Israeli Industry Research Articles

Why Do Leaders Escalate Their Commitment to a Failed Course of Action? A Moderated-Mediation Personality Traits Model

Escalation of Commitment (EoC) relates to decision-makers’ tendency to commit resources to a failing course of action. The current study attempts to expand the understanding of personality traits as factors that potentially engender EoC by offering an EoC-prone personality profile. Our moderated-mediation model illustrates how extraversion affects EoC through the mediations of sensation-seeking, and how hubris moderates the effect of sensation-seeking on EoC. The results are based on data gleaned from an online questionnaire completed by 314 respondents from various managerial levels employed among wide-ranging Israeli industries. Data was obtained via network respondent-driven sampling from a 500 managers’ sample. The model was tested using Hayes’s Process procedure. Sensation-seeking was found to fully mediate the relationship between extraversion and EoC, while hubris was found to moderate the relationship between sensation-seeking and EoC. Managerial implications and future research directions are suggested.

Intergenerational knowledge management in a cutting-edge Israeli industry: Visions and challenges.

Knowledge management is a multifaceted, complex, end-to-end organizational process dealing with collecting and using data, information, and knowledge generated by a group of individuals. The current study examines the changes required in companies’ quality systems to enhance intergenerational learning and knowledge retention. Our primary objective was to understand the factors that influence the development of an organizational culture encouraging innovation, knowledge sharing, organizational learning, openness, and providing opportunities to create up-to-date knowledge. We collected the viewpoints and needs of industry professionals by using interviews and a survey. Then, we analyzed the factors that influence knowledge management quality and transfer between workforce generations. The professionals’ primary goal is to introduce, integrate, and improve knowledge in their organization. Their second goal is to facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer between workforce generations. Improving transgenerational knowledge sharing and reducing the loss of knowledge are challenges for all industries. A cutting-edge industry such as the defense field deals with sensitive data, and knowledge management is a strategic need in a competitive context. Quality management standards propose guidelines for developing and enhancing the overall knowledge-related processes. However, implementing them requires a shift in the corporate culture team. Organizational knowledge resilience must be developed by involving the workforce in implementing knowledge management systems.

Judas Iscariot: Between Betrayer and Betrayed: On Igal Mossinsohn’s Novel, Judas

This article attempts to explore the role of betrayer and betrayal as a literary, political, and critical position in Israeli author Yigal Mossinsohn's (1917–94) novel Judas (1962). Mossinsohn situates Judas Iscariot at the heart of the Jewish national project and presents him not as a betrayer but as an obedient man ordered by his commander to turn Jesus in as a means of changing the balance of political power in occupied Canaan. The presentation of the Christian betrayal narrative in the framework of a plot revolving around political intrigue associated with the aspiration for autonomous Jewish sovereignty enables a reading of Mossinsohn's novel as an exploration of the meanings and ramifications of betrayal against the context of the Israeli political and ideological reality in which it was written. Mossinsohn's novel fosters an unresolvable tension between the desire to present an active and effective model of political betrayal and its failure—the failure to burrow an escape route out of what this article refers to as "the Israeli industry of saints." This industry renders betrayal an inherent part of a prescribed Zionist redemption narrative. In the novel, the failure of betrayal is rooted in the fact that it does not have a world-changing effect and does not constitute a point of departure for the imagining of alternative forms of political and social relations. Therefore, what may seem in Mossinsohn's novel to be a necessary position of betrayal, which harshly criticizes the political underpinnings of Israeli sovereignty, is eventually replaced by a less treacherous impasse into which the betrayer is sucked against his will.

Throwing good money after bad: Leaders' personality traits model for escalation of commitment

Escalation of Commitment (EoC) relates to decision-makers’ tendency to commit resources to a failing course of action. The current study attempts to expand the understanding of personality traits as factors that potentially engender EoC by offering an EoC-prone personality profile. Our moderated-mediation model illustrates how extraversion affects EoC through the mediations of sensation-seeking, and how hubris moderates the effect of sensation-seeking on EoC. The results are based on data gleaned from an online questionnaire completed by 314 respondents from various managerial levels employed among wide-ranging Israeli industries. Data was obtained via network respondent-driven sampling from a 500 managers' sample. The model was tested using Hayes's (2017) Process procedure. Sensation-seeking was found to fully mediate the relationship between extraversion and EoC, while hubris was found to moderate the relationship between sensation-seeking and EoC. Managerial implications and future research directions are suggested

How do self-efficacy, narcissism and autonomy mediate the link between destructive leadership and counterproductive work behaviour

