bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Promising research opportunities in emotions and coping with conflict
Authors: Humphrey Ronald H
Published: November 2010

This epilogue reviews the highlights of the five articles in this special issue on emotions and coping with conflict. It develops 12 research areas that offer potential for future research breakthroughs. These areas link the five articles to core concepts in emotional intelligence/competencies and Affective Events Theory. Particular attention is given to empathy, the ability to recognize emotions in others, and the ability to express one's own emotions. These three variables are related to moods and job performance, leadership, emotional labor, trust, work-family conflict, and stress. These five articles, together with the 12 promising research areas, suggest practical ways to help employees and organizations cope with conflict in the workplace.
Transformational change in the local state? Enacting e-government in English local authorities
Authors: McLoughlin Ian , Cornford James
Published: November 2010

E-government represents a major change management challenge to public agencies. This paper explores the experience of English local government authorities. The proposition that ‘process’, rather than more conventional ‘event’, approaches to change management are more likely to result in change the goals of e-government being met, is explored. The article concludes by suggesting that conventional models of change management theory and practice fundamentally misunderstand the nature of technology-driven organisational change represented by e-government. A processualperspective, on the other hand, provides a more effective framework for explaining and understanding organisational and socio-technical outcomes and the reasons for variations in different contexts. Moreover, attempts to transform the state through the technologies of e-government present a significant opportunity for the processual perspective to inform practice.
Strategy-making process and firm performance in small firms
Authors: Verreynne Martie-Louise
Published: November 2010

This paper argues that individual small firms just like large firms, place differing emphasis on strategy-making and may employ different modes of strategy-making. It offers a typology of the different modes of strategy-making that seem most likely to exist in small firms, and hypothesises how this typology relates to performance. It then describes the results of an empirical study of the strategy-making processes of small firms. The structural equation analysis of the data from 477 small firms with less than 100 employees indicates among other results that the simplistic, adaptive, intrapreneurial and participative modes of strategy-making exist in these small firms. Of these modes, the simplistic mode exhibits the strongest relationship with firm performance.
Organisational careers versus boundaryless careers: Insights from the accounting profession
Authors: Smith Theresa , Sheridan Alison
Published: November 2010

Much of careers research in recent times has focused on the so called move away from traditional ‘organisational careers’ to what Arthur (1994) coined the ‘boundaryless career’. This paper discusses research that challenges the applicability of the boundaryless career and the claim that ‘organisational careers are dead’. Drawing on interviews with nearly 60 accountants in Australia, the research demonstrates that employees are pursuing an organisational career. For this occupational group, the lack of proactive HR involvement in career development and the emphasis on self-direction was not appreciated. Rather, the research highlighted that the lack of organisational career management had negative implications for employee attitudes and motivation. The issues raised by the participants suggest it is timely to consider whether the unique characteristics of the accounting profession represent an ideal environment for the maintenance of an ‘organisational career’.
Archetypes of the Malaysian manager: Exploring ethnicity dimensions that relate to leadership
Authors: Selvarajah Christopher , Meyer Denny
Published: November 2010

This paper extends the boundaries of theories in leadership studies to sub-cultures of a country. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between the concept of an excellent leader and ethnicity in a multicultural society while formulating ten underlying dimensions for this concept. Data on leadership behaviour were gathered from 292 managers in Malaysia and were subjected to factor analysis, MANOVA analysis, regression analysis and structural equation modelling. The results suggest that, in Malaysia, strategic orientation acts through operational behaviours, producing excellence in leadership. However, the study demonstrates that there are significant ethnic differences in regard to the dimensions that relate to excellence in leadership. Studies such as this are useful in extending the understanding of the dimensions of leadership in pluralistic societies where the cultural frameworks of workers may not be the same. Most studies have looked at the leader from a mono-cultural perspective and this study addresses this deficit.
CEOs' readership of business and management journals in Australia: Implications for research and teaching
Authors: Forster Nick
Published: November 2010

This article evaluates the impact of academic research in management and business on a sample of the leaders of Australia's largest companies and public sector organizations. The data from a questionnaire survey conducted in 2005 indicate that the impact of the collective research outputs of business/management academics on senior private and public sector leaders is almost non-existent. The implications of these findings for the conduct of research in business and management in the future are evaluated, as well as the emerging challenges we face from new non-university research and business/management education providers. The broader consequences of a possible paradigm shift from a largely academic research/teaching orientation, towards a more explicitly professional and business/industry orientation are discussed towards the end of the article.
Proposing an operational classification scheme for embryonic cooperative relationships
Authors: Clements Michael Dj , Dean David L , Cohen David A
Published: November 2010

