Katerina Nicolopoulou

How to address group dynamics in virtual worlds

The study of group dynamics highlights the activity in the group in terms of its performance and communication. The experience of facilitating virtual communities and teams (Eunice and Kimball in http://www.Tmn.com/~lisa/odn-teams.htm, 1997) suggests that groups go through the same stages either in face-to-face or in online mode. The paper brings together a theoretical framework based on the literature on virtual communities, Gestalt systems and online facilitation in order to address the issue of electronic togetherness, in particular from a group dynamics perspective. The empirical work on which the paper is based is an observation of a group of students in a training set playing a decision-making game. The model of Tuckman (Tuckman in Psychol Bull 63:384–399, 1965; Tuckman and Jensen in Group Organ Stud 2:419–427, 1977) is used as a framework within which to discuss the findings of the case. The paper finishes with concrete recommendations for facilitators of online communities and designers of the electronic spaces where these communities operate.

Women in Turkish family businesses: drivers, contributions and challenges

The number and importance of women in family businesses have increased in the recent years. This is reflected in the growing academic and practitioner interest in the topic. In this paper, we have explored the role of women in family business in the context of Turkey by examining the key drivers for their active involvement, their contribution and the challenges they face. The conceptual framework of the article presents key drivers and challenges identified in the extant literature and introduces additional angles on the problematisation of the topic, mainly issues of succession, conflict and balance of work-life relationships. Drawing on empirical material collected through semi-structured interviews with participant Turkish women, we have highlighted importance of cultural dynamics in analysing drivers, contributions and challenges.

Towards a theoretical framework for knowledge transfer in the field of CSR and sustainability

Purpose – The present paper seeks to focus on the processes involved in the knowledge transfer of CSR and sustainability programs and theorises about a conceptual framework that addresses three aspects of such a knowledge transfer process: the “thinking”, the “doing” and the “being”.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a theoretical interdisciplinary study, which combines insights from the theory of knowledge transfer within the application domain of CSR and sustainability, and looks into the ways the above impact aspects of diversity, career identity and career development of professionals in this field.Findings – HRM issues such as new competencies and differing approaches to career development options, talent retention and management, and a change of the notion of employment contract need to develop to successfully support the transfer of knowledge in terms of professionals in the domain of CSR and sustainability.Research limitations/implications – Future directions and implications of this resea...

Practising knowledge workers : perspectives of an artist and economist - professional insights

Purpose – The paper aims to generate insights into practitioners’ understanding of global knowledge work/workers by exploring the perspectives of an artist and economist.Design/methodology/approach – Semi‐structured interviews with the two participants were conducted; and the interview material was transcribed and analyzed.Findings – Global knowledge work is a multifaceted concept; it can exist in different fields, including art, technology and social sciences. Global knowledge work is about knowledge that is acquired, accumulated, shared and enriched through relocation, travel or integration into networks. Global knowledge workers are equipped with some form of specialized knowledge, skills set and different communication strategies. Their motivation varies from intellectual curiosity, financial and career benefits, personal reasons to seek a life in another country to the prestige of global knowledge work.Practical implications – Diversity is a defining attribute of global knowledge work. Diverse backgr...

Questioning the Legitimacy of Social Enterprises through Gramscian and Bourdieusian Perspectives: The Case of British Social Enterprises

Abstract Drawing on data from six social enterprises in the UK, this paper demonstrates that social enterprises negotiate their legitimacy borrowing from the state, the corporation and the service logics. The paper illustrates the existential crises of legitimacy as experienced in the social enterprise sector. The utility of a principled ethical approach is discussed as a way forward. The paper also outlines challenges that social enterprises face when adopting an ethical approach. Theoretical tools of Gramsci and Bourdieu are mobilized in the paper in order to render visible the often implicit and questioned structures of hegemonic power that shape the habitus of legitimacy in social enterprises.

