Using partial least squares in operations management research: A practical guideline and summary of past research

The partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling (SEM) has been widely adopted in business research fields such as information systems, consumer behavior, and marketing. The use of PLS in the field of operations management is also growing. However, questions still exist among some operations management researchers regarding whether and how PLS should be used. To address these questions, our study provides a practical guideline for using PLS and uses examples from the operations management literature to demonstrate how the specific points in this guideline can be applied. In addition, our study reviews and summarizes the use of PLS in the recent operations management literature according to our guideline. The main contribution of this study is to present a practical guideline for evaluating and using PLS that is tailored to the operations management field.     

A component process theorem of job satisfaction

Total quality management (TQM) and management by objectives (MBO) are underpinned by the same three processes – participation in decision making, goal setting and objective feedback. Research on the effectiveness of management by objectives is used as a foundation for evaluating the influence of each component process on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction gains are predicted from the theories that underpin each process. Evidence on each component process supports these predictions. When all three processes in combination are used with top management commitment to programme implementation, the gain in job satisfaction should be greater than the gain when any one process is used by itself, but less than the sum of the independent effects of all three processes.     

Time is of the essence: Improving the conceptualization and measurement of time

We advance the understanding and measurement of the concept of time by offering a taxonomy of four distinct time constructs: duration, frequency, timing, and sequence. On the basis of a literature review of human resource management and allied fields (i.e., organizational behavior, industrial and organizational psychology, general management, entrepreneurship, and strategic management studies), we offer recommendations on how to measure each construct as well as illustrations drawn from different domains and theories on how these recommendations can be implemented. In addition, for each construct, we offer specific, practical, and actionable recommendations regarding critical design choices, dilemmas, and trade-offs that must be considered when investigating time conceptually and empirically. We discuss these recommendations in the form of a sequential decision-making process that can be used as a roadmap by researchers. We hope our conceptualization and recommendations will serve as a catalyst and useful resource for future conceptual and empirical research that aims to formulate better time-sensitive and temporally falsifiable theories.     

The pyramid model of school management

Models of organizational management are presented in the literature and in the managerial practices of recent years. They are aimed to improve organizational governance, and to enhance organizational overall efficiency. The common denominator for most, if not all these management models is that they generally focus on a single aspect, or on a very limited number of aspects of the organizational conduct whereas running an organization is a highly complex undertaking, incorporating a large number of functions and processes. School principals tend to adapt out-of-school management process, usually adapting them from the business world. And therefore we can see that the educational system at all and the school system in particular, implement business management methods. This research indicates that school principals are well aware of all the school management processes and procedures. The important contribution of this research, which is based on the unique contribution of the multi-faceted theory, is acknowledging the work of the school principals as a pyramid which its base is composed of essential consensus procedures and its three sided indicate three major school management process. We suggest that this pyramid will be called “The Pyramid Model of School Management”. The various management processes that built this pyramid are based on mutual aims and consensus of the school team to reach these aims. The consensus of the aims is essential, and with out it, the school cannot exist as an affective organization. Choosing when to take a various management action is a feedback based, and situation-based conduct. It is also shown in this research that school principals distinguish between three major management processes which we recommend that they will be called the “pyramid sides” and include: results management, human resources management and general resources management. The three groups are bounded by the “core of management” which we recommend that will be called the “pyramid base”. The pyramid base is connected to each and every phase of the life cycle of the organization, to each process and each result. It includes the school targets and aims which all the school team has to agree upon and there must be an un-doubtful consensus about them.     

The making of twenty‐first‐century HR: An analysis of the convergence of HRM,HRD, and OD

Twenty‐first‐century HR is emerging to uniquely combine activities and processes of human resource management (HRM), human resource development (HRD), and organization development (OD)—three fields that “grew up” distinct from each other. Contributing strategically to organizations demands that HRM, HRD, and OD coordinate, partner, and think innovatively about how they relate and how what they do impacts people and organizations. An analysis of the evolutions of these fields helps to explain why the distinctions between them continue to blur and how the similarities among them provide the necessary synergy for HR to be a truly valued organizational partner. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Across the great divide: a literature review of management accounting and operations management at the shop floor

Management accounting’s ability to provide relevant information in production environments has long been discussed in the fields of management accounting (MA) and operations management (OM). Researchers from each field play a major part not only in disseminating their research results, but also in channelling their perceptions of management accounting in production environments through journal publications. The thesis of this paper is that via an examination of the paradigms, theories, and methods in the fields of MA and OM our understanding of the prevailing assumptions about management accounting in production environments in the academic community can be enhanced. The review shows a divide between the fields where the field of OM is oriented towards problem-solving, and the field of MA is more theory oriented. The review points out that the understanding of practice is a divider between the fields, but it also suggests that incorporation of practicing production members into research is a promising path forward. The paper then concludes that OM problematizes management accounting in production environments as a starting point for their research agenda and that both fields portrayal of management accounting in production environments need to be nuanced. There is a need to challenge the research expectations and to accept unconventional research methods to enhance knowledge about management accounting in production environments.

