What kind of feedback are you soliciting?

How can you assess how well you're performing? From benchmarking to finding a mentor, here are some suggestions to help you solicit meaningful feedback to improve your performance. The feedback that's most beneficial isn't an opinion--even the CEO's, although it's important--because it's often the opposite of fact. You need standards against which to measure yourself that aren't tightly linked to your organization's culture, so you'll need to research what's going on with your competitor's employees and network with other professionals.     

What is the future of work? A science mapping analysis

This article aims to systematise and provide a structure for research into the Future of Work (FoW). We used SciMAT to conduct a science mapping analysis based on co-word bibliographic networks. The Web of Science (WoS) database was used for article retrieval, and a total of 2,286 documents were identified from 1959 to 2019. Our results are counterintuitive, as concerns over satisfaction, leadership values or corporate social responsibility (CSR) appear alongside traditional human resource management (HRM) themes, such as organisational commitment or careers, as well as more current FoW themes, such as the impact of technological change on employment, wage inequality, vulnerable workers, telework or talent management. In addition, we offer a classification of the most prolific FoW research themes and challenges into technological, social, economic and political categories.     

The vertical network organization as a specific governance structure: what are the challenges for incomplete contracts theories and what are the theoretical implications for the boundaries of the (hub-) firm?

Departing from the seminal question that Coase raised in his 1937 work, this article discusses and assesses incomplete contracts theories’ analyses of the firm’s boundaries—notably transaction cost theory and the modern theory of property rights—by investigating the case of the vertical network organization (VNO). We perform a theoretical characterization and analysis of the functioning rules of the VNO to shed light on intra-network incentive provisions and coordination mechanisms. Our findings cast doubt on the role that hold-up considerations on the firm’s boundaries play and allow us to question forms of power within the VNO. Finally, we focus on the theoretical implications of the emergence of the VNO. The legal nature of the firm does not match the economic definition of the VNO, which tends to treat the firm as a specific governance structure.     

A meso measure? Examination of the levels of analysis of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)

Critical review of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Form 5X (MLQ5X), reveals serious problems related to specification of the theoretical level of analysis at which it measures its underlying constructs. Data from two separate samples indicate that items of the commonly used MLQ5X are ambiguous with respect to level of analysis. It appears unclear in many instances whether the items reflect individual, group, or organizational referents. Based upon our analyses and the literature, we present specific propositions concerning the level(s) at which each MLQ5X dimension appears most appropriately conceptualized and measured, along with suggestions for future research and revision of the MLQ5X.     

How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes

While the focus on constructive leadership still dominates leadership research, an increasing number of studies investigate different forms of destructive leadership. This meta-analysis integrates different conceptualizations of destructive leadership and analyzes the relationship between destructive leadership and outcome variables. The search for articles yielded more than 200 studies of which 57 could be included in the meta-analysis. Results indicate the expected negative correlations with positive followers' outcomes and behaviors (e.g., attitudes towards the leader, well-being, and individual performance) and positive correlations with negative outcomes (e.g., turnover intention, resistance towards the leader, counterproductive work behavior). As expected, the highest correlation arises between destructive leadership and attitudes towards the leader. Surprisingly, the next highest correlation was found between destructive leadership and counterproductive work behavior. After discussing the results, an agenda for future research is proposed. Given the negative impact of destructive leadership, more knowledge is especially necessary regarding what triggers destructive leadership.     

What is the board of directors good for?

The history of corporate crisis in recent years indicates that the present method of operation of boards of directors is inadequate to deal with crises or influence events. Whether the remedies lie within the present structure or whether they should be found by establishing a new system is the challenge facing the corporate world and the academic business school. If, however, remedies are difficult or impossible to find, then at least the limitations of the boards of directors should be made clear.     

What “international” subtopics are crucial to business education?: A survey of management school professors

The question addressed by this survey is, “What ‘international’ topics are crucial to the practice of management?” The objective of the study was to identify “international” curricular subtopics, tools, and concepts that faculty respondents deemed absolutely crucial to business pedagogy and to the practice of management, and would therefore require in every business program. This survey is one of the few that addresses the international pedagogy issue from the micro-, or subtopic, end of the spectrum. A list of the topics identified should be of considerable value to curriculum committees in charge of business school programs. The selections ranged not only over the six major departments found in most business schools, but beyond. Respondents as a whole were willing to step outside their narrow departmental boundaries when thinking about the question of internationalization of pedagogy. The results also seem to confirm that the bulk of the burden of the internationalization of the curriculum will continue to rest, principally but by no means exclusively, on two departments, Management and Marketing.     

A Trojan Horse? The implications of managerial coaching for leadership theory

This article examines the behaviours associated with managerial coaching and assesses the implications for leadership theory. Survey data from 521 line managers are analysed to: (i) identify the behaviours associated with managerial coaching, (ii) examine factors that affect the propensity of managers to undertake coaching and (iii) discuss the implications of the manager as coach role for leadership theory and practice. First, the analysis indicates that workplace coaching is distinct from specialized coaching practices. Second, demographic characteristics of individual managers, such as their age, experience or level of management qualification are unlikely to affect their propensity to undertake managerial coaching. However, leader-team member relationships (leader-member exchange) and occupational self-efficacy (OSE) are predictive of managerial coaching behaviours. Third, managerial coaching challenges traditional leader-centric models of leadership and requires an acknowledgement of reciprocity, collaborative ‘meaning-making’ and a diminished ‘distance’ between leaders and team members.     

