Majid Estiri; Mohammad lagzian
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Based on science and technology, the economy of today's world is prosperous and competitive. In the meantime, knowledge-based firms emerged with large profits and high added value; the firms that are founded on utilizing knowledge-based ideas, creativity, and innovation. Therefore, ...
Read More
1- INTRODUCTION
Based on science and technology, the economy of today's world is prosperous and competitive. In the meantime, knowledge-based firms emerged with large profits and high added value; the firms that are founded on utilizing knowledge-based ideas, creativity, and innovation. Therefore, at the global level, firms adopt various strategies to increase the effectiveness of scientific and technological activities, improve performance, and transfer their achievements to the industry and market. Knowledge-based firms are considered research organizations that, to fulfill their mission, should provide a suitable platform to facilitate the commercialization of their research findings in addition to developing new technologies. Reviewing the studies conducted on the growth of knowledge-based firms reveals most of them have focused on internal factors of growth, while limited ones focused on identifying the success factors along with growth. Thus, the current research is to identify the factors affecting the success of knowledge-based firms and explain their relationships to success. This research is focused on Iranian firms because of specific social, political, and economic conditions in Iran (such as economic sanctions, dependence on oil, prevailing anti-capitalist spirit, etc.) and their impact on the business environment and sales markets which are dependent on the government.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In today's changing world, knowledge and innovation are considered the most fundamental factors for progress in the industrial and economic fields. The economy of a country flourishes when it provides the necessary platform for innovation and presence in the world's competitive markets. Moving towards innovation and making changes in the composition of products and services is in the realm of activities of knowledge-based firms. Therefore, they play an important role in the effectiveness of production, the occurrence of knowledge in new products and services, the improvement of the level of economy and well-being, and the production of wealth and added value in society. In addition to creating a competitive environment, such firms have appropriate adaptation and flexibility in facing emerging changes and developments in the economy. This is more important for countries under sanctions that need to adopt policies to strengthen their economy. By examining the countries' development trends, on the other hand, it is obvious that paying attention to knowledge-based firms is from success factors to deal with issues such as employment, innovation capacity, and exporting new products. Based on the above, it is important to study the reasons for the growth of knowledge-based firms in Iran. The current research is accordingly to identify and classify the key factors affecting the growth and success of this kind of firm. It is necessary to develop specific criteria for growth and success in order for determining when a company is considered as developed.
3- METHODOLOGY
Identifying and modeling the key success factors of knowledge-based firms requires providing a detailed understanding of the subject. The qualitative method is the most appropriate way to achieve this goal. Furthermore, conducting an interpretive structural model will be useful to conceptualize and relate the constructs. In this regard, the current research conducts a thematic analysis and then interpretive structural modeling to explain associations between qualitative variables. The target population of this research is knowledge-based firms reported by the Vice President of Science and Technology. In the first stage of this research, an in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted with 25 CEOs of knowledge-based firms. The sample members were selected by conducting theoretical and opportunistic sampling in a completely purposeful manner based on the research objectives.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
After environmental factors, the importance of providing and allocating appropriate financial resources (in terms of amount and time of allocation) and appropriate (educated, experienced, skilled, creative, and innovative) workforce is greater than the others. It was found that individual and organizational factors have a two-way interaction and the company's strategy has the most impact on them. Finally, employing managers to achieve success, growth, and development of knowledge-based firms was determined to be the best implementation method among the five.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Reviewing the literature along with the results of interviews showed five main themes called the key success factors of knowledge-based firms, including individual, organizational, and environmental factors, the firm's strategy, and supplying and allocating resources. Based on the findings of the current research, future researchers are recommended to evaluate the characteristics and components of various scales and populations using other modern research methods and to examine the other aspects of the research model.
Keywords: Knowledge-based companies, Key success factors, Thematic analysis, Interpretive structural modeling.
Ahmad Shaarbaf Eidgahi; Mohammad Mehraeen (Lagzian); Gholamreza Malekzadeh; Alireza Pooya
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTIONThe last decade has seen many changes in the global business environment. thus, technology-driven businesses have been replaced by knowledge-based businesses. human resources are now the most important asset of organizations. but not all employees are a source of competitive advantage ...
