...ECRM 2007: 6th European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies Using PEST Analysis as a Tool for Refining and Focusing Contexts for Information Systems Research Guo Chao Alex Peng, Miguel Baptista Nunes Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK lip05gcp@sheffield.ac.uk, j.m.nunes@sheffield.ac.uk Abstract It is common for inexperienced researchers and research students to aim at investigating very wide contexts such as countries (e.g. China, India, UK), regions (e.g. the Arab Countries) or even continents (e.g. Africa). Such studies in Information Systems (IS) are not only unrealistic and potentially unfeasible, but may result in findings that are neither significant nor meaningful. Research supervisors often face difficulties in explaining and resolving these common pitfalls in research proposals. This paper proposes the use of Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST, also often referred to as STEP) analysis as a tool to identify narrower contexts and focus research questions around feasible and meaningful regional contexts. It illustrates this process with the results of an analysis carried out as part of an ongoing PhD research project. The project aims to investigate the barriers and risks associated with the post-implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in Chinese companies. PEST analysis was used to define an appropriate region in China (i.e. Guangdong)...
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...Studies, University of Vienna, Brünner Strasse 72, A-1210 Vienna, Austria Abstract About four decades ago, during the formative years of the franchising industry, visionary authors like Oxenfeldt and Kelly (1968) and Ozanne and Hunt (1971) proposed a rich slate of research agenda which still continues to guide some of the contemporary scholarship in the franchising domain. This article (1) explicates some of the unique features of the franchising context that presumably inspired these pioneering authors, (2) discusses four established elements of ontology unique to franchising and isolates the remaining research gaps therein, (3) specifies a new slate of more contemporary research agenda for future scholarship, and (4) concludes with a brief discussion of the ten articles featured in this Special Issue of the Journal of Retailing dedicated to the theme of Franchising and Retailing. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of New York University. Keywords: Franchising Research Agenda; Research Frontiers; Mixed Motives Context; Asymmetrical Power Setting; Twenty-First Century Introduction Modern franchising in USA dates back to at least the 1850s when Isaac Singer attempted to increase the distribution of his sewing machines by establishing a franchise system. Other examples of early American franchising include the franchising of soft-drink bottlers, automobile and truck dealerships and gasoline service stations. These latter sectors constitute what has been...
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...Licensed to: iChapters User Licensed to: iChapters User Business in Context: An introduction to business and its environment, Fifth Edition David Needle Publishing Director: Linden Harris Publisher: Thomas Rennie Development Editor: Leandra Paoli Content Project Editor: Alison Cooke Head of Manufacturing: Jane Glendening Senior Production Controller: Paul Herbert Marketing Manager: Amanda Cheung Typesetter: KnowledgeWorks Global, India Cover design: Design Deluxe ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information networks, or information storage and retrieval systems, except as permitted under Section applicable copyright law of another jurisdiction, without the prior written permission of the publisher. While the publisher has taken all reasonable care in the preparation of this book, the publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions from the book or the consequences thereof. Products and services that are referred to in this book may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and author/s make no claim to these trademarks...
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...various ideals patched together into a theory of management accounting, nevertheless, it should be recognised that it provides a wealth of knowledge into contemporary management accounting practices. Contingency theory provides enhanced information to the individual which ultimately improves decision making and assists in achieving organisational objectives (Hamas and Lääts, 2002, p. 379). This theory has invaluably provided research evidence that are attributable to contemporary management accounting knowledge and designs. It has provided a profound method to adjust to ever changing external environments and the need for changes in internal factors (Otley, 1980, p. 413). Strengths of contingency theory style research Challenging the criticisms of contingency theory for being fragmentary and contradictory due to its methodological limitations, it is the failure of critiques in realising the many different forms of management accounting designs under the contingency approach and the relationships between those design which have perpetuated this idea (Gerdin and Greves, 2004, p.303). Attention should be shifted to the concepts under which contingency theory has been applied. Contingency theory in its simplest form highlights that an organisation’s structure is conditional upon contextual factors such as environment, strategy and size. One of its key strengths is a congruence approach that it represents, whereby assuming context determines the structure of the organisation...
