14,411 research outputs found
The impact of employee ambidexterity on organisational and marketing innovations: organisational context for exploiting the present and exploring for the future
Research studies on innovation tend to focus more on Process and Product
Innovations (PPIs), while both Organisational and Marketing Innovations (OMIs)
have been under-researched. The lack of prior research on these non-technological
innovations has been attributed to poor data availability. Theoretical opinions show
that OMIs could be necessary prerequisites needed to optimally utilise and deploy
these PPIs.
Organisational Ambidexterity (OA) has emerged to be crucial in achieving long-term
organisational success. Ambidexterity in an organisational context refers to the ability
to concurrently exploit current competitive advantage and explore new opportunities
with equal dexterity. For firms to remain competitive and adaptive to continuous
change in the business environment, OA has been noted as a necessary attribute, but
research on ambidexterity at the individual level of analysis is limited. There is a lack
of understanding of how individual ambidexterity at the lower-levels of the
organisation affects the overall ambidexterity of the organisation. This research
explores organisational context antecedents of OMIs capabilities; Organisational and
Employee Ambidexterity, and identifies how individual employees in Small and
Medium-sized Manufacturing and Service Organisations could contribute to the
capability of their organisation to concurrently exploit present market opportunities
and explore new opportunities, towards sustaining their competitive advantage.
This study involves a two-phase sequential mixed methods design beginning with a
qualitative exploratory research involving 15 in-depth Nigerian-based interviews. The
first phase facilitated preliminary assessment of organisational context, measured by
the Cameron and Quinn’s Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument. This phase
also aided the understanding of factors that promote OMIs capabilities and the
development of themes used to design the survey instrument for the second phase.
The second phase involved a quantitative study of 398 shop-floor and 202 managerial
staff from Small and Medium-sized Nigerian Manufacturing and Service
Organisations. This phase was characterised by descriptive and inferential statistics
through Structural Equation Modelling. This aided identifying the organisational
context that promotes Employee Ambidexterity (EA) and the relationships between
EA; OA; and OMIs’ capabilities.
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Drawing upon information-rich evidence, this study identified enablers that could
promote EA; OA; OMIs; effective innovations; and sustainable organisational growth.
Statistical evidence from the research findings shows that Organic Structure and
Knowledge Sharing, plus a Flexible and Family-like Organisational Culture:
1. enhances Employee Ambidexterity and Level of Engagement;
2. improves employees’ contributions to OA, OMIs and SMEs’ growth;
3. optimises the internal capabilities of SMEs in order to promote their
sustainable growth;
4. enables SMEs to search for new market opportunities and strengthen current
market positions concurrently; and
5. promotes viable Manufacturing and Service SMEs that are needed to offset the
prevalent public sector job losses.
A framework that relates: Individual and Organisational Ambidexterity;
Organisational and Marketing Innovations capabilities; and Organisational
Performance, has been identified in this study. While Marketing Innovation capability
and Exploitative Orientation of Ambidexterity target the short term organisational
benefits, Organisational Innovation capability and Explorative Orientation of
Ambidexterity address the long term competitive advantage of the organisations.
Besides advancing literature on the study of Organisational Ambidexterity by
combining the individual level of analysis with the organisational level of analysis,
this study identifies frameworks that promote effective innovation and sustainable
organisational performance through shop floor employees’ contributions to
Organisational Ambidexterity and OMIs in SMEs. Outcomes of this research have
been eye-openers for the case organisations on how to optimally utilise their resources
(people, materials, knowledge, technology and other assets) to achieve sustainable
growth and long term success
Managing Customer Services: Human Resource Practices, Turnover, and Sales Growth
This study examines the relationship between human resource practices, employee quit rates, and organizational performance by drawing on a unique nationally representative sample of 354 customer service and sales establishments in the telecommunications industry. Multivariate analyses show that quit rates are lower and sales growth is higher in establishments that emphasize high skills, employee participation in decision-making and in teams, and HR incentives such as high relative pay and employment security. Quit rates partially mediate the relationship between human resource practices and sales growth. These relationships also are moderated by the customer segment that frontline employees serve
Information Society, Work and the Generation of New Forms of Social Exclusion (SOWING): National Report (Portugal)
The choice over the Portuguese case studies was based on the sample constructed for the application of the firm questionnaires, during the second year of the SOWING project, 1999. This sample was fulfilled of firms among several activity sectors: textile, manufacturing, electronics, transports and software industry, based on NACE – codes (2 – digit level). Thus, we agreed to include in a new database the remaining questionnaires and construct a sample with 113 observations. Concerning the organisational change we make a distinction of three categories of change. First we analyse changes taking place at the inter-firm level (outsourcing, subcontracting, geographic relocation), followed by changes at the organisational level (deconcentration/decentralisation, reduction of hierarchical levels, introduction of cost and profit centres). The third kind of changes analysed will be those taking place at the workplace level (job enlargement/enrichment, changing character of work, work load). The Portuguese studied companies presents a relative uniform pattern considering the variables social competencies, practical knowledge, responsibility and specialized professional qualifications.industry; information technologies; qualification; organisation; work
Lean on me: An impact study of mutuality supportive leadership behaviour on employee Lean engagement
Total Quality Management (TQM) has been around in the West since the early 1970s.
Over the last 40 years it has advanced from its early form, based around ‘quality
circles’, to more advanced forms such as Lean and the now common Business
Excellence (BE) models. However, up to 60% of implementations fail to deliver initially
anticipated results. Research into Lean/TQM suggests that management commitment
and conducive culture are key factors inhibiting subordinate engagement. Yet it is
recognised that the ‘softer’ side of TQM is vital for its success and a key dimension of
Lean/TQM philosophy. This thesis is a longitudinal study of an organisation in the
throes of implementing Lean and struggling to engage its employees.
Taking a mutuality perspective, the Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM) provides a
framework for understanding the manager-subordinate context and Lean engagement.
The BPM, complemented by the incorporation of Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination
Theory (SDT), aids understanding of respondents’ learning history in a complex
Lean/TQM environment. An objective of this research was to use the insight gained
from taking a behavioural/SDT perspective to improve the ‘softer’, respectful side of
TQM deployment as in managerial relational practice, thus enabling improvement in
leader-subordinate, day-to-day relations and increased Lean approach behaviour.
The thesis is built around three interrelated projects. Project One investigates the
deployment context, identifying engagement barriers and opportunities. Project Two, a
longitudinal intervention based on mutuality supportive leader-subordinate behaviour,
identifies positive affect across three surveys. Project Three, a survey-based study of
the whole organisation (n=328), considers both ‘active’ and ‘not-active’ employees,
finding significant differences in all key variables between the two groups, identifying
‘work climate’ and motivation as key influences on Lean engagement. This research
provides tentative evidence that managerial commitment to a supportive work climate
influences subordinate engagement and quality of engagement in Lean/TQM
Workload control concepts in job shops: a critical assessment
The paper considers a (static) portfolio system that satisfies adding-up contraints and the gross substitution theorem. The paper shows the relationship of the two conditions to the weak dominant diagonal property of the matrix of interest rate elasticities. This enables to investigate the impact of simultaneous changes in interest rates on the asset demands.
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