The gender composition of corporate boards: A review and research agenda

In recent years, the composition of boards and, particularly, the inclusion of women on boards has attracted significant scholarly interest and public debate. In this article, I comprehensively review the academic literature on board gender composition. Using the systematic review method, I ask whether women directors really are different from men on boards, what factors shape board gender composition, how board gender composition affects organizational outcomes, and finally, why board gender quotas and other forms of regulation are introduced and what outcomes can be expected. Based on my findings, I develop a conceptual framework that clarifies the causal processes underlying both women's access to boards and the effects of women's presence on boards. Finally, I offer a research agenda designed to enrich our understanding of board gender composition.     

Structural empowerment,psychological empowerment,and work engagement: A cross-country study

In this cross-country study we drew on job demands-resources theory to investigate whether psychological empowerment mediates the positive association between structural empowerment and work engagement and, consequently, task performance and intention to quit. A total of 1033 employees working in the service sector in Spain (N = 515) and the United Kingdom (N = 518) participated in the study. Multi-group structural equation modeling analyses revealed that psychological empowerment partially mediated the positive relationship between structural empowerment and work engagement, and that work engagement associated positively with task performance and negatively with intention to quit. Invariance analyses suggested that the positive link between psychological empowerment and work engagement was stronger for employees working in the UK than in Spain, providing support for partial structural invariance of the hypothesized model. These findings suggest that psychological empowerment is an underlying mechanism that may explain why structural empowerment relates positively to work engagement with implications for theory (i.e., extend the nomological network of the investigated constructs) and management practice (e.g., emphasize the role of structural empowerment for work design).     

Managers' personal values as predictors of importance attached to training and development: a cross-country exploratory study

Few empirical studies have examined the effect of personal values on the importance attached by individuals to training and development in organizations. We argue that personal values play an important role in decision-making processes (i.e. commitment to training and development) and that such values are the product of socialization processes operating at an organizational and societal level. Questionnaire data were collected from 340 Irish and Canadian line managers to test the hypothesis that personal values affect the importance attached by respondents to training and development. Capability values were found to be a significant positive predictor of the perceived importance of training and development. The findings emphasize the need for simultaneously examining both personal values and organizational factors as predictors of training and development activity.     

Achieving styles of Bulgarian managers and politicians: a longitudinal perspective

We explore individual and organizational leadership behaviour in a transitional economy context. Through the instruments of the Achieving Styles/Connective Leadership model (AS/CL), we assess the goal-directed behaviour of Bulgarian managers and politicians who are members of the national Parliament. The study adopts a longitudinal approach since we analyse data collected in 2003 and 2005, and compare it with evidence collected in 1988. The quantitative results reveal that there are no significant differences in the ways Bulgarian politicians have accomplished their objectives in 1988 and in 2003, whereas Bulgarian managers reported a shift in four out of nine achieving styles in 2003 and 2005 compared to 1988. We have found a substantial fit between the individual and the organizational scores, which indicate that Bulgarian managers behave in ways rewarded by their organizations. The results are used to analyse the pace of organizational change within the setting of Bulgarian transitional economy.     

Acquired middle managers’ strategy roles and value creation in cross-border acquisitions

Middle managers (MMs) are important organisational players. In intra-organisational settings, their enactment of strategy roles has been linked to value creation. In this paper, we study this question in the context of acquisitions. An acquisition removes the acquired MMs' upward links towards top management and introduces new players (i.e., acquiring MMs) who influence their work. This paper explores whether acquired MMs are able to enact their strategy roles in the post-acquisition era, and if so, how this contributes to acquired-unit value creation. Adopting an actor-based, mixed-methods research design studying cross-border acquisitions, our findings contribute to the debate on managerial roles and acquisition value creation. We found that value-creating transactions are represented by acquired MMs' enactment of the strategy roles of implementing and championing, while value-declining transactions are represented by acquired MMs' enactment of the synthesising role. Notwithstanding, the relationship between acquired-firm value creation and acquired MMs' strategy role enactment is contingent upon acquired and acquiring MMs' relationships. Going forward, we call for more research on managers’ effects on acquisition value creation.     

