bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of technological mobility on workers' careers
Authors: Srinivas Sumati
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The aim of this article is to define a new kind of labor mobility called technological mobility, defined here as the different levels of technological change experienced by workers as they change jobs over the course of their career. Technological mobility is viewed as a form of career mobility, and it is hypothesized that moving to jobs in higher‐tech industries might prove beneficial to workers' careers irrespective of the level of education or other measures of ability. Factors that determine upward or downward technological mobility are also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

This hypothesis is tested using data from the NLSY79, a nationally representative survey of the United States, between the years 1988 and 2000. Determinants of upward and downward technological mobility are modeled using industry‐level data on technological mobility. Technological mobility is also regressed against wages to measure its impact on careers.

Findings

Gender, education and local economic conditions are found to have a significant effect on technological mobility, but the effect varies depending on the way technological intensity is measured. The results also demonstrate that workers who move to high‐tech industries are indeed rewarded with higher wages, even after controlling for education levels and other known factors.

Originality/value

Technological mobility as defined here is an original concept. It is shown to be an important component of overall career mobility. The article also provides an analysis of workers who are able to make the transition into higher‐tech jobs, which is a valuable addition to the research on technological change.
International careers of Indian workers in Tokyo
Authors: Agullo Bernat , Egawa Midori
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show the need for new conceptualizations to explain international career behaviors emerging from increasing international migration flows.

Design/methodology/approach

The career diversity and growth of Indian knowledge workers in Tokyo is estimated through the analysis of secondary data and previous qualitative studies.

Findings

The shortage of skills in IT and liberalization of migration policies is enabling diverse international career development. Individuals' career stories are suggested as a key to understand differences in career behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Further studies with more concrete data on employment, larger samples and comparison with different international career patterns will enhance understanding of international careers.

Practical implications

Individuals with international careers are potentially beneficial for organizations, but diverse career behaviors demand adaptable support systems. Using career stories is suggested as a suitable strategy to understand individual priorities and values.

Originality/value

The paper bridges the gap between research on careers, IHRM and highly skilled migration.
Differential effects of competency due to BPO and KPO industry differences in ITES sector in Sri Lanka
Authors: Wickramasinghe Vathsala , Kumara Saman
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify competency requirements that discriminate between Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and IT‐enabled business process outsourcing (ITES‐BPO) industries.

Design/methodology/approach

There are 25 firms operating in Sri Lanka that fall into the category of ITES‐BPO/KPO. HR managers of the 25 firms and a random sample of 117 employees from those 25 firms responded to the survey. In addition to descriptive statistics, independent sample t‐test and logistic regression were used in the data analysis.

Findings

There are differences in competency requirements for KPO and BPO services. Further, demographic variables, namely, age, the level of education, and total years of industry experience shape competency requirements.

Originality/value

Despite greater volume of theoretical foundations and empirical evidence for people management in BPO/KPO services, specific literature investigating and comparing competency requirements, recruitment, selection and training of ITES‐BPO and KPO employees is scarce. Therefore, a research addressing those in a South Asian country that is considered as active and promising destination for ITES‐BPO/KPO services could provide practitioners with key information that could enable them to make informed managerial decisions.
Monitoring and regulating corporate identities using the balanced scorecard
Authors: Kim Jai , Hatcher Caroline
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a parallel review of the role and processes of monitoring and regulation of corporate identities, examining both the communication and the performance measurement literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Two questions are posed: Is it possible to effectively monitor and regulate corporate identities as a management control process? and, What is the relationship between corporate identity and performance measurement?

Findings

Corporate identity management is positioned as a strategically complex task embracing the shaping of a range of dimensions of organisational life. The performance measurement literature likewise now emphasises organisational ability to incorporate both financial and “soft” non‐financial performance measures. Consequently, the balanced scorecard has the potential to play multiple roles in monitoring and regulating the key dimensions of corporate identities. These shifts in direction in both fields suggest that performance measurement systems, as self‐producing and self‐referencing systems, have the potential to become both organic and powerful as organisational symbols and communication tools. Through this process of understanding and mobilising the interaction of both approaches to management, it may be possible to create a less obtrusive and more subtle way to control the nature of the organisation.

