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Article
Publication date: 11 August 2023

Sarah Fine

This paper features a narrative case study of a leadership team engaged in an effort to transform both culture and instructional practice at an urban charter school. The paper…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper features a narrative case study of a leadership team engaged in an effort to transform both culture and instructional practice at an urban charter school. The paper describes the team's effort to align their decision-making with two frameworks selected to anchor the school's institutional change process: restorative justice and deeper learning. Interweaving rich case data with analysis, the paper explores the dilemmas that emerged as leaders struggled to “walk the talk” of these two frameworks, using this to theorize about the synergies between them and to explore the broader leadership challenges involved in transforming schools from authoritarian to humanizing institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The researcher employed an ethnographic approach with the goal of generating a thickly-textured single case study. Data-gathering activities included more than 400 h of participant-observation, in-depth interviewing and artifact collection, conducted over the course of a ten-month academic year. Data analysis was iterative and included frequent member checks with participants.

Findings

The paper finds that restorative justice and deeper learning have powerful epistemological connections that school leaders can harness in order to ensure a coherent approach to change processes. The paper also illuminates several of the core dilemmas that school leaders should anticipate facing when embracing these two frameworks: the dilemma of responding to feedback, the dilemma of power-sharing and the dilemma of balancing expectations with support.

Research limitations/implications

The case study approach employed in this paper allows for rich understandings of specific phenomena while also providing a platform for exploring the general qualities that these phenomena might illustrate. This approach does not allow for statistical generalizability.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that it is imperative for school leaders to explore what it means to lead in ways that are coherent with their vision for change, e.g. to cultivate symmetry. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that the value of such explorations lies in the process of grappling with the tensions that arise when humanizing frameworks are implemented within systems that uphold traditional power hierarchies. Additionally, the paper affirms the value of de-siloing the transformation of school culture from the transformation of instructional practice.

Originality/value

This paper offers an unusually textured account of the messy and uncertain processes that constitute the work of school change. This paper also draws together two educational paradigms which are rarely brought into conversation with each other despite their epistemological synergy.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 62 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Chongryol Park, Ronald McQuaid and Suzanne Mawson

This paper explores key factors influencing high-performing, sustained growth, high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores key factors influencing high-performing, sustained growth, high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study is adopted to explore seventeen founder owner-managers of high-tech SMEs who sustained consistent employment growth, greater than the industry average, for seven years. Within the sample, those with higher (10% or over) employment compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) over this period are also compared to those with lower rates.

Findings

The study suggests that proactive approaches, such as flexible organization, risk management, fast decision-making and international market entry, are seen as important contributing factors to sustained growth. These findings contribute to a better theoretical and empirical understanding of sustained high-tech SME growth, in a country with a strong entrepreneurial and internationally competitive information technology sector. Also, collaboration across the SME was perceived as making an important contribution to staff development and growth, consistent with stewardship theory.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is based on successful high-tech SMEs, so there are limitations in extrapolating results to other types of firms, sectors or countries.

Practical implications

Key factors identified in this study can be considered by entrepreneurs seeking to achieve sustainable business. These also provide improved understanding for policymakers into the complexity of factors related to sustained and high growth of technology-based SMEs, which many countries are keen to foster to aid national economic growth.

Originality/value

The research provides new evidence exploring the diverse perspectives of founder owner-managers, on the sustained growth and failure in South Korean high-tech SMEs, and how these have changed since the inception of their business.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 29 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2023

Persephone de Magdalene

This paper aims to identify the values antecedents of women’s social entrepreneurship. It explores where and how these values emerge and how they underpin the perceived…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the values antecedents of women’s social entrepreneurship. It explores where and how these values emerge and how they underpin the perceived desirability and feasibility of social venture creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Values development across the life-course is interrogated through retrospective sense-making by thirty UK-based women social entrepreneurs.

