Christian Nowak and Christian Linder
The purpose of this paper is to assess the costs and benefits of expatriation persists as a difficult challenge for many organizations and scholarly guidance on the process of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the costs and benefits of expatriation persists as a difficult challenge for many organizations and scholarly guidance on the process of compiling and allocating the costs of expatriation remains insufficient. The authors argue therefore that there is a need for developing an instrument that enables practitioners to calculate an estimate of the total cost of expatriation which can eventually be set in relation to the expected benefits of an assignment.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate how the total cost of expatriation can be computed, the authors provide an exploratory overview of previous research on international assignments, expatriate return of investment (eROI) and principles of cost accounting. Then, essential costs of expatriation are discussed and combined in one model for assessing the total cost of expatriation.
Findings
The authors will demonstrate that expatriation costs are best understood as process costs. In addition, the authors will provide a tool to calculate eROI.
Originality/value
The paper show how to determine the costs of major phases of expatriation. It allows us to calculate the break-even point of an international assignment and it can be used to compare this investment with alternative methods of international mobility. Most importantly, the authors are able to identify crucial cost drivers which allow the development of more precise and targeted recommendations for management action.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential role of micronutrients and omega‐3 fatty acids in promoting healthier ageing.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential role of micronutrients and omega‐3 fatty acids in promoting healthier ageing.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review was conducted using Medline and key words relevant to ageing, nutritional status, nutrient intake and disease risk. Data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) were used to determine micronutrient adequacy.
Findings
The NDNS showed that intakes of vitamin A, B2, B6, folic acid, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc and iodine fell below recommended levels for groups of older people. Vitamins and mineral supplements may improve nutritional status, lower the risk of deficiency, and impact favourably on disease markers.
Practical implications
The evidence suggests that dietary interventions and supplementation may become increasingly important in maintaining health and quality of life in older people.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the positive role of nutrition in healthy ageing.
Details
Keywords
Leaders derive their capacity for driving institutional change from their power over organizations, but prior research says little about how leaders with limited power over a…
Abstract
Leaders derive their capacity for driving institutional change from their power over organizations, but prior research says little about how leaders with limited power over a dominant intraorganizational group can acquire such a capacity for institutional action. This chapter develops a multilevel model that helps to understand how leaders of public service organizations were able to introduce “contract organization” form of organizational governance that enabled them to outsource the provision of public services to private firms. By doing so, this chapter adds to existing accounts of how power and political processes can give rise to organizational and institutional change.
Details
Keywords
Mathew James Collier and David Sarpong
We explore the intersection of Catholic social teaching (CST) and entrepreneurship studies which has seemingly evaded scholars’ attention.
Abstract
Purpose
We explore the intersection of Catholic social teaching (CST) and entrepreneurship studies which has seemingly evaded scholars’ attention.
Design/methodology/approach
We integrate and expand upon prior work to explicate an integrative framework for examining CST and entrepreneurship studies.
Findings
We articulate the mechanisms through which CST and entrepreneurship studies may extend our understanding of the economic paradigm of entrepreneurship studies.
Originality/value
We explicate the economic paradigm of entrepreneurship studies and present the key reasons for Catholicism’s and CST’s exclusion to demonstrate why this is unjustified. Beyond expounding what we mean by CST, we extend the economic paradigm by an application to show why the economic paradigm is flawed and call for more CST-focussed entrepreneurship studies.
Details
Keywords
Ke Cao, Joel Gehman and Matthew G. Grimes
To fulfill their economic and social missions, it is imperative yet challenging for hybrid ventures to demonstrate legitimacy (fitting in) while simultaneously projecting…
Abstract
To fulfill their economic and social missions, it is imperative yet challenging for hybrid ventures to demonstrate legitimacy (fitting in) while simultaneously projecting distinctiveness (standing out). One important means for doing so is by adopting and promoting the recent B Corporation certification. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of this certification, we argue that when it comes to promoting their businesses, hybrid ventures should not adopt a one size fits all approach. Rather, their promotion strategies need to be adapted to their specific contexts. We theorize and develop a typology of certification promotion strategies for hybrid ventures based on the relative prevalence of other hybrid ventures in the same regions and industries. We conclude by articulating why the B Corporation movement is a rich and underexplored context for scholarship on hybrid ventures, and highlight several promising future research directions.