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...There are many factors impacting work and learning specifically in Canada. How workers are involved or participate can affect outcomes for the employee and employer. Social and economic are two factors that influence education, learning, training and work. In this essay, I will provide examples of why social and economic context must be considered when understanding work and learning. I will also examine assumptions frequently made by Human Resources Management (HRM) and their perspective on the purpose and outcomes of learning and the critiques that challenge these perspectives. Understanding the social context for work and learning contains many variables. Life experiences, level of education, age, ethnicity and language, gender and social class are social factors to consider when understanding work and learning. As an example, “women are less likely to be offered workplace training as part of their jobs. There is an under-investment in training of female employees; factors influencing female participation include family obligations and the concentration of women in low-wage jobs that are least likely to offer training” (Pocock et al, 2011b; Roberts and Gowan, 2007; Livingstone and Sawchuk, 2004 as quoted in Canadian Labour and Business Centre, 2005, p. 11). It’s clear that gender affects how women consider work and learning and the impact on the organization’s output and profits. Canada consists of diverse cultures and ethnicities. New immigrants face language and ethnicity...
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...Abstract: This paper works out a conceptual framework for studying the performance of franchising networks. Franchising networks, which originally developed in the context of Western economies, are currently operating in transition economies as well. Some franchising networks fail and some succeed. The paper views performance of networks as a complex process of adaptation to the environment. Characteristics of networks, which appear due to the environment, influence the drivers of performance, i.e. the factors that are responsible for the networks’ success or failure. The paper is theoretical and makes use of different sources of evidence: empirical and theoretical studies on franchising and inter-organisational networks. The conceptual framework is finally tested on a small case study of two franchising networks operating in Russia. JEL-code: Franchising Networks, Performance, Flexibility, Information Exchange, Innovation and Learning Outline I. Introduction 3 II. Definition of franchising networks 4 III. Institutional environment of a transition economy 5 IV. Performance of franchising networks 7 A. Flexibility 7 B. Information exchange 10 C. Innovation and learning 12 IV. Conceptual Framework 15 A. Sociological and Economic Traditions of Network Research 15 B. Economic Theories for the Study of Networks 16 C. Sociological Theories for the Study of Networks 17 D. Conceptual Framework for the study of Performance of Franchising Networks 20 ...
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...Journal of Business Venturing 27 (2012) 266–290 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Business Venturing International entrepreneurship research in emerging economies: A critical review and research agenda Andreea N. Kiss a,⁎, Wade M. Danis b, 1, S. Tamer Cavusgil c, 2 a b c Global Economics and Management Department Faculty of Economics and Business University of Groningen, 800 Postbus, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, P.O. BOX 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC Canada V8W 2Y2 J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Institute of International Business, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3989, Atlanta, GA 30303-3989, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t This article systematically reviews and critically examines international entrepreneurship research in emerging economies (IEEE research), and articulates its importance, timeliness and relevance in consideration of the growing influence of emerging markets in the global economy. A systematic analysis of eighty-eight journal articles published over the last two decades reveals that IEEE research is a vibrant and rapidly growing stream of the broader international entrepreneurship (IE) domain, and that it is methodologically and topically diverse. Our review also shows that IEEE research has a limited presence in premier journals, is highly skewed in its geographic coverage, and is somewhat fragmented. We therefore inventory...
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...2012 Liang, Marier, and Cui 55 S Y East Meets West P O S I U Strategic Human Resource Management in China: by Xiaoya Liang, Janet H. Marier, and Zhiyu Cui Executive Overview This paper outlines important ideological, institutional, and cultural contexts that shape what strategic human resource management practices are possible in Ghina. A detailed review of the main components of the high-performance work systems model suggests that when they are introduced into the Ghinese socioeconomic and political context, the cost-benefit calculus for high-performance work system human resource management practices is different from that in the U.S. context. Yet, in our review of Ghina-based strategic human resource management research we find the expected positive relationship between high-performance work systems and organizational performance in companies operating in Ghina. We conclude with a case example to illustrate how Ghinese firms might be both adopting and adapting the high-performance work system model to better fit their current cultural and economic context. T he Study of strategic human resource management (SHRM) emerged out of researchers' interests in understanding the relationship between human resource management and organizational performance (Delery & Doty, 1996; Kaufman, 2007). Since the late 1980s, most research evidence in this vein has been collected from firms located in the United States (see Combs, Liu, Hall, &. Ketchen, 2006; Huselid...
