Organizational learning and power dynamics: a study in a Brazilian University

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Lucia Silva Santos ◽  
Andrea Valéria Steil
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Public Organization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Conceptual Relation ◽  
The Individual

Purpose – This paper aims to describe and analyze organizational learning processes and power dynamics during the adoption and use of an information system (IS) at a Brazilian public organization. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was chosen as the research method. Data were gathered from documents and interviews with key informants. Findings – The results indicate the existence of two learning cycles during the adoption of the IS at the organization. In the first cycle, learning occurred only at the individual level. In the second cycle, cognitive and social processes of individual and group learning were associated with power dynamics, enabling learning at the organizational level. These results reveal a relationship between the organizational learning process and the specific modes of power, notably discipline, influence, force and domination. Originality/value – The study presents empirical evidence about the conceptual relation between the organizational learning process and different forms of power in organizations. There has been limited empirical research on this topic worldwide to date, and none in the context of Brazilian organizations published in Brazil or abroad.

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.

Public service motivation and willingness to collaborate

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Getha-Taylor ◽  
Alexa Haddock-Bigwarfe
Keyword(s):  
Homeland Security ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
The Individual

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine public service motivation (PSM) and the connection with collaborative attitudes among a sample of homeland security actors representing the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines relationships between measures of PSM and collaboration using original survey data and hierarchical multiple regression. Findings – Findings reveal strong positive relationships between PSM measures and attitudes toward collaboration at the individual and organizational level. Research limitations/implications – Survey results are cross-sectional and are from respondents participating in a single state's homeland security summit. Practical implications – It is expected that results can be used to enhance collaboration at the individual and organizational levels. At the organizational level, results can be used for matching individuals with collaborative opportunities. At the individual level, results can be used for enhanced self-reflection and effectiveness purposes. Originality/value – This study provides insights on the relationship between PSM measures and collaborative attitudes. The research contributes to the body of scholarly work connecting PSM and correlates of interest.

Using Twitter in crisis management for organizations bearing different country-of-origin perceptions

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Xu ◽  
Yiye Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Individual

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of using Twitter on American stakeholders’ crisis appraisal for organizations originated from two foreign countries with distinctively different perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a 2 (medium: Twitter vs news release)×2 (country-of-origin: China vs France) factorial experiment. The participants (n=393) are recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk system (Mturks). Findings – The findings suggest that using Twitter substantially mitigates participants’ negative evaluation of the organization undergoing a crisis. Country-of-origin affects how individuals perceive the organization after it has experienced a crisis. In addition, participants’ product involvement intensifies the reputational threat specifically for the organization with a less favorable country-of-origin perception. Originality/value – This study is one of the few empirically based studies in international public relations research, using an experiment to extrapolate the effects of social media and country-of-origin on consumers’ crisis appraisal. This investigation reinforces the need to consider social media not just at the individual level, but also as a form of communication that can have broader consequences at the organizational level. In addition, it is important for company leaders to understand that the organization’s home country image may exacerbate the negative management outcomes during a crisis. It is expected that this study yields theoretically indicative, empirically informative, and culturally relevant results.

“Reinventing the wheel, over and over again”. organizational learning, memory and forgetting in doing diversity work

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke van den Brink
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Diversity Studies ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge of organizational change towards diversity by bringing together concepts from organizational learning and diversity studies. Design/methodology/approach This longitudinal study was conducted over two years. It involved interviews, observation of meetings and consultation of documentation and the analysis focused on organizational learning. The key research question was how do organizational members institutionalize their individual learning process to change in organizational cultures, routines and structures in a sustainable way? Findings The results showed that there had been learning at the individual level but this did not necessarily mean that participants had been able to transfer their learning into behaviour change. Research limitations/implications The research suggested that training alone may not be sufficient to promote effective organizational change regarding diversity. Additional measures are likely to be required, for example, including diversity targets in performance management plans and reviews. Practical implications In order to achieve greater diversity, organizations are likely to need to use a number of methods to supplement initial training. Social implications This research gives insight into how greater diversity may be achieved in organizations. Originality/value Previous literature understates the complexity of the change processes for enhanced diversity to be sustained in organizations. This study has originality in its focus on organizational learning.

