The role of post-retirement service jobs in the well-being of Japanese and UK elderly citizens

In their work on service research priorities, Ostrom et al. (2015) drew attention to the need for additional studies that would offer insights on well-being-related aspects and outcomes of service. Rather than looking at the well-being of the service receiver, this study looks at the well-being of the part-time service provider and in particular, the post-retirement service provider. The study undertaken in two countries (Japan and the UK) with aging populations considers how being involved in the delivery of a service assists the well-being of the elderly population. Both of the countries are now facing an aging/aged society and are experiencing growing psychological well-being related issues impacting on the elderly. As stated by Doyle et al.(2009), retirement is a major life transition that affects daily activities, social relationships, and income and is believed to have important consequences for health. This paper aims to examine the nature of post-retirement service employment and its impact on well-being through value co-creation with customers. The particular service examined is the provision of tourist guiding services either on a voluntary basis as in Japan or on a paid basis in the UK. The authors conducted depth interviews with 8 members of a volunteer tourist guide group in Japan which started their activities in 1994 and 7 members of a tourist guide association in the UK that was formed in 1968. The groups have 344 and 500 members respectively with the majority of the members being of post-retirement age. In both countries, the authors set questions in terms of motivations of seniors to undertake for guiding/tourism roles, types of interaction the senior volunteer valued, and the actions/interactions detract from the benefits that senior volunteers are seeking. The analysis was undertaken using structural coding. The study identifies that in addition to the role itself, the senior guides tend to actively share their impressions of tourist spots in a way that not only meets customer needs but that enables interaction providing greater self-worth to the guide. As such, the guides are seeking as much out of the service encounter as the tourists. Furthermore, in addition to the actual guiding role, the retirees seek supporting activities such as a structured training programme to build an "esprit de corp" as well as regular social events to provide the social interaction and overcome the loneliness and lack of a sense of purpose that they may have. In addition to considering the influence of cultural differences between Japan and the UK, the research also highlights the differences between those who undertake the role on a voluntary basis in comparison to those who seek financial rewards

Critical Factors for Constructing an Effective Supply Chain Network

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a source of value creation for stakeholders. There are many influential factors for constructing a partnership in supply chain network. The factors demonstrate different contributions in each phase of supply chain. The purpose of this study is to establish a theoretical framework for constructing an effective supply chain network. A literature review of supply chain studies was employed to identify the influential factors in the process of supply chain development and establish the critical phases for creating effective supply chain network. The framework can be served as a guideline for both academic research and practical applications of SCM

Online public services access and the elderly : assessing determinants of behaviour in the UK and Japan

The present study examines three research questions. Firstly, what are the critical personal factors that impact on the technology readiness of elderly people? Personal factors relate to the capability of elderly people which might affect their attitudes towards online public services access. Secondly, what are the critical social factors that impact on the technology readiness of elderly people? Elderly people’s attitudes towards social interaction may impact on their willingness to interact through online channels. The third research question explores whether personal or social factors have a greater impact on the technology readiness of elderly people and their behavioural intention towards online public services? Although technology readiness has been recognized as a factor in promoting behavioural intention toward high-tech products or services, the question of the impact of elderly people’s technology readiness on their behavioural intention toward online public services requires exploration

Counterproductive knowledge behavior in volunteer work: perspectives from the theory of planned behavior and well-being theory

Purpose – This study aims to identify the counterproductive knowledge behavior (CKB) of volunteers in nonprofit organizations and its influencing factors, based on the theories of planned behavior andwell-being. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was used to collect 496 valid responses. A structural equation model was constructed, and the relationships among the constructs were estimated via the maximum likelihood method. To analyze the direct and indirect effects, 2,000 bootstrapping runs were conducted. A Kruskal-Wallis testwas also conducted to analyze the relationship between the variables. Findings – A combination of organizational factors and individual attitudes and perceptions can be used to explain CKB. Insecurity about knowledge sharing had the greatest impact on CKB. A competitive organizational norm induced CKB while a knowledge-sharing organizational norm did not have a significant impact. Further, the more self-determined the volunteer activity was, the more the CKB was suppressed. However, well-being did not have a significant direct effect. Volunteers with high levels of well-being and self-determination had significantly lower levels of insecurity about knowledge sharing compared to those who did not. Practical implications – Well-being arising fromvolunteering did not directly suppress CKB. To improve organizational efficiency by reducing CKB, nonprofit organization managers should provide intrinsically motivating tasks and interact with the volunteers. Originality/value – There is a lack of empirical research on CKB in volunteer organizations; therefore, the authors propose a new approach to knowledge management in volunteer activities.This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 20H01529 and JAIST Open Access Paper Support Project

