A robust fuzzy possibilistic AHP approach for partner selection in international strategic alliance

The international strategic alliance is an inevitable solution for making competitive advantage and reducing the risk in today’s business environment. Partner selection is an important part in success of partnerships, and meanwhile it is a complicated decision because of various dimensions of the problem and inherent conflicts of stockholders. The purpose of this paper is to provide a practical approach to the problem of partner selection in international strategic alliances, which fulfills the gap between theories of inter-organizational relationships and quantitative models. Thus, a novel Robust Fuzzy Possibilistic AHP approach is proposed for combining the benefits of two complementary theories of inter-organizational relationships named, (1) Resource-based view, and (2) Transaction-cost theory and considering Fit theory as the perquisite of alliance success. The Robust Fuzzy Possibilistic AHP approach is a noveldevelopment of Interval-AHP technique employing robust formulation; aimed at handling the ambiguity of the problem and let the use of intervals as pairwise judgments. The proposed approach was compared with existing approaches, and the results show that it provides the best quality solutions in terms of minimum error degree. Moreover, the framework implemented in a case study and its applicability were discussed

The Impact of Motivation on the Work Performance of Health Workers (Korle Bu Teaching Hospital): Evidence from Ghana

Background: Motivation is a driver to health worker performance in most Ghanaian hospitals. In view of this, Ghana’s Ministry of Health has rolled out enough motivational policies to accentuate work performance of health workers. Objective: The focus of this study was to examine the impact of motivation and identify how intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors affect the work performance of health workers at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).  Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted for the study, and purposive sampling was used to select fifteen (15) health workers including both medics and paramedics. An in-depth interview guide and one-on-one interviews were adopted to collect data from the staff at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. A thematic content analysis was used to analyze the transcribed data. Results: Key findings from the study revealed that job satisfaction, logistic provision, and an enabling work environment are intrinsic motivating factors that affect the work performance of health workers; extrinsic factors such as financial reward, accommodation, and transportation also impact work performance. Furthermore, motivation is key to the work performance of nurses. Conclusion: It is recommended that the National Midwifery and Nursing Council (NMC) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) adopt motivational policies based on the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational blocks

The Impact of Strategic Airlines Alliances on Brand Management Practices: The Case of Royal Jordanian Airlines in Oneworld Alliance

The trend over several decades towards the creation of global brand alliances in the highly competitive airline industry is likely to persist. However, few academic studies consider how such horizontal brand alliances have been achieved and even fewer analyse their creation and maintenance from an individual company’s perspective. Furthermore, current studies are largely derived from a western management perspective: little work has been done in the Arab world or the Arabian airlines apart from recent studies of Gulf carriers. This thesis adds to this small body of work by examining Royal Jordanian Airlines’ role within the Oneworld Alliance. In particular, it analyses how the entry of a small airline into a large, well-established global organization affected the airline’s branding practices. The thesis also explores in lesser detail the branding and marketing strategies within the global alliances. A qualitative approach was used; purposive and snowball-sampling techniques were adopted to analyse 61 semi-structured interviews with senior managers and other actors within the airline industry. Two main themes have emerged: the first theme, the Airlines Industry’s Attitude towards Brand Alliances, examines the major challenges in the airlines industry, demonstrates the main motivations behind forming strategic airline alliances and explores the relationship between globalisation and the initiatives to formulate more strategic airline alliances. The second theme, the key branding and marketing strategies, investigates the alliances’ brand practices and marketing strategies and explains how a small national airline company has responded to this trend and offers a set of potential choices for future. Also this study provides compelling evidences of how the Oneworld Alliance creates branding value for the small airlines member and contributes toward understanding the case of the Arab world and the interplay between global alliance brands and national airlines companies. Finally, it demonstrates a number of issues that the alliance members need to address in order to avoid any brand dilution or negative spillover effect

The scramble for Africa's oil: a blessing or a curse for African states?

