Performance improvements in logistics outsourcing relationships: the role of LSP and customer organizational culture archetypes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Nevries ◽  
Carl Marcus Wallenburg

PurposeThe study aims to develop an organizational culture typology and explore how different logistics service provider (LSP) and customer archetypes interact to generate performance improvements in logistics outsourcing relationships.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study approach with 12 dyads was employed. Interviews as well as public and internal data from LSPs and customers were analyzed.FindingsThe results reveal four archetypes each for LSPs and customers, characterized by two dimensions: “activeness” and “openness”. Furthermore, analyzing the interaction among the archetypes, three relationship patterns are identified (“static”, “restrained”, and “progressive”) that differ in the exploratory and exploitative improvement outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes to theory development at the intersection of organizational culture and logistics outsourcing.Originality/valueThe study provides a typology of organizational culture in logistics outsourcing and how different archetypes interact to generate improvements.

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chonnatcha Kungwansupaphan ◽  
Jibon Kumar Sharma Leihaothabam

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles of four specific capital factors, namely, human, social, institutional and financial capitals, in rural women entrepreneurship. The focus was on the handloom sector in Manipur, India. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses qualitative research methodology with a multiple case study approach. Data were collected using in-depth interviews to study seven cases of rural women entrepreneurs. Findings The study highlights that human, social, institutional and financial capitals play significant roles in encouraging rural women to engage in entrepreneurial activities and influence strategic decisions. Each capital factor being interrelated, achieving the integration among them will considerably enhance entrepreneurial success. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is the narrow scope, emphasizing on only four capital factors. There are implications for further work on other types of capital. The study being sector specific, limits generalization. It contributes insights into the need for multi-sector examinations in the literature. Practical implications Rural women entrepreneurship needs are in line with understanding the roles of capital factors and their interrelations. The role of capital factors varies between prior and no prior entrepreneurial experiences. Originality/value This study provides information on the role of capital factors on rural women entrepreneurship and contributes to better understanding of how each capital factor is accumulated and utilized in rural women entrepreneurship development using the perspective of handloom sector in Manipur, India.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swati Panda ◽  
Shridhar Dash

Purpose – Maintaining cooperation and avoiding opportunism is essential for a healthy venture capitalist (VC) – entrepreneur relationship. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the role of control and trust for developing a cooperative VC-entrepreneur relationship in an agency environment in the Indian context. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a multiple case study approach to investigate ten VC-entrepreneur dyads. It uses data collected from both primary and secondary sources. Content analysis was used as the data treatment technique. Findings – The empirical evidence indicates that VC-entrepreneur relationships emerging in the early stages suffer from low agency risks and use more of relational mechanisms to curb opportunism and develop cooperation while relationships at an advanced stage suffer from higher agency risks and employ more of control mechanisms to address it. Practical implications – The findings can be utilized to enhance cooperation in VC-entrepreneur relationship by identifying the appropriate context to apply relational or control mechanisms, which would eventually lead to better performance of the venture. Originality/value – This distinction results in the development of a theoretical model which shows how the dual governance mechanisms of control and trust interact with one another to affect confidence in partner cooperation as an entrepreneurial venture raises multiple rounds of venture capital across various stages. The data collected from Indian VC-entrepreneur dyads offers a rich description of the relationship dynamics across the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin C. Schleper ◽  
Constantin Blome ◽  
Alina Stanczyk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop taxonomy of sourcing decision-making (SDM) archetypes and explore how different contextual factors influence these archetypes when global sourcing of complex components is considered a viable option. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study approach with five in-depth cases is employed. In total, 19 interviews as well as publicly available and internal data from large buying firms headquartered in Austria and Germany were collected and analyzed. Findings The results reveal three different SDM archetypes which are described in detail (i.e. “consensus,” “argumentation” and “cabal”). Furthermore, it is found that these archetypes are mainly influenced by three contextual factors: sourcing maturity, product complexity and leadership style. The final model comprises six propositions which illustrate how these contextual factors determine companies’ SDM archetypes. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to theory development at the intersection of organizational buying behavior and the (global) SDM literature. Thereby, it answers the call for more rigorous investigation of the influence of contextual factors on SDM processes. Practical implications The findings enable practitioners to better understand and consequently manage SDM processes and their outcomes. By supporting decision-makers in identifying SDM archetypes, this study allows sourcing managers and teams to make better decisions by avoiding problems that occur in situations in which the preferred decision-making type would result in suboptimal decisions. Originality/value The study provides a first step toward taxonomy of SDM archetypes and is among the first that explores their underlying contextual factors.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorra Jebali ◽  
Viviana Meschitti

