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1 – 10 of over 4000To reconceptualize the organizational environment in a comprehensive manner, it is important to specify not just the velocity but also other aspects of turbulent environments…
Abstract
Purpose
To reconceptualize the organizational environment in a comprehensive manner, it is important to specify not just the velocity but also other aspects of turbulent environments. Concurrently, the purpose of this paper is to also propose that organizational adaptability and, particularly, the speed of adaptations are critical to moderate the impact of turbulence in the environment on organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a conceptual methodology to fully specify turbulent environments and commensurate managerial response appropriate for such environments. Based on a perspective borrowed from the field of fluid dynamics used to specify the phenomenon of turbulence, the authors develop a conceptual model with research propositions. Four dimensions that describe turbulence in fluid flow when applied metaphorically offer a comprehensive view of the organizational environment.
Findings
An extreme, unanticipated, sudden onslaught resulting in a prolonged disrupted environment such as during the recent coronavirus crisis is best characterized as having caused turbulent environmental conditions. Management theories have addressed disruptions as high-velocity environments in the context of rapid changes in information technology. With a broadened conceptualization of the organizational environment to better capture extreme disruptions, the authors provide a comprehensive model appropriate for turbulent environmental conditions and offer research directions for scholarly pursuit.
Originality/value
This paper provides a new perspective from the physical sciences to better conceptualize organizational environments during extreme disruptions such as in turbulent environmental conditions.
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Ali E. Akgün, Murat Cemberci and Selim Kircovali
This study investigates the mediating role of organizational change capacity (OCC) in the relationship between the perception of extreme contexts and firm product and process…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the mediating role of organizational change capacity (OCC) in the relationship between the perception of extreme contexts and firm product and process innovation, which was not empirically investigated in the literature. In addition, this study explores the moderating role of the perception of extreme contexts-related variables, which were not operationalized in ordinary firms, on the relationship between OCC and firm product and process innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire-based research was conducted to test the suggested hypotheses. The data were gathered from 90 firms during the peak period of COVID-19.
Findings
This study shows that OCC, which covers contexts, process and learning dimensions, fully mediates the relationship between the perception of extreme contexts and firm product and process innovation. Also, this study discovers that the perception of extreme contexts, including temporal ordering of extremity, the magnitude of consequences, proximity among people and operational deficiencies, positively moderate the relationship between OCC and firm product innovation.
Research limitations/implications
This study has constraints inherited in survey design, primarily sampling and country context.
Originality/value
This study identifies, conceptualizes and operationalizes the term extreme context, conceptually argued for particular organizations/units in ordinary/mundane organization settings so far. In addition, this study extends the current understanding of how the perception of extreme contexts interacts with a firm's capability to increase innovation efforts. Further, this study shows how OCC mediates the relationship between extreme contexts and firm product and process innovation.
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Heather Dawn Skipworth, Marko Bastl, Corrado Cerruti and Carlos Mena
Disasters are growing in frequency and scale, unmasking the systemic vulnerabilities of modern supply chains and highlighting the need to understand how to respond to such events…
Abstract
Purpose
Disasters are growing in frequency and scale, unmasking the systemic vulnerabilities of modern supply chains and highlighting the need to understand how to respond to such events. In the context of an extreme event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this research focuses on how networks of organizations leverage their combined resources and capabilities to develop, manufacture and deliver new products outside their traditional markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a theory elaboration process, the authors build on resource orchestration theory to develop data collection and analysis protocols to support a multi-case study research design. This research investigates four cases of newly formed networks that emerged in four different countries – Colombia, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom–in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
These four networks in the investigation share common characteristics in terms of motivation and approach, creating patterns from which theoretical generalizations are developed into a series of propositions regarding the process of network-level resource orchestration under extreme uncertainty.
Practical implications
The research shows how networks and the organizations within them can streamline processes, swiftly build new relationships and develop a balanced risk management approach to extreme uncertainty.
Originality/value
This research contributes to theory by extending the resource orchestration model to a network level and showing how extreme uncertainty can lead to the emergence of networks and alter the motivations and goals of the member organizations, allowing them to be more responsive.
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Mohamed Mousa and Beatrice Avolio
This study aims to answer the following question: Why might home-based work duties be perceived by female academics as extreme?
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to answer the following question: Why might home-based work duties be perceived by female academics as extreme?
Design/methodology/approach
We employed a qualitative research method through semi-structured interviews with 33 female academics from three public universities selected from amongst 26 public institutions of higher education in Egypt. Thematic analysis was subsequently used to determine the main ideas in the transcripts.
Findings
We find that the sudden implementation of home-based work makes the academic duties of female academics extreme. Moreover, the following four factors help explain the extremity/intensity of the home-based work of female academics: mental and physical fatigue resulting from WFH, the inability to adequately meet family commitments when working from home (WFH), poor resources for home-based work and reduced ability to focus on the obstacles facing them in their academic career.
