bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Boosting firm performance via enterprise agility and network structure
Authors: Yang Chyan , Liu Hsian‐Ming 
Published: June 2012

PurposeDrawing on a network perspective on enterprise agility, the purpose of this paper is to explore whether firms with superior network structure not only may be better able to generate direct effect on firm performance, but whether a superior network structure may also help firms to create better firm agility and thus enhance their performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a survey method and data were collected from 250 companies in Taiwan's glass industry. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) technology, it specified the measurement properties of survey instrument such as reliabilities and validities and then identified causal relation among latent constructs to examine causal effects of hypotheses testing.FindingsThe results show that a firm's agility capability and its network structure are a critical competitive strategy source of firm performance. Moreover, network structure also partially mediates the impact of enterprise agility on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the data were collected from a single industry and firm performance is evaluated by subjective managerial assessments, further research may be necessary by using the data involving multiple industries with objective performance indices for more meaningful and generalized results.Practical implicationsThe findings confirm the importance of enterprise agility for contemporary firms in today's dynamic business environment. By reinforcing enterprise agility, firms could react better to unpredictable changes. In addition, firms also are suggested to put more effort into developing and maintaining their network structures, both as repositories of external resources and as boosters of enterprise agility.Originality/valueThe paper provides evidence regarding the impact of enterprise agility and network structure on firm performance.
Effect of ITC on the international competitiveness of firms
Authors: Peña‐Vinces Jesús C. , Cepeda‐Carrión Gabriel , Chin Wynne W. 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThis paper's aim is to evaluate the effect of the use of information technology and communications (ITC) on the international competitiveness of firms in developing countries. The study also seeks to evaluate other factors that allow or condition the use of ITC such as: human resources, collaboration of the industrial sector, and local environment.Design/methodology/approachThese effects are examined through an empirical research of 100 small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from a developing country – Peru.FindingsSMEs from developing countries follow an isomorphic approach. This is because they tend to imitate or copy the better practices from developed countries. The results have shown that ITCs have a positive effect on the international competitiveness of firms.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation is the cross‐sectional character of this research.Practical implicationsFirms use ITC to manage their inventory, for the communication between manufacturers and offices, and suppliers, for bill payments, and for the management of sales and marketing, and for the management of their networks.Originality/valueAccording to the literature reviewed, this study is one of the pioneers in contrasting empirically whether the use of ITC contributes positively to the international competitiveness of firms in the developing countries of Latin America.
Re‐examining mimetic isomorphism
Authors: Yang Monica , Hyland MaryAnne 
Published: June 2012

PurposeIn this study the aim is to analyze multiple decisions in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategy to verify whether isomorphism appears in these decisions when a firm imitates others and to determine under what conditions the link between imitation and the degree of similarity in M&As is weakened.Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of 4,881 completed M&As in the financial service industry, the authors adopt the generalized multivariate regression model to test the hypothesized effects of the independent variables on the degree of similarity in M&As.FindingsSupport is found for the mimetic isomorphism argument. Furthermore, firm experience and local market segmentation weaken the positive relationship between imitation and the degree of similarity in M&As.Originality/valueThis study enhances the understanding of mimetic isomorphism by not only verifying the relationship between imitation and isomorphism, but also integrating the role of organizational active agency (firm experience) and the extent to which local market competitors affect imitation and isomorphism within the industry as a whole.
Knowledge stock, ambidextrous learning, and firm performance
Authors: Lee Cheng‐Yu , Huang Yen‐Chih 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationships among knowledge stock, ambidextrous learning, and firm performance while considering the moderating effect of firm size.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses R&D scoreboard database to produce a sample of 312 firms which operate in technologically intensive industries. To test the research hypotheses, regression analysis is employed.FindingsThe major findings are: the positive performance implications of ambidextrous learning; knowledge stock as an antecedent of ambidextrous learning; the mediating role of ambidextrous learning; and firm size as a contingency factor that strengthens the influence of ambidextrous learning on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the scope of the research, only patent data were used to measure knowledge stock and ambidextrous learning. However, the measurement of these variables may have been influenced by the availability of patent information.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that realizing superior performance is dependent on a firm's accumulated knowledge stock and its ability to balance exploratory and exploitative learning. Large firms extract more value from ambidextrous learning than small firms.Originality/valueThis study is the first to identify the mediating role of ambidextrous learning in the relationship between knowledge stock and firm performance and to confirm that firm size moderates the relationship between ambidextrous learning and firm performance. The value of this study lies in developing a model of ambidextrous learning that includes both mediating and moderating variables.
