Rufai Haruna Kilu, Adesuwa Omorede, Maria Uden and Mohammed-Aminu Sanda
There is growing attention towards inclusive mining to make an economic case for gender equality and diversity in the industry. Available literature lacks sufficient empirical…
Abstract
Purpose
There is growing attention towards inclusive mining to make an economic case for gender equality and diversity in the industry. Available literature lacks sufficient empirical evidence on the subject matter in Ghana. Therefore, this paper aims to understudy women miners in Ghana and document their role in recent change regimes in mine works gender profiles. An observed change that is stimulating a shift in background dispositions leads to increasing number of women taking up mine jobs.
Design/methodology/approach
In working towards achieving the aim of the study, both qualitative design and a multiple case study approaches are deployed. Four multinational Ghanaian mines and a mining and technology university were used to understudy the women miners and their role towards a change in mine work gender perspectives.
Findings
The results showed a regime of “ore-solidarity movement” (women in mining – Ghana). A kind of solidarity identified conventionally as a social movement in active resource and self-mobilization, engaged in a symbolic contestation for change of the status quo (dominant masculinity cultures) in furtherance of gender equity and inclusion in milieu of mine works reforms in Ghana.
Originality/value
The study is of high scientific, political and public interest to better understand women’s movements in the mining industries in Ghana and to frame them theoretically. It offers solid empirical evidence on roles women miners play to ensure gender shape-shifting and liberalizing the mining space for women’s participation. This move towards inclusive mining implies poverty eradication among women, work towards achieving sustainable mining, competitiveness and assurance for gender-driven social innovative mining.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate an entrepreneurial process with unusual characteristics, focusing on Sámi micro and mezo level entrepreneurial logics and terms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate an entrepreneurial process with unusual characteristics, focusing on Sámi micro and mezo level entrepreneurial logics and terms.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study is a Sámi community in Sweden, where a gender equality project developed into involvement with global innovations systems, in advanced networking development. The paper builds on ethnological methodology and an interactive approach. Market signalling theory is applied, uniquely for this paper, to public funding decisions.
Findings
The paper found anticipation among Sámi of mobile ICT to take over the key role in herding, from the present mechanized and motorized era. The many‐faceted entrepreneurial process contradicts a fundamental split between survival and self expression mode for economic strategy taken for granted in, e.g. Richard Florida's theory on the creative class. Regarding public funding for research and entrepreneurial initiatives, the paper finds that the national level has made itself accessible, while the regional level administrator has pushed the initiative to “other” markets.
Research limitations/implications
Conclusions cannot be but provisional based on one case. As very few cases of this type are known the findings are yet of value for the design of further research and policy.
Originality/value
Indigenous peoples' and women's roles in the information society are not self‐evident. The case shows fruitful possibilities. Turning to market signaling theory prepares for further development of quantitative evaluation, e.g. equal opportunity and inclusion policy implementation, and has not previously been done in relation to this case.
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Claudia Presti, Federica De Santis and Francesca Bernini
This paper aims to propose an interpretive framework to understand how machine learning (ML) affects the way companies interact with their ecosystem and how the introduction of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an interpretive framework to understand how machine learning (ML) affects the way companies interact with their ecosystem and how the introduction of digital technologies affects the value co-creation (VCC) process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study bases on configuration theory, which entails two main methodological phases. In the first phase the authors define the theoretically-derived interpretive framework through a literature review. In the second phase the authors adopt a case study methodology to inductively analyze the theoretically-derived domains and their relationships within a configuration.
Findings
ML enables multi-directional knowledge flows among value co-creators and expands the scope of VCC beyond the boundaries of the firm-client relationship. However, it determines a substantive imbalance in knowledge management power among the actors involved in VCC. ML positively impacts value co-creators’ performance but also requires significant organizational changes. To benefit from VCC via ML, value co-creators must be aligned in terms of digital maturity.
Originality/value
The paper answers the call for more theoretical and empirical research on the impact of the introduction of Industry 4.0 technology in companies and their ecosystem. It intends to improve the understanding of how ML technology affects the determinants and the process of VCC by providing both a static and dynamic analysis of the topic.
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The purpose of this paper is to shed light on understanding how value creation can be improved by developing dynamic capabilities in product development, in the case of a software…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on understanding how value creation can be improved by developing dynamic capabilities in product development, in the case of a software engineering process.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology involves a single‐case, longitudinal empirical study by progression of cycles of action research and data collection during a seven‐year period (1 January 2004‐31 November 2010), comprising 55 corporate projects.
