Petra Eriksson, Vlatko Milić and Tor Brostrom
Energy use in buildings needs to be reduced to meet political goals; however, reducing energy use can conflict with heritage preservation objectives. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Energy use in buildings needs to be reduced to meet political goals; however, reducing energy use can conflict with heritage preservation objectives. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses of the potential of energy savings in an historic building stock. Specifically, this study examines how requirements of historic building preservation affect the energy saving potential on a building stock level.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the World Heritage Town of Visby, Sweden as a case study, this paper illustrates a step-by-step method as a basis for implementing energy savings techniques in an historic building stock. The method contains the following steps: categorisation of a building stock, definition of restriction levels for energy renovation scenarios and life cycle costs optimisation of energy measures in archetype buildings representing the building stock. Finally, this study analyses how different energy renovation strategies will impact heritage values and energy saving potentials for different categories of buildings.
Findings
The outcome of the study is twofold: first, the method has been tested and proven useful and second, the results from the application of the method have been used to formulate differentiated energy renovation strategies for the case study.
Originality/value
The study shows that it is possible to integrate techno-economic analysis with assessment of heritage values in a given building stock in order to facilitate a strategic discussion balancing policies and targets for energy savings with policies for the preservation of heritage values. The findings will contribute to sounder policy development and planning for historic building stocks.
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Petra Nilsson, Ingemar H. Andersson, Göran Ejlertsson and Margareta Troein
In workplace health promotion, enhancing resources are less explored than risk factors. The aim of this paper is to explore the usability of the sense of coherence (SOC) theory to…
Abstract
Purpose
In workplace health promotion, enhancing resources are less explored than risk factors. The aim of this paper is to explore the usability of the sense of coherence (SOC) theory to identify considerable and positively perceived work‐related factors and processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The study had a salutogenic approach to workplace health promotion. A total of 13 focus group interviews were conducted with hospital employees in Sweden. A deductive analysis was made with the SOC theory as a framework.
Findings
Work‐related specific enhancing resources (SER) were identified and analysed into the three components of SOC: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. SER's implication in daily performance is explained by employee expressions. Through increased understanding and awareness, SER could contribute to savoring positive experiences, and enhance SOC among employees. Antonovsky's concept Generalized Resistance Resources is suggested to be enlarged based on the expressed significance of concrete daily positive work occurrences to increase one's SOC.
Research limitations/implications
Not all hospital professions were represented in the study. Further studies are required to involve physicians, paramedics, managers, as well as other settings, to compare and complement with additional experiences of workplace resources.
Practical implications
The study presents an opportunity to explore, understand, and foster workplace resources through assistance from the SOC theory. The SER presented in this study may serve as initial examples in workplace discussions about work‐related resources contributing to a sense of coherence.
Originality/value
This study contributes to public health research and workplace health promotion with a salutogenic focus on how to explore enhancing work‐related resources with the assistance of the practical SOC theory.
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Saad Zighan, Ziad Alkalha, David Bamford, Iain Reid and Zu'bi M.F. Al-Zu'bi
The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural changes needed for project-based organisations (PBOs) to synthesise their project operations and services following the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural changes needed for project-based organisations (PBOs) to synthesise their project operations and services following the servitisation strategy. It addresses the question of how PBOs should change their organisational structure fitting with service provision strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
This study followed an exploratory research method using a single in-depth case with evidence collected from 51 project managers from five different industry sectors: construction, oil and gas, IT, logistics and health care
Findings
Capitalising on organisational design theory, it has been found that successfully extending PBOs' outcomes into a system of both project output and extra services requires an adjustment of organisational structure that creates greater value for both companies and customers. This required adjustment has been divided into five main categories: (1) collaboration cross-project and customers; (2) flexible workflow, (3) decentralised decision-making, (4) wide span of control and (5) project governance. However, the findings indicate that success can only be ensured by particular mutually coordinated organisational designs with a suitable balance of products and services
Practical implications
This study presents vital indicators to PBOs practitioners when deploying servitisation within their operational strategy by adjusting the organisation's design.
Social implications
Servitisation could add both economic and social values for a diverse set of project stakeholders. However, the sustainability performance of servitisation in servitised project-based organisations is an outcome of reducing the discrepancy between project operation and service provision activities.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the body of knowledge and proposes a structural alteration process in PBOs to help align project operations and service provision activities. It explains how project-based organisations reconfigure their resources to provide services.
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Khaled Aladwan, Ramudu Bhanugopan and Brian D'Netto
– This study aims to examine the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices on organisational commitment (OC) in the Middle Eastern context.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices on organisational commitment (OC) in the Middle Eastern context.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 493 front-line employees across a variety of industries in Jordan. A structural equation modelling analysis was performed to delineate the relationship between HRM practices and OC.
Findings
A test of the model was conducted using a path analytic approach hypothesising that HRM factors influence OC. The findings indicate that the causal model is consistent with the data and contributes to a fuller understanding of the association between HRM practices and OC.
Originality/value
This is the first study that represents a little-researched area of recent times and even less so in Middle Eastern countries. The findings of the study offer new perspectives on how HRM practices have direct and indirect effects on employees’ OC and would assist in reshaping the HR policies in organisations located in the Middle Eastern regions.
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Khaled Aladwan, Ramudu Bhanugopan and Alan Fish
This study proposed to investigate the phenomenon of intention to quit among frontline employees. The main objectives of the current study were to examine the level of intention…
Abstract
Purpose
This study proposed to investigate the phenomenon of intention to quit among frontline employees. The main objectives of the current study were to examine the level of intention to leave and what factors influence the employees to consider leaving their organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 493 frontline employees from Jordanian organisations. The study reported in this paper tested the factor structure of intention to quit using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The findings which emerged from this study established a three‐factor solution model which is appropriate to test employees’ intention to quit based on three factors, namely work opportunities, personal needs, and personal responsibilities. The results provided new perspectives and support the overall validity of the nomological network of intention to quit factors, but also suggest that caution should be exercised in different contexts and cultural settings.
