Management and Marketing - Theses
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ItemRedesigning hospital care, an innovation implementation process( 2012)It is well observed that healthcare in Australia continues to face financial, operational, efficiency, reputation and quality challenges. The establishment of the Redesigning Hospital Care Program (RHCP) by the Department of Health Victoria (Department) in 2008 was commissioned to create a focus on improvements in efficiency, access and service quality innovations, to identify replicable, scalable and transferrable models which could be commissioned across the Victorian health system. Participating HCOs were assisted to assess their readiness for redesign, using a redesign readiness tool, and to inform a return on investment (ROI) discussion. Using a healthcare based total quality management (TQM) framework as a theoretical lens, this study uses multiple cross case analysis to research the success of the RHCP to date, including what has worked effectively and where there are opportunities for project improvement. A semi structured interview process was used for case analysis which followed a disciplined reference to the case protocol. This process was used due to the subject matter and richness and diversity of the case data. Thematic coding based on case interviews, field notes as well as organisational annual quality reports facilitated intra and inter - case / cross case analysis. The analysis of the qualitative data was conducted concurrently with data gathering and triangulated with case participant documents. The study also explores those HCO characteristics identified in the literature, with respect to innovation implementation and change management capacity. The case study organisations represented in this report have been nominated by the Department as exemplars of HCOs that have had varying degrees of success with respect to RHCP implementation to date. Finally, the study describes key elements identified throughout the case analyses, of critical success factors informing the profile of a redesign ready organisation. These findings include a focus on leadership, a commitment to improvement capability and systems, striking a manageable balance between innovation implementation and risk management, and having a clear focus on results through all levels of the organisation. It also identifies recommendations for further study.
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ItemSelf-development of leadership competencies among middle managers in China( 2012)Pressure for continuous learning, awareness of ineffectiveness associated with organisation-arranged training, and career models that require greater self-direction increase the need for middle managers to use their initiatives, take responsibility and direct their own development of leadership competencies (i.e. self-development). Such self-development (SD), however, has not received systematic research in the literature, in particular, Chinese literature. Empirical evidence of the antecedents and consequences of SD in the workplace is not well understood. What lies behind action that links cognition, person and context is also overlooked by most studies in the field of SD. Therefore, researchers and practitioners are unable to predict which middle managers will conduct SD, what leadership competencies get developed, and the conditions under which SD activities are most effective. This thesis employs a mixed-method design, through qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, and enhances understandings of the antecedents and consequences of SD within the context of China. It goes beyond previous research and makes contributions in at least three ways. First, it develops a hybrid and dynamic perspective to understand SD with attentiveness to the ongoing interplay between different institutional influences. This challenges the prevailing ‘either/or’ formal logic to which most studies subscribe for simplistic explanation in the literature. Second, this research integrates both individual characteristics and organisational context variables to investigate the underlying mechanisms and supporting processes of SD activities. This fills in a research gap in which most prior studies focus on individual characteristics without understanding the process of SD. Third, the consequences of SD as well as the role of individuals and organisations are evaluated and tested. This fills in a critical research gap in which, despite conceptual predictions of SD as beneficial, not much empirical work is conducted. Therefore, the research findings not only contribute to the substantive theory underpinning this thesis, but also develop a better understanding of SD in a transitional economy.
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ItemUnlocking decision risk: the impact of self-regulatory focus on risky decision making( 2012)Within the organisational context, employees as well as managers are confronted with choices that are underpinned by risks. Although risk-taking is the essence of organisational success, excessive risk-taking may have dire consequences on both the individual and the organisation. In the present research I sought to attain a better understanding on the phenomenon of decision risk by examining how individual differences in motivational orientation, that is, self-regulatory focus shapes the underlying risk mechanisms of (1) perceived/subjective utility of gains and losses, and (2) perceived likelihood judgement of gains and losses. Furthermore, to gain a more holistic understanding of decision risk, the present research also examined the dynamic nature of individual risk preference by considering the importance of prior decision outcomes. To this end, three studies were conducted utilising diverse samples and methodologies. In Study 1, utilising 318 university students, results provided partial support for the hypothesised predictions. Specifically, chronic promotion focus was found to be positively correlated to subjective utility of gains and perceived likelihood judgement of gains. Conversely, chronic prevention focus demonstrated a positive relationship with subjective utility of losses (with limited support) and perceived likelihood judgement of losses. Collectively, these findings highlighted the systematic biases in people’s subjective utility and perceived likelihood judgements. In Study 2, 439 managers from across Australia completed an online case study on Carter racing, which was designed to capture individuals’ risky decision making. As hypothesised, results revealed that the relationship between promotion focus and risk preference was indirectly influenced by subjective utility of gains and perceived likelihood judgement of gains. These findings provided further insight into our understanding of decision risk. In Study 3, 302 university students participated in the study. Utilising a computerised behaviour risky decision making task (i.e. the Columbia Card Task), analyses confirmed that promotion focus was positively related to risky decision making, while prevention focus was inversely related to risky decision making. Moreover, such risk pattern was found to be indirectly influenced by subjective utility of gains (replicating the finding of Study 2) and subjective utility of losses, respectively. The consideration of decision outcomes demonstrated crucial boundary conditions through changes in individual risk preference. Specifically, in the domain of losses, prevention focus was found to be positively correlated to risky decision making. Such finding outlined the intricate and dynamic nature of individual risk preference. Overall, the research findings underscored the significance of regulatory focus in explaining individual risk preference. Theoretically, the current thesis exposed a level of complexity in individual reasoning that is unaccounted in existing studies. From a practical perspective, by knowing who, when and why a risky alternative is preferred, managers can better monitor employees’ decision making and mitigate any potential harm to the organisation.
