Off the record: understanding the (latent) functions of documents in organizations

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Langhof
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Institutional Ethnography ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Organizational Knowledge ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Practices

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest the usage of an approach based on sociological systems theory for exploring the (latent) functions of documents in organizations. The focus lies on the reconstruction of organizational knowledge practices required for the competent production and use of documents. Design/methodology/approach The argument is developed through a critical and integrating review of relevant literature as well as through the analysis of empirical data drawn from participant observation and ethnographic conversations in a multi-organizational, multi-site, and multi-event setting. Findings The essence of the paper is that a systems theoretical approach in the analysis of the production and use of documents in organizations yields new and startling insights into their (latent) functions for organizations compared to what document analysis and institutional ethnography can achieve. Originality/value The paper focuses on the contexts, situations, and the organizational knowledge practices necessary for the competent use of documents in organizations not on the document itself. Hence, it offers a more comprehensive understanding of the (latent) functions of documents for organizations compared to mere document analysis.

A collection and its many relations and contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-767
Author(s):  
Kathy Carbone
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Lives ◽  
Archival Collection ◽  
Object Biography ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
The City

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the results of an ethnographic study that used object biography with an archival collection of police surveillance files, the Police Historical/Archival Investigative Files, housed at the City of Portland Archives & Records Center in Portland, Oregon.Design/methodology/approachDocument analysis, participant observation, semistructured interviews, and object biography were conducted over four years, from 2013 to 2017.FindingsUsing object biography with the Police Historical/Archival Investigative Files uncovered numerous personal and public relationships that developed between people and this collection over several decades as well as how these records acquired, constructed, and changed meanings over time and space.Originality/valueThis paper argues that the biography of objects is a useful way for studying the relationships records form, the values people assign to them, and how people and records mutually inform and transform one another in shifting contexts of social lives. Recognizing records as having social histories and applying object biography to them contributes to and grows the greater biography and genealogy of the record and the archive—a genealogy important not only for discovering something about the lives of those who create, encounter, steward, and use records and archives but about our shared human experience.

“At-home ethnography”

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-211
Author(s):  
Adriana Angela Suarez Delucchi
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Institutional Ethnography ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Setting ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
At Home

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to problematise the idea of “at-home ethnography” and to expand knowledge about insider/outsider distinctions by using insights from institutional ethnography (IE). It also examines the strengths and challenges of “returning” researchers recognising their unique position in overcoming these binaries. Design/methodology/approach IE is the method the researcher used to explore community-based water management in rural Chile. The researcher is interested in learning from rural drinking water organisations to understand the way in which their knowledge is organised. The data presented derived from field notes of participant observation and the researcher’s diary. Findings The notion of “at-home ethnography” fell short when reflecting on the researcher’s positions and experiences in the field. This is especially true when researchers return to their countries to carry out fieldwork. The negotiation of boundaries, codes and feelings requires the researcher to appreciate the complex relationships surrounding ethnographic work, in order to explore how community-based water management is done in the local setting, without forgetting where the setting is embedded. Originality/value Unique insights are offered into the advantages and tensions of conducting fieldwork “at home” when the researcher has lived “abroad” for an extended time. A critique and contribution to “at-home ethnography” is offered from an IE perspective.

Information processing by elderly consumers: a five-decade review

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluigi Guido ◽  
Marco Pichierri ◽  
Cristian Rizzo ◽  
Verdiana Chieffi ◽  
George Moschis
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Processing Activity ◽  
Elderly Consumers

Purpose The purpose of this study is to review scholarly research on elderly consumers’ information processing and suggest implications for services marketing. Design/methodology/approach The review encompasses a five-decade period (1970–2018) of academic research and presents relevant literature in four main areas related to information processing: sensation, attention, interpretation and memory. Findings The study illustrates how each of the aforementioned phases of the information processing activity may affect how elderly individuals buy and consume products and services, emphasizing the need for a better comprehension of the elderly to develop effectual marketing strategies. Originality/value The study provides readers with detailed state-of-the-art knowledge about older consumers’ information processing, offering a comprehensive review of academic research that companies can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts that target the elderly market.

