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1 – 10 of 599
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 October 2023

Daniel Nordholm and Carl-Henrik Adolfsson

Using a large-scale school improvement program in Sweden as a case, this article aims to explore the state governance of a large-scale school improvement program in Sweden and how…

Abstract

Purpose

Using a large-scale school improvement program in Sweden as a case, this article aims to explore the state governance of a large-scale school improvement program in Sweden and how officials at the state agency level made sense of the reform ideas and operationalized them in policy actions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were integrated from Swedish Government Official Reports and formal directives from the Ministry of Education. Officials of the Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE) were also interviewed. Data were analyzed to identify how regulatory rules, professional norms and cultural–cognitive beliefs shaped SNAE's design of the program.

Findings

The article shows how different types of governance (i.e. regulatory rules, professional norms and cultural–cognitive beliefs) set the direction for managing large-scale school improvement. In particular, in the studied case, the lack of clear regulatory directives enabled sensemaking processes clearly influenced by normative ideas and cultural–cognitive beliefs.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are mostly presented from the perspective of managers, so further study is required to attain a broader understanding of the state agency level's role and function.

Practical implications

By illustrating the strengths of understanding various dimensions of educational governance, the findings are highly relevant to both policymakers and educational managers at different levels of school systems.

Originality/value

The article offers a valuable perspective on large-scale school improvement and educational governance by focusing on a level that has hitherto received little attention.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 29 November 2021

Outi Sarpila, Iida Kukkonen, Tero Pajunen and Erica Åberg

Abstract

Details

Appearance as Capital
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-711-1

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 3 June 2021

Angela Greco, Thomas Long and Gjalt de Jong

The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between (dual) organizational identity and individual heuristics – simple rules and biases – in the process of strategy…

1823

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this research is to investigate the relationship between (dual) organizational identity and individual heuristics – simple rules and biases – in the process of strategy change. This paper offers a theory on identity reflexivity as a cognitive mechanism of strategy change in the context of organizational hybridity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on a 2-year ethnographic study at a Dutch social housing association dealing with the process of strategy change. The empirical data comprises of in-depth semi-structured interviews, ethnographic observations as well as secondary sources.

Findings

Conflicting identities at the organizational level influence heuristics at the individual level, since members tend to identify with their department's identity. Despite conflicting interpretations, paths of cognitive shortcuts – that the authors define as internal and external identity reflexivity – are shared by the conflicting identities.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this research are subject to limitations typical of a qualitative case-study, such as possibly being context dependent. The authors argue that this research contributes to the understanding of how individual heuristics relate to organizational heuristics, and suggest that the process of identity reflexivity can contribute to the alignment of conflicting identities enabling strategy formation in the context of a dual-identity organization.

Practical implications

Understanding how managers with conflicting identities achieve agreements is important to help organizational leaders to pursue sustainability-oriented strategy change.

Social implications

Given the pressure experienced by mission-driven organizations to integrate multiple sustainability demands in their mission, understanding managers' decision-making mechanism when adapting to new, often conflicting, sustainability demands is important to accelerate societal sustainability transitions.

Originality/value

This paper addresses the process of new strategy design in the context of a socially driven business. This context fundamentally differs from the one addressed by the existing heuristics literature with respect to organizational environment and role, and specific competing demands.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 59 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 29 November 2021

Outi Sarpila, Iida Kukkonen, Tero Pajunen and Erica Åberg

Abstract

Details

Appearance as Capital
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-711-1

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 December 2021

Pia Andersson, Lotta Dellve, Gunnar Gillberg and Hans Lindgren

The present study aims to describe the implementation of a facilitated dialogue model intended to improve communication across professional logics and knowledge boundaries in two…

1326

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to describe the implementation of a facilitated dialogue model intended to improve communication across professional logics and knowledge boundaries in two units of a large health-care organization in Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a mixed-methods study with interviews, field observations and follow- up questionnaires that were conducted during the implementation process.

Findings

The conclusion drawn in this study is that it is possible to change and improve the dialogue between health-care professionals with the help of a tailored, facilitated dialogue model. The authors found that different professional logics can indeed meet and share perspectives if the right conditions are provided. Moreover, an improved dialogue between different professional groups may contribute to work satisfaction, engagement, social cohesion and communication between professionals.

Practical implications

This study shows that the right organizational conditions, such as support from managers, must exist if the model’s inherent possibilities are to be used. Inhouse facilitation may be a sustainable model for facilitated workplace dialogue when its implementation is supported by the overall organization.

