Paul Kauppila and Sharon Russell
Discusses the new Dr Martin Luther King Jr Library in San Jose´, California, which will house the collections of the San Jose´ Public Library’s main branch and the San Jose´ State…
Abstract
Discusses the new Dr Martin Luther King Jr Library in San Jose´, California, which will house the collections of the San Jose´ Public Library’s main branch and the San Jose´ State University’s Library system in one new building. Outlines the conception of the project, the site selection and the planning process. Considers the communities served, usage patterns and services. Focuses on the management structure and operations in light of a, perhaps controversial, aspect of mixing city and university library staff under the same roof, some performing similar functions, but with different supervisors and employing agencies. Discusses the new library in the context of other joint‐use libraries and in the context of economies of scale and future trends. Evaluates the arising challenges and opportunities.
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Saurav Snehvrat, Sanjay Chaudhary and Siddharth Gaurav Majhi
Boundary-spanning managers need to recognize, learn and implement external knowledge while balancing the conflicts emerging from new and existing knowledge. The authors' study…
Abstract
Purpose
Boundary-spanning managers need to recognize, learn and implement external knowledge while balancing the conflicts emerging from new and existing knowledge. The authors' study explores how a paradox mindset (PM) and a learning focus [learning goal orientation (LGO)] promote two managerial capabilities: absorptive capacity (ACAP) and ambidexterity. The authors' study explores the inter-relationship between the mindsets and the capabilities required for innovative work behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use survey data from 113 technology/product managers employed in boundary-spanning roles in a large Indian automotive equipment manufacturing firm. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis and bootstrapping (using PROCESS MACRO) are used to test for direct and mediation effects respectively.
Findings
Both PM and LGO are found to affect individual ambidexterity (IA) via the mediation of individual absorptive capacity (IACAP). While IACAP partially mediates the relationship between PM and IA, there is full mediation in the case of LGO.
Research limitations/implications
The authors focus on a sample of managers from a single, large Indian automotive firm. Although single case studies can help provide novel conceptual insights and to test theoretical relationships, future research needs to confirm the authors' findings in different types of firms.
Practical implications
This study shows how a learning orientation and the ability to be energized from conflicts help boundary-spanning managers produce innovative outcomes.
Originality/value
The authors reveal fresh insights on how both ACAP and ambidexterity share the focus on learning and paradox management. The authors explicate how LGO and PM uniquely impact the critical capabilities of IACAP and IA for boundary-spanning managers.
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Nihat Doğanalp and Aytuğ Arslan
Introduction: Performance evaluations are a critical tool in evaluating tourism development of countries where the tourism industry provides a significant share of the GDP. One of…
Abstract
Introduction: Performance evaluations are a critical tool in evaluating tourism development of countries where the tourism industry provides a significant share of the GDP. One of the measures used in performance evaluation of the financial decision-making units is economic efficiency. Aim: This study aims at measuring tourism-related technical efficiency performance of six European countries: Spain, Greece, Turkey, France, Italy, and Portugal. Method: Tourism revenue and visitor numbers are referenced as output variables. Within the model, the natural and sociocultural index and substructure index were formed. Data envelopment analysis was applied for these datasets. Results: Considering tourism revenues, Spain, Italy and Greece managed to use their natural and cultural resources efficiently. In contrast to these countries, inefficiency level scores were measured for Turkey, Portugal and France. In the model based upon the number of visitors, all other countries apart from Turkey and Portugal achieved the most efficient score. As for substructure index, the score of decreasing returns to scale for the countries of Italy and Spain in terms of tourist numbers is noteworthy. Conclusion: The implementation of efficient tourism policies and strategies hold great importance in terms of tourism efficiency. Implications: Even though Portugal and Turkey are rich in both natural and cultural assets, low scores seem to stem from failure to realize their potentials. Strategies should be developed to diversify tourist products. Originality of the Paper: This study differs from other studies in the literature with regard to the composition of the wide input components.
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Moheeb Abualqumboz, Paul W. Chan, David Bamford and Iain Reid
This study aims to examine reciprocal exchanges in knowledge networks using temporal differentiation of knowledge exchanges. To date, research on horizontal knowledge networks…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine reciprocal exchanges in knowledge networks using temporal differentiation of knowledge exchanges. To date, research on horizontal knowledge networks rather overlooks the temporal perspective, which could explain the dynamics of exchange in those networks.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports on a study of four horizontal knowledge networks in the UK over a period of 18 months.
Findings
The findings integrate three temporal dimensions of timescale, timeliness and time modalities. The dimensions have implications for the way knowledge is exchanged (or not), which can in turn sustain or stymie productive knowledge exchange in horizontal knowledge networks.
Research limitations/implications
The study encourages researchers to attend to the micro-processes of knowledge exchanges through the integrative framework of temporalities. While this study examined horizontal networks, future research can be extended to analysing temporalities in other types of networks.
Practical implications
It seeks to inspire practitioners to appreciate how the impacts of knowledge networks play out in/over time, and how more effective coopetitive knowledge-sharing environments can be created and sustained by taking differentiated time structures into account.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the knowledge management literature by providing a temporal perspective to understand reciprocal knowledge exchanges in horizontal knowledge networks.
