Search results for: strategic opportunity

Authors: H. W. Meerveld, R. H. A. Lindelauf

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In contemporary warfare, data science is crucial for the military in achieving information superiority. Yet, to the authors’ knowledge, no extensive literature survey on data science in military decision-making has been conducted so far. In this study, 156 peer-reviewed articles were analysed through an integrative, semi-systematic literature review to gain an overview of the topic. The study examined to what extent literature is focussed on the opportunities or risks of data science in military decision-making, differentiated per level of war (i.e. strategic, operational, and tactical level). A relatively large focus on the risks of data science was observed in social science literature, implying that political and military policymakers are disproportionally influenced by a pessimistic view on the application of data science in the military domain. The perceived risks of data science are, however, hardly addressed in formal science literature. This means that the concerns on the military application of data science are not addressed to the audience that can actually develop and enhance data science models and algorithms. Cross-disciplinary research on both the opportunities and risks of military data science can address the observed research gaps. Considering the levels of war, relatively low attention for the operational level compared to the other two levels was observed, suggesting a research gap with reference to military operational data science. Opportunities for military data science mostly arise at the tactical level. On the contrary, studies examining strategic issues mostly emphasise the risks of military data science. Consequently, domain-specific requirements for military strategic data science applications are hardly expressed. Lacking such applications may ultimately lead to a suboptimal strategic decision in today’s warfare.

Keywords: data science, decision-making, information superiority, literature review, military

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Authors: Mohammad Rahman, Guy Burton, Megan Mathias

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Strategic management as an organizational practice was adopted by the public sector in the New Public Management (NPM) era that began in most parts of the world in the 1980s. Strategy as a new public management concept was subscribed by governments in both developed and developing world, as they were persuaded that clearly defined vision, mission and goals, as well as programs and projects - aligned with the goals - could potentially help achieve government vision at the national level and organizational goals at the service-delivery level. The advocates for strategic management in the public sector saw an inherent link between strategy and performance, claiming that the implementation of organizational strategy has an effect on the overall performance of an organization. Arguably, many government entities that have failed in enhancing team and individual performance had poorly-designed strategy or weak strategy implementation. Another key argument about low-level performance is linked with lack of strategic sense-making and orientation by middle managers in particular. Scholars maintain that employees at all levels need to understand strategic management plan in order to facilitate its implementation. Therefore, involving employees (particularly the middle managers) from the beginning potentially helps an organization avoid the drop in performance, and on the contrary would increase their commitment. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is well known for adopting public sector reform strategies and tools since the 1990s. This observation is contextually pertinent in the case of the Government of Dubai, which has provided a Strategy Execution Guide to all of its entities to achieve high level strategic success in service delivery. The Dubai public sector also adopts road maps for e-Government, Smart Dubai, Expo 2020, investment, environment, education, health and other sectors. Evidently, some of these strategies are bringing tangible (e.g. Smart Dubai transformation) results in a transformational manner. However, the amount of academic research and literature on the strategy process vis-à-vis staff performance in the Government of Dubai is limited. In this backdrop, this study examines how individual performance of public sector employees in Dubai is linked with their sense-making, engagement and orientation with strategy development and implementation processes. Based on a theoretical framework, this study will undertake a sample-based questionnaire survey amongst middle managers in Dubai public sector to (a) measure the level of engagement of middle managers in strategy development and implementation processes as perceived by them; (b) observe the organizational landscape in which role expectations are placed on middle managers; and (c) examine the impact of employee engagement in strategy development process and the conditions for role expectations on individual performance. The paper is expected to provide new insights on the interface between strategic sense-making and performance in order to contribute a better understanding of the current culture/practices of staff engagement in strategic management in the public sector of Dubai.

Keywords: employee performance, government of Dubai, middle managers, strategic sense-making

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Authors: Joel Carlos Vieira Reinhardt, Mariana de Freitas Dewes, Odair Lelis Gonçalez

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This paper proposes a method to implement a strategic framework for the quality management system that considers the analysis of prospective scenarios in the determination of policy, mission, vision, objectives, processes, monitoring, and goals. Semantic categorization of qualitative testimonial research on employee perception shows it was possible to implement an effective change in the organizations at the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology through the focus on the organization's needs management, producing a rupture with the historical managerial practice.

Keywords: management of company needs, mission, prospective scenarios, quality management, quality policy, vision

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Authors: Szilvia Vincze, Zoltán Bács

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It has become increasingly important for institutions of higher education as well to use available resources as effectively as possible for the implementation of the institution’s strategic plans and, at the same time, to ensure a stable future. This is the responsibility of the management and administration of the institution. Having access to complete and comprehensive information is indispensable for making dynamic and well-founded decisions that consider the realization of objectives to be primary and that manage possibly emerging risks, etc. The present paper introduces the role of Management Information Systems (MIS) at the University of Debrecen, one of the largest institutions of higher education in Hungary, and also discusses the utilization of this and associated information systems in management functions.

