Organizational Choices Research Articles

Assessing the relationship between organizational culture and strategic decision-making through the mediating effect of the dynamic environment in the Jordanian ICT industry

The need for organizations to remain flexible is crucial. This study aims to assess the way organizational culture, dynamic environments, and strategic choices can be related in the case of the Jordanian ICT industry with emphasis on the mediating effect of the dynamic environment. The paper employed a questionnaire sent to 256 employees from several ICT companies involved in strategic decision-making and planning. The analyses showed that organizational culture significantly affects strategic decision-making, with the dynamic environment serving as an important mediator. More precisely, it explained 50.6% of the variance in decision-making (R² = 0.506) and 52.2% of the variance in perceptions about the dynamic environment (R² = 0.522). Thus, consistency (p = 0.007) and adaptability (p = 0.006) emerged as critical cultural dimensions that enhance effective strategic decision-making. Additionally, the prominent effect of the dynamic environment on decision-making was identified (p = 0.000). Therefore, Jordan’s ICT companies can enhance their strategic decision-making and gain a competitive advantage in a sustainable manner by focusing on organizational culture with priorities on consistency and adaptability. This kind of culture ensures better alignment with strategies and quick responses to market or technological changes, contributing to long-term business sustainability. Acknowledgment Acknowledgments are expressed to Middle East University, Amman, Jordan, for the financial support to cover this article’s publishing fee.

When Should Sustainability Have A C‐Suite Seat? An Empirical Study on the Environmental and Organizational Correlates of Chief Sustainability Officer Positions

ABSTRACTThis study follows a theory‐based approach to examine both environmental and organizational factors related to chief sustainability officer (CSO) positions. We argue that the creation of CSO positions is driven by a combination of external and internal factors, and yet to date there has been limited research that integrates both perspectives to examine the presence and authority of CSO roles. Using a sample of S&P 500 firms, we found that the presence of CSO positions was related both externally to environmental conditions such as regulatory pressures and industry dynamism, and internally to organizational choices such as board‐level sustainability committees and internationalization. We also found that CSO authority was positively related to the organizational factors but not the environmental variables. This study complements existing CSO research by examining the factors linked to CSO presence and authority. The findings may assist researchers and practitioners in better understanding the effectiveness of CSO roles.

Engaging firms and populations in ecosystem web: deploying a multi-paradigmatic construct to resolve pluralism in organizational theory

Strategic management theorists, organizational ecologists, organizational theorists, and ecosystem theorists deploy different perspectives to theorize, model, and analyze organizational forms. Organizational constructs, independent of the unitary or aggregate level, can be seen along the duality of social determinism and free will. The four configurations of organizational forms, namely, system structure, strategic choice, natural selection, and collective action view, adapted from organizational theory literature, are modeled from the business ecosystem perspective. Disruptive forces in the environment warrant organizational forms that can withstand the disruption. Deploying business ecosystems as an integrative organizational theory construct can provide meaningful insights in the form of a novel architecture that can consolidate multi-paradigmatic perspectives appropriate for all organizational forms. This study leverages the power of analogy, transverses the conceptual underpinning of the term business ecosystem, reveals the intricacies of firm and population behavior, and explains relationships across various organizational forms within the ecosystem construct. Toward the end, the authors propose a business ecosystem as a multi-paradigmatic, meta-theoretical construct to map and navigate diverse organizational forms, thereby guiding the thoughts and actions of thinkers and practitioners in organizational theory.

