Catarina Grillo, Fernando A.F. Ferreira, Carla S.E. Marques and João J. Ferreira
The 2008 global financial crisis showed that the ability to innovate is a key management skill and that approaches to assessing the innovation capability of small- and…
Abstract
Purpose
The 2008 global financial crisis showed that the ability to innovate is a key management skill and that approaches to assessing the innovation capability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to be as realistic as possible. This study aims to address the latter practical need through a sociotechnical approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a combined use of cognitive mapping and the Decision EXpert (DEX) technique, and grounded on the insights generated by a panel of SME managers and entrepreneurs in two intensive group meetings, a knowledge-based assessment system for evaluating SMEs’ innovation capability was created, tested and validated.
Findings
The knowledge-based assessment system identified the most innovative SMEs in a sample of companies. The “plus-minus-1” and dominance analyses carried out provided further support for the results.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed system is extremely versatile but process-oriented and idiosyncratic in nature, meaning that extrapolations to other contexts need to be done with due caution.
Practical implications
The panel of SME decision makers agreed that the system improves the current methods used to evaluate SMEs’ innovation capability, contributing to a more informed perspective on management issues. The panel members also noted that the proposed system functions as a learning mechanism, facilitating the development of well-focused suggestions for improvements SMEs can make.
Originality/value
The integrated use of cognitive maps and rule-base decisions contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs’ innovation capability. No prior work reporting the integrated use of these two techniques in this study context has been found.
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Luís Irgang, Magnus Holmén, Fábio Gama and Petra Svedberg
Facilitation activities support implementation of evidence-based interventions within healthcare organizations. Few studies have attempted to understand how facilitation…
Abstract
Purpose
Facilitation activities support implementation of evidence-based interventions within healthcare organizations. Few studies have attempted to understand how facilitation activities are performed to promote the uptake of evidence-based interventions in hospitals from resource-poor countries during crises such as pandemics. This paper aims to explore facilitation activities by infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals in 16 hospitals from 9 states in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary and secondary data were collected between March and December 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 IPC professionals in Brazilian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public and internal documents were used for data triangulation. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis technique.
Findings
Building on the change response theory, this study explores the facilitation activities from the cognitive, behavioral and affective aspects. The facilitation activities are grouped in three overarching dimensions: (1) creating and sustaining legitimacy to continuous and rapid changes, (2) fostering capabilities for continuous changes and (3) accelerating individual commitment.
Practical implications
During crises such as pandemics, facilitation activities by IPC professionals need to embrace all the cognitive, behavioral and affective aspects to stimulate positive attitudes of frontline workers toward continuous and urgent changes.
Originality/value
This study provides unique and timely empirical evidence on the facilitation activities that support the implementation of evidence-based interventions by IPC professionals during crises in hospitals in a resource-poor country.
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Luiz Fernando Câmara Viana, Valmir Emil Hoffmann and Newton da Silva Miranda Junior
The paper describes patterns of study on innovation in the regional economic resilience literature regarding methods and findings.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper describes patterns of study on innovation in the regional economic resilience literature regarding methods and findings.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is a descriptive one and it uses, as a method, the scoping review based on Scopus and Web of Science databases. Forty-eight theoretical-empirical papers were thematically coded, and analyses were conducted using R packages and MaxQDA.
Findings
Innovation has been used narrowly in the regional resilience literature, considering the variables, the types of shocks and the analyzed loci. From the sampled papers, this study suggests that, depending on the operationalization, the addressed relationship can be positive or negative, which still needs further investigation. In addition, the study identified two lines of research. The first, characterized by quantitative research, secondary sources and multivariate analyses, focuses on testing predictive regional resilience models based on innovation-related variables. The second, characterized by qualitative or multi-method approaches, is more concerned with explaining the knowledge accumulation and the learning capacity related to regional innovation.
Research limitations/implications
The paper’s findings show a restricted view of the innovation–resilience relationship. Although this study does not present a meta-analysis, it reveals gaps for future research. Some suggestions can be highlighted, such as (1) expanding knowledge about innovation as a predictor of resilience, (2) the theoretical development of this relationship to guide empirical investigations and (3) studies that consider the meso or micro level, approaching the role of actors in fostering innovation in the regional resilience process.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to investigate how innovation has been operationalized in regional resilience empirical research.
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Lissa Gomes Araujo, Ana Beatriz Souza Piña, Luiz Augusto Gimenez Aidar, Guilherme Oliveira Coelho and Michele Tereza Marques Carvalho
The purpose of this paper is to propose recommendations and guidelines for the initiation phase of a public–private partnership (PPP), focusing on the electricity sector in Brazil.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose recommendations and guidelines for the initiation phase of a public–private partnership (PPP), focusing on the electricity sector in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review allowed gathering international best practices, while brainstorming meetings and document research permitted acquiring data from the Brazilian electricity sector through a multiple case study of 12 projects. By applying benchmarking principles to compare findings, the paper proposes guidelines and recommendations, which culminated in a final framework for implementing PPPs.
Findings
The created framework structures a series of recommendations with application in PPP projects. Also, the paper gathers worldwide best practices, which could increase the rate of success by avoiding problems throughout the other phases of a PPP project.
Research limitations/implications
This paper addresses the electricity sector. Due to the singularity of such infrastructure enterprises, it is possible that the framework suggested is not entirely applicable to other enterprises, being a suggestion for future studies to perform an adherent test. Also, validating this framework is not in the scope of this project.
Practical implications
The use of a framework on PPP implementations brings attention to necessary efforts on previous phases of projects, which can avoid financial and technical problems, improving the reliability of PPPs.
Originality/value
The application of guidelines and recommendations on the electricity sector has not appeared with such focus in previous studies. The paper provides a practical manner to upgrade the process and suggests a model for implementing PPPs.