Findings

The findings express values related to empathy, social justice and action-taking, developed, consolidated and challenged in a variety of experiential domains over time. The cumulative effects of these processes result in the perceived desirability and feasibility of social entrepreneurial venture creation as a means of effecting social change and achieving coherence between personal values and paid work, prompting social entrepreneurial action-taking.

Originality/value

This paper offers novel, contextualised insights into the role that personal values play as antecedents to social entrepreneurship. It contributes to the sparse literature focussed on both women’s experiences of social entrepreneurship generally, and on their personal values specifically.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 December 2023

Imam Arafat, Suzanne Fifield and Theresa Dunne

The current study investigates the impact of directors' attributes on the extent of compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) fair value disclosure…

Abstract

Purpose

The current study investigates the impact of directors' attributes on the extent of compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) fair value disclosure requirements. The attributes investigated include directors' human capital (accounting qualification) and social capital (political association), directors' share ownership and the power distance between the chief executive officer (CEO) and the rest of the board members.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses disclosure analysis to measure the extent of compliance with the fair value disclosure requirements of IFRS. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is used to test the relationship between the disclosure score and directors' attributes. Data were collected from the annual reports and websites of the sample companies.

Findings

Contrary to conventional belief, this study's findings suggest that directors' social capital and the power distance between the CEO and the rest of the board act as more powerful factors than directors' human capital in explaining corporate mandatory disclosure. Specifically, the results indicate that powerful actors form a dominant coalition and co-opt influential constituents from the institutional domain to neutralize the effect of legal coercion and the accounting expertise of board members and Big Four audit firms on the extent of compliance with institutional (fair value) rules.

Research limitations/implications

This study utilizes Oliver's (1991) framework of strategic response to institutional processes in the Bangladeshi context. Although the study provides new insights into corporate disclosure practices, findings are not generalizable due to different institutional settings in different countries. Therefore, future studies could replicate the approach in different institutional settings.

Practical implications

The findings of this study will be of interest to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as it focuses on a developing country that has adopted IFRS 13 and other fair value-related standards relatively recently.

Originality/value

The disclosure analysis contained in this study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the extent of compliance with the fair value disclosure requirements of IFRS. Furthermore, this study considers the impact of directors' social capital and finds that it is a more powerful determinant of the extent of compliance with IFRS as compared to human capital.

Details

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-5426

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 January 2023

Antaine Stíobhairt, David Staunton and Suzanne Guerin

This paper aims to explore the extent to which principles of recovery-oriented practice are evident in the published perspectives and experiences of health professionals and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the extent to which principles of recovery-oriented practice are evident in the published perspectives and experiences of health professionals and service users on seclusion in adult mental health services.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic review informed by PRISMA guidelines was conducted, drawing from four databases, which were searched in August 2018 and August 2022. Only original empirical studies rated as having “major” relevance were included. Data were extracted from 31 studies and qualitatively synthesised through deductive analysis using recovery principles as themes.

Findings

There was limited evidence of perceptions of seclusion being being consistent with recovery principles, with greater evidence of perceptions that directly opposed them. Studies of service user perspectives highlighted this more often than staff perspectives. The findings highlight paradoxical relationships between care and control and conflicting rights and emphasise the need to openly acknowledge the complexity of seclusion and its interface with recovery.

Research limitations/implications

This review was developed in line with international best practice and the protocol was registered. Using a search string with only three components maximised sensitivity during searches and minimised the risk of relevant literature being missed. Limitations include the focus on studies where the full text was published in English.

