December 2002THE ROLE OF TRUST IN INTERORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING IN JOINT VENTURES

Learning from the partner is considered to be one of the most crucial processes in a joint venture context. Simultaneously numerous advantages of joint venture relationships characterized by trust between partners have been identified. This paper investigates the role of trust in knowledge transfer and assimilation, jointly leading to the learning outcome in an interorganizational context. Propositions linking sources of trust to the processes of knowledge transfer and assimilation in joint ventures are formulated. 2 The growth in the number of strategic alliances since the beginning of the 90’s has exceeded 25 percent annually (Inkpen, 1998). Among these alliances, joint ventures occupy a prominent position. Learning between partners is a crucial aspect of inter-firm cooperation in such form (Hamel 1991; Kogut 1988), whether it is perceived as an opportunity or a liability. The existing literature points to trust as an important variable in interorganizational cooperation. More specifically, a trusting relationship between partners has been suggested to have a positive influence on organizational learning processes (Kostova, 1999). In general, the notion of trust emerges as an important factor for understanding human nature an

Formal and informal interorganizational learning within strategic alliances

Learning behaviors of employees can be either formalized (in the form of programmed events and visits) or informal (in the form of spontaneous interaction and knowledge sharing). We investigate the effect that both types of learning behaviors have on interorganizational learning of substantive knowledge in the context of an alliance. We also look at the effects that the two forms of learning behavior have on each other. We find that while informal learning behaviors have a consistently positive effect on the learning outcome and on formal learning behaviors, this is not so for formal learning behaviors. The effect of formal behaviors on both learning outcome and informal behaviors, while positive, diminishes at higher levels. This leads us to conclude that although both informal and formal learning behaviors foster interorganizational learning, too much formalization obstructs learning. Similarly, while formally programmed behaviors do encourage informal learning behaviors of the boundary spanners, an excess of formalization stifles them.

Jak wspierać pracujących opiekunów rodzinnych? Brytyjskie inicjatywy jako praktyczne sposoby na zmniejszenie samotności w codziennym życiu opiekunów rodzinnych w Polsce

Among various publications regarding end-of-life care in Poland there is one piece of important research that shows a difficult situation for family caregivers in end-of-life care in Poland, who often lack recognition and support and face a lonely struggle, especially in home care settings (Janowicz, 2019a). The Polish Government published documents in support of family caregivers for the first time in 2019, recognizing respite care and allocating money to some of them. Poland has successfully implemented British standards of hospice and palliative care, making it the best in Central-Eastern Europe; the same could be done in supporting carers in family settings (Krakowiak, 2020a). We have already learnt and benefited from the experience of the British organisation Carers UK, who have been operating successfully for more than 50 years and working towards inclusion of formal and informal care (Klimek, 2020). But how can we move forward in helping those who face loneliness and feelings of helplessness as family carers? We can learn from those who have already developed tools and created strategies supporting family caregivers. Exploring the educational strategies of supporting organizations from the UK, will help to point towards possible solutions to this social and educational challenge in Poland, helping to reduce the loneliness of carers in the home care settings. Most families still feel isolated, while most of our local communities do not support those who care, often for many months and years. Social educators and social workers need to tackle the questions of loneliness and isolation that many family caregivers face. First steps have been made and first publications issued, but more robust strategies and practical solutions are needed. Newest facts and figures from Carers UK documents and Best Practice In Supporting Carers by Carer Positive Employer in Scotland (2020) will help to show existing strategies used for and by employers. Among many existing initiatives this one regarding combining care and work could be very important to recognise the needs of working carers, sharing their job with the duty of constant care at home. Action is urgently needed in Poland, where many people do a full-time job alongside caring at home. Recognition of family carers’ needs by their workplace, support from employers and flexibility in working hours is still a rare exception, and it should be changed. The Covid-19 pandemic has fully exposed the problems of carers of dependent people around the world and also in Poland, especially difficult for those who combine care with work

Role of strategic investors in Polish companies: Catalysts for organisational change or opportunists?

The entry of large activist (or so-called 'strategic') investors has become a prevalent phenomenon in transforming economies, such as the Polish one. This paper investigates the relationship between firm performance and the likelihood of a strategic investor entry, as well as the changes firms undergo under control of an activist investor. Theoretical predictions and empirical analyses of 211 Polish companies in the period of 1994–2000 allow us to conclude that strategic investors are more likely to buy stakes in firms of higher labor productivity, and tend to catalyze changes in poorly performing firms. There is also some evidence that investors refrain from committing resources to restructuring the target firms before seizing significant control over them

A configurational explanation for performance management systems' design in project-based organizations

This paper investigates what configurations of organization-level contingencies explain different performance management system (PMS) designs in project-based organizations (PBOs). By studying organization-level contingency factors – perceived environmental uncertainty, organizational size, innovation strategy, and opportunity strategy – this paper extends prior literature on PMSs in PBOs, which predominantly focused on project and portfolio level contingencies. In addition, while prior literature studied the contingency factors separately, this paper argues that it is the configuration of contingencies that matter for PMS design choices. Data on 15 PBOs in the management consulting industry reveal that PBOs combine various controls into performance management systems that are either predominantly mechanistic or organic in nature. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) points to four configurations of organization-level characteristics, two of which are associated with the PBO's choice for mechanistic performance management system, and two that are related to organic performance management system

Dataset on performance management systems' design in project-based organizations

This data article presents the supplementary material for the paper “A configurational explanation for performance management systems' design in project-based organizations” [1]. The article introduces a dataset on 15 project-based organizations (PBOs) in the management consulting industry in the Netherlands. The dataset includes organization-level conditions at PBOs, such as perceived environmental uncertainty, organizational size, innovation strategy, opportunity strategy, and performance management system design. The dataset is prepared for a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Combinations of conditions are expected to be related to a mechanistic or an organic performance management system design. This article includes the original dataset with quantitative scores and a qualitative motivation for each score, calibrated data, and fsQCA truth table

Impact of Sodium Alginate and Dried Apple Pomace Powder as a Carrier Agent on the Properties of Freeze-Dried Vegetable Snacks

The food industry is committed to supplying nutritious products that are attractive and convenient for consumers. Freeze-dried fruit and vegetable snacks that exemplify such products are difficult to obtain since it is necessary to use a carrier agent (usually a hydrocolloid ingredient) which meets the requirements of a sustainable development conceptual framework. Therefore, research has been undertaken to replace such a carrier agent with food waste fruit pomace. This study compared selected physicochemical properties of freeze-dried vegetable snacks obtained through the addition of sodium alginate and dried apple pomace powder in terms of the viability of replacing hydrocolloid carrier agents in freeze-dried products with fruit pomace. Three vegetable sets containing: yellow bean, carrot and potato were prepared and modified by adding diverse carrier agents. Snacks with the addition of dried apple pomace powder featured higher dry matter content and true and apparent density, but sodium alginate-structured products were harder and more porous. Dried apple pomace powder improved the health-promoting properties of the snacks, such as total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. The type of additive also affected the internal structure of the products. The results indicate that the application of both dried apple pomace powder and sodium alginate as carrier agents can result in snacks characterised by repeatable quality, but it is unclear whether the total replacement of hydrocolloid is sustainably efficient