Mario J. Donate, Fátima Guadamillas and Miguel González-Mohíno
This paper aims to analyze factors based on organizational knowledge management (KM; transactional memory systems and knowledge-oriented leadership [K-OL]) that help firms to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze factors based on organizational knowledge management (KM; transactional memory systems and knowledge-oriented leadership [K-OL]) that help firms to mitigate conflicts based on task management at work, with the aim to improve their innovation capabilities (IC). The knowledge-based view of the firm, conflict management theory and cognitive collective engagement theory have been used to build a model of relationships that connects the development of positive KM contexts and management of dysfunctional conflict with IC improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
Data survey collected from inland hotel establishments in Spain is used to test seven hypotheses by means of structural equations modeling, applying the partial least squares technique. Direct, indirect and mediating relationships between variables are examined from the structural path model.
Findings
The results confirm that, as expected, IC improve when K-OL and transactive memory systems (TMSs) are properly implemented by hotel establishments, which leads them to reduce negative effects of task management conflict (TMC). Significant direct effects are found between the key variables of the study and also a significant indirect effect between K-OL and IC through TMS reinforcement and the mitigation of TMC.
Practical implications
This paper provides useful ideas for hotel managers about how to improve KM contexts in their establishments while avoiding TMC. Efforts devoted to creating those contexts by hotel establishments are shown to be effective to improve their IC and create competitive advantages.
Originality/value
The analysis of IC improvement by studying TMC mitigation had not been researched to date by the KM literature. The consideration and testing of a model that integrates KM-related tools such as K-OL and TMS to avoid TMC in the hotel industry is the main contribution of this study.
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Annie K. Lewis, Nicholas F. Taylor, Patrick W. Carney and Katherine E. Harding
Interventions that improve timely access to outpatient health services are essential in managing demand. This process evaluation aimed to describe the implementation, mechanism of…
Abstract
Purpose
Interventions that improve timely access to outpatient health services are essential in managing demand. This process evaluation aimed to describe the implementation, mechanism of impact and context of an intervention to reduce waiting for first appointments in an outpatient epilepsy clinic.
Design/methodology/approach
The UK Medical Research Council framework was used as the theoretical basis for a process evaluation alongside an intervention trial. The intervention, Specific Timely Appointments for Triage (STAT), is a data-driven approach that combines a one-off backlog reduction strategy with methods to balance supply and demand. A mixed methods process evaluation synthesised routinely collected quantitative and qualitative data, which were mapped to the domains of implementation, mechanisms of impact and contextual elements.
Findings
The principles of the STAT model were implemented as intended without adaptation. The STAT model reached all patients referred, including long waiters and was likely generalisable to other medical outpatient clinics. Mechanisms of impact were increased clinic capacity and elimination of unwanted variation. Contextual elements included the complexity of healthcare systems and the two-tier triage practice that contributes to prolonged waiting for patients classified as non-urgent.
Originality/value
This process evaluation shows how a data-driven strategy was applied in a medical outpatient setting to manage demand. Improving patient flow by reducing waiting in non-urgent, outpatient care is a complex problem. Understanding how and why interventions work is important for improved timeliness of care, and sustainability of public health services.
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Stephen P. Kilgus and David A. Klingbeil
Tier 2 intervention is defined by the application of brief, efficient, and accessible supports for students who are at risk for social-emotional and behavioral concerns…
Abstract
Tier 2 intervention is defined by the application of brief, efficient, and accessible supports for students who are at risk for social-emotional and behavioral concerns. Historically, Tier 2 interventions have been delivered in accordance with a standard protocol, with each student receiving the same general strategy in an undifferentiated manner. Yet, research has suggested the potential value of an adaptive Tier 2 approach, wherein brief assessments are conducted to determine which intervention (or adapted version of one particular intervention) is best suited to a student's individual needs. Within this chapter, we provide an overview of procedures related to adaptive Tier 2 intervention and discuss different approaches one might take to this practice. We conclude with a discussion of directions for future research in this area if adaptive Tier 2 intervention is to be widely adopted, implemented, and sustained within schools.
Jas Kalra, Michael Lewis and Jens K. Roehrich
This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate governance in service triads, specifically studying significant steering and connecting coordination failures, to reveal typically hidden characteristics and consequences.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on coordination functions and activities between a buyer (a government department), a customer (a military service) and two service providers. Rich data on these normally confidential service ties are drawn from an official report into the causes of a fatal accident involving a UK reconnaissance aircraft and specifically from the evidence presented regarding the earlier development of its complex safety case. The authors also analysed a range of additional secondary data sources.
Findings
The authors examine the sources, drivers and manifestation of coordination failures. The authors uncover a series of coordination failures driven from the bridge position, revealing that while bounded rationality and opportunism influenced steering coordination failures, connecting coordination failures were associated with knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Practical implications
Organisations and governments delivering complex projects and knowledge-intensive professional services should guard against outsourcing the “coordination” activity to a third party, thereby relinquishing the bridge position. Handing over the bridge position to an integrator would leave the client vulnerable to coordination dysfunctions such as bounded rationality, opportunism, knowledge asymmetry, dyadic inertia and unethical practices.
