Søren Wandahl, Alexia Jacobsen, Astrid Heidemann Lassen, Søren Bolvig Poulsen and Henrik Sørensen
User‐driven innovation (UDI) has been proven to successfully increase the value of products and services in single companies with direct linkages to the end‐user. The construction…
Abstract
Purpose
User‐driven innovation (UDI) has been proven to successfully increase the value of products and services in single companies with direct linkages to the end‐user. The construction material industry often has no direct linkages to the end‐user, due to supply networks through builder merchants. Moreover, a lack of user knowledge is common in such networks, and companies rarely have explicit knowledge on how their products and services are in fact used and valued by their end‐users. Thus, it is clear that UDI is not directly applicable to the construction material industry without further developments. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that a network perspective is essential when adapting and implementing UDI in the construction material industry and to let the advantages of doing so surface.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design includes a number of different approaches and types of interaction between the researchers and industry. Additionally, an extensive literature review on UDI is carried out to identify variables necessary for successful adaptation to a network perspective.
Findings
The conclusion of this research validates that a network approach to adapting UDI in the construction material industry is a precondition for a successful innovation journey. In addition, it was concluded that by adapting the network perspective new value‐adding potentials became visible, which could have a huge impact on innovation, effectiveness, efficiency, etc. in the construction material industry.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the body of knowledge on how to implement UDI in a supply network by developing a framework for such an innovation process. The framework has its outset in any given generic new product development model with a logical sequence of steps. However, the framework is further developed into defining the networks activities, the internal activities, and the user‐oriented activities needed.
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Tobias Schölin, Per Broomé and Henrik Ohlsson
– The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence that family factors have on an individual’s intention to be self-employed.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence that family factors have on an individual’s intention to be self-employed.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors selected, from Swedish national registers, all full siblings born between 1945 and 1960 and their biological children, who were born before 1985. The authors created one family database consisting of male individuals (n=1,204,436) and one family database consisting of female individuals (n=1,349,904). The authors defined the outcome variable during the years 2003-2010. Separate analyses were conducted for each of the four outcome variables: all self-employed individuals, owners of limited liability companies, sole traders and hybrids. The authors used multi-level logistic analysis for this study.
Findings
The study demonstrates that the influence that family factors have on an individual’s choice of company type is strong; however, it varies depending on intentions transferred within the family.
Originality/value
The authors divide self-employment into three distinct parts based on the company type, which enables a sophisticated analysis of self-employed individuals and of the transference of intentions to be self-employed within families. The authors contribute to the understanding of why individuals become self-employed by examining the impact of family factors on the intention of an individual to choose different types of company.
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The aim of this paper is to discuss a theoretical framework for increased integration of a company's communication policy, corporate language policy and corporate information…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to discuss a theoretical framework for increased integration of a company's communication policy, corporate language policy and corporate information portal with a view to facilitating communication management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on selected theoretical contributions on corporate language policy with special emphasis on theoretical considerations on the type of language policies developed and implemented in companies and organisations and on corporate communication with special emphasis on van Riel's common starting points. The empirical basis of the paper is a triangulation of questionnaire data, content analysis data and interview data.
Findings
The paper argues that corporate communication has not sufficiently included the operational part of a company's corporate communication. The paper makes the case for a theoretical integration framework based on van Riel's common starting points (CSPs), and argues that corporate communication also needs to include the corporate language policy and the corporate information portal, defined as a modern information directory offering communicators concrete communication data for use in concrete text production situations.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a CSP‐based theoretical integration framework and makes the case for a Holy Trinity in corporate communications based on the communication policy, the corporate language policy and the corporate information portal.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of ability, desire and opportunity on the individual’s intention to be self-employed.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of ability, desire and opportunity on the individual’s intention to be self-employed.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors created a database from Swedish national registers consisting of all individuals residing in Sweden sometime during the period 1997-2010 and selected all 333,001 full sibling pairs, 12,810 maternal half sibling pairs and 15,944 paternal half sibling pairs. Three types of entrepreneurs were defined based on information from the Swedish Tax Register. The authors divided the intention to be self-employed into ability and desire and defined ability as a genetic factor and desire as a common family factor. A classical twin model was used to separate the variance of the outcome variables into genetic, common and unshared environmental factors.
Findings
The study demonstrates that the influence from opportunity on the intention to be self-employed is generally strong and that all factors, ability, desire and opportunity, differ, both in size and content, for the three outcomes of entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
The authors divide self-employment into three distinct company types, which enables a sophisticated additive genetic analysis of the ability, desire and opportunity to be self-employed. The authors contribute to the understanding of why individuals become self-employed by examining the influences from internal and external factors of family on the intentions of self-employment.