Successful buyer/seller relationships have become recognised as essential for firms to remain competitive in the marketplace. Today's business climate encourages firms to not just compete on product or service attributes, but also on their ability to differentiate themselves from other firms. Supply chains provide firms this point of differentiation ensuring firms better competitive positioning as a result of being able to leverage themselves on the strengths of the supply chain, not just on the individual strengths of the firm. However, to maintain an effective role as a participant in a supply chain, firms must be able to develop and maintain cooperative relationships with other firms. In order to develop these relationships, firms need to be able to distinguish between different levels of relationship and be able to understand which relationships are worth developing further and which ones are not.

Whilst supply chain literature acknowledges firm progression from transactional to relational exchange, there is less agreement of the number of levels of both buyer/seller relationships in this theoretical continuum. This article proposes a theoretical continuum of relationship levels based on cross discipline literature and identifies objective classification criteria for relationship levels from both the buyer and the seller. Economic, behavioural and relational research is collectively used to explain the complexity of the ever evolving nature of inter-firm relationships. The article concludes by establishing a research model that proposes these levels of relationships are identifiable for both the buyer and the seller.
Gender and the underexpression of friendliness in the service context
Authors: Luong Alexandra
Published: November 2010

The double-bind hypothesis proposes that gender-based stereotypes of emotion expression exist, which effect how males and females are evaluated. Using videotapes depicting transactions between male/female employees and customers, the current study examined whether the double-bind hypothesis occurs within a service context. Participants (N = 141) who viewed a male and female service employee expressing friendly or non-friendly emotion evaluated the employees and rated their sincerity. Results provided partial support for the double-bind hypothesis. When service employees failed to express friendly emotion, the female was more negatively evaluated. However, evaluations and ratings of sincerity were not significantly different when both genders expressed friendly emotion. These findings suggest that employees occupy both work and gender roles, and expectations of each role will influence how their emotional expressions are evaluated. Gender of participants also effected service evaluations. Consistent with prior research, females focus more on the relational aspect of service than do males.
Organisational relationship quality and service employee acceptance of change in SMEs: A social exchange perspective
Authors: Farr-Wharton Rod , Brunetto Yvonne
Published: November 2010

The paper used a social exchange lens to explore the impact of the quality of the relationship between supervisors and service employees on individual and organisational outcomes. The findings provide further evidence that the quality of the relationship between supervisors and service employees is a significant factor - in this case explaining almost half of the reasons as to why employees accepted or rejected organisational changes. Using the social exchange lens, the theory argues that the same characteristics evident in high quality leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships (effective levels of information, feedback and respect) are also likely to provide the ideal conditions for employees' to address their fears and answer their questions about potential organisational changes. As a result, service employees are more likely to accept the organisational changes. In addition, this study suggests that approximately half of job productivity and satisfaction is affected by the way LMX firstly affects employees' satisfaction with organisational communication processes, and secondly, their acceptance of organisational changes within SMEs.
Factors influencing governance choice and human resource management within services franchising networks
Authors: Weaven Scott , Herington Carmel
Published: November 2010

This research provides a better understanding of the factors driving the choice of governance structures and human resource management (HRM) practices within services franchising arrangements. A qualitative multiple case study approach was favoured so as to obtain a clearer picture of the main issues and parameters. Nineteen franchisors using predominantly pure franchising, predominantly pure company-owned, plural, and predominantly multiple unit growth strategies were interviewed. Major contrasts have been identified, suggesting that system size, industry maturity and the nature of market demand impacts upon the choice of system governance structure. Generally, less mature and smaller networks rely upon predominantly single unit franchising strategies and less sophisticated HRM practices to foster local market innovation, build brand value and support rapid unit growth, while predominantly company owned strategies are favoured in environments of low competition and minimal demand uncertainty. In comparison, more mature systems use hybridised franchising forms and sophisticated HRM strategies to accommodate the competing demands of local market innovation, systemwide adaptation and system uniformity.
Working within the front-of-house/back-of-house boundary: Room attendants in the hotel guest room space
Authors: Boon Bronwyn
Published: November 2010

