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1 – 10 of 151Ryan Schill, Ronei Leonel, Frances Fabian and David Frank Jorgensen
Following successful discussion of this case, students should be able to:▪ understand and apply the principles of effectuation;▪ understand the difficulty of obtaining traditional…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
Following successful discussion of this case, students should be able to:▪ understand and apply the principles of effectuation;▪ understand the difficulty of obtaining traditional financing in Latin America;▪ determine the importance of matching new hire and company values, particularly in a small business; and▪ analyze some of the unique problems facing a business at the point of scaling up and provide suggestions for how the protagonist could address those problems.
Case overview/synopsis
This case provides an introduction to the Fintech industry in South and Central America, fruitfully combining tenets of the lean startup methodology, effectual principles of entrepreneurship and a novel method of managing personal finances via decentralized vehicles provided through fintech. In addition, Kuiki Credit and its use of fintech represent a compelling example of industry disruption by an entrepreneurial firm. Owing to its unique location, this case provides students with a lens into a part of the world rife with bureaucracy and, in some cases, corruption. The disruption is thus unique in that not only does one view traditional disruption of industry dynamics, but also government policy and cultural mores. This is evinced within the body of the case through direct quotes from founder Ernesto Leal and Eduardo Morán, one of the company’s first employees. This information highlights the market Kuiki Credit pursued, one underserved by traditional financing and thus lacking access to credit.Consistent with effectual entrepreneurship principles, Ernesto Leal, the main protagonist and a Nicaraguan entrepreneur, drew upon his significant corporate experience in financial institutions and as a franchise owner to create a new venture. Kuiki Credit is designed to increase access to capital and disseminate fintech throughout Central and South America, and in particular first in Costa Rica and later in Nicaragua. The case is set in 2018, when Leal faces a scaling issue. Specifically, he wonders how to maintain an entrepreneurial company with high levels of innovation and a culture of continuous improvement despite the need to grow. Near the end of the case, some specific issues relative to culture are briefly reviewed in relation to the sales department and Leal feeling the need to restructure the company, while being encouraged by the board to hit breakeven targets for three consecutive months prior to expanding to new markets.
Complexity academic level
This case most appropriately lends itself to discussions in entrepreneurship at the junior or senior undergraduate level. To engage in this case most productively, students should have a basic understanding of entrepreneurship, the equivalent of two to three weeks into the semester.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS:3: Entrepreneurship.
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To discuss the regulation of professional wrestling in the USA in order to explore how the business of professional wrestling is regulated and deregulated.
Abstract
Purpose
To discuss the regulation of professional wrestling in the USA in order to explore how the business of professional wrestling is regulated and deregulated.
Approach
Using desk-based research, the regulation and deregulation of professional wrestling will be explored.
Findings
The regulation of professional wrestling in the USA is inconsistent. The extent of regulation and deregulation of professional wrestling is dependent on the state in which the event takes place. Whether regulated or deregulated, professional wrestling is a painful, risky and injurious business wherein the economic health and well-being of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) corporation, and the location in which events take place, take precedence over the health and well-being of working sports participants.
Implications
The research is limited to sports participants working in the dominant, visible and therefore arguably most accountable professional wrestling corporation in the USA. Implication of the research is that a more in-depth investigation into the utility of regulation is needed. Additionally, it raises concerns regarding the potential hidden work-related premature deaths, harms and injuries in other promotions in the USA and beyond.
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Sarah Eyaa, Ramaswami Sridharan and Suzanne Ryan
The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model investigating the impact of three constructs, environmental uncertainty, power asymmetry and information sharing on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model investigating the impact of three constructs, environmental uncertainty, power asymmetry and information sharing on opportunism engagement in exchange relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from procurement or sales managers of 99 manufacturing firms in Kampala, Uganda’s capital using a cross-sectional survey. Hypotheses were tested in both the agricultural and non-agricultural manufacturing sectors using multiple regression runs in the SPSS software.
Findings
Environmental uncertainty increases opportunism in the agricultural sector whilst power asymmetry increases opportunism in the non-agricultural sector. Across both sectors, information sharing does not have a significant impact on opportunism.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of opportunism in a developing country context by highlighting the contextual factors within the agricultural and non-agricultural manufacturing sectors that influence opportunism engagement under conditions of environmental uncertainty, power asymmetry and information sharing. This paper presents implications for practice and policy to minimise opportunism with the goal of enhancing the participation of Ugandan manufacturing firms in global supply chains.
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Lee D. Parker and Philip Ritson
The management profession has a long and well‐documented history adopting and abandoning “fads” promulgated by a series of thinkers, practitioners, and opinion leaders who enjoy a…
Abstract
Purpose
The management profession has a long and well‐documented history adopting and abandoning “fads” promulgated by a series of thinkers, practitioners, and opinion leaders who enjoy a “guru” like status. The purpose of this paper shows that stereotyping contributes to the existence of this guru‐fad phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines the characteristics of both management fads and the phenomenon of stereotyping with reference to two leading historical management practitioners and thinkers, Henri Fayol and Mary Parker Follett.
Findings
Drawing on the examples of Mary Parker Follett and Henri Fayol, it argues that the influence exerted by other management gurus and fads, such as Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific Management and Elton Mayo's Human Relations Movement, gave rise to a stereotyped view of both Follett and Fayol's work that prevented an accurate appraisal of their ideas.
