Charles J. Fornaciari, John J. Sherlock, William J. Ritchie and Kathy Lund Dean
This study identified and analyzed the 29 empirical articles which created 65 new scales that were published from 1996–2004 within the Spirituality, Religion, and Work (SRW…
Abstract
This study identified and analyzed the 29 empirical articles which created 65 new scales that were published from 1996–2004 within the Spirituality, Religion, and Work (SRW) domain. Utilizing Hinkin's (1995) methodology for evaluating questionnaire scale development as a model, this study reviewed: (1) item generation issues such as inductive vs. deductive approaches; (2) scale development issues such as sampling and validity/reliability assessment; and (3) scale evaluation issues such as convergent validity testing. The study found that the vast majority of studies (86%) reported detail on the item development process for the new scales used; the primary method for item development was deductive, based on existing theory. In the area of scale development, only 45% of the studies reported using factor analysis for evaluation of constructs; of those that did, less than 25% of those reported information regarding factor retention criteria, such as eigenvalues. With regard to the internal consistency, the coefficient alpha was reported in only 45% of the studies. However, in those cases where scale development practices were described, the information was generally quite detailed and reflected statistical rigor. Few studies (38%) reported any information related to scale evaluation. Similar to Hinkin's (1995) conclusions from his review of scales in the management field, this study found scale development practices within the SRW domain to be inconsistent. The article reports detailed findings using Hinkin ‘s (1995) detailed methods and discusses practical implications for editors, reviewers and SRW researchers.
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John Z. Ni, Steve A. Melnyk, William J. Ritchie and Barbara F. Flynn
The purpose of this paper is to focus on adoption of certified management standards, specifically public standards. Such standards play an increasingly important role in today’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on adoption of certified management standards, specifically public standards. Such standards play an increasingly important role in today’s business environment. However, to generate adoption benefits, they must be first widely accepted – a situation where they have become viewed as the de facto norms. For this state to occur early adopters play a critical role. Past research has argued that early adopters, in exchange for assuming more risk, are rewarded with higher economic returns. Yet, these findings are based on private, not public standards. With public standards, early adopters do not receive such benefits. There is evidence that public standards are becoming more important. This situation leads to a simple but important question addressed in this study – if early adopters assume the risks of embracing a new public standard without economic benefits, then what is their motivation? To resolve this question, this study draws on agency theory and prospect theory. The authors argue that early adopters embrace such standards because of their desire to minimize risk resulting from failure to support the goal at the heart of the public standards.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were obtained from the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Partners Cost Benefit Survey and analyzed through structural equation modeling.
Findings
Early adopters of public standards are not driven by economic benefits but rather by the need to minimize their exposure to the risks associated with failing to satisfy the goals associated with a public standard. In other words, they were motivated by the need to minimize costs. In the case of C-TPAT, these costs are those of failing to provide or improve network security.
Research limitations/implications
This study has shed new light on the standards adoption process by clarifying the specific motivations that drive early adoption of a public standard. In addition to identifying the loss aversion motives of early adopters and economic benefit motives of later adopters, the authors have also elaborated on the notion that standards have differing levels of precedence, particularly when comparing private with public standards.
Practical implications
In a world characterized by increasing demands for outcomes such as improved security and where governmental funding is falling, due to growing deficits and governments that are becoming more conservative, the authors expect the use of public standards to increase.
Originality/value
Different from prior research on private standard, the paper focuses on the organizations involved in the adoption and diffusion of a public standard, with special attention being devoted to the early adopters. The paper provides a theoretical explanation for the actions of early adopters of a public standard through the theoretical lens of prospect theory.
