Management Scholars Research Articles

Influence of Novelty Centered Business Model Innovations on the Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Strategic management scholars agree that innovation in business models is essential for long-term survival in challenging commercial environments. The study was designed to determine the influence of novelty centered business model innovation on the Kenyan manufacturing companies’ performance. The study was anchored on diffusion of innovation theory. The study adopted the descriptive research design and positivism philosophy that was aligned to the classical scientific method of research inquiry. Multi-stage sampling method was adopted to collect data from top management team in the manufacturing sector using a semi- structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis techniques such as mean, percentages and standard deviation. The study established that novelty centered business model innovation positively and significantly influenced manufacturing firms’ performance. The study recommends that manufacturers should endeavour to innovate their business models in order to achieve superior long-term performance. The study findings inform the extent to which novelty centered business model innovation predicts the performance of manufacturing firms.

Managing Stability and Change in Interorganizational Projects: The Ambiguous Role of Digital Tools for Relational Dynamics

Focusing on relational dynamics among collaborating organizations, we ask how inter-organizational projects respond to digitalization and ensure that the dynamics remain manageable. Digital tools, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the construction industry, can help to manage relational dynamics but may also cause additional ones. Considering the theorizing of stability and change as a duality, the practice-based perspective adopted, and the empirical evidence from two comparable construction projects investigated, these dynamics are not only mitigated, but also maintained, or even mobilized. With its focus on relationally embedded interorganizational projects, and additional relational dynamics triggered and managed by BIM in face of the recursive interplay between stability and change, the study provides a nuanced manageability framework. With this it contributes not only to project management scholarship, but also to management research more broadly, which is increasingly interested in forms of temporary organizing.

The influence of complexity, uncertainty, and munificence on long‐term organizational resilience to natural disasters

AbstractThe turbulent conditions of the external environment have placed unprecedented pressure on firms, drawing management scholars' attention to organizational resilience. This research aims to study if complexity, uncertainty, and munificence influence organizational resilience in terms of long‐term firm survival. We performed a binary logistic regression using a database of 1,849 Italian joint‐stock firms between 2014 and 2020, of which 89 received public funds as compensation for damages caused by natural disasters. We found that munificence in the context where firms operate is likely to increase their survival in the long term compared to the peers together with turnover, however, context complexity and uncertainty have not been found significant. The results shed light on the role of the context as an antecedent of organizational resilience.

Taming a wild new term: exploring the concept of quiet quitting as a coping response

Purpose“Quiet quitting” emerged as a term in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since gained immense popularity worldwide, working its way into common usage. However, disagreement exists over the term’s meaning and utility. Our paper critically considers the value of the construct of quiet quitting, proposing an initial operationalization of its properties.Design/methodology/approachWe develop hypotheses related to the antecedents, characteristics and consequences of quiet quitting through a literature review and subsequent survey. The questionnaire was distributed to working professionals in Europe and assessed through multiple partial least squares analyses.FindingsWe propose quiet quitting as a coping strategy involving a combination of reduced effort, disengagement, disassociation and boundary-setting. 108 responses obtained through a survey of knowledge workers provide some support that these existing concepts indeed form a second-order construct with emergent properties not found when assessed individually. However, we suggest that the utility of quiet quitting as a distinct coping strategy is questionable and that generally, it is more useful to discuss its subcomponents separately.Research limitations/implicationsWhile limited by its cross-sectional nature, this work raises several potentially fruitful future lines of research and offers a first step in evaluating a relatively new term that is of substantial relevance to management scholarship and practice.Originality/valueNew concepts stemming from popular literature can be problematic, grounded in untested folk theory and riddled with ambiguity. At the same time, they can stretch our thinking and drive research in new directions if they can be sufficiently refined. We offer a new conceptualization of quiet quitting but question its usefulness.

The Life/Blood of a Management Scholar: What a Cancer Diagnosis Taught Me About the Profession

After receiving a diagnosis of a rare form of blood cancer in my mid 30s, in the midst of my first year working full-time as an assistant professor, I reflect on the ways such a life-altering event gave me a new vantage point on my own career as a management scholar. I highlight ways that both a) the nature of the cancer treatment I had to receive and b) being forced to mentally face prospects of a reduced life expectancy, had the unforeseen value of giving me specific insights on effective ways to conduct research in our field, while still appreciating deeper issues of personal values and relationships. I specifically utilize the conceptual framework of the ‘protean’ career in my narrative essay to elucidate important truths about the nature of management scholarship which I propose all my colleagues should personally consider as they pursue their own career goals.