This thesis analyses foreign intervention in oil-rich African states which have contributed to the resource curse problem in the latter. It concentrates on the role of former colonial powers-France and Britain-as well as new players-the United States, China and multinational agencies who have deployed policies and carried out practices in securing Africa’s oil resources. This study argues that ‘Foreign intervention contributes to the likelihood of the resource curse through both political and economic means,’ based mainly on the resource curse theory and concept of neo-colonialism. Apart from factors addressed by the existing literature on the resource curse, namely, economic malfunctions, government policies, social foundations, resource types, country size and initial conditions, this research hypothesizes that foreign interventions display a strong linkage to the resource curse. African countries have experienced poverty and conflicts even if they have had the greatest dosages of foreign interventions from the slave trade through to the present date, as explained by neocolonialism. This is contrast to the neo-liberal economists which promote foreign interventions and resource exploitation which they argue are necessary for African economic and political development. This study includes two theoretical approaches which address the relationship between continuing foreign intervention and the resource curse in Africa: neo-Marxism and realism. Marxist dialectical materialism allows us to look back over the history of the relations between Africa and foreign powers both materially and in regard to how these relations, time and again, affect and shape Africa’s structure. By discussing the ‘world order’ in terms of production structure that leads to exploitation, oppression, enslavement and the struggles of the lower social classes in weaker states, Marxist perspectives shed light on the relationship between foreign interventions and Africa’s underperformance. With realist main assumptions of power and profits maximization, this study explains that foreign interventions in African oil-rich countries will be maintained and will intensify as global situations surrounding oil become more hostile. I offer to use these theories to explain specific policies and practices of foreign interventions with relation to the African oil industries. The foreign powers involved in the interventions for Africa’s oil, the mechanism through which they are carried out and the outcomes of these actions are neither addressed nor evaluated in these theories. Although the abovementioned Marxist strands indicate that neo-colonialism will contribute to poor performance in Africa, it does not relate to the resource curse discussion which mainly assumes that resource-rich countries are doomed to fail. This is the gap which this study has filled by linking these theories to real-world practices. By applying the concept of neo-colonialism, this study compiles the empirical evidence of continuing interventions by former colonial powers and new powers as they seek oil security in African states. The result of this study is that oil-related foreign intervention is linked to the resource curse discussion. In effect, the resource curse theory is refined by stating that a foreign intervention variable must be included into its discussion and policy considerations. This study records oil-related incidents of foreign interventions in Africa and systematically categorizes oil-related foreign interventions using political and economic approaches. Foreign political interventions include the balkanization of Africa, the use of state policies, political meddling and military involvement. Economic approaches used by foreign players to secure African oil are categorized into two central themes: financial involvement and business conduct. The former refers to the following practices: neo-liberal policies, petrodollar monetary order, economic sanctions, financial support and money corruption. With regards to business conduct, the following practices will be investigated: circumventing environmental standards, enclave oil operations and unsuitable philanthropic projects. This study examines these interventions from the first scramble in Africa during the colonial era, through to the second scramble during the Cold War and the current scramble of Africa’s resources. The study displays these occurrences in any oil-rich African countries including Angola, Sudan, Libya, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. A specific case study is devoted for Nigeria which is the biggest oil-rich African countries but paradoxically experiences endemic poverty and conflicts. Primary data and interviews conducted in the Niger Delta, Lagos, Cape Town, and London are used extensively

Institutional capabilities and entrepreneurial advantage: Bridging the gap between regulatory management and opportunity

Firms are increasingly using tactics to manipulate their regulatory constraints, while at the same time regulatory environments are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic. Although scholars have described many of the activities firms use to change their institutional environments, this research has largely examined the manipulation and creation of informal institutions, such as organizational forms or social customs or traditions. We have much less understanding about 1) what drives firms to manipulate formal, regulatory institutions, and 2) why firms might differ in their abilities to create institutional change. This dissertation addresses these issues by linking regulatory constraint manipulation to entrepreneurial outcomes - specifically, the pursuit of valuable business opportunities - and it proposes that firms may develop institutional capabilities, which enable them to pursue competitive advantage strategies that rely considerably on institutional manipulation

Intersectionality, white privilege, and citizenship regimes : explaining LGBTQ people of colour collective engagement trajectories in Toronto and Montreal