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Annette Thomas-Gregory and Justine Mercer
This chapter explores how different aspects of middle manager identity relate to knowledge, research and practice. It argues that effective leadership depends more upon the person…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter explores how different aspects of middle manager identity relate to knowledge, research and practice. It argues that effective leadership depends more upon the person than the role.
Methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 middle managers at a single school of healthcare in a research-intensive, chartered UK university.
Findings
The middle managers revealed both core and situated identities. Their core selves included various personality traits such as curiosity, a competitive streak, optimism, sociability and a sense of humour. Their situated selves were shaped by socialization, life history, critical people, and incidents and chance. In a symbiotic relationship with these core and situated components was a complex, tri-partite professional identity, as a healthcare professional, a higher education (HE) academic, and an education manager. All the participants greatly valued professional development and ongoing academic study.
Social implications
This chapter illustrates how the best postgraduate courses develop exemplary education managers/leaders. They do this not by giving students role-specific skills but by developing their analytical and critical thinking skills. Through a process of deep learning and experience, individuals undertaking a doctorate are able to develop into reflexive and reflective practitioners who can act with personal integrity.
Originality/value
Little has been published about the relationships between the career background, the identity and the role of a university middle manager, and virtually nothing from the field of healthcare. The figure presented in this chapter offers a new framework for understanding the relationship between self, professional identity and role.
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Vesa Yli‐Pelkonen, Karoliina Pispa and Inari Helle
Urban stream ecosystems have often been seen as channels of water flow rather than as the valuable parts of an urban green space system providing ecosystem services. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
Urban stream ecosystems have often been seen as channels of water flow rather than as the valuable parts of an urban green space system providing ecosystem services. The study seeks to address the importance of urban stream ecosystems from the perspective of urban ecology, human health and social well‐being in the context of urban planning.
Design/methodology/approach
The case study area is the Rekolanoja stream ecosystem in the City of Vantaa, southern Finland. The data from the case study area were gathered from existing ecological studies and by conducting semi‐structured interviews, a resident inquiry and a writing contest.
Findings
The results from the Rekolanoja case show that intense management of the streamside vegetation and treatment of the stream channel in construction projects have decreased species richness and diminished valuable streamside biotopes. However, the stream corridor can function as an important recreational and educational element within the local green space network and thereby become a symbol of local identity.
Practical implications
Planners, decision‐makers and other interest groups can use the findings from this study in determining the values of small urban stream ecosystems in urban development.
Originality/value
The Rekolanoja case indicates that planners and residents see the value of such an aquatic element as increasingly important for urban biodiversity and ecological corridor functions, as well as for local human health and social well‐being, e.g. recreation and stress relief. Future land‐use decisions will show whether a genuine change in the values and thinking of planners and decision‐makers is taking place.
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Julian Waters-Lynch and Cameron Duff
The purpose of this study is to reflect on and analyse the sensory experiences related to the transition to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research seeks to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to reflect on and analyse the sensory experiences related to the transition to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research seeks to understand how these experiences have influenced the integration of work practices into home and family life and the subsequent adaptations and embodied learning that arise in response.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' research approach incorporates autoethnographic methods to explore the sensory, affective and emotional experiences of transitioning to remote work. The authors draw on principles of embodied learning, as influenced by Gilles Deleuze, and utilise a range of ethnographic tools including note-taking, audio memos, photography, shared conversations and written reflections to gather their data.
Findings
The study illuminates the ways bodies learn to accommodate the new organisational contexts that arise when the spaces, affects and forces of home and work intersect. It demonstrates how the integration of work into the private domain resulted in new affective and material arrangements, involving novel sensory experiences and substantial embodied learning.
Originality/value
This study provides a distinct, sensory-oriented perspective on the challenges and transformations of remote work practices amid the pandemic. By focussing on the affective resonances and embodied learning that emerge in this context, it contributes to the emerging discourse around post-lockdown work practices and remote work in general.
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Araceli Rojo, Javier Llorens-Montes and Maria Nieves Perez-Arostegui
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether supply chain (SC) ambidexterity improves supply chain flexibility (SCF) and its impact on SC competence and firm performance. A new…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether supply chain (SC) ambidexterity improves supply chain flexibility (SCF) and its impact on SC competence and firm performance. A new measurement instrument for SCF is proposed that takes into account the demands of the environment: SCF fit.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model is developed to examine the relationships proposed. The hypotheses are tested with data from 302 manufacturing firms using a structural equations model methodology.
Findings
The results show that SC ambidexterity helps to achieve the optimal level of SCF and that supply chain management (SCM) is important to firm performance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper makes three contributions to the SCM literature: first, it develops the conceptual definition of SC ambidexterity and studies its effects at the SC level; second, it develops a new instrument to measure SCF known as SCF fit; third, it studies both the impact of SCF fit on SC competence and the importance of SC in firm performance.
Practical implications
This paper develops a measurement instrument that permits managers to diagnose the level of SCF and the correspondence/gap between current and optimal levels and to establish comparisons between different SC. It also indicates the importance of SCM for firm performance and the need to consider the SC as a whole.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to analyze ambidexterity in an organizational network like the SC. It shows that exploitation practices do not jeopardize SCF as long as they are accompanied by exploration practices. That is, high levels of exploration and exploitation are compatible in the SC and lead to the optimal level of SCF.