Much research has been devoted over the years to investigating and advancing the techniques and tools used by analysts when they model. As opposed to what academics, software providers and their ...resellers promote as should be happening, the aim of this research was to determine whether practitioners still embraced conceptual modeling seriously. In addition, what are the most popular techniques and tools used for conceptual modeling? What are the major purposes for which conceptual modeling is used? The study found that the top six most frequently used modeling techniques and methods were ER diagramming, data flow diagramming, systems flowcharting, workflow modeling, UML, and structured charts. Modeling technique use was found to decrease significantly from smaller to medium-sized organizations, but then to increase significantly in larger organizations (proxying for large, complex projects). Technique use was also found to significantly follow an inverted U-shaped curve, contrary to some prior explanations. Additionally, an important contribution of this study was the identification of the factors that uniquely influence the decision of analysts to continue to use modeling, viz., communication (using diagrams) to/from stakeholders, internal knowledge (lack of) of techniques, user expectations management, understanding models’ integration into the business, and tool/software deficiencies. The highest ranked purposes for which modeling was undertaken were database design and management, business process documentation, business process improvement, and software development.
Understanding the key features, obstacles, and shortcomings of the six sigma method allows organizations to better support their strategic directions, and increasing needs for coaching, mentoring, ...and training. It also provides opportunities to better implement six sigma projects. This paper examines the evolution, benefits, and challenges of six sigma practices and identifies the key factors influencing successful six sigma project implementations. It integrates the lessons learned from successful six sigma projects and considers further improvements to the six sigma approach. Effective six sigma principles and practices will succeed by refining the organizational culture continuously. Cultural changes require time and commitment before they are strongly implanted into the organization.
Exploring the construct of social-responsibility orientation across three Asian and two Western societies (Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the United States), we show evidence that ...top-level executives in these societies hold fundamentally different beliefs about their responsibilities toward different stakeholders, with concomitant implications for their understanding and enactment of responsible leadership. We further find that these variations are more closely aligned with institutional factors than with cultural variables, suggesting a need to clarify the connection between culture and institutions on the one hand and culture and social-responsibility orientations on the other.
Extant research on the circular economy has explored intra- and inter-firm dynamics, activities and drivers, whilst macro level factors — systemic features of the national economy — have been ...somewhat neglected. In this conceptual article, we use the lens of national business system (NBS) theory to explore how different components and configurations of such systems encourage — or hinder — the adoption of the circular economy. We use three European examples (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) to illustrate our argumentation. Our analysis suggests that the development and implementation of circular economy measures necessitate an encompassing consideration of the NBS in which they are embedded. By foregrounding macro level phenomena, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of circular systems and offer a sound foundation for more effective policymaking.
In this perspective paper we argue that outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) undertaken as escape response to perceived misalignment between firm needs and home country institutional conditions ...represents an important but under-explored phenomenon in the international business (IB) literature. We propose that, in advanced industrialized nations, the extent of OFDI as escape is likely to rise with the extent of societal coordination in the political economy. Societal coordination is associated with relatively slower rates of institutional adjustment and thus with relatively greater prevalence of misalignments that may drive OFDI. We illustrate the face validity of our argument and lay out the implications for future research in IB.
Purpose
This study explores how strategic human resource practices enhance the competitive capability of differentiation and cost-effectiveness by leveraging knowledge resources in Indian IT/software ...organizations. It examines the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) processes in the relationship between strategic HR practices, competitive differentiation and cost-effectiveness capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire survey collected data from 380 knowledge workers in 25 IT/software and consultancy firms. The authors checked data reliability and validity by conducting exploratory factor analysis in SPSS and confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. The authors evaluated hypotheses using path analysis in structural equational modeling in AMOS.
Findings
Strategic HR practices significantly and positively affect KM processes and competitive capabilities-differentiation and cost-efficiency. Both strategic HR practices and KM processes have a closer association with differentiation than cost-effectiveness. Knowledge management processes significantly and positively mediate between strategic HR practices and competitive capabilities. The mediation is more substantial in predicting differentiation than cost-effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
It is a cross-sectional study with a constrained capacity to predict accurate causal inferences; The authors call for future studies with longitudinal design and objective measures. Further studies are required to explore the impact of various strategic HR configurations on KMP to understand how different routes stimulate a particular competitive strategy. This conceptual framework can be validated across different industry types and sizes.
