Savitha Chilakamarri and Prashanth Kumar Sreram
The learning outcomes of this case study are to develop an understanding of informal business practices (IBP) from an economic and a behavioural perspective, identify the pros and…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this case study are to develop an understanding of informal business practices (IBP) from an economic and a behavioural perspective, identify the pros and cons of IBP and how they can hinder the realization of entrepreneurial aspirations, use the effectuation perspective to understand the entrepreneurial journey of the protagonist and apply the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and effectuation theory to understand the need for transition from informal to formal business practices.
Case overview/synopsis
KSN Iyengar Catering Services (KSNICS) had gained popularity for cooking and serving traditional “Iyengar” cuisine during festivals, ceremonies and other auspicious occasions. With the passage of time, KSNICS slowly diversified into offering food carrier services, corporate catering and preparation of sweets/savouries during the Diwali festival. The enterprise managed to sustain itself without additional investments from external sources. KSNICS was managed in an informal manner by the protagonist, Krishna Kumar. After almost 30 years of KSNICS’s existence, in 2021, Kumar felt that they should diversify into the restaurant business by establishing an authentic “Iyengar” restaurant. In spite of the unpredictable market and the challenging times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he had somehow managed to sustain his catering business. However, given the informal methods through which he operated his catering services and in the post-COVID-19 pandemic scenario, would it be prudent on his part to establish a restaurant?
Complexity academic level
This case study is suitable for post-graduate- and executive-level instruction in courses such as managerial skills, entrepreneurship and human resource management. In managerial skills course, it can be used for applying SWOT analysis from a particular perspective for effective decision-making. In entrepreneurship-related courses, it can be used to introduce aspects such as entrepreneurship orientation, effectuation and decision-making. In organizational behaviour and HR-related courses, it can be used to highlight how employees can be trained and motivated and how businesses can be sustained within the scale, especially during challenging times. Irrespective of the course, the IBP discussion would remain a constant point of reference because that was the context under which the current business was operating.
Supplementary material
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.
Details
Keywords
Seon‐Kyoung An, Karla K. Gower and Seung Ho Cho
This paper aims to identify how the news media cover organizational crisis responsibility and crisis response strategies and, if at all, how they differ by crisis types.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify how the news media cover organizational crisis responsibility and crisis response strategies and, if at all, how they differ by crisis types.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach takes the form of a content analysis of level of responsibility (individual versus organizational level) and organizational response strategies in news coverage of major crisis events during 2006 in three newspapers.
Findings
Significant differences were found between preventable crises and accidental crises: most preventable crises news coverage focused more on the individual level of responsibility, while accidental crises news used the organizational level of responsibility. The significant differences of organizational response strategies indicated that preventable crises news coverage frequently reported denial strategies, while accidental crisis news covered deal with strategies more.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the samples of the three newspapers and the period 2006.
Practical implications
This study suggests that crisis managers should always check the crisis news coverage, and media bias and orientation, and try to have good relations with the media to deliver the right message to the public during a crisis.
Originality/value
Despite the importance of the media's role in the public's perception of crisis responsibility, there is a lack of systematic analysis of level of crisis responsibility.
Details
Keywords
Divya Mishra and Nidhi Maheshwari
With the advent of Internet technologies, shorter product life cycles and increasing competition, organisations have started looking for innovation sources outside the…
Abstract
Purpose
With the advent of Internet technologies, shorter product life cycles and increasing competition, organisations have started looking for innovation sources outside the organisational boundaries. The external community of crowds can be used as a valuable source of co-creation in a company's innovation process to generate value. Despite its growing popularity, organisations often face difficulty capturing value from crowdsourcing due to the lack of proper mechanisms behind crowdsourcing-based value co-creation between a crowd and an organisation and their impact on organisational learning and innovation performance. The present study seeks to understand the crowdsourcing-based co-creation mechanism that influences knowledge transfer effectiveness and the organisation's absorptive capacity, resulting in improved innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was empirically tested using online survey data received from 300 managers of IT firms. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the model.
