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1 – 10 of over 9000Ville Eloranta and Taija Turunen
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the service infusion literature explains competitive advantage through services. The four strategic management theories – competitive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the service infusion literature explains competitive advantage through services. The four strategic management theories – competitive forces, the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, and relational view – are applied in the analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review analyzes the links between the service infusion and strategy literature.
Findings
The review reveals that although discussion of service infusion applies strategic management concepts, the stream lacks rigor with respect to construct definition and justification. Additionally, contextual variables are often missing. The result is an over-emphasis of contextually bound measures, such as technology, and focal actors.
Research limitations/implications
The growing trends toward social networks, co-specialization, actor dependency and shared resources encourage service infusion scholars to focus on network-related and relational capabilities, co-opetition, open business models, and relational rent extraction. Furthermore, service infusion research would benefit from considering strategy-based theoretical discussions, constructs, and constraints that would improve the scientific rigor, impact and contribution.
Originality/value
This paper represents a systematic attempt to link the service infusion literature with strategic management theories and thoroughly analyzes the knowledge gaps and possible misconceptions.
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Helene Ahl, Karin Berglund, Katarina Pettersson and Malin Tillmar
Policy for women's entrepreneurship is designed to promote economic growth, not least in depleted rural areas, but very little is known about the contributions of rural women…
Abstract
Purpose
Policy for women's entrepreneurship is designed to promote economic growth, not least in depleted rural areas, but very little is known about the contributions of rural women entrepreneurs, their needs or how the existing policy is received by them. Using a theoretical framework developed by Korsgaard et al. (2015), the authors analyse how rural women entrepreneurs contribute to rural development and discuss the implications for entrepreneurship policy. This paper aims to focus on the aforementioned objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interviewed 32 women entrepreneurs in rural Sweden representing the variety of businesses in which rural Swedish women are engaged. The authors analysed their contributions to rural development by analysing their motives, strategies and outcomes using Korsgaard et al.’s framework of “entrepreneurship in the rural” and “rural entrepreneurship” as a heuristic, interpretative device.
Findings
Irrespective of industry, the respondents were deeply embedded in family and local social structures. Their contributions were substantial, multidimensional and indispensable for rural viability, but the policy tended to bypass most women-owned businesses. Support in terms of business training, counselling and financing are important, but programmes especially for women tend to miss the mark, and so does rural development policy. More important for rural women entrepreneurs in Sweden is the provision of good public services, including for example, schools and social care, that make rural life possible.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, the findings question the individualist and a-contextual focus of much entrepreneurship research, as well as the taken-for-granted work–family divide. How gender and how the public and the private are configured varies greatly between contexts and needs contextual assessment. Moreover, the results call for theorising place as an entrepreneurial actor.
Practical implications
Based on the findings, the authors advise future policymakers to gender mainstream entrepreneurship policy and to integrate entrepreneurship and rural development policy with family and welfare state policy.
Originality/value
The paper highlights how rural women respond to policy, and the results are contextualised, making it possible to compare them to other contexts. The authors widen the discussion on contributions beyond economic growth, and the authors show that policy for public and commercial services and infrastructure is indeed also policy for entrepreneurship.
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This article examines how responsibility and strategy can and should be connected in a business organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This article examines how responsibility and strategy can and should be connected in a business organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The article offers a review of the field by mapping previous studies according to their strategy and responsibility orientations and, consequently, identifies the classic perspective, as well as the major deficiencies and prevailing research gaps in the literature.
Findings
The article contributes to the field of strategic corporate responsibility by reframing the field with a contender perspective that challenges the classic view of strategy and responsibility amalgamation. Together, the classic and the contender perspectives are synthesized to form an integrative perspective that is more holistic than those currently available.
Originality/value
The article ends by calling for a reimagining of the relationship between corporate responsibility and strategy to find promising future research avenues and effective business practices suitable to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
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Shafique Ur Rehman, Hamzah Elrehail, Kiran Nair, Anam Bhatti and Abdallah Mohammad Taamneh
This paper draws on resource-based theory (RBV) to examine the impact of the management control system (MCS) package on business performance through the mediating role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper draws on resource-based theory (RBV) to examine the impact of the management control system (MCS) package on business performance through the mediating role of entrepreneurial competencies and the interaction role of business strategy in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 372 questionnaires were used in this research for analysis purposes using partial least square–structural equation modelling. Cluster sampling was used and nine states out of 16 states were selected randomly, including Kelantan, Johor, Sarawak, Selangor, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Perak and Sabah, because the nine states cover 84.4% of the total SMEs.
