High‐performance organizing,environmental management,and organizational performance: An evolutionary economics perspective

This study applies evolutionary economics reasoning to the green HRM context and examines whether and how environmental management routinization relates to organizational performance. In doing so, we introduce the concept of ecological routines, defined as deeply embedded, firm‐specific rules and procedures associated with organizing and practicing corporate environmental management that do not change very much from one iteration, period, or functional unit to another. We examine the extent to which ecological routines that encompass organizing (high‐performance organizing [HPO]) and practice routines of environmental sustainability relate to green decisions, green behaviors, and organizational performance. In a sample of 229 managers from 33 organizations in the environment‐sensitive industries of the United States, we find support for multilevel mediation of green decisions and green behaviors as well as interaction of HPO and environmental management practice routines. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Voice in safety-oriented organizations: Examining the intersection of hierarchical and mindful social contexts

Workplace safety is a concern for both scholars and practitioners because of the potential for substantial loss of organizational resources. Trending away from a hierarchical perspective of organizations, this paper emphasizes the mindful management of safety and reliability in uncertain organizational environments and posits a theoretical framework that considers the relative importance of different types of social support in a high risk, safety-oriented setting. We posit that one voices to resolve ambiguity, and that social support across the organization fosters this exchange. Moreover, the extent of sustained mindful organizing will influence this relationship.     

Organizational mindfulness,mindful organizing,and environmental and resource sustainability

The research theorizes that environmental vulnerability can be minimized through mindfulness‐based strategies, and redesigning organizing processes, so that richer thinking is activated more quickly among greater number of people all of whom try to update their knowledge regardless of the knowledge source. It empirically evaluates the effects of organizational mindfulness and mindful organizing on resources and environmental sustainability. The model was tested in a very appropriate setting—Saudi Arabia, where increasing demand for and supply of energy culminates in unsustainable resources utilization and rise in greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental vulnerabilities. Data were collected from Saudi firms operating in the oil and gas sector and analyzed using SmartPLS software. The measurement and structural models were evaluated. The measurement model exhibits adequate model fit. The tests for the structural models show that four (of five) dimensions of organizational mindfulness (viz., commitment to resilience, deference to expertise, preoccupation with failure, and reluctance to simplify interpretations) and mindful organizing are significantly related at 5% significance level. Sensitivity to operations has no significant relationship with mindful organizing. Mindful organizing is significantly related to environmental and resources sustainability. Moreover, mindful organizing fully or partially mediates in the relationship between some of the dimensions of organizational mindfulness and environmental and resources sustainability. The study is one of the first to integrate mindfulness‐based approaches to sustainability and environmental research.     

The Economic Impact of Rent Seeking and Military Expenditures: A Comparison of Third World Military and Civilian Regimes

Abstract . The general stereotype of modern Third World military regimes is that of ultra-conservativism combined with military force to dismantle organizations of popular expression. These organizations through their rent-seeking activities are assumed to have reduced overall rates of economic growth. Empirically, the paper does find some support for this line of argument. However, it is apparent that the traditional stereotypes are inappropriate. The two regime types differ largely in terms of contrasting styles of economic management. Military regimes create an environment where military expenditures tend to have a positive overall impact on economic growth Civilian regimes having less control over rent seeking groups do not appear to be able to combine rent seeking activities and military expenditures in a manner conducive to overall economic growth.     

Absorptive Capacity in a Non-Market Environment

Abstract

Improved performance by public sector organizations is a political imperative in numerous countries. There are particular challenges in turnaround of poorly performing organizations. Theoretical explanations of the performance trajectories of public organizations, and especially the causes of failure, highlight the importance of knowledge processes, often from an organizational learning perspective. Absorptive capacity provides an alternative way of theorizing the relationships between organizational performance and knowledge processes, derived from the resource-based view of the firm and the broader concept of dynamic capabilities. The article reviews the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological implications of applying absorptive capacity to the performance of public organizations. It concludes that the approach has value and presents a number of propositions to be tested through empirical study, alongside some more general challenges for researchers who wish to study the concept further. The high political salience of public organizations' performance, and the costs of failure, mandates a major research effort on these issues.     

