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Article
Publication date: 17 May 2023

Silas U. Nsanzumuhire, Wim Groot, Sofie Cabus, Marie-Pierre Ngoma and Joseph Masengesho

This study aims at advancing the understanding of University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) by proposing an adapted conceptual model for comprehensive contextual analysis taking…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at advancing the understanding of University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) by proposing an adapted conceptual model for comprehensive contextual analysis taking industry perspective and identifying effective mechanisms for stimulating UIC in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Design/methodology/approach

This study was designed as a multicase qualitative study. Data were collected through interviews of focus groups representing 26 agro-processing companies operating in Rwanda. The process consisted of two sessions evaluating the current collaboration patterns, and two sessions identifying the desired future and the mechanisms to realize it. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti software with the grounded theory techniques.

Findings

Findings indicate that current interactions are unidirectional and focus on educational collaboration. Results are short-term and do not yield sufficient benefit for the companies involved. Industry aspirations for future collaboration were identified, along with linkages between inputs, activities and outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

This study has two noteworthy limitations. First, this study did not consider the capacity of firms to collaborate. Second, for simplification purposes, this study did not integrate other complementary sources of knowledge for firms. To overcome these omissions, a short introduction of University–Industry Collaboration (UIC) was presented to participants highlighting and justifying the scope of the study. As research implications, this paper presents a new integrated conceptual framework, which can be useful for studies focusing on a comprehensive analysis of the UIC context and identifying effective mechanisms for improvement in the future. A construct of policies that stimulate UIC is proposed, thereby facilitating further operationalization and testing of context-specific hypotheses on policy stimuli.

Practical implications

In practice, the identified conceptual framework allows to holistically capture and reflect on the interrelationships between UIC factors and outcomes for a specific context, hence, informing better UIC decision-making. In this way, this paper advances the operationalization of the argument for reconciling organizational theories with their practices.

Social implications

This paper presents a systemic means for organizational theories to perform their adaptive role in society. Indeed, as demonstrated by the empirical results, the proposed framework is effective not only in systematically assessing the current situation, but also in predicting the desired state in the future. In other words, the proposed framework facilitates prescience theorizing, which is a mechanism for ensuring that organizational theories adapt to future requirements of the society.

Originality/value

This study develops a new integrative conceptual framework to accommodate the interaction between UIC’s institutional decision-making and existing macrolevel frameworks of innovation ecosystems. In terms of methodology, the value of this study lies in its adoption of an ex ante approach to the development of mechanisms to stimulate UIC. This use of prescience theory (Corley and Gioia, 2011) constitutes an important – but long-neglected – approach to UIC and its adaptive role in society.

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2016

Alan D. Lowe, Ivo De Loo and Yesh Nama

The purpose of this paper is to constructively discuss the meaning and nature of (theoretical) contribution in accounting research, as represented by Lukka and Vinnari (2014…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to constructively discuss the meaning and nature of (theoretical) contribution in accounting research, as represented by Lukka and Vinnari (2014) (hereafter referred to as LV). The authors aim is to further encourage debate on what constitutes management accounting theory (or theories) and how to modestly clarify contributions to the extant literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach the authors take can be seen as (a)n interdisciplinary literature sourced analysis and critique of the movement’s positioning and trajectory” (Parker and Guthrie, 2014, p. 1218). The paper also draws upon and synthesizes the present authors and other’s contributions to accounting research using actor network theory.

Findings

While a distinction between domain and methods theories … may appear analytically viable, it may be virtually impossible to separate them in practice. In line with Armstrong (2008), the authors cast a measure of doubt on the quest to significantly extend theoretical contributions from accounting research.

Research limitations/implications

Rather than making (apparently) grandiose claims about (theoretical) contributions from individual studies, the authors suggest making more modest claims from the research. The authors try to provide a more appropriate and realistic approach to the appreciation of research contributions.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to the debate on how theoretical contributions can be made in the accounting literature by constructively debating some views that have recently been outlined by LV. The aim is to provide some perspective on the usefulness of the criteria suggested by these authors. The authors also suggest and highlight (alternative) ways in which contributions might be discerned and clarified.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 June 2015

Frederick Ahen and Peter Zettinig

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an issue-oriented substantive domain. Nevertheless, there are countless socio-economic, medico-techno-scientific, environmental and…

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Abstract

Purpose

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an issue-oriented substantive domain. Nevertheless, there are countless socio-economic, medico-techno-scientific, environmental and ethical philosophical questions that are far from being settled. In pursuit of a more desirable and sustainable future, this work problematizes current corporate responsibility (CR) research, education and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This contribution provides a critical perspective on the future of CR research and practice and offers a way forward based on theoretical prescience.

