Opening the Black Box of Effectuation Processes: Characteristics and Dominant Types

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Jiang ◽  
Charles-Clemens Rüling

In this paper, we open the black box of effectuation as a process by identifying effectuation process characteristics and patterns and thereby unveiling the heterogeneity of effectuation processes. Based on a multiple case research approach, sequential qualitative analysis is used to contrast similarities and differences in effectuation processes among six high-technology ventures. By theorizing the relationship between effectuation principles and process characteristics, we increase the conceptual clarity of effectuation theory and provide insights into how effectuation may be operationalized for scholars in future research.

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeetha Lakshman ◽  
C. Lakshman ◽  
Christophe Estay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship of business strategies with executive staffing of multinational companies (MNCs). Design/methodology/approach Based on in-depth interviews conducted with top executives of 22 MNCs’, the authors identify important connections between international business strategies and staffing orientation. The authors used the qualitative research approach of building theory from interviews; thus, creating theoretical propositions from empirical evidence. Findings The authors find that when the pressure for global integration is high, MNCs use more parent-country national (PCNs) (ethnocentric staffing) as against the use of host-country managers (HCNs) (polycentric staffing) when this pressure is low. Additionally, MNCs using a global strategy are more likely to use an ethnocentric staffing approach, those using a multi-domestic strategy use a polycentric approach and firms using transnational strategy adopt a mix of ethnocentric and polycentric approaches. Research limitations/implications Although the authors derive theoretical patterns based on rich qualitative data, their sample is relatively small and comprises mostly of French MNCs. Generalizability to a broader context is limited. However, the authors’ findings have critical implications for future research. Practical implications The authors’ findings provide critical managerial implications for MNCs in matching their HR strategies with business strategies. These are important for effective strategy implementation. Originality/value Although MNC staffing orientations have been studied for a long time, their relationship to international business strategies is still not clearly understood. The authors contribute to the literature by investigating the relationship between MNCs’ business strategy types with staffing orientations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (12) ◽  
pp. 2903-2917
Author(s):  
Hayiel Hino

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between switching intention and actual behaviour in the grocery shopping context. In particular, the study examines how switching intention drives customers to either replace the current store or cross to others. In addition, the study examines the role of cross-shopping in total-switching behaviour. Design/methodology/approach The study employs data collected from a sample consisting of 247 food grocery shoppers. The conceptual framework and hypothesis were analysed using the partial least squares approach. Findings The empirical results support the author’s claim that the research approach applied in this study better explains the switching intention–actual behaviour relationship. Specifically, the analysis provides strong support for the effect of switching intention and various moderating barriers on both cross-shopping and total-switching behaviour. Additionally, the study results point to the positive relationship between cross-shopping and total-switching, indicating that crossing to competing stores is the first step towards utilising the total-switching behaviour. Practical implications Implications for food retail providers are identified, together with a discussion of the study’s limitations and avenues for future research. Originality/value The study extends previous research in that it proposed and tested a conceptual framework for investigating the relationship between switching-intention and actual behaviour, claiming that switching intention drives customers to either replace their current store or cross to others, whereas the crossing pattern is a predictor of the total-switching behaviour.


Author(s):  
Mats Granlund ◽  
Christine Imms ◽  
Gillian King ◽  
Anna Karin Andersson ◽  
Lilly Augustine ◽  
...  

Children with impairments are known to experience more restricted participation than other children. It also appears that low levels of participation are related to a higher prevalence of mental health problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). The purpose of this conceptual paper is to describe and define the constructs mental health problems, mental health, and participation to ensure that future research investigating participation as a means to mental health in children and adolescents with NDD is founded on conceptual clarity. We first discuss the difference between two aspects of mental health problems, namely mental disorder and mental illness. This discussion serves to highlight three areas of conceptual difficulty and their consequences for understanding the mental health of children with NDD that we then consider in the article: (1) how to define mental health problems, (2) how to define and assess mental health problems and mental health, i.e., wellbeing as separate constructs, and (3) how to describe the relationship between participation and wellbeing. We then discuss the implications of our propositions for measurement and the use of participation interventions as a means to enhance mental health (defined as wellbeing). Conclusions: Mental disorders include both diagnoses related to impairments in the developmental period, i.e., NDD and diagnoses related to mental illness. These two types of mental disorders must be separated. Children with NDD, just like other people, may exhibit aspects of both mental health problems and wellbeing simultaneously. Measures of wellbeing defined as a continuum from flourishing to languishing for children with NDD need to be designed and evaluated. Wellbeing can lead to further participation and act to protect from mental health problems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stine Skaufel Kilskar ◽  
Jonas A. Ingvaldsen ◽  
Nina Valle

