Helen Phillips, Tim Bryson, Sue Anderson and Neil Winstone
Inspired by Athena Frangouli's description of the mobile teams and co‐operatives in rural Greece, four colleagues from the voluntary sector and the health service in rural…
Abstract
Inspired by Athena Frangouli's description of the mobile teams and co‐operatives in rural Greece, four colleagues from the voluntary sector and the health service in rural Cambridgeshire scraped together the wherewithal to go and see for themselves the lessons that can be learned from the Greek experience. This is what they found…
Draws on interviews with 76 English professors in 4 US universities to document emerging definitions of multiculturalism and connect them to organizational conditions in each…
Abstract
Draws on interviews with 76 English professors in 4 US universities to document emerging definitions of multiculturalism and connect them to organizational conditions in each department. Suggests that findings showed that the professors assigned meaning to the ambiguous and contested word, multiculturalism, according to the principles of organizational convenience rather than poligical conviction. Emphasizes the power of institutional routines for withstanding ideological challenges and illuminates the mechanisms through which resistance operates.
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Manon Danielle Baartmans, Tim Busscher, Stefan Verweij and Jos Arts
Wide participation in the strategic processes of public organizations can enhance inclusion and transparency, thereby contributing to improved performance of public organizations…
Abstract
Purpose
Wide participation in the strategic processes of public organizations can enhance inclusion and transparency, thereby contributing to improved performance of public organizations. However, engaging with external participants is easier said than done. This study aims to identify how public organizations can open up their strategic processes to external participants.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on qualitative data from 12 early-phase strategy projects in the 2023 Dutch Multi-Year Program for Infrastructure, Spatial Planning and Transport (MIRT). Interviews and document data were collected and analyzed using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).
Findings
This study identifies that the government steering the process itself, by aiming for idea generation, opens up strategic processes. This is necessary for contributing to improved public service performance.
Practical implications
This study provides strategy actors (e.g. managers, planners and consultants) with actionable knowledge about what open strategizing with external participants requires to create openness.
Originality/value
This study addresses the ongoing and increased interest in the openness of strategy processes in general and in infrastructure planning in particular. It contributes to the discussion on whether and how participation leads to improved performance of public organizations. Additionally, this study illustrates the application of QCA to the study of open strategy processes.
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Maral Mahdad, Marcel Bogers, Andrea Piccaluga and Alberto Di Minin
University–industry collaborations are an important driver of innovation that highlights the benefits of collaborative processes across organizational boundaries. However, like in…
Abstract
University–industry collaborations are an important driver of innovation that highlights the benefits of collaborative processes across organizational boundaries. However, like in most collaborative processes, many challenges remain when trying to manage the process of knowledge sharing and interaction in university–industry partnerships. In this chapter, the authors specifically investigate how leadership as a managerial dimension facilitates collaboration within university–industry joint laboratories. The authors present an explorative and inductive case study of eight joint laboratories set up by Telecom Italia within five major Italian universities. The results show that the laboratory directors play a crucial role in providing a dynamic and socially active working environment, which is enabled through a process of sensemaking and sensegiving. The authors, moreover, find that this process plays a crucial role by shaping effective communication channels that facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer of information. The authors find that this process ultimately acts as a mediator between charismatic leadership on the individual level and distributed leadership on the collective level.
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Cristian Gherhes, Nick Williams, Tim Vorley and Ana Cristina Vasconcelos
Micro-businesses account for a large majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, they remain comparatively under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to take…
Abstract
Purpose
Micro-businesses account for a large majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, they remain comparatively under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the extant literature on growth challenges and to distinguish growth constraints facing micro-businesses as a specific subset of SMEs from those facing larger SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consists of a systematic review of 59 peer-reviewed articles on SME growth.
Findings
Micro-businesses distinguish themselves from larger SMEs by being owner-manager entrepreneur (OME) centric and are constrained by a tendency to be growth-averse, underdeveloped capabilities in key business areas, underdeveloped OME capabilities, and often inadequate business support provision.
Research limitations/implications
The use of keywords, search strings, and specific databases may have limited the number of papers identified as relevant by the review. However, the findings are valuable for understanding micro-businesses as a subset of SMEs, providing directions for future research and generating implications for policy to support the scaling up of micro-businesses.
Originality/value
The review provides a renewed foundation for academic analysis of micro-business growth, highlighting how micro-businesses are distinct from larger SMEs. At present, no literature review on this topic has previously been published and the study develops a number of theoretical and policy implications.
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Namita Ruparel, Rajneesh Choubisa and Himanshu Seth
Millennial managers are required to adopt to contemporary management practices and continually evolve to manage the workforce. To help them evolve and create positive workplaces…
Abstract
Purpose
Millennial managers are required to adopt to contemporary management practices and continually evolve to manage the workforce. To help them evolve and create positive workplaces, this study aims to extrapolate the associations between job crafting, mental toughness and authentic happiness (AH) among millennials and derive implications.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from 496 millennial employees at Time-1 (March 2018), Time-2 (November 2018) and Time-3 (August 2019) from multiple sectors. A combined structural equation modelling and artificial neural networks approach was implied to test the strength of the proposed associations.
Findings
With reference to the relationships thus obtained between job crafting, mental toughness and AH, the results specifically conclude that challenging job demand is significant predictor of AH. Mental toughness partially mediates the relationship between challenging job demands and AH, indicating that mental toughness is an essential component for employee happiness.
Practical implications
Millennial managers and policymakers must challenge the skills of employees for obtaining optimal performance. When employees perceive adequate workload and have a set deadline for the completion of tasks assigned to them, they carry out the tasks with greater efficacy, in turn, leading them to find greater meaning (focusing on essential tasks), purpose and engagement in life (enthusiastic, interested, engaged). Overall, when millennial managers focus on such associations, they can help enhance productivity and constitute happier workplaces.
Originality/value
This study explores constructs such as mental toughness to support the job crafting and happiness relationship. A hybrid statistical analysis strengthens the accuracy of the proposed model and enhances its empirical and implied value.
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Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and…
Abstract
Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.
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Matthew Allen and Heinz‐Josef Tüselmann
The purpose of this paper is to set out and justify a broader, systemic typology that encompasses, and is built around, the notion of voice. This leads to the development of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to set out and justify a broader, systemic typology that encompasses, and is built around, the notion of voice. This leads to the development of a number of insights that can result in the generation and testing of more accurate hypotheses on the links between voice mechanisms and workplace outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on different aspects of the concept of “power” and arguing that these are central to the notion of “voice”, the paper illustrates how “exit”, “loyalty” and “neglect” are also underpinned by power. A corollary of this is that these other concepts should routinely be included in studies of the links among voice and workplace outcomes.
Findings
The paper develops hypotheses that can enhance the understanding of the likely impact of voice policies on employees' attitudes and behaviour as well as on firm performance.
Practical implications
The hypotheses suggest that, if employees perceive voice mechanisms in a negative way, they may respond in a variety of ways that can have a detrimental effect on firm performance. Understanding these different responses and the likely reasons for them can lead to more appropriate policy responses by managers.
Originality/value
The paper specifies the conditions under which relationships between voice, exit, loyalty and neglect will affect workplace outcomes in greater detail. This leads to a re‐examination of factors that should be included in empirical assessments. Research findings may need to be re‐evaluated as a result.