An exploration of the effect of organisational demography on board size and leadership structure: Evidence from the Greek manufacturing sector

This study examines how organisational demography (organizational age, organisational size and number of years listed in the Athens Stock Exchange, ATHEX), may impact the board structure (board size, CEO duality and CEO dependence/ independence). The relationships are proposed, under the light of data collected from the annual reports of all 140 manufacturing organisations quoted in the Athens Stock Exchange. Research findings revealed a significantly positive relationship of organisational size, organisational age and number of years that a firm is listed in the Stock Exchange with board size. However, these organisational characteristics do not influence the leadership structure or dependency/independency of the Chairperson to the CEO. While many studies examining the impact of board characteristics on various organisational outputs, including performance, reputation and effectiveness, there are limited studies investigating variables that affect board characteristics and as such the study opens discussion on potential predictors of board.Peer reviewe

Using personal narratives to explore multiple identities in organisational contexts

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and incorporate personal narratives as a new methodological tool into the qualitative research of complex organisational issues such as identity. Particularly, this study provides a fresh methodological perspective on organisational identity exploration by using personal narratives to examine multiple identities that occur in dynamic organisational contexts. Design/methodology/approach In order to examine multiple identities, personal narratives found in the 43 semi-structured in-depth interviews collected were analysed. These narratives were examined following a textual and performative analysis. Findings The paper furthers methodological discussions in organisations in three ways. First, it responds to the need for a methodological approach that allows multiple identity exploration in organisations while it presents personal narratives as a valuable methodological perspective within organisational research. Second, it extends the methodological use of personal narratives for the in-depth qualitative study of complex organisational issues such as identity. Finally, the study stretches the boundaries of mainstream organisational research by illustrating that personal narratives can be used as a methodological approach to explore organisational identities. Originality/value This research integrates personal narratives as a methodological tool into the qualitative research of dynamic organisational issues. Employing personal narratives has allowed the exploration of multiple identities that take place in organisations in a manner not previously achieved in organisational studies. The study, therefore, challenges previous organisational research and expands the boundaries of organisational identity studies, offering a new qualitative methodological account for identity exploration in organisations

Psychometric properties of organisational structure scale in the Malaysian public service agencies: Preliminary results

Organisational structure has been assessed with various different scales resulting in inconsistencies in the measures of this construct. Hence, a re-conceptualisation of the organisational structure construct is crucial due to the fact that researchers have thus far provided inconclusive agreement on what dimensions should be included in measuring organisational structure, although many studies have conceptualized organisational structure as a multidimensional construct. This study attempted to examine the psychometric properties of the organisational structure construct by integrating four subscales – decision making, hierarchy of authority, job codification, and rule observation. A priori proposition was made that organisational structure measurement could be explained by four of the hypothesised dimensions. SPSS version 12 and AMOS 4 were used to analyse the data. Findings supported the hypothesis that organisational structure can be measured by the four aforementioned subscales. Findings also showed acceptable internal consistency reliability for the overall and the four specific subscales of organisational structure latent construct

E-Government Evaluation: Reflections on two Organisational studies

Senior executives in public sector organisations have been charged with delivering an e-Government agenda. A key emerging area of research is that of the evaluation of e-Government, given that economic factors have traditionally dominated any traditional ICT evaluation process. In this paper the authors report the findings from two interpretive in-depth case studies in the UK public sector, which explore e-Government organisational evaluation within a public sector setting. This paper seeks to offer insights to organisational and managerial aspects surrounding the improvement of knowledge and understanding of e-Government evaluation. The findings that are elicited from the case studies are analysed and presented in terms of a framework derived from organisational analysis to improve e-Government evaluation, with key lessons learnt being extrapolated from practice. The paper concludes that e-Government evaluation is both an under developed and under managed area, and calls for senior executives to engage more with the e-Government agenda and for organisations to review e-Government evaluation to improve evaluation practice

