William S. Harvey, Vince-Wayne Mitchell, Alessandra Almeida Jones and Eric Knight
A major part of knowledge management for knowledge-intensive firms such as professional service firms is the increasing focus on thought leadership. Despite being a well-known…
Abstract
Purpose
A major part of knowledge management for knowledge-intensive firms such as professional service firms is the increasing focus on thought leadership. Despite being a well-known term, it is poorly defined and analysed in the academic and practitioner literature. The aim of this article is to answer three questions. First, what is thought leadership? Second, what tensions exist when seeking to create thought leadership in knowledge-based organisations? Third, what further research is needed about thought leadership? The authors call for cross-disciplinary and academic–practitioner approaches to understanding the field of thought leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the academic and practitioner literature on thought leadership to provide a rich oversight of how it is defined and can be understood by separating inputs, creation processes and outcomes. The authors also draw on qualitative data from 12 in-depth interviews with senior leaders of professional service firms.
Findings
Through analysing and building on previous understandings of the concept, the authors redefine thought leadership as follows: “Knowledge from a trusted, eminent and authoritative source that is actionable and provides valuable solutions for stakeholders”. The authors find and explore nine tensions that developing thought leadership creates and propose a framework for understanding how to engage with thought leadership at the industry/macro, organisational/meso and individual/micro levels. The authors propose a research agenda based on testing propositions derived from new theories to explain thought leadership, including leadership, reducing risk, signalling quality and managing social networks, as well as examining the suggested ways to resolve different tensions.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, they are the first to separate out thought leadership from its inputs, creation processes and outcomes. The authors show new organisational paradoxes within thought leadership and show how they can play out at different levels of analysis when implementing a thought leadership strategy. This work on thought leadership is set in a relatively under-explored context for knowledge management researchers, namely, knowledge-intensive professional service firms.
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William S. Harvey, Marwa Tourky, Eric Knight and Philip Kitchen
This paper aims to challenge singular definitions, measurements and applications of corporate reputation which tend to be reductionist. The authors rebuff such narrow…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to challenge singular definitions, measurements and applications of corporate reputation which tend to be reductionist. The authors rebuff such narrow representations of reputation by showing the multiplicity of reputation in the case of a global management consulting firm and demonstrate how it has sustained such reputations.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a large cross-country qualitative case study based on interviews, focus groups, non-participant observations, workshops and a fieldwork diary, dimensions of reputation are highlighted by drawing on perceptions from multiple stakeholder groups in different geographies.
Findings
The authors find significant differences in perceptions of reputation between and within stakeholder groups, with perceptions changing across dimensions and geographies.
Originality/value
The theoretical implications of the research indicate a plurality of extant reputations, suggesting that a prism is more suited to representing corporate reputation than a singular, lens-like focus which is too narrow to constitute reputation. This paper offers theoretical and practical suggestions for how global firms can build and sustain multiple and competing corporate reputations.
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The purpose of this paper is to address the paradox that individuals face in seeking to both generate new ideas and be committed to delivering standardised processes in a creative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the paradox that individuals face in seeking to both generate new ideas and be committed to delivering standardised processes in a creative industry. The authors explore this tension in order to better understand how synergistic benefits are reaped at the intersection of these competing demands.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a longitudinal case study approach inside a global media organisation in the creative industries sector. Data derived from participant observations, manager interviews, administered survey instruments, and archival documentation.
Findings
The authors find that creative organisations experience explore/exploit paradoxes which are nested at three levels: knowledge, learning and motivation. Further, the authors find that managers are able to respond to competing tensions through organisational processes that allow differentiation/integration simultaneously. These management responses are supported and sustained by both structural and contextual organisational forms.
Originality/value
First, the authors provide a clearer theoretical explanation of paradox in creative organisations by accounting for competing demands to explore and exploit through nested tensions. Second, the authors extend the understanding of management responses to these paradox by showing how managers balance both demands simultaneously rather than cumulatively over time, thereby offering insight into how managers behave over time. Third, the authors outline the supporting role of organisational form in sustaining management responses within creative organisations at the same time in order to reap synergistic benefits.
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James H. Williams, Will Brehm and Yuto Kitamura
This paper sought to understand at one time point what was known and not known about the status and use of indicators of internationalization of higher education in Asia–Pacific…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sought to understand at one time point what was known and not known about the status and use of indicators of internationalization of higher education in Asia–Pacific. More specifically, we identified and mapped publicly available indicators of international of higher education in the region. We examined the ways by which internationalization has been measured and the indicators used, setting up discussion of what may be missing from internationalization efforts.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary questions were: (1) What are the current available sources of data in the Asia–Pacific region? (2) How is internationalization measured in publicly available databases and academic materials in Asia–Pacific? To answer these questions, we carried out a structured search of academic and agency literatures. Review of these literatures led us to develop definitions and a classification system by which indicators were classified and examined.
Findings
Indicators clustered almost exclusively around measures of student mobility, neglecting a wide range of other possible measures. The authors discuss the implications for internationalization of higher education in the region and draw on existing critical literature to speculate why this might be the case, and what dimensions of internationalization are likely overlooked with such a limited focus.
