The Propensity To Continue Service Internationalization - A Model Of Planned Behavior

The present study investigates the propensity to continue internationalization by experienced international service providers. Enhancing the cognitive-behavioral root of internationalization process theory (Johanson and Vahlne 1977; 1990), this paper builds upon Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior. Consistent with the latter theory, the propensity to continue service internationalization is modelled as behavioral intention that results from (1) an overall attitude towards internationalization, (2) structural and strategic behavioral norms, and (3) inhibiting factors that exert behavioral control upon propensity. Using partial least squares analysis, a propensity model is tested on a sample of 193 international service providers. The results suggest that our model explicates and enhances the cognitive/affective character of internationalization process theory.management and organization theory ;

The ‘T-Shaped Buyer’: a transactional perspective on supply chain relationships

This paper challenges the normative view of interdependent buyer-seller relationships and provides a more holistic perspective of the contextual reality that shapes buyer behaviour. By proposing an innovative qualitative methodology, which focusses on boundary-spanning, pre-sales interactions, the research penetrates complex and commercially sensitive buyer-seller relationships. The longitudinal research design uses web-based diaries and follow-up interviews to explore conditions of power based interdependence between buyers and sellers. The ensuing data is mapped using qualitative content analysis and the results are aggregated graphically for assessment. Using this approach the study develops a nuanced view of the dominant patterns of buyer behaviour, and challenges the opinion that a search for competitive advantage will strengthen cooperative relationships in conditions of power based interdependence. The paper introduces the metaphor of the 'T-Shaped Buyer' to explain the empirical findings and, while acknowledging the contextual limits of the study, suggests that this metaphor may cause both academics and practitioners to reflect on normative thinking

Trust and Commitment in Professional Service Marketing Relationships in Business-to-Business Markets

This paper examines two very important concepts in marketing relationships – trust and commitment – whereby commitment is regarded as consisting of three components: affective, calculative and normative. The context of this study is professional services in a business-to-business market, more specifically the marketing research industry in Slovenia. The results show that trust in the marketing research provider and its work is very high among interviewed clients. The clients also appear to be affectively committed to the relationship with the provider, whereas calculative and normative commitment are low. The study’s results confirm the positive influence of trust on affective commitment and the weak negative influence of trust on calculative commitment.trust, affective commitment, calculative commitment, normative commitment, business-to-business markets

The 10-tenets of adaptive management and sustainability: an holistic framework for understanding and managing the socio-ecological system

The three basic principles of sustainable development, relating to ecology, economy and society, have long been embedded within national and international strategies. In recent years we have augmented these principles by a further seven considerations giving rise to the so-called 10-tenets of sustainable management. Whilst theoretically appealing, discussion of the tenets to date has been largely generic and qualitative and, until the present paper, there has been no formal and quantitative application of these tenets to an actual example. To promote the concept of successful and sustainable environmental management there is the need to develop a robust and practical framework to accommodate value judgements relating to each of the tenets. Although, as originally presented, the tenets relate specifically to management measures, they may also be applied directly to a specific development or activity. This paper examines the application of the tenets in both of these contexts, and considers their incorporation into an assessment tool to help visualise and quantify issues of sustainability

The ‘transaction X-ray’: understanding construction procurement

This paper presents the results of a case study, the Construction Case, which examines procurement practices within the UK construction supply chain and compares these with a more general UK sample taken from non-construction sectors. Using a qualitative methodology, the approaches to relationship management and buyer value perception are graphically mapped, using an innovative ‘transaction X-ray’ technique. The Construction Case considers procurement transactions conducted at various points along the construction value chain: the client, the construction firm and the specialist contractor. Recognising that the research design favours a small sample size, and thus limits generalisability beyond the boundaries of the case, the paper finds that construction industry procurement operates in an adversarial and largely arm’s-length manner. While procurement practice is found to share common aspects with other industrial sectors, the case demonstrates that the construction industry is more adversarial and less collaborative than is the average found across the other sectors examined. The paper outlines a useful framework whereby construction practitioners can evaluate elements of procurement practice within their own organisations, and also signposts the required direction for future research in order to reflect the gap, suggested by the case, between current normative theory and construction procurement practice

Locating distributed leadership

This special issue addresses a number of the key themes that have been surfacing from the literature on distributed leadership (DL) for some time. Together with those papers selected to be included in this special issue, the authors set out both to explore and contribute to a number of the current academic debates in relation to DL, while at the same time examining the extent to which research on DL has permeated the management field. The paper examines a number of key concepts, ideas and themes in relation to DL and, in so doing, highlights the insights offered through new contributions and interpretations. The paper offers a means by which forms of DL might be conceptualized to be better incorporated into researchers' scholarship and research, and a framework is presented which considers a number of different dimensions of DL, how it may be planned, and how it may emerge, together with how it may or may not align with other organizational activities and aspects. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Management Reviews © 2011 British Academy of Management and Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Social Entrepreneurship That Truly Benefits the Poor: An Integrative Justice Approach

