The behavior of managers handling digital business transformations: theoretical issues and preliminary evidence from firms in the manufacturing industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Matricano ◽  
Laura Castaldi ◽  
Mario Sorrentino ◽  
Elena Candelo
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Textual Data ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Theoretical Issues

PurposeOrganizational culture plays a central role when dealing with the issue of digital business transformation (DBT). Managers handling a DBT and involved in digital strateging are expected to modify the organizational culture of firms to make it more fitting with the paradigm of digital economy and having more chance of success. Thus, it is noteworthy to inspect the role they can have over DBTs. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavior that managers assume when they approach DBTs by investigating whether they act as mentors/facilitators or entrepreneurs/innovators, as coordinators or decision makers.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the above purpose, ten case studies about manufacturing firms have been selected. Case studies, retrieved by the Digital Innovation Observatories of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, are studied and analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis on textual data. This allows getting specific insights into organizational culture before and after DBT and about the role played by managers.FindingsAchieved results disclose that managers need to modify the organizational culture of their firms to handle a successful DBT. However, firms can assume different organizational culture and thus the role assumed by managers handling a DBT can change as well.Originality/valueTo the authors knowledge, this paper is among the first that aim to investigate the role that mangers assume when handling DBTs. In particular, originality lies in the fact that assumed roles are rebuilt in reference to their ability to modify organizational culture.

Successful introduction of workplace change

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-41
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Change Process ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Workplace Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Employee response to any transition to open-plan offices can be hostile. Firms can guard against such negative reactions by involving all members in the change process and developing and sustaining an organizational culture that place strong value on communication, collegiality and inclusiveness. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals Emotions in leaders’ enactment of professional agency

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Päivi Hökkä ◽  
Katja Vähäsantanen ◽  
Susanna Paloniemi ◽  
Sanna Herranen ◽  
Anneli Eteläpelto
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Leadership Coaching ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
Before And After ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
A Current

Purpose Although there has been an increase in workplace studies on professional agency, few of these have examined the role of emotions in the enactment of agency at work. To date, professional agency has been mainly conceptualised as a goal-oriented, rational activity aimed at influencing a current state of affairs. Challenged by this, this study aims to elaborate the nature and quality of emotions and how they might be connected to the enactment of professional agency. Design/methodology/approach Data are collected in the context of a leadership coaching programme that aimed to promote the leaders’ professional agency over the course of a year. The participants (11 middle-management leaders working in university and hospital contexts) were interviewed before and after the programme, and the data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings Findings showed that emotions played an important role in the leaders’ enactment of professional agency, as it pertained to their work and to their professional identity. The study suggests that enacting professional agency is by no means a matter of purely rational actions. Practical implications The study suggests that emotional agency can be learned and enhanced through group-based interventions reflecting on and processing one’s own professional roles and work. Originality/value As a theoretical conclusion, the study argues that professional agency should be reconceptualised in such a way as to acknowledge the importance of emotions (one’s own and those of one’s fellow workers) in practising agency within organisational contexts.

Localized learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 38-40
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The People ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Localized Learning ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds his/her own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings One of the more light-hearted interpretations of how to define organizational culture is to simply say. “It’s the way we do things around here”. This is illuminating and frustrating in equal measure, as while it does contain a kernel of truth - understanding how and why people take the positions and actions they do is central to the question of culture – it is also rather glib and is simply true of everywhere you might ask that question. It also points to a certain wariness and even defiance on behalf of the people answering the question in such a way, as if to challenge the newcomer into accepting how their world operates, and that it is never going to change. Practical implications This paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Learning from failure

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-42
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning From Failure ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Is it possible that change for good can lead to changes for the bad? In the context of any organization, there are any number of change programs that are being implemented at a given time. These will tend to be for product or service development, enabling efficiencies or supporting expansion strategies. Programs can also be about changing organizational culture, and such people-centric change programs can be some of the very hardest to embed. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

From organizing to organizations: a typological scale of human relations management outside the legal world

