bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intra-professional hierarchies: the gendering of accounting specialisms in UK accountancy
Authors: Khalifa Rihab
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Concomitant with the trend towards specialisation in UK accountancy and the rise of relatively separate formal spheres of professional work along formal specialisms such as tax, audit and management consultancy, women entered the profession in unprecedented numbers, but not evenly distributed across those specialisms. This paper aims to draw on the sociology of accountancy and feminist studies of the professions to show that specialisms have emerged through and, in turn, have been shaped and recreated by gender as well as other processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper's research approach combines the sociology of professions with critical gender studies. It draws on interviews, brochures, web pages, and results from a questionnaire survey to investigate professional identities within UK accountancy.

Findings

– Accountants' self-articulated notions of professionalism in the different specialisms are gendered and ordered hierarchically. Gender is an encompassing conceptual frame for ordering discursive attributes of the different specialisms. Working long and unpredictable hours was central to accountants' understandings of their professional life. Socialising with clients was seen as functional in bringing new opportunities to the firm. Socialising with peers also was deemed important, especially in solving internal frictions and in controlling new entrants' behaviour in firms. The more “public” the ideology of a specialism, the more masculine it was perceived to be.

Originality/value

– This study challenges the uniform representations of professional identities offered by previous studies. It suggests that gender offers a discursive and ideological frame of reference for accountancy whose relevance extends beyond the working practices of men and women to the very constitution of the profession. It does so with reference to an original mix of qualitative and quantitative data.
The interface of power and charity in the government of poor
Authors: Servalli Stefania
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Within the interface between power and charity, the purpose of this paper is to enhance an understanding of the role of charities in the administration of poor in local government and to explore how accounting operates in such a context. In this investigation, the paper considers accounting, referring to both financial and non-financial information, inserted in a complex of technologies accomplishing the “government of poverty”.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on a historical study referring to the case of MIA, an Italian charity, investigated during the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries, adopting Foucault's “governmentality” framework in a diachronic perspective. This approach, coordinating views coming from Anglo-Foucauldian scholars with alternative Foucault effects expressed in Dean's works, represents a novelty of this investigation.

Findings

– The paper shows the interface of power (municipality) and charity (MIA) in the “government of poverty”, in a context of ancien regime, pointing out how this interplay was a key element within the “discourse of poor”. The pivotal function of MIA as an “agency of police” and the constitutive role of accounting as a technology of “government of poverty”, representing a social practice able to allow the preservation of the social equilibrium, emerge.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is based on a single case study and it shows the need for both comparative and interdisciplinary analysis in order to increase an understanding of the interface of power and charity in ancien regime contexts, as well as in contemporary situations of crisis or emergencies.

Originality/value

– For the first time in the accounting history literature, the work presents an extension of “governmentality” analysis into the domain of the “government of poor” through a series of Municipality Orders and their operationalisation by a charity, which adopted accounting to realise a control on people and resources contributing to reach local government equilibrium aims. The work also offers a reference within the contemporary accounting literature in relation to the debate about the role of charities or similar non-profit organizations in the context of the current financial crisis affecting the world, or in situations of emergencies.
Benchmarking the quality function deployment models
Authors: Vinayak Kalluri , Kodali Rambabu
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Quality function deployment (QFD) has been used to translate customer requirements into engineering characteristics of a product, while benchmarking was developed to search for the best industry practices, which will lead to exceptional performance through the implementation of these best practices. However, no attempt has been made to integrate QFD with benchmarking to identify the best practices of QFD model. This paper aims to classify the QFD models and thereby applying benchmarking process to propose the best practices of QFD model.

Design/methodology/approach

– The fundamental benchmarking model developed by Camp has been used to benchmark the existing QFD models available in the literature.

Findings

– Benchmarking the QFD models revealed about 36 QFD steps in the first phase of the house of quality. The tools used in solving for each practice are also reported.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposed model is conceptual and it requires validation by implementing the same in an organization to understand its effectiveness.

