bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychological ownership and franchise growth
Authors: Hou Sheng‐Tsung , Hsu Mu‐Yen , Wu Se‐Hwa
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The primary purpose of this paper is to verify the importance of psychological ownership in the organisational context of a franchise by testing predicted relationships concerning feelings of ownership towards branding, legal ownership of complementary assets, organisational commitment, and a willingness on the part of franchisees to diffuse a franchise brand to peers.

Design/methodology/approach

Evidence is presented from an empirical study on the largest taxi franchise fleet in Taiwan. Two formal questionnaires/surveys were conducted in May 2005 and September 2005, from which data were collected from 147 franchisees. Regression analysis is employed to test seven hypotheses.

Findings

The empirical results demonstrate that analysing the psychological ownership of a franchise brand from two dimensions (i.e. the degree of psychological ownership and the self‐centred propensity towards psychological ownership) sees an increase in explained variance in organisational commitment and brand diffusion in the context of the franchise organisation. It also illustrates that both dimensions of psychological ownership are negatively affected by the ownership of the non‐brand‐specified complementary assets owned by a franchisee.

Research limitations/implications

The majority of previous research has investigated the phenomenon of franchising from the perspective of the agency theory or of resource scarcity; and has focused on the franchisor's concerns. A major implication of this study indicates that these perspectives, while essential, are insufficient in explaining the growth through franchising strategies. Researchers need to consider how to integrate asset ownership (or property rights) and affect elements in order to influence a franchisee's cognition and behaviour entrepreneurially. A limitation of this study is that it is conducted within the respective boundaries of cultural, professional, and industrial factors.

Practical implications

This study indicates that entrepreneurs can achieve better brand diffusion effects for franchise growth if they engage in merging the structures of asset ownership and psychological ownership.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to examine the psychological ownership of branding within the setting of a franchise organisation and highlights the importance of a sense of ownership in entrepreneurship.
Strategic renewal within an information technology firm
Authors: Huang Yi‐Fen
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the effects of existing capabilities, by exploration and exploitation, on the choice between internal corporate venturing and external corporate venturing.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 259 Taiwanese firms in the information technology (IT) sector are collected. The study period is four years: 2003 to 2006. Information on corporate financial data and new ventures from the Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) database are collected, as well as patent information from the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO). Poisson regression is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

There exists a positive relationship between a firm's existing capabilities and corporate venturing activities. The findings indicate that exploration is a better predictor of internal corporate venturing, while exploitation is better at predicting external corporate venturing.

Research limitations/implications

Empirical results are derived from a sampling of information technology firms in Taiwan thus raising issues about their generalizability to other empirical contexts.

Practical implications

That internal and external corporate venturing could be complementary is clarified; meaning that each could contribute to a particular type of strategic renewal. For firms that engaged much more in exploration, internal corporate venturing is a better for growth than external corporate venturing; it can leverage existing technologies and keep valuable breakthrough technologies in‐house. In contrast, for firms that focus much more on exploitation, learning externally is a better renewal strategy than venturing internally; it can access and integrate resources trans‐organizationally to create novelty that may serve as avenues for further growth.

Originality/value

This is the first study that compares the effects of exploration and exploitation with regard to the decision to engage in internal or external corporate venturing.
Sense‐making and recipes: examples from selected small firms
Authors: Sharifi Sudi , Zhang Michael
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the processes of knowing and sense‐making in small client‐based firms.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a qualitative approach to the case studies of two small firms in the public relations sector located in the North West of England. The paper also assumes that the firms are “activity systems” and thus draws on the “activity theory” as a framework for conducting the empirical study.

Findings

The data and analysis highlight the firms' ability to survive, grow and innovate, drawing on knowing and sense‐making recipes shaped mainly by the extent and nature of the managers' networks and “significant others” including policy makers, customers, suppliers and competitors.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is based on two case studies. Although in‐depth analysis is achieved through narratives of rich data, it cannot be generalised across firms. Increasing the number of cases will certainly add validity for pattern recognition and this is the future direction of research.