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...Macro Context Of Management And Organisations Stream 18: Postcolonial Stream Proposal Pedro Castellano-Masias Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas – UPC Escuela de Postgrado en Dirección de Negocios Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas - UPC (Postgraduate Business School – UPC) Av. Salaverry #2255, San Isidro, Lima 27, Peru, Sud America Telephone: 511 419 2800 Fax: 511 419 2828 pedrocastellano@hotmail.com pcastell@upc.edu.pe Macro context of management at organisations Prof. Pedro Castellano-Masias Introduction Management literature is frequently involved with the practicalities of bearing organisational control in order to achieve the shareholders interests (Daft, R.; 2000), (Hodge, Anthony and Gales, 1998), (Kotter, J.; 1997). It seems to be assumed that in so doing the organisations ensure their profitability and survival. Main focus is then placed on technologies of control and efficiency while criteria regarding other stakeholders’ interests are not considered. There is little or none awareness whatsoever of the situation that it is imposed to the workers and their families, there is little account of the organisational impact on the community, there is a very limited awareness and attention regarded to the environmental implications of managerial and organisational activities. In addition, not enough is being said regarding the ways in which the past is shaping the future while preserving a system of privileges and exclusion. A social system of domination...
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...Analyst information intermediation – private and public information –and the central role of knowledge and social forces in economic processes in the ‘market for information’. John Holland, University of Glasgow, Jo Danbolt, University of Edinburgh, Lei Chen, University of Keele. John Holland, University of Glasgow, The Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Main Building, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland Abstract: This paper develops a model of the information intermediation role of analysts in the ‘market for information’ (MFI). It illustrates how the same type of ‘soft’ intangibles information changes as it progresses through analyst information intermediation processes. The latter concern: company disclosure; analyst acquisition and analysis of company information; analyst reporting processes; and market impacts. The common information concerns ‘soft’ or qualitative information about the company intellectual capital (IC) or intangibles in the company business model. Banks and bank analysts are used as examples. Knowledge, social and economic factors in the wider ‘market for information’ (MFI) are shown to be major influences on ‘soft information’ and how it changes in analyst information intermediation processes. Negative knowledge and social factors play a role in weakening and eventually destabilising economic processes in analyst and the MFI. They were important factors in creating knowledge and information problems in analysts and the MFI, both ongoing...
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...internal and external context for risk management Introduction: in the October of 2015, MacVille has started a relationship with a small village that grows coffee beans called Papua New Guinea (PNG). The business will provide equipment and high-level skilled training to the village in exchange for cheaper roast beans. Internal context: MacVille is an Australian coffee supply business. It imports and supplies top quality coffee for cafes and restaurants. Their vision is “Within five years, MacVille intends to have established itself as the number one coffee supplier for fine coffee shops and restaurants in Australia.” The business has strategic directions to achieve its vision. MacVille also has Risk Management Policy and Procedure, which shows what to do to reduce level of risk, how to do it and who has responsibility. The business has Risk Management Process follows Risk Management Process Australia standard. External context: * Legislations: Macville follows legislation, standards and codes of practice as Work Health and Safety Act 2011(Qld), Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001(Cwlth), Corporations Act 2001(Cwlth). PNG has developed a new OSH legislation, a new OSH framework, a new OHS structure that is economically driven. In April 2011, the Governments of Fiji and Papua New Guinea introduce a new program that was intended to improve the standards and practices on the workplace. * Economic environment in PNG: PNG’s economic is growing with expanding...
