Management Research News

David F. Elloy

2008 Management Research News

doi: 10.1108/01409170810913015

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between self‐leadership behaviors in a self‐managed work team environment and relevant organizational variables, i.e. supervisory trust, decision‐making, feedback and team goal setting. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected on‐site over a period of three days from employees working in a non‐union paper mill located in a small rural community in the northwestern region of the USA. The survey was completed by 141 employees, representing a 99 per cent response rate. Self‐leadership, supervisory trust, decision‐making, feedback and team goal setting were measured using different scales. Findings – The results indicated that supervisors, who give feedback, and who are perceived as trusting, and encouraging innovative behaviors contribute to the development of self‐leadership behaviors of rehearsal, self‐goal setting, self‐criticism, self‐reinforcement, self‐expectation and self‐observation. In addition, providing team training, fostering communication within the team, and allowing the team members to make work related decisions also enhance the movement toward self‐management. Research limitations/implications – The study relied on self‐report data, thereby allowing for the possibility of same source bias. However this is a common problem with cross‐sectional designs. Originality/value – The paper is of value in pointing out that a different approach to leadership is required in a self‐managed work team environment, and by suggesting that building trust, fostering communication within the team, giving feedback and encouraging goal setting, innovative behaviors, and decision‐making can contribute to the development of self‐leadership behaviors important to the success and effectiveness of self‐managed work teams. Organizations should therefore through training programs encourage the development of these behaviors.

Concepción López‐Fernández; Ana M a Serrano‐Bedia; Gema García‐Piqueres

2008 Management Research News

doi: 10.1108/01409170810913024

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence innovative firms in the manufacturing and service sectors in Spain to cooperate with research institutions in their innovation activities, and to examine the differences between types of firm. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review is used to identify variables likely to influence a decision to cooperate with research institutions. A logit regression model is then used to verify the importance of those variables. The empirical study was carried out using 2,000 Spanish community innovation survey data. The study sample was 3,964 innovative service and manufacturing firms. Findings – It is found that spillovers, R&D intensity, costs, risks and alternative cooperation strategies influence both manufacturing and service firms in the same way in their decision to cooperate with research institutions in R&D. However, the variables relating to firm size, being part of a larger group of companies and type of innovation were shown to affect manufacturing and service companies differently. Research limitations/implications – There was no control over the possible bias introduced into the study by not including firms that were not innovative. The variables included in the study were constrained by the availability of information supplied by the Technological Innovation Survey. And finally, the comparative study of innovative behaviour in manufacturing and services is exploratory in nature. Practical implications – The empirical results make it possible to identify a profile of the Spanish manufacturing and service firms that cooperate with research institutions. Originality/value – This paper is original in exploring the differences between manufacturing and service firms in relation to the determinants of establishing institutional cooperation in R&D.

Leonora C. Hamilton; Ramachandra Asundi

2008 Management Research News

doi: 10.1108/01409170810913033

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if firms that invest in information technology (IT) and innovate are more profitable than those that do not and to analyze how firms in general and on the island of Puerto Rico, in particular, have found an avenue to compete, grow, and become profitable using technology in production and service, and by extending into the use of electronic commerce. Some recent investigations find that investments in IT do not lead to productivity improvements as measured by accounting standards. Earlier research identified four factors that can lead to such a paradoxical finding. Design/methodology/approach – The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate, utilizing a case method approach, the extent to which small and medium firms in different industries are prone to this paradoxical condition. Six firms identified in Puerto Rico were contacted to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information from senior officers and CEOs through personal and telephone interviews. Findings – Utilizing the four factor influence on productivity output of IT investment in each of the present case, the findings show that their effect and subsequent limitations on the broadly defined output measure is minimal. Thus the findings show improved productivity and growth in each of the cases. Research limitations/implications – A major limitation of the present study is the lack of (proper) quantitative data both at the input stage of IT investment and the output stage of quantitative measures. Originality/value – The paper is of value in illustrating how small and medium enterprises can successfully adopt and incorporate IT while assuming the necessary investment costs, reaping the benefits of productivity, profitability, and growth within a reasonable span of time.

