Business Administration Research Research Articles

Information overload in the information age: a review of the literature from business administration, business psychology, and related disciplines with a bibliometric approach and framework development

In the light of the information age, information overload research in new areas (e.g., social media, virtual collaboration) rises rapidly in many fields of research in business administration with a variety of methods and subjects. This review article analyzes the development of information overload literature in business administration and related interdisciplinary fields and provides a comprehensive and overarching overview using a bibliometric literature analysis combined with a snowball sampling approach. For the last decade, this article reveals research directions and bridges of literature in a wide range of fields of business administration (e.g., accounting, finance, health management, human resources, innovation management, international management, information systems, marketing, manufacturing, or organizational science). This review article identifies the major papers of various research streams to capture the pulse of the information overload-related research and suggest new questions that could be addressed in the future and identifies concrete open gaps for further research. Furthermore, this article presents a new framework for structuring information overload issues which extends our understanding of influence factors and effects of information overload in the decision-making process.

CIÊNCIA RESPONSÁVEL E IMPACTO SOCIAL DA PESQUISA EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO

Institutions and researchers are increasingly participating in the debate on turning research in business administration into a responsible science. For example, Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) is supported by organizations such as The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME), and the United Nations (UN), and business schools such as Esade, Erasmus, St. Gallen, Carlson School of Management, and Aalto University. Furthermore, several Academy of Management board professors are involved in the RRBM network. Some principles of RRBM are as follows: “serving society; integrating different stakeholders in the research process; valuing research that contributes to a better world, both basic and applied research, plurality and multidisciplinarity, and both qualitative and quantitative methodologies; and promoting the dissemination of knowledge” (RRBM Network, 2018). In most cases, stakeholder engagement comes down to immediate issues of economic feasibility without considering the other issues involved (Davison, 2017).

Reflexão a respeito das contribuições e limites da história de vida na pesquisa em Administração

Este ensaio apresenta a modalidade de pesquisa denominada história de vida, com tal intuito, realçando alguns de seus limites e contribuições para a pesquisa em administração. Para alcançar este objetivo, o texto inicia com um breve registro das origens desse método investigativo, transcreve sua conceituação e ressalta suas contribuições fundamentais. Elenca autores que analisam tais contribuições no campo específico da investigação em administração e indica os temas mais explorados pela história de vida, nos estudos realizados em âmbito internacional e nacional. A seguir, são tratados alguns aspectos que limitam o processo analítico-interpretativo que caracteriza essa modalidade de pesquisa em administração. Para fechar o texto foi importante pontuar que a pesquisa que traz “novas cores e sabores” nem sempre tem sido valorizada na administração. No caso da história da vida, ressalta-se que esse método investigativo pode promover o esforço de autorreflexão do pesquisador de forma que ele tenha a oportunidade de transformar, recontextualizar e amplificar seus conhecimentos, com isso, podendo alterar sua visão a respeito do mundo e do seu próprio trabalho. O ensaio retrata o olhar da autora, a partir do qual se almeja suscitar indagações que levem a um diálogo frutífero quanto à possibilidade de ampliar a obtenção do conhecimento em administração.

Discourse Analysis as a Tool for Promoting the \u2018Critical Literate\u2019 VET Teacher

The paper deals with the concept of ‘Critical Literacy’ in the context of VET teacher education. It focuses on the question of whether and how critical literacy can be developed drawing on elements of discourse research. This is illustrated by means of a higher educational setting, dealing with business administration textbook usage and research. The impact of our learning and teaching setting is illustrated via an empirical longitudinal study (three-phase pre-post design) of students doing a master’s degree in business education at an Austrian university. Data were initially collected directly before and after the university seminar using a semi-standardised questionnaire (n = 54). In order to obtain an insight into the sustainable impact of our discourse analysis course on students’ thought and actions, in the third phase of data collection, eight participants, who in the meantime had four months experience in VET schools as student teachers (120 h) were invited to a qualitative interview. The paper encompasses a theoretical discussion on the concept of critical literacy, applies it to the target group VET teacher students and shows empirical evidence on pros and cons of discourse analytical course design aiming at the critical literate teacher.

