Supporting open innovation with the use of a balanced scorecard approach: a study on deep smarts and effective knowledge transfer to SMEs

Abstract

This study aims to develop the theory of knowledge management and organizational performance within a small and medium enterprise (SME) context using action research (AR) involving a higher education institution (HEI) and an SME. The vehicle for the knowledge exchange was Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), the United Kingdom’s primary mechanism for delivering government funded knowledge transfer to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). KTPs facilitate knowledge exchange from HEIs to SMEs via the recruitment of a graduate plus an academic supervisor from the partnering HEI. The AR study was an award-winning KTP and the project deliverable included the implementation of a balanced scorecard for the SME to improve organizational performance. The transfer of knowledge was subsequently fed-back into the university in order to develop a performance framework for measuring the effectiveness of KTP research within the HEI in order to share knowledge and improve effective for other KTP projects.     

Further Evaluation of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Safety (PDC-Safety)

ABSTRACT

We further evaluated the Performance Diagnostic Checklist- Safety (PDC-Safety) by comparing the effectiveness of a PDC-Safety indicated intervention with a PDC-Safety non-indicated intervention for three employees at a clinic serving children with intellectual disabilities. The interventions targeted participants’ hand washing before working with clients. The results of the PDC-Safety suggested that the antecedents and information domain was most problematic. First, a non-indicated intervention, which included access to additional materials (i.e., hand sanitizer), was implemented and found to be ineffective. Next, an indicated intervention, which included prompting, was found to be effective to increase safe performance to acceptable levels for two of the three participants; one participant required feedback to substantially improve and maintain safe performance.     

The Impact of Authority Relations and Feedback Delivery Method on Performance

ABSTRACT

The proliferation of technology has been changing feedback delivery methods in organizations. However, the effectiveness of feedback delivery methods can vary depending on social dynamics (e.g., authority relations) in the organization. The current study was designed to examine the impact of authority relations and feedback delivery methods on performance. A total of 120 participants were recruited to work on a simulated cell-phone assembly task and were exposed to one of the four feedback conditions: (a) authority figure with face-to-face feedback, (b) authority figure with e-mail feedback, (c) non-authority figure with face-to-face feedback, and (d) non-authority figure with e-mail feedback. Results showed that while both feedback delivery methods resulted in high performance with the presence of an authority figure, only face-to-face feedback resulted in high performance with a non-authority figure. Practical considerations for effective feedback delivery methods in relation to authority figures are also discussed.     

Knowledge Management and Balanced Scorecard Outcomes: Exploring the Importance of Interpretation,Learning and Internationality

The topics of shared interpretation, organizational learning and firm internationalization have been studied extensively. Though considered important factors that shape the international competitive landscape, research synthesizing these interrelated areas has been limited to date. We use the balanced scorecard as a framework for assessing how organizational learning and sensemaking influence actions relating to a global marketing strategy and subsequent financial performance. Using data from 169 multinational corporations, findings indicate that a specific set of knowledge activities is related to balanced scorecard outcomes (e.g. customer performance, innovation and learning performance, and internal process performance). The hypothesized importance of customer performance is confirmed as the only balanced scorecard outcome significantly related to financial performance. A post hoc analysis revealed further insights for future research opportunities. Overall, these results suggest that firms can improve their competitive position by emphasizing shared interpretation within the organization and including balanced scorecard elements when assessing performance.     

Effects of Accurate and Inaccurate Feedback on Work Performance: The Role of the Awareness of Inaccuracy

ABSTRACT

This study compared the effects of accurate (i.e., contingent) and inaccurate (i.e., non-contingent) feedback on work performance under two different work conditions. Under one work condition, participants could clearly see the outcome of their performance (i.e., visible condition). Under the other condition, they could not clearly see the outcome of their performance (i.e., non-visible condition). One hundred and twenty participants were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions (i.e., accurate/visible, inaccurate/visible, accurate/non-visible, and inaccurate/non-visible) and asked to perform a simulated work task. The results indicated that inaccurate feedback was as effective as accurate feedback under the non-visible condition, but inaccurate feedback was less effective than accurate feedback under the visible condition.     

