) has focused on motivational drives, and little research has been conducted on the problem of unbalanced information sharing, also known as the “lemons problem,” and signals. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study conducted a netnography and an experiment.

The netnographic study showed that participants tend to use low ratings and negative reviews as cues implying more searches, use ratings as an anchor to adjust other information, and employ differing cognitive information-processing styles. The experimental results show that, in a normal environment (when ratings are high), visualizers (verbalizers) have more of an intention to use CCPs when they are exposed to abundant pictures (textual cues); however, when the cues lead to a further information search (when the ratings are low), this search behavior pattern is reversed: visualizers (verbalizers) have more of an intention to use CCPs when they are exposed to abundant textual cues (pictures).

This study extends previous research by showing that people frequently use differing heuristics depending on the context; that ratings have an anchoring effect and guide people in selecting a signal to use and condition how they use it; and that visualizers prefer text cues to pictorial cues when trying to make informed decisions under a condition that points to a further information search. These results are opposite of previous assertion.

Marketers are advised to provide a mechanism by which users can extract the cues they need and reduce the less urgent ones; devise a mechanism that screens participants and divides them into two categories: those who post honest evaluations and those who do not; and reduce the opportunistic behaviors of partners on both sides.

The current study addresses consumers’ use of information posted by other consumers on CCPs and demonstrates that participants use low ratings and negative reviews as cues implying more searches, use ratings as an anchor to adjust other information, and employ differing cognitive information-processing styles. Previous research rarely addressed these information search behaviors of consumers on CCPs.

The purpose of this study resides in a better understanding of the relationship between the use of traditional operators, online travel agencies, such as Booking.com and Expedia, comparators, tour operators and traditional travel agencies, airlines, new non-tourist companies like Google and the use of sharing economy platforms to obtain information about a travel destination.

Applying an analysis to 13,243 tourists from 19 European countries, a binomial logit analysis was carried out with the latest version of the SPSS statistical analysis program.

The use of Expedia and Booking.com has a positive effect on the use of sharing economy platforms to obtain information about travel destinations. However, it can also be observed how the use of Google, Facebook, tour operators and travel agencies, airlines and Twitter can have a negative effect.

The study provides interesting recommendations for destinations to be able to design better marketing strategies which focus on cognitive components of the destination image in different information sources.

Tourists search for information that helps them make better decisions when it comes to choosing a travel destination and they do so using different channels that have evolved over time. The proliferation of internet platforms has transformed the way tourists search for information and consequently the way the secondary image of destination is formed. The sharing economy plays an important role in this new tourism ecosystem. These new business models, based on platforms, coexist with other traditional information sources, tour operators and travel agencies and airlines. However, previous studies have not inquired about the relationship between them all.

This paper explores the contextual relevance of sharing economy for the organic food market in an emerging economy like India.

Case study approach was used to collect empirical data from different types of organic food markets.

Organic food farmers markets compared to online and health food stores tends to facilitate sharing economy more since it helps them to build value, scale and trust. By sharing resources, skills and spaces, organic farmers markets have increased organic food availability, reduced its cost of certification and operation besides managing consumer trust. Subjective influence through social media and offline interaction reduces information asymmetry at zero marginal cost. Organic food producers/retailers can get a competitive advantage by tapping underutilized assets to create value and opportunities besides overcoming their demand and supply constraints.

The research offers a fresh perspective to the organic food sector, particularly in emerging economies like India. It could assist all stakeholders to overcome the current demand and supply challenges faced in organic food markets.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the insights of the value of the society influenced by sharing economy (SE). The study focused on both the benefits and flaws of SE by using the case of renowned SE platform “Uber” to come up with a holistic perspective of these effects from both the facets.

This study collects data from demand and supply side using interview and questionnaire. Then the grounded theory is adopted to analyze interview data and come up with six major research constructs. Further, quantitative analyses methods are applied on questionnaires to test “whether sharing economy creates social value” and to approximately estimate the extent to which sharing is economy influencing social value.

