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1 – 10 of 108Dennis G. Pepple and Eleanor M.M. Davies
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of socially supportive relationships between co-workers in fostering organisational identification (OID). Adopting a Social…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of socially supportive relationships between co-workers in fostering organisational identification (OID). Adopting a Social Identity Theory perspective, the study investigates how employees’ ethnic self-identification (ESI) may influence co-worker social support (CWSS)–OID relationship depending on whether they are indigenes or non-indigenes.
Design/methodology/approach
Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between CWSS (independent variable) and OID (dependent variable) at different levels of ESI (moderator variable). Data were collected from 1,525 employees from public and private employers in Nigeria.
Findings
Findings supported a positive relationship between CWSS and OID that is moderated by an employee’s ESI. Specifically, the study finds that ESI matters in the strength of CWSS–OID relationship such that the relationship is weaker for indigenes compared to non-indigenes.
Practical implications
As organisations develop policies that increase the representation of various ethnic groups or other forms of social identities at work, there is need to create an environment that fosters socially supportive relationships among co-workers.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by adding a level of boundary conditions to the overall findings that workplace relationships are important for OID. The study also addresses how employees of different ethnic groups are influenced by the ethnicity of the context prevailing where an organisation is located.
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Eleanor M.M. Davies, Brian Kenny and Robert R. Trick
Presents the initial findings of an ongoing study into the motives and uses of the joint venture by British investors in the Czech Republic. Observes that, despite the many…
Abstract
Presents the initial findings of an ongoing study into the motives and uses of the joint venture by British investors in the Czech Republic. Observes that, despite the many opportunities presented of doing business in Eastern Europe, the British have been slow to invest; the UK does not feature in the top seven investors in the Czech Republic. Points out that it is a widely held belief that the joint venture is the most common mode of entry used by Western firms when investing in Central and Eastern Europe. Contends that there is a clear match between the needs of market‐seeking or cost advantage‐seeking Western firms on the one hand and the technological needs of the Eastern Europeans on the other. However, suggests from the study data that UK investors have chosen to own their foreign operations wholly rather than work with local partners. Examines the different modes of entry, the sector and the function of investment used by British firms. Notes the predominance of service activities.
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Dennis Gabriel Pepple and Eleanor Davies
As public sector managers implement the policy of employing people that broadly reflects the social make up of a local society, there is a need to ensure that employees have a…
Abstract
Purpose
As public sector managers implement the policy of employing people that broadly reflects the social make up of a local society, there is a need to ensure that employees have a positive perception of ethnic diversity. Perceived environment of ethnic diversity (PEED) is conceptualised as employees’ view of how they are treated at work irrespective of where they come from. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between PEED and organisational identification (OID).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by means of a survey of 908 employees from four public sector organisations in a state in Nigeria. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Findings showed that OID may be fostered among multi-ethnic employees through the following framework: first, PEED had a direct relationship with OID and support was found, which was explained by the mediating role of co-worker social support (CWSS). Second, the effect of CWSS mediation was moderated by employees’ ethnic self-identification (ESI) such that those with strong ESI experienced lower OID.
Practical implications
As employee compositions in organisations increase in diversity, CWSS is presented in this study as a veritable measure for managers to foster OID.
Originality/value
This study is novel as it is one of the first to examine the mechanisms for linking PEED to OID through mediating effect of CWSS at different levels of ESI. Other contributions are discussed in detail in the study.
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Nicholas Longpré, Ewa B. Stefanska, Maria Tachmetzidi Papoutsi and Eleanor White
The purpose of this study is to examine the latent structure of stalking. Stalking can be defined as a pattern of repeated and unwanted behaviours that cause another person to be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the latent structure of stalking. Stalking can be defined as a pattern of repeated and unwanted behaviours that cause another person to be afraid. The consequences for the victims can be severe and potentially happen over a long period of time. While stalking is considered as a taxon, empirical evidence and an absence of pathognomonic criteria point towards a dimensional structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim of this study is to examine the latent structure of stalking using taxometric analyses on the Severity of Stalking Behaviours Scale. Analyses were conducted on a sample of N = 1,032 victims’ accounts, who had contacted the National Stalking Helpline in the UK.
Findings
Taxometric analyses revealed that stalking presents a dimensional structure, and no taxonic peaks emerged. The results were consistent across analyses (MAMBAC, MAXEIG and L-Mode), indicators (CCFI, curves) and measures (items, factors).
Research limitations/implications
A dimensional structure implies that individual variation is a matter of intensity, and the present results suggest that the conceptualization of stalking should be modified. Understanding stalking from a dimensional perspective provides support to study stalking in non-clinical populations. Scales that measure stalking should provide discrimination along the entire continuum rather than focusing on putative taxonic boundaries and arbitrary threshold.
Originality/value
This paper is proposing the first set of taxometric analyses on stalking. The results are providing empirical support to the idea that stalking exists on a continuum. It also strengthened the validity of previous findings in non-clinical populations and their applications all along the continuum, including with clinical populations.
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Rahul Dandage, Shankar S. Mantha and Santosh B. Rane
The purpose of this paper is to review the risk categories which are predominant in international projects and to rank them according to their effect on project success.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the risk categories which are predominant in international projects and to rank them according to their effect on project success.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature survey of peer-reviewed journal articles, survey reports and books on project management is used as the research methodology. One among the various multi-criteria decision making methods named as Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has been used to rank the risk categories according to their importance. The data for TOPSIS were collected through questionnaire as the research instrument.