Practical implications

Managerial knowledge and experience gained from past events and incidents are important inputs of decision making. The paper argues that managers naturally draw on their “intuition” in their enactment of events. Such intuitions and judgments are complemented by intended courses of action. It is reflection on such incidences that realises the experiences. Reflective and reflexive attempts provide valuable learning moments for managers and organisations.

Originality/value

The paper notes that there is a limited account and understanding of the processes of knowing and sense‐making in SMEs. It therefore offers a framework for illustrating the dynamic interactions between managers' enacting, knowing and the development of sense‐making recipes. It is an attempt to contribute to the understanding of “knowing” in SMEs.
Developing an identity fraud measurement model: a factor analysis approach
Authors: Miri‐Lavassani Kayvan , Kumar Vinod , Movahedi Bahar , Kumar Uma
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Though many studies and reports have been published about the scale of identity fraud (IDF), no work has been done on developing models to measure IDF. The purpose of this paper is to propose a measurement model for IDF and test the validity of that measurement model.

Design/methodology/approach

After providing a background on the concepts of IDF, the paper discusses the related term, identity theft. Next, a measurement model is developed, based on the current practice of measurement of IDF in four countries. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is used in identifying the indicators and factors of IDF. After the EFA is conducted, confirmatory factor analysis is employed to test the validity of the measurement model. These tests are conducted using the data collected from Canadian financial institutions.

Findings

The review of the current empirical studies suggests that IDF should be assessed using a measurement model with 33 indicators to measure five factors of IDF. However, the analysis of Canadian financial institutions suggests that a measurement model that includes 27 indicators and four factors is most appropriate for the data.

Research limitations/implications

The measurement model developed in the present paper is based on an examination of a sample of financial institutions in Canada. Hence, the results of this paper cannot be generalized to organizations in other sectors of the economy. Further studies in other sectors of the economy are required to identify industry‐specific measurement model.

Practical implications

This paper is the first approach toward developing a model for measuring IDF.

Originality/value

This paper is the first study that attempts to scientifically identify and validate a measurement system in the area of IDF.
Control of insurance fraud in Nigeria: an exploratory study (case study)
Authors: Olalekan Yusuf Tajudeen , Rasheed Babalola Abdur
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Insurance fraud as a global economic problem threatens the financial strength of insurers and threatens the survival of the insurance institution. The purpose of this paper is to explore the magnitude of the problem including the industry's and regulatory authority's responses in tackling the menace in Nigeria. The paper is motivated by the recent effort on the part of the Nigerian regulatory authority to strengthen the sector through consolidation. Such renewed vigour on part of Nigeria is geared towards fighting all forms of economic crimes in both public and private sectors in post‐military years.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews the literature on the existing fraud control mechanisms, i.e. insurance contract design and auditing and the perception of fraud by customers in the insurance market. A survey is conducted by interview method to explore the size of the problem and the effectiveness of the approach the industry and its regulator are adopting to control it.

Findings

The paper's findings suggest a lukewarm or no serious attitude on the part of the regulatory authority and the insurance companies in appreciating the enormity of the problem now and in the future. This stems from lack of clear‐cut sanctions for offenders and mechanism for enforcement.

Originality/value

The paper reveals the paucity of research of such a topical issue in developing economies and suggests the need for urgent stakeholders' summit that will discuss effects of insurance fraud on the industry with a view to identifying specific roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder group in tackling the problem. This should also be complimented with the establishment of insurance fraud bureau that would promote public awareness campaign on the evil effect of fraud on the economy.
Perspectives on financial crimes in Roman‐Dutch law
Authors: Henning Johan
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identity the prevalence and kinds of financial crime in seventeenth and eighteenth century Roman‐Dutch law.

Design/methodology/approach

The object is achieved by a legal and historical analysis of the available legal sources especially of the main Roman‐Dutch and other institutional authorities.

Findings

It is found that the general crime of falsity in Roman‐Dutch law had a much greater ambit than the present‐day fraud and had it survived, would have been very valuable to combat present‐day financial crime more effectively.

Research limitations/implications

Further research on other Roman‐Dutch sources on falsity.

