Syed Awais Ahmad Tipu

Transformational leadership in Pakistan: An examination of the relationship of transformational leadership to organizational culture and innovation propensity

Does transformational leadership affect organizational culture and innovation propensity in business organizations of Pakistan? Transformational leadership has been associated with a number of positive organisational outcomes in predominantly Western based organisational research. However, research on the likely affects of transformational leadership on organizations in Pakistan is significantly lacking. The current study examines the specific relationship between transformational leadership organisational culture and innovation propensity in Pakistan. Data was collected from 523 employees of Pakistani organisations across a broad spectrum of businesses. Our findings showed that transformational leadership has a positive effect on organisational culture and innovation propensity. Results also indicate that organisational culture mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation propensity. Further exploratory analysis also identified differences in ratings of transformational leadership across subordinates education level and company size. Implications for practise and directions for future research are discussed.

Supply chain strategy, flexibility, and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the supply chain strategy, flexibility, and performance relationships in the context of SMEs in Canada and Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a quantitative approach using a questionnaire survey from a total of 170 small and medium-sized Pakistani manufacturing companies. The current study draws upon the earlier work of Fantazy et al. (2009) for comparative purpose and employs path analysis technique. Findings – The results partially confirm the findings of previous study on Canadian SMEs with regard to the relationships among strategy, flexibility, and performance in the context of supply chain. The survey results revealed that SMEs in Pakistan adopt followers strategy in order to achieve financial and non-financial performance. Whereas in the previous study, Canadian SMEs adopted innovative strategy and customer-oriented strategy in order to enhance their performance. Originality/value – The literature did not reveal any stu...

Open innovation process in developing-country manufacturing organisations: extending the Stage-Gate model

This paper explores how developing-country manufacturing organisations undertake open innovation activities along different stages of new product development (NPD) process. The data were collected through face-toface interviews with senior research and development executives, and design and product engineers in three manufacturing organisations in Pakistan. The results suggest that inbound open innovation activities such as customer involvement, external networking and inward licensing were prevalent in selected organisations, whereas outbound innovation activities such as venturing or spin-offs and outward licensing of intellectual property were not practiced. The three cases add to the academic knowledge via the extension of Cooper’s Stage-Gate model of NPD. The proposed staged model of open innovation not only demonstrates the dynamics of open innovation along different stages of NPD, but also incorporates the enabling role of information and communication technology. Given the focus of current open innovation literature on developed regions, this study explores different stages of the open innovation process in developing-country organisations.

What have we learned? Themes from the literature on necessity driven entrepreneurship

The aim of this paper is to review the important themes in the literature on necessity driven entrepreneurship and to assess the main contributions to knowledge. Five themes from the literature are highlighted: nature of the necessity driven entrepreneurship; creation and management of a necessity driven venture; contextualising the necessity entrepreneurship; performance of a necessity driven venture; and the criticism of necessity driven entrepreneurship. The author argues that the extant literature on necessity entrepreneurship is largely focused on the conception stage of the entrepreneurial process and our understanding of how push factors affect a necessity driven venture during subsequent phases remains limited. Some of the concepts which have received considerable attention in the literature include push/pull dichotomy, types of push factors, necessity driven entrepreneurship studies in the Western context, push factors largely associated with women entrepreneurs, relationship between necessity entrepreneurship and the economic development, and a need to clearly delineate the concept of necessity entrepreneurship. In order to demonstrate push factors enactment, a conceptual model of necessity driven entrepreneurship is proposed which highlights the dynamics of push factors during different phases of entrepreneurial process. The author also includes pointers for future research to improve theoretical understanding of necessity driven entrepreneurship.

Academic publications on innovation management in banks (1998–2008): A research note

Abstract This paper presents the classification of academic publications on innovation management in banks. Using a range of online databases, a total of 700 articles were identified. Subsequently, 255 scholarly journal articles in 116 journals were selected, reviewed, and classified into five major categories based on the main focus of each article. These categories include: process of innovation, factors affecting innovation, types of innovation, measures of innovation, and protection of innovation. The articles were further divided into 31 sub-categories. The analysis of the selected articles was based on the year of publication, the journal in which the article was published, and the subject area. The study reveals that there is an increase in the number of articles published within the categories of process of innovation and factors affecting innovation. However, relatively few articles are published on measures and protection of innovation. A wide range of journals have published on innovation management in banks, but few journals have published extensively on the subject. The present study is the first identifiable literature review on managing innovation in a service sector such as banking between 1998 and 2008. The proposed classification framework helps in conceptualizing different facets of innovation management, and highlights the topic areas which tend to be relatively popular among innovation researchers. Potentially, the distribution of the articles among sub-categories and the comprehensive bibliography will help future researchers to explore understudied areas of innovation management.