Green supply management and performance: a resource-based view

Abstract

This study develops and empirically tests, from the resource-based perspective, a conceptual framework linking green supply management and performance. The proposed model is tested using data from a sample of 126 automotive manufactures in China. The results suggest that both green purchasing personnel and green supplier selection have a significant positive effect on green supplier collaboration, and that building green collaboration with suppliers is significantly and positively related to both environmental and operational performance. Accordingly, knowledge and skill development of the purchasing function can be recognised as an important resource in building green supply capabilities and performance.     

When Knowing You Are Doing Well Hinders Performance

Summary

The effect of two types of verbal consequences, rule-following feedback and task performance feedback, on rule-induced insensitivity to programmed schedules of reinforcement were examined. Rule-following feedback could be either accurate or non-contingently positive. The task involved moving a sign through a grid using telegraph keys operating on a multiple DRL 6/FR 18 schedule of reinforcement in the presence of an initially accurate rule. After acquisition, the multiple schedule was changed without notice to a FR 1/FI Yoked schedule. Accurate rule-following feedback plus feedback on task performance produced striking insensitivity to the DRL 6 to FR 1 schedule change, the opposite of what might be expected by a common sense analysis of task performance feedback, even after controlling for contact with the changed contingency. It is argued that findings such as these can only be understood by considering the mutual verbal relations evoked by the combinations of rules and feedback, rather than treating feedback as a simple consequential event or as a verbal consequence whose effects do not depend on the relations sustained with other events.     

Weekly Feedback vs. Daily Feedback

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted in a retail setting to (a) assess the effectiveness of a multi-component performance management intervention and (b) compare the effectiveness of weekly and daily feedback. During the first experiment, a multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of task clarification, goal setting, access to preferred items contingent upon goal attainment, and weekly graphic feedback on the completion of routine maintenance tasks in a framing and art store. During phase 1 of the second experiment, an AB design was used to replicate the effects of this intervention on similar tasks in a new store location with the same participants. During phase 2 of the second experiment, a multiple baseline design was used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention when daily feedback replaced weekly feedback. Results indicate that the multi-component intervention was effective in both experiments, and that daily feedback may have enhanced the effectiveness of the intervention.     

Evaluation of the Service Review Model With Performance Scorecards

The current study combined a management technique termed “Service Review” with performance scorecards to enhance staff and consumer behavior in a human service setting consisting of 11 supervisors and 56 front-line staff working with 9 adult consumers with challenging behaviors. Results of our intervention showed that service review and scorecards produced significant staff behavior changes that were maintained over time. Positive consumer outcomes were also correlated with staff performance changes. The behavioral package of training, clinical consultation, service review, biweekly manager meetings, scorecards, and public posting has the potential to reduce the need for monetary staff incentives.     

The Effects of a Combined Task Clarification,Goal Setting,Feedback, and Performance Contingent Consequence Intervention Package on Telephone Customer Service in a Medical Clinic Environment

Abstract

Appointment coordinators at a mid-western medical clinic were to provide exceptional telephone customer service. This included using a standard greeting, speaking in an appropriate tone of voice during the conversation, and using a standard closing to end the call. An analysis suggested performance deficiencies resulted from weak antecedents, poor knowledge and skills, and weak performance contingencies. An intervention package consisting of task clarification, goal setting, feedback, and performance contingent consequences was designed to improve customer service behaviors of four participating appointment coordinators. An ABAB reversal design was used, and overall performances of all four participants increased during intervention phases. This study indicates that a multi-component intervention may be an effective strategy to increase telephone customer service behavior in medical clinic settings.     