Context is an important but largely ignored dimension of quality service encounters. This paper contributes to the hospitality service industries literature by examining how the front-of-house and back-of-house boundary work (Nippert-Eng 1996, 2003) engaged by Room Attendants working within the hotel guest room space impact on the hospitality impression management performed. Qualitative data from fieldwork engaging with hotel employees located within the tourist resort of Queenstown New Zealand are used to explore the multiple fronts on which the front-of-house and back-of-house boundaries are simultaneously negotiated. The results suggest that Room Attendants negotiate the front-of-house and back-of-house boundary through objects – such as the guest room and articles belonging to the guest – and aspects of self– such as impression management, safety, socialising and self-responsibility for room checking. The results support the importance of considering context when seeking to understand the complexities associated with the (re)production of a reliably positive service encounter.
Running the electronic sweatshop: Call centre managers' views on call centres
Authors: Robinson George , Morley Clive
Published: November 2010

Call centres have been described as ‘electronic sweatshops’ and ‘slave galleons of the twenty first century’ and, contrarily as progressive, team based and career fulfilling work environments. Drawing on data from a survey of call centre managers in Australia, it is shown that there are elements of call centre management with practices from both extremes of the descriptive continuum and in some instances these elements coexist in the one centre. Whilst call centres are managed with a high level of control and the work of call centre agents is subject to intense scrutiny and monitoring, the simplistic notion that they are electronic sweatshops, or that the metaphor of the Panopticon applies, is rejected.
Managers in the firing line: Contributing factors to workplace bullying by staff – an interview study
Authors: Branch Sara , Ramsay Sheryl , Barker Michelle
Published: November 2010

Workplace bullying is a phenomenon that is attracting increasing interest from researchers throughout the Western world. To date, most of the research into workplace bullying has focused on managers and colleagues as the perpetrators of bullying in the workplace. By contrast, little is known about ‘upwards bullying’, where managers are the targets. We argue that in order to more fully understand workplace bullying as a whole, the phenomenon of upwards bullying requires research attention. In the present study, upwards bullying was explored in interviews conducted with 24 managers from public and private organizations, with the data coded and arranged thematically. Results indicate that potential contributing factors towards upwards bullying include the current work environment, change within organizations and power issues. We recommend that organizations identify the occurrence and processes of upwards bullying as important steps in developing comprehensive workplace bullying policies.
Measuring the benefits of entrepreneurship at different levels of analysis
Authors: Luke Belinda , Verreynne Martie-Louise , Kearins Kate
Published: November 2010

This paper presents a suggested framework for future research designs to examine the benefits of entrepreneurship, both non-financial and financial. Based on a review of the literature and using contextual exemplars throughout the paper with an Australia and New Zealand focus, we identify a range of benefits from entrepreneurship at the various levels of analysis (e.g. individual, organizational, national). From a non-financial perspective such benefits include independence, autonomy, competitive advantage, increased market share, employment and increased standards of living. From a financial perspective, entrepreneurships benefits include enhanced remuneration or rent from revenue, profits, cash flow, return on investment and increases in GDP – specific financial measures to be expressed in clear financial terms. The suggested framework represents both an initial step towards the measurement of entrepreneurships financial benefits and a valuable starting point for the development of a theory of the non-financial and financial benefits of entrepreneurship.
Coping with entrepreneurial failure
Authors: Singh Smita , Corner Patricia , Pavlovich Kathryn
Published: November 2010

Research on entrepreneurship focuses predominantly on success which ignores the high failure rate of new ventures and precludes a holistic view of the entrepreneurial process. The current study addresses failure by asking three research questions: how do entrepreneurs experience failure, how do they cope with it, and what do they learn from it? Rich interview data is analyzed using multiple frameworks from the literature. Findings suggest that more coping and learning occurs in the economic aspect of failed entrepreneurs' lives in comparison to the social, psychological and physiological aspects. Findings also provide a proposition for testing in future research: Type of coping engaged in by failing entrepreneurs is related to the kind of learning experienced through failure.
Franchising as a path to self-employment for Australian female entrepreneurs
Authors: Weaven Scott , Isaac Jennifer , Herington Carmel
Published: November 2010

This paper provides a better understanding of the motivational incentives driving franchising choice from the female franchisee's perspective. A qualitative methodology was adopted in this research to gain a clearer picture of the salient issues influencing female entrepreneurs' evaluations of alternative business models when making the self-employment decision. A sample of 14 female franchisees and 12 female independent business owners was interviewed to gather data on the reasons supporting a woman's initial decision to enter self-employment. Major contrasts have been identified between female franchisees and independent business owners suggesting that franchisors need to re-design their selection strategies and communication methods to promote female participation, sustain system wide growth and add creative diversity in franchise systems that have limited growth potential due to the lack suitable franchisees.
The characteristics of bioentrepreneurs in the Australian biotechnology industry: A pilot study
Authors: Yim Julian W , Weston Rae
Published: November 2010

