Paul J. Thambar, Aldónio Ferreira and Prabanga Thoradeniya
This study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of performance management systems (PMSs) in enabling logic blending to manage institutional complexity and tensions arising from coexisting institutional logics.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a case study of an Australian non-government organisation (NGO) operating in an institutional field dominated by the state government, in which policy reform jolted the balance between institutional logics. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, archival documents and observations.
Findings
We find the policy reform required the NGO to transform from a wholly care focus to accommodate a more balanced approach with a focus on care coupled with efficiency, outcome delivery and performance measurement. The NGO responded by revising its purpose, strategy and operational model and by seeking to address the imperatives of two dominant and often competing care and managerial logics. We find this was achieved through logic blending, in which PMSs played a pivotal role, with the formalisation and collaboration processes mobilising different elements of PMSs, mobilising some elements differently or not mobilising some elements at all.
Originality/value
This study highlights the central role of PMSs in managing tensions between and the complexity arising from coexisting institutional logics through logic blending, a form of enduring compromise. This study extends the accounting logics and performance management literature by developing the understanding of what constitutes logic blending and how it is distinct from other forms of compromise.
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Cristian Armando Yepes-Lugo, Robert Ojeda-Pérez and Luz Dinora Vera-Acevedo
This paper aims to evaluate the evolution of the organizational field in the Colombian coffee industry between 1960 and 2020 and explain how peripheral actors influenced…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the evolution of the organizational field in the Colombian coffee industry between 1960 and 2020 and explain how peripheral actors influenced institutional change.
Design/methodology/approach
The methods analyze historical processes from a hermeneutical and interpretative perspective. The authors used data collection techniques through interviews, archive data, publications and media reports, embracing an interdisciplinary and qualitative documentary approach. This approach helps the authors unravel the temporal dimensions of the historical discourse related to coffee and the involvement of various actors within organizational structures.
Findings
The authors found that, unlike the literature regarding the change in organizational fields, recently, within the coffee sector in Colombia, the institutional work of peripheral actors (small producers, local associative groups and coffee women, among others) is changing the field as follows: (1) women are changing traditional behaviors moving from hierarchical family structures and lack of gender awareness, to empowered, horizontal and sustained relationships, (2) indigenous people include rituals and other traditional practices in coffee production and (3) ex-guerrilla members are helping to strengthen the peace process implementation in Colombia through coffee production.
Research limitations/implications
The authors did not conduct statistical or computational analysis to simulate the emergence of new organizational forms. Instead, the authors attempted to elucidate narratives and discourses that reflect the tensions between central and peripheral actors from a historical perspective.
Practical implications
This study seeks to help leaders and managers overcome processes or organizational change in which peripheral actors are crucial. From that perspective, allocating resources and capabilities can become more effective.
Originality/value
This paper offers a new perspective of change within organizational fields from the roles of peripheral actors, which are fundamental in change processes within organizational fields, especially in the global south, where tensions between elites and vulnerable people are familiar.
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Axel van den Berg and Emre Amasyalı
Since its introduction by Anthony Giddens in the early 1980s, the use of the concept of “agency” as a way to accommodate an irreducible element of voluntarism into sociological…
Abstract
Since its introduction by Anthony Giddens in the early 1980s, the use of the concept of “agency” as a way to accommodate an irreducible element of voluntarism into sociological explanations has grown exponentially in the literature. In this chapter, we examine the most prominent theoretical justifications for adopting the notion of “agency” as an integral part of such explanations. We distinguish three broad sets of justifications: the meaningfulness/intentionality of social action, the need for “agency” to explain change in social structures, and the link between agency, social accountability, and human dignity. We find that none of these provides a convincing rationale for the analytical utility of agency. This raises the question of what work it actually does perform in the sociological literature.
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Meera Peethambaran and Mohammad Faraz Naim
This study aims to identify current trends in flourishing-at-work (FAW) research, highlight significant gaps in the literature and guide future research directions in this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify current trends in flourishing-at-work (FAW) research, highlight significant gaps in the literature and guide future research directions in this important area.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a framework-based systematic literature review (SLR) approach, focusing on established theories, contexts and methods and antecedents, decisions and outcomes framework. The utilization of Web of Science and Scopus databases ensures the inclusion of high-quality, peer-reviewed articles, adhering to the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews framework.
