H. Chang Moon and Newman S. Peery
Competitiveness is often confused with productivity. Productivity refers to the internal capability of an organization, while competitiveness refers to the relative position of an…
Abstract
Competitiveness is often confused with productivity. Productivity refers to the internal capability of an organization, while competitiveness refers to the relative position of an organization against its competitors. These two important concepts are often confused and interchangeably used. For example, in his famous book, The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Porter (1990, p. 6) says that the only meaningful concept of competitiveness at the national level is national productivity. Competitiveness may also have a distinctly different meaning at different levels of analysis — product, firm, industry, and nation. Porter (1990, p. 33) says that the basic unit of analysis for understanding competition is the “industry,” while the title of his book refers to “nations.” He also says that firms, not nations, compete in international markets.
W. Anthony Kulisch, Newman S. Peery and David K. Banner
Describes the experiences of an organization which made thedecision to establish a new production facility and empower itsworkforce using self‐managed work teams. Elaborates on…
Abstract
Describes the experiences of an organization which made the decision to establish a new production facility and empower its workforce using self‐managed work teams. Elaborates on some of the selection issues surrounding this site and includes the reasoning used to select employees for this facility. Finally, relates recommendations for making selection decisions in this type of situation. Fully expects that SMWT and other flexible/adaptive structures will become more and more popular in the future, and that managers need to know how to select employees to maximize the effectiveness of this structure.
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David K. Banner, W. Anthony Kulisch and Newman S. Peery
Forces of international competition and innovations withinorganizations have led to the development of employee involvementprogrammes, including self‐managing work teams. The…
Abstract
Forces of international competition and innovations within organizations have led to the development of employee involvement programmes, including self‐managing work teams. The widespread use of such programmes poses special problems for human resource management. Outlines how the human resource management process and the role of the HRM professional can be changed to increase the effectiveness of self‐managing work teams.
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A.J. Templeton, Kelly Goonan and Alan Fyall
National Park Service (NPS) units generate a significant economic impact for states and local gateway communities across the USA. Utah is home to 13 NPS units with visitation…
Abstract
Purpose
National Park Service (NPS) units generate a significant economic impact for states and local gateway communities across the USA. Utah is home to 13 NPS units with visitation accounting for 18% of the state's US$9.75bn tourism economy in 2018. Twelve NPS units, including five national parks, are located in Southern Utah, driving an economy that is heavily dependent on tourism. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities for visits to national parks post-COVID-19, generally and in the specific context of Southern Utah. Although the assumption is that visits to national parks will recover quickly, this paper will critically examine how visitation may change and what adaptive measures and alternative forms of unit management may be necessary.
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting a holistic-inductive paradigm, this paper utilizes a descriptive case study approach. Data were collected across a variety of mediums focusing on interviews with key stakeholders in and around Southern Utah.
Findings
The results from this study highlight the various challenges faced in parks and gateway communities vis-à-vis changing patterns of visitation, adaptive measures and alternative forms of unit management necessary due to COVID-19 and their impact on the future management and marketing of national parks for touristic purposes.
Originality/value
This paper examines the impacts of COVID-19 on an often-neglected yet significant area within tourism, yielding implications for industry, visitors and destination communities.
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This study examines the mediating role of motivation on outdoor recreation on the attitude–behavior and social marketing–behavior linkages. The paper scrutinizes the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the mediating role of motivation on outdoor recreation on the attitude–behavior and social marketing–behavior linkages. The paper scrutinizes the moderating impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk perception in transforming individual motivation on nature-based outdoor recreation into environmentally responsible behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected and conducted in Vietnamese National Parks. The dataset consists of 900 valid responses by domestic travelers. The research was operationalized using empirical data and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) and SPSS PROCESS analysis.
Findings
First, this study confirms that outdoor recreation activities and business's marketing on social networks tend to transform into support for individual behavior in terms of protecting environment and having responsibility for environment. Second, the current paper also represents the academic efforts to contribute to outdoor recreation literature by explaining the current global problem that has caused serious upheaval in global society as well as individual life. The findings not only confirmed the mediating role of nature-based outdoor recreation motivation between attitude and behavior, but also examined the moderating effect of COVID-19 risk perception in the relationship between motivation and behavior.
