Search results
1 – 10 of over 229000Because cultures operate in very different ways, different activities are corrupting in different parts of the world. Taking the view that corruption is an activity that tends to…
Abstract
Purpose
Because cultures operate in very different ways, different activities are corrupting in different parts of the world. Taking the view that corruption is an activity that tends to undermine a cultural system, this paper aims to examine this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes real‐life situations in Japan, Taiwan, India, China, North America, sub‐Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Korea to distinguish actions that structurally undermine a cultural system from those that are merely inefficient or are actually supportive.
Findings
Cultures have fundamentally different behavioral norms due to their different conceptions of human nature. They can be broadly classified as rule‐based and relationship‐based, distinguished by the fact that behavior is regulated primarily by respect for rules in the former and authority figures in the latter. Corrupting behavior differs around the world partly because of different norms, and partly because cultural systems break down in different ways. Activities such as nepotism or cronyism that are corrupting in the rule‐based cultures of the West may be functional in relationship‐based cultures. Behavior that is normal in the West, such as bringing lawsuits or adhering strictly to a contract, may be corrupting elsewhere. Practices such as bribery that are often corrupting across cultures are nonetheless corrupting for very different reasons.
Originality/value
The paper provides culturally sensitive guidelines not only for avoiding corruption but also for understanding the mechanisms that make a culture work.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of manager influence strategies and innovation attributes on employee attitudes and behaviors in innovation implementation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of manager influence strategies and innovation attributes on employee attitudes and behaviors in innovation implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees (n=237) in a manufacturing company in Taiwan which implemented an e-learning system participated in an online survey. System logs were used as behavioral outcome variables.
Findings
Persuasive strategy and relative advantage had a significant positive association with attitudes while relationship-based strategy and complexity had a significant negative association with attitudes. Assertive strategy and relative advantage had a significant positive association with use of the e-learning system, while persuasive strategy, relationship-based strategy, and complexity had a significant negative association with use of the e-learning system. Both relative advantage and complexity mediated the relationship between persuasive strategy and employee attitudes and behaviors. Complexity mediated the relationship between relationship-based strategy and employee attitudes and behaviors.
Practical implications
Managers should use persuasive strategy to inform employees regarding the benefits of the innovation and provide any assistance needed. Managers should be advised to not use relationship-based strategy as it can have an adverse employee impact.
Originality/value
The mediation model uses the diffusion of innovations model and the influence tactics literature to help explain the benefits of certain managerial practices.
Details
Keywords
Harry K.H. Chow, K.L. Choy and W.B. Lee
The purpose of this study is to survey knowledge management (KM) practices and to examine the applications and technologies adopted when developing the knowledge management system…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to survey knowledge management (KM) practices and to examine the applications and technologies adopted when developing the knowledge management system (KMS) in build‐to‐order supply chains (BOSC).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a literature review of research articles from 1996 to 2007 with keyword indexes to survey the KM practice, KMS technology and its application in BOSC. Such keyword indexes include: BOSC, SCM, KM, KMS, expert system, knowledge‐based system and information system on the Elsevier online database, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, Proquest, Emerald, DOAJ, and Wiley Inter Science. A total of 1,500 articles were found but only 149 articles related to the keywords of KMS application and KM practices within SCM and BOSC.
Findings
The important findings indicate that the KMS application is solely focused on single knowledge problem for enabling individual SC members to attain operational excellence. There is a need for further research into the development of KMS with features of knowledge coordination that cross organizational borders in attaining the BOSC integration.
Research limitations/implications
Perhaps, the limitation of this study was the narrowness of the scope of the paper based on the keywords used for searching.
Practical implications
Validation of the multi‐disciplines of KM practices and KMS applications provides enterprises with useful guidelines for implementing KM‐ and KMS‐related projects within their current BOSC practices.
Originality/value
This paper provides useful knowledge by highlighting the characteristics of KMS technology within BOSC and empirical insights into the relationship between KM and BOSC practices.