Originality/value

This paper attempts the theoretical and practical fusion of disciplinary knowledge around corporate identities and performance measurement systems, potentially making a significant contribution to understanding, shaping and managing organisational identities.
Communicating CSR, citizenship and sustainability on the web
Authors: Moreno Angeles , Capriotti Paul
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of corporate web sites – of which corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship and sustainable development (CSR/CC/SD) issues are included – which stakeholders are privileged, and which mechanisms of inner and outer control are referred to in these web sites.

Design/methodology/approach

A specific tool was developed to monitor the treatment of CSR/CC/SD issues on corporate web sites. Content analysis was applied to the complete spectrum of enterprises within the IBEX‐35, which is the selective index of the Spanish Stock Exchange.

Findings

The research reported herein shows that the web has become an essential instrument for the communication of CSR/CC/SD issues, although its use is limited to certain content. There is also a disparity between the volume of information and its dispersion; communication is primarily unidirectional/expositive; and companies do not sufficiently use eternal criteria to guarantee the corporate behaviour they report.

Research limitations/implications

The IBEX‐35 company sample analysed in this study represents the companies on the Spanish Stock Exchange that have the most capital. Thus, its results cannot be extended to other top companies or to smaller firms. This research could be expanded by extending the survey to other companies and/or to other countries. It would be especially interesting to compare different external international evaluation criteria to add to the debate on the risks of the present CSR/CC/SD agenda.

Originality/value

This study represents the first investigation of this topic amongst Spanish companies, and a specific tool to monitor the treatment of CSR/CC/SD issues on corporate web sites has been developed.
Examining a crisis communication void
Authors: White Candace
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of information context in crisis communication. Previous studies have examined the effectiveness of types of message strategies used during different periods of a crisis. The crisis presented in this case is unusual in that there were no crisis communication strategies used to mitigate it. There was a void where a crisis communication strategy should have been, allowing for critique of what happens when crisis communication is not proactive and strategic.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a case study of crisis response developed through participant observation and interviews with key informants, verified through quantitative content analysis of newspaper coverage.

Findings

The study found that when issues reported by the media are not tempered by explanation of context from the organization, increasingly negative media frames result, therefore elevating the salience of the issues and the perceived severity of the crisis. When issues are not proactively managed, people outside the organization begin to identify with the side of the issue presented in the media.

Practical implications

The study provides insights into effective crisis communication management by examining the importance of proactive communication for managing public opinion.

Originality/value

The paper describes what happens when proactive communication is not used during a crisis and therefore shows what happens in the absence of effective public relations, when the crisis response is no response at all.
The search for crime money – debunking the myth: facts versus imagery
Authors: Harvey Jackie
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper evolves from a seminar that look place in July 2008 aimed at uncovering the issues facing agencies tackling criminal money management and money laundering policy and compliance. The event brought representatives from financial firms and law enforcement agencies together to debate issues with academics.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper rehearses the main arguments arising from the seminar underpinned by appropriate literature prior to introducing the other papers included in the special edition.

Findings

The objective is to draw attention to the importance of establishing evidence‐based building blocks of facts, rather than threats and imagery that should be used to inform policy makers.

Practical implications

Policy makers need to pay attention to the findings of objective empirical research and use theses to inform policy making.

Originality/value

The special edition is of value to academics and policy makers, bringing together, as it does, research that is taking place across Europe.
The costs of implementing the anti‐money laundering regulations in Sweden
Authors: Magnusson Dan
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to estimate the costs of implementing the anti‐money laundering regulations in Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

The banks are the central institutions in this respect and the paper shows that the costs of the banks in Sweden amount to 400 million SEK yearly. The paper is based upon interviews with a sample of banks and bank statistics.

