bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A study of knowledge culture in the consulting industry
Authors: Mas Machuca Marta , Martínez Costa Carme 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the values that make up a knowledge‐friendly culture in the consulting industry, in which the implementation of in‐house knowledge management (KM) projects has positive performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory analysis and a structural equation model were used on a sample of 100 knowledge workers (managers and internal KM project managers) in the consulting sector.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that the values identified (trust, transparency, flexibility, collaboration, commitment, honesty and professionalism) bear a close positive relation to the success of the KM project implementation (innovation, employee satisfaction, capabilities, quality and productivity). These values are divided into three groups.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focuses on the consulting industry in Catalonia, Spain; further research will be required in order to apply the findings to other countries in the world.Practical implicationsThe study provides a better understanding of the cultural success factor in knowledge management initiatives. It offers a significant and practical advance in terms of systematizing KM in organizations.Originality/valueKnowledge management plays a crucial role in consulting companies, so it is necessary to determine the factors that contribute to its success, and particularly the factor of knowledge culture. However, few empirical studies have analyzed these values. The paper's main contribution is therefore identification of the core values of a knowledge‐friendly culture and their impact on performance.
Knowledge sharing, job attitudes and organisational citizenship behaviour
Authors: Teh Pei‐Lee , Sun Hongyi 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThere are very few studies on the impact of job attitude on knowledge sharing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of job involvement, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) on employees' knowledge sharing behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on a survey of 116 Information Systems personnel in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling is used to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe results show that job involvement, job satisfaction and OCB are independent and positively related to employees' knowledge sharing behaviour. However, organisational commitment has a negative relationship with knowledge sharing behaviour. It is found that OCB is not a significant mediator between job involvement, job satisfaction organisational commitment and knowledge sharing behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsIt is widely reported that knowledge workers may not be willing to share with others since they can always argue that it is not their job to share. Therefore, knowledge sharing can be regarded as an extra job. OCB is an extra‐role behaviour which is especially relevant to research on knowledge sharing. Theories and research methods in OCB may be used in future research on knowledge sharing.Practical implicationsGiven the importance of knowledge sharing in today's competitive business world, this study provides a broader understanding of different dimensions of job attitudes in relation to employees' knowledge sharing behaviours. Our findings suggest that organisational administrators and managers should look into ways of improving the levels of job satisfaction, job involvement, and OCB in order to facilitate knowledge sharing behaviour.Originality/valueThis study makes two distinct additions to the organisational behaviour and knowledge sharing literature. First, job attitudes appear to be significantly related to knowledge sharing behaviour, addressing a research gap in the literature of knowledge sharing and employee attitudes. Second, this study reveals that OCB directly affects knowledge sharing but it does not mediate employees' job attitudes to promote knowledge sharing behaviours.
Individual creativity performance and the quality of interpersonal relationships
Authors: Muñoz‐Doyague María F. , Nieto Mariano 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze how the exchanges that employees maintain with their immediate superior and with their work group influence the creativity that they manifest.Design/methodology/approachA study was carried out among employees of a firm from the automotive sector. On the basis of previous works, the authors first built reliable multi‐item scales for each variable included in the model; then, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to ascertain the causal effect of those exchanges upon creativity.FindingsThe findings reveal that high‐quality exchanges between the employee and their work group and, to a lesser extent, their immediate superior, have a significant positive influence on their creative behavior.Practical implicationsAll this underlines the importance of the composition of work groups for achieving the team environment necessary for creative production.Originality/valueThis paper provides new evidence about a still unexplored topic, trying to bridge the existing gap in the literature about the influence of leadership and group behavior on creativity.
Understanding survivors' reactions to downsizing in China
Authors: Guo Chun , Giacobbe‐Miller Jane K. 
