Line Maria Simonsen and Sune Vork Steffensen
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the interaction-sensitive skills medical practitioners enact as they manage multiple organizational factors in the context of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the interaction-sensitive skills medical practitioners enact as they manage multiple organizational factors in the context of discharging patients.
Design/methodology/approach
For that purpose, we carried out a cognitive ethnographic study in a Danish hospital, where we video-recorded three pre-ward round meetings, five discharge conversations and conducted seven semi-structured interviews. Fieldnotes and interview transcripts were analyzed using the method Cognitive Task Analysis, and video-recordings were analyzed via the interactivity-based approach Cognitive Event Analysis.
Findings
Our findings show that practitioners coordinate multi-scalar resources (e.g. verbal patterns and cognitive artifacts) in order to discharge patients in a safe and integrated way, which we propose amounts to the social and intercorporeal ability to align simultaneously emerging factors, like organizational procedures in the hospital, artifacts in use, sociocultural resources and the individual medical expertise of the practitioner in the emerging social interaction with the patient. In pursing this claim, we investigate the linguistic and cognitive processes emerging in a single case study of a nurse who discharges a patient. We propose that the interaction-sensitive skill which enables the nurse to solve the task of discharging the patient can be characterized via hybrid cognition.
Originality/value
Thus, the value of the article is dual: On the one hand, it empirically contributes with knowledge of the complex organizational structures that constrains micro-level medical interactions in discharges, and on the other, the article contributes theoretically with a hybrid cognitive framework that allows organizational researchers to understand and assess complex cognitive and linguistic processes that goes into the social micro-coordination in complex organizational-medical task.
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Francisco Bastida, María-Dolores Guillamón, Bernardino Benito and Ana-María Ríos
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mayors’ corruption on the municipal interest rate set by lenders.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of mayors’ corruption on the municipal interest rate set by lenders.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of a panel data for all the Spanish cities with population over 50,000 for 2002–2013 (130 municipalities). In line with previous literature and the structure of the panel data, the authors use a generalized method of moments equation to the main model and three robustness checks.
Findings
The results, robust to different specifications, indicate that banks do not take mayors’ corruption as a significant risk component of the municipal solvency. The data show a “corruption premium” ranging from −1 to 33 basis points, which aligns with the size of the “corruption premium” found by the literature, but the significance is low. This finding is connected, on the one hand, with the rigid, thorough Spanish legal framework ruling municipal financial management, and on the other hand, with the characteristics of mayors’ corruption. Robust evidence shows that key financial indicators influence interest rates: current saving, with a strong influence, and level of indebtedness, to a lesser extent. Besides, more populated cities pay lower interest rates.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation stems from the calculation of interest rate, because but sharp debt changes may decrease the accuracy.
Practical implications
The data prove that banks value this surplus as a sign of solvency and set lower interest rates. Considering that this financial indicator is key for setting the interest rate, as a point for practitioners, current saving should be monitored by the municipal financial officer, as a way to reduce the financial cost. Besides, legislation should consider current saving as a benchmark to set balanced budget rules or to establish conditions for municipalities to get into greater indebtedness.
Originality/value
This is the first research on municipal interest rate premium due to corruption in Spain.
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This paper analyzes the standpoint of Albert O. Hirschman in the structuralist–monetarist debate that took place in Latin America during the 1950s and 1960s. It claims that…
Abstract
This paper analyzes the standpoint of Albert O. Hirschman in the structuralist–monetarist debate that took place in Latin America during the 1950s and 1960s. It claims that Hirschman had many affinities with the structuralist approach, in virtue of his methodological stance and of his view of the role to be performed by economic advisers in foreign countries. Similar to the structuralists, Hirschman did not make the control of inflation a central tenet of his development theory; also like them, he dissented from the orthodox approach. However, Hirschman did not take a clear-cut side on the debate, choosing, instead, to act as a go-between.
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Afonso Fleury and Maria Tereza Leme Fleury
This paper questions currently accepted arguments about the impacts of pro-market reforms in the internalization of emerging country firms, through an in-depth analysis of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper questions currently accepted arguments about the impacts of pro-market reforms in the internalization of emerging country firms, through an in-depth analysis of the Brazilian case, thus revealing new dimensions to add to the extant literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Historical analysis is the central mode of investigation leading to a commitment of offering historically grounded explanation for pro-market reform impacts in the Brazilian industry.