A Roadmap for Navigating Phenomenon-Based Research in Management

McNamara and Schleicher have identified four principal paths for contributing to the Journal of Management (JOM): theoretical insights, phenomenon-driven research, research methodologies, and review papers. This editorial focuses on phenomenon-based research, emphasizing its potential for enhancing management knowledge by offering a nuanced understanding of real-world phenomena. Unlike traditional approaches, phenomenon-based research prioritizes the complexity of phenomena over the immediate generation of theoretical contributions. Grounded in established theory, phenomenon-based research utilizes the phenomenon itself as the primary source of insight, facilitating the development of relevant organizational frameworks. We propose a multistep framework encompassing phenomenon selection, framing, data collection, and study constraints, highlighting criteria—Pertinence, Reach, Insightfulness, Magnification, and Expediency (PRIME)—to guide scholars in identifying meaningful phenomena. Additionally, we discuss constraints that may limit research, including cultural, logistical, ethical, academic, and resource-related challenges (CLEAR). By addressing these considerations, we encourage management scholars to explore diverse and impactful phenomena, ultimately aiming to position JOM as a leading platform for phenomenon-based research and its contributions to real-world organizational challenges. This editorial advocates for a balanced approach that values both theory-driven and phenomenon-driven research in advancing management scholarship.

Caught in the deglobalisation crosswind? De-risking by “China+1” or “In-China-For-China”

PurposeForeign firms in China, particularly those from the Global West, are in a difficult position as deglobalisation and strained international relations create risk. This paper offers research avenues on how operations and supply chain management scholars can analyse the risk factors, de-risking practices, and de-risking outcomes of foreign firms in China.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is primarily based on interviews with managers of foreign firms’ subsidiaries and joint ventures in China between late 2019 and early 2024 and employs institutional theory to develop a conceptual framework.FindingsSix risk factors motivating foreign firms to consider “China+1” (diversification and multi-sourcing) or “In-China-For-China” (localisation with potential bifurcation) are identified. Four pathways focusing on politics, locations, technologies, and people enable further investigation of these de-risking strategies.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to take a deeper look at perceptions, worries, and considerations of foreign firms in China and offers specific recommendations for impactful research.

A Comprehensive Guide to Assessing and Adjusting for Social Desirability Bias Through Advanced Multivariate Analysis using R: A Case Study on Sports Fan Surveys

ABSTRACT The purpose of the current paper is to provide a step-by-step tutorial for employing the list experiment to control for Social Desirability Bias (SDB). Sport management scholars routinely rely on self-report data in cross-sectional settings to test research hypotheses. However, concerns exist regarding the use of self-reports without adjusting for sources of systematic misreporting such as SDB. This study offers a walkthrough guideline using the R programming language to utilize the novel method called “multivariate list experiment” to control for SDB, using Black athletes’ kneeling protests during the national anthem on the playing field as an example. All materials, including the dataset, R codes, and markdown, are provided for replicating the results.

Politico-Administrative Culture and Public Service Reform in Post-Independence Kazakhstan

Classical organizational management literature draws clear parallels between organizational culture and climate and effective use of power and influence as key to successful policy implementation of reforms in public sector organizations. On the other hand, the public policy literature, in particular, policy transfer as a strand within policy studies, emphasizes the role of the national context, more specifically, ‘facilitators’ and ‘constraints’ of ‘‘politico-administrative culture” within the national context, as crucial to understanding processes of transfer, convergence, and diffusion of public policy. There is a plethora of studies by Western scholars of public management who have successfully utilized these theoretical underpinnings to study the effectiveness of public service reforms in mature policy environments such as the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand, and others. However, the public policy and comparative public management literature only offers a limited number of case studies from developing, middle-/upper-middle countries, which rely on concepts of organizational management in addition to narratives on the impact of policy learning from global doctrines, such as Weberianism, New Public Management (NPM), and New Public Governance (NPG), and national politics, on the implementation of administrative reforms in those contexts. Kazakhstan, as a resource-affluent post-Soviet country and a bastion of modernization and ‘open government’ in Central Asia or the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the post-Soviet era is a case in point. Based on ethnographic research consisting of interviews with elite academics, civil servants, and think-tank activists, as well as reviews of OECD and government strategy reports in Astana, the findings point to a potential abatement of the impact of context constraints such as large power distance and collectivist behavior by context facilitators such as those surrounding the use of ‘trilingualism’ and public diplomacy towards reforms in Kazakhstan particularly in recent years.

