1,720,994 research outputs found
Drifting away of actions from prescribed procedures
Get PDFPilbeam, Colin - Associate SupervisorThis research examines a particular kind of routine change where a decoupling
of actions from the prescribed procedures is consciously and mindfully introduced
to benefit the organisation and to make work easier, locally efficient, and more
effective. I draw on Snook’s (2002) conceptualisation of practical drift to define
my phenomenon. When procedural demands do not fit the practical or situational
demands, people adjust or alter the recommended procedures, routines, and
workflows to better fit the local needs.
This research uses a case-based inquiry to examine 197 cases of drift happening
within large multinational organisations from the Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, and
Aerospace sectors to theories of why ‘Practical drift’ happens and what the impact
of this on safety. Using a mixed-method data collection technique of Repertory
Grids (RepGrid), 31 middle and senior managers were interviewed. It resulted in
262 RepGrid ‘Constructs’ related to the events of drift.
The data was firstly analysed qualitatively using a bootstrapping generic content
analysis technique that pools construct into meaningful higher-order categories.
Two quantitative analyses followed this: a RepGrid-specific statistical analysis,
called the Average Normalised Variance (ANV), to identify key constructs and a
Boolean minimisation-based Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to identify
factor combinations associated with safety negative outcomes. This research
finds that drifted actions happen because actors have an operational objective or
‘Purpose’ that triggers drift. Secondly, there exist some contextual conditions that
facilitate replacing a recommended procedure with an alternate action. Safety
findings reveal that some factors like ‘Risk awareness’ and ‘Local decision
flexibility’ are more likely to deliver safety negative outcomes. In contrast, the
factor ‘save time’ was found to be correlated to safety positive outcomes.
Building on these findings, I propose three theoretical models. First is a factor
model that identifies a set of factors causing drift. These factors are ordered by
their relative influence, extending our understanding of the purpose and
contextual conditions associated with drift. The second and third models link
factors from the first model to different safety outcomes. These models add to the
extant literature on practical drift and routine change by identifying (i) factors that
link to safety positive, neutral and negative outcomes and (ii) the combination of
key factors having more potency to deliver safety negative outcomes. The
relevance of these findings for practice is that the research raises the issue of
drift being an operational reality and motivates the organisations to address the
drift causing factors. Furthermore, this study paves the pathway for future studies
to establish causal relationships among the configuration of constructs
discovered in this research.PhD in Leadership and Managemen
Dynamic, inter-subsidiary relationships of competition and collaboration
Get PDFHorizontal relationships between subsidiaries within an MNC are rarely shown on an organisation chart but the interactions along this dimension are critical to the achievement of an MNC’s global operations and strategic activities. Different interaction logics of social relationships and economic exchanges in horizontal relationships induce simultaneous competition and collaboration between the subsidiaries.
Collaboration and competition is a business reality in inter-subsidiary relationships as they collaborate to share resources and knowledge, but ultimately compete for resources, customers and profits. While much research has focused on the effects of internal collaboration, and to a lesser extent internal competition, on organisational performance, little is known about the antecedents of competition and collaboration and the interplay of simultaneously occurring interactions. By focusing on one or the other, any understanding of the inherent tensions between the two is overlooked.
This research explores the coopetitive nature of the inter-subsidiary relationship using a qualitative approach within three MNCs, where internal competition and collaboration are more salient. Data were gathered from 98 semi-structured interviews with top and senior management, top management focus groups and a body of secondary data including internal reports, policy documents and external publications, among others, has been referenced.
The study makes three key contributions. First, by extending Luo’s (2005) theoretical model of intra-MNE coopetition, the study identifies additional respective antecedents of competition and collaboration. Second, the study locates inherent tensions arising from inter-subsidiary coopetition and explicates how the tensions are managed by the HQ and subsidiaries using spatial, balancing and assessing mechanisms and specific interventions. Third, the study offers an empirically-based model of inter-subsidiary coopetition with a more dynamic and temporal set of multiple relationships among the subsidiaries within the MNCs. Management implications include that senior management teams be aware of the opportunities and constraints of promoting a culture of collaboration while simultaneously fostering inter-subsidiary competition through internal accounting policies and incentive systems, and that the capability of senior managers to work effectively within dual organisational structures be developed and incorporated into executive development programmes
Transformational philanthropy and networks of cocreated value in Canada
Get PDFThis research discusses transformational philanthropy and networks of cocreated value in Canada, focusing on the top segment Canadian philanthropists who make single donations of $5 Million CAD or more. This segment of donors, who with a single gift at that level can and do “transform” organizations by creating extraordinary value with a single donation. The context for this research is the sphere of post-secondary education, specifically universities and their affiliated medical institutions. Ultimately, this research attempts to answer the following questions: Why do donors make transformational donations? What are the characteristics of a “transformational donation” and, by extension, the “transformational donor”? How does the marketing literature, and more specifically, the cocreation construct, illuminate the donating behaviour of these philanthropists? And finally, what kind of experiences between the donor and the organization result in the donor making transformational donations?
