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1 – 10 of over 9000The primary purpose of this exploratory paper is to propose a novel analytical framework for examining corruption from a behavioral perspective by highlighting multiple issues…
Abstract
Purpose
The primary purpose of this exploratory paper is to propose a novel analytical framework for examining corruption from a behavioral perspective by highlighting multiple issues associated with quantification culture.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is part of the author’s exploratory study into the complex corruption phenomenon in Indonesia from a variety of viewpoints to obtain a better understanding of its nature and dynamics. By building on previous literature on quantification culture, audit culture and the corruption phenomenon, this paper explores the different issues related to overreliance on numbers and how they may have led to increased corruption, particularly in Indonesia. Using the Fraud Decision Scale framework, this paper also demonstrates how the quantification culture affects the cost-benefit analysis of corruption offenders. To develop the best anticorruption strategy and lay the groundwork for future anticorruption studies, this paper presents a fresh perspective on how to analyze and evaluate the corruption issue.
Findings
The author established that despite the benefits that quantification practices – such as indicators, scores, ratings and rankings – bring to societies and organizations, there is evidence that these practices can have unfavorable effects when used excessively or incorrectly. One of the adverse effects of quantification practices is over-quantification, which manifests as various inappropriate behaviors, including an excessive desire to acquire riches and material belongings. Additionally, the worship of ranks and status derived from quantitative evaluation processes has led many people to prioritize short-term objectives above long-term improvements. Eventually, these will cause organizations to lose productivity and make them susceptible to fraud and corruption. Future studies are needed to determine the most effective approach for mitigating over-quantification issues. In this exploratory paper, the author proposes balancing quantitative practices with qualitative knowledge to gradually alter people’s behavior by broadening their perspectives in perceiving various phenomena in the world, not only by describing and explaining them but also by comprehending their underlying meanings.
Research limitations/implications
This exploratory study is self-funded and relies primarily on documentary analysis to explore the corruption phenomenon in Indonesia. Future studies will benefit from in-depth interviews with former corruption offenders and investigators.
Practical implications
This exploratory paper contributes to the development of a sound corruption prevention approach by presenting a novel analytical framework for examining various behavioral problems linked with quantification culture that may lead to the escalation of corruption.
Originality/value
This study emphasizes the significance of understanding the structure and dynamics of quantification culture and their negative behavioral impacts on people to comprehend the corruption phenomenon better.
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Haijiao Shi and Rong Chen
The current study implies self-quantification to consumer behavior and investigates how self-quantification influences consumers' persistence intentions, then indicates the…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study implies self-quantification to consumer behavior and investigates how self-quantification influences consumers' persistence intentions, then indicates the underlying mechanism and examines the role of sharing in social media context.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested by three experimental studies. In study 1, the authors test the main effect of self-quantification on persistence intentions and demonstrate goal specificity as the mediator. In study 2 and 3, the authors explore sharing and sharing audience as the moderators.
Findings
The current research demonstrates that quantifying personal performance increases consumers' persistence intentions because self-quantification makes the focal goal more specific. However, sharing self-quantification performance with others has a negative effect on the relationship between self-quantification and persistence intentions. Building on goal conflict theory, sharing diverts consumers' focus away from the goal itself and toward others' evaluation and judgment, which makes the focal goal more ambiguous. Moreover, the negative effect depends on who is the sharing audience. When consumers share with close others who hold a similar goal with them, the negative effect of sharing is dramatically reversed.
Practical implications
The present research offers guidelines to managers about how to design self-tracking system to increase user's engagement and how to establish social community on social media platform to motivate users' goal pursuit.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the research of self-quantification from consumer behavior perspective. It also enriches interactive marketing literature by broadening self-quantification relevant research from social interaction dimension.
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S. Vinodh, G. Sundararaj, S.R. Devadasan and D. Rajanayagam
The purpose of this paper is to design a tool for quantifying agility in organisations and test its practical compatibility.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to design a tool for quantifying agility in organisations and test its practical compatibility.
Design/methodology/approach
An agile quantification tool was designed initially by referring to a 20 criteria agile model. A scoring pattern with a maximum 1,000 marks was incorporated in the agile quantification tool which was then subjected to experimentation in an Indian electronics switches manufacturing company.
Findings
A feedback session was conducted among the executives of the company to test the practical acceptability of the agile quantification tool. A statistical analysis of the study revealed that 90 per cent of their views were in favour of adopting it.
Research limitations/implications
The marks allotted against the 20 agile criteria incorporated in the agile quantification tool are not supported with research findings. This leads to the questioning of the rationale behind allotting the marks against these criteria. In order to overcome this limitation, the opinions of the executives were gathered. Their opinions revealed that the marks allotment followed in the agile quantification tool is practically compatible.
