Lucy E. Allard and Christine Barber
The following paper contains the results of a global benchmark survey conducted among more than 200 CEOs from some of the world’s ‘Most Admired’: leading Fortune 500 and Global…
Abstract
The following paper contains the results of a global benchmark survey conducted among more than 200 CEOs from some of the world’s ‘Most Admired’: leading Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies. The survey was designed to identify, from the perspective of the CEO, practices that are essential for effective execution of corporate strategy. In all, 34 practices were studied to determine which are most important to strategy execution. Relocation of a corporate headquarters, or other major facility, and redesign of the workplace were two of the practices considered in the research. By including relocation and redesign within the larger context of strategy execution ‐ one that considers a broad spectrum of operational, market and organisational dynamics ‐ the relationships between real estate, workplace and other essential practices could be uncovered. The results show that real estate and workplace design do synchronise with, and contribute to, the success of changes required in other areas that are critical to execution, making it important for companies to examine closely the impact of real estate and the workplace on company strategy. The results also confirm CEO awareness of the strategic value of real estate and workplace design, since all who reported relocating or redesigning the workplace did so in order to execute strategy. More significantly, however, the findings reveal that a high percentage of CEOs who reported carrying out a move or a redesign did not perceive that these changes effectively contributed to strategy execution. While the explanation for this finding is beyond the scope of this study, it does suggest one of two things: either real estate and workplace professionals need to master a better understanding of how to align real estate strategy with business strategy in order to add value; or they need to be able to measure better the value and communicate it to the CEO.
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Christine Barber, Andrew Laing and Marilyn Simeone
The following article reports the results of a global benchmarking/trend survey conducted among 127 senior level real estate and facilities executives from North America and…
Abstract
The following article reports the results of a global benchmarking/trend survey conducted among 127 senior level real estate and facilities executives from North America and Europe. The results reveal a collective five‐year vision for the workplace, exploring trends occurring in several key areas that impact space utilization and workplace design. Findings compare selected trends in North America with trends taking place in Europe. Areas examined include expected changes in the use of information technology, anticipated growth in new work styles such as telecommuting, collaboration and work‐at‐home, and the inevitable impact these will have on real estate and workplace design. The findings show that organizations expect work to become more collaborative (both ace‐to‐face and virtually), information technology ill enable growth in distributed working, and the workplace will be re‐designed to support collaboration rather than individual work activity. The research is followed by an interview with Marilyn Simeone, Vice President of Corporate Services for Merrill Lynch, who describes how the company is leveraging these directions of change to create more efficient, innovative workplaces in North America that meet the changing needs of employees as well as the company.
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John D. Gilleard and David R. Rees
Based on the results of a questionnaire survey among facility management professionals, the paper reviews current and future applications for alternative workplace strategies…
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Based on the results of a questionnaire survey among facility management professionals, the paper reviews current and future applications for alternative workplace strategies (AWS) in Hong Kong. The survey indicates that the impact of workplace redesign and on‐site/on‐premises strategies is more favoured when compared with off‐site/off‐premises strategies. The survey also indicates that the current and future impact of AWS in Hong Kong may be less significant when compared with the USA. The work also examines the role of telecommunciations technology and its likely impact on future office accommodation requirements. Finally, the paper concludes by reviewing a number of factors that specifically influence the application of AWS in Hong Kong.
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The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history and development of transaction log analysis (TLA) in library and information science research. Organizing a…
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The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history and development of transaction log analysis (TLA) in library and information science research. Organizing a literature review of the first twenty‐five years of TLA poses some challenges and requires some decisions. The primary organizing principle could be a strict chronology of the published research, the research questions addressed, the automated information retrieval (IR) systems that generated the data, the results gained, or even the researchers themselves. The group of active transaction log analyzers remains fairly small in number, and researchers who use transaction logs tend to use this method more than once, so tracing the development and refinement of individuals' uses of the methodology could provide insight into the progress of the method as a whole. For example, if we examine how researchers like W. David Penniman, John Tolle, Christine Borgman, Ray Larson, and Micheline Hancock‐Beaulieu have modified their own understandings and applications of the method over time, we may get an accurate sense of the development of all applications.
When first asked to write a chapter on “Corporate Networks,” I was flummoxed by the Stanford focus. Unlike many of the other theories in this volume, where a game of word…
Abstract
When first asked to write a chapter on “Corporate Networks,” I was flummoxed by the Stanford focus. Unlike many of the other theories in this volume, where a game of word association by theory results in a roster of current or emeritus Stanford faculty members, corporate network has roots in many institutions. Indeed, institutions such as University of Chicago or Stonybrook may make a claim for being at the forefront of research on corporate networks, and University of Michigan is the current home to three of the top researchers in the area. Yet, among the core network researchers, a good number of them either spent their early faculty years at Stanford (e.g., Pam Haunschild, Don Palmer, Joel Podolny) or completed doctoral training at Stanford (e.g., Jerry Davis, Henrich Greve, Toby Stuart, Christine Beckman). And this list does not include those that came to Stanford later in their careers (e.g., Mark Granovetter and Woody Powell). Furthermore, the history of corporate network research is intertwined with many of the theories developed at Stanford during the late 1970s. To understand this influence, I begin with a brief but broad history of research on corporate networks, a history that begins somewhat earlier than 1970 and continues to the present. Then I turn to the question of Stanford's role in supporting this research stream and intellectual life more broadly.