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ItemPlaying and fun in the workplace( 2012)This thesis examines the equivocal outcomes of fun in the workplace and establishes that playing and fun in the workplace can be investigated within three schools of thought: the developmental school, the interactionist school, and the political school. Drawing on the literature of workplace fun, appraisal theory, and service employee management literature, a model has been developed. The model consists of four core elements. First, the model uses the contingency approach and establishes that workplace fun may lead to both positive and negative employee emotions depending on contextual factors. The framework suggests some potentially important contextual factors at the individual, group and organisational level. Second, the model differentiates between fun as an episodic activity and fun as a climate. Third, I contribute to the appraisal theory of emotions by explaining how episodic emotions are provoked as a result of fun activities. Fourth, I consider the emotions that service employees display to customers, suggesting that positive or negative emotions of service employees that are caused by fun activities can influence customer satisfaction.
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ItemDo firms trade-off or accumulate operations capabilities? Some evidence from Australian service and manufacturing industries( 2012)How organisations compete based on their operations function has been an area of strong research interest in the operations management field. A major stream of research in this area relates to how organisations develop core operations capabilities, these being cost efficiency, quality, flexibility and speed of delivery. Two competing models have been proposed: the ‘trade-off’ model and the ‘cumulative capabilities’ model. Despite several conceptual and empirical studies, debate persists on which model is more effective when it comes to achieving superior organisational performance and competitive advantage. The way in which organisations develop and combine the different capabilities therefore needs to be further clarified. This study tests a number of models that have been proposed in the literature that explain how organisations treat their key operations capabilities. The study examines these issues from the perspective of the dynamic capabilities view and the theory of performance frontiers. These two theories are applied as a means of understanding how and why capabilities of organisations are combined or are traded-off (integrated model). The integrated theoretical perspective therefore assists to focus the empirical testing and make sense of the findings. The links amongst the four capabilities is systematically analysed using published secondary data on organisations in the airline, automobile manufacturing and grocery retail industries in Australia. These data, which is in longitudinal panel form, are empirically analysed to test the various models. The results show some evidence that organisations accumulate capabilities over time, but this is relevant mostly to quality and delivery capabilities. Additionally, results indicate that multiple capabilities had a stronger bearing on overall performance, instead of a singular focus on one capability. Also, the integrated model seemed to be applicable to only one of the three industry settings. The results of this study provide useful insights into a significant and challenging question in the operations management and strategy literature. First, this study outlines how capabilities changed over time for organisations and the instances when capabilities were traded off and accumulated. Second, from a practical viewpoint, this study enhances the understanding of managers on operational areas to focus and pursue improvements in performance. This knowledge can therefore assist organisations in general to be able to allocate valuable resources as well as achieve closer alignment to their business strategies for competitive advantage.
