bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Value management in the South African manufacturing industry: exploratory findings
Authors: Bowen Paul , Cattell Keith , Jay Ian , Edwards Peter 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to investigate the nature and extent of value management (VM) practice in the South African manufacturing industry. It aims to explore engineers' and designers' awareness and understanding of VM and the nature and extent of the use of VM techniques within their companies.Design/methodology/approachA web‐based, online questionnaire survey is employed to establish value management practice within the manufacturing sector. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the survey response data.FindingsThe results suggest that, while VM (and more particularly its value engineering antecedent) is generally known among engineers and designers in the manufacturing sector in South Africa, it is less widely practised. VM is seen predominantly as a cost reduction tool. This misperception, and the lack of awareness of the potential benefits of VM, must be remedied if the South African manufacturing industry is to remain competitive. The industry needs to adopt best practice VM techniques and standards.Research limitations/implicationsIt has proved extremely difficult to obtain survey data from manufacturing organizations, resulting in a low response rate. While this is a limitation, the information sourced provides useful direction for future case study investigation.Practical implicationsRefresher courses in contemporary VM theory and practice are recommended, as well as exploration of the impacts on VM of other techniques such as risk, quality and environmental management.Originality/valueAgainst a background of increasing globalization, the findings are important if the South African manufacturing sector is to remain competitive. The results provide pointers for future research using a case study method.
Innovation or imitation? The role of organizational culture
Authors: Naranjo‐Valencia Julia C. , Jiménez‐Jiménez Daniel , Sanz‐Valle Raquel 
Published: January 2011

PurposeInnovation is crucial for attaining a competitive advantage for companies. Innovation, versus imitation, motivates companies to launch new products and become pioneers on markets. Many factors have been shown to be determinants for supporting an organizational innovative orientation. One of them is organizational culture. The objective of this paper is to analyze the organizational culture that fosters or inhibits organizational innovation and imitation strategy.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a sample of 471 Spanish companies for examining the hypotheses. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, it relates the effect of organizational culture with an innovation strategy.FindingsThe results confirm the hypotheses. The paper finds that organizational culture is a clear determinant of innovation strategy. Moreover, adhocracy cultures foster innovation strategies and hierarchical cultures promote imitation cultures.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations are that data in the study were collected from one source for the cross‐sectional design of this research.Practical implicationsManagers should pay more attention to their organization culture if they pursue innovation/imitation strategies. Moreover, depending on this orientation (to be the first company to introduce in new markets or develop new products for a market versus to follow a pioneer), companies should promote different values and norms in their organizations.Originality/valueThe main value of this paper is its analysis and testing of the relation of organizational culture and innovation orientation. The majority of the literature underlines the paper's seeking after organizational culture for innovation. However, this topic has not been studied in depth and requires attention to different organizational cultures and innovation orientations.
Towards an innovation‐type mapping tool
Authors: Rowley Jennifer , Baregheh Anahita , Sambrook Sally 
Published: January 2011

PurposeSeeking to distil and integrate a range of previous definitions, models, frameworks and classifications relating to types of innovation, this paper aims to make a contribution to clarity in innovation research and practice through offering insights into the definitions of the different types of innovation, and, specifically, the relationships between them.Design/methodology/approachThis theoretical paper is based on a review of extant models and frameworks of types of innovation, which includes earlier foundation models, and more recent integrative models.FindingsThis distillation results in a diagrammatic representation of the key frameworks, which is used as a platform to propose a new framework of types of innovation.Originality/valueThis paper draws on all the terminologies used for types of innovation and creates an innovation type‐mapping tool that can be used to clarify the various definitions and terminologies of the innovation type concept.