Details
Keywords
Does a village’s location in a regional economic system predict the extent to which close interpersonal relationships are based on socioeconomic similarity? A comparison of sample…
Abstract
Does a village’s location in a regional economic system predict the extent to which close interpersonal relationships are based on socioeconomic similarity? A comparison of sample social networks of four frontier villages in northwest Ecuador showed that village centrality influences the dominant types of social relationships and, thus, the differential tendencies for socioeconomic differentiation. Compared to residents in peripheral villages, those in central ones were more likely to name individuals of their own class and to note mutual relations in their social networks.
Yujong Hwang, Soyean Kim and Donghee Shin
Although Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) has been studied within the domain of organizational psychology, it has not received major attention from information systems literature and…
Abstract
Purpose
Although Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) has been studied within the domain of organizational psychology, it has not received major attention from information systems literature and researchers. Drawing on LMX theory and the theory of reasoned interaction, this study investigates the roles of LMX, individual member's attitude toward system adoption, supervisor influence and goal commitment on mandatory system implementation. Specifically, our model investigates the moderating role of LMX and how it can be interpreted for an individual member's system adoption in an organization.
Design/methodology/approach
Partial least square (PLS) technique with the field survey of 148 participants was used for this analysis.
Findings
The empirical test results in the field setting show that attitude and supervisor influence positively affect goal commitment in the system implementation. Furthermore, LMX is a significant moderator between attitude and goal commitment within organizations, but this moderating effect is not valid in the relationship between supervisor influence and goal commitment since it is a more complex process influenced by variables other than supervisor influence.
Originality/value
The results showed that the model in this research has high explanatory and predictive power and is valuable in offering insights and guidance for implementers initiating technology-related changes within organizations.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine an effort by management of a private higher education institution in Indonesia to replace its informal, relationship‐based performance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine an effort by management of a private higher education institution in Indonesia to replace its informal, relationship‐based performance system which relied on physical discourse – overseeing operational details that focus on physical accomplishment of tasks – and personal control by the school head, with a tight budgetary control system which relied on technical efficiency and rational discourse.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is an ethnographic case study of a business school – a private higher education institution in Indonesia – known by its abbreviation as Perbanas Business School (PBS), from 1999 to 2001. The researcher is part of the case being studied, and thus is a “native” who completely participates in the change process.
Findings
The paper demonstrates how a control system change that violates existing cultural norms fails to impact day‐to‐day managerial practices or decision‐making processes. Specifically, in a business school setting, replacing an informal relationship‐based control system with a technical efficiency‐based accounting control system only produces chaotic managerial practices and degrades school services. The new system alienates staff and is not accepted or institutionalized. Instead, in daily managerial processes, management continue to rely on informal and personal relationships.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to the accounting literature by studying the process of instituting accounting change and organizational participants' resistance to that change.
Originality/value
Organizational culture, reflected in values, norms of behavior and everyday practices, cannot easily be controlled or changed by chief executive officers.
Details
Keywords
Numerous Chinese management studies have demonstrated significant differences between Chinese and Western management. This exploratory paper investigates the impact of Chinese…
Abstract
Numerous Chinese management studies have demonstrated significant differences between Chinese and Western management. This exploratory paper investigates the impact of Chinese culture and Western traditions on China's contemporary school leaders' views of leadership and management, particularly in the areas of relationship building, delegation, and promotion. Data were drawn from questionnaires completed by school leaders and individual interviews with principals from different parts of China. The findings indicate that the differences between Chinese and Western management practices in Chinese schools are not static and should not be over-stressed. To different extents, the respondent school leaders of China were affected by both Chinese and Western values and practices in school leadership and management. Specifically, they were more influenced by Chinese culture in the areas of school management and organization and by Western values and practices in the areas of relationship building, staff performance, and promotion. Their leadership and management preferences were also influenced by other factors, including gender, domestic politics, and development.
