Cinzia Battistella, Thomas Bortolotti, Stefania Boscari, Fabio Nonino and Giulia Palombi
Diverse cultures may make people behave differently and this, in turn, can impact project management. While the relationship between culture and project success has been widely…
Abstract
Purpose
Diverse cultures may make people behave differently and this, in turn, can impact project management. While the relationship between culture and project success has been widely explored, there is a need of addressing the gap in the relationship between culture and project management performance outcomes, that is, the performance in implementing project management processes and practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this gap by studying the role of cultural dimensions on project management performance.
Design/methodology/approach
An explorative survey including 200 observations relating to the experiences of project managers with a big experience on projects involving many different national cultures has been conducted to collect primary data on the relationship between the nationality observed and the project management performance outcomes shown. Nationality has been used as a proxy to link individual cultural dimensions and project management performance.
Findings
The results of this paper show that individualism impacts project dynamics and project control positively. Moreover, masculinity impacts project dynamics positively, and uncertainty avoidance impacts project control negatively. When recognized, different cultural dimensions can drive project management performance outcomes. The increasing awareness on this topic can be a valid instrument to control the cultural effect and take advantage of it to enhance project success.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the theory of project management by recognizing linkages between cultural dimensions and project management performance. Moreover, this study overcomes the concept of nationality, focusing on individuals and their unique set of cultural dimensions.
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Pamela Danese, Pietro Romano and Stefania Boscari
The purpose of this paper is to deal with the transfer of lean practices between different units in multi-plant organizations with different levels of adoption of lean practices…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to deal with the transfer of lean practices between different units in multi-plant organizations with different levels of adoption of lean practices. It investigates how certain influential contextual variables – i.e. lean standards development, lean transfer team composition, source characteristics, recipient national environment and corporate lean programme deployment – can influence stickiness in the different phases of lean transfer process.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper opted for the multiple-case study method and examines six lean transfer projects at a dyadic level, that is, between a source and a recipient unit. The authors focussed on companies with headquarters in Europe with an attested experience in lean and which had recently and successfully transferred lean to subsidiaries in the USA and China.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights about how stickiness in lean transfer projects changes during the initiation, implementation/ramp-up and integration phases. It identifies three lean transfer approaches (local, global, global and shared) and provides a set of propositions that explains how sociocultural traits of recipient environment (China vs USA) and lean transfer approach affect stickiness in each phase.
Originality/value
Literature on stickiness in lean transfer is at an early stage and very fragmented. Unlike previous contributions in the field, this paper provides an interpretation of the dynamics of stickiness in lean transfer at a micro-level (i.e. for each single phase of the lean transfer process). In addition, it develops a fuller understanding of the influence of context on lean transfer by adopting a configurational view, i.e. studying the joint effect of contextual variables on stickiness, which is a novelty in the lean transfer literature.
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Thomas Bortolotti, Stefania Boscari, Pamela Danese and Barbara Bechler Flynn
This paper investigates how a firm’s organizational culture profile (configuration of organizational culture types) influences the effectiveness of operations management (OM…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates how a firm’s organizational culture profile (configuration of organizational culture types) influences the effectiveness of operations management (OM) practices in improving their targeted outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
We developed alternative hypotheses based on contingency and paradox perspectives to predict the effectiveness of OM practices in dominant (one prevalent organizational culture type) vs eclectic (opposing organizational culture types at a similar level) organizational culture profiles. They were tested using data from over 7,000 respondents across 330 manufacturing plants in 15 countries.
Findings
Consistent with contingency theory, OM practices oriented toward innovation are more efficacious in plants with an adhocracy-dominant organizational culture profile and practices targeting supply chain (SC) control are less effective in a clan-dominant organizational culture profile. Consistent with paradox theory, OM practices oriented toward efficiency or SC control are more effective in plants with an eclectic organizational culture profile.
Practical implications
This study offers relevant practical implications regarding the effectiveness of various OM practices, whether they are used in an aligned dominant organizational culture profile or in an eclectic organizational culture profile.
Originality/value
Previous research on organizational culture provides a limited understanding of the effectiveness of OM practices in the presence of strategic tensions, such as opposing organizational cultures or opposing targeted outcomes. This research concludes that the validity of the contingency or paradox perspective depends on strategic tensions faced, with important implications for research and practice.
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Zahra Ahmadi-Gh, Alejandro Bello-Pintado, Thomas Bortolotti and Stefania Boscari
This study aims to explore how sustainability drivers interact with national culture to explain the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental sustainability practices.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how sustainability drivers interact with national culture to explain the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental sustainability practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Institutional Theory, this study proposes three sets of hypotheses focused on the role of key cultural dimensions: uncertainty avoidance, power distance and institutional collectivism. It uses a sample of 284 manufacturing plants across three industries and 14 countries to test these hypotheses, using regression analysis.
Findings
Findings suggest that national culture matters in the adoption of buyer–supplier environmental practices; however, its effect is contingent upon the particular combination of cultural dimensions and drivers analyzed.
