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1 – 10 of 295Alexandra Waluszewski, Håkan Håkansson and Ivan Snehota
The first and most basic issue is the position and role of Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) research in relation to contemporary economic research, where the authors…
Abstract
The first and most basic issue is the position and role of Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) research in relation to contemporary economic research, where the authors raise the issue of phenomenon-driven theory development. The discussion hinges on the methodological implications of phenomenon-driven research and emphasizes the interplay of phenomena in focus, theory development and methodological approaches. Two approaches identified in a natural science field, depicted as image- and logic-based research, are used to examine research on business relationships, networks and interactions. The authors argue that the bulk of IMP studies has taken the image-based approach which, in the natural sciences, is considered to produce as hard facts as logic-based (theory testing) research. The detailed images (pictures) of the business landscape that IMP research has produced must be taken as seriously as any quantitative study of the same landscape. Greater awareness and more discussion of the ontological and methodological issues in researching the business world are needed.
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In this chapter, I propose an integrative framework for theorizing and empiricizing about talent management, based on the notion of “talent philosophies.” I believe that current…
Abstract
In this chapter, I propose an integrative framework for theorizing and empiricizing about talent management, based on the notion of “talent philosophies.” I believe that current debates about whether talent management should be inclusive or exclusive create the risk that our field will become fragmented, thereby undermining its social-scientific legitimacy. Nonetheless, this debate is absolutely correct in identifying the tensions between inclusive and exclusive approaches to talent management as a phenomenon. This, however, creates issues for talent management as a construct for scientific inquiry, as we need clear definitions and measures to create a cumulative body of research as a community. I propose that the solution lies in an expansion of our vocabulary as talent management researchers and identify four constructs that can help us structure and categorize our collective work: giftedness, talent, potential, and strength. Each of these constructs map logically onto different talent philosophies and talent management practices. In establishing “unity in diversity,” I believe talent management could finally make the transition into a more mature field of academic inquiry – although clearly phenomenon driven – characterized in equal parts by construct clarity, rigor, and relevance.
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Mohammed Ibrahimi and Jalal Eddine Liassini
The purpose of this article is to address certain gaps and contribute to enriching the literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Africa; describe the phenomenon taking into…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to address certain gaps and contribute to enriching the literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Africa; describe the phenomenon taking into account the particularity of the country; address recommendations to public policies and investors and make this article a ground-breaking article on research into the phenomenon of the M&A market in North Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
With description and an exploratory intention, the authors develop phenomenon driven research. As appropriate phenomenon driven research, the authors focus on characteristics of Moroccan M&A market. The authors use scientific investigation to provide descriptions and explanations of the phenomena in order to add a new perspective to the M&A literature in North African region. The authors work on the particularity of companies in Morocco, typology of M&A, geographic areas, socio-economic indicators, trade agreements, politics and culture.
Findings
Understand that the phenomenon of domestic M&A is a phenomenon of big cities and knows the participation of small and medium enterprises. The political variable, the trade agreements and the socio-economic weight of the countries influence the cross-border M&A in to out. Sharing a border and common culture has no impact on cross-border M&A but the history of colonization has an impact.
Research limitations/implications
The scientific contribution is first an extension of the neoclassical theory on the initiation of M&A operations. Throughout these 29 years of history, the existence of external shocks such as regulations has influenced the activity of M&A operations. Privatization, partial opening of sectors to foreign investment tax incentives have contributed to the realization of M&A operations.
Practical implications
This paper also has an economic and practical contribution, as it informs about the absence of M&A operation in the agriculture and agri-food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. This region recognizes a food shortage that will increase by 70–100% between 2010 and 2050 with a strong population growth. The authors also note that regulations, royal directives, influence the activity and geographic choices of M&A. The political variable remains decisive for the cross-border M&A activity between Morocco and Algeria, but encourages acquisitions in countries in West and Central Africa.