Environmental disclosure management: a constructivist case
Authors: Silva da Rosa Fabricia , Rolim Ensslin Sandra , Ensslin Leonardo , Joao Lunkes Rogério 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to present a framework to create a better understanding of the context and to aid the environmental disclosure management process. The paper seeks to present a case study illustrating the proposed methodology for assessing environmental disclosure management.Design/methodology/approachThe ProKnow‐C process is used to identify the opportunities in the literature and the MCDA‐C methodology is used in order to build up the environmental disclosure management (MED) model.FindingsFirst the ProKnow‐C process was used to identify opportunities in the literature about environmental disclosure and later the MCDA‐C methodology was used to discover the opportunities and to show a process for generating actions to promote improvement in environmental disclosure.Practical implicationsThe case study allowed the manager to develop an understanding of environmental disclosure, showing that organizational performance is the key factor according to managers' perception. This knowledge allowed the manager to identify what the company needs to improve in its environmental disclosure regarding the following aspects: targets for using water, energy program, management of effluent and waste, biodiversity, adaptation to emergency plans, training and environmental awareness, expanding the coverage of the certification process and increasing operational performance in specific indicators relating to the electricity sector (pruning control, fire and oil spill).Originality/valueThe structured process of the MCDA‐C methodology enabled a model to be built that showed graphically and numerically the systemic diagnosis of environment disclosure, allowing the manager to know the consequences of a decision a priori and to suggest a set of improvement actions.
Client satisfaction in Indian banks: an empirical study
Authors: Gupta Aayushi , Dev Santosh 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the factors impacting customer satisfaction in Indian banks and analyze their effects the level of customer satisfaction through a regression analysis. The primary contribution of this study is the analysis and resulting insights on the critical factors impacting client satisfaction within the Indian retail banking sector.Design/methodology/approachA 28 item questionnaire was prepared based on literature review and discussions with current customers of Indian banks. The questionnaire was then sent out to current customers of 13 retail banks in India. In total, 420 completed questionnaires were received, out of which 400 were found to have been accurately and completely answered. The 28‐item instrument has been empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity using Cronbach alpha and exploratory factor analysis.FindingsA factor analysis suggests that there are five factors driving customer satisfaction: “service quality”, “ambience/hygiene”, “client participation/involvement”, “accessibility” and “financial”. Subsequent multiple regression analysis revealed that “service quality”, “ambience and hygiene”, and “client participation and involvement” in that order are the most important factors impacting client satisfaction.Practical implicationsThe identified dimensions are expected to bring clarity to the issue of customer satisfaction in retail banking, to aid retail bankers in improving specific parameters of service in order to increase overall customer satisfaction. This would help the management of the banks to create strategies and action plans to retain their current customers and to attract new customers.Originality/valueThe results from the current study are crucial because previous studies have produced scales that bear a resemblance to SERVQUAL, a generic measure of service quality, which may not be solely adequate to assess the perceived quality of service in the Indian banking sector. In contrast, the present study captured customers' satisfaction levels in a 28‐item questionnaire exclusively designed, keeping in mind the unique nature of the Indian banking sector.
