Jeff Grimshaw, Gregg Baron, Barry Mike and Neill Edwards
The authors offer a leaders' guide to assess accountability problems, “take away excuses,” and promote a culture of accountability.
Abstract
Purpose
The authors offer a leaders' guide to assess accountability problems, “take away excuses,” and promote a culture of accountability.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors believe that attribution error and bias influences much of the existing business literature and conventional wisdom around accountability, which focuses almost exclusively on individual responsibility and character. Under‐emphasized or ignored is the way that informal company practices and habits contribute to the widespread problem that employees are not doing what leadership needs and expects them to do.
Findings
The authors developed a predictive accountability model that asserts that most people in organizations will be accountable – that is, they will do what is needed and expected – if four factors are present: expectations are clear to employees; employees perceive that those expectations are credible and reasonable; employees anticipate that positive consequences will follow performance; and employees anticipate that negative consequences will follow poor performance.
Practical implications
Managing accountability is a process for which leaders have responsibility. Toward that end, the authors' experience has shown the culture of accountability model to be a highly reliable tool capable of diagnosing a wide variety of accountability problems.
Originality/value
The authors offer a program for diagnosing and addressing existing accountability problems and for preventing such problems from becoming endemic.
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Manuel Vázquez-Zacarías, Alfonso López-Lira, Mario Vargas-Sáenz and John Macías-Prada
To succeed in acquiring appropriate resources, socially innovative firms must develop social capital, by making connections with traditional partners, such as universities and…
Abstract
To succeed in acquiring appropriate resources, socially innovative firms must develop social capital, by making connections with traditional partners, such as universities and multinational corporations, and nontraditional partners, such as nongovernmental organizations and the communities in which they work. This study is designed to show the application of social capital through the pursuit of bilateral relationships. In addition, it shows that collaborations are possible among partners – pertaining to social innovative firms. This study begins with a conceptual foundation that is included to define key constructs and propositions. The methodology is a qualitative case study of socially innovative firms in the agriculture industry in Mexico and Colombia. Both case studies show the creation of bilateral alliances with traditional and nontraditional partners to obtain resources. Moreover, the findings suggest that a social firm can unite its partners’ objectives toward social value creation. Having a common ground could trigger multilateral collaborations among the socially innovative firm’s partners to combine, integrate, and leverage the business ecosystem. This chapter provides evidence that today’s social entrepreneurs are willing to use hybrid structures that include for-profit and nonprofit elements to provide a solution for a social issue.
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Marco A. Barrenechea-Méndez, Pedro Ortín-Ángel and Eduardo C. Rodes-Mayor
This chapter provides further evidence on the role of uncertainty and job complexity in pay-for-performance and autonomy decisions. It proposes an encompassing econometric…
Abstract
This chapter provides further evidence on the role of uncertainty and job complexity in pay-for-performance and autonomy decisions. It proposes an encompassing econometric approach in order to explain the differences in previous outcomes that may be due to differing methodological approaches. The main stylized fact is that autonomy and pay-for-performance are positively associated. Additionally, autonomy is positively related to job complexity and uncertainty suggesting that the relationship between these latter variables and pay-for-performance could be through autonomy. After controlling for autonomy, the positive relationship between pay-for-performance and job complexity disappears, while that between pay-for-performance and uncertainty becomes more negative.
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Raouf Jaziri and Mohammad Saleh Miralam
Psychological and entrepreneurial traits have been widely studied as explicative variables of encouraging entrepreneurial behavior, while their impact on innovative activity is…
Abstract
Purpose
Psychological and entrepreneurial traits have been widely studied as explicative variables of encouraging entrepreneurial behavior, while their impact on innovative activity is less explored. This study examines whether, how and why psycho-entrepreneurial traits and social networks effect innovativeness among women firm owners.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of data collected from 304 Saudi women entrepreneurs accompanied by business accelerators provides a wide support with some notable exceptions. We use Structural Equation Modeling technique to estimate how different constructs interact with each other and jointly affect directly or indirectly women's innovativeness behavior in Saudi Arabia.
Findings
Findings point out that innovativeness is positively and significantly affected by emotional intelligence, internal locus of control, entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The construct of entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediates the relationship between both business and personal networks and innovativeness. However, professional forums and mentors have no significant effect on innovativeness.
Research limitations/implications
The sample selection is limited to two entrepreneurial support structures especially business accelerator and business incubator. Expanding the context to other support structures can reinforce the implications and provide more valuable results.