Details
Keywords
Reimara Valk, Mandy Van der Velde, Marloes Van Engen and Betina Szkudlarek
The purpose of this exploratory, empirical study is to gain insight into repatriation experiences and repatriate turnover intention of employees from India and The Netherlands who…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this exploratory, empirical study is to gain insight into repatriation experiences and repatriate turnover intention of employees from India and The Netherlands who either were or had been on international assignments in the respective countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with 25 Dutch and 30 Indian international assignees (IAs) and repatriates in both India and The Netherlands. Thematic analysis resulted in four themes: met and unmet expectations of career advancement opportunities; knowledge transfer and labour marketability; economic growth versus economic recession and alternative employment opportunities; and boundaryless careers: adventure and entrepreneurship.
Findings
Repatriate expectations about the use of knowledge, skills and abilities gained in the host country moderate the relationship between the macro-economic situation of the home country and repatriate attrition/retention, such that met expectations of Indian respondents decreased their intention to leave the organisation, even in a conducive macro-economic context with ample alternative employment opportunities. Unmet expectations of Dutch respondents increased their intention to leave the organisation, even in an unfavourable macro-economic context with few alternative employment opportunities.
Research limitations/implications
The sample of Indian and Dutch IAs and repatriates may limit generalisation of the findings to samples from other countries with distinct cultural contexts and macro-economic conditions.
Practical implications
Global organisations that set realistic expectations about re-entry career opportunities for repatriates, facilitate knowledge transfer after repatriation, and adequately respond to boundaryless career ambitions of repatriates, can reduce repatriate turnover intention and attrition.
Originality/value
This study shows that repatriate attrition versus retention is embedded in the macro-economic context of the home country, leading to three types of career mobility upon completion of an international assignment: intra-organisational mobility; organisational boundary-crossing; and geographical boundary crossing.
Details
Keywords
Tracey Crosbie, Nashwan Dawood and John Dean
Building energy performance is a key element when assessing the sustainability, or otherwise, of the built environment. However, the prescriptive nature of current approaches to…
Abstract
Purpose
Building energy performance is a key element when assessing the sustainability, or otherwise, of the built environment. However, the prescriptive nature of current approaches to sustainability assessment stultifies innovative approaches to sustainable building design. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a current EU FP7‐funded project, entitled “IntUBE – Intelligent Use of Buildings' Energy Information,” will contribute to improving the measurement and evaluation of building energy performance. The paper also seeks to highlight the potential offered by the energy‐profiling tools and techniques being developed as part of the project to contribute to the assessment of sustainable urban development.
Design/methodology/approach
The IntUBE project is developing new methods of integrating the information and communication technologies (ICTs) used in the design and operation of buildings, with the aim of facilitating improvements in the energy performance of buildings and the measurement of that performance. To do so, the project will develop new methods and tools which integrate design phase and operational phase energy profiling.
Findings
Integrating the ICTs used to assess the design and operation of buildings could significantly improve the way in which the energy performance of buildings is assessed. However, there are many barriers to the adoption of the energy‐profiling software tools designed for professional use. This is problematic because a more generalised uptake of these tools is essential to improving the measurement and evaluation of building energy performance.
Originality/value
It is important that the energy‐profiling tools and techniques developed within the IntUBE project ameliorate as many of the barriers to the adoption of the energy‐profiling software tools as possible. To do so new approaches to the following are under development; the integration of building information model authoring software and energy simulation software, the integration of simulation and real‐time data‐capturing sensors, and evaluating and selecting amongst the design alternatives offered by energy simulation software.
Details
Keywords
While the significance of principals for the organizational behavior of schools is crucial, school leaders’ influence on school outcomes is indirect and mediated through various…
Abstract
Purpose
While the significance of principals for the organizational behavior of schools is crucial, school leaders’ influence on school outcomes is indirect and mediated through various means that leaders employ in order to increase the productivity of their school. Although the exercise of power is viewed among the main factors explaining followers’ willingness to comply with leaders’ demands and means to promote school effectiveness, it is rather surprising that the educational administration literature lacks substantial evidence testifying to the mediating effect that principals’ use of various powerbases has on school effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to make an attempt to fill this gap.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were administered to 954 teachers coming from 191 randomly sampled public elementary schools.
Findings
Evidence testifying to the relation between leadership styles and use of powerbases suggests that the transformational leadership style is positively related to the use of soft powerbases and negatively related to the use of harsh powerbases. Findings also show that leadership style and powerbase utilization differentiate effective and ineffective schools. Finally, it is evident that soft powerbases such as expertise, personal reward and referent powerbases partially mediate the relation between the transformational leadership style and school effectiveness, moderating the negative relation found between the passive leadership style and school effectiveness.
Originality/value
These findings confirm that powerbases are in fact a mechanism through which school leaders influence school effectiveness. Implications are further discussed.