Jerker Nilsson and Lena W. Lind
– The purpose of this paper is to explain institutional changes in the Swedish meat industry after major external events.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain institutional changes in the Swedish meat industry after major external events.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis based on secondary data sources and interviews with people involved when the dominant meat co-operative in Sweden underwent major changes.
Findings
The decline in the Swedish meat industry is interpreted using the theory of institutional change presented by Aoki (2007, 2011). The country’s former national agricultural policy created a specific set of norms and values. Co-operatives were considered to be indispensable. The co-operative sector was large and hierarchically organised. Therefore, external signals did not create sufficient endogenous processes within the co-operatives. Co-operative adaptation to rising competitive pressure took place only reluctantly and belatedly. Hence many farmer-members defected and the major co-operative faced finally insurmountable problems. A strong ideological conviction caused the once dominant co-operative to collapse and much of the Swedish meat industry to disappear.
Originality/value
This study shows that strong ideology (here a conviction about the advantages of politically governed co-operatives) can hamper endogenous processes within an organisation. Management may ignore outside influences, to the extent that even a large industry is impaired. Other large, hierarchically structured and top-governed organisations with a strong ideology may behave in a similar way.
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Rudolf R. Sinkovics, Mats Forsgren, Noemi Sinkovics and Christine Holmström Lind
Wioleta Kucharska and Piotr Mikołajczak
Personal branding becomes a new in-demand skill for all professionals today. To be well-known helps to achieve success in the networked business environment. Personal…
Abstract
Purpose
Personal branding becomes a new in-demand skill for all professionals today. To be well-known helps to achieve success in the networked business environment. Personal relationships and a good reputation in the reality of network economy help young artists and art designers move up the career ladder. This paper aims to discuss a problem of artists who often find it difficult to define their artistic and self-distinction identities. The concept of personal brand and branding seems quite irrelevant, especially in reference to their own selves. People usually associate branding with marketing, which in our minds is usually the same as “pushy” and aggressive sales practices. Their find problematic to promote themselves. The purpose of this paper is to highlight that, based on existing theories, artistic identity creation in connection with the skill of personal branding is crucial for personal success in the profession of today’s young artists and art designers.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted based on the data originally collected among artists, designers, architecture professionals and students. The data have been analyzed with the equal structural equation modeling method.
Findings
This paper presents empirical evidence that if artists view themselves as personal brands, it affects their personal performance in a positive way.
Practical implications
Authors claim that a teaching curriculum for young adult artists should include a personal branding program, to help them find and support their artistic identity and express their personal values and self-brand distinction, and leverage them to build their professional career.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to quantify the self-brand performance of young art designers as a benefit of being self-brand oriented.
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Luigi Mersico, Elisa Carloni, Roberta Bocconcelli and Alessandro Pagano
This study aims to explore the resource development process implemented by a small consulting firm, active in a traditional industrial context, pursuing the innovation path to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the resource development process implemented by a small consulting firm, active in a traditional industrial context, pursuing the innovation path to develop solutions within the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) domain.
Design/methodology/approach
This study undertakes a single qualitative case study of Sinergia, an Italian innovative small consulting firm. The case study is analyzed through critical events and adopting the 4 R model, developed within the industrial marketing and purchasing (IMP) approach.
Findings
The analysis highlights a transition from knowledge broker to solution provider, based on a process of networking, with a relevant strategizing effort, and of assembling internal, external and shared resources. Three patterns in the evolution of the company’s innovation path emerge: resource-oriented networking, hybrid resource development and resource assembly.
Originality/value
The empirical study provides novel empirical evidence over localized innovation processes in I4.0 by exploring the innovation path pursued by a small consulting firm in connection with the local business. The study represents a theoretical development in terms of the 4 R model as it suggests the need to further conceptualize the category of technical resources – including products and facilities – in the increasingly complex I4.0 domain and provides insights on the changing role of actors in networks underpinned by emerging resource structures.
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Hsien Chun Chen, Chin Tung Stewart Ng, I-Heng Chen, Yi-Ting Chen, Michal Polacek and Ying-Lun Liang
The study explores the mechanism between employee demand–ability fit and promotability ratings. Moreover, we examine whether political skill moderates the relationship above.
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the mechanism between employee demand–ability fit and promotability ratings. Moreover, we examine whether political skill moderates the relationship above.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study received 260 effective supervisor-rated questionnaires from various industries in Taiwan.
Findings
The results reveal that employee demand–ability fit positively relates to promotability ratings, and task performance mediates the above relationship. In addition, political skill positively moderates the relationship between employee demand–ability fit and task performance.
Originality/value
We used the supervisor rating for our variables to test the hypotheses.
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Theresia Busagara, Neema Mori, Lena Mossberg, Dev Jani and Tommy Andersson
The purpose of this paper is to establish the link between customer information sharing and new service development.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish the link between customer information sharing and new service development.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a survey of tourism firms, 295 questionnaires were collected in three large tourism locations in Tanzania. Thereafter, the hypotheses were tested by structural equation modeling (SEM) after undertaking both factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
Results indicate that there is a positive association/link between customer information sharing and new service development. The link here expresses the association that exists as customers share information and the extent of use of this information for the firm benefit in facilitating new service development. Specifically, customers post service information and customer interaction behaviors positively support new service development; however, customers’ pre-service information revealed no link.
Practical implications
These results offer practical evidence that post service information and interaction behaviors form the groundwork for development of new services in service-related organizations.
Originality/value
These results evidence that customer post service information and customer interaction behaviors form the groundwork for development new services in tourism. Hence, the study strengthens the value co-creation and innovation views in the service arena by extending knowledge in the use of both the service and the customer environment for service improvement.
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Lena Bjerhammar and Jörgen Elbe
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework of specified buyer and supplier abilities which may be apparent in processes when firms wish to develop products…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework of specified buyer and supplier abilities which may be apparent in processes when firms wish to develop products where other features than function are important.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through personal interviews with managers at eight major Swedish retail chains. The framework has been developed from an analysis of the data. Three of the cases are presented to illustrate how the framework may be applied.
Findings
The framework contains the concepts specification ability and description ability, which define and specify the demand abilities of the buyer, and the concepts translation ability, interpretation ability and implementation ability, which define and specify the problem-solving abilities of the supplier.
Originality/value
The framework presented here contributes to the business relationship and network literature on product development processes by highlighting and conceptualizing the process between buying firms who have different abilities or even inabilities to specify and explain desired product qualities, and the suppliers who should interpret the demands of these buyers.