Findings
The empirical results reveal that crowdsourcing-based value co-creation causes structural, cognitive and relational linkages between a crowd and a firm, among which crowdsourcing-based cognitive linkage contributes more to organisational value capture. Further, an organisation's effective knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity play an important role in influencing the crowdsourcing-based-co-creation organisational learning-innovation performance framework.
Originality/value
This is the first and foremost study that has developed an integrated model using social capital dimensions to understand the entire mechanism behind crowdsourcing-based value co-creation between a crowd and an organisation and their impact on organisational learning and innovation performance. The study provides organisations with theoretical and practical implications of using crowdsourcing as a value co-creation tool and its effects on enhancing organisational learning and value capture.
Details
Keywords
Purpose – This capstone chapter introduces Amartya Sen's important and innovative theory of justice to researchers on fairness in groups and organizations. Here, I discuss how Sen'…
Abstract
Purpose – This capstone chapter introduces Amartya Sen's important and innovative theory of justice to researchers on fairness in groups and organizations. Here, I discuss how Sen's theory can provide grounding for both philosophical and social scientific work on justice and how social science research can inform and be informed by Sen's theory.
Design/methodology/approach – In this chapter, I discuss Sen's new book, A Theory of Justice, and explain the main aspects of Sen's theory of justice. I then draw conceptual linkages between Sen's theory and those introduced in each of the other chapters included in this volume.
Findings – I show that Sen's view of justice goes beyond social contract theories that attempt to identify ideal institutional arrangements to seek practical solutions that increase justice as experienced by actual people in the world. Rather than parallel endeavors, Sen's approach reveals philosophy and social science to be deeply connected to each other and to justice by providing a unifying theme by which various social scientific traditions are shown to study aspects of the same underlying phenomena. Further, I demonstrate how philosophy and social science together can increase justice in the world.
Originality/value – Sen's theory of justice, though influential in economic and policy circles, is largely unfamiliar to social psychologists and organizational scholars. I introduce these fields to Sen's theory of justice and show how it is useful for social psychological approaches to the study of fairness in groups and organizations.
Kou Murayama, Keise Izuma, Ryuta Aoki and Kenji Matsumoto
Studies in psychology have long revealed that making personal choice involves multiple motivational consequences. It has only been recent, however, that the literature on…
Abstract
Studies in psychology have long revealed that making personal choice involves multiple motivational consequences. It has only been recent, however, that the literature on neuroscience started to examine the neural underpinnings of personal choice and motivation. This chapter reviews this sparse, but emergent, body of neuroscientific literature to address possible neural correlates underlying personal choice. By conducting the review, we encourage future systematic research programs that address this topic under the new realm of “autonomy neuroscience.” The chapter especially focused on the following motivational aspects: (i) personal choice is rewarding, (ii) personal choice shapes preference, (iii) personal choice changes the perception of outcomes, and (iv) personal choice facilitates motivation and performance. The reviewed work highlighted different aspects of personal choice, but indicated some overlapping brain areas – the striatum and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) – which may play a critical role in motivational processes elicited by personal choice.
Details
Keywords
Auqib Rasool Dar and Maleeha Gul
This study, a systematic literature review, aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on choice overload from 2000 to 2023.
Abstract
Purpose
This study, a systematic literature review, aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on choice overload from 2000 to 2023.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews 53 research articles published in peer-reviewed journals, using thematic and descriptive analyses. The literature was selected using the PRISMA framework.
Findings
Recent research in consumer behaviour has found that too many choices can be detrimental to decision-making. This paper reviews the development of choice overload literature, methodologies used by researchers to study choice overload, small and large choice sets, antecedents, moderators and outcomes of choice overload and the contexts in which choice overload exists.
Research limitations/implications
Limited literature coverage because of the strict adherence to inclusion/exclusion criteria. The theory challenges the conventional choice models in psychology and economics according to which expanding a choice set cannot make decision-making worse and violates the regularity axiom, a cornerstone of classical choice theory. This review also identifies avenues for further research in the field.
Practical implications
A significant decrease in satisfaction or motivation because of too many choices would require marketers and public policymakers to rethink their practice of providing ever-increasing assortments to choose from because they could possibly boost their success by offering less.
