Ansgar Richter, Michael Dickmann and Michael Graubner
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in consulting firms. The paper specifically investigates whether or not the HRM…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the human resource management (HRM) policies and practices in consulting firms. The paper specifically investigates whether or not the HRM approaches in these firms mirror the two organisational archetypes of professional partnerships (P2) and manage professional businesses (MPB) found in the professional services sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on interviews with experienced consultants from a sample of 28 large and medium‐sized consulting firms with a presence in Germany and Switzerland. The paper uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the data.
Findings
The findings in the paper show that P2‐type consulting firms take fundamentally different approaches to HRM from MPB‐type firms. In P2‐type consulting firms, HRM is an integral part of the organisational system and is run in practice by consultants, rather than by specialised HR staff. P2‐type firms emphasise the notion of membership of individuals in an organisation tied together by extended socialisation processes and adherence to common values. In contrast, MPB‐type firms exhibit HRM systems with “corporate” features widely used in other large‐scale service organisations.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows that the organisational archetypes prevalent in professional service firms have significant implications for their HRM systems. Consulting firms' HRM practices and policies should be interpreted in the light of their respective organisational archetype.
Practical implications
The paper concludes that consulting firms should use HRM practices that fit the organisational archetype they embody.
Originality/value
The paper provides systematic evidence on the HRM policies and practices in an important yet under‐researched sector.
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Keywords
Rossella C. Gambetti, Robert Kozinets and Silvia Biraghi
Social media platforms have matured into significant arenas for moral conflict and often intense confrontation between brands and their consumers. This research aims to scrutinize…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media platforms have matured into significant arenas for moral conflict and often intense confrontation between brands and their consumers. This research aims to scrutinize the strategic development of a fresh brand entity deliberately detached from its morally compromised corporate parent, intended to reshape public perceptions and elude regulatory scrutiny.
Design/methodology/approach
Promoted as a center for transformative dialogue and innovation, Mission Winnow by Philip Morris is a novel example of a brand creating an entirely separate brand entity to provide sponsorship, and to associate itself with new brand values. This study employs a multisited netnography through which the posts and conversations on Mission Winnow’s platform and website hub are captured and interpreted, as well as the branded content and the free flows of consumers’ conversations generated around the brand on social media.
Findings
Findings reveal a broad interchange of moral controversy, acceptance and opposition discourses on social media. When consumers’ acceptance narratives gain traction, consumers extend their support toward the new brand entity, employing strategies that echo moral rationalization and decoupling. When resistance narratives dominate, consumers consciously draw connections between the decoupled brand and the parent brand’s immoral behavior.
Originality/value
This study expands upon prior research into brand activism and consumers’ moral reasoning toward controversial brands, linking the notion of brand decoupling to brand activism discourse and introducing key underexplored aspects like the power of imagery, linguistic creativity and nostalgia. Moreover, it presents significant implications for a more nuanced understanding of the important interrelationship of brand decoupling and recoupling on social media.
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Duy Tai Nguyen, Raufdeen Rameezdeen, Nicholas Chileshe and Jeremy Coggins
This study aims to investigate the effect of Australian construction firms' cooperative behavior on reverse logistics outsourcing performance (RLOP).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of Australian construction firms' cooperative behavior on reverse logistics outsourcing performance (RLOP).
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the aim, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from construction firms in Australia. Following this, the study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze 173 responses for testing seven hypotheses that are related to the positive effects of cooperative behavior on RLOP.
Findings
The results indicate that three dimensions of customer cooperative behavior (cooperation, commitment and planning) positively influence RLOP in different ways. Cooperation only directly affects RLOP while planning only has an indirect influence on RLOP. Commitment affects RLOP both directly and indirectly.
Originality/value
This is the first study examining empirically antecedents of RLOP in the construction industry. Additionally, it reveals the mediating role of cooperation. Cooperation fully mediates the relationship between planning and RLOP, and partially mediates the relationship between commitment and RLOP.