Group inquiry to aid organisational learning in enterprises

This paper describes a method for surfacing and exploring ‘situated knowledge’ in medium-sized organisations, with employee groups utilising a ‘low impact’ form of group support system (GSS), based on wireless handsets. Some results of piloting this method are summarised and one intervention is presented in detail. The method encouraged organisational members to give voice to the emotions and politics of leadership and learning in organisations, and helped to articulate how situated knowledge was ignored, as well as utilised. The method is practical, and may be used by organisations for themselves to aid the development of group as well as individual reflection, to stimulate the consideration of change

Civil society and the 'commanding heights' the civil economy: past, present, future

Civil society associations can run businesses and they can run organisations that aim to influence businesses. Together, these two sorts of association help to grow a civil economy. This paper, written for the Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland, reviews the history of the civil economy and looks ahead to how it may come to have a greater influence in the future

Building social and community cohesion: the role of social enterprises in facilitating settlement experiences for immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds

Australia is a nation of immigrants. Immigration brings much needed skills and labour to Australia. It helps creating a strong economy, drives prosperity and builds Australia’s future. Diverse cultural expression enriches all Australians and makes the multicultural nation more vibrant and creative. Immigrants, including refugees, from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) are vulnerable as they often have higher unemployment rates or are at an earnings disadvantage that may lead to disaffection and community unrest in the long run. Government agencies are facing complicated issues surrounding the design and implementation of strategies that facilitate the settlement of new arrivals in Australia. This paper critically reviews the literature and argues that social enterprises and social entrepreneurship can help to facilitate life satisfaction and self-reliance for NESB immigrants in Australia. In addition, the paper provides a better understanding of what research method may best suit to examine the role of social enterprises in NESB immigrant settlement experiences and how social enterprises may help to integrate the immigrants into culturally diverse socially cohesive nation. Discussion of benefits of the proposed research method will also be provided

The Co-operative Model in Practice : International Perspectives

Published with the support of the Scottish Government and the Economic & Social Research CouncilPublisher PD

Beyond knowledge brokerage: An exploratory study of innovation intermediaries in an evolving smallholder agricultural system in Kenya

The recognition that innovation occurs in networks of heterogeneous actors and requires broad systemic support beyond knowledge brokering has resulted in a changing landscape of the intermediary domain in an increasingly market-driven agricultural sector in developing countries. This paper presents findings of an explorative case study that looked at 22 organisations identified as fulfilling an intermediary role in the Kenyan agricultural sector. The results show that these organisations fulfill functions that are not limited to distribution of knowledge and putting it into use. The functions also include fostering integration and interaction among the diverse actors engaged in innovation networks and working on technological, organisational and institutional innovation. Further, the study identified various organisational arrangements of innovation intermediaries with some organisations fulfilling a specialised innovation brokering role, even as other intermediaries take on brokering as a side activity, while still substantively contributing to the innovation process. Based on these findings we identify a typology of 4 innovation intermediation arrangements, including technology brokers, systemic brokers, enterprise development support and input access support. The results indicate that innovation brokering is a pervasive task in supporting innovation and will require policy support to embed it in innovation support arrangements. The paper is not normative about these arrangements.Smallholder agriculture, innovation intermediaries, agriculture innovation, knowledge brokers, Kenya

Learning to learn: A case for developing Small Firm Owner/Managers

Purpose: The paper seeks to contribute to the management development debate by providing insight on the dynamics of organisational learning and human interaction in the SME firm. The paper sets out to consider how a practice based perspective of knowledge is useful in this regard. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is theoretical in its intent and adopts a social constructionist view of knowledge and learning. Using qualitative analysis the paper establishes a review of the current literature by highlighting the centrality of knowledge and learning. Findings: Literature has suggested that critical aspects of learning within the SME firm are based around contextualised action, critical reflection and social interaction. A limited number of studies account for how practice is configured and influenced, in terms of value, uniqueness and scope of what is known, and how these influences can vary depending upon the contexts in which knowledge is being used, and potentially used. Practical Implications: There is a strong recognition in many of the empirical studies of learning and its use in the SME firm, that knowledge is gained through practice as opposed to formal instruction. What current research does not reflect is the changing nature of knowledge research in the wider organisational community, which has focused its attention towards the situated nature of knowledgeable activity or knowing in practice. Originality/Value: The paper argues that learning through practice, with its focus on real world issues and lived experiences, which are contextually embedded in the owner-manager's environment, may provide a better means of successfully developing practitioner focused owner/managers