In order to understand the characteristics of bioentrepreneurs, this paper seeks to identify the entrepreneurial types present in the Australian biotechnology industry by using the four-way psychological typology (Miner 2000) and identifying linkages between the four-way psychological typology and the Big Five model of personality traits. We believe this is a new approach to using psychological typology in the study of entrepreneurship by mapping with the Big Five model of personality traits. Miner's four typological types are ‘personal achievers’ (PA), ‘super sales people’ (SS), ‘expert idea generators’ (EI) and ‘real managers’ (RM). The Big Five factors are extraversion (Ex), stability/emotion stability (Es), agreeableness (Ag), conscientiousness (Co), and openness to experience (Op). By combining the entrepreneurial types and the five-factor personality traits, we can map the linkage relationships as PA-ExEsCoOp; SS-ExAgCoOp; EI-ExEsOp and RM-ExEsCoOp.

In this pilot study, we find there are more ‘personal achiever’ and ‘expert idea generator’ bioentrepreneurs in the biotech industry with the linkage relationships of PA-ExEsCoOp and EI-Ex EsOp, which lead us to conclude there are strong demands for bioentrepreneurs with managerial skills, sales and marketing skills, skills in forming strategic alliance with partners and skills in securing the public and private capitals through finance channels such as public listing and venture capital. This implies that if PA entrepreneurs acquired more agreeableness personality traits and EI entrepreneurs also acquired more agreeableness and conscientiousness personality traits they would improve the ability of their businesses to attract more financial investments and form sustainable strategic alliance with partners in the Australian biotechnology industry.
Work climate and customer satisfaction: The role of trust in the retail context
Authors: Lam Long W , Lau Dora C
Published: November 2010

We propose that a trust climate will help the employee–customer interface in the retail context. Specifically, we argue that a work climate that is based on trust induces the exercise of discretion by retail managers and discretionary behavior by front-line staff. Managerial and staff discretion is necessary for retail stores to become locally responsive, as store responsiveness is linked to customer satisfaction. Our propositions are derived from interpersonal trust and social exchange theories. The use of a trust climate to analyse the antecedents of customer satisfaction offers another theoretical perspective to study the interface dynamics between employees and customers and thus this paper contributes to ‘linkage research.’
Aggression at the service delivery interface: Do you see what I see?
Authors: Keashly Loraleigh , Neuman Joel H
Published: November 2010

Aggression at the service delivery interface (the point of contact between service provider and service recipient) has become a focus of much recent research attention. However, much of what we know is based on cross-sectional survey data – which tells us little about the underlying dynamics within specific aggressive incidents. Further, these data are often collected from the perspective of the service provider alone. For this study, we focused on specific hostile interactions during the delivery of healthcare services and gathered data from the perspectives of service providers and service recipients. Drawing on interviews with US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staff and US military veterans, we categorised and compared each party's attributions for the initiation of hostile (unpleasant) encounters. We found that staff and veterans had different perspectives on the nature of precipitating factors and that the initial attribution for the event was linked to differences in subsequent responding. These findings are discussed in terms of their insight into the temporal dynamics of aggressive events and their implications for the prevention and management of hostility at the service delivery interface.
Achieving work–life balance: Current theoretical and practice issues
Authors: Poelmans Steven AY , Kalliath Thomas , Brough Paula
Published: November 2010

Professor Steven Poelmans is a leading international expert on the frontiers of work–family research contributing to theoretical and practice advancements. He is the Academic Director of the International Centre of Work and Family (ICWF) at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, which has worked for more than a decade with numerous organisations in Spain, Latin-America, and various countries around the globe to create a family-responsible environment. In this conversation, Steven Poelmans responds to questions from Thomas Kalliath and Paula Brough (Guest Editors) on a range of theoretical and practice issues currently facing the field including measurement of work–life balance, work–life balance theory, engagement with industry, the role of organisational culture and strategic management in influencing work–life balance.
Work–life bal ance or work–life alignment? A test of the importance of work-life balance for employee engagement and intention to stay in organisations
Authors: Parkes Louise P , Langford Peter H
Published: November 2010

