J.L.A. Geurts

Methodology for participatory policy analysis

In the course of time it has become clear that policy analysts who use traditional formal modeling techniques have limited impact on policy making regarding complex policy problems. These kinds of problems require the analyst to combine scientific insights with subjective knowledge resources and to improve communication between the parties involved in the policy problem. A policy analyst who takes into account the need for social interaction has different participatory methods at his disposal, such as gaming/simulations, consensus conferences, and electronic meetings. Some assumptions with regard to the theoretical base, the application, and the effectiveness of participatory methods are formulated in this article. These assumptions can be tested and supplemented by means of comparative research on the effectiveness of participatory methods in different policy situations.

Information processing and strategic decision-making in small and medium-sized enterprises: The role of human and social capital in attaining decision effectiveness

The decision-making literature emphasizes that in high-stake decisions the characteristics of individual decision-makers, their interpretation of decision situations, and their social ties play an important role in decision outcomes. Despite these results, research on small- and medium-sized enterprises has only partially covered these influences. In a sample of 565 small-business owners, this study identifies the extent to which these characteristics and social ties affect decision effectiveness and the extent to which their impact is mediated by evaluative judgements of the decision situation. Our results suggest that the interplay between human capital and social capital affects decision outcomes via evaluative judgments and this effect is moderated by decision content, in such a way that depending on decision content (internal versus external focus) entrepreneurial experience and the breadth of social capital are either assets or liabilities for decision effectiveness.

Social capital as a decision aid in strategic decision‐making in service organizations

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the role of social capital as a strategic decision aid in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in different service sectors.Design/methodology/approach – Data on 434 strategic decisions in service SMEs was gathered through computer‐aided telephone interviews and analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the mediating role of level of risk acceptance and confidence in the relationship between the breadth of social capital and decision effectiveness.Findings – Evaluative judgments (risk acceptance and confidence) explain the negative effects of social capital on decision effectiveness. Service delivery and dependency on tacit know‐how account for differences between SMEs in different service sectors and serve as explanations for different effects of social capital as a decision aid.Research limitations/implications – The study sheds light on the psychological underpinnings of social capital effects in strategic decisions. Higher varieties of actors make de...

Gaming Research in Policy and Organization: An Assessment From the Netherlands

In this article, the authors assess the use of gaming/simulation for research purposes within the organization and policy sciences. They describe three categories of research: (a) gaming/simulation for pure research, (b) gaming/simulation for policy development, and (c) gaming/simulation for policy implementation and organizational change. For each category, an example project is described. Studying six projects and interviewing experts on these projects, they draw lessons for each category. At the end of the article, they conclude with eight methodological characteristics of gaming for empirical-analytical study of policy and organization projects.

Cognitive representations of institutional change: Similarities and dissimilarities in the cognitive schema of entrepreneurs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the cognitive factors explaining how exogenous institutional change (IC) impacts on organizational actions.Design/methodology/approach – The authors interviewed 121 Romanian entrepreneurs, 69 before and 52 after Romanias ascension to the EU and used cognitive mapping to elicit their cognitive schemas about this macro‐IC. Similarities and differences between cognitive structures are explored and the aggregated cognitive maps before and after the IC are created, in order to understand how managerial cognition changed following IC.Findings – The results show that the richness of the cognitive schemas before the IC is lower than after the IC took place. Furthermore, the entrepreneurs who framed the IC as a threat adopted isomorphic actions and reported less positive organizational outcomes as compared to the entrepreneurs that represented the IC as an opportunity.Research limitations/implications – The research described is exploratory in nature and opens new...

Simulation/gaming for policy development and organizational change

The theme of the 1997 conference of the International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA) concerned simulation/games for policy development and organizational change. The conference aimed at bridging the gap between the gaming discipline and the policy and organization sciences. In academic and professional journals on policy, strategy, and organizational change, very few articles can be found on successful application of these kinds of simulation/games. Here, a brief overview is given of simulation/games for policy development and organizational change, based on an analysis of about 60 contributions to the proceedings of the 1997 ISAGA conference. In particular, this article considers the contributions that have been selectedforpublication in thisspecial issue of Simulation & Gaming: An International Journal.

The Future of Organization Development: A Delphi Study Among Dutch Experts

From this Delphi study among Dutch experts, the future of organization development (OD) emerges as a loosely coupled community of practice, linking very diverse members, professionals as well as scholars. One finds different priorities and values in this community, some of them even dilemmatic. The authors argue that diversity and complexity are strengths not weaknesses of a ‘sustainable’ OD. Referring to organizational concepts such as requisite variety and resilience, the authors stress that OD networks should, in the future more than in the past, make sure that a diverse set of ambitions can be discussed, promoted, fostered, accommodated and realized.

Antecedents of Strategic Orientations in Romanian SMEs: An Institutional Framing Perspective

Using data from 325 Romanian SMEs, we test the joint effect of perceived opportunities and threats in a situation of macro institutional change on strategic orientations. Our findings show that perceived threats moderate the impact of perceived opportunities on SMEs strategic orientation in such a way that perceived threats increase the positive association between perceived opportunities and the prospector strategic orientation, as well as the negative association between perceived opportunities and the defender strategic orientation. Implications of current findings for the framing perspective in institutional theory are also discussed and directions for future research are drawn.

Scaling challenges at the Base of the Pyramid

As established markets become increasingly saturated, a growing number of multinational corporations (MNCs) discover the enormous potential that lies untapped within the so-called “Base of the Pyramid” (BoP), that is the markets of the poor (Prahalad & Hammond, 2002). These markets have been widely neglected by MNCs so far due to their perceived unattractiveness. The rules of the game are different, however, from the ones MNCs have traditionally been used to. Recent research suggests that the BoP is primarily based on an informal economy (De Soto, 2000) where the ability to become embedded into the social infrastructure of a community decides over success or failure (London & Hart, 2004). In order to guide MNCs in their attempts to enter the BoP from bottom up, a BoP ProtocolTM has been developed that suggests a radically different approach to conventional business development (Simanis et al., 2008). Multinational corporations are advised to deeply engage with income-poor communities in order to co-create a business that serves that very community. Accordingly, the protocol culminates in the development of a new business that is firmly embedded in the context of a local community and thus needs to be efficiently transferred – or scaled – to new geographies in order to expand its impact and generate the revenue that is needed to justify the investment.