Keywords: management information system (MIS), higher education, Hungary, strategy formulation

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Authors: Alexandra P. Alexandropoulou, Andreas Fousteris, Eleni Didaskalou, Dimitrios A. Georgakellos

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As urbanization is becoming a major stress factor not only for the urban environment but also for the wellbeing of city dwellers, incorporating the issues of urban health in strategic city planning and policy-making has never been more relevant. The impact of urbanization can vary from low to severe and relates to all non-communicable diseases caused by the different functions of cities. Air pollution, noise pollution, water and soil pollution, availability of open green spaces, and urban heat island are the major factors that can compromise citizens' health. Urban health describes the effects of the social environment, the physical environment, and the availability and accessibility to health and social services. To assess the quality of urban wellbeing, all urban characteristics that might have an effect on citizens' health must be considered, evaluated, and introduced in integrated local planning. A series of indices and indicators can be used to better describe these effects and set the target values in policy making. Local strategic planning is one of the most valuable development tools a local city administration can possess; thus, it has become mandatory under Greek law for all municipalities. It involves a two-stage procedure; the first aims to collect, analyse and evaluate data on the current situation of the city (administrative data, population data, environmental data, social data, swot analysis), while the second aims to introduce a policy vision described and supported by distinct (nevertheless integrated) actions, plans and measures to be implemented with the aim of city development and citizen wellbeing. In this procedure, the element of health is often neglected or under-evaluated. A relative survey was conducted among all Greek local authorities in order to shed light on the current situation. Evidence shows that the rate of incorporation of health in strategic planning is lacking behind. The survey also highlights key hindrances and concerns raised by local officials and suggests a path for the way forward.

Keywords: urban health, strategic planning, local authorities, integrated development

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Authors: L. Ozoliņa

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Place branding as a strategic marketing tool is applied in Latvia since 2000. The main objective of the study is to find unique connecting aspects of the intangible cultural heritage elements on the development of sustainable place branding. The study is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with Latvian place branding experts and content analysis of Latvia's place brand identities. The study indicates place branding as an internal co-creational and educational process of all involved stakeholders of the place and highlights a critical view on the local place branding practices on the notability of the in-depth research of the intangible cultural heritage.

Keywords: belonging, identity, intangible cultural heritage, narrative, self-image, place branding

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Authors: Alissa Lefebre

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It might seem intuitive to hope for a fast decision on the patent grant. After all, a granted patent provides you with a monopoly position, which allows you to obstruct others from using your technology. However, this does not take into account the strategic advantages one can obtain from keeping their patent applications pending. First, you have the financial advantage of postponing certain fees, although many applicants would probably agree that this is not the main benefit. As the scope of the patent protection is only decided upon at the grant, the pendency period introduces uncertainty amongst rivals. This uncertainty entails not knowing whether the patent will actually get granted and what the scope of protection will be. Consequently, rivals can only depend upon limited and uncertain information when deciding what technology is worth pursuing. One way to keep patent applications pending, is the use of divisional applications. These applicants can be filed out of a parent application as long as that parent application is still pending. This allows the applicant to pursue (part of) the content of the parent application in another application, as the divisional application cannot exceed the scope of the parent application. In a fast-moving and complex market such as the tele- and digital communications, it might allow applicants to obtain an actual monopoly position as competitors are discouraged to pursue a certain technology. Nevertheless, this practice also has downsides to it. First of all, it has an impact on the workload of the examiners at the patent office. As the number of patent filings have been increasing over the last decades, using strategies that increase this number even more, is not desirable from the patent examiners point of view. Secondly, a pending patent does not provide you with the protection of a granted patent, thus not only create uncertainty for the rivals, but also for the applicant. Consequently, the European patent office (EPO) has come up with a “raising the bar initiative” in which they have decided to tackle the strategic use of divisional applications. Over the past years, two rules have been implemented. The first rule in 2010 introduced a time limit, upon which divisional applications could only be filed within a 24-month limit after the first communication with the patent office. However, after carrying-out a user feedback survey, the EPO abolished the rule again in 2014 and replaced it by a fee mechanism. The fee mechanism is still in place today, which might be an indication of a better result compared to the first rule change. This study tests the impact of these rules on the strategic use of divisional applications in the tele- and digital communication industry and provides empirical evidence on their success. Upon using three different survival models, we find overall evidence that divisional applications prolong the pendency time and that only the second rule is able to tackle the strategic patenting and thus decrease the pendency time.

Keywords: divisional applications, regulatory changes, strategic patenting, EPO

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Authors: Esther Simpson, Evans Addo Tetteh

