Torben Juul Andersen and Simon Sunn Torp
The dual importance of centrally induced strategic intent and the ability to engage in autonomous strategic initiatives has been demonstrated in both qualitative and quantitative…
Abstract
The dual importance of centrally induced strategic intent and the ability to engage in autonomous strategic initiatives has been demonstrated in both qualitative and quantitative empirical studies over the past decades. However, the particular mechanisms required to facilitate the interaction between these strategy-making approaches and achieve better corporate performance are less clear. The authors argue that the commonly conceived but rarely examined role of the strategic control process is essential to the implied adaptive performance dynamic. Although the strategic control typically is conceived as the diagnostic monitoring of outcomes, the authors contend that an interactive control (IC) mechanism is conducive to superior performance outcomes. To examine this, the authors use the extant strategy literature to generate the basic hypothesized relationships and conduct an empirical study based on a large corporate sample to uncover the intricate strategy-making model. The analyses show that adherence to ICs is an essential mediator for the positive combined effects of strategic planning and autonomous strategy-making processes.
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Torben Juul Andersen and Simon Torp
The combined roles of strategic planning and decentralized strategy-making remain an essential issue in strategy research and its resolution has implications for management…
Abstract
The combined roles of strategic planning and decentralized strategy-making remain an essential issue in strategy research and its resolution has implications for management practice. To this end the current study considers the added effects of adopted leadership style and use of interactive controls and thereby uncovers new interesting insights about the combined strategy-making process. The authors use structural equation analyses to investigate these more fine-grained relationships based on an updated cross-sectional dataset from among the largest companies in Denmark. The analyses find that a participative leadership style drives the application of interactive controls, which in turn has a positive interaction effect on the relationship between strategic planning and corporate performance. A participative leadership style also exerts positive influence on autonomous strategic actions, which in turn has a negative direct relationship to performance, but a positive interaction effect on performance together with use of interactive controls. The authors discuss the theoretical foundation for these intricate relationships and consider opportunities to extract further research insights.
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- Autonomous strategic actions
- corporate performance
- interactive controls
- participative leadership style
- strategic planning
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Andrei Bonamigo, Brenda Dettmann, Camila Guimarães Frech and Steffan Macali Werner
The purpose of this study is to recognize the facilitators and inhibitors of value co-creation in the industrial service environment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to recognize the facilitators and inhibitors of value co-creation in the industrial service environment.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a systematic literature review (SLR) based on the systematic search flow (SSF) method was conducted, using six databases. Then, the content analysis proposed by Bardin (2011) was used to analyze the selected papers from SLR.
Findings
The authors identified a total of 11 facilitators and four inhibitors of value co-creation in industrial services. The findings show that concerning facilitators, the involvement of actors and synergy among participants reported a higher presence. As for the inhibitors, incompatibility among actors and actors' inexperience in the context of value co-creation were the ones that registered the most frequency.
Research limitations/implications
Even though the SLR covered a large proportion of the studies available, this research may not have enabled a complete coverage of all existing peer-reviewed papers in the field of value co-creation in industrial services.
Practical implications
This study assists managers in enhancing the performance of the value co-creation process. This is because, by knowing both the facilitators and inhibitors, managers can have an improved understanding of this process, thereby pondering these elements on the elaboration of their strategies and decision-making.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first attempts to recognize both the facilitators and inhibitors of value co-creation in industrial services.
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Raffaele Fiorentino and Stefano Garzella
The purpose of this paper is to advance a conceptual comprehensive framework to analyze synergy management pitfalls in mergers and acquisitions (M & As). The framework…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance a conceptual comprehensive framework to analyze synergy management pitfalls in mergers and acquisitions (M & As). The framework highlights the main dimensions of synergy management, the most relevant synergy pitfalls and the ways to overcome them.
Design/methodology/approach
A greater recognition of synergy management literature in M & As is developed. A framework is provided integrating the compatible elements of previous broad areas of research and the main findings of studies on several topics related to synergy.
Findings
Prior literature has suggested that synergy is an important motivation of M & As, has tended to be overestimated and has been difficult to achieve. Specifically, there are three relevant synergy pitfalls: the “mirage,” a tendency to overestimate synergy potential, the “gravity hill,” the underestimation of the difficulties in synergy realization and “amnesia,” a dangerous lack of attention to the realization of synergy. An effective synergy management requires an analysis of five dimensions: the steps of the M & A process, the several values of synergy, the forbidding effects of poor synergy management, the potential causes of synergy inflation and the selection of solutions to synergy pitfalls.