Findings
This study found significant gaps in the literature of FAW. The summarized research gaps are reported using the Miles taxonomy of research gaps.
Practical implications
Organizations can enhance employee well-being by addressing identified gaps, implementing tailored practices and fostering supportive cultures.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to represent the first framework-based SLR on the holistic well-being construct, FAW. Using a rigorous methodology and comprehensive databases, our research offers valuable and unique insights, significantly enhancing the scholarly understanding of FAW.
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Paul Yuseung Doh, Minjung Kim and Calvin Nite
In the contemporary globalized sports industry, it is crucial for sport employees to cultivate an essential capability – cultural intelligence (CQ) – to excel in culturally…
Abstract
Purpose
In the contemporary globalized sports industry, it is crucial for sport employees to cultivate an essential capability – cultural intelligence (CQ) – to excel in culturally diverse sport environments. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive conceptual framework of sport employees' CQ for enhancing management practices in sport organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
By conducting a thorough literature review of relevant business and sport management literature, this research offers a synopsis of CQ and advocates for the advancement of a developed conceptual framework for sport employees' CQ (CQ-SE).
Findings
The conceptual framework of CQ-SE is proposed to facilitate employees’ effective integration into diverse environments within sport organizations. This framework identifies predictors that enhance sport employees’ CQ, moderating factors to provide deeper insights into these relationships and outcomes at individual, group and organizational levels. We additionally elaborate on the anticipated benefits for stakeholders, given the services provided by sport practitioners.
Originality/value
This study is one of the initial endeavors to conceptualize the concept of CQ for sport employees. This study contributes to the literature on sport organizational culture and human resource management by emphasizing the pivotal role of sport employees’ CQ in promoting greater inclusivity in sport organizations. We encourage sport management researchers to explore the application of CQ in sport contexts and empirically test the relationships proposed in this framework.
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Auqib Rasool Dar and Maleeha Gul
This study, a systematic literature review, aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on choice overload from 2000 to 2023.
Abstract
Purpose
This study, a systematic literature review, aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on choice overload from 2000 to 2023.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews 53 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, using thematic and descriptive analyses. The literature was selected using the PRISMA framework.
Findings
Recent research in consumer behaviour has found that too many choices can be detrimental to decision-making. This paper reviews the development of choice overload literature, methodologies used by researchers to study choice overload, small and large choice sets, antecedents, moderators and outcomes of choice overload and the contexts in which choice overload exists.
Research limitations/implications
Limited literature coverage because of the strict adherence to inclusion/exclusion criteria. The theory challenges the conventional choice models in psychology and economics according to which expanding a choice set cannot make decision-making worse and violates the regularity axiom, a cornerstone of classical choice theory. This review also identifies avenues for further research in the field.
Practical implications
A significant decrease in satisfaction or motivation because of too many choices would require marketers and public policymakers to rethink their practice of providing ever-increasing assortments to choose from because they could possibly boost their success by offering less.
Originality/value
This systematic review makes distinctive contributions by classifying the existing studies based on evidence “for” and “against” the existence of choice overload. The review also combines cross-context insights on assortment sizes, moderators and methodological commonalities and gaps to understand the multi-faceted nature and contextual nuances of choice overload.
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The purpose of this study is to explore the shifting power dynamics within an inter-organizational relationship (IOR) over time through an institutional theory lens. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the shifting power dynamics within an inter-organizational relationship (IOR) over time through an institutional theory lens. Specifically, this manuscript explores power by acknowledging its relationality, temporality and typology through a case study focusing on an international collegiate ice hockey tournament. This study seeks to demonstrate the complexity of power as a multi-dimensional, relational, and temporal concept that can ebb and flow given actors’ positionality.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a chronological case study that is an appropriate in-depth qualitative framework to explore the how and why of a particular phenomenon. Yin (2018) describes a case study as “investigat[ing] a contemporary phenomenon (the ‘case’) in depth and within its real-world context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context may not be clearly evident” (p. 45). Specifically, I used a chronological case study method as it provides the ability to document the chronology of events to determine important factors shaping the phenomenon (Yin, 2018). This includes collecting various types of data (organizational documents, news articles, interviews and observations) to create a robust understanding of a bounded chronological case over time.
