Susanne Braun, Claudia Peus, Dieter Frey and Kristin Knipfer
This chapter summarizes the specific challenges for leadership in academia with a focus on universities, and discusses recent approaches to facilitate the development of…
Abstract
This chapter summarizes the specific challenges for leadership in academia with a focus on universities, and discusses recent approaches to facilitate the development of leadership abilities in this context. Individuals and groups in academia essentially strive for creativity and innovation through knowledge creation and transfer. Their performance is measured relative to specified targets (e.g., quality and quantity of publications, third-party funding, teaching and student supervision). We argue that in academia constant tensions between creativity and innovation on the one hand, and structures, procedures, and (legal) regulations on the other hand persist. This poses significant challenges to leadership. The chapter starts with a short characterization of the most pressing challenges and their implications for leadership. We then distinguish between leadership of universities (i.e., administrative leadership) and leadership in universities (i.e., research leadership). Next, we depict approaches that highlight leadership as a property of individuals and as a collective phenomenon in academia. Finally, we draw lessons for leaders and organizations who seek to create enabling conditions for sustained successes in the quest for creativity and innovation.
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Abdullah Al‐Beraidi and Tudor Rickards
The purpose of this research is to investigate creativity within the context of a more regulated accounting functional area (audit and tax) and a less regulated non‐accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate creativity within the context of a more regulated accounting functional area (audit and tax) and a less regulated non‐accounting functional area (consulting). Accordingly, this research aims at developing insights into how current cultural assumptions may have to change, if professional challenges requiring more creative behaviours are to be successfully addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
Six literature‐derived hypotheses were formulated to be quantitatively tested using a self‐report inventory.
Findings
The findings showed that the less regulated functional area reported higher scores on creativity, intrinsic motivation, creative team factors and transformational leadership. The findings suggested that such differences could not be explained by personal education/aptitude variations, and could be a consequence of more support for creative behaviours, a significantly different form of transformational leadership, and also weaker structural constraints on creativity.
Research limitations/implications
The work has examined constructs at the level of professional work groups, while it has raised issues at the far wider level or professional cultures. Researchers acknowledge that such broader findings are of an exploratory nature. The new scales were adequately reported to be reliable and valid, but further assessment is needed. Further studies and efforts are essential to raise awareness in professional bodies of the importance of the issues of creativity, motivation, and leadership.
Practical implications
The work has implications for tailored training and development of accounting professionals. Case evidence from “best‐practice” accounting departments would help challenge the beliefs that creative change is impossible.
Originality/value
The research suggested a new paradigm in which accounting professionals can be adaptively creative “within the task” and innovatively creative “around the task” as appropriate means of change and development of services in accounting offices, as this is theoretically feasible and empirically could be proved.
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Abdullah Al‐Beraidi and Tudor Rickards
Conventional wisdom presumes that accounting professionals have little capability for creative thinking. An alternative view is that accountants display creativity when provided…
Abstract
Conventional wisdom presumes that accounting professionals have little capability for creative thinking. An alternative view is that accountants display creativity when provided with organisational opportunities. This view has been tested in a comparative study of professionals drawn from similar educational backgrounds and allocated to consulting, audit and tax duties within the headquarters of a major international firm in Saudi Arabia. A benchmarking approach was adapted. Those professionals placed in the consulting department reported more positive climates and creative outputs. There was evidence that there was scope for increasing the creativity to organisational advantage within the audit, tax and related functions, through more transformational leadership interventions. In view of the educational similarities of the samples, it is concluded that any lack of creative performance within the audit and tax functions is not due to individual deficiencies. Team development and leadership interventions are suggested as promising means of addressing any “creativity gap” in audit and tax team processes.
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During the last decade, numerous elements have combined to produce a new branch of the building industry which has come to be known as ‘in situ timber engineering’.
There is a tendency in both structural and building society surveys for the services of a damp specialist to be recommended, even when only minimal readings are obtained on one of…
Abstract
There is a tendency in both structural and building society surveys for the services of a damp specialist to be recommended, even when only minimal readings are obtained on one of the needle‐type moisture meters commonly in use.
Dohyoung Kim, Sojin Jang and Eungdo Kim
This study investigates the effects of diversity and specialty on the performance of public research and development (R&D) teams and addresses a gap in research that has largely…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the effects of diversity and specialty on the performance of public research and development (R&D) teams and addresses a gap in research that has largely focused on diversity without adequately considering specialty. It explores the influence of educational background and level, as aspects of diversity, and specialty on team performance and innovation, particularly among leaders and members.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing panel data from the National Science and Technology Information Service and a modified rank-normalized impact factor index for innovation performance, this study differentiates between educational background and level. It examines their influence on the performance of public R&D teams by focusing on the dynamics between diversity and specialty in leader and member groups.
Findings
The study finds that diversity in educational level boosts performance in member groups, whereas “leaders” performance is more closely linked to their educational background and specialty. The results underscore the importance of managing educational diversity and specialty within leader and member groups and highlight the need to avoid a unilateral emphasis on singular necessity.
Originality/value
This study’s novelty lies in its examination of the influence of educational diversity and specialty on innovation performance within the framework of inter-organizational public R&D teams, considering the interaction between these factors among leaders and members. It offers new insights for establishing inter-organizational teams and contributes a unique perspective to the literature on innovation management.
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Hassnian Ali and Ahmet Faruk Aysan
The purpose of this study is to comprehensively examine the ethical implications surrounding generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to comprehensively examine the ethical implications surrounding generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Design/methodology/approach
Leveraging a novel methodological approach, the study curates a corpus of 364 documents from Scopus spanning 2022 to 2024. Using the term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) and structural topic modeling (STM), it quantitatively dissects the thematic essence of the ethical discourse in generative AI across diverse domains, including education, healthcare, businesses and scientific research.
