Leveraging innovation and intrapreneurship as a source for organizational growth

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael James Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Customer Value ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
First Century ◽  
Socioeconomic Characteristic ◽  
Organizational Growth ◽  
Lifetime Employment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Twenty First Century

Purpose Change is normal in a healthy economy, and is intrinsically driven by continued acquisition of new knowledge – both scientific and otherwise (Drucker, 1985). Continued acceleration of knowledge attainment provides context for what is arguably the twenty-first century’s single most critical socioeconomic characteristic: rapid change and continuous disruption of the free market (Carlson and Wilmot, 2006). In this unstable landscape, even the most resilient and successful companies, despite applying sound business management principles, are not immune to gradual erosion of their positions of growth and dominance (Christensen and Raynor, 2003). The life span of the average organization is shrinking, and a mainstay of past generations – “lifetime employment” – is no longer the status quo (Carlson and Wilmot, 2006, pp. 34-35). Design/methodology/approach Employees who wish to become leaders in the twenty-first century must develop the capability to exploit opportunities generated by the external pace of change and turn those opportunities into growth avenues for their organizations. Employees who master this process, and adopt the behaviors that drive it, will find themselves highly desirable to employers and in possession of a new version of the lifetime employment guarantee that stems from continuously creating value for their organizations. By understanding the relationship between innovation and organizational growth, organizations can better cultivate and leverage the multifaceted role that intrapreneurs can play in understanding the market, delivering value to the customer and formulating strategy. Findings Many organizations do not have the human resource capacities needed to create new growth. Managers at most established organizations have focused by necessity mainly on current operations. Doing this allows them and their employees to develop operational skills for solving problems related primarily to quality and cost-control, or to process implementation – but not for starting new growth areas (Christensen and Raynor, 2003, p. 179). While managers’ current responsibilities are important, this workload draws them away from focusing on new opportunities for the sake of monitoring current ones. The problems encountered and skills required for intrapreneurial action are very different from those needed to conduct “business as usual” operations; however, the capacity and skillset is critical to develop so that the organization as a whole can experience long-term growth. Therefore, organizations need intrapreneurial leaders who have learned and practiced these skills through experience – leaders who demonstrate not only a deep knowledge of their market and how to create new customer value, but also a sustained commitment to turning that knowledge into a real source of growth for their organization. Fortunately, there is incentive for both organizations and employees to progress in this direction. Originality/value Organizations will benefit from the longevity provided by new growth if they make efforts to promote and foster intrapreneurial behavior by their employees and managers. Managers and employees, in turn, will benefit by becoming leaders who find themselves more and more employable, as organizations shift to hiring people who possess intrapreneurial skills. The significant value here is that innovation facilitated by intrapreneurs practically enhances organizational growth overall. The result is a future of growth and opportunity for both individuals and organizations alike, in which both the knowledge and the passion of intrapreneurial leadership light the way through the unfamiliar business environment of the twenty-first century.

scholarly journals Corporate headquarters in the twenty-first century: an organization design perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Kunisch ◽  
Markus Menz ◽  
David Collis
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Organization Design ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
First Century ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Corporate Headquarters ◽  
Special Collection ◽  
Design Perspective ◽  
Twenty First Century

Abstract The corporate headquarters (CHQ) of the multi-business enterprise, which emerged as the dominant organizational form for the conduct of business in the twentieth century, has attracted considerable scholarly attention. As the business environment undergoes a fundamental transition in the twenty-first century, we believe that understanding the evolving role of the CHQ from an organization design perspective will offer unique insights into the nature of business activity in the future. The purpose of this article, in keeping with the theme of the Journal of Organization Design Special Collection, is thus to invigorate research into the CHQ. We begin by explicating four canonical questions related to the design of the CHQ. We then survey fundamental changes in the business environment occurring in the twenty-first century, and discuss their potential implications for CHQ design. When suitable here we also refer to the contributions published in our Special Collection. Finally, we put forward recommendations for advancements and new directions for future research to foster a deeper and broader understanding of the topic. We believe that we are on the cusp of a change in the CHQ as radical as that which saw its initial emergence in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. Exactly what form that change will take remains for practitioners and researchers to inform.

