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1 – 10 of over 148000W. James Jacob and Sheng Yao Cheng
A number of theoretical paradigms provide a networking space for the trio and complementary fields of comparative, international, and development educational (CIDE) research…
Abstract
A number of theoretical paradigms provide a networking space for the trio and complementary fields of comparative, international, and development educational (CIDE) research. Critics periodically attribute the field's lack of a sound theoretical base or commitment to one area of scientific research or another as a primary weakness in the field.1 Espoused theoretical paradigms often provide the knowledge debate arena in which academic fields interact and build together. In an alternative perspective from this criticism, we argue that the strength of the CIDE field resides in its ability to combine multiple theoretical perspectives that offer researchers a variety of potentially fruitful metatheoretical analyses. Thus, we do not view this lack of theoretical specification as a weakness; it is the very fabric that enables CIDE educationists to study and represent increasingly complex global and local education systems.
Matthew S. Kraatz and E. Geoffrey Love
Strategic management researchers have devoted increasing attention to the study of corporate reputation over the past two decades. Reputation has been conceptualized as a valuable…
Abstract
Strategic management researchers have devoted increasing attention to the study of corporate reputation over the past two decades. Reputation has been conceptualized as a valuable intangible asset, and numerous studies have sought to identify its antecedents and foundations. This chapter recommends a dynamic approach toward reputation research. We argue that studies should examine the processes through which reputational assets are accumulated and depleted over time (i.e. that they should attend to reputational “flows” in addition to reputational “stocks”). We specifically suggest that research focus upon particular corporate actions, examining how (and if) corporate reputations change in their wake. We provide pragmatic and theoretical rationales for this approach toward reputation research. We construct a framework for conducting dynamic, action-focused studies of reputational change. We provide general guidelines for designing such studies, and also provide some specific (i.e. “nuts and bolts”) advice about executing them. We provide one in-depth example of research conducted within this framework. We also identify a number of other corporate actions that could be readily examined using the same methodological and theoretical approach.
Sujeewa Damayanthi and Tharusha Gooneratne
This paper reviews management control literature which draws on the institutional logics perspective as the theoretical lens to understand the current grounding of this perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews management control literature which draws on the institutional logics perspective as the theoretical lens to understand the current grounding of this perspective on management control research. It identifies gaps in the current literature and offers possible future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach
For the purpose of this paper, five search engines (ABI INFORM, EBSCO, Emerald insight, JSTOR and Science Direct) were consulted, and 35 papers across 16 journals, which specifically fall within the area of management controls and institutional logics, were reviewed.
Findings
The review revealed that the institutional logics perspective has provided theoretical anchoring to management control-related areas such as budgeting, performance management and control tools in organizations. The extant studies have either used institutional logics as a single theoretical perspective or have integrated it with other theories such as neo-institutional theory, agency theory and structuration theory. The research settings of the papers span across firm level, industry level and government organizations and non-profit organizations. Most of the studies have used the qualitative case study approach, whereas a few have taken the mixed method research design.
Originality/value
Although there are a number of review papers in the area of management controls as well as on institutional theory in general, such reviews have not specifically been focused on the institutional logics perspective, which is a significant development within institutional theory, having provided theoretical backing to a wide range of management control studies over the years. Addressing this omission, this paper provides important insights for future researchers on what research has been done using the lens of institutional logics and what else is worth doing. In that sense, this paper contributes to the domain of management control research, as well as to the development of institutional theory in general and the institutional logics perspective in particular.
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Bishwajit Nayak, Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya and Bala Krishnamoorthy
Academic dialogue related to ‘organizational performance’ in strategic management has primarily centred around the industrial organization theory (IO) and resource-based view…
Abstract
Purpose
Academic dialogue related to ‘organizational performance’ in strategic management has primarily centred around the industrial organization theory (IO) and resource-based view (RBV). Both perspectives, though conceptually dialectic, have served as primary competing theories governing research studies in the domain of strategic management. However, the confluence of these theoretical perspectives has not been adequately explored to advance a shared view of competitive advantage. This study aims to explore the likelihood of embedded commonalities between RBV and IO.
Design/methodology/approach
A bibliometric analysis was conducted to visualize the intellectual map of studies and knowledge development encompassing these theories. This was followed by a comprehensive literature review to understand how the business environment (BE) and organizational capabilities have contributed towards attaining competitive advantage.