Originality/value

– Utilizing the benchmarking process to develop the best practices of QFD model is an original concept.
The impact of dynamic capabilities on SME performance in a volatile environment as moderated by organizational inertia
Authors: Nedzinskas Šarūnas , Pundzienė Asta , Buožiūtė-Rafanavičienė Solveiga , Pilkienė Margarita
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the influence of the dynamic capabilities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on organizational performance, and the interaction between dynamic capabilities and organizational inertia in a volatile environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– A quantitative survey was carried out in Lithuania's SME sector. In order to achieve the aim of this empirical research, a sample of 360 SMEs was analyzed.

Findings

– This exploratory study offers a conceptual model for dynamic capabilities and organizational inertia in a volatile environment. The findings suggest that dynamic capabilities have positive effects on non-financial relative organizational performance, though no impact on financial relative organizational performance has been revealed. The authors argue that organizational inertia moderates dynamic capabilities and relative organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications

– One suggestion for further research is to investigate the interaction between dynamic capabilities and organizational inertia in a stable environment and to perform longitudinal research embracing a broader sample of organizations.

Originality/value

– The study addresses a gap in strategic management literature and practice, examining the interaction between SME dynamic capabilities and organizational inertia in a volatile environment during an economic crisis.
Modelling, simulation and analysis of control mechanism of a dynamic supply chain system considering supply-price trade-off, using control theory
Authors: Kumar Anup , Mukherjee Kampan , Kumar Narendra
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The objective of this work is to develop a model that can be used for simulation of different parameters including price, subjected to different control strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The entire supply chain can be modelled by combining the transfer function into a closed loop system. The transfer function of each entity in the supply chain can be obtained by using the control theory tools. The model can be approximated as a linear discrete system with various operating constants, like lead time, price, order policy and supply.

Findings

– The continuous replenishment ordering policy for a distribution node in a supply chain was analyzed using the z-transform. Characteristic equations of the closed loop transfer function are obtained. The bullwhip (BW) effect is analyzed. Study proves that the BW effect is in evitable if the standard heuristic ordering policy is employed with demand forecasting; also the paper analysed price supply trade-off for dynamic demand and supply. Simulation results show that BW is less in PI and simple p-only with cascade control. Robust control and PD, PID control results are not shown in this literature, and it is subject to further research.

Originality/value

– Research is original, it can be applicable in today's dynamic world, due to globalization, it is necessary to have a automated machine that can handle most of supply chain decision.
Organizational values in the Brazilian public sector
Authors: Bernal Arellano Eliete , Wakamatsu Andre , Ribas Rodolfo
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The paper aims to identify the prevailing values of the public sector in Brazil, based on the tri-axial model. The study proposes to capture the dynamics between different values axes of Brazilian public sector as well as to detect cultural differences between genders, level of commitment, and nature of work. An additional contribution is expected in understanding Brazilian values at public sector as a necessary approach to obtain a new order of public administration based on efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper opted for an exploratory study developed within the scope of a larger study aiming to understand the meaning of values in different cultures with an exclusive focus on the public sectors. Using a pre-validated questionnaire, 137 respondents, who work on Brazilian public sector, participated in the survey. A frequency analysis was conducted for various demographic variables. Descriptive statistics were used to understand the profile of the respondents in Brazil's survey. We have used the criteria recommended to all countries that participated in the study.

Findings

– This empirical work demonstrate that the methodology based on the tri-axial model was able to capture the dynamics between different values axes of Brazilian public sector as well as to detect cultural differences between genders, level of commitment and nature of work. The dominant values perceived in almost every analysis, belong to pragmatic-economic axis such as professionalism, teamwork, adventure, knowledge, and challenge. This strong orientation to pragmatism is consistent with the needs of the Brazilian public sector to have a more entrepreneurial vision and focus on optimization the use of the financial resources.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of the chosen sample approach, the research results may lack generalizability.

Practical implications

– The paper includes implications for a management based on values as a model to obtain efficiency at public sector in Brazil

Originality/value

– This research is part of an international project interesting in investigating values within different countries and cultures. It provides data from a country that belongs to an emergent group of world economy such as BRICs and has different scenery compared to traditional actors of global business.
The value co-destruction process: a customer resource perspective
Authors: M. Smith Anne
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to adopt a conservation of resources (COR) theoretical approach to examine the process of value co-destruction (VCD) emanating from the misuse of customer resources by organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

– A critical incidents approach was adopted where 120 customers recounted their negative experiences. The analysis identified both the nature of resources and processes involved.