The distinctive challenges and opportunities for creating leadership within social enterprises

Purpose The purpose of this study is to present a systematic assessment of the distinctive challenges and opportunities associated with creating leadership within the realm of social enterprise. A modified and expanded form of Grint’s leadership lenses heuristic framework (i.e. person, position, process, performance, purpose and place) is used to examine and highlight what is particular about creating leadership in social enterprises by virtue of their distinctive missions, strategic contexts, legal forms and organisational structures and cultures. Based on this initial exploration, five research priorities are identified to better understand and then develop leadership practice in the social enterprise realm. Design/methodology/approach An enhanced heuristic framework for systematically examining leadership within the social enterprise research literature has been applied, drawing on the leadership practice literature. The application is illustrated through six instrumental case studies. Findings While there are a number of similarities between leading in the social enterprise realm and leading within the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, the levels of complexity, ambiguity and the lack of an established theoretical and practical knowledge base makes creating leadership in the social enterprise sector that much more challenging. On the positive side of the ledger, the fact that the purpose is at the core of social enterprise means that it is relatively easier to use the purpose to create a basis for common meaningful action, compared to leadership within the private and public sectors. Related to this, given the strongly local or “glocal” nature of social enterprise, a ready opportunity exists for leaders to draw upon a place as a strategic resource in mobilising followers and other stakeholders. The novel, uncertain and pioneering nature of a social enterprise is also arguably more tolerant and accommodating of a leadership mindset that focuses on posing questions regarding “wicked” problems compared to public, private for-profit and, indeed, traditional not-for-profit sector organisations. Originality/value As far as we can ascertain, this is the first systematic attempt to examine the distinctive challenges and opportunities associated with creating leadership within the social enterprise realm. The application of the heuristic framework leads to the identification of five key inter-related lines of empirical research into leadership practices within social enterprises. </jats:sec

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

Firm Size: The Role of Learning Organization

Learning organization is vital to the development of any Nation, because of its capacity to enhance skill development, decision making capabilities, and knowledge. Hence learning organization’s is a slogan for achievement and sustainability in an organization. A lucrative organization is an organization that devote with utmost intentionality in continuous learning and job enrichment (Budhiraja, 2022). The wide deficiency broadly spread in Nigerian SMEs in employing and utilizing the dimensions of learning organization which has birthed below the benchmark achievement of their business hence the gap in the study. SMEs in Nigeria have been tagged has having a barrier to success, and bankruptcy due to various dangerous issues, including firm size. Cross-sectional survey method was utilized based on the ability to capture a singular mark in time, acquiring info from a group at a single point and matching participants, and a simple random sampling technique was employed due to its suitability for homogeneous demography gives members of the sample the liberty to be selected. Also, the validity of all scales was established using confirmatory analysis, which demonstrated satisfactory reliability. The study utilized SmartPLS version 4.0 in the execution of the algorithm and bootstrapping using a two-tailed technique. The findings from the analysis using structural equation modelling indicate that the dimensions of a learning organisation have a symbolic influence on the size of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. The implication of the findings is that the findings will assist management in diagnosing and systemizing strategies to address the persistent challenge that has hindered the industry's progress over time. It will also help them in achieving the organisational goals, gaining a competitive edge, and preparing for the uncertainties and dynamic nature of the business landscape. Keywords: Firm size, Learning Organization, Nigeria, Business. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-18-04 Publication date: November 30th 2023