Organizing professionals and their impact on performance: the case of public health doctors in the Italian SSN

ABSTRACT

Hybrid professional managers have been associated with improvements in the performance of public sector organizations. However, less attention has been given to differences within this category. Drawing on board human capital theory, we focus on an emerging group of ‘organizing professionals’ with earlier and deeper exposure to management training and education: generalist clinical hybrids drawn from public health in the Italian healthcare system. Specifically, we investigate the impact that these hybrid hospital CEOs have on organizational performance in comparison with other backgrounds. The results indicate that this form of generalist hybrid professionalism has distinct, if not dramatic, consequences for performance.     

Knotting the action net, or organizing between organizations

This paper presents a study of a successful organizing process, namely the knotting together of different types of action by “translating” them into one another. The connections thus established were then stabilized to form a unit that can be designated as an “action net”. This instance of organizing occurred in the course of a project in the Swedish health care sector, with a view to establishing coordination between care units in three separate organizations. Different laws regulated their tasks, their operations were financed by different principals, and the everyday work of their members was undertaken at different point in time and in different places. Despite this, the participants in the studied project were able to establish a lasting net of connections that contributed, in the eyes of the environment, to an instance of “good care”. In this paper we examine in detail the creation of an action net, and offer a tentative theory of organizing in action nets.     

The organizing vision of application service provision: a process-oriented analysis

The processes by which information systems (IS) innovations become institutionalized are the subjects of much debate within the field of organization theory. Yet few empirical studies exist which examine how IS innovations come to be adopted and diffused across organizations. This paper draws from neo-institutional theory by extending the work of Swanson and Ramiller, using their concept of the organizing vision as a lens for observing and analysing an emerging information systems innovation targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which came to be known as application services provisioning (ASP). We observe that over time, the initial euphoria and ‘hype’ which surrounded the organizing vision of ASP was replaced by scepticism and distrust, as powerful institutional interests in the form of leading technology firms, industry analysts and IT consultancies were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to disseminate ASP throughout the wider business and not-for profit IS user communities. The lessons from this research suggest that a processes-oriented analysis of how organizing visions are interpreted, legitimised and mobilized is critical for understanding and explaining how underdevelopment of an organizing vision at an early stage, may inhibit its later adoption and institutionalization.     

Unlikely allies: Bureaucracy as a cultural trope in a grassroots volunteer organization

This article investigates the role of bureaucratic organizing in a grassroots volunteer organization, which emerged during the so-called refugee crisis in an emergency refugee shelter in Germany. Most research agrees that this type of organization is by definition counter-bureaucratic. In the organization I studied, however, volunteers adopted, accepted and acclaimed bureaucratic organizing as the only, natural and self-evident way of making the grassroots work. Drawing on ethnographic research, my analysis unravels how bureaucracy became a common frame of reference that allowed the volunteers to self-organize despite their different motivations, attitudes and social backgrounds. To theorize these findings, the paper draws on the concept of a cultural trope. In so doing, it offers a more nuanced understanding of bureaucracy in grassroots volunteer organizations that might stimulate scholars to rethink its role in other fluid, dynamic and value-driven organizations.     

External cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation in industrial clusters

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between external cooperation and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). This relationship is explored in cluster environment, wherein entrepreneurial organizations compete and cooperate simultaneously to pursue opportunities. The following hypothesis is tested: External cooperation is positively correlated with entrepreneurial orientation. The hypothesis is tested with a correlation analysis on a sample of 77 small-sized enterprises operating in the Malopolska region in Poland, wherein several clusters are active. Additionally, the regression analysis is conducted to examine the associations between inter-organizational cooperation and EO dimensions. The findings confirm that external cooperation is positively correlated with EO. This observation is confronted with a pro-competitive approach that is a constitutional element of the entrepreneurship concept. Moreover, the findings show that the correlation between external cooperation and a firm’s performance is stronger than between some other EO dimensions and performance. Additionally, the findings show the important role of relationships between organizations and their clients. In the paper, several remarks for development of the theory are discussed, including the need for incorporating inter-organizational cooperation into a set of entrepreneurial traits and reflecting it in entrepreneurial orientation scales. The findings confirm the importance of that direction of theory development that focuses on inter-organizational collaboration in the context of entrepreneurship.     

