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1 – 10 of over 98000Ellinor Tengelin, Rebecka Arman, Ewa Wikström and Lotta Dellve
The purpose of this paper is to explore managers' boundary setting in order to better understand their handling of time commitment to work activities, stress, and recovery during…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore managers' boundary setting in order to better understand their handling of time commitment to work activities, stress, and recovery during everyday work and at home.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper has qualitatively‐driven, mixed method design including observational data, individual interviews, and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed according to Charmaz' view on constructivist grounded theory.
Findings
A first step in boundary setting was to recognize areas with conflicting expectations and inexhaustible needs. Second, strategies were formed through negotiating the handling of managerial time commitment, resulting in boundary‐setting, but also boundary‐dissolving, approaches. The continuous process of individual recognition and negotiation could work as a form of proactive coping, provided that it was acknowledged and questioned.
Research limitations/implications
These findings suggest that recognition of perceived boundary challenges can affect stress and coping. It would therefore be interesting to more accurately assess stress, coping, and health status among managers by means of other methodologies (e.g. physiological assessments).
Practical implications
In regulating managers' work assignments, work‐related stress and recovery, it seems important to: acknowledge boundary work as an ever‐present dilemma requiring continuous negotiation; and encourage individuals and organizations to recognize conflicting perspectives inherent in the leadership assignment, in order to decrease harmful negotiations between them. Such awareness would benefit more sustainable management of healthcare practice.
Originality/value
This paper highlights how managers can handle ever‐present boundary dilemmas in the healthcare sector by regulating their time commitments in various ways.
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Nan Xu, Chunyong Tang, Chengchuan Yang and Yanzhao Lai
Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to explore the indirect effect of work/family boundary violations on teleworkers’ counterproductive work behavior (CWB). In…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to explore the indirect effect of work/family boundary violations on teleworkers’ counterproductive work behavior (CWB). In addition, it examines the moderating role of involuntary teleworking in this context.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the diary study method, this study used 543 questionnaires collected from 122 teleworkers in China.
Findings
The findings indicate that working time demands mediate the relationship between work boundary violations and teleworker CWB, and threats to family roles mediate the relationship between family boundary violations and teleworker CWB. In addition, involuntary teleworking positively moderates the relationship between work boundary violations and working time demands, as well as the relationship between family boundary violations and threats to family roles.
Originality/value
The study makes several valuable contributions to the extant literature. First, it enhances research on the antecedents of teleworker CWB. Second, by introducing two mediating variables corresponding to two types of boundary violations, the paper provides new insights and a fresh understanding of the effects of boundary violations in teleworking situations. Third, by considering the moderating role of involuntary teleworking, this research adds to the current knowledge on the impact of discussing boundary violations solely on teleworking or traditional office days.
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Salam Adel Al-Bayati and Luiz C. Wrobel
The purpose of this paper is to describe an extension of the boundary element method (BEM) and the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) formulations developed for one…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe an extension of the boundary element method (BEM) and the dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM) formulations developed for one- and two-dimensional steady-state problems, to analyse transient convection–diffusion problems associated with first-order chemical reaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The mathematical modelling has used a dual reciprocity approximation to transform the domain integrals arising in the transient equation into equivalent boundary integrals. The integral representation formula for the corresponding problem is obtained from the Green’s second identity, using the fundamental solution of the corresponding steady-state equation with constant coefficients. The finite difference method is used to simulate the time evolution procedure for solving the resulting system of equations. Three different radial basis functions have been successfully implemented to increase the accuracy of the solution and improving the rate of convergence.
Findings
The numerical results obtained demonstrate the excellent agreement with the analytical solutions to establish the validity of the proposed approach and to confirm its efficiency.
Originality/value
Finally, the proposed BEM and DRBEM numerical solutions have not displayed any artificial diffusion, oscillatory behaviour or damping of the wave front, as appears in other different numerical methods.
