This study aims to consider the complexities of planning and implementation of a reform in the Swedish system of higher vocational education and training (VET). The study object…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to consider the complexities of planning and implementation of a reform in the Swedish system of higher vocational education and training (VET). The study object of this article is the Swedish reform with advanced vocational education (AVE). The two main questions the study aims to address are: “What are the main driving forces behind the formulation of AVE?” and “How is AVE implemented into the system of continuing vocational training?”.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is designed as a multiple case study, exploring different issues in the reform of AVE. These issues comprise organisation and structure, workplace learning and transition from AVE into working life. From a theoretical perspective, this study uses the analytical model of educational reform development by Lindensjö and Lundgren where reforms are perceived to take place at two different contexts in society.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest that with AVE a number of educational innovative features were introduced which generally had a positive impact. From the context of formulation, findings suggest that consensus among the central level stakeholders for how AVE should be designed was reached through the joint work of organising programmes during the three‐year pilot project, in combination with the concurrent restructuring of working life. From the context of realisation both educationalists and employers perceived the possibility of designing AVE programmes in co‐operation based on local level requirements as positive.
Research limitations/implications
To achieve demands for validity and trustworthiness, this study uses multiple sources of data gathering, applying data‐triangulation. Nonetheless, this study has some methodological limitations that need to be addressed. In terms of theoretical perspective, the analytical model could appear as simplifying the complex social processes that take place when reforms are being implemented in educational institutions and within working life.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence that developments in Swedish society and working life have together created conflicting demands among the stakeholders about how VET should be organised, the mode of delivery and relations towards the labour market.
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Mats Lindell and Marja‐Leena Stenström
This study considers the recently established higher vocational education reforms with Swedish advanced vocational education (AVE) and Finnish polytechnics in terms of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study considers the recently established higher vocational education reforms with Swedish advanced vocational education (AVE) and Finnish polytechnics in terms of organisational structure, the design of workplace learning, and furthermore, what kind of practical implications these new models of learning at work have resulted in.
Design/methodology/approach
The research strategy includes three main steps. First, a number of domestic research studies, government reports and other policy documents were examined. Secondly, this study brings the most recent national data available. Thirdly, a conceptual framework for cross‐national analysis was developed.
Findings
The results suggest that despite differences which stem from the nations' political, economical and socio‐cultural background, the formal methods engaging educators and representatives of working life are rather similar. However, the general implications are different. While the Swedish AVE has focused more on a principally demand‐led system with de‐centralised planning and design of programmes to fit the specific needs of regional labour markets, the Finnish polytechnics have instead maintained a strong institutional framework, focusing more on research and development issues.
Research limitations/implications
This study has some methodological considerations that need to be addressed. First, there are differences on the curricular level between the two systems. Secondly, although Swedish and Finnish labour markets have developed along similar patterns in terms of industrial sectors and the emergence of labour unions, and employer associations, differences do exist on how these various representatives view the role of training, as well as their requirements for granting work licences and certificates.
Originality/value
Provides evidence that workplace learning can be decided by the complex relationship among the state, labour and capital.
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Mark Cleveland, Nicolas Papadopoulos and Michel Laroche
This paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by globalization, make it imperative to identify the conditions under which commonalities and differences in materialistic tendencies are most likely to evidence among consumers as they seek to assert, restore, or enhance their self-concept and status in the context of global consumption trends.
Design/methodology/approach
The psychographic determinants of materialism were rigorously validated across a diverse set of eight countries, by investigating which facets of acculturation to global consumer culture and national ethnic identity, along with consumer ethnocentrism, encourage or repel materialism. Using multigroup SEM and other analyses, the authors confirmed construct dimensionality and ascertained the stability of the relationships.
Findings
The most consistent positive drivers of materialism were self-identification with global consumer culture and exposure to American-based global mass media. The results demonstrated the compatibility of national identity and traditions with materialistic tendencies. Materialism was positively related to or independent of consumer ethnocentrism.
Research limitations/implications
The findings offer consequential insights for both research and practice, although the cross-sectional character of survey research and certain sampling characteristics limit their generalizability.
Practical implications
The results pinpoint segments that spill over national boundaries, and those that remain geographically constrained, thus providing guidance for marketing and communication strategies to practitioners.
Social implications
The authors shed light on two widely held yet insufficiently researched assumptions: that the homogenizing effect of global consumer culture may be fomenting materialism worldwide, and that nationalistic, parochially oriented consumers may be more capable of resisting materialistic values.
Originality/value
The study design addresses several shortcomings of prior research, and its findings advance the understanding of materialism and its antecedents by identifying the conditions driving materialistic tendencies.
