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1 – 10 of over 5000Blanca Martins and Francesc Solé
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) clustering processes initiated from the bottom up. In particular, this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) clustering processes initiated from the bottom up. In particular, this paper seeks to tackle the major setbacks encountered by a group of Spanish SMEs with long tradition in the chemical sector on their way to setting up a cluster.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a collaborative action research approach. The fact that the study was carried out within the framework of the EU‐FP7 CADIC project made this approach particularly suitable. The intervention strategies along the cluster development cycle are especially focused.
Findings
Collective and distributed leadership, collaborative culture, communication, dynamic relational capabilities, and a shared vision or purpose are all necessary and critical, though not sufficient elements, for the success of SME bottom‐up clusters. The timeframe of the strategic interventions and the roles of the partners are equally fundamental.
Practical implications
The practical implications are to enhance SMEs' clusters management capacity and collaboration readiness; to promote more business‐grounded and effective cluster policies; and to contribute to enlighten the discussions about the opportunity/appropriateness of cluster evaluation frameworks/policies addressed to enact collaboration, when the focus is the SME.
Originality/value
This study suggests that misalignments in the triad roles‐purpose‐culture among the cluster partners could bring about dysfunctions and lead the cluster to a prolonged “projectism” and early degeneration. Particularly, it highlights the fundamental role of the “roles” displayed in the cluster in achieving success. These roles are dynamic and emergent mechanisms of adaptation of the cluster to the internal and external environmental changes.
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Hsuying C. Ward, Ming-Tsan P. Lu, Brendan H. O'Connor and Terry Overton
The purpose of this paper is to outline findings from practitioner research with a university faculty learning community (FLC) that organized itself to effect bottom-up change…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline findings from practitioner research with a university faculty learning community (FLC) that organized itself to effect bottom-up change. The study explores beliefs about the efficacy of collaboration among members of the FLC and serves as a best case of grassroots faculty collaboration during a period of institutional change.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study using semi-structured interviews with FLC members and document review of short-term learning data from students who participated in workshops offered by the FLC.
Findings
Creative faculty responses to challenges posed by large-scale institutional transformation improved the teaching and learning environment for faculty and students. This case study highlights four characteristics that were crucial to the success of this FLC and which could provide a helpful starting point for faculty collaboration at other institutions.
Research limitations/implications
This is a preliminary, self-reflective study with a small number of participants working at a unique institution. Findings are presented not as strictly generalizable truths about faculty collaboration in higher education, but as “lessons learned” that may be valuable to other faculty seeking to take a more proactive role in contexts of institutional change.
Practical implications
This case study highlights four characteristics that were crucial to the success of this FLC and which could provide a helpful starting point for faculty collaboration at other institutions.
Social implications
This study illustrates how bottom-up, faculty-led collaboration can address institutional problems in a university setting. Creative faculty responses to challenges posed by large-scale institutional transformation can improve the teaching and learning environment for faculty and students.
Originality/value
This study documents one FLC’s innovative responses to institutional challenges and shifts the conversation about university-based teaching and learning away from bureaucratic mandates related to faculty interactions and productivity and toward faculty’s organic responses to changing institutional conditions.
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António Rito Silva and Michael Rosemann
The purpose of this paper is to clarify how end‐users' tacit knowledge can be captured and integrated in an overall business process management (BPM) approach. Current approaches…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify how end‐users' tacit knowledge can be captured and integrated in an overall business process management (BPM) approach. Current approaches to support stakeholders' collaboration in the modelling of business processes envision an egalitarian environment where stakeholders interact in the same context, using the same languages and sharing the same perspectives on the business process. Therefore, such stakeholders have to collaborate in the context of process modelling using a language that some of them do not master, and have to integrate their various perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies the SECI knowledge management process to analyse the problems of traditional top‐down BPM approaches and BPM collaborative modelling tools. Besides, the SECI model is also applied to Wikipedia, a successful Web 2.0‐based knowledge management environment, to identify how tacit knowledge is captured in a bottom‐up approach.
Findings
The paper identifies a set of requirements for a hybrid BPM approach, both top‐down and bottom‐up, and describes a new BPM method based on a stepwise discovery of knowledge.
Originality/value
This new approach, Processpedia, enhances collaborative modelling among stakeholders without enforcing egalitarianism. In Processpedia tacit knowledge is captured and standardised into the organisation's business processes by fostering an ecological participation of all the stakeholders and capitalising on stakeholders' distinctive characteristics.
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The purpose of this paper is to use the critical approach to management research (Alvesson and Deetz), to examine intellectual capital (IC) with the twin perspectives of from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use the critical approach to management research (Alvesson and Deetz), to examine intellectual capital (IC) with the twin perspectives of from inside the classroom and as a bottom‐up approach, and, in the process, develop a micro IC model of knowledge flows.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a case study, based on the author's experience in applying the concept of micro IC to the classroom and student learning.