Predicting event tourists’ gambling decision: the cross-level effect of brand equity

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 2951-2969 ◽  
Author(s):  
IpKin Anthony Wong ◽  
Hoi In Veronica Fong ◽  
Aliana Man Wai Leong ◽  
Jacky Xi Li
Keyword(s):  
Brand Equity ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Gambling Behavior ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Dynamic Nature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Joint Influence ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
The Individual

Purpose The scant literature on MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourists’ gambling behavior calls for a need to explore how their decision to gamble (hereafter, “gambling decision”) may unfold. Consequently, several questions germane to the inter-relationships among event tourists’ characteristics, casinos attributes, and gambling behaviors remain largely unaddressed. This paper aims to address the void in the literature by investigating event participants’ gambling decision. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected based on two samples, and a multilevel design was used to test the proposed model. Demographic and event-related participant characteristics were examined as antecedents of gambling decision at the individual level. Event goers’ accommodation characteristics such as brand equity and type of hotel were explored as cross-level effects on the individual-level factors and relationships. Findings Results of the study illustrate a joint influence – in terms of both direct and moderating effects – of individual-level and organizational-level characteristics on gambling decision. In particular, brand equity moderates the relationships leading from demographic and event-related characteristics to gambling decision. Practical implications The inter-relationships among events, accommodations and casinos present an opportunity for hospitality practitioners to better integrate these three services in a more coherent experiential offering for the ever-demanding MICE attendees. Findings also help practitioners to justify their targeting strategy. Originality/value The proposed framework presents the dynamic nature of the hospitality industry in which the event, hotel and casino sectors are interdependent, a picture hitherto prevented by the single-level oriented nature of gambling and hospitality research which largely focuses on the individual perspective. Given the dynamic nature of the hospitality industry, the findings elucidate a complex interdependency of customer needs.

Multilevel analysis of factors affecting open-access institutional repository implementation in Nigerian universities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel C. Avemaria Utulu ◽  
Ojelanki Ngwenyama
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
It Implementation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
International Boundaries

PurposeThe study aims to identify novel open-access institutional repository (OAIR) implementation barriers and explain how they evolve. It also aims to extend theoretical insights into the information technology (IT) implementation literature.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted the interpretive philosophy, the inductive research approach and qualitative case study research method. Three Nigerian universities served as the case research contexts. The unstructured in-depth interview and the participatory observation were adopted as the data collection instruments. The qualitative data collected were analysed using thematic data analysis technique.FindingsFindings show that IR implementation barriers evolved from global, organisational and individual implementation levels in the research contexts. Results specifically reveal how easy access to ideas and information and easy movement of people across international boundaries constituted globalisation trend-driven OAIR implementation barriers given their influence on OAIR implementation activities at the organisational and individual implementation levels. The two factors led to overambitious craving for information technology (IT) implementation and inadequate OAIR implementation success factors at the organisational level in the research contexts. They also led to conflicting IR implementation ideas and information at the individual level in the research contexts.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of the research is the adoption of qualitative case study research method which makes its findings not generalisable. The study comprised only three Nigerian universities. However, the study provides plausible insights that explain how OAIR implementation barriers emanate at the organisational and individual levels due to two globalisation trends: easy access to ideas and information and easy movement of people across international boundaries.Practical implicationsThe study points out the need for OAIR implementers to assess how easy access to information and ideas and easy movement of people across international boundaries influence the evolution of conflicting OAIR implementation ideas and information at the individual level, and overambitious craving for IT implementation and setting inadequate OAIR implementation success factors at the organisational level. The study extends views in past studies that propose that OAIR implementation barriers only emanate at organisational and individual levels, that is, only within universities involved in OAIR implementation and among individuals working in the universities.Social implicationsThe study argues that OAIR implementation consists of three implementation levels: individual, organisational and global. It provides stakeholders with the information that there is a third OAIR implementation level.Originality/valueData validity, sample validity and novel findings are the hallmarks of the study's originality. Study data consist of first-hand experiences and information derived during participatory observation and in-depth interviews with research participants. The participants were purposively selected, given their participation in OAIR implementation in the research contexts. Study findings on the connections among global, organisational and individual OAIR implementation levels and how their relationships lead to OAIR implementation barriers are novel.

Lean Office contributions for organizational learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1027-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo de Castro Freitas ◽  
Maria do Carmo Duarte Freitas ◽  
Glauco Gomes de Menezes ◽  
Ricardo Siebenrok Odorczyk
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Value Stream Mapping ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Value Stream ◽  
Collective Levels ◽  
The Individual

Purpose In organizational contexts, learning fosters the creation of knowledge at the individual and collective levels. In Lean Office, processes are customer oriented through continuous improvement and elimination of waste. In addition, Lean Office can promote changes in the corporate environment and drive organizational learning. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the Lean Office factors that contribute to the organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach The method consists in a qualitative analysis of researches on Lean Office carried out in Brazil, based on the theoretical framework for analyzing organizational learning proposed by Argote and Miron-Spektor (2011). This framework defends the relevance of context and experience in knowledge conversion processes in organizations. Findings The study shows that Lean Office provides benefits for the learning process through Work Cells, Value Stream Mapping and Continuous Improvement. The effects of Lean Office are present in the organizational context, culture and behaviors, attitudes and skills of individuals. Practical implications This study brings for academics a discussion on Lean Office from the standpoint of elements pertaining to the organizational learning process. In this aspect, the study proposes treating the topic at a strategy level, striving to break out of the research boundaries that limit their scope to their operational results. For practitioners, the study introduces Lean Office factors that add positive results to the organizational learning process. Originality/value The paper presents a reflection of Lean Office in the field of organizational learning. In addition to the elimination of waste, the study investigates other functions in which Lean initiatives play a role, such as providing solutions for organizational problems and creating favorable learning contexts.

