The future of strategic management research: assessing the quality of theory borrowing

In many business schools, the field of strategic management has been elevated to the same status as more traditional subject areas such as finance, marketing and organizational behaviour. However, the field is rather unclearly delineated at present, as a result of the heavy usage of borrowed theories, a phenomenon we discuss in this article. For strategic management to become a legitimate subject area, truly at par with the more conventional fields taught in business schools, we recommend much stronger selectivity when borrowing theories from other areas of scholarly inquiry than management, as the foundation of empirical work. We propose a new model consisting of seven quality tests to assess whether proper selectivity is being applied when ‘importing’ concepts from other fields than management. Our perspective has major implications both for future, evidence-based strategic management research and for the field's key stakeholders such as strategy teachers, practitioners and policy makers – who rely on research outputs from strategy scholars.

Water reuse for irrigated agriculture in Jordan: challenges of soil sustainability and the role of management strategies

Reclaimed water provides an important contribution to the water balance in water-scarce Jordan, but the quality of this water presents both benefits and challenges. Careful management of reclaimed water is required to maximize the nutrient benefits while minimizing the salinity risks. This work uses a multi-disciplinary research approach to show that soil response to irrigation with reclaimed water is a function of the management strategies adopted on the farm by the water user. The adoption of management methods to maintain soil productivity can be seen to be a result of farmers’ awareness to potentially plant-toxic ions in the irrigation water (70% of Jordan Valley farmers identified salinization as a hazard from irrigation with reclaimed water). However, the work also suggests that farmers’ management capacity is affected by the institutional management of water. About a third (35%) of farmers in the Jordan Valley claimed that their ability to manage salinization was limited by water shortages. Organizational interviews revealed that institutional awareness of soil management challenges was quite high (34% of interviewees described salinization as a risk from water reuse), but strategies to address this challenge at the institutional level require greater development.

Quality of tender documents: case studies from the UK

Tendering is one of the stages in construction procurement that requires extensive information and documents exchange. However, tender documents are not always clear in practice. The aim of this study was to ascertain the clarity and adequacy of tender documents used in practice. Access was negotiated into two UK construction firms and the whole tender process for two projects was shadowed for 6-7 weeks in each firm using an ethnographic approach. A significant amount of tender queries, amendments and addenda were recorded. This showed that quality of tender documentation is still a problem in construction despite the existence of standards like Co-ordinated Project Information (1987) and British Standard 1192 (1984 and 1990) that are meant to help in producing clear and consistent project information. Poor quality tender documents are a source of inaccurate estimates, claims and disputes on contracts. Six recommendations are presented to help in improving the quality of tender documentation. Further research is needed into the recommendations to help improve the quality of tender documents, perhaps in conjunction with an industry-wide investigation into the level of incorporation of CPI principles in practice.

The role of management and landscape context in the restoration of grassland phytophagous beetles

1. Declines in area and quality of species-rich mesotrophic and calcareous grasslands have occurred all across Europe.While the European Union has promoted schemes to restore these grasslands, the emphasis for management has remained largely focused on plants. Here we focus on restoration of the phytophagous beetles of these grasslands. Although local management, particularly that which promotes the establishment of host plants, is key to restoration success, dispersal limitation is also likely to be an important limiting factor during the restoration of phytophagous beetle assemblages. 2. Using a 3-year multi-site experiment, we investigated how restoration success of phytophagous beetles was affected by hay-spreading management (intended to introduce target plant species), success in restoration of the plant communities and the landscape context within which restoration was attempted. 3. Restoration success of the plants was greatest where green hay spreading had been used to introduce seeds into restoration sites. Beetle restoration success increased over time, although hayspreading had no direct effect. However, restoration success of the beetles was positively correlated with restoration success of the plants. 4. Overall restoration success of the phytophagous beetles was positively correlated with the proportion of species-rich grassland in the landscape, as was the restoration success of the polyphagous beetles. Restoration success for beetles capable of flight and those showing oligophagous host plant specialism were also positively correlated with connectivity to species-rich grasslands. There was no indication that beetles not capable of flight showed greater dependence on landscape scale factors than flying species. 5. Synthesis and applications. Increasing the similarity of the plant community at restoration sites to target species-rich grasslands will promote restoration success for the phytophagous beetles. However, landscape context is also important, with restoration being approximately twice as successful in those landscapes containing high as opposed to low proportions of species-rich grassland. By targeting grassland restoration within landscapes containing high proportions of species-rich grassland, dispersal limitation problems associated with restoration for invertebrate assemblages are more likely to be overcome.