Originality/value
The findings indicate the significant association of social marketing, environment attitudes, outdoor recreation motivation and environmentally responsible behavior. The findings not only confirmed the mediating role of nature-based outdoor recreation motivation between attitude and behavior, but also examined the moderating effect of COVID-19 risk perception in the relationship between motivation and behavior. These results provide key insights about examining visitors' behavior for environment protection during future infectious disease outbreaks.
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Ritva Rosenbäck and Ann Svensson
This study aims to explore the management learning during a long-term crisis like a pandemic. The paper addresses both what health-care managers have learnt during the COVID-19…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the management learning during a long-term crisis like a pandemic. The paper addresses both what health-care managers have learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic and how the management learning is characterized.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative case study carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic at two different public hospitals in Sweden. The study, conducted with semi-structured interviews, applies a combination of within-case analysis and cross-case comparison. The data were analyzed using thematic deductive analysis with the themes, i.e. sensemaking, decision-making and meaning-making.
Findings
The COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by uncertainty and a need for continuous learning among the managers at the case hospitals. The learning process that arose was circular in nature, wherein trust played a crucial role in facilitating the flow of information and enabling the managers to get a good sense of the situation. This, in turn, allowed the managers to make decisions meaningful for the organization, which improved the trust for the managers. This circular process was iterated with higher frequency than usual and was a prerequisite for the managers’ learning. The practical implications are that a combined management with hierarchical and distributed management that uses the normal decision routes seems to be the most successful management method in a prolonged crisis as a pandemic.
Practical implications
The gained knowledge can benefit hospital organizations, be used in crisis education and to develop regional contingency plans for pandemics.
Originality/value
This study has explored learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and found a circular process, “the management learning wheel,” which supports management learning in prolonged crises.
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– The purpose of this paper is to explore supportive and shared leadership structures at schools as a function of school culture policies and procedures.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore supportive and shared leadership structures at schools as a function of school culture policies and procedures.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative study was conducted at three secondary schools in the Midwestern USA. Administrators and teachers were interviewed, professional learning communities observed and artifacts collected to explore school culture policies, procedures and leadership in the implementation of professional learning community practice.
Findings
This study concludes that school leaders must provide supportive and shared leadership structures for teachers in order to ensure a positive school culture and effective professional learning communities that impact school improvement. Leaders in schools must work directly with teachers to create policies and procedures that provide teachers the leadership structure to directly impact school improvement through professional learning community collaborative efforts.
Originality/value
This study builds on the school culture and professional learning communities literature by exploring existent policies and practices in schools as unique cases. Much of the literature calls for specific case studies to identify issues in the implementation of effective practice. This study is important to the community as specific cases that may inform educational leaders on mechanisms that may be leveraged to ensure successful implementation of policies and procedures outline in school culture and professional learning community literature.
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Daniel Stefan Hain and Roman Jurowetzki
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the changing pattern and characteristics of international financial flows in the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems of Sub-Saharan…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the changing pattern and characteristics of international financial flows in the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), provide a novel taxonomy to classify and analyze them, and discuss how such investments contribute to competence building and sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
In an exploratory study, the authors analyze the characteristics of international venture capital investors and the start-ups receiving funding in Kenya and map their interaction. The authors proceed by developing a novel taxonomy, classifying investors according to their main rationales (for-profit-for-impact), and start-ups according to the locus of needs and markets addressed by the start-up (local-global) and the locus of the start-ups capacity and knowledge (local-global).
Findings
The authors observe a new type of mainly western investors who support innovative ideas in SSA by identifying and investing in domestically developed technical innovations with the potential to address global market needs. The authors find such innovations to be mainly developed at the intersect of global and local knowledge.
Originality/value
The authors shed light on the – up to now – under-researched emerging phenomenon of international high-tech investments in SSA, and develop a novel taxonomy of technology investments in low-income countries, guiding further research on the conditions, impact, practical, and policy implications of this new form of finance flows.