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One of the most important sectors in Ghana’s economy is the oil and gas sector. Effective supply chain management is required to ensure the timely delivery of these products to the end users, given the rise in nationwide demand for petroleum products. Contrarily, freight forwarding plays a crucial role in facilitating intra- and intra-country trade, particularly the movement of oil goods. Nevertheless, there has not been enough scientific study done on how marketing, supply chain management, and freight forwarding are integrated in the oil business. By highlighting possible areas for development in the supply chain management of petroleum products, this article seeks to close this gap. The study was predominantly qualitative and featured semi-structured interviews with influential figures in the oil and gas sector, such as marketers, distributors, freight forwarders, and regulatory organizations. The purpose of the interviews was to determine the difficulties and possibilities for enhancing the management of the petroleum products supply chain. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data obtained in order to find patterns and themes that arose. The findings from the study revealed that the oil sector faced a number of issues in terms of supply chain management. Inadequate infrastructure, insufficient storage facilities, a lack of cooperation among parties, and an inadequate regulatory framework were among the obstacles. Furthermore, the study indicated significant prospects for enhancing petroleum product supply chain management, such as the integration of more advanced digital technologies, the formation of strategic alliances, and the adoption of sustainable practices in petroleum product supply chain management. The study's conclusions have far-reaching ramifications for the oil and gas sector, freight forwarding, and Ghana’s economy as a whole. Marketing, supply chain management, and freight forwarding has high prospects from being integrated to improve the efficiency of the petroleum product supply chain, resulting in considerable cost savings for the industry. Furthermore, the use of sustainable practices will improve the industry's sustainability and lessen the environmental effect of the petroleum product supply chain. Based on the findings, we propose that stakeholders in Ghana’s oil and gas sector work together and collaborate to enhance petroleum supply chain management. This collaboration should include the use of digital technologies, the formation of strategic alliances, and the implementation of sustainable practices. Moreover, we urge that governments establish suitable rules to guarantee the efficient and sustainable management of petroleum product supply chains. In conclusion, the integration and combination of marketing, supply chain management, and freight forwarding in the oil business gives a tremendous opportunity for enhancing petroleum product supply chain management. The study's conclusions have far-reaching ramifications for the sector, freight forwarding, and the economy as a whole. Using sustainable practices, integrating digital technology, and forming strategic alliances will improve the efficiency and sustainability of the petroleum product supply chain. We expect that this conference paper will encourage more study and collaboration among oil and gas sector stakeholders to improve petroleum supply chain management.

Keywords: collaboration, logistics, sustainability, supply chain management

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Authors: Sy, Melecio Jr

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The decision to adopt vertical integration (VI) is firm-specific, but there is a common practice among businesses in an industry to maximize the massive potential benefits of VI. This study aims to determine VI adoption in the restaurant industry in Davao City. Using a two-step sampling process, the study used a validated survey questionnaire among 264 restaurant owners and managers randomly selected and geographically classified. It is a quantitative study where the data were subjected to a structural equation model (SEM). The results revealed that VI is present but limited to procurement, production, restaurant services, and online marketing. Raw materials were outsourced while delivery to customers through third-party delivery services. VI slowly increased over ten years except for online marketing, which has grown significantly in a few years. The endogenous and exogenous variables were correlated and established the linear regression model. The SEM's best fit model revealed that strategic motives (SMOT) and market factors (MFAC) influenced VI adoption while MFAC is the best predictor. Favorable market factors may lead restaurants to adopt VI. It is, thus, recommended for restaurants to institutionalize strategic management, quantify the impact of double marginalization in future studies as a reason for VI and conduct this study during the new normal to see the influence of business efficiencies and firm economies on VI adoption.

Keywords: business efficiencies, business management, davao city, firm economies, market factors, philippines, strategic motives, structural equation model, supply chain, vertical integration adoption

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Authors: Hoang Vo Thi Minh, Duyen Nguyen Thi Phuong, Gerardo Van Halsema

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As one of the deltas which is extremely vulnerable to climate change, the Mekong Delta, Vietnam is facing many challenges that need to be addressed in strategic and holistic ways. In this study scope, a strategic delta planning is recently considered as a new vision of Adaptive Delta Management for the Mekong Delta. In Adaptive Delta Management, Room for the Rivers (RftR) has been formulated as a typical innovation, which is currently in need of careful consideration for implementing in the Mekong Delta’s planning process. This study then attempts to investigate the roles and analyze sociological aspects of the RftR as potential strategic 'soft' measure, in upstream of Hau River in An Phu district, An Giang province, especially in terms of its so-called multifunctions. The study applied social science approach embedded with a few qualitative methods including in-depth interviews and questionnaire distribution and conjoint analysis as a quantitative approach. The former mainly aims at gaining the local community’s perceptions about the RftR solution. The latter tries to gain farmers’ willingness to accept (WTA) with regard to their level of preference towards the three selected solutions which are considered as strategic plans for sustainably developing the MD. Qualitative data analysis shows that, farmers perceive RftR as very useful for their livelihoods due to its multifunctions as well as in terms of water management. The quantitative results illustrated that respondents expressed their WTAs on RftR as 84. 240 thousand VND / year. Amongst the three solutions that are analysed within this study (Floating rice for upper delta, Room for the Rivers for the Middle, and Shrimp-Mangrove integration for the coastal delta), RfrR was ranked as second preference from respondents. This result is not exactly reflecting the real values of these three mentioned solutions but showing a tendency that can be seen as a reference for the decision-makers in delta planning processes.