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between the contemporary forms of manufacturing rationalization and the reproduction of communities of practice (CoPs) centred on tasks and craft. Building on critical literature highlighting the tensions between CoPs and rationalization, this paper aims to develop a nuanced account of how CoPs are reproduced in the context of rationalization. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study of a CoP involved in the production of automotive components was conducted. Following a change in ownership, the company was instructed to rationalize production according to the principles of lean production. Data were collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings The CoP of the case study reinterpreted, resisted and redefined the lean production practices according to the established norms and values. In collusion with local management, workers protected the integrity of the community by engaging in hypocritical reporting. While lower-level managers buffered the rationalization pressures, workers would “get the work done” without further interference. Research limitations/implications The critical research approach may be applied to a wide range of cases in which informal or professional work organization collides with change programmes driven by management. Future research is encouraged to investigate more closely how CoPs gain access to formal and informal power by enrolling lower-level managers in their joint enterprise and world view. Practical implications Managers should be aware that attempts to rationalize community-based work forms may lead to dysfunctional patterns of organizational decoupling. Originality/value This study is one of the first to empirically examine the relationship between CoPs and manufacturing rationalization.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (06) ◽  
pp. 2050052
Author(s):  
ABDUSSALAAM IYANDA ISMAIL ◽  
ABDUL-HALIM ABDUL-MAJID ◽  
ABDULLATEEF AMEEN ◽  
SAQLAIN RAZA ◽  
IYIOLA TOMILAYO AKINDELE

The extant research findings have identified lacunas (i.e. gaps, unresolved issues, and black box) in the High-Performance Work System (HPWS)-Performance relationship and suggested usage of a mechanism (mediator) that can close up the identified lacunas. Thus, this study investigates whether employee creativity can play a mediating role in the relationship between HPWS and firm non-financial performance. The sample size of the study is 518, and respondents were selected through stratified sampling technique. Data were collected from the sampled 518 managers in Nigerian firms. Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm and bootstrapping techniques were used for data analysis. The result indicates that employee creativity competitively/partially mediates the relationship between HPWS and non-financial performance. Employee creativity represents an appropriate mechanism to explain the relationship between HPWS and non-financial performance. Hence, the positive indirect effect via the mediator variable (employee creativity) reveals the ‘true’ relationship between HPWS and non-financial performance. This result implies that HPWS may not necessarily enhance non-financial performance. Ill-configured HPWS could jeopardize non-financial performance, but HPWS that stimulates employee creativity would enhance non-financial performance. Lastly, the implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naiding Yang ◽  
Min Guo ◽  
Jingbei Wang ◽  
Yanlu Zhang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of two dimensions of relational risks, namely, opportunism behavior and interest conflict, on knowledge flow and to explore the moderating effect of network power among these untested relationships and to examine the positive effect of opportunism behavior and interest conflict.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts survey data collected from 180 enterprises in China's high-technology industry and examines the relationship between relational risks, network power and knowledge flow.FindingsThis research empirically shows that opportunism behavior and interest conflict significantly and negatively impact on knowledge flow. Those relationships are positively moderated by network power.Research limitations/implicationsTo be more generalized to the high-technology industry, future research should adopt the quantitative research, which can obtain more comprehensive information to explore the nature of phenomenon. The future research can also combine with other variables. In addition, this research extends the current literature by investigating the relationship of so far understudied theorized antecedents.Originality/valueThis research enriches the related network perspective literature by providing new insight combining relational risks and knowledge flow. Especially, the moderating effect of network power is empirically examined.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 1650013 ◽  
Author(s):  
AVIMANYU DATTA

