14,930 research outputs found

    Towards an appropriate comprehension of innovation sources in agrifood cooperatives

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    The existing typologies of innovation sources rely on classification criterions which are excessively generalist and developed under the consideration of private owned organisations. The present paper seeks to shed light on the special structural and operative features of agrifood cooperatives demanding a more comprehensive classification of innovation sources. A sample from the agrifood cooperative industry was selected as the scenario of the empirical research. Findings reveal a classification proposal of innovation sources into four differentiated groups (managers, technology, market and normative context) with regard to the management orientation of change (strategic vs. technical/legal) and the strength motivating the innovation (internal vs. external).Agrifood cooperatives, innovation sources, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q13.,

    A Historical Observation of the Intellectual and Institutional Structures of the Field

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    In this paper, we examine the evolution of the institutional and intellectual structures of the IS field. We argue that, though the field’s institutional structures—academic programs, journals, conferences, and professional associations—have developed admirably, the state of the field’s intellectual structure is less clear. We employ a co-citation lens to analyze the development and evolution of subfields across three periods. We rely on Culnan’s (1987) second co-citation study as a point of departure for our analysis. We then extend her work through two additional studies that individually assess the state of subfield development at distinct periods during the field’s history. Over the three periods, we note that the field has experienced change in subfield diversity and cohesion. Culnan’s study exhibits low levels of cohesion and diversity among topics. Our first study shows continued isolation but growth in subfield diversity. This period is indicative of a fragmented adhocracy. Our second study suggests increasing levels of integration despite only a slight reduction in subfield diversity. While we largely only describe the field’s evolution, any assessment of whether this evolution represents a positive or negative trajectory for the field will be subject to interpretation and debate

    Influence network linkages across implementation strategy conditions in a randomized controlled trial of two strategies for scaling up evidence-based practices in public youth-serving systems.

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    BackgroundGiven the importance of influence networks in the implementation of evidence-based practices and interventions, it is unclear whether such networks continue to operate as sources of information and advice when they are segmented and disrupted by randomization to different implementation strategy conditions. The present study examines the linkages across implementation strategy conditions of social influence networks of leaders of youth-serving systems in 12 California counties participating in a randomized controlled trial of community development teams (CDTs) to scale up use of an evidence-based practice.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 directors, assistant directors, and program managers of county probation, mental health, and child welfare departments. A web-based survey collected additional quantitative data on information and advice networks of study participants. A mixed-methods approach to data analysis was used to create a sociometric data set (n = 176) to examine linkages between treatment and standard conditions.ResultsOf those network members who were affiliated with a county (n = 137), only 6 (4.4%) were directly connected to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 19 (13.9%) were connected by two steps or fewer to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition; 64 (46.7%) were connected by three or fewer steps to a member of the opposite implementation strategy condition. Most of the indirect steps between individuals who were in different implementation strategy conditions were connections involving a third non-county organizational entity that had an important role in the trial in keeping the implementation strategy conditions separate. When these entities were excluded, the CDT network exhibited fewer components and significantly higher betweenness centralization than did the standard condition network.ConclusionAlthough the integrity of the RCT in this instance was not compromised by study participant influence networks, RCT designs should consider how influence networks may extend beyond boundaries established by the randomization process in implementation studies.Trial registrationNCT00880126

    Classifying Information Technologies: A Multidimensional Scaling Approach

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    Information technologies are an integral part of any organization and are constantly emerging and evolving. Theories explaining the impact of technological innovations on organizations and the individuals that populate them are developed as new technologies emerge, and future business applications are explored. Despite this richness of research, we have a fairly narrow view of how these technologies are related. Furthermore, new technologies are often assigned labels that strongly connote disconnect from existing technologies despite the fact that few true evolutionary leaps exist and, for the most part, information technologies evolve from each other and share many similarities. Consequently, our ability to apply knowledge gained from the application of one technology to interactions with another is limited. Developing general theories of information technologies require strong understanding of the different technologies that exist and how they are related. To this end, this article puts forward a concise classification of information technologies. Using a multidimensional scaling approach and survey data from IS academics, we identify three dimensions which capture the commonalities and differences among information technologies. We believe that the resultant classification will enable researchers to better integrate existing and future theories, and to move away from technology-specific theories toward more general ones

    25 years of regional science

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    Protection-motivated behaviors of organizational insiders