Influence of Technology on Business Sustainability in Petroleum Firms in Nairobi, Kenya

Purpose: Sustainability is gaining more interest among several strategic management scholars. Technology provides a disruptive competitive advantage that is essential for businesses to thrive in a difficult environment where rules and strategies change from time to time. There is little competition among the oil marketers in Kenya because the government controls pricing strategy. The study's main aim was to determine the influence of technology on business sustainability in petroleum firms in Nairobi, Kenya. The study was underpinned by dynamic capability theory. This study adopted a descriptive research design in its investigation. Study design/methodology/approach: The study's total population was 60 oil marketing companies in Nairobi. The study selected heads of business development units from each oil marketing company. Since the population was small, a census was adopted because it was the most appropriate approach. The primary data was collected using questionnaires, where standard questionnaires with closed-ended questions were administered to capture important information about the respondents. Simple linear regression was employed to determine the effect of technology on business sustainability in petroleum firms in Nairobi. Findings: Technology had a positive and significant effect on the business sustainability of oil marketing companies. The study concluded that strengthening technology enhances competitiveness and thus results in business sustainability among oil marketing companies. Originality/value: The study recommends adopting improvised technology for all the processes and services of oil marketing companies.

Performance management in collaborations: exploring associations between distributed leadership and collective performance data use

ABSTRACT Performance management scholarship has focused on organizations, with less attention given to non-hierarchical collaborations that use performance practices. This research includes a relational perspective and argues that distributed leadership can foster groups’ collective use of performance data. Our analysis employs qualitative and quantitative data from a case study of community collaboratives formed to respond to the opioid epidemic in North Carolina. We find distributed leadership is positively associated with collective data use and discuss strategies that can be employed to activate this type of leadership, emphasizing the importance of core teams, distributed structures, formalization, key leaders, and job resources.

A bibliometric analysis of the application of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway in cancer.

PI3K-AKT-mTOR plays as important role in the growth, metabolism, proliferation, and migration of cancer cells, and in apoptosis, autophagy, inflammation, and angiogenesis in cancer. In this study, the aim was to comprehensively review the current research landscape regarding the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway in cancer, using bibliometrics to analyze research hotspots, and provide ideas for future research directions. Literature published on the topic between January 2006 and May 2023 was retrieved from the Web of Science core database, and key information and a visualization map were analyzed using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. A total of 5800 articles from 95 countries/regions were collected, including from China and the USA. The number of publications on the topic increased year on year. The major research institution was the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Oncotarget and Clinical Cancer Research were the most prevalent journals in the field. Of 26,621 authors, R Kurzrock published the most articles, and J Engelman was cited most frequently. "A549 cell," "first line treatment," "first in human phase I," and "inhibitor" were the keywords of emerging research hotspots. Inhibitors of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway and their use in clinical therapeutic strategies for cancer were the main topics in the field, and future research should also focus on PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway inhibitors. This study is the first to comprehensively summarize trends and development s in research into the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway in cancer. The information that was obtained clarified recent research frontiers and directions, providing references for scholars of cancer management.

A framework of generative impact-driven research: An introduction to the special issue

Management scholars are increasingly expressing a desire to conduct research that aims to solve social and environmental issues. Expectations from universities and funding bodies for research with societal impact are also growing. Yet, there are many unanswered questions about what impact-driven research looks like and how it can be conducted rigorously. This special issue seeks to address this problem. In this introduction, we propose a guiding framework for generative impact-driven research.