Entrepreneurial risk taking: themes from the literature and pointers for future research

Purpose Given the critical mass of literature on entrepreneurial risk-taking, the purpose of this paper is to assess the contribution to the knowledge so far by exploring important themes in the literature on entrepreneurial risk-taking. Design/methodology/approach The review is organized around four themes: nature of entrepreneurial risk-taking; antecedents of entrepreneurial risk-taking; context of entrepreneurial risk-taking; and outcomes of entrepreneurial risk-taking. The author critically evaluates the literature on each theme and presents the pointers for future research. Findings Literature does provide a holistic view encapsulating different dimensions of entrepreneurial risk-taking, but it has produced largely inconsistent findings in terms of risk and gender, risk propensity of entrepreneurs in comparison to non-entrepreneurs and the outcomes of entrepreneurial risk-taking. Organizational antecedents, non-financial measures and ethical- and health-related consequences of entrepreneurial risk are underexplored. Inconclusive literature also implies that the risk may not be a distinguishing or important factor for undertaking an entrepreneurial endeavor. Therefore, it is pertinent to explore the critical factors entrepreneurs consider (or not consider) while marshalling their resources to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. This posits the need to explore an entrepreneur’s informal approach toward risk-taking. Originality/value Suggested pointers of future research will potentially enhance the theoretical understanding of entrepreneurial risk-taking.

Predicting entrepreneurial intentions from work values

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the current debate on value-intention link by investigating the hitherto unexplored relation between the concepts of the multidimensional work ethic profile and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs). In addition, this research seeks to offer specific insight into the work values and EIs of United Arab Emirates (UAE) national youth in an effort to contribute to decision making and policy formation for enhancing entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 309 UAE youth completed an Arabic version of the short form multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP-SF) and a measure of EI. Findings – Results confirm the value-intention link and support the view that values can direct work choices in entrepreneurship. The regression model identifies that the work ethics of wasted time, leisure, and self-reliance positively predict EI, while centrality of work is unrelated to EI. Originality/value – The relation between work values and EI of youth is underexplor...

What have we learned? Themes from the literature on organizational culture in family firms

Purpose This paper aims to review the important themes in the literature on organizational culture (OC) in family firms. Design/methodology/approach The review of the current literature is organized around three themes: nature of OC in family firms, antecedents of OC in family firms and outcomes of OC in family firms. The discussion on each theme is followed by the suggested pointers for future research. Findings Much is known about the identified three themes in the literature on OC in family firms. However, the current review also highlights the limitations of the available literature. With regard to the nature of OC, some inconsistent findings are reported in the literature with regard to the types of prevailing OC in family firms. The literature also reveals a range of positive outcomes of OC. Significantly less research examines the influence of environmental factors and other moderators of OC. Given the focus of the current literature on developed countries, there is a need of more comparative studies in emerging as well as developing countries to understand how contextual factors affect OC in family business settings. Originality/value For each theme, the suggested pointers for future research serve as a springboard for future research and improve the theoretical understanding of OC in family firms.

Conceptualizing the relative openness of supply chain and its impact on organizational performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework conceptualizing the relative openness of a supply chain and its impact on organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The literature on system theory and the attributes of supply chain management are used to develop a framework describing the relative openness of a supply chain. Findings – Different supply chain terminologies – such as adaptive supply chain network, best value supply chain, and open inter-organizational system – partially draw upon the basic premises of an open system. The relative openness of a supply chain and, consequently, the dynamics of different supply chain attributes remain understudied. This supports the idea that an open system perspective of the supply chain is imperative to improve the understanding of the influence of supply chain openness on organizational performance. Originality/value – The conceptual framework posits that different supply chain attributes affect the openness of supply chain to a ...

The Cognitive Side of Entrepreneurial Ethics: What Do We Still Need to Know?

The paper aims to review the current state of the knowledge in an attempt to renew the interest in studying cognitive side of entrepreneurial ethics. The paper explores how the two streams of the literature — entrepreneurial cognition and entrepreneurial ethics — can possibly be integrated to guide future research. It also reviews the literature at the intersection of entrepreneurial cognitions and ethics. In doing so, the paper draws upon the extant literature to propose a set of questions for future research. Given the ethical implications of entrepreneurial behavior, this paper calls for future interdisciplinary work among entrepreneurial cognition scholars and business ethicists. The extant literature has generally focused on exploring the linkages among entrepreneurial cognitions, moral awareness, and moral judgment. It appears that relatively sparse attention is paid to explore the underlying cognitive patterns of an entrepreneurs actions pertaining to unethical business practices. This gap in the literature at the intersection of cognitions and ethics holds significant potential for future research. The proposed questions for future research include the following: How do cognitive biases and heuristics make an entrepreneur more susceptible to immoral judgment and reasoning? Which of the cognitive schemas is more likely to enhance moral intentions of entrepreneurs? How does distributed cognition shape socially responsible entrepreneurial behavior? Do entrepreneurs prefer rule-based or cost/benefit-based reasoning approach while making moral judgment? Which of the cognitive dimensions of socially responsible behavior — utilitarianism, just, and rights — is more common among entrepreneurs in developed countries in comparison to the entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies? Do immigrant and/or ethnic entrepreneurs experience identity ambiguity and how does it relate to their unethical actions? How does the level of motivation affect an entrepreneurs reliance on heuristics rather than employing a systematic response to process information for ethical judgment? The proposed questions potentially offer insights into the way in which entrepreneurial cognitions and entrepreneurial ethics are interconnected. Entrepreneurship scholars may enrich their future research efforts by exploring how might insights from entrepreneurial ethics better inform the theoretical developments of entrepreneurial cognitions.