The tattooed client – a phenomenological exploration of symbolic representations in Self-concept

This study’s primary research questions sought to explore Tattoo Narratives as an alternative approach to understanding a client’s phenomenological sense of Self. The author was also interested in understanding why some clients choose to immortalise significant life events with tattoos and the personal meaning they attach to it. The intension of this study was to examine whether any knowledge produced is of benefit to a counsellor, working with a tattooed client. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed in an in-depth study of a small sample of tattooed counsellors. Three master themes emerged, detailed by eight interlinking super-ordinate themes. Master themes were Self, Tattoo Narratives and Meaning Making of the Tattoo Narrative

Social capital to facilitate ‘engineered’ university–industry collaboration for technology transfer: A dynamic perspective

Over the last decade, social capital concept has received considerable amount of research being regarded as an important value creation mechanism. However, we still have limited understanding about the nature of interaction between the dimensions of this capital, and how it can be useful in mitigating the impediments evolving during government-sponsored (i.e., engineered) university–industry collaboration (UIC). In this paper, we address the previous gap by analyzing the dynamics of social capital dimensions during the preformation and postformation stages of UIC. The paper relies on a unique context that comprises five embedded case studies of UIC for technology transfer: the Faraday Partnership Initiative, a UK government-backed novel scheme for enhancing innovation. The analysis shows that the impact and interaction of the dimensions were not static but rather varying over time. Further, we present a new value creation framework for social capital through mapping its power in reducing the intensity of difficulties emerged during the collaboration lifetime. We also identify two facilitating factors as critical in creating and maintaining social capital in engineered UIC. The present study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the value of inter-organizational social capital

Internal integration as a pre-condition for external integration in global sourcing: A social capital perspective

The purpose of this study is to explore the link between integration and global sourcing success in international operations and by doing so, to clarify the ambiguous picture that prevails in the existing literature. Specifically, this quantitative study aims at identifying the role of the buying companies’ internal and external integration with suppliers using a social capital lens. Data were collected from the central purchasing department of a multinational automotive OEM located in Germany. A sample of 82 purchasers was surveyed about their assessment of global sourcing projects, focusing on internal cross-functional integration, external supplier integration and project success. The data were analyzed with structural equation modeling procedures, using SmartPLS. The findings indicate that internal integration is a precondition for external integration with suppliers, which accordingly has a strong positive influence on global sourcing success. Surprisingly, the direct relationship between internal and external integration was not significant, indicating a mediating role of social capital within this relationship. The theoretical originality lies in the use of the social capital theory and its three dimensions: cognitive, structural and relational capital for both internal and external integration, and in the connection between integration and global sourcing success. From a practical perspective, it can be recommended that managers distinguish between an internal and an external perspective. Internally, the focus should lie on the clear communication of common goals and norms, whereas externally, the definition of mutual contact points between organizations is of higher importanc