PurposeThe study seeks to reduce the blurriness remaining around the value that HRM can bring to innovation in the specific context of start‐ups, it advocates that the early adoption of appropriate HRM practices, can act as a catalyst for innovation because they constitute a powerful means to systematically promote and facilitate employees' innovative behaviours.Design/methodology/approachIn the aim of complementing the existing quantitative work, this paper employs a multiple case study approach to explore the role of HRM in fostering employees' innovative work behaviour in four Tunisian tech companies.FindingsThe study found substantial support for the importance of establishing a work environment for learning where employees can build their innovative capacities by upgrading their knowledge and skills through both formal and informal methods. Work autonomy and freedom are found to be essential parts of this environment. Workspace design that takes into account employees' comfort and the collaborative nature of their work, also stands out as a major contributor to innovative work behaviour.Originality/valueThe adopted qualitative approach enabled a grasp of the less apparent aspects underpinning the HRM and innovation relationship in start‐ups. “Ownership of space” is revealed as a key element of the innovation-supportive work environment. By having a feeling of control on the workspace, employees can develop a sense of ownership towards the organisation which enhances their eagerness to exert innovation efforts. It also demonstrated that developing an overly creative workforce can turn into a source of stagnation which can be mitigated by cultivating “an environment for idea ownership”.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 744-752
Author(s):  
Sisira Dharmasri Jayasekara ◽  
Iroshini Abeysekara

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of digital forensics in an evolving environment of cyber laws giving attention to Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries, comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan, in a dynamic global context. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a case study approach to discuss the digital forensics and cyber laws of BIMSTEC countries. The objective of the study was expected to be achieved by referring to decided cases in different jurisdictions. Cyber laws of BIMSTEC countries were studied for the purpose of this study. Findings The analysis revealed that BIMSTEC countries are required to amend legislation to support the growth of information technology. Most of the legislation are 10-15 years old and have not been amended to resolve issues on cyber jurisdictions. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to the members of the BIMSTEC. Originality/value This paper is an original work done by the authors who have discussed the issues of conducting investigations with respect to digital crimes in a rapidly changing environment of information technology and deficient legal frameworks.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjørn Bjorvatn

PurposeThe purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe and explain how organisations use internal projects to implement organisation-level strategy objectives.Design/methodology/approachTheory development with an emphasis on explaining key constructs and their mutual relationships. The theoretical contribution is represented in a diagram along with a detailed verbal account.FindingsThe paper develops a dynamic, cross-level framework to illustrate the organisational processes and outcomes that determine project-based strategy implementation within a single organisation. The interplay between the base organisation and the project, and benefits realisation were singled out as key future research areas. The proposed framework engages with central discourses in the fields of project management, strategic management, innovation studies, knowledge management and organisation studies.Research limitations/implicationsOnly the contours of an organisation-level theory of strategically motivated internal projects are outlined. Future research must elaborate on the complexities, the non-linear relationships and the boundary conditions that follow from the proposed framework.Practical implicationsManagers are alerted to the strategic role of internal projects, how these projects help connect strategy and performance and what the accompanying organisational processes and outcomes look like.Originality/valueThe paper constitutes an early conceptual treatment of strategy-driven internal projects as a distinct project category, thus addressing a major knowledge gap in project studies. Organisational project-management theory is extended with suggestions for future research.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Krajcsák ◽  
Anita Kozák

