The influence of firm diversity management competency on diversity-related outcomes and firm performance

Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH SUMMARY : An emerging perspective of workplace diversity proposes that a well-managed diverse workforce holds inherent advantages for organisational performance. Little empirical evidence exists to support this view, which may partly be due to a lack of operational frameworks for diversity management at the firm level. This study aims to address two research gaps through (1) the development of a diversity management competency (DMC) framework which can guide diversity management efforts, and (2) the evaluation of the relationship between DMC, different diversity management outcomes (DMO), and firm performance. A mixed method approach was followed, which entailed an initial qualitative phase to explore the DMC construct and to develop a DMC measure. Next, a quantitative phase followed that tested (a) the reliability and validity of the instrument, as well as (b) the hypothesised relationships between DMC and important firm outcomes. Data were generated in the qualitative phase through interviewing managers (N = 12), using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). Content analysis of the transcribed interviews culminated in distinctive diversity management competencies (DMCs), which represent clusters of diversity management practices, and a DMC measure which was subsequently content validated through both the Content Validity Ratio (Lawshe, 1975) and Cohen's (1960) approaches. The DMC questionnaire was then pilot tested on managers (N = 25) from three large companies to make final modifications. The final questionnaire consisted of eleven subscales (DMCs) and 98 items. The data for the quantitative phase were collected by administering on-line questionnaires measuring the study variables (DMC, DMO and firm performance) to managers (N = 77) from different medium to large companies (k = 33). The measures were item analysed and the hypotheses tested through correlation analysis, using SPSS. The measures indicated high internal consistency. A firm-level analysis of the research data showed that DMC, DMO and firm performance were strongly and significantly correlated, as hypothesised. This study makes three major contributions. First, it develops a firm-level DMC framework that outlines specific clusters of diversity management practices expected to contribute to firm performance by means of enhancing key DMOs. Second, it develops and validates a DMC measure which, along with the DMC framework, has practical utility for diagnostic and developmental purposes. Last, the analyses revealed that DMC, DMO and firm performance are significantly and strongly correlated, which may indicate that diversity management has a significant influence on firm performance. Because of the limited sample size, the results of this study should be cross-validated in larger samples. However, the present research creates an agenda for further confirmatory and exploratory studies on the relationship between diversity management and important firm outcomes.