Findings

There are big deficiencies in the Swedish legal regulations. For example, banks have no right to freeze the money in suspicious transactions. There are also deficiencies in the legal regulation systems that make it possible for unserious companies to transfer money on behalf of criminals by using the normal retail banking system. The resources of the supervising authorities are insufficient. The results of the regulations are meagre seen in relation to the costs of the banks for the implementation of the regulations. One argument against this assertion about inefficiency is that the regulations have preventive effects. There is nothing in this project that gives evidence for any noteworthy preventive effects of the regulations upon the original criminality or terrorism. Why should accept a system that costs substantial sums of money and has other negative effects just because it might have some uncertain positive effects? It seems to be a better strategy to develop a system whose effects are measurable.

Originality/value

Very little research about the costs of the anti‐money laundering regulations has been done so far and this paper is entering a new field of research.
To what extent is the UK's anti‐money laundering and asset recovery regime used against organised crime?
Authors: Sproat Peter A.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

Politicians justified the introduction of the illiberal and liberal parts of the UK's anti‐money laundering and asset recovery regime by reference to the extra‐ordinary threat posed by organised crime. This paper attempts to evaluate the extent to which the financial measures contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 and the Serious and Organised Crime and Policing Act 2005 are actually used against this threat.

Design/methodology/approach

The objective is achieved by reference to four distinct datasets found on the use of these measures. The first consists of the regular, usually monthly, bulletins on the Proceeds of Crime produced by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA). The second – which reveals the length of sentences given to those convicted of money laundering offences under the POCA – was gathered from the Financial Action Task Force, the Home Office and Justice Office in Scotland. The third consists of the value of the cases which had been, and which were being, dealt with by the ARA at the time the National Audit Office produced it's report on the institution. The fourth is the number of financial reporting orders which have been imposed upon criminals, follows the discovery of an earlier version whilst examining parliamentary records.

Findings

The triangulated results suggest that the POCA powers – originally used by use against organised crime – were used against this alleged threat only on a small minority and number of occasions.

Research limitations/implications

This infrequent use raises major questions of either the ability of the policing agencies including the Serious and Organised Crime Agency to take on organised crime and/or the credibility of those who exaggerated a threat of organised crime to justify the (often illiberal) powers.

Originality/value

This paper questions whether the POCA will achieve one of its original aims. It will interest politicians and practitioners concerned with the combating of organised crime and/or anti‐money laundering and asset recovery as well as criminologists and those interested in civil liberties.
Not only banks
Authors: Caneppele Stefano , Calderoni Francesco , Martocchia Sara
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The paper aims at expanding knowledge on the presence of organized criminal groups in public contract procurement in the south of Italy. It seeks to highlight how the capabilities of law enforcement agencies could be enhanced by means of criminological models.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper sets out a criminological model with which to assess the general and specific risks of the infiltration of public procurement in the south of Italy by organized crime (OC).

Findings

According to the geographical risk assessment, infiltration by OC of public procurement seems to be widespread in some areas of south Italy, especially Sicily, Calabria and Campania. On the other hand, the specific risk may increase according to certain features of the company and its representatives, the value of the contract, the low specialization of the activities required by the public contract.

Originality/value

The paper describes a criminological model with which to assess the general and specific risk of infiltration by OC of public procurement in south Italy.
Hot money, hot stones and hot air: crime‐money threat, real estate and real concern
Authors: van Duyne Petrus C. , Soudijn Melvin R.J.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to generally express concern about the threat of crime‐money to the real estate sector and the lack of evidence coming forward from research and law enforcement.

Design/methodology/approach

In addition to a review of the literature, this research project analysed the confiscation database of the Dutch prosecution office. From this base, the real estate confiscations from 2000 onwards were selected and analysed. The database management of the prosecution office proved to be extremely negligent.

Findings

The results could not substantiate the general concern that the crime‐money from the “underworld” was a real threat to the real estate market. Criminals did spend money on buying houses, sometimes big villas and a few of them had more property which was let. But this small financial criminal elite was widely spread over time and space.

Research limitations/implications

This research has to be continued on a cross‐country comparative basis, for which the first steps have been taken. In addition, the database analysis has to be complemented with an in‐depth criminal file analysis. This has started as a follow‐up study too.