Examining the Effects of Feedback Accuracy and Timing on Skill Acquisition

ABSTRACT

Feedback involves providing information about past performance and indicating how to improve future performance. Although the literature contains numerous examples of feedback as an effective method for improving performance across a range of organizational settings, much remains unknown about the specifics of how feedback acts to change behavior. This study evaluated the combined effects of feedback accuracy (100%, 80%, 20%) and timing (feedback following each trial or after a block of 25 trials) on skill acquisition in undergraduate students when presented with a computerized match-to-sample task that required participants to learn the names of shapes. Results reveal that feedback accuracy had a significantly greater effect on performance than the timing of the feedback.     

Decreasing Delivery Drivers' Departure Times

Abstract

A performance feedback and goal setting procedure was used to improve the morning departure times for delivery drivers in a social services agency that provided meals to elderly clients. Daily group feedback with changing-criterion goal setting was delivered using charts in a publicly accessible area. Upon the onset of the intervention, performance improved significantly and accordingly reversed during the first withdrawal phase. These improvements were replicated in a second feedback phase but did not reverse in a second withdrawal phase. Individuals who were relatively low performers during the baseline phase saw their performance improve to equal that of relatively high performers during the intervention phases. This demonstration project replicates and extends a well-established OBM intervention to a transitional work environment.     

A Comparison of Immediate and Post-Session Feedback with Behavioral Skills Training to Improve Interview Skills in College Students

ABSTRACT

Successful interviewing skills help maximize the probability that a job candidate will make a positive impression upon a prospective employer. Previous research described a method to increase appropriate interview skills using Behavioral Skills Training (BST) with post-session feedback. Immediate feedback has been shown as an effective method that may improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the training package described by previous research. The purpose of this study was to replicate past studies using BST to improve interview skills of college students and extend the study by comparing post-session and immediate feedback. All participants demonstrated improvements in interview skills, thus replicating previous findings. More specifically, BST with immediate feedback showed greater acquisition, maintenance, and generalization, with fewer training minutes required to meet mastery criteria compared to BST with post-session feedback.     

Effects of Feedback Delivery Requirements on Accuracy of Observations

ABSTRACT

Feedback is often used in Organizational Behavior Management to improve employee performance. Accurate feedback results in greater improvements in performance and accurate observations enable accurate feedback. However, employees may find providing feedback to peers aversive. The present study contrived a method to evaluate whether instructing individuals to deliver feedback following observations impacted the accuracy of those observations. Five college-aged participants were exposed to a counterbalanced ABAB design. In the observation-only condition (Condition A) participants conducted observations of confederate posture, scoring whether the confederate’s feet and back were “safe” or “at risk.” In the required-feedback condition (Condition B) participants observed and collected data identically to phase A, but were additionally instructed to deliver feedback regarding confederate postures following each session. The results show that all five participants demonstrated higher accuracy of observations in the observation-only condition. Factors potentially influencing lower accuracy when feedback was required are discussed.     

The Effects of a Combined Goal Setting,Feedback and Incentive Intervention on Job Performance in a Manufacturing Environment

Abstract

Baked anodes are used in finished aluminum production. Employees of a large multinational aluminum smelter were responsible for the production of more than 3500 baked anodes per week. During a 74 week long baseline (A) condition, production of unusable anodes exceeded 300 per week or 8.6 percent of their nominal 3500 anode production requirement. A problem analysis suggested that this high rate of defective anodes might have been due to weak antecedents, inefficient work procedures and weak performance contingencies. An intervention package that included a combination of goal setting, performance feedback, and tangible rewards was designed to strengthen antecedents and consequences of job performance. A performance feedback system was introduced with and remained constant across the three types of performance contingent rewards and three successively higher goal levels. The three reward and goal combinations were introduced to “strengthen” antecedents and performance contingencies within an A-B1-B2-B3-A with reversal to baseline conditions design. Anode reject rates were lower (better performance) during the three intervention phases compared to both the pre- and post-intervention baseline phase data. A dramatic performance improvement (lowered rate of rejects) was observed during the B3 phase that included the highest performance goal. These data demonstrate that a treatment combination of specific goal setting, feedback and tangible rewards can “strengthen” antecedents and performance contingencies resulting in improved objective performance in a manufacturing environment.     