Findings
Outcomes reveal that the impacts of pro-market reforms depend on (a) the purpose of their adoption, (b) the compatibility with the features of the local institutional context, and (c) the relative bargaining power of local firms vis-à-vis foreign multinationals.
Research limitations
The research is based on the Brazilian experience only which is indicative of what may have happened in other Latin American countries; however, the analytical approach may be extended to the study of other emerging countries.
Practical and social implications
By having a systemic perspective encompassing the different actors and the interdependence among themselves, it allows for an enhanced view of the factors which led to the adoption of pro-market reforms and the forces which acted for its configuration, thus helping policy-makers to better approach industrial policy-making.
Originality
A longitudinal perspective within a historical analysis is adopted, focusing on the interplay of macro-level and firm-level factors, resulting in a better understanding of the reasons which led to the adoption of pro-market reforms, the resistance to its implementation and its real outcomes.
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Liliana Simões Ribeiro, Rui Alberto Lopes Miguel, Maria Madalena Rocha Pereira, José Mendes Lucas and Isabel Maria Gonçalves Trindade
Considering that the human body is undeniable a fashion space, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of design and material choice in the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering that the human body is undeniable a fashion space, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of design and material choice in the relationship between clothing and accessories, namely, bags, for the fashion consumer.
Design/methodology/approach
Initially the paper provides a historical framing of the use of materials in bags and its relation with clothing. Then, are described the characteristics of materials and how the human body relates to them, specifically how the sense of touch plays a decisive role in materials choice. Thus a natural fiber-based fabric as wool fabric is presented as a choice for some brands in the development of fashion accessories.
Findings
It was found that there are an immense variety of materials that can be used in bags creation, and the use of them has changed over the years, influenced by social and economic conditions, fashion trends, and by technology evolutions in the production of fibers and composites. Taking in consideration that there is a long history of use of woven fabrics with natural fibers and a growing demand for sustainable and organic products, the use of wool natural fabrics in the production of bags were presented as a following road to the fashion industry.
Originality/value
Since the relationship between materials used in apparel and fashion accessories is an area barely documented, this paper contributes to underline the possibility to exceed conventional design barriers and develop innovative and creative wool products pleasant for the human body as a fashion space.
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Maria João Santos and Cristina Silva Bastos
Two years on from the launch of the United Nations 2030 agenda, this study aims to approach just how and why large Portuguese companies are incorporating the sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
Two years on from the launch of the United Nations 2030 agenda, this study aims to approach just how and why large Portuguese companies are incorporating the sustainable development goals (SDGs) into their strategies. This sets out a theoretical framework for priority levels of management and the key rationales and motivations towards the adoption of the SDGs by companies within the scope of identifying logical and mutual connections.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed theoretical framework applied an empirical, qualitative study approach, deploying content analysis of the semi-structured interviews carried out.
Findings
The results convey how the responding companies are using the different management models identified for integrating the SDGs, with the strategic and operational facets of greatest relevance. There are various key reasons put forward in justification of this involvement, in particular highlighting the understanding of the 2030 agenda as an ethical and social contract followed by concerns over managing stakeholders. The results demonstrate that these main motivations influence the management level at which the SGDs undergo integration, yet they do not determine the type of integration.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis of a limited number of companies and the fact that the semi-structured interviews were made with a single representative, which correspondingly reflects how the responses received convey the understandings, visions, values and responsibilities of these interlocutors.
Originality/value
This provides one of the first studies contributing towards understanding how and why businesses are aligning with the SDGs. At the conceptual level, this proposes a theoretical framework for analysing the underlying logics and the levels of integration into business management and how both can be interconnected. In practical terms, this clarifies how business management strategies may leverage the integration of the 2030 agenda as a mechanism for implementing corporate sustainability.
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William Alomoto, Angels Niñerola and Maria-Victòria Sánchez-Rebull
The growth of mental disorders and their costs represents a public health challenge. This study aims to explore how a social club can help mitigate its impact through arts and…
Abstract
Purpose
The growth of mental disorders and their costs represents a public health challenge. This study aims to explore how a social club can help mitigate its impact through arts and sports workshops.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the social return on investment (SROI) methodology, the impact of the social club is evaluated by identifying stakeholders and quantifying their contributions. In addition, the relationship between patients’ attendance and the reduction of relapses and medication consumption is explored.