Originality/value

The paper shows there is much to learn from legal history in that the recognition of a general crime of falsity will very valuable to combat present‐day financial crime much more effectively. Of value to everybody engaged in the battle against financial crime.
Order lead‐time of grocery retailers in the UK and Greek markets
Authors: Menachof David A. , Bourlakis Michael A. , Makios Thrasyvoulos
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a comparative study of order lead times for firms operating in the UK and Greek food retail markets with the UK one being regarded at the forefront in terms of logistics efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

The main research instrument is a survey of managers employed by the major food multiple retailers operating in the UK and Greece. Statistical analysis is employed to illustrate the variances and differences between these retailers.

Findings

The study illustrates that total lead‐time is longer than the sum of the components. This implies that there are non‐value‐added time delays that are occurring between the components and there is still room for improvement. It is also shown that any differences in lead‐time between Greek and UK grocery retailers have been effectively eliminated as the entrance of retail multinationals in Greece has forced domestic retailers to improve their logistics systems.

Originality/value

There is a scarcity of papers in the logistics field that cross‐examines the logistics performance of national grocery supply chains. This is addressed via the current paper that reports the results of a comparative study of order lead times for firms operating in two European food retail markets, the UK and Greece. The paper will be beneficial to the strategic thinking of retail logistics managers and will support further empirical research work in that academic field of study.
RFID technology adoption and supply chain performance: an empirical study in China's logistics industry
Authors: Lin Chieh‐Yu , Ho Yi‐Hui
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors influencing the adoption of RFID technology and the relation between RFID technology adoption and supply chain performance for logistics companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Determinants of RFID technology adoption are analyzed from the technological, organizational and environmental perspectives. Supply chain performance measurements consist of financial and non‐financial indices. Data were collected by means of delivering questionnaires to logistics service providers in China. A total of 574 logistics companies were analyzed.

Findings

Logistics companies' willingness to adopt RFID technology are significantly influenced by the explicitness and accumulation of technology, organizational encouragement for innovation, quality of human resources, and governmental support. There is a positive association between the willingness to adopt RFID technology and supply chain performance for logistics service providers.

Research limitations/implications

As a single‐country and single‐industry study, the current research may be limited in its generalizability.

Practical implications

The growth of China's economy hinges to a large extent on the ability of the logistics industry to operate efficiently and effectively in the global supply chain system. China's logistics service providers need to adopt more efficient logistics technologies to provide better supply chain services for their customers. This paper provides some suggestions for governmental officials, logistics companies, and RFID technology providers in advancing the application of RFID in supply chains.

Originality/value

This paper may be the first empirical research in analyzing the adoption of RFID technology and its association with supply chain performance in the logistics industry, especially for China's logistics industry.
Managing supply chain in the context of SMEs: a collaborative and customized partnership with the suppliers as the key for success
Authors: Bordonaba‐Juste Victoria , Cambra‐Fierro Jesús J.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the efforts of a Spanish SME, Bodega Pirineos, to combine technology and a customized strategy in communication management with its suppliers. This is extremely important because of the necessity to adapt its supply system to the characteristics of its micro‐suppliers, which are key trade partners of the firm.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach used was a case study.

Findings

The case study suggests how firms must adapt their supply relationships both with suppliers and with the environment. The paper shows that technology is not always enough. Firms need to understand their partners and to communicate with them.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on a specific case study. Therefore, its recommendations may be successfully applied to other products in different settings and in other sectors.

Practical implications

The ideas contained in this case study can help supply chain managers to reflect on the necessity of understanding their strategic suppliers. Communication between a company and its suppliers is important for improving the efficiency of its supplying management. A proper management of business‐to‐business communication flow may guarantee the achievement of the necessary inputs and the meeting of the required standards for its products. Understanding why and how Bodega Pirineos customizes communications flows with its micro‐suppliers will help both managers and researchers to reflect on the idea that communication needs comprehension more than technological intensity.

Originality/value

The special characteristics of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) seem to recommend strategies adapted to their economic and human resources. The paper highlights a successful strategy based on the SME context. It includes both the firm's and their most representative suppliers' perspective.
Advantages of intermodal logistics platforms: insights from a Spanish platform
Authors: Cambra‐Fierro Jesus , Ruiz‐Benitez Rocio
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the advantages that an intermodal logistics platform may provide to companies integrating a supply chain, both to manufacturers/distributors and to logistics providers.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper introduces a new logistics platform, PLAZA, the largest in Europe, and which was installed in Zaragoza, where some international companies, including Inditex, are established.