Originality/value
The study links the previously separate research streams of service triads and inter-organizational coordination. While extant research pays attention to mainly positive control functions, this study focuses on all three actors in two (failed) service triads – and highlights the impact of coordination activities and failures.
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Annie K. Lewis, Nicholas F. Taylor, Patrick W. Carney and Katherine E. Harding
Long waitlists in outpatient clinics are a widely recognised problem. The purpose of this paper is to describe and report the impact of a waitlist reduction strategy for an…
Abstract
Purpose
Long waitlists in outpatient clinics are a widely recognised problem. The purpose of this paper is to describe and report the impact of a waitlist reduction strategy for an epilepsy clinic.
Design/methodology/approach
This observational study described the local impact of a methodical approach to tackling a long waiting list, using targeted strategies supported by a modest additional budget. The interventions were described using the template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR).
Findings
Over an eight-month period, the waitlist for the epilepsy clinic was reduced from 599 to 24 patients without increasing the number of days until the next available appointment. Most referrals were removed from the waitlist without an appointment. Auditing revealed a high proportion of patients no longer required the service or referrals remained on the waitlist due to administration error. A short-term increase in clinic capacity of 51 extra appointments met the needs of the remaining waiting patients. The additional project funding invested in this process was AUD $10,500 and a time-limited amount of extra work was absorbed by using existing clinic resources.
Practical implications
This waitlist reduction strategy resulted in a very small waitlist for the epilepsy clinic, which is now well placed to trial further interventions with the aim of sustaining the service with minimal waiting times. Not every referral on the waitlist, particularly the very long waiters, required an appointment. Other outpatient clinics may be able to apply this process to reduce their waitlists using a modest budget.
Originality/value
Although there are reports of successful waitlist reduction, few report the intervention in detail. Use of the TIDieR in reporting enables the intervention to be appraised or adapted to other settings where long waitlists are problematic. Considerations related to implementation of policy are discussed and in this case, a locally led and executed change management strategy was a key to achieving the result.
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Thomas Garavan, Fergal O'Brien, Clare (Ruth) Power, Gerri Matthews-Smith and Joan Buckley
Douglas Warner, John Tzilivakis, Andrew Green and Kathleen Lewis
This paper aims to assess agri-environment (AE) scheme options on cultivated agricultural land in England for their impact on agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess agri-environment (AE) scheme options on cultivated agricultural land in England for their impact on agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It considers both absolute emissions reduction and reduction incorporating yield decrease and potential production displacement. Similarities with Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs) introduced in 2015 as part of the post-2014 Common Agricultural Policy reform, and their potential impact, are considered.
Design/methodology/approach
A life-cycle analysis approach derives GHG emissions for 18 key representative options. Meta-modelling is used to account for spatial environmental variables (annual precipitation, soil type and erosion risk), supplementing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology.
Findings
Most options achieve an absolute reduction in GHG emissions compared to an existing arable crop baseline but at the expense of removing land from production, risking production displacement. Soil and water protection options designed to reduce soil erosion and nitrate leaching decrease GHG emissions without loss of crop yield. Undersown spring cereals support decreased inputs and emissions per unit of crop yield. The most valuable AE options identified are included in the proposed EFAs, although lower priority is afforded to some.
Practical implications
Recommendations are made where applicable to modify option management prescriptions and to further reduce GHG emissions.
Originality/value
This research is relevant and of value to land managers and policy makers. A dichotomous key summarises AE option prioritisation and supports GHG mitigation on cultivated land in England. The results are also applicable to other European countries.
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The research community currently employs four very different versions of the social network concept: A social network is seen as a set of socially constructed role relations…
Abstract
Purpose
The research community currently employs four very different versions of the social network concept: A social network is seen as a set of socially constructed role relations (e.g., friends, business partners), a set of interpersonal sentiments (e.g., liking, trust), a pattern of behavioral social interaction (e.g., conversations, citations), or an opportunity structure for exchange. Researchers conventionally assume these conceptualizations are interchangeable as social ties, and some employ composite measures that aim to capture more than one dimension. Even so, important discrepancies often appear for non-ties (as dyads where a specific role relation or sentiment is not reported, a specific form of interaction is not observed, or exchange is not possible).
Methodology/Approach
Investigating the interplay across the four definitions is a step toward developing scope conditions for generalization and application of theory across these domains.
Research Implications
This step is timely because emerging tools of computational social science – wearable sensors, logs of telecommunication, online exchange, or other interaction – now allow us to observe the fine-grained dynamics of interaction over time. Combined with cutting-edge methods for analysis, these lenses allow us to move beyond reified notions of social ties (and non-ties) and instead directly observe and analyze the dynamic and structural interdependencies of social interaction behavior.
Originality/Value of the Paper
This unprecedented opportunity invites us to refashion dynamic structural theories of exchange that advance “beyond networks” to unify previously disjoint research streams on relationships, interaction, and opportunity structures.