Practical implications

The first practical outcome is that more must happen to lift “evidence based policy making” from its state of empty rhetoric: with the present database management there is no such a thing as “evidence base policy making”. The second practical implication is that crime‐money and laundering as a cross‐border phenomenon remains hardly understood as long data comparison are impossible due to the lack of common databases, which in addition are internationally polluted.

Originality/value

The paper is really new as there are no precedents thus far. This is regrettable, as research needs a stimulating surrounding. However, few scholars step forward while the law enforcement agencies are most reluctant to share data, even if anonymised.
Ten myths about terrorist financing
Authors: Tupman W.A.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present ten myths of terrorist financing policy.

Design/methodology/approach

It is argued that post 9/11 literature on terrorism misunderstands the relationship between the component parts of a political movement with an armed wing and thus misrepresents the nature of terrorist financing applies the literature on crime as a business to policy on terrorist financing and concludes that there are loosely‐organised networks that engage in the fund‐raising processes of the political movement as a whole as well as its armed wing.

Findings

Financing methods vary with type of group and over time. That terrorist/paramilitary funding increasingly parallels the business of organised crime and that what is claimed to be known about terrorist funding is mostly erroneous. That funds seized have not been primarily for terrorist financing and that the seizure has done more harm than good.

Practical implications

Thought needs to be given to the impact of funding seizures more that simply in terms of newspaper headlines.

Originality/value

More effective impact can be made upon terrorist financing if a more complex approach is taken, rather than perpetuating the existing myths, which alienate more communities than they deter terrorists.
Linking dimensions of perceived service quality to actual purchase behaviour
Authors: Andronikidis Andreas
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This study aims to identify the dimensions recognised by customers when assessing quality in the automotive repair industry. It further examines potential variations in customers' perceptions of service quality based on their purchase behaviour designating different loyalty patterns.

Design/methodology/approach

The SERVPERF instrument and the patronage behaviour were utilised to measure service quality and loyalty respectively. A total of 949 questionnaires were personally administered to customers of nine automotive repair companies in Greece.

Findings

Exploratory factor analysis revealed three service quality dimensions. These are: holistic customer consideration, infrastructure, and empathy. T‐tests were also utilised to reveal possible differences in terms of the identified dimensions. Controlling for customers' loyalty showed significant differences in 11 of the service quality items.

Research limitations/implications

Distributing questionnaires personally did not allow the creation of a completely representative sample of customers of the Greek automotive repair industry.

Practical implications

Measuring customers' perceptions in terms of the three service quality dimensions that emerged can support decision making regarding initiatives to be taken. Moreover, findings suggest that managers should customise the holistic bundle of services offered.

Originality/value

The findings of this study provide insight into customers' priorities in the automotive repair industry. Furthermore, they reposition service quality construct within the customer satisfaction framework.
An ordinal logistic regression model for analysing airport passenger satisfaction
Authors: Eboli Laura , Mazzulla Gabriella
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a tool for measuring air passenger satisfaction and for identifying the critical service aspects available in the terminal in order to offer services characterised by a high level of quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Statistical analysis of experimental data collected by customer satisfaction survey. Modelling by the logistic regression approach This paper explores a methodology useful for measuring airport service quality by taking into account the passenger's point‐of‐view.

Findings

The comparison between the extended and reduced model showed an insignificant impact of some services aspects on the passenger overall satisfaction, and particularly, the services linked to the helpfulness of personnel, airport appearance, airport signposting, toilets inside the terminal, and availability and frequency of bus links. The key to the reading of this results can be searched in the low correlation between the judgements expressed on some service aspects and the judgements on the overall service.

Research limitations/implications

A more exhaustive list of service aspects should be investigated, and particularly the check‐in and checkout process, or flying services. The robustness of data should be verified and the model should be tested by using alternative and more current data sets.

Practical implications

By using the proposed models, the level combinations among the service aspects that give a desired value of overall satisfaction can be identified, and the company managing the airport services can have some suggestions in order to improve passenger satisfaction.

Originality/value

The value of the paper lies in having considered a consumer‐based method requiring input data collected by an experimental survey through a simple questionnaire.
Store choice in computer retailing: the case of home users in Greece
Authors: Theodoridis Constantinos D. , Priporas Constantinos‐Vasilios
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between demographics and the choice of retail outlet in the computer retailing sector in Greece so as to provide a general understanding of what criteria home computer users' use in selecting a retail outlet.