Originality/value
This systematic review makes distinctive contributions by classifying the existing studies based on evidence “for” and “against” the existence of choice overload. The review also combines cross-context insights on assortment sizes, moderators and methodological commonalities and gaps to understand the multi-faceted nature and contextual nuances of choice overload.
Details
Keywords
Sonia Pedro Sebastiao and Andreia Melchiades Soares
This study examines how Secil, a multinational cement company headquartered in Portugal, communicates and institutionalises its corporate social innovation (CSI) initiatives…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how Secil, a multinational cement company headquartered in Portugal, communicates and institutionalises its corporate social innovation (CSI) initiatives through various communication channels, focusing on its sustainability priorities established in 2022.
Design/methodology/approach
A deductive and mixed-method, predominantly qualitative approach is used to understand how Secil utilises various communication tools to highlight its sustainability priorities and integrate CSI within its messages, using the dimensions of The Rutgers Institute Corporate Social Innovation Model (RICSI) presented by Wirtenberg (2021). Thematic and frame analysis are employed to interpret Secil’s articulation of its sustainability and innovation priorities. The generic frame of responsibility serves as a lens through which we can comprehend the institutionalisation of CSI within Secil’s narratives. Through a meticulous examination of journalistic and advertising materials depicting sustainable practices, the study elucidates their correspondence with the foundational pillars of RICSI.
Findings
The analysis reveals that Secil’s CSI initiatives are primarily driven by coercive isomorphic pressures from sector-specific regulations and international bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations. The company develops innovative solutions through strategic partnerships with governmental bodies, local municipalities and cultural associations, aligning these with sustainable development goals. Whilst this approach potentially offers competitive advantages, the institutionalisation of CSI appears to be predominantly shaped by external regulatory requirements rather than voluntary organisational change.
Research limitations/implications
Whilst the study’s reliance on sustainability reports, communication tools and CEO media interviews provides valuable insights, these sources may present an inherently optimistic view of organisational sustainability practices. This limitation suggests several promising avenues for future research. Subsequent studies would benefit from incorporating internal stakeholder interviews to understand communication strategy development, conducting comparative analyses across different market contexts and examining the longitudinal evolution of CSI communication.
Originality/value
This paper enhances the understanding of potential sustainability narratives used by multinational companies involved in traditionally polluting activities. It provides insights into how these companies integrate sustainability, innovation and communication in both theoretical and practical contexts. By applying the RICSI to strategic communication research, this case study highlights the crucial role of alignment, clarity of intent, stakeholder engagement and organisational culture in implementing CSI. This underscores the importance of strategic communication in this area.
Details
Keywords
U.G. Eziefula, D.O. Onwuka and O.M. Ibearugbulem
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inelastic buckling of a rectangular thin flat isotropic plate subjected to uniform uniaxial in-plane compression using a work…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inelastic buckling of a rectangular thin flat isotropic plate subjected to uniform uniaxial in-plane compression using a work principle, a deformation plasticity theory and Taylor–Maclaurin series formulation.
Design/methodology/approach
The non-loaded longitudinal edges of the rectangular plate are clamped, whereas the loaded edges are simply supported (CSCS). Total work error function is applied to Stowell’s plasticity theory in the derivation of the inelastic buckling equation. Mathematical formulation of the Taylor–Maclaurin series deflection function satisfied the boundary conditions of the CSCS rectangular plate. The critical inelastic load of the plate is then derived by applying variational principles.
Findings
Values of the plate buckling coefficient are calculated using various values of moduli ratio for aspect ratios ranging from 0.1 to 1.0, in intervals of 0.1. The accuracy of the proposed technique is validated by comparing the results obtained in the present study with solutions from a previous investigation. The percentage differences in the values of the buckling coefficient ranged from −0.122 to −4.685 per cent.
Originality/value
The results indicate that the work principle approach can be used as an alternative approximate method for analyzing inelastic buckling of rectangular thin flat isotropic plates under uniform in-plane compressive loads.