bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Knowledge use in ICT investment decision making of SMEs
Authors: Rantapuska Torsti , Ihanainen Outi 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how managers use knowledge when making ICT investment decisions. ICT investments are complex processes and also have strategic implications for organizations. The focus of the study is to reveal how the organizational process of knowledge creation affects the individual‐level of decision making and how knowledge conversions between tacit and explicit knowledge occur in this process.Design/methodology/approachThe data consists of information collected by six semi‐structured interviews from six small‐ or medium‐sized companies. Knowledge use in ICT investment decision making is analyzed qualitatively and found categories of the different decision maker types are presented.FindingsIn ICT investments, there are three contributing factors: problem, product, and provider. The results show significant differences in how the tacit and explicit dimensions of knowledge act by forming a cognitive model of decision‐makers' use of knowledge.Research limitations/implicationsOwing to the qualitative approach, the findings do not show the frequencies of a certain type of a decision maker in the SMEs in general.Practical implicationsTo be more effective, the models of ICT investment decision making for SMEs should emphasise the tacit knowledge used in the process.Originality/valueThe paper presents rare empirical findings on how the decision makers in the SME context use knowledge in their ICT investment processes.
IT consultants, salesmanship and the challenges of packaged software selection in SMEs
Authors: Howcroft Debra , Light Ben 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThis paper seeks to analyse the process of packaged software selection in a small organization, focussing particularly on the role of IT consultants as intermediaries in the process.Design/methodology/approachThis is based upon a longitudinal, qualitative field study concerning the adoption of a customer relationship management package in an SME management consultancy.FindingsThe authors illustrate how the process of “salesmanship”, an activity directed by the vendor/consultant and focussed on the interests of senior management, marginalises user needs and ultimately secures the procurement of the software package.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the best intentions the authors lose something of the rich detail of the lived experience of technology in presenting the case study as a linear narrative. Specifically, the authors have been unable to do justice to the complexity of the multifarious ways in which individual perceptions of the project were influenced and shaped by the opinions of others.Practical implicationsPractitioners, particularly those from within SMEs, should be made aware of the ways in which external parties may have a vested interest in steering projects in a particular direction, which may not necessarily align with their own interests.Originality/valueThis study highlights in detail the role of consultants and vendors in software selection processes, an area which has received minimal attention to date. Prior work in this area emphasises the necessary conditions for, and positive outcomes of, appointing external parties in an SME context, with only limited attention being paid to the potential problems such engagements may bring.
Meeting the challenges of ICT adoption by micro‐enterprises
Authors: Wolcott Peter , Kamal Mehruz , Qureshi Sajda 
Published: November 2008

PurposeInformation and communication technologies (ICTs) open new opportunities for micro‐enterprises to improve their businesses. However, challenges to using ICTs impede these businesses from growing into drivers for development. This paper seeks to investigate the adoption of ICTs in 11 micro‐enterprises in an underserved community of Omaha, Nebraska.Design/methodology/approachFollowing an action research study, this research provides insight into the key challenges and opportunities facing micro‐enterprises in their use of ICTs to create value for their businesses.FindingsThe process of “IT therapy” provides individualized technology‐related assistance, with an emphasis on relationship‐building, customized training, context sensitivity, and solutions that target strongly‐perceived needs of the businesses studied.Originality/valueThe paper's contribution is in the methodology for facilitating the adoption of ICTs in micro‐enterprises.
An investigation into software development process formation in software start‐ups
Authors: Coleman Gerry , O'Connor Rory V. 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThis paper reports on the results of an investigation into how the software development process is initially established within software product start‐ups.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a grounded theory approach to characterize the experiences of small software organizations in developing processes to support their software development activity. Using the indigenous Irish software product industry as a test‐bed, the authors' examine how software development processes are established in software product start‐ups and the major factors that influence the make up of these processes.FindingsThe results show that the previous experience of the person tasked with managing the development work is the prime influencer on the process a company initially uses. Other influencers include the market sector in which the company is operating, the style of management used and the size and scale of the company operations.Originality/valueThe model has particular implications for start‐up software product organisations that wish to successfully manage their product development from an early stage.
ERP systems and open source: an initial review and some implications for SMEs
Authors: Johansson B. , Sudzina F. 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to further build up the knowledge about reasons for small and mid‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents and analyses findings in articles about proprietary ERPs and open source ERPs. In addition, a limited investigation of the distribution channel SourceForge for open source is made.FindingsThe cost perspective seems to receive a high attention regarding adoption of open source ERPs. This can be questioned and the main conclusion is that costs seem to have a secondary role in adoption or non adoption of open source ERPs.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is mainly a conceptual paper written from a literature review. The ambition is to search support for the findings by doing more research in the area.Practical implicationsThe findings presented are of interest both for developers of proprietary ERPs as well as SMEs since it is shown that there are definitely reasons other than costs involved when deciding on proprietary ERPs or open source ERPs.Originality/valueIt can be argued that there is a lack of research conducted and published about why SMEs choose open source ERPs instead of proprietary ERPs. This paper identifies the gap and suggests future research directions about this subject.
The impact of process mapping on transparency
Authors: Klotz Leidy , Horman Michael , Bi Henry H. , Bechtel John 
Published: November 2008