Design/methodology/approach

A convenience sample of 600 consumers was employed. The respondents had purchased a computer or a peripheral device at most four weeks prior to the interview. The data was collected through personal interviews. Also, a pilot test for content and face validity was conducted. Descriptive statistics, as well regression and factor analysis, were performed to evaluate the data.

Findings

Demographics have a strong predicting power over store choice in the computer retailing sector in Greece. Retail location, which is traditionally considered among the most important store choice determinants, is not that strong in the case of the purchase of computers and peripherals.

Research limitations/implications

In order to generalise from the current findings a stratified sample in terms of demographics and geographical coverage could be used and examined. In addition, the influence of e‐purchases should be considered.

Practical implications

Competition in retailing relies on an understanding of consumer behaviour. The results are partially consistent with the findings of previous studies in other retailing sectors and also suggest retailing strategy implication for retailers operating in Greece.

Originality/value

The paper is unique because it analyses store selection criteria in computer retailing, a field where very few similar research studies exist.
Greek banks' internationalisation: a suggested modelling approach
Authors: Vasiliadis Labros
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This research aims to examine the importance of Greek banks' internationalisation. Further, it seeks to identify the entry modes and organisational forms adopting Greek banks when crossing borders as well as to suggest a modelling approach.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were collected by using secondary and primary data sources. Primary data sources included semi‐structured interviews with the key stakeholders in the industry.

Findings

This research identified that Greek banks, adopt foreign direct investment entry mode and organisational forms such as branches and representative offices (internal growth), as well as subsidiaries and affiliates (external growth). It also was found that the participating in this research Greek banks, combine the two types of growth in their foreign markets entry. This study identified that the balance of combination is dependent upon a number of reasons and factors.

Research limitations/implications

The study contains several shortcomings. The empirical study, for example, contains only three cases, which naturally raises the problem of generalization. Further, the theoretical view may contain conceptual elements, which hinder more specific observations. However, despite these limitations, the study contains some theoretical and managerial implications.

Originality/value

The paper reports on the findings of the one of the first in its kind research study carried out in Greece in the Greek banking sector. The findings that emerged set the foundation for helping the various stakeholders in the sector to contribute towards building strong international presence to help them sustain the fierce competition from foreign banks.
Universities‐industry collaboration strategies: a micro‐level perspective
Authors: Bjerregaard Toke
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the collaboration strategies employed by collaborating small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and university researchers for initiating and optimizing the process and outcome of R&D collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based upon a qualitative study of the total population of university departments and SMEs involved in collaborative research projects sponsored by a new governmental programme in Denmark, the aim of which was to build new R&D alliances between industry and universities.

Findings

The findings show how partners choose to pursue difference short‐ or long‐term strategies to optimize the process and outcome of university‐industry (UI) collaboration. Some collaborations were thus informed by a short‐term strategy aimed at achieving immediate R&D results. However, to a high extent, many SME partners relied upon a long‐term strategy aiming at developing UI relations beyond the immediate project and practical learning. A variety of shifting strategies shape researchers' decisions during UI collaborations, which thus convey different notions of success.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of the present research point to the importance of taking the diverse reasons and micro strategies informing collaborative efforts into account when studying UI collaborations.

Practical implications

Different strategies may prove successful in optimizing the outcome of UI collaborations depending upon, e.g. partners' previous collaborative experiences. Policies should incorporate some openness towards the differential premises and reasons for UI collaboration.

Originality/value

Relatively little research has addressed the development of UI relationships from the micro‐level perspective of the discretionary decisions and strategies of collaborating researchers.
System group idealogue approach to innovation: scientific basis and practitioner guidelines
Authors: Andersson E. Roland
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the scientific basis and to give practitioner guidelines for the system group “Idealogue” approach to innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The logic of the system group “Idealogue” (idea‐dialogue) is to create a behavioural simulation “model” of the whole market system of interest. In this model, face‐to‐face communication among functional, disciplinary and hierarchal normally differentiated actors are used to perform various system simulations among problems and ideas and, at the same time, the real change process is started.