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The paper gives the description of boundary element method(BEM) with subdomains for the solution ofconvection—diffusion equations with variable coefficients and Burgers’equations…
Abstract
The paper gives the description of boundary element method (BEM) with subdomains for the solution of convection—diffusion equations with variable coefficients and Burgers’ equations. At first, the whole domain is discretized into K subdomains, in which linearization of equations by representing convective velocity by the sum of constant and variable parts is carried out. Then using fundamental solutions for convection—diffusion linear equations for each subdomain the boundary integral equation (in which the part of the convective term with the constant convective velocity is not included into the pseudo‐body force) is formulated. Only part of the convective term with the variable velocity, which is, as a rule, more than one order less than convective velocity constant part contribution, is left as the pseudo‐source. On the one hand, this does not disturb the numerical BEM—algorithm stability and, on the other hand, this leads to significant improvement in the accuracy of solution. The global matrix, similar to the case of finite element method, has block band structure whereas its width depends only on the numeration order of nodes and subdomains. It is noted, that in comparison with the direct boundary element method the number of global matrix non‐zero elements is not proportional to the square of the number of nodes, but only to the total number of nodal points. This allows us to use the BEM for the solution of problems with very fine space discretization. The proposed BEM with subdomains technique has been used for the numerical solution of one‐dimensional linear steady‐state convective—diffusion problem with variable coefficients and one‐dimensional non‐linear Burgers’ equation for which exact analytical solutions are available. It made it possible to find out the BEM correctness according to both time and space. High precision of the numerical method is noted. The good point of the BEM is the high iteration convergence, which is disturbed neither by high Reynolds numbers nor by the presence of negative velocity zones.
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The present study, drawing on boundary theory, attempts to investigate entrepreneurs’ work–life balance (WLB) in terms of how they manage and construct the borders between their…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study, drawing on boundary theory, attempts to investigate entrepreneurs’ work–life balance (WLB) in terms of how they manage and construct the borders between their non-work and work lives.
Design/methodology/approach
The current qualitative study is grounded on in-depth interviews with 30 entrepreneurs currently living and working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). When selecting the interviewees, the authors used purposeful sampling to ensure a diverse sample of interviewees with respect to nationality, age, gender and the nature of their business.
Findings
The findings suggest that most interviewees believe an entrepreneurial career can contribute positively to their lives. However, some individuals question whether it is possible to have some level of WLB while managing entrepreneurial businesses in the UAE’s competitive environment. Further, some entrepreneurs prioritize “work” over “family life,” indicating a love for their work and a lack of desire for any boundaries. Working long hours and managing a successful business over a longer period of time is also found to be negatively related to WLB.
Originality/value
Entrepreneurship has become a desirable career option, thus stimulating much research attention. However, little is known about entrepreneurs’ WLB challenges, especially regarding whether entrepreneurship improves individuals’ WLB. The present study uses boundary theory to understand how subjective insights regarding WLB and effective boundary management might address this gap.
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Michael Dawson, Duncan Borman, Robert B. Hammond, Daniel Lesnic and Dominic Rhodes
The purpose of this paper is to apply the meshless method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to the two‐dimensional time‐dependent heat equation in order to locate an unknown internal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply the meshless method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to the two‐dimensional time‐dependent heat equation in order to locate an unknown internal inclusion.
Design/methodology/approach
The problem is formulated as an inverse geometric problem, using non‐invasive Dirichlet and Neumann exterior boundary data to find the internal boundary using a non‐linear least‐squares minimisation approach. The solver will be tested when locating a variety of internal formations.
Findings
The method implemented was proven to be both stable and reasonably accurate when data were contaminated with random noise.
Research limitations/implications
Owing to limited computational time, spatial resolution of internal boundaries may be lower than some similar case investigations.
Practical implications
This research will have practical implications to the modelling and monitoring of crystalline deposit formations within the nuclear industry, allowing development of future designs.
Originality/value
Similar work has been completed in regards to the steady state heat equation, however to the best of the authors' knowledge no previous work has been completed on a time‐dependent inverse inclusion problem relating to the heat equation, using the MFS. Preliminary results presented here will have value for possible future design and monitoring within the nuclear industry
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Sungdoo Kim and Elaine Hollensbe
Given the prevalence of work interrupted by home-related matters, this paper aims to increase knowledge of the antecedents of work boundary permeability by investigating both…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the prevalence of work interrupted by home-related matters, this paper aims to increase knowledge of the antecedents of work boundary permeability by investigating both individual and situational factors; and to better understand the consequences of work boundary permeability by examining both negative and positive effects using a finer-grained measure.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained using two surveys from 308 full-time employees from an information technology firm in the Midwestern USA. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses.
