South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2021
To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sec... more To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sector, this case study investigates profitability and business ethics from the perspective of a very successful Finnish private healthcare company. The study combines business ethics and sensemaking theories to provide a broad view of the company's performance and stimulate new thinking about the relationship between ethics and profitability in private healthcare. Company's profitability requirements seem to elicit disapproval from the public. This study examines how a private, family-owned healthcare company combines business ethics and profitability successfully in its operations and how this family-owned company has successfully constructed a plausible, trusted and ethical identity. The theoretical framework of this study is based on business ethics, profitability, trust and sensemaking theory. The study shows that the case company has worked tirelessly to maintain high ethical practices and standards in providing excellent care and enjoying high profitability. By achieving high standards of business ethics and maintaining good social relations with stakeholders, the company has developed a plausible and trustworthy identity, while continuously improving its operations. The case shows that the surrounding environment, in particular, places significant pressure on the case company's daily activities and management. Even when customers (municipalities and residents) are very satisfied with the quality of care, this does not automatically lead to performance and profitability in the short term. Profitability as a value creation can also depend on personal relations and trust fostered between the company and its stakeholders. Thus, applying sensemaking theory, profitability means company's ongoing sensemaking about the plausibility of its actions and reading cues within the environment now and for the future.
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2021
Management innovation represents one of the most important and sustainable sources of competitive... more Management innovation represents one of the most important and sustainable sources of competitive advantage due to its context-specific nature. Still, current academic literature on management innovation and standardization is slightly limited. This intensive case study explores management innovation in a large European telecommunications company with the focus on standardization in managerial practices. The research data were gathered through interviews with managers from different levels of the case company. The results show that highly standardized management innovation is effective for reaching a standard level of management in a large company; it is also a prerequisite for further systematic development. Research questions: The purpose of this study is to gain insight into how standardization emerges in management innovation in a large organization by studying the construction and conduction of a managerial toolkit in a European telecommunications company. Links to theory: The ...
Previous strategy management studies have devoted scant attention to the role of trust in the str... more Previous strategy management studies have devoted scant attention to the role of trust in the strategic management process (SMP). The purpose of this study is to investigate trust in the management of a grocery trade business. Prior literature was reviewed to deepen the current understanding of trust in the SMP, and then explored through a case study on a Finnish grocery retail company, Kesko Ltd. The study was conducted by employing a qualitative research methodology and is based on an interview with the president of Kesko, who is intensively involved in the SMP. This study stresses the consideration of trust development in strategy work. The findings indicate that trust considerations in the strategic choices of the top management team can provide efficiency, innovation, and engagement in strategy implementation. Research Questions In this article, we ask how trust develops during three phases of the strategy process: strategy formulation, strategic choices, and strategy implement...
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases
To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sec... more To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sector, this case study investigates profitability and business ethics from the perspective of a very successful Finnish private healthcare company. The study combines business ethics and sensemaking theories to provide a broad view of the company’s performance and stimulate new thinking about the relationship between ethics and profitability in private healthcare. Company’s profitability requirements seem to elicit disapproval from the public. This study examines how a private, family-owned healthcare company combines business ethics and profitability successfully in its operations and how this family-owned company has successfully constructed a plausible, trusted and ethical identity. The theoretical framework of this study is based on business ethics, profitability, trust and sensemaking theory. The study shows that the case company has worked tirelessly to maintain high ethical practice...
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases
This case study explores university spin-off (USO) team building from leadership and intrapreneur... more This case study explores university spin-off (USO) team building from leadership and intrapreneurship perspectives. The study sheds light on a USO team member’s view of team building, examining the inherent tensions and challenges, but also the best practices of team building in general. Thus, the case is based on narrative study and evocative autoethnography, providing knowledge from an insider´s perspective of USO team building and also team leadership, especially for supporting intrapreneurship. The intrapreneurship allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur—in this case, within a USO project team. Instead of considering team building as a completely rational process, the case stresses the need to take into account soft aspects, like emotions, in USO team building. This case study should assist other innovative teams in the future to process narratively different factors, relationships and team behaviour within innovation project teams.
This study examines the manifestation of intrinsic motivation by exploring the sources of intrins... more This study examines the manifestation of intrinsic motivation by exploring the sources of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among employees of a retail hypermarket. The research uses narrative and ethnographical analysis from 24 interviews. Two unique dimensions were created for motivational power-source and growth process-for a new typology of work motivation. The typology consists of four processes: intrinsic regulation, intrinsic valuation, extrinsic valuation, and extrinsic regulation. The results show how intrinsic motivation can be reinforced through these processes. Recommendations are presented for different personnel teams in the service sector.
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze current literature on critical sensemaking (CSM) ... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze current literature on critical sensemaking (CSM) to assess its significance and potential for understanding the role of agency in management and organizational studies. Design/methodology/approach The analysis involves an examination of a selection of 51 applied studies that cite, draw on and contribute to CSM, to assess the challenges and potential of utilizing CSM. Findings The paper reveals the range of organizational issues that this work has been grappling with; the unique insights that CSM has revealed in the study of management and organizations; and some of the challenges and promises of CSM for studying agency in context. This sets up discussion of organizational issues and insights provided by CSM to reveal its potential in dealing with issues of agency in organizations. The sheer scope of CSM studies indicates that it has relevance for a range of management researchers, including those interested in behavior at work, theorie...
