Theory Development in Operations Management: Extending the Frontiers of a Mature Discipline via Qualitative Research

This invited paper discusses theory development in operations management. Many stellar researchers have made excellent contributions to theory development in our field. Operations management is a maturing discipline. Recently, theory driven empirical research has become common in top‐tier journals in our field. Impelled by this trend and due to the path dependency of research, in general, researchers have examined operations phenomena using theories from management and organizational science. How do we extend the frontiers of knowledge in our maturing discipline? How do we develop theories within the field of operations management? In examining some of the seminal ideas that have shaped our field, a common characteristic is that they relied on observational studies and conceptual reasoning. Is it time for us to stress the usefulness of qualitative research methods in our field? Could this lead to an intellectual renewal in our field and extend the frontier of a maturing discipline? This paper explores these questions and advances the notion that qualitative analysis needs to be emphasized more than it has been in recent past. This paper is meant to provoke discussion among empirical researchers in operations management.     

Breaking through innovation barriers: Linking effectuation orientation to innovation performance

This study aims to understand how firms overcome market-based innovation barriers and achieve innovation performance using the effectuation orientation construct. In so doing, we provide more nuanced insights into how the combination of mindsets and actions helps firms to overcome barriers. Based on a quantitative research design, data from 157 established organizations show variations in how effectual actions are related to perceived innovation barriers. Among the conclusions we draw from the results is the fact that effectual contingency and effectual means orientation are negatively associated with market-based innovation barriers, which are in turn negatively associated with a firm’s innovation performance. Overall, the empirical results provide new insights into the literature of both innovation and entrepreneurship.     

The multifaceted nature of social practices: A review of the perspectives on practice-based theory building about organizations

A vibrant body of literature on social practices has developed rapidly in recent years. However, a systematic analysis of the underlying perspectives that shape the way practice-based scholars contribute to theory building about organizational phenomena has escaped scholarly attention. It is of pivotal importance to examine the multifaceted nature of social practices and understand the process by which new practice-based knowledge is developed. Our study addresses this gap by disentangling how researchers have adopted the knowledge, materiality, ethics, and politics perspectives that – as past influential work has informed us – are particularly relevant to practice-based theory building. In so doing, we categorize the body of literature into themes that correspond to the organizational phenomena examined by social practice scholars: practice boundaries and coordination of work, technology at work, strategy formation, local particulars structuring everyday work, and transformation of work practices. By uncovering how scholars adopt the four perspectives within each theme, our review shows that scholars (i) predominantly adopt the knowledge perspective, (ii) neglect the politics perspective when looking ‘inside’ a social practice, (iii) strikingly de-emphasize the ethics perspective, and (iv) isolate each of the four perspectives used in theory building. We then examine in detail the implications of our work for future research on social practices and conclude with a number of theoretical and methodological suggestions.     

Learning and innovation in the context of process-focused management practices: The case of an environmental management system

Adoption of process-focused management practices has been associated with inertia and rigidity in adopting firms. By drawing on the literature on routines and using survey data from 192 ISO 14001 certified facilities in the United States, I find that change catalysis or a deep form of learning which presents the opportunity for innovation can happen in this context. I also examine the internal and external determinants of change catalysis. By doing so I contribute to a better understanding of how process-focused management practices can be a source of innovation within firms.     

A dynamic perspective on the resilience of firms: A systematic literature review and a framework for future research

This study aims to answer the following research question: how is the resilience of firms defined in the business and management field? In doing so, we answer recent calls for research about a more thorough conceptualisation of the resilience of firms and its definition. We conducted a systematic literature review of 66 selected papers published between 2000 and 2017. By means of inductive content analysis, we analyse the definitions of ‘resilience’ and elaborate a novel conceptual framework that introduces a dynamic perspective on the resilience of firms. The proposed framework overcomes existing definitional fragmentation and raises awareness of the temporal dimension in the conceptualisation of the resilience of firms. We contribute to extant business and management literature on the resilience of firms by proposing a model that articulates two main paths for explaining organisational resilience, i.e. absorptive resilience and adaptive resilience paths. We also identify a set of key capabilities needed to be successfully resilient at the different stages of the two paths.     

