Mentoring: a model for leadership development?

There appears to be a paucity of research on mentoring senior leaders (Hobson & Sharp, 2005) and yet a growing interest in the development of leadership through experience (Abra et al., 2003; McCauley et al., 1998). This paper therefore presents and evaluates a case study of a pilot mentoring scheme and programme for Directors of Finance (DoFs) in the UK National Health Service. The paper reviews DoFs’ leadership needs within the three broad categories of pragmatism, effectiveness and sustainability, and provides a case study detailing the pilot mentoring scheme and programme. Values and challenges posed by this initiative as a model for leadership development are considered, and lead to the identification of eight cross‐cutting tensions connected to mentoring senior leaders. This analysis provides lessons for the ongoing initiative and indicates key learning about managing mentoring and mentoring senior leaders that it is hoped will be of value beyond the scope of this study.     

The importance of the institutional environment on multifunctional farming systems in the peri-urban area of Brussels

The influence of local and regional policies on the uptake of multifunctional farming systems is analysed. The conceptual framework of how regional and local policies can influence farmers’ behaviour is empirically verified by analysing data on uptake of diversification and environmental management by farmers located in the Brussels’ peri-urban area. In a two-stage model, farmers’ participation and behaviour to influence local policy-makers is also examined. It has been found among other things that, in a municipality that attaches greater importance to environmental issues, the uptake of agri-environmental measures is higher and that promotion of local agriculture will encourage farmers to start processing or selling products on their farms.     

Does Productivity Decline After Promotion? The Case of French Academia*

The present research examined the effect of promotion decisions on ex‐post productivity in French academia. As, once promotion decisions are known, most external incentives vanish for promoted candidates, their productivity was expected to decrease. This hypothesis was tested by using an original dataset and matching methods to evaluate the impact of promotion on publication scores. The robustness of the matching estimates was tested using sensitivity analysis. The results clearly show that the removal of extrinsic incentives following promotion does not lead to a fall in productivity in French academia.     

Mapping Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Supply Chains: an Exploratory Perspective

Corporate responsibility (CR) in general, and sustainable supply chain management in particular, have been a growing concern for companies and researchers over the past decade. However, in scholarly work, sustainability has often been dealt with in a generic fashion or from an anecdotal point of view. Further, research works examining CR on the one hand and sustainable supply chains on the other have been conducted separately. We undertake the multiple factor analysis of a CR rating database (Innovest) which reports longitudinal scores for both the social and environmental performance of 1198 companies in different countries and distinct industries, to demonstrate a strong relationship between CR and a sustainable supply chain. Our findings from exploratory analysis also illustrate the role of country of origin and industry in shaping CR behaviour, highlighting isomorphic as well as allomorphic trends for CR trough time. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Project Leadership Influences Resistance to Change: The Case of the Canadian Public Service

This article analyzes how leadership affects resistance to change in projects. Using Dulewicz and Higgs' (2005) leadership framework in the context of the Canadian Public Service, types of resistance and factors influencing them were listed, leading to the identification of competence areas for the project manager. It was found that an engaging leadership style, developed through proper training, effectively reduced resistance to change. Other factors, such as the inclusion of affected people in the decisions, as well as a formal project management methodology, were instrumental in reducing resistance. Finally, upper management support was identified to be a mandatory success factor.     

Too many theories,too few facts? What the data tell us about the link between span of control,compensation and career dynamics

In this paper, we use a unique personnel dataset from a large European firm in an high tech manufacturing industry that provides information about hierarchical relationships. This unusually rare feature allows us to identify the chain of command. We provide a few stylized facts about the link between span of control, compensation and career dynamics and relate our findings to the existing theoretical literature of hierarchies in organizations: the assignment model, the incentives model, the information processing model, the supervision model, and the knowledge-based hierarchy model. We observe an increase in the span, an increase in wage inequality between job levels, and the introduction of a new hierarchical level. We also find that higher spans of control are associated with higher wages. The knowledge-based hierarchy provides the most likely explanation for these results when communication costs are decreasing. However, we also find evidence of learning and reallocation of talent within and across job levels, a finding that can not be explained by a static model of knowledge based hierarchy but rather by dynamic models of careers in organizations. Finally, we provide a few suggestions to enrich the existing theoretical literature and reconcile it with the facts.     

Labor‐saving technologies and structural transformation in northern Ghana

Labor‐saving technologies played a fundamental role historically in the structural transformation of agrarian economies. We focus on an emerging labor‐saving trend in Ghana, use of motorized tricycles (MTs), which provide an affordable alternative to manually transferring crops from plots to homestead. A household survey collected in 2017 in northern Ghana is used to shed light on how the time savings made available by using MTs may be converted into activities that enhance agricultural productivity and/or diversify the household away from agriculture. Detailed information collected on the agricultural production and agro‐processing behavior of 1,400 households allows us to examine the above transformative channels. Ordinary least squares and instrumental variable regressions are applied to quantify the effect of MTs on related outcomes. We find households are able to diversify their farming activities into selling processed agricultural goods with the time savings provided through MT adoption. Policies aimed to foster the diffusion of MTs elsewhere in Ghana may expedite structural change and, hence, economic growth.     

Small firms and internationalisation: learning to manage and managing to learn

Small firms contribute significantly to the UK economy, but most research into learning and work features the experience of large organisations. This article focuses on learning and work in small organisations. An interpretive framework relating to organisational learning is derived from the literature. Data on learning in small firms that internationalise are analysed to assess the extent to which models of organisational learning are applicable to the context and challenges they face. The article suggests that the large firm model of learning is inappropriate; the distinctive culture and communication systems of small organisations require different approaches to the acquisition, transmission and interpretation of knowledge. Tacit knowledge, developed through informal learning, is a priority and learning through local business networks is more important than participation in formal programmes. Advocacy of human resource development (HRD) practices based on conventional theories of organisational learning, therefore, may hinder rather than encourage performance in small organisations.