Findings

The intermodality and integration provided by an intermodal logistics platform may provide competitive advantages to global supply chains.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is based on a specific case study and, therefore, the conclusions may be only partially generalized to other domains. However, the case results from this example may offer a useful guide to assist managers of global supply chains.

Practical implications

Firms should consider the option of intermodality and the integration of some of the activities of its supply chain in order to decrease transportation costs and lead time, and increase customer service, among other advantages.

Originality/value

The paper provides some practical insights from an intermodal logistics platform and the advantages that may be generated for companies.
Developing key performance indicators for supply chain: an industry perspective
Authors: Chae Bongsug (Kevin)
Published: October 2009

Purpose

Measuring or monitoring supply chain performance reveals the gap between planning and execution and helps companies to identify potential problems and areas for improvement. However, it is recognized that developing key performance indicators (KPIs), or metrics, is very challenging and a set of practical guidelines is not readily available for companies and supply chain management (SCM) practitioners. This paper seeks to offer a practical approach to performance measurement and to present a list of essential KPIs.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper offers insights from industry in the area of supply chain performance measurement and a practical approach to developing performance metrics.

Findings

The experience from, and the review of, industry standards and best practices in supply chain performance measurement suggest that “less is better” as to developing performance metrics. Companies should focus on only a small list of KPIs which are critical for their operations management, customer service, and financial viability. Potential KPIs should be developed for each of the supply chain operations‐reference (SCOR) model's four meta‐processes (plan, source, make, and delivery) and need to be hierarchically grouped such as primary and secondary metrics.

Practical implications

The paper offers a background of why performance measurement is necessary for SCM success, pragmatic guidelines for designing and implementing performance metrics, and critical KPIs with the definition, examples, and computation mechanism.

Originality/value

Despite the importance of performance measurement for successful SCM, many companies wonder how to put performance metrics in place and make them work in practice. This paper offers an industry‐oriented, practical approach to performance measurement in SCM contexts and proposes key performance metrics which can be easily adapted for different businesses.
Seabass and seabream farmed in the Mediterranean: swimming against the tide of market orientation
Authors: Wagner Beverly A. , Young James A.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how small and medium sized aquaculture producers in the Mediterranean might move from traditional high volume output systems to become more market oriented.

Design/ methodology/approach

The quantitative methodology was devised to assess production trends and potential of seabass and seabream farmed off most of the countries bordering the Mediterranean. In addition to markets adjacent to the Mediterranean producers, those in Northern Europe are also included because of the opportunities for market expansion and product diversification.

Findings

It is concluded that greatest scope for industry gain lies in supply channel members being more market oriented to meet the dynamic and varied demands of consumers. The historic, but still predominant, one‐size fits all philosophy and business approach to fish farming is outdated and demands radical revision to realise potential added value of the industry. This is all the more important as consumers, pressure groups and governments become more aware of the political, economic and environmental impact of food miles and wider sustainable production issues, encouraging many international food markets to move away from an emphasis on cheap food.

Practical implications

The study has practical implications for European Union aquaculture policy and small to medium‐sized enterprise development to ensure more sustainable production and to promote positive benefits in often peripheral and fragile rural economies where alternative options are commonly rare and/or conflicting.

Originality/value

The research highlights the challenges of a sector with spatially disparate points of production and consumption coupled with a highly perishable product critically dependent on efficient distribution whilst facing emergent environmental concerns over sustainable food production systems.
The dynamic relation between management control and governance structure in a supply chain context
Authors: van Veen‐Dirks Paula M.G. , Verdaasdonk Peter J.A.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show that local management control systems within supply chain organisations and the governance of supply chains are intertwined and that local control systems and governance structure have an important effect on the functioning of the supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports on a case study of a supply chain and examines how local management control systems within the participating organisations affect cooperation between the organisations in the supply chain. In the case study, a supply chain, including eight food manufacturers, two logistic service providers, and two retailers, is investigated.

