This article takes a historical perspective to explain the development of the concept of social entrepreneurship, divergence between the forms of social enterprises (SEs) de jure and de facto in a ...post-Socialist society and approaches to typical tensions experienced by SEs as hybrid organisations. In this respect, the paper presents a framework of eight contrasting conceptual dimensions (i.e. possible institutional tensions) based on the analysis of prior social entrepreneurship studies and identifies respective tensions experienced by SEs based on data from Lithuania. The data were generated from semi-structured interviews (N = 11) with social entrepreneurship experts and from a survey with a semantic differential method in a sample of the participants (N = 98) in the largest conference on social entrepreneurship in Lithuania. This study concludes that understandings of social entrepreneurship in Lithuania are blurred by a dichotomy between SEs de jure and de facto which is set by current legal acts. The findings also indicate that social entrepreneurship insiders no longer perceive any controversy between social mission and businesslike activities. However, external attitudes as expressed in experts' interviews may still hinder SEs' attainment of social impact, one of the three dimensions (founding motives and innovation types being the other two) that is little reflected by social entrepreneurship insiders of a post-Socialist society in which the phenomenon is at a nascent stage. Directions for further research to bring contribution to institutional theory are suggested.
While the coexistence of trust and distrust has been acknowledged in previous literature, the understanding of their connection with organisational culture is limited. This study examines how trust ...and distrust construct the unity and fragmentation of organisational culture. Productive working relationships can be characterised by high trust, but strong ties and high trust may also account for false organisational unity. This study shows that trust and distrust can co-exist and distrust may even increase trust in particular situations. Moreover, we describe how the cognitive and affective components of trust and distrust relate to the unity and fragmentation of organisational culture. We present an empirical case study of a company where tension and distrust between top management, middle management and shop stewards affected the organisational culture. The study contributes to earlier research by discussing trust as a multidimensional and dynamic phenomenon. The study shows how the affective and cognitive components of trust and distrust constitute the unity and fragmentation of organisational culture. We propose that if an organisation is willing to improve its ethics, it should rely on fragmentation rather than unity.
The paper presents the results of the research in progress that explores the interrelation between ethical leadership and organizational innovativeness, questioning the role of organizational trust ...in this relationship and arguing that organizational trust strengthens the effect of ethical leadership on positive organizational outcomes. The data analysis from a public organization (n=757) in Lithuania confirm partial mediation of organizational trust in the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational innovativeness.
The paper explores the interrelations between ethical organisational culture and organisational innovativeness in two different socio-cultural contexts, Finland and Lithuania. According to the Global ...Innovation Index 2013, Finland ranked 6th and Lithuania 40th in terms of the national capacity to produce innovations. Prior research by Riivari and Lämsä (J Business Ethics 124:1-17, 2014) and Riivari et al. (Eur J Innov Manag 15:310-331, 2012) argues the importance of the ethical dimension of organisational culture in fostering the organisational capacity to innovate. In this paper, a different context is taken to test hypothesised differences between the two multidimensional phenomena. The paper discusses the findings of 2 surveys in Finnish and Lithuanian public organisations (respectively, nFI = 477 and nLT = 757). Data analysis shows that ethical organisational culture affects organisational innovativeness, in particular process and behaviour innovativeness in both organisations. The findings suggest that some ethical virtues such as congruency of management, discussability and clarity can be explained by an institutional rather than socio-cultural context. However, the effect of transparency and sanctionability in the Finnish organisation and congruency of supervisors, supportability and feasibility in the Lithuanian organisation rests on peculiarities of a socio-cultural context.
PurposeAppearance-based discrimination in workplaces based on an employee's physical appearance is a legal and ethical problem. This study provide important research findings concerning such ...discrimination in Estonia.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study strategy and narrative inquiry were used. The information which was gathered for the research consists of three cases which concern appearance-based discrimination against young women. Information for two of the cases was gathered together by means of open interviews. Information for the third case is based on articles which were found in Estonian daily newspapers.FindingsCovert and overt discrimination based on an employee's physical appearance can occur in Estonian workplaces, even though discrimination and inequality are not tolerated in public and all forms of discrimination are illegal in Estonia. The appearance norms, which frame perceptions of attractiveness and unattractiveness, may at times be rather narrow and stereotypical in Estonian workplaces. The attempts by employees to resist such discrimination in an early phase of the employees' careers are generally not successful.Originality/valueThrough real-life cases, this study makes empirically visible a problem at the workplace related to employees' physical appearance in Estonia. This study makes suggestions for preventing this kind of discrimination in organisations. Narrative inquiry offers a fruitful approach for how researchers can address a sensitive problem, such as the appearance-based discrimination against the employees discussed in this study.
The paper highlights the dependence of the level of organizational trust on work ethic and aims to show that development of trust in organizations can be stimulated by raising the level of work ethic ...with organizational practices. Based on the framework by Kanungo, R. N. and A. M. Jaeger (1990, 'Introduction: The Need for Indigenous Management In Developing Countries', in A. M. Jaeger and R. N. Kanungo (eds.), Management in Developing Countries (Routledge, London), pp. 1-23), historical-cultural analysis of the Lithuanian context is carried out. The country is chosen as an example of a post-socialist context where work ethic and trust in the society tended to be rather low. The authors discuss organizational practices, particularly the ones related to people management, which can facilitate development of work ethic, and thus, trust in organizations operating in a post-socialist context. The importance of a processual approach to the development of organizational trust and the ethical content of organizational practices, which are aimed at developing organizational trust is highlighted. Directions for further research are indicated.
Results of representative survey among Lithuanian population (2016) show that public trust in civil service organizations and public officials is moderate (6 points of 10). Statistical analysis ...reveals that level of the trust is predetermined by individual (i.e. the officials’ responsibility, respect to the client principles) and institutional / system based (i.e. principles of fairness and objectivity, institutional self-regulation and integrity) factors. Thus, improvements and developments of the factors would lead to increase in public trust.
Results of representative survey among Lithuanian population (2016) show that public trust in civil service organizations and public officials is moderate (6 points of 10). Statistical analysis ...reveals that level of the trust is predetermined by individual (i.e. the officials’ responsibility, respect to the client principles) and institutional / system based (i.e. principles of fairness and objectivity, institutional self-regulation and integrity) factors. Thus, improvements and developments of the factors would lead to increase in public trust.
The article sheds light on male managers' experience as fathers in a post-Soviet context in Lithuania. This empirical study of 12 male managers' experiences of work-family integration (WFI), their ...ways of coping with negative experiences, and the role of organizations in reducing conflict and enriching WFI, reveal the emergence of a new paternal identity: fathers who perceive their role as caregivers but for whom this is still subordinate to the dominant role of the breadwinner. Relying on their wife is a man's dominant coping strategy. Organizations are perceived as family unfriendly. The managerial implications of the need for organizational support are discussed.
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