Gender difference and informal competition: evidence from India

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Farooq ◽  
Harit Satt ◽  
Souhail Ramid

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to document how male and female managers respond to competition posed by informal firms.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology uses the ordered logistic regression and the data provided by the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey to test the arguments for firms headquartered in India.FindingsThe findings show that firms managed by females are more likely to consider informal competition as a bigger obstacle for their operations than firms managed by males. It also shows that this relationship is more pronounced in provinces with weak institutional infrastructure. Lastly, the paper shows that firms managed by females respond to competition from the informal sector by undertaking more innovations than firms managed by males.Originality/valueThis research extends the literature on gender differences in response to competition by documenting how female managers respond to external competition in emerging markets.

Author(s):  
Birgit Vallmüür

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are gender differences in police integrity in Estonia. Design/methodology/approach – The exploratory study is based on a police integrity survey – gender-neutral in nature – carried out in the Estonian Public Order Police. The study uses nonparametric methods to test whether male and female police officers are identical in their views and characterizes the differences in the sample (n=109). Findings – Results show that male and female respondents differ in how they relate to police integrity, but the differences are situation specific, not general across scenarios or measures. Originality/value – This is the first study of gender differences in police integrity in Estonia and one of the first explorations of gender differences in police integrity overall using an approach that includes a wider range of motives. As the Estonian police force has the highest proportion of women among European police services, the study explores gender differences in a unique police organization with a rare gender balance. The study compares variability across groups with the nonparametric Levene test for equality of variances – an approach that is not common in similar studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 29-31

Purpose Reviews 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 The problem with developing a reputation of being something of an oracle in the business world is that all of a sudden, everyone expects you to pull off the trick of interpreting the future on a daily basis. Like a freak show circus act or one-hit wonder pop singer, people expect you to perform when they see you, and they expect you to perform the thing that made you famous, even if it is the one thing in the world you don’t want to do. And when you fail to deliver on these heightened expectations, you are dismissed as a one trick pony, however good that trick is in the first place. 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.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Shaw ◽  
Catherine Cassell

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a piece of empirical work that examines gender differences in how academics make sense of performance within university business schools in the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe research reported draws on data collected using a life history and repertory grid methodology with male and female interviewees from two university business schools.FindingsThe findings are discussed in relation to how academics understand what is valued about their role and what they believe the organisation rewards and values when it comes to promotion. Gender differences are shown to exist in the ways women and men define the academic role and in what they think is important both to themselves and the institution.Originality/valueThe paper presents original data on gender differences within a business school context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristides Isidoro Ferreira ◽  
Joana Diniz Esteves

Purpose – Activities such as making personal phone calls, surfing on the internet, booking personal appointments or chatting with colleagues may or may not deviate attentions from work. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences and motivations behind personal activities employees do at work, as well as individuals’ perception of the time they spend doing these activities. Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from 35 individuals (M age=37.06 years; SD=7.80) from a Portuguese information technology company through an ethnographic method including a five-day non-participant direct observation (n=175 observations) and a questionnaire with open-ended questions. Findings – Results revealed that during a five-working-day period of eight hours per day, individuals spent around 58 minutes doing personal activities. During this time, individuals engaged mainly in socializing through conversation, internet use, smoking and taking coffee breaks. Results revealed that employees did not perceive the time they spent on non-work realted activities accurately, as the values of these perceptions were lower than the actual time. Moreover, through HLM, the findings showed that the time spent on conversation and internet use was moderated by the relationship between gender and the leisure vs home-related motivations associated with each personal activity developed at work. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on human resource management because it reveals how employees often perceive the time they spend on non-work related activities performed at work inaccurately. This study highlights the importance of including individual motivations when studying gender differences and personal activities performed at work. The current research discusses implications for practitioners and outlines suggestions for future studies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Fisher ◽  
Sue Kinsey

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the nature and power of the academic boys club. In many organisations, the political significance of the boys club goes largely unremarked and unacknowledged. Yet, the way that male colleagues intimately relate to each other, sometimes called homosocial desire, is crucial to their success at gaining and retaining power at work. Design/methodology/approach – Feminist, poststructuralist, ethnographic, qualitative, and longitudinal data were collected over a five-year period from male and female academics in a British university. Findings – The boys club is still a powerful feature of British universities. Their apparent invisibility shrouds the manner in which they can and do promote and maintain male interests in a myriad of ways, including selection and promotion. These findings have resonances for all organisations. Research limitations/implications – Researching the intimacies between male colleagues requires time-intensive field work and insider access to men interacting with each other. Practical implications – Meaningful gender equality will not be achieved unless and until the more sophisticated forms of female exclusion are revealed and deconstructed. Originality/value – This research makes an unusual and crucial contribution to the study of gender, men and masculinities by providing longitudinal, rich, detailed data, observing men at the closest of quarters and then analysed by a feminist and poststructuralist gaze.