Well-being creation by senior volunteers in a service provider context

Purpose: Given the importance of senior volunteers in an ageing society, this study aims to deepen the understanding of how seniors create well-being by volunteering as service providers in terms of motivations for volunteer participation and value co-creation/co-destruction in service provision. Methodology: Focusing on senior volunteers acting as service providers in the tourism sector, this study conducted a programme of qualitative research with fifteen senior volunteer tour guides in Japan and the UK through the purposive sampling method. The data were analysed by the Gioia method to identify data structure and create a conceptual model. Findings: Seniors start with a mixture of different motivations, not only symbolic and health ones. However, after a certain period of training, they become more aware of their volunteer role as service providers and may strive to maximize the benefits to their clients. The overall performance of such a role supports their well-being. They may also experience episodes of value co-destruction, such negative experiences may be overcome by building good relationships with their colleagues in the organisation. Originality: This study contributes to the transformative service research literature by constructing a model to showcase the relationship among expectations of volunteering as a service provider, service delivery, and well-being creation. This paper also discuss the positive and negative effects of volunteer service delivery on senior volunteers’ well-being. Practical implications: The paper identifies organisational support ideas for senior service provider volunteers aimed at overcoming negative experiences and achieving wellbeing, in terms of training and improved communication between organisation members

Organizational Learning for Sustainable Semiconductor Supply Chain Operation: A Case Study of a Japanese Company in Cross Border M&A

As semiconductor usage is prevailing, sustainable growth is deemed highly dependent on the semiconductor supply chain. Accordingly, it is essential to establish robust supply chain capability for a semiconductor company. Especially for Japanese semiconductor manufacturers, it is critical to secure robust and flexible supply chain operation with the background of the experience of supply chain disruption caused by the East Japan Earthquake. So far, we identified that Japanese semiconductor manufacturers and Japanese automotive manufacturers have been in cooperation to secure the semiconductor supply chain. However, the global electronic industry environment has been significantly changed and it is not enough just to consider natural disasters. With this perspective, it is not yet fully studied how Japanese semiconductor manufacturers adapted to global operation through organizational learning. This paper examines how a Japanese semiconductor firm conducted organizational learning and adapted to environmental changes in cross-border M&A transactions. Traditionally, Japanese firms have established organizational routines for the management control systems of their overseas subsidiaries by relying on the expatriates’ transactive memory systems (TMS), which is based on their personnel experiences over the countries and cultural background understanding. Japanese firms have used TMS of expats to manage their global organizations. Recently, however, not a small number of Japanese companies have accelerated their globalization through cross-border M&A, which requires organizational capabilities different from those of conventional TMS formation. In this paper, we studied a case of cross-border M&A of a Japanese semiconductor company by modeling the organizational learning structure throughout the extracted concepts summarizing semi-structure interview outcome. As a result, it has been found out that, by shifting from Japanese cultural norms to more global values in terms of management systems, benefits can be achieved. The company unlearned organizational routines that relied on TMS and created new organizational routines. This study provides direction from a practical perspective on how Japanese firms can transform their global organizations and adapt to changes in the environment for sustainable growth

Eudemonic Servicescapes: Value Co-Creation in Karate Dojos

Martial arts (“budo”) is a service system in which instructors and students co-create physical and mental values through training encounters in a physical servicescape—the dojo. We explored how actors develop eudemonic wellbeing in this servicescape. We selected the dynamics theory of perception of servicescapes as the theoretical framework to examine the process of behavior change based on the interaction between participants and the environment. We also employed service-dominant logic (SDL), which views services as a value co-creation process among actors, and we also employed transformative service research (TSR), which explores uplifting change to improve wellbeing. We collected data from the World Seido Karate Organization Seido-juku, which has been active worldwide for more than 40 years. We conducted interviews with 17 members and analyzed the secondary data. The results indicated that (1) the participants integrated the value co-creation learned through the training at the servicescape as a model for daily life, and (2) the servicescape created positive mental change in the participants and promoted their personal growth. Martial arts training in a dojo can enable participants to independently create a state of wellbeing at any time. It supports sustainable personal growth, and the dojo is perceived as a eudemonic servicescape