Practical implications
The comprehensive framework suggests insights and guidelines to help managers to overcome pitfalls in synergy management. Managers will learn the following lessons: “when” pitfalls should embrace synergy management; “where” pitfalls may occur; “why” pitfalls may occur; “what” consequences can result in a value of “realized synergy” lower than the “expected synergy”; and “how” actions, tools and behaviors can overcome hidden dangers in synergy management.
Originality/value
The study changes the focus from a single, generic synergy trap to three more analytical, useful synergy pitfalls: the mirage, the gravity hill and the amnesia. By shedding light on synergy management pitfalls, this paper enriches M & A literature and enhance practical solutions to reduce pitfalls in synergy decision making.
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The potentially highly automated process of surface mounting electronic components directly onto a substrate or printed circuit board possesses a very weak link. Component…
Abstract
The potentially highly automated process of surface mounting electronic components directly onto a substrate or printed circuit board possesses a very weak link. Component movement subsequent to placement and before or during solder reflow leads to defect conditions such as tombstoning or rotational misalignment. This work investigates the feasibility of replacing this ‘weak’ assembly step(s) with ultrasonics. The selection and modification of suitable ultrasonic equipment is described as in the bonding of chip components onto PCBs. Reliability analysis of the resultant bonds along with bond quality in terms of shear strength and appearance under scanning electron microscope and optical microscope is studied. The results show that, with certain preferred directions of ultrasonic weld, weld preload and weld time bond strengths obtained compare very favourably with those achieved with the present surface mount technology reflow process, hence establishing the feasibility of ultrasonics for this application.
Amaya Gilson, Susan R. Hemer, Anna Chur-Hansen and Shona Crabb
Risk notification is part of a focus on preventive medicine that is dominant in contemporary Western biomedicine. Genomics has forecasted great advances in alleviating disease and…
Abstract
Purpose
Risk notification is part of a focus on preventive medicine that is dominant in contemporary Western biomedicine. Genomics has forecasted great advances in alleviating disease and prolonging human life, moving from a reactive to a preventative practice. However, in doing so, genomics redraws boundaries, potentially classifying all people as possible carriers of malfunctioning genes. This chapter presents a critical review of the practice of ‘risk notification’ as undertaken by familial cancer genetic testing services, focusing on the right to be informed or not to be informed and implications of knowing.
Methodology/approach
With backgrounds in anthropology, psychology and public health, the authors draw upon literature around risk notification from a range of disciplines.
Findings
In the context of familial cancer, clients may be asked to provide contact information for biological family members to inform them of their potential genetic risk. Through these processes a number of tensions and issues may emerge that relate to fundamental bioethical principles. The ability and decision whether to know, or conversely, to not know, is ethically fraught. We consider the roles and rights of family members and clients, as well as the broader goal of population health.
Originality/value
While much attention has been devoted to clients’ right to know in the context of medical research and treatment, relatively little work has examined the right not to know and adverse consequences of knowing. This review addresses concerns which have rarely been critically examined and debated in the context of risk notification of biological family members.
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To remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace, many accommodation managers are constantly upgrading their portfolio of service offerings for guests. Luxury suites with…
Abstract
To remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace, many accommodation managers are constantly upgrading their portfolio of service offerings for guests. Luxury suites with butler service were created as an extra component of luxury to the accommodation model. This inclusion was a welcomed innovation for guests who were willing to pay top dollar for top-of-the-line services and the ultimate in exclusivity. Butlers act as the luxury service delivery mechanisms in accommodations, going above and beyond to meet and exceed guest expectations. This chapter makes a unique contribution to the compendium of knowledge on luxury hospitality and tourism by providing insights from the supply side of luxury accommodation brands in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. A comprehensive review of the literature on the topic coupled with semi-structured interviews were conducted in the Maldives, Jamaica, St. Barts, The Bahamas, St. Lucia, Antigua, Cayman Islands, Barbados and Mexico. With an expressed need to examine the operationalisation (Miller & Mills, 2012a, 2012b) and subjectivity constructs (Godey et al., 2012a, 2012b) on Luxury Management in Hospitality and Tourism, this chapter aims to provide an excellent addition to the discourse. It also aims to address a major gap in the literature as there is a lacuna of recent research on Luxury Management in Tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) from two major tourism dependent regions of the world – the Caribbean and the Pacific.