Originality/value
M&A research in Africa is poor and suffers from several shortcomings; these barriers push researchers to produce fewer papers on this phenomenon. Through data collection, description and explanation, the authors tried to produce a paper focusing on the M&A phenomenon in a country in North Africa. To the authors’ knowledge, no article has dealt with this phenomenon in this country which is known for its strong M&A activity.
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Rebecca Bednarek, Miguel Pina e Cunha, Jonathan Schad and Wendy K. Smith
Interdisciplinary research allows us to broaden our sights and expand our theories. Yet, such research surfaces a number of challenges. We highlight three issues – superficiality…
Abstract
Interdisciplinary research allows us to broaden our sights and expand our theories. Yet, such research surfaces a number of challenges. We highlight three issues – superficiality, lack of focus, and consilience - and discuss how they can be addressed in interdisciplinary research. In particular, we focus on the implications for interdisciplinary work with paradox scholarship. We explore how these issues can be navigated as scholars bring together different epistemologies, ontologies and methodologies within interdisciplinary research, and illustrate our key points by drawing on extant work in paradox theory and on examples from this double volume. Our paper contributes to paradox scholarship, and to organizational theory more broadly, by offering practices about how to implement interdisciplinary research while also advancing our understanding about available research methods.
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Federico Brunetti, Angelo Bonfanti, Paola Castellani and Elena Giaretta
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an unconventional approach for developing organizational learning inside companies. The subject of this paper is the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss an unconventional approach for developing organizational learning inside companies. The subject of this paper is the interactive mode of organizational learning – involving shared understanding and sense-making – which has proven useful in the current turbulent era and complex competitive environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on an inductive and phenomenon-driven approach. The data collection method consists of interviews with involves informants. The empirical context of the research is Open Factory – the largest open-door event for industrial manufacturing in Italy.
Findings
Companies participating in Open Factory gained several benefits in terms of interactive learning. In particular, intra-organizational knowledge sharing, staff motivation, and more focused organizational identity were reported as the most relevant advantages.
Practical implications
Companies eager to enhance their interactive mode of organizational learning should seriously consider taking part in events such as Open Factory or should strive to create a similar event.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to describe and analyze open-door events for manufacturing companies as a source of organizational learning.
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Hafez Shurrab and Patrik Jonsson
Changes frequently made to material delivery schedules (MDSs) accumulate upstream in the supply chain (SC), causing a bullwhip effect. This article seeks to elucidate how dynamic…
Abstract
Purpose
Changes frequently made to material delivery schedules (MDSs) accumulate upstream in the supply chain (SC), causing a bullwhip effect. This article seeks to elucidate how dynamic complexity generates MDS instability at OEMs in the automotive industry.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory multiple-case study methodology involved in-depth semistructured interviews with informants at three automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Findings
Dynamic complexity destabilizes MDSs primarily via internal horizontal interactions between product and process complexities and demand and SC complexities. A network of complexity interactions causes and moderates such instability through complexity absorption and generation and complexity importation and exportation.
Research limitations/implications
The multiple-case study contributes to empirical knowledge about the dynamics of MDS instability. Deductive research to validate the identified relationships remains for Future research.
Practical implications
In revealing antecedents of complexity’s effect on MDS instability, the findings imply the need to develop strategies, programs, and policies dedicated to improving capacity scalability, supplier flexibility, and the flexibility of material order fulfillment.
Originality/value
Building on complexity literature, the authors operationalize complexity transfer and develop a framework for analyzing dynamic complexity in SCs, focusing on complexity interactions. The identification and categorization of interactions provide a granular view of the dynamic complexity that generates MDS instability. The identified and proposed importance of readiness of the SC to absorb complexity challenges the literature focus on external factors for explaining complexity outcomes. The results can be used to operationalize such dynamic interactions by introducing new variables and networks of relationships. Moreover, the work showcases how a complexity perspective could be used to discern the root causes of a complex phenomenon driven by non-linear relationships.
