The Warwick way: A case study of entrepreneurship within a university context

The University of Warwick perceives itself as an innovative and entrepreneririal organization, and has a reputation as such amongst institutions of higher education within the UK. The Conservative Government of Mrs. Thatcher has since 1979 applied steadily increasing pressure on the British system of higher education for it to be more flexible, responsive and business-minded, with less dependency on public funding. The result has been a turbulent and challenging environment for the quasi-public sector universities, with a premium being placed on their ability to manage change. At the time ofwriting, Warwick appears to have operated successfully within this new climate, both to its benefit and to that of its local industrial district. The airticle examines the factors which facilitate and stimulate innovative and entrepreneurial activity amongst the Warwick academic community - factors which will become increasingly important if the university world .is to adapt with flexibility, responsiveness and imagination to the changing and increasingly demanding economic and governmental climate now prevailing not only in the USA and the UK, but also in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Nigeria.     

Alliances and negotiations: an incomplete information example

We study a bargaining game between an individual and an ‘alliance’ in the sense of Manzini and Mariotti (J Econ Theory 121:128–41, 2005), in which the opponent of the alliance is incompletely informed about the relative strengths of its members. The best equilibrium outcome for the alliance under a unanimity rule is not attainable with a non-unanimity rule. However, unlike in the complete information model, less than optimal outcomes and delays may occur with positive probability even under unanimity, depending on the prior beliefs and the preferences of the agents. We are grateful to a careful referee for comments. We wish to thank Clara Ponsati for useful comments.     

Inclusion and inclusion management in the Chinese context: an exploratory study

This study explored the concept of inclusion at both the individual and the organizational levels in the Chinese context. Using interview data from managers and employees of 12 companies located in China with various ownership structures, we conducted content analysis and found similarities between Chinese and Western conceptions of inclusion, as well as some unique characteristics of China. In addition, we identified seven inclusion management practices and three challenges for implementing inclusion management. Finally, the conceptions of inclusion were different across organizational positions and firm ownerships. Overall, this study sheds light on the understanding and management of inclusion for both Chinese companies and multinational companies in China and lays the foundation for future research.     

HR as a strategic partner: Culture change as an American Express case study

A corporate culture is the combination of the values and characteristics that define an organization. It influences the way employees relate to each other, to customers, to shareholders, and to business partners. It drives behaviors and unites employees around a shared set of values. Companies with strong, formally articulated values that are focused on the needs of their constituencies have an important advantage over those without such values. American Express recently worked to strengthen its culture and renew its corporate values. I will focus on why this initiative was important, how we reviewed company culture and implemented culture change strategy, and what early results showed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Turnaround user acceptance in the context of HR self-service technology adoption: an action research approach

Growing advancement in electronic human resource management (e-HRM) in general, and human resource (HR) self-service technology in particular, has afforded transformational opportunities in changing the design and delivery of HR services. Despite their importance, our understanding of how acceptance of these technologies can be improved remains limited. To address this shortfall, this study utilises the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to consider how HR can drive and influence the adoption of HR self-service technology in an organisation. Utilising an action research approach, this study documents and reflects on the experience of a UK building society in introducing a new version of HR self-service technology, and analyses how interventions can be used to reshape users' perceptions. Our findings show how HR can play a more proactive role in shaping and reshaping users' perceptions towards accepting such a technology by better understanding how systematic interventions can be developed, used and evaluated. Our contributions are not only limited to the theorisation of HR self-service technology based on TAM, but also lie in demonstrating how action research, although currently underused, can be a valid and valuable approach for HR research and practice.     

如何处理这起土地违法案件

2003年3月,甲镇政府以行政命令的方式,征用了本镇乙村耕地10亩,并签定了征地补偿协议.甲镇政府对此块土地进行平整后,兴建了-座化工厂,该化工厂为甲镇所属的乡镇企业,有独立法人资格.……     

Why an auditor can't be competent and independent: A french case study

Abstract

This research proposes an understanding of the role of the relationship between the finance director and the auditor in the audit process and its effect on audit quality. We adopt an interpretative and qualitative approach. Based on 60 interviews, this qualitative method is the object of an interpretative process, composed of two complementary theoretical fields: contractual economic theories and economic sociology. Two notions emerge from this process, which are considered as the interpretation bases: relationship dualism (professional/personal relationship) and hybrid trust. This interpretative conception leads to a redefinition of the relationship between a finance director and an auditor as a peers' relationship. The emergence conditions of a peers' relationship are the sharing of professional and cultural norms, the frequency of relationship and the multiplexity of relationship. A peers' relationship is characterised by a hybrid trust, a joint generation of knowledge and a role equality. This parity conception of a relationship leads to a new reading of the foundations of audit quality that are auditor independence and competence. Audit quality appears as a balance between its two determinants, competence and independence.     