Originality/value
This paper contributes by filling a gap in human resources management and higher education in which empirical studies on female academics WFH and extreme academic duties have been limited so far.
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Mohamed Tahir Shoani, Mohamed Najib Ribuan and Ahmad 'Athif Mohd Faudzi
The current methods for inspecting tall or deep structures such as towers, chimneys, silos, and wells suffer from certain constraints. Manual and assisted inspection methods…
Abstract
Purpose
The current methods for inspecting tall or deep structures such as towers, chimneys, silos, and wells suffer from certain constraints. Manual and assisted inspection methods including humans, drones, wall climbing robots, and others are either costly, have a limited operation time, or affected by field conditions, such as temperature and radiation. This study aims to overcome the presented challenges through a teleoperated soft continuum manipulator capable of inspecting tall or deep structures with high resolution, an unlimited operation time and the ability to use different arms of the manipulator for different environments and structure sizes.
Design/methodology/approach
The teleoperated manipulator uses one rotary and two tendon actuators to reach and inspect the interior of a tall (or deep) structure. A sliding part along the manipulator’s body (arm constrainer and tendon router) induces a variable-length bending segment, allowing an inspection camera to be placed at different distances from the desired location.
Findings
The experiments confirmed the manipulator’s ability to inspect different locations in the structure’s interior. The manipulator also demonstrated a submillimeter motion resolution vertically and a 2.5 mm per step horizontally. The inspection time of the full structure was 48.53 min in the step-by-step mode and was calculated to be 4.23 min in the continuous mode.
Originality/value
The presented manipulator offers several design novelties: the arm’s thin-wide cross-section, the variable-length bending segment in a fixed-length body, the external rolling tendon routing and the ability to easily replace the arm with another of different material or dimensions to suite different structures and environments.
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Mohamed Mousa, Ahmad Arslan, Hala Abdelgaffar, Jean Pierre Seclen Luna and Bernardo Ramon Dante De la Gala Velasquez
This paper aim to analyse the motives behind the commitment of nurses to their profession despite their intense job duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aim to analyse the motives behind the commitment of nurses to their profession despite their intense job duties during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical sample comprises of 35 semi-structured interviews with public sector hospital nurses in under-researched contexts of Egypt and Peru.
Findings
Three types of motives were found to play a critical role in nurses’ commitment to their profession despite the difficulties associated with extreme work conditions. These factors include cultural (religious values, governmental coercion), contextual (limited education, organisational support) and personal (good nurse identity, submissive nature) dimensions.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the pioneering works to link existing literature streams on career commitment, extreme jobs, extreme context and management under disruptions (particularly COVID-19) by analysing these aspects in the under-researched Peruvian and Egyptian contexts.
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Ana Junça Silva and Deolinda Pinto
The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study used the job-demands and resources (JD-R) framework to understand how the training is transferred to an extreme working context through the analysis of job and personal resources (social support from the leader and colleagues and adaptability). Specifically, the authors tested the mediating role of motivation to transfer in the relationship (1) between the perceived support from the supervisor and colleagues and performance after training and (2) between adaptability and performance in an extreme context of the pandemic crisis – the first peak of COVID-19 in Portugal. Further, an inspection of the factors that predicted knowledge transfer and adaptability under an extreme context was carried out.
Design/methodology/approach
To do so, necessary training about the new safety rules regarding the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 was implemented in a healthcare institution as a strategy to help healthcare workers deal with the increasing uncertainty and complexity that was threatening their work. It consisted of three sessions (each with one hour of training) regarding procedures, rules and safety norms. The training occurred in May 2020. Overall, 291 healthcare workers participated in the study and answered one online questionnaire one week after training completion.
Findings
The results showed that the motivation to transfer had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between colleagues' and supervisors' support and performance and between adaptability and performance. Additionally, complementary analyses showed that the mediations depended on the levels of self-efficacy in such a way that the indirect relationships were stronger when self-efficacy was higher. Thus, adaptability and support, both from colleagues and the supervisor, are determining factors for knowledge transfer and resultant performance in extreme contexts, such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Lastly, the results showed that the most significant predictors of transference were self-efficacy and the motivation to transfer the learned knowledge. On the other hand, self-efficacy, peer support and the opportunity to use the knowledge were the most significant predictors of adaptability.
Practical implications
These findings provide support for the role of employee motivation to transfer as a mechanism connecting both perceived support and adaptability to performance outcomes under extreme working contexts.
Originality/value
This study, conducted in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic context – an extreme and uncertain working context – shows the relevance of both job and individual factors to predict employees' adaptability to such contexts.
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Stefania Stellacci, Leonor Domingos and Ricardo Resende
The purpose of this research is to test the effectiveness of integrating Grasshopper 3D and measuring attractiveness by a categorical based evaluation technique (M-MACBETH) for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to test the effectiveness of integrating Grasshopper 3D and measuring attractiveness by a categorical based evaluation technique (M-MACBETH) for building energy simulation analysis within a virtual environment. Set of energy retrofitting solutions is evaluated against performance-based criteria (energy consumption, weight and carbon footprint), and considering the preservation of the cultural value of the building, its architectural and spatial configuration.
