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1 – 10 of 14Jimmy Hill, Pauric McGowan and Paula Drummond
Outlines a qualitative methodology for researching in entrepreneurial small firms and through an application of this methodology to a group of five entrepreneurs, illustrates its…
Abstract
Outlines a qualitative methodology for researching in entrepreneurial small firms and through an application of this methodology to a group of five entrepreneurs, illustrates its appropriateness in explaining how such firms manage and develop their personal contact networks over the life cycle of an enterprise. Draws on the relevant literature to provide a contextual setting for the research. The research approach adopted is largely inductive and it resulted in the emergence of a theoretical model of network evolution for owner‐managed entrepreneurial small firms.
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Paula Brough, Greer Johnson, Suzie Drummond, Shannon Pennisi and Carolyn Timms
Advancing knowledge about effectively managing the ageing workforce and ensuring economic sustainability for a growing retired cohort is a recognised priority for organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
Advancing knowledge about effectively managing the ageing workforce and ensuring economic sustainability for a growing retired cohort is a recognised priority for organisational health researchers, employers and governments. The purpose of this paper is to test social perceptions that older workers' cognitive performance and job attitudes compare adversely to their younger colleagues.
Design/methodology/approach
The research assessed samples of older and younger workers in objective tests of cognitive abilities and subjective job attitudes. An opportunity sampling method was employed to recruit a heterogeneous group of participants in Australia (n=172).
Findings
No significant differences in cognitive ability between the groups were identified; older workers were as cognitively skilled for their job as their younger colleagues. No significant group difference for perceptions of social support, job commitment, job satisfaction or turnover intentions was identified.
Research limitations/implications
The cross‐sectional research design adopted by this research prevented a more detailed examination of the data in terms of causal relationships. While the cognitive testing provided objective rather than subjective data and, therefore, is not as susceptible to response biases such as common method variance, the small sample who undertook the cognitive testing is acknowledged as a research limitation.
Social implications
This research has implications for the reduction in unemployment of older workers and directly addresses the social issues of an ageing labour force.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that stereotypical assumptions concerning inadequate performance and low job commitment commonly attributed to older workers are not in fact indicative of all ageing employees.
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Yulia Taylor, Fiona Edgar and André M. Everett
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) offers management researchers an approach which allows deep examination of the relationship between individuals and their…
Abstract
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) offers management researchers an approach which allows deep examination of the relationship between individuals and their environments, particularly in complex social situations. Phenomenology studies phenomena, or things and events, as they are perceived by people's consciousness. Interpretivism allows researchers to access such internal awareness of research participants by attempting to understand the words used by subjects to describe their experiences and perceptions. Inherently subjective, this approach requires self-awareness by the researcher and the willingness to abandon preconceived notions in favor of interactive listening and exploration, relying on terms and concepts volunteered by participants rather than nominated by theory or preceding literature. Qualitative text analysis software can be utilized to facilitate aggregation and distillation of the voluminous narratives that result from the open-ended semi-structured interviews typically employed to collect data for IPA. However, impartiality and discernment on the part of the researcher remain essential in interpreting any automated analytical results. The researcher becomes in essence a second-hand observer, peering through windows voluntarily opened by participants, attempting to understand their understanding of their world.
This chapter introduces IPA, providing an overview of its rationale and approach, and illustrates its application in a management-related setting, focusing on cultural adaptation of immigrant professionals.
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Ana Paula Rodrigues and José Carlos M.
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the implementation of the marketing concept within both the internal (internal market) and external environments in the context of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the implementation of the marketing concept within both the internal (internal market) and external environments in the context of the local public sector. It also aims to examine the impact of market orientation (MO) on employees' job‐related attitudes (job satisfaction and organisational commitment (OC)) and organisational performance (OP).
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers take a methodological approach by using a survey method. Structural equation modelling is employed to analyse the data collected from a sample of municipality executive board members in order to test the causal relationships proposed in the research model.
Findings
The results of this empirical study demonstrate that internal marketing implementation has an important effect in fostering market‐oriented behaviours of local public organisations. The effect of MO on both job‐related attitudes and OP was also empirically supported. However, the paper's findings do not support the hypotheses that increased levels of job satisfaction and OC enhance OP.
Practical implications
Local public sector managers should recognise the importance of allocating resources to ensure the gathering and dissemination of and responsiveness to market information in both internal and external environments: this will likely enhance job satisfaction, OC and OP.
Originality/value
Despite claims that the implementation of marketing in the internal environment is vital for external marketing success, this relationship has not yet been extensively discussed in the literature. The paper's results provide quantitative evidence to support this relationship. Also, this paper offers additional research on the role of market‐oriented behaviours on job satisfaction, OC and OP, presenting interesting challenges for further research among practitioners and academics.
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The management of children′s literature is a search for value andsuitability. Effective policies in library and educational work arebased firmly on knowledge of materials, and on…
Abstract
The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.
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Harry J. Paarsch and John Rust
The authors construct an intertemporal model of rent-maximizing behavior on the part of a timber harvester under potentially multidimensional risk as well as geographical…
Abstract
The authors construct an intertemporal model of rent-maximizing behavior on the part of a timber harvester under potentially multidimensional risk as well as geographical heterogeneity. Subsequently, the authors use recursive methods (specifically, the method of stochastic dynamic programing) to characterize the optimal policy function – the rent-maximizing timber-harvesting profile. One noteworthy feature of their application to forestry in the province of British Columbia, Canada is the unique and detailed information the authors have organized in the form of a dynamic geographic information system to account for site-specific cost heterogeneity in harvesting and transportation, as well as uneven-aged stand dynamics in timber growth and yield across space and time in the presence of stochastic lumber prices. Their framework is a powerful tool with which to conduct policy analysis at scale.
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Ana Paula Rodrigues and José Carlos Pinho
This study aims to build on and extend the literature of market orientation by examining the impact of sub‐dimensions of both internal and external market orientation on financial…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to build on and extend the literature of market orientation by examining the impact of sub‐dimensions of both internal and external market orientation on financial and non‐financial performance in the local public sector context.
Design/methodology/approach
In line with previous studies on market orientation, a quantitative research design was adopted. The data collection was performed through a mail survey of a sample of local Portuguese public organisations (municipality executive board members). Structural equation modelling was used as a means to analyse the hypothesised relationships.
Findings
Six out of 12 hypotheses are supported. Concerning the sub‐components of external market orientation, the study finds that the dissemination and responsiveness of external information impacts strongly on non‐financial performance. In turn, external information generation and responsiveness impacts positively on financial performance. With respect to internal market orientation, results revealed a lower impact of different sub‐dimensions on performance. Specifically, the only dimension that impacts positively on organisational performance (financial and non‐financial) is internal information generation. This reinforces the view that there is a need to strengthen internal information dissemination and responsiveness to enhance organisational performance.
Originality/value
This paper offers original and unique findings and to the best of the authors' knowledge this research is one of the few studies addressing the role of internal and external sub‐dimensions of market orientation on performance in the local public sector. The findings of this study add weight to the recent emphasis on disaggregate approaches to (internal and external) market orientation‐performance link.
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Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…
Abstract
Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.
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