Originality/value
The present study emphasises the need to expand the focus on intention to quit research beyond attitudinal and relational factors. Theoretical implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
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Tamer Koburtay, Jawad Syed and Radi Haloub
Informed by the role congruity theory of prejudice towards female leaders, this paper aims to review the literature on gender and leadership to consolidate existing theory…
Abstract
Purpose
Informed by the role congruity theory of prejudice towards female leaders, this paper aims to review the literature on gender and leadership to consolidate existing theory development, stimulate new thinking and provide a framework for future empirical studies. It offers a theoretical framework to understand what may prevent or facilitate the emergence of female leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews and synthesises recent research on the linkages between gender and leadership.
Findings
The review extends Eagly and Karau’s (2002) role congruity theory by identifying additional constructs that may alleviate negative prejudicial evaluations and offering new insights into the potential alignment between feminine traits and leadership success.
Practical implications
The theoretical framework that emerged in this paper may be used as a heuristic model to contextually examine the lack of female leaders.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a theoretical framework to understand issues related to the emergence of female leaders. It offers news insights into possible alignment in female-leader role stereotypes that may address prejudicial evaluations against female leaders.
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Rachel Palmén and Maria Caprile
This chapter discusses the relevance of a community of practice (CoP) for a reflexive gender equality policy and reflects on the different approaches taken within TARGET. It is…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the relevance of a community of practice (CoP) for a reflexive gender equality policy and reflects on the different approaches taken within TARGET. It is based on the literature on CoPs and structural change as well as on experiences in transferring this approach to the context of implementing gender equality plans (GEPs) within different types of research organisations. While the notion of the CoP was coined in the 1990s, literature on gender and such communities remained scarce until a recent wealth of research looked at the role played by inter-institutional CoPs in advancing structural change in research organisations. In this chapter, we examine whether and how an institutional CoP approach has been a useful vehicle for gender equality plan development and how the different configurations of internal and external stakeholders within the CoPs have impacted GEP implementation.
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Tiina-Kaisa Kuuru and Elina Närvänen
This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the embodied nature of service employees’ work in human touch contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts the practice theory as its interpretive approach, using focus group interviews with service employees from different industries.
Findings
The study identifies four practice bundles related to the embodied dimension of service employees’ work: orienting, attuning, connecting and wrapping up. The findings illustrate how employees’ knowledge, skills and capabilities are used via the body.
Practical implications
The study provides guidance for managers to use an embodied perspective in the management of service employees.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the discussion on embodiment in service encounters by highlighting the embodied nature of service employees’ work.
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Khaled Aladwan, Ramudu Bhanugopan and Alan Fish
The purpose of this paper is designed to test a conceptual model founded on the theoretical background generated above, and to evaluate the latent factor structure of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is designed to test a conceptual model founded on the theoretical background generated above, and to evaluate the latent factor structure of organisational commitment among frontline employees in Jordanian organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
Principal component analysis has been used to determine the underlying factor structures for exploratory factor analysis. A test of the model uses a path analytic approach with LISREL 8.80 for confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The results indicated that the data relationships are consistent with the causal model of organisational commitment and contribute to understanding the attitude of the employees. Also, the current results emphasize the need for a practical approach in examining organisational commitment level as employers can control the individuals' perceptions in accordance with the business settings.
Practical implications
This paper contributes to theory with respect to organisational commitment and employee attitudes. The findings encourage Jordanian organisations to focus more on employee perceptions and commitment, by providing a better understanding of the motivational factors at work.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the knowledge in several grounds. First, it validates the structure of organisational commitment in a non-Western context. Second, it contributes to the knowledge of the topic of commitment in Jordan.
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Ramudu Bhanugopan, Khaled Aladwan and Alan Fish
The purpose of this study was to examine a factor structure of human resource management (HRM) practice scales through testing a causal model of HRM practices and to have one…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine a factor structure of human resource management (HRM) practice scales through testing a causal model of HRM practices and to have one combined composite multi-dimensional HRM scale, to identify possible future directions for HRM strategy development and professional practice in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 493 front-line employees from Jordanian organisations. The measurement model was tested on the complete dataset using exploratory factor analysis employing SPSS 17.0. Maximum likelihood method was used to determine the underlying factor structures. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed using LISREL 8.80 to further investigate the latent structure of the factors.
Findings
This study finally evidenced a good fit of data for a hypothesis four-factor model. The final model supported a conceptual framework that is inclusive of four domains, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewards and benefits, and lends support to the construct validity of the consolidated HRM practices scale.
Research limitations/implications
First, the limited amount of research available on HR practices has limited the opportunity to gather content-rich information from the previous studies. Second, this study used three different scales to measure the four HRM practices as there was no one composite scale. Third, the validation of the HRM practices scale was based entirely on front-line employees working in Jordanian organisations. As a result, the psychometric properties of the HRM practices scale may not be generalisable to varied professions.
Practical implications
The findings of the study highlight the importance of the composite views of the HRM practices scale as a multi-dimensional construct. The study illustrates the parameter estimates representing relationships between the constructs under investigation.
Originality/value
The present study emphasises the need to expand the focus on HRM practices and contributes to the knowledge in several grounds. First, it validates the structure of HRM practices scales in Jordan. Second, this study enriched the understanding of HRM practices, drawing a sample of participants from different sectors (insurance, finance, services, accounting and industry), and suggests that these variables are as equally prominent as others in explaining employees' attitudes toward HRM practices.