General Management Literature Research Articles

Turning crisis into chances: Tourism entrepreneurs’ timing strategies amidst emergencies

PURPOSE: Nowadays enterprises operate in a very turbulent environment characterized by frequent, significant, and often unpredictable changes. Such conditions, including crises, force enterprises to take quick actions to adapt to changing conditions. The aim of the paper is to identify chances and timing strategies used by tourism entrepreneurs in conditions of large-scale emergencies (such as COVID-19) and show how they can serve organizational resilience. METHODOLOGY: Qualitative research was conducted in the form of 12 individual in-depth interviews and 4 focus group interviews with 22 representatives of selected industries in the tourism sector. The concept of chance management and timing strategies is used to present how, according to our interviewees, changes in the environment caused by the pandemic contributed to the survival and development of their entities in the tourism market. FINDINGS: The research findings showed that changes caused by the pandemic allowed entities to identify several chances. These chances mainly concerned the introduction of changes to the offer (accelerating previously planned changes and enabling the introduction of unplanned changes). Moreover, they provided the chances to use held digital competences and time to think about the company’s development strategy, as well as establishing and developing relationships with stakeholders. Additionally, our research identified four timing strategies used by tourism entrepreneurs in the time of crisis, i.e. chance-grasping strategy, chance-entraining strategy, chance-riding strategy, and chance-creating strategy. IMPLICATIONS: Tourism enterprises are highly exposed to operating in crisis conditions. Therefore, chance management can be very useful in their activity and our research findings can be also useful regarding its theoretical and practical implications. From the theoretical point of view, we show how the concept of chance management (in particular timing strategies) can be useful for analyzing the reactions of tourism entrepreneurs to changes in times of crisis and taking advantage of opportunities arising from crisis situations. From a practical point of view, we show what strategies, depending on entrepreneurs’ subjective assessment of the current and future conditions for implementing changes, can serve organizational resilience in times of crisis. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This paper fills a research gap related to the use of the concepts of chance management and timing strategies from the perspective of tourist enterprises resilience, previously not used in this context and to a limited extent used in the general management literature so far.

“Like Ships in the Night” and the Paradox of Distinctiveness for Sport Management: A Citation Network Analysis of Institutional Theory in Sport

A central issue within sport management is the extent to which the field should develop a distinctive theoretical knowledge base. This paper empirically investigates the connectedness within (intrafield) and between (interfield) management and sport management disciplines in one specific knowledge domain—institutional theory. We utilized a database of 188 sport-related institutional studies and conducted a citation network analysis of the aggregated reference lists from these articles. We argue that the fields of management and sport management act like “ships in the night.” That is, as the field of sport management has become more distinctive, the field is becoming less connected with general management literature and contemporary theoretical discussions. Potential implications for sport management scholarship and understanding the nature of the field are discussed, along with how it may be possible (if desired) to bridge the gap between sport and management research.

Captain and conscript or companions in operational reconfiguration? The case of an infrastructure owner with projects and asset management units

Infrastructure owners with projects and asset management units reconfigure their operational capabilities to deal with external stressors. We distinguish between two reconfiguration approaches, the discrete and the continuous approach. The discrete approach is broadly adopted in the infrastructure sector and draws from the project capabilities literature, whereas the continuous approach draws from the general management literature and views reconfiguration as a best practice dynamic capability. This article compares and contrasts the two approaches by leveraging an ethnographic study of an infrastructure owner. We explain why the discrete approach was initially adopted but ultimately failed. Later, by adopting the continuous approach, the organisation succeeded by enabling the two units to work collaboratively by developing two dynamic capabilities: negotiating and disseminating for reconfiguring their operational capabilities. Our research contributes to the theoretical elaboration of why and how change management processes succeed or fail. We discuss the implications of our study to the capabilities literature and project organising research and the managerial implications of developing dynamic capabilities for operational reconfiguration in organisations with projects and asset management units.

