Frank David Einhorn, Jack Meredith and Carl Marnewick
The paper responds to calls in recent research for a model that shows how the business case should be used throughout the project's lifetime to achieve sound governance and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper responds to calls in recent research for a model that shows how the business case should be used throughout the project's lifetime to achieve sound governance and thereby project success. The aim of the paper is to advance theory about the effective use of the business case.
Design/methodology/approach
Besides the processes and information required, the literature identified 43 organizational facilitating factors, structured into 5 categories, which are required for effective use of the business case. To offer a useful model, the authors' approach was to do a factor analysis, based on existing survey data, to reduce the number of facilitators and to validate their categorization.
Findings
The findings of the paper were as follows: (1) the classification of the proposed facilitating factors was validated; (2) the number of facilitators needed to ensure that the business case is used effectively was substantially reduced and (3) a “business case effectiveness model” is proposed to clarify the relationship between the organizational facilitating factors, the business case processes and the information required to effectively use the business case.
Originality/value
This is the first time that a business case effectiveness model has been proposed. Besides consolidating business case theory, it can be used to guide people and organizations on simple, affordable ways to improve their use of the business case to achieve sound governance and hence business/information technology project success.
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Frank Einhorn, Jack Meredith and Carl Marnewick
Literature indicates that the business case for projects is difficult to use and suggests that there are organizational factors that can facilitate effective use of the business…
Abstract
Purpose
Literature indicates that the business case for projects is difficult to use and suggests that there are organizational factors that can facilitate effective use of the business case. This paper aims to identify such facilitators, measure their presence and importance, and relate them to the actual practice of business case processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross sectional quantitative method was used, with data on facilitators and business case process usage gathered through an online questionnaire.
Findings
The findings for the 43 organizational facilitators are that each one is considered more important than its presence in the respondents' organizations. High correlations emerge between the presence of the facilitators and the use of business case processes, indicating the pivotal role of the facilitators.
Research limitations/implications
The research was conducted for business IT projects implemented by organizations based in South Africa. It furthers our understanding of project business cases and suggests additional research avenues in this area.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that organizations could improve key facilitators at an affordable cost. Such improvement would enable more effective use of the business case throughout the project's lifetime – from initial concept until planned benefits have been substantially realized. Better use of the business case would also support governance and increase the success rate of business IT projects.
Originality/value
Organizational facilitators of business case processes are identified and categorized for the first time, leading to measurements of their perceived importance and presence in organizations. Hence, the relationship between these facilitators and actual business case usage is determined, suggesting areas of optimum impact.
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This paper seeks to demonstrate that gender research is crucial to understanding post‐socialist transformations and wider changes in social life. Focused on employment experiences…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to demonstrate that gender research is crucial to understanding post‐socialist transformations and wider changes in social life. Focused on employment experiences and gender identities of two generations of Bulgarian women, it aims to highlight the complex intertwining of social structure and individual agency and to point out how processes of continuity and change constitute the post‐socialist transformation and individual life journeys.
Design/methodology/approach
Informed by feminist analyses of gender and citizenship, generation theory and qualitative interviews, the paper employs the notion of gender imaginaries in comparing continuity and change in gender policy and individual experiences.
Findings
The paper argues that significant changes occurred after 1989 in the ways official gender imaginaries were constructed through law, policy, and public discourses. In comparison to this, individual women's gender imaginaries entailed not only change but also sustained attachment to paid work, rejection of domesticity, and continued feelings of gender equality. This suggests that stable and often unquestioned notions of gender had a significant role for individual imaginaries. In addition to this, some of the most considerable changes were manifested in the notions of risk and uncertainty, which have become central aspects of the post‐socialist gender imaginary, particularly in relation to paid work.
Originality/value
The paper engages in a comparison of employment experiences of two generations of women thus directing its enquiry to the combination of individuals' agency in crafting one's life journey and the constraints of social structures and existing gender inequalities. Thus, transformations in individual lived lives of women are seen as interrelated with social change and historic location.
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Martin Einhorn, Michael Löffler, Emanuel de Bellis, Andreas Herrmann and Pia Burghartz
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and nearly caused a meltdown of the financial system. This article looks at the situation before Lehman went bankrupt…
Abstract
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and nearly caused a meltdown of the financial system. This article looks at the situation before Lehman went bankrupt and how this event came to trigger a financial panic during the fall of 2008 and early 2009. Two key ideas inform the analysis. The first is that what triggers financial panics are typically hidden losses. The second is that confidence plays a key role in financial panics and that confidence can be conceptualized as a belief that action can be based on proxy signs, rather than on direct information about the situation itself.