Previous research points to the adverse effect of destructive leadership on counterproductive work behaviour (CWB), yet the mechanism by which destructive leadership engenders or aggravates CWB has yet to be thoroughly studied. Drawing on general theories of despotic leadership, CWB and Organisational Behavior, we proposed and tested a model in which self-efficacy, autonomy and narcissism mediate the effect of destructive leadership on CWB. Results of survey data predicated on 845 respondents employed in various Israeli industries indicate that autonomy and self-efficacy attenuate the adverse effect of destructive leadership on CWB, whilst narcissism aggravates self-efficacy’s attenuating impact on CWB. This study sheds further light on the ways in which autonomy, self-efficacy and narcissism shape adverse workplace settings.

Fears, discrimination and perceived workplace promotion

PurposePast research about workplace promotion has focussed on factors that shape employees’ perceptions for promotion. Yet, we still know little about how such undesirable factors as the fear of success (henceforth FoS) syndrome and perceived workplace discrimination affect perceived promotion and even less so how this relationship is mediated by self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework integrating these factors.Design/methodology/approachA structural equation modelling procedure was employed to empirically test the model using data collected from employees in wide-ranging Israeli industries (n=553).FindingsThe path model indicates that initially, FoS and perceived discrimination negatively affect perceived chances of promotion. When however, self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation mediate this relationship, subjects perceive their promotion chances positively.Practical implicationsSelf-efficacy and intrinsic motivation may be employed to attenuate the potentially adverse effects of FoS and discrimination effects.Originality/valueFoS and perceived workplace discrimination are common phenomena, yet the authors show that they may be mitigated by heightened self-efficacy and amplified intrinsic motivation that help in sustaining perceived workplace promotion.

The Contribution and Influence of Pre-military Activity on its Graduates

The article will address the contribution of the pre-military activity in Israel in the high schools to the success of its graduates, while examining the influence of this activity on the motivation and success of its graduates in the continuation of post-secondary school technological studies. This article will discuss the unique characteristics of this activity in Israel, with its integration into the educational system, including the synergy between, on the one hand, the military and, on the other hand, the educational system and the Israeli industry.

D-Vision: Seeking Excellence Through A Hands On Engineering Multi Discipline Global Internship Program

The question is, "What can vision do?" (Fritz, 1989) rather than "What is vision?" Keter's Chairman, Mr. Sami Sagol's vision is to establish an internship program that will strengthen the competitive edge of the Israeli industry, within the international arena. The program will set new standards of excellence for product development, engineering, technology and design. Mr. Sagol's vision of excellence, in the internship program, has commenced in a process of changing Keter from a conservative industry to a learning organization, which promotes innovation, excellence, and knowledge. His vision has changed Keter.

ISO 14001 as an Environmental Capacity Building Tool — Variations among Nations

As a contribution to the long, ongoing debate regarding the effects of ISO 14001 on improving environmental performance of industrial facilities, this article focuses on ISO 14001 as an external environmental capacity (EC) building tool. It presents findings from a study of the effects of ISO 14001 within Israeli industry conducted through questionnaires and in-depth interviews at all certified Israeli facilities. A comparative analysis of the Israeli findings with results reported from the US and Japan found that there were differences in implementation of ISO 14001 in regard to building external actors' EC. Janicke's "environmental capacity building," Gunningham, Kagan, and Thornton's"license to operate," and Potosky and Prakash's "club's goods" were applied to explain these differences. The argument offered claims that differences in the motivations of facilities to influence their ISO 14001 club's license to operate depends on society's initial EC. This suggests operation of a vicious cycle: whenever the effect of ISO 14001 is most required, it is the smallest. Recommendations for improvement are offered in the domain of the standard's specification.

Industrial R&D as a national policy: Horizontal technology policies and industry-state co-evolution in the growth of the Israeli software industry

The Israeli software industry has been an indisputable success since the 1990s. This paper utilizes the development of the Israeli industry to empirically explore the argument of the horizontal technology policies (HTP) framework on the impact of neutral science and technology policies on industrial development. The paper micro-analyzes the Israeli software industry and compares its unique historical development pattern with other emerging countries. It describes (1) the rise of this industry as one outcome of the development of the entire IT industry in Israel; (2) the reasons behind the industry's ability to conduct and focus on intensive R&D activities; (3) the industry's success in becoming an integral part of the American financial and IT industrial sector. It argues that only by understanding the intricate co-evolution of state-industry relations and the specific HTP regime employed in Israel can we understand the current behavior, conditions, business models, and capability of the industry. Therefore, the argument is that Israel's industrial science and technology developmental agencies did not aim at creating a software industry, but rather at the development of novel products R&D-based industry. However, the software industry has been significantly influenced throughout its development by the specific system of innovation which these policies fostered. Thus, the paper argues that public policy is one of the main reasons why the industry has focused almost entirely on product R&D activities. In addition, the paper suggests that the state's science and technology industrial policy has propelled the industry into its intimate relationship with the American financial sector.

