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Book part
Publication date: 3 October 2012

Chapter 2 Commercial Diplomats as Corporate Entrepreneurs: An Institutional Perspective

Robin Visser and Huub Ruël

This chapter presents a study on the work of commercial diplomats as international business promoters at foreign posts. Research has largely overlooked the actual roles…

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Abstract

This chapter presents a study on the work of commercial diplomats as international business promoters at foreign posts. Research has largely overlooked the actual roles and activities of commercial diplomats in explaining the effectiveness of commercial diplomacy and international business support. In this study, it is assumed that commercial diplomats’ behavior is influenced by informal institutions. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 23 commercial diplomats at foreign posts from different countries were conducted and analyzed. The results show three different types of role behavior and differences in proactivity per type. Informal institutions such as background, skills, and experience, cultural differences, and the working environment suggest to explain the differences in levels of proactive international business support behavior of commercial diplomats. Further research is needed to assert these findings.

Details

Commercial Diplomacy and International Business: A Conceptual and Empirical Exploration
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1877-6361(2012)0000009006
ISBN: 978-1-78052-674-4

Keywords

  • Commercial diplomacy
  • corporate entrepreneurship
  • role behavior
  • informal institutionalism
  • proactivity

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Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Stakeholders’ approaches to disaster risk reduction in built environment

S. Mohammad H. Mojtahedi and Bee Lan Oo

In disaster risk reduction (DRR), it is important to realise stakeholders’ approaches against disasters in the built environment. The purpose of this paper is to explore…

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Abstract

Purpose

In disaster risk reduction (DRR), it is important to realise stakeholders’ approaches against disasters in the built environment. The purpose of this paper is to explore why stakeholders take proactive and/or reactive approaches in DRR.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a review of existent literature, this work scrutinises disaster theories and their applications in the built environment to develop a theoretical framework for perceiving stakeholders’ proactive and/or reactive approaches in DRR.

Findings

Stakeholders’ organisational attributes – power, legitimacy and urgency – and decision-making paradigms – value maximisation and intuitive reasoning – are fundamental factors affecting stakeholders’ approaches against disasters. Power and legitimacy of stakeholders result in a proactive approach if stakeholders consider value maximisation paradigm in their decision-making process. Powerful and legitimate stakeholders may take reactive approaches because of intuitive reasoning paradigm. Stakeholders may shift from a reactive to proactive approach and vice versa based on the combination of urgency attribute and decision-making paradigms.

Research limitations/implications

It is essential to consider the classification of respective stakeholders in applying the idea of this paper. Furthermore, this paper does not attempt to validate the proposed theoretical framework empirically, but it combines stakeholder and decision-making theories by which this could be undertaken.

Originality/value

Little attention has been paid to systematic theorising in managing stakeholders’ approaches against disasters. Furthermore, many researchers have focused on similar underlying theories and heuristics in the context of DRR. Thus, this paper introduces a theoretical framework to examine stakeholders’ proactive and/or reactive approaches in the built environment, by synthesising stakeholder and decision-making theories.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-11-2013-0209
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

  • Disaster risk reduction
  • Socio-economic
  • Built environment
  • Disaster approach
  • Disaster theories
  • Stakeholder attributes

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Article
Publication date: 1 November 2002

The protean approach to managing repatriation transitions

Sharon Leiba O’Sullivan

Although top‐down interventions have the potential to reduce repatriate turnover, most organizations have not been very accommodating and repatriate turnover continues to…

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Abstract

Although top‐down interventions have the potential to reduce repatriate turnover, most organizations have not been very accommodating and repatriate turnover continues to remain high. Drawing from career transitions theory and the protean perspective of career management, this paper proposes a model of repatriate proactivity as an alternate approach. A “successful” repatriation transition outcome is defined as one in which, upon return, the repatriate: gains access to a job which recognizes any newly acquired international competencies; experiences minimal cross‐cultural re‐adjustment difficulties; and reports low turnover intentions. Individual antecedents are posited to include proactive repatriation behaviors and the personality characteristics which are suggested to drive the use of these behaviors. The strength/weakness of the repatriation situation is posited to moderate the relationship between personality and the emergence of proactive repatriation behaviors. Practical and theoretical implications for both the repatriation problem, and the career development literature in general, are discussed.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 23 no. 7
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/01437720210450789
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