Findings
The results revealed that only cultural and administrative control has no relationship with business performance. Moreover, in the MCS package, all elements have a significant and positive influence on entrepreneurial competencies. Furthermore, business strategy (cost leadership and differentiation strategy) significantly moderates, while entrepreneurial competencies mediate between, cultural, planning, cybernetic, rewards and compensation, administrative control and business performance.
Originality/value
SMEs in Malaysia are contributing 36.6% to gross domestic product. Further, as this sector is important, less attention has been paid to this area of MCS package with business strategies to determine organisational performance. This study fills these gaps, and the recommendations and findings for further research are discussed in detail accordingly. Moreover, the findings of the current research provide guidelines for the management of SMEs.
研究目的
本文應用資源基礎理論,來探討管理控制系統套裝對經營績效的影響;研究的進行,乃透過探討企業家才能所扮演的中介角色以及在中小型企業裡,經營策略所扮演的交互作用角色。
研究的設計/方法/理念
研究共分析了372份調查問卷, 研究使用的方法為偏最小平方法PLS-SEM。使用集體抽樣法,從16個州屬中隨機抽取9個州,該9個州包括吉蘭丹州、柔佛州、砂拉越、雪蘭我、吉打、吉隆玻、檳城、霹靂和沙巴;這是因為該9個州已涵蓋整體中小型企業的84.4%。
研究結果
研究結果顯示,只有文化和行政管制是與業務績效沒有關聯的。而且,在管理控制系統套裝裡,所有元素對企業家才能均有顯著和正面的影響。再者,經營策略 (成本領先戰略和差導化戰略) 在文化、策劃、神經機械學、獎勵和補償、行政管制與經營績效之間起著顯著的緩和作用;而企業家才能則於當中起中介的作有。
研究的原創性/價值
在馬來西亞,中小型企業佔國內生產總值的36.6%。再者,這個部門至為重要,唯對管理控制系統套裝這範疇 (組織的業績如何取決於經營策略) 的關注則不足 。本研究彌補這研究的差距,因應為進一步研究仔細討論了建議和研究結果。另外,本研究的研究結果,為管理中小型企業提供了指引。
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Barbara Gaudenzi, Roberta Pellegrino and Ilenia Confente
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent disruptive events are affecting firms’ operations and supply chain networks on a large scale, causing disturbances in supply, demand, production…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent disruptive events are affecting firms’ operations and supply chain networks on a large scale, causing disturbances in supply, demand, production and logistics activities. Although supply chain resilience (SCR) research has received large attention in recent years, the purpose of this paper is to offer an original contribution by exploring how complex configurations and interactions between SCR strategies and capacities can lead to resilience.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the configurations of SCR strategies and capacities using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
Findings
First, the findings reveal different SCR strategy configurations through the lens of absorptive, reactive and restorative capacities to achieve resilience. Second, this study applies the contingent resource-based view (CRBV) perspective to interpret how organizations can achieve resilience before, during and after a disruptive event. Third, it offers an analysis of different groups of organizations, based on the adoption of different SCR strategies and capacities.
Originality/value
This study identifies a set of equifinal SCR strategies and capacity configurations that can be implemented to cope with a disruptive event and lead to resilience. It also enriches the research addressing the consecutive phases of SCR investments, developing the CRBV perspective. In our results, five solutions describe organizations that invest in absorptive capacities, representing an ex ante readiness.
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Martin H. Kunc, Maria Cleofe Giorgino and Federico Barnabè
According to the “strategic focus and future orientation” principle of the integrated reporting (<IR>) framework, <IR> should provide information useful to support investors in…
Abstract
Purpose
According to the “strategic focus and future orientation” principle of the integrated reporting (<IR>) framework, <IR> should provide information useful to support investors in assessing the future financial performance of organizations. This study aims to support the operationalization of this function by improving the forward-looking orientation of the integrated report.
Design/methodology/approach
Basing on the backward- and forward-looking disclosure in <IR> and the dynamic resource-based view (DRBV), this study develops an explorative case study building a quantitative simulation model based on an integrated report.
Findings
This study provides useful insights into how operationalizing the <IR> “future orientation” and obtaining more quantitative information on the organization’s capacity to create value in the future by applying DRBV and quantitative simulation modeling.
Research limitations/implications
The article presents one case study to explore the method suggested to improve the <IR> forward-looking orientation. Additional case studies applying the same research design should be certainly useful to refine the method.
Practical implications
Supporting the <IR> forward-looking orientation, this study provides additional information for the decision-making process of investors, thus contributing to the efficient and productive allocation of capital.
Originality/value
Few studies have investigated forward-looking information in integrated reports, highlighting the existence of an “information gap” referred to such disclosure. Overcoming these previous results, the study provides useful insights on how to improve the <IR> forward-looking orientation.
