High-performance Organization Framework Research Articles

A study on high performance organization framework and organization performance: lens of dynamic capability theory

A study on high performance organization framework and organization performance: lens of dynamic capability theory

The mediating effect of knowledge management in the relationship between the HPO framework and performance

PurposeThe study examines the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) in the relationship between the high-performance organisation (HPO) framework and high performance in financial institutions (FIs) in Uganda. The paper aims to develop a framework that promotes high performance in the FIs.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual model was tested on a sample of 28 financial instituitions using structural equation model.FindingsThe findings revealed that the high-performance framework is significantly related to high performance and KM is related high performance. KM mediates the relationship between the high-performance framework and high performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings revealed that the high-performance framework is significantly related to high performance and KM is related high performance. KM mediates the relationship between the high-performance framework and high performance.Practical implicationsThe findings revealed that the high-performance framework is significantly related to high performance and KM is related high performance. KM mediates the relationship between the high-performance framework and high performance.Originality/valueThis study makes several empirical and theoretical contributions, addressing the gap in the literature about the role of the HPO framework in strategic management. This study tests the relationship between the HPO and the firm's performance by taking the mediating effects of KM. The designed model highlights a significant organisational performance approach that can influence the finance sector positively.

Factor Analysis: Dealing with Response Bias

This paper proposes an innovative method for factor analyzing data that potentially contains individual response bias. Past methods include the use of “ipsative” data, or, related to that, “ipsatized” data. Unfortunately, factor analysis as the main method used for analyzing the dimensionality of data, cannot be applied to ipsative data. In contrast, normalization of data as an alternative method to filter out response bias, is not hampered by the technical statistical issues inherent to applying multivariate techniques to ipsative data. Using high-quality data from a survey in Nepal that makes use of – among others – the High-Performance Organizations (HPO) framework, this paper shows that the traditional approach of directly applying Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) starting from an existing model or theory, is inferior to our approach. Even applying Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to the raw (non-normalized) data before using CFA, is unable to detect the optimal dimensionality, or structure, in the data. A better structure can be obtained by performing EFA on normalized data that corrects for response bias in the raw data. This paper convincingly shows that the newly identified structure is superior to the original structure suggested by the HPO framework. Applying a CFA using the newly detected structure on the raw data, gives excellent goodness-of-fit statistics, with more items retained, and no need of forced methods to improve the model fit. The findings suggest that existing models and questionnaires based on these models, are not necessarily as valid and reliable as empirical studies that make use of traditional analyses seem to suggest. When adopting existing instruments, researchers are advised to critically check the validity and reliability of these instruments – especially those vulnerable to response bias - and to apply the procedures laid out in this paper, in order to enhance the quality of their research, and to inform future researchers who consider using the same instruments or to warn them about the potential shortcomings of these instruments.

Achieving High Performance in the Construction Industry: the Case of BAM DLP the Netherlands

The construction industry is a significant contributor to the economic development and performance of many countries. At the same time, this industry has long suffered from low productivity, poor project outcomes and disappointing results. The construction industry is therefore in need of a quality upgrade of construction companies so they will be able to achieve better organisational results. Based on a literature review into holistic evaluation and improvement techniques suitable for a systematic appraisal of the quality of construction companies and the subsequent improvement of this quality, the high performance organisation (HPO) framework was chosen for this purpose. It was applied on a construction company in the Netherlands, to evaluate whether the HPO Framework can yield an accurate picture of the current status of this company (i.e. how far along it was towards becoming an HPO) and whether it provides useful indications for improvement. Both were the case, and in fact the outcomes of the application of the framework indicated a high degree of alignment with financial and non-financial results of the case company. As such, the HPO Framework can be designated as a potential useful technique for other construction organisations, both in the Netherlands and in other countries, to help them in their quest for achievement of higher performance.

CREATING SOCIAL VALUE USING THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANISATION FRAMEWORK

The research objective of this research is to theoretically identify the capabilities organizations need to have to create and sustain social value. We focus on multinational enterprises as this type of organization has much influence worldwide and in local communities. We use the High-Performance Organisation (HPO) Framework in our research as it provides the characteristics organizations need to have in order to achieve sustainable excellent results: results that should include the creation of social value. We find that theoretically the majority of the 35 HPO characteristics in the HPO Framework influence one or more of the social value components positively. In the next, empirical, stage of our research, we will investigate whether the positive relationship between HPO and the creation of social value in practice holds true. This will be evaluated in a follow-on pilot study at two multinational enterprises.