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2021
To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sec... more To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sector, this case study investigates profitability and business ethics from the perspective of a very successful Finnish private healthcare company. The study combines business ethics and sensemaking theories to provide a broad view of the company's performance and stimulate new thinking about the relationship between ethics and profitability in private healthcare. Company's profitability requirements seem to elicit disapproval from the public. This study examines how a private, family-owned healthcare company combines business ethics and profitability successfully in its operations and how this family-owned company has successfully constructed a plausible, trusted and ethical identity. The theoretical framework of this study is based on business ethics, profitability, trust and sensemaking theory. The study shows that the case company has worked tirelessly to maintain high ethical practices and standards in providing excellent care and enjoying high profitability. By achieving high standards of business ethics and maintaining good social relations with stakeholders, the company has developed a plausible and trustworthy identity, while continuously improving its operations. The case shows that the surrounding environment, in particular, places significant pressure on the case company's daily activities and management. Even when customers (municipalities and residents) are very satisfied with the quality of care, this does not automatically lead to performance and profitability in the short term. Profitability as a value creation can also depend on personal relations and trust fostered between the company and its stakeholders. Thus, applying sensemaking theory, profitability means company's ongoing sensemaking about the plausibility of its actions and reading cues within the environment now and for the future.
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 2021
Management innovation represents one of the most important and sustainable sources of competitive... more Management innovation represents one of the most important and sustainable sources of competitive advantage due to its context-specific nature. Still, current academic literature on management innovation and standardization is slightly limited. This intensive case study explores management innovation in a large European telecommunications company with the focus on standardization in managerial practices. The research data were gathered through interviews with managers from different levels of the case company. The results show that highly standardized management innovation is effective for reaching a standard level of management in a large company; it is also a prerequisite for further systematic development. Research questions: The purpose of this study is to gain insight into how standardization emerges in management innovation in a large organization by studying the construction and conduction of a managerial toolkit in a European telecommunications company. Links to theory: The ...
Previous strategy management studies have devoted scant attention to the role of trust in the str... more Previous strategy management studies have devoted scant attention to the role of trust in the strategic management process (SMP). The purpose of this study is to investigate trust in the management of a grocery trade business. Prior literature was reviewed to deepen the current understanding of trust in the SMP, and then explored through a case study on a Finnish grocery retail company, Kesko Ltd. The study was conducted by employing a qualitative research methodology and is based on an interview with the president of Kesko, who is intensively involved in the SMP. This study stresses the consideration of trust development in strategy work. The findings indicate that trust considerations in the strategic choices of the top management team can provide efficiency, innovation, and engagement in strategy implementation. Research Questions In this article, we ask how trust develops during three phases of the strategy process: strategy formulation, strategic choices, and strategy implement...
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases
To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sec... more To address the literature gap regarding the business ethics of family firms in the healthcare sector, this case study investigates profitability and business ethics from the perspective of a very successful Finnish private healthcare company. The study combines business ethics and sensemaking theories to provide a broad view of the company’s performance and stimulate new thinking about the relationship between ethics and profitability in private healthcare. Company’s profitability requirements seem to elicit disapproval from the public. This study examines how a private, family-owned healthcare company combines business ethics and profitability successfully in its operations and how this family-owned company has successfully constructed a plausible, trusted and ethical identity. The theoretical framework of this study is based on business ethics, profitability, trust and sensemaking theory. The study shows that the case company has worked tirelessly to maintain high ethical practice...
South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases
This case study explores university spin-off (USO) team building from leadership and intrapreneur... more This case study explores university spin-off (USO) team building from leadership and intrapreneurship perspectives. The study sheds light on a USO team member’s view of team building, examining the inherent tensions and challenges, but also the best practices of team building in general. Thus, the case is based on narrative study and evocative autoethnography, providing knowledge from an insider´s perspective of USO team building and also team leadership, especially for supporting intrapreneurship. The intrapreneurship allows an employee to act like an entrepreneur—in this case, within a USO project team. Instead of considering team building as a completely rational process, the case stresses the need to take into account soft aspects, like emotions, in USO team building. This case study should assist other innovative teams in the future to process narratively different factors, relationships and team behaviour within innovation project teams.
This study examines the manifestation of intrinsic motivation by exploring the sources of intrins... more This study examines the manifestation of intrinsic motivation by exploring the sources of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among employees of a retail hypermarket. The research uses narrative and ethnographical analysis from 24 interviews. Two unique dimensions were created for motivational power-source and growth process-for a new typology of work motivation. The typology consists of four processes: intrinsic regulation, intrinsic valuation, extrinsic valuation, and extrinsic regulation. The results show how intrinsic motivation can be reinforced through these processes. Recommendations are presented for different personnel teams in the service sector.
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze current literature on critical sensemaking (CSM) ... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze current literature on critical sensemaking (CSM) to assess its significance and potential for understanding the role of agency in management and organizational studies. Design/methodology/approach The analysis involves an examination of a selection of 51 applied studies that cite, draw on and contribute to CSM, to assess the challenges and potential of utilizing CSM. Findings The paper reveals the range of organizational issues that this work has been grappling with; the unique insights that CSM has revealed in the study of management and organizations; and some of the challenges and promises of CSM for studying agency in context. This sets up discussion of organizational issues and insights provided by CSM to reveal its potential in dealing with issues of agency in organizations. The sheer scope of CSM studies indicates that it has relevance for a range of management researchers, including those interested in behavior at work, theorie...
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Papers by Esa Hiltunen