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Albert Weale, Katharina Kieslich, Peter Littlejohns, Aviva Tugendhaft, Emma Tumilty, Krisantha Weerasuriya and Jennifer A Whitty
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on improving equitable access to health care through increased public and patient involvement (PPI) in prioritization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on improving equitable access to health care through increased public and patient involvement (PPI) in prioritization decisions by discussing the conceptualization, scope and rationales of PPI in priority setting that inform the special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a mixed-methods approach in that it provides a literature review and a conceptual discussion of the common themes emerging in the field of PPI and health priority setting.
Findings
The special issue focuses on public participation that is collective in character, in the sense that the participation relates to a social, not personal, decision and is relevant to whole groups of people and not single individuals. It is aimed at influencing a decision on public policy or legal rules. The rationales for public participation can be found in democratic theory, especially as they relate to the social and political values of legitimacy and representation.
Originality/value
The paper builds on previous definitions of public participation by underlining its collective character. In doing so, it develops the work by Parry, Moyser and Day by arguing that, in light of the empirical evidence presented in this issue, public participatory activities such as protests and demonstrations should no longer be labelled unconventional, but should instead be labelled as “contestatory participation”. This is to better reflect a situation in which these modes of participation have become more conventional in many parts of the world.
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Shien Chue and Stephen Billett
Work-study programmes aim to support young adults transitioning from tertiary education to work and contribute to enhancing their employability. The purpose of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Work-study programmes aim to support young adults transitioning from tertiary education to work and contribute to enhancing their employability. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed analysis of the learning experiences of trainees in work-study programmes within the broad field of engineering.
Design/methodology/approach
The data gathering procedures used interviews with participants of a specific work-study programme and conducting thematic analyses to identify and understand the motivations of these adults for enrolling in work-study programmes and their associated workplace learning experiences. Fifty-two alumni of electrical and logistics engineering programmes completed 12 months of a separate work-study programme and consented to participate in an hour-long interview. They elaborated upon their work-learn experiences to explicate their work-learn needs and challenges in those interviews.
Findings
Findings include workplaces facilitated skills development through providing combinations of work tasks comprising both routine and novel work assignments; challenging circumstances at the workplace provided trainees with opportunities to develop adaptive capacities; and engaging in non-routine work processes fosters integration into the engineering workplace community.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the existing literature by exemplifying how routine engineering activities are practical affordances through which engineering trainees construct knowledge and dispositions for engaging in challenging, non-routine engineering work. Such experiences are crucial in preparing trainees for advanced roles in logistics or electronic sectors.
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Matthias Brauer and Sascha L. Schmidt
The purpose of this research is to explore the potential role and the measurement of the effectiveness of boards of directors in strategy formulation and implementation – two…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore the potential role and the measurement of the effectiveness of boards of directors in strategy formulation and implementation – two aspects that have so far been left largely unaddressed by corporate governance research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on insights from strategy process literature, the paper suggests that, by ensuring consistency between resource allocation processes and the firm's intended strategy, boards could fulfil a meaningful role in strategy implementation. The proposed outside‐in analysis of resource allocation decisions is illustrated by a single case study of a major Swiss pharmaceutical company.
Findings
The proposed approach enables corporate governance scholars to look at how boards fulfil their role in strategy implementation from a perspective similar to that of financial analysts. It might thus be suited to complement existing methods in empirical corporate governance research.
Practical implications
The presented outside‐in analysis of resource allocation decisions helps board members to prevent role conflicts with executive management. In addition, boards may benefit from an analysis of implementation consistency, because it enables them to detect weak early warning signals of strategic divergence that require early intervention.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the discussion of alternative methods for exploring strategy issues in corporate governance research. The suggested approach outlines a potential new vantage point to investigate board involvement in strategy implementation in the event that action research is not feasible. The tentative findings from the case study put forward a set of indicators for measuring the effectiveness of boards in guiding strategy implementation.