     

The three tiers architecture of knowledge flow and management activities

This study aims to develop a framework for Knowledge Management Activities (KMA) that reflects their multitier nature and accommodates the multilevel of flow that knowledge goes through in organizations. A survey method was employed for this study in Bahrain to test the research model behind that architectural framework. The results showed that the classical three tiers of IS platforms, i.e. backend, processing, and frontend, can be used as an overarching distribution to devise corresponding KMA tiers related to managing knowledge resources, knowledge creation, and knowledge application respectively. Moreover, they highlighted the different sets of KMA at each tier as well as provided evidences that support the relationships between them. Research implications related to advancing the current path of studies on KMA modeling as well as practice implications concerning the development of knowledge based management approaches for organizations have been discussed at the end of the paper.     

Meta‐Analytic Research in Management: Contemporary Approaches,Unresolved Controversies,and Rising Standards

Early meta‐analyses in management research sought primarily to resolve seemingly conflicting findings by estimating a relationship’s population‐level effect size. Since then, management researchers have adopted increasingly sophisticated approaches that permit new theorizing, testing and comparing sophisticated models, and identifying boundary conditions. We summarize three of these approaches – i.e., qualitative meta‐analysis (QMA), meta‐analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM), and meta‐analytic regression analysis (MARA) – along with the special issue papers that adopt each approach. We conclude by raising three unresolved controversies that we believe deserve more attention and by offering our thoughts about how to maximize a meta‐analytic study’s chances for publication and impact.     

企业文化认知与塑造

虽然我们每个人都在以不同方式感知企业文化 ,但由于企业文化本身的抽象性和复杂性 ,许多人仍然缺乏对企业文化的全面理解。文章从对企业文化的认知出发 ,论述了企业文化的系统结构和管理功能 ,进而提出了现代企业着重塑造的三种文化氛围 ,探讨了如何打造企业文化管理战略工程 ,以及企业文化塑造的程序和方法。     

Career dynamics: managing the superior/subordinate relationship

Building on research and writing in the fields of career management and mentor relationships, Baird and Kram analyze the superior-subordinate relationship as an exchange to which each party brings different needs and resources. They point out that this relationship can be productive and satisfying--both for the parties concerned and for the organization--when the needs of one party match the resources of the other. The article includes a checklist for analyzing how the superior-subordinate relationship operates as an exchange and how the resources of the parties mesh or fail to mesh. They do on to show how the superior-subordinate relationship and the needs of the parties change as each moves through individual career and life cycles. What was once a productive relationship may, in time, become unproductive, or vice versa. In any event, its dynamic nature requires that it be managed. Baird and Kram suggest five steps for managing the relationship as it moves through these changes: (1) Recognizing that the relationship is an exchange; (2) identifying clearly one's own as well as the other party's needs; (3) understanding how the subordinate's and boss's needs fit together and recognizing that the relationship is likely to change; (4) understanding the constraints under which the boss operates; (5) establishing a feedback and evaluation process for continuously assessing the relationship.     

Strategiewechsel für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung – Möglichkeiten und Grenzen

Corporate activities and strategic decisions cause several ecological and social problems. However, companies also develop solutions, products and services to face these problems and to create social and ecological development proactively. Against the background of the far-reaching economical and societal change we need sustainable development. Implementing sustainable requirements in corporations necessitates strategic change. Thus, the question arises which influencing factors initiate pro-active or intensive sustainable strategic changes. This question will be addressed on the basis of an empirical analysis of three companies in the business fields chemistry, recycling and information & communication. The study examines the internal (organisational, cultural) and external conditions for pro-active and intensive corporate strategic change. It can be shown that there are various, but different patterns to initiate sustainable strategic changes. The findings highlight the role of visions and options, the companies’ interactions, the role of change agents and management as well as their values and norms, the companies’ history, and the history of business fields.     

