Search results

1 – 10 of 48
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 May 2024

Marc K. Peter, Lucia Wuersch, Alain Neher, Johan Paul Lindeque and Karin Mändli Lerch

Micro and small enterprises (MSE) play a critical role in the Swiss economy but had no meaningfully adopted working from home (WFH) policy before the COVID-19 crisis. The timing…

Abstract

Purpose

Micro and small enterprises (MSE) play a critical role in the Swiss economy but had no meaningfully adopted working from home (WFH) policy before the COVID-19 crisis. The timing of the study’s data collection allowed a unique assessment of Swiss MSEs’ adoption of WFH enabled by the adoption of digital technologies due to the first government-mandated COVID-19 lockdown. The study also set out to assess the permanence of any changes in the adoption of WFH by MSEs after initial government COVID-19 restrictions ended.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a threefold theoretical framework combining social, technical and spatial dimensions. Data were collected via telephone interviews. The utilised sampling frame included 153,000 small businesses with 4–49 employees, and the realised sample for the study was 503 interviews with MSE owners and managing directors (MDs).

Findings

The Swiss government’s COVID-19 crisis lockdown policies accelerated the digital transformation of work by employees in Swiss MSEs by increasing the number of employees WFH. However, the number of MSEs with WFH employees decreased after the first lockdown ended. Small business leadership is an important influence on the persistence of any increases in WFH.

Originality/value

The data collection uniquely captures the effects of externally driven digital transformation of work in small businesses by the adoption of WFH. The findings show that small businesses can rapidly learn new ways of working and support the claim that Swiss MSE MDs play a critical role in the adoption of WFH. They also confirm the importance of digital leadership and culture for realising the potential of WFH in small businesses.

Details

Journal of Strategy and Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-425X

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2024

Denise Mifsud

Educators have had good reason to be concerned with social justice in a context where diversity has become more pronounced in both our schools and communities, with widening…

Abstract

Educators have had good reason to be concerned with social justice in a context where diversity has become more pronounced in both our schools and communities, with widening divisions between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. Internationally, increasing emphasis has been placed on utilizing the role of school leadership to address issues of social justice and equality, within a scenario where comparative studies of the performance of educational systems dominate the policy imagination globally, thus leading to increased pressure on school systems. This chapter presents a problematization of the social justice concept within education as presented in the literature, while setting out to critique this concept as an educational goal, as well as the role educational leadership is expected to play in the promotion of equity and social justice discourses through the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This theoretical chapter has implications for theory, policy, and practice.

Details

Schooling for Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion: Problematizing Theory, Policy and Practice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-761-6

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 September 2021

Jude Stansfield, Nick Cavill, Louise Marshall, Claire Robson and Harry Rutter

This paper aims to use systems mapping as a tool to develop an organisation-wide approach to public mental health to inform strategic direction within a national public health…

4025

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to use systems mapping as a tool to develop an organisation-wide approach to public mental health to inform strategic direction within a national public health agency.

Design/methodology/approach

Two workshops were facilitated with internal staff from a wide range of public health policy teams working in small groups to produce paper-based maps. These were collated and refined by the project team and digitised.

Findings

The approach engaged a range of teams in forming a shared understanding and producing a complex system map of the influences on population mental health and well-being, where current policy initiatives were addressing them and what the gaps and priorities were. Participants valued the approach which led to further study and organisational commitment to the whole system working as part of national public mental health strategy.

Research limitations/implications

The approach was limited to internal stakeholders and wider engagement with other sectors and community members would help further the application of complex system approaches to public mental health.

Originality/value

It was a valuable process for developing a whole-organisation approach and stimulating thinking and practice in complex system approaches. The paper provides a practical example of how to apply systems mapping and its benefits for organising public mental health practice.