  • Career development
  • Staff turnover
  • Personality

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Article
Publication date: 13 June 2008

Market driving in retail banking

David Martín‐Consuegra, Arturo Molina and Águeda Esteban

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the proactive market orientation approach and business performance in retail banking.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the proactive market orientation approach and business performance in retail banking.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a theoretical discussion, empirical research was conducted to test the proposed relationship. Multiple item indicators were employed to measure the constructs.

Findings

Results from the study provide empirical support, suggesting that the proactive market orientation approach has a positive influence on business performance.

Research limitations/implications

The study has pondered the relationship between the proactive market orientation approach and business performance, while other factors that have an influence on business performance have not been considered.

Practical implications

Research results suggest that the proactive market orientation philosophy in the banking sector can be viewed as a threshold factor in order to increase business performance.

Originality/value

The present study provides useful information on driving market strategies in retail banking.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/02652320810884795
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

  • Market driven production
  • Business performance
  • Banking
  • Marketing strategy
  • Market orientation

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Article
Publication date: 27 January 2012

Periodic performance prediction for real‐time business process monitoring

Bokyoung Kang, Dongsoo Kim and Suk‐Ho Kang

The purpose of this paper is to provide industrial managers with insight into the real‐time progress of running processes. The authors formulated a periodic performance…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide industrial managers with insight into the real‐time progress of running processes. The authors formulated a periodic performance prediction algorithm for use in a proposed novel approach to real‐time business process monitoring.

Design/methodology/approach

In the course of process executions, the final performance is predicted probabilistically based on partial information. Imputation method is used to generate probable progresses of ongoing process and Support Vector Machine classifies the performances of them. These procedures are periodically iterated along with the real‐time progress in order to describe the ongoing status.

Findings

The proposed approach can describe the ongoing status as the probability that the process will be executed continually and terminated as the identical result. Furthermore, before the actual occurrence, a proactive warning can be provided for implicit notification of eventualities if the probability of occurrence of the given outcome exceeds the threshold.

Research limitations/implications

The performance of the proactive warning strategy was evaluated only for accuracy and proactiveness. However, the process will be improved by additionally considering opportunity costs and benefits from actual termination types and their warning errors.

Originality/value

Whereas the conventional monitoring approaches only classify the already occurred result of a terminated instance deterministically, the proposed approach predicts the possible results of an ongoing instance probabilistically over entire monitoring periods. As such, the proposed approach can provide the real‐time indicator describing the current capability of ongoing process.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 112 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/02635571211193617
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

  • Process analysis
  • Business process re‐engineering
  • Business process management system
  • Business activity monitoring
  • Process monitoring
  • Real‐time monitoring
  • Support vector machine
  • Imputation

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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Employing proactive interaction for service failure prevention to improve customer service experiences

Hyunju Shin, Alexander E. Ellinger, David L. Mothersbaugh and Kristy E. Reynolds

Services marketing research continues to be largely focused on firms’ reactive interactions for recovering from service failure rather than on proactive customer…

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Abstract

Purpose

Services marketing research continues to be largely focused on firms’ reactive interactions for recovering from service failure rather than on proactive customer interactions that may prevent service failure from occurring in the first place. Building on previous studies that assess the efficacy of implementing proactive interaction in service provision contexts, the purpose of this paper is to compare the influences of proactive interaction to prevent service failure and reactive interaction to correct service failure on customer emotion and patronage behavior. Since proactive interaction for service failure prevention is a relatively underexplored and resource-intensive approach, the authors also assess the moderating influences of customer and firm-related characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

The study hypotheses are tested with survey data from two scenario-based experiments conducted in a retail setting.

