A study of the influence of project managers’ signature strengths on project team resilience

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 247-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Terje Karlsen ◽  
Morten Emil Berg

Purpose This paper aims to study the influence of project managers’ signature strengths on project team resilience. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed a qualitative multiple case study design to explore the research question. Open-ended interviews, site visits, observations and documents were the data sources. The authors used character strengths and virtues within positive psychology as a theoretical framework in the data analysis. Findings The main finding of this study is that the project manager’s use of signature strengths influences the resilience of the project team. The cross-case analysis revealed four signature strengths – leadership, open-mindedness, persistence and hope – that influenced team resilience in all three studied cases. Research limitations/implications Future research should investigate other organizations, types of projects and countries so that the findings may be generalized. Practical implications This paper provides managers and teams with useful insights on signature strengths and team resilience. The findings stress the importance of managers being aware of their signature strengths and knowing how to use them. As the working situation today is often more complex, uncertain and difficult than ever, it is important to have resilient managers and teams. Originality/value This study contributes to increased knowledge on signature strengths and team resilience.

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Emil Berg ◽  
Jan Terje Karlsen

Purpose – This study provides insight into how project managers can use leadership tools to encourage and develop positive emotions among the project team members toward greater overall project success. The purpose of this paper is to provide the engineering industry with a closer look at how positive emotions can create good team member relations, reduce stress, develop clearer roles, creativity and joy at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were obtained using in-depth interviews of three experienced project managers. Findings – The empirical data give insight as to how project managers can use their signature strengths. Additionally, the data also show how they can evolve and draw on positive meaning, positive emotions and positive relations. Various examples of positive meaning, positive emotions, positive relations and signature strengths have been identified and discussed. Research limitations/implications – Future research should apply a more comprehensive research design, for example a survey using a larger sample, so that these findings may be generalized. Practical implications – The paper contributes to portray and analyze positive psychology in a project management setting. Additionally, the paper assists understanding the connections among positive meaning, positive emotions, positive relations and signature strengths by presenting and discussing a model. Originality/value – This research extends current understanding of how project managers use their signature strengths to encourage and develop positive emotions in project teams.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

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 This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The study takes empirical data from three case studies of projects that have faced setbacks to explore the impact of project manager signature strengths on team resilience and finds that four signature strengths, leadership, open-mindedness, persistence and hope, were present in project managers across all three case studies. Originality 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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tyskbo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how intellectual capital (IC) unfolds in practice in organizations. This is done by answering the research question of how IC is recognized and managed in practice as expressed by managers. Design/methodology/approach An explorative, empirical and multiple case study was conducted, investigating four Swedish firms. Findings This paper illustrates how IC was recognized and managed in practice despite managers expressing uncertainty of what the IC concept means. More or less direct, formalized and purposeful ways were adopted. The IC elements and practices most important from a management perspective were those aligned with the overall strategy, but were seldom what was visible in financial reports. Research limitations/implications The use of an explorative, multiple case study limits the generalizability. However, the rich view gained of how IC unfolds in practice may not always be possible using large sample, survey-studies. Future research is therefore suggested to take this paper’s insights further and investigate IC in other organizations and in other national contexts. Originality/value This paper responds to the calls for third stage IC research, by showing how IC management in practice may not be as clear and straightforward as researchers tend to assume. It also adds to the importance debate on IC accountingization, by reflecting on how an accounting dominance may not fully capture IC inside organizations. A number of practical contributions are also made.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariachiara Barzotto ◽  
Giancarlo Corò ◽  
Mario Volpe