2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Creaser

Purpose Library impact and how to evaluate it has been debated for a number of years. While the activity – the busy-ness – of the library is now routinely measured and described, the difference the library makes is less tangible and harder to measure. Libraries in all sectors and worldwide are grappling with this issue, and the purpose of this paper is to summarise international standards available to support them. Design/methodology/approach The first international standard concerning library impact, ISO 16439 Information and documentation – methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries, was published in 2014 after several years in development. Findings The standard describes a range of methods for assessing library impact which have been used across the world in a variety of libraries in all sectors. Originality/value This paper summarises the key methods described in the standard, and gives references for further reading.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 36-38

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 It is said that Latin America is one of the hardest places in which to do business, and within Latin America as well as considering the differing challenges that Argentina or Columbia may present, Brazil is perhaps the most difficult place to go to in order to develop trade and commercial agreements. In addition to the different language as compared to the rest of the region, there is a very specific culture and life view that will be wholly alien to many business people, whether they are from developed or developing countries around the world. Practical implications The 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.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronny Alexander Zayas-Mateo ◽  
Ángel Rafael Martínez-Lorente

Purpose ISO 9001 is applied by hundreds of thousands of companies throughout the world. For this reason, its effect on company results has been extensively studied. However, the results of those studies are inconclusive and sometimes contradictory. More in-depth research, with a new approach, is therefore necessary. The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether ISO 9001-certified companies suffered the effects of the financial and economic crisis of 2007–2008 to a lesser degree than non-certified ones. Design/methodology/approach A set of 179 companies certified by ISO 9001:2008 and 154 non-certified ones were analysed, as well as the accounting figures for net sales and operating income (EBIT: earnings before interest and taxes) from 2004 to 2012. Findings Companies from the industry and services sectors showed different results. Certified industrial companies achieved better outcomes than their non-certified counterparts. However, the deviations in outcomes were not significant for services companies. Research limitations/implications One limitation of this study is that companies’ official results are not always their true results. Another limitation is that having to do with the criteria followed to suppress extreme cases, which is always subjective. Furthermore, the implications of the results could be of use for those managers who are responsible for implementing ISO 9001 and for deciding whether obtaining the ISO 9001 certification would be beneficial to their companies. Originality/value This study constitutes a new approach for the assessment of the benefits of the ISO 9001 certification.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Buell Hirsch

Purpose The purpose of this viewpoint is to examine the reasons why so many employees around the world are choosing not to go back to work as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. Design/methodology/approach The viewpoint is an overview of the various viewpoints expressed on this topic and the author’s perspective on the most likely reasons and what companies can do to prevent this “discontent” from spreading. Findings Companies need to carry through on their newfound commitment to citizenship and purpose beyond shareholder value to find a new capital/labor equilibrium. Originality/value While individual views on this topic have been covered, this is a comprehensive perspective and recommendation on dealing with the issue.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Livingstone

Purpose The paper aims to rediscover the subtle heart and discuss its importance in relation to conversations regarding sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Based on the imaginal approach of the author’s doctoral research, this paper is informed by the discourse of transpersonal psychology, attempting to open a space through which it becomes possible to perceive the heart differently. Findings This paper discusses the idea that knowledge as generated through the heart has been rendered subservient to knowledge generated through the mind/brain through a dominant/medical narrative (Bound Alberti, 2012). This means that the heart’s wisdom and the heart’s benevolent qualities cannot gain traction at the level at which decisions are made in society. Research limitations/implications While the heart is not unproblematic, and can carry notions of moral superiority, this paper is written as an appeal to create safe enough spaces to bring the heart back into conversation at the level of political discourse. Practical implications This paper suggests that it is the approach of the heart, the qualities and characteristics that the heart embodies, and the different way of being in the world that the heart makes possible, which could play an important role in guiding us towards a more sustainable world. When taken seriously, the heart offers a way of engaging with, and thinking about, ideas of relationship, wholeness and interconnection – all of which have been identified as important by numerous scholars in relation to engaging with global challenges (de Witt, 2016). Social implications This paper suggests that it is the approach of the heart and the different way of being in the world that the heart makes possible, which could play an important role in guiding humanity towards a more sustainable world. Originality/value Since the late 1900s, scholars have been calling for creative thinking in relation to engaging with the myriad of issues facing our planet, and this paper is written as a response to that call – creating a platform for the heart to speak and making a case for its importance in conversations relating to sustainability.


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