International coopetition for innovation: Are the benefits worth the challenges?

International coopetition has rarely been studied in relation to innovation. Further exploration of effects of international coopetition, i.e. the pursuit of simultaneous cooperation and competition, on a firm’s innovation performance is especially important as such a relationship is challenging with a high propensity to fail. This observation formed the point of departure for this study, which aims to increase the understanding of the effects of international coopetition on firm innovativeness and how these effects are conditioned on the magnitude of the organizational adjustments a firm introduces. We use an unbalanced panel of 9839 firms that participated in four waves of the Swedish Community Innovation Survey between 2008 and 2014 as our empirical base. We illustrate that firms that cooperate with competitors internationally are more likely to exhibit higher propensity to introduce radical innovations, yet this effect is conditioned upon the magnitude of organizational adjustments. Overall, our study contributes to the understanding of the implications of international coopetition and what a firm needs to benefit from it.     

Time for a revival? Public policy implementation: a review of the literature and an agenda for future research

This paper argues that there is not a vigorous contemporary literature in the UK which addresses implementation studies as part of the public policy process, whereas this is not the case in the USA. A review of the literature is presented, and a critique of the more traditional thematic groupings used to review the literature is given. A revised thematic review of the literature is presented based on the four themes of: (1) the role of knowledge and learning in policy implementation; (2) the processes of policy implementation; (3) the role of actors and agents in implementation; and (4) the role of bureaucratic discretion. The paper argues for a revival of research into public policy implementation and suggests a research agenda for the future which can use the aforementioned themes from the literature.     

South Korean women leaders’ struggles for a work and family balance

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of women in leadership in Korea and to identify challenges and opportunities that they face in the process of balancing work and family life and developing leadership as women in the uniquely challenging Korean workplace where they face organizational and cultural constraints. Critical to this investigation was the understanding of concepts frequently represented in the previous literature about women in leadership: work–family life balance, women’s leadership development, and the cultural context. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women leaders selected through a purposeful and snowball sampling method. A thematic analysis of the interview data generated six themes including: (a) commitment to work, (b) struggles for a balance, (c) defining success, (d) gender identity, (e) being a role model, and (f) need for support. Based on the findings, we provide implications for research and practice.     

Overconfidence at work: Does overconfidence survive the checks and balances of organizational life?

This review considers the role of overconfidence in organizational life, focusing on ways in which individual-level overconfidence manifests in organizations. The research reviewed offers a pessimistic assessment of the efficacy of either debiasing tools or organizational correctives, and identifies some important ways in which organizational dynamics are likely to exacerbate overconfidence among individuals. The organizational consequences of overconfidence can be substantial, especially when it comes from those at the top of the organization. However, there are also reasons to suspect that the research literature exaggerates the prevalence of overconfidence.     

Dimensions of work–home culture and their relations with the use of work–home arrangements and work–home interaction

Abstract

This study examined the associations of work–home culture with (a) demographic and organizational characteristics, (b) the use of work–home arrangements, and (c) negative and positive work–home interaction, among 1,179 employees from one public and two private organizations. Substantial support was found for a 2-factor structure of a work–home culture measure differentiating between “support” (employees’ perceptions of organization's, supervisors’, and colleagues’ responsiveness to work–family issues and to the use of work–home arrangements) and “hindrance” (employees’ perceptions of career consequences and time demands that may prevent them from using work–home arrangements). This 2-factor structure appeared to be invariant across organizations, gender, and parental status. Significant relationships with organizational characteristics, the use of work–home arrangements, and work–home interaction supported the validity of these two cultural dimensions. It is concluded that if employers want to minimize work–home interference, to optimize positive work–home interaction, and to boost the use of work–home arrangements, they should create a work–home culture that is characterized by high support and low hindrance.     