Strategic resources and firm performance
Authors: Andersén Jim 
Published: January 2011

PurposeNumerous studies have set out to examine the relationship between strategic resources and firm performance. The traditional VRIO attributes have been the point of departure in most resource‐based studies. This paper sets out to argue that the relationship between resources and performance is more complex. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate the complex relationship between a strategic resource and firm performance by providing an overview of different factors that can influence this relationship.Design/methodology/approachRelevant literature is reviewed and discussed.FindingsIt was found that five criteria must be fulfilled for resources to generate superior performance. These are identified and discussed. These criteria fit with existing resources, management capability, marketing capability, firm appropriation of rent, and non‐competitive disadvantages.Research limitations/implicationsBy using the criteria identified, resource‐based theory can become less tautological. Also, the criteria highlight the importance of resource utilization and appropriation of resource‐based rents.Practical implicationsThe paper could contribute to an increased awareness among practitioners of the importance of focusing on factors which are additional to the VRIO‐attributes when analyzing potential strategic resources. The criteria provide an easy‐to‐access framework for strategic analysis.Originality/valueWhereas some specific aspects of the relationship between the possession of resources and firm performance have been reviewed in some RBT contributions, few studies have addressed the issue using a more holistic approach. Thus, this paper affords a broader approach on the relationship between strategic resources and firm performance.
From Levitt to the global age: one more time, how do we define our business?
Authors: Vasconcellos e Sá Jorge A. , Olão Fátima , Pereira Magda 
Published: January 2011

PurposeSeveral works have focused on defining an organisation mission. Ansoff, Levitt and Drucker, among others, have made seminal contributions. However, globalisation has brought new challenges and changes, in terms of both new risks and new opportunities. Thus: How does globalisation impact on how a firm should define its business? What remains valid, as before, and what must be adapted? And why? are questions to be answered. This study aims to accomplish this.Design/methodology/approachThis paper discusses the task of defining an organisation mission on a global age.FindingsOne of its main conclusions is that, more than ever, defining a business mission, requires now that one incorporates location in the definition. Location includes three different things: geographical area, distribution channels, and time location.Originality/valueIt may seem paradoxical that, as globalisation advances, location becomes more important in a business definition. This paper explains why.
Environment, management attitude, and organizational learning in alliances
Authors: Srivastava Prashant , Frankwick Gary L. 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for organizational learning in an alliance‐based context. An interaction effect of environmental turbulence on the relationship between top management attitude towards learning and organizational learning is proposed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper begins with the notion that alliances provide an opportunity for organizations to learn from one another. The paper describes three basic tenets of organizational learning. It then proposes how top management attitude will affect these. It also proposes that these relationships will be affected by the environment in which the organizations are operating.FindingsThe proposed framework makes clear that, for organizational learning to take place, both top management attitude toward learning and environmental turbulence will affect the way organizational learning takes place.Practical implicationsThe paper proposes an important relationship between top management attitude, environmental turbulence, and organizational learning. In highly turbulent environments, even a positive top management attitude will not always help to improve organizational learning.Originality/valueThe paper fills a gap in the alliance and organizational learning literature by proposing environmental effects on the relationship between top management attitude and organizational learning.
Stories of work/life transitions from the Italian public sector
Authors: Murgia Annalisa , Poggio Barbara 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe aim of this article is to overcome an endogenous view of work, as a category isolated from the other existential spheres, and to identify an alternative approach to understanding how (paid) work and other life domains interweave. Biographical transitions between work and non‐work are analysed, paying specific attention to the processes of gender positioning.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on the analysis of 60 narrative interviews with men and women working in the Italian public sector (the civil service and the health service). The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed, and then subjected to narrative analysis, focusing in particular on plots, biographical transitions and positioning processes.FindingsThe analysis has brought out the predominant plots, as well as the alternative ones, of the work stories narrated by men and women interviewed, highlighting the specific gender positioning that subtended different attributions between men and women in the inter‐relations between work and the personal and familial sphere.Practical implicationsThe results show the opportunity to focus next research on organizations that use managerial models innovative in terms of time organization and performance assessment, giving visibility and legitimacy to alternative narratives on the interweaving among people's different biographical trajectories.Originality/valueThe paper proposes the concept of “biographical transition” as an interpretative category with which to study the different strategies and experiences of work/life balance and an heuristic tool able to give sense to the complex interweaving among different life trajectories in the contemporary society.
Discrimination in health care industry: a research on public hospitals
Authors: Özcan Kerim , Özkara Belkıs , Kızıldağ Duygu 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate discrimination areas within public hospitals and discuss the potential reasons that will provide a contributive perspective on reducing discriminative behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in public hospitals in Afyonkarahisar, a city in the central‐west part of Turkey. Two distinct approaches were used to gather data, one of which was a questionnaire that was responded by 351 health care employees. And, the second method semi‐structured interviews were conducted with five health care employees from each hospital.FindingsThe research reveals that discriminative behaviors are not part of organizational life to a problematical extent in public hospitals. However, the dependence on governmental policies forces ideological/political engagements to play significant roles in public hospitals determination of discriminated groups. Professional solidarity, status‐based stratification and embedded codes of patriarchal culture are other crucial dynamics, first two and last one causing, respectively, vocational and gender discrimination.Originality/valueThis paper is an exploratory study focusing on discrimination among employees and from management to employees in the health care industry. Two distinct methods are used together to understand and analyze the areas and dynamics of discriminative behaviors.
