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1 – 10 of over 6000Dora Abidi and Nakagawa Koichi
This paper aims to examine the management approaches that play a key role for innovation success in a stable and unstable environment.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the management approaches that play a key role for innovation success in a stable and unstable environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Tunisia and Japan were chosen as a research sites to assess the accuracy of management approach adopted in each environment. Japan, as a developed, stable and predictable market, involves a traditional/conventional management mode known as administrative control approach (ACA) for successful innovation. However, we argue that a developing country is characterized by its unstable environment and requires an opportunity-based approach (OBA) that lies in the firm’s openness to search and benefit from environmental opportunities.
Findings
The paper confirms that OBA improves product innovation success in an unstable environment, for innovation in a stable one.
Originality/value
The paper provides a comprehensive comparison between innovation driven management approaches towards stable and unstable environments through multi-group structural equation modeling.
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Shih-Chieh Fang and Hung Ku Chen
The purpose of this paper is to develop different kinds of organizational learning mechanisms based on various types of strategic intents (proactive- and reactive-orientation) and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop different kinds of organizational learning mechanisms based on various types of strategic intents (proactive- and reactive-orientation) and organizational environments (stable and unstable).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilized a grounded theory approach, and corroborated the results using multiple interviews and documents related to various cases. The authors determined the inter-judge agreement and performed a composite reliability analysis to ensure the robustness of the research.
Findings
Successful organization learning is contingent upon managerial strategic intent and the organizational environment in which the organization operates. Proactive strategic intent will cultivate a group-oriented learning system, whereas reactive strategic intent emphasizes the effectiveness of personal learning. Firms in an environment marked by radical change utilize experiential learning mechanisms (participation- and experience-orientation), whereas firms in a stable environment use a specialist-knowledge-oriented approach to learning (benchmarking- and specializing-orientation).
Originality/value
The authors offer a theoretical framework two-by-two matrix that has practical implications in providing managers with guidance in selecting the appropriate organizational learning mechanism to implement in their firms.
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The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the influence of servant leadership on volunteers' commitment working in the voluntary sector in war zones.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the influence of servant leadership on volunteers' commitment working in the voluntary sector in war zones.
Design/methodology/approach
With a qualitative research design, participants were 16 volunteers from a servant-leadership-led charity who took part in three focus groups.
Findings
Results of the present study revealed that (1) the effectiveness of servant leadership in the war environment lies in creating hope, and (2) the overlap between personal ethics of servant leaders and flexible policies in addition to a set of attributes such as honesty; social awareness; listening; a sense of responsibility; emotion; altruism; patience; and leading without power represent the primary reasons that influence volunteers' commitment during war times.
Research limitations/implications
Research data was conducted during the war on Syria, which has negative implications not only on the participants, but also on the way they responded to questions.
Practical implications
This paper explores and attempts to understand the influence of servant leadership on volunteers' commitment working in the voluntary sector in war zones, which can shed light on the importance of servant leadership behavior in the voluntary sector during postwar and reconstruction periods.
Originality/value
The study offers data and interpretation regarding servant leadership and its positive outcome in war zones, which can be used as a foundation for future studies in war zones.
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The purpose of this paper is to revisit Igor Ansoff's work and how it interfaces with the various schools of strategic management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to revisit Igor Ansoff's work and how it interfaces with the various schools of strategic management.
Design/methodology/approach
Ansoff's work of 40 years is reviewed and related to other schools of thought in strategic management.
Findings
Ansoff's work is much more comprehensive than the literature suggests. His later work (after 1990) is largely unnoticed by academics, nevertheless, it is the empirical findings of his theoretical postulations. Moreover, his work interfaces with virtually all schools of thought in strategic management.
Research limitations/implications
It will provide a broader view of Ansoff's work and perhaps trigger additional research as a result of his later work. Most researchers continue to associate Ansoff with his early thoughts.
Practical implications
Ansoff's work has found wide applications in a variety of industries. His work was mostly with industries that used his propositions in order to better strategies.
Social implications
Ansoff's later research and empirical findings could provide a launchpad for re‐examining the method by which organizations assess their environment, strategic behaviour, and internal capability. Therefore, organizations may have an alternative method to develop strategy.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to provide a historical view of Ansoff's work and perhaps his timeliness. The recent economic crisis only further supports Ansoff's basic position that companies must create custom strategies to fit their environment, culture, and capabilities.
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Ali Leylavi Shoushtari, Paolo Dario and Stefano Mazzoleni
Interaction plays a significant role in robotics and it is considered in all levels of hardware and software control design. Several models have been introduced and developed for…
Abstract
Purpose
Interaction plays a significant role in robotics and it is considered in all levels of hardware and software control design. Several models have been introduced and developed for controlling robotic interaction. This study aims to address and analyze the state-of-the-art on robotic interaction control by which it is revealed that both practical and theoretical issues have to be faced when designing a controller.
Design/methodology/approach
In this review, a critical analysis of the control algorithms developed for robotic interaction tasks is presented. A hierarchical classification of distributed control levels from general aspects to specific control algorithms is also illustrated. Hence, two main control paradigms are discussed together with control approaches and architectures. The challenges of each control approach are discussed and the relevant solutions are presented.
