Dividing Multi-Organizational Businesses into Processes: Capturing Value Creation in Assignment Structures

Business transactions of today often rely on the involvement of several organizations in its preparation and realization. This means that value creation is distributed among several actors and needs to be coordinated. The division of multi-organizational businesses into business processes need to reflect the co-production of value arranged in distributed value production structures. There relies however an unresolved quest of which criteria that should govern such division of business processes. In this paper, business processes for conceiving multi-organizational businesses are identified founded in how customer assignments embed and integrate other assignments through value chains in value networks. Five core process types are identified founded in this assignment structure; development processes, planning processes, provision processes, order fulfilment processes, and evaluation processes. These processes are of both condition creating and realization characteristics to enable an efficient co-ordination of the multi-organizational business

From subsidizing to segmenting: the changing role of non-governmental organizations in sanitation provision

Business-as-usual in the sanitation sector has traditionally involved government or non-government organizational supply-led strategies focusing on maximizing one-off beneficiaries through subsidization of hardware. Recently, a methodological shift has occurred focusing on more demand-responsive approaches that prioritize sustainability not only of infrastructure, but of processes as well. Promoting a sustainable sanitation process is distinct from subsidizing toilets. Market segmentation-the process of dividing communities into semi-homogenous groups based upon their demand characteristics- is a tool often utilized throughout the commercial sector, but has not been documented extensively as a population-demand assessment strategy in the sanitation development sector. This paper describes Water For People’s experience segmenting a population in Majes, Peru, with the eventual goal of designing sustainable sanitation process methodologies by assisting businesses to better respond to diverse demand characteristics in a given population. It is hoped that this experience will contribute to better understanding sanitation demand characteristics worldwide

Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan: Surviving the Long-Term Recession

The relationship between large enterprises (LEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Japan has undergone major changes during the long-term recession since 1991. While SMEs still play the important role of supplying parts and components to LEs through subcontracting, many LEs have started to reduce the number of their suppliers and the components they use in manufacturing. While efficient SMEs selected by LEs were able to expand their businesses, inefficient SMEs lost customers. The regression results in this study suggest that the decrease in number of establishments—specifically, the exit of inefficient SMEs—might improve total factor productivity growth rates. The traditional business model of being dependent on certain LEs and doing business within the cluster is not functioning as well as it used to. Heavy dependence on certain industries and highly segmented and specialized production processes prevent the clusters from adjusting to the new business environment. Some SMEs are still able to create new business by taking advantage of more flexible divisions of labor. SME policies must encourage diversification and collaboration that cut across traditional industry groupings to form a flexible division of labor.japan sme recession; japan sme restructuring

Segmenting Publics

This research synthesis was commissioned by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to examine audience segmentation methods and tools in the area of public engagement. It provides resources for assessing the ways in which segmentation tools might be used to enhance the various activities through which models of public engagement in higher education are implemented. Understanding the opinions, values, and motivations of members of the public is a crucial feature of successful engagement. Segmentation methods can offer potential resources to help understand the complex set of interests and attitudes that the public have towards higher education. Key findings: There exist a number of existing segmentations which address many of the areas of activity found in Universities and HEIs. These include segmentations which inform strategic planning of communications; segmentations which inform the design of collaborative engagement activities by museums, galleries, and libraries; and segmentations that are used to identify under-represented users and consumers. Segmentation is, on its own, only a tool, used in different ways in different contexts. The broader strategic rationale shaping the application and design of segmentation methods is a crucial factor in determining the utility of segmentation tools. Four issues emerged of particular importance: 1. Segmentation exercises are costly and technically complex. Undertaking segmentations therefore requires significant commitment of financial and professional resources by HEIs; the appropriate interpretation, analysis, and application of segmentation exercises also require high levels of professional capacity and expertise 2. Undertaking a segmentation exercise has implications for the internal organisational operations of HEIs, not only for how they engage with external publics and stakeholders 3. Segmentation tools are adopted to inform interventions of various sorts, and superficially to differentiate and sometime discriminate between how groups of people are addressed and engaged. 4. For HEIs, the ethical issues and reputational risks which have been identified in this Research Synthesis as endemic to the application of segmentation methods for public purposes are particularly relevant

Sleeping with the enemy? : strategic transformations in business - NGO relationships through stakeholder dialogue

Campaigning activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have increased public awareness and concern regarding the alleged unethical and environmentally damaging practices of many major multinational companies. Companies have responded by developing corporate social responsibility strategies to demonstrate their commitment to both the societies within which they function and to the protection of the natural environment. This has often involved a move towards greater transparency in company practice and a desire to engage with stakeholders, often including many of the campaign organisations that have been at the forefront of the criticisms of their activity. This article examines the ways in which stakeholder dialogue has impacted upon the relationships between NGOs and businesses. In doing so, it contributes to the call for more ‘stakeholder-focused’ research in this field (Frooman in Acad Manag Rev 24(2): 191–205, 1999; Steurer in Bus Strategy Environ 15: 15–69 2006). By adopting a stakeholder lens, and focusing more heavily upon the impact on one particular stakeholder community (NGOs) and looking in depth at one form of engagement (stakeholder dialogue), this article examines how experiences of dialogue are strategically transforming interactions between businesses and NGOs. It shows how experiences of stakeholder dialogue have led to transformations in the drivers for engagement, transformations in the processes of engagement and transformations in the terms of engagement. Examining these areas of transformation, the article argues, reveals the interactions at play in framing and shaping the evolving relationships between business and its stakeholders

A Comparison of Risk Exposure in Aquaculture and Agricultural Businesses

Agriculture and aquaculture have common features associated with their biological nature affecting risk exposure of the businesses. The aim of this paper is to compare risk exposure in salmon farming and agricultural enterprises in Norway by using an implicit error component model to examine the risk structure of yields, prices and economic returns at the farm level. Results indicate a higher farm-level year-to-year variability in yields, prices and economic returns in salmon farming than in agricultural enterprises. The variability in livestock enterprises was generally lower than for crop enterprises. Return on assets was highest in salmon farming with an average annual return of 9.2%. All of the agricultural farm types exhibited a negative average return on assets on average. Stochastic dominance tests of the distribution of economic returns from aquaculture and agricultural farm types showed salmon farming to be the most risk efficient alternative and salmon farming was most attractive from an investor’s perspective.Risk analysis, variability, Norway, Risk and Uncertainty,

Business or third sector? What are the dimensions and implications of researching and conceptualising the overlap between business and third sector?

This paper is designed to ‘problematise’ the business/third sector boundary in order to inform future research into third sector theorising or policy development. It sets out some of the reasons behind the development of the concepts of the ‘third sector’ and ‘social enterprise’ in the UK, and briefly shows the scope and limits of the different theories underpinning European and US-influenced research and practice. It also illustrates some of the many dimensions, motivations and values of the kinds of organisations to be found in this cross-over space, as well as the challenges and opportunities which this diversity creates for any future research or policy creation