Guido J.L. Micheli; Enrico Cagno; Marta Zorzini

2008 Management Research News

doi: 10.1108/01409170810913042

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand whether a link between the use of supplier selection (SS) and supply risk management (SRM) exists and whether further contextual factors which lead to the use of SRM and of SS exist in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) sector. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple case study has been undertaken as an empirical analysis to answer a series of research questions. The data have been collected through structured interviews to corporate procurement directors of companies belonging to the Italian EPC sector and operating in an engineer‐to‐order fashion. Findings – The results of the research point out that supply risk can be managed through both SS and SRM. These two different approaches are used alternatively by the companies investigated under resource constraints. A further set of contextual factors leading to the use of SRM (project orientation in supply management, use of partnerships with suppliers, corporate standardisation), and a contextual factor leading to the use of SS (need of co‐design) are highlighted in the EPC sector. Research limitations/implications – Although the sample of the in‐depth research is representative of the Italian EPC sector, its size implies care in drawing a fully generalizable conclusion. Moreover, the research focuses on companies belonging only to the EPC sector, but the behaviours could significantly vary in other sectors. Originality/value – The paper is of value in identifying product‐ and supplier‐related factors for SRM including cultural (project orientation in supply management), strategic (use of partnerships with suppliers), and organizational (corporate standardisation).

Ike‐Elechi Ogba

2008 Management Research News

doi: 10.1108/01409170810913051

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend previous research on employee commitment to their organisation within the Nigerian banking sector. This paper aims to use income and age as variables in assessing employee commitment to their organisations in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach was employed in data collection, using a 28‐item, seven‐point Likert scaled questionnaire administered to 200 participants with a 42 per cent usable response rate. A factor analysis resulted in three components of commitment. Findings – The results from the analysis indicate that employees with high income represent the same group of employees within the age groups 31‐35 with low commitment to their organisation. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates that the relationships between age, income and commitment might be explained by reference to cultural factors which might have stronger influence on employee expression of commitment to their organisations.

Martin Spraggon; Virginia Bodolica

2008 Management Research News

doi: 10.1108/01409170810913060

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore knowledge creation processes in small innovative hi‐tech firms operating in the software industry. Design/methodology/approach – The research framework examines specific action and interaction processes aiming at creating knowledge. This exploratory research is constituted by five case studies, each of them being represented by a small Canadian software firm. Analysis draws upon four sources of data. A total of 15 interviews (three per case) had been conducted and subsequently transcribed and coded using qualitative software – Nvivo 07 . Findings – The results of the study reveal that interaction processes permitting the creation of knowledge in small hi‐tech firms can take place via: formal meetings; informal communities; project teams; external interaction; and information technology‐tools. Rapid prototyping represents the kernel activity of knowledge creation through action. Details of the results, implications of the findings, and conclusions are presented and discussed. Research limitations/implications – This paper is based on a limited number of case studies, therefore empirical results cannot be generalized. Future research on larger samples of small Canadian software firms is needed, using the same eligibility criteria and comparing the same knowledge creation processes as those explored in this study. Other promising avenues of inquiry include such questions as the way small knowledge‐based firms operating in turbulent environments organize internally to create knowledge, the conditions enabling the generation of knowledge, and the particular “spaces” in which knowledge creation occurs in these firms. Practical implications – The systematic description and comparison of knowledge creation processes in each explored company contribute to the better understanding of specific “interaction” and “action” processes through which knowledge is generated, enabling practitioners in small innovative hi‐tech firms to design appropriate policies and procedures for enhancing knowledge creation behaviors of their employees. Originality/value – This research is among the first and most exhaustive exploratory and comparative studies carried out in the Canadian context of small firms operating in the software industry.