How ethical leadership influences creativity and organizational innovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Shafique ◽  
Bashir Ahmad ◽  
Masood Nawaz Kalyar
Keyword(s):  
Multilevel Modeling ◽  
Ethical Leadership ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer two questions. What is the impact of ethical leadership on followers’ creativity and organizational innovation? What are the mechanisms through which ethical leadership influences creativity and organizational innovation? Design/methodology/approach Considering a market-oriented criterion to measure organizational innovation, the data were collected from 322 small-sized information technology firms working in Pakistan. Multilevel modeling and hierarchical regression analyses were used to explore the direct and indirect effects of ethical leadership on creativity and innovation, respectively. Findings The results show that ethical leadership is an important predictor of both individual and organizational creativity. For the individual level, the results of multilevel modeling indicate that there is a positive link between ethical leadership and employee creativity. Furthermore, ethical leadership affects employee creativity through knowledge sharing and psychological empowerment. At the organizational level, the results reveal that ethical leadership is positively associated with organizational innovation directly. Practical implications The findings imply that ethical leadership is an important tool to promote creativity and for the advancement of innovation for developing countries as well as for newly developed industries. Originality/value This study is first to highlight the role of ethical leadership for organizational innovation. The main contribution of the study is to explore creativity as potential mediator for ethical leadership–organizational innovation nexus; where a market-oriented criterion is taken as proxy of organizational innovation.

Factors impacting individual Six Sigma adoption

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip S. Mueller ◽  
Jennifer A. Cross
Keyword(s):  
Six Sigma ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Training Project ◽  
Adoption Research ◽  
Site Field ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Manufacturing Organization ◽  
The Individual

Purpose Organizations spend considerable time and money educating individuals on Six Sigma; however, existing literature does not examine Six Sigma adoption at the individual level or the factors that impact individual Six Sigma adoption. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of individual adoption of Six Sigma tools and methodology. Design/methodology/approach This paper used a single-site field study in a manufacturing organization to empirically test and refine a theory of the factors impacting Six Sigma adoption at the individual level. Findings Reaction to training, project management and project infrastructure were found to be significant input factors for individual Six Sigma adoption with an R2 of 0.482, which indicates that about 48 per cent of the variation in Six Sigma adoption is explained by the input factors. All of the identified input factors were found to have a positive relationship with individual Six Sigma adoption, as well as positive correlations with each other. Research limitations/implications This paper was not a controlled experiment or a longitudinal study, so it is not possible from the results of this research to prove causal relationships, although the literature supports a causal relationship between the input factors and outcome. Practical implications The findings of this paper will be useful to practicing organizations which seek to improve individual Six Sigma adoptions, as well as inform future Six Sigma adoption research. Originality/value Six Sigma adoption at the organizational level has been well documented in the existing literature. The successful adoption of Six Sigma in an organization is dependent, at least in part, to adoption Six Sigma at the individual level. A review of the existing literature indicates that there has been no research into individual adoption of Six Sigma tools and methodology.

Buddhism and decision making at individual, group and organizational levels

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 763-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka Vallabh ◽  
Manish Singhal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Practical Wisdom ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Individual Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
The Individual

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how practical wisdom rooted in Buddhism can help modern managers make decisions in contemporary business organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper suggests a model explaining how individual level Buddhist beliefs in Dependent Origination are reflected in behavior of individual through mindfulness, compassion and expansion of self. The model also explores the consequences of above mentioned behavior in terms of individual, group and organizational level decision making, respectively. Findings – The paper develops propositions which demonstrate the possibility of applying the practical wisdom of Buddhism into the individual, group and organizational decision-making processes. The paper proposes an integrative model and suggests initiatives that can be taken in business organizations and business schools for applying the practical wisdom gleaned from the Buddhist traditions. Research limitations/implications – The paper brought the core concepts of Buddhism as the main point of application in the decision-making process in management. However, this approach is perhaps difficult to grasp for the readers who may not be as conversant with that tradition. Originality/value – Rich eastern traditions have remained underexplored in contemporary business literature. This paper examines the potential contributions from the Buddhist heritage in the crucial decision-making domain in management.

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