Does short termism affect the quality of urban design in the UK?

This paper follows the report on the “Quality of Urban Design: Study of the Influence of Private Property Decision Maker in Urban Design” (RICS 1996). It focuses on one of the findings in the report, namely that decisions made in development, investment and occupation seemed overly influenced by short term considerations. In this paper, the authors review the Report and examine the concept of short termism as it affects urban design decisions. The paper concludes that although it is difficult to establish whether or not short termism exists in many decisions, there are grounds for believing that a priori short termism might particularly influence property orientated decisions. The paper ends with some implications for policy both at the economy and local level.

Facilities management carbon footprints: an audit of critical elements of management and reporting

Concern for the environmental impact of organizations’ activities has led to the recognition and demand for organizations to manage and report on their carbon footprint. However, there is no limit as to the areas of carbon footprints required in such annual environmental reports. To deliver improvements in the quality of carbon footprint management and reporting, there is a need to identify the main elements of carbon footprint strategy that can be endorsed, supported and encouraged by facility managers. The study investigates carbon footprint elements managed and reported upon by facility manager in the UK. Drawing on a questionnaire survey of 256 facility managers in the UK, the key elements of carbon footprints identified in carbon footprint reports are examined. The findings indicate that the main elements are building energy consumption, waste disposal and water consumption. Business travel in terms of using public transport, air travel and company cars are also recognized as important targets and objectives for the carbon footprint strategy of several FM (facilities management) organizations.

The three faces of bounded reliability: Alfred Chandler and the micro-foundations of management theory

Alfred Chandler, the celebrated business historian, provided detailed descriptions of the reasons for failed human commitments and the managerial tools needed to prevent/remediate such failings in the context of large business firms. Chandler's historical narrative identifies three distinct “faces” of bounded reliability—opportunism, benevolent preference reversal, and identity-based discordance—as the main drivers of commitment failure. Adopting bounded reliability (BRel) as a micro-foundation in management studies will raise the quality and relevance of scholarly recommendations to improve managerial decision making and action, because analysis of BRel challenges closely mirrors the real-world problems facing practicing managers.

Land use for England and Wales: evaluation of management options to support 'good ecological status' in surface freshwaters

This paper analyses historic records of agricultural land use and management for England and Wales from 1931 and 1991 and uses export coefficient modelling to hindcast the impact of these practices on the rates of diffuse nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) export to water bodies for each of the major geo-climatic regions of England and Wales. Key trends indicate the importance of animal agriculture as a contributor to the total diffuse agricultural nutrient loading on waters, and the need to bring these sources under control if conditions suitable for sustaining 'Good Ecological Status' under the Water Framework Directive are to be generated. The analysis highlights the importance of measuring changes in nutrient loading in relation to the catchment-specific baseline state for different water bodies. The approach is also used to forecast the likely impact of broad regional scale scenarios on nutrient export to waters and highlights the need to take sensitive land out of production, introduce ceilings on fertilizer use and stocking densities, and controls on agricultural practice in higher risk areas where intensive agriculture is combined with a low intrinsic nutrient retention capacity, although the uncertainties associated with the modelling applied at this scale should be taken into account in the interpretation of model output. The paper advocates the need for a two-tiered approach to nutrient management, combining broad regional policies with targeted management in high risk areas at the catchment and farm scale.

The water quality of the LOCAR Pang and Lambourn catchments

The water quality of the Pang and Lambourn, tributaries of the River Thames, in south-eastern England, is described in relation to spatial and temporal dimensions. The river waters are supplied mainly from Chalk-fed aquifer sources and are, therefore, of a calcium-bicarbonate type. The major, minor and trace element chemistry of the rivers is controlled by a combination of atmospheric and pollutant inputs from agriculture and sewage sources superimposed on a background water quality signal linked to geological sources. Water quality does not vary greatly over time or space. However. in detail, there are differences in water quality between the Pang and Lambourn and between sites along the Pang and the Lambourn. These differences reflect hydrological processes, water flow pathways and water quality input fluxes. The Pangs pattern of water quality change is more variable than that of the Lambourn. The flow hydrograph also shows both a cyclical and 'uniform pattern' characteristic of aquifer drainage with, superimposed, a series of 'flashier' spiked responses characteristic of karstic systems. The Lambourn, in contrast, shows simpler features without the 'flashier' responses, The results are discussed in relation to the newly developed UK community programme LOCAR dealing with Lowland Catchment Research. A descriptive and box model structure is provided to describe the key features of water quality variations in relation to soil, unsaturated and groundwater flows and storage both away from and close to the river.

