Management and Marketing - Theses
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ItemThe alignment of business and information strategies( 1990)The aim of this study was to explore the nature and extent of the alignment of business and information strategies, and organisational factors which might be related to that alignment. The study was undertaken in two parts: an extensive literature analysis to identify possible factors and models of alignment, followed by empirical case study based research examining factors which might be related to the alignment of business and information strategy in some large information intensive organizations. The conceptual frameworks for the study were drawn from the literatures of strategy development, organizational design, and theories and practices of information systems and services. The literature review and analysis for this study was purposely extensive in order to encompass a wide range of conceptual and research based literatures about the management of information systems and services which inform the study. the literature review revealed burgeoning interest in the area of business and information strategy alignment from different, though often narrow, paradigms. At the same time there was plenty of rigorous, empirically based and cumulative studies of direct relevance to the research question. Areas of potential importance to the alignment of business and information strategy, drawn from the conceptual and research based literature, were examined in a hypothesis-generating empirical case study analysis of four of Australia’s five largest firms in the financial services sector.
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ItemMarket orientation and business performance: empirical evidence from Thailand( 2001)This thesis studies the business performance of Thai firms in both domestic and export markets by using the market orientation theoretical framework to explain why some firms are more successful than others. It also investigates how firms become more market-oriented and whether the relationship between market orientation and business performance is moderated by business environment.
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ItemHow do organisations align human resource management with information technology: an exploratory study of four Australian firms( 2003)While there is significant evidence to suggest that the alignment of Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology (IT) has a positive impact on firm performance, there is little discussion on how to achieve alignment. Literature in both the HR and IT disciplines provides confirmation of the need to identify and address the people management issues in order to realise the expected returns from IT investments. This research will contribute to these discussions with insights into how an organisation with alignment between IT and HR might appear, who should be responsible for the alignment, and how enabling and inhibiting factors impact the alignment process. The Reich & Benbasat (2000) model of social alignment distinguishes between intellectual planning intentions and executives' understanding of the implications and actions required to implement those intentions. The latter, defined as social alignment provided a useful lens through which to examine the alignment between HR and IT. The social alignment framework, originally designed to investigate executives' understanding of the alignment between IT and business strategies, has been adapted and extended to provide a useful tool to analyse the relationship between IT and HR. Four Australian firms were examined using case study methodology in order to gather and analyse the richness of the data in a field with little prior research. Findings support the view that shared domain knowledge and history of IT and HR implementation success impact on the communication and planning activities that ultimately determine levels of social alignment. Executives interviewed understood that alignment between HR and IT was important to achieving the firm’s strategic goals. Examples were identified and discussed where lack of attention to the IT/HR relationship resulted in outcomes that fell short of expectations. Shared domain knowledge of the business and the IT and HR function, was likely to have a significant impact on the communication and planning connections between the HR manager and the CIO. Similarly, past experiences of working together either in general business projects or in function specific projects such as the HRIS affected the willingness of the HR manager and CIO to collaborate. Management of the alignment process by line or project executives was likely to limit people management considerations to short term implementation issues without reference to longer term strategic directions. As a result of this research the social alignment model has been adapted to provide a valuable tool for the assessment of the alignment process between HR and IT in firms. Two additional factors have been added: responsibility and accountability, and power and influence as contributing factors that are important for management to understand so that they might develop and enhance strategic communication and connections between HR and IT.
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ItemHigh-profile crisis management in Australian and New Zealand organisations( 2007-10)This thesis demonstrates that it is paramount to develop crisis-preparedness strategies and practices based on empirical research, in order to improve an organisation‘s ability to manage effectively and, ultimately to survive, a high-profile crisis event. Although there are many high-profile crises that have been managed successfully by applying strategies to make organisations more resilient, there is still considerable confusion and uncertainty about the way these crises have been evaluated and the way their success can be measured in relation to other crises.There are no international crisis-preparedness standards in relation to a set of crisis outcomes indicators that could be applied. This lack of empirically proven relationships between crisis-preparedness strategies and their effect on crisis outcomes makes the identification of effective strategies very difficult. Case studies, anecdotal evidence and a limited number of empirical crisis management studies (i.e. effect on share price) suggest a great variability in the effectiveness of certain strategies and practices that have produced inconclusive results. This study analyses the strategies variability to advance knowledge in the field of crisis management. (For complete abstract open document)
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ItemA strategic analysis of takeover behaviour in Australia, 1977-1982( 1987-12)The study aims to increase our understanding of takeover behaviour in Australia by using a strategic framework to analyse a sample of 152takeovers of publicly-listed firms made between 1977 and 1982. A two-level model of takeover strategies is developed to explain how the three general theories of takeover - the economic, the financial and the managerial theory - are each useful in explaining takeover behaviour under certain circumstances. The model classifies takeovers based on analysing four factors, namely the pre-takeover strategy of the acquirer, the industry relationship of the target to the acquirer, whether the acquirer is pursuing shareholder aims or managerial aims primarily, and the pre-takeover competence of the target. Nine takeover strategies are developed from the first-level of the model. These are named after the relationship between the acquirer and its target. They are called the Dominant-Existing, Dominant-Related, Dominant-Unrelated, Related-Existing, Related-Related, Related-Unrelated, Unrelated-Existing, Unrelated-Related and Unrelated-Unrelated acquirer strategies. Pre-takeover financial profiles are developed for each strategy and these profiles are used to infer corporate competencies of the acquirers and their targets. The major questions which are addressed are: Do there appear to be different acquirer strategies occurring in practice? Do different acquirer strategies have different financial profiles, and, by inference, different strategic competencies prior to the takeover? Do different acquirer strategies have different post-takeover outcomes and what is the nature of these outcomes for each strategy? The answer to each question is an emphatic yes. The results clearly identify several different strategies. Pre-takeover financial profiles vary for the major strategies. Post-takeover outcomes differ for the strategies, in accord with the expectations derived from both the strategic theory behind the model and also the empirical pre-takeover data for the particular takeovers in the sample. The outcomes show how the three general theories of takeover behaviour are complementary explanations, when perceived within a strategic framework.
