A professionalization framework to understand the structuring of work

The notion of professionalization is widely used both by managers and researchers. This use questions the traditional definition of profession. This paper reviews a book published in 1988 – The System of Professions – written by a sociologist, A. Abbott. Though this book had a strong impact in the field of the sociology of professions, it has remained unknown by many researchers in management science. His pragmatic approach to the concepts of profession and professionalization helps achieve better understanding of work structuring and as a consequence can be useful to address issues such as human resources management, organizational control or even the management of information systems.     

Developing strategic alliances: A conceptual framework for successful co-operation

Due to dramatically increasing global competition and in the light of Europe '92, companies have to concentrate on their particular competitive advantages and on those business activities they know well. The market, however, asks for an ever increasing range of products and services. ‘System deals’ include — along with a product — attractive sideline services, like project management, system implementation or supply of related products. In many cases, entering these markets or achieving technological breakthroughs is only possible with a strong partner.These recent developments forced corporations to consider alternative company structures. The failure of many strategic alliances, however, has clearly shown that understanding the development process of the alliance is critical for success. Christoph Bronder and Rudolf Pritzl present a structured procedure for developing strategic alliances that outlines four critical phases: strategic decision for an alliance, alliance configuration, partner selection, and alliance management.     

管理科学与工程学科“十四五”发展战略研究:学科界定与保障政策

我国管理科学与工程学科的发展是国家全局性科学技术发展战略的重要组成部分,能够在相关重大发展领域提供关键助力,因而需要在宏观层面上探索具有问题导向属性,并且能够充分反映时代特性和国家实际需求的管理科学与工程学科发展战略。鉴于此,以厘清该学科界定与研究意义为基础,结合相关调研结果,探索了我国管理科学与工程学科“十四五”发展战略的保障政策,以期为我国“十四五”规划多个关键战略方向的重大需求提供管理支撑和量化参考,同时助力国家自然科学基金委员会全面深化科学基金改革。     

Mapping the changes in management science: A review of ‘soft’ OR/MS articles published in Omega (1973–2008)

The paper proposes a framework to map the development of management science (MS) and uses it to survey the MS literature published in Omega, the International Journal of Management Science. The management science discourse over the last 35 years is mapped in four paradigms: (1) optimisation/normative; (2) interpretative/learning; (3) critical; and (4) a post-modern management science approach. Using a set of keywords and authors’ names associated with the main features of each MS discourse, articles published between 1973 and 2008 are grouped. Results seem to suggest that Omega, a US-based journal, has been mainly developing publications under the optimisation paradigm; only very few papers adhering to the interpretative/learning and critical paradigms have been given space in Omega. The handful of papers from the interpretative paradigm are seen as attempts of UK-based academics to open some space for ‘soft’ operational research (OR) or ‘problem structuring methods’ in a positivistic outlook that seems to pervade US management science practice. Results of the survey and features of MS literature published in Omega are discussed. The paper aims to raise awareness amongst management scientist, systems and operational researchers of the differences between the MS/OR practice in both countries.     

全球化时代的中国管理模式

在中国和平发展的过程中，中国的管理科学要提高水平、走向世界，既要适应全球化，又要实现本土化。管理理论无所谓中式、美式、欧式、日式的区分，各国的管理科学也没有本质差别，譬如战略理论、生产管理、营销方法等。中国管理科学的全球化就是要学习、引进、发展现代管理科学。但因文化的差异，各国管理哲学有很大的差别。中国管理科学的本土化就是要继承并发展优良传统中国管理文化，促进管理科学在中国的实践。中国管理哲学与现代管理科学在中国成功管理实践中融合，形成了支撑中国经济持续高速增长的中国管理模式，而中国管理模式在实践中不断创新也必将推动现代管理科学进步和中国管理哲学的提升。     

The electronic ‘go-between service provider': a new ‘middle' role taking centre stage

While the full impact of the Internet on traditional business models and strategies is yet to be played out, one thing is already certain: it will irrevocably challenge the nature of the traditional middle role. A full spectrum of Internet-driven consequences — from disintermediation to cybermediation — has already been observed by numerous academics and practitioners. This article describes a different intermediary: the ‘go-between service provider,' who is increasingly challenging traditionalists benefiting from the new market and economic dynamics of our time. This paper, based on case studies and interviews as part of a long-term research project, presents a conceptual framework; lists critical success factors; and assesses the impact of all this on corporate thinking and practice.     

Future of European human resource management: A contingent approach

The ability to cope with an increasingly open European Market, enhanced mobility between nation states and the threat of competition from the Far East will be highly prized organisational skills in the third millenium. Many commentators have argued that ‘Europeanisation’ (broadly defined) is an irreversible process and companies will have to cope proactively with this or perish. However, in this article we argue that many of these predictions are based on an uncritical acceptance of the ‘internationalisation’ thesis, and on subjective assessments of possible future trends — rather than on sound empirical research within strong theoretical frameworks. Accordingly, this article takes a critical look at some widely-held assumptions about internationalisation, Europeanisation and the (potential) development of European Human Resource Management (EHRM). It then goes on to suggest a framework of research which will be more able to capture future developments in EHRM and thereby facilitate more robust exchanges on strategic HRM with those companies operating in a European setting.     