Intel's incident-free culture: A case study

The occupational ergonomic program that Intel's newly established manufacturing plant in Israel implemented in 1997 helped prevent injuries and also marked the launch of a whole new approach to ergonomics. A key element in the success of the seven-point program was a strong commitment from management, which came to regard this plan as a vital strategic element in the new plant's success. Comprehensive, top-down planning imposed obligations on all elements in the manufacturing spectrum, from suppliers to contractors to employees. Work requirements were set; cooperation with the plant's occupational health professionals was established; and long-term reporting and instruction systems were developed. Extensive ergonomic training was a crucial factor in integrating ergonomic procedures into the organization's day-to-day activities. Along with this instructional program, ergonomic engineers implemented a strict measuring system to ensure that each ergonomic activity would be performed according to schedule. By the time the factory opened its gates and began to produce, a vigorous ergonomic environment had emerged and employees were displaying an ergonomic mindset that also impinged upon their non-work activities. As a result of the successful implementation of the program, Intel's ergonomic program has become a model for Israeli industry. This paper presents a full ergonomic program that besides supplying the Intel plant with solutions was unique enough to impact the whole Israeli industry.

The Latent Function of the Production Council

The author presents a functional analysis of the Production Council in Israeli industry. He first presents the P.C.’s manifest function and discusses its existence and reasoning. He then provides a latent function interpretation of the phenomenon and suggests that this interpretation adequately explains the phenomenon and contributes to its understanding within the enterprise context.

Examining complex unit roots in the MENA countries industrial production indices

An estimation of complex unit roots is presented based on the standardized periodogram of the Jordanian and Israeli Industrial Production indices over the period 1982–2003. Both indices are found to have six complex cyclical unit roots contents. In contrast, the propagation mechanism rather than impulse tends to drive the business cycles in those economies. Propagation consists of those forces which carry the influences of the shock forward over time and cause deviation from the steady state to be persistent. The periodogram-based cycle duration analysis reveals that both Kitchin and Juglar cycles exist in the Israeli economy. However, no investment cycles are found in the Jordanian economy.

Trackball modification based on ergonomic evaluation: a case study in the sociology of ergonomics in Israel

In 2001, production technicians at Intel's facility for manufacturing semiconductors in Kiryat-Gat began complaining of wrist discomfort and pain while using trackball work stations, the primary equipment for inputting data to their production environment. The complaints were received with considerable seriousness, indicating that the Incident Free Culture—a proactive attitude towards ergonomic matters—that had been created at the plant when it was established in 1997 had firmly taken root. The author of this paper, the plant's ergonomics engineer (EE), was authorized to deal with the problem but within very strict constraints. Production of the silicon wafers could not be interrupted in any way and the clean-room environment had to be maintained. The EE contacted the Department of Industrial Engineering at Ben-Gurion University in nearby Beer-Sheva and a two-part investigation program was devised to determine, within the limitations imposed by Intel, the source of the workers’ complaints. The first part of the program, a pilot investigation based on a sample of 20 technicians, indicated the need for extending the workstation's trackball angle from 9° to 24° to enable the technicians to work with their wrist in a more neutral posture. These results were subsequently confirmed by the main study involving 62 technicians divided into control and test groups. These results led to the implementation of the new trackball angle on all 900 workstations on the plant-manufacturing floor and became part of the baseline for future designs of all Intel plants worldwide. Intel's Incident Free Culture, the involvement of academia, and the immediate response to the subsequent ergonomic problems are all relatively new phenomena in Israel and an indication of the state of ergonomics in the country. In addition to the impact upon Intel plants themselves, both in Israel and abroad, the lessons to be drawn from these phenomena are being closely scrutinized by Israeli industry as well as various state bodies for further, more extended application.