Organizational Learning for Sustainable Semiconductor Supply Chain Operation: A Case Study of a Japanese Company in Cross Border M&A

As semiconductor usage is prevailing, sustainable growth is deemed highly dependent on the semiconductor supply chain. Accordingly, it is essential to establish robust supply chain capability for a semiconductor company. Especially for Japanese semiconductor manufacturers, it is critical to secure robust and flexible supply chain operation with the background of the experience of supply chain disruption caused by the East Japan Earthquake. So far, we identified that Japanese semiconductor manufacturers and Japanese automotive manufacturers have been in cooperation to secure the semiconductor supply chain. However, the global electronic industry environment has been significantly changed and it is not enough just to consider natural disasters. With this perspective, it is not yet fully studied how Japanese semiconductor manufacturers adapted to global operation through organizational learning. This paper examines how a Japanese semiconductor firm conducted organizational learning and adapted to environmental changes in cross-border M&A transactions. Traditionally, Japanese firms have established organizational routines for the management control systems of their overseas subsidiaries by relying on the expatriates’ transactive memory systems (TMS), which is based on their personnel experiences over the countries and cultural background understanding. Japanese firms have used TMS of expats to manage their global organizations. Recently, however, not a small number of Japanese companies have accelerated their globalization through cross-border M&A, which requires organizational capabilities different from those of conventional TMS formation. In this paper, we studied a case of cross-border M&A of a Japanese semiconductor company by modeling the organizational learning structure throughout the extracted concepts summarizing semi-structure interview outcome. As a result, it has been found out that, by shifting from Japanese cultural norms to more global values in terms of management systems, benefits can be achieved. The company unlearned organizational routines that relied on TMS and created new organizational routines. This study provides direction from a practical perspective on how Japanese firms can transform their global organizations and adapt to changes in the environment for sustainable growth

Trial and Error Mindset of R&D Personnel and its Relationship to Organizational Creative Climate

This paper aims to reveal the mindset of corporate R&D personnel's behavior when they break through a difficult problem. In addition, we examine the relationship between that mindset and the organizational creative climate. We defined trial and error behavior as the process of continuous knowledge creation and acquisition until success is achieved, and constructed a model. We distributed a questionnaire survey on invention and discovery activities to 706 corporate R&D personnel who had received awards from leading Japanese science academies. The results of qualitative data analysis revealed six mindsets and approaches: (i) Elimination approach, (ii) Idea exploration-oriented mindset, (iii) Cause exploration-oriented mindset, (iv) Repetitive approach, (v) Passion for trial and error, and (vi) Experience-oriented mindset. In addition, the results showed that the creative climate did not have a significant impact on the exploration-oriented trial and error mindsets of R&D personnel, such as with (ii) and (iii). Technology-oriented firms cannot develop innovative achievements if they are not willing to encourage risk taking. Our findings indicate that managers should try to understand their employees' trial and error mindsets and create an effective organizational climate that goes beyond an organizational creative climate

Eudemonic Servicescapes: Value Co-Creation in Karate Dojos

Martial arts (“budo”) is a service system in which instructors and students co-create physical and mental values through training encounters in a physical servicescape—the dojo. We explored how actors develop eudemonic wellbeing in this servicescape. We selected the dynamics theory of perception of servicescapes as the theoretical framework to examine the process of behavior change based on the interaction between participants and the environment. We also employed service-dominant logic (SDL), which views services as a value co-creation process among actors, and we also employed transformative service research (TSR), which explores uplifting change to improve wellbeing. We collected data from the World Seido Karate Organization Seido-juku, which has been active worldwide for more than 40 years. We conducted interviews with 17 members and analyzed the secondary data. The results indicated that (1) the participants integrated the value co-creation learned through the training at the servicescape as a model for daily life, and (2) the servicescape created positive mental change in the participants and promoted their personal growth. Martial arts training in a dojo can enable participants to independently create a state of wellbeing at any time. It supports sustainable personal growth, and the dojo is perceived as a eudemonic servicescape