Rupert L. Matthews, Kim Hua Tan and Peter E. Marzec
Organisational ambidexterity has emerged as a new research paradigm that is relevant for promoting long-term firm performance however, research within practice-oriented domainsâŠ
Abstract
Purpose
Organisational ambidexterity has emerged as a new research paradigm that is relevant for promoting long-term firm performance however, research within practice-oriented domains has been limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore process improvement through the theoretical lens of organisational ambidexterity to understanding the conflicting aims of variation increasing and decreasing forms of operational process improvement.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on reviews of both operations and strategic management literature, the paper employs a case study methodology to unpack critical aspects of ambidextrous process improvement across a range of organisational environments.
Findings
The research shows that while the companies engaged in qualitatively different forms of improvement, by interpreting practices from an ambidextrous perspective, the complimentary nature of the two forms of improvement could be appreciated. The diversity of firms involved in the research also allowed findings to be considered in relation to a range of operational contexts.
Research limitations/implications
The research highlights the relevance of an organisational ambidexterity perspective on operational process improvement, although the selection of companies the research draws from, limits it relevance to non-project-oriented organisations.
Practical implications
Provides practitioners with a framework to inform their views and aims when engaging in process improvement activities.
Originality/value
This is one of the first articles exploring process improvement from an ambidextrous perspective. This will help re-conceptualise process improvement away from wholly focusing upon quality improvement and variation reducing activities to help account for a more dynamic operating environment.
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Daniel Gyllenhammar and Peter Hammersberg
The purpose of this article is to increase the understanding of how improvements can be facilitated in a public service containing multiple actors in terms of identifyingâŠ
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to increase the understanding of how improvements can be facilitated in a public service containing multiple actors in terms of identifying, aligning and prerequisites for the improvements.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilizes an interactive research approach where data were gathered though a conference, workshop and a survey. The study alternately combines quality management methods such as affinity and interrelationship diagrams with computer aided text mining and latent semantic analysis.
Findings
The research shows that practitioners must consider interconnectedness between improvements and benefits that are crossing organizational levels of the public service system as well as professional borders. In public service systems, the complex reality can be better understood when improvements and benefits are classified into different organizational layers and an interconnectedness and sequence of improvement areas are acknowledged.
Research limitations/implications
The research is set in the Swedish public service of the tax-paid sick leave insurance. Future research would benefit by investigating similar cases in other nations and other services.
Practical implications
The used methodology can be applied by practitioners to enhance a unified understanding of the system required to improve. The study also guides practitioners for how to support, relive hinders and prioritize improvements.
Originality/value
The research fills a gap of understanding of improvements in public services with multiple actors. As this area is difficult to improve, a novel combination of qualitative and quantitative methods paved the way for deeper and more unified understanding of the system.
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A recent area of academic interest within corporate branding and reputation is the use of storytelling in order to differentiate the corporate brand, however there is littleâŠ
Abstract
Purpose
A recent area of academic interest within corporate branding and reputation is the use of storytelling in order to differentiate the corporate brand, however there is little empirical research exploring the contents of corporate stories, and how they are used by organisations to build the corporate brand. This paper aims to utilise impression management theory to bring insight into the potential role of corporate stories in shaping the corporate brand.
Design/methodology/approach
Corporate stories were identified from the web sites of 99 organisations in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, and content analysis conducted on the stories, using a deductive approach to identify the story elements present in the stories.
Findings
There are wide variations in the inclusion of different elements in the stories, indicating that organisations place greater importance on the inclusion of some elements in their corporate stories than others.
Research limitations/implications
The paper highlights the point that while organisations are using corporate stories, they are not sufficiently leveraging them to build their corporate brand. There is a gap between storytelling theory and practice, in that the literature emphasises the importance of including benefits for stakeholders, emotion, and aspects of the corporate strategy in stories, whereas organisations frequently neglect these aspects and instead focus mainly on their accomplishments.
Originality/value
This study has found impression management theory to be a useful perspective on exploring corporate storytelling, and identifies links between the elements of stories and impression management strategies and behaviours. This indicates that the corporate story could influence the impressions that audiences form of the organisation and therefore build the corporate brand.
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A twoâday symposium will be hosted by the ISHMâCanâAm Chapter in Ottawa, Canada, on 19â20 June 1985. The event will concentrate on advances in Surface Mounted Technology andâŠ
Abstract
A twoâday symposium will be hosted by the ISHMâCanâAm Chapter in Ottawa, Canada, on 19â20 June 1985. The event will concentrate on advances in Surface Mounted Technology and topics covered will include design rules and critical process parameters, multiâstage attachment methods, advances in cleaning processes and fluids, robotic insertion of nonâstandard components, automatic inspection, etc. A Tutorial will be held concurrently on rework techniques for surface mounted devices.
