Work Organisation and Innovation - Case Study: Company X, Slovenia

[Excerpt] Company X is one of the largest and most successful commercial grocery retailing chains in south-eastern Europe (Euromonitor, 2011). It was established over 60 years ago in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Company X is the largest Slovenian retailer with 24,000 employees and approximately a third of the market share for its sector (Gvin.com, 2012). Company X also operates in six other countries in the region: Serbia (9% market share), Croatia (9% market share), Bosnia and Herzegovina (5% market share), Montenegro (19% market share), Bulgaria (0.5% market share) and Albania (1% market share) (Company X, 2011). Company X’s main activity is retail and wholesaling of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The chain has been expanding its core activity by selling clothing, furniture and household appliances as well. Company X has 1,581 outlets including hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, specialised stores, etc. (Company X, 2011)

Organizacijsko učenje i informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije-obećavajuća veza

Highly turbulent and competitive business environment has directed a focus of many researchers as well as practitioners on to the field of organizational learning as a way of gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. One of the most important issues is its relation to information-communication technologies. The purpose of this paper is to examine prior research and propose a model linking Organizational Learning construct (OL) to Information-communication technologies (ICT). Using structural equation modeling methodology, we tested this relationship based on the data from 220 questionnaires received from top managers of 867 Slovenian companies with more than 100 employees in the year 2003. Our research demonstrates statistically significant positive correlation between OL and ICT.Visoko turbulentno i natjecateljsko poslovno okruženje usmjerilo je mnoge znanstvenike i ljude iz prakse prema području organizacijskog učenja kao načinu dobivanja i održavanja konkurentne prednosti. Jedan od najvažnijih čimbenika jest odnos prema informacijsko-komunikacijskim tehnologijama. Svrha ovog rada je ispitati prethodno istraživanje i ponuditi model koji objedinjuje Organizacijsko učenje (OL) i Informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije (ICT). Primjenjujući metodologiju stvaranja modela strukturalnog poravnavanja, ispitali smo vezu koja se temelji na podacima 220 upitnika, primljenih od top menadžera iz 867 slovenskih kompanija s više od 100 zaposlenika u 2003. godini. Naše istraživanje ukazuje na statistički značajnu pozitivnu korelaciju između OL i ICT

Organizational learning and information-communication technologies– a promising link

Highly turbulent and competitive business environment has directed a focus of many researchers as well as practitioners on to the field of organizational learning as a way of gaining and sustaining competitiveadvantage. One of the most important issues is its relation to information-communication technologies.The purpose of this paper is to examine prior research and propose a model linking Organizational Learning construct (OL) to Information-communication technologies (ICT). Using structural equationmodeling methodology, we tested this relationship based on the data from 220 questionnaires received from top managers of 867 Slovenian companies with more than 100 employees in the year 2003. Our research demonstrates statistically significant positive correlation between OL and ICT

Information-Communication Technologies as Management Tool: Case of Slovenia

This paper presents study at national level, which aims to test the influence of information and communication technologies (lCT) on financial (FP) and non-financial performance (NFP) at empirical level. In order to do so, structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology is utilised. Results show statistically significant positive and strong influence of ICT on FP and even stronger statistically significant positive corrclation between FP and NFP. lCT did not demonstrate positive impact on NFP. Findings are interpreted from managerial perspective

Patterns and Structures of Intra-organizational Learning Networks within a Knowledge-Intensive Organization

This paper employs the network perspective to study patterns and structures of intra- organizational learning networks. The theoretical background draws from cognitive theories, theories of homophily and proximity, theories of social exchange, the theory of generalized exchange, small-worlds theory, and social process theory. The levels of analysis applied are actor, dyadic, triadic, and global. Confirmatory social network analysis (exponential random graph modeling) was employed for data analysis. Findings suggest: (1) central actors in the learning network are experienced and hold senior positions in the organizational hierarchy; (2) evidence of homophlly (In terms of gender, tenure, and hierarchical level relations) and proximity (In terms of geographical and departmental distances) in learning relationships; (3) learning relationships are non-reciprocal; and (4) transitivity and high local clustering with sparse inter-cluster ties are significant for intra-organizational learning networks

Integracija društveno odgovornog poslovanja u strategiju tehnološki intenzivnih poduzeća: poslovni slučaj