Findings
This study will provide significant new information about value creation in multi‐disciplined product development. The study integrates value considerations into the principles and practices of software engineering, implements the aspect of dynamic capabilities in a software engineering process in order to create and sustain competitive advantage. As a result of the study, a model of value creation for software engineering process is created and guidelines are established.
Research limitations/implications
The contextual features were strongly present during the research process, which means that the model created needs to be tested in other settings by other researchers.
Practical implications
The results of the study provide management with guidelines for developing and maintaining the importance of value creation in the software engineering process.
Originality/value
The paper presents a new model of value creation for the software engineering process in product development, through which competitive advantage is created and sustained.
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Lorna Uden and Pasquale Del Vecchio
This paper aims to define a conceptual framework for transforming Big Data into organizational value by focussing on the perspectives of service science and activity theory. In…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to define a conceptual framework for transforming Big Data into organizational value by focussing on the perspectives of service science and activity theory. In coherence with the agenda on evolutionary research on intellectual capital (IC), the study also provides momentum for researchers and scholars to explore emerging trends and implications of Big Data for IC management.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts a qualitative and integrated research method based on a constructive review of existing literature related to IC management, Big Data, service science and activity theory to identify features and processes of a conceptual framework emerging at the intersection of previously identified research topics.
Findings
The proposed framework harnesses the power of Big Data, collectively created by the engagement of multiple stakeholders based on the concepts of service ecosystems, by using activity theory. The transformation of Big Data for IC management addresses the process of value creation based on a set of critical dimensions useful to identify goals, main actors and stakeholders, processes and motivations.
Research limitations/implications
The paper indicates how organizational values can be created from Big Data through the co-creation of value in service ecosystems. Activity theory is used as theoretical lens to support IC ecosystem development. This research is exploratory; the framework offers opportunities for refinement and can be used to spearhead directions for future research.
Practical implications
The paper proposes a framework for transforming Big Data into organizational values for IC management in the context of entrepreneurial universities as pivotal contexts of observation that can be replicated in different fields. The framework provides guidelines that can be used to help organizations intending to embark on the emerging paradigm of Big Data for IC management for their competitive advantages.
Originality/value
The paper’s originality is in bringing together research from Big Data, value co-creation from service ecosystems and activity theory to address the complex issues involved in IC management. A further element of originality offered involves integrating such multidisciplinary perspectives as a lens for shaping the complex process of value creation from Big Data in relationship to IC management. The concept of how IC ecosystems can be designed is also introduced.
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María Eugenia Cardenal, Octavio Díaz-Santana and Sara M. González-Betancor
The teacher role in the classroom can explain important aspects of the student's school experience. The teacher-student relationship, a central dimension of social capital…
Abstract
Purpose
The teacher role in the classroom can explain important aspects of the student's school experience. The teacher-student relationship, a central dimension of social capital, influences students' engagement, and the teaching style plays an important role in student outcomes. But there is scarce literature that links teaching styles to teacher-student relationship. This article aims to (1) analyze whether there is a relationship between teaching styles and the type of relationship perceived by students; (2) test whether this relationship is equally strong for any teaching style; and (3) determine the extent to which students' perceptions vary according to their profile.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equation model with four latent variables is estimated: two for the teacher-student relationship (emotional vs educational) and two for the teaching styles (directive vs participative), with information for 21,126 sixth-grade primary-students in 2019 in Spain.
Findings
Teacher-student relationships and teaching styles are interconnected. The participative style implies a better relationship. The perceptions of the teacher are heterogeneous, depending on gender (girls perceive clearer than boys) and with the educational background (children from lower educational background perceive both types of teaching styles more clearly).
Originality/value
The analysis is based on the point of view of the addressee of the teacher's work, i.e. the student. It provides a model that can be replicated in any other education system. The latent variables, based on a periodically administered questionnaire, could be estimated with data from diagnostic assessments in other countries, which in turn would allow the formulation of context-specific educational policy proposals that take into account student feedback.
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Juliano Nunes Alves, Moisés Pivetta Cogo, Leander Luiz Klein and Breno Augusto Diniz Pereira
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of knowledge management (KM) drivers on perceived KM results in a public higher education institution. A structured…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of knowledge management (KM) drivers on perceived KM results in a public higher education institution. A structured theoretical model based on leadership, people, processes, knowledge processes, technology, learning and KM results was developed and tested.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with the employees of a public higher education institution where an administrative reform was initiated. A valid sample of 257 respondents was obtained. The data were obtained from the application of a structured questionnaire based on the KM drivers and their results. A five-point Likert-type scale was used to measure respondents' answers. The main data analysis technique was structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results indicate knowledge processes, leadership and people factors have a positive and significant impact on KM results. On the other hand, organizational processes, technology and learning factors were not significant. However, the service length of servants in the institution influences the perception of knowledge drivers.