Findings

Research findings show that the system group were in agreement on much more than what earlier rational experts perceived in the same situations and, moreover, the group agreed in other and unexpected new and successful dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are shown experimentally in action research projects and empirically by longitudinal follow‐up studies.

Practical implications

The approach, which comprehends the entire process of innovation and change, is mainly aimed for the commercially “vague” human dimension of technology.

Originality/value

Projects in which the group dynamic approach successfully was applied has been conducted in many action research and industrially related change situations at an organizational, regional, state and market level. This includes technological, organizational and administrative domains of the systems with successful and worldwide spread product and process innovations.
Collaborative product development and situated knowledge contexts
Authors: Houman Andersen Poul , Balslev Munksgaard Kristin
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for understanding how problem formulation, information search and division of work in new product development (NPD) activities is shaped by mind sets vested in organizations with diverging positions in the value chain and correspondingly situated knowledge contexts. The authors aim to focus on how this influences the marketability of new product ideas.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data are derived from exploratory observation studies of NPD meetings and interviews of involved managers and specialists in three business dyads. The cases involve ingredient and meat suppliers, retail chains and marketing agencies located in Denmark.

Findings

The authors show that the scope and organization of NPD activities indeed are shaped by the combinations of situated knowledge contexts involved. An important intervening variable however concerns the atmosphere of the relationship, involving emotions and attitudes of the actors involved from foregone exchange situations.

Practical implications

For managers of NPD activities, the relationship between the knowledge contexts involved, the concept development outcomes and the marketability of new product ideas are important factors to take into consideration in organizing supplier or buyer involvement in NPD.

Originality/value

The value of the paper is primarily related to its empirical contexts and the findings.
Increased understanding of service experiences through involving users in service development
Authors: Sandström Sara , Magnusson Peter , Kristensson Per
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bring better understanding to how involving users in the development process of new mobile phone services can increase understanding of the overall service experience in a technology‐based service setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on an experimental setting which aims to emulate the involvement of users in a service development process in order to provide information regarding the overall service experience. This is done by letting users evaluate both user‐ and company‐created services.

Findings

Users are found to be an important information source when it comes to understanding the overall service experience of technology‐based services. The paper shows that users are to some extent better at coming up with services regarding value in use. The findings show that some of the most important experience outcomes that are demanded, functionally related outcomes, are better met by user‐created services.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides empirical evidence regarding the importance of a user perspective when it comes to understanding both the functional and emotional parts of the overall technology‐based service experience. The result of this paper implies a more advanced user focus during service development in order to be able to know what it is that creates value for technology‐based service users. Just how technology‐based services are functionally and emotionally experienced by their users is a fairly new research area and more empirical studies regarding this subject will be called for in the future.

Originality/value

This paper provides evidence of the importance of a user perspective when creating value propositions for technology‐based service users. From a managerial point of view, it is of interest to see whether it will be possible to learn more about the users' service experience of technology‐based services by involving them in the development process.
Profiles of innovation in business‐to‐business e‐commerce
Authors: Power Damien
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to throw light on both motivation for adoption of innovative technologies, as well as identifying critical organisational factors influencing effective implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Three case studies have been conducted in Australian companies involved in the use of business‐to‐business enabling technologies. The multiple design approach was chosen in order to provide robust findings across a group of similar sites, with the possibility of replicated and comparative results providing extra clarity and insight.

Findings

These three cases provide evidence to suggest that at the same time the three theoretical approaches examined – organisational innovativeness, diffusion of innovations and process theory – are found to be individually and collectively present as explanatory models of innovation adoption.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is limited to Australian firms using technologies for the management of their supply chains. The number of firms studied also represents a limitation and generalization of findings therefore needs to be approached with caution.

Practical implications

The practical implication is that adoption and use of innovations is highly situational, and therefore needs to be researched using methods that enable the context to be incorporated and understood.

