Roland Kassemeier, Sascha Alavi, Johannes Habel, Christian Schmitz and Jan Wieseke
John Mills, Johannes Schmitz and Gerry Frizelle
This review aims to provide researchers and managers interested in supply networks with a strategic review of this rapidly expanding field. It does not attempt a comprehensive…
Abstract
This review aims to provide researchers and managers interested in supply networks with a strategic review of this rapidly expanding field. It does not attempt a comprehensive review of the enormous and fast growing literature but does present the breadth and depth of research and practice in the area. The central aspect of the paper is to suggest that the field can be viewed from four perspectives which all researchers and managers implicitly or explicitly use: upstream, as purchaser; downstream, as supplier; static network, as an auditor of position within its supply network, typically comprising several supply chains, providing a static and comparative view; and dynamic network, as strategist, seeking opportunities to improve the firm's position in an existing network or creating a new network, providing a strategic, dynamic and long‐term view.
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Presents a number of papers from the Performance Measurement Association conference held in July 2002. Reveals that all the papers investigate developments in the field of…
Abstract
Presents a number of papers from the Performance Measurement Association conference held in July 2002. Reveals that all the papers investigate developments in the field of performance measurement and management since the Kaplan and Norton Balanced Scorecard was first introduced.
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Martin Kupp, Bianca Schmitz and Johannes Habel
Prior research has argued that family firms are reluctant to consider external equity as a source of financing because they fear a loss of control, which would limit their…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research has argued that family firms are reluctant to consider external equity as a source of financing because they fear a loss of control, which would limit their socioemotional wealth. However, prior empirical research has neglected potential contingencies that determine whether family firms’ need for control affects their equity financing decisions. The purpose of this paper is to provide first insight into this research void.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on rational choice theory and a logit regression using secondary data.
Findings
The study shows that the effect of family firm owners’ need for control on their consideration of external equity depends on the extent to which owners expect investors to interfere with management and the extent to which decision making is affected by emotions. Hereby, the present study provides evidence that family firm owners’ decisions to use external equity are more complex than previously presumed.
Research limitations/implications
This study has several limitations that provide fruitful avenues for further research. Overall, the authors list and detail seven different limitations in the paper, e.g. the narrow focus on equity financing, the use of a partial model, the fact that the authors did not conceptualize differences between different types of investors (such as high net worth individuals, private equity firms and venture capital firms) in the model and further more.
Practical implications
The study shows that investors need to understand the complex interplay among family firms’ need for control, expected investor interference and emotional decision making, to correctly assess their chances of success when approaching family firms for equity.
Originality/value
Prior empirical research has neglected potential contingencies that determine whether family firms’ need for control affects their equity financing decisions. The present paper provides first insight into this research void.
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Marie-Christin Schmidt, Johannes W. Veile, Julian M. Müller and Kai-Ingo Voigt
The study analyses how Industry 4.0 and underlying digital technologies influence the design of ecosystems in global value chains (GVCs).
Abstract
Purpose
The study analyses how Industry 4.0 and underlying digital technologies influence the design of ecosystems in global value chains (GVCs).
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative-exploratory research design is used. It deploys a multiple case study based on semi-structured interviews with 73 German managers of multinational enterprises. Applying a qualitative content analysis, the expert interviews are inductively analyzed and triangulated with secondary data to develop a synthesized data structure.
Findings
The analysis reveals a general tendency towards decentralization of value chain activities. Depending on the nature of each activity and several contextual factors, however, hybrids between centralization and decentralization of processes can be observed in Industry 4.0 environments. Consequences for global ecosystems are altered cooperation with business partners, new organizational forms and novel market environments.
Research limitations/implications
Given inherent limitations in scope and methodology, the study calls for cross-industry and cross-country analyses. Further studies should research implications of Industry 4.0 changes in ecosystems and GVCs, and the role digital platforms can play in this context.
Practical implications
The results help companies to analyze and adapt their role in ecosystems and associated GVC activities to Industry 4.0 environments, thus staying competitive in changing market conditions.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to empirically investigate the influence of Industry 4.0 on ecosystems embedded in GVCs. Reflecting existing company environments, it adds an international and company-external perspective to Industry 4.0 research.