PurposeProcess mapping is used to articulate the activities and procedures of business entities in a graphical way as pictorial images readily convey considerable information. The objective of this research is to provide evidence and a methodology to assist organizations in evaluating the early stages of their process mapping efforts.Design/methodology/approachA review of literature identifies key characteristics of transparency (process visibility) related to process mapping. Quizzes and surveys are used to study the impact of process mapping on transparency in an employee training session.FindingsThe paper finds that process mapping increases transparency between 5 percent and 27 percent for the applications discussed in this paper.Research limitations/implicationsThe research presumes that better understanding and recall of the company's business processes equates to higher transparency. This research study is limited to one field test, organization, and process mapping methodology. These limitations should be considered when extrapolating the results to other organizations.Practical implicationsThe methodology outlined in this paper provides a way to measure the impact that formalizing (mapping) an organization's business processes and then using these maps to communicate the organization's business processes has on an individual employee's understanding and recall of those business processes. This methodology may help other organizations evaluate the early stages of their process mapping efforts.Originality/valueA measurable definition of transparency is developed. A field study provides evidence that process mapping increases transparency and a methodology is shared for others to study the impacts of their process mapping efforts.
Kaizen events and organizational performance: a field study
Authors: Doolen Toni L. , Van Aken Eileen M. , Farris Jennifer A. , Worley June M. , Huwe Jeremy 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the application of an assessment methodology to empirically measure and evaluate the impact of kaizen events on organizational performance, including human resource outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA field study of two kaizen events held within a single organization utilizing both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interviews and organizational documents) data was conducted. Sustainability of outcomes was also studied.FindingsThis study empirically illustrates that, even within a single organization, kaizen events may have varied success. Management support was found to be related to human resource outcomes. Positive attitudes at the conclusion of a successful event, however, did not automatically translate to sustained improvements. Additionally, the kaizen event team with a more limited scope was better able to meet targeted business objectives.Originality/valueThe methodology described can assess the impact of kaizen events on business performance and human resource outcomes; the latter has largely been ignored in the kaizen events scholarly literature. This study demonstrates that initial success in business outcomes and human resource outcomes are not necessarily correlated and that success may vary over time. Leaders need to pay close attention to follow‐up mechanisms to ensure sustainability.
The rebirth of politics in Bolivia: the role of popular resistance to business
Authors: Spence Crawford , Shenkin Mark 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to consider the role of mass mobilisations against international business in Bolivia and analyse their wider implications for the structure of the state, relating this to recent studies looking at the scope of resistance to international business.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis draws from a series of formal interviews with key political actors in Bolivia which were part of a wider ethnographic study exploring the emergence of the new hegemonic bloc in the country. The narrative is framed using the discourse theory of Laclau, and the methodology inspired by Bourdieu's understanding of social ethnography.FindingsThe paper finds that the uprisings against international business in Cochabamba in 2000 and El Alto in 2003 were pivotal in developing a wider critical consciousness to oppose neoliberalism in Bolivia. Subsequently, these social movements constructed a new identity as the “people” and implemented a more radical form of democracy.Research limitations/implicationsThe time period studied is such that it was impossible to assess whether or not this counter‐hegemonic movement has established a hegemonic bloc that has the potential to filter out into international resistance movements against business.Practical implicationsThe paper offers a range of insights that may be useful to social movements concerned with constructing national and international struggles against capitalism and/or neoliberalism.Originality/valueAs far as is known, this is one of the first papers to outline how civil society resistance to international business can lead to wholesale shifts in the balance of power within a nation state and the construction of a substantively new political order.
The US commercial‐military‐political complex and the emergence of international business and management studies
Authors: Westwood Robert , Jack Gavin 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThis paper seeks to present an analysis of the historical emergence of international business and management studies (IBMS) within the context of the post‐World War II USA. It seeks to show how certain conditions of this time and place shaped the orientation of foundational IBMS texts and set a course for the subsequent development of the field.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is primarily conceptual. The paper pursues both a historical analysis and a close reading of foundational texts within IBMS. It first examines the key conditions for the emergence of IBMS including: the internationalization of the US economy and businesses; the Cold War and perceived expansion of Soviet interests; and finally decolonisation processes around the world. These are interrelated aspects of a commercial‐military‐political complex, which simultaneously enabled and constrained the emergence of IBMS scholarship. The paper moves on to link these conditions to two seminal IBMS texts.FindingsThe paper reveals the localised and particular conditions that surrounded the emergence of IBMS and how IBMS was constituted to serve particular and localised interests associated with those conditions.Originality/valueThe paper's originality and value lie in a unique historical and discursive analysis of the conditions for the emergence of IBMS that were, in part, instrumental in the development of the field. It thus responds to calls for a “historical turn” in International Business scholarship.
Globalization, postcolonial theory, and organizational analysis
Authors: Long Brad S. , Mills Albert J. 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is three‐fold: to extend the scope of postcolonial theory to organizational analysis; to extend the scope of organizational analysis to the study of supranational organizations; and to examine the impact of postcolonial organizational thought on the conception and treatment of the Rwandan people.Design/methodology/approachOrganizational (in)action, both prior to and during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, is subjected to postcolonial organizational analysis.FindingsIt is shown that so‐called global organizational relations are mediated by supranational organizations, such as the United Nations, whose organizational structuring and practices are rooted in imperialist and postcolonial thinking.Research limitations/implicationsIt is recognised that the account of events presents an alternative but partial history of events in Rwanda.Practical implicationsThe response to genocide in Rwanda by the global community represents a challenge to the promise of globalization, which posits that multinational organizational integration based on mutual interest is achievable.Originality/valueThe paper destablizes the notion of globalization and global cooperation by raising questions about the asymmetrical contexts in which supranational organizations operate.
Management in emerging economies: modern but not too modern?
Authors: Murphy Jonathan 
Published: November 2008