Practical implications
The findings are likely to be of applicability for improving women entrepreneurship by entrepreneurial support structures.
Originality/value
This research is original in the sense that it investigated useful insights of innovativeness among Saudi female entrepreneurs.
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Julie Morin, Benjamin De Coster, Raphaël Paris, François Flohic, Damien Le Floch and Franck Lavigne
Following the 26 December 2004 tsunami, Planet Risk NGO took part in the international research program TSUNARISK and ATIP‐CNRS Jeune Chercheur. The aim of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Following the 26 December 2004 tsunami, Planet Risk NGO took part in the international research program TSUNARISK and ATIP‐CNRS Jeune Chercheur. The aim of this paper is to encourage the development of tsunami‐resilient communities essentially through educative actions.
Design/methodology/approach
The tsunami risk in Indonesia was assessed by researchers. Planet Risk then used scientific findings and advice for building adapted prevention actions among Javanese populations.
Findings
Many people could have survived if they had received a basic knowledge of tsunamis. The Indonesian public as well as local authorities must be educated to face tsunami risk. To be efficient, this education must be adapted to local cultural and geographical characteristics. Collaboration between researchers and practitioners is a good means of reaching such an objective.
Originality/value
The paper is the result of a two‐year successful collaboration between interdisciplinary scientific teams and an NGO team. It demonstrates that an efficient prevention scheme can be implemented through this kind of collaboration. To the authors' knowledge it is the first time that such tsunami education programmes have been led in Indonesia.
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Rachel Hay, Lynne Eagle and Muhammad Abid Saleem
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of claimed detrimental impacts for the agricultural activity of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem health in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of claimed detrimental impacts for the agricultural activity of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem health in Queensland, Australia. The authors discuss the complex interaction of factors that have contributed to the decline in reef ecosystems and the challenges presented by multiple industries operating within the GBR catchment area. The authors then discuss measures employed to address agricultural run-off, claimed to be a significant factor in declining reef water quality.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys of land managers were undertaken in partnership with two of the six natural resource management (NRM) organizations operating in areas adjacent to the GBR identified as having very high risk of natural and anthropogenic runoff. The sample population was obtained from a membership database within the two regions. Participants include land managers from the both regions who engaged in sugar cane production (Region 1 and Region 2, included in this paper) and cattle production (Region 2, to be reported later). Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed including open-ended responses.
Findings
A large-scale study of land managers reveals several reasons for the lack of success at reducing agricultural run-off. The authors discuss the rationale for a move to a theory-grounded social marketing approach to encouraging land manager behavior change, highlighting barriers, and potential enablers of sustained behavior change.
Originality/value
This study is first of its kind that discusses the behavior of land managers in the GBR catchment area and highlights facilitators and impediments of land managers’ behavior change toward GBR protection actions.
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Michael Matthews, Thomas Kelemen, M. Ronald Buckley and Marshall Pattie
Patriotism is often described as the “love of country” that individuals display in the acclamation of their national community. Despite the prominence of this sentiment in various…
Abstract
Patriotism is often described as the “love of country” that individuals display in the acclamation of their national community. Despite the prominence of this sentiment in various societies around the world, organizational research on patriotism is largely absent. This omission is surprising because entrepreneurs, human resource (HR) divisions, and firms frequently embrace both patriotism and patriotic organizational practices. These procedures include (among other interventions) national symbol embracing, HR practices targeted toward military members and first responders, the adulation of patriots and celebration of patriotic events, and patriotic-oriented corporate social responsibility (CSR). Here, the authors argue that research on HR management and organization studies will likely be further enhanced with a deeper understanding of the national obligation that can spur employee productivity and loyalty. In an attempt to jumpstart the collective understanding of this phenomenon, the authors explore the antecedents of patriotic organizational practices, namely, the effects of founder orientation, employee dispersion, and firm strategy. It is suggested that HR practices such as these lead to a patriotic organizational image, which in turn impacts investor, customer, and employee responses. Notably, the effect of a patriotic organizational image on firm-related outcomes is largely contingent on how it fits with the patriotic views of other stakeholders, such as investors, customers, and employees. After outlining this model, the authors then present a thought experiment of how this model may appear in action. The authors then discuss ways the field can move forward in studying patriotism in HR management and organizational contexts by outlining several future directions that span multiple levels (i.e., micro and macro). Taken together, in this chapter, the authors introduce a conversation of something quite prevalent and largely unheeded – the patriotic organization.