The Influence of ISO 9000 Certification on Process Compliance

This article examines the influence of ISO 9000 certification on plant‐level process compliance, which arguably is its first‐order, targeted performance dimension. The empirical setting is the medical device manufacturing industry. Process compliance is measured through Food and Drug Administration inspections of manufacturing plants. We control for several observable factors that possibly affect process compliance by matching certified plants with non‐certified plants. Using longitudinal data, we find plants that obtained certification in the earlier diffusion period (early‐certified plants) tend to have significantly better process compliance than a matched, non‐certified control group of plants. The compliance difference between early‐certified plants and their matched control group is greater than the compliance difference between late‐certified plants and their matched control group. We also find deterioration in process compliance over time after certification. Because we capture longitudinally the first‐order effects of ISO 9000 on process compliance, this study provides a useful baseline for assessing causality in ISO 9000‐performance linkages. Also, we explain, in part, the inconsistencies observed in related ISO 9000 literature examining the performance effects of certification. Further, this research offers managerial insights on the dynamics of certification and process compliance with time, and highlights the need for continued vigilance post certification.     

Sisterhood and Solidarity? Women's Organizations in the Expanded European Union

European Union (EU) accession has been a highly ambivalent andcontradictory process both for women's mobilization and networking,and the introduction of gender equality policies in the newmember states. While EU membership gave women's NGOs in Centraland Eastern Europe better access to EU institutions and EU funding,it also resulted in a loss of financial support from previousdonors. Some, in general bigger, organizations benefited fromthese changes, whereas smaller groups now struggle. Furthermore,although accession offered women's movements political opportunitiesto put pressure on their governments, the adaptation to EU regulationsis characterized by top-down reforms and the unequal complianceof national governments.     

Mobbing — Herkunft des Begriffs und sein theoretischer Hintergrund

In his palae-anthropological work on the ‘aggressiveness of taking offence’, German medical researcher Rudolf Bilz initially developed the present-day meaning of the term ‘mobbing’. Building on Bilz’s theory, we develop two schemes that allow a differentiated classification of conflicts within and between groups, and corresponding group phenomena including mobbing and bossing. The implications of applying this framework to diagnosis, intervention and prevention of mobbing are discussed. Key issue is the implementation of group norms, which is the essence of the atavistic mobbing mechanism and has to be brought into the open. There is a need for replacement by alternatives such as more intensive group contact, supervision, group leadership, works councils, and mediation.     

Introduction to Special Issue on POM Research on Emerging Markets

This special issue presents production and operations management research papers from emerging markets worldwide, focusing on their unique contexts, institutions and markets. Collectively, they offer insights into the unique operations management strategies and practices that firms face in emerging markets. The magnitude and pace of change is staggering. As a result, execution and managing growth in these emerging markets represents both huge operational and supply chain risks, and simultaneously vast opportunities. We are confident that these papers stimulate new operations management research while highlighting the effective use of different research methodologies. We welcome you to enjoy this special issue of POMS. We express our deep gratitude to editorial team for their support. We especially wish to thank the authors for their contributions to this special issue.     

Polygyny as social and biological differentiation among Toposa agro-pastoralists of Southern Sudan

A demographic survey of eight Toposa villages in Southern Sudan was undertaken to delineate patterns of infant and childhood mortality. Among these predominantly egalitarian agro-pastoralists few standard socio-economic variables useful in the detection of demographic differentials were found. Instead, polygyny was used as a measure of social differentiation, hypothesizing that social differentiation induces demographic differences between polygynous and monogamous marriages. Analysis indicated social differentiation through gerontocracy, while significant differences in mortality and fertility levels were found berween monogamous and polygynous marriages, with the latter featuring higher fertility and mortality levels. Underlying rationale for these differences were sought through consideration of social and biological factors.     

New Service Development Competence and Performance: An Empirical Investigation in Retail Banking

What can service firms do to improve their ability to offer new services? In this paper we argue that new service development success results from building a competence in the management of service development resources and routines. We conceptualize new service development competence as a multidimensional, second‐order latent construct that is represented by a system of four interrelated and complementary dimensions: (1) formalized new service development processes, (2) market acuity, (3) new service development strategy, and (4) information technology use and experience. We hypothesize that the growth of new service development competence is related to improved new service development performance. Using structural equations modeling, we analyze survey data from 166 retail banks and report three key empirical findings. First, we show that the four hypothesized dimensions are statistically significant in defining new service development competence. Second, contrary to conventional wisdom in new product development, we find that formalized processes play a lesser role in the success of new service development compared with the other three dimensions. Instead, market acuity—which captures the firm's ability to see the competitive environment clearly and to anticipate and respond to customers' evolving needs and wants—was the most important new service development competence indicator. Finally, we demonstrate the positive effect of new service development competence on new service development performance and show that new service development competence is also significantly related to business‐level performance. Together, our empirical results suggest that complementary benefits arise from the adoption of a more holistic approach to the management of new service development at the program level.     

BRINGING CLIENTS BACK IN:

Using qualitative data from a cohort sample of 76 current or former Wall Street professionals, I argue that the perception that clients prefer homophily with their service providers shapes Wall Street careers and contributes to gender inequality. I also reveal how some women on Wall Street partially insulate themselves from biases against them by deliberately avoiding positions that are most dependent on client relationships. I hypothesize that the strength of client preferences for homophily in service providers in the Wall Street context is related to the high status of this service profession and its clients.