Findings

– From a customer perspective, the VCD process is triggered by a failure of the resource integration process to co-create expected value (resources). This involves customers in unexpected primary, and often secondary, resource loss. Loss “cycles” or “spirals” develop impacting negatively on well-being. Customers' attempts to restore their resources through coping strategies typically involve loss of well-being for the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is limited to a relatively small sample of UK customers involving diverse contexts. However, COR theory provides a framework for a better understanding of customer perceived value, the value co-creation and co-destruction process.

Practical implications

– The findings offer a new perspective to practitioners for understanding customer expectations and behaviour. There is a need to re-evaluate and re-design value propositions in line with organisational capabilities and customers' resource needs.

Social implications

– Organisations' misuse of customers' resources negatively impacts on “well-being”: a phenomenon of increasing interest at the societal level.

Originality/value

– This study is the first to empirically examine the concept of VCD, as perceived and experienced by customers, from a resource ecology perspective. It contributes to the growing body of work deriving from the service-dominant logic approach to value co-creation.
A classification schema of co-production of goods: an open-systems perspective
Authors: R. Jiménez Fernando , E. Voss Kevin , L. Frankwick Gary
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– A growing body of literature reveals that the domain of customer co-production of goods is expansive. Many research articles in the area of co-production of goods, however, have focused on specific sub-areas within the larger domain. One result of these multiple lines of inquiry is that they establish overlapping construct names and definitions. The purpose of this article is to propose a classification schema of customer co-production of goods based on general systems theory (GST).

Design/methodology/approach

– A logical partitioning approach was employed.

Findings

– A classification schema of co-production of goods is derived from two criteria: the nature of the customer's input and the customer's autonomy. The classification suggests six sub-areas of co-production of goods: restricted co-manufacturing, unrestricted co-manufacturing, co-ideation, co-design, mass customization, and participation loop.

Practical implications

– The distinction of activities involving co-production of goods guides practitioners in the generalization of research findings and the selection of participation opportunities for their customers.

Originality/value

– This study proposes the first classification schema of co-production activities resulting in tangible goods. The classification reduces the overlap of constructs and definitions, defines the domain of co-production of goods, aids in the construction of nomological networks, and delimits generalizations drawn from empirical research. The authors recommend that researchers interested in co-production of goods should use the schema to guide their theory development and empirical research designs.
A protean practice? Perspectives on the practice of action learning
Authors: Brook Cheryl , Pedler Mike , Burgoyne John G
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to assess the extent to which these practitioners ' perspectives and practices match Willis ' s conception of a Revans “gold standard” of action learning.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study adopts a qualitative design and methodology based on interviews and the collection of cases or accounts of practice, and upon the analysis of both. This exploratory study draws on 24 cases of academic practice of action learning within higher education (HE) institutions in the UK and 21 cases drawn from practitioners in the UK National Health Service.

Findings

– Whilst action learning is shown to be a context sensitive and protean methodology, the findings demonstrate that approaches to practice are not as divergent as anticipated. On the evidence of this study, many aspects of action learning practice remain rooted in the principles originally established by Revans, sometimes termed.

Research limitations/implications

– The limitations of this study stem from its exploratory nature using small samples in the NHS and HE sectors. Nonetheless, the results could stimulate further empirical research on approaches to the practice of action learning in a range of other contexts.

Practical implications

– The study provides a basis on which practitioners can critically reflect on their own professional practices, and a means to review their own purposes in making use of action learning in their work situations.

Originality/value

– The study extends earlier research by confirming the persistence of Revans Classical Principles in the present practice across two professional practice contexts.
Comparing team learning approaches through the lens of activity theory
Authors: Park Sunyoung , Cho Yonjoo , Yoon Seung Won , Han Heeyoung
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine the distinctive features of three team learning approaches (action learning, problem-based learning, and project-based learning), compare and contrast them, and discuss implications for practice and research.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors used Torraco ' s integrative literature review method and activity theory as a framework for analyzing commonalities and differences of the three learning approaches.