This body of qualitative research concludes that the act of transformational giving is not simply a dyadic relationship between the donor and the receiving organization, nor does the gift itself benefit only the “intended” or ultimate recipients. In Project one I develop the theoretical “philanthropic exchange system,” based on the literature. Building upon this theoretical development in Project one, in Project two, I propose an evolution of the “philanthropic exchange system,” further defining it as a philanthropic social system of reciprocal exchange and cocreated value, or, a “philanthropic ecosystem” as a metaphor to understand the complex web that underpins transformational giving. Project three elaborates this metaphor, based on more informant data, and suggests a self-sustaining constellation of networks comprising symbiotic interrelationships among the stakeholders – the donor, beneficiary organizations, as well as the people and micro-communities they each serve and support. It is suggested that the actions and interactions of the philanthropists have a “compounding” or leveraged effect on the philanthropic ecosystem, resulting in value creation that transcends the original donor-beneficiary dyad and extends its impact well beyond the boundaries of the initial relationship. Based on empirical evidence, this research proposes that transformational philanthropy is embedded in a philanthropic ecosystem – one that is defined more simply upon conclusion of this research project, as a network of cocreated value
Factors and mechanisms that influence intraorganisational collaboration and competition
Get PDFRecently, some authors point to value creation from the structure and behaviours associated with competition and collaboration inside the organisation (Helfat and Eisenhardt, 2004; Birkinshaw and Lingblad, 2005). While both competition and collaboration have been studied extensively between organisations, less attention has been focused on them and their interaction between units inside the organisation, particularly within complex and heterogeneous multinational corporations.
The question is how to achieve the coordination and collaboration that is necessary for a multinational organisation to reap the benefits that international expansion has to offer and yet balance the propensity for competition that exists as business units struggle for scarce resources or new opportunities. In order to answer this question, the aim of this review is to first of all know what the factors and mechanisms are that influence competition and collaboration between organisational units within multinational organisations.
Methodology: This study has been conducted using a systematic review methodology with the aim of producing a search of extant literature which can be trusted by others as being thorough, transparent, replicable and clear. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques have been used to achieve this.
Findings: This review finds that the there is minimal extant literature that addresses competition and collaboration between business units within the multinational corporation and that it also fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors and mechanisms that influence the co-existence of intraorganisational competition and collaboration. They are typically viewed as mutually exclusive or at opposite ends of a continuum. While there has been some recent research attention given to intraorganisational collaboration and competition, each in their own right, there has not been an extensive review of the factors and mechanisms when looking at their coexistence within the multinational corporate environment. By bringing the two literatures into view and investigating the paradoxical nature of the influences on andthe interactions between competition and collaboration, insights into an optimal mix based on the corporations strategy and value creation logic can be gained for both academics and business unit leaders
Circumstances and paths of change and stability in knowledge network
Get PDFTo cast light on the impact of knowledge on economic growth, performance and innovation is a highly sought-after research endeavour that keeps triggering interest across different disciplines. This in turn calls for the need to explain how processes of knowledge creation, transfer and use occur. A fast-growing body of research argues that the characteristics of social relationships and the network they constitute may provide a better understanding of knowledge processes. However, the great majority of empirical works in the field has concentrated on static analysis, addressing the effect that structural and relational properties of social networks exert over knowledge outcomes
In this work I aim to extend the current understanding on knowledge network research by conducting a systematic review of longitudinal knowledge network research. I believe that it is by looking at longitudinal empirical investigation that we can get a grasp of dynamic processes such as those related to knowledge.
I propose therefore a framework to organize knowledge network research, highlighting points of conflicts and coherence across different levels of analysis, network elements and constructs adopted.
Emerging themes and future areas of research are explored
Risks in new product development (NPD) projects
Get PDFNew product development (NPD) is vulnerable to a wide variety of risks arising from within the firm or from the external environment. Existing categorizations of NPD project risks are partial or ill-defined and consequently there is no clear consensus among researchers and practitioners about what constitute NPD project risks.
