Search results
1 – 10 of 357The purpose of the present study is to tentatively contribute to paving the way for interdisciplinary research on the history of governance practices in ancient religious orders…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study is to tentatively contribute to paving the way for interdisciplinary research on the history of governance practices in ancient religious orders and on the significance of such governance for the orders’ performance and long-term survival.
Design/methodology/approach
The principal challenges of and proposed directions for such research on the comparative governance of old religious orders are illustrated through selected historic examples from Benedictine abbeys and Dominican monasteries, as they can be found in the yet scarce literature devoted to religious governance in the management field.
Findings
The authors’ review of research specifically devoted to the corporate governance of Benedictines and Dominicans illustrates the relevance of a hermeneutic grid derived from contemporary management research to better understand the historical dynamics of monastic governance and its relation to sustainability.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to establish a hermeneutic grid for the systematic and comparative study of the dynamics of governance systems in old religions organisations and their impact on organisational performance and sustainability.
Details
Keywords
Pierre-Yves Gomez and Peter Wirtz
The equal representation of employees on codetermined supervisory boards is one of the distinctive features of the German corporate governance system. This study aims to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
The equal representation of employees on codetermined supervisory boards is one of the distinctive features of the German corporate governance system. This study aims to examine the relevance of the frequent assumption according to which this system is rooted in a typically “German culture”.
Design/methodology/approach
This research applies Davis and Thompson’s (1994) mobilization theory as an interpretive grid to historical sources to reveal the determinants of the institutionalization of equal board representation in post-war Germany.
Findings
The present contribution reveals that the supposedly “German tradition” of board representation is a myth. The specific regime of codetermined supervisory boards is instead the outcome of the dramatic political and institutional circumstances of the late 1940s, which saw fierce struggles and the mobilization of various actors ranging from politicians and industrialists to trade unionists.
Originality/value
The German Catholic Church is shown to have played a significant, albeit seldom recognized, role in this search for institutional consensus. It acted as a broad-based “supporting institution”, positively influencing mobilization efforts in favor of board codetermination and ultimately enabling an agreement to be reached.
Details
Keywords
This case explores the turnaround and corporate renewal of the Chicago Blackhawks professional hockey team, which transformed from one of the worst-run organizations in all of…
Abstract
This case explores the turnaround and corporate renewal of the Chicago Blackhawks professional hockey team, which transformed from one of the worst-run organizations in all of professional sports in 2007 to one that won the Stanley Cup (the National Hockey League championship trophy) in 2010. W. Rockwell “Rocky” Wirtz was faced with making critical decisions shortly after inheriting the team from his father, who was the individual most associated with the organization's decline. The team faced financial trouble and had narrowly avoided missing payroll; the previous customer relations strategy (which included refusing to televise home games or to conduct effective marketing) had resulted in significantly diminished brand value; and management and player personnel were devoid of effective leadership. At its nadir, the team was named “The Worst Franchise in Professional Sports” by ESPN in 2004. After assuming control, Rocky embarked on an ambitious corporate renewal strategy that included the following components: leadership: install a new management team with clear goals and creative ideas about how to turn around the organization; culture: reward players for accomplishing their goals and establish a performance-based culture; financial: seek new corporate sponsorships and increase ticket prices once the team established a winning record; and brand and marketing: send a clear message that the team was intent upon winning the championship and design a customer-focused marketing strategy.
After analyzing the case, students should be able to: recommend strategic, financial, and operational changes needed to turn around the organization, and identify key leadership qualities that enable execution of a turnaround plan.
Details
Keywords
Venture capital is a critical source of funding and development of new ventures. The investment decision of venture capitalists (VCs) is a multi-stage assessment process where the…
Abstract
Venture capital is a critical source of funding and development of new ventures. The investment decision of venture capitalists (VCs) is a multi-stage assessment process where the entrepreneurs’ characteristics are the most important criteria to determine the decision to accept or to reject the proposal at the screening stage. At this stage, the decision-making of VCs is influenced by their subjective characteristics and their interactions with the entrepreneurs who share the same characteristics as theirs. How do the entrepreneurial experiences of both VCs and entrepreneurs interact and bias the evaluation? Several studies have tried to provide an answer to this still pending question. Research concurs in that entrepreneurial experience drives primarily the screening decisions of VCs. Yet, if many studies have shown that VCs are prone to cognitive biases in their evaluations, research focusing on the relationship between of those biases and entrepreneurial experience in the context of investment decision is scarce. VCs’ cognitive biases have been linked to the subjective characteristics of VCs. Most precisely, many studies have shown that a common bias among investors is the similarity-attraction bias such that VCs’ evaluations improve when VCs and entrepreneurs share the same characteristics. As a result, it is likely that entrepreneurial experience plays a significant role in explaining biases in investment decisions. Overall, research points out the importance of entrepreneurial experience of both VCs and entrepreneurs, their interactions and the cognitive biases shaped by their respective experiences in explaining the investment decisions of VCs at the screening stage.