Findings

– Action learning emphasizes the balance between action and learning, problem-based learning has evolved to develop knowledge acquisition, application, and reasoning skills, and project-based learning connects learning with work. All three learning approaches are learner-centered, tackle real problems, emphasize collaboration, have a learning coach, and work through learning processes.

Research limitations/implications

– Comparison of the three approaches has been done through a review of the literature only. More qualitative analyses of actual cases need to be done to confirm or improve the findings. Qualitative knowledge from this study should be linked to quantitative research.

Practical implications

– Comparison of each team learning approach provides team managers, instructional designers, and instructors with guidance of pedagogy selection regarding what particular team learning approach fits best for their organizational learning needs. Six components of activity theory can be useful to evaluate team learning interventions.

Originality/value

– The findings can be used for clarifying the relationships among the three learning approaches, and can guide HRD practice and research in line with improved team learning design, process, and measurement. The current study is possibly the first attempt to analyze the three team learning approaches based on activity theory.
From e-learning to social learning – a health care study
Authors: Hajli Mahmood , Bugshan Hatem , Lin Xiaolin , Featherman Mauricio
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The emergence of Web 2.0 opened a new route for education to use the values derived from this development. The future of e-learning is social learning, where individuals can learn online due to the facility of social media. Social media such as online communities are places for social interactions between users. These social interactions are the way forward and can drive social support in an online context. This paper aims to explore the impact of these interactions

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses social support theory to explore the impact of social interactions on the internet on learning and education. The research uses a case study and investigates the health industry.

Findings

– The paper explains the development in e-learning through social media and the emerging concept of social learning.

Originality/value

– The contribution of this research is to emphasise social relationships of individuals in the internet and social interaction in online communities which enhance their learning qualities. The research drawn on social support theory describes social learning as a future for e-learning.
Foresight of evolving security threats posed by emerging technologies
Authors: Hauptman Aharon , Sharan Yair
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Many emerging technologies are being developed in an accelerating pace and are key drivers of future change. In foresight studies, usually their positive impact on the quality of life is considered or their negative environmental effects. This paper seeks to draw attention to an overlooked “dark side” of new technologies: their potential abuse by terrorists or organized crime. Recent cybercrime events are examples of abuse that perhaps could have been minimized if appropriate foresight studies were performed years ago. This was the aim of the recently completed EU-funded project FESTOS.

Design/methodology/approach

– Several foresight methodologies were employed. Following a horizon scanning for potentially threatening technologies, a Delphi-type expert survey helped to evaluate critical threat characteristics of selected 33 technologies: the likelihood that each technology will actually come to pose a security threat (in different time frames), the easiness of its malicious use, the severity of the threat, and the most threatened societal spheres.

Findings

– The results enabled ranking the technologies by their “abuse potential” and “threat intensity”. Certain emerging technologies (or their combinations), regarded as “weak signals”, inspired ideas for potential “wild cards”. In a subsequent workshop, which employed a variant of the “futures wheel” method, four wild-card “scenario sketches” were constructed. These were later developed to full narrative scenarios.

Originality/value

– The entire process enables the introduction of security foresight into policy planning in a long-range perspective. The foresight results were followed by the evaluation of policy implications and coping with the knowledge control dilemma. The paper illustrates how a mix of foresight methods can help in a continuous analysis of new and threats posed by emerging technologies, thus raising awareness of decision makers and mitigating the risk of unforeseen surprises.
Assessing the determinants of rice farmers' adaptation strategies to climate change in Bangladesh
Authors: Abdur Rashid Sarker Md. , Alam Khorshed , Gow Jeff
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine rice farmers' selection of adaptation strategies to cope with and offset the effects of climate change and the determinants of those selections in Rajshahi, a severely drought-prone district of Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

– Farm-level micro data were obtained from 550 rice growers in the 2010-2011 farming season. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was utilised to assess the determinants of adaptation strategies practised by farmers in response to climate change.

Findings

– Results from the MNL model indicate that gender, age, education of household heads, household assets, annual farm income, farm size, tenure status, farmer-to-farmer extension, access to credit, access to subsidy, and access to electricity, all affect farmers' selection of adaptation strategies for climate change.