Past research has shown that foundational innovations is often contingent upon access to technologies whose influence/application exceeds the territory of that technology’s definition (technology-application diversity) and sourcing innovation outside a firm’s focal industry (sourcing diversity). However, going outside one’s focal industry can be expensive, complicated, and distracting, possibly leading to mixed results. We theorise that while technology-application diversity enhances foundational innovations, sourcing diversity impedes it. In addition, we argue that sourcing diversity negatively moderates the relationship between technology-application diversity and foundational innovation. Finally, we argue that high technology-application diversity and low sourcing diversity will have the strongest relationship with foundational innovation. To test our assertions, we studied patent filings between 1996 and 2009 from the IT industry from the S&P 500 database. The empirical evidence supported our claims. Findings recommend that to maximise chances of foundational innovation, firms must combine high instances of technologies whose application transcend their definitions with the minimum possible contacts outside their focal industry. Thus, there is an optimum combination of sourcing diversity and technology-application diversity with which foundational innovation is maximised. We close the paper by summarising the key conclusions, conferring implications for theory and practice, and proposing avenues for future research.


Author(s):  
Kristofer Erickson ◽  
Martin Kretschmer

This chapter considers what empirical evidence may contribute to the debates around online intermediary liability. What do we need to know in order to frame the liability of intermediaries and, a fortiori, what does the relationship between theory and empirics imply for the wider issue of platform regulation? This chapter evaluates the performance of so-called intermediary liability safe harbours, which have been operating for almost two decades in multiple jurisdictions. The chapter also tackles the problem of transparency of algorithmic decision-making in the ‘black box society’ and how that affects users. In doing so, this chapter reviews the body of empirical studies on copyright intermediary liability during the twenty-year period from 1998 to 2018, drawing on the Copyright Evidence Wiki, an open-access repository of findings related to copyright’s effects. Based on the survey of this body of research, the chapter identifies and discusses five key sub-fields of empirical inquiry pursued so far: the volume of takedown requests; the accuracy of notices; the potential for over-enforcement or abuse; transparency of the takedown process; and the costs of enforcement borne by different parties. Finally, the chapter identifies some of the gaps and limitations in this existing body of scholarship, and offers a number of recommendations for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser Fathi Easa ◽  
Ayman Mahmoud Bazzi

Purpose This paper aims to examine the moderated mediation effect of the lack of students’ socialization (as one of the COVID-19 consequences) and the university reputation on the relationship between the service innovation and students satisfaction. The relationship between students satisfaction and their loyalty is also examined. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a quantitative research approach, whereas the study population consists of all universities’ students in Lebanon. Data were collected from 201 students, elected depending on snowballing sample technique. A questionnaire was used to gather data, whereby partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to check the proposed scales validity and the relationships between the study variables. Findings The findings reveal a significant direct effect for university’s service innovation on students satisfaction and an indirect effect through the mediation role for university reputation. Moreover, an evidence for weak negative significant effect for lack of socialization on students satisfaction exists. Whereby, lack of socialization does not moderate the relationship between university service innovation and students satisfaction. Finally, students satisfaction has a significant positive effect on their loyalty. Originality/value This paper advances the service innovation literature in the higher education sector. In addition, the paper might be the first paper to address the influence of lack of socialization as one of the COVID-19 consequences on students satisfaction. Furthermore, areas for future research are suggested.


Author(s):  
Susannah B. F. Paletz ◽  
Ivica Pavisic ◽  
Ella Miron-Spektor ◽  
Chun-Chi Lin

This chapter synthesizes literature on multidisciplinary and multicultural creative teams. We examine the main similarities and differences between cultural and disciplinary diversity; summarize the primary, relevant theories; describe the extant literature on the relationship between team diversity and creativity, information sharing, conflict, and other factors; and point out gaps in the literature and potential future work. Diversity can benefit creativity if the underlying breadth of perspectives is harnessed, but the relationship between diversity and creativity is a complex and heavily moderated one. This chapter integrates recent advances, such as multilevel theory, the importance of shared mental models, and different aspects of creativity. In addition, this chapter highlights the importance of faultlines, or when multiple types of diversity align within the same team. Future research should take a broader systems perspective, examining factors such as type and degree of diversity, context of the team, and time/group development, among other variables.


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