Keywords: strategic delta planning, room for the River, farmers’ perception, willingness-to-accept, local livelihoods

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Authors: Adisorn Bansong, Walai Isarankura Na Ayudhaya, Aumporn Makanong

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A Development of an Instructional Model for Health Education was the aim to develop and study the effectiveness of an instructional model for health education to enhance self-regulation and learning achievement of lower secondary school students. It was the Quasi-Experimental Designs, used a Single-group Interrupted Time-series Designs, conducted by 2 phases: 1. To develop an instructional model based on Social Cognitive Theory and Strategic Life Planning. 2. To trial and evaluate effectiveness of an instructional model. The results as the following: i. An Instructional Model for Health Education consists of five main components: a) Attention b) Forethought c) Tactic Planning d) Execution and e) Reflection. ii. After an Instructional Model for Health Education has used for a semester trial, found the 4.07 percent of sample’s Self-Regulation higher and learning achievement on post-test were significantly higher than pre-test at .05 levels (p = .033, .000).

Keywords: social cognitive theory, strategic life planning, self-regulation, learning achievement

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Authors: Alena Dadova, Katarina Holla, Anna Cidlinova, Linda Makovicka Osvaldova, Jiri Vala, Samuel Kockar

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Occupational health and safety (ASH) is an area in which procedures and applications are constantly evolving and changing through legislation and new directives and guidelines. In this way, the relevant organizations strive to ensure continuous progress and the advantage of up-to-date information to ensure safety and prevent occupational accidents. Three ESENER surveys have been carried out in the European Union, led by the Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). On the basis of surveys, it was determined how European workplaces manage risks and how they manage the field of safety and health protection at work. Thousands of companies and organizations in the European Union were involved in the surveys. Organizations and businesses were presented with a questionnaire that focused on the following topics: the impact of general risks on the field of OSH and the possibility of their management, psychosocial risks and other factors such as stress, harassment and bullying, and employee participation in OSH procedures. The article is dedicated to the fundamental conclusions from these surveys and their subsequent connection with the strategic intent of the Strategic Framework of European Union for the years 2021 - 2027. In the conclusion, emerging risks are identified and EU will soon have to deal with them.

Keywords: ESENER, emerging risks, strategic framework in OSH, EU

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Authors: P. Saravanan, A. Vasumathi

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Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) plays a vital role in formulating the policies and strategies for the company, in order to fulfill the employee’s requirement and to perform the job efficiently within the organisation. Human Resource Management (HRM) functions helps in attracting and motivating the talented workforce for the organisation and by increasing the performance of an individual, will result in achieving the defined goals and objectives for the company. HRM function plays an important role in managing the workers within organisation through a formal communication channel. Since HR functions acts as a mediatory role in between the employee as well as the employers within the organisation that helps in improving the efficacy and skills of the individuals employed within the company. HR manager acts as a change agent, enabling and driving the change management program with respect to business HR functions and its future requirements of the company. Due to change in the business environment, the focus of HR manager is shifting from administrative/personal functions in to a strategic business HR function. HR managers plays a strategic role in managing various HR functions such as recruitment and selection, human resource information system, manpower planning, performance management, conflict management, employee engagement, compensation management, policy formation and retention strategies followed within the industry. Major challenges faced by HR managers at work place are managing the level of engagement for the talented resources within the organisation, reducing the conflicts at workplace, mapping the talented resources through succession planning process, building the effective appraisal process and performance management system and mapping the compensation based on the skills and experience possed by the employee within the company. The authors conducted a study for the sample size of 75 HR managers from an Indian IT company through systematic sampling method. This study identifies that the female employees are facing lesser conflict than the male employees against their managers within the organisation and also the study determines the impact of demographic profile on strategic HRM practices and its challenges faced by HR managers in IT firm, India.

Keywords: strategic human resource management, change agent, employee engagement, performance management, succession planning and conflict management

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Authors: Burcu Akyildiz, Cigdem Kadaifci, Y. Ilker Topcu, Burc Ulengin

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In today’s business environment, companies should make strategic decisions to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Order selection is a crucial issue among these decisions especially for steel production industry. When the companies allocate a high proportion of their design and production capacities to their ongoing projects, determining which customer order should be chosen among the potential orders without exceeding the remaining capacity is the major critical problem. In this study, it is aimed to identify and prioritize the evaluation factors for the customer order selection problem. Conjoint analysis is used to examine the importance level of each factor which is determined as the potential profit rate per unit of time, the compatibility of potential order with available capacity, the level of potential future order with higher profit, customer credit of future business opportunity, and the negotiability level of production schedule for the order.

Keywords: conjoint analysis, order prioritization, profit management, structural steel firm

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Authors: Adam Kok Wey Leong

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Special operations were supposedly a new way of irregular warfare that was officially formed during World War 2. For example, the famous British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Americans’ Office for Strategic Services (OSS) – the forerunners of modern day CIA were born in World War 2. These special operations units were tasked with the conduct of sabotage and subversion activities behind enemy lines, placing great importance in forming Fifth Column activities and supporting resistance movements. This pointed to a paradoxical argument that modern day special operations is a product of Western modern military innovation but utilizing Eastern ways of ‘ungentlemanly’ warfare. This thesis is superfluous as special operations had been well practised by both ancient Western empires such as the Greeks and Romans, and around the same time in the East, such as in China, and Japan. This paper will describe the practice of special operations, first from the Western military history of the Greeks during the Peloponnesian war. It will then highlight the similar practice of special operations by the Near Eastern Assassins and Eastern militaries by using examples from the Chinese and the Japanese. This paper propounds that special operations, or ways of warfare as a whole, has no cultural and geographical divide, but rather very similarly practiced by men from all over the world. Ideas of fighting, killing and ultimately winning a war have similar undertones – attempts to find ways to win economically and at the least time.