Emergent organizing: Origins and evolution of temporary crisis response organizations

Projects and other temporary organizations play a key role in crisis response. However, little is known about how these organizations adapt and change over time as crises last. We conducted a qualitative, longitudinal study of emergent organizing in temporary crisis organizations. This paper focuses on the origins and development of three temporary organizations responding to the COVID-19 crisis in the Netherlands and how these evolved during the crisis. Results of this study show three stages of emergent organizing: identification of operational voids, dynamics of emergent organizing, and solidification. As such, we theorize how emergent organizing is initiated and how it unfolds in longitudinal crises. In this way, our study contributes to literature on project management, crisis management theory, and the general organization and management literature.

What is value in the New Space Economy? The end-users’ perspective on satellite data and solutions

New industrial dynamics are disrupting the space sector. New stakeholders bringing in capital, technologies, and knowledge from other industries are developing next-generation space infrastructures and services. Both commercial and institutional space projects have to be valuable for a wider set of end-users, asking not only for economic returns but also social and environmental benefits. Space organizations urge understanding and fostering value in the New Space Economy ecosystem. Indeed, end-users are still struggling to enact the expected value of satellite data and solutions for their business. This paper aims to investigate the expected value and the level of adoption (enacted value) of satellite data and satellite-based solutions in the New Space Economy ecosystem from end-users’ perspective. We interviewed 21 managers from end-user organizations in different sectors (i.e., Insurance & Finance, Energy & Utility, Transportation & Logistics). Value is deeply discussed in general management literature, and we identify Value Theory as the theoretical lens with the most explanatory power for the phenomenon under examination. From the end-users’ perspective, we frame the expected value and the enacted value in taking strategic and tactical decisions regarding their activities, services and products, laying the foundations for further studies of value mechanisms in the New Space ecosystem. Our research set a theoretical and conceptual foundation on value in the New Space ecosystem. It also delineates the blurred boundaries of the New Space ecosystem, the main stakeholders involved, and their perception of value. Insights and implications for strategic and innovation management are also provided. Practitioners may exploit our research results and leverage the end-users-oriented framework to develop next-generation space projects in the New Space ecosystem. We also discuss the limitations and further developments of this research.

20 years of workplace diversity research in hospitality and tourism: a bibliometric analysis

PurposeThis paper charts the development of diversity research in hospitality and tourism (H&T) as a field of study. The authors are interested in how diversity has been studied, where diversity scholarship has been published, who are the leading diversity scholars and whether the scholars work has been influential. In addition, the authors identified the institutions and countries that contribute significantly to diversity scholarship in H&T.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection, Scopus and Australian Business Dean's Council (ABDC) Journal Quality List covering 109 journals to identify the relevant articles on workplace diversity in H&T. The authors conducted evaluative and relational bibliometric techniques to assess the prominence of diversity scholarship in the field.FindingsDiversity research in H&T did not gain traction until 2005. Using Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal as a benchmark, the authors found that diversity research in H&T closely tracked the diversity topics in general organization and management literature. However, H&T lagged in race and ethnic, as well as gender identity research. A majority of diversity research is published in leading (top-ranked) journals, signifying the value of diversity scholarship in H&T. Hospitality journals published the most articles, while tourism journals reported the highest impact. Scholars based in the USA, China and the United Kingdom (UK) contributed the most diversity articles, but one researcher, Osman M. Karatepe (Turkey), stood out as the most productive and influential diversity scholar in H&T.Practical implicationsThe insights from this study aid H&T scholars in identifying trends and opportunities in diversity research, assessing the productivity and impact of various journals and databases, locating collaborative opportunities (through co-citations and highly productive and influential institutions and scholars) and benchmarking the scholars’ own work.Originality/valueGiven an absence of prior review and diversity research has only gained ground in the H&T literature since 2005, this bibliometric study offers a fossil record and documents the trajectory of diversity scholarship in H&T, identifies the scholars who are active in this area of research and highlights institutions and countries where diversity research is conducted.

An empirical investigation of determinants of corporate social performance using multi‐dimensional panel data analysis

An assessment of the determinants of corporate social performance (CSP) in emerging economies is still too fractured. This article contributes to general management literature by developing an empirical model based on the existing theoretical models rooted in neo‐institutional theory (legitimacy approach), stakeholders management theory, agency theory, the resource‐based view of the firm, slack resources argument, and managerial control theory. A robust, multidimensional, unweighted disclosure index was used to measure CSP. This article provides a methodologically and empirically more rigorous assessment of determinants of CSP compared to previous studies by performing panel data regression analysis on 307 firms for 10 years. The results reveal that the presence of a legal framework, board attributes (board size, board diversity, board interlocking), women on board, ownership pattern, financial performance, firm attributes (size, age, leverage), and industry characteristics affect CSP significantly. These findings provide very important clues to design pragmatic strategies to improve CSP.