Published: January 2012

PurposeUsing an organizational justice framework, this paper aims to examine survivors' attitudinal and behavioral correlates to downsizing in Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted one qualitative study involving personal interviews and one quantitative study involving structured surveys to develop an understanding of the phenomenon.FindingsThe studies revealed that justice‐enhancing managerial practices were associated with survivors' evaluations of their outcomes after the downsizing, which in turn, were related to survivors' positive attitudinal and behavioral reactions.Research implications/limitationsThe findings suggest that organizational justice provides a useful avenue for understanding survivors' perspectives in the downsizing context in China. However, retrospective, cross‐sectional data were used. Future research might investigate causality in the downsizing process by using a quasi‐experimental design.Practical implicationsManagerial practices that address the relational aspects of organizational justice (informational and interpersonal justice) can serve as effective downsizing strategies in China.Originality/valueThe studies are among the first to explore survivors' perspectives of downsizing from a micro‐level, organizational justice perspective in China. They contribute to the organizational justice literature by examining the relative importance of various justice perceptions in a collectivist culture.
Naive dialecticism and Chinese employees' commitment to change
Authors: Chen Jingqiu , Wang Lei , Huang Minyan , Spencer‐Rodgers Julie 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThis research aims to examine the relationships among employee commitment to change, naïve dialecticism, and performance change in the context of change in Chinese state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).Design/methodology/approachA total of 287 employee‐supervisor matched data were collected by questionnaire from three Chinese SOEs implementing a major change on sector restructuring.FindingsResults showed that affective commitment to change was related to performance change. Change thinking was positively related to all three components of commitment to change, whereas contradictory thinking was negatively related to affective commitment to change. Affective commitment to change fully mediated the association between contradictory thinking and performance change.Originality/valueThis research integrates “outside in” and “inside out” approaches to contextualize commitment to change studies in China. An “outside in” approach was followed to investigate the relationship between commitment to change and performance change, whereas an “inside out” approach was followed to add valuable insights to the commitment to change model from the point of view of Chinese naïve dialecticism.
Moral leadership and psychological empowerment in China
Authors: Li Chenwei , Wu Keke , Johnson Diane E. , Wu Min 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of perceived procedural justice and interactional justice on the relationship between moral leadership and the four psychological empowerment dimensions manifested in individuals' perceptions of meaning, competence, self‐determination, and impact.Design/methodology/approachData from 241 subordinates, who reported to 110 supervisors, were collected from clothing companies in southern mainland China. The subordinates responded to a self‐report survey, which consisted of the variables of interest. Because of the nature of nested data, hierarchical linear regression (HLM 6.0) was used for analysis.FindingsA fully mediated model of perceived justice was supported. Procedural justice and interactional justice were found to be differentially associated with the elements of psychological empowerment. Specifically, while perceived procedural justice accounted for more unique variance in the empowerment facets of meaning, competence, and impact, perceived interactional justice accounted for more unique variance in the facet of self‐determination.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by first examining the relationships among moral leadership, two types of perceived justice, and the four empowerment dimensions in the Chinese context. A detailed discussion of the implication for both researchers and practitioners is also provided.
Advancing theory and research on employee behavior in China
Authors: Isenhour Linda C. , Stone Dianna L. , Lien Donald 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the special issue on employee behavior in China. It aims to highlight the importance of advancing theory and research on the topic, and to suggest that many of our theories are underdeveloped because they do not consider the critical role that culture plays in understanding behavior in organizations.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper and does not employ research methods.FindingsThe results of studies included in the review suggest that Chinese employees' reactions to workplace bullying, layoff policies, autonomy and supervision, affective commitment, and moral leadership are related to their attitudes and behaviors. They also indicate that some unique Chinese values and perspectives may be related to the same criterion variables.Practical implicationsThe review of articles in the special issue suggests that managers in Chinese organizations may want to control workplace bullying, develop fair layoff policies, enhance affective commitment to change, consider employees' traditional values, and develop fair employment policies because they are related to employees' attitudes and behaviors.Originality/valueThis review provides a unique perspective on employee behavior because it considers such behavior in a Chinese context. It also offers important implications for current theory, future research, practice, and society as a whole.