Keywords: special operations, strategic culture, ways of warfare, Sun Tzu, Frontinus

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Authors: Muneeb Banday, Anukriti Dixit

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Change in organizations is viewed as a conversion process of the organizational functioning. One of the crucial elements of this conversion process is the employee resistance to organizational change. The existing literature on change resistance has generally treated resistance as a barrier or an opportunity for successful implementation of change. However, there is little empirical research exploring how resistance to change is managed. This may be partially due to difficulty in getting information on resistance to change. The top management does not divulge such information to avoid negative evaluation whereas employees face huge risk in sharing information related to resistance. The focus of the study is to understand how the organization under study dealt with the employee resistance to change. The conversion process is a story of how the organization went from one stage to another. We used narrative approach to change. Data was collected data through company visits and interviews. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and themes were identified. We focused on the strands that left huge scope for alternative interpretations than the dominant narrative of change prevalent in the organization. The study reveals that the top management strategically uses the legitimacy of leadership, roles of key employees, and rationality of change to manage resistance.

Keywords: employee resistance, legitimacy of leadership, narrative analysis, organisational change

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Authors: Mujahid S. Alturais

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The construction of process plants in oil and gas-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia, necessitates substantial investment in design and building. Each new plant, while unique, includes common building types, suggesting an opportunity for design standardization. This study investigates the adoption of standardized Issue For Construction (IFC) packages for non-process buildings in Saudi Aramco. A SWOT analysis presents the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of this approach. The approach's benefits are illustrated using the Hawiyah Unayzah Gas Reservoir Storage Program (HUGRSP) as a case study. Standardization not only offers significant cost savings and operational efficiencies but also expedites project timelines, reduces the potential for change orders, and fosters local economic growth by allocating building tasks to local contractors. Standardization also improves project management by easing interface constraints between different contractors and promoting adaptability to future industry changes. This research underscores the standardization of non-process buildings as a powerful strategy for cost optimization, efficiency enhancement, and local economic development in process plant construction within the oil and gas sector.

Keywords: building, construction, management, project, standardization

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Authors: Ali Bakari Mohammed

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Transitioning is a continuous process of radical change in a society which involves co-evolution of institutional, technological, socio-cultural, and ecological developments at different scales and levels. Transition management model is a methodology that influences structural change of complex systems over a period (0-30 years) by experimenting and implementing new techniques. A transition management in the context of groundwater is a radical change from the current operate and control system to a next generation integrated and sustainable system that takes into account quality protection and sustained supply into the future. This study evaluates the transition management model in adopting it as a viable tool for the attainment of sustainable groundwater management. The outcome of the evaluation shows that there are three levels (strategic, tactical and operational) of operating the transition management model. At the strategic level, long-term goals for sustainable groundwater management are formulated, at the tactical level activities such as inter institutional networking, negotiation, planning and financing are carried out, and at the operational level, transition experiments and strategic niche management are carried out at the societal level. Overall, different actors and set of activities are required to partake at each management level. The outcome of this paper will provide basis for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 in Nigeria.

Keywords: transition management, groundwater, sustainable management, tool, Nigeria

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Authors: Sarah Müller-Sägebrecht

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Today’s volatile environment challenges executives to make the right strategic decisions to gain sustainable success. Entrepreneurship scholars postulate mainly positive effects of environmental changes on entrepreneurship behavior, such as developing new business opportunities, promoting ingenuity, and the satisfaction of resource voids. A strategic solution approach to overcome threatening environmental changes and catch new business opportunities is business model innovation (BMI). Although this research stream has gained further importance in the last decade, BMI research is still insufficient. Especially BMI barriers, such as inefficient strategic decision-making processes, need to be identified. Strategic decisions strongly impact organizational future and are, therefore, usually made in groups. Although groups draw on a more extensive information base than single individuals, group-interaction effects can influence the decision-making process - in a favorable but also unfavorable way. Decisions are characterized by uncertainty and risk, whereby their intensity is perceived individually differently. The individual risk-willingness influences which option humans choose. The special nature of strategic decisions, such as in BMI processes, is that these decisions are not made individually but in groups due to their high organizational scope. These groups consist of different personalities whose individual risk-willingness can vary considerably. It is known from group decision theory that these individuals influence each other, observable in different group-interaction effects. The following research questions arise: i) How does group interaction shape BMI decision-making from managers’ perspective? ii) What are the potential interrelations among managers’ risk-willingness, group biases, and BMI decision-making? After conducting 26 in-depth interviews with executives from the manufacturing industry, applied Gioia methodology reveals the following results: i) Risk-averse decision-makers have an increased need to be guided by facts. The more information available to them, the lower they perceive uncertainty and the more willing they are to pursue a specific decision option. However, the results also show that social interaction does not change the individual risk-willingness in the decision-making process. ii) Generally, it could be observed that during BMI decisions, group interaction is primarily beneficial to increase the group’s information base for making good decisions, less than for social interaction. Further, decision-makers mainly focus on information available to all decision-makers in the team but less on personal knowledge. This work contributes to strategic decision-making literature twofold. First, it gives insights into how group-interaction effects influence an organization’s strategic BMI decision-making. Second, it enriches risk-management research by highlighting how individual risk-willingness impacts organizational strategic decision-making. To date, it was known in BMI research that risk aversion would be an internal BMI barrier. However, with this study, it becomes clear that it is not risk aversion that inhibits BMI. Instead, the lack of information prevents risk-averse decision-makers from choosing a riskier option. Simultaneously, results show that risk-averse decision-makers are not easily carried away by the higher risk-willingness of their team members. Instead, they use social interaction to gather missing information. Therefore, executives need to provide sufficient information to all decision-makers to catch promising business opportunities.