Online brand communities as heterogeneous gatherings: a netnographic exploration of Apple users

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuğba Özbölük ◽  
Yunus Dursun
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Communities ◽  
Online Brand Communities ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Online Brand Community

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the different types of members based on their roles within an online brand community dedicated to Apple. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from an 18-month netnographic study, including participant and non-participant observation. Findings Findings reveal that members of the online brand community share a common goal but they are heterogeneous in many respects. In this research, five different types of brand community members are identified: learner, pragmatist, activist, opinion leader and evangelist. These findings emphasize the heterogeneity of the brand community or the differences of members and subgroups they form in the community. Practical implications This paper offers some insights for brand managers. There are different sub-tribes in online brand communities and these sub-tribes develop their own meanings of the brand. This means that online brand communities do not form one single homogenous target group and can be segmented into subgroups. Findings also offer a deeper understanding of negative characteristics of online brand community members. The role “activist” found in this study may be crucial for marketers, as activists can represent the negative side of online brand communities. Originality/value The literature on brand communities has focused predominantly on the homogeneity of these communities. This paper extends the literature by demonstrating the heterogeneity in an online brand community. The paper contributes to the brand community literature by substantiating that online brand community members can be segmented into subgroups based on their roles within the community. In addition, the paper extends the existing literature on brand communities that has overlooked the destructive consumer roles.

Telework amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: effects on work style reform in Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Hosoda
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Style ◽  
The Government ◽  
Japanese Companies ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose This study aims to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected telework initiatives in Japanese companies and investigate the factors that affect telework based on the technology, organization and environment (TOE) model, through the analysis of published documents. Design/methodology/approach Document analysis was adopted. Documents were collected from English news articles in the Nikkei Asian Review and Nikkei Asia which cover Japan's economy, industries and markets. The results of surveys by the Persol Research Institute and Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry were also provided to discuss factors promoting and hindering telework. Content analysis was adopted to analyse the documents. Findings COVID-19 had an unavoidable impact on the implementation of telework that the government had previously failed to instigate. Japanese listed companies tend to implement telework, whereas small- and medium-sized companies are struggling. The ratio of telework has been low even after the declaration of the state of emergency because there exist organizational, technological and environmental barriers to telework in Japan. Originality/value This study contributes to discussions on work style reform by focusing on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on telework. This research also gives new insight into operationalization of telework in organizations not only in Japan but also in other countries known for low rates of telework and inflexible work styles such as Korea.

Contrasting supply chain traceability and supply chain visibility: are they interchangeable?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Roy
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type

PurposeSupply chain traceability and supply chain visibility have become a critical element for the effective management of contemporary complex supply chains. At their core is information sharing, which has been acknowledged as a key prerequisite for logistics and supply chain performance, but whose notional underpinnings have not been delineated fully, leading to interchangeable deployment of these terms. Addressing the shortcoming, this paper aims to establish a contrast between the two notions.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from systematic review protocols, a multi-disciplinary review scope is constructed wherein the synthesis is strategized to primarily channel implications for the scholarship of logistics and supply chain management. The review is aimed at addressing two research objectives: (1) how the notions of traceability and visibility in supply chain management develop contrast in terms of their thematic emphasis and (2) to attain an integrative understanding of the notional convergence and divergence between supply chain traceability and visibility for raising strategic recommendations.FindingsThe review outcomes help contrast both the convergence and the divergence between traceability and visibility in the supply chain environment, and the differentiated but fundamental role that information sharing plays within these notions to outline why they are not interchangeable.Originality/valueThe originality of the findings lies in the conceptual synthesis of the relevant literature from both technological and non-technological perspectives to ultimately draw logistics and supply chain management implications. The review also points out key strategic considerations to demarcate the notional boundaries of traceability and visibility in future research.

