Joseph Press, Paola Bellis, Tommaso Buganza, Silvia Magnanini, Abraham B. (Rami) Shani, Daniel Trabucchi, Roberto Verganti and Federico P. Zasa
Benny M.E. de Waal and Ronald Batenburg
The aim of this study is to debunk the relationship between user participation practices and the development and success of information systems/information technology…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to debunk the relationship between user participation practices and the development and success of information systems/information technology implementations. While most studies practically rely on how many participation activities are performed, the process through which users engage in user participation is not specified.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach was applied to study the research questions. A number of relationships were tested by survey data collected among 143 end-users and 49 interviews of employees of a large Dutch social insurance organization that implemented a new and integrative business process management (BPM) system.
Findings
The results show that specification of the participation context is of key importance for understanding the success of BPM implementation. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show that rich participation activities hold a stronger positive relationship with the BPM system development and implementation success than other participatory activities that only assist development or implementation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the updated theory of user participation by Markus and Mao can be turned into a useful instrument for measuring the different aspects of participation.
Originality/value
Most studies on user participation “only” measure how many participation activities were performed, and not how or why they were performed. Furthermore, the combination of qualitative and quantitative data and instruments resulted in a greater understanding of how exactly user participation was brought into practice and how the consequences of this practice were interrelated.
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At the end of 2007, the Journal of Management History published a special issue on the topic of excellence, titled Our Dreams of Excellence. In this issue, Guest Editor…
Abstract
Purpose
At the end of 2007, the Journal of Management History published a special issue on the topic of excellence, titled Our Dreams of Excellence. In this issue, Guest Editor Dahlgaard‐Park stated that research into excellence had taken a high flight in recent years despite the fact that there was no unanimity yet about a definition of or the factors that lead to sustained excellence. Agreement on the notion of excellence is all the more important as economic times have changed considerably since the special issue was published. However, according to Mintzberg the activities that managers perform have basically not changed over time. If this is true, it could be hypothesized that the factors that create excellence also change little over time. The purpose of this research is to examine these factors and compare them through time to establish whether they are “evergreens of excellence”. These evergreens are defined as characteristics that are always important for creating and maintaining an excellent organization, and that managers always have to take into account when devising actions to lead their organization to excellence and superior results.
Design/methodology/approach
Research studies into excellence, conducted before and after 1995, were compared to evaluate whether factors of excellence stayed the same over time.
Findings
The research results show that nearly 90 percent of the factors that create excellence found in studies done in and before 1995 are also found in studies done after 1995. Although the attention given to certain characteristics of factors may shift from time to time, on the whole the factors found do seem to qualify as “evergreens of excellence”, factors that are always important for creating and maintaining a high performance organization.
Research limitations/implications
The research results should not be seen as offering a recipe that, if followed, will produce a successful organization. Rather they provide design exemplars for practitioners which have to be translated to a particular situation in place and time.
Originality/value
Contradictory findings in the literature raise questions about the validity of the outcomes of the excellence studies which have become increasingly popular these past decades. The results of this study for the first time provide factors of excellence which stay valid over time.
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The growing knowledge society has caused a change in the meaning of knowledge and learning. In Dutch schools, this creates a demand for evidence-based innovation and school…
Abstract
The growing knowledge society has caused a change in the meaning of knowledge and learning. In Dutch schools, this creates a demand for evidence-based innovation and school development and a need for working with data. This chapter focuses on leadership in changing schools including the difference between management (organizing, structuring, and budgeting things that already work); leadership (adapting things that do not run smoothly, stimulating, motivating and empowering people, and communicating vision); and relationship with interactional and transformational leadership. Consequently, inquiry-based leadership is becoming the center of interest internationally (Geijsel, Krüger, & Sleegers, 2010; Luo, 2008). The author presents a conceptual framework for deeper understanding of school leadership in the 21st century – that to be effective in their roles, they must learn how to create inquiry-based cultures in their schools and to continuously learn from data. Finally, the author identifies some challenges for school leaders in coming years and proposes ways that help strengthen their leadership including the professionalization for all leaders oriented to instructional leadership, inquiry-based leadership, higher order thinking and distributed leadership.
