scholarly journals Work Health and Safety, Competitive Advantage, and Organisational Performance in Small Construction Firms: Research Proposal

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Raed Eldejany
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Research Proposal ◽  
Organisational Performance ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Risk Construction

Research into small firms has expanded over recent years, yet one field where insight is still limited is Work Health and Safety (WHS) especially in the high risk construction industry. The main objective of this research proposal is to provide the foundation for a potential future study that explores the impact of WHS on developing a competitive advantage and improving organisational performance from the perspective of the owner-managers of small Australian construction firms using a qualitative multiple case design. This research proposal investigates a sample of four small construction firms from the same industry therefore the findings can’t be generalised to other work environments, which a limitation to the proposed study.

scholarly journals Value Discipline Dimensions on Organisational Performance and Competitive Advantage: A Study on Pharmaceutical Companies in Diabetes Care

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Debasis Bharadwaj ◽  
Ayesha Farooq ◽  
Biranchi N Jena
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Diabetes Care ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Organisational Performance ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: Recent studies highlighted the increase of competiveness and fluctuation in pharmaceutical market share, the industry facing tremendous pressure. Hence the sector has the necessity to embrace the goal of delivering their products and services with value. Specifically, diabetes care in the pharmaceutical industry has been an important agenda for providing high quality services and products to the customers in past few decades. Therefore, the present paper critically views the impact of value discipline dimensions on organizational performance and competitive advantage of diabetes care in both developed and developing countries.Design/ methodology/ Approach: This research involves in secondary data collection due to achieving the objectives framed. Moreover, it perceives the association between the variables is not possible, conducting interviews with respondents in both developed and developing countries are also difficultFindings: The finding shows that there is animpact of value discipline dimensions on organizational performance and competitive advantage of diabetes care in both developed and developing countries via secondary data collection method. Research Limitations/ Implications: This study is limited to secondary research and all the findings inferred are from the information available from secondary sources.Practical implications: The impact of value discipline dimensionson organizational performance and competitive advantage of diabetes care is effective in the context of both developed and developing countries.Originality/ Value: Understanding the value discipline dimensions impact on organizational performance and competitive advantage of diabetes care is anew one. Hence this paper proposes this concept in both developed and developing countries perspective. 

scholarly journals Effect of Company Strategies on Organisational Performance in Nigerian Construction Industry

2020 ◽  
pp. 25-33
Author(s):  
U. V. Alintah- Abel ◽  
N. B. Iheama ◽  
S. C. Ugochukwu
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Organisational Performance ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Construction Companies ◽  
Generic Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Changes in the environment such as customers’ preferences and choices has put the companies on toes with each firm fighting for its survival and all is based on strategies choice and their implementation. Thus, Nigerian construction companies have to adopt and apply appropriate strategies to be more competitive in this industry and get success in their businesses. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of company strategies on organisational performance in Nigerian construction industry. The conceptual framework was provided to give a guideline on how both independent and dependent variables will interact in other to get the impact of companies’ strategies on performance. Primary data with the aid of a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents. The data collected were analysed using both descriptive such as percentages and mean and inferential statistics of regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that construction companies adopt several company strategies at various levels; however, the strategies are generally applied moderately in the firms. The study deduced that both growth strategies and generic strategies have positive significant impact on performance. The study recommended that policy makers and the management of the construction firms should adopt a mix of the competitive strategies since both have positive impact on performance and there is need for companies to intensify their applications since it will spur performance in the organisation.

scholarly journals Expanding Core Capability in Digitisation by Sharing of Resources:  the CSIRO Collections Program for Digitisation of Collection Specimens

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e27246
Author(s):  
Nicole Fisher ◽  
Emma Toms
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Grand Challenge ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Hand Coordination ◽  
The Impact