Originality/value

– This is the first study of its kind to analyse the determinants of adaptation strategies for climate change by farmers in drought-prone areas of Bangladesh. This study provides direction for policy makers in order to strengthen the adaptation strategies of farmers and guide policies accordingly. These strategies have the potential to minimise the adverse effects of climate change.
Choosing competitive industries in manufacturing of China under low-carbon economy
Authors: Fang Kuangnan , Hong Xiaoxin , Li Shuxiang , Song Malin , Zhang Jing
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore true technical efficiency in order to select the most competitive manufacturing industries in China. And the paper intends to discuss how environmental variables measured by energy consumption affect performance in different industrial sectors under the restriction of low-carbon economy.

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to measure the calculated efficiency of industrial sectors more accurately, Three-stage DEA model is presented in the empirical analysis using data from 2007 to 2010 covering 29 manufacturing industries in China. The advantage of using this method is enabling us to separate the managerial factor from external environmental factors and random errors factors on the technical efficiency.

Findings

– The results using this Three-stage DEA model show that textile manufacturing sector has the highest technical efficiency, and when environment variables are not considered, efficiencies in machinery and electronics manufacturing industries have a significant increase. Moreover, this empirical model enables us to evaluate the technical performance in various manufacturing sectors more accurately.

Practical implications

– This study provides a useful efficiency measurement tool (Three-stage DEA model) to calculate technical efficiency among different industrial sectors. Technical efficiency plays a key role in building the competitiveness of manufacturing industry. Based on the objective efficiency evaluation, the paper can make a better selection of the most competitive industries.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the existing literature by developing a Three-stage DEA to examine the technical efficiency and competitive power of manufacturing sectors in China. This study has great policy implications for the research of China's manufacturing in both ideas and methodology.
Scoping medical tourism and international hospital accreditation growth
Authors: Woodhead Anthony
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Uwe Reinhardt stated that medical tourism can do to the US healthcare system what the Japanese automotive industry did to American carmakers after Japanese products developed a value for money and reliability reputation. Unlike cars, however, healthcare can seldom be test-driven. Quality is difficult to assess after an intervention (posteriori), therefore, it is frequently evaluated via accreditation before an intervention (a priori). This article aims to scope the growth in international accreditation and its relationship to medical tourism markets.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using self-reported data from Accreditation Canada, Joint Commission International (JCI) and Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), this article examines how quickly international accreditation is increasing, where it is occurring and what providers have been accredited.

Findings

– Since January 2000, over 350 international hospitals have been accredited; the JCI's total nearly tripling between 2007-2011. Joint Commission International staff have conducted most international accreditation (over 90 per cent). Analysing which countries and regions where the most international accreditation has occurred indicates where the most active medical tourism markets are. However, providers will not solely be providing care for medical tourists.

Practical implications

– Accreditation will not mean that mistakes will never happen, but that accredited providers are more willing to learn from them, to varying degrees. If a provider has been accredited by a large international accreditor then patients should gain some reassurance that the care they receive is likely to be a good standard.

Originality/value

– The author questions whether commercializing international accreditation will improve quality, arguing that research is necessary to assess the accreditation of these growing markets.
Exploring manual and automatic query formulation in patent IR
Authors: Hansen Preben , Järvelin Anni , Järvelin Antti
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to examine manually formulated queries and automatic query generation in an early phase of a patent “prior art” search.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study was performed partly within a patent domain setting, involving three professional patent examiners, and partly in the context of the CLEF 2009 Intellectual Property (CLEF-IP) track. For the exploratory study of user-based query formulation, three patent examiners performed the same three simulated real-life patent tasks. For the automatic query generation, a simple term-weighting algorithm based on the RATF formula was used. The manually and automatically created queries were compared to analyse what kinds of keywords and from which parts of the patent documents were selected.

Findings

– For user-formulated queries, it was found that patent documents were read in a specific order of importance and that the time varied. Annotations and collaboration were made while reading and selecting/ranking terms. Ranking terms was experienced to be harder than selecting terms. For the automatic formulated queries, it was found that the term frequencies used in the RATF alone will not quite approximate what terms will be judged as relevant query terms by the users. Simultaneously, the results suggest that developing a query generation tool for generating initial queries based on patent documents is feasible.

