Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Book part
Publication date: 17 September 2014

Maria Elisabetta Lanzone

The chapter analyzes the characteristics of a new political subject, the Five Star Movement, which arose in Italy in 2005 (as local civil lists), was officially constituted in…

Abstract

The chapter analyzes the characteristics of a new political subject, the Five Star Movement, which arose in Italy in 2005 (as local civil lists), was officially constituted in 2009, and became the most voted-for party in the 2013 general election, when the country was hit by a strong surge of populism. This party was founded by the Italian comedian Beppe Grillo and launched via his Internet blog. The chapter will be divided into five parts: a brief introduction about the general context and a description of the Italian political framework and the general crisis of traditional parties, setting the scene from which the discussion will develop. Then, in Section “‘People against the Parties’: The Five Star Movement’s Populist Messages,” I will describe the global characteristics of the Five Star Movement, with an analysis of Grillo’s party communication style, especially its use of social media, its people call (with its enemies), and its mobilization strategies. In Section “Inside the Movement: The Party’s Structural Characteristics,” I will describe the party’s internal organization, in order to underline some controversial elements. In the conclusion I will hazard some hypotheses about the party’s destiny, compared to other populist examples.

Details

The Many Faces of Populism: Current Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-258-5

Book part
Publication date: 31 December 2010

Tova Benski

This chapter aims at presenting a general picture of the emotions of protest, which can also capture the “feel” of the field and uncover the fluidity and complexity of these…

Abstract

This chapter aims at presenting a general picture of the emotions of protest, which can also capture the “feel” of the field and uncover the fluidity and complexity of these dynamics. Using data collected through participant observations at the vigils of Women in Black (WIB) in Israel, interviews, documents, and WIB website, the chapter presents maps of emotions that go beyond listing emotion words. The analysis follows differentiation between two overarching categories: processes that occur, respectively, outside and inside the vigil's time-space. Within the vigil's time-space setting, three different arenas of action were identified. These arenas were both physical (paralleling the physical layout of the vigil site) and symbolic in which different emotional dynamics evolved. The analysis demonstrates the contribution of emotion maps to our understanding of the emotional dynamics of protest. The study demonstrated the ways in which maps have uncovered the complex scene in which different emotional processes evolve; the fluid nature of emotional responses of both vigilers and spectators as they spill over from one arena to another; and the patterning of emotions into different constellations that point at different processes. The theoretical contributions are discussed.

Details

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-609-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 December 2008

David S. Meyer and Suzanne Staggenborg

Activists make strategic decisions about how to pursue their claims, but strategy is hard to study and the topic is underdeveloped theoretically. Here, we contribute to the…

Abstract

Activists make strategic decisions about how to pursue their claims, but strategy is hard to study and the topic is underdeveloped theoretically. Here, we contribute to the developing academic literature on social movement strategy by offering a theoretical framework that emphasizes three distinct, albeit interrelated, movement choices: arenas of action, advocacy tactics, and demands. This framework allows us to infer strategy at the movement level through the analysis of events data. Using events data from the New York Times from 1959 to 1996, in conjunction with historical accounts of abortion politics in the United States, we analyze the development of the strategies of the anti-abortion and abortion rights movements. We demonstrate the utility of this framework, and show how movement strategies are affected by both political opportunities and the actions of countermovements, whose activists respond to the same political opportunities. We conclude with a discussion of the complications of assessing movement strategy and call for more research on the topic.

Details

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84663-892-3

Book part
Publication date: 17 December 2008

Lynn Owens

This article analyzes the decline of the Amsterdam squatters’ movement, examining not why the movement declined, but how. I argue decline is a critical moment for activists, one…

Abstract

This article analyzes the decline of the Amsterdam squatters’ movement, examining not why the movement declined, but how. I argue decline is a critical moment for activists, one full of creative action. Decline is a defining moment through which the present, past, and future are interpreted. Narratives are key to understanding this process. As the movement emergence narrative declined, competing narratives of decline emerged. The widening chasm between the initial story and the movement's status compelled activists to choose between saving the movement or the narrative. I identify four critical moments during the movement's response to decline: they initially deny decline; after admitting decline, they debate tactics, followed by debating identities; and finally they demand decline as the only solution for the movement's problem. The movement moves through a process of increasing exclusion, working to resolve internal contradictions defined by the original narrative and identity.

Details

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84663-892-3

Article
Publication date: 27 May 2014

Titos Ritsatos

Tax evasion and tax compliance have been popular research subjects for several decades. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the literature explaining individual…

3832

Abstract

Purpose

Tax evasion and tax compliance have been popular research subjects for several decades. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the literature explaining individual taxpayer's behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Recognizing Allingham and Sandmo's model as the starting point, important modern behavioural approaches in conjunction with the social disciplines are reviewed.

Findings

Synthesis of findings suggests a wide array of factors influencing the tax evasion – tax compliance decision. So far, the most comprehensive explanation incorporating the attributive factors along with their interactions belongs to Kirchler et al.'s “slippery slope framework”.

Research limitations/implications

Tax compliance's importance in public finance increases dramatically within the current sovereign debt crisis in the global economic environment. In light of the developments in the front of behavioural economics, further research is needed to validate all hypotheses.

