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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Gad Yair

With growing decentralization, local education authorities (LEAs) face new tasks and responsibilities in providing schools with administrative services and resources. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

With growing decentralization, local education authorities (LEAs) face new tasks and responsibilities in providing schools with administrative services and resources. This study aims to use a multilevel framework to assess the extent to which LEAs differentially affect the provision of resources and administrative services to schools, and the differential extent to which organizational effectiveness and LEAs’ corporate social capital account for between‐LEA variation in these outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an Israeli national sample of 464 schools in 76 LEAs, the study uses an HLM methodology to test which of the two theoretical models best fits the data.

Findings

The analysis reveals that background characteristics of a locale are not related to administrative services and resources that LEAs provide to schools in their jurisdiction. In contrast, LEAs do differentially affect these services and resources, with the variables of organizational effectiveness accounting for most of the observed inter‐LEA inequalities.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on cross‐sectional design, therefore precludes any causal definitive conclusions.

Originality/value

The study concludes by suggesting that inequalities in LEAs’ organizational capacities trickle down to the school level and LEAS are important organizational units in any attempt to curb inequality of service to students.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 43 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 September 2019

Whitney Douglas Fernandez, Yannick Thams and Mark Lehrer

Although resource dependence theory (RDT) has substantially deepened the understanding of the function and role of boards, no systematic review of this body of work has yet been…

Abstract

Purpose

Although resource dependence theory (RDT) has substantially deepened the understanding of the function and role of boards, no systematic review of this body of work has yet been undertaken. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize prior research on the strategically relevant resources provided by board members to their organization in the light of RDT and indicate avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

The review covers 79 research articles from 1978 to 2016 dealing with the resource provision of boards of directors.

Findings

Board capital research most often assumes a positive, linear relationship between board capital, resource provision and ultimately firm-level performance outcomes. This tendency tends to exclude from view the possibility of important trade-offs relevant to both theory and practice. Future research will need to incorporate more complex models that take into consideration nonlinear and curvilinear effects. The authors outline opportunities to advance board research by refining the methodological techniques employed.

Originality/value

By recommending investigation of the important trade-offs inherent in board composition, the authors seek to inspire future research that offers practical guidance for improving the effectiveness of corporate boards.

Details

American Journal of Business, vol. 34 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1935-5181

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2013

Jaakko Siltaloppi and Suvi Nenonen

Research on value co‐creation has gained ground rapidly but remained at a very theoretical level. Thus, it has provided relatively little insight into the nature of individual…

Abstract

Purpose

Research on value co‐creation has gained ground rapidly but remained at a very theoretical level. Thus, it has provided relatively little insight into the nature of individual processes of service provision/value creation, and how firms interact with their customers and contribute to their value creation processes. On this basis, the purpose of this paper is to identify and elaborate possible roles firms and their customers enact in the service provision/value creation process.

Design/methodology/approach

The research utilizes a multiple case study approach building primarily on qualitative interview data from eight service concepts in the Finnish residential real estate industry.

Findings

The research reveals three roles of the firm based on the extent to which firms engage in service provision/value creation processes with their customers. At one extreme, the output of the firms acts as a resource, which is transformed into an outcome and used by the customers. At the other, firms and customers jointly co‐create value, with the firm coordinating the whole offering for the customer. In between, firms transform their resources into relatively standardized outcomes, which customers use in their value creation processes.

Research limitations/implications

The results contribute to the understanding of service provision by categorizing firm‐customer interaction into differing configurations of roles. This reinforces the notion that the depth of interaction affects the extent to which value is co‐created between the firm and customer; different services having different configurations of roles which shape the interaction. Limited to eight service cases, the results only exemplify aggregate role configurations. Moreover, by focusing only on the perspectives of firm representatives, the results do not allow a closer analysis on customer‐specific roles in the value creation process.