Research limitations/implications

– These preliminary but informative results need to be viewed in the light that only three patent experts were observed and that a small set of topics was used.

Originality/value

– It is usually difficult to get access to the setting of the patent domain and the results of the study show that the methodology provided a feasible way to study manual and the manual query formulation of the patent engineer.
Reconfigurable production system design – theoretical and practical challenges
Authors: Rösiö Carin , Säfsten Kristina
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore theoretical and practical challenges to achieve reconfigurable production system designs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical material of this paper includes a multiple-case study with an embedded design (Yin) including four cases, where each case represents a production system design project. The consideration of reconfigurability and its characteristics in the production system design projects was studied. To enhance validity, two real-time studies were combined with two retrospective studies (Leonard-Barton).

Findings

– For more than a decade foresight reports have pointed out the need for responsiveness to change through reconfigurability in production system design. In order to achieve reconfigurable production systems, three challenges were identified: to use a structured design methodology, to gain knowledge in reconfigurability and its characteristics, and to include the reconfigurability knowledge in a structured design methodology. Still there is no comprehensive support available for reconfigurability in the production system design process.

Research limitations/implications

– Limitations are mostly related to the chosen methodology approach, and additional empirical studies to establish generic results are required.

Practical implications

– By combining knowledge from the production system design field with the reconfigurable manufacturing system field a potential of meeting identified challenges is pointed out.

Originality/value

– This paper adds to current knowledge by pointing out three main challenges to achieving reconfigurable production systems. The paper also contributes with ideas on how to respond to these challenges.
Factors affecting institutional change: a study of the adoption of Local Agenda 21 in Spain
Authors: Llamas-Sanchez Rocio , Garcia-Morales Victor , Martin-Tapia Inmaculada
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine how Spanish local councils respond to changes in their institutional context by implementing a sustainable practice: Local Agenda 21 (LA21).

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses the institutional approach to explain the factors influencing the adoption of LA21. It develops a series of hypotheses about how specific institutional factors affect the town and city councils that have implemented an LA21, as well as the differences between local councils with high versus medium implementation levels.

Findings

– The analysis reveals some institutional factors that explain the process of institutional change, the outcomes of LA21, and the differences between local councils.

Research limitations/implications

– Only one respondent from each local council completed the questionnaire. The authors tested for common method bias and did not find it to be present.

Practical implications

– From a more practical point-of-view, the authors consider LA21 to be an effective instrument for improving both the sustainability of towns and the management of local councils.

Originality/value

– The paper proposes institutional theory as a perspective that can explain change in organizations. The main value of the research lies in its identification of the factors affecting the process of change and the outcomes of implementing a sustainable practice like LA21.
Overcoming organizational inertia to strengthen business model innovation
Authors: Huang Hao-Chen , Lai Mei-Chi , Lin Lee-Hsuan , Chen Chien-Tsai
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– This study aims to examine how open innovation can be effective in changing organizational inertia to create business model innovation and improve firm performance. It also seeks to explore whether the existence of open innovation has a mediating effect and influence.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study constructs a theoretical model to explore the relationship between latent variables and uses a questionnaire to collect research data. In the conceptual framework, organizational inertia is a second-order latent variable and comprises three first-order latent variables: insight inertia, action inertia, and psychological inertia. Open innovation is also a second-order latent variable, and consists of two first-order latent variables: outbound and inbound open innovation. To clarify the relationship between these latent variables, structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the goodness of fit of the theoretical model and research hypotheses. This study uses 141 small to medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan as the research subjects.

Findings

– The SEM analysis revealed that open innovation has a significant mediating effect on the relationship between organizational inertia and business model innovation, and the relationship between organizational inertia and firm performance; business model innovation also has a positive influence on firm performance.

Originality/value

– This study contributes the empirical analysis of SMEs to illustrate the role of open innovation on business model innovation processes.
Organizational change as practice: a critical analysis
Authors: Jansson Noora
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to challenge some taken-for-granted practices related to organizational change in order to understand how organizational change as practice is conditioned by mundane assumptions.