Findings
IC is created without the students being formally aware of its extent. The focus moves from a top‐down evaluation of IC stocks such as student academic performance to a bottom‐up view of IC flows in which discipline knowledge is applied and generic attributes such as collaboration, communication and critical evaluation are exercised with incremental improvement. These are not normally noticed by the students. However, some skills which do not form part of the university skills plan are acknowledged by students. These include high engagement in the classroom instead of passive learning, more confident, flexible communication and persuasion, as well as the ability to speak unprepared without resorting to reciting from the textbook or lecture slides.
Research limitations/implications
The model for micro IC is based on case study research which has been conducted longitudinally for three years. The micro IC knowledge flow model has been developed outside the business environment but with reference to it.
Practical implications
There is scope to compare and apply the insights from the micro IC model to business performance without requiring an overarching interwoven set of indicators as is required by approaches such as the balanced scorecard.
Social implications
A micro IC approach provides a bottom‐up method for understanding the often significant benefits of IC that are hidden by a top‐down approach.
Originality/value
A micro IC approach has not been previously proposed. The paper both provides a model drawn from the knowledge literature and then applies it to learning and teaching in management accounting coursework which uses a team‐learning approach.
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Hedda Ofoole Knoll and Sarah Margaretha Jastram
This paper aims to highlight the challenges and opportunities of sustainable global value chain governance, it demonstrates strong theoretical deficits in this field and offers…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the challenges and opportunities of sustainable global value chain governance, it demonstrates strong theoretical deficits in this field and offers new pragmatist conceptual perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical analysis is based on document analyses, 47 expert interviews and on field observations in Ghana, Africa.
Findings
Based on an in-depth analysis of a US firm operating a fair trade value chain in an intercultural environment, the authors show that universalistic value chain-oriented governance instruments often fail because of strong institutional and cultural distances. Against the prevailing strategies of top-down management, the authors suggest a more bottom-up, pragmatist and collaboration-based approach to sustainable global value chain governance.
Research limitations/implications
The results of an in-depth case study are not generalizable. Instead, they provide holistic insights into a so-far insufficiently examined field and an empirical fundament for further research on sustainable governance in global value chains. In particular, research on pragmatist, collaborative, dialogue based, bottom-up approaches of sustainable value chain governance will be of great value to further theoretical development of this field.
Practical implications
This study is relevant to researchers and practitioners in the field of sustainable value chain governance. It reveals several misunderstandings about the effectiveness and impacts of sustainable governance in less developed countries and thus builds a foundation for better and more effective problem-solving approaches in international sustainable management activities.
Social implications
Nontransparent supplier networks and (illegal) sub-contracting, as well as the strong influences of institutional, cultural and sub-cultural factors, make responsible value chain management a challenging task for any firm with international value creation activities. This leaves workers in local factories vulnerable to infringements of their fundamental human rights and the environment unprotected against long-lasting damages. Addressing these challenges and developing new solutions, therefore, can have strong impacts on the lives of workers in international supply chains.
Originality/value
The authors contribute, first, a differentiated empirical description and analysis of a sustainable value chain approach in a less developed country in Africa. Second, using an example of the field study, the authors highlight limitations of value chain-related governance theory based on a field study by illustrating the challenges and barriers and a lack of existing concepts concerning effective sustainable governance in global value chains. Third, the authors show different managerial responses to these cultural and institutional challenges between universalism and relativism, and, fourth, the authors suggest a more collaborative, bottom-up and pragmatist approach to sustainable value chain governance.
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Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver, Gregorio Gonzalez-Alcaide, Ronald Rojas-Alvarado and Silvia Monto-Mompo
Industry 4.0 or digitization, from a regional innovation system (RIS) and policy perspective to improve regional innovation, is over-looked. Specifically, this paper aims to focus…
Abstract
Purpose
Industry 4.0 or digitization, from a regional innovation system (RIS) and policy perspective to improve regional innovation, is over-looked. Specifically, this paper aims to focus on analyzing the nascent European Commission (EC) digital innovation hub (DIH) program, designed for fostering transition into Industry 4.0 in regions and facilitating new path development.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirically, 10 Spanish DIH is explored through interviews and secondary data analysis.
Findings
The results suggest that DIHs despite their emerging and trial-and-error stage are designed for promoting multi-actor collaborative platforms including non-local actors to stimulate transition into Industry 4.0 by promoting place-based collaboration alliances that respond to local/regional contextual specificities and demands. These regional-based platforms facilitate public-private partnerships that co-design policy initiatives resulting from co-participation and negotiation of spatially-bounded oriented initiatives for digitizing.