In an Australian sample of over 16,000 employees we assessed whether employees are satisfied with their ability to balance work and other life commitments. We tested the hypothesis that work–life balance is important for engaging and retaining employees in the context of other aspects of organisational climate. We also explored how individual and organisational variables were related to work–life balance aiding further development of theory integrating work with other aspects of life. Results showed that of 28 organisational climate factors, work–life balance was least related to employee engagement and intention to stay with an organisation. We discuss implications for how organisations position work–life balance strategies, particularly in relation to social responsibility and wellness, rather than the solution to employee commitment and retention.
Work–life balance: A review of the meaning of the balance construct
Authors: Kalliath Thomas , Brough Paula
Published: November 2010

Although the term work–family/life balance is widely employed, an agreed definition of this term has proved elusive. Instead, an array of definitions and measures populate the literature. The variety of work–life definitions and measures provide limited value for both the theoretical advancement of the construct and for practical human resource (HR) interventions. In this article, we review six conceptualisations of work–life balance found in the literature: (1) multiple roles; (2) equity across multiple roles; (3) satisfaction between multiple roles; (4) fulfilment of role salience between multiple roles; (5) a relationship between conflict and facilitation; and (6) perceived control between multiple roles. Based on our review of this research we identify the two primary features of the work–life balance definitions and propose a new definition of this construct.
Negative relationships in the workplace: Associations with organisational commitment, cohesion, job satisfaction and intention to turnover
Authors: Morrison Rachel L
Published: November 2010

This study investigates the link between perceptions of negative workplace relationships and organisational outcomes. Respondents (n = 412) spanned a wide range of occupations, industries and nationalities. Data were collected using an Internet-based questionnaire. Results indicated that those with at least one negative relationship at work were significantly less satisfied, reported less organisational commitment, were part of less cohesive workgroups and were significantly more likely to be planning to leave their job.
Intersecting work and family: The influence of relational beliefs and behaviors on work–family integration
Authors: Polk Denise M
Published: November 2010

Strategies to integrate work and family have caught the attention of organizations, institutions, academics and families, and many people are motivated to find ways to blend these two domains. Spillover theory, whose tenets surround the mutual influence of home and work, provides a useful framework for understanding better what contributes to achieving work–family integration. Although much of the existing research focuses on the negative influence of these domains, some evidence exists that they positively influence one another as well. This study uses hierarchical multiple regression to test hypotheses about relational identity on positive and negative work–family spillover and considers perceived spousal support and relational equity as moderators. Results reveal that perceived spousal support predicts positive spillover and that it moderates the relationship between relational identity and negative spillover. Other results are discussed as well as limitations and future directions.
Human resource development and ‘casualisation’ in hotels and resorts in Eastern Australia: Getting the best to the customer?
Authors: Cairncross Grant , Kelly Stephen
Published: November 2010

This paper provides an analysis of human resource development and knowledge capital management relations practices used by hotels and resorts in 2007. The study examined the employment instruments used, methods of employee recruitment, selection, staff turnover trends, remuneration policies, attitudes to knowledge capital and the application of service quality measurement. The findings indicate that larger foreign-owned organisations have adopted more innovative approaches than smaller Australian-owned hotels and resorts, while skill shortages and generational attitude changes have driven more inventive retention strategies in both groups. It was also found that in spite of the adoption of more enlightened human resource strategies, staff turnover, particularly casual staff turnover, remains problematic and could negatively impact upon customer satisfaction.
Research on corporate divestitures: A synthesis
Authors: Moschieri Caterina , Mair Johanna
Published: November 2010

Divestitures, understood as the parent company's disposal and sale of assets, facilities, product lines, subsidiaries, divisions and business units, are emerging as a central topic of research in several areas. Yet our understanding of these operations is still limited. For example, it is still not clear whether divestitures are merely a reflection of the economic cycle, a means to correct or reverse previous strategic decisions, or a proactive strategic option. Integrating literature in finance, strategy, and organisational behaviour, this paper offers a comprehensive picture of divesting modes, antecedents, mechanisms and outcomes of divestitures. It integrates empirical findings and theoretical contributions into a researchable whole, in order to identify common themes and gaps in existing research. The final objective of this analysis and review is to propose meaningful avenues for future research to improve knowledge on divestitures.
Customer retaliation at the employee–customer interface
Authors: Keeffe Dominique A , Russell-Bennett Rebekah , Tombs Alastair
Published: November 2010