Design/methodology/approach

– A critical analysis of the taken-for-granted assumptions revealed by a literature review was conducted utilizing practice theory approach in which human behavior and social context are intertwined. Hence, the analysis of this theoretical paper focuses on practices, praxis and practitioners in organizational change.

Findings

– The results suggest that certain elements that are believed to be universal in organizational change are, in fact, particular within context. The key finding and message of this research is that organizational change in practice is a manifestation of particularity. The conclusion is that certain mundane assumptions condition organizational change practices by ignoring the importance of power, phronesis and paradox, which lie in human interaction within social context.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposal that the dominating discourse on organizational change involves some taken-for-granted assumptions, challenges scholars to question the ways organizations are currently studied, and perhaps draws more attention to power, context and particularity in future research.

Practical implications

– The analysis demonstrates that the social aspect of organizational realities is crucial in organizational change, and should not be underestimated by the practitioners in the process. This realism of practice complexity indicates that the pitfalls of organizational change are more context dependent and thus, more numerous than generally is assumed.

Originality/value

– This research contributes to both theory and practice by offering a critical view on some of the taken-for-granted organizational change practices. This paper also demonstrates originality by introducing the concept of “organizational change as practice” in analogue of “strategy as practice” (SAP).
Assessing the value dimensions of outsourced maintenance services
Authors: Toossi Amir , Louise Lockett Helen , Z. Raja Jawwad , Martinez Veronica
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the diverse nature of tangible and intangible value dimensions that contribute to customers’ perception of value from outsourced maintenance services.

Design/methodology/approach

– A multiple case study approach has been adopted. Repertory grid, an in-depth structured interviewing technique, has been used in order to draw out the respondents’ hidden constructs in evaluating outsourced maintenance services. Data have been collected from four customer organizations of outsourced maintenance services, and a total of 33 interviews have been undertaken.

Findings

– The paper has identified a range of tangible and intangible value dimensions that are of importance in maintenance outsourcing decision making. The most important value dimensions for maintenance outsourcing were found to be specialist knowledge, accessibility (of the service provider), relational dynamic, range of products and services, delivery, pricing and locality. Although the paper has identified the most important value dimensions the paper also emphasizes the need to take into account the full range of value dimensions in order to understand the whole value pattern in an organization.

Practical implications

– The results will be of use for maintenance service providers to help them to improve value-adding capacity of maintenance services. The results can also be applied by customers to help them assess the value they receive from outsourced maintenance services.

Originality/value

– A different perspective on maintenance outsourcing value is provided. The value patterns in different organizations and the viewpoints of respondents in different organizational roles are described. The dynamic nature of these tangible or intangible values over time and their interrelationships has also been explored.
Impact evaluation of T&D at the societal level
Authors: Mourão Luciana , Eduardo Borges-Andrade Jairo
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a training and development (T&D) evaluation model that includes new societal indicators, considering the growing demand to do so. Three complementary studies were done. Study I used a framework for T&D evaluation that includes societal impact in it. Study II investigated which levels of T&D Brazilian organizations use. Study III went deeper into practitioners' vision on such theme.

Design/methodology/approach

– Three multimethod studies were done, over ten years (2001-2011). Study I focused on the evaluation of a professional formation program and used a quasi-experimental design. In Study II a survey was done with 1,150 organizations, searching for T&D evaluation strategies. Study III was a qualitative research with T&D professionals on societal impact.

Findings

– Impacts at the individual, organizational and societal levels were identified in Study I. Study II showed that most Brazilian organizations measure solely the individual level. Study III identified that the societal impact is sole and rarely measured by public organizations and large business corporations where a T&D department is fully operating

Research limitations/implications

– The indicators of societal and organizational outcomes used are appropriate for evaluating a specific T&D program. Other programs would require their own indicators (e.g. absenteeism, health, well being).

Practical implications

– The results of this study highlight an increasing demand for the recognition of organizational and societal indicators in T&D evaluation. Practitioners should be aware of this fact.

