A new positioning framework for organisational value: juxtaposing organisational value positions with customer centricity

‘Value’ is worthy of study as it determines success for leaders, provides competitive advantage and contributes to economic prosperity. Indeed value may be a super-ordinate concept that has ‘upstaged’ previous research areas such as service quality, service satisfaction and relationship marketing. Many studies use ‘silo-based approaches’ when considering value, for example economic, socio-cultural and environmental value are often studied separately (Smith-Christensen, 2009). This study is inter-disciplinary being located in the overlap between strategic, customer-centric and value-laden disciplines. This paper provides insights by distilling extant ‘value’ themes. First, it critiques the plethora of value-types and complexities germane to value location. Then it holistically reflects on the distinct positions that have occupied value research to-date, namely ‘transactional’, ‘co-creation’ and ‘value-seeking’. There is much research into the first two but less on value-seeking. Furthermore little research exists on evaluating whether more than one organisational value position exists. Hence this paper posits that both distinct and overlapping positions may co-exist in organisations. These distinct and overlapping positions are juxtaposed with customer versus company-centric orientations to produce an original positioning framework that will be useful for practitioners and scholars alike. Finally the framework’s limitations are considered by using exemplars and analogies to promote better understanding

Heard It through the Grapevine: Traceability, Intelligence Cohort, and Collaborative Hazard Intelligence

abstract: Designing a hazard intelligence platform enables public agencies to organize diversity and manage complexity in collaborative partnerships. To maintain the integrity of the platform while preserving the prosocial ethos, understanding the dynamics of “non-regulatory supplements” to central governance is crucial. In conceptualization, social responsiveness is shaped by communicative actions, in which coordination is attained through negotiated agreements by way of the evaluation of validity claims. The dynamic processes involve information processing and knowledge sharing. The access and the use of collaborative intelligence can be examined by notions of traceability and intelligence cohort. Empirical evidence indicates that social traceability is statistical significant and positively associated with the improvement of collaborative performance. Moreover, social traceability positively contributes to the efficacy of technical traceability, but not vice versa. Furthermore, technical traceability significantly contributes to both moderate and high performance improvement; while social traceability is only significant for moderate performance improvement. Therefore, the social effect is limited and contingent. The results further suggest strategic considerations. Social significance: social traceability is the fundamental consideration to high cohort performance. Cocktail therapy: high cohort performance involves an integrative strategy with high social traceability and high technical traceability. Servant leadership: public agencies should exercise limited authority and perform a supporting role in the provision of appropriate technical traceability, while actively promoting social traceability in the system.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Business Administration 201

The Corporate Role in a Changing Society: A Model of Sensemaking and of Firm Characterization