Learning organization and development of woman managers in Pakistan

Women's participation in economic activities in general and at managerial status in particular is insignificant in Pakistan. Furthermore, the opportunities for professional development of women managers are meagre because of multiple socio-cultural limitations. This paper attempts to draw a profile of female managers focusing, inter alia, on the trend and structure of women's human resource, ratio of employment, work environment and scope of development, efficiency at work, satisfaction level, professional commitment and forces inhibiting women access to jobs under the learning organization perspectives. It also exhibits issues bearing policy implications in regard to the development of women as managers and also as human resource.     

Career patterns of top managers in Europe: Signs of further globalisation?

Investigating career patterns of top managers has been a prominent topic in European Management Journal (EMJ) since the 1990s. Our article contributes to ongoing debates about national differences in top managers' career patterns between European countries. An open question is whether globalisation processes may have challenged the existence of specific career patterns and whether they may have transformed the profiles of business elites in Europe. Our article uses recent data from four European countries (France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK), collected in a way similar to an EMJ article published in 2013, with the objective to assess potential developments that have taken place over the last decade. Some of the major changes relate to the growing relevance of business school degrees or certificates (such as MBA degrees), a higher proportion of non-nationals and women on boards, more managers with international experience and an increasing number of top managers with a prior career with auditing or consulting firms. The article provides not only new empirical insights, but also a review of the key characteristics of top managers’ careers, some methodological reflections on cross-national comparison and new research avenues at the cross-roads of career literature and upper echelons literature. By shedding light on the career patterns of key decision-makers in large European firms, the article offers new insights for researchers, educators and managers alike.     

Reflections of the Other: images of women in the Polish business press

After the fall of state communism, the business press in Poland has become an active image designer for people involved in management. Shaping the stereotypes about the market, enterprises and management, it also has an effect on gender related stereotypes and images. A study of a widespread Polish business magazine reveals a pretty flat picture: women managers are typically portrayed in traditional female social roles and the images of men are stripped of feelings and individuality. However, a trend toward the emergence of some variety can be noticed and perhaps the presence of women can contribute to a major change in management?     

Using a stress audit: The construction site manager experience in the UK

The aim of this study was to conduct a stress audit among construction industry site managers in the UK as a precursor to a stress management intervention programme. Qualitative data were obtained from in-dept interviews with a total of 36 male middle and senior construction site managers; and aquantitative data were obtained by questionnaire. Based on the analysis of 561 postal quenstionnaires, eight stressor factors were identified, most significantly, ambiguity (i.e. role and task). Job satisfaction levels were low compared to a normative population and influenced by grade level. Measures of mental health were similar to the norm for males, but both grade of management and type of contract affected mental health. Anxiety levels were signficantly high, independent of managerial grade. The stress of work overload and role insecurity (fear of failure) were associated with reduced mental health and high anxiety, and the stress of the organizational culture and climate was the strongest predictor of job dissatisfaction. There was some cause for concern for the vulnerable high-risk groups, i.e. the extreme type A and those working overtime. Medical data from a small subset of managers (n = 78) revealed that this group evidenced a better quality of psychological health than the group in total; but a high percentage of personnel had high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Recommendations for action focused on the needs of specific subgroups, and guided the organization on the acceptability of possible interventions at individual, interpersonal and organizational levels.     

Using a stress audit: The construction site manager experience in the UK

Abstract

The aim of this study was to conduct a stress audit among construction industry site managers in the UK as a precursor to a stress management intervention programme. Qualitative data were obtained from in-dept interviews with a total of 36 male middle and senior construction site managers; and aquantitative data were obtained by questionnaire. Based on the analysis of 561 postal quenstionnaires, eight stressor factors were identified, most significantly, ambiguity (i.e. role and task). Job satisfaction levels were low compared to a normative population and influenced by grade level. Measures of mental health were similar to the norm for males, but both grade of management and type of contract affected mental health. Anxiety levels were signficantly high, independent of managerial grade. The stress of work overload and role insecurity (fear of failure) were associated with reduced mental health and high anxiety, and the stress of the organizational culture and climate was the strongest predictor of job dissatisfaction. There was some cause for concern for the vulnerable high-risk groups, i.e. the extreme type A and those working overtime. Medical data from a small subset of managers (n = 78) revealed that this group evidenced a better quality of psychological health than the group in total; but a high percentage of personnel had high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Recommendations for action focused on the needs of specific subgroups, and guided the organization on the acceptability of possible interventions at individual, interpersonal and organizational levels.     