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : ‘n Ontluikende perspektief van werkplekdiversiteit stel voor dat ‘n goed bestuurde werksmag inherente voordele vir organisasieprestasie inhou. Daar is egter weinig empiriese bewyse om hierdie siening te staaf, wat gedeeltelik onstaan as gevolg van ‘n tekort aan operasionele raamwerke vir diversiteitbestuur op die firma-vlak. Hierdie studie beoog om hierdie navorsingsgaping aan te spreek deur (1) die ontwikkeling van ‘n raamwerk vir diversiteitbestuursbevoegdheid (DBB) wat pogings tot diversiteitbestuur kan lei, en (2) die evaluering van die verwantskaptussen DBB, verskillende diversiteitbestuuruitkomste (DBU), en firmaprestasie. ’n Gemengde-metode benadering is gevolg bestaande uit ’n aanvanklike kwalitatiewe fase om die DBB konstruk te verken en om ‘n DBB metingsinstrument vir DBB te ontwikkel. Vervolgens het ‘n kwantitatiewe fase (a) die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die meetinstrument bepaalen (b) die hipotetiese verwantskap tussen DBB en belangrike firma-uitkomste getoets. Data is in die kwalitatiewe fase gegenereer deur onderhoudvoering met bestuurders (N = 12) met gebruik van die Kritieke Insident Tegniek (KIT). Inhoudsanalise van die getranskribeerde onderhoude het in onderskeibare diversiteitbestuursbevoegdhede (DBB’e) gekulmineer wat groeperings van diversiteitbestuuurspraktyke verteenwoordig. ’n DBB metingsinstrument is gevolglik vir inhoudsgeldigheid getoets deur beide die Inhoudsgeldigheidverhouding (Lawshe, 1975) en Cohen (1960) se -benaderings te gebruik. Die vraelys het vervolgens‘n toetsloop by bestuurders (N = 25) van drie groot maatskappye ondergaan om finale aanpassings aan te bring. Die finale vraelys bevat elf subskale (DBB’e) en 98 items. Die data vir die kwantitatiewe fase is met behulp van aanlynvraelyste wat die konstrukte van DBB, DBU, en firmaprestasie meet, verkry, wat deur bestuurders (N = 77) van verskillende middelslag tot groot maatskappye (k = 33) ingevul is. Die metingsinstrumente het item-ontleding ondergaan en korrelasie-analise deur middel van SPSS is gebruik om die hipoteses te toets. Die metingsinstrumente het hoë interne bestendigheid getoon. ’n Firm-vlak analise van die navorsingsdata het getoon dat DBB, DBU, en firmaprestasie het sterk en beduidend met mekaar gekorreleer, ter ondersteuning van die navorsingshipoteses. Die studie lewer drie hoofbydraes: eerstens, ‘n firmavlak DBB-raamwerk is ontwikkel wat spesifieke groeperings van diversiteitbestuurspraktyke omlyn wat na verwagting tot die verhoging van belangrike DBU’e en uiteindelik ook firmaprestasie behoort by te dra; tweedens, ‘n DBB metingsinstrument is ontwikkel en gevalideer wat, tesame met die DBB-raamwerk, praktiese gebruikswaarde vir diagnostiese en ontwikkelingsdoeleindes het; en, laastens, het die analises getoon dat DBB, DBU en firmaprestasie beduidend en sterk met mekaar korreleer, wat moontlik aandui dat diversiteitbestuur ‘n beduidende invloed op firmaprestasie het. As gevolg van die beperkte steekproefgrootte, behoort die resultate van hierdie studie gekruisvalideer te word in groter steekproewe. Die belowende resultate van hierdie studie skep egter ‘n agenda vir toekomstige bevestigende en verkennende studies oor die verband tussen diversiteitsbestuurspraktyke en firmaprestasie