Green Recruitment as a Mediating Variable of the Effect of Green Employer Behavior on Employee Performance

Context: The image above indicates that if the researcher decides to formulate a Green Recruitment variable argument, it can have a positive relationship and a significant influence on employee performance. Then the researchers modified this variable into Green Recruitment by adding Environmental & Natural elements with the aim of creating a company that upholds Sustainable Development. Objective: The main objects in this article are Green Recruitment, Employee Performance, and Green Training which are formulated by Green Recruitment as an Independent variable, Green Training as a Moderation variable, and Employee Performance as an Independent variable. Method: This research is quantitative research with an exploratory approach which uses a number of previous studies, especially the five studies mentioned above and the addition of two other studies regarding Green Recruitment. The data used in this research is primary data that researchers obtained from PT. Musi Hutan Persada in Indonesia has 300 employees. These data were analyzed using the smart PLS 4.0 analysis tool. Results: The Green Recruitment variable can have a positive relationship and a significant influence on Employee Performance. This is because the P-Values in the first row are positive and are below the 0.05 significance level, namely 0.043. Apart from that, in the next row the P-Values also point to positive and are below the 0.05 significance level, namely 0.000. These results indicate that the Green Recruitment variable can have a positive relationship and a significant influence on employee performance and the Green Training variable can strengthen the influence of the Green Recruitment variable on employee performance. These results are due to recruitment which has a high nuance in protecting the environment, usually has high social sensitivity and concern and ultimately improves employee performance. The resulting employee performance is not just ordinary employee performance like employee performance in other studies, but employee performance that is nuanced and combined with aspects of caring for nature and the environment. Therefore, the first and second hypotheses in this study can be accepted. Contribution: The researcher's great hope is that this article can be used as one of the main references in Human Resource Management scholarship, especially those closely related to Green Recruitment, Green Training and Employee Performance. Apart from that, it is hoped that this research will become a reference in deciding existing policies.

Policy-driven projects: Empowering the world to confront grand challenges

The world is beset by grand challenges, those messy, multi-stakeholder, value-laden, complex, wicked, and constantly evolving problems like climate change, unsustainable development, economic inequality, and global pandemics. While these grand challenges call for projects to translate policies into actions and changes, these projects tend to fall short of their ‘beautiful’ goals- such as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, the management literature remains mostly silent about the role of projects and project delivery in tackling grand challenges. In this article, we discuss the contribution of projects to grand challenges and ask what type of project management they demand, particularly in Europe. In light of the sheer complexity and interdependency of grand challenges and the projects they provoke, we call for further collaboration between project scholars and management scholars to help policymakers shape a better world where no one is left behind.

Reflections on achieving anti‐racism in organisations: The role of human resource management scholars and practitioners

Reflections on achieving anti‐racism in organisations: The role of human resource management scholars and practitioners

New Pathway for Management Studies in China: Exploring Qualitative Research Methods of Business Anthropology

Through an inventory of the existing literature body on Chinese management studies, this paper attempts to present a critical review of the phenomenon that the management studies in contemporary China over-rely on quantitative research methodology. It endeavors to demonstrate that the nature of scientific research is to innovate by seeking truth and, therefore, should not be restricted by quantitative research methods. Improve the effectiveness of academic analyses, it suggests that the scholars in China need to positively adapt the anthropological methodologies to conduct management studies and enhance the process of the localization of management science in the country. It is designed to broaden the approaches toward Chinese management studies by introducing business anthropological methods to Chinese management scholars. It adopts a comparative and case study methodology to demonstrate the limitations of quantitative methods and illustrate the effectiveness of business anthropological approaches for management studies in the Chinese context. The existing literature body demonstrates that excessive quantitative research approaches are utilized in current management studies, while scholars in China primarily ignore the effectiveness of qualitative methods. The necessity for further understanding qualitative research methods in management studies has been recognized more recently by Chinese scholars. They tend to agree that qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are merely different approaches, while the results are the same. One of the compelling new paths to improving management studies and practices is to apply anthropological research methods so that management theory in China can better explain actual human responses and factors that influence their behaviors. Anthropology has always been employed for practical applications. In addition, anthropological methods can enlarge the approaches to management studies and widen the scope for scholars to conduct their research. The combination of anthropology and management will accelerate the localization of management studies and, accordingly, speed up the systematic establishment of Chinese management theory to promote management practices in modern China. Business anthropology is emerging among some outstanding qualitative research methods in Western management studies. On the other hand, China's management science community is still a little behind in this respect. This paper is a pilot study to elaborate on business anthropology and its contribution to specific areas in management studies, such as marketing management, product design, and entrepreneurship in the Chinese context.