Practical implications
In order to acquire agile characteristics, modern organisations should measure the agility levels at which they operate. This agile quantification tool explained in this paper fulfils this need.
Originality/value
The agile quantification tool presented in this paper rests its foundation on the 20 criteria agile model which is well supported by the research findings reported in literature. By the virtue of its research background and practical compatibility, the agile quantification tool is considered to be highly valuable.
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With a focus on the evolution of human resource management (HRM) quantification over 2000–2020, this study addresses the following questions: (1) What are the data sources used to…
Abstract
Purpose
With a focus on the evolution of human resource management (HRM) quantification over 2000–2020, this study addresses the following questions: (1) What are the data sources used to quantify HRM? (2) What are the methods used to quantify HRM? (3) What are the objectives of HRM quantification? (4) What are the representations of quantification in HRM?
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on an integrative synthesis of 94 published peer-reviewed empirical and non-empirical articles on the use of quantification in HRM. It uses the theoretical framework of the sociology of quantification.
Findings
The analysis shows that there have been several changes in HRM quantification over 2000–2020 in terms of data sources, methods and objectives. Meanwhile, representations of quantification have evolved relatively little; it is still considered as a tool, and this ignores the possible conflicts and subjectivity associated with the use of quantification.
Originality/value
This literature review addresses the use of quantification in HRM in general and is thus larger in scope than previous reviews. Notably, it brings forth new insights on possible differences between the main uses of quantification in HRM, as well as on artificial intelligence and algorithms in HRM.
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George Pettinico and George R. Milne
This paper aims to establish if quantified self-data positively impact motivation in a goal pursuit across a broad cross-section of consumers and in multiple contexts; and to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to establish if quantified self-data positively impact motivation in a goal pursuit across a broad cross-section of consumers and in multiple contexts; and to understand the underlying causal mechanism and identify boundary conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
Exploratory qualitative research helped direct the hypotheses development. Two quantitative experiments were then conducted via MTURK, involving 331 respondents, to test the hypotheses in two different personal goal areas (fitness and carbon footprint reduction).
Findings
Self-quantification has a significant and positive impact on anticipated motivation in both contexts studied. The mediated model provides insight into the psychological process underlying self-quantification’s motivational impact, which involves strengthening user perceptions regarding feedback meaningfulness, self-empowerment and goal focus. Age (>50) was found to be a boundary condition; however, distance to goal was not.
Research limitations/implications
This paper focuses on initial (anticipated) motivation, which is the vital first step in behavior change. However, more work is needed to understand quantification’s long-term impact over the course of a behavior change process.
Practical implications
This research encourages firms to incorporate self-quantification features into products/services aimed at behavior change and helps firms better understand consumer-perceived benefits. It alerts firms regarding the extra effort needed to convince older consumers of these benefits.
Originality/value
This is the first study to confirm the “quantification effect” on motivation in multiple life areas and provide a causal model to explain how it works. It is also the first to highlight age as a boundary condition.
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‘What is the meaning of the process of body quantification?’ – This is the central question of this chapter. With it, the author intends to question and analyse the way the body…
Abstract
‘What is the meaning of the process of body quantification?’ – This is the central question of this chapter. With it, the author intends to question and analyse the way the body relates to new technologies and new technical procedures, and how these depend on the body itself to constitute themselves as mediating cultural forms. To make this enquiry feasible, the author shall critically examine the status of ‘object’ to which the body has been relegated by the myths of quantification, notably those concerning the universal symbolic character of numbers and measurement techniques. If the body is considered as a mere ‘quantified object’, then it is unlikely to be distinguished from other objects subjected to the same process. Consequently, it will easily tend to support the imaginary of technological determinism that prevails in our societies. Health trackers for personal use are, today, a good example of how the body is a fundamental element of such imaginary, since the feeling of control that they nurture in their users is also connected with the possibility of sharing information about the body itself. Given all these factors, the author intends to argue that, instead of being a simple quantified object, the body is, for new quantification technologies (namely those related to self-care), a ‘medium of the media’, insofar as it reinforces the effects of technological mediation processes, and potentialises the increased digital convergence of media. Recognising this means, finally, that the imaginary of quantification and associated techno-myths are also stimulated and reproduced by an extra-discursive somatic level inherent in the empirical use we make of technological devices.