SME representation in chambers of commerce bodies – a model perspective

Background: The research analyzes the formal representation of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the bodies of chambers of commerce in a model-based approach. Research purpose: Chambers of commerce are managed by their bodies (board, general assembly, etc.). Their composition is most often chosen by members in elections. It should reflect the structure of the associated enterprises – at least in terms of industry and size classes. The division of mandates affects the operational activity of the organization – including the content of positions developed in consultation processes and services provided to entrepreneurs. The aim of the study is to verify whether in the countries selected for analysis (representing different models of functioning of chambers of commerce) there are regulations securing the formal representation of SMEs in the bodies of chambers. And if they do exist, what form do they take? In addition to determining the actual situation, the advisability and possible way of regulating the SME parity in several model scenarios is analyzed. Methods: Using the deductive method and critical analysis, the study analyzes the statutes of chambers of commerce in selected countries and reviews sociological, economic and legal literature. Conclusions: The findings indicate that there are only a few examples of regulations protecting the representation of SMEs in chambers’ bodies. It was also found that the rules for representing different sized enterprises in the bodies and task groups of chambers of commerce are closely linked to the model of these organizations. In the Anglo-Saxon private law model, business owners primarily participate voluntarily in selected organizations. However, in countries with a single chamber per region, free choice of organization does not in fact exist. In the continental public law model, where membership is universal by operation of law, statutes focus primarily on mapping the structure of dominant industries in a region and usually omit other criteria. The sectoral model offers the greatest potential for balancing the representation of every size of industry and enterprise.

Follow which leader? Spatial mimicry and broad‐based equity‐ and profit‐sharing plans

AbstractOrganizations have both local and nationally prominent peers from which they can model their human resource management practices. How does a focal organization reconcile the influence of smaller, spatially proximate peer organizations with the influence of prominent, distant organizations? We develop the concept of spatial mimetic gravity to estimate the mimetic pressures a focal organization feels from its geographically proximate and distant peers. We examine the population of craft beer brewers in the United States between 2013 and 2019 and find that the propensity to offer a stock ownership or profit‐sharing plan is a function of a focal brewery's spatial proximity to its peers and their prominence. We help explain why some firms offer broad‐based equity‐sharing and profit‐sharing plans and others do not. In doing so, we argue that organizational spatial mimicry is best understood from a gravity approach, adding a field‐level explanation to previously individually focused theory about organizational choices.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF COOPERATION BETWEEN FREIGHT FORWARDING ENTERPRISES AND CUSTOMS-LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTS

The purpose of the paper is to plan the activities of freight forwarding enterprises when organizing cooperation with customs-logistics infrastructure objects to meet customer needs. The efficiency indicators of cargo customs complexes, customs warehouses, and temporary storage warehouses were analyzed. The process of selecting customs-logistics infrastructure objects with varying levels of organizational, technical, and technological support was investigated. The proposed development will enable specialists of freight forwarding enterprises to form recommendations for cooperation with customs-logistics infrastructure objects in accordance with individual customer needs. Methodology. The determination of technical and operational performance indicators of customs-logistics infrastructure objects was implemented based on a simulation model developed in the GPSS software environment. This approach allows for the identification of deviations of generalized performance indicators of infrastructure objects from benchmark levels, which are formed taking into account customer requirements. Findings. To ensure a high level of competitiveness of the freight forwarding enterprise, it is necessary to use modern software systems capable of implementing management decisions regarding the formation of partnerships with customs-logistics infrastructure objects. Based on the assessment of technical and operational performance indicators of cargo customs complexes, customs warehouses, and temporary storage warehouses, and considering the main requirements of service customers, it becomes possible to select the most efficient business entity for cooperation. A significant advantage of the proposed development is the ability to perform a comparative analysis of the efficiency indicators of all studied enterprises in relation to the benchmark infrastructure object. Originality. The proposed simulation model for selecting customs-logistics infrastructure objects will allow specialists of freight forwarding enterprises to make a choice of intermediary organizations based on a comparative analysis of the technical and operational performance of the studied objects. Practical value. The practical significance of this work lies in the fact that the proposed model enables the selection of the customs-logistics infrastructure object that most effectively meets the individual needs of the customer. This will make it possible to plan the work of the freight forwarding enterprise based on the implementation of organizational and management measures that will positively impact the internal processes of the organization and contribute to forming its competitive advantages in the market of freight forwarding services. This implementation will reduce the duration of freight forwarding and customs-logistics services and minimize commercial risks at all stages of foreign trade operations by establishing cooperation with the most efficient intermediary organizations.