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ItemSupply chain integration and operational performance of Australian manufacturing firms: a transaction cost economics perspective( 2012)Firms are building collaborative relationships with their supply chain partners in order to achieve higher efficiency, flexibility, and sustainable competitive advantage. Although the benefits and fundamental importance of Supply Chain Integration (SCI) and collaboration are widely accepted in the literature, many firms are struggling to achieve the desired level of integration and/or the expected benefits of such integration. In this study SCI and its outcomes are analysed by looking at ‘manufacturer-supplier’ and ‘manufacturer-customer’ relationships from a manufacturer point of view. Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) constitutes the main theoretical foundation to explain those relationships and the governance structure of SCI upstream versus downstream. Although SCI has been widely promoted in the supply chain literature to achieve higher performance, it has not been clearly specified what should be involved in SCI, with which trading partner, and under what environmental conditions to achieve that promised performance improvement. While SCI is often viewed by supply chain scholars as operational with a minimum level of equity involved, inter-organizational relationship studies by TCE scholars are more focused on strategic type of integration with a high level of equity involvement defined as ‘asset specificity’. Thus, in this study ‘supplier integration’ and ‘customer integration’ as two distinct dimensions of SCI are both studied at two different levels, where ‘strategic’ or ‘equity-based’ integration and ‘operational’ or ‘non-equity’ based integration are examined as two different levels of integration. While the former is a more unilateral type of governance mechanism through idiosyncratic asset-specific investments in supply chain partners, the latter is a bilateral mechanism characterised by bi-directional agreements with minimum investments in specific assets (e.g. involvement in product development, information exchange agreements, connecting processes, etc.). According to TCE, equity based integration in terms of idiosyncratic investment exposes manufacturing firms as investing parties to risk of opportunism by invested supply chain partners. Such risk is high for firms performing in uncertain environments due to unanticipated contingencies. Trust has been consistently discussed in the literature grounded in sociology as being crucial for SCI to be successful. However, in classic TCE grounded in economics trust in commercial relationships has been relatively ignored and treated as redundant or even illusive. Thus, this study empirically examines the effects of equity and non-equity based integration with suppliers and customers on ‘trust’ and ‘opportunism’ risk perceived by manufacturing firms, and the way these two paradoxical concepts may impact manufacturing performance. A sequential explanatory approach is applied through application of a survey (186 Australian manufacturers) and 3 case studies. Structural Equation Modeling is applied to compare a ‘supplier integration model’ with a ‘customer integration model’. Invariance Testing are then applied to examine how direction and significance of hypothesized relationships in each model differ under low versus high uncertainty in supply and demand. The overall results show higher risk of opportunism is associated with customer integration compared to supplier integration when integration is equity based with high levels of asset specificity. In dealing with suppliers, manufacturers perceived this risk to be high only when supply uncertainty is high (supportive of the predictions of TCE). However, with customers they perceived this risk to be high independent of the level of demand uncertainty. The results show that non-equity based integration with supply chain partners through sharing information, communications, and connecting processes acts as a bilateral safeguard against supply chain partners’ opportunism and builds trust in supply chain partners, especially under high uncertainty. As a result of such coordination and information sharing among exchange partners, more stability can be achieved. Under volatile market conditions manufacturers’ access to timely and accurate information is more critical for making the right decisions and pre-planning of operations in a more optimal and proactive way. The results also show that it is only under high degrees of uncertainty that dealing with trustworthy suppliers and customers has a significant positive impact on manufacturing performance. In dealing with suppliers and under low degrees of supply uncertainty, competition among suppliers combined with suppliers’ concern for positive reputation and business continuity encourages them to perform well and be responsive to manufacturers’ needs. Under steady supply conditions, manufacturing firms in a buying position have more freedom to choose alternative suppliers if their expectations are not met. On the other hand, in dealings downstream they know that customers have similar options and are likely to do likewise in dealing with them as suppliers. In fact, manufacturers’ dependency on customers in terms of economic factors of a transaction (e.g. on-time payments in full or futures business in a competitive global market) put the customer in a more dominant position. Hence, manufacturers’ perceived risk of customer opportunism is higher and trust is lower due to customers’ position and control over payments and future purchases. Thus, under high uncertainty, when the stakes are high and integration with a customer is equity based manufacturers must adopt further safeguards to promote bilateral dependency. This study provides multiple implications for theory and practice by proposing a framework that aims to help decision makers to evaluate what type of integration (strategic / equity based vs. operational / non-equity based), with whom (supplier vs. customer), to what extent (low, medium, high) and under what conditions (low vs. high uncertainty in supply or demand) will be associated with lower risk and higher benefit.
