Breaking through barriers: the impact of organizational culture on open government reform

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erna H.J.M. Ruijer ◽  
Richard F. Huff
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
Government Reforms ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of organizational culture on open government reforms by developing a theoretical framework bridging the theory and practice gap. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory qualitative study consisting of a document analysis and a case study was conducted. Findings An open organizational culture is a precursor to effective open government. A network strategy as a facilitator for developing an open culture was used in one US federal agency, breaking across boundaries within the organization, creating greater symmetrical horizontal and vertical openness. Originality/value Much of the focus in both theory and practice has been on the use of technology as a vehicle to increase government openness. This study argues that a movement toward openness is beyond the technical. Organizational culture is a key to openness and may need to be changed. A networks strategy may be one way to facilitate a transformation to a more open culture.

Moderating role of patriotism on sales tax compliance among Jordanian SMEs

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Farhan Alshira'h ◽  
Hijattulah Abdul-Jabbar
Keyword(s):  
Tax Compliance ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Sales Tax ◽  
Deterrence Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Tax Audit ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of tax audit, tax rate and tax penalty on sales tax compliance and examine the moderating effect of patriotism on the associations between tax audit, tax rate and tax penalty with sales tax compliance among Jordanian manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach In this study, 660 questionnaires were distributed by using systematic random sampling to manufacturing SMEs in Jordan, after which a total of 385 useable questionnaires were deemed suitable for analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to validate the measurement model and structural model and the predictive relevance of the study’s model. Findings The findings showed that tax audit and tax penalty were positively associated with the level of sales tax compliance, whereas tax rate was insignificantly associated with sales tax compliance. They also demonstrated the moderating significant effect of patriotism on the relationship between tax penalty, tax audit and tax rate with sales tax compliance. Research limitations/implications Tax authorities and policymakers in developing majority societies in developing countries and in other Arab countries, especially in Jordan may use the results to focus their interest on the formulation of policies founded on the outcomes of the study to strengthen eligible SMEs to comply to further boost their sales collections. Originality/value This study extends the deterrence theory in the context of sales tax compliance by proposing the moderating effect of patriotism in the deterrence theory on sales tax compliance among SMEs. Moreover, the suitability for the use of PLS-SEM as a statistical tool in investigating the extended deterrence theory with patriotism as a moderating variable as well as its implications for theory and practice was also discussed.

How do social skills enable nascent entrepreneurs to enact perseverance strategies in the face of challenges? A comparative case study of success and failure

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 517-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wadid Lamine ◽  
Sarfraz Mian ◽  
Alain Fayolle
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
New Technology ◽  
New Ventures ◽  
Nascent Entrepreneurs ◽  
Entrepreneurial Process ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Start Up ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper seeks to advance ongoing research in entrepreneurial perseverance. While the concept of perseverance is not new, few researchers paid attention to behavioural persistence in the entrepreneurial context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of new technology based firms (NTBF) by focusing on the role of nascent entrepreneurs’ social skills in the meeting the changes of entrepreneurial perseverance. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors study the start-up phase of entrepreneurial process. The authors opted for a longitudinal case study approach in order to enhance the knowledge on entrepreneurs’ social skills and perseverance. For triangulation purpose the data were gathered using four different information sources. The use of Nvivo8 as the data analysis tool helped to impose a discipline and structure which facilitated the extraction of core insights. Findings – This paper contributes to the understanding of the entrepreneurial perseverance in the context of new venture creation. Particularly, reading the entrepreneurial process through the lens of the perseverance strategies model (Van Gelderen, 2012) provided a way to identify and then to assess the impact of the social skills on the overall entrepreneurial perseverance and their combined impact on the performance of NTBF creation process. In doing so, the authors identify the impact of entrepreneurs’ social skills to deal with a series of entrepreneurial problems such as scarcity of resources, uncertainty and ambiguity and consequently their impact on the likelihood of survival for new ventures. The issues that arose mostly reflected the inherent complexity of technology transfer processes, the university and entrepreneurs’ diverging cultures, and the very characteristics of the start-up phase of NTBFs. The findings reveal how social skills impact the entrepreneurial paths and probable outcomes. Research limitations/implications – This paper contributes to the understanding of the entrepreneurial perseverance in the context of NTBF creation. The findings reveal how social skills and perseverance impact the entrepreneurial paths and probable outcomes. Practical implications – The paper has implications for entrepreneurial support mechanisms such as technology business incubators in helping them to improve the efficacy and efficiency of their assistance to entrepreneurs through the development of their skill-sets and perseverance and providing enabling networking. In addition, the research has implications for entrepreneurship education and training. Indeed, there is an urgent need to design and implement courses and programs aiming at developing soft skills in entrepreneurship. Originality/value – In exploring networking and issues of perseverance for nascent entrepreneurs operating in new technology-based sectors, which the authors consider as an under searched area in entrepreneurial literature.