Digitalization capability and digital product and service innovation performance: empirical evidence from China

PurposeDigital product and service innovations (DPSI) has attracted widespread attention from both management scholars and practitioners. Previous studies have documented that information technology (IT) capability and digital orientation positively influence DPSI performance. However, the question of whether and how digitalization capability can facilitate DPSI performance remains unresolved. This paper fills these gaps by investigating the mediating role of improvisation capability and the moderating role of technological turbulence.Design/methodology/approachThis study used two-wave data from 240 matched digital transformation department leaders and senior managers from Chinese firms and examined the hypotheses deploying hierarchical regression and bootstrapping.FindingsOur analyses reveal positive, significant links between digitalization capability and improvisation capability and between improvisation capability and DPSI performance. The findings further show that the effect of digitalization capability on DPSI performance is partially mediated by improvisation capability and that technological turbulence strengthens the indirect relationship between digitalization capability and DPSI performance through improvisation capability.Originality/valueIntegrating resource-based view, this research provides evidence that the extent to which improvisation capability mediates the relationship between digitalization capability and DPSI performance depends on technological turbulence. It provides a new direction for digitalization capability and DPSI performance.

Tidying Up the Concept of Grand Challenges: A Bibliometric Analysis

Management scholars increasingly seek to make a contribution to addressing the big issues faced by society (climate change, poverty, migratory crises, etc.), often using the term grand challenges to refer to these. However, after an initial phase of enthusiasm, the lack of coherence and distinctiveness of a relatively new management research concept – typical of an ‘umbrella concept’ – has been criticized. This article addresses the research question of how grand challenges can pass the tests of validity and rationalization in order to improve the robustness of the concept. To this end, we map out the literature on grand challenges using a mixed methodology of bibliometric analysis, combining co-citation and bibliographic coupling. By identifying the intellectual foundations and research streams, our paper analyzes the different uses of grand challenges in the literature as well as the resulting inconsistencies – thereby tidying up the concept. The current weaknesses of the grand challenges concept call for a clarification of its attributes. We pinpoint the importance of this redefinition and how it can be achieved, and discuss the possibilities for theoretical development of the field.

Determining Customer Loyalty Based on Relationship Marketing with Trust on SDG

Context: The image above indicates that if the researcher decides to formulate a Green Recruitment variable argument, it can have a positive relationship and a significant influence on employee performance. Then the researchers modified this variable into Green Recruitment by adding Environmental & Natural elements with the aim of creating a company that upholds Sustainable Development. Objective: The main objects in this article are Green Recruitment, Employee Performance, and Green Training which are formulated by Green Recruitment as an Independent variable, Green Training as a Moderation variable, and Employee Performance as an Independent variable. Method: This research is quantitative research with an exploratory approach which uses a number of previous studies, especially the five studies mentioned above and the addition of two other studies regarding Green Recruitment. The data used in this research is primary data that researchers obtained from PT. Musi Hutan Persada in Indonesia has 300 employees. These data were analyzed using the smart PLS 4.0 analysis tool. Results: The Green Recruitment variable can have a positive relationship and a significant influence on Employee Performance. This is because the P-Values in the first row are positive and are below the 0.05 significance level, namely 0.043. Apart from that, in the next row the P-Values also point to positive and are below the 0.05 significance level, namely 0.000. These results indicate that the Green Recruitment variable can have a positive relationship and a significant influence on employee performance and the Green Training variable can strengthen the influence of the Green Recruitment variable on employee performance. These results are due to recruitment which has a high nuance in protecting the environment, usually has high social sensitivity and concern and ultimately improves employee performance. The resulting employee performance is not just ordinary employee performance like employee performance in other studies, but employee performance that is nuanced and combined with aspects of caring for nature and the environment. Therefore, the first and second hypotheses in this study can be accepted. Contribution: The researcher's great hope is that this article can be used as one of the main references in Human Resource Management scholarship, especially those closely related to Green Recruitment, Green Training and Employee Performance. Apart from that, it is hoped that this research will become a reference in deciding existing policies.