Practical implications
This study provides practical insights to HR and knowledge managers regarding devising HR and KM processes to accomplish the goals of differentiation and cost-effective, competitive strategies. This study highlights that leveraging human capital for effective KM is crucial for gaining a competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the strategic HR and KM literature by exploring the mediating role of KM processes in enabling strategic HR processes to enhance differentiation and cost-effective, competitive strategies. It provides original empirical evidence from knowledge-intensive IT/software consultancies, particularly in India's emerging economy. It indicates the current state of HR practices adopted for optimum utilization of knowledge resources and the importance of differentiation strategy for Indian knowledge-intensive IT/software firms.
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to propose a normative approach for market segmentation, profile and monitoring using computing and information technology to analyze User-Generated Content (UGC).
...Design/methodology/approach
The specific steps include performing a structural analysis of the UGC and extracting the base variables and values from it, generating a consumer characteristics matrix for segmenting process, and finally describing the segments' preferences, regional and dynamic characteristics. The authors verify the feasibility of the method with publicly available data. The external validity of the method is also tested through questionnaires and product regional sales data.
Findings
The authors apply the proposed methodology to analyze 53,526 UGCs in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market and classify consumers into four segments: Brand-Value Suitors (32%), Rational Consumers (21%), High-Quality Fanciers (26%) and Utility-driven Consumers (21%). The authors describe four segments' preferences, dynamic changes over the past six years and regional characteristics among China's top five sales cities. Then, the authors verify the external validity of the methodology through a questionnaire survey and actual NEV sales in China.
Practical implications
The proposed method enables companies to utilize computing and information technology to understand the market structure and grasp the dynamic trends of market segments, which assists them in developing R&D and marketing plans.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the research on UGC-based universal market segmentation methods. In addition, the proposed UGC structural analysis algorithm implements a more fine-grained data analysis.
The sociology of the professions has shied away from cross-national comparative work. Yet research in different professional jurisdictions emphasizes the transnational nature of professional fields. ...Further work is therefore needed that explores the extent to which transnational professional fields are characterized by unity or heterogeneity. To that end, this article presents the results of a qualitative interrogation of the habitus of partners in ‘Big 4’ professional service firms across, primarily, five countries (Bangladesh, Canada, France, Spain and the UK). Marked differences are observed between the partner habitus in Bangladesh and the other countries studied in terms of entrepreneurial and public service dispositions. In turn, these findings highlight the methodological relevance of habitus for both the sociology of the professions and comparative capitalism literatures: for the former, habitus aids in mapping the dynamics of transnational professional fields; for the latter, habitus can elucidate the informal norms and conventions of national business systems.
Despite the economic importance of the country, corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Russia has not been examined extensively yet. Knowledge on how Russian companies perceive and practice CSR is ...strongly limited. Thus, the objective of our study is to analyze to what degree the national political and socio-economic institutions determine CSR practice, and how it is influenced by international factors, such as CSR standards, frameworks, and foreign stakeholder expectations. Based on Whitley's national business systems approach, which we use as institutional theory framework, we examine the implementation of CSR in Russia's 50 largest companies. In specific, we investigate the areas of CSR in which Russian companies are active, what stakeholders they consider, the form and financial extent of their activities, the application of international standards, and how reporting is conducted. Our results show that awareness for CSR has been fostered by the influx of Western business concepts, but the understanding and practice of CSR is predominantly determined by the country's institutional environment. CSR mostly is an extension of traditional social roles that Russian business has assumed over decades, especially during communist times.
•We examine the CSR practices of the 50 largest companies in Russia.•We use institutional theory as theoretical framework.•We find that CSR in Russia today is still strongly forged by Communist legacy.•Maintaining legitimacy through philanthropy is a major characteristic.•The influence of western CSR elements such as reporting is visible.
Comparative institutional analyses have added much to our understanding of HRM in different countries, providing powerful arguments against the need for flexible labour markets to boost economic ...performance. However, existing research has tended to downplay the possibility that variation within countries may result in a well-protected core of workers that grows ever smaller alongside increasing numbers of precarious workers. We draw on data from the World Economic Forum and the European Company Survey to examine how institutions influence establishments' use of temporary workers in 29 European countries plus Turkey. We analyse the data using (1) principal components analysis to categorize the countries in our analysis, (2) a two-step cluster analysis to draw up groups of establishments by their use of temporary workers and (3) a multilevel logistic regression to examine how the institutional setting of establishments and key establishment characteristics interact to influence workplaces' use of temporary workers. We show that institutional characteristics shape the prevalence of temporary workers in the 28 European Union member states plus FYR Macedonia and Turkey; however, institutions are not deterministic and important variation in the use of temporary workers depends upon the interaction between establishment characteristics and the establishment's business system.
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