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to show how remote working affects employees' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted research on organizations in the financial sector, as this segment was able to easily adapt to the challenges of remote working and teleworking. They used the case study approach: they analyzed organizational documents and management communications related to crisis management back to March 2020, when the pandemic started in Hungary, and conducted semi-structured interviews with managers and subordinates.FindingsThe results highlighted that the dominant organizational culture determines the effects of remote working on OCB. In organizations with a dominant market culture, OCB has changed the least because of the home office, with only a decline in the dimension of civic virtue. In organizations with a dominant clan culture, conscientiousness decreased, while the other three dimensions increased. The dominant hierarchy culture reacted the most unfavorably, excluding the dimension of courtesy, as all dimensions decreased.Originality/valueThe study shows how the pandemic and working in home office have changed the dimensions of OCB in different organizational cultures.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1852-1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Helena Pinto ◽  
Carlos Cabral Cardoso ◽  
William B. Werther Jr

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of perceived home and destination organizational culture characteristics and general satisfaction with the assignment as antecedents of expatriates’ withdrawal intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a web survey of an international sample of expatriates with a broad representation of industries, organizations and countries of origin and destination. Findings The results indicate that home and destination organizational cultures affect expatriates’ withdrawal intentions, after controlling for demographics and national cultural differences, namely: home organizational culture has a stronger influence on withdrawal intentions from the organization, while host organizational culture affects withdrawal intentions from the assignment. Further, the relationship between host organizational culture and expatriates’ intentions to withdraw from the assignment is mediated by expatriates’ satisfaction with the assignment. Evidence was also found supporting a stronger and negative influence of the goal orientation dimension of organizational culture, thus suggesting that a collective orientation toward common business goals (i.e. solidarity) may help retain expatriates. Originality/value This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature by exploring the influence of organizational culture on expatriates’ withdrawal intentions, and the mediating role of expatriates’ satisfaction with the assignment, on that relationship.


2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff McCarthy ◽  
Jennifer Rowley ◽  
Catherine Jane Ashworth ◽  
Elke Pioch

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on the issues and benefits associated with managing brand presence and relationships through social media. UK football clubs are big businesses, with committed communities of fans, so are an ideal context from which to develop an understanding of the issues and challenges facing organisations as they seek to protect and promote their brand online. Design/methodology/approach – Due to the emergent nature of social media, and the criticality of the relationships between clubs and their fans, an exploratory study using a multiple case study approach was used to gather rich insights into the phenomenon. Findings – Clubs agreed that further development of social media strategies had potential to deliver interaction and engagement, community growth and belonging, traffic flow to official web sites and commercial gain. However, in developing their social media strategies they had two key concerns. The first concern was the control of the brand presence and image in social media, and how to respond to the opportunities that social media present to fans to impact on the brand. The second concern was how to strike an appropriate balance between strategies that deliver short-term revenue, and those that build longer term brand loyalty. Originality/value – This research is the first to offer insights into the issues facing organisations when developing their social media strategy.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ziaee Bigdeli ◽  
Kawaljeet Kapoor ◽  
Andreas Schroeder ◽  
Omid Omidvar

PurposeThis paper explains how servitization disrupts long-established internal and external boundaries of product-focused manufacturers and investigates the root causes of servitization challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw from the collective experiences of 20 senior executives from ten multinational manufacturers involved in servitization, using a multiple case study approach, and employ a codebook thematic analysis technique.FindingsThe authors develop an integrative framework based on the theoretical notions of power, competency and identity boundaries to offer insights into the root causes of various servitization-related challenges.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the extant literature discusses servitization challenges, it does not examine the underlying root causes that create them in the first place. This study contributes to the extant research by establishing rational links between organisational boundaries (internal and external) and servitization challenges in the interest of building a coherent and systematically integrated body of theory that can be successfully applied and built upon by future research.Practical implicationsThis study provides a foundation for managers to recognise, anticipate and systematically manage various boundary-related challenges triggered by servitization.Originality/valueIt is one of the first studies to employ the concept of organisational boundary to understand the challenges created by servitization and to account for both internal (between different functions of the same organisation) and external boundaries (between an organisation and its external stakeholders) to establish a holistic understanding of the impacts of servitization on manufacturers.


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