The service encounter is the point where employees and customers interact both positively and negatively. When things go wrong (service failure), initially it is the employee who is required to remedy the situation (recover the service). While positive service recovery outcomes are well investigated, there is little research that investigates whether specific service recovery strategies can be used to reduce customer anger and retaliation. Further, there is little research regarding whether an organisation's acceptance of blame has an effect on customer anger and retaliation. These gaps are addressed using a quasi-experimental study of 120 respondents that examines customers' emotional and behavioural responses to specific service recovery strategies following a service failure. The results show that high-level service recovery strategies directly reduce the occurrence of retaliation, as well as indirectly reduce retaliation through the mediating effects of customer anger. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.
An exploratory study into deviant behaviour in the service encounter: How and why front-line employees engage in deviant behaviour
Authors: Browning Victoria
Published: November 2010

This article discusses the findings of an exploratory study into the nature and influencing factors of front-line employee deviant behaviour in service encounters in two hospitality industries. A dual perspective approach was used that involved employees and customer perceptions. Interviews were conducted with service managers and front-line employees from hospitality and adventure tourism organizations in New Zealand. Data from customers was obtained from written scenarios and customer feedback. Based on the outcomes of this study and related literature, a definition of service deviance and a typology to describe four different types of deviant behaviour are proposed. The findings of the study also indicate that the customer's attitude and behaviour is a key factor that influences front-line employees to engage in acts of deviance. The implications of the findings for service organizations and future research directions are discussed.
An Artful Learning Framework for organisations
Authors: Drew Glenys
Published: November 2010

This paper proposes an Artful Learning Framework as an organisational development initiative. The framework is designed to assist people in organisations seeking higher levels of engagement in their strategic and operational endeavours, such as navigating change. The Artful Learning Framework offers three strategies as potential artful learning events designed to help people in organisations engage with each other creatively to achieve their organisational and professional goals. The Artful Learning Wave Trajectory model (Kerr 2006) forms a conceptual antecedent for the Artful Learning Framework. The Framework's strategies align with the relevant literature on organisational learning and, in particular, a proposition of Kerr (2006) who identifies a suite of skills, capacities and capabilities that are important in organisations. The notion of the wave, with the effect of ‘pausing and gathering’ to consider amidst the inevitable ambiguity and turbulence offor-ward movement, is invoked as a metaphor for the elements of the Framework which support its strategies. The paper will be of interest to individuals and groups that are committed to profound learning and capability building for the benefit of themselves, their teams and the organisations in which they work.
Finding beauty in the banal: An exploration of service work in the artful classroom
Authors: Bathurst Ralph , Sayers Janet , Monin Nanette
Published: November 2010

Artists derive inspiration from daily life. According to John Dewey (1934), common experiences are transformed into works of art through a process of compression and expression. Our paper adopts Dewey's frame to demonstrate that experience in the artful classroom plays a valuable role in management education. We asked students to reflect on their work experience and then to provide an artful expression of their reflections. For this exercise we defined artfulness as a process which relies on the discursive practices of satire, and in particular irony and parody. Offering a service management class as an exemplar we demonstrate the use of these rhetorical techniques as reflective learning tools. A class of students were first prompted to consider their common experiences as both customers and service providers, and were then asked to create an ironic artefact. Our paper, which analyses a cartoon sequence produced by students in response to this assignment and in which they parody the fast-food service experience, illustrates how a business studies classroom can be transformed into an artful space.
Dances of leadership: Bridging theory and practice through an aesthetic approach
Authors: Ropo Arja , Sauer Erika
Published: November 2010

We wish to develop the argument in this paper that through aesthetic and artistic work, practices and their metaphorical use, we have a potential to better understand the relationship between academic leadership theory and practical action. By aesthetic approach we mean the experiential way of knowing that emphasizes human senses and the corporeal nature of social interaction in leadership. In this paper, we discuss how leadership could look, sound and feel like when seen via the artistic metaphor of dance. We use the traditional dance, waltz and the postmodern dance experience of raves to illustrate our argument. By doing so, we challenge traditional, intellectually oriented and positivistic leadership approaches that hardly recognize nor conceptualize aesthetic, bodily aspects of social interaction between people in the workplace.

The ballroom dance waltz is used as a metaphorical representation of a hierarchical, logical and rational understanding of leadership. The waltz metaphor describes the leader as a dominant individual who knows where to go and the dance partner as a follower or at least as someone with a lesser role in defining the dance. Raves, on the other hand representparadigmatically different kind of a dance and therefore a different understanding of leadership. There are neither dance steps to learn, nor fixed dance partners where one leads and the other follows. Even the purpose or aim of dancing may not be known at the beginning of the dance, but it is negotiated as the raves go on. We think that raves describe the organizational life as it is often seen and felt today: chaotic, full of unexpected changes, ambiguous and changing collaborators in networks. Here leadership becomes a collective, distributed activity where the work processes and the targeted outcome is continually negotiated.