Finland and the mobile phone industry: A case study of the return on investment from government-funded research and development

The sudden and dramatic growth of the mobile phone manufacturing sector in Finland is an interesting case study for science and technology (S&T) policy analysts. Mostly on account of the rapidity of this growth against a relatively static situation for the other sub-sectors, the Finnish economic data over the period 1990–2001 can be used without ambiguity to quantify the return of an initial public sector research and development (R&D) expenditure on the growth of a sectoral economy. Although it is apparent from the data that this economic success story is to some extent now running out of steam, the returns to date for all the participants have been astonishing. Using the Patterson–Hartmann model, which has been developed to link company-level R&D expenditure with product revenue, it is shown that government has managed to achieve a multiplier effect of about 66 on its initial R&D expenditure through initially a leveraging of business R&D expenditure (at a level of 1:3) and then the translation of the latter into an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) (at a level of 1:22). These figures are extraordinarily high, even in comparison to the multipliers obtained by large private sector companies.The keys to the success were both the vision and foresight of the Finnish R&D community, who identified cell phones as a major growth opportunity, the sharing of risk by the various role players (government, universities and industry) as can happen in an efficient national system of innovation, and finally a sustained commitment to R&D by the industry leaders. The latter has now reached a level of 3.5% of GDP (2005), which makes Finland a global leader in R&D expenditure (as a percentage of GDP). The lessons for developing countries such as South Africa, which are moving towards higher levels of R&D expenditure but within a resource constrained context, are apparent.     

Unhappy with well-being research in the temporary work context: mapping review and research agenda

Abstract

While temporary workers’ specific employment circumstances strongly suggest negative consequences for their well-being, research on temporary workers’ well-being shows serious inconsistencies. To identify possible reasons, we provide an overview of previous well-being research in the temporary work context. The mapping review shows that inconsistencies are caused both by the use of the umbrella term temporary work to describe a wider range of employment forms with divergent characteristics and the use of the buzzword well-being for various well-being indicators. In addition, the portfolio of employment-specific antecedents used is insufficient to gain a comprehensive view of temporary workers’ well-being situation. Based on these findings, we propose an agenda for future well-being research in the temporary work context. A first key implication is that analyses considering country-specific circumstances and employment-specific characteristics of particular atypical employment situations are needed. Secondly, a more comprehensive portfolio of employment-specific and individual antecedents would help with gaining deeper insights into temporary workers’ well-being situation. In addition, effects of well-being on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes should be analyzed to demonstrate the return on investment of organizations’ well-being enhancing activities. Finally, well-being oriented HR practices and their implementation in the temporary work context are part of the proposed research agenda.     

对完善新型农村合作医疗制度的探讨——以江苏为例

新型农村合作医疗缓解了农民因病致贫的状况,得到广大农民的拥护,但在实施过程中仍然存在很多问题。以江苏为例,由于地区经济发展的不平衡和长久以来的制度缺陷,使得江苏的新型农村合作医疗制度有着明显的地区差异,其原因主要是经济发展的“多元”性、政府对农村公共卫生投入不足、农村医疗机构服务水平低、费用报销方式不统一以及筹资机制不健全。因此,要加快落后地区的经济发展,加大财政投入力度,加速农村卫生人才的培养,深化政策宣传,简化报销程序,探索科学的筹资途径。     

Mind the context gap: a critical review of engagement within the public sector and an agenda for future research

Abstract

In this review paper, we critically examine the evidence base relating to engagement within the public sector given a wide range of public services have faced acute human resource challenges over recent years. Our review of 188 empirical studies reveals that much of the evidence focuses attention on individual and job level factors, such that specific public sector contextual contingencies have rarely been considered. Through identifying significant ‘context gaps’, we present a future research agenda addressing the following key areas: i) clarifying the relationship between engagement and public service motivation, ii) further contextualizing general engagement models, iii) exploring cultural, socio-political, and institutional factors in more depth, iv) encouraging a more critical perspective on engagement, v) understanding the variation in the experience of engagement across different public services/delivery models, and vi) connecting more strongly with practical concerns and initiatives within public organizations. In presenting this agenda, we highlight how engagement and HRM scholars can more strongly embed their research within a sectoral context.     