Um levantamento de publicações sobre internacionalização de instituições de ensino superior

Considering the increasing interest of major international educational groups in developing countries and specifically in Brazil, it is critical to understand what is being discussed about it by researchers from the Business Administration field, since this movement directly affects the strategies of local college institutions. This study aimed to contribute to future studies on strategies of local college institutions, providing a survey of publications of the last five years (2009-2013) on the internationalization of college institutions, in some major national events and national and international journals of the Business Administration. Based on secondary data, the descriptive-qualitative research presents few quantitative data. The results indicate that there is a lack of studies in this subject which shows that the subject does not receive due attention in this area. Except for one article, the others selected to this research did not focus on analyzing the movement of internationalization that occurs with the arrival of foreign players in the Brazilian college market, but on the internationalization movements of the local college institutions, mainly those with an academic motivation. We conclude that this subject, given the present circumstances, deserves further exploration within the Business Administration research area.

Returns to scale of Business Administration research in Germany

In order to efficiently allocate academic resources, an awareness of the properties of the underlying production function's returns to scale is of crucial importance. For instance, the question arises as to what extent an expansion of a university department's academic staff would be advisable in order to utilize increasing marginal gains of research production. On the other hand, it is disputable whether an optimal university department size exists. Empirical studies covering these questions render various answers. In this paper, we analyse which properties of returns to scale the Business Administration research of universities in Germany exhibits. On the basis of research data from 2001 until 2009 provided by the Centre for Higher Education, and using Data Envelopment Analysis, we demonstrate that typically sized business schools show nearly constant returns to scale. Furthermore, we observe tendencies of decreasing returns to scale for large-sized business schools. Diverse robustness and sensitivity analyses confirm the validity of our inferred empirical findings.

A quadripolar epistemic proposition of entrepreneurship construct

ABSTRACT This article presents, based on the Bruyne, Herman and Schoutheete’s proposition (1977) on the “four poles of the methodological practice: epistemological, morphological, theoretical, and technical”, how entrepreneurship is being construed in Business Administration studies. We carried out a bibliometric analysis from articles published in events linked to ANPAD – National Association of graduate studies and research in business administration. Then we made a content analysis on selected articles in order to identify how the theme is approached considering each of the poles. There was an excess of researches favoring the technical pole comparing to the others, which is probably contributing with the emptying of ANPAD’s area itself. Our main contributions are given in the technical pole, related to data collection, and there are countless case studies. In reality it is where most empirical researches on entrepreneurship and related topics converge to. Allied to this discrepancy is the fact that most of researches are also the result of exploratory and descriptive studies. We must remember that the exploratory and descriptive studies are at the level that Bruyne et al. (1977) call the “ground zero” of theorization.

The State of Case Study Research in Mergers & Acquisitions: A Review of the Literature in Different Management Streams

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of case study research in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) literature that account for different management streams. It also recommends directions for future research and suggests fruitful guidelines for establishing better research rigor in qualitative methods. Methodology: This study draws attention to the case study method in qualitative research and thereby aims to review previous studies using said approach in M&A related literature. Findings: The main findings include, 57 journal articles are found to be using different qualitative methods of which 40 (17) articles have focused on developed (emerging) markets, single (multiple) case based studies are 29 (24) and remaining four have used survey and interview methods. Importantly, a meager number of studies have accomplished the purpose of case study research in business administration, i.e. testing extant theory and building new theory. Albeit, doing case study research among emerging markets is exiting and these institutional countries provide a unique setting to build theory as well as advance the current knowledge because of increasing prospects for M&A and other growth strategies. Research limitations: This stylized review of case study research in M&A literature is limited to journal publications and qualitative methods. Hence, a survey of qualitative and quantitative methods in growth strategies is left to future research. Practical implications: Qualitative researchers, in general, would benefit from the bibliometric analysis and comprehensive summary of past research. While, case study researchers, in particular, would benefit not only form the later content but also from suggestions reflecting the research quality and validity. Originality: This study, indeed, is an original attempt at presenting the current state and review of case study method in M&A research, provided no earlier study claims this.