Findings
The SROI showed a positive return on investment, €12.12 per euro invested. This ratio indicates that the social club generates social value well above its initial costs. On the other hand, two stakeholders were identified as higher impact generators, and it was confirmed that sports activities generate more social and economic impact than art activities – however, the positive effects of art activities last longer over time. The study revealed a positive relationship between social club attendance and relapse reduction. Almost 90% of the participating users reported no relapses or emergency hospitalizations during the past year of attendance. In addition, a substantial decrease in medication dosage was observed. These results suggest that social clubs help stabilize mental health and reduce the burden on health-care systems.
Originality/value
The case study highlights the vital role of social clubs in supporting people facing mental health issues. Policymakers and health-care providers can use this knowledge to invest in more effective and sustainable mental health support activities.
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David Crowther and Jamilah Ahmad
In the West, just as much as in Eastern civilisations, a concern for respect and civility, and therefore mutual and complementary development of all the parts involved in an…
Abstract
In the West, just as much as in Eastern civilisations, a concern for respect and civility, and therefore mutual and complementary development of all the parts involved in an action, has been a philosophical driver for more than two millennia. In a practical way this implies, for the ‘human individual’, that the consideration of others’ realisation and accomplishments are as equal and important as her/his own. As an example of this mutual co-development, European humanistic thinkers have written and reflected about the need of having a humanistic orientation on any social action; in this respect the work of Rousseau (1712–1778) and Montaigne (1533–1592) are especially notable. This line has also been explored more recently by the American philosopher Dewey (1909). Moreover, within this humanistic concern, other philosophers such as Socrates (in Plato's works – 399–384 B.C.) and later Kierkegaard (1851) reflected on the responsibility of action regarding the whole, for which it is necessary to consider the meaning of existence as the representation of the soul – in a spiritual context – that affects this ‘whole’ inter-related development. We talk then about the need to explore the sense of actions, the results pursued and their consequences.
Alei Fan, Hubert B. Van Hoof, Xueting Dou and Ana Lucia Serrano
Drawing on the dual process theory and the cultural dimension of power distance, the current research investigates the impact of a specific service clue—the linguistic style of…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on the dual process theory and the cultural dimension of power distance, the current research investigates the impact of a specific service clue—the linguistic style of address forms (salutation) in hotel manager letters to guests—on customer satisfaction in a hotel context in Ecuador.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an experimental design research approach, this research conducted a series of two studies to examine how customers' cultural values (high vs low power distance), linguistic style of address forms (formal vs casual) and service valence (service success vs service failure) together influenced customer satisfaction. Specifically, Study 1 examined the service success condition, and Study 2 investigated the service failure condition.
Findings
The research results show that, in the service success condition, customers follow their distinct cultural orientations (high vs low power distance) when responding to the different linguistic styles (formal vs casual). On the other hand, in the service failure situation, as customers desire for expressions of respect that can be reflected in a formal address form, the level of satisfaction is lower when the casual address form is used in guest communications, regardless of customers' cultural orientations in power distance.
Originality/value
This research adds to existing cross-cultural service research, particularly in terms of service valence, and provides practical implications for enhancing service providers' cultural awareness and sociolinguistic competence to effectively communicate with customers from diverse cultural backgrounds.
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Helena Kraff and Eva Maria Jernsand
The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of work integration social enterprises (WISEs) in the Swedish establishment programme for newly arrived refugees, and how its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of work integration social enterprises (WISEs) in the Swedish establishment programme for newly arrived refugees, and how its set-up affects WISEs preconditions for social innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on a longitudinal and qualitative action research study of a WISE and its work in organising a course for labour market integration, in the context of the Swedish establishment programme. The authors were actively involved in the study as embedded researchers.
Findings
The exploration identifies a number of roles that WISEs take on in the establishment programme. It illustrates how WISEs hybrid character places participants at the centre of the innovation process, where their opinions and knowledge are considered crucial, and how this positively affects their ability to gain skills and confidence. However, the study also makes visible how issues of coordination between stakeholders in the programme lead to mismatches between course content and participant profiles, colliding activities and sporadic participation. In short, the bureaucracy embedded in labour market integration systems erodes the preconditions of WISEs to foster social innovation.
Originality/value
The embeddedness of the authors provides in-depth knowledge regarding how complex state systems affect WISEs in practice. Importantly, it also gives insights into the experiences of refugees, a group that is often mentioned in the literature on WISEs, although mainly in passing.