Diversity management
Authors: Jose Chiappetta Jabbour Charbel , Serotini Gordono Fernanda , Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira Jorge , Carlos Martinez Jose , Aparecida Gomes Battistelle Rosane 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe objective of this study was to analyze the major challenges and benefits of diversity management in Brazilian companies by assessing the role of human resources.Design/methodology/approachA total of 15 case studies were carried out on companies that operate in Brazil. Brazil is a country with considerable diversity and multiracial backgrounds.FindingsIt was found that diversity management in Brazilian companies is still an emerging issue, and the major challenges are related to discriminatory actions taken by coworkers. Among the 15 companies studied, only four had adopted a consistent set of diversity management and human resources practices. These four companies were the only companies to affirm that diversity management requires the strong support of top management and continuous organization to sustain efforts toward incorporating diversity.Originality/valueResearch studies on diversity management in Brazil are scarce. The findings of this study, however, can be useful to academic professionals and company directors in countries that exhibit similar characteristics to those of Brazil, or to those who are interested in learning more about Brazil.
Making sense of psychological contract breach
Authors: Parzefall Marjo‐Riitta , Coyle‐Shapiro Jacqueline A‐M. 
Published: January 2011

PurposeA small number of psychological contract studies have explored the cognitive processes that influence employees' evaluation and reactions to perceived contract breach. The aim of this paper is to extend this reseaerch with a qualitative study on breach using a sense making perspective.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 15 interviews employing critical incident technique to examine employee sense making processes were carried out.FindingsThe findings highlight the variety of ways employees perceive contract breach and the processual nature of the experience. Emotions and actions were intertwined in the process of attributing responsibility and finding an explanation for the breach.Research limitations/implicationsContract breach is not necessarily a discrete event and reciprocity is integral to the sense making process. The findings provide a basis for future research that could explore the role of time, contextual factors and various employer representatives as sense‐givers in psychological contract evaluations.Practical implicationsEmployer representatives can aid employees to make sense of critical events that occur in organizations to minimize the effects of breach.Originality/valueThe paper provides an under‐researched sense making‐perspective on psychological contract breach. Through a qualitative inquiry, the complex nature of the employees' experience of and reaction to breach, is highlighted.
Organizational justice perceptions and pay level satisfaction
Authors: Till Robert E. , Karren Ronald 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the relative importance or effects of individual equity, external equity, internal equity, procedural justice, and informational justice on pay level satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a policy‐capturing methodology to determine the importance of the five factors and considers both group analyses and individual analyses of the data.FindingsOf the three types of equity, individual equity was the most important factor on pay level satisfaction. External equity and the three other factors were important for many individuals, and this was shown through the individual analyses.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of scenarios given to each participant was limited due to possible fatigue.Practical implicationsThe findings will help managers make judgments on how to respond to conflicts between internal alignment and external market conditions. Knowledge of which factors are most important will help managers create more effective compensation programs.Originality/valueThis is the first multi‐justice study to find the relative effects of justice perceptions on pay level satisfaction, and it includes informational justice.
Got image? Examining organizational image in web recruitment
Authors: Lyons Brian D. , Marler Janet H. 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThis study aims to investigate whether organizational image: mediates the relationship between web site attributes and organizational attraction and moderates the relationship between person‐job (P‐J) fit and organizational attraction.Design/methodology/approachA total of 320 observations were collected from 80 senior‐level undergraduates, each half navigating a different set of four actual organizational web sites.FindingsOrganizational image was found to fully mediate the relationship between a web site's aesthetic features and organizational attraction; and moderate the relationship between P‐J fit perceptions and organizational attraction such that the change in organizational attraction was more sensitive to perceptions of P‐J fit when organizational image perceptions were more unfavorable rather than favorable. In addition, intercept differences revealed that individuals with below average P‐J fit were more attracted to organizations having a favorable image than an unfavorable image.Practical implicationsFindings underscore the importance of the positive relationship between organizational image and organizational attraction. In addition, organizations should assess applicant reactions to their web page, as it relates to perceptions and attitudes toward the organization.Originality/valueThis study integrates the web environment with two of the strongest antecedents to organizational attraction, organizational image and perceived P‐J fit.