Managing multichannel coordination in retail banking: the influence of customer participation

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Design ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Retail Banks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the combining of marketing and organizational literature. This paper seeks to evaluate the relationships between multichannel coordination and customer participation, as seen through the lens of potential customer opportunism. It aims at showing the impact of this opportunism on the organizational design of multiple channels structures.Design/methodology/approachThe research reports on an exploratory case study in a French retail bank. A total of 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted, and the use of other sources enabled data triangulation.FindingsThe results show first that an increase in the number of distribution channels is liable to favor customer opportunistic behavior. To counter this, the bank mainly relies on impersonal coordination modes. An emerging result highlights the role of the customer as a “perceptual filter” between the different channels of employees.Research limitations/implicationsCustomer opportunism is studied via channels employees perceptions. An investigation using a customer survey may help to better understand this construct, e.g. to identify its antecedents, and to measure it precisely. Moreover, further qualitative and/or quantitative studies with larger sample sizes are needed to try and generalize these results.Practical implicationsIt is recommended not to forget that customers can facilitate or hinder multichannel coordination. Retail banks have the power to use them conveniently, provided that they are fully conscious of the scope of the “partial employee” role played by the customer.Originality/valueThis paper broadens understanding of how multichannel distribution structures are coordinated, and in a way belies traditional organizational design literature. The emerging result gives birth to the concept of “reversed interactive marketing”, which has interesting theoretical and practical repercussions.

scholarly journals “You would expect the successful person to be the man”

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Jones
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Symbolic Violence ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Multiple Method ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to to explore power and legitimacy in the entrepreneurship education classroom by using Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological and educational theories. It highlights the pedagogic authority invested in educators and how this may be influenced by their assumptions about the nature of entrepreneurship. It questions the role of educators as disinterested experts, exploring how power and gendered legitimacy “play out” in staff–student relationships and female students’ responses to this. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple-method, qualitative case study approach is taken, concentrating on a depth of focus in one UK’s higher education institution (HEI) and on the experiences, attitudes and classroom practices of staff and students in that institution. The interviews, with an educator and two students, represent a self-contained story within the more complex story of the case study. Findings – The interviewees’ conceptualization of entrepreneurship is underpinned by acceptance of gendered norms, and both students and staff misrecognize the masculinization of entrepreneurship discourses that they encounter as natural and unquestionable. This increases our understanding of symbolic violence as a theoretical construct that can have real-world consequences. Originality/value – The paper makes a number of theoretical and empirical contributions. It addresses an important gap in the literature, as educators and the impact of their attitudes and perceptions on teaching and learning are rarely subjects of inquiry. It also addresses gaps and silences in understandings of the gendered implications of HE entrepreneurship education more generally and how students respond to the institutional arbitration of wider cultural norms surrounding entrepreneurship. In doing so, it challenges assertions that Bourdieu’s theories are too abstract to have any empirical value, by bridging the gap between symbolic violence as a theory and its manifestation in teaching and learning practices.

