► We study the development of a Jatropha biofuels sector in Tanzania. ► Gradual learning as well as tumultuous inter-stakeholder conflict drive change. ► Conflicts reflect opposing views and ...interests among parties about sustainability. ► We offer a conflict-augmented evolutionary innovation model to grasp this reality. ► Its use extends to other sectors where new technologies have deep societal impacts.
Biofuel production has recently attracted much attention. Some anticipate substantial social and environmental benefits, while at the same time expecting sound profitability for investors. Others are doubtful, envisaging large trade-offs between the pursuit of social, environmental and economic objectives, particularly in poor countries in the tropics. The paper explores these issues in Tanzania, which has been an African forerunner in the cultivation of a bio-oil shrub called
Jatropha curcas L. We trace how isolated
Jatropha biofuel experiments developed since early 2005 towards a sectoral production and innovation system, and we investigate to what extent that system has been capable of developing and maintaining sustainable practices and producing sustainable outcomes. The application of evolutionary innovation theory allows us to view the developments in the sector as a result of evolutionary variation and selection on the one hand, and revolutionary contestation between different coalitions of stakeholders on the other. Both these processes constitute significant engines of change. While variation and selection are driven predominantly by localised technical and agronomic learning, the conflict-driven dynamics are highly globalised and occur primarily as a result of reflexive learning about problematic sustainability impacts. The sector is found to have moved some way towards a full sectoral innovation and production system, but it is impossible to predict whether a viable sector with a strong “triple bottom line” orientation will ultimate emerge, since many issues surrounding the social, environmental and financial sustainability still remain unresolved, especially relating to local and global governance.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether and how employees’ proactive personality is related to work engagement. Drawing on job demands-resources theory, the study proposes that this ...relationship is moderated by a three-way interaction between proactive personality × transformational leadership × growth mindset.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on survey data from 259 employees of an internationally operating high-tech organization in the Netherlands.
Findings
In line with prior studies, support is found for positive significant relationships of proactive personality and transformational leadership with engagement. Additionally, transformational leadership is found to moderate the relationship between proactive personality and work engagement, but only when employees have a growth mindset.
Originality/value
The study advances the literature that investigates the proactive personality-engagement relationship. Specifically, this study is the first to examine a possible three-way interaction that may deepen the insights for how proactive personality, transformational leadership and growth mindset interact in their contribution to work engagement.
Empirical studies about supply chain flexibility have mainly focused on one (manufacturing) company, occasionally incorporating the adjoining view from a supplier, distributor, or retailer. The ...present paper argues that a dyadic perspective is not sufficient and that an integrated perspective is required. In-depth case study data was collected and analyzed. The data covers eight organizations in a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) food supply chain, including suppliers, the main manufacturer, the logistics service provider, and retailers. Drawing on network theory and stakeholder theory, the study analyzed how these eight organizations experience flexibility across the supply chain. The findings show that each chain member implements flexibility to fulfill the direct needs of the next-tier chain member. Organizations at different positions in the supply chain prioritize other flexibilities. There is no support for overall supply chain flexibility.
•We examine supply chain flexibility from the view of eight supply chain members.•Our study shows which flexibilities are prioritized at different time horizons.•Forward and backward integration is not enough to achieve SC flexibility.•Organizations at diverse positions in the supply chain prioritize other flexibilities.•There is no support for overall supply chain flexibility.
Long and complex supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions. One way to solve this problem is to successfully manage supply chain integration (SCI). A system dynamics simulation is thus applied to ...study a cheese supply chain with three individual firms: a producer, a logistics service provider (LSP), and a retailer. Our purpose is to study the effects of SCI strategies with different dimensional focuses, i.e., information integration (Scenario 1), relational integration (Scenario 2), and operational integration (Scenario 3), on the recovery of three types of disruptions, i.e., a producer capacity disruption, an LSP capacity disruption, and a demand disruption. Tests of parameter scenarios are further applied to provide solutions for supply chains using different strategies. Our results indicate that Scenario 3 is the best practice, regardless of any type of disruption, while Scenario 1 usually achieves the worst performance. This is consistent with an evolutionary perspective of supply chain integration: information integration gives firms a competitive advantage as the first step. Working as partners to share the most appropriate information leads to greater benefits. We extend this perspective by showing that further elimination of information delay helps the supply chain achieve the best performance.
This study empirically investigates the safeguarding effect of (1) administrative control, (2) a dominant power position and (3) relational norms, on opportunistic behaviour of suppliers, by means of ...a survey among 624 information and communication technology professionals in Dutch municipalities. The findings indicate that individual effectiveness of relational norms, particularly in terms of flexibility and solidarity, was most prominent. Administrative control and power did not show a significant impact on supplier opportunism in our sample. Research into the simultaneous use of several safeguards against opportunism generated the finding that different relational norms fortify each other's safeguarding effect. Furthermore, we demonstrate that supplier opportunism is only mitigated by a dominant power position when the buyer does not exploit its favourable position and the buyer does not behave opportunistically. Hence, power seems to have a safeguarding effect only when it is not used.
Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) should provide project managers with decision making support for planning, organizing and controlling projects. Most project managers are dissatisfied ...with the information produced by PMIS. Based on a survey among 101 project managers the interactions between six factors related to PMIS information quality and usage and their effect on decision making are examined in a multi project environment. Using structural equation modeling, new insights were gained in these complex relationships. Results indicate that the use of a project management information system is advantageous to project managers, while no adverse effects were observed due to project and information overload. PMIS information quality is positively related to quality of the decisions, satisfaction of project managers with PMIS and use of PMIS information. Simultaneous handling of multiple projects causes project managers to extend conclusions about the information quality for one project to all projects at hand.
► Structural equation modeling of factors related to PMIS information quality and use. ► The use of a PMIS is advantageous to project managers. ► No adverse effects were observed due to project and information overload. ► PMIS information quality is positively related to the use of PMIS information. ► PMIS information quality is positively related to decision quality and satisfaction.
Professional discourses and resistance to change Pieterse, Jos H; Caniëls, Marjolein C.J; Homan, Thijs
Journal of organizational change management,
01/2012, Letnik:
25, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how resistance to change might be a consequence of differences in professional discourse of professional groups working together in a change ...program.Design methodology approach - The paper uses discourse analysis and rubrics to study the implementation of a new ICT system for an airline. Data for this case study were collected in semi-structured interviews, desk research, participant observations and a diagnostic workshop.Findings - The data suggest that the non-aligned interaction between different professional discourses can be a source of resistance to change, in addition to other well-known sources of resistance to change in the change management literature. Future research regarding change management should incorporate linguistics and discourse analysis. Investigating resistance to change could be done comprehensively, paying attention to differences in professional cultures in cross-functional (project) teams. A managerial implication of the study is that making differences in professional discourses explicit is a constant point of attention in (project) teams.Research limitations implications - The authors' choices with regard to the sample size and methods limit the generalisability of the results. However, these choices were instrumental in reaching a rich set of data, which enabled the authors to get an understanding of the conversational dynamics in the case.Originality value - The paper argues that change programs contain subjective, informal and linguistic dimensions which might give reasons for understanding resistance to change in new ways. The theoretical contribution of the paper is that it integrates change management literature with linguistic literature about professional discourse.
The main goal of this study was to develop a scale for measuring Disengaging Leader-ship (DEL) behaviors and to provide preliminary evidence for the validity of this new instrument. Developing such ...new measures is needed given current concepts that tap into negative leadership behaviors are rarely based on a sound theoretical framework. Drawing on the core premises of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) regarding employees' basic needs and, more specifically, building on its more recent extended framework, including employees' needs frustration, we derived four dimensions that constitute Disengaging Leadership behaviors (coercive disengaging leadership, isolating disengaging leadership, eroding disengaging leadership, and demotivating disengaging leadership). To examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the new Disengaging Leadership Scale (DLS), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and reliability analyses were conducted. Results supported the hypothesized four-factor structure of the DLS and showed that this factorial structure remained invariant across employees occupying blue-collar, white-collar, or managerial positions. Finally, we successfully tested convergent, divergent, and construct validity of DLS. We established that DEL is associated with employees' needs frustration and with their experiences of emotional exhaustion. It is concluded that the DLS has sound psychometric properties and can be used in future research on the dark side of leadership.
PurposeLeaders are role models and through social influence processes, they shape the behaviour of their followers. We build on social learning, social identity and person-environment (P-E) fit ...theories of leadership to explore the association between leaders’ and followers’ resilient behaviours.Design/methodology/approachIn a three-wave, multisource study amongst 269 Dutch leaders and their followers, we investigate the mediating role of coaching in the relationship between leaders’ resilient behaviour and followers’ resilient behaviour and the moderating role of regulatory focus in this mediation path.FindingsOur results show that coaching is a key relational vehicle through which leaders’ resilient behaviours shape employees’ resilient behaviours, and this indirect association is stronger for employees scoring low on promotion focus. In addition, our results show that resilient employees attract more coaching from their leaders, which further strengthens their resilient behaviours.Originality/valueExisting studies have shown the occurrence of trickle-down effects of various leader behaviours, moods and work states on those of their followers. However, it remained obscure whether leaders’ resilient behaviour could trickle down to followers’ as well. Our study shows that such a link indeed exists and that coaching is a relational vehicle that embodies two key mechanisms to (1) foster social learning through behavioural entrainment and contagion and (2) facilitate support provision through which leaders promote resilient behaviour in their followers.
Power and interdependence are generally considered to be important concepts for understanding buyer–supplier relationships. Yet, empirical research on power and interdependence in buyer–supplier ...relationships is still limited. Power and interdependence issues also play an important role in Kraljic's portfolio approach, which is increasingly used by purchasing practitioners for managing different supplier relations and developing appropriate purchasing strategies. In this paper, the concepts of power and interdependence have been quantified for each quadrant of the Kraljic portfolio matrix, using data from a comprehensive survey among Dutch purchasing professionals. Several hypotheses have been tested and the findings largely confirm the theoretical expectations. The observed supplier dominance in the strategic quadrant of the Kraljic matrix is a notable finding, which indicates that even satisfactory partnerships are dominated by the supplier. Therefore, the presumed power symmetry of buyer–supplier relationships in the strategic quadrant seems no longer valid.
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