Details

Journal of Public Mental Health, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5729

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 December 2022

Dan Danes, Patrick van Eijck, Johan P. Lindeque, Mona A. Meyer and Marc K. Peter

Cities remain an understudied unit of analysis for understanding the motives of multinational enterprises’ (MNE) foreign direct investment (FDI), with subnational locations in…

2039

Abstract

Purpose

Cities remain an understudied unit of analysis for understanding the motives of multinational enterprises’ (MNE) foreign direct investment (FDI), with subnational locations in International Business (IB) research to date predominantly captured via the phenomenon of agglomeration. As regional integration projects, such as the European Union and to a lesser degree NAFTA, increasingly reduce the importance of national institutional environments, this paper argues regional and subnational levels become more important for studying MNE location choice. This paper aims to evaluate the explanatory contribution of regional and subnational levels of analysis to understanding MNE location choice.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative deductive bottom-up multiple-case study research design is adopted to study the city location choices and FDI motives of six automotive and six commercial banking companies. These purposefully sampled manufacturing and service MNEs have different home countries and regional orientations. Data on their foreign investments across the extended Triad of Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific were collected for the time period of 2000–2021.

Findings

Findings suggest that different classes of city tend to attract specific types of FDI and that these patterns might vary across sectors and be influenced by the regional strategic orientations of MNEs. Industry-specific findings reveal the importance of related and support industries and partners in a city location for the automotive MNEs, while the commercial banks seek investment opportunities in cities that allow acquisition targets that have an attractive customer based and will improve their local market knowledge.

Originality/value

The findings provide evidence in support of MNEs in manufacturing and service industries perceiving the attractiveness of three city types in different ways across the Triad regions.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Abstract

Collegiality is the modus operandi of universities. Collegiality is central to academic freedom and scientific quality. In this way, collegiality also contributes to the good functioning of universities’ contribution to society and democracy. In this concluding paper of the special issue on collegiality, we summarize the main findings and takeaways from our collective studies. We summarize the main challenges and contestations to collegiality and to universities, but also document lines of resistance, activation, and maintenance. We depict varieties of collegiality and conclude by emphasizing that future research needs to be based on an appreciation of this variation. We argue that it is essential to incorporate such a variation-sensitive perspective into discussions on academic freedom and scientific quality and highlight themes surfaced by the different studies that remain under-explored in extant literature: institutional trust, field-level studies of collegiality, and collegiality and communication. Finally, we offer some remarks on methodological and theoretical implications of this research and conclude by summarizing our research agenda in a list of themes.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 April 2022

Sofie Østergaard Jaspers, Dorte Raaby Andersen, Iben Louise Karlsen, Lars Peter Sønderbo Andersen, Paul Maurice Conway, Johnny Dyreborg and Birgit Aust

Work-related violence is a major occupational safety and health (OSH) issue. According to the concept of violence prevention climate, managers play a pivotal role in preventing…

Abstract

Purpose

Work-related violence is a major occupational safety and health (OSH) issue. According to the concept of violence prevention climate, managers play a pivotal role in preventing the risk of violence at work. However, research on this is scarce. The objective of this study was, therefore, to examine line managers' use of violence preventive practices in high-risk sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employed three different sources of data (semi-structured interviews and field notes from both leadership seminars and coaching sessions) that were collected in the context of an intervention study in Denmark aimed at improving violence prevention. The authors conducted a thematic analysis of violence prevention experiences among 16 line managers – eight from the prison and probation services and eight from psychiatric hospitals.

Findings

Using an existing prevention framework, the authors categorized the descriptions into three types of violence preventive practices used by the line managers across the two sectors: “preventing violence”, “managing episodes of violence” and “promoting the positive”. Especially the category “promoting the positive” is often neglected in the intervention literature.

Originality/value

The study identified new aspects of managers' violence preventive practices than those included in the violence prevention climate concept. Such knowledge may help organizations devise improved systems for violence prevention in high-risk sectors.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 January 2020

Peter Wiltshier

Concepts of health and wellbeing have long been conceived as relevant to leisure, recreation and rejuvenation. These are now conceived as being necessary and useful as potential…

1747

Abstract

Purpose

Concepts of health and wellbeing have long been conceived as relevant to leisure, recreation and rejuvenation. These are now conceived as being necessary and useful as potential measures of success in community development and in that subset of leisure and recreation pursuits that is designated as tourism at a destination. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

A post-modern approach to development of community and markers of sustainable development more-or-less correspond to sustainable development goals (there are 17) that often overlay the concepts of good health and wellbeing that concern all stakeholders.