Transboundary supply chain risk management: A consolidation of transboundary and supply chain risk management

Supply chains are becoming increasingly vulnerable to disruptions and face greater exposure from the dynamics of global interconnectivity. The growing complexities of modern societies have prompted renewed focus towards supply chain risk management (SCRM) research over the last decade. However, research related to transboundary risk issues has yet to be given substantial attention in recent years. Contributing to the developments in the field of SCRM, this thesis proposes an approach for managing global supply chain risk which modifies current SCRM processes to account for the dynamic nature of transboundary risks. This work extends current literary contributions and aims to compensate for the lack of transboundary risk focus in SCRM. Introducing the taxonomy of transboundary supply chain risk management (TSCRM), the present paper conceptualises a holistic integrative framework that incorporates resilience principles to adaptively manage the transboundary risk environment of global supply chains. In line with this framework, additional templates, tables, and a TSCRM planning process are proposed to facilitate the navigation through the TSCRM process, in particular the risk identification, and risk response selection and implementation phases

Servitisation in Value Creating Relationships : Views from Headquarters, Subsidiaries and Customers

Kansainväliset tuotantoyritykset pyrkivät yhä useammin lisäämään palveluiden määrää tarjousvalikoimassaan ja luomaan arvoa olemalla palveluorientoituneita. Tämä prosessi tunnetaan palvelullistamisena ja se perustuu pitkälti yritysten kykyyn ymmärtää asiakastarpeita ja -haluja ja vastata niihin. Tämä saattaa olla hankalaa kansainvälisille yrityksille, sillä tieto asiakkaista on asiakasvastaavilla, mutta päätökset resurssien jaosta tehdään tyypillisesti emoyrityksessä, jossa ei välttämättä ole suoraa asiakaskontaktia. Teoreettinen viitekehykseni perustuu omaksumiskyvykkyyteen ja antaa pohjan arvonluonnin tarkasteluun ilmiönä yrityksen henkilökohtaisissa ja rakenteellisissa suhteissa. Tutkimus keskittyy yhteen kansainväliseen teknologiayritykseen, jonka organisaatiossa on vastikään aloitettu palvelullistamishanke. Tässä kontekstissa tutkin seitsemää asiakasvastaparia. Keräsin yhteensä 32 haastattelua, joista 7 tuli asiakkailta, 13 asiakasvastaavilta tai tytäryhtiöiden tukihenkilökunnalta ja 12 emoyrityksen työntekijöiltä. Data on koodattu ja analysoitu käyttämällä NVivo-ohjelmistoa. Tuloksissa on useita näkökulmia arvoon prosessiluonteisena ilmiönä, ja ne osoittavat, että arvonluontiin liittyviä tekijöitä löytyy sekä henkilökohtaisista suhteista asiakkaiden ja asiakasvastaavien välillä sekä organisaatiotason suhteista tytäryritysten ja emoyrityksen välillä. Lisäksi voidaan todeta, että asiakkailla on myös suora yhteys organisaatiotasolle asiantuntijarakenteiden ja digitalisaation kautta ja näitä voidaan hyödyntää arvon luonnissa. Tutkimuksen keskeinen kontribuutio on palvelutoiminnan yhdistäminen tytäryhtiöiden ja emoyritysten keskinäisiin suhteisiin liittyvään tutkimukseen. Esitän työssä myös uuden tavan käsitteellistää omaksumiskyvykkyyttä liittämällä yhteen mikro- ja mesotasot. Asiakkaiden, tytäryhtiöiden ja emoyrityksen näkökulmat työssä mahdollistavat monipuolisen näkemyksen arvonluonnista palvelullistamisen kontekstissa.International manufacturing companies are increasingly adding services to their portfolios or trying to become more service-oriented in their customer relationships in a bid to create value. This process is known as servitisation and it is largely based on the company’s ability to understand customers’ needs and wants, and respond accordingly. This can be difficult for international companies, because their customer knowledge is acquired by key account managers in subsidiaries, while decisions about resource deployment are typically done by the headquarters (HQ) without direct customer contact. My theoretical framework based on absorptive capacity conceptualises value creation through knowledge absorption as a phenomenon in the personal and organisational levels of a company. This research focuses on one international manufacturing company, which recently started a servitisation initiative. In this context, I examined seven customer dyads as embedded cases. I interviewed 32 respondents: 7 customers, 13 key account managers or support staff in the subsidiary, and 12 HQ staff. I coded and analysed the data using NVivo software. The results present new perspectives on value as a process phenomenon, and show factors in the personal relationship between the customers and key account managers, and the organisational relationship between the subsidiary and the HQ, which can affect value creation or even prevent it. Furthermore, it was found that the customer has a direct connection with the company’s organisational level through expertise structures and digitalisation, which can be leveraged for value-in-use within the partnership. This study contributes to the intersection of servitisation and subsidiary – HQ relationships, and offers a novel conceptualisation of absorptive capacity connecting micro and meso-levels of research. Incorporating customer, subsidiary and HQ voices in the study enables a rich understanding of value creation.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED11):Book of Abstracts

The ICED series of conferences is the Design Society's "flagship" event. ICED11 took place on August 15-18, 2011, at the campus of the Danish Technical University in Lyngby/Copenhagen, Denmark. The Proceedings of the conference are published in 10 individual volumes, arranged according to topics. All volumes of the Proceedings may be purchased individually through Amazon and other on-line booksellers. For members of the Design Society, all papers are available on this website. The Programme and Abstract Book is publically available for download