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to explore to what extent being located in a territory is value-relevant for a company. Second, to understand if a company is aware of, and how it can sustain, the territorial tangible and intangible assets present in the economic area in which it is located. Design/methodology/approach – The study presents an empirical multiple case-study, investigating ten mid-/large-sized Italian companies in manufacturing sectors. Findings – The results indicate that the sampled manufacturing companies are intertwined with the environment in which they are embedded, both in their home country and in host ones. The domestic territorial capital has provided, and still provides, enterprises with workers endowed with the necessary technical skills that they can have great difficulty in finding in other places. In turn, companies support territorial capital generation through their activities. Research limitations/implications – To increase the generalisability of the results, future research should expand the sample and examine firms based in different countries and sectors. Practical implications – Implications for policy makers: developing effective initiatives to support and guide a sustainable territorial capital growth. Implications for managers and investors: improving managerial and investors’ decisions by disclosing a complete picture of the enterprise, also outside the firm boundaries. Originality/value – The study contributes to intangibles/intellectual capital literature by shedding light on the importance of including territorial capital in a company’s report to improve the definition of the firm’s value. Accounting of the territorial capital would increase the awareness of the socio-economic environment value in which companies are located and its use.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nubia Velasco ◽  
Juan-Pablo Moreno ◽  
Claudia Rebolledo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of logistics practices in healthcare organizations in Bogota, Colombia. Design/methodology/approach The assessment is based on case study research using open interviews, focused interviews, a questionnaire and direct observations as sources of evidence. Seven Colombian health care settings are analyzed: four public hospitals and three private clinics. Cross-case analysis allows the identification of patterns regarding supply management, inventory management, replenishment and use of information and communication technologies. Findings Manual procedures, poor planning, little recognition from top management and a lack of specialized personnel characterize the current situation. Innovative practices with a potential to improve the efficacy of logistics activities are rare, particularly in public hospitals. Research avenues Future research could replicate this study in other Colombian cities, in order to generalize the results to the whole country. It could also be interesting to document successful and less successful implementations of innovative logistics practices in Colombian hospitals to guide and promote their adoption. Research limitations/implications The small number of cases considered, and the fact that the research is concentrated in one city, limits the generalizability of the results. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to explore the state of healthcare logistics practices in Colombia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-93
Author(s):  
Kallol Das ◽  
Karman Khanna ◽  
Surankita Ganguly

There is increasing consumer involvement and hence, investor interest in the airlines industry, as far as emerging economies is concerned. A study of the literature by the authors did not produce any research paper on the process drivers of brand equity in the context of airlines. Therefore, the present study makes an attempt to address this gap. The primary research question is: What are the driving factors for building brand equity in the case of airline services? This paper uses a “two-case” multiple-case design employing theoretical replication. The cases are based on two Indian organizations, Indigo Airlines and Go Air. Both these businesses are similar in many aspects but have achieved very contrasting outcomes. The primary research question is broken down into following two secondary research questions. How is Indigo Airlines building its brand? How is Go Air building its brand? Data collection involved use of documents, archives, observations, participant-observations, and surveys. Data analysis involved conducting cross-case analysis. The findings have been used to develop a conceptual framework for building brand equity in airlines.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ziaee Bigdeli ◽  
Kawaljeet Kapoor ◽  
Andreas Schroeder ◽  
Omid Omidvar

PurposeThis paper explains how servitization disrupts long-established internal and external boundaries of product-focused manufacturers and investigates the root causes of servitization challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw from the collective experiences of 20 senior executives from ten multinational manufacturers involved in servitization, using a multiple case study approach, and employ a codebook thematic analysis technique.FindingsThe authors develop an integrative framework based on the theoretical notions of power, competency and identity boundaries to offer insights into the root causes of various servitization-related challenges.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the extant literature discusses servitization challenges, it does not examine the underlying root causes that create them in the first place. This study contributes to the extant research by establishing rational links between organisational boundaries (internal and external) and servitization challenges in the interest of building a coherent and systematically integrated body of theory that can be successfully applied and built upon by future research.Practical implicationsThis study provides a foundation for managers to recognise, anticipate and systematically manage various boundary-related challenges triggered by servitization.Originality/valueIt is one of the first studies to employ the concept of organisational boundary to understand the challenges created by servitization and to account for both internal (between different functions of the same organisation) and external boundaries (between an organisation and its external stakeholders) to establish a holistic understanding of the impacts of servitization on manufacturers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norhazlina Ibrahim ◽  
Safeza Mohd Sapian