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    Protecting information from a wide variety of security threats is an important and sometimes daunting organizational activity. Instead of solely relying on technological advancements to help solve human problems, managers within firms must recognize and understand the roles that organizational insiders have in the protection of information. The systematic study of human influences on organizational information security is termed behavioral information security (Fagnot 2008; Stanton, Stam, Mastrangelo, and Jolton 2006), and it affirms that the protection of organizational information assets is best achieved when the detrimental behaviors of organizational insiders are effectively deterred and the beneficial activities of these individuals are appropriately encouraged. Relative to the former, the latter facet has received little attention in the academic literature. Given this opportunity, this dissertation explicitly focuses upon protective behaviors that help promote the protection of organizational information resources. These behaviors are termed protection-motivated behaviors (PMBs) and are defined as the volitional behaviors organizational insiders can enact that protect (1) organizationally-relevant information within their firms and (2) the computer-based information systems in which that information is stored, collected, disseminated, and/or manipulated from information-security threats. Each of the chapters herein is dedicated to fostering knowledge about these beneficial behaviors and acts as a complement to existing research in order to more fully support the entire scope of behavioral information security. Chapter 2 focuses upon the development of a formal typology of PMBs and relies on the complementary classification techniques of Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), Property Fitting (ProFit) analysis, and cluster analysis. 67 individual PMBs were discovered, and the above classification techniques uncovered a three-dimensional perceptual space common among organizational insiders regarding PMBs. This space verifies that insiders differentiate PMBs according to whether the behaviors (1) require minor or continual level of improvements within organizations, (2) are widely or narrowly standardized and applied throughout various organizations, and (3) are a reasonable or unreasonable request of organizations to make of their insiders. 14 unique clusters were also discovered during this process, which finding further assists information security researchers in their understanding of how organizational insiders perceive the behaviors that help protect information assets. Chapter 3 uses the findings from Chapter 2 to develop a self-report measure of insiders\u27 engagement in PMBs within their organizations. PMBs are modeled as a multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) structure (Joreskog and Goldberger 1975) with the clusters found in Chapter 2 being first-order, formative constructs of the overall, second-order PMB measure. These clusters explain over 70% of the variance in overall PMB activity. The nomological validity of the newly constructed measure is also empirically examined in this chapter, and the results largely support the conceptualization of PMBs. Chapter 4 places the measure developed in the previous chapter in a motivational model founded on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) (Rogers 1975, 1983). The findings from covariance-based structural equation modeling show that insiders\u27 motivation to engage in PMBs is largely influenced by the perceived efficacy of protective responses and potential adaptive response costs—both components of the coping appraisal process. Fear, however, is shown to have little influence on these motivational levels. In addition to the PMT components, several rival explanations are examined. Job satisfaction and management support are found to significantly explain variance in organizational insiders\u27 motivation to engage in PMBs. In summary, this dissertation comprises a significant work in the field of behavioral information security by conducting 33 semi-structured interviews, eliciting the participation of 13 subject matter experts, and issuing 6 individual data collections. When these efforts are combined, the results of this dissertation are based on the responses of more than 1,700 organizational insiders. The findings help both information security researchers and managers within organizations more fully understand the protective role that organizational insiders play in the protection of information resources

    Corporate entrepreneurship: Linking strategic roles to multiple dimensions of performance

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    Using data from a large European financial services firm which engaged in an entrepreneurial initiative to enhance its competitiveness, this paper explores the strategic role of middle managers in the context of corporate entrepreneurship and its link to multiple dimensions of performance. The findings indicate that middle managers’ role can be decomposed along four reliable and stable dimensions that are consistent with those suggested by the literature. Building on a stakeholder approach, the paper relates the identified roles to multiple dimensions of performance, namely to financial performance, customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Canonical correlation analysis –a useful and powerful method to explore relations among multidimensional variables– indicates a significant but weak relationship.corporate entrepreneurship; strategic roles; middle managers;

    The Local Emergence and Global Diffusion of Research Technologies: An Exploration of Patterns of Network Formation

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    Grasping the fruits of "emerging technologies" is an objective of many government priority programs in a knowledge-based and globalizing economy. We use the publication records (in the Science Citation Index) of two emerging technologies to study the mechanisms of diffusion in the case of two innovation trajectories: small interference RNA (siRNA) and nano-crystalline solar cells (NCSC). Methods for analyzing and visualizing geographical and cognitive diffusion are specified as indicators of different dynamics. Geographical diffusion is illustrated with overlays to Google Maps; cognitive diffusion is mapped using an overlay to a map based on the ISI Subject Categories. The evolving geographical networks show both preferential attachment and small-world characteristics. The strength of preferential attachment decreases over time, while the network evolves into an oligopolistic control structure with small-world characteristics. The transition from disciplinary-oriented ("mode-1") to transfer-oriented ("mode-2") research is suggested as the crucial difference in explaining the different rates of diffusion between siRNA and NCSC

    Author Cocitation Analysis Using Custom Bibliographic Databases: An Exploratory Tool for Digging Up Reference Disciplines

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    Researchers in any academic discipline build on each other\u27s and their own previous work. Definitions, topics and concepts are shared. It is necessary to continuously follow up on interesting lines of inquiry. It is also necessary to identify, examine, and trace the intellectual linkage to each other in a given academic field as a basis of assessing the current state of its field to guide future development. Over the past 80 years, the way we count and analyze the intellectual linkage dramatically changed from the early manual transcribing and statistical computation of citation data to computer-based citation data creation and its manipulation. Most citation and cocitation analyses rely on commercial citation databases such as Social Science Citation Index. This paper introduces an alternative approach to conducting author cocitation analysis (ACA) without relying on commercial citation databases, based on custom bibliographic database and cocitation matrix generation systems specifically developed to use the custom database. The alternative approach overcomes several weaknesses of commercial online data-based ACA research. This guide to an alternative approach to ACA will encourage other researchers to explore the intellectual structures of various MIS fields and guide the future development as well as revealing their reference disciplines
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