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Revti Raman Sharma, Matevz (Matt) Raskovic and Balwinder Singh
Contrary to the widely held belief in the linear positive effects of business relationships (BRELs) on performance outcomes, the authors posit that the quality of a manager's…
Abstract
Purpose
Contrary to the widely held belief in the linear positive effects of business relationships (BRELs) on performance outcomes, the authors posit that the quality of a manager's BRELs with a foreign business partner has an inverted curvilinear effect on managing challenges arising out of institutional differences between two countries, which the authors define as institutional success. The authors further propose that managers' global role complexity (GRC) negatively impacts institutional success and dampens the inverted curvilinear effects of BRELs on institutional success.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model is tested using questionnaire survey data from 186 senior Indian managers doing business with New Zealand.
Findings
The authors find significant support for the inverted curvilinear effects of BRELs and the negative effects of GRC on institutional success. They did not find significant results for the moderating role of GRC on the inverted curvilinear relationship between BRELs and institutional success. However, significant linear interactive effects of GRC and BREL are evident.
Practical implications
The key managerial implication is that managers should focus on building BRELs of appropriate quality with their overseas counterparts to keep producing relational rents. They should, however, also be sensitive to when such relational rents start to be eroded by internal and external factors and treat them as a dynamic equilibrium rather than a static one.
Originality/value
The study findings challenge the assumption of linear positive effects of BRELs within the relational view. They highlight the significance of BRELs, even for emerging economy managers doing business in advanced economies.
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Ian Sealy, Walter Wehrmeyer, Chris France and Matt Leach
This paper seeks to identify a requirement for a new sustainable development management system (SMS) model for global business organizations (GBOs) and proposes some essential…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to identify a requirement for a new sustainable development management system (SMS) model for global business organizations (GBOs) and proposes some essential features for such a model.
Design/methodology/approach
The concept is developed in four stages. First, a definition of a GBO is developed, after reviewing existing definitions and identifying their limitations. The characteristics of GBOs are reviewed, with emphasis on their implications for the management of sustainability programmes. A review of SMS literature and of existing SMS codes and standards has been made, and the limitations of existing SMSs are critically reviewed. Drawing on this three‐part analysis, a new model of an SMS suitable for use in GBOs is described.
Findings
Existing definitions of global business organizations are inadequate. Existing sustainability management systems standards and codes do not meet the requirements of global businesses (or indeed of other, regional businesses) in several respects.
Originality/value
The paper shows that there are special requirements for SMSs in GBOs, and that these are not met by any of the existing models or proposals in the literature. The paper proposes a new model, which combines best‐practice from existing literature with new features.
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Mateus Canniatti Ponchio, Rafaela Almeida Cordeiro and Virginia Nicolau Gonçalves
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of consumer spending self-control (CSSC), personal saving orientation (PSO), materialism, financial knowledge (FK) and time…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of consumer spending self-control (CSSC), personal saving orientation (PSO), materialism, financial knowledge (FK) and time perspective (TP) on Brazilian consumers’ perceived financial well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework is provided to support the research hypotheses. A survey with 1,027 respondents allowed the research hypotheses to be tested by means of regression-based models.
Findings
The findings show that the two dimensions of financial well-being – current money management stress and future financial security – are predicted by CSSC, materialism and TP; PSO also predicts future financial security. TP moderates the effect of materialism on current money management stress, and CSSC mediates this relationship.
Research limitations/implications
The role of FK in predicting financial well-being is weakened in the presence of the psychological variables investigated, which has important implications for financial education efforts. The use of survey data alone limits the research findings, as the advocated causal relationships are based solely on theory; gathering experimental data to further support the findings is a possibility for future research.
Practical implications
Banks and other financial institutions can create tools to stimulate control of their customers’ day-to-day spending and try to show assertive projections to evidence the impact of their present actions on their financial future, enhancing personal awareness and promoting overall well-being.
Originality/value
The authors advance knowledge on the antecedents of financial well-being and offer two explanations involving moderating and mediating relationships that enhance the understanding of the individual differences that shape current money management stress.
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Makoto Matsuo, Kohei Arai and Takami Matsuo
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of managerial coaching on critical reflection mediated through learning goal orientation.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of managerial coaching on critical reflection mediated through learning goal orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a questionnaire survey of 169 employees in 53 teams at an IT firm in Japan. The data were examined using multi-level analyses.
Findings
Managerial coaching has a direct positive effect on critical reflection, and the relationship is mediated by learning goal orientation.
Research limitations/implications
The characteristics of the sample may limit the generalization of the findings. Future research should verify the model in other industries and countries.
Practical implications
The organizations should note that managerial coaching is useful not only for facilitating employees’ problem-solving but also for enhancing their critical reflection. It should also be noted that employees can reflect critically on their beliefs and work routines when they have learning goals.
Originality/value
Although few quantitative studies have investigated the determinants of critical reflection, the present research reveals the overlooked functions of managerial coaching in promoting employees’ learning.