Purpose This study, using systematic literature review (SLR) aims to highlight and summarise current studies on the factors influencing customers’ Islamic home financing (IHF) selection and Islamic banking product preference, which has gained popularity within the banking sector over the past three decades. The SLR could map evolution and research fields, recommend a particular categorisation and determine primary issues to demonstrate current trends, future research directions and theoretical development. Design/methodology/approach The SLR was performed with a four-step reporting standard for the systematic evidence syntheses review method (research question formulation, systematic searching, quality assessment and data extraction) using 33 screened articles between 2008 and 2020 from two primary databases (Scopus and Web of Science) and one supporting database (Google Scholar). Findings The resulting factors could be categorised into four primary themes: consumer behaviour, consumer attributes, bank attributes and bank attributes (Islamic). The themes were subsequently divided into 16 sub-themes. Notably, all the factors proved essential for consumers’ evolving preferences and product competitiveness in the market. Research limitations/implications This study encountered two limitations based on database selection and research period. Practical implications This SLR aimed to offer useful insights into the factors that should be prioritised by financial institutions for marketing approaches by investigating consumer behaviours. Originality/value This study pioneered an SLR on the study area for useful insights into the current research limitations and recommendations on future study directions. Specifically, the study method facilitated critical discussions and comparisons to past research outcomes and objectivity with triangulation from distinct perspectives.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Del Vecchio ◽  
Giustina Secundo ◽  
Gioconda Mele ◽  
Giuseppina Passiante

PurposeThe paper aims to contribute to the Circular Economy debate from the Entrepreneurship Education perspective. Despite scholars' growing interest in both these research streams, scarce consideration is given to the comprehension of their mutual implications and meaning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a cross-case analysis. It compares 16 higher education programmes launched by Universities in Europe aimed to create competences and skills for Circular Economy in students with different profiles. The analysis provides a critical view of the emerging trends for the entrepreneurship education skills and competencies needed for the emerging circular entrepreneurship paradigm.FindingsThe paper discusses the main trends of Entrepreneurship Education focused on Circular Economy debate at the European level: rationale and learning objectives (why); contents (what), target students and stakeholders (who) and the learning processes (how). Four thematic areas are identified as common patterns: circular economy business model, green supply chain management, technology entrepreneurship and innovation and public policies and institutional frameworks.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper sheds new light on a still under-researched area, suggesting several implications and avenues for future research in Circular Economy and Entrepreneurship Education. Limitations regard the need to analyse education programmes from a larger geographical area, to take into consideration interesting experiences in the rest of the world and to also collect quantitative data.Practical implicationsPractical implications arise for the development of learning initiatives for the Circular Economy: learning objectives and new thematic areas focused on circular, sustainable and innovative rethinking of the process for creating value in the incumbent companies; exploring meaning and benefits of collaborative approaches and participation in the circular economy innovation ecosystem and developing advanced models for soft-skills development in terms of leadership, motivational and creative skills.Originality/valueThe debate on CE can also be rooted in the paradigm of entrepreneurship as a core process to advance knowledge on valuable and sustainable innovation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Lo Presti ◽  
Amelia Manuti ◽  
Assunta De Rosa ◽  
Angelo Elia

PurposeThe current study makes two main contributions: one theoretical and one methodological. First, it investigated the theoretical prepositions of career sustainability perspective, which appears particularly suitable for examining project managers' careers' dynamics and patterns, featured by explicit and recursive interactions between individual, temporal and contextual factors. Second, the study aimed to adopt a qualitative approach to this topic as to allow a deeper understanding of individual narratives about careers, highlighting underexplored issues and peculiarities that future research could further examine through quantitative methodologies.Design/methodology/approachProject managers' careers are still an under-researched topic, especially through qualitative methods. The study applied career sustainability theory to the realm of project management, moreover, adopting a socio-constructivist perspective. Participants were 50 Italian project managers who were involved through a narrative in-depth interview that focused on career and career success. Their answers were analyzed through thematic analysis of contents and diatextual analysis.FindingsResults showed that project managers' career could be a prototypical example of sustainable career, basically described in terms of four basic constitutive dimensions as follows: time frame, social space, agency and meaning. Implications for both future theoretical expansion of career sustainability theory and project managers' career management interventions were also discussed.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper could be found in the effort to adopt a socio-constructivist perspective to investigate the topic of career sustainability taking the exemplary case of project managers' career.


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