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Matthias Jerusalem and Johannes Klein Hessling
The purpose of this paper is to review two school intervention projects aiming to promote students' self‐efficacy in Germany. Self‐efficacy, defined as people's “beliefs in their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review two school intervention projects aiming to promote students' self‐efficacy in Germany. Self‐efficacy, defined as people's “beliefs in their capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments”, is a core prevention criterion of mental health. It is positively connected to important facets of personality (e.g. motivational orientation, social competencies) as well as to health‐related situation‐specific behaviour (e.g. coping with stress, conflict solving).
Design/methodology/approach
Two intervention projects, “Self‐efficacious Schools – SESC” and “Fostering Self‐efficacy and Self‐Determination in class – FOSS”, made teachers familiar with the concept of self‐efficacy to enable them to develop and adapt intra‐curricular promotion measures of students' school self‐efficacy and social self‐efficacy.
Findings
Individualisation of task demands and performance feedback as well as a high transparency of teachers' demands and evaluation criteria are beneficial for students' school self‐efficacy. Social self‐efficacy is enhanced by establishing a positive class climate, where students support each other and teachers are sensitive to the individual needs of their students.
Research limitations/implications
Both FOSS and SESC are multi‐component non‐randomised controlled studies. Thus, future research is needed focusing on the different measures separately using RCT‐designs.
Practical implications
The actual implementation of promoting strategies into school lessons is the decisive step of strengthening students' mental health at school. As a consequence, promotion measures have to be embedded into organizational structures which can motivate teachers to learn and implement innovation even under unfavourable conditions.
Originality/value
In contrast to extracurricular activities, there has been limited research on the implementation and evaluation of prevention activities continuously integrated into the mainstream school curriculum and normal lessons.
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Sebastian Martin and Birgit Grüb
This paper aims to provide an in-depth evaluation of how German and Austrian utilities use Facebook to engage stakeholders, including a look at the objectives pursued with the use…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an in-depth evaluation of how German and Austrian utilities use Facebook to engage stakeholders, including a look at the objectives pursued with the use of Facebook, addressed stakeholders as well as the provided information. German and Austrian utility companies are confronted with serious changes in the European energy sector. In this context, stakeholder theory emphasises the importance for utility companies to actively manage the relationships with the relevant stakeholders. Nowadays, a considerable number of these stakeholders might be addressed by using Facebook.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative study includes 88 German and Austrian utility companies.
Findings
Research findings indicate that Facebook is a common instrument in the German and Austrian energy sectors. It seems that so far, no real stakeholder dialogue has been achieved. Moreover, issues which deeply affect a wide variety of citizens are not emphasised on most Facebook accounts. Therefore, so far, the majority of utilities is not using the full potential of Facebook.
Originality/value
By developing a process of agenda-setting driven by social media, the paper contributes to the existing literature and gives practical implications for public and private entities in the energy sector.
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Probably no aspect of librarianship presents such variations of practice in individual libraries as does the provision of subject catalogues. The author catalogue, which tells the…
Abstract
Probably no aspect of librarianship presents such variations of practice in individual libraries as does the provision of subject catalogues. The author catalogue, which tells the user whether a given work of which he knows the author and title is in the library, must necessarily take a similar form everywhere, and such variations as do exist in the treatment of certain types of heading—that of academies is a case in point—are quickly assimilated by the reader as he moves from library to library. The same cannot be said of the catalogue which tells the user what works are to be found in the library on a given topic. In the Anglo‐Saxon countries subject catalogues may be arranged, if indeed they exist at all, according to a variety of systems, and even where one of the accepted classification schemes or lists of subject headings is used the local modifications are often legion. Many university and research libraries find that no existing scheme offers an arrangement of the whole field of knowledge which reflects the approach to which their readers are accustomed; and certainly no ready‐made scheme is entirely suitable for a university library in the United Kingdom, although many libraries do attempt to provide a useful arrangement both of the books on the shelves and of the entries in the subject catalogue by adapting Dewey, the Brussels decimal classification, or the Library of Congress classification. Bliss, when his full scheme has been published, will probably be found to provide the arrangement most suitable for use in academic libraries, but even his admirable classification fails to provide a scheme which can be identified at all points with the approach which is required in a library which serves first and foremost the teaching of a university.