Originality/value

This review makes a unique contribution, highlighting that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no studies to date have explicitly explored the perspectives and experiences of staff and service users on the use of seclusion in the context of recovery-oriented practice. The findings are relevant to clinical practice, policy and future research, including amending procedures and practices to partially reconcile seclusion and recovery where the seclusion is deemed necessary.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2023

Sonia Udod, Pamela Baxter, Suzanne Gagnon, Vicki Charski and Saba Raja

The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the LEADS Framework guided health-care leaders through organizational change and the COVID-19 pandemic in a western…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which the LEADS Framework guided health-care leaders through organizational change and the COVID-19 pandemic in a western Canadian province.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative exploratory inquiry assessed the extent to which health leaders applied competencies that aligned with the LEADS Framework. A purposeful sample of 22 health-care leaders participated in the study representing senior, mid-level and front-line health-care leaders in various health-care organizations to ensure diverse representation of leader competencies. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews to collect the data and used Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase approach to guide data analysis.

Findings

The analysis suggests that health-care leaders found Engaging with Others and Developing Coalitions were the most critical themes of the LEADS Framework for change management and for navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings reveal that during transformational change and a crisis context, leaders embrace relational approaches to adapt and improve performance in dynamic organizations.

Practical implications

These findings have implications for a relational approach to improve teamwork and decrease emotional strain; a focus on mobilizing and sharing power with nurses; and educational programs to advance relational and self-management skills, shared leadership, communication, change management, human resource and talent development as critical learning components for current and future health-care leaders.

Originality/value

The LEADS Framework is used to examine how health-care leaders responded to transformational change in the organization while situated in a pandemic context.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 December 2022

Mehri Karimi-Dehkordi, Graham Dickson, Kelly Grimes, Suzanne Schell and Ivy Bourgeault

This paper aims to explore users' perceptions of whether the Leadership Development Impact Assessment (LDI) Toolkit is valid, reliable, simple to use and cost-effective as a guide…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore users' perceptions of whether the Leadership Development Impact Assessment (LDI) Toolkit is valid, reliable, simple to use and cost-effective as a guide to its quality improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

The Canadian Health Leadership Network codesigned and codeveloped the LDI Toolkit as a theory-driven and evidence-informed resource that aims to assist health-care organizational development practitioners to evaluate various programs at five levels of impact: reaction, learning, application, impact and return on investment (ROI) and intangible benefits. A comparative evaluative case study was conducted using online questionnaires and semistructured telephone interviews with three health organizations where robust leadership development programs were in place. A total of seven leadership consultants and specialists participated from three Canadian provinces. Data were analyzed sequentially in two stages involving descriptive statistical analysis augmented with a qualitative content analysis of key themes.

Findings

Users perceived the toolkit as cost-effective in terms of direct costs, indirect costs and intangibles; they found it easy-to-use in terms of clarity, logic and structure, ease of navigation with a coherent layout; and they assessed the sources of the evidence-informed tools and guides as appropriate. Users rated the toolkit highly on their perceptions of its validity and reliability. The analysis also informed the refinement of the toolkit.

Originality/value

The refined LDI Toolkit is a comprehensive online collection of various tools to support health organizations to evaluate the leadership development investments effectively and efficiently at five impact levels including ROI.

Details

Leadership in Health Services, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1879

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 July 2023

Antaine Stíobhairt, Nicole Cassidy, Niamh Clarke and Suzanne Guerin

This paper aims to explore the roles of psychologists in seclusion in adult mental health services in Ireland, their perspectives on seclusion and its use in recovery-oriented…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the roles of psychologists in seclusion in adult mental health services in Ireland, their perspectives on seclusion and its use in recovery-oriented practice and related professional practice issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted from a social constructivist perspective. Semi-structured interviews with 17 psychologists were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Findings

Twenty-four themes were identified, which were clustered into four overarching themes. Participants viewed themselves and psychology in Ireland more broadly as peripheral to seclusion. They believed that seclusion possessed no inherent therapeutic value but viewed it as an uncomfortable and multi-faceted reality. Participants regarded seclusion and recovery as largely inconsistent and difficult to reconcile, and they perceived systemic factors, which had a pervasive negative impact on seclusion and recovery in practice.

Practical implications

The findings highlight the perceived complexity of seclusion and its interface with recovery, and the need to conscientiously balance conflicting priorities that cannot be easily reconciled to ensure ethical practice. The findings suggest psychologists are well-suited to participate in local and national discussions on using seclusion in recovery-oriented practice.