Can A Small Business Enterprise Become A High Performance Organisation: A South-African Case Study

It is generally accepted that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have room for improvement from a high-performance perspective. However, research concerning the use of High-Performance Organisation (HPO) frameworks for South African SMEs is wanting. The purpose of this study is to explore the applicability of the scientifically validated de Waal HPO Framework for assessing SMEs in the South African context and thereby transforming such companies into HPOs. The study is exploratory by nature and therefore adopts a qualitative approach in the form of a case study. Case data was collected using in-depth personal interviews, which then was thematically analysed. The study showed that applying the HPO Framework is a valuable technique for evaluating the performance of an SME in the South African context. The framework yielded clear recommendations on the areas where the case company could use the HPO framework in order to get the company’s performance to a higher level.

Effect of the High Performance Organizational Framework on the Performance of Chartered Public Universities at the Kenyan Coast

Interest in creating high performance organizations (HPOs) has been growing at the Kenyan Coast and managers have been looking into practices that will help them elevate organizational performance. These organisations include Universities. Due to the changes and challenges that face the entire education system in the world, the quality of university education is a high profile issue. This research examined the effect of the high performance organizations framework in the Kenyan Coast context, particularly in the chartered public universities. The goal of the study was to evaluate whether this framework could be applied in the Kenyan Coast context and hence help improve performance of these universities. The study was based at Technical University of Mombasa, Pwani University and Taita Taveta University. Stratified random sampling technique was applied and Slovin’s formula was used to arrive at the desired sample size. The research instrument used in data collection was a questionnaire which was given to the sampled population of the workers. Only one variable had a score above 80%. The model statistically significantly predicted university performance F (5, 29) = 6.888, p (.000) < .05, R² = 0.543. Out of the five variables, only Continuous Improvement added statistically significantly to the prediction, p (.025) < .05. Individually, Technical University of Mombasa had a higher score in university performance than Taita Taveta University, even though the score was below 70%. The overall high performance organizations score (66.10%) was below the 85% score for an accepted high performance organization. This study fills the gap between high performance organizations framework and chartered public universities at the Kenyan Coast, highlighting key areas that needs improvement, to make these universities high performance organizations. Keywords: High Performance Organization Framework, Management Quality, Long-term Orientation, Continuous Improvement and Renewal, Workforce Quality.

Suitability of the high performance organization framework for Egyptian ICT companies: a replication study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to answer the research question “Is the high-performance organization (HPO) Framework suitable for non-governmental private sector organizations, specifically the affiliates of international companies operating in the ICT sector in Egypt?”Design/methodology/approachThe research concerns a replication study in which the HPO Questionnaire was used to collect data, and factor analysis was applied to evaluate the reliability and consistency of the HPO Framework. The research approach was the same as applied by de Waal et al. (2016), but this time the research population consisted of affiliates of international ICT companies, instead of local ICT companies as in the de Waal et al. (2016) study.FindingsData gathered by means of the HPO Questionnaire from managers of these affiliates were used to evaluate the reliability and internal consistency of the HPO Framework. The confirmatory factor analysis was done twice, once for the original 35-characteristic HPO Framework and once for the 26-characteristic HPO Framework as proposed by de Waal et al. (2016) for Egyptian local ICT companies. The study results clearly show the applicability of the original 35-characteristic HPO Framework for measuring the organizational strength and identifying performance-gaps of ICT companies that are affiliates of international organizations operating in Egypt.Originality/valueThis study adds to the growing HPO literature on developing countries and helps Egyptian ICT companies to adopt high-performance practices to be able to contribute more to the economic development of Egypt.

Applicability of High Performance Organization (HPO) Framework to Students’ Academic Achievement in Tanzania: A Case of Catholic Schools in Dodoma, Tanzania

Purpose: The general objective of the study is to assess the influence of high performance organization framework (HPO) to students’ academic achievement in Tanzania specifically on the case of Catholic schools in Dodoma. The specific objectives were; to determine the applicability of management quality in Catholic Secondary Schools academic plans on students’ academic achievement, to evaluate the practices of openness and action orientation in Catholic schools, to examine the application of long-term orientation of workforce on students’ academic achievement, to determine the applicability of continuous improvement in Catholic Schools academic strategic plans on students sustainable academic achievement, and to examine the application of quality of employees in Catholic Schools toward students’ academic achievement. Methodology: The study employed two methods of data collection namely questionnaires and documents review based for secondary data. Questionnaires is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents, although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. The method is helpful in collecting large amounts of information from a large number of people in a short period and at a relatively low cost. Its results were usually quickly and easily quantified by a researcher through the use of a software package SPSS. Conclusion : it is observed that, The application of High Performance Organization Framework to Catholic Schools in Dodoma seems to be very low. 48% of the respondents agreed that there were HPO Framework applications in their respective schools which is under a half. Many researchers have found that HPO Framework has a great relationship to performance or achievement. This can be proved by this study because the Catholic Schools in Dodoma are not the best schools in Tanzania. If they could apply these HPO Framework their performance would likely be higher than expected. Contribution to theory, practice and policy: The researcher is recommending that other researchers should take an in-depth analysis of the applicability of higher performance organization framework to students academic achievement in Tanzania.