Findings

The behaviour of several entities in the chain is explained by examining the present local management control systems. The main conclusion is that these systems call for behaviour that is not congruent with the broad supply chain objective.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on a case study in one supply chain that has mainly a cost‐minimisation objective. Further in‐depth studies could be undertaken in supply chains with other objectives to further validate the findings.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates that the local management control systems may hinder the achievement of the supply chain objective. Possible design implications for both local management control systems and governance structures in the supply chain are outlined.

Originality/value

The paper focuses on local information sharing concerns and on local performance measurement and incentive issues at the intra‐organisational level but within a supply chain context.
Personality, social relationships, and vocational indecision among college students
Authors: Ng Thomas W.H. , Feldman Daniel C.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of personality traits and interpersonal relationships with vocational indecision and the mediating role that identity construction plays in the development of those relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data are collected from 202 college students in Hong Kong at four points in time over a five‐month period.

Findings

Personality traits (e.g. locus of control and positive affectivity) and interpersonal relationships (e.g. with parents and peers) are related to the intensity of college students' search for their overall identity, positive anticipation of the work role, and level of identification with the student role. These role identification processes, in turn, are related to lower levels of vocational indecision. The results here support the idea that identity variables do serve as mediators of those relationships.

Research limitations/implications

A more complete identity approach to studying vocational indecision that focuses on both vocational and non‐vocational identities is warranted. Cultural differences in vocational indecision are in need of more research attention, too.

Practical implications

In addition to the common practice of assessing the development of students' vocational interests, another way to prepare individuals for the start of their careers is to assess the development of multiple role identities.

Originality/value

This paper extends the vocational indecision literature by examining how the search for identity, the degree of positive anticipation of the work role, and the development of identification with the student role may mediate the effects of personal dispositions and interpersonal relationships on vocational indecision.
Job demands as a moderator of the political skill‐job performance relationship
Authors: Blickle Gerhard , Kramer Jochen , Zettler Ingo , Momm Tassilo , Summers James K. , Munyon Timothy P. , Ferris Gerald R.
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether political skill is equally effective in its prediction of job performance for different job demands.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses self‐report sources of employee performance and self‐report of political skill after several weeks along with three ratings of target individuals' job demands.

Findings

Results support the hypothesis that Holland's enterprising category (i.e. because of its job demands and requisite job competencies to be effective) will moderate the relationship between political skill and job performance, demonstrating stronger predictability under high enterprising job demands.

Research limitations/implications

The present results suggest that political skill is a better predictor of job performance under situations of high enterprising job demands than under conditions of low enterprising job demands. Furthermore, social and conventional job demands do not significantly moderate the political skill‐job performance relationships, implying that these job demands act as an important boundary condition.

Practical implications

Politically skilled individuals are more likely to succeed in environments (e.g. enterprising jobs) where they have the opportunity to exercise interpersonal influence, and where that interpersonal influence is directly related to their performance.

Originality/value

This paper makes several contributions to theory and practice in vocational achievement and political skill. Perhaps, most significant is the identification of job demands as a boundary condition in the political skill‐job performance relationship.
Employees' emotional reactions to promotion decisions
Authors: Tzafrir Shay S. , Hareli Shlomo
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the interplay among promotion decision, emotions, and perceptions of organizational justice.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts Weiner's attribution theory of motivation and emotion, using it as a tool in the analysis. By using this framework, this paper analyses potential positive and negative emotional, and consequently, behavioral reactions of promoted and non‐promoted employees. The analysis focuses on emotional reactions as a function of the cause and the process for the decision in question from the subjective perspective of the employee whose fate is determined by that decision.

Findings

This paper suggests that the decision and the process of promotion can lead to the experience of a myriad of discrete emotional states. It contends that such emotional reactions are resulting from considerations of justice related to the perceived causes of the promotion decision and the process that lead to it.