The paper offers a number of vignettes surrounding Friedrich A. Hayek’s receipt of the Nobel Prize. It examines Hayek’s life before he got the prize, describes the events in…
Abstract
The paper offers a number of vignettes surrounding Friedrich A. Hayek’s receipt of the Nobel Prize. It examines Hayek’s life before he got the prize, describes the events in Stockholm, and offers a summary of the main themes of his Prize Lecture. It then examines the subsequent impact on Hayek’s life and career. It concludes by looking at the impact of the Prize on scholarship about Hayek and the Austrian movement.
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This chapter considers the challenges and potentials of using so called big data in communication research. It asks what lessons big data research can learn from digital…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter considers the challenges and potentials of using so called big data in communication research. It asks what lessons big data research can learn from digital ethnography, another method of gathering digital data.
Design/methodology/approach
The chapter first takes on the task of clearly defining big data in the context of communication and media studies. It then moves on to analyse and critique processes associated with the dealings of big data: datafication and dataism. The challenges of data-driven research are juxtaposed with qualitative perspectives on research regarding data gathering and context. These thoughts are further elaborated in the second part of the chapter where the lessons learned in digital ethnography are linked to challenges of big data research.
Findings
It is proposed that by including the materialities of contexts and transitions between material and mediated realms, we can ask more relevant research questions and gain more insights compared to a purely data-driven approach.
Practical implications
This chapter encourages researchers to reflect upon their relations to the object of study and the context in which data was produced through human/human–technical interaction.
Originality/value
This chapter contributes to debates about qualitative and quantitative research methods in communication and media studies. Moreover, it proposes that methods which are in the widest sense used in the never-ending digital field benefit from the mutual consideration of both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
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Romana Dreyer and Christine Busch
The purpose of this paper is to understand how experienced copreneurs of small family business (SFB), as the smallest unit and heart of their family business (FB), may create…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how experienced copreneurs of small family business (SFB), as the smallest unit and heart of their family business (FB), may create work-life balance (WLB). Copreneurs evince highly intertwined life-domains and often struggle to respite while managing their high business demands.
Design/methodology/approach
In this couple interview study with 18 experienced copreneurial couples of SFBs (N = 36), we investigated strategies copreneurs use to create their WLB by merging a resource perspective (Hobfoll, 1989) with the concept of WLB crafting (Sturges, 2012).
Findings
A key strategy in copreneurial couples was the structural establishment of microdomains, such as periods of personal resource recreation within a macrodomain (e.g. work) via individual physical and cognitive WLB crafting. Copreneurs used relational WLB crafting with a strong emphasis on seeking support and mainly to protect their microdomains by relying on their spouses as boundary keepers. Women more often expressed the importance of health and time for respite, as cognitive WLB crafting, and they were more active in creating (joint) recovery opportunities. Dyadic WLB crafting strategies were used when goal congruency for work or private activities was high.
Originality/value
This research applies WLB crafting research to the smallest unit of SFBs, namely copreneurs. The study provides in-depth insights into the strategies copreneurs of SFB use to create a satisfying WLB.
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Christine McCauley Ohannessian
The primary goal of this longitudinal study was to examine whether technology use predicts substance use and/or whether substance use predicts technology use during adolescence.
Abstract
Purpose
The primary goal of this longitudinal study was to examine whether technology use predicts substance use and/or whether substance use predicts technology use during adolescence.
Methodology/approach
The sample included 1,031 10th and 11th grade students from the Mid-Atlantic United States. The students completed surveys in school in the spring of 2007 and 2008.
Findings
Gender differences in technology use were observed with girls texting, e-mailing/instant messaging, and working on the computer more than boys, and boys playing video games more than girls. Technology use also predicted later substance use for boys and girls. Importantly, technology use was observed to have both negative and positive effects on youth. Substance use also predicted later technology use for girls.
Research limitations/implications
The sample only included adolescents from the Mid-Atlantic United States. In addition, the measures were based on self-reports. Nevertheless, results from this study highlight the importance of considering both negative and positive effects of technology on adolescents. Of note, social types of technology (texting and e-mailing) predicted more substance use for both boys and girls. As such, substance use prevention programs should target these types of technology.
Originality/value
Findings from this study underscore the importance of examining both directions of influence between technology use and adolescent adjustment.