The key performance indicators (KPIs) and their impact on overall organizational performance

The concept of performance management is used by most of the organizations to ensure that either they are going on the right path or not. For managing the performance the organizations are required to know about the performance indicators. This paper explores the key performance indicators (KPIs) and impact of these KPIs on the overall organizational performance in manufacturing sector in Pakistan. The data for present study collected from the top level management of the 84 best manufacturing organizations in Pakistan by using a structured questionnaire and the impact of KPIs on the overall performance of the manufacturing organizations were evaluated. The results show that the manufacturing organizations put more focus on the customer satisfaction and Delivery reliability in terms of performance measurement. And measuring the performance in terms of cost, financial, quality, time, flexibility, delivery reliability, safety, customer satisfaction, employees’ satisfaction and social performance indicators have positive significant impact on the overall organization’s performance. This paper puts together all important performance indicators used by organizations in a single list and check their impact on the overall performance indicator index of the Organizations. As Pakistan is among the developing countries, this study will serve as a valuable guideline for several manufacturing organizations operating in other developing countries of the world.     

Introduction: Organizations, Risk and Regulation

abstract    Risk, regulation and practices of organizing are interrelated in a myriad of ways. Natural disasters, technical failures, and also processes of organizing are sources of risk to which organizations must respond and for which new managerial and regulatory practices are demanded. In this introduction we highlight three salient features of risk management: the (un)intended production of risk by organizations; the complex interrelationship between risk management and regulation; and the evolving and often contested nature of risk management knowledge. Each of these three themes is evident in the different contributions to this themed section.     

Organizational capacity for change and firm performance in a transition economy

This study explored some human resource and human systems' aspects of the competitive dynamics for firms attempting to survive and prosper within Russia, a highly volatile transition economy. Overall, this study adds to our understanding of international strategic human resource management, dynamic capabilities, and the generation of competitive advantage within transition economies.

We found that a relatively new construct derived from the dynamic capabilities and organizational change literatures, known as ‘organizational capacity for change,’ is positively associated with firm performance within a wide variety of Russian firms. Furthermore, we find that the relationship between organizational capacity for change and firm performance is stronger when there are relatively high levels of uncertainty with the task environment. Finally, we found that organizational capacity for change is an important attribute in all sizes of organizations, not just for large organizations as hypothesized.     

Toward High Reliability Project Organizing in Safety‐Critical Projects

High reliability organizations claim to be special organizations that have consistently demonstrated safe performance in operating environments, which are simultaneously of high technical complexity, high consequence, and high tempo. This article argues that the literature on high reliability organizing, which emerged through studying day‐to‐day operations in the nuclear industry, air traffic control industry, and U.S. navy aircraft carriers, might hold important lessons for how the project management community can approach the management of safety‐critical projects—projects in which safety is of paramount importance. Its aim is to consider how high reliability organizing might be realized in these safety‐critical projects.     

Challenges and prospects of HRM in developing countries: testing the HRM–performance link in the Eritrean civil service

In this article, the authors examine how, when and to what extent HR practices affect performance at the employee level. As performance is a multi-faceted and complicated concept, HRM outcomes were used as mediating factors between HR practices and employee performance. The data were collected among civil servants in Eritrea, Africa's youngest and poorest country. Although the results generally are in line with previous studies using Western data, their implications in this particular country may be different. Therefore, the challenges and prospects of HR practices in Eritrean civil service organizations are critically analysed and discussed. In the authors' opinion, that the Eritrean economic and political environment within which HR practices operate has not been conducive in maximizing the impact of HR practices on performance. These findings highlight the situation of most developing countries.     