Examining the Impacts of Public Sector Leadership on Employee Behaviors and Well-being

Since December 2019, the coronavirus pandemic has caused chaos and challenges in public organizations throughout the globe (O’Flynn, 2020). First, this pandemic has shaken countries and decreased the level of trust between governments and citizens when the accuracy of public health information has become doubtful (Fletcher et al., 2020). Second, there are ongoing changes to work design and decreasing work motivation among public employees that have affected the performance of public organizations. Also, we have seen good, bad, and ugly leadership behaviors in coping with this global health crisis. For instance, many citizens and public servants questioned the ethical behaviors of the former US President when running his second presidency campaign (Lipton et al., 2021). In Australia, the Prime Minister has been criticized for his personal and leadership behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdown (Karp, 2021). Also, UK citizens and public servants have raised concerns about the decision-making and the transparency of government procurement processes during the pandemic (Parker, 2021). By contrast, New Zealand’s Prime Minister took prompt actions, reached out compassionately, and developed effective strategies in responding to the COVID pandemic (Matthews, 2020). These contrary behaviors highlighted the need to reconsideration the role of public leadership during the pandemic to improve public trust and motivate public servants (O’Flynn, 2020). contrary Public organizations have continuously undergone many changes to the nature of work (such as job cuts, new work arrangements, and increased workload) and new ways of public service delivery (Christensen & Lægreid 2011, Hansen & Ferlie, 2016). During this period of ongoing and continuous organizational change, we have observed levels of conflicting values and goal ambiguity which affected the attitudes and behaviors of public servants (Battaglio & Condrey, 2009; Gould- Williams et al., 2014; Steen & Schott, 2019). Public servants have been expected to work more innovatively and effectively in response to the pandemic (Schuster et al., 2020). These challenging and stressful circumstances have required public servants to embrace sweeping and substantial changes to their work (Steen & Schott, 2019). We have seen reports of public servants experiencing more work strain, burnout, demotivation, and sickness during the pandemic (Schuster et al., 2020). Discrimination, mistreatment, or misbehaviors between colleagues have occurred substantially during the outbreaks when employees have worked remotely (Hickok, 2021; Liu, 2020). These contemporary issues have pressurized public leaders to re-think how to embrace effective leadership behaviors in supporting and motivating their subordinates in an ethical manner (O’Flynn, 2020; Schuster et al., 2020). Although previous studies have examined different leadership behaviors in the public administration area (see for a review, Crosby & Bryson, 2018), there remains an opportunity to expand the research on the ways positive employee behaviors safeguard the well-being of public servants (O’Flynn, 2020; Steen & Schott, 2019). This symposium, therefore, focuses on the extent to which leaders from different countries enact their leadership behaviors during the pandemic to resolve the contemporary workplace challenges faced by public organizations to enhance the work and well-being of public servants. This symposium comprises four papers, therein, expand our knowledge of when and how public leaders contribute to positive behaviors and the well-being of public servants in coping with the emerging issues in public administration. The four papers contain diverse contexts to explore the bright and dark sides of leadership, the work environment of public administration, behaviors, and the well-being of the public servants. Specifically, the four papers provide a holistic understanding of the different views of leadership in diverse public sector contexts (including developed and transitional economies). Finally, we contribute to the public and general management literature by extending our knowledge of workplace configurations in motivating employees to work better in the ongoing complex and uncertain environment. We expect this symposium to be effectively exploratory and empirical as per the AOM 2021 call for papers, broadening the literature on management and organizational studies by identifying and incorporating practices and policies that stimulate and sustain positive and healthy workplaces for a better future of work. Towards a New Normal: Augmenting Transactional Leadership Using Public Values Presenter: Geoff Plimmer; Victoria Management School The Interplays between Social Relationships and Leadership Role on Public Servants Presenter: Stephen Teo; Northumbria U. Ethical Leadership, Emotional Exhaustion, and Extra-Role Performance in Time of COVID-19 Presenter: Elisabetta Trinchero; CERGAS SDA Bocconi Micromanagement, Work Engagement, Trust in Supervisor, and Unethical Pro-Organizational behavior Presenter: Diep Nguyen; Northumbria U.

