Gavin Dennehy, Bobby Kennedy and John Spillane
The purpose of this study is to identify the factors relating to the integration and compliance of Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (BC(A)R 2014) in large Irish…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the factors relating to the integration and compliance of Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (BC(A)R 2014) in large Irish construction organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the aim, a mixed method approach is adopted, initially, providing a critique of the literature review, followed by a combination of 7 semi-structured interviews and 30 questionnaires from industry practitioners.
Findings
Findings demonstrate that BC(A)R has had a significant positive effect on the industry, eliminating previous bad practice, by increasing the accountability for professionals signing-off on new buildings, and highlights the emphasis on certification in successfully achieving practical completion on projects.
Practical implications
The findings provide further justification on the need for compliance, and integration, of BC(A)R in the Irish construction sector, offering further evidence, where needed, on the benefit of its adoption.
Originality/value
The originality and value of this research lies in the limited number of studies in the area, particularly in the context of large Irish construction projects, which this study aims to fulfil.
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Keywords
This paper seeks to address the question: what happened to postmodern?
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to address the question: what happened to postmodern?
Design/methodology/approach
Three trends are reviewed: postmodern fragmentation, late modern appropriations of postmodern moves; and emergent awareness of the dark‐side of postmodern.
Findings
On the way to postmodern theory the revolution to reform modern capitalism fragmented into rhetoric‐strands, while practice became ineffective.
Research limitations/implications
The paper concludes with possibilities for participatory research in ways that enact more postmodern forms of capitalist praxis.
Practical implications
It is suggested that qualitative studies of postmodern praxis can be conducted; such as postmodern organizations that enact the dark‐side of biotechnology; consumer organizations, such as Blackspot and No Sweat that contract to non‐sweatshop factories; and autoethnographic examples of how building a Harley‐Davidson chopper is post‐production and post‐consumption.
Originality/value
The paper shows that in the fragmentation of moderns and postmoderns, there is a relentless appropriation of postmodern moves by late modernism. This is one contributing factor to the “dark side of postmodern.” Other contributing factors are naive brands of postmodern (e.g. chaos theory, complexity, new age spirituality) which, sometimes only see the positive potentialities, and blind one to the dark side. What is original is the call for a combination of critical theory and postmodern theory (critical postmodern) that looks at the relation between various ideas of modern and postmodern and how they can be studied in their dialogicality.
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In today's organizations, the heterogeneity of work teams is increasing. For example, members of work teams have different ages, genders, and/or cultural backgrounds. As a…
Abstract
Purpose
In today's organizations, the heterogeneity of work teams is increasing. For example, members of work teams have different ages, genders, and/or cultural backgrounds. As a consequence, team leaders have to face the challenge of taking into account the various needs, values, and motives of their followers. However, there has been very little empirical research to test whether the influence of leadership behaviors on performance is moderated by facets of team heterogeneity. This paper aims to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The leadership behaviors of transactional and transformational leadership, laissez‐faire, consideration, and initiating structure, as well as three facets of heterogeneity (i.e. age, gender, and culture) were assessed in an empirical study based on a sample of n=283 members of German fire departments. These team members also provided self‐ratings for their performance.
Findings
The results revealed that the relationship between three leadership behaviors (i.e. transformational leadership, laissez‐faire, and consideration) and performance was being moderated by facets of team members' heterogeneity.
Practical implications
Both transformational leadership and consideration work best when the work team is heterogeneous with regard to gender.
Originality/value
The importance of the contextual influences of team members' heterogeneity for effective leadership processes was explored theoretically, and subsequently, demonstrated empirically for the first time.
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Prashant Mehta, Debarun Chakraborty, Nripendra P. Rana, Anubhav Mishra, Sangeeta Khorana and Kaouther Kooli
The importance of key account management (KAM) as a management technique in business-to-business markets has grown in recent years. The success of KAM programmes is highly…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of key account management (KAM) as a management technique in business-to-business markets has grown in recent years. The success of KAM programmes is highly dependent on the efforts of individual employees, specifically key account managers. Research on KAM at an individual level is important but lacking in the academic domain. This study aims to fill this gap by developing and evaluating a model of key account manager personality traits and how they impact the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The study also depicts the effect of the adoption of AI technologies on competitive advantage and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines how the adoption of AI technologies impacts firms’ competitive advantage and performance. The study used competitive advantage as a mediator and organisational culture as a moderator. A mixed-method analysis was used to conduct the study. In the first phase, an exploratory study was conducted using interviews with 26 key account managers from the automobile industry and thematic analysis to establish 9 constructs. In the second phase, which is a confirmatory study, 496 respondents finally responded to the questionnaire.
Findings
All constructs are used for confirmatory analysis and validate the data. Our research shows that key account managers’ adoption of AI technologies is influenced significantly by personality traits. Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness have substantial links to adopting AI technologies, which impacts firms’ competitive advantage and performance. Organisational culture significantly moderates the association between agreeableness and the adoption of AI technologies.
Practical implications
The findings of this research allow organisations to optimise team composition, customise training programs based on individual traits and incorporate personality assessments into recruitment processes for streamlined technology adoption and improved competitiveness. Overall, these actions aim to enhance AI integration, driving competitive advantage and client satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study stands out as one of the limited inquiries examining how the Big-five personality traits of key account managers influence the integration of AI technologies and its resulting impact on company performance. Therefore, this research makes notable contributions to the realms of organisational psychology and technology adoption studies.