Details
Keywords
Julia A. Fehrer, Herbert Woratschek and Roderick J. Brodie
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new business model logic, highlighting value processes in and properties of platform business models to inform business model thinking…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new business model logic, highlighting value processes in and properties of platform business models to inform business model thinking from a systemic and dynamic perspective. It challenges the idea of firms managing, influencing and controlling entire activity systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The study traces the evolution of different approaches to business models and assesses theories that explain value cocreation and systemic value capture to develop a new business model logic.
Findings
Business model thinking has evolved away from Porter’s value chain to a new logic based on open networks and platforms. This study develops a framework for understanding platform business models from a systemic perspective. Derived from service-dominant logic, this new business model logic responds to phenomena in contemporary business environments characterized by increasing connectivity and sociality among actors.
Research limitations/implications
The framework, developed from an extensive body of business model literature, has yet to be subjected to empirical investigation. Future research may involve the exploration of business model design processes and business model innovation from a systemic perspective.
Practical implications
Managers who aim to design their business models based on the logic of platform businesses require an understanding of their organization’s collaboration potential, technological interfaces and potential to leverage network relationships. This research guides start-ups and incumbents to evaluate their platform potential.
Originality/value
This study systematically emancipates the business model logic from a firm-centered, inside-out perspective, focuses on network relationships beyond the customer–firm dyad, explains value processes beyond organizational borders and rethinks value capture from a systemic perspective.
Details
Keywords
Eline Hottat, Sara Leroi-Werelds and Sandra Streukens
Following a contingency approach, this paper aims to understand when service automation can enhance or destroy value for customers in the frontline by (1) providing a…
Abstract
Purpose
Following a contingency approach, this paper aims to understand when service automation can enhance or destroy value for customers in the frontline by (1) providing a comprehensive overview of factors that influence the value co-creation/co-destruction potential of service automation and (2) zooming in on the combination of service contexts and service tasks to develop research propositions.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a grounded theory approach based on qualitative data from multiple methods (i.e. a diary study with follow-up interviews, a consultation of academic experts and a storyboard study) as well as a systematic literature review to develop (1) a Framework of Automated Service Interactions (FASI) and (2) a contingency model for service tasks/contexts.
Findings
This paper presents a framework which gives an overview of factors influencing the value co-creation/co-destruction potential of service automation. The framework discerns between three types of factors: service design (i.e. controllable and manageable by the organization), static contingency (i.e. uncontrollable and fixed) and dynamic contingency (i.e. uncontrollable and flexible). Furthermore, the paper presents a contingency model based on the combination of service contexts and service tasks which results in seven research propositions.
Originality/value
This paper brings structure in the fragmented field of service automation. It integrates and summarizes insights regarding service automation and sheds more light on when service automation has the potential to create or destroy value in the organizational frontline.
Details
Keywords
Sabine Benoit, Sonja Klose, Jochen Wirtz, Tor Wallin Andreassen and Timothy L. Keiningham
Organizations (data gatherers in the context) drown in data while at the same time seeking managerially relevant insights. Academics (data hunters) have to deal with decreasing…
Abstract
Purpose
Organizations (data gatherers in the context) drown in data while at the same time seeking managerially relevant insights. Academics (data hunters) have to deal with decreasing respondent participation and escalating costs of data collection while at the same time seeking to increase the managerial relevance of their research. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework on how, managers and academics can collaborate better to leverage each other’s resources.
Design/methodology/approach
This research synthesizes the academic and the managerial literature on the realities and priorities of practitioners and academics with regard to data. Based on the literature, reflections from the world’s leading service research centers, and the authors’ own experiences, the authors develop recommendations on how to collaborate in research.
Findings
Four dimensions of different data realities and priorities were identified: research problem, research resources, research process and research outcome. In total, 26 recommendations are presented that aim to equip academics to leverage the potential of corporate data for research purposes and to help managers to leverage research results for their business.
Research limitations/implications
This paper argues that both practitioners and academics have a lot to gain from collaborating by exchanging corporate data for scientific approaches and insights. However, the gap between different realities and priorities needs to be bridged when doing so. The paper first identifies data realities and priorities and then develops recommendations on how to best collaborate given these differences.
Practical implications
This research has the potential to contribute to managerial practice by informing academics on how to better collaborate with the managerial world and thereby facilitate collaboration and the dissemination of academic research for the benefit of both parties.
Originality/value
Whereas the previous literature has primarily examined practitioner–academic collaboration in general, this study is the first to focus specifically on the aspects related to sharing corporate data and to elaborate on academic and corporate objectives with regard to data and insights.
Details