Deculturation

The Berry model, well known in cross-cultural psychology, categorizes acculturation patterns into four types based on yes–no questions regarding the retention of traditional culture and the relationship with the larger society. Business administration and various other research fields have attempted to use the model due to its simple clarity. However, doubts exist regarding (i) the feasibility of deculturation (marginalization); (ii) the validity of a label “integration,” and (iii) the mutual independence of the four cells. In fact, these doubts stem from the process of formulation of the Berry model. Berry originally categorized 24 question items used in the surveys of individuals belonging to minority populations according to the three labels of assimilation, integration, and rejection. Moreover, Berry used yes–no questions to summarize the characteristics of these labels and added a fourth label, that is, deculturation (marginalization). This format became the prototype for the Berry model.

Anthropological Methods are Meaningful in Business Research: A Case Study of Foodservice at a Chinese University

Qualitative research methods, which have long been considered normative by the anthropological and sociological community, have recently made a presence in business research. The present research is to buttress that growing body of evidence. The subject is the foodservice operation of a Chinese university. The qualitative research method is used, to analyze the data collected through participants' observation and in-depth interviews. The present study briefly surveys traditional ethnographic methods used in the social sciences. Then it examines the penetration, or lack of penetration, of ethnographic methods into various fields of business administration research. The study describes the research into the foodservice operation of one Chinese University. The research discovered that foodservice quality had a greatly-perceived influence on the students' health, that foodservice quality affected the students' academics in one aspect, and that foodservice factors affected their satisfaction with their university dining experience. Finally, the study makes the case that ethnographic methods do indeed work effectively in the field of business study.

THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF RESEARCH IN BUSINESS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Thoughts on the proposal for a model to learn the impact of Business Administration and Public Administration research.

INOVAÇÃO EM SERVIÇOS EDUCACIONAIS: O SEMINÁRIO INTERINSTITUCIONAL DE PESQUISA EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO

<p>A relevância do estudo sobre a inovação em serviço educacional, exercida pelos Programas de Stricto Sensu em Administração, passa pela apreciação do papel que esse cumpre no conjunto da formação profissional e do cidadão na sociedade. O Seminário Interinstitucional de Pesquisa em Administração (SIPAD) foi idealizado pelos Coordenadores dos Programas de Pós-Graduação Stricto Sensu em Administração das universidades do Rio Grande do Sul. Trata-se de uma experiência inovadora, com objetivo de ampliar a interação de conhecimento entre docentes e discentes no que tange a pesquisa em Administração. Para tanto, esta pesquisa tem como objetivo identificar as contribuições do sipad para a pesquisa em Administração, geradas por meio das sete edições (2006-2012), bem como analisar a importância dos seminários para os alunos de Mestrado e Doutorado. Os resultados indicam que o sipad possibilitou a formação de uma rede de relacionamento no Estado, entre alunos e professores dos Programas Stricto Sensu, possibilitando trocas de informações e desenvolvimento de novos temas de pesquisas em Administração. Os docentes e discentes destacam que houve a troca de informações acerca de técnicas e métodos de pesquisa, além de parcerias para desenvolvimento de novas pesquisas.<br /><br /></p>

The great divide between business schools research and business practice


 
 
 
 In their 2005 Harvard Business Review article, Bennis and O’Toole described business schools as being “on the wrong track” as a result of their focus on so-called scientific research. Some commentators argue that business schools have slowly lost their relevance since the end of the 1950s when they undertook a major overhaul in response to the harsh criticism of the Ford and the Carnegie Foundations on the state of theory and research in business administration. Inspired by Khurana’s (2007) book on the development of American business schools, this article describes the debate on the relevance of scientific business research that can be found in the popular business press and the academic literature, and suggests a number of structural and cultural changes to increase the relevance of business research and its impact on practice.
 
