Marlen Christin Jurisch, Wolfgang Palka, Petra Wolf and Helmut Krcmar
Business process change (BPC) initiatives are complex endeavors, which require many different sets of capabilities from the organization (e.g. IT, change management, project…
Abstract
Purpose
Business process change (BPC) initiatives are complex endeavors, which require many different sets of capabilities from the organization (e.g. IT, change management, project management capabilities). This study aims to examine which capabilities matter for successful BPC.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper posits that a structured analysis of case studies will help in identifying the capabilities relevant for BPC. Against this background, the paper adopted a case survey methodology, which combines the richness of case studies with the benefit of analyzing large quantities of data. The paper identified and analyzed 130 case studies reporting the past BPC project experiences.
Findings
The results show that project management, change management and IT capabilities have a positive impact on BPC project performance. IT capabilities also have a positive impact on the final process performance. Thus, IT capabilities matter for both BPC project and process performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study had a few limitations, such as the use of secondary data. More so, assigning numbers to qualitative data unduly simplifies the complex phenomena under investigation and may leave out some of the richness of case research.
Practical implications
The findings provide considerable support for determining which capabilities practitioners need to leverage and develop when improving their business processes.
Originality/value
The study makes a number of contributions. It fills a gap in the literature concerning which capabilities matter for successful BPC. The paper offers a theoretical explanation of the effects of capabilities on the BPC project and process performance. Another contribution is methodological, in that the paper adopted the case survey method, which is still new to information systems research.
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The purpose of this paper is to convince the readers that more complex images of working women are needed, and that fiction may provide them.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to convince the readers that more complex images of working women are needed, and that fiction may provide them.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, text analysis is done using a version of close reading.
Findings
Both media and research tend to simplify the images of working women, either in positive or negative way. Reality and some of its fictive representations offer more nuanced examples.
Research limitations/implications
Fiction can be treated as field material.
Practical implications
Women should dare more at workplaces.
Social implications
Researchers should join fiction writers in convincing society of the crucial role women play in contemporary organizations.
Originality/value
This paper belongs to the growing tradition of transdisciplinary organization studies.
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What is the historical, normative and institutional setting that helps leading Latin American and Eurasian countries to implement a post-hegemonic agenda and contribute to the…
Abstract
What is the historical, normative and institutional setting that helps leading Latin American and Eurasian countries to implement a post-hegemonic agenda and contribute to the multipolarization of global politics? Post-hegemony describes a situation in which the unipolar organization of the world political economy is challenged by a plurality of alternative projects, without however being entirely replaced by another system. Emblematic of post-hegemonic initiatives is the rise of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa countries who have taken the lead in creating alternative institutions that constrain US global hegemony, while however failing to spearhead a coherent, uniform and confrontational opposition movement. Regarding post-hegemonic regionalism, Latin American regionalism – as represented by Bolivarian Alliance for Our America (ALBA) – is characterized by a social justice-driven agenda that refutes US neoliberal hegemony, whereas the peculiarity of Eurasian regionalism – as represented by Shanghai Cooperation Organization – lies in its security-oriented focus that confronts US interventionism and international terrorism. An underlying commonality of both Latin American and Eurasian experiences is that they constitute a multi-front struggle centered on four main areas: culture, economy, financial cooperation, and regional defense. They both hinge on a strong normative framework and firm commitment in the regionalization of an endogenous culture, educational cooperation, and defense system. They all accord primary importance to social, financial, and infrastructural development. Overall, these experiences suffer from unresolved tensions between national sovereignty and supranationalism alongside the predominance of charismatic leaders inhibiting institutionalization. The limitations and contradictions of post-hegemonic transformations also include Latin America’s inability to resolve the question of extractivism, Eurasia’s neglect of the question of democratic participation, and both regionalism’s failure to offer a coherent alternative model of economic development to US hegemonism.
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This chapter focuses on the conflicts that have accompanied the development of Germany’s largest airport at Frankfurt/Main and examines how these conflicts are embedded in…
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter focuses on the conflicts that have accompanied the development of Germany’s largest airport at Frankfurt/Main and examines how these conflicts are embedded in regional governance and airport planning. In the German context, the governance discourse is understood as a multi-faceted framework of actors, institutions and legislation that structures the actions of involved people.