Diagnosing Maltese Organisations Using the High Performance Organisation Framework

Malta’s introduction into the EU increased the competition in the country considerably and local companies as well as foreign subsidiaries have been forced to keep up with international quality standards in operations and human resources, with mixed results. As a consequence, Maltese organisations have been looking for a holistic improvement technique. In this article we investigate whether the High Performance Organisation (HPO) Framework, a scientifically validated technique to evaluate the performance of an organisation and identify possible performance problems and improvement possibilities, is a useful technique to help Maltese organisations in this respect. The research was conducted as part of a 2-day managerial course in Malta on HPOs. Before the course started, the participants were asked to complete the internet-based HPO questionnaire on their own organisation. During the course, the HPO scores of Maltese organisations, consisting of the average of the participants’ scores, were reviewed and an in-depth analysis of the scores on the HPO factors and their characteristics was made. Attention areas were identified and draft recommendations were drawn up. The content of the HPO Action Plan was discussed and ways to approach an HPO transition in Maltese organisations were reviewed. Theoretically, the research contributes to the HPO literature as it is the first study using the HPO Framework in Malta. Practically, the research results provide Maltese managers with a technique to improve their organisations considerably and make them more competitive.

A Competitive Analysis of East African Cement Companies using the High Performance Organisation Framework

Sub-standard infrastructure is one of the most significant challenges for economic development in East Africa. Specifically, the availability of affordable, locally produced cement is critical to infrastructural and economic development and job creation in the region. Thus, it is critical for cement companies to achieve better operational and financial results so they can satisfy the need for higher-quality cement for infrastructure projects and to deal with increasing environmental issues. In this article we evaluate, using de Waal’s high performance organisations (HPO) framework, the quality of three cement companies in Kenya and Tanzania to identify improvements these companies can make to their internal organisation and operations so they can achieve better financial and operational results. The research results indicate that whilst all three companies were yet to achieve HPO status, the best performing company with the highest HPO score also had the best financial performance over the past 10 years. The research also resulted in a series of recommendations on the basis of the weaknesses identified in the cement companies.

Future-Proofing the High-Performance Organization

The future of work is one of the most crucial platforms currently for business leaders as organizations have to prepare themselves to adequately deal with megatrends and disruptors in their technical and physical environments. At the same time, megatrends and disruptors can present both business opportunities and threats. The research question this study dealt with was: How should high-performance organizations (HPOs) address megatrends and disruptors in such a way that they can secure sustainable performance? Thirteen megatrends and one disruptor were matched with the characteristics of HPOs, making use of the HPO Framework, which distinguishes five characteristics (management quality, openness and action orientation, long-term orientation, continuous improvement and renewal, employee quality), for mapping the predicted impact the megatrends and disruptor will have on HPOs. From this mapping exercise, clear opportunities and threats emerged for which solutions, i.e., courses of action to deal with the threats or take advantage of the opportunities, were identified from the literature. These courses of action will help leaders of HPOs in priority-setting and decision-making when making strategic plans and choosing solutions for their own organizations. Unfortunately, this study revealed that academic literature currently falls short at suggesting courses of action that organizations can use to deal with many of the megatrends and disruptors. This result creates an urgent call for in-depth academic research into ways that organizations, and specifically HPOs, should deal with the future of work changes as these courses of action have to be incorporated in future strategies such that they stay relevant for the daily practice of organizations.