Originality/value

– This study uses indicators that are beyond the walls of the organization. It contributes to the development of T&D evaluation tools and points to new challenges towards societal effects of T&D activities.
Is the high performance organization framework suitable for Thai organizations?
Authors: A. de Waal Andre , Tan Akaraborworn Chiraprapha
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Thai organizations are currently wrestling with the quality demands that are placed on them because of the approaching accession of Thailand into the ASEAN Economic Community. Thai managers are acutely aware that this will increase competitive pressures in their country, and are therefore looking for a technique which can help them create higher quality organizations and achieve sustainable high performance in the Thai context. This article aims to evaluate whether the high performance organization (HPO) framework can provide the necessary support.

Design/methodology/approach

– During two workshops in Bangkok, one for representatives of eight Thai profit and governmental organizations and one for staff and students of a Thai university, participants were asked to complete the HPO questionnaire. From the resulting scores three main areas of improvement were identified for Thai organizations which they should address in order to become HPO. These areas of improvement were discussed during the workshops with the explicit purpose of determining how they could be addressed in the Thai context.

Findings

– The research showed that Thai managers and employees understood the HPO questionnaire and were able to fill in this survey; the results of the HPO questionnaire yielded relevant areas of improvement for Thai organizations; and the HPO framework was seen as being a valuable technique for Thai organizations to improve in a sustainable way.

Research limitations/implications

– Further research should focus on testing the HPO framework in practice by implementing the recommendations in Thai organizations and then tracking the performance of these organizations in time. In addition, future research could look into the degree in which the characteristics of the HPO framework itself are suited to the Thai context, in comparison to other quality and performance improvement models and frameworks.

Originality/value

– This is the first research into the suitability of an HPO framework in the specific Thai context.
A framework for human capital indicators in knowledge- based industries: evidence from pharmaceutical industry
Authors: Mehralian Gholamhossein , Akhavan Peyman , Reza Rasekh Hamid , Rajabzadeh Ghatari Ali
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– During the last decade, intellectual capital (IC) has been widely considered as a critical tool to deliver successful business in an intensive knowledge environment. The main goal of this paper is therefore to develop and prioritize human capital indicators as an important component of IC in knowledge-based industries.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on an extensive literature review, a valid and reliable questionnaire was designed. In order to gather data, it was sent out to 108 participants from academia and universities who were well qualified in pharmaceutical practice. Besides statistical analysis, the authors also used fuzzy TOPSIS technique as a MADM model in order to extract prioritization of indicators.

Findings

– The analysis indicates that there is little difference between academic and university respondents. Furthermore, the fuzzy TOPSIS results show that participants have high concerns especially about knowledge and skills of managers and employees.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings offer valuable insights in evaluating the state of human capital state as a key component of IC in knowledge- based industry.

Practical implications

– There is an immediate need that the policy makers and corporate managers wake up to the need and start to measure and disclose the intangible assets of firms. Intellectual capital measurement is also of primary interest for top executives of pharmaceutical firms in Iran.

Originality/value

– This is an initial and pioneering study to develop a valid tool to evaluate IC in the Iranian pharmaceutical industry. The present study provides a new aspect of performance measurement for research-based industries in emerging economies and would be a good topic for further research.
Determinants of dividend policies for ADR firms
Authors: F. Perretti Gizelle , T. Allen Marcus , Shelton Weeks H.
Published: October 2013

Purpose

– Cross-listed firms may face unique incentives for establishing dividend policies in comparison to US firms. This study aims to test the implications of the lifecycle and signaling theories of dividend policy in the context of non-US firms cross-listed on US stock exchanges via American depository receipts (ADRs).

Design/methodology/approach

– ADRs are classified according to the firms' dividend paying histories as regular payers, non-payers, former payers, new payers and switchers. Multinomial logit regressions measure the likelihood of dividend payers to pay dividends, as well as the possibility of a dividend amount increase, decrease, or no change, based upon previously identified determinants of dividend payments and a measure of economic conditions in the home country.

Findings

– The results indicate that firm size, growth opportunities, and the mix of earned and contributed capital partially explain observed dividend policies for ADR firms. Multinomial logit regressions reveal profitability and home-country macro-economic conditions significantly affect ADR firms' decisions to change their dividend policies.

Originality/value

– The findings suggest macro-economic conditions affect dividend payment changes among ADR firms. The results also imply that the lifecycle and catering theories may help explain dividend changes among ADR firms.