Multi-market industrial organizational economic models for the internationalization process by small and medium enterprise construction design service firms

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are critical to strategic initiatives in an economy; however, their contribution to foreign trade is not as significant. SMEs are one of the principal driving forces in economic development. One of the greatest challenges is the internationalization process for longevity rather than seeing the process as initial market entry. The internationalization process research has typically involved four key constructs: market selection, decision to enter, entry modes and factors affecting entry modes. Past research has focused on large manufacturing firms. The export of architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms has undergone growth, yet there is still significant opportunity for further growth. The majority of AEC firms are SMEs. Notwithstanding assistance provided through international trade missions, organized export firm support networks and information packages by a burgeoning number of government agencies, there are still perceived barriers to market entry and long-term economic sustainability for SMEs. There are a number of problems faced by SMEs acting in foreign trade. This investigation explores the successful initial internationalization process constructs and identifies unique project-oriented sector characteristics. The study identified similarities and differences between two firms that have been exporting to various localities, including Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, UK, Asia and South America, for more than two decades. The similarities and differences were identified within eight major constructs: purpose, firm type, market image and design philosophy, entry mode strategy, institutional arrangement, factors affecting mode of entry, market selection and firm strategy in relation to project selection. The primary reasons for internationalization were associated with the firms' motivations related to growth and financial viability. This article discusses the various internationalization processes and strategies intrinsic to each case study and establishes a detailed set of empirical observations from which to develop further a grounded theoretical model of reflexive capability for the internationalization process. This study contributes to the body of knowledge around the SME AEC design service firm's internationalization process, as a dynamic, evolving and continuously adaptable construct for project-based sectors.

Leadership that promotes organizational learning : both sides of the coin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how leadership has the capacity to both positively influence learning processes and negatively inhibit organizational learning.

Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that brings together an analysis of leadership and organizational learning literature. The argument is centered on transformational leadership and the responsibility for creating an organizational learning culture.

Findings – There is a conventional belief that leaders have solitary control and influence when it comes to setting up organizational learning processes. However, a top-down approach to facilitate and implement learning in organizations is not always an effective method because learning should be a collaborative practice. Thus, to rely fully on leaders to initiate and sustain the learning processes can be counter-productive.

Practical implications – Good and effective leadership is the key to organizational learning. Learning is the only sustainable method of achieving competitive advantage for contemporary organizations because of rapidly changing environmental forces. Corporations with aspirations for long-term survival must facilitate, through their leadership, “the impulse to learn” amongst their members.

Originality/value – Knowledge is lacking in the area where leadership is linked to learning. Such knowledge is important because leaders play a central role in the learning framework and leaders also offer the required guidance for organizations to integrate and sustain learning processes through policy and practice.

Using internet technology within the organization : a structurational analysis of intranets

Many organizations are implementing Internet technology, specifically Word Wide Web technology, inside the organization in the form of an “organizational Internet” or irttrunet. Intranet technology can unify dispersed computer based information systems in the organization into one rich “system”. Thus, intranets can have a major impact on organizational processes, for example cross-functional information sharing and collaboration. We focus on the social aspects surrounding intranet implementation. We seek to answer how intranet implementations shape and how they are shaped by ‘social structures employed by organizational agents. We adapt structuration theory into an explanatory device to analyze inhanet implementation and we apply it to four cases. We conclude that, intranets are initially more shaped by, rather than shaping social structures, but that this may change over time. The following learning points are condensed: Firstly, intranets are socially constructed and implementers need to be cautious when seeking to transplanting Web technology into an organizational context. Secondly, intranets typically evolve in sophistication over time. Finally, institutionalization is isolated as the key challenge in intranet implementation.