Findings
The results reveal a diverse range of ethical concerns across various sectors impacted by generative AI. In academia, the primary focus is on issues of authenticity and intellectual property, highlighting the challenges of AI-generated content in maintaining academic integrity. In the healthcare sector, the emphasis shifts to the ethical implications of AI in medical decision-making and patient privacy, reflecting concerns about the reliability and security of AI-generated medical advice. The study also uncovers significant ethical discussions in educational and financial settings, demonstrating the broad impact of generative AI on societal and professional practices.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a foundation for crafting targeted ethical guidelines and regulations for generative AI, informed by a systematic analysis using STM. It highlights the need for dynamic governance and continual monitoring of AI’s evolving ethical landscape, offering a model for future research and policymaking in diverse fields.
Originality/value
The study introduces a unique methodological combination of TF-IDF and STM to analyze a large academic corpus, offering new insights into the ethical implications of generative AI across multiple domains.
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Dohyoung Kim, Sunmi Jung and Eungdo Kim
The authors contribute to the literature on leadership by investigating how characteristics of principal investigators (PIs) affect innovation performance, and how collaborative…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors contribute to the literature on leadership by investigating how characteristics of principal investigators (PIs) affect innovation performance, and how collaborative and non-collaborative projects moderate this relationship within the context of inter-organisational research projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analysed panel data from the National Science and Technology Information Service on 171 research projects within a biomedical and regenerative medicines programme overseen by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. The authors used a hierarchical regression model, based on the ordinary least squares method, to examine the relationship between PI characteristics and performance, considering both quantity and quality.
Findings
The results show that the characteristics of PIs have diverse effects on the quantity and quality of innovation performance. Gender diversity within PIs negatively affects the quality of innovation performance, while the capacity of PIs positively influences it. Moreover, the degree of PI’s engagement is positively associated with the quantity of innovation performance but does not have a significant relationship with the quality of performance. In terms of moderating effects, collaborative projects with multiple leaders seem less reliant on PI capacity than non-collaborative projects led by a single leader, in terms of innovation performance.
Originality/value
The results contribute significantly to the literature on innovation management by examining the role of leadership in collaborative environments to enhance innovation performance, addressing the need for empirical evidence in this area. Analyses of PI characteristics in government R&D management can lead to improved team performance, more efficient processes and effective resource allocation, ultimately fostering innovation.
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Adam E. Nir and Amalia A. Ifanti
Tenure is frequently conceived as a two-edged sword: on the one hand, it provides professional security enabling individuals to initiate hazardous endeavors characterized by…
Abstract
Purpose
Tenure is frequently conceived as a two-edged sword: on the one hand, it provides professional security enabling individuals to initiate hazardous endeavors characterized by uncertainty, risk and potential negative results. On the other hand, professional security may negatively affect motivation, promote indifference and undermine genuine initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to assess the implications tenure has on school leaders’ proactive behavior, evident in their tendency to innovate and initiate creative and authentic endeavors.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were administered to 30 non-tenured Greek school principals and 42 tenured Israeli school leaders. School leaders were questioned about their tendency to innovate and act creatively and authentically.
Findings
Comparisons of groups’ mean scores show that Greek school leaders obtained higher scores when creativity, authenticity and innovativeness are compared between the two groups. These findings are further supported in a discriminant analysis indicating that the two groups’ orientations toward the discriminant function comprising variables, which characterize proactive behavior, are opposite.
Originality/value
The findings of the authors obtained in this study show that job security, which follows tenure, does not guarantee proactive behavior. Implications are further discussed.
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Maria J. Grant, Robyn R. Lotto and Ian D. Jones
The study aims to construct an understanding of professional academic writing network structures to inform organisational strategic investment in academic staff development.
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to construct an understanding of professional academic writing network structures to inform organisational strategic investment in academic staff development.
Design/methodology/approach
Longitudinal social network analysis is used to examine the personal-networks evident in the publication portfolios of a purposive sample of four international academics across each quartile of the SCOPUS defined area of General Nursing's top 100 authors.
Findings
Trends in the publication portfolios of elite academics across gender, sector and geographic location are presented. In the first years of successful writing for publication, authors collaborate within a single highly connected co-author network. This network will typically expand to include new co-authors, before additional separate co-author collaborations emerge (three- to four- years). Authors experience steady growth in co-author numbers four- to seven- years from first co-authored publication. After a period of rapid expansion, these collaborations coalesce into a smaller number of highly connected groups (eight- to ten- years). Most collaborations occur within the higher education sector and across multiple disciplines including medicine, social sciences and psychology. Male co-authors are disproportionately represented in what is a predominantly female profession.
Practical implications
The development of extended co-author networks, locally, internationally and across the higher education sector, enable authors to attain the marker of achievement required by universities and government funding bodies, namely sustained output of academic publications. Identified trends support the inclusion of investment in academic time and resources in higher education institutions strategic and operational plans to enable academic staff to develop interdisciplinary professional networks. In focussing this investment on gender equality, female academics will experience parity of opportunity in achieving their organisational and personal goals relating to professional academic writing. Medium-term investment may be required before the impact of that investment becomes apparent.
Originality/value
This is the first example of social network analysis used to determine characteristics of professional academic writing portfolios over time. Findings inform the type and range of investment required to facilitate academic staff writing activities, specifically those publishing in the area of General Nursing.