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ItemThe effects of mutual dependence and inter-firm dynamic capabilities in buyer-supplier relationship on supply performance: an empirical study from the Arabian Gulf countries( 2012)In a supply chain management context, the link between exchange partners is critical. Procurement is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that resource exchange is accomplished in an efficient and effective way. Yet, contemporary strategies such as outsourcing, just in time and supply base consolidation have increased interdependence between exchange partners. This creates a need for inter-firm dynamic capabilities facilitating mutual benefit. Based on this premise, this study provides a conceptual integration and focused synthesis of the literature on interdependence (i.e. mutual dependence and power asymmetry), and dynamic capabilities (i.e. boundary spanning and inter-firm absorptive capacity) in the context of supply performance. A primary objective of this thesis is to investigate the concept of interdependence in buyer-supplier relationships through an integrated lens of Resource Dependence Theory and the Dynamic Capability View, hence addressing the following research questions from a buying firm perspective: To what extent do mutual dependence in buyer-supplier relationships and inter-firm dynamic capabilities affect supply performance? How does power asymmetry moderate these relationships? A mixed methods research approach was utilized. Data was collected from organizations in the Arab Gulf Countries, including: Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In the first phase, 400 survey responses were gathered to test the hypothesized relationships using structural equation modelling. This was followed by a case study with an airline company to better understand the dynamics of interdependency and dynamic capability between exchange-partners. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing empirical evidence to support the conceptual statements in the literature regarding the impact of interdependency and dynamic capabilities on supply performance. The current thesis is valuable as it contends that mutual dependence would typically foster supply performance. Yet, mutual dependence is not always synonymous with good relationships, especially under conditions of high power asymmetry. Further, this study identifies from a buying firms perspective strategies that would typically foster supply performance under asymmetric power distribution. For example, under high power asymmetry the mediating effects of demand-side boundary spanning do not hold, whereas under low power asymmetry the mediating effects of supply side boundary spanning do not hold. On the other hand power asymmetry is not shown in this study to moderate the effects of inter-firm absorptive capacity. The motivation for this thesis is found in the following areas of contribution. First, integrating resource dependence theory and the dynamic capability view enhances the theoretical explanations of the examined phenomena. Second, following recent debate in the literature, this study distinguishes between mutual dependence and power asymmetry, which are assumed to be two faces of interdependence. Third, this research extends the concept of absorptive capacity to an inter-firm perspective and adds “boundary spanning” as a means of value recognition. Fourth, studies related to supply chain are mostly conducted in western economies. This study was conducted in the Arabian Gulf Countries providing the opportunity to view these relationships in an Arab cultural context. By examining well established theoretical perspectives (e.g. resource dependence and dynamic capability) in diffident economic, political and cultural settings provides interesting theoretical and empirical implications. In regard to practical contribution, this study should be of interest to managers who are considering developing realistic survival strategies to improve supply performance in their upstream supply chains.
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ItemTriggering institutional change in an environment of endemic corruption: the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission( 2012)KKN, an Indonesian acronym denoting corruption, collusion and nepotism (korupsi, kolusi, nepotisme), encapsulated popular resentment against the authoritarian Soeharto regime during the financial and political crisis of 1998. Public demands to control widespread corruption were transformed into a set of legislation enacted between 1998 and 2002. Because corruption was endemic in existing law enforcement agencies, the centrepiece of the new legislation was the establishment of a new and independent agency to enforce them. Since 2004, this new entity, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), equipped with a broad mandate in both prevention and enforcement, has spearheaded the government’s efforts against corruption. It has done so more effectively than any previous attempts in Indonesia and more successfully than comparative studies of specialized agencies in other developing countries would predict. This thesis examines the factors contributing to the KPK’s initial success. My research applies a theoretical framework derived from new institutional economics with reference to the growing body of literature on anti-corruption agencies. The analysis is based on a detailed review of legislation and associated policy documents. Application of the new laws by the KPK and its impact on formal and informal institutions is examined by drawing on semi-structured interviews during 2009 with more than sixty decision-makers and observers including academics, NGOs and donor agency representatives. These data are supported by content analysis of selected Indonesian media. This study finds that effective anti-corruption reform can be achieved in a highly corrupt environment if the third-party enforcement agencies maintain their political independence and integrity and in turn retain public support, so that the incentives that lead to corruption can be changed through consistent preventive measures and law enforcement. In Indonesia, the economic crisis, regime change and popular pressure led to a political consensus on the establishment of new formal anti-corruption institutions including new third-party agencies. The design of these anti-corruption institutions was influenced but not predetermined by international precedents and donor intervention. Precautions were put in place to maintain the integrity and political independence of the KPK, most notably the sequential selection recruitment of its leadership, thereby diluting loyalties of the nominees to particular groups. The KPK’s human resource management system has avoided the weaknesses of the Indonesian civil service system through higher, more transparent remuneration that aligns individual performance with organisational objectives. The KPK has increased the risks of engaging in corruption but, impeded by its organisational design, has as yet failed to reduce the opportunities and systemic weaknesses that lead to endemic corruption. The KPK’s law enforcement has generated public support but also resistance from vested interests. Resistance to the KPK has mostly taken legal form, allowing for examination by the courts and public pressure that have in turn consolidated the KPK and the Anti-Corruption Court. The long-term sustainability of the KPK and other formal anti-corruption institutions is dependent on consistent law enforcement, more preventive measures at national level and on maintaining public trust in their integrity.