Findings
This review presents an evolvement trend of interaction control theories and technologies over time. In addition, it highlights the pros and cons of each control approaches with addressing how the flaws of one control approach were compensated by emerging another control methods.
Originality/value
This review provides the robotic controller designers to select the right architecture and accordingly design the appropriate control algorithm for any given interactive task and with respect to the technology implemented in robotic manipulator.
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The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of leadership development (LD) methods adopted by companies operating in Syria by exploring the content, purpose, and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of leadership development (LD) methods adopted by companies operating in Syria by exploring the content, purpose, and the implantation of LD methods.
Design/methodology/approach
Middle and top managers were asked via semi-structured interviews to describe the content, purposes, and implementation of LD practices.
Findings
The findings revealed that the LD interventions are mixed between experiential learning and self and team analysis. Specifically, five major methods or activities used in Syria: action learning, coaching, feedback, rotation, and networking. These methods and activities were not only used for a specific purpose, but also for multiple purposes.
Research limitations/implications
Research data were conducted during what was called the Arab Spring, which has negative implications not only on the participants, but also on the way they responded to questions. In addition, the for-profit sector was only involved in the study because of its flexibility, lack of bureaucracy, and the application of LD.
Originality/value
This study is the only study that investigated LD methods and activities in Syria.
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Daniele Binci, Corrado Cerruti, Giorgia Masili and Cristina Paternoster
The purpose of this study is to explore the agile project management (APM) approach through the contextual ambidextrous lens by overcoming the traditional perspective that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the agile project management (APM) approach through the contextual ambidextrous lens by overcoming the traditional perspective that separates projects within the opposite planned-exploitation- and emergent-exploration-oriented forms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a grounded approach to five different agile-oriented companies for discovering how agile adoption shows both emergent (exploration-oriented) and planned (exploitation-oriented) tensions in a perspective that connects, rather than separates, them.
Findings
This study discovers five main categories, namely, approach, objectives, boundaries, leadership and feedback, that capture the tensions between planned and emergent issues of agile projects. The identified variables interact with different intervening conditions of the APM attributes (i.e. road map, product backlog, team backlog and solution delivery), activating different response actions (“exploitation embedded in exploration” and vice-versa), requiring, as a consequence, the need for contextual ambidexterity.
Research limitations/implications
This study identifies different implications based on real project contexts, as the importance of a more complete picture of the APM approach, which also considers the combination of planned and emergent aspects of projects and, as consequence, the needs for dual capacities (T-shaped skills) both at project management and team levels.
Practical implications
This study identifies, in real project contexts, the relevance of integration between the corporate level and the agile project team. This implies the search for constant dialogue, with feedback exchange spread across all levels, also enabled by an integrated leadership approach.
Originality/value
This study highlights agile tensions in a real-world project context by describing how APM connects both explorative and exploitative aspects of change within the same APM initiative, in order to manage such tensions, which differs from previous studies that consider APM in alternation with a linear project management approach as stage-gate.
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J. Ignacio Canales and Joaquim Vilà
This paper examines the emergent and deliberate views in strategy making through, what we develop as, a sequence of thinking and acting. Combining the features of thinking and…
Abstract
This paper examines the emergent and deliberate views in strategy making through, what we develop as, a sequence of thinking and acting. Combining the features of thinking and acting may enhance the organization's ability to achieve change, an ability that remains untapped unless it is accompanied by a change in mental models. Both action thinking emergent issues as well as thinking–acting deliberate issues may constitute triggering events, when contrasted with a previously agreed frame of reference. We develop a framework to show how thinking co-evolves with action in a succession of strategic activities, and within an agreed upon frame of reference. Our aim is to shed light on the circumstances under which deliberate or emergent modes take place throughout the strategy-making process. We claim that changes in strategic activities are determined by attention-triggering events, driven by both thinking and acting.
Ralf Müller and Miia Martinsuo
– The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of relational norms on project success in different project governance contexts.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of relational norms on project success in different project governance contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
A worldwide web-based questionnaire yielded 200 responses. Results from regression analyses supported the hypothesis that relational norms impact project success. Hierarchical regression analyses showed the moderating effect of governance and control on the relationship between relational norms and project success.
Findings
Relational norms in the buyer-supplier relationship are positively associated with project success. This relationship is moderated by the strictness of project governance, especially the level of flexibility left to the project manager. Lower levels of managerial flexibility are detrimental to project success in cases of weak relational norms and supportive of project success in cases of high relational norms.
Research limitations/implications
Academic implications stem from the indication that control has a low influence on the relationship between relational norms and project success, but that the level of managerial flexibility ultimately influences the choice of relational norms needed for a project to be successful.
Practical implications
Clear organizational structures and methodologies are supportive of project success in cases of good relational norms. Therefore, project management training should focus on the relationship building capabilities of project managers, to leverage investments in existing methods and organizational structures.
Originality/value
The paper extends the insights of the importance of soft aspects in managing projects across organizational borders and different governance structures.
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