Risk and Reward: How Shadow Economies Impact the Financial Practices of Militant Organizations

ABSTRACT Violent non-state actors often maintain diverse economic portfolios to fund their operations and endure. While some tactics yield limited funds, such as opportunistic robberies or kidnappings, other activities such as smuggling and drug trafficking can produce consistently high returns, but require complex planning, coordination and execution. This study delves into the nexus between the economic environments in which militant groups operate and their funding tactics. We hypothesize that the magnitude of a state’s informal economy plays a significant role in shaping the fundraising choices of militant organizations. Specifically, groups operating within states with expansive shadow economies are likely to lean towards intricate, high-yield fundraising tactics over unpredictable, hit-or-miss methods. States with sprawling informal sectors often grapple with governance deficiencies, that provide fertile ground for collaborations between militant factions and criminal syndicates and enable them to pursue lucrative funding opportunities that demand connections and logistical infrastructure. We use the case study of FARC to illustrate our argument, and test our arguments quantitatively using group-level data on the funding activities of militant organizations around the world between 1998–2012.

Exploring Genre Awareness: L2 Learners’ Voices in Tertiary-Level Writing Contexts

This study explored tertiary-level L2 learners’ familiarization with genre-specific conventions in English writing skills. Employing a qualitative research paradigm, data were gathered via semi-structured interviews with 26 L2 learners. An inductive content analysis was conducted to elicit recurring codes and themes. The learners expressed strengths encompassing the recognition of genre-specific features, awareness of linguistic and organizational conventions in genre writing, and formality level. They highlighted the challenges in their orientation to genre identification, text organization, and genre-specific language choices. The learners established connections between these challenges and limited prior writing experience in L1 and L2 and their subsequent reliance on L2 formal knowledge. Further sources of challenges were linked to affective factors, language proficiency, genre convention mastery, and topic familiarity. They reported feeling anxious due to unfamiliarity with genre features, lack of interest in a given topic, inadequate pre-writing, and planning stage, the demanding nature of the process-genre writing instruction, and instructors’ expectations. They proposed suggestions regarding the mastery of lexical and grammatical knowledge, the provision of effective feedback from instructors to improve textual organization, and genre-specific language conventions. Accordingly, instructional implications for the cultivation of genre knowledge and awareness of tertiary-level writing skills are presented.

Paradoxical founders’ identity and its impact on social venture performance

PurposeThis study explores the structure of founders’ hybrid personal identities and their relationship to social venture performance. The authors hypothesize that founders experience the tension between the social and commercial goals of their venture as a paradox rooted in their personal values.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed 112 social enterprise founders in Chile and used structural equation modeling to test hypotheses about the relationship between self-transcendent values (i.e. promotion of others’ welfare and care for nature) and self-enhancement values (i.e. pursuing own interests and power over others) on a multidimensional scale of social venture performance.FindingsSelf-transcendence and self-enhancement are distinct yet interrelated values that coexist within social venture founders (i.e. they constitute a paradox). Self-transcendence values negatively moderate the positive relationship between self-enhancement values and social venture performance.Practical implicationsMere benevolence is insufficient for effective social venturing; success depends on the founder’s self-enhancement values or their “drive” to succeed. Founder values can thus inform organizational design choices (e.g. tasks, team composition, structures and processes) and guide public and private investment decisions.Originality/valueThis research empirically assesses the structure of hybrid personal identities, uncovering how the concurrent action of self-transcendence and self-enhancement values influences social venture performance. The authors challenge the belief that balancing social and commercial goals benefits social venture performance. Best-performing ventures are those whose founder’s exhibit high self-enhancement and low self-transcendence values.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SELF-ACUALIZING IN THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY OF MEDAN CITY

<span lang="EN-US">North Sumatra has a population of 14.8 million, and the municipality of Medan has 2.4 million, consisting of 1.21 million men and 1.22 million women. There are more women than men, with the assumption that women are more likely to show self-actualization. The purpose of this study is how the role of women in self-actualization in the life of the people of Medan city. This study uses data collection methods through a qualitative method, case studies, interviews through informants. The subjects of this study were four women who are members of the IWAPI Organization, FKMI. The results show that women's self-actualization is a person's potential to realize and maximize their potential, especially for women. In this case, the women in the IWAPI Organization, FKMI, have chosen and determined an organization's choice as an appropriate forum. Therefore, they can position themselves as women who actualize themselves. Women's self-actualization in the IWAPI, FKMI organizations is not hampered by government regulations or discriminatory government policies. Based on observations and documentation data of women researchers at the IWAPI Organization, FKMI that along with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging self-improvement through self-actualization in family and community life in the city of Medan.</span>