Information systems for multinational enterprises—some factors at work in their design and implementation

Information systems for multinational companies (MNCs), referred to as international information systems (IIS), have been a problem area for many years, yet have failed to attract more than token attention from the academic information systems research community. This study applies a grounded theory method to establish a first theoretical framework dealing with the structure of IIS and the dynamics of their development and implementation. The substantive theory is based on extensive, long-term work with three MNCs and covers four key areas: (a) the dealings between the actors concerned with an IIS take place in a force field; (b) the force field is reflected in a generic two-dimensional architecture an IIS, which always has a ‘core’ of systems used by all (or many) of the regions and ‘local’ systems, different at every regional site; (c) the balance of functionality between the ‘core’ and the ‘local’ parts of an IIS follows the degree to which the operations of the MNC require synchronous access to data and processing within the IIS. (d) The interactions of IT and users in the force field follow a cyclical, self-reinforcing dialectic such that an enforced consensus process is required in order to boost acceptance and to limit the probability that continuing rejection leads to catastrophic failure. The limitations of the theory are discussed and directions for future research are given.     

Revisiting the cooperation–competition paradox: A configurational approach to short- and long-term coopetition performance in business networks

Cooperation and competition are often viewed as incompatible, antagonistic forces, thus are operationalized as two extremes on a continuum. However, they can coexist and even enable each other, thus may be operationalized as orthogonal constructs. We address this contradictory phenomenon by developing a more granular view of the cooperation–competition paradox. Building on interdisciplinary research, we develop a three-dimensional model of relational space (fairness–opportunism, sharing–control, and engagement–rivalry), providing a novel tool with which to investigate the paradoxical interplay between cooperation and competition through eight operationalizable configurations. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we test our model by assessing how different configurations of interfirm relationships influence the short- and long-term success of a sample of 217 firms. Our findings show that only two of the eight possible relational configurations are associated with firm success, one in both the long and short term, and the other in the short term only.     

Vehicle routing–scheduling for municipal waste collection system under the “Keep Trash off the Ground” policy

This paper investigates the waste collection problem and characterizes the problem as a set-covering and vehicle routing problem (VRP) complicated by inter-arrival time constraints. The study proposes a bi-level optimization formulation to model the split delivery VRP with multiple trips to determine the minimum-distance route. The first stage optimally plans the collection points that cover all residential blocks. The second stage applies a heuristics method to solve the minimum vehicles used and minimum distance traveled for collecting residential waste. This research contributes to model this period VRP and to introduce the heuristics method to solve the problem efficiently. The study is important in laying the groundwork for understanding the possibility of improving the service level of municipal solid waste collection.     

Control at work: a generalized resource factor for the prevention of musculoskeletal symptoms?

During the last two decades two potent groups of predictors for work-related musculoskeletal problems have been identified: physical work load and poor psychosocial working conditions. However, little is known about their combined effects. In this study the buffering effect of control at work with respect to the negative effects of psychological demands and physical work load on musculoskeletal problems is examined. All study variables were sampled from 431 people working in geriatric nursing homes in Germany by means of questionnaires. Main effects and interactions were tested with multiple regression analysis. The results showed that control buffered the effects of high psychological demands, but not of high physical work load; the buffering effect of control was observed only when physical work load was low. The combined effects of demands and physical work load were over-additive. Thus, the power of different predictors for musculoskeletal symptoms depended on the level of other predictors. This suggests that the efficiency of certain strategies for the prevention of musculoskeletal problems is likely to depend on the level of risk factors, with different strategies being appropriate for different levels of risk.     