Originality/value

This research presents an empirical analysis and interpretation of the service co‐production/value co‐creation process, complementing the extensive theoretical research on the topic. Particularly, the results display different depths of interaction between firms and their customers in co‐producing and co‐creating value, which suggests that it is not necessarily meaningful to consider everything co‐creation from an empirical perspective.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 December 2023

Maie Stein, Vanessa Begemann, Sabine Gregersen and Sylvie Vincent-Höper

Although nonwork mastery generates personal resources and improves employee well-being and performance, employees must invest personal resources to experience mastery during…

Abstract

Purpose

Although nonwork mastery generates personal resources and improves employee well-being and performance, employees must invest personal resources to experience mastery during nonwork time. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and resource exchange perspectives, the purpose of this study is to examine the role of day-to-day provisions of affiliation resources by the leader in generating the personal resources necessary for employees to engage in nonwork mastery.

Design/methodology/approach

Daily diary data were collected from 198 employees (768 days). The proposed model was tested using Bayesian multilevel path analysis.

Findings

The results showed that on days when employees perceived that their leader provided more affiliation resources, they reported higher self-esteem and work engagement and, in turn, experienced higher levels of mastery. Furthermore, employees in high-quality (vs low-quality) leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships benefitted more from the affiliation resources provided by their leader in terms of work engagement.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that leaders can actively manage their employees' daily experience and functioning through seemingly ordinary demonstrations of warmth, care, and positive regard.

Originality/value

This study highlights the important role of leaders in improving employee daily work and nonwork experience and functioning and sheds light on the tangible resource provisions in the work context and the associated personal resources that account for daily variations in mastery. By distinguishing between daily affiliation resources and general perceptions of LMX relationship quality, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the implications that resource provisions by the leader have for employees.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 45 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 November 2020

Vidya Sukumara Panicker and Rajesh Srinivas Upadhyayula

This paper attempts to examine the activity and involvement of board of directors in internationalization activities of firms in emerging markets, by evaluating the resource

Abstract

Purpose

This paper attempts to examine the activity and involvement of board of directors in internationalization activities of firms in emerging markets, by evaluating the resource provisioning roles of interlocks provided by board of directors, and the frequency of board meetings. We demonstrate that the effectiveness of board involvement is contingent upon the levels of family ownership in firms since family ownership could impact the firm’s ability to utilize the presence of different types of board members.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test our hypotheses on a sample of listed Indian companies, extracted from the Prowess database published by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a database of the financial performance of Indian companies. On a panel of 3,133 firm years of 605 unique Indian firms with foreign investments, over a time period of 2006–2017, the authors apply different estimation techniques.

Findings

The results demonstrate that both board meeting frequency and director interlocks are instrumental in supporting internationalization activities in emerging market firms. However, family ownership moderates the role of insider and independent interlocks on internationalization investments in different ways; the authors find that interlocks provided by independent directors support internationalization activities in family firms, whereas those provided by insider directors do not. Further, the study also finds that board meetings are less effective in internationalization of family firms.

Practical implications

The authors conclude that family firms aiming at international diversification require to develop more connected and networked independent directors to enable internationalization in firms. While independent director interlocks enhance the international investments, it is also useful to know that board meetings are ineffective in utilizing the resources in family firms. This points to the possibility that family firms should device mechanisms to integrate family meetings with board meetings so that they can utilize the within-family processes to aid in their internationalization decisions.

Originality/value

The study contributes to resource dependence theory by understanding its limiting role in family firms. Theoretically, it helps delineate the limiting resource provision role of the insider directors vis-à-vis independent directors. The authors argue that the resource provision role of insider director interlocks does not effectively help in internationalization in comparison to independent director interlocks in family-dominated firms. Consequently, the study shows the limiting role of resource provision and utilization by family-owned firms in comparison to non-family-owned firms.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Christos Bouras and Afrodite Sevasti

In recent years, a number of alternatives for service differentiation and QoS provision have been proposed and standardized in communication networks. In the case of back‐bone…