The Rise of Pass-Throughs: an Empirical Investigation

Abstract Almost half of all private employment in the United States is within businesses that do not pay corporate income tax. Instead, business income passes through to the owners’ individual income taxes. This pass-through share of employment has more than tripled since the early 1980s. Using comprehensive, confidential administrative data, this paper highlights five core findings underlying this growth: (1) the rise in pass-throughs is pervasive across industries and states; (2) the pass-through share converges unconditionally across both; (3) entrants’ organisational choices drive 60% of the rise; (4) shifts in firm and organisational dynamics following the 1986 Tax Reform Act show continued effects through the 2000s; (5) organisational forms exhibit high persistence with little life-cycle variation. Our study implies that tax or regulatory policy changes might take decades to manifest fully.

The Construction of Order for Social Organizations to Carry out Social Innovation: Evolutionary Logic, Operational Mechanism and Path Choice

Social innovation refers to the innovative phenomenon of bringing new solutions and development opportunities in the field of social development through changes in the way of thinking, technical means and management mode by means of social forces such as organizations, institutions and social groups. During the 30 years of reform and opening up, the innovation practices led by social organizations and the social networks they build have gradually become an important main body of social innovation in China. The article analyzes the course of change of the management system of social organizations from the perspective of historical institutionalism, places the social innovation led by social organizations in the three-dimensional analytical framework of “system-course-behavior”, and examines the logical evolution of the order of social innovation and the mechanism of social innovation along the trajectory of the interaction between the government and social organizations. Under the operating mechanism consisting of the institutional arrangement of the authoritative body, spontaneous exploration and dynamic strategic choice of social organizations, the benign interaction between the government and society can reduce the cost and risk of social innovation, reduce the loss of resources and vicious competition, and achieve the balance and stability of social innovation order.

The emergence and organizational choices of patient advocacy associations: Evidence from the Italian context.

Within many advanced healthcare systems, patient advocacy associations are gaining a more relevant role in healthcare policy decisions. These associations provide help, representation, and voice to patients and citizens. However, although their role is important, a paucity of research exists analyzing their foundation dynamics, including their organizational decision, from a managerial perspective. To fill this knowledge gap, we formulated two research questions to investigate the motivations underlying the foundation of patient advocacy associations and the institutional pressures influencing the changes that have occurred in these associations throughout their evolution. Using a semi-structured questionnaire developed as part of a larger research project, we collected data about 31 patient advocacy associations operating within the Italian National Health Service. We employed qualitative analysis to examine the associations' birth and evolution as well as the motivations and influences driving change within the sampled organizations. Questionnaire responses provided information about the patient advocacy associations' histories and highlighted their close links with the Italian National Health Service. Our results indicated the motivations for the associations' establishment could be grouped into five categories: support at the system level, patient protection and support, actions to increase awareness, actions for improving patients' health and quality of life, and dissemination of knowledge. We also identified the frequency and nature of the changes within the associations and explored the institutional pressures that influenced these organizational changes. The results can be interpreted considering the organizational theories that focus on organizations' establishment decisions and how external pressures impact organizations' dynamics and evolution.

Entrepreneurship in the Age of Social Media

Abstract Social media is ubiquitous and continuously evolving. This study investigates the impact of social media on the intention toward entrepreneurship/self-employment. Further, we explore the moderating effect of social media on the relationships between women, self-efficacy and leisure activities on intention toward entrepreneurship/self-employment using a survey-based dataset. We find that the ability to take advantage of social media within an entrepreneurial context does not necessarily mean that an individual is propelled towards entrepreneurship, however proactive individuals are able to exhibit this characteristic, as are creative women. A counter-intuitive finding is that entrepreneurship and conventional organizational employment choices are not mutually exclusive. While risk aversion inhibits entrepreneurship as expected, contextual conditions such as being married or being employed affects men and women differently.