Investigating tensional knots in servitizing firms through communicative processes

Tensions and paradoxes have gained considerable traction in the broader general management literature in recent years. Within the servitization domain, however, they are only starting to receive attention. This paper explores the tensions that industrial firms encounter when attempting to integrate services and solutions into their offerings. Following an exploratory multiple case study approach, we identify several tensions experienced at the intra- and interorganizational levels by three industrial firms. By drawing on the four flows model—activity coordination, organizational self-structuring, institutional positioning, and membership negotiation—we identify tensions at the intersection of the flows. The findings elucidate how many of the identified tensions become knotted and movement across organizational levels is created through communicative processes. We make contributions to the literature by drawing on communicative processes to explain how paradoxical tensions emerge within a servitization context and become entangled. As servitizing firms move toward offering advanced services, they are likely to face an increasing number of tensions spanning intra- and interorganizational levels. Our study raises important implications as inextricable entanglements between tensions creates complexity, which requires managers to focus more clearly on the challenge of coping with these on an ongoing basis.

Building a thematic framework of identity research in hospitality organizations: a systematic literature review approach

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to systematically review and synthesize identity research in the hospitality management literature. A critical revision of identity research in hospitality organizations, built on major identity constructs in the general management literature, is conducted to create thematic frameworks. This framework yields theoretical and practical future hospitality research agendas.Design/methodology/approachThe current study adopted a systematic literature review approach to analyze and synthesize identity research in hospitality organizations. A total of 55 articles published since 2000 are included in this review.FindingsStemming from general management conceptualizations, identity research in hospitality organizations are categorized into four overarching themes. This review also points to research gaps in epistemological conceptualizations, definitional frameworks and methodology.Originality/valueThe study reviews identity research in hospitality organizations, builds an integrative thematic framework of identity research in hospitality and proposes directions for future research.

Are you ready for your next product recall crisis? Lessons from operations and supply chain management

Most manufacturing companies face the possibility of a product recall crisis, if not within their own firms, then certainly somewhere within their supply chains. Recall crisis management typically finds a home within literature on crisis management, public relations, communications, marketing and brand management, and related fields. However, this research seldom addresses the operations support that must be mustered behind the scenes. The tumultuous material flows that can occur during a product recall imply a supply chain disruption. An effective response during the heat of a crisis therefore requires the foundation of a well-oiled supply chain. In this article I draw on learnings from the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) literature, integrate them with important precepts from the general crisis management and product recall literature, and identify managerial best practices that will help managers better prepare for product recall crises.

Examining the Impact of Leadership on Positive Behaviors and Resilience of Public Sector Employees

This symposium comprises four papers which expand our knowledge of the impacts of leadership on positive behaviors, emotions, and resilience for public servants, and public service delivery more generally. The four papers contain diverse methods to explore issues of concerning leadership, positive behaviors, and the work conditions of the public servants both quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, the symposium complements Anglo- and Western- centric views of public leadership, organizational development, and human resource management, with empirical analysis inclusive of transitional and developing economies, thereby responding to the call from Kaufman (2011). Finally, we contribute to the public and general management literature by extending our knowledge of work design configurations that enhance the capacities and proactive behaviors of public servants in the complex organizational environment that they operate within. We expect this symposium to be effectively exploratory and empirical as per the AOM 2020 call for papers, broadening the literature on management and organizational studies by identifying and incorporating practices and policies that stimulate and nurture positive and healthy workplaces. Transactional Leadership in the Public Sector: Involving Public Values Presenter: Trang Thu Nguyen; Victoria U. Presenter: Evan Berman; Victoria U. of Wellington Presenter: Geoff Plimmer; Victoria Management School Impacts of Ethical Leadership on Job Satisfaction and Helping Behaviors of Public Servants Presenter: Diep Nguyen; Edith Cowan U. Presenter: Stephen Teo; Edith Cowan U. Presenter: Tim Bentley; Edith Cowan U. Trust in Different Management Levels, Psychological Well-Being, and Extra-Role Behavior Presenter: Nhung Nguyen; Virginia Tech Employee Resilience in the Public Workplace: The Impact of Workplace Conditions and Collaboration Presenter: Geoff Plimmer; Victoria Management School Presenter: Evan Berman; Victoria U. of Wellington Presenter: Sanna Malinen; U. of Canterbury Presenter: Esme Huia Franken; Victoria U. of Wellington

