Jamison V. Kovach, Teresa Cardoso-Grilo, Madalena Cardoso, Sofia Kalakou and Ana Lúcia Martins
This research proposes how Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) provides a complementary approach for business process management (BPM) lifecycle implementation in order to address gaps…
Abstract
Purpose
This research proposes how Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) provides a complementary approach for business process management (BPM) lifecycle implementation in order to address gaps identified in the current literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The mandatory elements of a method (MEM) framework is used to illustrate DFSS's maturity as a process redesign method. The use of DFSS in a BPM context is described through several action research case examples.
Findings
This research specifies the procedure model (order of development activities), techniques, results, roles and information/meta model (conceptual data model of results) associated with using DFSS to address BPM-related challenges. The action research case examples provided discuss the details of implementing BPM using DFSS to design, implement and test redesigned processes to ensure they fulfill the needs of process participants.
Research limitations/implications
While the case examples discussed were performed in only a few settings, which limits the generalizability of their results, they provide evidence regarding the wide range of domains in which the proposed DFSS-BPM approach can be applied and how the tools are used in different contexts.
Practical implications
This research offers a road map for addressing the challenges practitioners often face with BPM lifecycle implementation.
Originality/value
This research provides the first attempt to integrate DFSS as a complementary method for BPM lifecycle implementation.
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Ana Lucia Martins, Henrique Duarte and Daniela Costa
Supply chain relationships have often been analysed from the macro-perspective of the companies involved, but there is less evidence of how relationships relate to the…
Abstract
Purpose
Supply chain relationships have often been analysed from the macro-perspective of the companies involved, but there is less evidence of how relationships relate to the micro-perspective of persons involved. The purpose of this paper is to investigate, in IT outsourcing (ITO), how the buyer–supplier relationship type strengthens buyer performance from the perspective of consultants.
Design/methodology/approach
IT consultants were surveyed, and analysis was performed considering the aggregated values of variables that characterise buyer–supplier relationships adjusted to ITO.
Findings
The results show that strategic relationships are associated with higher supplier investment in relational management than in transactional ones. Similarly, in this type of relationship, higher levels of trust are linked to the recognition of more activities shared between parties involved than in transactional relationships. The improvement of supplier development by buyers was also found to improve buyers’ performance.
Research limitations/implications
The model proposed here was developed for nonspecific industries but tested in the context of ITO. Further research should be undertaken to broaden generalisability.
Originality/value
The paper provides an understanding of the influence of the buyer–supplier relationship type on buyer performance based both on relational management and, more specifically, how the formal dimension of supplier development can also contribute to performance. ITO is increasing worldwide, and relational management affects outsourcing outcomes in broad supply chain integration. This analysis is usually visited from buyer and supplier perspectives using decision makers. This paper assesses it from the perspective of consultants.
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Ana Lucia Caicedo-Leitón, Lucia Garcés-Galdeano and Martin Larraza-Kintana
This article explores psychological ownership (PO) in family firms (FFs); its impact on interpersonal relationships, attitudes and behaviors within the organization; and its…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores psychological ownership (PO) in family firms (FFs); its impact on interpersonal relationships, attitudes and behaviors within the organization; and its importance for long-term success. It also highlights the factors that contribute to PO in these types of businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
The article conducts a literature review that utilizes existing research to delve into the phenomenon of PO within the context of FFs.
Findings
The article emphasizes that PO significantly impacts employee behavior and attitudes toward FFs. It shows the favorable influence of PO on employees' conduct and mindset. However, excessive PO can lead to disputes and obstruct the transfer of control.
Practical implications
The success of family businesses depends on nurturing strong, positive PO in future generations and among nonfamily members.
Originality/value
The article contributes to PO literature in FFs by analyzing its influence on FFs. It highlights factors affecting PO formation and its consequences and highlights novel lines of future research.
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Lucía Garcés-Galdeano, Josip Kotlar, Ana Lucía Caicedo-Leitón, Martín Larraza-Kintana and Federico Frattini
Absorptive capacity (AC), the ability to leverage external knowledge for innovation, helps explain the mixed findings on family firms' (FFs) innovation performance. Our research…
Abstract
Purpose
Absorptive capacity (AC), the ability to leverage external knowledge for innovation, helps explain the mixed findings on family firms' (FFs) innovation performance. Our research focuses on the chief executive officer (CEO)’s role – whether family or non-family and founding or later generation – in influencing AC. We also explore how firm size and environmental dynamism affect these relationships, offering insights into varying AC levels among FFs.
Design/methodology/approach
Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were estimated to test the hypotheses using a sample of 364 FFs in Spain.