Rural‐urban gaps in academic achievement, schooling conditions, student, and teachers' characteristics in Pakistan
Authors: Tayyaba Saadia 
Published: January 2012

PurposeRecent educational research has demonstrated rural‐urban gaps in achievement and schooling conditions. Evidence from developing countries is still sparse. This study seeks to report rural‐urban disparities in achievement, student, teacher, and school characteristics based on a nationally representative sample of grade four students from four provinces of Pakistan. The study aims to take into account the limitations of previous research, mainly the issues of non‐representative samples and inadequate sampling techniques, by using proportionally adequate sample to address the potential differences in achievement of rural and urban students and how schooling, students and teacher‐related factors account for gap in achievement.Design/methodology/approachThe primary data source for the study was the 2006 national assessment survey of year four students in government school across four provinces in four core subjects. The sample design included a two‐stage stratified random sample, where the major strata of national interest were student and school gender, geographical location and region. First stage involved selecting schools and in the second stage students were selected from schools. The procedure of estimation involved computing the average of each group's achievement scores and attached standard errors, the gap of standard errors and statistical significance of standard errors at 0.05 level.FindingsThe results show that rural and urban students had comparable levels of achievement in some of the tested learning areas. In Balochistan province, rural students outperformed their urban counterparts in three out of the four tested subjects. In Punjab and Sindh, urban students performed significantly better in social studies and language tests; scores on social studies and language did not differ significantly across location in the North West. The differences appeared to be partly explained by variation in schooling conditions, students' home background, and teachers' characteristics. Teachers' training turned out to be decisive in determining students' achievement, whereas availability of resources and multi‐grade teaching was less important.Originality/valueRecent educational research from around the world has demonstrated rural‐urban gaps in achievement and schooling conditions. Evidence from developing countries is still sparse. This study is the first attempt to report rural‐urban disparities in academic achievement, student, teacher, and school characteristics based on a nationally representative sample. The study has employed an appropriate sampling strategy and proportionally adequate sample to address the potential differences in achievement of rural and urban students in four provinces. The findings could therefore be used to guide policy interventions in areas of curriculum differences, schooling conditions, teachers' training and multi‐grade teaching across provinces.
Academic staff's perceptions of characteristics of learning organization in a higher learning institution
Authors: Khamis Ali Ali 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe main objective of this study was to examine academic staff's perceptions of the characteristics of a learning organization within higher education: in this instance, the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The study also examined the relationship between the characteristics of a learning organization and satisfaction with performance in teaching and research activities.Design/methodology/approachA survey method was used in a sample of 400 academicians with a return rate of 214 (53.5 per cent). Watkins and Marsick's and Marsick and Watkins's learning organization questionnaire was used to measure the characteristics of the learning organization and to collect data for the study.FindingsThe main results showed that the academic staff indicated moderate levels of the characteristics of a learning organization and satisfaction with performance. The results also showed that there were positive and significant relationships between dimensions of the learning organization and satisfaction with performance activities in teaching and research. Furthermore, dimensions of the learning organization accounted for small but significant variance of satisfaction with both teaching and research performance activities.Originality/valueThis study contributes empirical findings on learning organization in a higher learning institution, a research area in which there is a scarcity of empirical studies.
The quest for strategic Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders
Authors: Mohd Ali Hairuddin 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the nine‐point strategic leadership characteristics of Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders (QNPSL) and to indicate the implications of these findings for the current educational management and leadership practices in their quest for Malaysian quality education.Design/methodology/approachThe study selected 600 senior management team members from 150 schools to complete a seven‐page questionnaire survey and eventually managed to collect back 420 completed survey questionnaires. The study employed SPSS 15.0 and a full‐fledged Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) software Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 16.0 to confirm the dimensionality and the psychometric properties of the scale, as well as to test the research hypotheses.FindingsDespite what Davies and Davies suggested, the results confirm that the Malaysian QNPSL do not possess three out of nine predetermined characteristics of a strategic leader such as wisdom, strategic intervention point and strategic competence which are pertinent for efficient and effective leadership in realizing the objectives of the National Education Master Plan.Practical implicationsThe findings from the study provide useful information to senior management team members of the respective schools, District and State Education Departments in improving the quality of Malaysian education.Originality/valueAs this is the first research of its kind in Malaysia, the findings to a certain extent will be able to contribute to the efforts in achieving the accessibility, equity, quality and enhancement of management goals stipulated in the National Education Master Plan (2006‐2010).
