Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide a critical assessment of the literature on business incubation effectiveness and second, to submit a situated theoretical perspective ...on how business incubation management can provide an environment that supports the development of incubatee entrepreneurs and their businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper provides a narrative critical assessment of the literature on business incubation effectiveness. Definitional issues, performance aspects and approaches to establishing critical success factors in business incubation are discussed. Business incubation management is identified as an overarching factor for theorising on business incubation effectiveness.
Findings
– The literature on business incubation effectiveness suffers from several deficiencies, including definitional incongruence, descriptive accounts, fragmentation and lack of strong conceptual grounding. Notwithstanding the growth of research on this domain, understanding of how entrepreneurs and their businesses develop within the business incubator environment remains limited. Given the importance of relational, intangible factors in business incubation and the critical role of business incubation management in orchestrating and optimising such factors, it is suggested that theorising efforts would benefit from a situated perspective.
Originality/value
– The identification of specific shortcomings in the literature on business incubation highlights the need for more systematic efforts towards theory building. It is suggested that focusing on the role of business incubation management from a situated learning theory perspective can lend itself to a more profound understanding of the development process of incubatee entrepreneurs and their firms. Theoretical propositions are offered to this effect, as well as avenues for future research.
•Prevalence of CIU is 20–40% lower when using only core CIU dimensions in the US & the UAE.•At low social support level, self-concept clarity is strongly related to CIU in the US.•At high social ...support, neuroticism & preference for online interaction predict CIU.•In collectivist countries (UAE), self-concept clarity and CIU are weakly related.
Compulsive Internet Use (CIU) has been mostly studied among adolescents, yet some studies reveal that this can be a problem for the adult population, too. The lack of agreement on diagnostic tools and cut-off points results in markedly different prevalence figures. Building on Charlton’s (2002) distinction between core CIU and positive engagement dimensions, the first objective was to confirm that prevalence figures including the core dimensions of CIU were lower than those including the engagement dimensions as well. Second, building on Davis’s (2001) diathesis-stress model, we tested the role that self-concept clarity (SCC) and social support play in predicting core CIU in US subjects (NUS=268). Finally, we expected that, because self-concept clarity is mostly linked to well-being in Western countries, the association between this variable and core CIU would be weak in the Eastern culture sample (NUAE=270). Our findings confirmed that prevalence figures were 20–40% lower when including the core dimensions only, and that SCC is a key predictor of CIU at low levels of social support in the US. We also confirmed that this is not the case in the UAE. Future research opportunities to advance this study were discussed.
Academic and practitioner interpretations of knowledge management are captured through a comprehensive taxonomy of knowledge models. How knowledge is absorbed raises the question as to whether focus ...should be placed on knowledge transfer or knowledge management. It is concluded that the contextual demands for knowledge application dictate which pathway to pursue.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasingly important sustainable development issue in U.K. The main contribution of this study is to examine how firm ownership structure impacts ...good corporate governance and CSR in U.K. during austerity conditions. Following the financial crisis of 2007-2008, the U.K. government introduced austerity conditions which impacted firm CSR activities. From the initial sample of more than 250 firms, 50 consistently remain listed on the FTSE4good index during 2008-2012 and are analysed. The definition of CSR distinguishes voluntary and mandatory CSR construct. Findings indicate Board ownership structure and satisfactory firm performance impact on the level of voluntary CSR. Board ownership results suggest increased institutional and non-CEO shareholdings support a higher level of voluntary CSR engagement, whilst increased CEO shareholdings lead to a lower level of investment in voluntary CSR. In terms of satisfactory firm performance, results suggest positive attainment discrepancy supports a higher level of voluntary CSR, whereas greater potential organisational slack leads to a lower level of voluntary CSR investment. Effective governance and voluntary CSR association is more pronounced under conditions of high attainment discrepancy and low organisational slack. The findings suggest implications for adapting firm decision-making latitude and government policy between austerity and prosperity conditions.
Purpose
Board diversity has been a hotly debated topic in the field of corporate governance. The paper examines the role of board chairperson and its moderating effect on the relationship between ...job-related diversity and boards’ strategic tasks performance. The purpose of this paper is to add on our body of knowledge about the impact of job-related diversity on boards’ strategic tasks performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to examine survey responses from chief executive officers (CEOs). Both the measurement model and structural model have obtained good results, supporting the appropriateness of using the SEM approach.
Findings
The findings suggest that there is a positive association between job-related diversity and boards’ strategic tasks performance, which is moderated by a chairperson’s leadership efficacy and the option of a former-CEO as board chair.
Practical implications
To achieve the intended effect of job-related diversity in boards, policymakers need to be mindful about the importance of the board chairperson. Board chairperson’s characteristics such as leadership efficacy and a former-CEO experience would amplify the positive effect of diversity.