Kundenbindung von Noncomplainern: Neue Aspekte des Beschwerdemanagement

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of customers who experience a service failure and do not voice their dissatisfaction to the provider (?non-complainer‘). This group of customers has been largely neglected by complaint research; although first studies indicate that only a small number of customers being dissatisfied voice their complaint to the firm. To address this issue, this research intends to 1) examine the impact of negative critical incidents on customer loyalty and 2) contribute to a better understanding of the role of customer recovery. Based on these analyses, 3) the relevance of complaint stimulation is derived. In doing so, management receives valuable information on how to deal with noncomplainers.     

A managerial assessment of the waiting-time performance for alternative service process designs

The paper develops an analytical model and, by applying it to a set of service process design alternatives, demonstrates the potential impact of process design on customer waiting-time performance. In doing so, it provides managers with some general tools and insights they can use in choosing the better service process design, adapting to changes in demand, and evaluating the impact of new technology application to the service process. It makes a case for flexibility in designing service processes by demonstrating that optimality of a design can depend on system parameter values. The various applications of this model and research findings can serve as guidelines for managers to use in designing their service processes so as to better serve their customers.     

The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles

Editorial notes in leading management journals have urged scholars to address Grand Challenges (GC) as an opportunity for producing knowledge that matters for society. This review explores whether current conceptualizations of GC support a productive path for management and organizational scholarship by guiding empirical inquiry, facilitating cumulative theory development, and informing practice. We systematically examine scholarly articles, calls for papers, and editorial notes published in management journals for consistency in how researchers use and define the concept of GC and the scope of associated phenomena and attributes. We find three prominent conceptual architectures in use: discursive, family resemblance, and phenomenon driven. The variety and incoherence of current uses of the GC concept and the lack of efforts to improve its analytical competence lead us to suggest its retirement. Instead, we propose building on the enthusiasm around GC research and using GC as a term to define research principles that collectively help align research efforts and improve theoretical development and practice. The principles we propose capture a genuine origin story for management research on GC.     

Time management—a review

The article examines the reasons for the increasing popularity of time management. It then reviews some of the major concepts contained in the literature: efficiency, effectiveness and life goals; how to find the time; keeping a time log; time planning systems; getting organized; and how to become an effective time manager. In doing so, the concept of time management is related to the literature on stress at work.     

A Design Theory Approach to Building Strategic Network‐Based Customer Service Systems*

Customer service is a key component of a firm's value proposition and a fundamental driver of differentiation and competitive advantage in nearly every industry. Moreover, the relentless coevolution of service opportunities with novel and more powerful information technologies has made this area exciting for academic researchers who can contribute to shaping the design and management of future customer service systems. We engage in interdisciplinary research—across information systems, marketing, and computer science—in order to contribute to the service design and service management literature. Grounded in the design‐science perspective, our study leverages marketing theory on the service‐dominant logic and recent findings pertaining to the evolution of customer service systems. Our theorizing culminates with the articulation of four design principles. These design principles underlie the emerging class of customer service systems that, we believe, will enable firms to better compete in an environment characterized by an increase in customer centricity and in customers' ability to self‐serve and dynamically assemble the components of solutions that fit their needs. In this environment, customers retain control over their transactional data, as well as the timing and mode of their interactions with firms, as they increasingly gravitate toward integrated complete customer solutions rather than single products or services. Guided by these design principles, we iterated through, and evaluated, two instantiations of the class of systems we propose, before outlining implications and directions for further cross‐disciplinary scholarly research.     

Righting the balance: Understanding introverts (and extraverts) in the workplace

Since being introduced over a century ago, trait extraversion and introversion have generated substantial research. However, this research has focused primarily on extraversion, with introversion being relatively neglected. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to take stock of extraversion and introversion research in the workplace. Doing so allows us to propose a shift in focus away from extraversion to the study of introversion and its potential positive benefits. First, we briefly review the traits’ evolution during the past century and then examine 10 commonly used trait extraversion scales to better understand how extraversion and introversion are studied. Thereafter, we review 10 years of scholarship (2009–2019) appearing in 12 leading management journals. Overall, we find that there is a positive bias towards extraversion and its positively valenced characteristics such as positive affect, outgoingness and socialness. In contrast, our review reveals that introversion is treated as ‘low extraversion’ and often imbued with negatively valenced characteristics such as social awkwardness and low social self-esteem. Based on our multilevel review of the literature, we propose a working list of positively valenced characteristics of introversion and suggest how these introversion characteristics might be beneficial at multiple levels in organizations. In doing so, we hope that our paper will generate new ways of seeing introversion and extraversion alike, which should help right the balance in our shared understanding of how extraversion and introversion can positively shape workplace outcomes.     