Abstract

In recent years, a number of alternatives for service differentiation and QoS provision have been proposed and standardized in communication networks. In the case of back‐bone networks the DiffServ architecture has prevailed, due to its scalability and deployment feasibility. The provisioning of differentiated services has raised the requirements for interdependent controlled resource allocation and service pricing, with particular needs for pricing mechanisms that preserve the potential and flexibility of the DiffServ framework. At the same time, such mechanisms should reflect resource usage, allocate resources efficiently, reimburse costs or maximize service provision profits and lead customers to requesting services that will maximize their revenue. Presents the key issues involved in the area of pricing DiffServ‐based services and the research work carried out in this field, while at the same time outlining the basic principles that such a pricing infrastructure should obey with respect to the particularities that apply to the case of DiffServ services provision.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2021

Vartuhi Tonoyan and Robert Strohmeyer

Existing entrepreneurship literature has provided mixed evidence as to whether resource providers discriminate against female-led innovative start-up ventures in their resource

Abstract

Purpose

Existing entrepreneurship literature has provided mixed evidence as to whether resource providers discriminate against female-led innovative start-up ventures in their resource commitment decisions either in terms of the likelihood or conditions of resource provision. While some studies revealed evidence indicative of negative discrimination against female entrepreneurs, others have provided evidence suggestive of positive discrimination. In light of these divergent findings, the purpose of this paper is to develop a more nuanced and integrative approach to studying gender biases in entrepreneurial resource provision with greater attention paid to both moderating contingency factors and mediating mechanisms.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop a conceptual model and empirically testable propositions describing whether, how and when entrepreneurial resource providers are likely to under-, over- and equivalue female-led innovative start-up ventures relative to equivalent male-led start-up ventures. The model applies not only to institutional or private investors as providers of financial capital to start-up ventures as discussed extensively in extant entrepreneurship literature but also to prospective employees as providers of human capital and prospective consumers as providers of money in exchange for an entrepreneurial product or service. The authors discuss the gender-typing of the entrepreneur's core product/service offering as a key contingency factor likely to moderate the proposed relation. The authors further delineate the importance of what they refer to as the “first”- and “second-order” mediating mechanisms underlying the hypothesized relation between resource provider evaluations of the male versus female founder-CEO, the attractiveness of his/her start-up venture and the (conditions of) resource provision to their start-ups.

Findings

Building on social-psychological theories of descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotypes and extant entrepreneurship literature, the authors establish that gender biases are likely to occur because of resource providers' perceptions of women entrepreneurs at the helm of male-typed start-up ventures to be less competent and agentic, as well as less warm and other-oriented than equivalent male entrepreneurs leading male-typed start-up ventures. The authors discuss the implications of such gender-biased evaluations for the application of stricter performance standards to female-led-male-typed start-up ventures and the likelihood and conditions of resource provision to their companies. The authors further discuss why and when female founder-CEOs of a female-typed (gender-neutral) start-up venture are likely to be overvalued (equivalued) compared to equivalent male founder-CEOs. The authors also develop propositions on additional contingency factors and mediators of the gendered evaluations of founder-CEOs and their start-up ventures, including resource providers' “second-order” gender beliefs, the high-cost versus low-cost resource commitment, individual differences in gender stereotyping and the perceived entrepreneurial commitment of the founder-CEO. The authors conclude by suggesting some practical implications for how to mitigate gender biases and discrimination by prospective resource providers.

