This article emphasises the role of constraints when humans establish organisations. Previous research explains organisations because of individuals’ motivations. Here, I answer…
Abstract
Purpose
This article emphasises the role of constraints when humans establish organisations. Previous research explains organisations because of individuals’ motivations. Here, I answer the question regarding the role of constraints in organising/organisations. In this article, the studied individuals face various constraints and want to avoid being targeted. Consequently, they establish horizontal organisations. I discuss the role of time in organising.
Design/methodology/approach
This research builds on an ethnographical study of activists and volunteers at the border between France and Italy where migrants cross the border. The area is mountainous, and the police, the judiciary and the far-right impede the actions of the activists and volunteers.
Findings
I argue that activists and volunteers establish non-hierarchical organisations to circumvent potential obstacles. To achieve this, they dedicated a significant amount of time to facilitate the formation of these horizontal structures. This approach allows them to operate without a designated leader, thereby reducing the risk of being targeted by law enforcement, judicial system or far-right groups. As a result, they successfully welcomed migrants.
Originality/value
This article presents new results on how activists and volunteers organise to welcome migrants.
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Ian Handley and Lawrence Lockshin
The growth of wine sales in the Pacific Rim is receiving a large amount of attention. This study was designed to look more deeply into the actual purchase behaviour of middle…
Abstract
The growth of wine sales in the Pacific Rim is receiving a large amount of attention. This study was designed to look more deeply into the actual purchase behaviour of middle class wine buyers in a selection of Singaporean supermarkets. Purchase behaviour was observed for 60 hours in a total of eight representative supermarkets. The findings show a smaller number of sales than would be expected, especially based on the size of the category displays. The types of wines, countries of origin, prices, browsing, and purchases are noted. The overall conclusion is of a wine market in its infancy with a need for education and further development before wine becomes a regular part of weekly shopping and consumption.
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Ian A. Combe and Günther Botschen
Quality management is dominated by rational paradigms for the measurement and management of quality, but these paradigms start to “break down”, when faced with the inherent…
Abstract
Quality management is dominated by rational paradigms for the measurement and management of quality, but these paradigms start to “break down”, when faced with the inherent complexity of managing quality in intensely competitive changing environments. In this article, the various theoretical strategy paradigms employed to manage quality are reviewed and the advantages and limitations of these paradigms are highlighted. A major implication of this review is that when faced with complexity, an ideological stance to any single strategy paradigm for the management of quality is ineffective. A case study is used to demonstrate the need for an integrative multi‐paradigm approach to the management of quality as complexity increases.
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Valentini Moniarou-Papaconstantinou, Evgenia Vassilakaki and Anna Tsatsaroni
Library and Information Science (LIS) has for a long time tried to gain legitimacy. In an ever changing environment due to technological and economic developments, the motivations…
Abstract
Purpose
Library and Information Science (LIS) has for a long time tried to gain legitimacy. In an ever changing environment due to technological and economic developments, the motivations behind choice of LIS are still of great interest. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of studies investigating the motivations that determine the choice of LIS.
Design/methodology/approach
Different search terms were run on different but relevant databases. A number of inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied and in total 45 papers were judged as relevant to choice of LIS discipline. A thorough analysis of these papers’ content revealed three main themes: choice of LIS, choice of LIS specialty and career change to LIS.
Findings
A variety of different motivations for choosing LIS were identified. The same motivations were reported in all groups (high school students, students, professionals). Specifically, love of books and reading, nature of library work, desire to help people were among the most reported motivations. LIS was also chosen as a second career by different professionals mainly due to changes in their first career work environment, the nature of library work, the desire to use knowledge and the transferable skills in their new career.
Research limitations/implications
This study considered only peer-reviewed research published between 2000 and 2014 in English. Specifically, it focussed on the motivations that specific groups chose to study LIS both as first and second career.
Practical implications
Library schools could raise awareness among high school students regarding the value, role and importance of LIS.
Originality/value
This paper examines the factors influencing the choice of LIS in a changing information environment, and sheds light on the individuals’ decision-making process attracted to LIS.
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Dimitar Eftimoski and Dushko Josheski
The impact of remittances on household consumption stability and economic growth is not quite clear. This paper attempts to reopen the debate on the relationship among these three…
Abstract
Purpose
The impact of remittances on household consumption stability and economic growth is not quite clear. This paper attempts to reopen the debate on the relationship among these three variables. The current remittance literature suggests that a decrease in household consumption volatility, induced by remittances, automatically leads to economic growth. This paper challenges these arguments by stating that, under certain circumstances, there is no automatic relationship among remittances, household consumption stability and growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors approach the question from the perspective of emerging Central, Eastern and Southeastern European (CESEE) countries. The authors use the two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator with the Windmeijer (2005) finite-sample correction. To test the existence of the possible non-linear effects of remittances on household consumption stability and economic growth, the authors use threshold regressions.
Findings
The authors find that remittances significantly reduce household consumption volatility. They exhibit a consumption-smoothing effect on recipient households. This stabilizing effect happens not through the preventive role of remittances, but rather through their compensatory role. Remittances produce a weaker stabilizing effect on household consumption when the remittance to GDP ratio of the recipient country is above the estimated threshold level of 4.5%. The authors also find that there is a negatively significant and linear impact of remittances on growth. There is no evidence to suggest that remittances can foster productive investment and therefore promote economic growth in CESEE countries, which means that: (1) the remittances cannot be treated as a source of funds to invest in human and physical capital and (2) the remittances are compensatory rather than profit-oriented.