Understanding the role of organizational design in fostering long-term dynamic capabilities: a longitudinal case study

PurposeOrganizational design has been suggested as a facilitator of an organization’s dynamic capabilities. This study aims to investigate the role of organizational design in the concept of dynamic capabilities and explores how it facilitates long-term dynamic capabilities in practice.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were collected via a longitudinal case study conducted at a global company engaged in the development and manufacture of railway equipment. Specifically, this study focused on one of the organization’s sites in Sweden for a period of approximately five years.FindingsOrganizational design has a twofold impact on dynamic capabilities, functioning as both a facilitator and an impediment. It is essential for structures and processes to align with the available resources and capabilities of an organization. Moreover, managers’ beliefs and decision making significantly influence the extent to which organizational design choices effectively foster dynamic organizational performance.Originality/valueThis longitudinal case study contributes to the theory of dynamic capabilities by identifying key changes in an organization that is transforming to become more dynamic and the impact of organizational design on the organization’s dynamic capabilities.

Dubify: Multilingual Video Translation Platform

In an increasingly globalized society, effective cross-linguistic communication is essential. This brief presents a new approach. Dubify is a feature-rich application created to facilitate smooth translation of video information between languages. Dubify uses advanced machine learning algorithms to provide real-time translation services, ensuring that video content is understandable and accessible to viewers around the world. Strong speech recognition, accurate translation, and natural language generation are some of Dubify's main strengths. Thanks to the platform's extensive language support, users can easily translate video content into multiple languages. In addition, Dubify offers customization tools that allow users to adjust translations to suit their particular taste and dialect. Dubify's easy-to-use interface and advanced translation skills make it a flexible choice for individuals, businesses, and organizations looking to translate

Tight or Loose: Analysis of the Organization Cognition Process of Epidemic Risk and Policy Selection

In the context of Disease X risks, how governments and public health authorities make policy choices in response to potential epidemics has become a topic of increasing concern. The tightness of epidemic prevention policies is related to the effectiveness of the implementation of measures, while the organizational cognition of epidemic risks is related to the rationality of policy choices. During the three years of COVID-19, the Chinese government constantly adjusted the tightness of its prevention policies as awareness of the epidemic risk improved. Therefore, based on the epidemic risk organizational cognition model, the key nodes that affect the tightness of epidemic prevention policies can be explored to find the organizational behavior rules behind the selection of prevention policies. Firstly, through observing the adjustments made to the Chinese government’s prevention strategies during the epidemic, a time-series cross-case comparative analysis reveals how policy tightness shifted from stringent to lenient. This shift coincided with the organizational cognition of epidemic risk evolving from vague to clear. Secondly, by building the “knowledge-cognition” coordinate system to draw the organizational cognition spiral of epidemic risk, it is clear that the changes in the tightness of the prevention policies mainly came from the internalization and externalization of knowledge such as epidemic risk characteristics to promote the level of organizational cognition, which is manifested as expansion and deepening. Thirdly, the node changes in the interaction between organizational cognition development and policy choice proved that different stages of the epidemic had diverse environmental parameters. Moreover, as the epidemic nears its end, the focus of policy tightness is shifting from policy objectives to policy implementation around governance tools. The results indicate that organizational cognition of epidemic risk exhibits significant stages and periodicity. Additionally, epidemic risk characteristics, environmental coupling, and governance tools are crucial factors in determining the tightness of epidemic prevention policies.