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Antonio Francesco Maturo and Veronica Moretti
In a world dominated by scores, ratings, and rankings, near-constant measurement can make one think, and in turn act, differently. Quantification is felt to be necessary. On a…
Abstract
In a world dominated by scores, ratings, and rankings, near-constant measurement can make one think, and in turn act, differently. Quantification is felt to be necessary. On a social level, the manufacturing of numbers paves the way for the politicization of numbers, which then allows the regulation of a person’s activities. The setting of seemingly unobjectionable thresholds and limits in fact contributes to the creation of government strategies that conceive of every citizen as a calculable thing. Further, assuming that these numbers are socially constructed elements, a numerical hegemony may develop in which those who do not possess the desired scores suffer social exclusion. The quantification of life has many implications in the realm of social justice. It is conceivable that, in the future, society could acquire some of the characteristics imagined by the writers of dystopian literature. Fourcade and Healy (2013) write that our society is experiencing a transition from distinct social classes to classification based on personal scores and ratings. Indeed, in the United States, the “credit score” is a number which is as important for the modern individual as titles were to medieval to nobility because they determine one’s access to credit. Personal scores and ratings – which could be not only financial but also social or political – could therefore exclude some sectors of society. In this case, too, a numerical indicator holds immense power, making this form of political violence appear as objective and even natural.
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The chapter explores the developments in work on the history of quantification and sport, explaining how quantification in sport is generally understood, and then establishing…
Abstract
Purpose
The chapter explores the developments in work on the history of quantification and sport, explaining how quantification in sport is generally understood, and then establishing what a sociological approach offers to scholars interested in exploring new expressions of these developments in biometrics and Big Data. It then outlines some potential directions scholars might pursue to further develop knowledge of these developments in the context of sport.
Design/methodology/approach
The chapter synthesizes existing literature from the sociology of quantification, sport sociology and quantification, and Big Data to provide historical, contemporary, and future oriented assessments of sport and datafication.
Findings
By situating a discussion of Big Data and biometrics in the context of sport, this chapter argues for the value of a sociological approach to these areas. The chapter engages prior work as a way to move scholars to challenge the assumed epistemological and political power of numbers for the way we engage sport.
Research limitations/implications (if applicable)
The chapter argues for a number of future areas of study that may push the boundaries of existing research in the area.
Originality/value
The chapter provides a survey of the literature on sport, analytics, and Big Data as an impetus for future research into the importance of a sociological approach to these areas in the context of sport.
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Jani Koskinen, Kai Kristian Kimppa, Janne Lahtiranta and Sami Hyrynsalmi
The competition in the academe has always been tough, but today, the academe seems to be more like an industry than an academic community as academics are evaluated through…
Abstract
Purpose
The competition in the academe has always been tough, but today, the academe seems to be more like an industry than an academic community as academics are evaluated through quantified and economic means.
Design/methodology/approach
This article leans on Heidegger’s thoughts on the essence of technology and his ontological view on being to show the dangers that lie in this quantification of researchers and research.
Findings
Despite the benefits that information systems (ISs) offer to people and research, it seems that technology has made it possible to objectify researchers and research. This has a negative impact on the academe and should thus be looked into especially by the IS field, which should note the problems that exist in its core. This phenomenon of quantified academics is clearly visible at academic quantification sites, where academics are evaluated using metrics that count their output. It seems that the essence of technology has disturbed the way research is valued by emphasising its quantifiable aspects. The study claims that it is important to look for other ways to evaluate researchers rather than trying to maximise research production, which has led to the flooding of articles that few have the time or interest to read.
Originality/value
This paper offers new insights into the current phenomenon of quantification of academics and underlines the need for critical changes if in order to achieve the academic culture that is desirable for future academics.
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Leanne J. Morrison, Trevor Wilmshurst and Sonia Shimeld
This paper aims to examine the role numbers play in corporate environmental reporting. To deeply examine the ontological meanings of enumeration in the context of nature, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role numbers play in corporate environmental reporting. To deeply examine the ontological meanings of enumeration in the context of nature, the histories of number and accounting are explored. Some key tropes emerge from these histories, namely, distancing and control.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore some of the implications of quantifying nature, three years of environmental reports of ten companies from the ASX200 are analysed through a Barthsian lens. Examples of enumerating nature are highlighted and explored in terms of what this means for the corporate relationship with nature. This study has focussed on some specific aspects of nature that are commonly counted in corporate environmental reporting: carbon, energy, water, biodiversity and waste. This study explores how monetisation and obfuscation are used and how this informs the myth that nature is controllable.
Findings
This study finds that quantifying nature constructs a metaphorical distance between the company and the natural world which erodes the sense of connection associated with an authentic care for nature. These findings are critical in light of the detrimental impact of corporate activity on the natural world. The reports themselves, while promoted as a tool to help mitigate damage to the natural environment, are implicitly perpetuating its harm.
Research limitations/implications
Given the extent to which companies are responsible for environmental damage and the potential capacity embedded in corporate communications, better understanding the implications of quantifying nature could powerfully instigate a new but necessary approach to nature.
Originality/value
The insights of this paper are relevant to those aiming to improve the underpinning approaches used in corporate environmental reporting. This paper provides new understandings of the ways quantitative expression of environmental values constructs the myth that nature is controllable.
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