Les perturbations des marches de la Fierté à Montréal et à Toronto par des membres de Black Lives Matter ont mis en lumière l’exclusion des personnes racisées au sein des mouvements LGBTQ au Canada, de même qu’en Europe et aux États-Unis. Ces évènements témoignent de la façon dont les personnes racisées s’organisent au sein des mouvements LGBTQ, c’est-à-dire par la création d’organisations formées autour d’identités racisées spécifiques. Ceux-ci s’inscrivent dans une riche tradition d’activisme portée par des personnes racisées LGBTQ au Canada qui demeure, néanmoins, peu étudiée au pays. Cette thèse poursuit ainsi deux objectifs principaux. Dans un premier temps, elle vise à rendre visible la façon dont les personnes racisées participent collectivement au sein des mouvements LGBTQ à Montréal et à Toronto, ou ce que nous appelons les trajectoires d’engagement collectif des personnes racisées LGBTQ, rompant ainsi avec les récits dominants, centrés sur l’expérience des militants LGBTQ blancs. Dans un second temps, elle tente d’expliquer pourquoi les personnes racisées participent collectivement au sein des mouvements LGBTQ de cette façon. Puisant dans la théorie des mouvements sociaux, cette thèse soulève l’importance de tenir compte du contexte relationnel dans lequel s’inscrit la participation, à savoir la configuration des rapports de pouvoir déterminant les positionnements sociaux des individus et des groupes, les uns par rapport aux autres. Pour ce faire, nous proposons l’élaboration d’un cadre théorique intersectionnel articulé autour de trois principes, soit la relationnalité, le pouvoir et le contexte social, combiné à une analyse multiniveau. Nous démontrons ainsi que les trajectoires d’engagement collectif des personnes racisées LGBTQ sont le produit des parcours individuels militants (niveau micro), de dynamiques organisationnelles (niveau meso) et de contextes sociopolitiques et institutionnels (niveau macro). Cette thèse est le fruit de séjours de recherche effectués à Montréal et à Toronto, durant lesquels nous avons réalisé 42 entretiens semi-dirigés avec des militantes racisées LGBTQ, de même qu’avec des militantes blanches LGBTQ. La documentation produite par des organisations LGBTQ ainsi que différentes instances gouvernementales a également été mobilisée de manière complémentaire. À un niveau micro, les résultats de la thèse révèlent comment les parcours individuels militants des personnes racisées LGBTQ diffèrent de ceux des personnes blanches. À un niveau meso, les résultats mettent en évidence la dimension structurante du privilège blanc (masculin/cisgenre/sans handicap) au sein des mouvements LGBTQ, ayant pour effet de reléguer les personnes racisées à la marge de ces mouvements. Enfin, à un niveau macro, une analyse comparative des régimes de citoyenneté québécois et canadiens démontre la façon dont les contextes institutionnels et sociopolitiques informent la participation au sein des mouvements LGBTQ. En rendant visible la participation des personnes racisées au sein des mouvements LGBTQ canadiens, cette thèse contribue empiriquement à l’avancement des connaissances sur le militantisme LGBTQ au Canada. À un niveau théorique, elle enrichit la théorie des mouvements sociaux en introduisant un cadre théorique intersectionnel pouvant faciliter l’analyse de la participation au sein des mouvements sociaux. En plus d’illustrer le potentiel théorique de l’intersectionnalité pour approfondir notre compréhension des mouvements sociaux, cette thèse se distingue de travaux récents davantage centrés sur la praxis et les coalitions intersectionnels au sein des mouvements sociaux.Recent Pride march disruptions by Black Lives Matter protestors in Montréal and Toronto have pointed to the continuous exclusion of people of colour within LGBTQ movements across Canada, as well as in Europe and the United States. While these events constitute recent manifestations of a particular form of organizing within LGBTQ movements, namely organizations formed around specific racialized identities, they are in fact inscribed within a broader tradition of LGBTQ people of colour (LGBTQ-POC) organizing in Canada, overlooked by academics and mainstream activists. It is in that respect that the aim of this dissertation is twofold. First, it aims to render visible the ways in which people of colour have collectively participated in Montréal’s and Toronto’s LGBTQ movements, or what I refer to as LGBTQ-POC collective engagement trajectories, thereby disrupting dominant, White-centered, LGBTQ narratives. Second, it seeks to explain why people of colour have collectively participated in LGBTQ movements the way that they have in Montréal and Toronto. Building on social movement theory’s previous work, it argues for the need to unpack the relational context within which participation is set, meaning the power configurations that socially locate individuals and groups in relation to each other. With its emphasis on relationality, power, and social context, intersectionality thus comes across as a pertinent avenue to bridge this theoretical gap. Combined with a multilevel analysis, it reveals how LGBTQ-POC collective engagement trajectories are the result of individual activist paths (micro-level), social movement organizational dynamics (meso-level), and institutional and sociopolitical contexts (macro-level). This dissertation draws on fieldwork undergone in Montréal and Toronto, during which 42 in-depth interviews were conducted with LGBTQ-POC and White-LGBTQ activists. Secondary sources, such as documents produced by LGBTQ organizations and other government-related documentation were also used for the analysis. At a micro-level, results show how LGBTQ-POC and White-LGBTQ activists follow different activist paths. At a meso-level, results reveal the structuring character of white (male/cisgender/able-bodied) privilege within LGBTQ movements, in both Montréal and Toronto. At a macro-level, a comparative analysis of Québécois and Canadian citizenship regimes however demonstrates the extent to which institutional and sociopolitical contexts also shape social movement participation. By rendering visible people of colour’s collective participation within Canadian LGBTQ movements, this dissertation fills a significant empirical gap. Theoretically, it enriches social movement theory by introducing an intersectional theoretical framework suitable for analyzing social movement participation. Rather than discard social movement theory as a whole, it instead engages a dialogue with previous work on social movement participation. Alternatively, it lives true to the promise of intersectionality as a theoretical framework for advancing our understanding of social movements, distinguishing itself from recent work focusing primarily on intersectional praxis and intersectional coalitions in the context of social movements