Achieving Better Business Outcomes

Enterprise search is changing. The explosion of information within organizations, technological advances and availability of free OpenSource machine learning libraries offer many possibilities. Eighteen informants from practice, academia, search technology vendors and large organizations (Oil and Gas, Governments, Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace and Retail) were interviewed to assess challenges and future directions. The findings confirmed the existence of the ‘Google Habitus’, technology propaganda and a need to transcend disciplines for a Systems thinking approach toward enterprise search. This encompasses information management, user search literacy, governance, learning feedback loops as well as technology. A novel four-level model for enterprise search use cases is presented, covering search as a utility, search as an answer machine, search task apps and a discovery engine. This could be used to reframe enterprise search perceptions, expanding possibilities and improving business outcomes.

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Encouraging millennials to collaborate and learn on the job

Strategic HR Review ◽

10.1108/shr-06-2015-0042 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 118-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Lauren Trees

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Management ◽

Best Practices ◽

Social Networking ◽

Age Groups ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Retention Rates ◽

Direct Access ◽

Content Type ◽

Business Outcomes ◽

Wide Range

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present enterprise social networking and gamification as two potential tools to help organizations engage Millennial employees in collaboration and learning. Design/methodology/approach – The research provides general descriptions of enterprise social networking and gamification approaches, shares data on adoption of these approaches from APQC’s “2015 Knowledge Management Priorities Data Report” (based on a January 2015 survey of 524 knowledge management professionals) and includes four company examples adapted from APQC’s Connecting People to Content and Transferring and Applying Critical Knowledge best practices studies. The methodology for APQC’s best practices studies involves screening 50 or more organizations with potential best practices in a given research scope area and identifying five or six with proven best practices. APQC then conducts detailed site visits with the selected organizations and publishes case studies based on those site visits. Findings – Enterprise social networking platforms are in place at 50 per cent of organizations, with another 25 per cent planning to implement them by the end of 2015. By providing near-immediate access to information and answers, enterprise social networking helps Millennials learn the ropes at their new workplaces, gives them direct access to more knowledgeable colleagues who can assist and mentor them, and helps them improve their business outcomes by reusing knowledge and lessons learned across projects. Younger workers can also harness the power of social networking to create a sense of belonging and build their reputations in large, dispersed firms, where it is particularly difficult for them to gain visibility. A recent APQC survey indicates that 54 per cent of organizations either currently employ gamification to encourage collaboration or expect to implement it within the next three years. The rush to gamify the enterprise is, at least in part, a reflection of employers’ desire to satisfy Millennials and make them feel connected to a community of co-workers. Although games appeal to a wide range of age groups, Millennials grew up with digital interaction and tend to prefer environments that emphasize teamwork, social learning and frequent feedback – all of which can be delivered through gamification. Originality/value – The value of this paper is to introduce the value of and relationship between enterprise social networking and gamification platforms to human resource (HR) professionals looking to increase engagement and retention rates for Millennial employees.

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Exposure to Ethics Education and the Perception of Linkage between Organizational Ethical Behavior and Business Outcomes

Journal of Business Ethics ◽

10.1007/s10551-005-1548-7 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 353-368 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Harsh K. Luthar ◽

Ranjan Karri

Keyword(s):

Ethical Behavior ◽

Ethics Education ◽

Business Outcomes

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Education Objectives; Business Outcomes

Journal for Nurses in Professional Development ◽

10.1097/nnd.0b013e318286f32a ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 90-91

Author(s):

&NA;

Keyword(s):

Business Outcomes

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Salience of multiple actors involved in formal and informal governance systems encouraging corporate social responsibility in an emerging market

Competition & Change ◽

10.1177/10245294211017255 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102452942110172

Author(s):

Mônica Cavalcanti Sá de Abreu ◽

Rômulo Alves Soares ◽

Robson Silva Rocha ◽

João Maurício Gama Boaventura

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Institutional Theory ◽

Emerging Market ◽

Institutional Pressures ◽

Informal Governance ◽

Business Outcomes ◽

Governance Systems ◽

Corporate Social ◽

Multiple Actors

This paper evaluates the influence of multiple actors in both formal and informal governance systems on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Drawing on institutional theory, a quantitative survey was developed and conducted of a sample of 140 firms in the electronics, food, textiles, toys and personal care sectors in Brazil. We examine how institutional pressures and firm-level agency influence the emergence of different patterns of CSR. We distinguish two clusters of companies: active companies identify business outcomes and actors that effectively exert an influence on their CSR practices, while passive companies consider institutional pressures to be of minor importance. Our contribution relates first, to institutional theory concerning the role of different actors in influencing the implementation of social and environmental practices; second, to the importance of collective coordination or its absence in shaping the specific characteristics of CSR; and third, to the agency of firms in responding to institutional pressures as being dependent on their perceptions of business outcomes. The theoretical insights drawn from this study should be applicable to similar countries, that is, to emerging but politically and economically unstable markets with marked social and economic inequalities.

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Sustainability and Business Outcomes in the Context of SMEs: Comparing Family Firms vs. Non-Family Firms

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10114080 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 4080 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

María López-Pérez ◽

Iguácel Melero-Polo ◽

Rosario Vázquez-Carrasco ◽

Jesús Cambra-Fierro

Keyword(s):

Business Models ◽

Family Firms ◽

Medium Size ◽

Stewardship Theory ◽

Business Practices ◽

Socially Responsible ◽

Business Outcomes ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Moderator Role

Society is demanding more sustainable and socially responsible business models. Therefore, the concept of sustainability has become a cornerstone to help understand the success of many firms in the current competitive context. However, the context of SMEs has received little attention thus far. In order to solve this gap this article analyses the links between sustainability practices and business outcomes—both financial and non-financial (i.e., image and reputation)—for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). In addition, the study strives to analyze the potential differences between family firms and non-family firms. To this end, a quantitative study is carried out using PLS techniques to analyze a sample of SME owners and managers with a view to testing the proposed model based on the Stewardship Theory and Socioemotional Wealth Theory. In this sense, our study is pioneering in that it aims to assess—from a quantitative viewpoint—the moderator role of family firms on a series of relevant sustainability-driven outcomes. The data suggest that, in SME contexts, sustainability influences the corporate reputation, brand image, and financial value of the company. Importantly, we find that the profile (family vs. non-family) of the firm moderates the links between sustainability and business outcomes. Hence, our findings have important implications for sustainability implementation in SME contexts. Finally, we provide a series of guidelines aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of sustainability-based business practices.

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