Birgit Kleymann

Scientists as midwives to cluster emergence: an institutional work framework

The question of how embedded actors can create institutions that support cluster emergence remains unsolved in the cluster and national innovation systems literature. The present paper extends the recent literature on institutional entrepreneurship and institutional work to solve this paradox of embedded agency in the context of science-based clusters. Building on a longitudinal single case study of a functional foods cluster in Finland, we present an institutional work framework for cluster formation. We argue that, in addition to ideational, material and bridging work, authentic leadership work is critical for cluster emergence. The results of the study highlight the opportunities that scientists have to act as midwives to cluster formation, but they also show that well-functioning clusters need a broader support base.

The formation of professional identity in French apprenti managers

Purpose – The paper aims to show how professional identity is constructed at a very early stage of initial management education. In so doing, it questions the notion of le metier in management.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a study of the experiences of six French management apprentices (or apprentis) who participated in a management apprentice programme in 2005. The research methodology is qualitative and illuminates the process of professional identity building. The central question of the study concerns the manager as an individual, an actor, and the link between the individual and his or her metier.Findings – The findings suggest that from their very first immersion into the real world of corporate employment at junior management level, students construct different types of professional identity which can be shown as a 2×2 matrix whose independent axes are the type of acting displayed by the apprentis; and the degree to which the apprentis enacted their roles. This can be interpre...

The rule of Saint Benedict and corporate management: employing the whole person

Purpose – The “classical” logic of organisations existing as generators of shareholder value, with the human “resources” seen as a means to this end, has been the subject of criticism regarding alienation in its members and the instrumentalisation both of work and of people. This paper aims to look at the way a medieval monastic rule is used to govern secular for‐profit organisations and trace its potential relevance as an alternative example for the structure and governance of organisations today.Design/methodology/approach – Based on an in‐depth case study, the paper critically discusses the feasibility of applying aspects of the rule of Saint Benedict (RSB) to modern organisations.Findings – Some of the principles of the RSB (such as fitting jobs around people, inverse delegation, and a critical attitude towards organisational growth) are quite different from standard management practice. Yet these monastic organisations turn out to be highly successful businesses with remarkably low employee turnover ...

Les Compagnons du Devoir: a French Compagnonnage as a HRD system

Purpose – To describe and analyse the Compagnons du Devoir (CdD), a French Compagnonnage; that is, a labour brotherhood and a community of practice; and to identify the reasons for its success as a human resource development system (HRD).Design/methodology/approach – A one‐off case study of the CdD using data gathered by the authors in their capacity as members of a Conseil Scientifique evaluating a project to internationalise the CdDs approach to vocational education and training (VET). Primary sources include the UK apprentices who passed through the system, and employees of the Compagnons du Devoir.Findings – Much of the success of the CdD rests on its capacity to develop knowledge, skills, and savoir‐etre in young people through the volume of off‐the‐job training; near‐peer and peer mentoring, the systematic use of older and retired workers and the management of movement and change through a network of residential colleges.Research limitations/implications – The research design is a single case study...