The strength and quality of climate perceptions
Authors: Van Vianen Annelies E.M. , De Pater Irene E. , Bechtoldt Myriam N. , Evers Arne 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and how climate strength and quality are related to employee commitment above and beyond individual climate perceptions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 48 work units in organizations from different branches of industry. A total of 419 employees completed a questionnaire.FindingsClimate quality was related to commitment above and beyond individual climate perceptions. However, this concerned the climate dimensions of cooperation and innovation, but not reward. Climate strength moderated the relationship between individual cooperation and innovation perceptions, and commitment.Research limitations/implicationsThis study emphasizes the importance of group‐level perceptions as related to employee commitment. Because of the cross‐sectional design, conclusions about the causal order of the variables cannot be drawn.Practical implicationsIf organizations want to increase employees' commitment they should put the more skeptical employees in positive work environments, thus, in units of higher cooperation and innovation quality.Social implicationsPeople are sensitive to the evaluative tone of their social environment.Originality/valueThe paper is the first to examine the combined relationships of individual climate perceptions, climate‐strength, and climate quality with employee commitment.
The value of Morningstar ratings: evidence using stochastic data envelopment analysis
Authors: Watson John , Wickramanayke J. , Premachandra I.M. 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute the existing finance literature by examining whether the ratings of Morningstar in Australia provide useful information for an investor by way of investigating the efficiency of domestic Australian equity funds that received a rating as at November 2005.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes the application of a simulation approach to stochastic data envelopment analysis (SDEA) based on Excel/@RISK, which was first proposed by Premachandra et al. in 1998. The analysis provides a variety of informative statistical information about the stochastic properties of the efficiency figure. Efficiency is measured by looking at fund performance, fund cost, fund risk exposure and manager ability over the period December 1990‐November 2005.FindingsThe introduction to portfolio performance evaluation of a new tool for evaluating fund performance (namely, the efficiency rating) is recommended. From a sample of Australian domestic equity managed funds we find that evidence exists to suggest that efficient funds are likely to receive an upgrade in rating in the medium to long term.Practical implicationsThe benefit of the present paper for investors and fund managers is the improved efficiency of managed funds in terms of expense and risk.Originality/valueThe present paper further contributes to the literature by reinforcing the importance of SDEA as a tool for measuring the efficiency of decision‐making units within investment fund markets.
Determinants of capital structure
Authors: Ahmed Sheikh Nadeem , Wang Zongjun 
Published: January 2011

PurposeThe aim of this empirical study is to explore the factors that affect the capital structure of manufacturing firms and to investigate whether the capital structure models derived from Western settings provide convincing explanations for capital structure decisions of the Pakistani firms.Design/methodology/approachDifferent conditional theories of capital structure are reviewed (the trade‐off theory, pecking order theory, agency theory, and theory of free cash flow) in order to formulate testable propositions concerning the determinants of capital structure of the manufacturing firms. The investigation is performed using panel data procedures for a sample of 160 firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange during 2003‐2007.FindingsThe results suggest that profitability, liquidity, earnings volatility, and tangibility (asset structure) are related negatively to the debt ratio, whereas firm size is positively linked to the debt ratio. Non‐debt tax shields and growth opportunities do not appear to be significantly related to the debt ratio. The findings of this study are consistent with the predictions of the trade‐off theory, pecking order theory, and agency theory which shows that capital structure models derived from Western settings does provide some help in understanding the financing behavior of firms in Pakistan.Practical implicationsThis study has laid some groundwork to explore the determinants of capital structure of Pakistani firms upon which a more detailed evaluation could be based. Furthermore, empirical findings should help corporate managers to make optimal capital structure decisions.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that explores the determinants of capital structure of manufacturing firms in Pakistan by employing the most recent data. Moreover, this study somehow goes to confirm that same factors affect the capital structure decisions of firms in developing countries as identified for firms in developed economies.