Renfei Gao, Jane Lu, Helen Wei Hu and Geoff Martin
The rapid, yet low-profit, expansion of the production capacity of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) represents a remarkable phenomenon. However, the motivation behind this key…
Abstract
Purpose
The rapid, yet low-profit, expansion of the production capacity of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) represents a remarkable phenomenon. However, the motivation behind this key operational decision remains underexplored, especially concerning the prioritization of sociopolitical and financial goals in operations management. Drawing on the multiple-goal model in the behavioral theory of the firm (BTOF), the authors' study aims to examine how SOE capacity expansion is driven by performance feedback regarding the sociopolitical goal of employment provision and how SOEs differently prioritize sociopolitical and financial goals based on negative versus positive feedback on the sociopolitical goal.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' study uses panel data on 826 Chinese SOEs in manufacturing industries from 2011 to 2019. The authors employ the fixed-effects model with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, which are robust to heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation and cross-sectional dependence.
Findings
The authors find that SOEs increase capacity expansion as sociopolitical feedback becomes more negative, but they may not increase capacity expansion in response to positive sociopolitical feedback. Moreover, negative profitability feedback strengthens SOEs' capacity expansion in response to negative sociopolitical feedback. In contrast, negative profitability feedback weakens their response to positive sociopolitical feedback.
Originality/value
The authors' study offers a novel behavioral explanation of SOEs' operational decisions regarding capacity expansion. While the literature has traditionally assumed multiple goals as either hierarchical or compatible, the authors extend the BTOF's multiple-goal model to illuminate when firms pursue sociopolitical and financial goals as compatible (i.e. the activation rule) versus hierarchical (i.e. the sequential rule), thereby reconciling their tension in distinct performance situations. Practically, the authors provide fine-grained insights into how operations managers can prioritize multiple goals when making operational decisions. The authors' study also shows how policymakers can influence SOE operations to pursue sociopolitical goals for public benefit.
Details
Keywords
Martin Houghton and Robert Paton
Ever since the Bolton Committee published its Report in 1979, the small firm sector has been a focus for economic regeneration and employment creation. The potential of this…
Abstract
Ever since the Bolton Committee published its Report in 1979, the small firm sector has been a focus for economic regeneration and employment creation. The potential of this sector was further highlighted by the controversial research findings of Birch. Notwithstanding the rigour and robustness of the work, it was used to strengthen and validate the U.K. government's policy of providing considerable assistance towards encouraging new “start‐ups”.
Education ethnographers have long recognised the significance of the researcher's self upon the research process (Burgess, 1984; Walford, 1991; Troman, 2000; Russell, 2005) This…
Abstract
Education ethnographers have long recognised the significance of the researcher's self upon the research process (Burgess, 1984; Walford, 1991; Troman, 2000; Russell, 2005) This chapter attempts to define and examine the relationship between the ‘Personal’, ‘Professional’ and ‘Political’ dimensions of ethnographies and the researcher's self set within the institutional and societal context. We argue that these three aspects form an important part of ethnography, implicitly or explicitly. However these are variously presented depending upon how the ethnography is experienced by the researcher and the researched. The Personal, Professional and Political are often closely related and can at times be difficult to distinguish. The importance that the researcher attributes to each of these aspects and the level of significance they have on the ethnography varies.
Attempts to place the debate over the introduction of the communitycharge in the more analytical framework of economic theory. Argues thatthe community charge has disadvantages in…
Abstract
Attempts to place the debate over the introduction of the community charge in the more analytical framework of economic theory. Argues that the community charge has disadvantages in terms both of equity and efficiency. Considers the wider effects of the abolition of domestic rates on the housing market. Using a case study, examines the feasibility of an alternative local taxation system based on capital values.
Details
Keywords
Mark Freeman and Jayson Seaman
The introduction sets out the scope of the special issue and suggests areas for further research.
Abstract
Purpose
The introduction sets out the scope of the special issue and suggests areas for further research.
Design/methodology/approach
This introductory article sets out the rationale and contents of the special issue of History of Education Review on “Outdoor Education in Historical Perspective”. It briefly summarizes the existing state of research and introduces the six articles that comprise the issue.
Findings
The introduction identifies four particular themes that arise from the existing literature and from the diverse contributions to this special issue: transculturality; space and place; religion and spirituality; and personality/personalities.