 
 

The publication landscape of German corporate governance research: A bibliometric analysis

Although the importance and urgency of the corporate governance debate has increased in media, public and scientific literature after the financial crisis, there is no systematic and holistic approach to the phenomenon of corporate governance and the associated economic research in the Germanspeaking countries. Due to this, the literature on corporate governance research in the Germanspeaking area is examined by means of bibliometric methods and social network analysis in order to identify thematic clusters and the most influential documents and authors. Based on a co-citation analysis of over 10,000 references cited in 267 source documents, a map is constructed that depicts the landscape of corporate governance research in German-speaking countries. The analysis identifies a large body of accumulated corporate governance research, which is mostly based on the theoretical work from English-speaking scholars. Our findings and interpretations allow a new view on the German corporate governance research and on the particular understanding of corporate governance in the German-speaking research community. Today, around 10 years after the introduction of the German Corporate Governance Code, corporate governance research is a well-established segment of German business administration research characterized by diverse research focuses

Mixed method research designs: A case study of their adoption in a doctor of business administration program

The paper presents empirical data concerning the utilisation of mixed method research in Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) research projects (theses). The Southern Cross University, Australia, DBA program was established in 1996 as a research degree and has successfully graduated over 250 graduates from a diverse range of countries across the globe. It is the largest DBA program in the Australasia. The research will present prevalence rates of mixed methods research utilised by doctoral candidates, data will be presented on the most frequently used data collection methods and research approaches within the field of business and management, with empirical data from a number of countries including Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Emergent issues with regard to the use of mixed methods research in business and management research and the teaching of mixed methods are discussed.

BISE – Call for Papers

Within the upcoming “Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik” (MKWI) 2012 in Braunschweig, the journal Business & Information Systems Engineering (BISE) organizes a workshop on 2012-02-28. At this occasion, we would like to invite all authors who are currently working on submissions for BISE or are planning to submit a contribution to discuss their ideas with the Editor-in-Chief, the Department Editors, and other authors. The workshop’s objective is to elaborate on the scientifically interesting core by means of constructive feedback and to ensure the methodic quality of a paper even before submission. In doing so, the journal’s requirements on rigor and relevance can be taken into account at an early stage. Submission is open for extended abstracts with approx. 20,000 characters. Besides a motivation and clearly stated research questions, submissions should include an outline of the state of the art, a description of the research method to be used, and an outline regarding the expected results. Each abstract will be reviewed by the particular Department Editor and the Editor-in-Chief. The authors of the three best submissions will be invited to the workshop. The particular papers will be presented by the authors and discussed within the plenum of the workshop. Submissions from research and practice on the following (and related) topics are invited: Invited are papers dealing with theories, methods, tools, and intersubjectively verifiable insights regarding information and communication systems. This includes the fields of information management, applied computer science, business administration, economics, new media, and operations research, provided that the papers address modern concepts and solutions relating to information and communication systems or analyze the development of the information society. Moreover, topics referring to important peripheral areas are welcome, provided that developments with a closer reference to BISE are substantially affected. For example, addressing the impact of computer science on business, individuals, and society. The journal, and therefore the workshop as well, addresses the entire technoeconomically oriented community focusing on the combination of design science oriented and multidisciplinary research which is both rigorously conducted and relevant to business practice. The target audience comprises all authors dealing with BISE-related issues either from a (more) economic or (more) technical perspective. This also includes industrial engineers dealing with BISE-related issues.