Originality/value

The contribution of the present paper lies on the review and categorization of alternative approaches in economic theory, including recent developments and applications within the general scope of behavioral economics.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 May 2020

Chiara Rossato and Paola Castellani

This paper aims to examine how long-lived firms can further develop through digitalisation in terms of actions, conditions and effects from a competitiveness perspective.

8691

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how long-lived firms can further develop through digitalisation in terms of actions, conditions and effects from a competitiveness perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study follows an inductive approach based on a survey conducted via interviews undertaken with nine long-lived Italian firms. The dimensions of the model (command, continuity, community, connection), elaborated by Miller and Le Breton-Miller (2005) in relation to longevity factors, were chosen to analyse digitalisation’s contribution to these long-lived firms’ development.

Findings

The digitalisation implemented by the analysed firms contributed in a variety of ways: (1) improved the efficiency and effectiveness of their business processes, (2) enhanced the understanding of customer experience, (3) supported their craftsmanship and the transmission of the knowledge included in the entrepreneurial path, (4) increased the awareness of the cultural value of the firms’ heritage and (5) allowed for the development of cutting-edge design skills by experimenting with content on different digital platforms and devices.

Practical implications

This study suggests managers of long-lived firms develop digital skills that allow them to interact with the rapid evolution of this context and understand how to effectively implement digitalisation in their specific firm. From this perspective, it is strategic to establish or strengthen collaborative network relationships to acquire such necessary skills.

Originality/value

This study provides novel empirical evidence on how long-lived firms are facing the challenge of digitalisation in terms of actions, conditions and effects to improve their competitiveness and ensure their survival.

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2008

Zenlin Kwee, Frans A.J. Van den Bosch and Henk W. Volberda

Understanding the phenomena of corporate longevity and self-renewing organizations has become an important topic in recent management literature. However, the majority of the…

Abstract

Understanding the phenomena of corporate longevity and self-renewing organizations has become an important topic in recent management literature. However, the majority of the research contributions focus on internal determinants of longevity and self-renewal. Using a coevolutionary framework, the purpose of this chapter is to address the dynamic interaction between organizations and environments in the realm of sustained strategic renewal, i.e. corporate longevity. To this end, we will focus on the competence of long-lived firms to coevolve due to the joint effect of managerial intentionality and environmental selection pressures. Building on coevolutionary framework, we develop a conceptual framework that highlights an organization's coevolutionary competence. Two longitudinal case studies are presented illustrating the arguments.

Details

A Focused Issue on Fundamental Issues in Competence Theory Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-210-4

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2020

Daniel Carnerud

This study aims to analyze four text-mining studies of quality management (QM) to illustrate and problematize how the research on quality has informed the quality paradigm since…

427

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyze four text-mining studies of quality management (QM) to illustrate and problematize how the research on quality has informed the quality paradigm since the 1980s. By understanding history, one can better manage current developments.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings are based on a meta-analysis of four text-mining studies that explore and describe 11,579 research entries on quality between 1980 and 2017.

Findings

The findings show that the research on quality during the past 30 years form a research paradigm consisting of three operational paradigms: an operative paradigm of backend quality orbiting around QM, total QM (TQM) and service quality; an operative paradigm of middle-way quality, circling around the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), business excellence frameworks (BEFs) and quality awards; and an operative paradigm of frontend quality, revolving around reliability, costs and processes. The operative paradigms are interconnected and complementary; they also show a divide between a general management view of quality and a hands-on engineering view of quality. The findings indicate that the research on quality is a long-lived standalone paradigm, supporting the notion of quality being a genuine academic entity, not a fashion or fad.

Research limitations/implications

The empirical basis of the study is four text-mining studies. Consequently, the results and findings are based on a limited number of findings.

Originality

Text-mining studies targeting research on quality are scarce, and there seem to be no prior models that depict the quality paradigm based on such studies. The perspectives presented here will advance the existing paradigmatic discourse. The new viewpoints aim to facilitate and deepen the discussion on current and future directions of the paradigm.

Details

The TQM Journal, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2731

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Britta Boyd, Susanne Royer, Rong Pei and Xiaolei Zhang

Knowledge often is the fundament for strategic competitive advantage. Thus, it is highly relevant to understand better how knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next…

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Abstract

Purpose

Knowledge often is the fundament for strategic competitive advantage. Thus, it is highly relevant to understand better how knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next in family businesses. The purpose of this paper is to link the competitive advantage realisation in family businesses to the success of transferring strategically valuable knowledge in different business environments to the next generation.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on the contingency model of family business succession (Royer et al., 2008) knowledge transfer in family businesses from different cultures is investigated in this paper. From a resource-oriented and transaction cost inspired perspective two family businesses with a similar industry background from China and Europe are compared regarding knowledge transfer in the context of family firm succession taking into account the respective transaction atmosphere.

Findings

Different successions for two long-lived family firms are illustrated in a systematic fashion: based on the theoretical elements suggested both cases are described to get insights into the usefulness of the theoretical reasoning developed. On the basis of these, the cases are compared with each other and conclusions for both cases are drawn. Implications for theory and practice as well as avenues for future research are sketched.

Originality/value

The focus of the current study is to gain more insight into long-lived family businesses by comparing two cases over a period of more than 200 years with regard to strategically relevant resources as well as the underlying transaction atmospheres. Implications for family firms depending on the resource types and transaction atmosphere are discussed.

Details

Journal of Family Business Management, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-6238

Keywords

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