企业工程项目管理中存在的风险及对策

企业工程项目的成功与否取决于项目管理的水平。而工程项目管理存在的风险贯穿项目管理的各个阶段和各个领域,是项目管理中的重点和难点。对这些风险进行有效的识别并找出有效的对策,才能以最为经济合理的方式消除风险可能导致的各种灾害性后果,保证顺利完成工程项目建设目标。文章通过对工程项目管理中存在的风险进行探讨,确定了针对风险的有效应对措施。     

ASSESSING THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF DEFENSE ACTIVITIES: A SURVEY OF METHODS

Defense activities exercised in a specific region may alter the region's economic performance. An accurate assessment of the potential economic impacts of defense activities is a valuable undertaking to enable regional planners to prepare for changes. The variety in the methods (among others, input–output models, economic base models, Keynesian regional multipliers, fixed‐effects estimators, and case‐study approaches) inspired by geography, sociology, and political science can pose a dilemma. We detail the historical and theoretical background of each method, as well as select exemplary cases where these methods were applied. By examining old and “new” methods, we aim to construct a typology that could be valuable to all stakeholders. In this sense, defense economics can also contribute to the allied social sciences by outlining evaluation methods that may be applicable to other fields.     

An intra-organizational perspective on supply management involvement in contracting services

The relationship between an agent (supply management) and a principal (client functional user) can be studied by using agency theory as a theoretical background. In this study, perceptions of conflict, information asymmetry and risk were examined in relation to perceptions of internal outcomes of supply management’s involvement in services contracting in an intra-organizational dyadic context. Structural equation modeling and regression analysis were used to analyze the nature of the relationships. The contribution is integrating a structured view of internal outcomes with three concepts from agency theory to help build a more comprehensive theory of intra-organizational relationships in the context of services contracting.     

Open interest,volume, and volatility: evidence from Taiwan futures markets

This paper examines the relationships amongst volatility, total trading volume (TVOL) and total open interest (TOI) for three Taiwan stock index futures markets as well as the role of the latter two variables in the dynamics of GARCH modeling and forecasting. From both ex-post and ex-ante perspectives, we study this issue by using the VAR model and augmented GARCH-type models, respectively. For the GARCH-type models, we employ both symmetric and asymmetric models augmented with lagged logs in TOI and/or TVOL. We find that whether addition of these two variables helps the basic GARCH models predict future volatility depends upon the sample period examined for all three sets of futures. Nonetheless, the best three models for out-of-sample volatility forecasting in the MSE sense are generally the augmented models for all sub-intervals and all three futures contracts.     

The influence of human resource practices on empowerment and employee perceptions of management commitment to quality

We hypothesized that certain human resource (HR) management practices establish a platform for basing employee empowerment, and that increasing empowerment would be positively related to perceptions of leadership commitment to quality. Using multi-stage structural equation modeling, we tested these hypotheses on data collected internally from 529 employees in a high-technology manufacturer well known for its quality initiatives. Results supported these predictions, and point to ways to further integrate HR management and quality management practices.     

Markets for standardized technologies: Patent licensing with principle of proportionality

In this paper, we study the licensing of standard-related patents among companies that employ a two-level licensing model where (i) the aggregated value of technology in the end product is divided among the integrated technologies in the product, and (ii) the value of each technology is then shared among the patent owners in proportion to the strengths of their patent portfolios in these technologies. Specifically, we develop a system dynamics simulation model for analyzing the effects of licensing costs on product and technology markets. This model is based on the modeling of three types of companies whose interactions are analyzed using non-cooperative game theory. The numerical results suggest that none of the three companies benefit from very low or very high royalty rates. In this setting, our model for two-level proportional sharing of licensing payments helps identify royalty rates which benefit all types of companies and which provide incentives for technology development and innovation.     

Industrial energy efficiency: A look at the data

It is extremely difficult to make a precise, quantitative assessment of the impact of the myriad of factors affecting the improvement in industrial energy efficiency. It is certainly not correct to conclude that housekeeping measures alone have led to the observed improvement. Changing product mix among four digit SIC industries within the same two digit classification, variations in capacity utilization (returns to scale) and energy price increases as well as technological innovations have all contributed to part of the realized reduction in energy use per dollar value added over the period of investigation. Unfortunately, data limitations as well as modeling weaknesses prohibit an exact delineation of the impact of each of the factors on the increase in energy efficiency. The best that can be done—and quite convincingly so—is to qualitatively show that unequivocally these factors had an impact on the efficiency with which energy was used in the manufacturing process for the ten most energy intensive industries in the period 1971–1976.     

城市化进程中的利益矛盾与解决途径

城市化进程中的利益矛盾广泛存在于收益差距、农民工权益维护、征地拆迁和就业等领域,已经对城市社会的稳定和发展造成了一定影响.究其根源,主要是由于政府行为偏差、城市经济不发达及社会管理落后三方面的原因造成的.必须从深化改革、维护社会和谐发展的高度出发,通过转换政府职能、进行制度创新、发展城市经济、加强社会管理建设等措施,妥善处理相关利益问题和矛盾,促进城市化的正常健康发展.