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Steven Alexander Melnyk, William J. Ritchie, Eric Stark and Angela Heavey
Dominant quality standards are present in all industries. Implicit in their use is the assumption that once adopted, there is little or no reason to replace them. However, there…
Abstract
Purpose
Dominant quality standards are present in all industries. Implicit in their use is the assumption that once adopted, there is little or no reason to replace them. However, there is evidence that, under certain circumstances, such standards do get replaced. The reasons for this action are not well-understood, either as they pertain to the displacement decision or to the selection and adoption of the alternative standard. The purpose of this study is to identify and explore these two issues (displacement and replacement) by drawing on data from the American healthcare system. This study is viewed through the theoretical lens of legitimacy theory. In addition, the process is viewed from a temporal perspective. The resulting findings are used to better understand how this displacement process takes place and to identify directions for interesting and meaningful future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an explanatory study that draws on data gathered from quality managers in 89 hospitals that had adopted a new healthcare quality standard (of these, some fifty percent had displaced the dominant quality standard – the Joint Commission – with a different standard – DNV Healthcare.
Findings
The combined literature review and case study data provide insights into the displacement process. This is a process that evolves over time. Initially, the process is driven by the need to meet customer demands. However, over time, as the organizations try to integrate the guidelines contained within the standards into the organization, gaps in the quality standard emerge. It is these gaps that motivate the need to displace standards. The legitimacy perspective is highly effective at explaining this displacement process. In addition, the study uncovers some critical issues, namely the important role played by the individual auditors in the certification process and the importance of fit between the standard and the context in which it is deployed.
Research limitations/implications
The data for the propositions in this case study were derived from interviews and survey data from 89 healthcare organizations. It would be interesting to examine similar relationships with other quality standards and industries.
Practical implications
Our findings provide new insights related to motivations to decouple from a dominant quality standard. Results provide a cautionary tale for standards that hold a dominant market share such that perceived legitimacy of such standards is not as stable as originally thought.
Originality/value
This study illuminates the fragile nature of the stability of dominant standards and emphasizes the linkages between legitimacy concerns and divestiture of such standards.
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William J. Ritchie, George Young, Ali M. Shahzad, Robert W. Kolodinsky and Steven A. Melnyk
The purpose of this paper is to explore product adoption beliefs and actions of a large retail food organization with both corporate-owned stores and privately held franchise…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore product adoption beliefs and actions of a large retail food organization with both corporate-owned stores and privately held franchise stores.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a case study approach involving survey data collection from 190 corporate-owned and licensed retail outlets that were members of a large, single organization. Ordinary least squares regression and mean differences (t-tests) were used to test the data. Findings were elaborated upon based upon structured interviews.
Findings
Corporate-owned retail outlets invested heavily in food safety innovation, while franchised retail outlets pursued minimal investment to retain product flexibility. The level of adoption is contingent upon ownership structure, as well as institutional forces emanating from the corporate environment, the customer, and peer organizations.
Research limitations/implications
The findings offer greater insight into methodological issues associated with measurement of new product adoption in particular. The authors have shown that it is critical for researchers to clarify the level of analysis of the study. Quantitative survey analysis revealed both safety and economic motivations to be desirable issues in product adoption considerations. However, when quantitative and qualitative results were combined, very different outcomes were realized as ownership structure differences appear to dominate product adoption decisions. Therefore, when conducting plural organizational form research, the data gathering efforts must be carefully undertaken to ensure that critical drivers of phenomena explored are not overlooked.
Practical implications
Adoption of new product adoption involves the complex interplay between ownership structure/control, economic cost/benefit, managerial choice, and societal norms. Often, organizational research relating to adoption of new processes and innovations collects individual-level data. However, this study shows that adoption decisions occur at multiple levels and that the ownership/structural context must be considered.
Social implications
The study has implications from social innovation/responsibility perspectives. Recent press regarding food safety has put pressure on food processing establishments to consider methods of reducing food safety breaches. No doubt, this has alerted the consumer to potential risks in food processing and influenced their preferences in favor of food safety innovations. Nonetheless, perceptions of the importance of “safety” can be interpreted in a variety of ways, leading to differing courses of action. Interviews with corporate-level executives revealed that they preferred both corporate-owned and franchised retail outlets adopt case ready (CR) meats to stem safety concerns. Yet, this aspiration diffused throughout the organization differently.
