Learning mode of small business owners

The aim of the paper is to explore the learning mode of small business owners, from a theoretical stance, and based on empirical evidence. We distinguish between the required learning mode, the actual learning mode and the supported learning mode. Data were collected using the focus group method in a very heterogeneous sample of Belgian small business owners. The results indicate several gaps between the required, actual and supported learning modes, of which many are due to unawareness of learning needs and lack of reflective learning among small business owners. The data also indicate among others that solutions to fill learning gaps proposed in the literature are not applicable to all owners, e.g. not all owners are able to learn through networks. Keywords: Belgium, learning capability, learning mode, learning gaps, learning process, learning support, reflective learning, research paper, small business owners, focus group

Cognitive styles and person-environment fit: an inquiry on the consequences of cognitive (mis)fit

There is currently considerable interest in the key elements of person-environment fit to understand vocational behaviour and to develop strategic human resource management practices. In the light of this interest, we wanted (1) to investigate with the new Cognitive Style Indicator whether people within similar functions have similar cognitive styles, and (2) to examine the consequences of cognitive (mis)fit on three work attitudes. We used two large-scale databases (N = 24,267 and N = 2,182) to address these issues. We identified mainly a knowing-oriented cognitive climate in finance, information technology (IT), and research and development (R&D) functions, a planning-oriented cognitive climate in administrative and technical and production functions, and a creating-oriented cognitive climate in sales and marketing functions and general management. Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that people with a creating style show more job search behaviour and intention to leave than people with a planning style, irrespective of the cognitive climate they are working in. We contribute to increased understanding of the influence of cognitive styles on organisational behaviour and work attitudes. This study is relevant for selection and recruitment policies of organisations and in the context of training, job design, and workforce planning

Development and use of a polarized equine upper respiratory tract mucosal explant system to study the early phase of pathogenesis of a European strain of equine arteritis virus

The upper respiratory tract mucosa represents the first line of defense, which has to be overcome by pathogens before invading the host. Considering the economic and ethical aspects involved in using experimental animals for pathogenesis studies, respiratory mucosal explants, in which the tissue's three-dimensional architecture is preserved, may be ideal alternatives. Different respiratory mucosal explant cultures have been developed. However, none of them could be inoculated with pathogens solely at the epithelium side. In the present study, equine nasal and nasopharyngeal explants were embedded in agarose (3%), leaving the epithelium side exposed to allow apical inoculation. Morphometric analysis did not show degenerative changes during 72 h of cultivation. The number of apoptotic cells in the mucosa slightly increased over time. After validation, the system was used for apical infection with a European strain (08P178) of equine arteritis virus (EAV) (107.6TCID50/mL per explant). Impermeability of agarose to virus particles was demonstrated by the absence of labeled microspheres (40nm) and a lack of EAV-antigens in RK13 cells seeded underneath the agarose layer in which inoculated explants were embedded. At 72 hpi, 27% of the EAV-positive cells were CD172a+ and 19% were CD3+ in nasal explants and 45% of the EAV-positive cells were CD172a+ and 15% were CD3+ in nasopharyngeal explants. Only a small percentage of EAV-positive cells were IgM+. This study validates the usefulness of a polarized mucosal explant system and shows that CD172a+ myeloid cells and CD3+ T lymphocytes represent important EAV-target cells in the respiratory mucosa

More management concepts in the academy. Internationalization as an organizational change process

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the internationalization process in higher education as an organizational level managerial issue. This approach brings a new perspective to internationalization in higher education. This is believed to be a necessary step toward filling a gap in the internationalization of higher education discussions. Nevertheless, the purpose of the study is not to falsify the dominant discussion in the literature. Rather, adopting the organizational change process conceptualization, this paper aims to fill a gap in the ongoing discussion on internationalization in the literature. To do this, the authors adopted the commonly accepted organizational change model of Burke and Litwin (1992) and made a comprehensive discussion on both transformational (external environment, mission and strategy, leadership, and organizational culture) and transactional (structure, task requirements and individual skills, individual needs and values, motivation, management practices, systems, climate) domains of the model from the perspective of internationalization in higher education. This approach is expected to clarify process, content, and context aspects of internationalization, which is essential for successful internationalization implementation

The field of cognitive styles: From a theoretical review to the construction of the cognitive style inventory

Cognitive styles gained prominence in organizational behavior and management literature during the last decades. Researchers studied cognitive styles in relationship to various concepts and from various points of view. Different authors developed their own instruments of assessment to identify differences in cognitive styles. However, this theoretical and empirical pluralism makes the field of cognitive styles rather confusing and leads to inconsistent measurement results. Several authors try to create order in the diverse field by integration of the different theories. With this state of affairs in mind, the purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, we attempt to demarcate and define succintly the field of cognitive style research. Secondly, we want to present our research on cognitive styles, which led tot the development of the Cognitive Style Inventory (CoSI). We are currently finalising the validation and cross-validation of our self-report questionnaire. The theoretical background of the questionnaire is presented. Because of the usefulness of the cognitive style concept for organizations, clarification of the research field and the development of a useful questionnaire to measure individual differences in cognitive styles are necessary

The field of cognitive styles: From a theoretical review to the construction of the cognitive style inventory

Cognitive styles gained prominence in organizational behavior and management literature during the last decades. Researchers studied cognitive styles in relationship to various concepts and from various points of view. Different authors developed their own instruments of assessment to identify differences in cognitive styles. However, this theoretical and empirical pluralism makes the field of cognitive styles rather confusing and leads to inconsistent measurement results. Several authors try to create order in the diverse field by integration of the different theories. With this state of affairs in mind, the purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, we attempt to demarcate and define succintly the field of cognitive style research. Secondly, we want to present our research on cognitive styles, which led tot the development of the Cognitive Style Inventory (CoSI). We are currently finalising the validation and cross-validation of our self-report questionnaire. The theoretical background of the questionnaire is presented. Because of the usefulness of the cognitive style concept for organizations, clarification of the research field and the development of a useful questionnaire to measure individual differences in cognitive styles are necessary

A framework for assessing commitment to change. Process and context variables of organizational change

Major organizational changes yield limited success. Failure of change is frequently due to a lack of commitment and motivation of the employees who have to implement the change. In this paper a framework is developed in which employees' emotional involvement and their commitment to change is explained by change process variables and internal context variables. The process variables refer to the different aspects organizations have to follow in implementing fundamental changes. The internal context variables are located at the organizational, work unit and individual level. We found that emotional involvement is an important mediating variable between change process and context variables and commitment to change. To explore the merits of this framework, we studied the perceptions of employees involved in major changes of different organizations. Results indicated that the organization's change history, jobsatisfaction, participation in the change process, availability of time and emotional involvement are important variables in understanding commitment to change. Study findings are discussed and implications for research and theory-building are suggested. Key words: organizational change, commitment, emotional involvemen