Keywords: business model innovation, cognitive biases, group-interaction effects, strategic decision-making, risk-willingness

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Authors: Julia Rey Perez, Victoria Dominguez Ruiz

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The phenomenon of depopulation puts the authorities at risk of abandoning a number of rural-urban areas of significant cultural value, affecting their architecture and intangible cultural heritage. The purpose of this research is to present a methodology created according to the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), which through the identification of cultural values and attributes, leads to ´Strategic Plans´ build upon the culture and heritage. This methodology is based on the analysis of the town from three perspectives: 1) from the public administration, 2) from the discipline of architecture, and 3) from citizen perception. In order to be able to work on the development of a diagnosis from three very different approaches, collaborative cartographies have been used as working tools. The methodology discussed was applied in Valverde de Burguillos, in Spain, leading to the construction of an inclusive ‘Strategic Plan’ that integrates the management of the town within the overall territorial development plan. The importance of incorporating culture and heritage as a conductor for sustainable urban development through the HUL approach has allowed the local authorities to assume these new tools for heritage conservation, acknowledging community participation as the main element for the ´Strategic Plan” elaboration.

Keywords: rural heritage, citizen participation, inclusiveness, urban governance, UNESCO

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Authors: Olajumoke Elizabeth Olawale-Olakunle

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This research examined effective event development on the sustainability of tourism in Lagos State. The objectives were to ascertain the implication of effective event development on cost, environmental innovations, opportunity for participants, job creation and working conditions. Also, there was a focus on employee participation and the sustainability of the tourism industry. However, the primary data were obtained via the use of structured questionnaire administered to the selected respondents. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents, using the Yaro Yame formula. The formulated hypothesis was tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Non-parametric chi-square. From the tests conducted, the results showed that effective event development has helped to reduce costs, bring about environmental innovations, offer unique opportunity among event participants, create jobs and promote better working conditions, and the influence it has on employee participation affects the sustainability of the tourism industry. Based on these results, it was concluded that effective event development helps to achieve sustainability in the tourism industry by reducing costs, ensuring efficient use of tourism resources and offers a unique opportunity among event participants. It was, therefore, recommended that events should be developed in such a way that it can help to reduce cost and help leverage the financial burdens of participants and stakeholders, thereby, achieving sustainability in the tourism industry.

Keywords: tourism, hospitality, industry, development

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Authors: Yuna Lee

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In the current policy process, there has been a growing interest in more open approaches that incorporate creativity and innovation based on the forecasting groups composed by the public and experts together into scientific data-driven foresight methods to implement more effective policymaking. Especially, citizen participation as collective intelligence in policymaking with design and deep scale of innovation at the global level has been developed and human-centred design thinking is considered as one of the most promising methods for strategic foresight. Yet, there is a lack of a common theoretical foundation for a comprehensive approach for the current situation of and post-COVID-19 era, and substantial changes in policymaking practice are insignificant and ongoing with trial and error. This project hypothesized that rigorously developed policy systems and tools that support strategic foresight by considering the public understanding could maximize ways to create new possibilities for a preferable future, however, it must involve a better understating of Behavioural Insights, including individual and cultural values, profit motives and needs, and psychological motivations, for implementing holistic and multilateral foresight and creating more positive possibilities. To what extent is the policymaking system theoretically possible that incorporates the holistic and comprehensive foresight and policy process implementation, assuming that theory and practice, in reality, are different and not connected? What components and environmental conditions should be included in the strategic foresight system to enhance the capacity of decision from policymakers to predict alternative futures, or detect uncertainties of the future more accurately? And, compared to the required environmental condition, what are the environmental vulnerabilities of the current policymaking system? In this light, this research contemplates the question of how effectively policymaking practices have been implemented through the synthesis of scientific, technology-oriented innovation with the strategic design for tackling complex societal challenges and devising more significant insights to make society greener and more liveable. Here, this study conceptualizes the notions of a new collaborative way of strategic foresight that aims to maximize mutual benefits between policy actors and citizens through the cooperation stemming from evolutionary game theory. This study applies mixed methodology, including interviews of policy experts, with the case in which digital transformation and strategic design provided future-oriented solutions or directions to cities’ sustainable development goals and society-wide urgent challenges such as COVID-19. As a result, artistic and sensual interpreting capabilities through strategic design promote a concrete form of ideas toward a stable connection from the present to the future and enhance the understanding and active cooperation among decision-makers, stakeholders, and citizens. Ultimately, an improved theoretical foundation proposed in this study is expected to help strategically respond to the highly interconnected future changes of the post-COVID-19 world.