Collaboration, Coordination, and Cooperation Among Organizations: Establishing the Distinctive Meanings of These Terms Through a Systematic Literature Review

Collaboration, coordination, and cooperation lie at the core of interorganizational activities. To address the confusion regarding the definitions of these three terms, recent works have proposed redefinitions. Although these proposals address an important concern, we believe that they might be premature because (1) they do not build on a systematic examination of how these terms have been used in the literature and (2) they seem to narrow the focus to a given theory and alliances only, which might unduly restrict the meaning of the terms defined. In this paper, we review the definitions of the three terms as they appear in nine top journals in the general management literature (1948-2017). By studying the definitions, we identify three interactional dimensions that are present to different extents in collaboration, coordination, and cooperation: attitude, behavior, and outcome. Our systematic review confirms the confusion and lack of parsimony in the extant definitions. The overlap in the content of these dimensions across the three terms does not provide a basis for distinctively defining collaboration, coordination, and cooperation. Thus, we further draw on our review to identify two discriminating dimensions that allow us to distinguish these three terms: the temporal stage and the type of goal. Our review contributes to theoretical development by offering a conceptual redefinition of the three terms that renders them distinct and thus facilitates knowledge accumulation and theory development. Moreover, the set of interactional and discriminating dimensions generates a host of managerially relevant research questions about a wide range of interorganizational relationships.

The Internet and the International Management Literature: Its development and intellectual foundation

Abstract The Internet is now a common medium for consumers and an indispensable business tool globally. Despite this reality, research involving the Internet in international management has been limited. This is surprising in that, the Internet, as an external environmental force, is consequential in terms of its restrictions, privacy concerns, and preferred patterns of use which, as with other environmental imperatives, should supersede the smooth functioning of managerial functions. With this in mind, we examine the development of the literature in international management/businesses incorporating the Internet and unfold its intellectual structure in an effort to motivate future investigations. Specifically, we develop an interpretable spatial configuration of knowledge nodes in the strategy, general management, entrepreneurship, and international business literature. However, the literature for human resources and organizational behavior did not result in an interpretable MDS configuration. As a precursor to the three contributions to this special issue, we offer future research opportunities based on our analysis of the knowledge structure in the field as well as via a framework involving Internet regulations and firm structure.

Finding a Healthy Balance: Managerial Considerations Regarding the Work–Life Interface of Interns and Graduate Assistants Working in Collegiate Sport

Craig Johnson is an associate athletic director for marketing and promotions in an athletic department at the collegiate level. Through conversation, he has recently realized that the graduate students working in his department as interns and graduate assistants feel that balancing work, school, and a personal life is impossible. As a mentor for working in sport, as well as their direct manager, he feels something must be done to assist these graduate students in managing the work–life interface, but is unsure where to start. Drawing from research in sport management and from the general management literature, the case gives insight into the issues, outcomes, and theories that inform the work–life interface. Undergraduate and graduate students in human resource management or organizational behavior courses who work through this case will have an opportunity to contemplate, discuss, and develop strategies for managing the issues surrounding balancing work and a personal life.

Who is the king of the hill? On bargaining power in private equity buyouts

Advancing the literature on Private Equity (PE) buyout negotiations and family-business decision making, we theorize and empirically confirm that sources of bargaining power (i.e., PE expertise advantage and seller's time pressure) interact differently with perceived PE bargaining power, depending upon whether the seller is a family or a non-family business. Additionally, we demonstrate that, for family businesses with an increased family team complexity, the effect of bidder competition becomes weaker, whereas the relationship of PE expertise advantage on PE bargaining power becomes stronger. Hence, team complexity reduces a family business' decision power and increases a PE's comparative bargaining advantages. These findings contribute to several research streams: first, to that of family businesses by advancing knowledge on heterogeneity, operationalized as team complexity, that negatively affects a family business' bargaining power; second, to that on PE buyouts, with a finding that a PE firm's bargaining power differs significantly depending upon the type of seller (family vs. non-family business) due to a family business' unique socio-emotional wealth considerations; and third, to the general strategic management literature on upper echelons and top-management teams (TMT), with a finding that team complexity reduces the family business teams' behavioral integration and hence its ability to use potential bargaining advantages.