Originality/value

The evidence indicates that the innovation adoption puzzle can be explained less by a single theory generalised across broad populations of organisations, than perhaps by the complex interplay of all three theories in the context of an individual organisation.
What it means to be a learning organization
Authors: Newbold Colin , Pharoah Nicky
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore practical and sustainable ways of implementing small to large scale integrated organizational talent development programs in the form of a learning plan.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses the work of psychology‐based consultancy, The Learning Curve (TLC), including its five‐point plan and two case studies, and Peter Senge's book, The Fifth Discipline, as a basis to demonstrate the importance of the learning plan within an organization's culture and business strategy.

Findings

Productivity and profit increase in organizations that embrace the concept of a learning plan.

Practical implications

Many of the methods employed by TLC have bred independence among client organizations, which go on to sustain the learning plans in cost‐effective ways.

Originality/value

This paper takes a new look at what it means to be a learning organization, while recognizing the importance of budgetary and resource constraints.
Using action learning to drive organizational learning and performance
Authors: Pounder Tom
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to argue that action learning can contribute to organizational learning and increased organizational performance. The author seeks to propose that an action learning approach can enable organizations to shift their mindsets to turn problems into opportunities and find genuinely new ways of looking at challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper discusses the concept of action learning and looks at how Alliance Healthcare UK (formerly UniChem), the leading UK pharmaceutical distributor, and Hiscox, the UK‐based insurance company, have used it to help develop new ways of thinking and to address challenges within their organizations.

Findings

The action learning approach can help create a dynamic culture of innovation and collaboration, in which individuals and groups adopt a mindset of questioning and sharing the problem‐solving process.

Originality/value

The paper offers practical tips to help readers facilitate action learning in their own organizations.
Creative HR solutions for tough economic times
Authors: Thomas Bill
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to discuss creative HR solutions that can support broader business strategy in a challenging economic climate. It also highlights the need to adopt a proactive and creative approach to avoid simply reducing the level of service delivery when budgets are reduced.

Design/methodology/approach

The article includes five typical scenarios, which illustrate creative solutions that can be used to address challenging HR issues in tough economic times. Two case studies are also included to demonstrate the potential for improving HR service delivery.

Findings

During difficult economic times, the HR function is likely to be faced with the double challenge of delivering a significantly increased level of support for the business but with a reduced budget.

Practical implications

The article offers guidance on how to succeed in difficult economic times.

Originality/value

The value of this article lies in its illustration of how being prepared to consider creative HR solutions can deliver practical, tangible and sustainable benefits to the wider organization, even during challenging economic times.
The psychological role of the leader in turbulent times
Authors: Sandler Catherine
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to deliver a psychological perspective on the theme of leading in turbulent times.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on 20 years' experience of consulting, coaching and teaching in the field of leadership development, the author outlines the dynamics that businesses face during an economic crisis. Based on her extensive observation of workplace behavior, the author describes the psychological and emotional role that leaders need to play if they are to optimize morale and productivity during turbulent times. The author's ideas have been developed as a result of coaching numerous leaders and top teams at board and director level in FTSE 100 and 250 companies and top professional services firms, as well as SMEs and not‐for‐profit organizations. Her private sector clients come from every area, including investment banking, oil and gas, IT, property, retail, law, accountancy and venture capital. Many of these organizations operate in highly competitive markets where managing uncertainty and change is the norm. However, the economic downturn has presented additional challenges, especially to those at the sharp end of the credit crunch and the collapse in consumer confidence.

Findings

It is concluded that four leadership behaviors are critical in times of crisis. Taken together, they enable leaders to support their workforce effectively during turbulent times, so maximizing morale and performance. The paper also highlights the role of HR and specific ways in which seasoned HR professionals can help leaders manage their own emotions and demonstrate these four behaviors.

Originality/value

This article reflects the author's original, practice‐based observations about organizational dynamics and leadership behavior during challenging times.
The indirect approach of semi‐focused groups
Authors: Bill Frederic , Olaison Lena
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative way of using focus groups in research – a role‐play‐enhanced focus group method – in which participants are presented with the challenge of dealing with a specific task while playing a familiar but nevertheless fictive role.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is performed through an experimental approach in which a focus group of small business owner‐managers are assembled and presented with a prepared case exercise. The design is a role‐play‐like setting in which the participants are to act as the board of a company.