Originality/value

By integrating attribution theory of emotion and motivation with considerations of justice, this paper analyses the conditions that lead to specific emotions in employees who are promoted and non‐promoted, showing that procedural and interactional justice serves as carriers of attributions (i.e. causal information).
A fuzzy multicriteria decision‐making methodology for selection of human resources in a Greek private bank
Authors: Polychroniou Panagiotis V. , Giannikos Ioannis
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a fuzzy multicriteria decision‐making (MCDM) methodology for selecting employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based on the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) multicriteria decision tool and the algorithm presented by Karsak. Assuming that n are candidates each of whom is evaluated in j criteria, the methodology starts by defining the ideal and the anti‐ideal candidate.

Findings

The applicability of the methodology is discussed using real data from a major Greek bank. As a result, it is necessary to consider criteria, criteria weights, and the distances from both the ideal and the anti‐ideal solution in order to select the more appropriate candidate.

Research limitations/implications

Modern approaches recognize that selection of human resources is a complex process that involves a significant amount of vagueness and subjectivity, and serious consideration for candidate's uncertainties of career life.

Practical implications

The method can help human resources managers reach better decisions by selecting employees through a process that takes into account organizational objectives as well as employees' qualities. Moreover, selection of human resources can be seen as part of an integrated career management system in the organization.

Originality/value

The MCDM methodology can adequately represent the imprecision and uncertainty that are inherent in any modern organization. The method is quite flexible since criteria weights and distances from ideal and anti‐ideal candidates can be replaced by any method for ranking fuzzy numbers.
The Croatian police, police integrity, and transition toward democratic policing
Authors: Kutnjak Ivković Sanja
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to explore a critical component of the successful transition into a democratic police agency – the state of police integrity – among the Croatian police officers. The paper also analyzes the police officers' views about the community policing efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

The questionnaire administered to police officers in Croatia focuses on various forms of police misconduct, as well as the respondents' views about community policing. A random sample of 811 Croatian police officers was collected at the end of 2008.

Findings

The results of 2008 survey portray a more optimistic picture of integrity of the Croatian police than the results of the 1995 survey did. The respondents in 2008 seem to expect more serious discipline than the respondents in 1995 did. Furthermore, the code of silence – one of the key elements of police integrity theory – seems to be weakening. However, the evaluations of scenario seriousness remain relatively similar, indicating a common hierarchy of seriousness. Finally, the support for the idea of community policing is perceived to be much stronger at the top than at the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy or among individual police officers.

Research limitations/implications

The 1995 and 2008 samples are random samples and thus do not constitute a panel data set.

Practical implications

The methodology can be utilized by police administrators to explore the contours of police integrity in their agencies. More specifically, the administrators can explore whether police officers know the official rules, how serious they evaluate police misconduct, what they think the appropriate and expected discipline is, and how willing they are to tolerate police misconduct in silence.

Originality/value

Prior studies of police integrity focused almost exclusively on one form of police misconduct – police corruption. Following the idea that police integrity encompasses the inclination to resist all temptations (and not just for‐gain ones) to abuse the rights and privileges, the questionnaire used in the study tests the police officers' tendency to resist a variety of temptations and thus yields a more comprehensive picture of police integrity. Furthermore, this methodology enables measurement of the changes in police integrity, which is particularly relevant for a police agency in transition or a police agency undertaking efforts to improve its state of police integrity.
Shifting cultures: managerialism and the rise of “performance”
Authors: Cockcroft Tom , Beattie Iain
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the consequences that followed the introduction of a performance measurement regime that is introduced into a subdivision of an English police force. The police force under consideration is located in a county that covers over 1,500 square miles and envelops areas as diverse as large urban conurbations, small villages and considerable rural expanses.

Design/methodology/approach

Part of this research utilised semi‐structured interviews to gauge officers' reactions to the new system and the impact on their occupational behaviour.

Findings

The research found widespread resistance to the new system, due to a perception that the performance indicators did not fully reflect the breadth of the officer role. Similarly, evidence emerged to suggest that performance indicators can play a key role in focussing officers' attention on those core behaviours being measured and encouraging presentational and working styles which, whilst satisfying scoring criteria, might, arguably, be deemed inappropriate.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited by its focus upon officers working under a pilot project in a solitary subdivision. Further research might seek to draw on the views of larger numbers of officers working under a variety of police performance measurement mechanisms. Such an approach would facilitate the development of guides to best practice in both the formulation and implementation of such regimes and would, conceivably, help overcome officer resistance to such systems.