Ritual as assemblage: feast of sacrifice experiences of Turkish consumers

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 476-494
Author(s):  
Ömer Torlak ◽  
Müjdat Özmen ◽  
Muhammet Ali Tiltay ◽  
Mahmut Sami İşlek ◽  
Ufuk Ay
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Assemblage Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to theorize and empirically investigate the formation of consumer’s consumption ritual experiences and discourses associated with Feast of Sacrifice. Design/methodology/approach The authors have approached the data from assemblage theory perspective. By use of ethnographic participant observation and in-depth interviews, seven themes are uncovered and discussed: meaning of Qurban, preparation of the ritual, Qurban choice, meat, Qurban ritual, marketplace and framing of discourses. Findings This study provides a theoretical development in which it depicts that assemblage theory can be used in the context of religious rituals such as the Feast of Sacrifice. This suggests that parts forming the social phenomena include different meanings and functions in different assemblages to the ritual, which has a structure with a particular process, roles and content scenario. This implies that even the most structured social phenomena as religious rituals can be accepted as social assemblage where every individual experiences his/her own ritual with the parts that have ever-changing material and expressive roles. Originality/value This study will contribute to the literature on religious rituals and practices through viewing ritual as an assemblage including material and expressive features as well as human and non-human actors. Besides, this study aims to find out whether there is a constant consumer and the concept of ritual by focusing on buying experiences of consumer in Feast of Sacrifice in Turkey.

Barriers to Arab female academics’ career development

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1058-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waed Ensour ◽  
Hadeel Al Maaitah ◽  
Radwan Kharabsheh
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hrm Practices

Purpose Arab female academics struggle to advance within their universities in both academic and managerial ranks. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the factors hindering Arab women’s academic career development through studying the case of Jordanian academic women. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through document analysis (Jordan constitution, Jordanian Labour Law and its amendments, higher education and scientific research law, Jordanian universities’ law and universities’ HR policies and regulations), interviews with 20 female academics and a focus group with 13 female academics (members of the Association of Jordanian Female Academics). Findings The results indicate female academics as tokens facing many interconnected and interrelated barriers embodied in cultural, social, economic and legal factors. The findings support the general argument proposed in human resource management (HRM) literature regarding the influence of culture on HRM practices and also propose that the influence of culture extends to having an impact on HR policies’ formulation as well as the formal legal system. Originality/value The influence of culture on women’s career development and various HR practices is well established in HR literature. But the findings of this study present a further pressure of culture. HR policies and other regulations were found to be formulated in the crucible of national culture. Legalizing discriminatory issues deepens the stereotypical pictures of women, emphasizing the domestic role of women and making it harder to break the glass ceiling and old-boy network.

scholarly journals The impact of workplace placement on students’ entrepreneurial attitude

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Manning ◽  
Patricia Parrott
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Placement ◽  
Relational Support ◽  
Entrepreneurial Attitude ◽  
Feedback Questionnaire ◽  
Qualitative Work ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of a workplace placement on the student participants’ self-reported entrepreneurial attitude (EA). Design/methodology/approach A review of relevant literature informed questions incorporated in the university’s annual feedback questionnaire completed by students (n=461) on return from a work placement of between 44 and 52 weeks. Findings The study has shown that both gender and entrepreneurial legacy influence baseline and post-placement EA (p<0.05). The interaction between EA, social learning, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and perceived relational support was also considered. Originality/value This research provides context for further qualitative work in this area, especially the influence of gender and entrepreneurial legacy on reported baseline EA and EA post work placement and will inform pedagogical development in terms of embedding entrepreneurial teaching in future curriculum development at the university.

The effects of network neutrality on the incentive to discriminate, invest, and innovate: a literature review

Info ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daeho Lee ◽  
Dong-Hee Shin
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Network Neutrality ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Background ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Do So

Purpose The purpose of this study is to categorize network neutrality according to its issues under debate and assess the state of the debate based on such organization. In addition, the study discusses the reasons that network neutrality is so difficult to solve and the future research directions that would do so. Design/methodology/approach This study presents a critical review of the current network neutrality issues and summarizes the economic background of each position in the debate. The relevant literature is organized by issue to examine the reasons that the network neutrality debate is so difficult to solve and determine the further study required to solve it. Findings An analysis of the relevant literature suggests that the proponents and opponents of network neutrality disagree on the best methods of developing the Internet. Therefore, future research and regulatory and practitioners’ applications would greatly benefit from a comprehensive review of that literature. Originality/value Network neutrality regulation is receiving increased attention because the development and significant influences of the Internet are becoming more apparent.

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