Practical implications
Public institutions should be attentive to people with more time of service because they may have difficulties with technological advances, reorganization of processes and adaptation to new ways of sharing knowledge.
Originality/value
This study advances on the analysis of KM results in the public sector and tests the moderation effect of time of service.
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Nicolas Salvador Beltramino, Domingo Garcia-Perez-de-Lema and Luis Enrique Valdez-Juarez
The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the intellectual capital of SMEs on innovation and organizational performance in the context of an emerging country.
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the intellectual capital of SMEs on innovation and organizational performance in the context of an emerging country.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 259 industrial SMEs from the Cordoba, Argentina. The data were analyzed by partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM).
Findings
The study provides empirical evidence that the three components of intellectual capital generate positive and significant effects on innovation in processes and products. Structural capital is the component that has the greatest effect on innovation. It also showed a positive and significant relationship between innovation in processes and performance, contributing to the scarce empirical literature in the context of SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
The research exposes limitations that uncover a path for future. First, the work uses as the only source of information, the consultation at the highest level of the company. Second, the study covered only industrial companies. Future studies should focus on other sectors and countries.
Practical implications
The results may have important practical implications for SME owners and managers and offer a vision of the influence of intellectual capital on the innovative capacity of the organization.
Originality/value
The value of work lies in establishing the importance of intellectual capital in the environment of an emerging country such as Argentina, given the low level of knowledge that exists in this area.
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Regina Wagner, Nizar Abdelkafi and Thorsten Blecker
In today’s dynamic environment with shortened product life cycles, phase-outs because of product elimination are becoming increasingly frequent. Research on the phase-out process…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s dynamic environment with shortened product life cycles, phase-outs because of product elimination are becoming increasingly frequent. Research on the phase-out process is still scarce. The lack of formalization of the process, especially from the labor perspective, leads to disturbances in phase-out execution. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze how phase-out is organized in industry to derive a generic labor phase-out process.
Design/methodology/approach
This research identifies manufacturing firms that have eliminated products in the past as an adequate sample. Data collection relies on exploratory cross-industry after-the-fact interviews of entirely finished replacement and closure phase-outs.
Findings
The labor phase-out process consists of four stages and each stage of several activities. There are two types of activities: rational and emotional, which should be combined to support companies in implementing a successful phase-out.
Research limitations/implications
Phase-out is a sensitive process, and many experts from industry do not like to discuss phase-outs, in particular closure phase-outs. Although cross-industry coverage could be achieved, companies that intend to apply the developed process should individually adapt it to their own requirements and their own context.
Practical implications
The presented labor process supports companies in formalizing phase-out, while identifying best practices.
Originality/value
This research sheds light on a phase of the production cycle – the phase-out – that has been neglected so far in the extant literature and generates insights for manufacturing companies how they can formalize this process and how they can deal with it more systematically.
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Negin Zarandi, Ana Maria Soares and Helena Alves
In today’s global and highly competitive climate among universities, educational developers and instructors have focused more on trying to make the student experience more…
Abstract
Purpose
In today’s global and highly competitive climate among universities, educational developers and instructors have focused more on trying to make the student experience more engaging. In this manner, student co-creation activities have recently become a major research priority in marketing and higher education (HE) research. The purpose of this study is to present a systematic review of the literature on student co-creation roles and behaviors in HE in order to map extant research on this topic and offer a consolidated view of the co-creation process and approaches that can be employed by HEIs to motivate students to co-create their HE experience.
Design/methodology/approach
A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach was followed to classify, select, synthesize, analyze and assess the most relevant studies on student participation in co-creation in HE.
Findings
This study’s analysis has identified that the co-creation process in HE includes dialog, access, risk and transparency. The main approaches used by higher education institutions (HEIs) to motivate students to co-create their HE experience are student involvement, cognitive engagement, university affiliation and emotional engagement. Our review also shows that student co-creation behaviors are mainly participation and citizenship behavior, and their co-creation roles include those of co-producers, participants, change agents and partners.
Originality/value
This systematic literature review analyses and critically discusses the state of the art in student co-creation roles in HE and the approaches HEIs use. By providing a map of existing research, the paper contributes both to the clarification of student co-creation roles and behaviors in HE and the identification of research gaps and opportunities for further research.