Inpatient satisfaction: an analysis of Malaysian public hospitals
Authors: Hazilah Abd Manaf Noor 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical analysis on inpatient satisfaction in Malaysian public hospitals.Design/methodology/approachA self‐administered questionnaire was the main data collection method. Altogether, 23 hospitals throughout Peninsular Malaysia participated in the survey. Cluster sampling was used in the selection of the respondent hospitals, while convenience sampling was used in administering the survey.FindingsThree factors of inpatient satisfaction were extracted, which were clinical and physical dimensions of service, and additional facilities for patients and family members. Inpatient satisfaction was found to be higher for the clinical dimension than for the physical dimension. Overall, inpatient satisfaction was high, as reflected by the high mean score of the variables, although caution was expressed in interpreting the findings, particularly the low expectations of patients to begin with.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited to inpatients of Malaysian public hospitals. A thorough evaluation of the nation's public healthcare delivery system would need to include outpatient services as well.Originality/valueThe paper provides an empirical analysis on inpatient satisfaction in Malaysian public hospitals. This allows policy makers to evaluate the level of public healthcare delivery service in the country and therefore assist in policy decision‐making and implementation.
Understanding continuous improvement in an English local authority
Authors: Douglas David , Jenkins Wyn , Kennedy Jane 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a model using resource‐based‐view theories of competitive advantage for application to the private sector as a basis for understanding managers' perceptions of high performance in a local authority. The model is evaluated as a substantive case against an English local authority.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigated senior managers' perceptions of the capabilities and assets that their organisation required to achieve high performance relative to government performance criteria. Data were collected using a questionnaire that asked managers to indicate their notions of drivers for change. The key resources required for successful responses to these drivers were related to one of the four types of generic capabilities a priori outlined in the model, i.e. regeneration, leverage, transformational and privileged access. Subsequent interviews with the respondents explored further issues in greater depth.FindingsManagers indicated their beliefs that “capabilities” based on “intangible organisational‐assets” are necessary for “sustained high‐performance”. This is consistent with the model proposed. Nevertheless, the findings also indicated that some assets, historically based, such as “reputation” and “partnerships”, are also important.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper critically demonstrates the usefulness of resource‐based‐view and dynamic‐capability theories when applied in a new context, i.e. English local government.Practical implicationsThe paper reveals significant organisational development and senior management leadership issues for English county councils, in this case, in developing and sustaining high performance.Originality/valueThe paper is innovative in reviewing, developing and applying a resource‐based‐dynamic‐capability model to research local government organisational management.
“Leadership”: a perniciously vague concept
Authors: Spicker Paul 
Published: January 2012

PurposeDespite the vast amount of literature covering the concept of leadership, it remains contentious, under‐conceptualised and often uncritical. The purpose of this paper is to question the validity of the concept and dispute its application.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews what the idea of leadership means, how it relates to competing accounts of management in the public services, and what value it adds.FindingsThere is no evident reason why the supposed roles, tasks, or qualities of “leadership” either need to be or should be concentrated in the person of a leader; the tasks involved in “leading” an organisation are not in fact the tasks of motivation, influence or direction of others which are at the core of the literature; and there is no reason to suppose that leadership is a primary influence on the behaviour of most organisations.Practical implicationsIn the context of the public services, there is no set of skills, behaviours or roles that could be applied across the public services; the emphasis in leadership theory on personal relationships may be inconsistent with the objectives and character of the service; and the arrogation to a public service manager of a leadership role may be illegitimate.Originality/valueThe argument here represents a fundamental challenge to the concept of leadership, its relevance and its application to public services.