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ItemDoes size matter?: employment relations in small firms( 2000-12)In this thesis an integrated approach to analysing small In this thesis an integrated approach to analysing small firm employment relations is proposed and used to investigate the image of industrial harmony in small firms. This approach accommodates small firm heterogeneity, provides an analytical framework for ordering the effect of a range of factors (not simply size) on employment relations, and incorporates a dialectical relationship between structure and agency. In Chapters 2 and 3 some of the key theoretical and methodological gaps in small firm research, particularly their employment relations, are highlighted. At the conclusion of Chapter 2, it is suggested that an analysis of small firm employment relations must start with the totality of economic and social relations in a particular sector, and its contradictory constituents, rather than the small firm per se. Rainnie’s (1989) heuristic device, drawing upon Marxist theory of combined and uneven development, is adopted to accommodate small firm heterogeneity. After reviewing studies of small firm industrial relations and human resource management, it is argued, in Chapter 3, that by incorporating the dialectical relationship between structure and agency with a labour process analysis, an explanation for why ‘industrial harmony’ appears to typify small firm employment relations can be sought. As such the integrated approach is applied to small firms operating in the software development sector of the information industry. In Chapter 4, some characteristics of the information industry in Australia are outlined in order to provide a context and rationale for more specifically focussing (in Chapter 5) on the nature of software development work, its organisation, and the strategies used to manage employment relations. A consideration is given to issues surrounding the management of software developers, while the distinction between primary and secondary software products is used to elaborate the contradictory trends in strategies to control the software development labour process. The critical social science basis of this integrated approach is discussed in Chapter 6, while the rationale for using multiple, complementary, quantitative and qualitative research methods is also elaborated. In Chapter 7, the structures within which employment relations are managed in the information industry are outlined using the results of a survey (N = 206). Where possible the data are analysed to draw out the effects of size, ownership characteristics, product market conditions and management style on the management of employment relations. Chapters 8 and 9 contain the detailed case studies of two small software development firms. In both cases, structure and agency are addressed and therefore the firm's development, product and labour market positions, type of work performed and by whom, how employment relations are managed and the workers' response are all explored. These two firms offer a number of points for comparison and contrast and in Chapter l0 a cross case analysis is conducted. Findings from this study are compared with others and future avenues for inquiry are suggested, while implications of the approach and findings for future small firm employment relations policy and research are addressed.
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ItemKnowledge sharing through inpatriate assignments in multinational corporations: a social capital perspective( 2007-05)This study conceptualizes inpatriates – foreign nationals who are temporarily assigned to the corporate headquarters (HQ) of a multinational corporation (MNC) – as knowledge agents that link the HQ to its subsidiaries. Along these lines, the thesis examines the determinants of knowledge sharing between inpatriates and HQ staff as well as the resulting implications for inpatriates’ careers. Integrating research on international assignments and MNC knowledge flows with social capital theory, the main argument is that inpatriates can only share their local subsidiary knowledge with and learn from HQ employees if they establish social capital with them. The empirical investigation of inpatriates as the study’s principal unit of analysis follows a multi-method approach. First, a qualitative and inductive case study based on 13 interviews with inpatriates at three German MNCs is conducted, aiming to provide a deeper understanding of the inpatriate phenomenon. The interview findings highlight inpatriates’ role as knowledge conduits and derive various factors that may impact on inpatriates’ knowledge sharing, such as inpatriates’ acculturation attitudes, their host language fluency, host ethnocentrism and available organizational support.
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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.