The balanced scorecard: the effects of feedback on performance evaluation
Authors: Kang Gerui (Grace) , Fredin Amy 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe use of a balanced scorecard (BSC) for performance evaluation is meant to help evaluators make more complete decisions, as they have a variety of financial and non‐financial measures to assess. The problem is that users have difficulty taking all of the measures into consideration. The tendency to place more weight on common measures (measures that are the same across divisions) while either ignoring or placing very little weight on unique measures (measures are unique to a particular division) has become known as a “common measures bias”. The purpose of this paper is to extend a line of research that works to understand how this common measures bias might be mitigated.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines whether the presence of task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, prior to a performance evaluation task, can help evaluators overcome the tendency to rely primarily on common measures. This study used a 2×2 experimental design where subjects were asked to evaluate the performance of two managers under either feedback or non‐feedback conditions. In the feedback condition, subjects were provided with their supervisor's suggestions about performance evaluation in the use of BSCs.FindingsThis study finds that when subjects were given task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, they tended to use more unique measures than if they were not given any feedback information at all.Practical implicationsIn practice, more straight forward and simple feedback information is likely easier for companies to implement and easier for evaluators to follow. Feedback information that is too complex or that requires too much effort may frustrate evaluators, at which point they may abandon the effort. The authors' findings also indicate that direct and clear guidance from the top manager of a business may be seen as pressure by lower‐level managers. It is important for top managers to create such a performance evaluation environment so that all BSC measures are considered.Originality/valueThe paper finds that when evaluators judge the performance of managers through the use of a BSC, they tend to weight common measures more heavily than they do unique measures, unless they are provided cognitive feedback to cue them into the importance of using all measures. This study is one of many, following LS (2000), documenting a finding of common measures bias in the use of BSCs. Where this study contributes to the literature is in the use of task property feedback, a form of cognitive feedback, to overcome this bias. Since the use of unique measures is a key attribute of BSCs as they help users capture the nuances of a specific division's or firm's strategy, it is crucial that performance evaluators pay careful attention to them.
Implementation of the performance‐related pay in the general educational schools of Estonia
Authors: Irs Reelika , Türk Kulno 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe article aims to provide an insight into the perspectives and possibilities of implementing the performance‐related pay in the Estonian general educational schools. It also aims to test two propositions regarding factors that influence school performance and teachers' and school managers' opinions about performance management.Design/methodology/approachA total of 298 school managers and 2,165 teachers from general educational schools in Estonia participated in the study. The factor, regression and correlation analysis, independent samples t‐test and one‐way ANOVA analysis were used to study claims related to school management and performance and educational processes.FindingsThe results of the analysis show that besides teachers' activities and effectiveness factors, various school management factors play an important role in the shaping of the school performance and the opinions towards the implementation of performance appraisal and performance‐related pay.Research limitations and implicationsThe main limitation to the research is that it is difficult to measure the schools' outcome. Second, the study was mainly quantitative, with only a few open questions and thus, the respondents were neither able to give full answers nor provide explanations. Therefore, further case studies are needed to obtain a more precise overview.Originality/valueAlthough performance‐related pay is seen as an important management tool for increasing schools' outcome, there is no clear overview as to how the school managers and teachers in Estonia look at the issue and which factors should be considered in implementing performance‐related pay.
Organizational culture as a source of change in trade unions
Authors: Martínez‐Iñigo David , Crego Antonio , Garcia‐Dauder Silvia , Domínguez‐Bilbao Roberto 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the relationship between the culture in one of the majority national trade unions in Spain and the difficulties in accomplishing the desired changes and innovations.Design/methodology/approachA total of 15 focus groups comprised of trade union leaders were conducted. Transcriptions of the groups were analyzed from a grounded theory approachFindingsThe presence of an “inconclusive dialectic” structure (thesis‐antithesis‐no synthesis) in the leaders' rhetoric was identified. From a dialectic perspective of organizational change, this can be interpreted as a factor slowing change within the organization.Research limitations/implicationsThe study reflects the role played by organizational culture in maintaining this inertia and in the delay of the reduction of divergence between internal and external dimensions implied in the working and survival of trade union organizations. The results of the study reflect the need to introduce changes in the trade union's language and to redefine some of the terms in the discourse. New standards for the evaluation of the efficiency of trade unions as a whole, teams and their members are also necessary. This redefinition implies proposals able to synthesize tensions between the ideological and instrumental and between activism and professionalism.Originality/valueIn order to face workers' demands in the current framework of labor relations, there is general consensus on the need for change and development in trade union organizations. There are numerous factors involved that have been analyzed and some initiatives have been implemented from different levels with unclear success. Although literature on organizational development gives culture a central role, in the case of trade unions this dimension has been neglected.