PurposeThis paper sets out to critically review recent publications on emerging market management, and propose an alternative, sociological approach, that emphasizes the hybridity of the emerging economy managerial class in the context of globalization.Design/methodology/approachThrough a critical exploration of three books on emerging economies, the paper questions the meaning of the concept of “modern” in emerging country management. A case study of the treatment of Dalit sanitary workers in New Delhi is used to illustrate the interlay between global marketization and pre‐existing class and caste hierarchies.FindingsGlobalization does not result in the replacement of “traditional” with “modern” in India but rather creates hybrid relationships of domination in which an emergent global managerial class is built on and intertwined with pre‐existing class and caste hierarchies. This aspect of modernization is poorly understood in mainstream Indian management scholarship, and highlights the need for development of critical management studies within Indian business schools.Research limitations/implicationsThis is a complex and important topic, and the paper has only sketched a conceptual framework that requires further elaboration as well as empirical research.Practical implicationsThe debate around “modernization” in emerging economy management requires deepening. Normative issues regarding exploitation that have typically been applied only to the developed countries‐emerging countries relationship need to be expanded to examine internal social dynamics within globalizing/emerging economies.Originality/valueThe framework permits analysis of globalization beyond sterile pro‐ and anti‐dualities. It helps in explaining why globalization is attractive to developing country élites. The paper is a basis for further development of critical globalization theory as it applies to developing and transitional economies/societies.
Clinical trial: a randomized controlled study on prevention of variceal rebleeding comparing nadolol + ligation vs. hepatic venous pressure gradient‐guided pharmacological therapy
Authors: VILLANUEVA C. , ARACIL C. , COLOMO A. , LOPEZ‐BALAGUER J. M. , PIQUERAS M. , GONZALEZ B. , TORRAS X. , GUARNER C. , BALANZO J. 
Published: November 2008

SummaryBackground  Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) monitoring of therapy to prevent variceal rebleeding provides strong prognostic information. Treatment of nonresponders to β‐blockers ± nitrates has not been clarified.Aim  To assess the value of HVPG‐guided therapy using nadolol + prazosin in nonresponders to nadolol + isosorbide‐5‐mononitrate (ISMN) compared with a control group treated with nadolol + ligation.Methods  Cirrhotic patients with variceal bleeding were randomized to HVPG‐guided therapy (n = 30) or nadolol + ligation (n = 29). A Baseline haemodynamic study was performed and repeated within 1 month. In the guided‐therapy group, nonresponders to nadolol + ISMN received nadolol and carefully titrated prazosin and had a third haemodynamic study.Results  Nadolol + prazosin decreased HVPG in nonresponders to nadolol + ISMN (P < 0.001). Finally, 74% of patients were responders in the guided‐therapy group vs. 32% in the nadolol + ligation group (P < 0.01). The probability of rebleeding was lower in responders than in nonresponders in the guided therapy group (P < 0.01), but not in the nadolol + ligation group (P = 0.41). In all, 57% of nonresponders rebled in the guided‐therapy group and 20% in the nadolol + ligation group (P = 0.05). The incidence of complications was similar.Conclusions  In patients treated to prevent variceal rebleeding, the association of nadolol and prazosin effectively rescued nonresponders to nadolol and ISMN, improving the haemodynamic response observed in controls receiving nadolol and endoscopic variceal ligation. Our results also suggest that ligation may rescue nonresponders.
The influence of retrograde reperfusion on the ischaemia‐/ reperfusion injury after liver transplantation in the rat
Authors: Kern Hans , Bald Christian , Brill Thomas , Fend Falko , Von Weihern Claus Hann , Kriner Monika , Hüser Norbert , Thorban Stefan , Stangl Manfred , Matevossian Edouard 
Published: November 2008

