Lifting the veil on HRIS adoption: the role of vendors and consultants in the diffusion of HR innovations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégory Jemine ◽  
Kim Guillaume
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Processes ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Adoption Process ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Information ◽  
Social Shaping ◽  
The Veil

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the adoption process of human resource information systems (HRIS) from a supply-side perspective emphasizing the practices of HRIS vendors and consultants. It aims to counterbalance the existing literature on HRIS, which has overwhelmingly studied HRIS adoption from the customer organization's viewpoint, hence systematically downplaying the active role of vendors and consultants in adoption processes.Design/methodology/approachThe research has been conducted on the HRIS market of the Benelux (Belgium–The Netherlands–Luxemburg) from a constructionist and exploratory perspective. The structure and dynamics underlying the market are gradually unveiled through open interviews with HRIS vendors and consulting firms (n = 22).FindingsThe paper reveals how the social shaping of HR innovations takes place and identifies nine types of pressures exerted by HRIS vendors and consultants on customer organizations: assessing, advising, advertising, case-building, demonstrating, configuring, accompanying, sustaining and supporting. Taken together, these pressures demonstrate the systematic presence and active role of external actors throughout the adoption process of HRIS within firms.Research limitations/implicationsIt is suggested that further supply-side studies of innovation diffusion processes of HRIS should be conducted to complement the existing, demand-side literature. In this view, emphasis should be set on technology providers and their ongoing interactions with customer firms.Originality/valueThe analytical precedence given to supply-side actors allows to conceptualize HRIS adoption as the dynamic result of negotiations between three groups of actors (HRIS vendors, HRIS consultants and customer firms), hence resulting in a more comprehensive and holistic view of HRIS adoption processes.

Sales transformation: conceptual domain and dimensions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Corsaro ◽  
Isabella Maggioni
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
B2b Relationships ◽  
Systemic Process ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose This study aims to offer a conceptualization of sales transformation, a phenomenon that is redefining the role of salespeople and the nature of Business-to-Business (B2B) relationships while disrupting the selling logics across a variety of industries. Design/methodology/approach Through a two-stage approach, the authors propose and test a conceptual model of sales transformation. The authors conducted 20 interviews and two focus groups with sales directors and managers. The authors then surveyed directors, executives and managers in the sales area (n = 190) and tested a reflective–formative hierarchical model using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings Sales transformation is a multidimensional construct that includes four higher-order dimensions, namely, people, digitalization, integration and acceleration, and 16 sub-dimensions. These dimensions simultaneously contribute to the sales transformation phenomenon that is conceptualized as a systemic process. This study also offers a measurement tool to assess the degree of sales transformation and enhance the value generated through sales. Originality/value Although many companies are facing challenges stemming from the process of sales transformation, most studies have only focused on micro-aspects of this transformation. This study provides a holistic view of sales transformation aimed at understanding the complexity of this phenomenon by adopting a macro-level perspective on the different dimensions that contribute to its occurrence and development.

Enabling characteristics of new budgeting practice and the role of controller

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiina Henttu-Aho
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Role Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Paper Company

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the emergence of the enabling characteristics of new budgetary practices and their implications for the role of controller. Design/methodology/approach The longitudinal perspective of this qualitative case study is based on interviews of controllers and managers involved in budgetary work. This study monitored the four enabling characteristics of management control, namely, repair, internal transparency, global transparency and flexibility (Adler and Borys, 1996), related to the new budgeting practices in one global paper company. Findings The findings of the study demonstrate that the implementation of rolling forecasting was a major attempt at “repair” to remedy the incompleteness of accounting information, which made controllers experts in producing and delivering more realistic forward-looking information in the organization. The increasing internal and global transparency of new budgetary practices enabled controllers at various levels of organization to develop new competences, which helped controller network to build a holistic view of the totality of control and supply more relevant information in organization. Moreover, the inherent flexibility of the system was a major condition for improving organizational effectiveness in budgetary work. However, the study shows that the controller’s attitude towards enabling formalization is not necessarily positive if the system is not aligned with professional mindset and competence. Originality/value This study adds to the understanding of the complementarity between new developments of budgeting and controller role by addressing the enabling uses of management control systems, which have the potential to enhance the controller role change.