The phenomenal growth of social entrepreneurship over thelast decade has ably demonstrated how technology, innovation, and anentrepreneurial spirit can afford better solutions to the vexing social andenvironmental problems of our time than can traditional aid and charitybasedefforts. In most cases, but not always, the poor and disadvantagedhave benefited from the growth of social entrepreneurship. In order toensure that social entrepreneurship does indeed benefit the poor, it isimperative that there be normative guidelines for fair and just engagementwith impoverished populations. A model that has been presented in themarketing and public policy literature is the integrative justice model (IJM)for impoverished populations. While the IJM was developed primarily in thecontext of multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in emerging markets,its applicability extends beyond MNCs. This article attempts to apply theIJM principles in the context of social entrepreneurship in order to providesocial entrepreneurial organizations (SEOs) with a normative frameworkaimed at ensuring that the poor truly benefit from their activities. Basedon this framework, the article suggests certain areas to which SEOs oughtto be particularly attentive in their practice. The article also makes somesuggestions for further research

Managing for local resilience: towards a strategic approach

The term resilience is increasingly being used to capture the challenges involved in managing in ‘hard times’. This article aims to provide one of the first empirical studies of the term’s application to local authority interventions around emergency planning and climate change: two areas in which resilience has been particularly emphasised in local policy making. Drawing upon research undertaken in the north east of England, the article considers how local managers have understood and applied the term, the extent to which it has been developed as a coherent policy agenda, and its strategic significance. In reframing the debate on resilience in terms of discourses of ‘recovery’ and ‘transformation’, the article examines how, in addition to informing policy realities on the ground, resilience is also a normative, politically laden term, within which conservative narratives of uncertainty, vulnerability and anxiety compete with a more radical focus on hope, adaptation and transformation. The study reveals concerns over the term’s longevity, tensions between the different interpretations of resilience, and the lack of a coherent strategic framework within which the different discourses on resilience could be considered and reconciled. However, the article also captures the growing importance of a resilience narrative that is seen to add value in a period of austerity, integrate key features of climate change adaptation and emergency planning, and act as a ‘strategic lynchpin’ in relation to other policy areas, such as economic resilience

An intervention modelling experiment to change GP's intentions to implement evidence-based practice : using theory-based interventions to promote GP management of upper respiratory tract infection without prescribing antibiotics #2

Background: Psychological theories of behaviour may provide a framework to guide the design of interventions to change professional behaviour. Behaviour change interventions, designed using psychological theory and targeting important motivational beliefs, were experimentally evaluated for effects on the behavioural intention and simulated behaviour of GPs in the management of uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Methods: The design was a 2 × 2 factorial randomised controlled trial. A postal questionnaire was developed based on three theories of human behaviour: Theory of Planned Behaviour; Social Cognitive Theory and Operant Learning Theory. The beliefs and attitudes of GPs regarding the management of URTI without antibiotics and rates of prescribing on eight patient scenarios were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Two theory-based interventions, a "graded task" with "action planning" and a "persuasive communication", were incorporated into the post-intervention questionnaire. Trial groups were compared using co-variate analyses. Results: Post-intervention questionnaires were returned for 340/397 (86%) GPs who responded to the baseline survey. Each intervention had a significant effect on its targeted behavioural belief: compared to those not receiving the intervention GPs completing Intervention 1 reported stronger self-efficacy scores (Beta = 1.41, 95% CI: 0.64 to 2.25) and GPs completing Intervention 2 had more positive anticipated consequences scores (Beta = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.46 to 1.98). Intervention 2 had a significant effect on intention (Beta = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.41 to 1.38) and simulated behaviour (Beta = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.74). Conclusion: GPs' intended management of URTI was significantly influenced by their confidence in their ability to manage URTI without antibiotics and the consequences they anticipated as a result of doing so. Two targeted behaviour change interventions differentially affected these beliefs. One intervention also significantly enhanced GPs' intentions not to prescribe antibiotics for URTI and resulted in lower rates of prescribing on patient scenarios compared to a control group. The theoretical frameworks utilised provide a scientific rationale for understanding how and why the interventions had these effects, improving the reproducibility and generalisability of these findings and offering a sound basis for an intervention in a "real world" trial. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00376142This study is funded by the European Commission Research Directorate as part of a multi-partner program: Research Based Education and Quality Improvement (ReBEQI): A Framework and tools to develop effective quality improvement programs in European healthcare. (Proposal No: QLRT-2001-00657)

Border Patrol: The Rise and Role of Fact-Checkers and Their Challenge to Journalists’ Normative Boundaries

Although most research to date has focused on leading U.S. fact-checkers, similar initiatives are gaining strength all over the world. This study draws on a globally disseminated questionnaire, plus interviews with fact-checkers on four continents, to examine their role and reach in relation to other journalistic enterprises, as well as the challenges they face. A conceptual framework of journalistic boundary-setting helps guide the exploration