Findings
This study established that connecting the intellectual boundaries of these theoretical perspectives would facilitate better comprehension of the processes and outcomes in organizations. Integrating the knowledge emerging out of this methodological blend, a convergence framework connecting the intellectual boundaries of both theories was presented.
Practical implications
The framework that emerged from this study would help in better understanding of organizational behaviour from a dual theoretical lens. It would also motivate future studies to consider RBV and IO as complementary theories rather than the current narrative of competing theories.
Social implications
This study added to the efforts to achieve equilibrium between the BE and internal capabilities of organizations so as to maximize positive social externalities.
Originality/value
This study contributed to the limited attempts to leverage shared knowledge from a dual perspective using a comprehensive literature review in sequential combination with bibliometric analysis.
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Nektarios Tzempelikos and Kaouther Kooli
This paper aims to examine the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty on the impact of the focal constructs of relationship quality and relationship value on behavioural…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty on the impact of the focal constructs of relationship quality and relationship value on behavioural intentions across the theoretical perspectives of commitment-trust and relationship value. The study examines to which extent the application of these two theoretical perspectives can absorb part of the environmental uncertainty in a buyer/seller relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used empirical data from UK manufacturers from different sectors to test the hypotheses developed. The sample ranged from small enterprises to multi-billion companies. A structured questionnaire was used as a research instrument.
Findings
The effects of relationship quality and relationship value on behavioural intentions are not found, to a large extent, to be moderated by environmental uncertainty. The findings support that the commitment-trust and relationship value perspectives can absorb part of the uncertainty firms face in business markets.
Research limitations/implications
The current study investigates the customer perspective only. Future dyadic research will be able to offer a more holistic view of the focal constructs and their performance outcomes.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that firms may find it productive to invest in more relationship marketing efforts in markets with higher levels of uncertainty to improve performance.
Originality/value
Although the role of environmental uncertainty as a key exogenous factor in relationship effectiveness should not be overlooked, the theoretical perspectives of commitment-trust and relationship value suggest that relevant approaches in explaining how favourable behavioural intentions can be generated succeed in absorbing part of the uncertainty that organizations can face in business relationships.
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Daniel Johanson and Dag Øivind Madsen
The diffusion of management accounting innovations (MAIs) is the focus of much debate in the management accounting research community. Extant contributions have drawn on a large…
Abstract
Purpose
The diffusion of management accounting innovations (MAIs) is the focus of much debate in the management accounting research community. Extant contributions have drawn on a large of number of theories, including innovation diffusion theory and various sociologically inspired theories such as management fashion. The purpose of this paper is to examine and develop Røvik’s virus theory in the context of how MAIs diffuse. The paper further evaluates and elaborates on the potential usefulness of the virus perspective to empirical research on MAIs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a conceptual and explorative research approach. The paper introduces the virus perspective and compares this perspective with several other theoretical perspectives often used in studies of the diffusion of MAIs. This enables the identification of characteristics specific to the virus perspective. The paper also re-examines a number of prior studies of MAIs and identifies different virus characteristics implicit in these studies.
Findings
The findings of the paper imply that the virus perspective is a useful basis for empirical research on MAIs. The virus perspective differs from other theoretical perspectives in several respects and is particularly suited for longitudinal studies of both MAIs and organizational change. However, the perspective could be used at other levels of analysis as well. The extant studies reviewed in this paper provide support for the viral characteristics of MAIs. The paper also identifies and discusses avenues for future research using the virus perspective as a theoretical lens.
Originality/value
The virus perspective has been given little attention in research on MAIs, as well as more generally within accounting research. This research paper demonstrates that the virus perspective offers a rich and valuable conceptual framework for studying how demand-side organizations are affected by MAIs over extensive periods of time. The paper also discusses the implications of the virus perspective with respect to the research method.
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Jakki J. Mohr, Linda L. Price and Aric Rindfleisch
The purpose of this chapter is fivefold. First, it highlights that, despite apparent progress, business in general, and marketing in particular, has made little impact upon…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is fivefold. First, it highlights that, despite apparent progress, business in general, and marketing in particular, has made little impact upon environmental sustainability. Second, it offers four explanations for the persistent challenges that contribute to this lack of meaningful progress. Third, it presents two theoretical lenses (i.e., assemblage theory and socio-ecological systems theory) for viewing environmental sustainability from new perspectives. Fourth, it offers a mid-range theory, biomimicry, to bridge the gap between these higher-level theories and managerial decisions on the ground. Finally, it offers implications and ideas for future research based on these persistent challenges and new perspectives.