scholarly journals Stakeholders’ perceptions and reputational antecedents

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Riad Shams
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Marketing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Brand Positioning ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Relationships ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – It is recognised that reputation is a relational construct; however the impact of stakeholders’ various relational dimensions on their perceptions to influence reputation is not widely understood. The purpose of this paper is to add to the current understanding of stakeholders’ relationships, interactions, their subsequent relational dimensions and its impact on stakeholders’ perceptions to further influence relational reputation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a case study approach. Findings – The findings of this study recognise the impact of relationship marketing (RM) on the influence of stakeholders’ perceptions. It discusses how RM substantiate the pertinent authenticity (symbolises reputation), relevance and differentiation (represent brand positioning) of an organisation’s profile and/or their market offerings, in relation to the interest of the target market through the cause and consequence of stakeholder relationships and interactions to influence their perceptions. The findings acknowledge 11 RM dimensions that have relational implications to nurture stakeholders’ perceptions and subsequent relational reputation, which appear viable across industries and markets. Originality/value – Underlying the cause and consequence of stakeholder relationships and interactions; these 11 RM dimensions emerge as antecedents to form/reform relational reputation. Further academic and professional implications of the findings are briefly discussed.

Diversity, equity and inclusion: organizational strategies during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Lamba ◽  
M. Bishr Omary ◽  
Brian L. Strom
Keyword(s):  
Community Building ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Values ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Equity And Inclusion

PurposeThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented health, economic and social ramifications. Cumulative stressors for healthcare organizations during the pandemic have an impact on the morale of the workforce. The impact of magnified health disparities with ongoing disproportionate loss of lives of people of color combined with the racial injustices has left many colleagues and communities traumatized and seeking solutions. This is a moment in time for organizations to lean into the strengths of their diversity leadership to strengthen a culture of inclusion and build resilience for their employees.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use an organizational case study to describe the initiatives and experiences related to fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging at an academic health center during the initial epicenter of the pandemic.FindingsThe authors weekly community building virtual cafes, leveraging funding for diversity initiatives and visible ways to showcase the work of colleagues have been feasible, sustainable and had positive outcomes. Similar processes may assist other institutions and organizations seeking to enhance efforts for inclusion while distancing.Research limitations/implicationsStrategies described are generalizable but the authors report on one organization's experience.Originality/valueIntentional strategies that help build a deeper sense of community are essential for institutions during the disruption of pandemic related physical distancing. Inclusive decisions anchored in equity and inclusion as core institutional values will be essential to sustain resilience as the authors seek to build the new “equitable” normal.

Librarians, step out of the classroom!: how improved faculty-led IL instruction improves student learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan Lacy ◽  
Alexandra Hamlett
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Actual Application ◽  
Faculty Teaching ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Impact

PurposeIn most higher education institutions, information literacy (IL) instruction is usually considered the purview of librarians, not disciplinary faculty. However, a small but growing body of research indicates that students learn the research process best when these skills are taught in the context of a course or a discipline. For this reason, teaching faculty should share ownership of IL instruction — but how? In this case study, community college librarians explain how they successfully trained faculty to integrate IL into their English Composition courses and teach IL independently.Design/methodology/approachUsing a multimethods approach, the investigators draw on faculty interviews, student surveys, and content analysis of student essays to evaluate the impact of faculty-led IL instruction on student learning after one semester.FindingsFaculty reported that their instruction of IL was improved, and students work better as a result of their collaboration with the librarians. Compared to previous semesters, faculty perceived gains in terms of students’ ability to synthesize and cite evidence in their writing. Student survey results indicate perceived gains in their IL skills, but an assessment of their written work reveals a discrepancy between this perception and the actual application of these skills.Research limitations/implicationsBecause there is no control group, no conclusions can be drawn as to whether faculty-led IL instruction is as effective as librarian-led IL instruction or whether students’ academic performance improves due to faculty teaching IL. However, the purpose of this study is primarily descriptive. It addresses how other libraries may create a culture of shared ownership of IL instruction on their campuses.Practical implicationsThis study offers an alternative model to library instruction and suggests ways instruction librarians can prioritize their outreach and instructional efforts to maximize impact on student learning.Originality/valueWhile much has been written about how librarians can improve IL instruction, few studies mention the role of faculty. This case study starts the conversation.