Internal networking and innovation ambidexterity: The mediating role of knowledge management processes in university research

This article focuses on public organizations to contribute to research on knowledge management processes, a field that until recently has focused primarily on private entities. Specifically, we analyse the mediating role of knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption in the relationship between the internal networking created in university research groups and innovation ambidexterity. Based on six hypotheses, the conceptual model is tested through a structural equations model with mediation effects. The data analysed come from 249 directors of Spanish public university research groups. The results show that the internal networking formed in university research groups has a positive and significant relationship to knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption, but we obtain different results for the relationship between knowledge transfer and knowledge absorption in the presence of innovation ambidexterity. Only knowledge absorption has a positive and significant influence on innovation ambidexterity. The most interesting results involve the mediating role of knowledge absorption in the relationship between internal networking and innovation ambidexterity. These results support the conclusion that directors of university research groups should promote development of knowledge absorption processes in order to stimulate innovation ambidexterity and thus to achieve ambidextrous innovative performance.     

Cooperative innovation through a talent management pool: A qualitative study on coopetition in healthcare

In recent years, the Dutch healthcare sector has been confronted with increased competition. Not only are financial resources scarce, Dutch hospitals also need to compete with other hospitals in the same geographic area to attract and retain talented employees due to considerable labour shortages. However, four hospitals operating in the same region are cooperating to cope with these shortages by developing a joint Talent Management Pool. ‘Coopetiton’ is a concept used for simultaneous cooperation and competition. In this paper, a case study is performed in order to enhance our understanding of coopetition. Among other things, the findings suggest that perceptions of organizational actors on competition differ and might hinder cooperative innovation with competitors, while perceived shared problems and resource constraints stimulate coopetition. We reflect on the current coopetition literature in light of the research findings, which have implications for future research on this topic.     

Developing new innovation models: Shifts in the innovation landscapes in emerging economies and implications for global R&D management

Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial shift in the global innovation landscape. Multinationals from developed economies are increasingly globalizing their R&D activities and are developing an “open innovation” model to source innovations from outside the firm, including from emerging economies such as those in Asia. In addition, emerging economy firms, which traditionally have played a secondary role in the global innovation landscape, have now begun to catch up in developing their own innovative capabilities. This study explores the implications of this new innovation landscape for CEOs of multinationals and emerging economy firms, as well as for international management scholars and educators. While the multinationals might appropriate rents from their existing capabilities and source new ones in emerging economies, they may be threatened by weak intellectual property rights regimes and unintended knowledge spillovers to local firms, creating potential competitors. Firms in the emerging economies can learn from and catch up with investing multinationals, but to do so they need to develop their own innovative capabilities and move from a process to a product focus and from imitation to innovation.     

The contingent nature of best practices in national competitiveness: The case of American and Japanese innovation processes

We propose that the differences in competitiveness of companies from different countries is not just a question of the adoption of ‘better’ management models, as conventional wisdom would have us believe; rather, we contend that national competitiveness can change radically over time without significant changes in management practices. Contrary to much of the management literature we hold that changes in the global business environment often determine to a large degree the competitiveness of companies. Based on our assumptions we offer four specific lessons of how companies can increase their competitiveness within the constraints of the socio-cultural context in which they operate.     

The evolution of intellectual property strategy in innovation ecosystems: Uncovering complementary and substitute appropriability regimes

In this article, we attempt to extend and nuance the debate on intellectual property (IP) strategy, appropriation, and open innovation in dynamic and systemic innovation contexts. We present the case of four generations of mobile telecommunications systems (covering the period 1980–2015), and describe and analyze the co-evolution of strategic IP management and innovation ecosystems. Throughout this development, technologies and technological relationships were governed with different and shifting degrees of formality. Simultaneously, firms differentiated technology accessibility across actors and technologies to benefit from openness and appropriation of innovation. Our analysis shows that the discussion of competitiveness and appropriability needs to be expanded from the focal appropriability regime and complementary assets to the larger context of the innovation ecosystem and its cooperative and competitive actor relations, with dispersed complementary and substitute assets and technologies. Consequently, the shaping of complementary and substitute appropriability regimes is central when strategizing in dynamic and systemic innovation contexts. This holds important implications for the management of open innovation, innovation ecosystems, platforms, and coopetition.     