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe article examines strategies of human resource management in the absence of institutional hedging by norm-enforcing institutions such as a state monopoly of violence by using case studies of criminal organizations. This condition provides a test-bed for studying the effects of human relations management strategies on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, a case study methodology is applied. Three cases are selected to build a scale from complete plasticity of an undifferentiated network via a status differentiated gang to a hierarchical organization that provides social positions. The case studies are analysed by qualitative content analysis, network analysis and agent-based simulation.FindingsAn undifferentiated network based on informal trust lacks mechanisms for conflict resolution. This is a highly vulnerable organizational structure. While a status differentiated gang is more resilient towards internal conflicts, its activities remain dependent on individually accumulated social capital. This organizational structure is not resilient over generations of actors. A hierarchical organization provides highest degree of structural resilience up to a level of a system of self-organized criticality.Originality/valueThe study of human relations management outside the legal world provides insights into the basic mechanisms and functional effects of organizational activity.

e-Business management assessment: framework proposal through case study analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-254
Author(s):  
Pedro Isaías ◽  
Luisa Cagica Carvalho ◽  
Nildo Cassundé Junior ◽  
Fernanda Roda Cassundé
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Online Presence ◽  
Business Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an e-business assessment framework for organizations that aim to enhance the effectiveness of their online presence and maximize the benefits that result from it. The framework is based on three main pillars derived from the academic literature research: e-marketing strategies, customer relationship management (CRM) strategies and business model strategies. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the literature from e-Marketing, CRM and business model strategies, leading to the generation of an e-Business assessment framework. Second, it takes 19 case studies and analyzes them using ATLAS.ti, through qualitative content analysis, to validate that framework. Findings Pragmatic advice for practitioners derives from research results considering that this framework enables managers to characterize the company in terms of its e-business approach, making it possible to determine the level of depth of competitive online strategies. Lessons for an improved e-business approach can be derived from this paper. Originality/value This study proposes a novel e-business framework to assist organizations that want to have an online presence. This framework is comprised of the factors identified in the literature review that contribute to define and scope that online presence. The framework is then validated through the collection of 19 case studies of companies that have this online presence, validating the theoretical findings.

Organizational learning and unlearning

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Starbuck
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Usefulness ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Longitudinal Case Studies ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to summarize four decades of research into organizational adaptation, learning and unlearning. Design/methodology/approach The most important contributions to this stream of research have been case studies of organizations struggling to survive serious crises. Findings Very diverse kinds of organizations run into serious crises, and many organizations fail because they respond poorly or slowly to these crises. Slow and inadequate initial responses result in organizations going into a stage of “unlearning” that is demoralizing, harmful and very difficult to manage. Research limitations/implications The research involved a small number of longitudinal case studies. Practical implications Organizations may survive longer if they deal with serious crises more effectively. Top management teams especially may benefit from discussing how to spot and mitigate crises. The paper proposes a few actions that organizations might usefully take before and after trouble becomes visible. Social implications Almost all organizations have short lives, and many organizations fail when they encounter unexpected, serious crises. The consequences include unemployment, dislocation, emotional turmoil, wasted resources and cynicism. Originality/value This paper reviews published research. Its value depends on the plausibility of its interpretations and the practical usefulness of the advice offered.

Aligning organizational culture and operations strategy to improve innovation outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Fan Wu ◽  
Ing-Chung Huang ◽  
Wei-Chang Huang ◽  
Pey-Lan Du
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Organizational Climate ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Manufacturing Industries ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Operations Strategy ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Innovation is a key factor in assessing organizational success. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the organizational culture and operations strategy impact organizational innovation. It explores the influence of various combinations of organizational cultures and operations strategies on a firm’s ability to innovate both in process and product. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model is developed which attempts to explain how the reciprocal and dynamic interactive relationship between organizational culture and operations strategy and innovation is structured. In total, 233 valid questionnaires were collected from 17 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the direction and strengths of the relationships and develop a comprehensive picture to illustrate the drivers of successful innovation. Findings The analysis and conclusions confirm the suitability of Culture–Strategy–Innovation Model and the detailed results demonstrate that a combination of innovative organizational culture and flexibility-oriented operations strategy has the strongest influence on a firm’s innovation process thereby improving their innovative organizational outcomes. Practical implications Although based on Taiwanese manufacturing industries these results provide useful insights for manufacturing industries in general. In alternative contexts, the combination of different dimensions of culture and strategy can be expected to cause different levels of success in innovation. This study provides robust evidence to explain the organizational climate needed to guide the innovative and flexibility considerations needed for SMEs in the manufacturing industry. Originality/value This is an empirical study which specifically investigates the activities of SMEs in the metal/plastic manufacturing industry in Taiwan and in particular examines organizational culture, operations strategies and innovation. The research model proposed and confirmed offers a new multi-dimensional structure of culture and strategy linked with their various related dynamic interrelationships and the drivers that impact organizational innovation.

