Understanding Outsourcing Commitment—An Integrated Model Combining The Resoruce-Based View And Knowledge Management

The understanding on how a service provider’s (SP) process capabilities, in terms of aligning and adapting resources to deliver value to its service recipient (SR) in business process outsourcing (BPO), affect its commitment is limited. To address this, building on a strategic perspective and related theories such as the resource-based view and knowledge management, we develop a theoretical model and test it empirically. Specifically, we posit that a SP’s process capabilities, in terms of process alignment, offering flexibility, and partnering flexibility, positively affect its SR’s commitment and the above relationships is negatively moderated by the SR’s behavior control. Besides, we also examine the influence of interaction effect between antecedents of process capabilities on commitment, such as how does process alignment interact with its partnering flexibility and offering flexibility to affect commitment. Finally, we assess whether process capabilities are influenced by the SR’s absorptive capacity and the SP’s task-knowledge coordination. We test our model using survey data collected from 183 firms, supporting most proposed hypotheses. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of how to increase the value offered to a SR by levering resources, in terms of process capabilities and knowledge management

An Empirical Analysis of Internal Marketing on Organizational Commitment:a Study of Banks in Lagos-Nigeria

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of aspects of internal marketing on organizational commitment of employees. The research was conducted among managers of Nigerian banks situated in the major commercial city in Lagos, Nigeria. Internal marketing is growing recognition of both scholars and professionals with the increasing commoditization of products and services and the continuing failure of technology driven customer relationship management. The main criteria of internal marketing were derived from the literature; provided the backbone for our internal marketing dimensions. Data was gathered from a survey among 128 managers who rated self completion questions on the basis of their perception. In order to achieve the purpose, five hypotheses have been formulated that link the dimensions of internal marketing including motivation, job satisfaction, training,” understanding and differentiation”, “inter-functional coordination and integration” “to organizational commitment. Data analysis indicated that “inter-functional coordination and integration”, training and motivation have positive effects on the organizational commitment of employees among Nigerian banks. Therefore if the banks want to ultimately provide a better service experience for their customers, it is recommended that more attention be directed toward enhancing organizational commitment among personnel, with a focus on the effective aspects of internal marketing

INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE CRISIS: An Empirical Analysis of Industrial Policies in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. CES Open Forum Series 2018-2019, 2019

This paper gauges the forces and structures that shape economic transformation through an analysis of industrial polices in four European economies since the 2008 crisis: France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. We argue that differences across recent European industrial policies respond to variations in national historical and institutional legacies; the characteristics of productive structures and the capabilities of the state. Pathdependency shapes views regarding the acceptable role of the state, although institutional legacies need to be balanced against historical institutional consistency and the intensity of the crisis. The characteristics of industry in terms of size, specialization, and position in the global division of labor affect preferences for framework versus sector-specific policies and the ambitiousness of goals. Finally, the state’s coordination capacity is essential to the design and efficient implementation of interrelated actions across multiple areas whereas financial capacity establishes commitment, signals priorities, and determines the feasibility of forward-looking projects

Blakelaw and Cowgate Coordination Project evaluation

In 2003, the Blakelaw and Cowgate Coordination Project was established in response to a recognised need to coordinate local community services across two sites in North West Newcastle. The project contributes to Newcastle City Council’s Neighbourhood Strategy, which intends to address residents’ priorities for improvements to local neighbourhoods, strengthened communities and community participation. The Blakelaw and Cowgate Coordination Project supported the development of Montagu CFSS and Blakelaw Neighbourhood Centre. The intention of Montagu CFSS is to address the concerns of pupils, families and the wider community through the development and delivery of rapid response services provided by a multi-disciplinary team. A wide range of organisations deliver services from the school itself as well as Blakelaw Neighbourhood Centre, both of which are part of a management network of community based services. The Coordination Project aims to: Develop and implement support mechanisms, community capacity building measures, and effective partnerships in order to meet community aspirations regarding service delivery and activities. Build upon and apply a committed partnership approach at both area and neighbourhood levels. Enable and empower communities to develop through change in relation to service delivery style and approach, and to give input regarding activities delivered at neighbourhood level. The research team were commissioned to measure and assess the effectiveness of the Montagu CFSS and Blakelaw Neighbourhood Centre Coordination Project. In conducting this research, the findings will feedback to project beneficiaries (the local community), relevant policy makers and strategists, and funding bodies in terms of its impact and the development of a forward plan for the future of the project. This report outlines the findings of the evaluation, which was carried out by Sustainable Cities Research Institute at Northumbria University

The impact of central government steering and local network dynamics on the performance of mandated service delivery networks: the case of the Primary Health Care networks in Flanders

This paper focuses on the impact of central – local relations on the performance of local service delivery networks set up by central government. Analyzing network literature leaves us with some questions about the impact of coordination strategies of central government as a possible determinant of network-level effectiveness for this type of network and the possible interaction between central government coordination (as part of the network context) and internal network dynamics and the combined effects hereof on the effectiveness of mandated service delivery networks in particular. Our analysis shows that both levels are important to explain the outcomes of the Primary Health Care networks in Flanders. Our study also leads to some important observations about the meaning of ‘central government coordination’ in this context

Some empirical evidence on business-IT alignment processes in the public sector: A case study report

An empirical study that explores business-IT alignment processes in a networked organization among the province Overijssel, the municipalities Zwolle and Enschede, the water board district Regge & Dinkel and Royal Grolsch N.V. in The Netherlands, is summarized in this report. The aim of the study was to identify processes that contribute to improve such alignment. This study represents a continuation of previous validation efforts that help us to confirm the business-IT alignment process areas that should ultimately be included in the ICoNOs MM. Evidence was sought for the alignment of business and IT through the use of information systems to support the requirements of the organization in a specific project. The results of this study in the public sector also are relevant to the private sector where (i) business-IT alignment plays an increasingly valuable role, and (ii) the characteristics of collaborative networked organizations are present

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Challenges in Latin America for the Next Decade

A decade after a 1999 World Bank-sponsored meeting of Latin American water and sanitation experts, there has been progress in rural sanitation in that region. Nonetheless, the Millennium Development Goals for improved sanitation services may be out of reach. Looking toward the next ten years, important challenges for rural water and sanitation will include: ensuring long-term sustainability of sanitation services and monitoring systems, improving the contribution of municipal government, and establishing appropriate legal and financial policies

Analyzing stage and duration of Anglo-Chinese business-to-business relationships

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Industrial Marketing Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.The manuscript reports on a study aimed at analyzing a series of relational variables derived from the Western industrial buyer–seller relationship and Chinese guanxi literature. The findings based on data collected from over 200 Taiwanese trading firms reveal that buyer's perceptions of organizational trust, communication, cooperation, social bonding and the saving of face are higher in Anglo-Chinese relationships that venture beyond the short-term. It is also found that cooperation, social bonding and performance are greater in those b2b relationships surveyed that are relatively more mature than in emerging states. The findings also reveal that relationship duration and stage have a significant moderating effect on various Inter-organizational and Interpersonal–Outcome relationships. Several managerial implications are extracted to help Western firms better manage their international relations, as well as help new exporting firms penetrate such well-established guanxi networks