Through the dance metaphors of waltz and raves, we suggest aspects such as gaze, rhythm and space to give an aesthetic description both to a more traditional and an emerging aesthetic paradigm of leadership where the corporeality of leadership is emphasized. We wish to make the point that leadership is aesthetically and corporeally co-constructed both between the leader and the followers as well as between the researcher and the subjects. The metaphor of dance illustrates the corporeal nature of leadership both to practitioners and theoreticians.
A Case Study of Arteconomy – Building a bridge between art and enterprise: Belgian businesses stimulate creativity and innovation through art
Authors: van den Broeck Herman , Cools Eva , Maenhout Tine
Published: November 2010

In a world where there has long since been more at play than functionality and cost price, we need creative innovation more than ever before. Organizations are trying to find ways to embed more creativity, more innovative potential, and more entrepreneurship into the everyday running of their businesses. They are constantly in search of effective ways to make their organization's culture better equipped for change. The Belgian non-profit organization Arteconomy has developed a method for doing this, by bringing business people and artists together in a series of particularly unique projects. In this paper, you can read about the philosophy that give rise to Arteconomy and the pioneering work that preceded it. The paper describes two specific projects that provide a concrete illustration of the arteconomy approach in two Belgian textile firms: ‘The Dragon of Deerlijk’ at Promo Fashion and ‘The Walk’ at Concordia Textiles. This paper is particularly relevant to illustrate change as an organizational process and to demonstrate how organizations can stimulate employees' creative skills.
Thinking strategically in response to New Zealand's tertiary education strategy: The case of a Wānanga
Authors: Zepke Nick
Published: November 2010

This paper describes commissioned research on how a Wānanga, a Maori focused post school institution in New Zealand, perceived its strategic options following the publication of the Labour-led government's Tertiary Education Strategy 2007–2012 and the Statement of Education Priorities 2008–10 (Ministry of Education 2006). The research used a Delphi panel process that looks for consensus answers to specific research questions: How should the Wānanga respond to the policies sketched in the Tertiary Education Strategy and the Statement of Education Priorities? What is the range of issues that may need to be addressed as a result of this new policy framework? What options does the Wānanga have in addressing these issues? The Delphi process enabled a clear set of priorities to be established: provide quality teaching and learning reflecting Māori values and practices; develop a consistent internal philosophy based on tikanga and āhuatanga Māori; and provide second chance education for Māori and other learners.
Towards a dynamic theory of boards: An organisational life cycle approach
Authors: Bonn Ingrid , Pettigrew Andrew
Published: November 2010

We propose a research agenda that can assist in developing a dynamic and comprehensive theory of boards of directors. It is based upon the concept of temporality, with time being organised around the life-cycle metaphor, and integrates research on agency theory, decision-making theory and resource dependence theory. We identify three key roles of boards of directors:

1.monitoring and controlling top management;

2.involvement in strategic decision-making; and

3.providing access to resources and networks.

Our analysis suggests that boards perform all three roles, but that these roles change over time. We propose clear researchable questions for each stage of the organisational life cycle as well as the transition between the stages.
Ambiguity tolerance and accurate assessment of self-efficacy in a complex decision task
Authors: Endres Megan L , Chowdhury Sanjib , Milner Morgan
Published: November 2010

Organizational decision making requires the ability to process ambiguous information while dealing with overload and conflicting requirements. Although researchers agree that ambiguity tolerance is a critical skill for making high-quality complex decisions, few have investigated the effects of ambiguity tolerance on self-efficacy to make complex decisions. In the current experiment, 151 participants were randomly assigned to either a moderate complexity or high complexity decision task. Ambiguity tolerance moderated the relationships between task complexity and self-efficacy, and between task complexity and the accuracy of self-efficacy in predicting future performance. In the highly complex task, individuals with a higher tolerance for ambiguity reported higher self-efficacy and more accurate self-efficacy versus individuals with lower tolerance for ambiguity. In the moderately complex task, tolerance for ambiguity had no effects on self-efficacy or accuracy. Implications for research and practice are presented, along with study limitations.
The role of group personality composition in the emergence of task and relationship conflict within groups
Authors: Anderson Marc H
Published: November 2010

