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1 – 4 of 4Morten Knudsen and Sharon Kishik
The paper starts from an observation of a discrepancy between the ambitions for sustainable change in the agro-industry and the actual changes being implemented. We offer one…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper starts from an observation of a discrepancy between the ambitions for sustainable change in the agro-industry and the actual changes being implemented. We offer one possible explanation by investigating the organizational structures conditioning change in this industry.
Design/methodology/approach
We apply a case study methodology, focusing on the Danish pig industry and its organizational conditions for change. Based on interviews and document analysis, and building on systems theory, we develop the concept of change structures, understood as decision premises that guide the change of further decision premises.
Findings
The analysis suggests that the pig industry’s change structures predominantly enable changes that cut costs and optimize the production, which may conflict with and possibly foreclose the changes needed to realize the industry’s sustainable ambitions. This conflict and its implications are not acknowledged by the industry.
Practical implications
The analysis indicates that the industry may be locked in its current form of organizational change. We suggest a way to overcome the lock-in by fostering organizational mechanisms that enable alternative interpretations to emerge internally. Without this, achieving the required sustainable change in the industry may hinge on stronger external regulation and support.
Originality/value
Conceptually, the notion of change structures supplements actor-oriented analytical approaches that focus on change agents and sense-making. Empirically, we contribute with an analysis of the conditions of possibility for sustainable change in an important yet understudied industry in organization studies; namely, the conventional agro-industry.
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Menghan Shen and Efpraxia D. Zamani
The purpose of this study is to identify potential differences in experiences and their causes from a gender-based perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify potential differences in experiences and their causes from a gender-based perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
We use secondary data, and we conduct a thematic analysis, to identify whether and how women and men negotiate differently.
Findings
Despite remote work being considered as creating a level-playing field for both genders, women are still vulnerable to work and life demands, and pre-existing stereotypes become exacerbated. In addition, we show how technology might be used to manage physical and temporal boundaries, through integration or segmentation tactics.
Originality/value
There is a growing body of literature that focuses on work-life conflict among teleworkers. Yet, there is limited research that explores such conflicts from a gender perspective, specifically whether and how different genders manage boundaries between work and life differently.
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Paul J. Thambar, Aldónio Ferreira and Prabanga Thoradeniya
This study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting institutional logics.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a case study of an Australian non-government organisation (NGO) operating in an institutional field dominated by the state government, in which policy reform jolted the balance between institutional logics. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, archival documents and observations.
Findings
We find the policy reform required the NGO to transform from a wholly care focus to accommodate a more balanced approach with a focus on care coupled with efficiency, outcome delivery and performance measurement. The NGO responded by revising its purpose, strategy and operational model and by seeking to address the imperatives of two dominant and often competing care and managerial logics. We find this was achieved through logic blending, in which PMSs played a pivotal role, with the formalisation and collaboration processes mobilising different elements of PMSs, mobilising some elements differently or not mobilising some elements at all.
Originality/value
This study highlights the central role of PMSs in managing tensions between and the complexity arising from coexisting institutional logics through logic blending, a form of enduring compromise. This study extends the accounting logics and performance management literature by developing the understanding of what constitutes logic blending and how it is distinct from other forms of compromise.
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Roberta Pellegrino, Barbara Gaudenzi and Abroon Qazi
This paper aims to capture the complex interdependences between supply chain disruptions (SCDs), SC risk mitigation strategies and firm performance in the context of disruptive…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to capture the complex interdependences between supply chain disruptions (SCDs), SC risk mitigation strategies and firm performance in the context of disruptive events to enhance resilience for medium-sized and large firms coping with complex supply chain networks. The roles of digitalization, insurance and government support have also been addressed as potential strategies to counteract the impacts of disruptions on supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on an empirical investigation in an FMCG company – using a hybrid causal mapping technique based on the frameworks of interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Bayesian networks (BN) – of 11 levels of relationships between SCDs (in supply, production, logistics, demand and finance), SC risk mitigation strategies (flexibility, efficiency, agility and responsiveness), insurance, government support, information and knowledge sharing, digitalization and finally the key firm performance measures (continuity, quality and financial performance).
Findings
The results of the empirical investigation reveal and describe: (1) the nature and probabilistic quantification of the lower-level relationships among the four SCDs, among the mitigation strategies and the three firm performance measures; (2) the nature and probabilistic quantification of the higher-level relationships among the impacts of SCDs, SC risk mitigation strategies and firm performance and (3) how to model and quantify the complex interdependences in single firms and their supply chains.
Originality/value
Our results can support managers in developing more effective decision-making models to assess and manage unfavorable events and cascade effects among different functions and processes in the context of risks and disruptions.
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