Originality/value

The paper is original in that acknowledges, and focuses upon, the cultural dynamics of the police officer and uses this approach to chart the challenges of effective implementation of such strategies. As such, the paper should be of interest to middle and senior police managers tasked with implementing effective performance measurement. Furthermore, this paper, although originating from evaluation research, represents a more critical contextualisation of the interviews, which are conducted with officers. In doing so, it seeks to locate the practicalities associated with the introduction of “performance measurement” against the reality of police work.
Qualitative approach to the research into the parameters of human security in the community
Authors: Djuric Sladjana
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a qualitative methodological model applied in the human security research in local communities as a part of a wider community‐based participatory research (CBPR).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper synthesizes methodological experience from four empirical researches where a qualitative model of studying the security indicators in the local communities of Serbia has been applied. The paper presents how to apply qualitative approach and indicates its potentials, and suggests how to implement the study, design the sample plan and analyse obtained data.

Findings

The research of complex phenomenon of social perception of security demands a complementary approach strategy. At the most general level, it means the application of quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to achieve an integral insight into the self‐reflection of citizens about their individual and collective security.

Research limitations/implications

The methodological experience from four conducted investigations on which this paper is based, gives only an initial foundation for the creation of a successful model of security appraisal. Further elaboration of this model demands inclusion of the findings from other surveys.

Practical implications

The suggested model may be further developed as well as in the sense of methodological subtilization, and as a practical model for the appraisal of security condition in a local community. This would be the starting point for creating strategies and their operationalization into specific action plans, in order to improve those indicators, which are established as expressing some form of security threat in the local communities studied.

Originality/value

By complementary application of qualitative and quantitative research perspective (using CBPR approach), we can get profound insights into the causes and character of security threats inside communities. Through application of this approach we get deeper understanding of comparable and representative (in)security survey findings, as well as significant participant's opinions about a potential model of action for improving their security and safety.
Instructor beliefs and their mediation of instructor strategies
Authors: Owen Christine
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The overall aim of this research is to investigate how aspects of organizational culture enable or constrain the facilitation of learning in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative design was used involving 100 semi‐structured interviews conducted with air traffic controllers operating in three centers in Australia. The data were analyzed using a phenomenological approach in an attempt to uncover the lived experience of those interviewed.

Findings

The study illustrates how elements of organizational culture evidenced in collectively held values and beliefs mediated the approaches used by on‐the‐job‐training instructors. Three collectively held values and beliefs were identified: belief in ability; the value of performance in demonstrating ability; and the need to exude confidence. The degree to which instructors espoused these beliefs influences the type of instructional strategy they used. Three predominant strategies of engagement with the trainee were identified: acting on, working with, and working against the trainee.

Practical implications

The evidence here suggests that programs aimed at facilitating skills development for on‐the‐job‐training instructors need to focus on the existing knowledge and beliefs of those personnel and to provide opportunities for challenge and confrontation of those belief systems.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a growing understanding of the socio‐cultural influences present in workplace learning and the role of stereotyping and power in enabling or constraining the learning in the workplace.
“Development Radar”: the co‐configuration of a tool in a learning network
Authors: Toiviainen Hanna , Kerosuo Hannele , Syrjälä Tuula
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The paper aims to argue that new tools are needed for operating, developing and learning in work‐life networks where academic and practice knowledge are intertwined in multiple levels of and in boundary‐crossing across activities. At best, tools for learning are designed in a process of co‐configuration, as the analysis of one tool, Development Radar, aims to demonstrate.

Design/methodology/approach

The “Development Radar” narrative offers a way to analyse what co‐configuration might mean in the development practices of the learning network. The data consist of the researchers' and participants' tool‐related actions in planning and running a workshop of the Forum of Workplace Development, for which Development Radar was created. Analysis draws from cultural‐historical activity theory by including cultural sources of knowledge beyond the immediate pedagogic interaction.