Rainfall and runoff water quality of the Pang and Lambourn, tributaries of the River Thames, south-eastern England

The water quality of rainfall and runoff is described for two catchments of two tributaries of the River Thames, the Pang and Lambourn. Rainfall chemistry is variable and concentrations of most determinands decrease with increasing volume of catch probably due to 'wash out' processes. Two rainfall sites have been monitored, one for each catchment. The rainfall site on the Lambourn shows higher chemical concentrations than the one for the Pang which probably reflects higher amounts of local inputs from agricultural activity, Rainfall quality data at a long-term rainfall site on the Pang (UK National Air Quality Archive) shows chemistries similar to that for the Lambourn site. but with some clear differences. Rainfall chemistries show considerable variation on an event-to-event basis. Average water quality concentrations and flow-weighted concentrations as well as fluxes vary across the sites, typically by about 30%. Stream chemistry is much less variable due to the main Source of water coming from aquifer sources of high storage. The relationship between rainfall and runoff chemistry at the catchment outlet is described in terms of the relative proportions of atmospheric and within-catchment sources. Remarkably, in view of the quantity of agricultural and sewage inputs to the streams, the catchments appear to be retaining both P and N.

The water quality of the River Carnon, west Cornwall, November 1992 to March 1994: the impacts of Wheal Jane discharges

In January 1992, there was a major pollutant event for the River Canon and downstream with its confluence to the River Fal and the Fal estuary in the west Cornwall. This incident was associated with the discharge of several million gallons of highly polluted water from the abandoned Wheal Jane tin mine that also extracted Ag, Cu and Zn ore. Later that year, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CBH; then Institute of Hydrology) Wallingford undertook daily monitoring of the River Canon for a range of major, minor and trace elements to assess the nature and the dynamics of the pollutant discharges. These data cover an 18-month period when there remained major water-quality problems after the initial phase of surface water contamination. Here, a summary is provided of the water quality found, as a backdrop to set against subsequent remediation. Two types of water-quality determinant grouping were observed. The first type comprises the determinants B, Cs, Ca, Li, K, Na, SO4, Rb and Sr, and their concentrations are positively correlated with each other but inversely correlated with flow. This type of water-quality determinant shows variations in concentration that broadly link to the normal hydrogeochemical processes within the catchment, with limited confounding issues associated with mine drainage. The second type of water-quality determinant comprises Al, Be, Cd, Ce, Co, Cu, Fe, La, Pb, Pr, Nd, Ni, Si, Sb, U, Y and Zn, and concentrations for all this group are positively correlated. The determinants in this second group all have concentrations that are negatively correlated with pH. This group links primarily to pollutant mine discharge. The water-quality variations in the River Camon are described in relation to these two distinct hydrogeochemical groupings. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Quality of Life Issues and Second-Generation Migration: the Case of 'Bajan-Brit Returnees'

This paper forms part of research that is investigating the migration of young Bajan-Brits to Barbados. Specifically, it explores the role of quality of life issues in the decision-making processes of young Bajan-Brits as they negotiate their 'return' to Barbados. The research, based on 51 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with an under-researched cohort of young Bajan-Brits living in Barbados, argues from a 'lure of home' conceptualisation that the return of young Bajan-Brits to Barbados can best be understood from the context of a search for a better quality of life in the face of social and economic disenfranchisement in the UK context. Subsequently, the paper examines the extent to which the quality of life factors which formed the basis of return to Barbados have in fact been realised on the part of young Bajan-Brits in their adjustment to life in Barbados. The paper ultimately argues that despite problems of adjustment, young Bajan-Brits have generally been successful in actualising a better quality of life in Barbados. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Distribution of salinity in the root zone affects the yield, quality of tomato fruit

Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. DRK) were grown with a split root system to determine the effect of an unequal distribution of salinity in the root zone on yield and quality. The roots of the plant were divided into two portions and each portion was irrigated with nutrient solutions differing in EC levels achieved by adding Na or K. The maximum yield was observed in treatments with unequal EC when one portion of the roots received only water and the lowest in the high EC treatments. The reduced yield in the high EC treatment was due to the incidence of blossom-end rot and reduced fruit size. Fruit size in the treatments receiving solutions of unequal EC was up to 12% greater than that in the control. No significant differences were found in soluble solids and acidity between control and all other unequal EC treatments. Ca concentration was significantly higher in the treatments where one portion of the root system received water. It was concluded that high salinity had positive effects on yield and quality provided that one portion of the root system were placed in low EC or only water.