Originality/value
As far as the authors are aware, this is the first study that investigates the impact of remittances on both household consumption stability and economic growth simultaneously.
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Ian A. Combe and Gordon E. Greenley
Different forms of strategic flexibility allow for reactive adaptation to different changing environments and the proactive driving of change. It is therefore becoming…
Abstract
Different forms of strategic flexibility allow for reactive adaptation to different changing environments and the proactive driving of change. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for decision makers to not only possess marketing capabilities, but also the capabilities for strategic flexibility in its various forms. However, our knowledge of the relationships between decision makers' different ways of thinking and their capabilities for strategic flexibility is limited. This limitation is constraining research and understanding. In this article we develop a theoretical cognitive content framework that postulates relationships between different ways of thinking about strategy and different information‐processing demands. We then outline how the contrasting beliefs of decision makers may influence their capabilities to generate different hybrid forms of strategic flexibility at the cognitive level. Theoretically, the framework is embedded in resource‐based theory, personal construct theory and schema theory. The implications for research and theory are discussed.
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Matteo Cristofaro, Pier Luigi Giardino, Riccardo Camilli and Ivo Hristov
This article aims to trace the historical development of the behavioral strategy (BS) field, which implements psychology in strategic management. Mainly, it provides a contextual…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to trace the historical development of the behavioral strategy (BS) field, which implements psychology in strategic management. Mainly, it provides a contextual understanding of how this stream of research has historically evolved and what relevant future trajectories are. This work is part of the “over half a century of Management Decision” celebrative and informal Journal section.
Design/methodology/approach
We consider BS literature produced in management decision (MD), the oldest and longest-running scholarly publication in management, as a proxy for the evolution of management thought. Through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) process, we collected – via the MD website and Scopus – a sample of 97 BS articles published in MD from its foundation (1967) until today (2024). Regarding the analysis, we adopted a Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach to synthesize the main BS topics, then read from a historical perspective regarding three “eras” over which the literature developed. Selected international literature outside the Journal’s boundaries was considered to complement this historical analysis.
Findings
Historically, within the BS field, the interest passed from the rules to rationally govern strategic decision-making processes, to studying what causes cognitive errors, to understanding how to avoid biases and to being prepared for dramatic changes. The article also identifies six future research trajectories, namely “positive heuristics,” “context-embedded mental processes,” “non-conventional thinking,” “cognitive evolutionary triggers,” “debiasing strategies” and “behavioral theories for new strategic challenges” that future research could investigate.
Research limitations/implications
The limitation of the study lies in its exclusive focus on MD for investigating the historical evolution of BS, thereby overlooking critical contributions from other journals. Therefore, MD’s editorial preferences have influenced results. A comprehensive SLR on the BS field is still needed, requiring broader journal coverage to mitigate selection biases and enhance field appraisal.
Originality/value
This contribution is the first to offer a historical evolutionary view of the BS field, complementing the few other reviews on this stream of research. This fills a gap in the study of the evolution of management thought.
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Peirson Process Equipment of “The Knolls,” Leighton Buzzard, introduced in 1981 a new range of pumpsets based on the “Oberdorfer” series of bronze positive displacement gear pumps.
Bisan Abdulkader, Domitilla Magni, Valentina Cillo, Armando Papa and Roberto Micera
Business process management (BPM) supports the creation and capture of firm value. In a dynamic context, the current approach to BPM appears to be limited and static in the face…
Abstract
Purpose
Business process management (BPM) supports the creation and capture of firm value. In a dynamic context, the current approach to BPM appears to be limited and static in the face of the challenges posed by the firm's open innovation (OI) ecosystem. The main purpose of this paper is to shed light on the value co-creation through the integration of OI principles and mechanisms of value system.
Design/methodology/approach
To this aim, the paper suggested a conceptual integration of strategy and operations literature on OI and the firm's value creation system. This analysis adopted BPM lenses with specific attention to the alignment between value creation and value capture. Applying BPM lenses to the process of creating shared value sought the attainment of a comprehensive system of decisions articulated between strategy and operations.
Findings
The paper pinpoints key links between strategy models and operational planning, thus proposing a new framework that integrates the characteristics of value system and OI. The paper elaborates a new theoretical framework rooted in the extant literature conducted in BPM, business strategy and business model innovation (BMI) fields.
Originality/value
This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature in which strategy models are separately treated from the operational ones. This conceptual effort contributes to the extant literature by drawing upon a comprehensive frameworkand mapping the complex set of interactions between the firm's value chain and its innovation ecosystem.
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NASA has exercised a launch vehicle option under the Medium Expendable Launch Vehicle services contract, and a McDonnell Douglas Delta II expendable launch vehicle will carry the…
Abstract
NASA has exercised a launch vehicle option under the Medium Expendable Launch Vehicle services contract, and a McDonnell Douglas Delta II expendable launch vehicle will carry the X‐ray Timing Explorer (XTE) spacecraft into low earth orbit in 1995.