The stability of strategic alliances: Characteristics, factors and stages

This paper presents a theoretical framework for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of strategic alliances. Using an integrated process model, we analyze the conceptual characteristics and antecedents of the stability of strategic alliances. The primary purpose of this study is to (1) conceptualize and characterize alliance stability to fill the academic gap in the literature, and (2) identify a range of endogenous factors underlying alliance stability across four developmental stages — partner selection, structuring/negotiation, implementation and performance evaluation — so as to fill the managerial relevance gap. From the discussion, we develop a number of propositions to facilitate future empirical testing of our conceptual model. Finally, we indicate some key implications for theoretical research and managerial practice.     

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.     

管理学合法化运动的历史、危机与前瞻

在管理学作为一个学科、管理学院作为大学中的一个专业学院取得其合法性的同时,管理科学理论对于管理实践者的吸引力却越来越弱。主流管理学虽然获得"学科"的合法性,却丧失了"实践"的合法性。尽管管理科学研究的信奉者强调每一个具体研究问题中的证伪,然而,"管理现象的普适性"本身无法被证实或被证伪,因此将实证方法无限制推广是"不科学"的。管理学合法化运动对于"实证主义研究方法"的辩护实际上是对一种"观念"的辩护,是对一种唯科学论的"意识形态"的辩护。管理学科学合法化运动在当代的逐步消解是必然的。多范式的对立、冲突与融合将取代"实证主义独大"的位置而成为未来管理学的主流思潮。     

Past,Present and Future Research on Multiple Identities: Toward an Intrapersonal Network Approach

Abstract

Psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers have long recognized that people have multiple identities—based on attributes such as organizational membership, profession, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and family role(s)—and that these multiple identities shape people's actions in organizations. The current organizational literature on multiple identities, however, is sparse and scattered and has yet to fully capture this foundational idea. I review and organize the literature on multiple identities into five different theoretical perspectives: social psychological; microsociological; psychodynamic and developmental; critical; and intersectional. I then propose a way to take research on multiple identities forward using an intrapersonal identity network approach. Moving to an identity network approach offers two advantages: first, it enables scholars to consider more than two identities simultaneously, and second, it helps scholars examine relationships among identities in greater detail. This is important because preliminary evidence suggests that multiple identities shape important outcomes in organizations, such as individual stress and well-being, intergroup conflict, performance, and change. By providing a way to investigate patterns of relationships among multiple identities, the identity network approach can help scholars deepen their understanding of the consequences of multiple identities in organizations and spark novel research questions in the organizational literature.     

Foundational Challenges for Advancing the Field and Discipline of Risk Analysis

Risk analysis as a field and discipline is about concepts, principles, approaches, methods, and models for understanding, assessing, communicating, managing, and governing risk. The foundation of this field and discipline has been subject to continuous discussion since its origin some 40 years ago with the establishment of the Society for Risk Analysis and the Risk Analysis journal. This article provides a perspective on critical foundational challenges that this field and discipline faces today, for risk analysis to develop and have societal impact. Topics discussed include fundamental questions important for defining the risk field, discipline, and science; the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary features of risk analysis; the interactions and dependencies with other sciences; terminology and fundamental principles; and current developments and trends, such as the use of artificial intelligence.     

The managerial implications of networking

Recent years have shown a proliferation of publications about interaction and networks. All in all, these articles and books tend to focus on the formulation of theory and hypotheses. Despite the relevance of further development of theoretical thought, managers display more interest in scientifically-based recommendations with direct practical relevance. Wim Biemans presents the findings of an in-depth analysis of seventeen cases of new product development in the Dutch medical equipment industry by discussing eight critical success factors related to networking. He maintains that, while the existence of networks offers great opportunities to management, the practice of networking involves some serious potential pitfalls and problems as well. The conclusions are summarized by The Five C's of Innovation Management.“Marketing can be seen as relationship management: creating, developing, and maintaining a network in which the firm thrives”(Gummesson).     

Paradox Research in Management Science: Looking Back to Move Forward

Paradox studies offer vital and timely insights into an array of organizational tensions. Yet this field stands at a critical juncture. Over the past 25 years, management scholars have drawn foundational insights from philosophy and psychology to apply a paradox lens to organizational phenomena. Yet extant studies selectively leverage ancient wisdom, adopting some key insights while abandoning others. Using a structured content analysis to review the burgeoning management literature, we surface six key themes, which represent the building blocks of a meta-theory of paradox. These six themes received varying attention in extant studies: paradox scholars emphasize types of paradoxes, collective approaches, and outcomes, but pay less attention to relationships within paradoxes, individual approaches, and dynamics. As this analysis suggests, management scholars have increasingly simplified the intricate, often messy phenomena of paradox. Greater simplicity renders phenomena understandable and testable, however, oversimplifying complex realities can foster reductionist and incomplete theories. We therefore propose a future research agenda targeted at enriching a meta-theory of paradox by reengaging these less developed themes. Doing so can sharpen the focus of this field, while revisiting its rich conceptual roots to capture the intricacies of paradox. This future research agenda leverages the potential of paradox across diverse streams of management science.     