A.A. de Waal and Michella Oudshoorn
The purpose of this study is to explore the profile of an ideal employee, to be more precise the behavioral characteristics of the Dutch high-performing employee (HPE)…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the profile of an ideal employee, to be more precise the behavioral characteristics of the Dutch high-performing employee (HPE). Organizational performance depends for a large part on the commitment of employees. Employees provide their knowledge, skills, experiences and creativity to the organization, which makes them critical to the success of the organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The behavioral characteristics of the Dutch HPE were identified on the basis of a literature review and a questionnaire distributed to 420 Dutch managers and employees.
Findings
Not one but two profiles for the ideal employee were found. First, an HPE profile was compiled based on the perspectives of managers, which can be used for evaluating employees and recruiting new employees. Second, an HPE profile was compiled based on the perspectives of employees themselves, which can be used for setting up development and coaching programs for employees.
Originality/value
Most organizations work with one profile of the ideal employee. This study shows, however, that two profiles are needed for such an employee, each with a particular application.
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Some of the best entrepreneurs fail early and often. Less talented or less committed entrepreneurs do not even get a second chance. Failure and setbacks, however, can be…
Abstract
Some of the best entrepreneurs fail early and often. Less talented or less committed entrepreneurs do not even get a second chance. Failure and setbacks, however, can be instructive.What lessons can be learned from these experiences? How can the entrepreneur (and investors) navigate around the potholes on the New Venture Highway? Read on.
Karmen Verle, Mirko Markič, Borut Kodrič and Annmarie Gorenc Zoran
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship among leadership, action, social, and personal competencies of managers in modern organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship among leadership, action, social, and personal competencies of managers in modern organizational structure types and whether a relationship exists between a company's organizational structure and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was carried out among top managers in Slovene mid- and large-sized companies. The relationship among managerial competencies, the choice of organizational structure type and the company effectiveness were measured with a value-added approach. The method of structural models was used for establishing the affect among individual variables.
Findings
The results support the hypothesized effect of managerial competencies on a company's organizational structure type. The effect of a modern, horizontal organizational structure on a company's performance and growth on the market facilitates the achievement of higher value added as well as has a direct impact of managerial competencies on a company's performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to mid- and large-sized companies in Slovenia. Only top managers were included in the study as they are the ones that are responsible and have the largest influence in creating a company's organizational structure.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications to those organizations in the process of restructuring and for those companies that are prepared to modify traditional principles of management participation.
Originality/value
To the authors knowledge no research studies were found that examined the affect and relation of top management competencies with respect to different organizational structures.
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Tuğba Erhan, Hasan Huseyin Uzunbacak and Erhan Aydin
The leadership shift from conventional to digital comes from the compulsory digitalization of the workplace because the technological progress provides the opportunity of doing…
Abstract
Purpose
The leadership shift from conventional to digital comes from the compulsory digitalization of the workplace because the technological progress provides the opportunity of doing work remotely, and this is a great advantage of reducing costs that stem from the offline workplace. Thus, this research aims at demonstrating the relationship between digitalization of leadership and innovative work behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 320 Turkish department managers in the Textile Industry through digital leadership and innovate work behavior scales. The hypotheses were tested using path analysis. The analyses were conducted by using SPSS and AMOS package programs.
Findings
The results show that the employees’ perceptions of digital leadership have a positive and significant effect on all dimensions of an employee innovative work behavior. Also, the leaders with high digital skills were perceived positively by the employees and the employees tend to adapt innovative behaviors when they have the digitally skilled leaders.
Originality/value
This study contributes to leadership research by providing evidence for the role of leadership shift in innovative work behavior. Extending the verification of leadership shift in innovative work behavior that can be adopted in Turkey has also been considered.