Originality/value
Internationalization of higher education has gained considerable momentum worldwide in recent years, and higher education in the Asia–Pacific region is arguably the world's most dynamic. Despite such dynamism, no research to our knowledge has mapped the way in which internationalization is measured by actors in the region.
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Xiang Li, Kevin McDowell and Xiaotong Wang
This paper aims to describe librarians’ efforts in reaching out to international students through vernacular language videos at both the University of Colorado Boulder and the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe librarians’ efforts in reaching out to international students through vernacular language videos at both the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Oregon. The videos were created to help international students familiarize themselves with the new library environment and to stimulate their interest in the future exploration of library resources and services.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper discusses the challenges of providing effective support to international students in the early stages of their academic life in the USA, explains the rationale for using vernacular language videos as a means of outreach to international students, outlines the factors considered in designing the videos that helped achieve the outreach goals and reviews promotion needs and assessment methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the videos.
Findings
Using online videos in native languages as a means to extend the reach of the libraries to international students is seen as useful and practical. Feedback from students and library colleagues shows positive reaction to the videos and provides encouragement for further outreach efforts to international students.
Practical implications
The strategies and experiences detailed here are easily adaptable to other institutions of higher education committed to developing outreach programs for international students.
Originality/value
The novelty of this case study is the librarians’ sophisticated thinking in developing vernacular language videos as a means of outreach to international students. The video project presented in the paper can function as an inspiring example for institutions preparing for the expected large influx of international students.
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Today’s librarians are faced with the need to constantly reevaluate database purchases in order to find the most cost‐effective means of supplying these resources to users. When a…
Abstract
Today’s librarians are faced with the need to constantly reevaluate database purchases in order to find the most cost‐effective means of supplying these resources to users. When a database is available from more than one provider, it may be necessary to make a detailed comparison of features and search engines to determine the best version for a particular library. This article compares 48 features of four versions of the ERIC database (SilverPlatter, FirstSearch, AskERIC, and SearchERIC.org), and discusses the relative merits of some of the more important features. Also included is an overview of the results of a survey given to Education majors which provides information on user preferences for versions of the ERIC database.
Samantha Balemba and Eric Beauregard
Victim resistance has been shown to have an important impact on the outcome of sexual assaults. Thus, the factors that affect a victim’s likelihood of various levels of resistance…
Abstract
Purpose
Victim resistance has been shown to have an important impact on the outcome of sexual assaults. Thus, the factors that affect a victim’s likelihood of various levels of resistance are relevant to consider, given the possibly detrimental effect these actions can have on crime outcome. While not intended to blame the victim in any way, it is important to examine the role the victim plays within a sexually coercive interchange in order to completely understand the sex crime event and, thus, be able to inform potential victims as to the patterns that increase resistance and, potentially, overall violence. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
Sequential logistic regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 613 sex offenses (incorporating both adult and child victims) to examine the individual and combined effects of offender lifestyle, disinhibitors, victim vulnerability, situational impediments and offender modus operandi on victim resistance levels.
Findings
Results suggest that indicators of offender mindset are significant, particularly the use of pornography prior to the crime, and affect victim interpretation and response to the offender’s actions during the course of the assault. Other relevant factors include the victim’s age and the degree of violence present in the offender’s approach and subsequent offending strategies.
Originality/value
This information would be helpful to incorporate into victim education programs so that past and future potential victims can better understand the criminal event and the causes and effects of their own actions within that event.
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Michel Laroche, Nicolas Papadopoulos, Louise A. Heslop and Mehdi Mourali
This study was designed to extend knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product…
Abstract
Purpose
This study was designed to extend knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product evaluations.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from residents of a large North American metropolitan. A total of 436 usable questionnaires were returned. Data analysis was conducted using the EQS structural equation modeling software
Findings
We found that country image is a three‐dimensional concept consisting of cognitive, affective, and conative components. We modeled the relationships among country image, product beliefs, and product evaluations, and found that country image and product beliefs affect product evaluations simultaneously regardless of consumers' level of familiarity with a country's products. Findings also indicated that the structure of country image influences product evaluations both directly and indirectly through product beliefs. Consistent with affect transfer theory, the results showed that when a country's image has a strong affective component, its direct influence on product evaluations is stronger than its influence on product beliefs. Alternatively, when a country's image has a strong cognitive component, its direct influence on product evaluations was smaller than its influence on product beliefs.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation pertains to the relatively poor psychometric properties of some items. Future research will benefit from further improvements in the measures of country image that tap into the various facets of the construct.
Originality/value
The major contributions of the study consist of the full operationalization of country image as a three‐dimensional concept, and the findings on the impact of country image structure on consumers' evaluation processes.
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In December 1989, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College (CMC) received a grant from the Knight Foundation to fund increased availability of, access to, and use of…
Abstract
In December 1989, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College (CMC) received a grant from the Knight Foundation to fund increased availability of, access to, and use of electronic databases. This article will describe the role of the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges in carrying out specifications of the grant through implementation of a CD‐ROM local area network with remote access and through preparation and presentation of instructional sessions focusing on use of the available databases. It will also discuss some of the changes that increased use of electronic technologies has brought to the Libraries.