Assessment and selection of management consultants: A comparative cognitive study between small- and large-scale companies

This paper explores alternative ways of evaluating and ultimately hiring a generalist consultancy for short- and medium-term projects, and how this is shaped by the size of the clients’ company. What buying factors do managers of small and large firms have in mind when hiring consultants for their projects?Instead of employing surveys incorporating predefined buying factors based on what the researchers think would be important, a cognitive mapping methodology - the repertory grid technique - is applied to investigate the underlying phenomena. Using the repertory grid technique to draw mental models is a novel research technique within the supply management field. Recent behavioral supply chain management research found the behavior of managers to be critically influenced by mental models: the lenses through which managers perceive, simplify and interpret the world.Results show differences between the buying factors used in small- and large-scale companies: managers of large companies are more ‘reputation and outcome-oriented’ and managers of small businesses are more concerned with ‘how the services are rendered’. However, both constituents stressed the importance of expertise, quality and the relationship between the client and the management consultancy, although the character of such a relationship differed between small- and large-scale firms. Results also point out criteria that managers of small and large companies employ to discriminate between good and poor performing consultancies and to judge service delivery. The practical implications for both companies hiring consultancies and the consultancy companies are discussed. For consultancies, our findings can help tailoring their efforts to a differing clientele when marketing and selling their services. For companies hiring consultancies, fixating too much on particular buying factors may lead to biased decisions.     

Ethical Codes in Sports Organizations: Classification Framework,Content Analysis,and the Influence of Content on Code Effectiveness

Although there is a growing body of research on social media, only few studies have considered organic products. Therefore, this study mapped the diffusion path of the social media resources for organic products in Mexico and South Korea through Twitter and compared the contents of tweets about organic products in terms of their semantic and hyperlink networks using webometric methods. The results indicate that for organic products, Koreans sent tweets much more frequently than Mexicans. Mexican tweets focused on basic food products in street markets, whereas Korean tweets highlighted promotions and firms, revealing the corporatist structure of its economy. In both cases, the findings support Twitter as a useful tool for Word-of-Mouth Communication on the online environment, among product consumers, and between consumers and enterprises.     

Pitfalls and Challenges for Trust and Effectiveness in Collaborative Networks

Abstract

Collaborative networks in the public and non-profit sector face challenges that are typical for their institutional context. The typical characteristics that might impede the functioning of networks and, in particular, the development of trust and network effectiveness, are related to type of instigation, network flexibility, and power in the form of unbalanced influence and the vertical character of networks. In a sample of 52 networks, the effects of network flexibility, mandatory and vertical networks, and influence on trust and network effectiveness were studied. Findings indicated that particularly flexibility in networks was important and that cognition-based trust played a central role in obtaining effective networks.     

Bargaining in committees as an extension of Nash's bargaining theory

This paper addresses the following issue: if a set of agents bargain on a set of feasible alternatives ‘in the shadow’ of a voting rule, that is, any agreement can be enforced if a ‘winning coalition’ supports it, what general agreements are likely to arise? In other words: what influence can the voting rule used to settle (possibly nonunanimous) agreements have on the outcome of consensus? We model the situation as an extension of the Nash bargaining problem in which an arbitrary voting rule replaces unanimity. In this setting a natural extension of Nash's solution is characterized.     

Small-Business Owner-Managers’ Perceptions of Business Ethics and CSR-Related Concepts

Recent academic articles point to an increased vagueness and overlap in concepts related to business ethics and corporate responsibility. Further, the perception of these notions can differ in the small-business world from the original academic definitions. This article focuses on the cognition of small-business owner-managers. Given the impact of small-business owner–managers on their ventures, corporate responsibility and ethical issues can take a different route in SMEs. The small-business owner–manager is able to shape the corporate culture and to enact values other than profit. Adopting a cognitive perspective, we have identified how the small-business owner–manager makes sense of notions linked to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. The concept of sensemaking has recently been applied to CSR (Basu and Pallazzo, 2008; Cramer et al., 2006). Applying a cognitive perspective to small-business owners may help in explaining specific phenomena found within small-business ownership. For this research, the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is used, a method that has not previously been widely applied in the business and society field.     