Keywords: policymaking, strategic design, sustainable innovation, evolution of cooperation

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Authors: Özkan Özgenç, Serdar Hacisalihoğlu, Murat Yanik

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History has shown that quantitative and qualitative supremacy in terms of military and economic power has been inadequate to reach the desired results. In addition, public support has been a crucial requirement for the success of the any struggle. As a leader seeking ways for the independence of the country, Ataturk comprehended that the only solution was possible with the help of public will and determination. Ataturk needed an impeccable communication strategy to combine efforts by establishing a united notion and action; to convince the world and Turkish nation of the legitimacy and sacredness of Independence struggle; and to show the resolution and determination of Turkish nation against the invaders. To emancipate the Turkish nation, Ataturk shaped the nation's emotions, ideas, and behaviors by using the most appropriate tools at the best time and place since the start of Independence War in May 19, 1919.

Keywords: Atatürk, Turkish independence struggle, strategic communication, independence war

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Authors: Aravind Mohan Krishnan

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This paper identifies a research gap in the literature on tourism entrepreneurship in Malawi, Africa, and investigates how entrepreneurs from the Malawian tourism sector discover and exploit business opportunities. In particular, the importance of prior experience and business networks in the opportunity development process is debated. Another area of empirical research examined here is the opportunity recognition-venture creation sequence. While Malawi presents fruitful business opportunities, exploiting these opportunities into fully realized business ideas is a real challenge due to the country’s difficult business environment and poor promotional and marketing efforts. The study concludes by calling for further research in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to develop our understanding of entrepreneurship in this (African) context.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, Malawi, opportunities, tourism

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Authors: Mehdi Asgarkhani

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Today, investment on Information Technology (IT) solutions in most organizations is the largest component of capital expenditure. As capital investment on IT continues to grow, IT managers and strategists are expected to develop and put in practice effective decision making models (frameworks) that improve decision-making processes for the use of IT in organizations and optimize the investment on IT solutions. To be exact, there is an expectation that organizations not only maximize the benefits of adopting IT solutions but also avoid the many pitfalls that are associated with rapid introduction of technological change. Different organizations depending on size, complexity of solutions required and processes used for financial management and budgeting may use different techniques for managing strategic investment on IT solutions. Decision making processes for strategic use of IT within organizations are often referred to as IT Governance (or Corporate IT Governance). This paper examines IT governance - as a tool for best practice in decision making about IT strategies. Discussions in this paper represent phase I of a project which was initiated to investigate trends in strategic decision making on IT strategies. Phase I is concerned mainly with review of literature and a number of case studies, establishing that the practice of IT governance, depending on the complexity of IT solutions, organization's size and organization's stage of maturity, varies significantly – from informal approaches to sophisticated formal frameworks.

Keywords: IT governance, corporate governance, IT governance frameworks, IT governance components, aligning IT with business strategies

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Authors: Ibrahim Alkandi

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This study aims at understanding how banks can utilize their resources and capabilities to achieve a competitive advantage. The resource-based approach has been applied to assess the resources and capabilities as well as how the management perceives them as sources of competitive advantages. A quantitative approach was implemented using cross-sectional data. The research population consisted of Top managers in financial companies in Saudi Arabia, and the sample comprised 79 managers. The resources were sub divided into tangible and intangible. Among the variables that will be assessed in the research include propriety rights, trademark which is the brand, communication as well as organizational culture. To achieve the objective of the research, Multivariate analysis through multiple regression was used. The research tool used is a questionnaire whose validity is also assessed. According to the results of the study, there is a significant relationship between bank’s performance and the strategic management of propriety rights, trademark, administrative and financial skills as well as bank culture. Therefore, the research assessed four aspects, among the variables in the model, in relation to the strategic performance of these banks. The aspects considered were trademark, communication, administrative and leadership style as well as the company’s culture. Hence, this paper contributes to the body of literature by providing empirical evidence of the resources influencing both banks’ market and economic performance.