Originality/value
The authors answer: what are the key characteristics of emerging European-level regional innovation policies aimed at facilitating Industry 4.0 in regions? This is the first study on the topic.
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This study aims to explore the values, resilience and innovation of four food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and their responses to the chaotic environment they find…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the values, resilience and innovation of four food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and their responses to the chaotic environment they find themselves in. It also evaluates whether there is evidence of a thriving food in tourism environment propelling these businesses forward within an innovative regenerative tourism system.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive and comparative case study approach is used using a holistic design with four in-depth interviews for each business over 18 months. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data provides answers to the key research questions and informs our understanding of the ecosystems in which food businesses reside.
Findings
The findings indicate that an internal business ecosystem with a strong value base and effective networks across a range of stakeholders enhances resilience. The crisis refocused and stimulated a variety of innovations.
Practical implications
An ethos of collaboration and cooperation for food businesses provides opportunities for a shared future where it is implemented.
Social implications
A values-based food in tourism system that gives back to communities potentially creates an external environment that better supports small food businesses; however, the place of food in tourism and the food story of Aotearoa New Zealand continues to lack clarity.
Originality/value
The exploration of four food businesses in the time of crisis provides new insights into the multidirectional inter-related factors that either drive success or hinder it.
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Martin Loosemore, David Higgon and Joanne Osborne
This paper responds to the need for more construction project management research in the emerging field of social procurement. It contributes by exploring the potential value of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper responds to the need for more construction project management research in the emerging field of social procurement. It contributes by exploring the potential value of cross-sector collaboration and project-based intermediation in meeting new social procurement imperatives.
Design/methodology/approach
A thematic exploratory case study analysis is presented of seventy-three interviews undertaken with stakeholders involved in a unique project-based intermediary developed by a major Australian construction company to leverage the power of cross-sector collaboration in response to social procurement imperatives on its projects, based on semi-structured interviews with 33 disadvantaged job seekers, 40 organisational stakeholders (employment agencies; not-for-profits, Indigenous, disability and refugee support organisations; training organisations; subcontractors; government agencies and departments; community organisations) and observational and documentary data over the duration of a unique project-based intermediary called a Connectivity Centre, developed by a major Australian contractor to deliver on its emerging social procurement requirements.
Findings
The results show that cross-sector collaboration within the construction industry can produce highlight numerous cognitive, behavioural, health, situational and affective social impacts for the project community and shared-value benefits for the range of organisations involved. However, it is found that cross-sector collaboration through project-based intermediation in a construction context is challenging due to the fragmented and dynamic nature of construction project teams and the communities they have to engage with. Encouraging people and organisations to collaborate who operate in industries and organisations with different and sometimes competing institutional logics and objectives (even if they are linked by common values) requires a set of knowledge, competencies and relationships not recognised in current global project management competency frameworks.
Originality/value
This research contributes new insights to the emerging but embryonic body of research into construction social procurement by demonstrating the value of emerging theories of social procurement, social value, cross-sector collaboration and intermediation in enhancing our currently limited understanding of the complex challenges involved in responding to new social procurement requirements in the construction industry. It explores and documents the potential value of project-based intermediaries in developing and managing the new cross-sector relationships, roles, relational competencies and practices, which are required to effectively respond to and measure the impact of emerging social procurement policies in the construction industry. These findings have a potentially significant social impact by providing new insights for policymakers and the construction industry, to optimise the industry’s response to emerging social procurement policies.
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Katri Kallio and Inka Lappalainen
The purpose of this paper is to examine how collaborative service development in a public-private citizen innovation network can be approached as an organizational learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how collaborative service development in a public-private citizen innovation network can be approached as an organizational learning process. Although the importance of learning in networks has been highlighted in earlier studies, the actual processes and outcomes have remained less studied, especially in the public service context.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach taken is based on the theory of expansive learning. The empirical data were gathered in a qualitative case study that focused on a public service organization developing new activities for unemployed youth. The network around this focal organization consisted of citizens as end-users, private employers and a facilitating consultancy company.
Findings
The findings illustrate how and what was learned in the complex network setting and how this learning created potential for collaborative service development in the future. Importantly, the public service organization started to perceive itself as an active agent enhancing collaboration.
Research limitations/implications
The study revealed important interfaces between service development, organizational learning, and innovation activities in networks. This observation is in line with the service-dominant logic, particularly with its focus on actor-to-actor relationships in value co-creation.
Practical implications
The importance of facilitation – particularly for the emergence of the agency of the focal organization – should be taken into account in the development of networked service innovations.
Originality/value
This study illustrates how expansive learning theory may contribute on deepening understanding of the practical collaboration processes, as well as conceptual aims and outcomes of networked service innovations.
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