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...‘strategic management’ for granted, this book starts from the basic question ‘what is strategy anyway?’. Four basic conceptions of strategy are introduced which all have different implications for how to go about ‘doing strategy’. Each perspective has its own view of strategy and how it matters for managerial practice. The Classical approach gives the textbook answers. - Classicists broadly see strategy as a rational process of long-term planning, vital to securing the future. - Evolutionists usually regard the future as too volatile and unpredictable to plan for, and warn that the best strategy is to concentrate on maximizing changes of survival today. - Processualists too doubt the value of rational long-term planning, seeing strategy best as an emergent process of learning and adaptation. - Systemic theorists take a relativist position, arguing that the forms and goals of strategy-making depend particularly on social context, and that strategy should therefore be undertaken with sociological sensitivity. These are four starkly different perspectives (p. 119), but it is the Systemic sensibility that helps us finally to choose. For the Systemic strategist, effectiveness depends upon understanding context and playing by local rules. Classical, evolutionary, processual, they can all take place in some conditions. There is no one best way. The key is to match strategy to market, organizational, and social environments. They all work best in different contexts (p. 120)...
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...OTASC_2-2_Layout 9/8/05 11:30 am Page 83 Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 2 Number 2 © 2005 Intellect Ltd Article. English Language. doi: 10.1386/jots.2.2.83/1 Towards a generic international human resource management (IHRM) model Jie Shen University of South Australia Abstract Keywords Reflecting the prevailing Western literature and based on an empirical study in Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs), this study develops an IHRM model and argues that it can be widely applicable. The model indicates that an MNE’s IHRM policies and practices are the interaction of the home HRM system, firmspecific factors and host-contextual factors. The firm-specific and host-contextual factors have a differentiated, changing and concurrent impact on IHRM policies and practices. There is also interplay between IHRM policies and practices. Intervening factors and their impact may vary over time and in different contexts. IHRM IHRM model intervening factors Chinese IHRM multinational enterprises (MNEs) Internationalization and the effective use of international human resources are two major issues facing firms in today’s global economy. As more and more firms operate internationally, there is a clear need to develop an understanding of how to manage human resources that are located outside the domestic environment. An IHRM system is a set of distinct activities, functions and processes that are directed at attracting...
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...Daryush Farid, Mehran Nejati, Heydar Mirfakhredini, Balanced scorecard application in universities and higher education institutes: Implementation guide in an iranian context / Annals of University of Bucharest, Economic and Administrative Series, Nr. 2 (2008) 31-45 BALANCED SCORECARD APPLICATION IN UNIVERSITIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTES: IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE IN AN IRANIAN CONTEXT DARYUSH FARID, َ EHRAN NEJATI, HEYDAR MIRFAKHREDINI∗ M Close compete of universities and higher education institutes in recent year in order to offer high quality services and achieve higher national and International rank, has led to an increase in their demand for a customized approach for assessing and improving their performance. This paper studies the application of Balanced Scorecard (BSC), as a powerful measurement and assessment system, in universities and higher education institutes. Reviewing the existing literature, the paper also provides an implementation guide for BSC in an Iranian perspective. Eventually, the performance indicators for measurement purposes of the introduced case study are proposed. Keywords: Balanced Scorecard, BSC, Performance Assessment, Higher Education, Universities, Iran. Introduction In today’s world of global competition, providing quality service is a key for success, and many experts concur that the most powerful competitive trend currently shaping marketing and business strategy is service quality (Abdullah, 2006, p. 31). Institutes of higher...
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...ARTICLE: Value chain analysis in interfirm relationships: a field study and Interorganizational cost management and relational context. Introduction A value chain is a chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry. The business unit is the appropriate level for construction of a value chain, not the divisional level or corporate level. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order, and at each activity the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of the independent activity's value. It is important not to mix the concept of the value chain with the costs occurring throughout the activities. A diamond cutter, as a profession, can be used to illustrate the difference of cost and the value chain. The cutting activity may have a low cost, but the activity adds much of the value to the end product, since a rough diamond is significantly less valuable than a cut diamond. Typically, the described value chain and the documentation of processes, assessment and auditing of adherence to the process routines are at the core of the quality certification of the business, e.g. ISO 9001. Diagram 1 The goal of these activities is to create value that exceeds the costs of providing the product or service and next generating a profit margin. A Value Chain Analysis (VCA) has five parts including: a) inbound logistics; include the receiving, warehousing, and inventory control of input materials. b) Operations;...
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