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This paper is concerned to show how the Danish political elite interpreted and responded to the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis for the Danish economy. In particular…
Abstract
This paper is concerned to show how the Danish political elite interpreted and responded to the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis for the Danish economy. In particular, the paper describes how this interpretive construction focused primarily on three features of the Danish context to the exclusion of other perspectives; the first was an emphasis on the problems of the financial sector, of interest rates and state finances; the second was that Danish productivity increases were falling behind other comparable countries and part of the solution required new strategies towards labour and unemployment benefits; thirdly, the adverse effects of the crisis were causing an increase in government expenditure and a decline in government revenues which was rapidly becoming unsustainable. As a consequence, the Danish elite fell into the broader interpretation of the crisis embedded in the dominant view within the EU institutions as well as among the international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, that a period of austerity and fiscal consolidation was the required remedy, even though this was likely to be pro-cyclical in its effects. However, the paper shows that alternative data which is more reflective of Denmark’s position in the global economy and the trajectory and form of its growth over the last decade reveals that the interpretation of the Danish elite has been too narrow and neglects the distinctive roots of Denmark’s competitive strengths. Indeed, by responding in the way which they have, the Danish elite is in danger of undermining the very conditions of Denmark’s competitiveness.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Mette Morsing and Dennis Oswald
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how top managers seek to provide the necessary leadership inside an organisation when sustainability is a primary strategic objective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how top managers seek to provide the necessary leadership inside an organisation when sustainability is a primary strategic objective, and the paper seeks to ask to what extent it is possible to influence sustainability at the operational level by contemporary management control systems as it proposes to integrate the perspective of organizational culture.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a single case study of Novo Nordisk A/S.
Findings
The paper concludes by asking questions to managerial practice as well as to theory, concerning to what extent sustainability practices are measured by concurrent management control systems, and to what extent organizational culture perspective is a necessary prerequisite to manage and control sustainable leadership practice.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should engage in exploring informal and organizational cultural aspects of how managers control the integration of sustainability into business practice.
Practical implications
The paper is based on a single case study of a company internationally known for its high standards of sustainable leadership practice, and the conclusions therefore provide guidelines for other managers considering ways of integrating sustainability.
Originality/value
The paper brings new attention to the appropriateness of existing management control systems when managers attempt to control sustainability practices and it suggests the importance of organizational culture in an original case study of Novo Nordisk A/S.
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Sarah George Lauwo, John De-Clerk Azure and Trevor Hopper
This paper examines the accountability and governance mechanisms and the challenges in a multi-stakeholder partnership seeking to implement the Sustainable Development Goals…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the accountability and governance mechanisms and the challenges in a multi-stakeholder partnership seeking to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a developing country (DC), namely Tanzania.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on work on the shift from government to governance to meta-governance to examine the SDGs framework's governance regime. The data stems from documentation, focussed group discussions and face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders involved in the localisation of SDGs in Tanzania.
Findings
Despite the emphasis given by promoters of SDGs on the need for multi-stakeholder engagement, and network and market-based governance, Tanzania's hierarchical governance framed in national legislations dominated the localisation of the SDGs. The national-level meta-governance structures were somewhat dysfunctional, partly due to a lack of well-designed coordination mechanisms for collaborative engagement with key stakeholders. The limited involvement of different meta-governors, and particularly network and market-based governance arrangements, has had severe implications for achieving the SDGs in DCs in general and Tanzania, in particular.
Practical implications
The paper calls for a more explicit SDG policy and strategy, alongside strengthening institutional structures and related governance arrangements in Tanzania, to promote the realisation of the SDGs. For the SDGs framework to succeed, the authors suggest that, in addition to adopting SDG friendly policies, the Tanzanian government should devise plans for financial resources, strategies for empowering and engaging with key stakeholders and promote an integrative governance system that underpins accountability at the local level.
Originality/value
Focussing on Tanzania, the paper sheds light on how context in DCs, interactions between state and non-state actors, modes of governance and accountability mechanisms shape the localisation of SDGs and realising the SDGs' agenda. The implementation in Tanzania focussed on priorities in the development plan, thereby neglecting some important SDGs. This raises doubts about the possibility of meeting the SDGs by 2030. The localisation of SDGs remained within the top-down governance structure, as Tanzania's government failed to enact the policy and strategy for multi-stakeholder partnership consistent with the SDGs' principle of “leave no-one behind”. Consequently, meta-governors' efforts and ability to monitor and demand accountability from the government was constrained by the political context, the governance system and regulations enacted to side-line them.
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This paper aims to increase our understanding of perspectives on food traceability in four supply chain risk management (SCRM) approaches to ensure food safety. The occurrence of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to increase our understanding of perspectives on food traceability in four supply chain risk management (SCRM) approaches to ensure food safety. The occurrence of food safety failures has led to increased attention on food traceability as a means of identifying the causes of deficiencies in supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a literature review and synthesizes the broader domain of food traceability by analyzing perspectives based on SCRM approaches. In all, 129 published papers were selected and evaluated using content analysis.
Findings
A framework of SCRM approaches on food traceability is presented. Eight perspectives on food traceability are identified and grouped according to four SCRM approaches: food supply chain complexity and unique identification of goods (logistics management); transparency and interoperability (information management); in-house production and outsourcing (production management); and food quality and safety requirements and the monitoring of food characteristics (quality management).
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide an in-depth understanding and research suggestions for the management of traceability to ensure food safety in food supply chains. Conclusions are drawn from secondary sources, thus excluding empirical evaluation.
Practical implications
The implementation of food traceability can result in changes to existing management systems. This paper addresses the perspectives and management challenges that can influence the implication of food traceability to ensure food safety.
Originality/value
Perspectives on food traceability according to SCRM approaches are presented. Food traceability is analyzed using the philosophy of scientific framework and suggestions for further research are offered.