A social network analysis model for analysing stakeholder-associated safety risks in infrastructure projects

An important strategy in the long-term blueprint for making Australia's 18 capital and major regional cities more productive, sustainable and liveable is to develop high quality public infrastructure systems to improve civic quality of life. Because of the unique features of construction activities, such as long period, complicated processes, and dynamic organizational structures, infrastructure projects normally involve multiple stakeholders and are subject to various risks, especially safety issues. Any negligence or mismanagement of critical safety risks will have huge impact on achieving project objectives and success. Although many previous studies have identified and assessed various safety risks in construction industry, a main research gap is that these studies ignored a fact that most risks are interrelated and associated with internal and external stakeholders of the projects. The lack of a theoretical foundation and appropriate methods for analysing stakeholder-associated safety risks and their interdependencies in infrastructure projects hinders effective risk management processes and the formulations of decision strategies. This research aims at enabling higher performance in strategic safety risk management in infrastructure projects through the development of a holistic risk analysis model using Stakeholder and Social Network Theories. The outcomes can broaden project managers' awareness of emerging influential safety risks and enhance their ability to perceive, understand, assess, and mitigate safety risks in an effective and efficient way; thereby higher performance in strategic risk management could be achieved in infrastructure projects.

Institutional environment, managerial attitudes and environmental sustainability orientation of small firms

This study examines the direct impact of three dimensions of the institutional environment on managerial attitudes toward the natural environment and the direct influence of the latter on the environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) of small firms. We contend that when the institutional environment is perceived by owner–managers as supportive of sound natural environment management practices, they are more likely to develop a positive attitude toward natural environment issues and concerns. Such owner–manager attitudes are likely to lead to a positive and proactive orientation of their firms toward environmental sustainability. The study uses survey data from 166 small manufacturing firms located in three Philippine cities. First, the study develops and tests the measurement models to examine the validity of the constructs representing the firm’s institutional environment, managerial attitudes toward the natural environment and the ESO of firms. Second, the study develops and tests the structural models examining the institutional environment–managerial attitudes–ESO linkages. Multi-sample invariance structural model analysis shows the mediating role of managerial attitudes in the institutional environment–ESO nexus. The findings show that ESO is a construct comprising three dimensions: knowledge of environmental issues, sustainable practices and commitment toward environmental sustainability. The cognitive, regulatory and normative elements of the institutional environment are strongly linked to positive managerial attitudes toward environmental sustainability, which in turn, positively influences the firm’s overall ESO. Managerial attitudes play a mediating role in the institutional environment–ESO linkages. The managerial, practical, research and policy implications of the research findings are discussed.

An institutional view of local entrepreneurial climate

This paper proposes a conceptual framework on the role of formal and informal institutional factors at the sub-national level (e.g. city) in shaping the climate conducive for the growth and success of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Extant literature reveals that institutional analyses tend to focus on either formal or informal institutions, in narrow and fragmented ways. Likewise, previous studies focused their analysis on national or country-wide institutional frameworks, ignoring the institutional heterogeneity of regions and cities within a given country. This study attempts to develop an integrated institutional approach at the city-level and stretch the conceptual boundaries of formal and informal institutions as they shape the local entrepreneurial climate – the set of tangible and intangible institutional factors that are shaping the performance of entrepreneurial firms in a geographically and politically defined area such as a city.

Using causal mapping to find new avenue for organizational fit research

Although organizational fit is strongly linked to important psychological outcomes such as motivation, satisfaction, turnover and performance, there is still a lot of confusion about definitions and conceptualizations of the construct. One reason for this is that fit researchers have almost exclusively conducted theory-driven nomothetic studies that have utilized varying approaches to the term. In this paper, we call for exploratory research that listens to how workers construct their own sense of fit and suggest that researchers should adopt idiographic data gathering techniques, coupled with nomothetic analysis tools, to do so. To enable this, we explain how fit researchers might use causal maps and thereby develop a stronger understanding of organizational fit that is grounded in how people conceive it.

Drivers, impediments and manifestations of brand orientation in museums : an international museum study

Purpose - While the body of work exploring brand orientation has grown, there has been a general failure to build on extant research and generate a holistic conceptualization of brand orientation. This paper aims to develop a model of the key drivers, impediments and manifestations of brand orientation in a museum context.

Design/methodology/approach - A collective case study design was used, consisting of key informant interviews using a semi-structured interview protocol and analysis of institutional documents and observational research. Interviews took place with well-known museums across three countries: the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia. This paper demonstrates the richness of qualitative case studies as a method of theory building and as a precursor to further empirical research.