Architect, Catalyst, Advocate, and Prophet: A Four-Lens View of Companies to Support Ecodesign Integration

Companies are increasingly expected to develop products with better environmental performance throughout their life cycle. Academic literature on ecodesign integration, which investigates firms’ practices of dealing with environmental concerns associated with their products, indicates a need for more focus on formal and informal organizational aspects. From the general management literature, the four-lens view of organizations provides a rich understanding of organizations by embracing their formal (structural lens) and informal (human, political and symbolic lenses) functioning. This article aims to explore the extent to which the four-lens view may support ecodesign integration in companies. This exploratory study builds on fifteen interviews about ecodesign integration at seven manufacturing companies in Denmark and Norway. The main results are threefold: (i) the different lenses of organizations could be found in measures mentioned at the case companies; (ii) measures from the architect’s perspective seemed necessary to provide an official scene for ecodesign and help prioritizing it in organizations; and (iii) the catalyst’s, advocate’s, and prophet’s perspectives seemed necessary to facilitate or complement the architect’s perspective. In the light of these findings, the four-lens view seems relevant to strengthen ecodesign integration, and its potential use as a reflective tool is an avenue for future work.

Linking information systems and entrepreneurship: A review and agenda for IT‐associated and digital entrepreneurship research

AbstractMore than 50 years ago, information technology (IT) began to change society, the economy, and industries worldwide. This change has included waves of technological disruption that have been exploited by entrepreneurial actors who seize the associated new opportunities. Research on related phenomena is spread across different disciplines. Recently, there have been calls for further research on the marriage of information systems (IS) and entrepreneurship. We review 292 articles in the IS, entrepreneurship, and general and strategic management literature to create an overview of the IT‐associated entrepreneurship research landscape. On the basis of that review, we elaborate on the different roles that IT can assume to support entrepreneurial operations and value creation in these settings. Our findings suggest that IT plays four major roles in entrepreneurial operations: as a facilitator, making the operations of start‐ups easier; as a mediator for new ventures' operations; as an outcome of entrepreneurial operations; and as a ubiquity, becoming the business model itself. Leveraging these roles of IT, we develop a set of definitions to clear up definition uncertainties surrounding IT‐associated new ventures such as digital start‐ups and digital business models. We also outline a research agenda for IT‐associated entrepreneurship research based on identified roles, types, and gaps.

The openness of open innovation in ecosystems – Integrating innovation and management literature on knowledge linkages

Open innovation has rendered increased interest both in practice and research, and has expanded from dyadic transfers of ideas, to ecosystem levels. Knowledge is at the heart of open innovation, and this paper describes and discusses knowledge-transfer linkages for open innovation. It does so based on a literature review. The paper links together open innovation research with general management research to categorise and discuss linkages among parties in terms of their openness and how they relate to knowledge management. Conclusions indicate that openness needs to be considered in different dimensions that also links to different knowledge management outcomes. The paper's contribution consists of how it connects open innovation research to the general management literature, and how it builds a practical understanding of how linkages between firms can be categorised to aid firms to consider which mechanisms they may choose and why.

Mitigating agency risk between investors and ventures’ managers

The general management literature has long focused on the agency risks involved in the relationship between general managers and shareholders. Shareholders can deploy contractual and noncontractual mechanisms to reduce these inefficiencies. This study examines—based on a broad international sample of investment contracts—how the use of contractual and noncontractual mechanisms is related to the degree of risks associated with the venture’s development stage as well as how these practices differ across countries. Hypotheses are tested using a proprietary data set of 265 hand-collected investment contracts associated with ventures in the United States, Israel, and nine European countries. Findings suggest that the use of mitigating contractual and noncontractual mechanisms is related to the degree of agency risks and that these practices vary across countries. This study draws implications for how investors can best deploy their capital in different institutional settings while nurturing their relationships with managers and entrepreneurs.