Keywords: competitive advantage, Saudi banks, strategic management, RBV

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Authors: I Putu Deny Arthawan Sugih Prabowo, Eko Nugroho, Rudy Hartanto

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Known, Green IT is a concept about how to use the technology (IT) wisely, efficiently, and environmentally. However, it exists as the consequence of the rapid-growth of the technology (especially IT) currently. Not only for the environments, the usage of Green IT applications, e.g. Cloud Computing (Cloud Storage) and E-Money (E-Cash), also gives its benefits for the organizational business strategy (especially the organizational product/service strategy) in order to gain the organizational competitive advantage (to be the market leader). This paper takes the case at E-Money as a Value-Added Services (VAS) of a telecommunication firm (company) in Indonesia which it also competes with the competitors’ similar product (service). Although it has been a popular telecommunication firm’s product/service, but its strategic values for the organization (firm) is still unknown, and therefore, the aim of this paper is for analyzing its strategic values for gaining the organizational competitive advantage. However, in this paper, its strategic value analysis is viewed by how to assess (consider) its strategic benefits and also manage the challenges or risks of its implementation at the organization as an organizational product/service. Then the paper uses a research model for investigating the influences of both perceived risks and the organizational cultures to the usage of Green IT Application at the organization and also both the usage of Green IT Application at the organization and the threats-challenges of the organizational products/services to the competitive advantage of the organizational products/services. However, the paper uses the quantitative research method (collecting the information from the field respondents by using the research questionnaires) and then, the primary data is analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics. Also in this paper, SmartPLS is used for analyzing the primary data by the quantitative research method. Besides using the quantitative research method, the paper also uses the qualitative research method, such as interviewing the field respondent and/or directly field observation, for deeply confirming the quantitative research method’s analysis results at the certain domain, e.g. both organizational cultures and internal processes that support the usage of Green IT applications for the organizational product/service (E-Money in this paper case). However, the paper is still at an infant stage of in-progress research. Then the paper’s results may be used as a reference for the organization (firm or company) in developing the organizational business strategies, especially about the organizational product/service that relates to Green IT applications. Besides it, the paper may also be the future study, e.g. the influence of knowledge transfer about E-Money and/or other Green IT application-based products/services to the organizational service performance that relates to the product (service) in order to gain the competitive advantage.

Keywords: Green IT, competitive advantage, strategic value, organization (firm or company), organizational product (service)

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Authors: Monika Kulikowska-Pawlak, Katarzyna Bratnicka-Myśliwiec, Tomasz Ingram

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This study seeks to contribute to the literature on firm competitiveness by advancing the perspective of organizational politics that views this process as a driver which creates identifiable differences in firm performance. The hypothesized relationships were tested on the basis of data from 355 Polish medium and large-sized enterprises. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, EFA and robustness tests. The main result of the conducted analyses proved the coexistence, previously examined in the literature, of corporate entrepreneurship and firm performance. The obtained research findings made it possible to add organizational politics to a wide range of elements determining corporate entrepreneurship, followed by competitive advantage, in addition to antecedents such as strategic leadership, corporate culture, opportunity-oriented resource-based management, etc. Also, the empirical results suggest that four dimensions of organizational politics (dominant coalition, influence exertion, making organizational changes, and information openness) are positively related to firm competitiveness. In addition, these findings seem to underline a supposition that corporate entrepreneurship is an important mediator which strengthens the competitive effects of organizational politics.

Keywords: corporate entrepreneurship, firm competitiveness, organizational politics, sensemaking

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Authors: Lindie Grebe

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This paper reports on a study that explored the strategizing practices of professional accountants in the mining industry, based on Jarratt and Stiles’ dominant strategizing practice models framework. Drawing on a strategy-as-practice perspective, the paper recognises qualified professional accountants in strategic management such as Chief Executive Officers, as strategy practitioners that perform their strategizing practices and praxis within a specific context. The main findings of this paper were produced through semi-structured individual interviews with accountants that perform strategy on a business level in the South African mining industry. Qualitative data were analysed through conversation analysis over two coding-cycles. Findings describe accountant strategists as practitioners who challenge the dominant business model when a disconnect seems to exist between international corporate level strategy and business level strategy in the South African mining industry. Accountant strategy practitioners described their dominant strategizing practice model as incremental change during strategic planning and as a lived experience during strategy implementation. Findings portrayed these strategists as taking initiative as strategy leaders in a dynamic and volatile environment to combine their accounting background with strategic management and challenge the dominant business model. Understanding how accountant strategists perform strategizing offers insight into the social practice of strategic management. This understanding contributes to the body of knowledge on strategizing in the South African mining industry. In addition, knowledge on the transformation of accountants as strategists could provide valuable practice relevant insights for accounting educators and the accounting profession alike.

Keywords: accountant strategists, dominant strategizing practice models framework, mining industry, strategy-as-practice

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Authors: Robert Gilliland

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In any organization, a potential issue can arise and become a problem when management deviates from the standard norms set in the system development process of an IT system and the policies that pertain to it. In these instances, cybersecurity is a big challenge that organizations have to face in safeguarding the data that they generate and use. When a new idea, task, or process begins, specific standards must be followed, along with the policies and procedures that ensure the safeguard of data in the information system within the company. A good IT Strategy and Policy should have individuals who are in charge of overseeing the design, development, implementation, and auditing of these policies. Auditors are people who check to make sure that the issue conforms with the plan that is in place. Management has the ability through the role of the manager to potentially abuse power is given and to direct specific ideas, events, projects, and outcomes that are contrary to the vision or goals of the company.

Keywords: strategic policy, policy management, new policy, strategic planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 111