Findings

The findings reveal that customers prefer service providers that take the initiative to get to them before they have to initiate contact for themselves. The findings also identify the moderating influences of relationship quality, situational involvement, and contact person status and motive.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the development of service provision theory and practice by expanding on previous studies which report that proactive efforts to prepare customers for the adverse effects of service failure are favorably received. The results also shed light on moderating factors that may further inform the exploitation of resource-intensive proactive interaction for service failure prevention. An agenda is proposed to stimulate future research on proactive customer interaction to prevent service failure in service provision contexts.

Details

Journal of Service Theory and Practice, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-07-2015-0161
ISSN: 2055-6225

Keywords

  • Proactivity
  • Service recovery
  • Service failure
  • Proactive service
  • Reactive service
  • Service failure prevention

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Article
Publication date: 11 March 2014

Proactive environmental management and performance by a controlling family

Yi-Chun Huang, Ying-Jiuan Wong and Min-Li Yang

This study examined how proactive environmental management affects firm performance and whether a controlling family moderates this effect. The paper aims to discuss these…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examined how proactive environmental management affects firm performance and whether a controlling family moderates this effect. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted content analysis to collect data on listed Taiwanese firms and used cross-sectional regression analysis to examine the relationship between proactive environmental management and firm performance as well as the moderating role of a controlling family.

Findings

The results indicated that not all types of proactive environmental management are positively associated with firm performance and that a controlling family might be more effective in low-risk proactive environmental management practices.

Research limitations/implications

The focus was on the impact of proactive environmental management from the perspective of stockholders. Future research could investigate its impact on other stakeholders as well.

Practical implications

The findings might convince managers that the stereotype of an environment-friendly firm – that the more its green initiatives, the less competitive it becomes – may not necessarily be true. Investing in product-focused pollution prevention could increase revenues and improve performance. Even though process-focused pollution prevention is negatively associated with firm performance, companies are not expected to reduce investment in green processes since they are required for the production of environment-friendly products.

Originality/value

This study adopted a multi-dimensional approach to reveal how different types of proactive environmental management affect firm performance. The authors used the controlling family as a moderating variable to determine whether it moderates the relationship between proactive environmental management and firm performance.

Details

Management Research Review, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-09-2012-0196
ISSN: 2040-8269

Keywords

  • Firm performance
  • Controlling family
  • Proactive environmental management

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Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Psychosocial effects of proactivity: The interplay between proactive and collaborative behavior

Brenda E. Ghitulescu

Although proactivity is thought to have positive effects in the workplace, researchers still need to learn more about the contingent aspects of these effects. Proactivity…

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Abstract

Purpose

Although proactivity is thought to have positive effects in the workplace, researchers still need to learn more about the contingent aspects of these effects. Proactivity, a challenging form of promotive behavior that is generally desired by organizations, can lead to unexpected consequences such as role overload, job strain, and conflict with coworkers, which may undermine future proactivity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of proactive behavior on job satisfaction, affective commitment, and conflict with coworkers, in the context of collaborative work. This study investigates the extent to which collaborative behavior, an affiliative form of promotive behavior, can mitigate the impact of proactive behavior on conflict and promote positive individual psychosocial outcomes, thus making proactive behavior more sustainable in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a survey methodology, data were collected from a sample of 170 teachers engaged in collaborative work.

Findings

Results show that both proactivity and collaborative behavior positively impact affective outcomes, but have opposite effects on conflict. Collaborative behavior complements proactive behavior in that it enhances the effects of proactivity on satisfaction and reduces its impact on conflict.

Research limitations/implications

Creating the appropriate organizational conditions to support employee proactivity is critical for enhancing proactive employees’ work experience and success, effectively motivating and retaining them, and promoting future proactivity. The results indicate that collaboration creates a context where the positive effects of proactivity are enhanced and its negative effects are weakened.