Xiaoning (Alice) Qian and Eleni Papadonikolaki
Blockchain technology is booming in many industries. Its application in supply chain management is also gradually increasing. Supply chain management (SCM) has long been committed…
Abstract
Purpose
Blockchain technology is booming in many industries. Its application in supply chain management is also gradually increasing. Supply chain management (SCM) has long been committed to reducing costs and increasing efficiency and is trying to optimise resources and reduce the sector's fragmentation. Trust has always been an important factor in managing supply chain relationships, and it also affects the efficiency of supply chain operations. To this end, this study aims to examine how trust is affected by the introduction of blockchain technology in construction supply chain management.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on semi-structured interviews and publicly available information from experts in blockchain and construction supply chain management. Through content analysis, the data are analysed thematically to explore how various types of trust, such as system-based, cognition-based and relation-based, are affected by blockchain technology.
Findings
Blockchain technology provides solutions for data tracking, contracting and transferring resources in supply chain management. These applications help enhance the various sources of trust in SCM and provide supply chain partners with protection mechanisms to avoid the risks and costs of opportunistic behaviour in collaboration, shifting trust from relational to system-based and cognition-based.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses only on inter-organisational rather than interpersonal trust and empirical data from experts whose knowledge and cognition could be subjective.
Practical implications
Leveraging the potential of digitalisation to manage trust requires that leaders and managers actively try to improve contractual arrangements, information sharing and being open to new innovative technologies like blockchain.
Social implications
From a relational view of supply chain management, the extent to which blockchain technology can develop and spread depends on the readiness of the social capital to accept decentralised governance structures.
Originality/value
This study builds upon an original data set and discusses features and applications of blockchain technology, explores the sources and dimensions of trust in supply chain management and explains the impact of blockchain technology on trust.
Details
Keywords
This chapter examines corporate governance–related financial reporting issues in the context of globalization. Over the past few decades, the process of globalization has…
Abstract
This chapter examines corporate governance–related financial reporting issues in the context of globalization. Over the past few decades, the process of globalization has substantially altered the fields of corporate governance and accounting. More specifically, Anglo-American models of corporate governance and financial reporting have received increasing momentum in emerging economies, including China. However, a review of relevant studies suggests that there is limited research examining the implementation of Anglo-American concepts in various countries regardless of their growing acceptance. This monograph extends the existing literature by comprehensively investigating the adoption of internationally acceptable principles and standards in China, the largest transitional economy that has different institutional context from Anglo-American countries. In addition, the review has a number of implications for developing the theoretical framework, and determining the research methodology for the monograph.
Details
Keywords
Tarek Ibrahim Eldomiaty and Chong Ju Choi
This paper aims at discussing the determinants of strategic transparency and the governance structure of the East Asian firms. The relatively weak institutional infrastructure in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at discussing the determinants of strategic transparency and the governance structure of the East Asian firms. The relatively weak institutional infrastructure in East Asia raises the question about the adaptable governance structure and transparency in the East Asian firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents theoretical underpinnings of the literature on corporate governance, corporate strategy and international business. This paper argues that one of the common factors that determine the success of corporate governance structure is the extent to which it is transparent to the market forces within particular institutional arrangements.
Findings
When the institutional arrangements favor mandatory versus voluntary corporate disclosure, this study suggests a reform measure for the East Asian corporate governance system that relies, inter alia, on the percentages of long‐term and short‐term financing to total financing. The higher the percentage of long‐term financing, the more we can infer the extent of outside investors' confidence in the future of the East Asian firms. When more active role of banks involvements with the firms' business is permitted and an effective banks' and firms' strategic transparency can be assured, the East Asian banks and stock market can both lead firms to long‐term favorable achievements. This study also suggests that the protection of both shareholder's rights and creditors' rights can go in parallel lines with the latter is to be given first priority until the investors' confidence in the near and far future of East Asia corporate governance system is built.
Originality/value
This paper extends the value of corporate governance structure to the East Asian firms through advocating the determinants of strategic transparency in East Asia.
Details