Lucy Simons, Lesley Herbert, Stephen Tee, Judith Lathlean, Abigail Burgess and Colin Gibson
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Reviews the events of the last 12 months concerning the BritishLibrary and its move to St Pancras. Considers two official reports whichcomment adversely on the management and…
Abstract
Reviews the events of the last 12 months concerning the British Library and its move to St Pancras. Considers two official reports which comment adversely on the management and planning of the new building. Discusses the pressures from readers′ groups to retain the Round Reading Room, and notes fears that the computerized retrieval and delivery systems at St Pancras are untried and will prove inadequate.
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Seeks to inform the design of corporate communications for e‐business. A critique of market orientation suggests that in the new paradigm of dynamically configured network…
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Seeks to inform the design of corporate communications for e‐business. A critique of market orientation suggests that in the new paradigm of dynamically configured network organisations, a multiplicity of partners requires that the orientation must be broadened to allow dialogue to permeate and coordinate the network. It discusses the increasing importance of corporate interaction as companies virtualise. Underlying enablers of effective corporate dialogue are examined by comparing sociological and psychological theories of human interaction and relationship formation with organisational interaction theories of corporate relationship formation. The paper continues by examining human‐computer interaction and concludes by synthesising the literature to create a prototype construct to inform Web site design.
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Benjamin Afreh, Peter Rodgers, Natalia Vershinina and Colin C. Williams
The purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-faceted contexts, which influence the motives, decisions and actions that underpin the mundane and lively entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the multi-faceted contexts, which influence the motives, decisions and actions that underpin the mundane and lively entrepreneurial practice of migrant youth entrepreneurs (MYEs) within a developing economy context. Moreover, the paper explores the under-researched linkages between migration and informal entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Inductive, qualitative field data from a migrant destination, the Ashanti Region in Ghana are analysed, comprising 15 interviews with MYEs who hail from 12 communities in the three Northern Regions of Ghana. The authors introduce a narrative-based approach, which has previously been under-employed within empirical studies of informal entrepreneurship.
Findings
The findings showcase the complex array of opportunities and challenges, which influence individual decisions to engage in informal entrepreneurship. The findings highlight the importance of not only economic rationales but also non-economic rationales for engaging in informal entrepreneurship. Such rationales emerge from the legitimation of informal practices, the social embeddedness of migrant youth within family and community networks and the precarious nature of informal entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
The fine-grained discussion of the findings contributes explicitly to theory by underscoring the diversity of informal entrepreneurship activities. Theoretically, the article demonstrates the need to look beyond narrow economic explanations for why individuals engage in informal entrepreneurship. Taking a more holistic approach to explaining motivations for engaging in informal entrepreneurship, enables more nuanced understandings of the importance of non-economic rationales for individuals, located in specific contextual settings.
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COLIN STEELE, JON ELLIOTT, DONALD DAVINSON, JOHN SMITH, DAVID SMITH, GEOFFREY BROOK and GA GIBSON
IN THE March 1973 issue of NEW LIBRARY WORLD Dr H T Hookway commented that the new head of the British Library must be first and foremost an administrator and a manager, a man for…
Abstract
IN THE March 1973 issue of NEW LIBRARY WORLD Dr H T Hookway commented that the new head of the British Library must be first and foremost an administrator and a manager, a man for whom the intricacies of book selection or ‘class and cat’ would hardly be of much use. Few would doubt the validity of this first statement, but surely a grounding in any of the traditional library disciplines could do no harm whatsoever and might indeed be a positive advantage.
Marcus Pietsch, Chris Brown, Burak Aydin and Colin Cramer
In organisational and innovation research, the term “open innovation” refers to the inflow and outflow of knowledge to and from organisations: with open innovation theory…
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Purpose
In organisational and innovation research, the term “open innovation” refers to the inflow and outflow of knowledge to and from organisations: with open innovation theory suggesting active exchanges of knowledge with external actors leads to the development of exploitable new ideas. In the field of education, however, the exchange of knowledge with external parties represents a paradigm shift. In response, this article presents findings from research design to explore the nature and composition of school innovation networks, and the effects of such these networks on knowledge mobilisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on data from a representative random sample of 411 German school leaders. Respondents were asked to detail their engagement in open and closed innovation activity and their school's external collaborations during the last 12 months. A latent class distal outcome model was developed to examine whether different types of collaboration associate with different knowledge mobilisation processes.
Findings
The study findings suggest that schools in Germany mainly use internal knowledge for innovation, with external knowledge exchange taking place on a very limited basis. Knowledge mobilisation varies depending on the innovation network. The authors use the findings to indicate new insights for how schools can further innovate learning and teaching in future.
