Exploring collective leadership and coproduction: An empirical study

Replaced version without front matter with version with front matter 2021-02-08.This chapter explores coproduction through a collective leadership lens. It draws from the public administration and leadership fields and a 2019 empirical study of public service collaboration in Scotland, UK. It is suggested that tensions generated by working within a New Public Management model combined with frustrations felt from current collaborative practice have motivated an exploration into alternative conceptions of leadership and different ways of working when collaborating. The findings reveal that collaboration can be strengthened through the application of four key processual and attitudinal modifications. This approach is described as working in an emergent and relational way while applying a systems and inquiry mind-set. It is the effect of the sum of these parts that boosts the intensity of collaborative work, offering a number of benefits, including an enriched and dynamic coproduction process embedded within its practice.https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4975-9pubpu

Mixed Methods Research online: Problems and Potential in Business Ethics Research

Contributing to the ongoing debate in research on sensitive issues such as business ethics, this chapter provides a discussion of mixed methods research design, examining the processes and challenges of developing and deploying an online survey tool using technology within an interpretive mixed methods design. This chapter provides pointers on how to deploy this approach through technology to research business ethics using the example of researching ethical mindsets and its components, including spirituality and aesthetics. It is found that mixed methods research is an effective approach because it allows often sensitive issues (i.e. business ethics, aesthetics, spirituality) relating to questing individuals' inner values and ethical propensities, which are usually subtle and difficult to measure and analyse constructs. While this tool was developed in the Australian context, it has the potential to form a foundation for wider examination and research in business ethics. The chapter contributes to the collective discussion of research methods using a framework that has both practical relevance and theoretical rigor