Findings suggested that, when only drivers were inquired about positive and negative effects of SE, positive effects were dominant. Also, when passengers were asked their opinion was also in favor of positive effects. From quantitative data analysis, the major factor significantly influencing the sustainability of the SE was “efficiency.” “Security issues and regulatory issues” were the prime negative factors, though again there was not enough statistical evidence to validate their significance. The authors hereby conclude that the positive contribution of SE is more, and it is increasing the values of the society. And the positive effects were twice significant than the negative effects.

Theoretically, the study contributes to finding both the helpful and harmful effects of SE on the values of the society. Practically, it suggests that governments should allow growth of SE under proper regulations. And car-sharing companies should focus on solving the security issues and regulatory issues.

The sharing economy is a socio-economic system in which individuals acquire and distribute goods and services among each other for free or for compensation through internet platforms. The sharing economy has attracted the interest of the academic community, which examined the phenomenon from the economic, social and technological perspectives. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Given the lack of an overarching analysis of the sharing economy, this paper employs a quantitative content analysis approach to explore and synthesise relevant findings to facilitate the understanding of this emerging phenomenon.

The paper identified and grouped findings under four themes, namely: collaborative consumption practices, resources, drivers of user engagement and impacts, each of which is discussed in relation to the three main themes, aiming to compare findings and then put forward an agenda for further research.

The paper offers a balanced analysis of the building blocks of the sharing economy, to identify emerging themes within each stream, to discuss any contextual differences from a multi-stakeholder perspective and to propose directions for future studies.

This paper aims to explore the sharing economy in Italy, focusing on key socioeconomic characteristics.

Adopting an exploratory approach, it analyzes the answers of a questionnaire, created using Google Forms and administered via social networks and e-mails. To analyze the answers statistical tests and descriptive statistics were used. The survey reveals potential behavioral factors, which influence the participation propensity to share economic practices.

Results exhibit that the age of the consumer is an impactful participating factor of sharing economy, and therefore, it seems to be a discriminant. On the contrary, gender and annual income are insignificant determinants.

The sample is unbalanced, the majority of the answers were provided by young people.

The paper can give a picture of the role and the importance of the sharing economy in Italy. Motivated by its global economic growth that could reach in 2025 the value of €570bn, it contextualizes what drives people to collaborate and share tangible and intangible assets.

It aims to discover how this digital trend shapes the social fabric of the global economy, providing a broader reflection in terms of future sustainability developments. Ongoing dynamic changes on digital consumer preferences toward sharing products and services provide valuable evidence on their future commercial behavior.

This research article addresses the role of processes of normative regulation, driven by distinct approaches to collective action and underlying narratives of social change, in the construction of “solidarity economy” initiatives as parallel spatialities to that of the mainstream economy.

This article is based on a comparative case study analysis, informed by aspects of the Grounded Theory and Extended Case Study methods, of an ecovillage, an alternative commercialization network and an “integral cooperative”. The analysis is illustrated with fieldwork data on food production, commercialization and consumption, given its centrality in the construction of human livelihoods and lifeworld.

The resulting conceptual framework identifies three methodologies of normative regulation: Prefigurative social technologies and capitalizing upon power and reputation to exert influence over other economic actors; being part of a wider class-based emancipatory political project; mobilizing online peer-to-peer platforms and community currencies to construct an alternative institutionality.

This article constitutes an exploratory analysis. Further research, based on the application of mixed methodologies to larger samples, will further expand the setup and applicability of these concepts.

This analysis will allow scholars and practitioners alike to gain a deeper understanding of how different approaches to collective action, based on distinct structural standpoints and narratives of change, constitute alternative economic spatialities to those of the mainstream economy.

The comparative approach used in this article, as well as the resulting concepts, have the potential of contributing to the convergence of “solidarity economy” strategies between initiatives and movements with different approaches to collective action, therefore contributing to improve their capacity to exercise influence upon incumbent institutional regimes, as well as promote socio-economic change.

This article aims to bridge a significant gap in the understanding of how “solidarity economy”-based parallel spatialities emerge and coexist with the mainstream economy: It analyses how processes of normative regulation result from narratives of change with distinct approaches to collective action, based on the standpoint of actors located differently within structural power relations.