Aquesta tesi està organitzada com un compendi de quatre articles cadascun dels quals investiga com les empreses donen sentit a la Responsabilitat Social Corporativa (RSC). Proposem un model teòric de creació de sentit que ens permiti a posteriori la caracterització d'empreses. En aquest model volem explicar com els directius entenen les responsabilitats socials i medi ambientals de l'empresa, així com el rol d'aquesta en la societat. Mitjançant quatre recerques empíriques en forma d'articles, que abasten 10 casos de estudi i l'anàlisi de més de 900 informes corporatius, mirem d'entendre tres característiques del comportament que constitueixen les dimensions del nostre model: cognitiva, lingüística i conativa. Inductivament proposem les sub-dimensions del nostre model trobant patrons d'interrelació i evolució que descriuen el comportament de les empreses. Observem que l'evolució en els últims anys de l'RSC tendeix cap a la definició de l'RSC com un element més estratègic de l'empresa. També notem un augment de la comprensió de l'RSC mes post-positivista. La conclusió és que la institucionalització del discurs formalitzat pot ésser un dels vectors d'evolució de l'RSC. Proposem, normativament, que l'evolució futura de l'RSC passa per una comprensió mes política del rol de l'empresa en la societat, definida a través de processos deliberatius.Esta tesis está organizada como un compendio de cuatro artículos, cada uno de los cuales investiga como las empresas le dan sentido a la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC). Proponemos un modelo teórico de creación de sentido el cual nos permite a posteriori la caracterización de empresas. En este modelo pretendemos explicar cómo los directivos entienden las responsabilidades sociales y medioambientales y el rol de la empresa en la sociedad. A través de cuatro investigaciones empíricas en la forma de artículos que comprenden 10 casos de estudio y el análisis de más de 900 informes corporativos, tratamos de entender tres características del comportamiento que constituyen las dimensiones de nuestro modelo: cognitiva, lingüística y conativa. Inductivamente proponemos las sub-dimensiones de nuestro modelo encontrando a través de ellas patrones de interrelación y evolución que describen el comportamiento de las empresas. Observamos que la evolución en los últimos años de la RSC tiende hacia a la definición de la RSC como un elemento más estratégico de la empresa. Sin embargo, también notamos un aumento de la comprensión de la RSC más post-positivista. Concluimos que la institucionalización del discurso formalizado puede ser uno de los vectores de evolución de la RSC. Proponemos normativamente, que una futura evolución de la RSC pasa por una comprensión más política del rol de la empresa en la sociedad definida a través de procesos deliberativos.This thesis is organized in a compendium of four articles each of which furthers our knowledge of on how companies make sense of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We propose a model of organizational sensemaking-sensegiving characterization explaining how managers think, persuade and act regarding their social and environmental responsibilities and their role in society. Through four empirical research studies, mainly based on 10 in-depth case studies and over 900 corporate reports, we look at three features of behaviour that constitute the dimensions of the model: cognitive, linguistic and conative. We inductively propose the sub-dimensions that guide CSR-related activities recognizing some common patterns of interrelation and evolution. These patterns may lead to a better understanding of firm's CSR behaviour over the last decade. From our empirical research we observe an evolution in time towards a more strategic form of CSR. However, we also notice an increase of the post-positivistic view of CSR. We conclude that the institutionalization of formalized forms of discourse might be one of the drivers behind CSR's evolution. We normatively argue that further evolution in CSR should include its strategic incorporation but also a broader political understanding of the role of the firm in society redefined in an open and deliberative manner

The Human Impact on the Emergence of Firm Supply Chain Agility: A Multilevel Framework:a multilevel framework

Purpose: The human element, especially its multilevel manifestation, has been overlooked in research investigating the antecedents of firm supply chain agility (FSCA). The purpose of this paper is to explore how a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation affect FSCA through individual capabilities and actions within the boundary conditions of individual identification with the firm and organizational work climate. Design/methodology/approach: Following a multilevel approach and drawing on a cross-disciplinary reading of the literature, the authors analyze drivers and enablers of FSCA and advance a framework explaining the emergence of FSCA within the boundary conditions of transformational leadership, individual identification and organizational work climate. Findings: The authors advance that relevant individual capabilities and intraorganizational actions underlie FSCA in the firms’ pursuit of realizing their strategic orientations as increased agile capacities. The effectiveness of individual capabilities and actions for the emergence of FSCA is contingent upon the extent to which managers identify themselves with their firm, transformational leadership and the nature of organizational work climate. Originality/value: The original contribution of the paper is to explain the interplay between the multilayered attitudinal, behavioral and structural enablers of FSCA and incorporate the human element into the research on the antecedents of FSCA.</p

Agri-food leadership case study: John Brakenridge and the New Zealand Merino Company

This paper forms part of a wider Unlocking Export Prosperity Research Programme led by the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) at Lincoln University. This is the first of six case studies and is focused on The New Zealand Merino Company and its Chief Executive John Brakenridge. The success of the New Zealand Merino Company is the product of a complex network of committed growers, innovative brand partners, a skilled and supportive Board and a great team. Within this complex network, however, Chief Executive John Brakenridge emerges as a central driver of the company’s achievements. This case study looks at Brakenridge’s leadership through the lens of the leadership models described in an earlier literature review. The essence of his leadership, however, can be seen in his ability to foster and persuasively articulate a transformative vision for New Zealand Merino and for New Zealand agriculture

Value-based leadership in New Zealand agri-foods exporting enterprises: Literature review

On 12 September 2017, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced that a research programme entitled Unlocking Export Prosperity from the Agri-food Values of Aotearoa New Zealand had been selected for funding from the Endeavour Fund. The programme has been launched with four reviews written for a general audience on relevant existing knowledge, including this report on (4) distinctive features of values-based leadership in New Zealand agri-food exporting enterprises. It focuses on: leadership and innovation; leadership and coordination; and leadership and marketing. Overall, the literature suggests two very important points for adding value to New Zealand agri-food exports: 1) Leadership does not directly add value to agri-food products; and 2) Relationships between leadership and value-adding processes is complex

Supply chain learning of sustainability in China: What role does MNCs’ leadership play?