Findings - The case study findings reveal both a philosophical and behavioral aspect of brand orientation. Thus, six attributes are presented that include brand orientation as an organizational culture and compass for decision-making and four brand behaviors (distinctiveness, functionality, augmentation and symbolism). The conceptual model also depicts the critical antecedents to brand orientation in a museum context.

Research limitations/implications - This study provides a foundation for future brand research by offering a holistic conceptualization of brand orientation and identifying the primary antecedents in a museum context. Future research may wish to empirically establish a valid and reliable scale of brand orientation and examine its explanatory potential. Future research may also consider other contexts to provide further insight into the drivers and inhibitors of brand orientation.

Practical implications - If organizations seek to establish a strong brand orientation they must devote resources to establishing the brand as a dominant organizational philosophy that guides decision-making. In addition, brand oriented organizations must establish the brand as a distinctive asset that communicates relevance and accessibility and invest in augmenting initiatives that enable the organization to connect with customers on a personal and emotional level.

Originality/value - Using an exploratory method we are able to reconcile a number of approaches to brand orientation and provide a conceptualization that incorporates the philosophical and behavioral approaches to business orientations. Museums face substantial resource constraints, competing needs of multiple stakeholders and increasing market turbulence. If museums can achieve such significant organizational change then the sector presents an interesting exemplar for many other non-profit organizations.

Factor analysis of partners' commitment to risk management in public-private partnership projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and uncover key determinants that could explain partners' commitment to risk management in public-private partnership projects so that partners' risk management commitment is taken into the consideration of optimal risk allocation strategies.

Design/methodology/approach – Based on an extensive literature review and an examination of the purchasing power parity (PPP) market, an industry-wide questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the data for a confirmatory factor analysis. Necessary statistical tests are conducted to ensure the validity of the analysis results.

Findings – The factor analysis results show that the procedure of confirmatory factor analysis is statistically appropriate and satisfactory. As a result, partners' organizational commitment to risk management in public-private partnerships can now be determined by a set of components, namely general attitude to a risk, perceived one's own ability to manage a risk, and the perceived reward for bearing a risk.

Practical implications – It is recommended, based on the empirical results shown in this paper, that, in addition to partners' risk management capability, decision-makers, both from public and private sectors, should also seriously consider partners' risk management commitment. Both factors influence the formation of optimal risk allocation strategies, either by their individual or interacting effects. Future research may therefore explore how to form optimal risk allocation strategies by integrating organizational capability and commitment, the determinants and measurement of which have been established in this study.

Originality/value – This paper makes an original contribution to the general body of knowledge on risk allocation in large-scale infrastructure projects in Australia adopting the procurement method of public-private partnership. In particular, this paper has innovatively established a measurement model of organisational commitment to risk management, which is crucial to determining optimal risk allocation strategies and in turn achieving project success. The score coefficients of all obtained components can be used to construct components by linear combination so that commitment to risk management can be measured. Previous research has barely focused on this topic.

A framework for inter-organizational knowledge sharing : managerial influences

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether an existing organizational knowledge management framework could be utilized in an inter-organizational domain. We selected the threefold KM framework developed by Holsapple and Joshi (2000; 2002). This framework has been well tested and provides clearly defined elements to examine the influences on knowledge management and knowledge sharing in an organizational context. We report the results of testing the framework in three inter-organizational case studies and propose some adaptations to the managerial influences for inter-organizational analysis.

Understanding equity as an asset to national interest: developing a social contract analysis of policy

Alongside the influence of market-based reforms in education policy has been the growth of policy that has largely been overlooked – those that outline social contracts. This paper draws on policies that connect with equity as a way of illustrating this social contract turn in policy and develops a conceptualisation of social contracts as they apply to education policy. The argument provides three principles that underpin social contracts, including informed consent, negotiation and accountability. This paper applies these principles to three levels of social contract. At the first level are broad social contracts, which are associated with debates about the kinds of things that states should expect from its citizens, and the things that citizens could expect from governments and the state. The second level of social contract is an institutional or field-based social contract, which spells out the obligations and connections between a specific field and other fields. This level names a kind of social contract that is often exemplified in policies or statements by specific institutions. The third level of social contract deals with contract-like mechanisms embedded in fields that make tangible the obligations and expectations of citizens in fulfilling the expectations of fields.