Leadership competencies for the 21st century: a review from the Western world literature

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Major Ngayo Fotso
Keyword(s):  
Personal Development ◽  
World Literature ◽  
Leadership Competencies ◽  
First Century ◽  
Western World ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Decision Choices ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Recruitment And Selection

Purpose The proliferation of studies on leadership competencies have not yet provided a consistent set to guide the work of researchers and practitioners. This paper aims to generate a clear, literature-based overview of the relevant leadership competencies for the twenty-first century. Design/methodology/approach The paper is an integrative literature review and identifies four strands of literature on leadership, reaching back to traditional works. It reviews each strand to establish which leadership competencies remain relevant for the twenty-first century. Findings This paper shows it is essential to clarify and harmonize terminology used in leadership literature. It identifies 18 groups of leadership competencies required for the twenty-first century. The research reveals that leaders of the twenty-first century must be able to combine a strong concern for people, customer experience, digitalization, financialization and the general good. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on a non-exhaustive list of literature derived from studies published in Western journals, written in English. Future research should include papers beyond the confines of Western academia and entail fieldwork to test the comprehensive framework derived here. Practical implications This paper will help practitioners develop leadership training curricula and transform the leadership culture in their organizations. The competency list can be useful in recruitment and selection processes for leadership positions. Professionals will find it helpful as an index in self-diagnosis and personal development for their career decision choices. Originality/value The paper addresses the growing need for clarity on the required leadership competencies for the twenty-first century.

Using sustainability themes and multidisciplinary approaches to enhance STEM education

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rogers ◽  
Thomas Pfaff ◽  
Jason Hamilton ◽  
Ali Erkan
Keyword(s):  
Web Site ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
First Century ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Introductory Calculus ◽  
Existing Structure ◽  
Specific Learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the Multidisciplinary Sustainability Education Project (MSEP) as a framework using sustainability-themed education modules to introduce students to the need for multidisciplinary approaches to solving twenty-first-century problems while retaining traditional course strengths and content. Design/methodology/approach – The MSEP uses sustainability-themed education models and a multidisciplinary approach to link courses across disciplines. Modules are identified by an overarching question with activities designed to address the overarching question from course-specific perspectives, resulting in students writing short technical reports summarizing their results. Students then read and evaluate technical reports from other classes, and complete a summary activity designed to connect perspectives from different disciplines. Findings – The multi-method assessment identified no loss or gain in discipline-specific learning; increased understanding about the characteristics of twenty-first-century problems, in particular those related to sustainability; and increased students ' favorable perceptions of introductory calculus. Assessment of increased understanding of how different disciplines can work together to understand complex problems was difficult to measure due to limitations of a project-developed assessment instrument. Originality/value – This paper contributes to undergraduate sustainability education by describing a framework for connecting courses using sustainability-themed modules. By implementing an asynchronous manner where courses use materials from the project Web site and contribute materials to the Web site after implementing a module, it is easy to incorporate a module into existing courses, any educational institution’s existing structure and across institutions. The framework’s flexible design allows new courses from any discipline to connect to a module, allowing for multidisciplinary connections to grow over time.

scholarly journals Unleashing the potential of university entrepreneurship education

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna M. De Carolis ◽  
Barrie E. Litzky
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
College Graduates ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
First Century ◽  
Effect Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Entrepreneurship ◽  
Twenty First Century

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the ways in which traditional views of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship have inadvertently limited entrepreneurship education. The authors propose a broader view of what it means to be an entrepreneur and describe a disruptive approach to entrepreneurship education, one that centers around building students’ entrepreneurial mindset. By tapping into students’ “inner entrepreneur” and nurturing their abilities to think and act creatively, embrace failure, effect change and be resilient, the authors are preparing them for the challenges of the twenty-first century labor market. Design/methodology/approach This is a perspective paper about how the traditional views of entrepreneurship education may be limiting its potential to create entrepreneurial college graduates set to take on twenty-first century careers. Findings Teaching the entrepreneurial mindset and process will allow us, as educators, to best prepare our students for the complexities of the current and future workforce. Originality/value By embracing the original meanings of the word “entrepreneur” – an act of reaching out and capturing and undertaking – the authors demystify what it means to be an entrepreneur. When we adopt a broader and more accurate conceptualization of “the entrepreneur,” we can teach our students to be the entrepreneurs of their lives.