To the Rescue!? Brokering a Rapid,Scaled and Customized Compassionate Response to Suffering after Disaster

Suffering comes in many forms that significantly impact organizations’ operations and performance. As a result, recent research on compassion organizing seeks to explain how efforts to notice, feel, and respond to suffering create organizational (and societal) benefits. Widespread suffering can be generated by natural disasters, which in turn can trigger compassionate organizational responses. In this paper, we build on social capital theory to theorize about how compassionate ventures leverage network relationships to identify and mobilize resources. We also explore how differences in these approaches influence the magnitude, speed, and customization of the response, all of which are theorized indicators of the effectiveness of compassion organizing in alleviating suffering. We use structural equation modelling to test our model and find that compassionate ventures with stronger ties to the local community are more likely to bundle (i.e., stretch) resources, which facilitates a speedy, customized, and large magnitude response. In contrast, those with stronger ties outside the local community are more likely to pursue (i.e., chase) new resources, which results in a large magnitude response, but one that is not associated with speed or customization. We discuss the implications of our findings and make recommendations for future research.     

Organizational response to environmental regulation: punctuated change or autogenesis?

Theory predicts that when faced with threatening new conditions, managers often attempt to preserve the status quo by creating a buffer between the organization and the outside world. This paper presents evidence that in response to new water pollution regulation, managers indeed created buffers of technology and personnel, but in some organizations this very equipment and personnel initiated a process of incremental change that led to better environmental protection, more efficient production, and in a few cases, entirely new product and production strategies. For public policy, this research suggests that environmental regulators should allow companies time and flexibility to learn and experiment. For organizational theory, this research suggests a link between punctuated‐equilibrium models of organizational dynamics ( Tushman and Romanelli, 1985 ) and theories of self‐organizing systems ( Drazin and Sandelands, 1992 ). That is, management may respond to external changes by attempting to preserve the status quo, but in so doing influence internal deep structures that then cause organizations to gradually evolve to different behaviours and shapes. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment     

Implications of core self-evaluations for a changing organizational context

There is a need for individuals who have the confidence and assertiveness to adapt to and create positive change in contemporary organizations. The concept of core self-evaluations provides one way to conceptualize this requisite positive self-construal. This article begins by covering the concept of core self-evaluations, highlighting what has been learned about the relationship between core self-evaluations and attitudes, motivation, performance, and career progress. After this review, implications of the core self-evaluation construct for challenges in contemporary organizations are reviewed. Specifically, the potential importance of core self-evaluations for creative performance, transformational leadership, coping with organizational change, and managing “boundaryless” careers is discussed.     

Fatigue in Dynamic Tournaments

Employee overwork and fatigue are a concern of managers in many organizations, as they may increase health and safety risks and decrease productivity. The problem is especially severe in competitive environments, where compensation and promotions are awarded, explicitly or implicitly, on the basis of relative performance. We propose a theory for, and study experimentally, the phenomenon of fatigue in a dynamic competitive environment. We find that subjects react strongly to changes in the environment related to fatigue and follow the comparative statics of equilibrium predictions. At the same time, within a given environment, subjects behave as if they are unaware of the deteriorating effect of fatigue on their competitiveness.     

Empowered self‐development and continuous learning

Organizational changes are creating the need for continuous learning environments that support employees' self‐development. Self‐development means seeking and using feedback, setting development goals, engaging in developmental activities, and tracking progress on one's own. This assumes that people are capable not only of monitoring their own behaviors, but also of recognizing which behaviors and outcomes are most favorable and desirable. Drawing on self‐determination theory, this article shows how organizations can encourage self‐development by providing nonthreatening performance feedback, ensuring behavioral choices for learning, encouraging feedback seeking, and rewarding participation in learning activities and other self‐determined behavior. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.