This paper presents a new perspective which calls for an integration of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the company strategy as a source of competitive advantages. The research question we pose is how a company can successfully carry out this integration of CSR into its strategic management, for which a model that includes three stages – introduction, implementation and generalization of CSR – is presented. Based on an exploratory case study within a Spanish technology-intensive firm (Indra), we show the way this company has developed and implemented an explicit plan for the integration of ethical values and CSR initiatives into its corporate and business strategies. Although this company has established its own methodology in order to develop and implement CSR plans, it fits in essence to our three-stage model of CSR integration. In general, our analyses show a beneficial impact of the development and implementation of CSR plan for this technology-intensive company. In particular, it seems that the CSR plan enables companies to improve its’ internal and external (competitive) context through a better exploration and exploitation of knowledge, its stable relationships with stakeholders and the development and improvement of intangible resources such as reputation or social capital. It is also shown that there are important factors to consider in order this process can successfully carried out, such as organizational culture, human resource practices or knowledge management systems. Future research will need to engage in largerscale confirmatory as well as longitudinal studies of the impact of CSR implementation for company performance.U radu je predstavljena nova perspektiva koja integraciju etičkog i društveno odgovornog poslovanja u strategiju poduzeća smatra izvorom konkurentskih prednosti. Postavljeno je istraživačko pitanje koje nastoji utvrditi na koji način poduzeće može uspješno provesti integraciju društveno-odgovornog poslovanja u strateški menadžment i u tu svrhu predstavljen je model koji uključuje tri faze: uvod, implementaciju i generalizaciju društveno-odgovornog poslovanja. Na temelju eksplorativne analize slučaja procesa strateškog oblikovanja unutar tehnološko intenzivnog poduzeća u Španjolskoj (Indra), prikazan je eksplicitan plan integracije etičkih vrijednosti i inicijativa društveno odgovornog poslovanja u njegovu korporativnu i pripadajuće poslovne strategije. Iako je ovo poduzeće uspostavilo svoju metodologiju za provođenje i razvoj planova društveno odgovornog poslovanja, ono se u biti uklapa u naš model integracije u tri faze. Općenito, provedene analize prikazuju pozitivan utjecaj razvoja i implementacije plana društveno odgovornog poslovanja na promatrano tehnološko intenzivno poduzeće. Posebice, čini se kako plan društveno odgovornog poslovanja, kroz bolje istraživanje i iskorištavanje znanja te kroz postojanje stabilnih odnosa s interesno-utjecajnim skupinama, omogućava poduzećima unaprjeđenje njihovog unutarnjeg i vanjskog (konkurentskog) okruženja. Kako bi se to potvrdilo, u budućnosti su potrebna opsežnija konfirmativna, ali i longitudinalna istraživanja utjecaja implementacije društveno odgovornog poslovanja na uspješnost poduzeća

Razvoj modela avtentičnega vodenja in empirična preverba

Authentic leadership has recently been a very popular scientific area, but with only a few quantitative analyses. The aim of this paper is to develop a research model of the impact of authentic leadership on authentic followership and on the results from the employees' perspective. We use empirical quantitative analysis to confirm the model with linear structural modeling on a sample of 22 managers and 289 of their employees in a Slovenian company with approximately 500 employees. The construct of authentic leadership in the research model consists of self-awareness, self-regulation, positive psychological capital and positive modeling. The results showed that perceived authenticity of a leader has an impact on authentic followership. There was also a significant positive impact of authentic followership on results from the employees' perspective. Based on the results, we have confirmed that authentic leaders create new authentic employees, develop their authentic features and capabilities, resulting in employee satisfaction, their loyalty and a good atmosphere within the team.Avtentično vodenje je v zadnjem času zelo popularno znanstveno področje, na katerem pa so kvantitativne analize maloštevilne. Cilj prispevka je razviti raziskovalni model vpliva avtentičnega vodenja na avtentično sledenje in na rezultate z vidika zaposlenih ter ga z empirično kvantitativno raziskavo potrditi z linearnim strukturnim modeliranjem na vzorcu vseh 22 vodij in 289 njihovih zaposlenih v slovenskem podjetju s približno 500 zaposlenih. Konstrukt avtentičnega vodenja v raziskovalnem modelu sestavljajo samozavedanje, samoregulacija, pozitivni psihološki kapital in pozitivno modeliranje. Rezultati so pokazali, da zaznana avtentičnost vodje vpliva na avtentično sledenje. Razviden je tudi pozitiven vpliv avtentičnega sledenja na rezultate. Na podlagi rezultatov smo potrdili, da avtentični vodje ustvarjajo nove avtentične zaposlene, razvijajo njihove avtentične značilnosti in sposobnosti, kar ima za posledico zadovoljstvo zaposlenih, njihovo pripadnost in dobro vzdušje v kolektivu

New normal, new leaders? Time for resilience and post-heroic leadership

The chapter focuses on COVID-19 as a wicked problem in a multi-dimensional space. It has medical, economic, business, sociological, technological, organizational, environmental, and psychological aspects that need to be considered simultaneously. An important part of the puzzle are inclusive and collaborative forms of leadership (such as post-heroic) that help build resilient organizations, teams and individuals