Findings

The paper delineates a taxonomy of typical crises, categorized as burning, existential, overlooked and neglected crises. This taxonomy can be used as a tool for all forms of scenario analysis, empirical work and policymaking. This allows various futures issues to be given targeted interventions, assigned a focal theory, or allocated differentiated resources and appropriate time and space depending on their technical nature and the institutional context within which the issues unfold.

Social implications

This paper argues that CR research risks losing steam despite its near ubiquitous nature and the major contributions hitherto made. Nevertheless, when problems are strategically thought out in the light of the taxonomy above, they provide promising avenues for insightful research and value-creating practice to meet the expectations of both business and society.

Originality/value

A profound chasm exists between CR practice and rhetoric. This void is particularly stark when we consider the interface between science and technology and developing economies. This paper explores desirable futures for CR while analyzing what is possible and probable.

Book part
Publication date: 21 October 2019

Peter W. Liesch and Lawrence S. Welch

In this chapter we chart the evolution of the theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE) from Buckley and Casson’s original depiction to Buckley’s conceptualization of the…

Abstract

In this chapter we chart the evolution of the theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE) from Buckley and Casson’s original depiction to Buckley’s conceptualization of the global factory. Within that context we consider the issues of risk and uncertainty which continue to challenge firms in the international context. Indeed, despite the explosion in access to greater wealth of digital sources of information and knowledge, risk, uncertainty, volatility, complexity, and ambiguity remain constraints on the ability of firms to function effectively in the international arena. Theoretical development around the nature of the MNE must deal with such enormities, but also other demands in the global context. The evolution of the global factory has been recognized as the disintegration of the MNE through the externalization of many of its previously core activities, including parts of production and marketing, but this form of the MNE will not be the end-game. Ultimately, it may be questioned whether the MNE is becoming, or has become, just a global super-manager of value activities orchestrating the internationalization of production.

Details

International Business in a VUCA World: The Changing Role of States and Firms
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-256-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 September 2022

Violina P. Rindova, Santosh B. Srinivas and Luis L. Martins

The assumption of wealth creation as the dominant motive underlying entrepreneurial efforts has been challenged in recent work on entrepreneurship. Taking the perspective that…

Abstract

The assumption of wealth creation as the dominant motive underlying entrepreneurial efforts has been challenged in recent work on entrepreneurship. Taking the perspective that entrepreneurship involves emancipatory efforts by social actors to escape ideological and material constraints in their environments (Rindova, Barry, & Ketchen, 2009), researchers have sought to explain a range of entrepreneurial activities in contexts that have traditionally been excluded from entrepreneurship research. We seek to extend this research by proposing that entrepreneurial acts toward emancipation can be guided by different notions of the common good underlying varying conceptions of worth, beyond those emphasized in the view of entrepreneurial activity as driven by economic wealth creation. These alternative conceptions of worth are associated with specific subjectivities of entrepreneurial self and relevant others, and distinct legitimate bases for actions and coordination, enabling emancipation by operating from alternative value system perspectives. Drawing on Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006) work on multiple orders of worth (OOWs), we describe how emancipatory entrepreneurship is framed within – and limited by – the dominant view, which is rooted in a market OOW. As alternatives to this view, we theorize how the civic and inspired OOWs point to alternate emancipatory ends and means through which entrepreneurs break free from material and ideological constraints. We describe factors that enable and constrain emancipatory entrepreneurship efforts within each of these OOWs, and discuss the implications of our theoretical ideas for how entrepreneurs can choose among different OOWs as perspectives and for the competencies required for engaging with pluralistic value perspectives.