Retirement and organizations: perspectives and challenges for both workers and human resource management

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Henrique Helal ◽  
Cleverson Vasconcelos da Nóbrega ◽  
Tatiana Aguiar Porfírio de Lima
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to reflect on retirement, showing its different viewpoints, advocating the need to understand the issue from a procedural and multidimensional perspective, and especially, defending a more active role of human resource management in the process. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a theoretical framework of retirement, based on a procedural and multidimensional perspective. Findings To study how individuals adapt to retirement permits the discovery, for example, of how they obtain the quality of life after the transition and how they manage the internal and external aspects of the process. Human resource management must treat retirement as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon. This means it should consider retirement not only as a decision but also as a process. Originality/value This essay seeks to reflect on retirement, advocating the need to understand the issue from a procedural and multidimensional perspective, and especially, defending a more active role of human resource management in the process.

Conceptualizing and contextualizing overtourism: the dynamics of accelerating urban tourism

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Henrik Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Urban Tourism ◽  
Structural Development ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inner Cities ◽  
Starting Point

Purpose From the background of the dramatic increase of urban tourism, framed by the concept of overtourism, the purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss current dynamic processes of urban tourism growth, as presented in the scientific literature. With the help of a literature review, this paper aims to discuss current definitions and conceptualizations of overtourism and discuss the driving forces for the growth of urban tourism, thereby situating overtourism in relational to general structural change. Design/methodology/approach This paper builds on a non-exhaustive review of the scientific literature about overtourism and related topics, supplemented by a review of a few central policy documents. Findings Conceptually, overtourism relates to two different, but related, perspectives. The first one concern (negative) experiences of resident population and visitors, whereas the second relates to thresholds for the carrying capacity of destinations. Most of the reviewed literature focuses on three aspects of overtourism: localized problems in inner cities, the supply of unregulated accommodation through Airbnb and Airbnbs as a driving force of gentrification. Important perspectives are missing from the literature, mainly related to the development of driving forces of urban tourism growth in time and space. This observation is the starting point for a discussion on driving forces in an evolutionary perspective with the ambition of relating the growth of urban tourism to long waves of structural development. Research limitations/implications The paper focuses on overtourism in urban contexts, rural tourism is not discussed. Practical implications In identifying the importance of driving forces for understanding the dynamics of urban tourism growth, a holistic view on managing mitigation might be possible. Originality/value The paper adds an evolutionary perspective to the discussion about overtourism and its causes. Thereby, it answers to a need to take tourism seriously in social science, as a major economic, social and ecologic force. In emphasizing the relationship between driving forces on different geographic scales and levels, power relations are highlighted. The paper discusses the role of driving forces for mitigating overtourism. An understanding of the dynamics of driving forces is essential for the development of urban sustainable tourism.