Findings
Individual differences in segmentation preferences (whether one prefers to keep work and home separated or integrated) and situational factors such as workload and home demands were found to predict work boundary permeability. Further, the results showed that maintaining a highly permeable work boundary may be detrimental rather than beneficial. High work boundary permeability led to greater time- and strain-based home-to-work conflict, but not to affective and instrumental positive spillover.
Originality/value
Unlike much previous work–home research focusing on how work intrudes on time outside of work, this study focuses exclusively on how the work domain is affected by intrusions from the home domain. The findings deepen the knowledge about today’s workplace that is subject to continual interruptions and spillover from home-related matters.
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Deniz Tunçalp and Patrick L. Lê
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review online ethnography and its boundary challenges. The paper especially focusses on how researchers draw space boundaries, set…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review online ethnography and its boundary challenges. The paper especially focusses on how researchers draw space boundaries, set time boundaries and engage their online field.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors perform a systematic review of extant literature and identify 59 papers in 40 different journals as online ethnographies from various management disciplines. The authors perform both qualitative and quantitative analyses on papers in the sample.
Findings
The paper identifies how online ethnographers both define boundaries and engage their online field. The paper shows that some of the advantages of online ethnography actually prompt researchers to favor-specific research designs over others.
Research limitations/implications
The authors only focussed on articles adopting online ethnography in organization and management studies that are listed in Social Sciences Citation Index database. Online ethnographies in other research fields and indexes are not studied in this paper.
Practical implications
The paper makes suggestions on how to complement existing online ethnographies to reach a more comprehensive practice of online ethnography.
Social implications
The systematic review may help researchers to locate useful online ethnography examples across various management disciplines and may contribute to the maturation of online ethnography.
Originality/value
The paper synthesizes emerging trends in online ethnography and identifies how specific advantages actually prompt online ethnographers to limit themselves in their research designs.
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Huifang Li, Mi Zhao, Lihua Wu, Piguang Wang and Xiuli Du
The purpose of this paper is to propose a stable high-order absorbing boundary condition (ABC) based on new continued fraction for scalar wave propagation in 2D and 3D unbounded…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a stable high-order absorbing boundary condition (ABC) based on new continued fraction for scalar wave propagation in 2D and 3D unbounded layers.
Design/methodology/approach
The ABC is obtained based on continued fraction (CF) expansion of the frequency-domain dynamic stiffness coefficient (DtN kernel) on the artificial boundary of a truncated infinite domain. The CF which has been used to the thin layer method in [69] will be applied to the DtN method to develop a time-domain high-order ABC for the transient scalar wave propagation in 2D. Furthermore, a new stable composite-CF is proposed in this study for 3D unbounded layers by nesting the above CF for 2D layer and another CF.
Findings
The ABS has been transformed from frequency to time domain by using the auxiliary variable technique. The high-order time-domain ABC can couple seamlessly with the finite element method. The instability of the ABC-FEM coupled system is discussed and cured.
Originality/value
This manuscript establishes a stable high-order time-domain ABC for the scalar wave equation in 2D and 3D unbounded layers, which is based on the new continued fraction. The high-order time-domain ABC can couple seamlessly with the finite element method. The instability of the coupled system is discussed and cured.
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Vitaliano Barberio, Markus A. Höllerer, Renate E. Meyer and Dennis Jancsary
This chapter explores the multiplicity, formation, and porosity of organizational boundaries in new, fluid forms of production. Conceptualizing them as “partial organizations,” we…
Abstract
This chapter explores the multiplicity, formation, and porosity of organizational boundaries in new, fluid forms of production. Conceptualizing them as “partial organizations,” we argue that both the intentional design of organizational elements (such as membership, hierarchy, rules, monitoring, and sanctioning) as well as unintended adjustments of “unorganized” aspects drive boundary formation and impact boundary porosity. In addition, we contend that structuring dynamics will create specific trajectories for boundaries over time. Empirically, we further our theoretical framework on the basis of an in-depth case study of the Apache open-source software community during its formative years (1995–2002). We find that both the salience and formalization of boundaries increase over time. However, different conceptions of boundaries (such as efficiency, competence, power, and identity) become salient at different points in time. While design and adjustment drive boundary formation with regard to all boundary conceptions in our empirical case, porosity develops differently for each of them. We also demonstrate that the formalization of boundaries does not necessarily reduce boundary porosity, but actually may increase it.
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