Findings
The findings derived from evaluation of the publications led to the identification of eight different types of risk categories associated with international projects. The TOPSIS method resulted into political risks, technical risks and design-related risks as the top three risk categories in international projects. Contractual and legal risks and fraudulent practices-related risks are relatively low-ranked risk category.
Research limitations/implications
The findings will be useful in successful implementation of international projects as the knowledge of risk categories and their ranking will help project manager to plan the risk response strategies. A larger sample size for decision makers and more variety of projects can give more exhaustive risk categories and their ranking.
Practical implications
This paper explores eight different risk categories in international projects. It represents the ranking of risk categories according to their importance in project success. This will be helpful to project managers for developing a general framework for planning the appropriate risk response strategies.
Social implications
Governments of many countries around the world are encouraging their industries to undertake and successfully complete projects in foreign countries. However, many industries experience failure in projects as they fail to implement the risk management (RM) effectively in international projects. This research work provides the risk categories in international projects and their ranking which can assist in developing strategies to respond the risk appropriately.
Originality/value
This paper uses the TOPSIS method for ranking major types of risk categories in international projects. It might represent new opportunities for rigorous and relevant research that would contribute to an in-depth knowledge of RM methodologies.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
Dennis Gabriel Pepple, Raphael Oseghale and Eleanor Nmecha
This study aims to examine senior male employees’ perspectives on the glass ceiling in the Nigerian banking sector.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine senior male employees’ perspectives on the glass ceiling in the Nigerian banking sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected qualitatively using interviews with 43 senior male employees in four Nigerian banks.
Findings
This study finds that senior male employees acknowledge the challenges their female counterparts face concerning promotion. Senior male employees’ views on the value of gender-diverse leadership underscore the illusion of a “level playing field” because of a gender-neutral performance policy and a family–friendly policy for women. Nonetheless, the study notes a divergence in senior male employees’ perspectives about the professional progression of female employees (based majorly on age and ethnicity). The study concludes that the organisational culture and leadership that underpin poor female career progression are embedded in and driven by the culture in the empirical context.
Originality/value
The examination of senior male employees’ perspectives on the glass ceiling in the Nigerian banking sector offers significant theoretical and practical contributions to the extant literature on gendered occupational segregation by providing unique insights into how patriarchal societal and occupational culture, as well as (limited) family–friendly policies for women, influence the configuration of men’s views of gendered occupational segregation in the Nigerian banking sector.
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Asahita Dhandhania and Eleanor O'Higgins
The purpose of this study is to examine the ways that sin industry companies attempt to utilise CSR reporting for legitimation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the ways that sin industry companies attempt to utilise CSR reporting for legitimation.
Design/methodology/approach
Conventional and summative content analyses were carried out on annual CSR reports in UK tobacco and gambling companies, juxtaposed against analysis of the actual behaviour of the companies, collectively and individually.
Findings
The paper concludes that there is an ongoing tension between the business of sin industry companies and their attempts to establish and maintain any legitimacy, using CSR reporting in particular ways to try to prove their credentials to society and to engage salient stakeholder support. Ultimately, they aim to give themselves the scope for strategic choice to enable survival and financial flourishing.
Research limitations/implications
Further research on CSR on other sin industries and in other jurisdictions with different regulatory situations could shed further light on the achievement or denial of different types of legitimacy. Studying different time periods as industries change would be of value.
Practical implications
On a practical basis, the study offers guidelines to stakeholders on the use of CSR reports from sin companies, and suggests the establishment of objective external CSR reports, overseen by accounting regulators.
Social implications
The paper provides an overview of the role of sin industries in society, and mitigating their harms.
Originality/value
This study allowed for a comprehensive, dynamic and inclusive understanding of the interplay of CSR reporting and legitimacy by addressing conflicting interests between sin companies' social effects and inherent activities at the industry level. The methodology of multiple case study design in two sin industries combined content analysis of CSR reports, juxtaposed against analysis of behaviour in context. Previous research included the juxtaposition of actuality in analysis of only single case studies or particular issues. Thus, this research allows for a broader industry understanding. On a practical basis, the study offers guidelines to stakeholders on the use of CSR reports from sin companies, and suggests the establishment of objective external CSR reports, overseen by accounting regulators. At the social level, the paper provides an overview of sin industries in society, and mitigating their harms.
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The management of children′s literature is a search for value andsuitability. Effective policies in library and educational work arebased firmly on knowledge of materials, and on…
Abstract
The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore power-resistance plays, or organisational change (OC) politics, from a discourse theory perspective to deepen our understanding of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore power-resistance plays, or organisational change (OC) politics, from a discourse theory perspective to deepen our understanding of the political and emotional dimensions of these phenomena.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper deploys Laclauian concepts of hegemony, fantasmatic narrative and empty signifiers alongside a recently-developed logics of critical explanation approach in the case study of an English local authority formulating a project of integrated commissioning in response to austerity.
Findings
The paper demonstrates how OC politics are played out in multiple ways, from social and political negotiations over the meaning of commissioning to the refuelling of the authority’s fantasmatic narrative.
Originality/value
The paper’s key value is to illustrate how and why discourse theory can contribute, alongside other discursive frameworks, to the in-depth qualitative and political study of organisational issues such as change.
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