Ecosystem synergies, change and orchestration

This thesis investigates ecosystem synergies, change, and orchestration. The research topics are motivated by my curiosity, a fragmented research landscape, theoretical gaps, and new phenomena that challenge extant theories. To address these motivators, I conduct literature reviews to organise existing studies and identify their limited assumptions in light of new phenomena. Empirically, I adopt a case study method with abductive reasoning for a longitudinal analysis of the Alibaba ecosystem from 1999 to 2020. My findings provide an integrated and updated conceptualisation of ecosystem synergies that comprises three distinctive but interrelated components: 1) stack and integrate generic resources for efficiency and optimisation, 2) empower generative changes for variety and evolvability, and 3) govern tensions for sustainable growth. Theoretically grounded and empirically refined, this new conceptualisation helps us better understand the unique synergies of ecosystems that differ from those of alternative collective organisations and explain the forces that drive voluntary participation for value co-creation. Regarding ecosystem change, I find a duality relationship between intentionality and emergence and develop a phasic model of ecosystem sustainable growth with internal and external drivers. This new understanding challenges and extends prior discussions on their dominant dualism view, focus on partial drivers, and taken-for-granted lifecycle model. I propose that ecosystem orchestration involves systematic coordination of technological, adoption, internal, and institutional activities and is driven by long-term visions and adjusted by re-visioning. My analysis reveals internal orchestration's important role (re-envisioning, piloting, and organisation architectural reconfiguring), the synergy and system principles in designing adoption activities, and the expanding arena of institutional activities. Finally, building on the above findings, I reconceptualise ecosystems and ecosystem sustainable growth to highlight multi-stakeholder value creation, inclusivity, long-term orientation and interpretative approach. The thesis ends with discussing the implications for practice, policy, and future research.Open Acces

Worshipping with the Wealth Creationists: Co-Constructing Meaning and Purpose through Entrepreneurship Education

A dynamic movement known as wealth creation education attracts many thousands of people seeking education for the vocation of an entrepreneur in the UK. Entrepreneurship education in these collectives includes venturing know-how but also co-constructs existential meaning and purpose for adherents, a role traditionally fulfilled by religion. This emergent sectarian movement is identified as wealth creationism. Led by charismatic entrepreneurs this newly identified research domain represents rich opportunities to study entrepreneurs in naturally arising settings, but has been neglected and understudied. While publicly subsidised educational support for small-business owners has suffered from low uptake, this study provides new knowledge about the kind of education that is engaged with in large numbers, despite being more expensive. This inquiry critically examines the attraction of these educational collectives and evaluates the social processes of eight wealth creation education providers in England. Teaching content and methods were also investigated. This qualitative study takes an interpreted approach through a social constructionism perspective. Using grounded theory methodology the providers were initially researched through participative observation in the educational settings followed by theoretically sampling data with various collection methods. Interdisciplinary theories, including the sociology of religion, accounted for findings, which were analysed at the meso-group level. The movement teaches entrepreneurship know-how and ‘mindset’ – ways of thinking and being. Insulating directives of behaviour and the construction of stigmatised out-groups maintain social boundaries. Employing similar narrative features and resources as religious sects, the socially constructed co-extensive nomos and cosmos privileges esoteric knowledge and is closely identified with modern Gnosticism. Participants do not acknowledge religious interpretations of their activities, yet three North American authors provide plausible canonical works that legitimise the movement. Wealth Creationists display entrepreneurial chauvinism, which equates employment with bondage, viewing the employed as slaves. Adherents choose educators with perceived entrepreneurial credibility to lead them on a purposeful mission for the type of knowledge that promises emancipation. This study is significant for both researchers of entrepreneurs and the sociology of religion. It offers participating entrepreneurs critical insights into the charismatic settings, which can be both enabling and disabling for venturing. This study has implications for academics engaged in outreach to small-business owners who may learn from the marketing tactics of these groups, although academics may still lack perceived credibility. Insights into business group formation will be of interest to business group researchers. A map of educational provision may interest researchers and educators of small and microbusiness owners, and those from the fields of entrepreneurial learning

Design Transactions

Design Transactions presents the outcome of new research to emerge from ‘Innochain’, a consortium of six leading European architectural and engineering-focused institutions and their industry partners. The book presents new advances in digital design tooling that challenge established building cultures and systems. It offers new sustainable and materially smart design solutions with a strong focus on changing the way the industry thinks, designs, and builds our physical environment. Divided into sections exploring communication, simulation and materialisation, Design Transactions explores digital and physical prototyping and testing that challenges the traditional linear construction methods of incremental refinement. This novel research investigates ‘the digital chain’ between phases as an opportunity for extended interdisciplinary design collaboration. The highly illustrated book features work from 15 early-stage researchers alongside chapters from world-leading industry collaborators and academics