Research limitations/implications
In addition, this paper notes that, while Follett and Fayol exhibited an extraordinary capacity to identify the very issues that have spawned many subsequent management fads, the contemporary management discipline's approach to both thinkers is quite different. While Follett has escaped her earlier stereotypes, allowing management thinkers a new opportunity to re‐assess her work and value its contemporary relevance, Fayol remains misclassified as a European Taylorist who has little to offer the contemporary management practitioner.
Originality/value
This paper provides an interesting insight into the characteristics of both management fads and the phenomenon of stereotyping.
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Christopher J. M. Smith, Constantinos Choromides, Victoria Boyd, Linda Proudfoot, Marty Wright and Fiona Stewart-Knight
Impactful pedagogies in Higher Education are required to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. This chapter outlines an inclusive, flexible, and work-based learning…
Abstract
Impactful pedagogies in Higher Education are required to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. This chapter outlines an inclusive, flexible, and work-based learning curriculum design framework to respond to these needs. Two cases from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) are used to illustrate this framework in a transnational educational context in Sub-Saharan Africa. Case one explores the impact of a Railway Operations Management program in South Africa, where the views of two cohorts of 137 recent graduates were gathered through an online questionnaire. Case two examines the views of Optometry/Orthoptics students who undertook an intensive two-week clinical work experience on the train-based clinic (Phelophepa train) in South Africa; data was gathered through an online questionnaire from 58 participating students since 2014. Both examples highlight transformative personal experiences and impacts of their education beyond just their studies – to a clearer sense of personal and professional pride, to becoming role models for their families and to developing meta-cognitive skills to support lifelong learning. In the Railway Operations Management example, additional benefits were seen to their organization – through improved interpersonal skills, decision-making, and problem-solving and creating knowledge-sharing – whereas in the Optometry/Orthoptics case life-changing impacts to patients were delivered through this work experience.
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Lucia B. Oliveira and Priscila Sarmento Najnudel
The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of abusive supervision on work engagement, stress and turnover intention of subordinates. It was also proposed that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of abusive supervision on work engagement, stress and turnover intention of subordinates. It was also proposed that work engagement and stress mediate the relationship between abusive supervision and turnover intention. Self-determination theory and the job demands-resources (JD-R) model provide the theoretical framework for the hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample of this study consisted of 172 employees from public and private companies operating in different sectors of the economy. The hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The results show that abusive supervision negatively influences engagement and contributes to increasing subordinates' stress and turnover intention. The study also found that the relationship between abusive supervision and turnover intention is mediated by engagement, but not by stress.
Research limitations/implications
Data was obtained from a convenience sample and cannot, therefore, be generalized.
Practical implications
The study results suggest that employees are prone to leave an organization when they are subordinated to abusive leaders, corroborating the idea that workers choose organizations but leave their leaders. This, in turn, reinforces the importance of adopting proper leadership selection and training processes.
Originality/value
This research addresses the dark side of the relationship between superiors and subordinates, which has been scarcely examined in the Brazilian literature. It also draws attention to different harmful consequences associated with dysfunctional behaviors of professionals that hold leadership positions in organizations.
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Melissa Mitchell and Christopher D. Zatzick
The purpose of this paper is to examine skill underutilization and collective turnover in a large professional service firm (PSF). The authors hypothesize that skill…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine skill underutilization and collective turnover in a large professional service firm (PSF). The authors hypothesize that skill underutilization is positively related to collective turnover, that skill underutilization is greater among professionals than nonprofessionals, and that the positive relationship between skill underutilization and collective turnover is stronger for professionals than for nonprofessionals.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data from a large PSF, the authors test these predictions across 191 groups (professional and nonprofessional) in 80 offices. Collective turnover rates were taken from company records one year after the survey was administered.
Findings
The authors find support for the prediction that skill underutilization is positively related to collective turnover. In addition, skill underutilization is greater among professionals than nonprofessionals within a PSF. However, the relationship between skill underutilization and collective turnover did not differ between professionals and nonprofessionals.
Research limitations/implications
While the authors find that skill underutilization is positively related to collective turnover, future research is needed to measure the group processes that occur among group members and lead to collective turnover. Limitations of this study include the inability to validate the aggregation of data from the individual level to the group level, and the generalizability of findings to other PSFs or to involuntary turnover situations.
Practical implications
Understanding the antecedents of collective turnover is of particular concern to PSFs, as they are composed of highly skilled, intrinsically motivated professionals, who generate value for the firm. These findings are particularly timely, given the significant levels of underemployment in countries throughout the world.
Originality/value
In addition to extending skill underutilization and collective turnover research to the occupational group level, the findings highlight the importance of providing development opportunities for employees during difficult economic conditions in order to minimize collective turnover.
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Gray C. Ligon, Ronald L. Schill and F. Patrick O′Donnell
Aims to provide a model of technology strategy, which shows howfirms can strategically plan for and adopt new information technology.The critical issue in managing technology…
Abstract
Aims to provide a model of technology strategy, which shows how firms can strategically plan for and adopt new information technology. The critical issue in managing technology strategy is to assess the role which it can play in enhancing the firm′s competitive position through improving its value activities, which can provide sustainable competitive advantage to the adopting firm and its business partners. Utilizes the competitive strategy paradigm of technology strategy to explore the strategic impact of electronic data interchange (EDI) technology using the global air express industry as an example. This industry provides an appropriate example for applying the paradigm because firms competing in global markets must successfully address many of those problems which are facing global air express firms. Other industries can learn from the experience of air express firms′ use of technology to improve their competitive performance.
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