Fostering preservice teacher agency in 21st century writing instruction

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
First Century ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teaching Context ◽  
Metacognitive Intervention ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Writing Pedagogies

Purpose This paper aims to recommend that English educators engage preservice teachers (PSTs) in thinking and acting agentively in twenty-first century writing instruction by prompting them to examine and (re)construct discourses around identity, beliefs and teaching contexts. It explores metacognitive interventions that supported one PST to assume agency to implement twenty-first century writing pedagogies that challenged institutional and curricular norms. Design/methodology/approach A case study design was used to explore how one PST enacted agency in teaching twenty-first century writing during student teaching. Data were collected from five stimulated recall interviews that prompted metacognition over a four-month internship semester. Emerging themes were analyzed using content analysis. Findings During interviews, the PST constructed narratives about herself, her beliefs and her teaching context in ways that catalyzed her agency to enact twenty-first century writing pedagogies in planning for instruction, framing learning with her students and negotiating with her colleagues. The PST perceived metacognitive intervention as a supportive framework for activating her agency to both “see” and “sell” (Nowacek, 2011) possibilities for implementing twenty-first century writing instruction in her first teaching context. Originality/value While most existing literature on teacher agency focuses on practicing teachers, this paper focuses on activating agency during teacher preparation. It draws upon theories of regulative discourse (Mills, 2015), transfer (Nowacek, 2011) and metacognition as constructs for agency to identify how English educators can prepare PSTs as agents for change.

Leadership development trends and challenges in the twenty-first century: rethinking the priorities

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-124
Author(s):  
Majd Megheirkouni ◽  
Ammar Mejheirkouni
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
First Century ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Leadership Theories ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unethical Behaviors ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Twenty First Century

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand challenges facing organizations in the twenty-first century and address these challenges through suggesting future leadership development based on relevant leadership theories, which would motivate and guide future research directions in a streamlined manner. Design/methodology/approach The present study adopted the exploratory literature review, using the integrative method, to review the theoretical and empirical literature on leadership development published since the 2000s, primarily focusing on research published in the Journal of Management Development. Findings The findings of the current review confirmed that leadership theories are the base for leadership development theories, particularly if the purpose is to address and overcome the current challenges facing organizations. The authors suggest that leadership theories and leadership development theories do not exist in isolation from one another, nor do they exist in isolation from challenges facing organizations. Research limitations/implications This review does not cover all studies before the 2000s nor other journals in the field of leadership. Originality/value Given that most organizations are suffering from one or more of the following issues: sexual scandals, unethical behaviors, individualism, crises and a low level of performance or productivity, the development of particular leadership skills has become a priority. This study is one of few studies guiding both future leadership development research directions and leadership development initiatives.

Corporate failure prediction models in the twenty-first century: a review

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Veganzones ◽  
Eric Severin
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Models ◽  
Failure Prediction ◽  
First Century ◽  
Evaluation Metrics ◽  
Prediction Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Failure ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Corporate Failure Prediction

Purpose Corporate failure remains a critical financial concern, with implications for both firms and financial institutions; this paper aims to review the literature that proposes corporate failure prediction models for the twenty-first century. Design/methodology/approach This paper gathers information from 106 published articles that contain corporate failure prediction models. The focus of the analysis is on the elements needed to design corporate failure prediction models (definition of failure, sample approach, prediction methods, variables and evaluation metrics and performance). The in-depth review creates a synthesis of current trends, from the view of those elements. Findings Both consensus and divergences emerge regarding the design of corporate failure prediction models. On the one hand, authors agree about the use of bankruptcy as a definition of failure and that at least two evaluation metrics are needed to examine model performance for each class, individually and in general. On the other hand, they disagree about data collection procedures. Although several explanatory variables have been considered, all of them serve as complements for the primarily used financial information. Finally, the selection of prediction methods depends entirely on the research objective. These discrepancies suggest fundamental advances in discovery and establish valuable ideas for further research. Originality/value This paper reveals some caveats and provides extensive, comprehensible guidelines for corporate failure prediction, which researchers can leverage as they continue to investigate this critical financial subject. It also suggests fruitful directions to develop further experiments.