Educational Materials Share Fair at SPNHC 2018 Given the high number of specimens present around the world in natural history museums, digitisation, or the transformation of specimens from the physical to digital, has become the collections community’s grand challenge. A team made up of volunteers and casual staff are human resources for the digitisation of Australia’s largest biological collections, over 15 million specimens held at CSIRO. An image-based digitisation program at the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), and a similar imaging project at the Australian National Herbarium (ANH) are transforming the way we engage with volunteers & recruit staff in collections digitisation. Providing insights on the CSIRO specimen digitisation program, we will share resources and materials that can easily be adapted to your next collections digitisation program. In 2018, we found that diversity and flexibility in roles assigned to personnel rather than assigning rigid and specific roles to individuals, was more successful for our collections digitisation volunteers and staff. Also, we introduced dexterity games which help develop fine motor skills and hand coordination while breaking up the monotony of the role. We also integrated materials aimed at educating the volunteers and staff about digitisation and curation and the impact of digitising collections. All of these improvements to the digitisation program are building a sense of determination amongst the dedicated volunteers and staff and curation levels are growing, leading to the increase and maintenance of collection integrity. Build scale and value by integrating these new lessons learned, procedures, manuals, training documentation, workflows and work health and safety into your next digitisation project.

scholarly journals The motivation of operatives in small construction firms towards health and safety – A conceptual framework

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunan Babar Khan ◽  
David G. Proverbs ◽  
Hong Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Small Firms ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
The Body ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Motivational Support

PurposeHealth and safety in small construction firms is often neglected by owners leading to poor health and safety performance and unacceptably high fatality and injury rates. A body of knowledge has established significant links between the motivational behaviours of operatives towards health and safety. Motivation is also considered as a key tool for improving operative productivity as when operatives experience safe worksites, they can carry out their work in a more productive manner. The purpose of this research is to develop a framework to examine the motivational factors that affect operative health and safety in small construction firms.Design/methodology/approachA critical review and synthesis of the body of knowledge incorporating motivational theory, health and safety literature and the factors which characterise small firms, is used to develop the framework.FindingsKey components of the framework include the presence of intrinsic and extrinsic components, appropriate health and safety policies and procedures, the type of work environment, the operatives (i.e. attitude, experience and training) as well as the presence of appropriate management and supervision. The study revealed that operatives in small firms are less likely to be extrinsically motivated due to the absence of training, management commitment, policies and the wider working environmentResearch limitations/implicationsFailure of motivational support can result in increased danger and risk in exposing operatives to injury in the small firm environment. In this context, the damage caused to operative's health and safety in small construction firms is dependent mainly on the extrinsic factors.Practical implicationsThe framework provides a basis for improving our understanding of how to motivate operatives to act safely and will help to improve the health and safety performance of small firms. It is therefore vital to emphasise enhancement efforts on these extrinsic strategies in the small firms' environment especially in the initial stages of the project (or activity), so that the health and safety of operatives in small firms can be improved.Originality/valueThis study proposes a contribution in developing an understanding of the motivational factors and their influence on the health and safety of operatives in small construction firms. The study revealed that operatives in small firms are less likely to be extrinsically motivated and have only intrinsically motivated elements in their workplace. The study proposes an indirect link between the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect motivation.

scholarly journals Is Sustainable Performance Explained by Firm Effect in Small Business?

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10028
Author(s):  
Vicente López-López ◽  
Susana Iglesias-Antelo ◽  
Esteban Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Large Firms ◽  
Sustainable Performance ◽  
Industry Effect ◽  
Static Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Firm Effect

To what extent a firm’s resources (firm effect) and the structure of the sector (industry effect) are sources of a firm’s competitiveness has been debated for years in strategic management. Most of the empirical studies carried out have focused on large firms and have used static performance measures, and in them the firm effect generally outweighs the industry effect. This research contributes to this debate in trying to verify whether the competitive advantage that relies on the firm’s resources is sustainable, especially in small firms. We used a sample of almost 15,000 Spanish firms to test the impact that the firm and the industry effects have on sustainable performance, for both small and large firms, applying hierarchical linear modelling with a variable measured through time-varying parameters. Our results confirm the absolute importance of the firm effect on sustainable organizational performance, regardless the firm size, and show that, even though the industry effect has little weight in explaining sustainability, it is significantly higher in the case of small firms. This means that managers must concentrate efforts on providing their firm with the necessary resources to achieve a competitive advantage while choosing a good sector to position itself.

scholarly journals The Impact of Regulations on Small Firm Characteristics

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-77
Author(s):  
Halil D. Kaya
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Environmental Regulations ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The Other ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Firm Age ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
Zoning Regulations ◽  
The Impact