Accountability and value for money: a theoretical framework for the relationship in public–private partnerships

There is an implicit assumption in the UK Treasury’s publications on public-private partnerships (PPP)—also more commonly known in the United Kingdom as private finance initiative (PFI)—that accountability and value for money (VFM) are related concepts. While recent academic studies on PPP/PFI (from now on as PFI) have focused on VFM, there is a notable absence of studies exploring the ‘presumed’ relationships between accountability and VFM. Drawing on Dubnick’s (Dubnick and Romzek in American public administration, politics and the management of expectations. Macmillan, New York, 1991, Research in public administration. JAI, Greenwich, 1993; Dubnick in Public service ethics and the cultures of blame, 1996, Public sector ethics: finding and implementing values. Routledge, London, 1998, Int J Org Theory Behav 6(3):405–441, 2003, Public Perform Manage Rev 28(3):376–417, 2005; Dubnick and Justice in But can you trust them to be ethical, 2002) framework for accountability and PFI literature, we develop a research framework for exploring potential relationships between accountability and VFM in PFI projects by proposing alternative accountability cultures, processes and mechanisms for PFI. The PFI accountability model is then exposed to four criteria—warrantability, tractability, measurability and feasibility. Our preliminary interviews provide us guidance in identifying some of the cultures, processes and mechanisms indicated in our model which should enable future researchers to test not only the UK Government’s claimed relationships between accountability and VFM using more specific PFI empirical data, but also a potential relationship between accountability and performance in general.     

Social construction of work stress: Australian newsprint media portrayal of stress at work, 1997–98

Public understanding of health issues is influenced by the social and political interests of those who gather the information and by the media which disseminates it. This has implications for lay people's beliefs about work stress and has potentially serious personal implications in terms of recognizing, reacting to, and reporting stress in the workplace (Furnham, 1997). The somewhat ambiguous nature of work stress renders it vulnerable to political, social and economic manipulation. This study explores how the issue of work stress is represented in the Australian newsprint media. Fifty-one work-related articles from all major Australian newspapers from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 1997 were selected if 'stress' appeared in the headline. The articles were examined for dominant ideologies and themes. Attention was given to the language used to describe stress, the intended audience, and the voices represented in the articles. Results showed that work stress is represented in the media as an economically costly epidemic, as an outcome of unfavourable work conditions but with individual remedies, and as primarily situated within the public sector. The main voice represented in the media was that of the unions. The reproduction of work stress as a public sector phenomenon serves the interests of public sector unions, the newspapers, and the managers of private sector workers and is not consistent with available workers' compensation data (which is itself problematic).     

‘Quality’ part-time work in Australian organizations: implications for HRD

Part-time work is an international phenomenon. Many western countries show similar patterns to Australia, with a significant increase in part-time work in the last twenty to twenty-five years. In Australia, part-time work has developed some unique features, particularly as it often involves lower wages and poor conditions. Part-time employees in Australia are often excluded from human resource development (HRD) activities such as training and career tracks provided to full-time workers. The experience of particular Australian organizations illustrates possible avenues for quality part-time work. This paper examines practical examples of quality part-time work in eight Australian organizations across five industries (nursing, hospitality, retail, local government and the legal profession). Using case study research, the paper discusses the dimensions of quality part-time work in different industry and occupational contexts from an HRD perspective.     

Part-time medical director: way station or end of the line?

This article is mostly directed to physicians who are contemplating a career change into management. You may be one of those persons who is contemplating taking a part-time position and continuing part-time clinical practice to see if you might enjoy management. It is important to understand that a part time medical director is there primarily because management perceives a need for a physician's skills and license. When a physician is hired on a part-time basis, it is unlikely that management realizes the larger benefits that can accrue to the organization from the physician manager's knowledge of health care and unique approach to the problems and opportunities in the delivery of that health care. Part-time medical directors seldom have an opportunity to be exposed to real management issues and activities and are usually sequestered and limited to functions that a naive management team thinks are most appropriate to a physician's skills and temperament. Be cautious in extrapolating a part-time experience to a full-time role. Consider taking the plunge to full-time management without a part-time transition phase.     

International work experience and compensation: Is more always better for CFOs?