Method/approach
The conflicts within this framework are structured by two aspects: the spatiality of the contested object, which results in tactical descriptions of the space involved, and an understanding of airports as parts of large technological systems which strongly influences the discourse of airport expansion. As spatial conflicts regarding large infrastructures develop over a long period of time, the chapter charts the historical evolution of the expansion conflict from the 1980s until today. It analyses the governance structure and the actor’s constellations throughout time to shed light on the use of narratives and the stability and change of pro and contra coalitions. It concludes with a critical reflection on the role of airports in the German planning system and the problems of governance in the multilevel, multi-actor environment of airports.
Originality/contribution
The chapter highlights the necessity of examining the environmental impact of airports at different scales, from neighbouring cities to the large labour market stretching up to 100km from the airport.
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The study provides an understanding of strategic planning through an assessment of its definitions, the planning process, and spells-out the outcomes as well as the associated…
Abstract
Purpose
The study provides an understanding of strategic planning through an assessment of its definitions, the planning process, and spells-out the outcomes as well as the associated competitive advantage from practicing strategic planning. Despite the popularity of strategic planning as a management tool, it is argued that its practice is one that is least understood.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of strategic planning was conducted. The definitions identified were drawn from definitions derived from the top 10 publications with the highest citations from each of the two decades between 2001 to 2020 following a systematic Scopus search of publications with “strategic planning” in their title, and other publications identified through a Google Scholar search on “strategic planning”. The most unique or differentiated definitions were identified and assessed. The identified publications were also analyzed using content analysis to gain insight from their research findings as it relates to strategic planning in general, the planning process and respective competitive advantage.
Findings
The review established that there are various definitions of strategic planning, however, they are largely aligned as it relates to the formulation of strategy, the widest difference in the definitions is in the scope of the implementation activities.
Originality/value
The review contributes to the body of knowledge by providing (i) an understanding of strategic planning; (ii) an assessment of the definitions of strategic planning; (iii) a proposed definition of strategic planning; (iv) provision of a theoretical framework to understand the practice of strategic planning; and (v) the positioning of strategic risk management in enabling strategic planning.
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Andrew Inkpen and Kannan Ramaswamy
While much of the debate and discourse on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices have focused on privately owned and operated organizations, enterprises owned by…
Abstract
While much of the debate and discourse on sustainability and environmentally friendly practices have focused on privately owned and operated organizations, enterprises owned by the state have escaped scrutiny. This study focuses specifically on the oil and gas sector to explore the drivers that propel state-owned oil and gas producers, the national oil companies, to embrace sustainability practices. We find that the proportion of independent directors, international exposure, and international involvement influence sustainability practices.
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Petra Kipfelsberger and Heike Bruch
This study investigates the situations in which productive organizational energy (POE) and organizational performance increase through customer passion, that is, perceived…
Abstract
This study investigates the situations in which productive organizational energy (POE) and organizational performance increase through customer passion, that is, perceived customers’ affective commitment and customers’ positive word-of-mouth behavior. We integrate research on POE with research on customer influences on employees. Based on emotional contagion processes we develop hypotheses for the energizing influences of customers at the organizational level. We test the hypotheses using a dataset containing 495 board members and 8,299 employees of 152 organizations. The results show that customer passion is positively related to POE, which is in turn positively related to organizational performance. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the effect of customer passion on organizational performance through POE depends on top management team’s (TMT’s) customer orientation. By providing first insights into the linkages and contingencies of customer passion, POE, and organizational performance, this study puts forth a more holistic understanding of the energizing effect of customers on organizations.
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Petra A. Nylund, Nuria Arimany-Serrat, Xavier Ferras-Hernandez, Eric Viardot, Henry Boateng and Alexander Brem
Successful innovation requires a significant financial commitment. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between internal and external financing and…
Abstract
Purpose
Successful innovation requires a significant financial commitment. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between internal and external financing and the degree of innovation in European firms.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical investigation is carried out using a longitudinal data set including 146 large, quoted, European firms over ten years, resulting in 1,460 firm years.
Findings
The authors find that only firms in the energy sector will be more innovative when they are profitable. For the sectors of basic materials, manufacture and construction, services, financial and property services, and technology and telecommunications, profitability is negatively related to innovation. External financing in the form of debt reduces the focus on innovation in profitable firms.
Research limitations/implications
The authors analyze the findings through the lens of evolutionary economics. The model is not valid for firms in the consumer-goods sector, which indicates a need for adapting the model to each sector. We conclude that the impact of profitability on innovation varies across sectors, with debt financing as a moderating factor.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the internal and external financing and the degree of innovation in European firms on a longitudinal basis.