Repensando redes estratégicas

A disputa política com a área de estudos organizacionais (EO) pela liderança em pesquisa e ensino em administração iniciada nos anos 1960 nos Estados Unidos e a proliferação de escolas de pensamento nos anos 1980 resultaram em questionamentos acerca da relevância da área de estratégia. A globalização neoliberal e seus discursos impulsionaram a construção da relevância da área por meio de crescente especialização e internacionalização; mas questões de poder e política continuam sendo desprezadas pela literatura dominante. Este quadro ajuda a explicar o subdesenvolvimento de pesquisa em redes estratégicas, o problema de relevância das escolas de negócios no mundo anglo-americano, e a resistência de pesquisadores no Brasil e outros países à literatura dominante. A análise mostra que pesquisas em redes estratégicas em economias emergentes devem contemplar questões de poder e política, em perspectiva crítica que desafia assimetrias acentuadas pelo avanço do neoliberalismo, para produzir conhecimento relevante para estrategistas de empresas e do governo e para a sociedade. No Brasil pesquisadores das áreas de estratégia e de EO devem valorizar e reforçar a proximidade entre essas áreas e promover desenvolvimentos interdisciplinares com áreas como geografia, sociologia global e relações internacionais, e em especial com a literatura de redes baseada em economia política internacional.

International co‐operation of Ibero‐American countries in business administration and economics research

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to analyse patterns of international co‐operation in economics and management research between Ibero‐American countries and between these countries and the USA and Europe.Design/methodology/approachTaking co‐publications as an indicator, the analysis concentrates on articles published in the list of high‐impact and high‐profile journals used by The Financial Times to draw up its rankings of business schools.FindingsThe results obtained show that: the number of articles published by Ibero‐American countries in high‐impact journals is still proportionally small but that an upward trend seems to have been developing in recent years; participation in international co‐operation networks allows researchers from Ibero‐American countries, particularly those countries with less scientific development, to carry out research into relevant topics and to attain the degree of excellence required to publish in the most internationally prestigious journals; and contrary to the findings of other work, geographical proximity, shared history, and common language do not seem to have a significant impact on the flow of academic co‐operation in the field of business administration and economics amongst Ibero‐American countries.Originality/valueThe findings of this paper intend to offer relevant information for research institutions and policy makers to analyse, assess, and improve the research schemes in place.

The Study Of Business As A Liberal Art? Toward An Aristotelian Reconstruction

The prevailing model of teaching business administration at Catholic universities does not sufficiently differentiate Catholic institutions; it does not live up to the expectations of the Church; and it underplays the potential of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition to elucidate the sphere of business. Attempting to integrate business administration into the “liberal arts” is a misguided approach, for barring an implementation of the historical liberal arts curriculum there is no non-arbitrary way of defining what the term denotes. From an Aristotelian perspective as carried on in the Thomistic tradition, reality is continuous, and all social and behavioral sciences are unified in their material object while they study persons under different aspects. Business is a region of human behavior, and its study naturally coheres with other disciplines. The practice of business is ontologically integrated into a reality that unifies man, his actions, and their results, and its study is integrated into the academic edifice through the use of the Catholic style of thought. This model facilitates a new understanding of teaching and research in business administration, in what is hoped to be a more Catholic spirit.

An Exploratory Study of the America's Family Program: Using a New Leadership Paradigm to Break the Cycle of Failure

Millions of U.S. employees work in the service-sector at relatively low wages with little or no benefits or advancement opportunities. Due to high turnover rates, business organizations often limit spending on human resource (HR) practices for these workers. In turn, these employees become less committed to the organization, thereby reinforcing this “cycle of failure.” In this manuscript we present a preliminary study of a new approach, involving a partnership effort among government, non-profits, and business, to break this cycle of failure. This new approach is based on the principles of the new governance model of public administration. Both interview and organizational data are collected to assess the impact of this program on both employees and the organization. Implications for research in business and public administration are discussed, including insights from the emerging spirituality leadership literature into the underlying motivation for developing this type of program.