What is the impact of sustainable development on the re-localisation of manufacturing enterprises?

Rendering the supply chain more eco-friendly is an innovative idea progressively adopted by industry. Our research focuses on the CO₂ equivalent emissions along the supply chain due to freight energy use and storage. A supply chain model based on discrete event simulation was developed. The model uses reorder point production management policy (ROP) within a make to stock (MTS) demand response strategy. Manufacturing capability is also taken into account using an overall equipment effectiveness indicator (OEE). In addition, the location of the firms and their types of products are modelled. The purpose is to compare supply chain CO₂ equivalent emissions of different configurations. This method is applied to two industrial cases: Carrier (UTC group), a large cooler manufacturer and Zannier group, a textile industry. The principle objective of the study is to conduct pertinent experiments to give green guidelines to Carrier and Zannier group.     

What explains variation in voluntary disclosure? A study of the annual reports of corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange

The demand for information and transparency from listed corporations has recently increased. In spite of an increased demand for mandatory disclosures from regulators, corporations choose to voluntarily disclose additional information in order to satisfy demands from the capital market. However, the extent and content of information in those voluntary disclosures vary across corporations. The aim of this study is to explain the variation in the content of information in voluntary disclosures by listed corporations. The analyses are based on data collected from 431 annual reports from corporations listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the years 2002 and 2005. The findings support explanations from agency theory and positive accounting theory that size and the debt ratio are positively correlated with the content of information in voluntary disclosures. Corporations with a high share of management ownership disclosed less information than corporations with a low share of management ownership. The study also shows that variations in voluntary disclosures can be explained by factors derived from institutional theory and ‘international capital market pressures’. The results indicate that foreign ownership and international listing to some extent have a positive effect on the content of information in voluntary disclosures. Industry was another factor that had a significant influence on voluntary disclosures. One important finding is that regulation to some extent can stimulate voluntary disclosures; our results did not indicate an ‘unintended chilling effect’ due to too much regulation. In general, the corporations disclosed more voluntary information after the introduction of IFRS.     

What can we learn from the history of technology?

This article focuses on exploring what technology scholars and students of management of technology stand to benefit most by foraging through the history of technology. In order to show how historical sensitivity could sharpen scholarship, three strategies for complicating the simple are drawn from the historian's toolkit. Implications for research in technology and innovation management are discussed.     

What Risks Do People Perceive in Everyday Life? A Perspective Gained from the Experience Sampling Method (ESM)

The experience sampling method (ESM) was used to collect data from 74 part-time students who described and assessed the risks involved in their current activities when interrupted at random moments by text messages. The major categories of perceived risk were short term in nature and involved "loss of time or materials" related to work and "physical damage" (e.g., from transportation). Using techniques of multilevel analysis, we demonstrate effects of gender, emotional state, and types of risk on assessments of risk. Specifically, females do not differ from males in assessing the potential severity of risks but they see these as more likely to occur. Also, participants assessed risks to be lower when in more positive self-reported emotional states. We further demonstrate the potential of ESM by showing that risk assessments associated with current actions exceed those made retrospectively. We conclude by noting advantages and disadvantages of ESM for collecting data about risk perceptions.     

What motivates internal whistleblowing? A typology adapted to the French context

Transparency and ethics are nowadays often cited as a way to remedy various difficulties faced by companies. However, whistleblowing employees who are an example of this are potentially confronted with silence or reprisals. The researchers have sought to apprehend the reasons pushing to whistleblow but the motivations are complex. Although some studies have tried to create profiles of whistleblowers, they have been led in cultural and legislative contexts where the whistleblower may be internal or external to the company, act out of revenge, or be financially rewarded for the information reported, none of which the Sapin II law in France permits. Using a qualitative method based on ten life narratives from French employees who have whistleblown, our article seeks to understand their primary motivations for taking this action. The research will first present the French definition of a whistleblower and the motivations identified in the Anglo-Saxon context from which most studies originate. Following the detailed presentation of the methodology, we will explain the typology of four profiles obtained from the analysis of our results and discuss similarities/differences with the Anglo-Saxon work. In a context where many organizations are promoting the establishment of a genuine ethical and democratic spirit, this typology will aim to identify the arguments that can be used upstream to encourage the process. It can also be used as a tool for training managers and employees to better understand whistleblowing, explaining to them that it is part of a predominantly positive approach, thereby limiting reprisals and stimulating the feedback on dysfunctions within the organization.     

What Influences Business Academics’ Use of the Association of Business Schools (ABS) List? Evidence From a Survey of UK Academics

The development of the Association of Business Schools (ABS) list in 2007 and its rapid adoption by UK business schools has had a profound effect on the nature of business and management academics’ ways of working. Using a large‐scale survey of UK business academics, we assess the extent to which individuals use the Academic Journal Guide (AJG/ABS) list in their day‐to‐day professional activities. In particular, we explore how their perceptions of the list, the academic influence of their research, academic rank and organizational context drive the varied use. Building on prior research on the importance of univalent attitudes in predicting behaviour, we find those who have either strong positive or negative views of the list are more extensive users than those who are ambivalent. We also find that the extent of use of the AJG/ABS list is greatest among those academics who have lower academic influence, in the middle or junior ranks within business schools and in middle and low‐status universities. We explore the implications of these findings for the value of journal rankings and for the management of business schools.