Findings

Metaphors seem to be facilitative in the early phase of co‐configuration of a tool but not enough for sustainable workplace learning. What is needed is opening up the core concepts for all parties involved and providing ongoing negotiations and elaboration concerning their potential and meaning.

Research limitations/implications

Expansive learning is supported by co‐configuration of tools that simultaneously provide a generic orientation basis of learning and are open to contextual knowledge creation in and across the levels of developmental activities.

Practical implications

The visual co‐configuration of tools may be crucial for understanding learning, development and the implementation of tools in a specific context, and even have an effect on the professional identity of users.

Originality/validity

The significance of tools for the quality of workplace learning is generally acknowledged but the investigation into the pedagogical dynamics and material co‐configuration of tools needs more attention.
The power of professionally situated practice analysis in redesigning organisations
Authors: Scaratti Giuseppe , Gorli Mara , Ripamonti Silvio
Published: October 2009

Purpose

This paper seeks to provoke thoughts around the possibility of using the lever of practices and situated knowledge to trigger organisational change and to redesign it with the involvement of the whole organisation.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents connections between a psychosociological approach and a practice‐based approach. The use of ethnomethodology is offered as a way to detect situated practice and meaning at works.

Findings

This contribution underlines how change and learning in organisations can find support in investing in local knowledge and in detecting and reflecting around the living practices of daily activities. Knowing in practice requires the involvement and continuous work of connecting among individuals, groups, organisations and institutions in situated contexts. The paper shows how strategic a process this is, presenting a way to work on situated data.

Practical implications

The paper represents a way to work on organisational change grounded on action research.

Originality/value

The paper combines a psychological perspective within the field of practice‐based studies and sustains a specific ethnographic method to create organisational areas of reflexivity.
An empirical assessment of knowledge management criticality for sustainable development
Authors: Mohamed Mirghani , Stankosky Michael , Mohamed Mona
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the importance of knowledge management (KM) for sustainable development. Two main hypotheses about the critical success factors of knowledge and technology contribution to sustainable development are tested.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is carried out using surveys and interviews among a KM/integrated information and communication technologies (IICTs) sustainable development community.

Findings

Results show that KM is critical for innovation, prioritization and efficient use of resources. A significant linear association between IICTs and KM across time and geography is detected. IICTs improve the quality of shared decision making in inter‐ and intra‐organizational settings. Paradoxically, IICTs lead to information overload, and digitization leads to knowledge dilution “de‐contextualization”. Nevertheless, these drawbacks are outweighed by the multitude of the converged technologies benefits.

Research limitations/implications

There is a limited amount of data subjected to the statistical analysis. This may skew some of the results, and inflate the experimental error. However, the limited data are due to the restricted targeted population itself.

Originality/value

The results in this paper led to the proposal of the knowledge iterative supply network (KISN) framework, which describes knowledge lifecycle that lessens technology negative impacts. This would be a valuable roadmap for KM practitioners who are planning to deploy KM technology for supporting sustainable development.
Knowledge‐based dynamics of regional development: the case of Basilicata region
Authors: Lerro Antonio , Schiuma Giovanni
Published: October 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the knowledge dimensions grounding regional development dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first provides a knowledge‐based interpretation of regional development and afterwards the knowledge assets categories at the basis of value creation dynamics at regional level are discussed. The aim is to define a conceptual framework addressing the knowledge assets categories affecting the development dynamics of regions and territories. To support these arguments, the paper integrates the conceptual framework with the analysis of a case study of an Italian region. The paper provides the case example of Basilicata region, which has planned and implemented policies aimed to activate and support regional strategic development by focusing on knowledge assets dimensions. The paper combines a deductive approach with an inductive one. The knowledge assets dimensions grounding regional development dynamics are identified through a review of the literature. Then, the conceptual framework is integrated by the analysis of a case study aimed to enrich the proposed conceptual arguments with empirical evidences.

Findings

The paper highlights the strategic relevance of knowledge capital in sustaining and driving regional development dynamics. The knowledge assets dimensions grounding regional development are discussed, providing insights for both research and practice.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to further develop the knowledge‐based view of the regional development dynamics. The paper provides implications for future research and useful insights for policy making.