Methodology/approach
Our paper is theoretical in focus. We offer a conceptual analysis of persistent challenges facing business efforts in environmental sustainability and suggest useful lenses to integrate marketing decisions more closely with our natural environment.
Findings
We present biomimicry as an actionable framework that seeks inspiration from nature and also explicitly grounds marketing decisions in the natural world.
Practical Implications
Our paper draws attention to the challenges facing firms seeking to achieve better performance in environmental sustainability. In addition, it offers a set of fresh theoretical perspectives as well as future issues for scholarly research in this domain.
Originality/value
Our work is designed to be provocative; it articulates reasons why business efforts in environmental sustainability do not scale to meaningful impact upon our planet and explores theoretical lenses by which those efforts could be more impactful.
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Roland Yeo and Sue Dopson
The purpose of this paper is to draw on the direct experience of a practitioner undertaking real-time research in his organization to offer insights into the dual role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to draw on the direct experience of a practitioner undertaking real-time research in his organization to offer insights into the dual role of practical insider and theoretical outsider. The duality helps the researcher to live “in” and think “out” of the research context to develop a theory for practice and then transpose it to a practice for theory through the collaboration of an external theoretical insider.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a theoretical account of the reflexive experience of the practitioner reintroducing relational ethnography, where the researcher regards processes and spaces as the objects of analysis rather than bounded groups and places. It emphasizes the relational significance of the researcher, researched, and theoretical insider in exploring the structures of relations and meanings in the field of professional practice.
Findings
The paper argues that understanding the complementariness and paradoxes of the dual role helps the researcher to identify knowledge gaps and contest commonsense knowledge in search of critical knowledge and theoretical insights. The transition between the bounded (restrained) and unbounded (unrestrained) selves occurs in the holding space of research, influencing the position from which the researcher views himself, his subjects, and his social world.
Originality/value
The paper extends the dimension of ethnographic research, which de-centers the authority and control of the researcher to that of the relationship between the researcher and informants, by focusing on the relational significance between the researcher, researched, and theoretical insider. This perspective gives rise to a deeper understanding of relational ethnography, seen largely in sociological research, as relevant to organizational research, where structures of relations and actions explored in real time could account for the configuration, conflict, and coordination of work practices.
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Jorge Tello-Gamarra and Mônica Fitz-Oliveira
The purpose of this paper is to identify the main theoretical bases from the past and the present, as well as to determine the future perspectives for technological capability…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the main theoretical bases from the past and the present, as well as to determine the future perspectives for technological capability research.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this, the study used the bibliometric method, which is based on two research strategies, co-citation analysis and bibliographical coupling analysis with database Scopus and software VOS viewer.
Findings
The main result was the identification of the theoretical bases from the past: absorptive capacity, innovation and core competence; as well as the current bases: innovation capability, firm performance and knowledge transfer. The future perspectives of technological capability are guided by keyword coupling, generating three theoretical perspectives: business development, sustainability and future technologies.
Originality/value
There are no studies in the literature that analyze the theoretical bases of technological capability, identifying common aspects and different approaches. Thus, this study is of original nature and the research method, composed of bibliometric analyzes and the coupling of emerging keywords, which are a part of the future perspectives, which permitted the authors to achieve the proposed goal.
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Marco Galvagno and Daniele Dalli
The purpose of this paper is to summarize and classify extant research and to better understand the past, present, and future state of the theory of value co-creation. Its main…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize and classify extant research and to better understand the past, present, and future state of the theory of value co-creation. Its main objectives are: to identify the different theoretical perspectives and research streams that characterize and define the co-creation literature, and to highlight the connections between them; to look for emerging trends and gaps in the literature by comparing the most recent papers with those representing the field's core.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies on bibliometric data: co-citation techniques were employed to select, analyze, and interpret citation patterns within the co-creation literature.
Findings
The paper identified two main clusters, as well as specific research streams and common themes, representing scholarly journals’ publications on co-creation over the past years. These research streams and themes apply three different theoretical perspectives: service science, innovation and technology management, and marketing and consumer research. Data from the most recent publications has been used to verify if and how the original streams and themes are reflected in the contemporary debate.
Research limitations/implications
Inevitably, the findings of the analysis have limitations related to the research design, the databases, and the applied bibliometric methods.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, the research impacts on theory building, management decision making, and teaching.
Originality/value
This study depicts the remarkable development of the literature on co-creation and shows the latent structure underlying its different research streams. To the best knowledge, this study is the first to determine co-citation frequencies from both the SSCI and Scopus databases.
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