SummaryDysfunction of the graft after liver transplantation caused by ischaemia‐/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a serious clinical problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different kinds of reperfusion on I/R injury in a rat model. Arterialized orthoptic rat liver treatment was performed on male LEWIS‐(RT1)‐rats. Three groups (n = 7) were formed. Group I: antegrade reperfusion with a 6‐min delayed reperfusion via the hepatic artery. Group II: Antegrade reperfusion, simultaneously, via the portal vein and the hepatic artery. Group III: Retrograde reperfusion via the vena cava. Serum parameters were determined one, 24 and 48 h after operation. Furthermore, after 48 h, the liver was taken for histological assessment. After 48 h, rats of group III showed significantly lower aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase serum levels compared with group I and group II rats. Forty‐eight hours after transplantation, glutamate dehydrogenase serum level was significantly lower in group III than in group II. In histology, group III livers showed significantly less necrotic spots than group I and group II livers. Maximum size of the necrotic spots was significantly lower in group III than in group I. Also, significantly more necrotic spots were seen in the ‘Rappaport′s zone’ 1 and 2 of group I than in group III. Our data suggested that the expression of I/R‐injury correlates with the type of reperfusion. Furthermore, under standard conditions, this study was able to demonstrate that in a rat model, the retrograde reperfusion leads to a lower expression of I/R‐injury than the antegrade reperfusion.
Expression and Hormonal Regulation of Hoxa10 in Canine Uterus During the Peri‐implantation Period
Authors: Guo B , Tian Z , Han B‐C , Zhang X‐M , Yang Z‐M , Yue Z‐P 
Published: November 2008

ContentsHoxa10, a homeobox gene, is necessary for endometrial receptivity to blastocyst implantation. The aim of this study was to investigate the differential expression of Hoxa10 in canine uterus during early pregnancy and its regulation under different conditions by in situ hybridization. Hoxa10 mRNA was mainly localized in glandular epithelium and myometrium in canine uterus. There was a low level of Hoxa10 expression in the glandular epithelium on days 6, 12 and 17 of pregnancy. On day 20 of pregnancy when embryo implanted, Hoxa10 mRNA was highly expressed in the glandular epithelium surrounding the embryo, but not in the luminal epithelium. The expression of Hoxa10 mRNA gradually declined from day 23 and reached a low level on day 28. In the myometrium, a low level of Hoxa10 mRNA signal was seen on days 6, 12 and 17 of pregnancy and reached a high level on day 20 of pregnancy. During the estrous cycle, a high level of Hoxa10 mRNA expression was seen in the estrous uterus. Either estrogen or progesterone significantly induced the expression of Hoxa10 mRNA in the ovariectomized canine uterus. These results suggest that Hoxa10 expression is closely related to canine embryo implantation and upregulated by estrogen and progesterone.
Factors influencing fatigue in Chinese nurses
Authors: Fang Jinbo , Kunaviktikul Wipada , Olson Karin , Chontawan Ratanawadee , Kaewthummanukul Thanee 
Published: November 2008

AbstractFactors predicting fatigue in Chinese nurses were examined in a descriptive, correlational study. The participants were 581 nurses working in general hospitals in Chengdu City, China. The study instruments included the Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery Scale, the Job Content Questionnaire, the Exposure to Hazards in Hospital Work Environments Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Job Dissatisfaction Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, F statistics, and multiple regression. The findings revealed that 61.7% of the variance in chronic fatigue and 54.9% of the variance in acute fatigue were explained by the independent variables. Intershift recovery was the most important variable in the explanation of acute fatigue, while acute fatigue was the most important variable in the explanation of chronic fatigue. Different intervention strategies should be implemented regarding the different influencing factors of acute and chronic fatigue.