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Article
Publication date: 17 October 2008

Martha Mador, Kent Springdal and Sarah Dixon

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usefulness and relevance of a four stage model of privatisation, based in institutional theory, to quasi‐privatised organisations.

1188

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usefulness and relevance of a four stage model of privatisation, based in institutional theory, to quasi‐privatised organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper studies a UK organisation with changing ownership, governance, and boundaries. Historic Royal Palaces is intrinsically interesting, and resembles many quasi‐privatised organisations placed within charitable frameworks. Application of the process model reveals the governance challenges HRP faces.

Findings

The study suggests that the model is holistic and dynamic, and useful as an analytic template. It is inclusive of competitor, behavioural, and resource‐based views of the firm, and recognises that firms and their governance change over time.

Research limitations/implications

The report adds validity to the model developed by case studies from a different national context. The small number of cases is a limitation. Future research could include other types of quasi‐privatised organisation, and organisations in different national settings.

Practical implications

The model provides a helpful template for interpreting and explaining the changes enacted by organisations and their members through privatisation. Further, although largely descriptive, the model also has some predictive power. It can help policy makers and managers predict some of the key limitations of the privatisation process of a particular organisation based on the specific nature of its context and settings.

Originality/value

The detailed discussion of a quasi‐privatised organisation – an increasingly common, but little researched organisational type is significant. The development of a holistic approach for understanding organisational changes is also significant.

Details

Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, vol. 8 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-0701

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 May 2007

Sarah E.A. Dixon and Anne Clifford

The purpose of this paper is to extend research into social and ecological entrepreneurship. It aims to examine how ecopreneurs can create an economically viable business whilst…

13661

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend research into social and ecological entrepreneurship. It aims to examine how ecopreneurs can create an economically viable business whilst retaining their core environmental and social values.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory approach within the phenomenological research paradigm. Single case study of Green‐Works triangulating data collection – semi structured interviews, micro‐ethnography and document analysis. Inductive approach.

Findings

A strong link is identified between entrepreneurialism and environmentalism. The entrepreneurial flair of the CEO enables the pursuit of environmental, social and economic goals. The success of the Green‐Works business model stems from the business's symbiotic relationships: firstly with large corporate bodies, which are keen to quantify their CSR efforts; secondly, with the community and social partners, who provide employment and training for disadvantaged people and a route to relatively risk free growth; and thirdly, with government and social institutions, which provide special concessions and support. The strong economic foundations of the model provide sustainability for the environmental and social objectives of the organisation.

Research limitations/implications

Research restricted to one UK case study – a model that has evolved in part through policies and business trends specific to the UK. Further research should compare this business model with other social enterprises within the UK and other countries.

Practical implications

Provides a practical framework for social and green entrepreneurship. Of interest to ecopreneurs and social enterprises seeking economic sustainability; to governments, wishing to promote CSR, environmentalism and social enterprise; and to corporate organisations wishing to demonstrate a quantitative contribution to the environment and society.

Originality/value

Demonstration of natural fit between environmentalism and entrepreneurialism. Presentation of business model offering economic sustainability for environmental and social enterprises.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2007

Sarah E.A. Dixon and Marc Day

The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors for the management of change in transition economies.

2724

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors for the management of change in transition economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Four longitudinal case studies of Russian oil companies covering a ten‐year period from 1995, based on 71 in‐depth interviews. Examines organisational change from a resource‐based and organisational learning perspective.

Findings

Explains how top managers firstly, break with administrative heritage to increase absorptive capacity and secondly, leverage administrative heritage for rapid implementation of change. Intra‐ and cross‐case analyses demonstrate that absorptive capacity increases and organisational change occurs where the top management team has radically different skills and mindsets from the dominant logic of the post‐Soviet organisation, an entrepreneurial orientation and the capability to drive through change due to a top‐down management style.

Research limitations/implications

The research is restricted to four case studies. However, the critical success factors identified could apply to any large, conservative and bureaucratic organisation undergoing change. This represents an interesting avenue for research on organisational turnaround in the West.

Practical implications

An understanding of the critical success factors for dealing with administrative heritage will assist managers in transition economies and in turnaround situations in the West.

Originality/value

The speed of change in the Russian oil industry provided a unique setting for research into organisational change in transition economies. On the basis of cross‐case analyses, a new theoretical framework was developed to explain the change process.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 28 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Sustainable Real Estate in the Developing World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-838-8

Content available
Article
Publication date: 29 May 2007

Slawomir Magala

409

Abstract

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 20 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 November 2006

Richard A. Posthuma

528

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Content available
Article
Publication date: 4 December 2018

Mia Andelin

314

Abstract

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Content available
Article
Publication date: 7 June 2019

Mia Andelin

170

Abstract

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Abstract

Details

Business and Management Doctorates World-Wide: Developing the Next Generation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-500-0

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2011

Joanne Labrecque and Sylvain Charlebois

Functional foods, also known controversially as “phoods,” are perceived by many as the food industry's response to consumers' increasing desire to make healthier eating choices…

3086

Abstract

Purpose

Functional foods, also known controversially as “phoods,” are perceived by many as the food industry's response to consumers' increasing desire to make healthier eating choices. The objective of the present study is to determine the influence of the production technology used to make functional foods on the perceived health value of functional foods.

Design/methodology/approach

To meet the objectives of the study, the paper employs an exploratory study with six conditions. The two factors addressed were the added nutrient (lycopene and beta‐carotene) and the degree of production technology (low, medium, and high). Lycopene and beta‐carotene were both added to two functional foods with different health features, which in this study were orange juice and apple pie. The use of this latter factor supposed that the level “low” implied a product which was improved by adding a food that naturally contained a nutrient, the level “medium” implied that the nutrient was added in the laboratory, and the level “high” refers to an ingredient whose genetic code had been modified in order to introduce the gene producing the nutrient. In order to reduce the effect of the order of presentation of the technology levels, the sequence of levels was randomized.

Findings

The results show that perceived health benefits and intention to purchase are not so much influenced by what we pose as graduated stages of production technologies as by a perceived dichotomy between natural and artificial foods. The results also show the extensive mediating effect of perceived risks and benefits on the relationship between experimental conditions, perceived health benefits, and intent to purchase. The results also reveal that pre‐purchase intentions of functional foods are more noteworthy for orange juice, which has a usefulness valence, than for apple pie, which has a less healthy epicurean valence.

Originality/value

This study has various strengths, including a novel intervention that addressed a timely topic for which few data are currently available. The sale of functional foods is a complex practice. This exploratory study took a few steps toward understanding how health benefits of functional foods are perceived and how these perceptions can be better understood by food manufacturers and consumers in today's society.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

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