Regulations are shown to have a significant impact on entrepreneurial activity, especially on startups by smaller firms. Higher compliance costs are shown to deter small firms entering a new industry. In this study, using state-level regulation data in the U.S., we examine whether different types of regulations (including “health and safety regulations”, “employment regulations”, “tax code”, “licensing regulations”, “environmental regulations”, and “zoning regulations”) in each state deter smaller firms to do business in that state. We also examine whether each type of regulation deters firms to do business in certain industries or to operate in more or fewer states. Besides size, operational area, and industry, we also examine whether each type of regulation deters younger firms to do business in each state. Our results show that “health and safety regulations”, “employment regulations”, “tax code”, “licensing regulations”, and “environmental regulations” in a state affect firm size and industry, but do not affect operational area and firm age. In the states with high scores in these areas, there are fewer single-employee firms but more 2-20 employee firms when compared to the other states. Also, in the states with a high score in “environmental regulations”, we find fewer firms with 51 to 100 employees when compared to the other states. On the other hand, “zoning regulations” affect firm age and industry, but not operational area and firm size. In the states with high scores in “zoning regulations”, we find fewer firms that are established less than a year ago. Finally, in the states with high scores in regulations, generally, we find that more firms are in the “Business” industry and fewer firms are in the “Writing” industry. Overall, we show how each type of regulation deter certain types of firms operating in each state. This is important because if a state wants to attract certain types of firms (i.e., younger, or older firms, larger or smaller firms, or firms in certain industries), the officials in that state need to improve the corresponding regulations first.

The Impact of New Scientific Knowledge on Firms’ Routines and Capabilities: The Case of Mechatronics

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (06) ◽  
pp. 1550030
Author(s):  
Ugo Rizzo ◽  
Daniela Freddi ◽  
Laura Ramaciotti
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
The Impact

Routines and capabilities are patterns of actions, entailing both stability and change, according to which organizational behavior is investigated and that rest at the base of firms’ competitive advantage. Research in organizational theory recently started to disentangle the micro-foundations of these collective concepts in order to better grasp the mechanisms by which individuals influence the generation and evolution of routines and capabilities. In the present work we seek to contribute to this literature by investigating how the acquisition of a radical new body of knowledge via recruitment impacts on the evolution of the routines and dynamic capabilities of the firm. By means of a multiple case study research on mechatronics companies located in Northern Italy, the study examines if and how the insertion of graduates in a discipline new to the company modified its routines and the dynamic capabilities. In other words we explored whether the introduction of a new body of knowledge embodied in new graduates produced changes on the organization and functioning of the hosting R&D department and/or it also shaped the overall firm’s development strategies, thus overcoming the expected inertia. The results are important for both managing change to increase the company’s competitive advantage as well for the policy implications which can be derived.

Regulatory and sustainability initiatives lead to improved polyaminopolyamide epichlorohydrin (PAE) wet-strength resins and paper products

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (09) ◽  
pp. 519-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Crisp ◽  
Richard Riehle
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Wet Strength ◽  
The Past ◽  
Consumer Safety ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Sustainability Initiatives ◽  
The Impact

Polyaminopolyamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE) resins are the predominant commercial products used to manufacture wet-strengthened paper products for grades requiring wet-strength permanence. Since their development in the late 1950s, the first generation (G1) resins have proven to be one of the most cost-effective technologies available to provide wet strength to paper. Throughout the past three decades, regulatory directives and sustainability initiatives from various organizations have driven the development of cleaner and safer PAE resins and paper products. Early efforts in this area focused on improving worker safety and reducing the impact of PAE resins on the environment. These efforts led to the development of resins containing significantly reduced levels of 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP) and 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD), potentially carcinogenic byproducts formed during the manufacturing process of PAE resins. As the levels of these byproducts decreased, the environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) profile of PAE resins and paper products improved. Recent initiatives from major retailers are focusing on product ingredient transparency and quality, thus encouraging the development of safer product formulations while maintaining performance. PAE resin research over the past 20 years has been directed toward regulatory requirements to improve consumer safety and minimize exposure to potentially carcinogenic materials found in various paper products. One of the best known regulatory requirements is the recommendations of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), which defines the levels of 1,3-DCP and 3-MCPD that can be extracted by water from various food contact grades of paper. These criteria led to the development of third generation (G3) products that contain very low levels of 1,3-DCP (typically <10 parts per million in the as-received/delivered resin). This paper outlines the PAE resin chemical contributors to adsorbable organic halogens and 3-MCPD in paper and provides recommendations for the use of each PAE resin product generation (G1, G1.5, G2, G2.5, and G3).

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