Conflict is a ubiquitous feature of groups in organizations that clearly affects group performance. While prior research has investigated the role of personality on conflict resolution styles at the individual level, little work has examined the role of personality on the emergence of conflict. This may be partially due to the fact that the emergence of conflict is inherently a group-level phenomenon, and thus requires the aggregation of personality to the group (or at least dyadic) level of analysis. I propose that each of the Big Five personality traits (or specific facets), at the group level, affect the emergence of either task conflict, relationship conflict, or both. Developing our understanding of how group personality composition affects both of these types of conflict is necessary to better enable groups to manage conflict, and thereby lessen potentially harmful outcomes resulting from conflict.
Evaluating the impact of corporate social responsibility programs on consumers
Authors: Smith Victoria , Langford Peter
Published: November 2010

This paper critically reviews and analyses the empirical and theoretical literature relating to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs and their impact on the attitudes and behaviours of consumers. Given the increasingly important and influential role that corporations are playing in society, this review considers the contrasting arguments surrounding the extent to which a well-designed and implemented CSR program will impact consumers. In doing so, this review improves our understanding of the importance of corporate socially responsible action and identifies gaps in the field of CSR research that need to be addressed in order to help organizations more effectively adopt CSR programs.
Estimating the innovation effects of university–industry–government linkages: The case of Taiwan
Authors: Hu Mei-Chih , Mathews John A
Published: November 2010

This study focuses on university—industry—government (UIG) linkages and their influence on innovation in Taiwan. The innovation effects are estimated using a quartet of measures — technology transfers, technology licensing, firms incubated and patents granted — while the UIG influence is estimated via its differential impact according to the size of the firms involved, the type of innovation (process or product-oriented), the stage of the technology cycle, and the role of government. Using a Structural Equation Model (SEM) method to examine these interactions, the study reveals that UIG linkage effects vary with the size of company, in that the major incentive for UIG linkages for large companies is an attempt to acquire a skilled and qualified workforce, while SMEs (small and medium enterprises) tend to use them to gain marketing advantage, particularly for those SMEs or start-ups in emerging industries. The study concludes that Taiwan's innovation capacity is heavily reliant on building the capability of SMEs and continues to depend greatly on government leadership through technology-capability-enhancing institutions such as ITRI.
The necessary alignment between technology innovation effectiveness and operational effectiveness
Authors: Santa Ricardo , Ferrer Mario , Bretherton Phil , Hyland Paul
Published: November 2010

Organisations are increasingly investing in complex technological innovations such as enterprise information systems with the aim of improving the operations of the business, and in this way gaining competitive advantage. However, the implementation of technological innovations tends to have an excessive focus on either technology innovation effectiveness (also known as system effectiveness), or the resulting operational effectiveness; focusing on either one of them is detrimental to the long-term enterprise benefits through failure to achieve the real value of technological innovations. The lack of research on the dimensions and performance objectives that organisations must be focusing on is the main reason for this misalignment. This research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative, three-stage methodological approach. Initial findings suggest that factors such as quality of information from technology innovation effectiveness, and quality and speed from operational effectiveness are important and significantly well correlated factors that promote the alignment between technology innovation effectiveness and operational effectiveness.
Exploring the relationships between information technology adoption and business process reengineering
Authors: Lee Ya-Ching , Chu Pin-Yu , Tseng Hsien-Lee
Published: November 2010

This study investigates the impacts of information technology on business process reengineering from intra- and extra-organizational perspectives. This research proposes a framework for facilitating business process reengineering efforts towards competitive organizations. The framework was tested using data from a sample of 382 chief information officers or senior information systems managers, each of whom completed a survey. The survey results indicate that organizational innovation, market pressure and competitive intensity positively affect information technology adoption, which in turn trigger changes or business process in terms of workplace, workforce and business structure.
Determinants of importer commitment in international exchange: An agenda for future research
Authors: Saleh M Abu , Ali M Yunus
Published: November 2010

Commitment has received great attention in the inter-organisational relationship literature but there is widespread debate and contention on what constitutes its key determinants, specifically in an import supplier context. Furthermore, inconsistencies in empirical findings of the buyer–seller relationship studies limit the theoretical development and use of internationalization theories in management practice. Yet this area warrants attention as it may assist in enabling the integration of the spectrum of importer commitment in the importer–exporter relationship. Essentially, this paper integrates and synthesises over eighty conceptual and empirical studies on commitment in the buyer–seller relationship from different contexts including grounding on internationalisation process theory, resource based theory of the firm and transaction costs economics. Conceptual arguments are assessed and empirical findings are evaluated across studies with the aim of developing a framework. With the support of three basic theories and extant literature, ten antecedents of importer commitment are identified. The causal direct and some indirect relationships are specified. Seventeen propositions are offered to guide future research efforts in this important field.