The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: Making progress,making meaning

Leveraging insights gained through a burgeoning research literature over the past 28 years, this paper presents a significant revision of the model of creativity and innovation in organizations published in Research in Organizational Behavior in 1988. This update focuses primarily on the individual-level psychological processes implicated in creativity that have been illuminated by recent research, and highlights organizational work environment influences on those processes. We revisit basic assumptions underlying the 1988 model, modify certain components and causal connections, and introduce four new constructs into the model: (1) a sense of progress in creative idea development; (2) the meaningfulness of the work to those carrying it out; (3) affect; and (4) synergistic extrinsic motivation. Throughout, we propose ways in which the components underlying individual and team creativity can both influence and be influenced by organizational factors crucial to innovation.     

Subsidiary embeddedness as a determinant of divisional headquarters involvement in innovation transfer processes

This paper conceptualizes divisional headquarters as an important hub-firm within the MNE, orchestrating innovation transfer processes between subsidiaries. It is argued that the internal and external embeddedness of a subsidiary hosting an innovation development project subsequently influences divisional headquarters involvement in the transfer of that innovation. In this way, embeddedness, i.e., the relationships that firms have with each other in the innovation development phase, is brought to the fore as an important factor for MNE subsidiaries hosting innovation development projects for explaining the involvement of divisional headquarters in a subsequent transfer. This highlights divisional headquarters as an active orchestrator of innovation transfers within the MNE. Data from 169 innovation transfer projects as well as 146 internal and 121 external embedded relationships at subsidiary level support the argument of embeddedness as a driver of divisional headquarters involvement in subsidiary innovation transfer projects. From a business network perspective, the findings highlight the role of internal and external embeddedness during innovation development in the subsequent involvement of divisional headquarters in the transfer phase. Embeddedness is not only important for subsidiaries in the innovation development phase but also for divisional headquarters involvement in, and orchestration of, innovation transfer.     

Absorptive and transformative capacities in nanotechnology innovation systems

We identify managerial challenges offered by an emergent nanotechnology innovation system in which knowledge is dispersed, asymmetric and contested. We argue the proposed models of knowledge absorption and transformation enhance existing theories of knowledge and emergent technology by recognizing how and why knowledge flows among the actors in emergent technology innovation system. We base our argument on combined research evidence from a Delphi study concerning the future of European manufacturing, from which a selected statement has been analyzed, and from analysis of the NanoManufacturing Institute at Leeds University, UK; specifically its work in building ties between different actors associated with nanotechnology. We conclude our paper with suggestions for future research.     

Leadership,creativity, and innovation: A critical review and practical recommendations

Leadership is a key predictor of employee, team, and organizational creativity and innovation. Research in this area holds great promise for the development of intriguing theory and impactful policy implications, but only if empirical studies are conducted rigorously. In the current paper, we report a comprehensive review of a large number of empirical studies (N?=?195) exploring leadership and workplace creativity and innovation. Using this article cache, we conducted a number of systematic analyses and built narrative arguments documenting observed trends in five areas. First, we review and offer improved definitions of creativity and innovation. Second, we conduct a systematic review of the main effects of leadership upon creativity and innovation and the variables assumed to moderate these effects. Third, we conduct a systematic review of mediating variables. Fourth, we examine whether the study designs commonly employed are suitable to estimate the causal models central to the field. Fifth, we conduct a critical review of the creativity and innovation measures used, noting that most are sub-optimal. Within these sections, we present a number of taxonomies that organize extant research, highlight understudied areas, and serve as a guide for future variable selection. We conclude by highlighting key suggestions for future research that we hope will reorient the field and improve the rigour of future research such that we can build more reliable and useful theories and policy recommendations.