Originality/value
This study enhances the understanding of the drivers behind buyer–supplier environmental practices by offering a novel examination of their interaction with national culture. This helps explain the heterogeneity in environmental sustainability adoption across countries.
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Thomas Bortolotti, Stefania Boscari, Pamela Danese, Hebert Alonso Medina Suni, Nicholas Rich and Pietro Romano
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential determinants of healthcare employees’ problem-solving capabilities and attitudes towards kaizen initiatives, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential determinants of healthcare employees’ problem-solving capabilities and attitudes towards kaizen initiatives, and clarify how these determinants are related to social outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the input-process-outcome framework, applied to kaizen initiatives, the determinants of the input and process factors are embodied in hypotheses concerning the direct effects of input and process factors on social outcomes and the indirect effects of input factors on social outcomes resulting from process factors. The hypotheses are tested through multiple regressions using data from 105 kaizen initiatives drawn from two hospitals.
Findings
Of the 14 determinants investigated, goal clarity, team autonomy, management support, goal difficulty and affective commitment to change (ACC) are the most influential determinants of kaizen capabilities and/or employees’ attitude. Goal clarity, goal difficulty, team autonomy and management support are also found to influence social outcomes directly and/or indirectly through ACC, internal processes and/or an action orientation.
Practical implications
The results support healthcare practitioners to understand how to establish “focused kaizen” actions to leverage specific determinants that positively influence social outcomes.
Originality/value
This study provides an original contribution to the literature concerning effective kaizen initiatives in healthcare operations by empirically testing a comprehensive model of the relationship between kaizen initiative determinants and social outcomes. Unlike previous studies, which are mostly anecdotal or focused on one or few determinants, this research adopts a holistic view, and investigates a pluralist set of determinants on social outcomes through a systematic and quantitative approach.
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Stefania Boscari, Dirk Pieter van Donk, Madeleine Pullman and Chengyong Xiao
Extant research shows collaboration among supply chain (SC) partners can address the significant environmental impacts of industrial food systems, but can be risky and…
Abstract
Purpose
Extant research shows collaboration among supply chain (SC) partners can address the significant environmental impacts of industrial food systems, but can be risky and resource-intensive. Past studies have predominantly treated buyer–supplier sustainability collaborations as a single aggregate concept missing the theoretical richness. This study aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of these collaborations for jointly improving sustainable food supply networks.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study was conducted covering 8 SCs in the Dutch food processing industry, using data from 27 interviewees and extensive secondary material.
Findings
By applying the dynamic relational view, this study identifies three types of buyer–supplier collaboration, reflecting three paths of sustainable value creation: (1) the bilateral path, featuring equal participation and extensive collaboration, yielding substantial environmental and economic benefits; (2) the buyer-driven path, where the buyer leads the collaboration to address sustainability issues that are raised by stakeholders, relying on supplier expertise to improve SC traceability and sustainability reputation, albeit at higher costs; (3) the supplier-driven path, where the supplier leads the collaboration for incremental environmental and economic improvements.
Practical implications
The taxonomy results provide practical guidelines to assist managers in selecting the most suitable collaboration type for their specific sustainability goals and more effectively address sustainability challenges.
Originality/value
The three identified types of collaboration form a novel taxonomy for improving sustainability in food supply networks, representing different paths for SC partners to achieve progressively more substantial sustainability improvements. This taxonomy challenges the perspective that adopting sustainability invariably leads to increased costs by providing evidence of simultaneous economic and environmental improvements.
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Krishnendu Saha, Bhavesh Patel and Stefania Paladini
This study investigates the role of leadership and cultural transformation in facilitating Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practices in clinical pharmacy settings to reduce medicine waste…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the role of leadership and cultural transformation in facilitating Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practices in clinical pharmacy settings to reduce medicine waste within the UK National Health Services (NHS).
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review on Lean Six Sigma in health care was conducted to develop an analytical framework. This was followed by a qualitative case study of an English NHS trust to test the framework, exploring pharmacists' adoption of LSS practices and their impact on staff behaviour, focussing on leadership decisions and organisational culture.
Findings
The research highlights the significance of leadership’s prioritisation in waste reduction efforts and its influence on staff engagement. It also examines the intricate relationship between leadership decisions, education and training, resource allocation, and the prevailing clinical culture, which shapes pharmacists' behaviours and attitudes towards LSS practices and waste reduction.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s focus on a single NHS trust limits the generalisability of the findings, suggesting the need for further research across different healthcare settings.
Practical implications
The study recommends a cultural transformation, earlier training, and reformation in service strategy to enhance the adoption of LSS practices and contribute to a more sustainable future for the wider health services.
Social implications
Effective medicine waste management prevents harm and helps address the current NHS medicine shortage. The NHS can allocate resources efficiently, ensure timely treatment, and prepare for future disruptions by implementing the proposed framework.
Originality/value
We developed a leadership model for the NHS to reduce medicine waste, offering a novel approach to addressing the challenge of medicine waste through leadership and cultural transformation.