Six things to manage--Designs

Transportation in reverse logistics (RL) plays a significant role and has impact on overall RL performance. Efficiency, effectiveness and impact are the distinct components of RL transportation. Balancing these components requires the implementation of an effective performance measurement (PM) system. The perspectives of balanced scorecard have been used where enterprises can link their performance to their transportation practices, which do not provide an understanding of the RL transportation operating objectives and the developing strategies through an analysis of stakeholders. This article proposes the comprehensive PM of transportation system, which is multi-angle perspective for RL enterprises. Recognising the multiple criteria nature of the problem, this article uses analytical hierarchy process methodology in order to find an overall comprehensive performance index, which is critical to the success of the RL transportation operations to assist logistics managers, researchers, transportation planners and decision-makers.     

Prioritising indicators in improving supply chain performance using fuzzy AHP: insights from the case example of four Indian manufacturing companies

Abstract

In this contribution, we aim to prioritise the indicators to enhance the organisational supply chain’s (SC) effectiveness from an industrial perspective. It will help industries to develop strategies for managing the SC effectively and ensuring improvement in performance continuously. To achieve this, this work proposes to use a two-phase research methodology. First, 36 SC performance improvement indicators are recognised from a literature survey and from field and industrial expert’s inputs. Secondly, a structural model is proposed using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritise the indicators strategically to improve the SC performance. The fuzzy AHP method helps determine the priority of concerns of the identified indicators under fuzzy surroundings. Inputs in this research are taken from four ancillary Indian plastic manufacturing firms. Research findings indicate that collaborations and information exchange dimension indicators obtained the highest priority in improving SC performance. The model proposed is considered very useful for the SC managers/practitioners/decision-makers to understand better and distinguish the essential SC performance improvement indicators and to take systematic decisions specifically to improve the performance of business in a SC context. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the priority ranking of the indicators.     

The Effects of Temporal Placement of Feedback on Performance With and Without Goals

ABSTRACT

This report from the field evaluated the effects of temporal placement of feedback, and presence or absence of stated goals, on employee skill acquisition in the context of an organization-wide training. Four conditions were examined: feedback before performance with goals, feedback before performance without goals, feedback after performance with goals, and feedback after performance without goals. The results of this study found no statistically significant difference in performance across the four conditions.     

Exploiting the balanced scorecard in the Operations Department: the Ducati Motor Holding case

The literature has widely discussed how to measure manufacturing performance. However, even though several indicators have been proposed, manufacturing reporting systems still suffer from a number of problems, which according to recent contributions, can be solved through the adoption of integrated performance measurement systems (PMSs). This article aims at understanding whether such integrated PMSs–namely the balanced scorecard–can actually solve the problems, which usually affect the reporting system of the Operations Department. The article presents a case-study developed in Ducati Motor Holding and then outlines the main conclusions and managerial implications. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the key benefits brought about by the balanced scorecard concern a higher responsiveness of the decision-making process and more intense cooperation among all units related to operations management (namely, manufacturing, logistics, quality management, procurement, maintenance).     

Use of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist to Select an Intervention Designed to Increase the Offering of Promotional Stamps at Two Sites of a Restaurant Franchise

Abstract

The performance diagnostic checklist (PDC) was administered to examine the variables influencing the offering of promotional stamps by employees at two sites of a restaurant franchise. PDC results suggested that a lack of appropriate antecedents, equipment and processes, and consequences were responsible for the deficits. Based on these results, an intervention consisting of task clarification, self-monitoring, equipment modification, goal setting, and graphic feedback was implemented and evaluated with a multiple baseline design across settings. The results for restaurant 1 yielded baseline and intervention means of 25% and 72%, respectively. The results for restaurant 2 yielded baseline and intervention means of 11% and 80%, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that the PDC is a useful tool for guiding intervention selection for performance deficits which occur across more than one site.