Originality/value
Multiple organizational structure forms operating within the same organizational entity, or “plural form” organizations, offer unique opportunities for examination. Applying various theoretical lenses, including agency theory, the resource-based theory, and institutional theory, the authors offer rationale for why different structural types within the same corporate entity may differ in their beliefs and actions concerning product safety, cost, and adoption.
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Fariss‐Terry Mousa, Dan Marlin and William J. Ritchie
This study aims to improve the understanding of the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance for high technology initial public offerings (IPOs).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to improve the understanding of the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance for high technology initial public offerings (IPOs).
Design/methodology/approach
Using cluster analysis the paper investigates configurations of slack and their associated performance implications.
Findings
The findings indicate the existence of distinct configurations of slack resources and associated performance differences among the configurations. Implications of the findings for managerial practice and future research are discussed.
Originality/value
The purpose of this study is to extend slack measurement research by examining the slack and performance relationship in high‐technology IPOs from a configurational perspective.
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Fariss-Terry Mousa, William J. Ritchie and Richard Reed
The purpose of this paper is to extend governance research in the small business context by examining the moderating influence of top executive involvement on the board of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to extend governance research in the small business context by examining the moderating influence of top executive involvement on the board of directors on market valuation.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a sample of initial public offering (IPO) high-tech firms engaged in late-stage funding, the study uses stepwise regression to test board involvement moderation effects.
Findings
Primary market investors reward governance structures that limit founder power.
Originality/value
The current study introduces the notion that optimal market valuation depends not only on whether a CEO-founder governs the firm, but also on level of involvement on the board of directors.
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Jason Whalley, Volker Stocker and William Lehr
This chapter is contextual in nature. It provides an overview of the impact of COVID-19, highlighting both the significant number of deaths caused by the pandemic as well as the…
Abstract
This chapter is contextual in nature. It provides an overview of the impact of COVID-19, highlighting both the significant number of deaths caused by the pandemic as well as the economic disruption that occurred. Particular attention is paid to the role of digital technologies during the pandemic, which enabled a wide range of activities (e.g. work, education and shopping) to go online. The disruptive impact of COVID-19 is widespread and far-reaching, with the pandemic acting as a ‘change agent’ expanding and encouraging the greater use of digital technologies. The second half of the chapter presents summaries of the other chapters in the book. In doing so, it illustrates the scope and scale of the impact of COVID-19, the multitude of different challenges it has caused, and how these varied across different regions and contexts, as well as the diversity of reactions to the pandemic. Some of these reactions are technical in nature, while others are commercial and political. The summaries also draw attention to ongoing policy debates, the significance of which has been heightened by the pandemic.
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Dani Dagustani, Gatot Iwan Kurniawan, Heppy Agustiana Vidyastuti and Rediawan Miharja
This study aimed to obtain the study results of the visit increase model by adding the word of mouth (WOM) variable based on the results of research reviews in 2017 and 2019. The…
Abstract
This study aimed to obtain the study results of the visit increase model by adding the word of mouth (WOM) variable based on the results of research reviews in 2017 and 2019. The research was conducted in the ecotourism area of the south coast of West Java, which is oriented toward the environment’s carrying capacity and improving the community’s economy. Data analysis used descriptive verification using structural equation modeling (SEM), with a total of 302 respondents. The study results obtained descriptive analysis results based on research in 2017 and 2019, which showed no different results. The descriptive analysis results show that tourist travel motivation is considered strong by tourists; tourists have felt impressive tourism experiences. The average image of tourism destinations is considered sufficient. The West Java ecotourism area is quite successful in becoming a positive WOM conversation among most tourists. The intention to revisit is considered insufficient, or tourists have not agreed to return soon. The results of the verification analysis show that all the proposed hypotheses have a significant effect so that the model of increasing tourist visits based on travel motivation and impressive tourism experiences, the destination image that is intermediated by the WOM variable, has an impact on revisiting intention.