Findings
FFs’ AC is greater when the CEO is a family member, and even more so when the family CEO belongs to the founding family generation. While AC diminishes in larger FFs, this effect is mitigated when the CEO is a family member. The predicted moderating effect of environmental dynamics is not supported by the analyses.
Originality/value
This paper adds insights about the drivers of heterogeneity in innovation among FFs, addressing recent calls for more nuanced views of how family members drive the strategic behavior of the business and incorporating considerations of different types of FFs based on the identity of the firm CEO. The results overall support the theoretical claims and also open up important questions for future studies.
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Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…
Abstract
We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.
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Ana Lucia Castello, Hugo Rafael Silva, Kelsy Areco, Paulo Paiva and Dartiu Da Silveira
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting styles, family psychological vulnerability environment (FPVE) and drug use among adolescents.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting styles, family psychological vulnerability environment (FPVE) and drug use among adolescents.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative survey using paper and pencil was administered to collect data from 284 parents registered with a paediatric clinic in the city of São Paulo (Brazil), most of whom claimed that their children used drugs. FPVE was measured by eight scales: family relationship patterns and drug use habits; hereditary predisposition to drug use; transmission of moral values to children (reverse); parents’ hereditary predisposition; parental drug use; depression; impulsiveness; and anxiety.
Findings
Dimensions of FPVE that had effect on drug use by adolescents were: the family relationship and drug use patterns of the family of procreation, drug use by the parents and heredity in relation to drug use. Conversely, the family relationship and drug use patterns of the family of origin and the parents’ anxiety, symptoms of depression and impulsiveness did not affect their children’s drug use.
Research limitations/implications
One limit of this study is the sample of parents. These parents were parents of adolescents that were at psychological treatment. The authors do not know if part of parents who declared that their children are not drug users, because the treatment effect. Another limit is that this study did not compare the effect of parents’ drugs misuse with parents that do not use drugs on adolescent drug use. One other limit is that the parents were treated regardless of whether they were mothers or fathers.
Originality/value
This study expands the study of the antecedents of drug use by adolescents, considering FPVE as a construct. Regarding this construct when facing resources limitation, the practitioners can prioritize strategies to prevent adolescent drug use.
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Rita Melo, João Lima, Ana Lúcia Baltazar, Ezequiel Pinto and Sónia Fialho
The purpose is to analyse the nutritional adequacy and carbon footprint of intermediated meals provided to preschool children and primary-level students in a Portuguese…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose is to analyse the nutritional adequacy and carbon footprint of intermediated meals provided to preschool children and primary-level students in a Portuguese municipality.
Design/methodology/approach
An observational cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sampling consisting of school snacks from a Portuguese municipality. The nutritional assessment used food labels and a Portuguese food composition table. The literature review for carbon footprint assessment was conducted by searching for the products under analysis or similar ones.
Findings
The results showed that 80% of snacks have a higher energy value than recommended. The majority of options are below recommendations for protein and fat and above recommendations for carbohydrates. The intermediated meals with more dairy products in composition have the highest carbon footprint. The carbon footprint included the packaging of the products, and it wasn't possible to determine the influence of non-food products.
Research limitations/implications
This study has limitations in the fact that we do not know the carbon footprint of Portuguese products and we had to compare them with others, from different countries, with possibly different types of production.
Practical implications
Intermediate meals are inadequate, and the carbon footprint is higher when the intermediated meals include products of animal origin – the reason why the composition of intermediated meals should be redesigned considering the achievement of these targets.
Social implications
The promotion of intermediated meals that promote the Mediterranean eating pattern contributes to health and well-being and is a vehicle for nutrition education and healthy food consumption in schools.
Originality/value
Many studies have been conducted to analyse the carbon footprint and environmental impact of school meals, but commonly lunch is the meal evaluated and the assessment of intermediated meals' impact is an open field.
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Ana González Ramos and Nora Räthzel
In this chapter the authors analyse different forms of gender and class discrimination in Spanish academic institutions. Androcentrism in terms of the structures of academic…
Abstract
In this chapter the authors analyse different forms of gender and class discrimination in Spanish academic institutions. Androcentrism in terms of the structures of academic institutions, the meritocratic system, the rhythms and contents of work present barriers for women advancing into positions of leadership. The intersectionality of gender and class provides different kinds of hurdles and possibilities for women and men from middle-class and working-class backgrounds. Relationships between (mostly male) supervisors and men and women researchers tend to strengthen men's capabilities of developing their own scientific aspirations and claims to leadership, while women tend to become subordinated supporters of their supervisors' objectives. Power structures dominated by men's values have the effect that some women do not perceive leadership positions as desirable.