Why is everything old new again? Revisiting debates about the form and function of research in educational administration

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-356
Author(s):  
Robert Donmoyer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
First Century ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Historical Essay ◽  
Twenty First Century

PurposeThis paper has a twofold purpose: (1) to demonstrate, largely with historical evidence, that, contrary to what some have argued, thinking about educational research articulated at the start of the twenty-first century was not really “new wine in new bottles” but, rather, a continuation of the so-called paradigm wars about, ultimately, unresolvable methodological and epistemological issues that occurred during the twentieth century; (2) to suggest a way members of the educational administration field might transcend, or at least circumvent, time-consuming and distracting battles about unresolvable methodological and epistemological issues in the future while keeping their focus on issues of practice.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quasi-historical essay that uses influential literature during the historical periods focused on as evidence to support the essay's arguments.FindingsThe paper demonstrates that twentieth century philosophical disagreements about research methods and the role that educational research can play in policy and practice decision making were not resolved but, rather, were largely reenacted during the first decade of the twenty-first century, again without a resolution. The paper proposes a way that administrators, policymakers and researchers can manage this situation and still use research to make policy and practice decisions.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests a new role for both school administrators and policymakers to play. If administrators/policymakers play this role successfully, all types of research can inform decision making about policy and practice, and researchers can concentrate on doing their research rather than engaging in unresolvable philosophical disputes.Originality/valueAlthough a great deal has been written about the twentieth century's theory movement and paradigm wars and the twenty-first century's so-called science wars, the link between these phenomena has not been discussed in the literature. In addition, there have been few attempts to articulate an operational strategy for managing unresolvable philosophical disputes about research methods and the role that research can play in decision making. This paper tackles both matters.

Global leaders’ perceptions of elements required for effective leadership development in the twenty-first century

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1038-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Elkington ◽  
Noel James Pearse ◽  
Jennifer Moss ◽  
Madeleine Van der Steege ◽  
Suzanne Martin
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Delphi Study ◽  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Current Data ◽  
First Century ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Twenty First Century

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a clear answer to the question “how is leadership developed?” This research utilized the knowledge of leadership development experts and their collective expertise to identify the critical elements required for a high-quality leadership development program. Design/methodology/approach The Lockean Inquiring System approach to the Delphi technique was used to solicit the views of experts in leadership and leadership development from around the world. Experts for Round 1 of the Delphi were drawn from a random sampling of 100 people, comprising leadership researchers, coaches, and organizational leaders, not personally known to the lead researcher of this project, but in his LinkedIn network. A response rate of 13 percent (n=13) yielded a rich range of qualitative data. Responses from the first round of the Delphi were analyzed using open coding and categorized into four themes, representing four sets of competencies required of leaders. Findings The four themes were labeled as contextual, human capital, social capital, and structural capital, all of which were seen by participants as being central to the development of collective leadership. Based on these themes, this paper identifies a useful list of key leadership development tactics from which those wishing to develop a leadership program can work. Research limitations/implications As the first round of a Delphi study, the authors are limited to presenting only the key elementary empirical judgments. Subsequent study with an expanded sample size and a refined set of questions rooted in the current data will contribute further to the development of factual propositions related to leadership development for the twenty-first century. The Delphi survey is a “snapshot” approach and presents a holographic-type image of the complex whole. The authors plan to triangulate the data by significantly expanding the pool of Delphi experts and conducting the Round 1 survey a second time with a larger international group of respondents that fit the criteria of expert. Practical implications This paper presents four dimensions of an effective leadership development strategy. Originality/value Core elements of the best methods for leadership development have been identified by leadership development experts, which serve as a basis for developing leadership as a collective, and for further research.

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