Details

Entrepreneurialism and Society: New Theoretical Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-658-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 28 July 2008

Steven P. Dandaneau

The “theory” in the distinctive sociological theory of C. Wright Mills is this: American society was increasingly “postmodern,” by which he meant a society devoid of reason and…

Abstract

The “theory” in the distinctive sociological theory of C. Wright Mills is this: American society was increasingly “postmodern,” by which he meant a society devoid of reason and freedom as practical features of everyday life and thus a societal formation fundamentally severed from the aims and optimism of The Enlightenment (Mills, 1959b, p. 13, p. 166, also 1959a). With Max Weber and John Dewey principally in mind, but also upon the benefit of his study of Marx and the Frankfurt School, Mills argued that “rationality without reason” was coming to dominate lived experience (see Dandaneau, 2001, 2006, 2007).

Details

No Social Science without Critical Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-538-3

Book part
Publication date: 22 February 2010

Leslie Marsh

This paper conceives of Hayek's overall project as presenting a theory of sociocognition, explication of which has a two-fold purpose: (1) to locate Hayek within the non-Cartesian…

Abstract

This paper conceives of Hayek's overall project as presenting a theory of sociocognition, explication of which has a two-fold purpose: (1) to locate Hayek within the non-Cartesian tradition of cognitive science, and (2) to show how Hayek's philosophical psychology infuses his social theory.

Details

The Social Science of Hayek's ‘The Sensory Order’
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-975-6

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2015

Terry Smith, Tom Williams, Sid Lowe, Michel Rod and Ki-Soon Hwang

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of marketing practice and theory in arguing that much of the dislocation between strategy and practice is due to the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of marketing practice and theory in arguing that much of the dislocation between strategy and practice is due to the inheritance and internalisation of often impractical but persistently dominant, tacit Cartesian assumptions.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses case methodology to examine the marketing theory into practice/marketing practice into theory conundrum and explores: their separation (marketing theory and marketing practice); their flows (context to text to context: theory into practice/practice into theory); their symbiosis (the praxis of marketing); and the dynamic and static (in situ/in aspic) nature of their duality. This work is an exploratory empirical study undertaken in what is a very under-researched area.

Findings

In this paper, marketing theory and marketing practice are recognised as occupying different epistemes. The lifeworld of marketing theorising appears as characterised by a relatively homogenous and mostly cognitive world dominated by rationality and empirical rigour. By contrast, the embodied practitioner inhabits a more highly segmented, fragmented, heterogeneous and frequently improvised landscape.

Practical implications

The authors propose that the all-consuming clamour for reliance and relevance of theory to practice dictates that the form, function and philosophy of marketing must be co-created in the practical pragmatism of praxis. Praxis is practice informed by theory and theory informed by practice, a cyclical process of experiential, contextual learning.

Originality/value

The paper appears to be the first to bring together Cartesian thought and the practice-theory divide in B2B marketing theory.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 December 2021

Crawford Spence and Dorothy Toh

This paper aims to show how The Audit Society was oriented towards, not just accounting scholars but also towards social scientific enquiry more broadly.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to show how The Audit Society was oriented towards, not just accounting scholars but also towards social scientific enquiry more broadly.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a reflective review of the impact that Mike Power’s The Audit Society has had on social science.

Findings

The authors find that The Audit Society successfully built conceptual bridges “up” and “out” towards other social science disciplines.

Research limitations/implications

The authors highlight the importance of theorizing “up” and “out” for present day accounting scholars.

Originality/value

The authors offer a personal reflection on The Audit Society which has influenced the own study in various ways.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 19 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 December 2017

Robert P. Wright

Our preoccupation with the Repertory Grid Technique has left little time and attention to the core ideas articulated in Kelly’s (1955) Theory of Personal Constructs. After more…

Abstract

Our preoccupation with the Repertory Grid Technique has left little time and attention to the core ideas articulated in Kelly’s (1955) Theory of Personal Constructs. After more than 20 years engaging with the method, I have (re)discovered his theorizing about man’s quest for knowing, to be the most insightful. This chapter shares my reflections/reflexions about the crucial role he placed on the notion of “anticipation.” I position this importance within the context of the challenges of our times and advocate that his “psychology of the unknown” is just as important today as it was 62 years ago.

Details

Methodological Challenges and Advances in Managerial and Organizational Cognition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-677-0

Keywords

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