Findings

Carefully designed, well‐prepared role‐play‐like activities can add substantially to focus‐groups.

Originality/value

Adding an experimental dimension to focus groups offers the possibility of addressing topics indirectly and thus increases their usefulness.
Ethical confessions of the “I” of autoethnography: the student's dilemma
Authors: Doloriert Clair , Sambrook Sally
Published: May 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to draw attention to a unique paradox concerning doing an autoethnography as a PhD. On the one hand, a student may feel a pull towards revealing a vulnerable, intimate, autoethnographic self, yet on the other hand she may be pushed away from this because the oral/viva voceexamination process may deny the student anonymity. Through the telling of this tale the complexities concerning self‐disclosure and student autoethnography reveal are explored.

Design/methodology/approach

The tale is autoethnographic: a fictionalised account based on real events and co‐constructed from substantial field notes, personal diaries, e‐mails, and reports.

Findings

This paper contributes to relational ethics concerned with self‐disclosure and the “I” of a reveal, and highlight the possibilities for developing Medford's notion of mindful slippage as a strategy for removing highly personal and possibly harmful elements within student autoethnography.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides a preliminary theoretical framework that has not been empirically tested and is situated within “introspective” autoethnographic research.

Originality/value

The paper takes an innovative approach to autoethnography, addressing ethical value systems specifically within a PhD context.
Strong emotions at work
Authors: Whiteman Gail , Müller Thaddeus , Johnson John M.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the emotional experiences from qualitative research can enrich organization and management studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper's approach includes a review of the literature in sociology, anthropology, psychology, and feminist studies, in which scholars have argued convincingly for the explicit need to acknowledge and utilize the emotions of researchers as they study social and organizational phenomenon. Also, past research is emotionally re‐written as reflexive examples.

Findings

The use of emotions as qualitative researchers can enrich the understanding of organizational and social life by offering new questions, concepts, and theories. At the level of methodology, this leads one to develop and reflect upon an emotional and cognitive orientation of the field.

Originality/value

The majority of narratives in organization studies remain sanitized, emotion‐less texts. While a discussion of researcher‐emotion can remain a back‐stage activity between colleagues over dinner, It is believed that much can be gained by a more explicit discussion.
Reflexivity in the co‐production of academic‐practitioner research
Authors: Orr Kevin , Bennett Mike
Published: May 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a reflexive account of the co‐production of a qualitative research project with the aim of illuminating the relationships between research participants.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws upon personal experience of designing and conducting a research project into management learning, run jointly between an academic and a senior practitioner. The methodological issues involved and the reflexive dynamics of how the work of research collaboration is accomplished are considered.

Findings

Engaging with radical reflexivity helps to produce insights about the co‐production process.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the field of reflexivity and is innovative in its context of academic‐practitioner research.
Is the UK real estate market converging with the rest of Europe?
Authors: Lee Stephen L.
Published: May 2009

Purpose

A number of studies have examined the convergence in European real estate markets and find that convergence is time‐varying. Additionally, the returns of some countries, notably the UK, are as equally, if not more, influenced by the real estate returns in the USA than those in Europe. This paper aims to study the time‐varying convergence of the UK securitised real estate market shows with countries within Europe relative to that with the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilizes a model estimated using a Kalman filter.

Findings

Using monthly data over the period 1990‐2007 we show that from 1990 to 1998 the returns of the UK securitised real estate were more influenced by the US market than the other countries in Europe. However, from autumn 1998 to 2004 the short‐run movements in the return of the UK securitised real estate market became increasingly associated with movements in the other countries in Europe market rather than the USA. But since 2004 the returns in the UK real estate have once again started to diverge from those of most countries in Europe.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to examine the time‐varying convergence of the securitised real estate markets using time‐varying parameter modelling techniques estimated by the Kalman filter. The results showing that the UK has not converged with the other markets in Europe, which implies that real estate diversification is still a viable investment strategy for UK investors in most countries in Europe.