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Nadja Fugleberg Damtoft, Dennis van Liempd and Rainer Lueg
Researchers and practitioners have recently been interested in corporate sustainability performance (CSP). However, knowledge on measuring CSP is limited. Many CSP-measurements…
Abstract
Purpose
Researchers and practitioners have recently been interested in corporate sustainability performance (CSP). However, knowledge on measuring CSP is limited. Many CSP-measurements are eclectic, without guidance for contextual applications. This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework that categorizes, explains and evaluates measurements based on their accuracy and precision and provides a guideline for their context-specific application.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic literature review of an initial sample of 1,415 papers.
Findings
The final sample of 74 papers suggested four measurement categories: isolated indicators, indicator frameworks, Sustainability Balanced Scorecards (SBSC) and Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems (SPMS). The analysis reveals that isolated indicators are inaccurate and imprecise, limiting their application to organizations with delimited, specific measurements of parts of CSP due to the risk of a GIGO-effect (i.e. low-quality input will always produce low-quality output). CSP-indicator frameworks are imprecise but accurate, making them applicable to organizations that handle a more significant amount of CSP data. They have a risk of greensplashing, i.e. many indicators not connected to the industry, organization or strategy. In contrast, SBSCs are precise but inaccurate and valuable for organizations desiring a comprehensive strategic management tool with limited capacity to handle sustainability issues. They pose a risk of the streetlight effect, where organisations do not measure relevant indicators but what is easy to measure.
Originality/value
The ideal CSP-measurement was identified as SPMSs, which are both precise and accurate. SPMSs are useful for organizations with complex, comprehensive, connected and tailored indicators but are methodologically challenging.
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Before I comment on the substance of the paper offered by Professor Yves Doz in this issue, I believe that a few comments on the author are appropriate, since this issue…
Abstract
Before I comment on the substance of the paper offered by Professor Yves Doz in this issue, I believe that a few comments on the author are appropriate, since this issue celebrates him as a distinguished scholar in international management. The importance of Yves to the development of international strategic management is evident in his discussion of the evolution of the theory of the MNC. The study of the interaction of international economics and management studies that has resulted in modern concepts of the multinational corporation is, to a significant degree, the consequence of his own work. The paper offered in this volume is a natural development from his stream of work and in many ways reflects the patterns that have made Professor Doz such an important scholar. As a management scholar, he is embedded in the tradition that he calls the phenomenon-driven approach to the MNC, and the distinct characteristic of most of his work is its grounding in the real world of organizations. However, the models with which he is most associated also display solid theoretical bases, removing them from the realm of small sample, case-based, observational empiricism, and providing the resonance for other studies that have made them classic. As one example, the Integration–Responsiveness model (Doz et al., 1981) is closely tied to observation of the strategies used by firms in different industries to pursue international markets. However, it also incorporates Industrial Organization theory to establish how the Structure-Conduct-Performance paradigm plays out in the international realm.
Kiran Marlapudi and Usha Lenka
Emphasizing the increasing role of talent management (TM) as a global phenomenon and a source of sustainable competitive advantage for organizations, this study aims to present a…
Abstract
Purpose
Emphasizing the increasing role of talent management (TM) as a global phenomenon and a source of sustainable competitive advantage for organizations, this study aims to present a scoping review of empirical literature on TM, examining the transition of TM from a phenomenon-driven to a theory-driven field.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a scoping review, this study analyzed 200 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2023 on TM.
Findings
The results indicate that TM is extensively studied in nationally operated, large, private, engineering-led organizations in Anglo-Saxon countries. The study highlights the necessity for more empirical studies and statistically robust evidence to establish the effectiveness of TM.
Research limitations/implications
This review intends to provide a vision and direction for future researchers, guiding TM towards becoming a theory-driven field characterized by widely accepted theoretical frameworks and research designs.
Practical implications
The findings of this study may not be generalizable to other types of organizations or cultural contexts, as it primarily focused on large private engineering-led organizations in Anglo-Saxon countries.
Originality/value
This paper offers a comprehensive view of the definitions, contextualization, conceptualization, frameworks, practices, processes and under-explored areas of TM, which are essential for its development as a discipline.
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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…
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.
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