Originality/value

This research is one of the first studies to examine the interactive effects of proactivity and collaboration. The study shows that collaborative behavior can play an important role in enhancing the benefits of proactivity. Thus, the research advances a contingency perspective of proactivity and contributes to a better understanding of its effects.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 47 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2016-0209
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

  • Quantitative
  • Proactive behaviour
  • Affective commitment
  • Job satisfaction
  • Conflict
  • Collaborative behaviour

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Article
Publication date: 16 November 2019

Disaster risk management approaches in construction and built environment: A research collaboration networks perspective

Seyedamir Tavakoli Taba, Mohammad Mojtahedi and Sidney Newton

Currently there is no analysis of the development of disaster risk management literature in the construction and built environment context, the changes in its research…

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Abstract

Purpose

Currently there is no analysis of the development of disaster risk management literature in the construction and built environment context, the changes in its research paradigms over time and the role of different key players in the advance of its current body of knowledge. This study aims to address that gap by investigating the longitudinal data of disaster risk management literature published over the past three decades.

Design/methodology/approach

A social network analysis approach is used in this study to show the overall development of the field and specifically the impact of research collaborations between different organisations and countries on research productivity.

Findings

The results indicate that the focus of disaster risk management research in the built environment context is heavily biased towards reactive strategies (response and recovery) over proactive strategies (mitigation and preparedness). The findings also demonstrate that collaboration between disaster risk management researchers has a significant influence on their research productivity.

Originality/value

The findings from this study should be of value to researchers, policymakers and academic strategists. This study for the first time shows the ability of the social networks paradigm to reveal frailties in research connections in the field of disaster risk management in construction and built environment and highlights where networking strategies are needed.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-06-2019-0032
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

  • Construction
  • Risk management
  • Built environment
  • Research collaborations
  • Disaster risk management
  • Social networks analysis

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Article
Publication date: 11 February 2019

Modified sewer asset management to accommodate London’s future sustainable development

Oluwagbenga Tade, Siobhan O’Neill, Kenneth G. Smith, Tracey Williams, Amer Ali, Ali Bayyati and Hwee See

This paper is about best practice in managing legacy drainage assets to support sustainable urban regeneration. The purpose of this paper is to describe best practice…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper is about best practice in managing legacy drainage assets to support sustainable urban regeneration. The purpose of this paper is to describe best practice sewer asset management (AM) and to adjust the current reactive maintenance approach for sewers, to one that accommodates long-term operational and town planning needs. The development of an improved sewer deterioration model (DM) provided an important tool for this.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopts a mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyse a total network length of 24,252 km which represents 703,156 records of historic sewer structural condition inspection data. This was used to build an improved DM. These models were used as inputs into a proactive AM approach that improves upon recommendations in the Sewerage Rehabilitation Manual developed by Water Research Centre.

Findings

This is a paradigm shift and goes beyond the current culture of OFWAT (Water Services Regulation Authority) supervision, five-year asset management period and occasional environmental penalties. A new legislative model may be needed; especially because a report by UKWIR (Water Industry Research) in 2015 identified that nationally the rate of sewer network deterioration is outpacing available investment and significant health problems may arise in addition to those from developmental pressures.

Research limitations/implications

The authors have researched and managed old sewer networks and present a review of the new issues raised by intensive development, particularly for the London region, but applicable elsewhere, and how these must lead to a modified risk, and novel incentive-based approach to AM, if the system is not to fail.

Originality/value

Large, legacy databases of several decades of sewer network performance records have been combined and analysed as stratified, heterogeneous sets with Gaussian distributions; thereby improving on previous assumptions of homogeneous data. The resulting rigorous DMs are the foundation of new approaches to sustainable risk management of large urban networks.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBPA-06-2018-0053
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

  • Asset management
  • Service life
  • Maintenance and inspection
  • Sewers and drains

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