The impact of knowledge management processes on organisational performance

Copyright @ 2012 ISEing.In today's increasingly competitive business environment, the use of knowledge to gain a competitive advantage has become a serious concern for all organisations. However, despite the increasing number of studies relating to Knowledge Management (KM) in developed countries, few studies have explored this issue within the context of developing countries. Moreover, some industries have been affected more acutely than others in the transition to a knowledge-based economy. Towards covering this gap, this study aims at investigating the impact of Knowledge Management processes on Organisational Performance (OP). In this paper, the authors propose a conceptual model through an in-depth investigation of the previous and current studies in the area of Knowledge Management and Organisational Performance. Through an extensive classification of Knowledge Management processes, the proposed model explores the impact of each Knowledge Management process on improving the level of Organisational Performance. It is envisaged that this model can play a role in guiding the process of Knowledge Management implementation in order to maximise the beneficial effects of Knowledge Management processes on Organisational Performance

Organisational Responses to Discontinuous Innovation: A Case Study Approach

Research that examines entrant-incumbent dynamics often points to the organisational limitations that constrain incumbents from successfully pursuing new technologies or fending off new entrants. Some incumbents are nevertheless able to successfully implement organisational structures and develop routines that overcome these institutional constraints. We provide a case-study analysis of how three firms - Motorola, IBM and Kodak - responded to discontinuous innovations and the associated structural and organisational limitations that are typical to incumbent organisations. Each firm was able to capture gains from new technologies and develop profitable products in emerging markets, although their abilities to sustain these gains varied due to subsequent organisational changes. Drawing from these case studies, we synthesise how firms can institute organisational strategies to continue to capture gains from disruptive innovations. A schema suggests that particular organisational strategies are comparatively optimal for corresponding points along an innovation lifecycle

Organisational commitment as a predictor of job satisfaction, employee well being, absenteeism and intention to stay in the New Zealand Aged Care Sector : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This study, one of the first in the New Zealand aged care sector, examined the predictability of organisational commitment on job satisfaction, employee well being, absenteeism and intention to stay. A composite questionnaire incorporating Allen and Meyer's three component organisational commitment questionnaire (1990) was completed by 124 predominately female aged care employees. The results of the questionnaire were compared with overseas literature and showed that organisational commitment is predictive of employee well being, job satisfaction and intention to stay, although job satisfaction proved to be a more significant predictor of intention to stay. Implications of organisational commitment for aged care employees, aged care organisations and patients are discussed. Directions for future research include a call for more New Zealand studies of organisational commitment in the healthcare professions, and the development of human resource strategies, which are sensitive to differences in organisational commitment in a multi-cultural population

Identity studies: Multiple perspectives and implications for corporate-level marketing

Purpose – Provides a comprehensive review of the identity literature drawing on perspectives from marketing (corporate identity concept) and organisational behaviour (organisational identity) so as to provide an up-to –date overview of identity scholarship. Findings – Reveals a growing congruency between scholars of marketing and organisational behaviour in their comprehension of identity. Identifies four principal schools of thought relating to identity which differ in terms of conceptualisation, locus of analysis and explanandum (corporate identity, visual identity, an organisation’s identity and organisational identity). Our review confirms the importance of identity especially in relation to the concepts underpinning the nascent field of corporate-level marketing. Practical implications – the importance of taking a multidisciplinary perspective in the comprehension and management of identity in organisational contexts. Originality/Value – The first major review of identity studies that synthesises the marketing and organisational behaviour approaches to identity. Offers pointers in terms of the research agenda to be followed

Culture and culture change in a higher education context: what works and what doesn’t?

PUBLISHED VERSION: Organisational culture and culture change are related concepts which have their origins in organisational studies, but also have relevance to higher education and the constitution of contemporary universities. This paper first explores definitions of and approaches to organisational culture and culture change. Two specific theories are then favoured as being particularly useful when planning and undertaking change initiatives in higher education environments – these being ‘multiple cultural configurations’ and the ‘meso’ theory. Based on a literature review of thirty six studies, arguments are put forward for their wider application in higher education change contexts. In addition, a critique of more popular technical rationalist approaches for the management of change is presented