Originality/value

This study offers a unique insight into psychologists’ perceptions of seclusion and considers the implications of these views. Participants’ nuanced views suggest that psychologists can make valuable contributions to local and national discussions on these topics.

Details

Mental Health Review Journal, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-9322

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 August 2021

Ramin Asadi, Suzanne Wilkinson and James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi

The high rate of rework that occurs in construction projects has a negative effect on the performance of the construction projects. Although several mechanisms have been…

Abstract

Purpose

The high rate of rework that occurs in construction projects has a negative effect on the performance of the construction projects. Although several mechanisms have been implemented to control reworking, a comprehensive list of rework causes is yet to be provided to present the common causes that contribute to rework in construction contracts. This paper aims to investigate the most common rework causes that need to be addressed in construction contracts.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-method using both the qualitative and quantitative approach is used in this paper. First of all, the study adopted a four-step literature review to introduce the rework research trends and provide statistical reports using descriptive analysis. Next, a comprehensive review has been completed using content analysis to identify the common causes of rework in construction projects. Finally, the common causes in construction contracts are further investigated through a quantitative questionnaire survey to validate the initial results.

Findings

The results of the review showed an increasing trend of publications on rework over the last three decades. Most of the studies were conducted in Australia, the UK, Nigeria and Hong Kong. Based on further investigation in the study area of sources of rework, 37 causes of rework causes were identified and classified in five groups. Then, the most significant causes of rework in construction contracts were compiled in the list of 22 items.

Research limitations/implications

The paper’s reported result, contributes to the contract management body of knowledge by proposing a list of common rework causes that can be used by practitioners during the contract negotiation to prevent contractual issues. The result of the review can also be used for further investigation of the relationship between rework and contract conditions.

Originality/value

The proposed list of common causes of rework in construction contracts allows project parties to improve the terms of the contract in addressing rework, this could result in fewer contractual claims and disputes. The findings of this study will also guide the investigations into the contract conditions, thus the approach used is constructive.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2024

Ronald E. Day

The purpose of this paper is to examine Robert Pagès' 1948 conception of “auto-document” as a possible forerunner to the neo-documentalist conception of “documentality” as…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine Robert Pagès' 1948 conception of “auto-document” as a possible forerunner to the neo-documentalist conception of “documentality” as offered in Bernd Frohmann’s 2012 article “The Documentality of Mme Briet’s Antelope.”

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is conceptual and historical.

Findings

Robert Pagès' concept of the “auto-document” in his 1948 article proposed an understanding of documents that depends on the “uniqueness” of a document. His article proposed a post-Otletian theory of documents similar to a discussion of documents by Bernd Frohmann in 2012 with the concept of “documentality.” Further attention to Pagès work and to Frohmann’s works could result in new understandings of Briet’s works, could illuminate other works and authors understood as belonging to neo-documentation and could yield new understandings of documents and information from the perspective of documentality as a new philosophy of information and documents.

Research limitations/implications

Further attention to Pagès' work and to Frohmann’s works could yield new understandings of documents and the relation of documentary types across natural and sociocultural domains and bring renewed attention to documentality as a new philosophy of information and documents.

Practical implications

Attention to these issues could broaden the study of documents and documentation, increase the historical understanding of Suzanne Briet’s works and bring light to other works in neo-documentation, particularly in regard to the concept of documentality as a new philosophy of documentation and information.

Social implications

Attention to these issues could broaden the study of documents and documentation to include more broadly animal and other natural entities and our relationships to them. The works cited also illuminate an empirical science understanding of documents, documentary evidence and information.

Originality/value

This is one of the first papers commenting on Robert Pagès’ works and brings renewed attention to Bernd Frohmann’s works, as well as to neo-documentation and its concept and philosophy of documentality, as a new philosophy of information and documents.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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