The Impact of Online Competition on Local Newspapers: Evidence from the Introduction of Craigslist

Abstract How does competition from online platforms affect the organization, performance, and editorial choices of newspapers? What are the implications of these changes for the information voters are exposed to and for their political choices? We study these questions using the staggered introduction of Craigslist — the world’s largest online platform for classified advertising — across US counties between 1995 and 2009. This setting allows us to separate the effect of competition for classified advertising from other changes brought about by the Internet, and to compare newspapers that relied more or less heavily on classified ads ex ante. We find that, following the entry of Craigslist, local newspapers reliant on classified ads experienced a significant decline in the number of management and newsroom staff, including in the number of editors covering politics. These organizational changes led to a reduction in news coverage of politics and resulted in a decline in newspaper readership, particularly among readers with high political interest. Finally, we document that reduced exposure to local political news was associated with an increase in partisan voting and increased entry and success of ideologically extreme candidates in congressional elections. Taken together, our findings shed light on the determinants of the decline of print media and on its broader implications for democratic politics.

The link between organizational choice and global input sourcing under sequential production

AbstractThis article analyzes the ways heterogenous firms procure their inputs in the presence of relationship‐specific investments and incomplete contracts. We first consider a closed economy in which firms decide how to structure their organization. Production is sequential and inputs (upstream and downstream) are sourced in the same order as production. While our closed‐economy setup is analogous to Antràs and Chor (Econometrica, 2013), there are two distinct features: (1) The reward to each supplier is determined through bargaining over the full revenue of the firm (as opposed to marginal contribution of the supplier), and (2) The reward structure combined with our sequential bargaining protocol gives rise to linkages across suppliers. The analysis in Antràs and Chor (Econometrica, 2013) identifies a mechanism in which upstream organizational decisions have spillover effects on downstream suppliers' investment incentives. Thanks to our novel features, we identify another mechanism: the spillover effects of downstream organizational decisions on the investment incentive of upstream suppliers. Next, we consider an open economy in which firms not only make organizational decisions but also determine where to source their inputs. We show that these decisions are connected between sequential production stages such that the sourcing location of the upstream input may affect the organizational choice in the downstream stage. We then examine how within sectoral heterogeneity and variations in industry characteristics influence the relative prevalence of firms that choose to form different organizational structures.

Landscape of Digital Technologies Used in the National Health Service in England: Content Analysis.

In England, digital technologies are exploited to transform the way health and social care is provided and encompass a wide range of hardware devices and software that are used in all aspects of health care. However, little is known about the extent to which health care providers differ in digital health technology capabilities and how this relates to geographical and regional differences in health care capacities and resources. This paper aims to identify the set of digital technologies that have been deployed by the National Health Services clinical commissioning groups (NHS CCGs) in England. In doing this, we respond to calls to shed light on the internal dynamics and variation in the form of digital capability in England in terms of health service regional differences and health diversity, equity, and inclusion. We collected 135 annual reports that belong to 106 NHS CCGs in England, comprising more than 18,000 pages in total, released from 2020 to 2021. Using this data set, we identified 2163 pages related to digital technologies and labeled them using content analysis. We follow the construct taxonomy used by digital options theory, a theory from the management information systems field analyzing organizational resource investment choices, in classifying observed technologies according to digital themes-inherent design patterns that we identified and explained. We then used a hierarchical clustering method to extract groups of NHS CCGs that implement similar technology themes. We found 31 technologies from the reports and grouped them into 9 digital themes. The 9 themes were further assigned to 1 of the 3 constructs of digital options theory, the identification of patients' requirements (we identified information portals [76/106], digital health engagement [67/106], and digital inclusion support [45/106]), the development of new work patterns (we identified telehealth [87/106], telemedicine [35/106], and care home technologies [40/106]), the realization of improvements in efficiency and public accessibility (we identified online booking [26/106], online triage [104/106], and digital mental health services [74/106]). The 3 clusters of CCGs are identified based on the 8 themes (Hopkins=0.9914, silhouette=0.186), namely (1) digitally disengaged, (2) digitally engaged, and (3) digital torchbearer. Our findings show prominent digital themes within each construct group, namely information portals, telehealth, and online triage, covering people's fundamental health information needs. Almost half of CCGs fell into the digitally disengaged group, and all London CCGs (5/106) belonged to this group. We propose that practitioners should offer specialized assistance to regions with limited digital engagement, emphasizing digital health literacy, inclusion support, and ongoing evaluation, rather than concentrating solely on technical advancements.