Concept definition in knowledge management : the development of an organizational memory scale

Theorists and researchers in the field of Knowledge Management are frequently frustrated by issues with concept definition, as illustrated by the following comment "there remains disagreement on methodologies, definitions and processes" from the summary article "Issues Raised at ECKM, 2008". How can we clearly define constructs of interest? How can we further research and understanding in the field if we are speaking with different vocabularies? This paper illustrates some of these issues by describing the concept definition process involved in the development of an organizational memory scale. The example being used to illustrate these issues was a self-report scale of organizational memory developed to survey experienced workers' attitudes to mentoring others to pass on their knowledge. The current research sought to differentiate between the types of organizational knowledge that experienced workers have and the possible relationships these have with attitudes pertaining to knowledge transfer via mentoring. Defining the construct to be measured is the vital first ingredient in scale development. Many researchers lament that the concept of organizational memory is a "rather loosely defined and under-developed concept" (e.g. Johnson & Paper, 1998, p.504), and this hints at the challenges that concept definition can entail. Furthermore, in the early stages of this particular project it became clear that the organizational memory scale had similar aims, and was able to borrow from, an existing sale of organizational socialization (Chao, O'Leary-Kelly, Woolf, Klein & Gardner, 1994). This paper describes the concept definition process involved in the development of the scale along with results from the exploratory factor analysis. There is a discussion of the relative contribution that the organizational memory scale makes alongside the existing measure of socialization (Chao et al., 1994), along with goals for further development.

Organizational memory and empowerment

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to test a model of the relationship between organizational memory and empowerment. The model posited that organizational memory would be related to requests to share knowledge, psychological empowerment in the workplace (meaning, competence, self-determination and impact), and organization-based self-esteem. Design/methodology/approach – The model was tested with 134 employees representing six companies using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings – Significant relationships were found between organizational memory and requests to share knowledge, empowerment, and organization-based self-esteem. Findings indicated that a positive stereotype may exist towards older workers and the frequency they are requested to share knowledge, and that a halo-type effect may operate, where knowledge of an organization's history is generalized to other knowledge domains. Research limitations/implications – Causal implications cannot be made as this was correlational research. Some of the research measures while achieving acceptable to good reliability were in an early development stage. The study utilized a convenience sample that may limit how the results can be generalized. Practical implications – The paper indicates that organizations can emphasize positive outcomes for those who are knowledge repositories and mentors. It is also important to consider possible “positive stereotypes” which may be operating when organizational members evaluate older workers as knowledge repositories and mentors. Originality/value – The paper addresses the assumptions in the human resources literature concerning the role of older workers as repositories of organizational memory and suitable mentors. The study introduces the “requests to share knowledge scale”.

Sharpening the focus of force field analysis

The purpose is to explore the inherent complexity of Kurt Lewin's force field theory through applied analysis of organizational case examples and related methods. The methodology applies a range of tools from the consultancy research domain, including force field analysis of complex organizational scenarios, and applies bricolage and corroboration to emerging discoveries from semi-structured interviews, author experience, critical reflection and literature survey. Findings are that linear representation of internal and external forces in organizational applications of field theory does not fully explain the paradox of inverse vectors in the forces of change. The force field is not an impermeable thing; instead, it morphs. Examples of the inverse principle and its effects are detailed and extended in this analysis. The implications of the research are that force field analysis and related change processes promoted in organizational change literature run the risk of missing key complexities. The inclusion of the inverse principle can provide enhanced, holistic understanding of the prevailing forces for change. The augmentation of the early work of Kurt Lewin, and extension of previous analyses of his legacy in the Journal of Change Management and elsewhere, provide, in this article, change analysis insights that align well with current organizational environments.