Why do organisations engage in HR initiatives? A test case of a health and wellbeing intervention
Authors: Greasley Kay , Edwards Paul , Baker‐McClearn Denise , Dale Jeremy 
Published: June 2012

PurposeMany studies look at the effects of human resource (HR) initiatives. Yet very few consider why organisations adopt them in the first place. Health and wellbeing interventions offer a critical case because they offer apparent benefits for all. Assessing the process of engagement reveals variations in managerial commitment, which has implications for studies of “effects”. This paper seeks to address these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe study offered a free health intervention to organisations; this was separate from the research study, which aimed to assess the effects. A total of 86 organisations were approached, of which 53 indicated some interest in involvement. After further withdrawals and selection against criteria of size and sector, nine remained. The paper assesses the degree of engagement with the study, looking in detail at three organisations. The methods utilised included structured telephone interviews, qualitative interviews and observation.FindingsThe organisations underwent a rigorous selection procedure to ensure their full commitment to the study. On this basis it is expected that the participating organisations would be highly engaged. However, it became clear that there were considerable variations in how they engaged. This reflected the favourability of the organisational context, but also the enthusiasm and commitment of key actors.Originality/valueEngaged organisations were a highly self‐selected group. Studies of effects of interventions may thus be systematically biased. The interventions studies here were also shaped by how they were put into practice; they were not fixed things whose effects could be understood independently of their implementation. The study was also able to make predictions of the subsequent effects of the interventions based on the process of implementation. The results of a follow‐up study to test these predictions will be reported in a further paper.
Engineering education and performance: the German machinery and equipment sector
Authors: Paton Robert A. , Wagner Richard , MacIntosh Robert 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between management education, the performance of German engineering enterprises and the strategic knowledge status of the executives running those enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based upon the results of an online/posted self‐administered questionnaire conducted within Germany, augmented by micro case studies.FindingsFindings suggest that the curricula in German Engineering Faculties fail to fully embrace business and management studies, in particular strategic management which has virtually no presence. Engineers dominate senior management positions within the German machinery and equipment sector yet they display limited knowledge of strategic management tools. There is also evidence that links performance with the application of management knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to senior executives within German SMEs from the machinery and equipment sector. It is likely that the findings would be applicable throughout the German engineering industry; however, generalisability to other countries may be limited. Only a single year's performance (2007) was considered and this is also a limitation of the study. This was mitigated by a request that anomalies be noted, such as extraordinary write offs or a windfall profit, within the year in question, this was then taken into account during the analysis.Practical implicationsBased on the findings it is suggested that German faculties of engineering should enhance and expand management education, particularly strategic management, thus enhancing future performance potential within German SMEs.Originality/valueThis paper examines the level of management education attained by senior engineering executives with a key economic industrial sector in Germany, as such it is one of few such studies which investigates the link between management education and performance.
SKU classification: a literature review and conceptual framework
Authors: van Kampen Tim J. , Akkerman Renzo , Pieter van Donk Dirk 
Published: June 2012

PurposeStock keeping unit (SKU) classifications are widely used in the field of production and operations management. Although many theoretical and practical examples of classifications exist, there are no overviews of the current literature, and general guidelines are lacking with respect to method selection for classifying SKUs. The purpose of this paper is to systematically synthesise the earlier work in this area, and to conceptualise and discuss the factors that influence the choice of a specific SKU classification.Design/methodology/approachThe paper structurally reviews existing contributions and synthesises these into a conceptual framework for SKU classification.FindingsHow SKUs are classified depends on the classification aim, the context and the method that is chosen. In total, three main production and operations management aims were found: inventory management, forecasting and production strategy. Within the method three decisions are identified to come to a classification: the characteristics, the classification technique and the operationalisation of the classes.Research limitations/implicationsDrawing on the literature survey, the authors conclude with a conceptual framework describing the factors that influence SKU classification. Further research could use this framework to develop guidelines for real‐life applications.Practical implicationsExamples from a variety of industries and general directions are provided which managers could use to develop their own SKU classification.Originality/valueThe paper aims to advance the literature on SKU classification from the level of individual examples to a conceptual level and provides directions on how to develop a SKU classification.