Originality/value
This special issue contains six original contributions to the study of the history of outdoor education, focussing on different locations in Europe and North America.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to celebrate the remarkable work of the late Emeritus Professor Michael J. Thomas, as Editor of Marketing Intelligence & Planning (MIP ) over 21…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to celebrate the remarkable work of the late Emeritus Professor Michael J. Thomas, as Editor of Marketing Intelligence & Planning (MIP ) over 21 years, and Founding Editor in perpetuity.
Design/methodology/approach
His long‐time Assistant Editor and eventual successor trawls the back issues and plumbs the depths of his own memory, to formalise the story of the man and his creation.
Findings
The undoubted success of MIP, at the time of the editorial handover the third‐most downloaded title in Emerald's massive stable, was entirely attributable to the work of its Founding Editor: his clear vision of an academic journal that was applicable to the real work of intelligence gathering and strategy planning; his extensive personal networks, his professional status, and the sheer force of his personality.
Practical implications
In the overheated current climate of academic research and publication, more journals should consider the merits of editorial prerogative as a precursor to formal double‐blind reviewing in the acceptance process. A strong and focused Editor is a prerequisite, of course.
Originality/value
The paper celebrates the history of MIP and, in the process, the life of Michael Thomas.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine male and female executives as leaders “championing” gender change interventions. It problematizes current exhortations for male leaders to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine male and female executives as leaders “championing” gender change interventions. It problematizes current exhortations for male leaders to lead gender change, much as they might lead any other business-driven change agenda. It argues that organizational gender scholarship is critical to understanding the gendered nature of championing.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on a feminist qualitative research project examining the efficacy of a gender intervention in a university and a policing institution. Interviews with four leaders have been chosen from the larger study for analysis against the backdrop of material from interviewees and the participant observation of the researcher. It brings a social constructionist view of gender and Acker’s gendering processes to bear on understanding organizational gender change.
Findings
The sex/gender of the leader is inescapably fore-fronted by the gender change intervention. Gendered expectations and choices positioned men as powerful and effective champions while undermining the effectiveness of the woman in this study.
Research limitations/implications
Further research examining male and female leaders capacity to champion gender change is required.
Practical implications
This research identifies effective champion behaviors, provides suggestions for ensuring that gender equity interventions are well championed and proposes a partnership model where senior men and women play complementary roles leading gender change.
Originality/value
This paper is of value to practitioners and scholars. It draws attention to contemporary issues of leadership and gender change, seeking to bridge the gap between theory and practice that undermines our change efforts.
Details
Keywords
Andrew Martin, Geoff Watson, Jan Neuman, Ivana Turčová and Lucie Kalkusová
The purpose of this paper is to examine Czech traditions of outdoor games and sports, turistika activities and education in nature programmes, which have continued to develop…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine Czech traditions of outdoor games and sports, turistika activities and education in nature programmes, which have continued to develop during periods of oppression and provided opportunities to preserve the Czech culture.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the historical, cultural and political context of education in nature traditions in Czech was proposed.
Findings
Late 19th century organisations such as the Turistický klub and Sokol were instrumental in developing a range of indigenous turistika activities involving active movement. The early 20th century influences were the Czech scouting movement, summer camps and Woodcraft. Charles University provided the first tertiary outdoor educational programmes in Prague in the 1950s. Their foundation course “Turistika and Outdoor Sports” is still compulsory for all students studying physical education and sport. Turistika activities and outdoor sports and games continued to be developed throughout the liberalization of the socialist regime in the 1960s.
Practical implications
Following the Prague Spring in 1968, and under the guise of the Socialist Youth Union organization, new experimental forms of outdoor education emerged.
Social implications
Since the Velvet Revolution in 1989 organisations have reconnected with Czech outdoor traditions that flourished before 1948 and other organisations have developed education in nature programs. The commercial sphere, which did not exist before 1989, has now been established in the outdoor area. However, traditional participation in turistika activities has been impacted by other external motivations as a broader range of opportunities have become available and accepted, and tourism outside of Czech and Europe has become increasingly popular and accessible.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper is to provide an overview of Czech political and cultural history and how it has shaped people's relationship, particularly children and youth, with the outdoors.