Questioning impact: interconnection between extra-organizational resources and agency of equality and diversity officers

This paper examines the change agency of equality and diversity (E&D) officers with a specific emphasis on the role of extra-organizational influences and resources. The paper is informed by qualitative material collected through interviews with E&D officers from 20 higher education institutions in the UK. The paper offers an evidence-based analysis of the utility of extra-organizational mechanisms and intervention programmes for organizational E&D agenda and for the agentic influence of E&D officers. The paper contributes to both academic literature and policy-making. We present original empirical insights into the change agency of E&D officers by exploring the impact of extra-organizational bodies as potential mechanisms for support and influence. At the policy level, the paper provides evidence on the value of extra-organizational resources and tools that are produced by policy bodies in promoting progressive E&D agendas in organizations.

Cross-cultural perspectives of diversity within family businesses

The importance of family businesses has been well documented in academic literature since the early 1990s (Chrisman et al., 2008; Chua et al., 2009; Daily and Dollinger, 1992; Debicki et al., 2009; Dunn, 1996; Fletcher, 2002; Lyman, 1991; Milton, 2008; Rogoff and Heck, 2003; Steier et al., 2009; Ward, 2004; Zahra et. al., 2004; Zahra et al., 2008). However, the model of traditional organisation of work and family life in industrialised countries has underplayed the interface of family and work. Functionalist family ideology, which underpinned industrialisation, was based on the male norms of isolation of work and family. However, family businesses, and the nexus of family and work, have recently become topics of significant preoccupation in the academic literature, owing largely to changes in the demographic composition of workforces and the demands that these changes place on the reorganisation of all constituencies of life.

CSR and social entrepreneurship: future global opportunities and challenges in Corporate Community Involvement strategies

Recently businesses and academic researchers alike have displayed increased level of interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and social entrepreneurship. In this paper we examine existing models of social enterprise and CSR, which is manifest externally in corporate community involvement. We propose a convergent model of CSR and social entrepreneurship whereby corporate community involvement is studied as the outcome of an interplay between micro, meso and macro levels of institutional activity, driven by corporate venturing initiatives. We suggest that corporations can benefit from developing applicable forms of social enterprise in pursuit of their CSR policies. Equally, social enterprises can incorporate corporate involvement in their funding and operational mechanisms.

Guest Editors’ Introduction:: Understanding Learning Networks. Part 1

It is an honour and pleasure to guest-edit this special issue of the EMJ. We are particularly pleased to say that we were overwhelmed by the response to our initial call for papers: thirty eight authors from around the globe had submitted interesting thought-pieces, in-depth case studies, and formal academic articles for inclusion in what we hoped would fill one special issue, and also shed more light on three important key challenges (discussed below). After reviewing the submitted papers, however, we found we were wrong on both counts. First, there were more high-quality papers than we could do justice to in a single special Management Focus. Second, the papers raised more questions than answers in terms of our three key challenges. To deal with these pleasurable problems, EMJ’s editor-in-chief Paul Stonham thankfully agreed to embark on a second special Management Focus to appear in the future.

An incubation perspective on social innovation: the London Hub – a social incubator

In the context of incubators, particularly those that are driven to achieving social objectives, this paper investigates core processes that support the development of social innovation. Social innovation, as this paper argues, is underpinned by a new form of social collaboration and engagement built upon strong forms of sharing knowledge and learning. Coupled with this is the element of social capital reinforced by entrepreneurship and leadership that promotes sustainability in the community. These factors drive innovative thinking and ways of engaging among stakeholders in order to create new forms of socio-economic impact. Such value-creating activity occurs in firms that operate within incubators involving a wide range of stakeholders who work through networks to co-create and meet social challenges. Through a case study of a social incubator and an incubatee, we demonstrate the core processes that irradiate the argument on social innovation. The contribution of this paper is threefold: First, social innovation is an emerging area of research, of which there is a dearth in terms of examining the processes empirically. We address the gap in this field by demonstrating the value of social collaboration and engagement using different innovation models. Second, we establish links between social innovation and incubation using the concept of social capital. This allows us to achieve our third contribution: exemplification of a dyadic value-based partnership and collaboration processes between an incubator and an incubatee, through activities driven by social innovation that aim to have social impact. The paper concludes with practice implications and suggests directions for future research.