Originality/value

The contribution is an empirically based analysis of a new form of model for mediating perspectives within an organization with distinct professional roles. This study shows how, under the right conditions, the model can contribute to a perspective awareness and thus a more mature work organization.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 May 2021

Jonatan Södergren and Niklas Vallström

The twofold aim of this theory-building article is to raise questions about the ability of queer cinema to transform market culture and ideologies around gender and sexuality…

3108

Abstract

Purpose

The twofold aim of this theory-building article is to raise questions about the ability of queer cinema to transform market culture and ideologies around gender and sexuality. First, the authors examine how the very capitalization of queer signifiers may compromise the dominant order from within. Second, the authors address how brands possibly can draw on these signifiers to project authenticity.

Design/methodology/approach

Through visual methods of film criticism and the semiotic analysis of three films (Moonlight, Call Me By Your Name and Portrait of a Lady on Fire), the authors outline some profound narrative tensions addressed by movie makers seeking to give an authentic voice to queer lives.

Findings

Brands can tap into these narrative attempts at “seeing the invisible” to signify authenticity. False sublation, i.e. the “catch-22” of commodifying the queer imaginaries one seeks to represent, follows from a Marcusean analysis.

Practical implications

In more practical terms, “seeing the invisible” is proposed as a cultural branding technique. To be felicitous, one has to circumvent three narrative traditions: pathologization, rationalization and trivialization.

Originality/value

In contrast to Marcuse's pessimist view emphasizing its affirmative aspects, the authors conclude that such commodification in the long term may have transformative effects on the dominant ideology. This is because even if something is banished to the realm of imagination, e.g. through aesthetic semblance, it can still be enacted in real life.

Details

Arts and the Market, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4945

Keywords

Open Access

Abstract

Details

Online Anti-Rape Activism: Exploring the Politics of the Personal in the Age of Digital Media
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-442-7

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 December 2020

Stelvia V. Matos, Martin C. Schleper, Stefan Gold and Jeremy K. Hall

The research is based on a critically analyzed literature review focused on the unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions of sustainable operations and supply chain…

8424

Abstract

Purpose

The research is based on a critically analyzed literature review focused on the unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions of sustainable operations and supply chain management (OSCM), including the articles selected for this special issue.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors introduce the key concepts, issues and theoretical foundations of this special issue on “The hidden side of sustainable operations and supply chain management (OSCM): Unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions”. The authors explore these issues within this context, and how they may hinder the authors' transition to more sustainable practices.

Findings

The authors present an overview of unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs, tensions and influencing factors from the literature, and identify how such problems may emerge. The model addresses these problems by highlighting the crucial effect of the underlying state of knowledge on sustainable OSCM decision-making.

Research limitations/implications

The authors limited the literature review to journals that ranked 2 and above as defined by the Chartered Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide. The main implication for research is a call to focus attention on unanticipated outcomes as a starting point rather than only an afterthought. For practitioners, good intentions such as sustainability initiatives need careful consideration for potential unanticipated outcomes.

Originality/value

The study provides the first critical review of unanticipated outcomes, trade-offs and tensions in the sustainable OSCM discourse. While the literature review (including papers in this special issue) significantly contributes toward describing these issues, it is still unclear how such problems emerge. The model developed in this paper addresses this gap by highlighting the crucial effect of the underlying state of knowledge concerned with sustainable OSCM decision-making.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 40 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 17 August 2020

Rachel Loney-Howes

Abstract

Details

Online Anti-Rape Activism: Exploring the Politics of the Personal in the Age of Digital Media
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-442-7

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 August 2023

Paul Rosenstein

The academic library’s physical capacity and its service obligations to local users structured the traditional print collection. Largely freed of these constraints, the digital…

Abstract

Purpose

The academic library’s physical capacity and its service obligations to local users structured the traditional print collection. Largely freed of these constraints, the digital collection manager enjoys unprecedented freedoms but now contends with a collection susceptible to resource sprawl and scope ambiguity. This exploratory study aims to consider the possibility that intra-field social processes help to structure and routinize digital collection practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Lacking the constraints to which print collections are subject, electronic resource and digital library collections are more likely to reflect idiosyncratic institutional interests and therefore, to demonstrate significant variation. Evidence of homogeneity may suggest the influence of heretofore underexplored social structures. To determine the extent of such homogeneity, the author performed exploratory/descriptive content analyses on ten electronic resource collection development policies and six digital library collection development policies.

Findings

The data reveal among both the electronic resource and digital library collection policies significant uniformity. Content analyses demonstrate consistent themes (e.g. media, audience, selection priorities, etc.) and rhetoric. These findings lend support to the study’s central hypothesis regarding latent social structures. Analyses also reveal a set of unanticipated constraints unique to digital collection management.

Originality/value

Despite the breadth and maturity of literature addressing the Digital Turn in academic librarianship, relatively little attention has been paid to the social dimensions of collection management. This work represents an important corrective and suggests new theoretical approaches to the study of digital collection practice.

Details

Digital Transformation and Society, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-0761

Keywords

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