The impact of firm resources on innovation

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 672-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irem Demirkan
Keyword(s):  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Firm Innovation ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Slack Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Resources ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose that the resources that a firm owns and has full control (firm-level resources) and resources that a firm access through direct connection with other firms (network-level resources) will impact firm innovation when effectively deployed by the firm. While previous research examined these factors separately, the author takes a holistic view and looks into their effects on innovation simultaneously. The author also introduces the moderating effects, i.e. the variables that can enhance firm innovation through their interaction with internal and external resources.Design/methodology/approachThe author tested the role of financial resources and slack resources in the form of cash slack and human slack at the firm level, and network size, network tie strength, and network diversity at the network level on the firm innovation. Using generalized negative binomial model with Huber-White procedure, the author analyzed 306 firms from the biotechnology industry over a span of 17 years.FindingsThe analysis suggests that cash slack impact innovation negatively. However, this link is moderated by firm size such that for large firms cash slack affects innovation positively. Network-level resources all positively impact innovation and have more economic impact on firm innovation than firm-level resources. Furthermore, although human slack negatively affects innovation, its interaction with network size enhances innovation.Originality/valueThe research makes important contributions to both strategic management and innovation literatures especially when, the author considers the role of firm-level slack in driving firm innovation. Previous research reported conflicting findings about the availability of slack resources and firm performance. The results showed that the relationship between slack resources and firm innovation is negative and significant, both for available slack and human slack. This finding parallels with previous research which reported that constraints such as lack of slack resources can actually facilitate innovation. The author also contributes to the literature by introducing boundary conditions which can enhance firm innovation through their interaction with firm-level internal and network-level external resources. In this respect, to the author’s knowledge, this is among the first studies to combine the slack literature focusing on firm-level resources with the literature on network-level resources.

scholarly journals Non-linear effects of relational capital on supply-side resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1053-1075
Author(s):  
Yiyi Fan ◽  
Mark Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Boundary Spanning ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Tie Strength ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Relational Capital ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Prior studies have largely overlooked the potentially negative consequences of a buyer’s relational capital (RC) with a supplier for supply-side resilience, assuming a positive linear relationship between the constructs. Meanwhile, the focus of research has been at an organisational level without incorporating the role of boundary spanning individuals at the interface between buyer and supplier. Drawing on social capital and boundary spanning theory, the purpose of this paper is to: re-examine the relationship between RC and supply-side resilience, challenging the linear assumption; and investigate how both the strength and diversity of a boundary spanner’s ties moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Survey data are collected from 248 firms and validated using a subset of 57 attentive secondary respondents and archival data. The latent moderated structural equation method is applied to analyse the data. Findings An inverted U-shaped relationship between RC and supply-side resilience is identified. Tie strength in particular has a positive moderating effect on the relationship. More specifically, the downward RC–supply-side resilience relationship flips into an upward curvilinear relationship when boundary spanning individuals develop stronger ties with supplier personnel. Research limitations/implications A deeper insight into the RC–supply-side resilience relationship is provided. Findings are based on Chinese manufacturing firms and cross-sectional data meaning further research is needed to determine their generalisability. Practical implications In evaluating how to enhance supply-side resilience, buying firms must decide whether the associated collaborative benefits of developing RC outweigh the potential costs. Managers also need to be concerned with the impact of developing RC between organisations and enhancing the tie strength of individuals simultaneously. Originality/value The paper goes beyond the linear relationship between RC and supply-side resilience. Incorporating the moderating role of boundary spanners identifies a novel phenomenon whereby the RC–resilience relationship flips from an inverted to a U-shaped curve.

The role of agency in historians’ experiences of serendipity in physical and digital information environments

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 1008-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Martin ◽  
Anabel Quan-Haase
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Context ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Constant Comparative Method ◽  
Physical Information

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changing research practices of historians, and to contrast their experiences of serendipity in physical and digital information environments. Design/methodology/approach In total, 20 historians in Southwestern Ontario participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed employing grounded theory. The analytical approach included memoing, the constant comparative method, and three phases of coding. Findings Four main themes were identified: agency, the importance of the physical library experience, digital information environments, and novel heuristic forms of serendipity. The authors found that scholars frequently used active verbs to describe their experience with serendipity. This suggests that agency is more involved in the experience than previous conceptualizations of serendipity have suggested, and led us to coin the term “incidental serendipity.” Other key findings include the need for digital tools to incorporate the context surrounding primary sources, and also to provide an organizational context much like what is encountered by patrons in library stacks. Originality/value The increased emphasis on digital materials should not come at the expense of the physical information environment, where historians often encounter serendipitous finds. A fine balance and a greater integration between digital and physical resources is needed in order to support scholars’ continued ability to make connections between materials. By showing the active role that historians take in their serendipitous encounters, this paper suggests that historical training is critical for eliciting incidental serendipitous encounters. The authors propose a novel approach, one that examines verbs in serendipity accounts.