Design/methodology/approach
This research addresses the building energy performance analysis before and after the design of retrofitting solutions in extreme climate environments (2030–2100). The proposed model integrates data obtained from an advanced parametric tool (Grasshopper) and a multi-criteria decision analysis (M-MACBETH) to score different energy retrofitting solutions against energy consumption, weight, carbon footprint and impact on architectural configuration. The proposed model is tested for predicting the performance of a traditional timber-framed dwelling in a historic parish in Lisbon. The performance of distinct solutions is compared in digitally simulated climate conditions (design scenarios) considering different criteria weights.
Findings
This study shows the importance of conducting building energy simulation linking physical and digital environments and then, identifying a set of evaluation criteria in the analysed context. Architects, environmental engineers and urban planners should use computational environment in the development design phase to identify design solutions and compare their expected impact on the building configuration and performance-based behaviour.
Research limitations/implications
The unavailability of local weather data (EnergyPlus Weather File (EPW) file), the high time-resource effort, and the number/type of the energy retrofit measures tested in this research limit the scope of this study. In energy simulation procedures, the baseline generally covers a period of thirty, ten or five years. In this research, due to the fact that weather data is unavailable in the format required in the simulation process (.EPW file), the input data in the baseline is the average climatic data from EnergyPlus (2022). Additionally, this workflow is time-consuming due to the low interoperability of the software. Grasshopper requires a high-skilled analyst to obtain accurate results. To calculate the values for the energy consumption, i.e. the values of energy per day of simulation, all the values given per hour are manually summed. The values of weight are obtained by calculating the amount of material required (whose dimensions are provided by Grasshopper), while the amount of carbon footprint is calculated per kg of material. Then this set of data is introduced into M-MACBETH. Another relevant limitation is related to the techniques proposed for retrofitting this case study, all based on wood-fibre boards.
Practical implications
The proposed method for energy simulation and climate change adaptation can be applied to other historic buildings considering different evaluation criteria and context-based priorities.
Social implications
Context-based adaptation measures of the built environment are necessary for the coming years due to the projected extreme temperature changes following the 2015 Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. Built environments include historical sites that represent irreplaceable cultural legacies and factors of the community's identity to be preserved over time.
Originality/value
This study shows the importance of conducting building energy simulation using physical and digital environments. Computational environment should be used during the development design phase by architects, engineers and urban planners to rank design solutions against a set of performance criteria and compare the expected impact on the building configuration and performance-based behaviour. This study integrates Grasshopper 3D and M-MACBETH.
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Jian Sun, Guangxiang Zhang, Zhongxian Xia, Zhigang Bao, Jinmei Yao, Xin Fang, Zhe Zhang and Renyun Guan
To understand the service performance of full ceramic ball bearings under extreme working conditions and improve their service life, dynamic characteristic tests of full ceramic…
Abstract
Purpose
To understand the service performance of full ceramic ball bearings under extreme working conditions and improve their service life, dynamic characteristic tests of full ceramic ball bearings under ultra-low temperature conditions were carried out by a low-temperature bearing life testing machine, and temperature rise and friction were measured under extreme low-temperature environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The heat-flow coupling model of bearing was established by CFD software, and the test results were further analyzed.
Findings
The results show that the temperature rise of the bearing is not obvious in the liquid nitrogen environment. With the increase of the chamber temperature, the lubrication state of the bearing changes, resulting in the temperature rise of the outer ring of the bearing. As the temperature of the test chamber increases, the friction force on the bearing increases first and then decreases under the action of multifactor coupling.
Research limitations/implications
The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of all-ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.
Practical implications
The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of full ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.
Social implications
The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of full ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.
Originality/value
The research results provide test data and theoretical basis for the application of full ceramic ball bearings in aerospace and other fields and have important significance for improving the service life of high-end equipment under extreme working conditions.
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This chapter outlines the major analytical efforts performed as part of the overarching research project with the aim to investigate the organizational and environmental…
Abstract
This chapter outlines the major analytical efforts performed as part of the overarching research project with the aim to investigate the organizational and environmental circumstances around the extreme negatively skewed performance outcomes regularly observed across firms. It presents the collection and treatment of comprehensive European and North American datasets where subsequent analyses reproduce the contours of performance distributions observed in prior empirical studies. Key theoretical perspectives engaged in prior studies of performance data and the implied risk-return relationships are presented and these point to emerging commonalities between empirical findings in the management and finance fields. The results from extended analyses of more fine-grained data from North American manufacturing firms uncover the subtle effects of leadership and structural features, and computational simulations demonstrate how the implied adaptive processes can lead to the empirically observed performance distributions. Finally, the findings from the analytical project activities are set in context and the implications of the observed results are discussed to reach at a final conclusion.
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