The CFO is increasingly considered the second most important executive in the firm after the CEO. Still, little is known about the factors that determine CFOs' compensation. Recently, it has often been claimed that, in MNCs, CFOs should have international work experience. But is a CFO's international work experience also reflected in his or her compensation? We combine human capital and social capital perspectives to account for both the upside and the downside of international work experience. We suggest that working abroad provides CFOs with valuable knowledge and skills which increase compensation; however, staying abroad for too long has an adverse effect due to losses in social network ties. We thus propose an inverted U-shaped relationship between CFOs' international work experience and their compensation. Furthermore, we suggest that this relationship is contingent on the characteristics of the CEO. In testing our hypotheses on a sample of the largest MNCs in Europe, we find support for the proposed relationships. Our study contributes to the literature on top management characteristics and executive compensation, specifically by providing a comprehensive understanding of how and when international work experience pays off for CFOs.     

Extension of internationalisation models: drivers and processes for the globalisation of product development – a comparison of Danish and Chinese engineering firms

This paper develops an extension to established production- and supply chain management focused internationalisation models. It applies explorative case studies in Danish and Chinese engineering firms to discover how the globalisation process of product development differs from Danish and Chinese perspectives. The paper uses internationalisation and global product development theory to explain similarities and differences in the approaches. Grounded in case study results, a new model for internationalisation is proposed. The new model expands the internationalisation process model to include steps of product development and collaborative distributed development beyond sourcing, sales and production elements. The paper then provides propositions for how to further develop the suggested model, and how western companies can learn from the Chinese approaches, and globalise their product development activities from the front end of the value chain rather than from the back-end.     

HRD or manpower policy? Options for government intervention in the local labor market that depends upon a foreign labor force: the Saudi Arabian perspective

The prolonged dependence on a foreign labor force in Saudi Arabia has created an ever-increasing feeling of discomfort for the government as well as for the local labor force. This paper outlines the problems associated with foreign workers against the alternatives of developing human resources locally through training and skill development. It also examines the stereotypical myths about the local Saudi workers among the private0sector decision makers. The paper later explores what policies are in practice to localize the labor force given the prevailing evidence from the local labor market. The paper then outlines a few general policy approaches to the nationalization of the local labor force, supported by more detailed implementation mechanism type of policies to effectively nationalize the labor force. The paper concludes with a few specific policy options that may well lead to the nationalization of the labor force through developing the skill profile of nationals in a concerted effort as a planned human resources development planning and selecting appropriate labor force importation policies. These policies represent the Saudi perspective on the general labor-importing countries' governments' positions, which are applicable to all the labor-importing countries given a few minor customization steps.     

Abusive supervision and work–family conflict: The path through emotional labor and burnout

Building on the theoretical foundations of conservation of resources theory, this research provides insights into the relationship of abusive supervision with work–family conflict (work-to-family and family-to-work). Further, it is the first attempt to incorporate the emotional labor to burnout link as the mediating process between abuse and conflict. Using a sample of 328 individuals working fulltime we examined both the direct relationship of abuse with conflict as well as the indirect relationship through surface acting (emotional labor) and burnout. Our results suggest that abusive supervision influences conflict and the relationship is partially mediated through the surface acting to burnout path.     

Putting non-work ties to work: The case of guanxi in supervisor–subordinate relationships

Traditional Western-based theories of supervisor–subordinate relationships tend to focus on social exchanges in the work domain while omitting potential exchanges that occur in the private domain. However, there are many contexts, particularly in transitional economies lacking strong bureaucratic work structures (e.g., China, Brazil), where personal exchanges outside of the work domain serve as a critical, binding fabric in the workplace. One such example is the indigenous Chinese concept of guanxi, which captures the personal ties between supervisors and subordinates and operates as a protective mechanism for subordinates and a loyalty-inducing agent for supervisors. Using 281 supervisor–subordinate dyads from China, we explored an important antecedent and consequences of guanxi while controlling for the parallel process of the traditionally work-focused construct leader-member exchange (LMX). Results suggest that although both guanxi and LMX mediate the effects of proactive personality on affiliative OCB (i.e., interpersonal facilitation), guanxi is more strongly related to challenging OCB (i.e., taking charge) and LMX is more strongly related to task performance.