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Joanna Ho, Cody Lu and Lorenzo Lucianetti
This paper aims to examine whether and how two firm-level factors jointly moderate the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and firm performance: (1…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether and how two firm-level factors jointly moderate the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and firm performance: (1) the “alignment” between a firm's CSR activities and risk preferences and (2) performance measurement systems (PMS).
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey responses from top managers of private Italian companies and matching archival data on the financial performance of these companies, the authors show that the positive effect of CSR activities on firm performance is contingent upon CSR–risk alignment, which creates competitive advantages, and the extent to which the firm's PMS are supportive of its strategic initiatives.
Findings
The findings suggest that to extract economic benefits from CSR activities, firms must align CSR activities with their risk preferences and rely on PMS to overcome the causal ambiguity between CSR activities and competitive advantage.
Originality/value
Overall, this study contributes to both the CSR–firm performance and consequences of PMS literature and holds significant practical implications.
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Maria Mouratidou, Mirit K. Grabarski and William E. Donald
The purpose of this study is to empirically test the intelligent career framework in a public sector setting in a country with a clientelistic culture to inform human resource…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically test the intelligent career framework in a public sector setting in a country with a clientelistic culture to inform human resource management strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a qualitative methodology and an interpretivist paradigm, 33 in-depth interviews were conducted with Greek civil servants before the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview recordings were subsequently transcribed and coded via a blend of inductive and deductive approaches.
Findings
Outcomes of the study indicate that in a public sector setting in a country with a clientelistic culture, the three dimensions of knowing-whom, knowing-how and knowing-why are less balanced than those reported by findings from private sector settings in countries with an individualistic culture. Instead, knowing-whom is a critical dimension and a necessary condition for career development that affects knowing-how and knowing-why.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution comes from providing evidence of the dark side of careers and how imbalances between the three dimensions of the intelligent career framework reduce work satisfaction, hinder career success and affect organisational performance. The practical contribution offers recommendations for human resource management practices in the public sector, including training, mentoring, transparency in performance evaluations and fostering trust.
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Kati Marttinen and Anni-Kaisa Kähkönen
A firm's ability to cascade sustainability requirements further down to lower-tier suppliers might be affected by inter-firm power relations. This study aimed to identify the…
Abstract
Purpose
A firm's ability to cascade sustainability requirements further down to lower-tier suppliers might be affected by inter-firm power relations. This study aimed to identify the power sources of focal firms and first- and lower-tier suppliers and to investigate how they may affect their ability to cascade sustainability requirements along multi-tier supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study of 24 companies was conducted to investigate the sources of power in multi-tier supply chains. In total, 42 informants from five focal companies, ten first-tier suppliers and nine lower-tier suppliers were interviewed.
Findings
Differences were found between the sources from which focal firms and first- and lower-tier suppliers drew power. Findings revealed that firms' power sources may increase or impair their ability to cascade sustainability requirements to lower supply chain tiers. Furthermore, multi-tier supply chain-level power sources constitute a significant determinant of firms' ability to disseminate sustainability requirements to lower-tier suppliers.
Practical implications
The results can help companies and purchasing managers understand how their own and suppliers' power may affect their ability to cascade sustainability agendas to lower-tier suppliers. In particular, the results can be useful for supplier selection and the development of supplier relationship management strategies for fostering sustainability in multi-tier supply chains.
Originality/value
This study places traditional power perspectives in the context of multi-tier sustainable supply chain management, broadening the view beyond dyadic relationships that have traditionally been the focus of the supply management literature.
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This study examines fisheries affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 to explore how the collectivism appears during the recovery process.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines fisheries affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 to explore how the collectivism appears during the recovery process.
Design/methodology/approach
The author questions the context of collaboration after the disaster among independent small-scale fishers in Miyagi by conducting semistructured interviews with more than 50 local fishers with anthropological observations of boat fishing operations and using local documents and statistics.
Findings
The corresponding collaboration among the fishers after the disaster is not a mere “disaster utopia,” but is embedded in the socioecological context of fishing. Fishers have developed individual and group fishing. They have institutionalized competitive distribution for sedentary fish with low resource fluctuation, while outcome-equal distribution is adopted for migratory fish with high resource fluctuation. This forms a fishing continuum that connects competitive individualism with collectivism in the community, which has contributed to resilience for disaster recovery.
Originality/value
The balance between individualism and collectivism is decisively coordinated in socioecological contexts. The multifaceted resource strategy for maritime biodiversity that features family-based occupational differentiation in a community is crucial for disaster recovery of small-scale fishers.
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