Believing is seeing

Useful, well-demonstrated, well-vetted ideas in clinical practice, disease management, health care management, ideas that would save lives, save money, and make life better for the patient, are sometimes simply ignored, dismissed as radical, as completely unfounded, dangerous, and without merit. Why are new ideas so slow to spread in medicine and health care? Because believing is seeing. We do not look for something we don't believe in. In fact, we do not even see a thing if we don't believe in it. We have dedicated ourselves so powerfully to medicine, to health care as we know it, that we often do not even see any alternatives. A combination of factors makes it likely that, in the coming decade or two, we will change almost everything that is fundamental about health care and medicine. In a time of such rapid change, we desperately need to root out and question our deep assumptions and beliefs, to get off the tracks laid down by training and experience and ask questions we have never asked before.     

The management of participatory cultural initiatives: learning from the discourse on intellectual capital

Based on previous research that highlights some gaps in the study of the new phenomena of Participatory Cultural Initiatives (PCIs), this paper addresses the need to understand how the relevance of those initiatives is perceived, tentatively measured and communicated to strategic stakeholders. With this, we want to investigate a possible contribution of the discourse on Intellectual Capital (IC) and Intangible Assets for the cultural sector in general and PCIs in detail. The IC perspective is adopted as a boundary object to analyse the key actors’ behaviours concerning PCIs, following a performative approach. In doing so, this field research applies a case study method of analysis by investigating two PCIs in Italy: Big City Life, a street art district in Tor Marancia (Rome) and the project of Matera as European Capital of Culture 2019. Data have been gathered through both primary (interviews) and secondary (official documents, social media, websites and press releases) sources of evidence. The analysis is mainly developed at a micro (single organisation) and meso (district/city) level. Given the originality of the topic whose research is still at an infancy stage and without a well-grounded theory, we seek to gain significant insights into this new issue by applying an exploratory approach. Through the IC lens, it is possible to gain a better understanding of how the PCIs’ impact is assessed and communicated to its stakeholders. Evidence shows that narratives and visualisations play a crucial role by supporting comprehension of the PCIs’ key aspects and their interwoven relations. A condition for narratives and visualisations to be accepted as legitimation tools is the development of a trust relationship among stakeholders. As a result, the impact of PCIs has dimensions and interwoven aspects which are not amenable for traditional performance measures. In summary, it is possible to state that PCIs trigger a focus on talking and showing to understand, instead of a focus on measuring to understand. The paper discusses how the understanding and management of PCIs can improve with lessons learnt from the discourse on IC and with reference to Habermas’ theory of communicative action. Primarily, we focus on the use of narrative and visual representations by key actors to communicate with strategic stakeholders to gain trust and legitimation.

     

Interest‐Talk as Access‐Talk: How Interests are Displayed,Made and Down‐played in Management Research

This paper addresses the methodological issue of how researchers gain access and build trust in order to conduct research in organizations. It focuses, in particular, on the role of interests (what actors want or what they stand to gain or lose) in the research relationship. The analysis shows how notions of interests, stake and motive were managed during an action research study in a UK subsidiary of a multinational corporation. The study uses an approach to discourse analysis inspired by the field of discursive psychology to identify four discursive devices: stake inoculation; stake confession; stake attribution; and stake construction. The paper contributes to the understanding of research methodology by identifying the importance of interest‐talk in the process of doing management research.     