The relation between manager type and high-performance achievement

PurposeOne of the most important factors for the success of an organization is the quality of its managers. However, this is a rather general statement, because there are many different types of managers with different work styles. This begs the question: are all types of managers, regardless of their work styles, important to organizational success or only managers with specific work styles? This study aims to investigate the answer to this question by examining the relationship between two specific elements of managers' work styles – the role a manager plays in the work team and the preferred manner of change management a manager applies – and their effect on the level of performance of their organization, as measured by the high-performance organization (HPO) framework.Design/methodology/approachThis study was part of a larger study into the drivers of success of franchise supermarkets in The Netherlands. A questionnaire was constructed, in which, among others, the following were explored: the level of performance (according to the HPO Framework), the preferred team role of the franchiser (using the Belbin team role model) and the change management approach of the franchiser (using De Caluwe and Vermaak's color theory). The questionnaire was sent to 400 Dutch supermarket franchisers, and the data received were subject to statistical analysis.FindingsThe study results clearly indicated that certain types of managers are important to organizational success in the supermarket sector. There are specific types of managers – in the sense that these managers have specific roles they play and specific change styles they apply – that seem to be more effective in creating and maintaining an HPO. These roles, as described by Belbin, are chairman and plant; the change style is De Caluwe and Vermaak's color red.Research limitations/implicationsThe study results add to the literature on high performance and HPOs, because team roles and color change styles have not been related to the factors for high performance to date.Originality/valueAlthough the fact that certain types of managers, in certain contexts, are more effective than others is not a new finding, this is the first time specific team roles and a specific change style have been found that would enable managers to create and maintain an HPO.

Creating High-Performance Organizations in Asia: Issues to Consider

In recent decades the Asian continent has gained in economic importance. This advancement has not been without its problems. Therefore, in order to stay competitive, Asian companies need to transform themselves into high-performance organizations (HPO). This means that they need to know the factors that will make them world-class. This paper described the application of the HPO Framework, a holistic and scientifically validated framework for creating HPOs which has earlier been used successfully at several Asian companies where it was used to identify main organizational areas which have to be strengthened in order for these organizations to become HPOs. In this paper we investigate, based on data collected at organizations in multiple Asian countries, what the main issues are for Asian organizations which they need to address in order to become truly high performing.

Comparison of Indian with Asian organizations using the high performance organization framework: an empirical approach

The continuing quest of Indian companies to become leading in the region leads to two research questions: (1) How high performing are Indian organizations currently, compared to other Asian organizations? and (2) What do Indian organizations need to focus on to become truly world-class? We investigate the answers on these two questions using the High Performance Organization (HPO) Framework - a scientifically holistic improvement framework - that evaluates whether organizations are high-performing, and if not, what they need to focus on to become HPO. The study also compares HPO scores of Indian organisations with other Asian companies.

High performance stakeholder management: what is needed?

Purpose Stakeholder management is often primarily seen as maintaining external relations. However, it also has specific consequences for the internal processes of an organization and the behavior of its people. The authors argue that an organization that is meeting the standards of the high-performance organization (HPO) is able to effectively maintain valuable relationships with its stakeholders. The authors discuss in this paper how high-performance stakeholder management can be achieved and applied to stakeholder relationships. Design/methodology/approach Based on a discussion of the stakeholder management and the HPO framework concepts the authors show that good stakeholder management requires strong communication and dialogue within an organization, which in turn requires a strong internal organization, which the HPO framework can offer. This paper is written from the assumption that the two theories reinforce each other in their aims and methodologies. This argument is based on a case study. Findings The authors illustrate the argument with the application of both concepts at a case company. The case study makes clear that an organization that develops stakeholder management will be wise to examine its own internal quality and strength, using the HPO framework. If the organization views the information that comes from stakeholder management as very valuable, then internal organizational consequences must follow. Originality/value The concepts of stakeholder management and HPO Framework have not been connected before, neither in a theoretical nor a practical way. This offers the opportunity for theorists to further deepen the connection between the two, and practitioners to benefit from strengthening their stakeholder management.

High-performance organization: a literature review

PurposeThis paper aims to review and synthesize notable literature on high-performance organization (HPO), from which future research directions can be recommended.Design/methodology/approachThis narrative literature review analyzes major HPO literature in popular books and peer-reviewed articles published in English in the period between 1982 and 2019.FindingsThe review revealed that HPO literature has evolved multiple times, illustrating the complex and multifaceted nature of this phenomenon. In particular, literature on HPO has evolved in four phases: (1) definitions and conceptual development of HPO; (2) exploration of approaches to achieve HPO; (3) empirical validation of HPO framework; and (4) complicated research models and designs on HPO. Several research gaps were identified, which definitely hold varying research value and can be seen as potential opportunities for future research.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of this review is on HPO literature published in English rather than cover all existing literature.Originality/valueIt is among the first studies to review the HPO literature and its evolution. This review also recommends constructive areas for future research on HPO to focus on.