Findings
Examining power dynamics is important as “power or its absence influences the mechanisms available to partners for initiating, challenging, and/or enforcing institutional change” (Gray et al., 2022, p. 3). This paper demonstrates the complexity of power as a multi-dimensional, relational and temporal concept that can ebb and flow given actors’ positionality. Further, the paper provides a case study showing how power asymmetries in an IOR can shift over time.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a case study on an IOR wherein multiple international organizations collaborated to create an ice hockey tournament. Through the case study, I demonstrate how different partners navigate power imbalances and changes over time.
Practical implications
This study provides a textbook case study of a successful IOR. Entrepreneurial actors capitalized on a catalyst event to leverage a boundary-spanning document and their professional networks to form a new identity and shared vision through the formation of the tournament. Further, this study provides insight into how an organization in an IOR can work to balance asymmetrical power relations.
Social implications
As organizations seek to engage in collaborations, leveraging power through their contextuality can help create more equitable arrangements over time. Even when organizations may truly be at a disadvantage when entering an IOR, such as a local indigenous community partnering with an international corporation or non-profit, the status of particular locals or local organizations can be powerful in balancing an imbalanced relationship.
Originality/value
While a wealth of research documents the relational dynamics of IORs, there remains a significant gap in our understanding pertaining to the dynamics of power asymmetries in IOR partnerships. Existing research primarily focuses on the antecedents leading to sport organizations engaging in IORs and the various processes organizational leaders can employ to ensure an IOR’s success. However, several scholars acknowledge a profound gap in our understanding of how partners experiencing a power deficit in an IOR partnership work to balance power asymmetries.
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Rubee Singh, David Crowther and Kamalesh Ravesangar
Addressing the urgent issue of climate change and its impact on society requires immediate attention and innovative solutions. This chapter explores research that examines…
Abstract
Purpose
Addressing the urgent issue of climate change and its impact on society requires immediate attention and innovative solutions. This chapter explores research that examines previous studies about the strategies companies use in their human resources (HR) departments to lessen the impact of climate change and support good social results.
Methodology
This section conducted a thorough search of academic literature to find relevant studies on the connection between HR strategies, addressing climate change, and social impact. The inclusion criteria for this research targeted empirical studies on the relationship between HR practices and environmental and social outcomes. It employed particular keywords such as well-known academic databases.
Findings
This review discusses the important influence of HR strategies in addressing climate change and promoting positive social effects in companies. It evaluates successful HR practices that specifically endorse environmental and social goals through a comprehensive analysis of academic studies. The results offer useful knowledge for HR professionals and business leaders looking to align their HR strategies with climate change.
Implications
The findings of this chapter can benefit a diverse audience such as scholars who deal with human resource management, knowledge management and organizational innovation, HR personnel, business stakeholders and the employees.
Originality
This review offers a novel viewpoint by exploring the less-studied area of HR's potential to drive positive environmental and social changes. While past research has acknowledged HR's significance, this review goes further by analysing the specific HR approaches that have been successful in tackling climate change and enhancing social welfare.
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This paper aims to offer insight into how strategies within the accounting profession, which has been becoming more global, might be changed by the recent outbreak of the Second…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to offer insight into how strategies within the accounting profession, which has been becoming more global, might be changed by the recent outbreak of the Second Cold War between the West and the Rest of the World.
Design/methodology/approach
We explore the strategies of those who called themselves “Confucian accountants” in China, a country which has recently discouraged its state-owned enterprises from using the services of the Big 4. We do this by employing qualitative research methods, including reflexive photo interviews, in which Big-4 accountants, recognised as the most Westernised accounting actors in China, and Confucian accountants are asked to take and explain photographs representing their professional lives. Bourdieu’s notions of “economy of practices” and “vision-of-division strategy” are drawn upon to understand who the Confucian accountants are and what they do strategically in their pursuit of a higher revenue stream and improved social standing in the Chinese social space.
Findings
The homegrown Confucian accountants share cultural-cognitive characteristics with neighbouring social actors, such as their clients and government officials, who have been inculcated with Confucianism and the state’s cultural confidence policy in pursuit of a “socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics”. Those accountants try to enhance their social standing and revenue stream by strategically demonstrating their difference from Big-4 accountants. For this purpose, they wear Confucian clothes, have Confucian props in their office, employ Confucian phrases in their everyday conversations, use Confucian business cards and construct and maintain guanxi with government officials and clients.
Originality/value
This paper is the first attempt to explore Confucian accountants’ strategies for increasing their revenue and social standing at the start of the Second Cold War.