Exploring an alternative direct mail fundraising approach for a cancer research charity: a case study

The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) successfully uses sweepstakes techniques to generate funds to support cancer research projects. These methods have taken AICR to the top 80 of UK charities, in terms of gross voluntary income. It is recognised, however, that this approach only motivates one constituency of potential supporters among the population. Recently AICR tested an alternative approach, designed to appeal to a different constituency of support. This paper summarises the thinking behind the trial programme and presents some of the initial findings. It also considers the fulfilment requirements and how they were addressed. Copyright © 1999 Henry Stewart Publications     

空间重组背景下城市社区疫情防控的挑战与策略——以安徽省Y县城C社区为例

新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情的发生,对我国城镇化及人居环境提出了严峻的挑战。在这场事关人民健康和社会安全的疫情防控战"疫"中,城市社区是整体疫情防控工作的重要堡垒,是阻断疫情蔓延的重要空间。以安徽省Y县城C社区疫情防控实践为例,分析了大规模城镇化推动的城市空间重组给疫情防控带来的挑战,认为物理空间重组加大了疫情扩散与异地传播的风险,社会空间重组凸显了疫情联控与人口结构的矛盾,心理空间重组加深了疫情恐惧与社会心态危机,网络空间重组促使疫情防控与信息管理更加复杂。基于此,提出城市社区疫情防控的基本策略,即建章立制辅以精细化管理,严控物理空间的越轨行为;协同适应,营造社区共同体,筑牢群防群治的社会基础;扩展心理空间,释放情绪压力;净化网络空间,维护舆情健康与信息透明。     

Conceptualizing social entrepreneurship in the context of emerging economies: an integrative review of past research from BRIICS

Social entrepreneurship is well practiced and talked about in emerging economies. However, till date, no dedicated review and conceptual framework exists, synthesizing and integrating past social entrepreneurship research in the fast growing emerging economies, commonly known as BRIICS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa). The purpose of this article is to bridge that gap by conducting an integrative review of 123 most relevant peer-reviewed scholarly articles, filtered out of 1779 search results in six different research databases. Country-specific conceptual perspectives have been extracted and integrated to formulate a novel social entrepreneurship framework that is inclusive of five key social entrepreneurship dimensions emerging from these economies: (a) Social Welfare, (b) Social Capital, (c) Social Entrepreneur, (d) Economic Value Creation, and (e) Collective Endurance. This exercise was an initiative to facilitate the global community of social entrepreneurship researchers and practitioners in understanding the diversity, meaning, and evolution of the social entrepreneurship phenomenon in the context of emerging economies. They can advance research in this domain with the aid of the proposed framework and the research questions proposed for future research.     

社区治理中的政府定位——以杭州市为例

社区治理必须树立现代治理理念.政府与社区组织之间存在着相互依赖关系,必须彼此交换资源、合作互动、持续协调才能顺利实现各自目标.目前政府与社区组织在社区治理中的关系尚未理顺,政府职能转变进程的滞缓和主导性强势行为直接影响了社区治理的效果.要改变现状,政府必须正确定位,摆脱自身社会管理的重负,采取积极有效措施加快培育发展社区自治组织,使之有能力以主体姿态参与社区治理,实现社会管理社会化.     

Leader-member exchange,employee performance,and work outcomes: an empirical study in the Chinese context

In this study, we employed the multidimensional view of LMX (LMX-MDM) to develop a model that captured different antecedents and outcomes of task and contextual performance. We tested this model with a sample drawn from subjects from the People's Republic of China. The results indicated that the affect dimension of LMX-MDM was positively associated with task performance and contextual performance. The contribution dimension of LMX-MDM was positively related to the job dedication dimension of contextual performance. Supervisory ratings of the task performance and the interpersonal facilitation dimension of contextual performance predicted the promotability of subordinates, and task performance influenced subordinates' intention to quit. Limitations and future research are discussed.     

Renaissance of case research as a scientific method

Since the seminal article by Eisenhardt (1989), scholarly interest in case research has mushroomed in operations management and organization sciences. Volumes of methodological texts are matched with a massive amount of empirical research that seeks to apply and further develop case research as a scientific method. What is missing from this literature is a treatment of the methodological diversity of case research. In this paper, we seek to unveil this heterogeneity by describing three distinct methodological accounts of case study: theory generation, theory testing, and theory elaboration. Each approach has its own idiosyncrasies, in particular when it comes to the interplay between theory and empirics. A typical case research incorporates both existing theories and empirical data to varying degrees. In light of this heterogeneity, we re-interpret key aspects of extant contributions and discuss guidelines for future case research. We propose that ultimately, case research rigor is determined by attention to idiosyncrasy and transparency of reasoning. We conclude by arguing that we have witnessed in the past 25 years in organization research what amounts to the Renaissance of case research.