Douglas Polley, Jay Vora and P.N. SubbaNarasimha
Despite the intrinsic human benefit and potential organizational benefit of spirituality, we suggest that there are limits to the effectiveness of spirituality in the workplace…
Abstract
Despite the intrinsic human benefit and potential organizational benefit of spirituality, we suggest that there are limits to the effectiveness of spirituality in the workplace. Spirituality in the workplace is subject to dilemmas, costs and outright negative effects. Successful implementation of spirituality in the workplace requires organizations to pay attention to six issues: (1) net economic cost of implementation, (2) potential for worker exploitation, (3) replacing or substituting community's function or role in spirituality, (4) inappropriate practice of spirituality in the workplace, (5) potential for competitive disadvantage, and (6) increased groupthink. We conclude by discussing research opportunities and practical suggestions.
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P.N. SubbaNarasimha, Sohel Ahmad and Sudhirkumar N. Mallya
How efficient are firms at utilizing their technological knowledge stocks? In this paper we focus on a firm's breadth and depth of technological knowledge and investigate their…
Abstract
How efficient are firms at utilizing their technological knowledge stocks? In this paper we focus on a firm's breadth and depth of technological knowledge and investigate their differential effects on two performance measures: return on capital and sales growth. Using a sample of 29 pharmaceutical firms we conduct data envelopment analysis (DEA) to determine those firms that are the most efficient converters of breadth and depth of technological knowledge into performance, and the knowledge dimension that the inefficient firms ought to focus upon to improve their performance.
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Gary R. Weaver and Jason M. Stansbury
Religious institutions can affect organizational practices when employees bring their religious commitments and practices into the workplace. But those religious commitments…
Abstract
Religious institutions can affect organizational practices when employees bring their religious commitments and practices into the workplace. But those religious commitments function in the midst of other organizational factors that influence the working out of employees’ religious commitments. This process can generate varying outcomes in organizational contexts, ranging from a heightened effect of religious commitment on employee behavior to a negligible or nonexistent influence of religion on employee behavior. Relying on social identity theory and schematic social cognition as unifying frameworks for the study of religious behavior, we develop a theoretically informed approach to understanding how and why the religious beliefs, commitments and practices employees bring to work have varying behavioral impacts.
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Sustained competitive advantage has become problematic because of turbulent environments. Thus, a strategist’s theory of the firm ought to focus on a theory of sustained…
Abstract
Sustained competitive advantage has become problematic because of turbulent environments. Thus, a strategist’s theory of the firm ought to focus on a theory of sustained competitive advantage. Clarifies the concept of turbulent environment faced by modern organizations. Argues that knowledge serves as an important source of sustained competitive advantage in turbulent environments. Viewing organizations as knowledge stocks poses questions of how to design organizations for knowledge management. Constitutional theories of the nation‐state are useful in this regard. Concludes with some preliminary thoughts on how the central concepts in constitutional theory can facilitate organizational design for knowledge management.
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Vance H. Fried and Robert D. Hisrich
The venture capital industry is of vital importance to many entrepreneurial firms, as well as to those interested in economic development. Research on the venture capital industry…
Abstract
The venture capital industry is of vital importance to many entrepreneurial firms, as well as to those interested in economic development. Research on the venture capital industry generally treats it as a single, homogeneous industry. However, the industry is actually made up of a variety of sub‐groups. An understanding of these sub‐groups is important to venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, public policy makers and academics.
Maurizio Massaro, John Dumay and Carlo Bagnoli
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether strategic intent influences developing intellectual capital (IC) and if IC affects performance measured in terms of product and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether strategic intent influences developing intellectual capital (IC) and if IC affects performance measured in terms of product and service diversification within small and medium enterprises over time.
Design/methodology/approach
This study discusses if and how structural equation models can be located within the third stage of IC research, and subsequently presents an analysis developed using 1,392 questionnaire responses through a temporal lens.
Findings
Empirical results show how relational, human and structural capital strongly connects to support a firm’s performance measured in terms of product and service diversification. Additionally, IC and strategic intent influence each other creating a constraint effect on one side and an ambition effect on the other. Interestingly, the constraint effect is much higher than the ambition effect, and this falls in line with a contingency approach to strategic intent.
Practical implications
Several practical implications are developed. First, results show that high regulation where firms can offer mandatory product/services can limit IC development. Therefore the findings contribute to the dialogue between policy makers, managers and businesses. Second, business schools should consider how strategic intent contributes to developing IC in order to design future curricula for accounting and management studies. Third, firms that operate in similar contexts should pay attention to managerial myopia due to low competition where a significant part of firms’ revenues is from mandatory product/services.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating how IC affects strategic intent and how strategic intent fosters IC development. Additionally, findings build on existing theory, helping to understand how IC affects performance measured in terms of portfolio diversification.
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Recently some of the most significant work in competitiveness studies has investigated the human side of economics. Concepts such as trust, fairness, and justice have emerged as…
Abstract
Recently some of the most significant work in competitiveness studies has investigated the human side of economics. Concepts such as trust, fairness, and justice have emerged as important components of the healthy functioning of businesses, for both national and multinational corporations (MNCs). In fact, it may well be the case that MNCs have taken the lead in this arena. Ethical and religious issues are most clearly highlighted when cultural differences come into play. A corporate monoculture does not need to examine closely the basic propositions, which all its members share—or are assumed to share. But when a corporation must take into consideration the differing needs and expectations of many of the members of its corporate family, it can, and in fact must, begin to reconsider some of the basic premises upon which that corporation was founded or has been operating. This is manifestly a healthy situation, not only for the new “family members” when, through growth, acquisition, or merger, a national corporation becomes multinational, but also for all members of the original business.
The purpose of this paper is to suggest a model for evaluating the best power plants in the presence of weight restrictions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to suggest a model for evaluating the best power plants in the presence of weight restrictions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper introduces a model, which is based on slacks‐based model (SBM) (one of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) models).
Findings
The paper depicts the power plant evaluation process through a DEA model, while allowing for the incorporation of preferences of decision maker (DM). The chief advantage of the proposed model is that it does not demand exact weights from the DM.
Originality/value
To the best of the author's knowledge, there is not any reference that evaluates power plants by means of SBM in the presence of weight restrictions.
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Harry J. Sapienza, Allen C. Amason and Sophie Manigart
This research was funded in part by the Center for International Business Research, University of South Carolina.