State actors’ mobilisation of resources for innovation: a case study of a Chinese vaccine

IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Shih ◽  
Åse Linné
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Biotechnology Sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how state actors mobilise resources in business networks to facilitate innovation. Design/methodology/approach – A single case study method is used. The case from the Chinese biotechnology sector illustrates how state actors mobilise resources in a network context in order to develop, produce and use a vaccine. Findings – The case findings demonstrate that state actors indirectly, as well as actively, are involved in the whole innovation process by mobilising resources necessary for the development, production and use of the vaccine. State actors influence other actors, both political and business, and provide resources in order to facilitate innovation. Practical implications – The paper illustrates that state actors, in the specific case, play an important and active role throughout the whole innovation process. This opens up the issue of the possible extended role of state actors in innovation. Originality/value – Over the past decades, Chinese state actors have played an active role in the business landscape. This paper explores state actors’ influence on the innovation process on the network level.

scholarly journals Public health leadership in the times of COVID-19: a comparative case study of three countries

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Glenn ◽  
Claire Chaumont ◽  
Pablo Villalobos Dintrans
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Leadership ◽  
The Core ◽  
Public Leaders ◽  
The Way

PurposeThe purpose is to understand the role of public leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and advocate for a more active role of public health professionals in helping manage the crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the framework developed by Boin et al. (2005) on crisis leadership. The authors focus on three of the core tasks – sense-making, decision-making and meaning-making – that are relevant to explain the role of public leaders during the ongoing crisis. The authors draw from the experience of three countries – Chile, France and the United States – to illustrate how these tasks were exercised with concrete examples.FindingsSeveral examples of the way in which public leaders reacted to the crisis are found in the selected countries. Countries show different responses to the way they assessed and reacted to the COVID-19 as a crisis, the decisions taken to prevent infections and mitigate consequences, and the way they communicate information to the population.Practical implicationsA better understanding public leadership as a key for better crisis management, particularly for designing policy responses to public health crises. Public health leaders need to assume a more active role in the crisis management process, which also implies the emergence of a new class of public health leaders and a more prominent role for public health in the public eye.Originality/valueThe use of examples from three different countries, as well as the focus on the core leadership tasks during an ongoing crisis help not only assessing the crisis management but also extracting lessons for the coming months, as well as future public health emergencies. The three authors have a first-hand experience on the evolution of the crisis in their countries and the environment, since they are currently living and working in public health in Chile, France and the United States.

Hospital accreditation systems and salience of organisational tensions

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 57-80
Author(s):  
Geraldine Robbins ◽  
Breda Sweeney ◽  
Miguel Vega
Keyword(s):  
Active Role ◽  
Management Control ◽  
External Control ◽  
Hospital Accreditation ◽  
Management Control System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThis study examines how an externally imposed management control system (MCS) – hospital accreditation – influences the salience of organisational tensions and consequently attitudes of management towards the system.Design/methodology/approachData are collected using a case study of a large public hospital in Spain. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 senior and middle managers across different functions. Relying on the organisational dualities classification in the literature, tensions are unpacked and analysed.FindingsEvidence is presented of how hospital accreditation increases the salience of organisational tensions arising from exposition of the organisational dualities of learning, performing, organising and belonging. Salient tensions were evident in the ambivalent attitudes of management towards the hospital accreditation system.Practical implicationsThe role of mandatory external control systems in exposing ambivalence and tensions will be of interest to organisational managers.Originality/valueThe study extends the management control literature by identifying an active role for an external MCS (accreditation) in increasing the salience of organisational tensions and triggering ambivalence. Contrary to the prior literature, the embedding of both poles of an organisational duality into the MCS is not a necessary precondition for increased tension salience. The range of attitudes towards MCSs beyond those specified in the previous literature (positive/negative/neutral) is extended to include ambivalence.

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