An artefact for improving the delivery of building energy retrofit project in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-635
Author(s):  
Chikezirim Okorafor ◽  
Fidelis Emuze ◽  
Dillip Das ◽  
Bankole Osita Awuzie ◽  
Theo Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Retrofit ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
Implementation Plans ◽  
Energy Survey

PurposeThe built environment is well known for carbon emission and its impact especially as it pertains to existing buildings. This has culminated in an increasing need for a retrofit of such buildings. This study details the development of an artefact for improving the delivery of energy retrofit projects therein to curb these impacts.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilized a mixed method research design for data collection. In achieving this, data was collected in three different phases; (1) a pilot study; (2) a juxtaposition of desktop case studies, live case studies, focus group discussion forum and an expert survey; and (3) a questionnaire survey for the validation of the emergent artefact. Accordingly, the quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, whereas qualitative content analysis was deployed for qualitative data.FindingsThe findings enabled an identification of the elements of a building energy retrofit project (BERP) such as project initiation, building assessment, detailed energy survey, technical analysis and implementation plans of energy measures, monitoring and verification. Also, it provided the challenges and enablers associated with successful BERP. This information was subsequently utilized in the development and validation of an artefact for delivering successful BERP. Summarily, a set of guidelines comprising of seven stages for managing successful BERPs were elucidated.Practical implicationsThe validated artefact provides an adaptive and innovative route for achieving sustainability in retrofit trade.Originality/valueThe study conceptualizes an artefact for improving the delivery of BERPs.

The effect of organizational culture on implementing and sustaining lean processes

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 725-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatma Pakdil ◽  
Karen Moustafa Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Lean Production ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Competing Values Framework ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Competing Values ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Lean Implementation ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Lean systems thinking was widely studied using relevant variables, but there is a dearth of published theoretical or empirical evidence about the cultural aspects of lean processes. The lack of conceptual development is one of the motivations for this study. Do organizational cultural variations correlate with the success and effectiveness of lean processes? What organizational infrastructures are required for effective lean implementation and continuation? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Examining literature in the area of lean production and lean management, the authors sought current literature at the intersection of organizational culture and lean processes, particularly implementation and sustainability, but found little relating to the topic. Therefore, using the Competing Values Framework taxonomy, the authors examine this intersection, relying on related research in the areas. Findings – In this paper, a brief discussion of lean processes in relation to organizational culture leads to propositions that identify the various cultural dimensions and their purported effect on lean implementation and sustainability. A model of this interaction is developed. Those quadrants of the Competing Values Framework that might be useful in developing research directions for the future are identified. Research limitations/implications – Future research directions include the measurement of organizational culture in firms that have implemented lean processes. This would be a step toward looking at the effect that the different quadrants in the Competing Values Framework have on various elements of lean efforts. This would take a significant amount of work, because the manufacturing industry, the leader in implementing and sustaining lean processes, may have institutionalized particular organizational cultures. It would be an interesting step forward in the understanding of how lean processes are operationalized across different firms and industries. However, there are multiple ways to examine culture; the authors believe this method allows the capture of the entire spectrum. Practical implications – Knowing which dimensions influence lean effectiveness and the way that they wield that influence allows managers to develop the firm’s organizational culture to one that will support implementing and sustaining lean efforts. The challenge to implement and sustain lean processes lies in the need to identify the organizational culture infrastructure that will allow this system that was first used by Japanese firms to operate well in other organizational contexts. The values and norms that underlie lean processes may create conflict with the culture that already exists within the organization; such divergence retards adoption and performance. Originality/value – There is a lack of research at the critical intersection of organizational culture and lean implementation/sustainability. Culture is key to making the changes required of lean implementation and in sustaining the drive toward lean production and management. The paper begins to fill that gap.

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