Originality/value
This research paper contributes to the literature on board diversity, board leadership and strategic management of firms. Findings validated researchers’ concern about the negligence of examining moderating factors in board diversity research. Moreover, results echo the concern that board leadership research should shift the attention from structural aspects to the behavioral issues. Finally, this study is the first to show the positive influence of a board chairperson in disseminating benefits of a diverse board.
Relationship building is one of the most important aspects of leadership; however, it can pose ethical challenges. Though particularistic treatment of employees by leaders, that is, leader ...favoritism, commonly occurs, it is conventionally regarded negatively as fairness norms require leaders to treat followers equally. In this conceptual study, we explore different views on leader favoritism based on different ethical principles. We develop an alternative to the conventional view and suggest that leader favoritism may not necessarily lead to negative outcomes when empathy‐based favoritism is applied. In this vein, we recommend drawing on the ethical principles of a utilitarian approach by balancing particularism and universalism, which is also helpful to build organizational social capital. We contribute to leadership theory by developing an early concept of an integrative ethical approach to leader favoritism.
Purpose
Israel is characterised by economic growth that is accompanied not only by prosperity but also by increasing poverty. This paper aims to conceptualise the role of Israel’s social enterprises ...in reducing the gap between prosperous and disadvantaged populations.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study is based on 23 in-depth interviews. It makes use of a theoretical framework that incorporates two elements: cosmopolitanism and social entrepreneurship. Cosmopolitanism, together with government policies that aim to develop free enterprise and international trade, support entrepreneurship and advance education, accompanies and facilitates prosperity. Whilst prosperity increases inequality, social entrepreneurship develops as a tool to mitigate the side effects of economic growth in the form of the increasing gap between the rich and the poor.
Findings
This paper argues that the principal reason why the gap evolved and is increasing is in the discrepancy between rapidly rising requirements presented by the innovation-focussed economy and the workers’ skills. Based on interviews with social entrepreneurs who are (co)founders or managers of businesses with a social purpose, findings show that the gap between prosperity and social deprivation could be bridged by increasing workers’ capacity to align their skills with employers’ requirements, which is the area to which Israeli social enterprises contribute.
Originality/value
The paper argues that cosmopolitan orientation is one of the contributors to economic growth and innovation, whilst prosperity increases the gap between high- and low-income groups. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge about social entrepreneurs by applying the framework that makes use of cosmopolitanism as an important driver of Israeli social entrepreneurship, which helps to explain the role that social business enterprises play in reducing the gap between prosperous and disadvantaged populations.
Purpose - This paper seeks to explore whether the Western concept of servant leadership holds the same meaning in the public sector of the cross-cultural context of China and to identify whether ...there is an alternative term in the Chinese language that closely relates to the concept of servant leadershipDesign methodology approach - An inductive approach is adopted based on critical incident technique, using an open-ended survey to collect the data.Findings - It was found that the concept of servant leadership holds parallel meaning in China to that of the West and that the Chinese concept of servant leadership can be described precisely as public servant leadership in the public sector and servant leadership in the non-public sector. When asked to characterize Chinese servant leadership in the public sector, the study respondents consider six types of servant leadership similar to the West but also three types of Chinese extended servant leadership.Originality value - The paper is a first attempt to examine servant leadership in the public sector in China. It not only reports various forms of Chinese servant leadership orientation, but also compares and contrasts various servant leadership forms between China and the West, highlighting research gaps for future research within the context of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the West.
This paper reports a study into the nature, dynamics and effects of the ‘chemistry’ of the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) relationship. A qualitative, semi-structured interview, narrative ...analysis methodology over a twenty-eight month period was adopted. A sample of CEO’s, Chairmen and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) across the boards of nine corporations, agreed to participate in in-depth discussion. Personal narratives of the board director’s experience, particularly from the perspective of enabling understanding of the ‘chemistry’ of the Chairman/CEO relationship, were analysed in terms of boardroom and organisational effect.
There are two elements to ‘chemistry’, analytical interpretative capacity (sense making) and deep friendship (
philos). Both emerge as primary to determining Chairman/CEO effectiveness and in combination nurture meaningful knowledge sharing as well as a desire for learning in the boardroom. Absence of either allows for a workable relationship, but with neither, the Chairman/CEO dyad and the organisation are harmed.
This qualitative study draws attention to the criticality of sense making and
philos as determinants of the quality of the Chairman/CEO relationship.
The study results emphasise the critical nature of the Chairman/CEO relationship in determining boardroom and organisational effectiveness. Development of this dyadic interaction is considered to positively benefit boardroom dynamics and organisational performance.
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