Peter A. Ammermann, L.R. Runyon and Reuben Conceicao
The purpose of this study is to develop an investment strategy designed both to enable studentâmanaged investment fund (SMIF) students to more quickly build out their portfolio atâŠ
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an investment strategy designed both to enable studentâmanaged investment fund (SMIF) students to more quickly build out their portfolio at the beginning of the academic year and to give them some exposure to quantitative approaches to investment management.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data and software that would be readily available to typical SMIF students to develop both an assetâallocation model and a securityâselection model that can be described as a longâflat (or synthetic protective put) equity strategy with a momentumâbased styleârotation overlay.
Findings
Over the time period since the requisite styleâbased ETFs began trading, the composite strategy would have outperformed the S&P 500 index during both market downturns and market upturns, providing better than market returns at lower than market levels of risk.
Originality/value
The key innovation of this paper is the development of a quantitative investment strategy tailored specifically to meet both the educational and the portfolio management needs of SMIF students; a secondary innovation is the demonstration of the efficacy of a styleârotation strategy, in contrast to the more typical sector/industryârotation type of strategy.
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Doxa Papakonstantinou and Constantinos Tomos
Migraine consists of a chronic neurological disorder with episodic attacks. Migraine prevails in people of their most productive working age, followed by difficulties at work andâŠ
Abstract
Purpose
Migraine consists of a chronic neurological disorder with episodic attacks. Migraine prevails in people of their most productive working age, followed by difficulties at work and social functions. This scoping review aims to analyze the economic burden on a workplace due to chronic migraine compared to episodic migraine by focusing on the indirect costs of absenteeism and presenteeism and addressing the research gaps in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
According to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews, a comprehensive electronic literature search was carried out from 2010 to 2020 using the Google Scholar and Medline/PubMed databases.
Findings
The findings confirm that chronic and episodic migraine harm the workplace's productivity, escalating with the frequency of migraine attacks. Differences occur between presenteeism and absenteeism rates among chronic and episodic migraine, and higher presenteeism than absenteeism rates.
Originality/value
This review sheds new light on the indirect burden of migraine. It shows the gaps in the explored research area and the need for more targeted and extended research that could provide a deeper understanding of the workplace's hidden costs of migraine. The issues discussed are important as they can raise awareness of the interested parties, policymakers, employers and vocational rehabilitation specialists on the work disability associated with migraine.
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This chapter studies communication during a longitudinal crisis by exploring the Irish airline Ryanairâs use of Twitter (now X) in early 2022 when the coronavirus disease 2019âŠ
Abstract
This chapter studies communication during a longitudinal crisis by exploring the Irish airline Ryanairâs use of Twitter (now X) in early 2022 when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had already been affecting the airline industry for almost 2 years. It studies the airlineâs approach to interacting with its passengers online and their reaction to its posts, at times, rather provocative posts. A corpus linguistic methodology is used to study tweets posted by and addressed to Ryanair between January and March 2022, a period that saw unprecedented peaks in COVID-19 infection numbers and the simultaneous lifting of travel restrictions. The analysis is based on the Ryanair 2022 Corpus which includes 27,089 tweets and more than half a million words. The findings of this case study show that Ryanair reappropriates instructing and adapting information on crisis-related topics as promotion and takes a political stance in its tweets to encourage consumer engagement. While the corporate tweets are successful in generating reactions online, the airlineâs followers do not always perceive them in a positive manner. This case study makes an important contribution to crisis communication research as it shows how established communicative strategies, such as instructing and adapting information, may be reappropriated during a longitudinal crisis. At the same time, it demonstrates how these communicative strategies may â as a consequence â no longer be aligned with the core values of a legitimate organisation that is expected to act responsibly and ethically.
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Valeriu Frunzaru and Nicoleta Corbu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent secondary school studentsâ interest in intellectual development influences key abilities necessary to cope with theâŠ
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent secondary school studentsâ interest in intellectual development influences key abilities necessary to cope with the future of work. In the ever-changing world of work, deeply influenced by new technologies and cultural diversity in the workforce, young people must develop three essential traits to increase their capacity to quickly adapt to the situation in the labour market: openness to lifelong learning, critical thinking skills related to online information (of which online fact-checking is a key component) and openness to a multicultural society. In this paper, it is argued that these traits are directly related to young peopleâs interest in intellectual development but that additional interdependencies between these three traits complicate this equation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a survey of secondary school students in the 12th grade (N = 1221). A hypothesized conceptual model was tested with AMOS software for structural equation modelling.
Findings
The findings show that students who are more interested in intellectual development are more open to lifelong learning. The relationship between intellectualism and lifelong learning is also mediated by online fact-checking. Moreover, the higher the interest in lifelong learning, the higher the openness to multiculturality. There is, however, no direct relationship between interest in intellectual development and multiculturality.
Practical implications
The results of this study will help making recommendations to three key stakeholders: young people, teachers and policymakers. They could have a practical impact on the labour market in the future.
Originality/value
This paper examines a topic that has not been systematically studied, namely, the possible influence of intellectualism on the future of work. The findings highlight the possible negative effects of a lack of interest in intellectual development on lifelong learning, living and working in a multicultural environment and processing online information.