Community-Based Service-Learning: Does It Have a Role in Management Education?

Community based service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs, together with structured opportunities designed to promote student learning and development. Can it be effectively applied to address the current struggles of management education? Management education is facing a gap between traditional curricular content and society's needs for new competencies. The Academy is also faced with the challenge of more effectively relating to society's social, economic and civic problems. The results of this analysis indicate that service-learning offers a means of closing the gap by helping to prepare students who are lifelong learners and active, caring participants in their communities. Service-learning appears to be a promising means of developing such managerial skills as leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, and cooperation. The limitations of service-learning for management education are addressed as well.     

Internationalizing managers: Speeding up the process

Most multinational companies agree that their managers need international expertise; but a recent survey surprisingly revealed that more than half of the large European corporations participating in the study lacked a strategy — either in writing or as a commonly articulated value — for internationalizing their managers (Price Waterhouse/Cranfield, 1991, p. 14). Not only must cutting-edge companies implement this process, but they have to find ways to speed it up to stay competitive.Brooklyn Derr and Gary Oddou report a 1991 survey conducted with 105 European multinationals employing an average of 30,000 workers each. The respondents, usually directors of human resource management and management development, identified the current strategies most frequently used to internationalize their firms, the importance assigned these strategies (not necessarily the same thing), and short-range trends. The article also explores the different challenges presented by attempting to internationalize senior managers as compared to junior managers.Expatriation/repatriation has been the traditional means of internationalizing managers, but companies are not doing a uniformly able job in preparing their managers for expatriation nor in taking advantage of their expertise after they return. In addition to making recommendations about expatriation/repatriation, the authors suggest newer, faster practices for internationalizing managers.     

Understanding technological substitution: Generic types, substitution dynamics, and influence strategies

This article develops a framework for analyzing substitution threats posed by young industries to firms competing in more established industries. The discussion delineates three generic types of technological substitution—functional, product, and asset—and explores how long-term substitution patterns may be shaped by (1) the dominant design that emerges for the new product and, (2) improvements that occur in the traditional product. Asset substitution threats are especially serious for an incumbent firm since they can erode the value of the company's existing R&D/ manufacturing capabilities for competition in its principal markets. Possible strategies for influencing the type of substitution that ultimately occurs are considered. The strategies entail entering the young industry and attempting to shape the dominant design that emerges for the new product, or attempting to improve the traditional product along specific price-performance dimensions. The propositions suggested by the framework and the implications discussed should help to provide direction for future research.     

A Contrast of HRM and TQM Approaches to Performance Management: Some Evidence*

Using a survey, this paper provides information about the current state of performance management (appraisal) from a sample of UK‐based EFQM‐affiliated organizations. It particularly focuses on several critical issues of performance management in the context of TQM including: the effectiveness of TQM programmes; the rationale for performance management; degree of internal consistency between TQM assumptions and performance management systems; and the relationship among performance management, effectiveness of TQM programmes, employee satisfaction and overall organization performance. Although the fundamental precepts advocated by founders of TQM appear to be in conflict with performance management practices, however, the article argues that, rather than being contradictory, both can add value to the operations of the other in the interest of the organization as a whole. More precisely, the paper explains how a successful TQM strategy requires a rethinking and changing the organization's performance management system, otherwise it is highly likely to result in a disaster. To conclude, the survey evidence is used, combined with previous literature, to discuss the implications of these results for designing a contextually appropriate performance management for TQM and in the interest of the future research on TQM and HRM.     

管理学的基本概念与学科地位——一种基于科学计量学的再认识

在回顾和廓清国内外管理学学科概念的基础上,以国际管理类学术期刊数据为样本,运用科学计量学最新的知识图谱方法,揭示了现代管理学的学科界限和作为基础学科的一般管理学的学科地位,阐明了管理学与心理学、社会学、经济学、数学等相关学科的关系,以及管理学作为独立学科在人类知识体系中地位上升的趋势,对于我国管理学走向国际学术前沿与学科合理布局提供了启示。     

Interdisciplinary and Interorganizational Research: Establishing the Science of Enterprise Networks

We review and discuss the evolution of interdisciplinary and interorganizational research in operations management and suggest directions for future investigations. The proposed operations management research focus is one that embraces a more holistic view of an “extended enterprise” which involves working with a new business model—the organization as a network. This methodology starts by treating the organization as a system that is enabled by information technology and is characterized by ubiquitous information sharing across traditional enterprise. Proper integration of technology, business processes and people factors needs to be developed to create higher value from networked enterprises. Operations management research future lies in establishing this science from an interdisciplinary perspective. We analyze this perspective in the context of papers published in the first 50 issues of Production and Operations Management and the related literature.