Martie-Louise Verreynne, Jerad Ford and John Steen
The paper aims to develop a strategic conceptualization and measurement scale of organizational resilience to support researchers examining how small firms prepare and respond…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to develop a strategic conceptualization and measurement scale of organizational resilience to support researchers examining how small firms prepare and respond deliberately to general disruptions in the operating environment over more extended time frames.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a four-step process to develop, present and test (for predictive validity) a scale of strategic organizational resilience for frequent events or those needing long-term responses.
Findings
The resulting seven-factor measurement scale of organizational resilience consists of readiness, slack, problem-solving, flexibility, connectedness, adaptiveness and proactiveness.
Originality/value
The literature on organizational resilience explains how organizations recover from rare but catastrophic events by focusing on adaptation principles and short-term survival. The broader conceptualization presented here enables the study of organizational resilience in small-medium size enterprises (SMEs) across more frequent and pervasive events, such as financial crises, industry downturns and other forms of structural change and technological disruption. This is operationalized in a measure that includes new strategic factors associated with forward-planning and more traditional operationally focused elements.
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Peter J. Holland, Robert Hecker and John Steen
States that the rapid expansion of the information technology (IT) industry has brought about skill shortages in many advanced western economies. Examines human resource (HR…
Abstract
States that the rapid expansion of the information technology (IT) industry has brought about skill shortages in many advanced western economies. Examines human resource (HR) policies and organisational structures for developing and retaining IT staff through two case studies of organisations in the IT and telecommunications sector in Australia. Concludes that developing HR policies in order to recruit and retain staff, and linking these to appropriate organisational structure, is becoming of increased importance in order to encourage employees to remain with a company.
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Peter Liesch, John Steen, Gary Knight and Michael R. Czinkota
This paper offers a conceptualization of the internationalization decision confronted by a firm in an environment of terrorism‐induced risk.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper offers a conceptualization of the internationalization decision confronted by a firm in an environment of terrorism‐induced risk.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach taken is a conceptualization of the internationalization decision framed from theoretical reasoning and informed by the literature.
Findings
The model presents the internationalization decision, a product/market/mode (PMM) combination, in the case of a terrorism‐free context and in a with‐terrorism context. Using indifference curve mapping of risk/return tradeoffs, an opportunities set of possible PMM combinations and the notion of efficiency, it traces the most attractive opportunities set to show that within this set, the frontier of attractive opportunities is constrained in the with‐terrorism case. Propositions are framed to guide future research. While conditions of risk can be calculated, it is concluded that remaining uncalculable is the true uncertainty incited by the systemic effects of international terrorism that call for managerial judgment.
Originality/value
The literature in this field reports little on the effects of international terrorism on the firm. With heightened awareness of international terrorism, and the changed environment for the firm operating internationally, it is timely that the effects of terrorism on decision‐making in firms be investigated. Advancing beyond description to substantive conceptualization of this decision is an essential step for better understanding of this now pervasive phenomenon.
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This survey overviews the literature on entrepreneurship and self-employment. The author catalogs the main contributions of this body of research and makes a distinction between…
Abstract
This survey overviews the literature on entrepreneurship and self-employment. The author catalogs the main contributions of this body of research and makes a distinction between issues on which there is now widespread agreement and those for which no consensus has yet emerged. This latter set of issues provides fertile ground for further research.
Managers need research‐based guidance on how to find sources of new growth when their core business is maturing.
Abstract
Purpose
Managers need research‐based guidance on how to find sources of new growth when their core business is maturing.
Design/methodology/approach
Authors shadowed managers responsible for finding and entering new businesses, interviewing them every three or four months for an average of two years. They surveyed over 100 corporate venturing units and corporate incubators and assembled a database of over 50 stories of companies that had successfully developed or acquired a significant new business. We interviewed managers in about half of these companies that had successfully diversified and we tested our emerging hypotheses against this database.
Findings
All research indicated that managers need to assess opportunities more strategically and be less activity driven. The authors concluded that managers were investing in too many projects, most of which had little chance of success.
Research limitations/implications
If research is reported on in the paper this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process.
Practical implications
Ashridge Strategic Management Centre has developed a screening tool – The New Businesses Traffic Lights to test opportunities before a business plan has been developed, alongside a business plan to assess the strategic logic for the proposal, or to an existing investment that is failing to meet its short‐term targets.
Originality/value
Applying the screen to the portfolio of new business investments in most companies will result in red lights for many projects. Not only can significant money be saved from the “new businesses” budget, but also extra resources can be focused on improving the core businesses.
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Thomas N. Garavan, Michael Morley, Patrick Gunnigle and David McGuire
Workplace learning and HRD are considered legitimate topics for study and investigation alongside organisational strategies and practices. Considers key themes in the workplace…
Abstract
Workplace learning and HRD are considered legitimate topics for study and investigation alongside organisational strategies and practices. Considers key themes in the workplace earning literature in addition to its relationship with HRD. Identifies a paradigm shift from formalised, intermittent and discontinuous learning to increasingly informal, experiential, asynchronous and real‐time situated learning. Highlights three contemporary themes in both the workplace learning and HRD literatures, namely: knowledge, expertise, competence and capability; organisational learning; and employability and career issues.
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Christopher Andrew Brkich and Elizabeth Yeager Washington
This article focuses on the following questions: 1) How do secondary social studies teachers working in schools of color experience pedagogical negotiations when trying to teach…
Abstract
This article focuses on the following questions: 1) How do secondary social studies teachers working in schools of color experience pedagogical negotiations when trying to teach students thoughtful, critically informed citizenship and government and school accountability mandates? and 2) How does teaching with lessons grounded in the principles of authentic intellectual work (AIW) affect this negotiation experience? We employed a phenomenological framework as the methodological basis for eliciting two classroom teachers’ experiences, both of whom have advanced degrees in social studies education and several years of teaching experience in schools of color and of poverty. The findings show that prior to the incorporation of lessons based on the principles of authentic intellectual work, these teachers’ negotiation experiences had strong negatively affective dimensions based on a zero-sum pedagogical conceptualization of curriculum. Following the introduction of lessons based on AIW, these negatively affective dimensions began to recede from their experiences and were replaced by more positive ones. Given that classroom teachers are the ultimate arbiters of curriculum in their classrooms, this research has implications for improving the experiences of secondary social studies teachers working in schools of color.
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Douglas J. Ernest and Lewis B. Herman
In recent years, guides to hiking trails and wilderness areas have enjoyed an increase in popularity. Here, Douglas J. Ernest and Lewis B. Herman evaluate more than 100 such books.
This paper explores route‐choice patterns among motorists on a scenic road in south‐western Norway. Factor analysis is used to identify the characteristics of the types of…
Abstract
This paper explores route‐choice patterns among motorists on a scenic road in south‐western Norway. Factor analysis is used to identify the characteristics of the types of motorists who seek particular benefits when they choose to travel along this specific route. Five factors were found: 1) experiencing landscapes and attractions; 2) outdoor recreation; 3) off the beaten track; 4) a suitable road; and 5) a variation of travel experiences. In conclusion, the paper offers an alternative framework of road choice structures.