An educational simulation tool for integrated coastal tourism development in developing countries

In spite of the importance of coastal tourism for the economies of many developing countries, tourism infrastructure has often been developed without full consideration of long-term impacts on the environment. The simulation model presented in this paper aims to address critical gaps in awareness and capacity for integrated decision-making and planning in tourism infrastructure development in a developing country context. We build a simple closed-loop model of tourism infrastructure investment, which integrates typical economic, social and ecological dimensions of the problem. The model is calibrated so that within 20 years, investment projects in tourist capacity done without concomitant investment in solid waste and wastewater treatment result in a collapse of fish stocks and a sharp drop in tourist attendance. The model includes several policy options that allow users to intervene at various points in the loop, allowing stakeholders to explore how various combinations of policies perform in financial, environmental and social terms over the long period. The model can, therefore, be used as an educational tool for training and capacity-building.     

The rising culture and worldview of contemporary spirituality: A sociological study of potentials and pitfalls for sustainable development

Several social scientists claim that the rise of the culture of contemporary spirituality is a pivotal part of the gradual but profound change taking place in the Western worldview, both reflecting the larger cultural development, as well as giving shape and direction to it. Its emergence is therefore not to be neglected in attempts to create a more sustainable society. The aim of this study is to generate insight into the culture and worldview of contemporary spirituality and explore its potentials and pitfalls for sustainable development. An investigation of the sociological literature on the so-called “New Age” phenomenon results in a delineation and overview of these and shows that this culture is both a potentially promising force, as well as a phenomenon posing specific risks. A structural-developmental understanding is introduced in order to be able to distinguish between regressive and progressive tendencies in this culture, and comprehend the deeper logic behind the observed potentials and pitfalls. This may serve to facilitate the actualization of the culture's potentials while mitigating its pitfalls, and in that way contribute to the timely challenge of creating a more sustainable society.     

Between Institutional Learning and Re‐legitimization: Italian Mayors in the Unending Reform

Direct election of the mayor, introduced in Italy in 1993 as a result of anti‐party attitudes and ‘modernization’, is one aspect of the broad redefinition of local authorities which recently culminated in an ambiguous revision of the constitutional text aimed to promote vertical subsidiarity. The impact of such a profound revision of the mayor's role is under debate. Beyond the radical changes in party labels and systems, a stronger territorial differentiation in the pattern of recruitment, a slight positive discrimination in favour of marginal categories in re‐election — possible forerunners of a deeper transformation — and the dominant social profile of current mayors (gender, age, education, work experiences, party training), it is not very different from that of their colleagues of 30 years ago. Their new role marks, nevertheless, significant progress towards greater accountability, activism and ambition among mayors, which is related to their increasing detachment from party politics and to an increased weakness of the other participants in local democracy. But such an excessive individualization of power and visibility in Italian local authorities threatens to reduce the possible positive impact of the reform on the efficiency of policy‐making and legitimization of local politics. L'élection du maire au suffrage direct, mise en place en 1993 en Italie suite à une ‘modernisation’ et à des attitudes anti‐partis, constitue l'une des facettes de la vaste redéfinition des autorités locales, laquelle a récemment menéà une révision ambiguë du texte constitutionnel visant à promouvoir la subsidiarité verticale. L'impact d'une telle refonte du rôle du maire est l'objet de discussions. Malgré les changements radicaux dans les étiquettes et systèmes des partis, un renforcement de la différentiation territoriale dans le schéma de recrutement, une légère tendance anti‐discriminatoire en faveur des catégories marginales lors des réélections (présageant peut‐être une transformation plus profonde), et le profil social dominant des maires actuels (sexe, âge, instruction, expérience professionnelle, formation par le parti), leur rôle n'est pas très différent de celui de leurs prédécesseurs d'il y a 30 ans. La formule nouvelle présente néanmoins une importante avancée vers une responsabilité, un activisme et une ambition plus marqués des maires, évolution liée à leur désintérêt croissant pour la politique des partis, ainsi qu'à un affaiblissement des autres participants à la démocratie locale. Toutefois, cette individualisation excessive du pouvoir et de la visibilité au niveau des autorités locales italiennes menace d'atténuer la possible incidence positive de la réforme sur l'efficacité des décisions de politique publique et la légitimation des politiques locales.