Originality/value
Although there is increasing discussion on Professional Learning Networks in schools, the discourse on knowledge mobilisation within educational networks is limited, making concept of open innovation so far completely absent from discourses on school improvement. This paper initiates the population of this new research space.
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The aim of this paper is to move beyond the market/non‐market divide and to recognise the plurality of labour practices in societies by adopting a variant of what Glucksmann calls…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to move beyond the market/non‐market divide and to recognise the plurality of labour practices in societies by adopting a variant of what Glucksmann calls “a total social organisation of labour” approach.
Design/methodology/approach
To transcend the conventional depiction of separate market and non‐market spheres, this paper adopts a total social organisation of labour approach which recognises a multiplicity of labour practices existing on a spectrum from market to non‐market practices crosscut by another spectrum from wholly monetised to wholly non‐monetised practices. This conceptual lens is employed to analyse the results of 861 face‐to‐face interviews on the labour practices used in affluent and deprived urban and rural English localities.
Findings
The outcome is to reveal the multifarious labour practices in these English localities along with how both work cultures and the nature of individual labour practices vary socio‐spatially. While affluent and rural populations draw more on an array of market‐oriented and monetised labour practices, deprived populations and urban localities are found to rely more on a range of non‐market and non‐monetised labour practices, and all labour practices are more likely to be conducted out of necessity in deprived and urban populations and out of choice in affluent and rural populations.
Research limitations/implications
The paper only provides a snapshot survey. It does not show the changes taking place over time.
Practical implications
It reveals how it is mistaken to privilege the development of labour practices in the formal market economy and displays the feasibility of, and possibilities for, alternative futures beyond market hegemony.
Originality/value
The paper transcends the market/non‐market dualism and proposes an alternative conceptual framework to capture the multifarious labour practices in societies.
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Colin C. Williams, Sara Nadin and Peter Rodgers
Since the turn of the millennium, a small corpus of post‐structuralist thought has emerged that challenges the dominant belief that capitalism is now hegemonic and that all…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the turn of the millennium, a small corpus of post‐structuralist thought has emerged that challenges the dominant belief that capitalism is now hegemonic and that all economic formations are contrasting varieties of capitalism. This paper seeks to contribute to the development of this emergent perspective. The aim is to challenge the notion that the Ukrainian economy can be represented as some variety of capitalism by highlighting the shallow permeation of capitalist practices into daily life and the continuing prevalence of multifarious non‐capitalist economic practices.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this, evidence is here reported from a 2005‐6 survey that analysed the extent to which 600 households in Ukraine used capitalist and non‐capitalist economic practices in their coping tactics.
Findings
This reveals not only the limited use of capitalist practices in the everyday coping tactics of households in Ukraine but also how an array of non‐capitalist economic practices remain heavily relied on by a majority of households to secure their livelihood. The outcome is a call to tentatively reject the “varieties of capitalism” system of meaning because of what it excludes, prohibits and denies, and to open up the future of post‐Soviet Ukraine to other possible trajectories than simply some variety of capitalism.
Research limitations/implications
This snapshot survey of the everyday coping practices of households displays only that capitalist practices are not hegemonic and that multifarious economic relations persist and are widespread. It does not show whether or not there is movement towards greater reliance on capitalist practices.
Originality/value
It begins through the presentation of evidence on Ukraine to tentatively challenge the application of a “varieties of capitalism” perspective towards Central and Eastern European economies.
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William D. Schneper and Colin Martin
Pebble Technology Corporation (Pebble) was an early entrant into the smartwatch industry. Pebble’s Founder, Eric Migicovsky, began thinking about creating a smartwatch in 2008…
Abstract
Synopsis
Pebble Technology Corporation (Pebble) was an early entrant into the smartwatch industry. Pebble’s Founder, Eric Migicovsky, began thinking about creating a smartwatch in 2008 while still an undergraduate engineering student. After selling about 1,500 prototype watches, he was accepted into Silicon Valley’s prestigious Y Combinator business start-up program. Finding it difficult to attract investors, Migicovsky launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised a record-breaking $10.27m on Kickstarter. The case concludes shortly after Apple’s unveiling of its soon-to-be-released Apple Watch. The case provides an opportunity to evaluate Pebble’s various strategic options at the time of Apple’s announcement.
Research methodology
The authors observed over 30 h of video and audio recordings of speeches, interviews and other events involving Pebble’s founder, other Pebble executives, investors and competitors. These recordings are all publicly available. Whenever possible, the authors also reviewed the Twitter feeds, Facebook sites and personal websites of Pebble’s top executives over time. Similarly, the authors followed Pebble’s official website, corporate blog and Kickstarter campaign websites. The authors also drew from numerous media reports. Due to the public nature of the data, no company release is provided nor has any information been disguised in any way.
Relevant courses and levels
The case is designed for both undergraduate and graduate students for courses in strategic management.