Factors of high performance in Portugal

PurposeEver since Portugal joined the European Union, Portuguese organisations have been struggling with both the challenges of new competitors flooding in from other European countries and taking advantage of the opportunities the new enlarged integrated market offered them. This is because Portuguese companies have in general low average rates of productivity growth while they lack techniques to improve not only these rates but also overall organisational performance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the high-performance organisation (HPO) framework, a holistic improvement technique developed on the basis of worldwide data, is valid for the Portuguese context and therefore can support Portuguese organisations in their efforts to achieve better performance.Design/methodology/approachManagers in Portuguese organisations, which were found in the Spain balance sheet analysis system database, were approached to fill in the HPO questionnaire on their company. In total, data was received from 163 organisations. This data was subsequently statistically analysed using a confirmatory factor analysis.FindingsThe study shows that the 35 items of the HPO framework are valid for the participating Portuguese organisations and as such form a reliable HPO framework for these organisations. Thus, the HPO framework can be reliably applied at Portuguese organisations to evaluate their current level of organisational performance and to propose recommendations to improve performance.Originality/valueThis research study fills the gap of the currently rather limited literature on the application of holistic and effective improvement techniques in Portugal, and as such future researchers can use the framework to conduct a more in-depth study of performance gains in the Portuguese context. Portuguese managers now have at their disposal a holistic improvement technique validated for their context, so they can use the HPO framework with confidence to start improving their own organisations.

Empirical analysis of HPO framework in public sector organizations of Pakistan

Purpose Building on high-performance organizations (HPO) framework, the purpose of this paper is to hypothesize the direct impact of five factors of HPO framework on public organizations’ performance in Pakistan. This is first research to employ the partial least squares (PLS) method to provide empirical evidence of the predictive power of the framework in public organizations. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study conducted in non-contrived settings thereby keeping researcher interference to a minimum. Data collection was carried out by distributing online questionnaires to 513 employees from three different service-based public organizations in Pakistan. PLS is used to examine the statistical and substantive significance of five factors by employing SmartPLS 3.2.6. Findings This study concludes that the HPO framework has predictive relevance for public organizations’ performance surveyed in this study. Furthermore, three out of the five factors of HPO framework, namely, management quality, workforce quality and long-term orientation have positive relationships, while openness and action orientation (OAO), and continuous improvement process and renewal have a negative relationship with the performance of public sector organizations (PSOs) surveyed in Pakistan. Research limitations/implications The study’s small sample size limits this research, and only quantitative methodology is applied. A significant limitation of this research is that this study relied on a subset of respondents of surveyed organizations and may not representative of the population. Therefore, result should be carefully interpreted as some degree of biasness may be present. Furthermore, findings of the study cannot be generalized to all PSOs of Pakistan. Practical implications The implication for public managers is that the HPO framework has predictive relevance and substantive significance. However, the ideal value of HPO framework will occur when leadership considers HPO factors and struggles persistently to improve performance. The useful implication is that public managers should focus on continuous improvement process and renewal and OAO to meet stakeholders’ satisfaction. Originality/value This study answer two questions, first “is there any significant relationship of five factors of HPO framework with public organizations’ Performance in Pakistan?” and second “what is the predictive relevance level of HPO framework in the Public organizations in Pakistan?” The answers to these research questions will fill the gaps in the literature by providing empirical evidence to the existing knowledge on improvement methods, especially the public sector (PS), and contributing insights on the real world working of the five factors of HPO framework in a PS.

Identifying the characteristics of a high-performance finance function

PurposeThe concept of the high-performance organization (HPO) receives much attention nowadays. To create and sustain an HPO, all parts of the organization must contribute, especially the finance function, whose relations with every part of the organization mean that it can be regarded as the spider in the organizational web. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThis study develops the high-performance finance function (HPFF) framework based on the HPO framework, a scientifically developed and validated approach to transforming organizations into HPOs. Based on an extensive literature review, potential characteristics of an HPFF were identified and subsequently linked to factors in the HPO framework. Subsequently, using a questionnaire and statistical analysis, these potential characteristics were clustered into five HPFF factors that showed a significant positive relation with the finance function’s performance.FindingsThe five HPFF factors are: Finance Function Improvement, IT Focus, People Development (of financial professionals working in the function), Role Clarity (for each of the various types of role in the function) and Strategic Role (of the finance function in the organization, especially in supporting management).Originality/valueThe HPFF framework is a practical improvement framework based on a solid scientific foundation. It also fills the current gap in the academic literature on how to develop HPFFs, thus giving the frameworks described in practitioner literature a robust scientific grounding.