To address this gap, this thesis deploys a systematic literature methodology to inductively develop a comprehensive risk taxonomy from a review of 124 empirical studies. This taxonomy is then empirically validated through a survey capturing data from 263 NPD projects conducted by UK firms. The thesis further investigated the moderating effect of NPD project type (incremental or radical), firm size (SMEs and large firms) and industry sectors on the proposed risk taxonomy. Variation in the perceptions of NPD risk by different members of the team was explored as well.
The findings revealed that the principal risk factors affecting NPD projects are technological rapidity risk, supply chain risk, lack of funding and resource risk. The risk profile of radical NPD projects differed to that of incremental projects. SMEs were more vulnerable to NPD project risks than large firms. Most risks influenced NPD projects equally across industrial sectors. Members of NPD project teams from different backgrounds or with different roles perceived risks differently.
The proposed taxonomy and its subsequent empirical validation provides a comprehensive and robust taxonomy for identifying and managing risks associated with different types of NPD project conducted by firms of varying sizes from different industrial sectors
The governance of interorganizational relations: case study investigation in triads and tetrads Addendum: The response of governance structure to project-critical incidents: case study investigation in triads and tetrads
Get PDFAlinaghian, Leila - Associate SupervisorBSTRACT
The management of supplier relationships is asserted to be a key contributor to
the performance of firms and organizations, notably as the globalization of the
economy and the pace of change have significantly increased the competitive
pressure. The interdependence of organizations, reflected in supplier portfolios,
demands a finer understanding of the interplay of relationships across multiple
tiers. After a thorough literature review on the governance of triads, an empirical
investigation was conducted in the energy sector in Switzerland. Four cases
studies were executed to investigate how does the governance of buyer-supplier
relationships influence the other relationships within a buyer-supplier-supplier
triad. Data was collected during semi-structured interviews and complemented
with documentary evidence, on four concomitant projects involving the same
organizations. The findings revealed the interplay of external and internal factors
in the choice of governance arrangements and were summarized in a causal
network. As well, the evolution of governance in response to threats to the
attainment of goals exposed the primacy of functional-level logics in the
prioritization of problem resolution. This also allowed to highlight how the
governance of one link can affect another link, by changing the structure of the
project-level triad, and/or the instruments enacted in the links. Managerial
implications were materialized in a practical model displaying the interactions of
internal and external influences to be accounted for in the continuous adaptation
of supplier relationship and portfolio management practice. A limitation is that full
reciprocal recounting of events was not achieved due to access restrictions even
when data was collected from all parties in the triads. The value of this research
lies in the demonstration of governance evolution across multiple tiers, how it
affected both the structure of the triads and the choice of instruments, and the
importance of intrinsic values in decision making. The contribution to managerial
practice provides insights to improve readiness and flexibility in the management
of intra and inter organizational relationships.Doctor of Business Administratio
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Identifying resilience principles in the UK air transportation industry and developing an integrated conceptual resilience framework.
Get PDFOrganisations across the aviation sector strive to become more resilient, and
there is a great desire to integrate resilience into the operation. However, there
is no clear definition of resilience, and people in academia and industry have
interpreted the concept differently.
The research aims to integrate different conceptualisations of resilience and
develop a framework that holistically explains how resilience can be developed
in the UK air transportation industry context. The development of the framework
is achieved through an integration of the literature and empirical refinement of the
subsequent preliminary framework.
A systematic, multi-sector and cross-disciplinary literature review was conducted
to determine four main themes of resilience: System Design, System
Preparedness, System Response, and System Changes. A total of 26 high-level
resilience principles were identified in the literature and grouped into different
(sub-)themes, building the foundation for a Preliminary Resilience Framework
(PRF).
The empirical work of the thesis investigated five cases in the UK air
transportation system. The qualitative research aimed to identify empirical
evidence through thematic analysis of how the UK air transportation industry
operationalised the identified high-level principles. The analysis of the cases
found evidence for 19 of the 26 principles. Furthermore, the case study findings
determined ten new connections between the various identified (sub-)themes and
refined the PRF.
The five case study findings were synthesised to develop an Integrated
Conceptual Resilience Framework (ICRF). The ICRF combines findings from all
five case studies and provides a holistic resilience framework, outlining the
principles and features of a resilient UK air transportation system.PhD in Transport System
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