Re-defining open government data standards for smart cities’ websites: a case study of selected cities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lnenicka ◽  
Stuti Saxena
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Data Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Open Government Data ◽  
Government Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the select Smart Cities of Czech and Indian counterparts and assess the extent to which open government data (OGD) standards are being adhered to using select indicators. Design/methodology/approach This study integrates the benchmarking frameworks provided in literature on OGD and apply them to evaluate the OGD standards of the Smart Cities’ websites. Findings Whereas the Czech Smart Cities are relatively more advanced in their OGD initiatives, the Indian counterpart is far lagging behind in their endeavors. Originality/value While there are many studies on OGD and Smart Cities, there has been no study which seeks to appreciate if the OGD initiatives are being adhered to by the Smart Cities.

Using action research in innovation project management: building legitimacy and organizational learning in an SME during a merger process

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance Elizabeth Kampf ◽  
Charlotte J. Brandt ◽  
Christopher G. Kampf
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Project

PurposeThe purpose is to explore how the process of action research (AR) can support building legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation project management and portfolio practices in merger contexts.Design/methodology/approachMeta-reflection on method issues in Action Research through an action research case study with an innovation group during an organizational change process. This case demonstrates an example of an action research cycle focused on building practitioner legitimacy rather than problem-solving.FindingsKey findings include (1) demonstrating how AR can be used for building legitimacy through visualizing the innovation process, and embedding those visuals in top management practices of the organization; and (2) demonstrating how AR can work as an organizational learning tool in merger contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on an action research cooperation during a two-and-a-half-year period. Thus, findings offer the depth of a medium term case study. The processes of building legitimacy represent this particular case, and can be investigated in other organizational contexts to see the extent to which these issues can be generalized.Practical implicationsFor researchers, this paper offers an additional type of AR cycle to consider in their research design which can be seen as demonstrating a form of interplay between practitioner action and organizational level legitimacy. For practitioners, this paper demonstrates a connection between legitimacy and organizational learning in innovation contexts. The discussion of how visuals were co-created and used for building legitimacy for an innovation process that differs from the standard stage gate model demonstrates how engaging in AR research can contribute to developing visuals as resources for building legitimacy and organizational learning based on connections between theory and practice.Originality/valueThis case rethinks AR practice for innovation project management contexts to include legitimacy and organizational learning. This focus on legitimacy building from organizational learning and knowledge conversion contributes to our understanding of the soft side of innovation project management. Legitimacy is demonstrated to be a key concern for innovation project management practices.

Post-occupancy evaluation of outdoor spaces on the campus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Clara Carvalho Tourinho ◽  
Sabrina Andrade Barbosa ◽  
Özgür Göçer ◽  
Klaus Chaves Alberto
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Post Occupancy Evaluation ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeUsing the campus of a Brazilian university as case study, this research aims to identify which aspects of the outdoor spaces are the most significant in attracting people.Design/methodology/approachThis research relies on the application of different post-occupancy evaluation (POE) methods, including user tracking, behavioural mapping and questionnaires, on one plateau of the campus.FindingsThree group of aspects (socialization, proximity and infrastructure) were identified as key elements in explaining the impact of the campus physical characteristics on users’ behaviour. The results indicate that having characteristics of at least one group of aspects in those spaces can guarantee their vitality and, if there is presence of attributes of more than one group, liveliness can be increased.Research limitations/implicationsFurther studies should be conducted on an entire campus to identify other spatial elements in the three groups.Practical implicationsThis research contributes to the planning of future campuses and to solutions to the existed ones, indicating the most relevant spatial characteristics to be considered. Additionally, the combination of different methods may be useful to future research.Originality/valueMost of the investigations on the university campuses focus on the buildings, and little research has investigated the outdoor spaces, although they play a critical role in learning and academic life, where people establish social, cultural and personal relationships. In addition, studies using several POE allowed a consistent and complete diagnostic about the aspects of the campus, giving recommendations for future projects.

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