Realizing high performance on multiple stakeholder domains: A resource-based analysis of professional service firms in the Netherlands and Germany

This book presents an empirical study on small and medium-sized professional service firms in the Netherlands and Germany. The overall aim of this study was to specify and test those intra-organizational resources that enable small and medium-sized professional service firms to realize high performance scores on multiple stakeholder domains. Five intra-organizational resources were found to be crucial in this respect: If small and medium-sized professional service firms succeed in establishing organizational practices that foster a proactive market orientation, a strong competitor orientation, and professional knowledge management, and combine it with satisfying reward practices for their personnel and competent top management, they will have good chances to gain a competitive advantage on multiple stakeholder performance domains. This means that these firms will be more successful than their competitors in attracting and maintaining high quality personnel, in satisfying their clients, in improving their market position, and in realizing financial growth

Polarities in executive coaching.

Purpose – this paper aims to show how polarity coaching can foster meaningful change among executive clients through sponsoring a deeper understanding and acceptance of interdependent opposites.design/methodology/approach – the study explores what is required from the coach and the coaching relationship and how clients can be supported in overcoming polarity traps. A social constructionist and sense-making approach to coaching is followed and the paper draws on relevant literature from the fields of psychotherapy, coaching, and dialogical change.findings – it is shown that before engaging in polarity coaching it is important for coaches to become aware of the polarity tensions that are prevalent in their own work and to explore their personal preferences when facing these tensions. A coach who is able to hold interdependent opposites with ease in the coaching encounter will allow clients to experience transformation on a deeper level.originality/value – the core of the paper is the polarity-coaching model, which describes how coaches can guide their clients through a process of discovering polarized thinking, pole exploration, and boundary softening for becoming more comfortable with interdependent opposites. The paper will be of interest to those in the field of coaching executives

Mechanisms underlying nationality-based discrimination in teams: A quasi-experiment testing predictions from social psychology and microeconomics

This study examines mechanisms underlying nationality-based discrimination from two different perspectives: social psychology and microeconomics. The authors studied 91 teams in a binational setting that were offered a new team member. National composition of the team and nationality of the new member were manipulated. Overall, the study showed that discrimination based on nationality does exist in such a setting. A new member is more likely to be accepted when belonging to the majority nation represented in the team. The chances of acceptance do not increase if the newcomer belongs to the national group that is expected to perform better. Furthermore, the authors found a general tendency to close ranks when team members strongly identify with the team, when competition is high, and when success is attributed to team effort. The results underline the importance of understanding social-psychological mechanisms for explaining nationality-based discrimination in teams