Salt reduction in municipal sewage allocated for reuse: the outcome of a new policy in Israel

Israel is presently reusing about 70% of its sewage and the buildup of salts in soils has been detected in some areas of the country. Prevention of sewage salt enrichment is one of the most immediately available solutions. The discharge of brines to municipal sewers is now prohibited and they are discharged to the sea. Discharge of brines to the sea has increased from 580,000 m3 in 1999 to more than 700,000 m3 in 2002. These salts are thus definitively taken out of the reuse cycle, year after year. The concentration of salts in industrial effluents is presently limited by the national water law and a unique regulation limiting the Boron and Sodium content in detergents has been implemented. Israeli industry has undergone a radical change in recent years. Many factories and all the hospitals have adopted K or Ca for softening and neutralization, while others have shifted to reverse osmosis. The concentration of Cl and Na in the sewage reaching treatment plants is declining. The addition of Cl to sewage has dropped from 120 mg/l to 70 mg/l. The average Boron concentration in sewage has dropped from 0.6 mg/l to 0.3 mg/l and should reach 0.2 mg/l by 2008.

The Triple Helix as a model to analyze Israeli Magnet Program and lessons for late-developing countries like Turkey

Although the systemic changes towards innovation networking between university-industry and governmental actors have recently found a place on the international policy and literature agenda, networking between the organizations and people - for the national survival, production and growth - has been deeply rooted in the Israeli system even before the establishment of the Israeli State in 1948. Internal and international constraints fostered the formation of personal links, as did institutional settings that promoted networking. This paper reviews the interaction of societal, organizational and cultural features that render innovation networks in Israel successful. The research focuses on the impacts of the Israeli Magnet Program on the Israeli R&D growth and performance. The implications of innovation networks for a late-developing country like Turkey are reviewed in the contexts of catching-up and cross-regional collaboration between the Israeli and Turkish industries and academies.

Star rating and corporate affiliation: their influence on room price and performance of hotels in Israel

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether and how star rating and corporate affiliation, as signals of quality, influence pricing decisions of hotels in Israel in various geographical locations, each with its specific market characteristics and during two different periods in which the business environment suffers from a crisis due to the political circumstances in the Middle East. The data suggests that the star-rating system, which is traditionally used to rate hotels’ quality, is a still stable and consistent predictor of room prices. However, in light of the increased usage of brand names in the Israeli industry, it was found that the ability to charge and receive a premium for the hotel corporate affiliation or brand name is not consistent. The analysis presents the case in which a premium for brand name is eroded by the influence of the crisis, by the level of corporate intensity in the region, and also by the relative strength of consumers in the different geographical locations.

The dominant strategic positioning of foreign MNCs: a typological approach and the experience of Israeli industries

We have extended the theory of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) by focusing on MNCs' strategic positioning in a foreign market relative to their local counterparts. We propose a new typological framework that focuses on the competitive and marketing strategies of both foreign and local counter firms. Israel's growing attractiveness to foreign MNCs during the mid-1990s has been chosen to explore our propositions. A sample of 406 respondents evaluated the strategic positioning and performance of 104 firms, 56 of which were foreign MNCs and 48 of which were their local counterparts. Our findings suggest that foreign MNCs operating in Israel were perceived as superior to their local counterparts, in terms of their competitive strategy, marketing strategy, and customer satisfaction. In addition, MNCs were identified as “adaptive” organizations relative to local competitors, which were perceived to hold “myopic” strategic positions. Thus, foreign MNCs have been able to capture relatively high positions, in terms of perceived value for money.

3.1.3 How To Nurture Systems Engineers In‐House ‐ A Case Study

AbstractRAFAEL is a company at the leading edge of weapon system development. RAFAEL develops, manufactures and supports products for every branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and for defense forces of foreign governments worldwide.In 1998, RAFAEL identified the need to improve systems engineering competencies of the engineering workforce. With the absence of systems engineering programs within Israeli universities or through Israeli industries, RAFAEL developed its own in‐house training program.This paper describes the manner in which systems engineering program needs were determined and the initial program design created. The method and results of course evaluations are discussed with a summary of lessons learned and continuous improvements planned.

Association of physical activity at work with mortality in Israeli industrial employees: the CORDIS study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of physical activity at work with the risk of all-cause cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. The cohort consisted of 3488 male, Israeli, industrial employees who participated in an 8-year follow-up study. During this period 129 deaths were recorded: 54 from cardiovascular disease, 47 from cancer, and 28 from other causes. Physical activity at work was assessed at entry on a 4-point scale (none, light, medium, and high). Potential confounding demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic variables, and health habits including leisure time physical activity were accounted for. We found that the hazard ratio of all-cause mortality in workers with a high physical workload was 1.82 (95% confidence interval, 1.18 to 2.81) compared with workers having a low workload. A similar trend was noted for cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality. We concluded that a high physical workload is associated with increased mortality rates. Future studies should differentiate between leisure time and work time physical activity.