Studentship Award for the PhD Program 2013-2016Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) has increasingly been considered important by both industry and academia, organizations around the world seek to extend or disseminate their sustainable practices to their multi-tier supply chains in order to make the whole chain sustainable. Among the main streams of SSCM research, it is surprising that, with a few exceptions, the leadership role of multinational corporations (MNCs) in their supply chains in an emerging economy has been ignored by researchers. Little is known on how MNCs, assuming leadership in their supply chain, have been able to facilitate their supply chain members to learn sustainability practice in an emerging economy context i.e. the mechanisms. To address this gap in the literature, a multiple-case study is designed. Multi-tier supply chains of three MNCs were selected to investigate their proactive sustainability projects in China. They are: Tetra Pak creating a recycling chain in China; Nestlé modernising China’s dairy industry; and IKEA’s sustainable cotton initiative. By adopting Resource Orchestration Theory (ROT), findings related to supply chain leadership, supply chain learning, multi-tier SSCM are presented. A number of testable propositions are advanced. The main findings of the research are that rather than focusing on the ‘low hanging fruits’ of sustainability, MNCs implement proactive sustainable initiatives requiring a strategic thinking and long term significant investment by engaging their multi-tier suppliers and non-traditional supply chain members. They tend to play a leadership role in the implementation process enabled by transformational and transactional leadership styles. These MNCs applied different leadership styles and governance mechanisms on different tiers of suppliers, which render different supply chain structures in the process of supply chain learning, which includes three stages of set up, operating and sustaining. This research contributes to SSCM research in the following ways: first, it may be the first attempt that investigates multi-tier SSCM through supply chain learning and supply chain leadership angles adopting a ROT perspective. This help to explain how MNCs implement sustainable initiatives in China; second, it contributes to supply chain learning literature by differentiating supply chain learning stages and learning content in terms of focal company knowledge resources and supplier learning complexity to explain the implementation of SSCM initiatives; third, leadership at an individual level is well researched and understood but it is not the case for organisational level leadership. This research enriches our understanding of the role of organisational leadership in MNCs’ SSCM; fourth, the research contributes to multi-tier SSCM with a focus on both supply chain governance mechanisms and supply chain structure; fifth, this research extend ROT from within an organization context to supply chains and include three aspects: breadth (resource orchestration across the scope of the supply chain including both internal and external breadth); depth (resource orchestration across multi-tiers of the supply chain); and project lifecycle (resource orchestration at various stages of supply chain learning stages); finally, a complete theoretical framework is developed to tie together the constructs of supply chain learning, supply chain leadership, multi-tier SSCM with ROT. Practically, a step by step methodology, integrating the key factors affecting the implementation of SSCM initiatives including supply chain learning, supply chain leadership, multi-tier supply chain governance and supply chain structure, is proposed. The ‘best practices’ of the researched MNCs provide a feasible roadmap for these organizations to learn from.University of Exeter Business Schoo

A Study on the Role of Tim Cook’s in the Apple Inc. with High Creativity and Market Adaptability:Focus on Tim Cook While Comparing Tim Cook with Steve Jobs

Apple, the world's leading high-tech company, was leading the smartphone revolution in artificial intelligence and Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, had been recognised as the soul of the company, but in fact, Jobs' personal characteristics and approach had shown that this success was not very sustainable as his strengths and weaknesses could easily cancel each other out in his first stint at Apple. When Jobs began his second stint at Apple, with the addition of Tim Cook, who mitigated the impact of Jobs' flaws[1]and continued to integrate the leadership, human resource management and business operations that Jobs was not so good at, Apple ushered in an era of industry dominance. However, the general public perception of the IT industry and many commentators were unclear on this matter, giving a great deal of credit to Steve Jobs, the symbol of Apple, and ignoring Tim Cook's job of ensuring that Apple's good operations and the ability of its product designers were not adversely affected by Jobs' death. Keywords: Leadership, Corporate Mission, CSR , Value Chain, Organisational Culture, Sense of Meaning, Incentives, Brand Culture, Psychological Capital, Management DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-17-05 Publication date:October 31st 2023 [1] Leander Kahney  2018 year  Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level ( 2019  year  Chinese Translation by 李世凡'shi fan li'  梁德馨'de xin liang '  CITIC Press Corporatio