Henri Savall

The Emergence of Implicit Criteria Actually Used by Reviewers of Qualitative Research Articles Case of a European Journal

This article brings to light the actual evaluation practices of reviewers when assessing qualitative manuscripts. The authors conducted the first empirical research entirely based on reviewer reports for a journal on management sciences over a 28-year period. Content analysis of 474 reviewer reports written by 56 reviewers identified 19 critical points and 10 criteria, making up a synthetic table of 190 possible cells, 51 of which proved to be actually used by reviewers. These findings are then compared with the quality criteria identified in the extant U.S. literature. Comparison reveals some shared quality criteria but also throws new light on a number of discrepancies. Analysis over time shows marked evolution from emphasis on internal validity criteria over the first 10 years toward emphasis on external validity criteria in the past 10 years. Factors ensuring reliability and replicability of the results of this research are discussed at length.

Potential contribution of the socio-economic approach to management to a better integration of CSR norms and economic standards

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of an integrative approach to CSR. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the qualimetrics intervention-research methodology. It is an exploratory research project. Findings – The intervention-research case study shows an example where an integrative approach to CSR was made possible. Research limitations/implications – The paper only presents an example of a company. Future research should show how the method that has been experimented to integrate CSR might be implemented. Practical implications – The paper might help company actors debate and propose an innovative approach to CSR. Social implications – The paper provides scientific methods to better negotiate the creation of norms and standards in the field of CSR, enabling to move one step further as regards ISO 26000. Originality/value – It shows some of the conditions required to bridge the gap between CSR and financial standards.

Work and People: An Economic Evaluation of Job-Enrichment

Job enrichment has been the domain of individual industrial sociologists and psychologists who have worked hard to improve the design of industrial jobs. It has been assumed that the happy worker is a productive worker and that the new participation and enrichment schemes would continue to bring about increased productivity. In this book the author addresses job enrichment as an economist, though he is a strong advocate of a multi-disciplinary approach. He provides a historical summary of the problems involved in job design and then analyses three areas of experiment in order to develop a methodology for measuring the economic costs of changes in the work structure. To effect such changes it is essential to prove that improvement of social performance in companies and organizations is compatible with growth in economic performance and this requires a new form of accounting. First the author analyses factories when are attempting to soften the consequences of job fragmentation and production line work. Then he investigates the impact of computerization on banks and the growth of an over-qualified white-collar workforce. Finally he discusses the case of a company which is attempting to involve its workers in determining their own working conditions. Students and teachers of industrial economics, sociology and psychology, as well as managers, will find this book full of useful insights