Findings

This paper encompasses best practice experiences from two case studies conducted in a tourism “hot spot” in the environs of the first National Park established in Derbyshire in the UK. There is some urgency about this topic as resources for community development are increasingly under pressure from local, central government and the expectation is now that local communities take full responsibility for that development. An inter-disciplinary approach using concepts of health and wellbeing is recommended.

Originality/value

Wellbeing may demand a greater allocation of scarce resources in an era of self-determination, bottom-up and locally sourced community aspiring to become, or remain, a destination of choice. Two case studies’ outcomes in this development are presented with a special focus on creation of a repository for the know-how and know what of the learning acquired.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 August 2023

Federico Caniato, Gary Graham, Jens K. Roehrich and Ann Vereecke

International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM)'s Impact Pathway (IP) section has been launched in 2020 to host short contributions grounded in current…

1619

Abstract

Purpose

International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM)'s Impact Pathway (IP) section has been launched in 2020 to host short contributions grounded in current managerial practices and/or policy development, challenging established operations and supply chain management (OSCM) knowledge and highlighting innovative and relevant research directions. This commentary reflects on the achievements of the section, delineates the key features of IP papers and stimulates further development.

Design/methodology/approach

This commentary provides a brief overview of the IJOPM's IP section, taking stock of the contributions that have been published so far, analysing their topics, methodologies, insights and impact.

Findings

The 19 contributions published over the last three years have dealt with a variety of emerging topics, ranging from the COVID-19 response to additive manufacturing, leveraging on key evidence from managerial practice that challenges consolidated knowledge and theory, providing clear research directions as well as managerial and/or policy guidelines.

Originality/value

The commentary reflects on the importance of phenomenon-driven research that seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice, thus increasing the impact and reach of OSCM research. This is a call for contributions from scholars, business leaders and policymakers to develop further impact-oriented research.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 October 2018

Samuel Evans, Eric Jones, Peter Fox and Chris Sutcliffe

This paper aims to introduce a novel method for the analysis of open cell porous components fabricated by laser-based powder bed metal additive manufacturing (AM) for the purpose…

1171

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to introduce a novel method for the analysis of open cell porous components fabricated by laser-based powder bed metal additive manufacturing (AM) for the purpose of quality control. This method uses photogrammetric analysis, the extraction of geometric information from an image through the use of algorithms. By applying this technique to porous AM components, a rapid, low-cost inspection of geometric properties such as material thickness and pore size is achieved. Such measurements take on greater importance, as the production of porous additive manufactured orthopaedic devices increases in number, causing other, slower and more expensive methods of analysis to become impractical.

Design/methodology/approach

Here the development of the photogrammetric method is discussed and compared to standard techniques including scanning electron microscopy, micro computed tomography scanning and the recently developed focus variation (FV) imaging. The system is also validated against test graticules and simple wire geometries of known size, prior to the more complex orthopaedic structures.

Findings

The photogrammetric method shows an ability to analyse the variability in build fidelity of AM porous structures for use in inspection purposes to compare component properties. While measured values for material thickness and pore size differed from those of other techniques, the new photogrammetric technique demonstrated a low deviation when repeating measurements, and was able to analyse components at a much faster rate and lower cost than the competing systems, with less requirement for specific expertise or training.

Originality/value

The advantages demonstrated by the image-based technique described indicate the system to be suitable for implementation as a means of in-line process control for quality and inspection applications, particularly for high-volume production where existing methods would be impractical.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 29 November 2023

Abstract

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Research Management and Administration Around the World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-701-8

1 – 10 of 48