Originality/value

Discussing the implications of descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotypes on evaluative decisions of entrepreneurial resources providers, this study advances not only the women's entrepreneurship literature but also the more-established scholarship on the role of gender stereotypes for women's advancement opportunities in the corporate world that has traditionally viewed entrepreneurship as the solution for women fleeing the gender-stereotype-based discrimination in the corporate setting to advance their careers.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2024

Sudhir Rama Murthy, Thayla Tavares Sousa-Zomer, Tim Minshall, Chander Velu, Nikolai Kazantsev and Duncan McFarlane

Advancements in responsive manufacturing have been supporting companies over the last few decades. However, manufacturers now operate in a context of continuous uncertainty. This…

Abstract

Purpose

Advancements in responsive manufacturing have been supporting companies over the last few decades. However, manufacturers now operate in a context of continuous uncertainty. This research paper explores a mechanism where companies can “elastically” provision and deprovision their production capacity, to enable them in coping with repeated disruptions. Such a mechanism is facilitated by the imitability and substitutability of production resources.

Design/methodology/approach

An inductive study was conducted using Gioia methodology for this theory generation research. Respondents from 20 UK manufacturing companies across multiple industrial sectors reflected on their experience during COVID-19. Resource-based view and resource dependence theory were employed to analyse the manufacturers' use of internal and external production resources.

Findings

The study identifies elastic responses at four operational levels: production-line, factory, company and supply chain. Elastic responses that imposed variable-costs were particularly well-suited for coping with unforeseen disruptions. Further, the imitability and substitutability of manufacturers helped others produce alternate goods during the crisis.

Originality/value

While uniqueness of production capability helps manufacturers sustain competitive advantage against competitors during stable operations, imitability and substitutability are beneficial during a crisis. Successful manufacturing companies need to combine these two approaches to respond effectively to repeated disruptions in a context of ongoing uncertainties. The theoretical contribution is in characterising responsive manufacturing in terms of resource heterogeneity and resource homogeneity, with elastic resourcing as the underlying mechanism.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 July 2021

Jelena Jovanovic and Dirk Morschett

Although many manufacturers depend on international sales, and product-related services continue to increase in importance, little is known about how manufacturers should deliver…

Abstract

Purpose

Although many manufacturers depend on international sales, and product-related services continue to increase in importance, little is known about how manufacturers should deliver their product-related services across borders. This paper examines the international configuration decision of industrial service offerings across borders by investigating the impact of different service characteristics and the servitization strategy on this decision. Additionally, the paper sheds light on how digitalization and administrative heritage impact this decision.

Design/methodology/approach

116 industrial goods manufacturers from Switzerland and Germany were surveyed.

Findings

Servitization leads companies to centralize their service resources in their home countries. However, most service characteristics do not impact decisions regarding centralization, except for knowledge intensity, which leads to more centralization of resources. This implies that the resource configuration does not depend on each service individually but on the overall service strategy. Furthermore, the digital readiness of the host country directly and positively impacts resource centralization. Notwithstanding other variables, larger companies tend to decentralize service resources more than smaller companies.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to study the international configuration impact of servitization and of individual service characteristics, thereby adding important knowledge regarding the provision of product-related services in the international context. Additionally, different aspects of digitalization are included to analyze its impact on companies and host countries.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 32 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2017

Lilliemay Cheung, Janet R. McColl-Kennedy and Leonard V. Coote

This paper aims to demonstrate how vulnerable consumer-citizens mobilize social capital following a natural disaster, showing how different forms of social capital contribute to…

1161

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate how vulnerable consumer-citizens mobilize social capital following a natural disaster, showing how different forms of social capital contribute to well-being and resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

An embedded case study design comparing three different social networks is employed.

Findings

Understanding the active role consumer-citizens play in provisioning within social networks provides a deeper understanding of the important mechanisms that explain how different forms of social capital contribute to well-being. The three identified networks demonstrate different structural signatures composed of differing forms of social capital that arise following a natural disaster.

Research limitations/implications

Drawing on social capital theory, this study contributes to advancing transformative service research, providing implications for both theory and practice.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to empirically compare networks in a natural disaster context, demonstrating the effects of bonding, bridging and linking social capital on well-being and community resilience. This study shows how social network analysis can be used to model network processes and mechanisms. Findings highlight the important role of social provisioning to vulnerable consumer-citizens as an alternate form of consumption.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 31 no. 4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

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