THE ROLE OF SUPPLY MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES IN GREEN SUPPLY

Managers realize that they should avoid complex green supply initiatives when they do not have the capabilities to implement them. However, they have little guidance on how these capabilities can be developed. This paper provides an initial analysis of the role of supply management capabilities in green supply. We argue that the implementation of green supply is better explained by focusing on the development and deployment of an organization's specialized internal resources, rather than by the more usual focus on external environmental pressures on a firm. Further, we argue that capabilities appropriate for green supply are developed by a proactive corporate environmental stance and by a more strategic purchasing and supply management approach. We test our model using data from a two‐phase survey of 70 operating units within UK public limited companies. Our results indicate support for our conjecture that supply management capabilities are jointly developed by a proactive corporate environmental approach and a strategic purchasing and supply process. Our study results should be useful to business strategists, regulators, and researchers interested in the predictors of corporate green behavior. They should also assist future researchers in many branches of environmental management who are seeking to explore the role of the internal capabilities of firms in supporting environmental management.     

Are you obsolete?

Are you vulnerable, regardless of length of service at your organization and your unique skill sets? There are ways to test vulnerability and assemble some hard evidence that your management role makes a difference. You need to conduct a self-test for obsolescence. Ask yourself the following questions: Are your skills state-of-the-art? As a manager, how do you compare with others doing the same, or similar, job at competing organizations? Is your role essential? Where does your job fall into the big picture? Can you be replaced easily? If a thorough examination of your skills and your role convinces you that your contribution returns more to the organization than your salary, can you prove it? Consider these strategies: (1) Put together a portfolio, (2) ensure your boss' support, (3) advertise your successes, and (4) cultivate recruiters. The best reason to analyze your value to the organization is that if you are laid off, getting another comparable job--or a better one--will be far less of a hassle.     

How Managers Talk about their Consumption of Popular Management Concepts: Identity,Rules and Situations

This paper analyses how top managers account for their consumption of popular management concepts. By ‘consumption’ we refer to managers acting as active users of popular management concepts within their organizations. After reviewing the relevant literature, we argue that the logic of appropriateness is a better theoretical perspective to view, understand and analyse managers' accounts of concept consumption than is the logic of consequence. We apply this perspective to extensive interviews we conducted with top managers in Germany. Based on the managers' own accounts of how they understand and apply popular management concepts, we identified four discourse categories: (1) learning from others' experiences, (2) controlling organizational change, (3) gaining external legitimacy and (4) collective sensemaking. We argue that these discourse categories all draw on the social norm of rationality central to managerial identity, while differing in socially defined rules about how rationality is realized in typical management situations. Our findings strongly encourage researchers, when investigating popular management concepts in the future, to take into account the situational nature of rationality that circumstantiates the consumption of concepts.     

Visualizing the landscape and evolution of leadership research

Complementing prior quantitative and qualitative reviews of the leadership literature, we conduct a bibliometric analysis of leadership articles. Our bibliometric review provides a different perspective by portraying the landscape and developmental trajectory of leadership research over time via co-citation and co-occurrence analyses. Using a scientific visualization tool CiteSpace and 6528 leadership works collected from the Web of Science database from 1990 to 2017, we detect and visualize the landscape of leadership research and track how this landscape has evolved. After mapping the landscape, we discuss the insights gleaned from our bibliometric review, with a focus on open questions, future research directions, and implications. In doing so, our review provides readers with a systematic understanding of the development of the leadership field and a roadmap to spark leadership research and move this literature forward.     

管理理论与实践脱节的界定依据、深层原因及解决思路

用归纳推理法、演绎推理法和矛盾分析法等方法,从理论的来源与去向、应用链、实践者感知、时空适用性4个方面提出了界定脱节的依据,深入分析了导致脱节的外因与内因,提出并论证了"管理学应用链偏长"、"管理学研究者客户迷失"、"存在价值与替代价值两维评价"、"引用者、读者、使用者三类指标"等重要论断.     

Is high touch finally here?

Can anyone single-handedly create a caring environment without adding hours to his or her work week? As turnover continues to rise, it's worth considering. Techniques managers say have worked for them are suggested, including: Monitor workloads; celebrate successes; make niceness an expectation; mentor; offer training as often as possible; stamp out problems before they go public; consider offering flexible hours and extended leaves for all; and introduce yeast to keep people stimulated. Will these strategies--all of which may not work for you--fatten your bonus this year? Probably not, unless top management is monitoring retention and doing occasional exit interviews. However, one of the byproducts is that employees don't stop with each other. They begin to treat patients better, something neither bribery nor threats may produce.