Martin Einhorn and Michael Löffler
Digitalization is changing the assets, competencies, and value creation of the customer insight function. New data sources, methods, and technologies provide an unprecedented…
Abstract
Digitalization is changing the assets, competencies, and value creation of the customer insight function. New data sources, methods, and technologies provide an unprecedented wealth of data and opportunity for efficiency. At the same time, it is leading to an evolution in necessary capabilities such as data synthesis, networking, and constant learning. Changes in the means of value creation have included automation of insights, more frequent evaluation of business results, and more emotional inspiration. Customer insights in the machine age drive customer centricity and go beyond the descriptive research function of previous “market research” within companies.
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Storytelling can be the difference between your data making a true contribution or remaining unheard. Because in order to move your stakeholders to act, they need to thoroughly…
Abstract
Storytelling can be the difference between your data making a true contribution or remaining unheard. Because in order to move your stakeholders to act, they need to thoroughly understand why your data matters, and often on an emotional as well as a rational level. And for that, there is no more powerful tool than storytelling.
In this chapter, we'll apply the techniques of the most powerful story form of all, movies, to data slides, and in the process, make them easy to understand and believe in.
You'll read and see techniques and examples that will help you:
Focus your data so it's quick and clear.
Frame it in ways that feel tangible and relatable to your stakeholders.
Make the reason why it matters more powerful so your stakeholders will be moved to act.
How storytelling will become even more interesting in the age of machines.
Focus your data so it's quick and clear.
Frame it in ways that feel tangible and relatable to your stakeholders.
Make the reason why it matters more powerful so your stakeholders will be moved to act.
How storytelling will become even more interesting in the age of machines.
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Frank Schiemann, Kai Richter and Thomas Günther
The capitalisation of intangible investments is discussed controversially in the financial accounting literature. International accounting standards are concerned with this issue…
Abstract
Purpose
The capitalisation of intangible investments is discussed controversially in the financial accounting literature. International accounting standards are concerned with this issue and generally demand more intellectual capital to be recognised on the face of the balance sheet. If investors and analysts already gather monetary information about intangible assets from the financial report and find such information useful, then the necessity to complement such information with voluntary intellectual capital disclosure will diminish. Accordingly, there should be an association between recognised intangible assets and voluntary intellectual capital disclosure. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyse the voluntary disclosure of 264 investor conference and roadshow presentations of German DAX 30 firms in the year 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007. The authors apply regression models to analyse the association between recognition of intangible assets and voluntary intellectual capital disclosure and control for other determinants of voluntary disclosure.
Findings
The authors find that the magnitude of recognised intangible assets is significantly and negatively associated with the quantity and quality of voluntary intellectual capital disclosure. The authors show that this association is mainly driven by goodwill accounting. In more detailed analyses we find different directions (positive, negative and insignificant) of this relationship for different categories of intellectual capital.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies on voluntary intellectual capital disclosure need to consider recognised intangible assets as a determinant to avoid omitted variable problems.
Practical implications
The authors provide descriptive evidence about voluntary intellectual capital disclosure practice of Germany’s largest firms.
Originality/value
The paper provides primary evidence on the association between recognised intangible assets and voluntary intellectual capital disclosure.
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John H. Bickford III and Cynthia W. Rich
Common Core State Standards Initiative mandates increased readings of informational texts within English Language Arts starting in elementary school. Accurate, age-appropriate…
Abstract
Common Core State Standards Initiative mandates increased readings of informational texts within English Language Arts starting in elementary school. Accurate, age-appropriate, and engaging content is at the center of effective social studies teaching. Textbooks and children’s literature—both literary and informational—are prominent in elementary classrooms because of the esoteric nature of primary source material. Many research projects have investigated historical accuracy and representation within textbooks, but few have done so with children’s trade books. We examined children’s trade books centered on three historical figures frequently incorporated within elementary school curricula: Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, and Helen Keller. Findings revealed various forms of historical misrepresentation and differing levels of historicity. Reporting such lacunae is important for those involved in curricular decisions. We believe children’s books, even those with historical omissions and misrepresentations, provide an unique opportunity for students to incorporate and scrutinize diverse perspectives as they actively assemble historical understandings. All secondary narratives, even historically representative children’s books, can benefit from primary source supplementation. We guide teachers interested in employing relevant and rich primary source material.