Read More
1- INTRODUCTIONThe last decade has seen many changes in the global business environment. thus, technology-driven businesses have been replaced by knowledge-based businesses. human resources are now the most important asset of organizations. but not all employees are a source of competitive advantage for organizations. rather, knowledgeable employees can create competitive advantage and added value for the organization. therefore, managers of organizations must know how to provide a suitable environment and opportunities for greater participation of knowledgeable employees in the organization, because the processes of identifying, recruiting, training, managing, and retaining are more difficult for knowledgeable staff than for other employees. organizations should know more about the personality and behavior of knowledgeable employees and develop appropriate programs to attract, train and interact with them as well as adopt necessary strategies to make them satisfied and loyal. 2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKBy examining most of the key factors affecting the success of knowledge management, the human factor or knowledge staff is common in most models. the term knowledge worker was first introduced by peter drucker. in his opinion, a person who works with information and develops or applies knowledge in the workplace is a knowledge worker. knowledge employees are employees who have a high level of education and experience and think about life and are mainly engaged in technical and managerial positions. on the other hand, they can have a major impact on the company and its performance. the nature of these employees requires a high level of autonomy and knowledge workers usually need to work with colleagues in similar departments, other departments, or even with employees of different organizations. knowledge workers do not repeat the same task every day, so they do not follow the instructions given to them, but use their technical and intellectual knowledge to perform tasks. personality is one of the most important factors that can be evaluated in the first call, the job seeker. because it seems difficult to pay attention to the applicant's situation in many environments and situations, a person's personality information can be used to predict his or her future behavior. the five-factor model, mbti model, and enneagram typology model are some of the most important personality models used in this study.3- METHODOLOGYThis research was a mixed study with the interpretive philosophy in its qualitative phase (descriptive phenomenology). in the quantitative phase of the research, the pragmatism philosophy was used. the statistical population of the qualitative phase was comprised of experts such as knowledge management experts in 23 companies in Mashhad city having R&D departments. The sampling method was snowball continued to 21st interview to reach theoretical saturation. The qualitative data collection tool was semi-structured interviews and gathered data were analyzed using MAXQDA software. 4- RESULTS & DISCUSSIONDescriptive phenomenology was conducted based on the colaizzi approach. the following steps were followed: first, the interviews' content was converted from audio to text mode. at this step, a total of 270 open codes were extracted. in the next step, the codes list was referenced and some codes were integrated with each other. also, irrelevant and duplicate ones were removed from the existing list, and categories were determined based on expressions and codes extracted from previous steps. finally, eleven personality categories were extracted including introversion, conscientiousness, judgment, realism, neuroticism, incompatibility, conservatism, narcissism, thinking, self-control, and openness.5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONSWhen hiring knowledge staff, routine personality tests should be performed to select and attract people with the closest personality type to knowledge jobs. one of the most important results of this study was identifying the introversion of knowledge staff as a key personality dimension. due to the characteristics of introversion, it is appropriate to try to provide a suitable work environment for introverts such as a place for mental resting, walking, exercising, and even sleeping at work. in regard to knowledge employees' internal locus of control, managers are recommended not to externally monitor and control their work process and, instead, control their work output. in regard to the psychotic characteristics of knowledge workers, it is suggested to avoid imposing stress and work pressure on and setting a short period of time for them. in general, organizational processes should be redefined for knowledgeable employees. even if necessary, two types of processes should be implemented for knowledge and non-knowledge employees. due to the thinking characteristic, it is suggested to provide necessary conditions and situations for knowledge employees to think.
Mohammad Mehraein; Mohammad Hosein Homayouni Rad; Mohammad Mahdi Farahi; Mostafa Kazemi
Abstract
Extended abstract 1- INTRODUCTION Nowadays, many organizational communications take place through cyberspace and web-based communication networks. with the support of the internet, many organizations have been able to do their activities virtually, and thus, achieve unparalleled business success (sadeghi ...
Read More
Extended abstract 1- INTRODUCTION Nowadays, many organizational communications take place through cyberspace and web-based communication networks. with the support of the internet, many organizations have been able to do their activities virtually, and thus, achieve unparalleled business success (sadeghi arani et al., 2013). iranian managers have been faced with many challenges because of internet abuse and non-working wandering, especially in public organizations. based on the authors' consultation with some public managers involved in internet policy-making of organizations in mashhad, one of the most important related issues is how to manage behaviors and policies to optimize internet use and abuse. therefore, the purpose of this study is to categorize desirable and undesirable internet behaviors of employees as well as to explain these types of behaviors using a comprehensive model of reasons, effects, consequences, and contextual factors. 2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK According to the literature, the theoretical foundations of internet use and its consequences fall into two categories: behavioral theories and information and communication technology theories. in general, most research accomplished to study the affecting factors and consequences of non-work-related internet use; and less research considered the quality of internet use. moreover, no comprehensive model was found to address both favorable and unfavorable internet behaviors in the public sector indicating a research gap in relevant studies. therefore, in this study, an attempt is made to develop a model explaining both the desirable and undesirable internet use. for this purpose, the key research questions are: - What is the behavioral pattern for employees' Internet use in public organizations? - What is the model of managing employees' Internet behaviors in public organizations? - What are the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of these behaviors? - What are the underlying factors and conditions for Internet behaviors? - What are the strategies for managing these behaviors? 3- METHODOLOGY In terms of purpose, the present research is a fundamental study; in terms of method, it is an explanatory-descriptive study; and in terms of research design, it is a mixed-methods study. in the quantitative phase, through the survey strategy, the first question was addressed using the mean comparison test. the statistical population of the quantitative section is comprised of 384 employees of governmental organizations in mashhad city. the population of the qualitative section is comprised of executive experts. in the qualitative phase, the data obtained from in-depth interviews were coded analyzed by using the strategy of grounded theory, and the behavioral model was developed. 4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION The results indicated that the vast majority of employees perform repetitive and daily activities, their job tasks are standard and based on rules and regulations, have little need for creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. according to the results, the causal conditions affecting the favorable and unfavorable internet use include personal, organizational, and job characteristics. in the category of personal characteristics, the concept of employee personality is one of the factors that affect internet use in the organization. in comparison with the results of previous studies, some emerged dimensions are different and some others like personality, infrastructure and technology, and management style are similar to those mentioned in previous researches. most of these dimensions are discussed sparsely and in various studies, but the current study provided a more comprehensive view. also, in the present study, new angles emerged from each of these dimensions, some of which are employee curiosity, employee professional ethics, value characteristics of employees, Internet addiction, etc. 5- CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS One of the relating concepts reported in previous research is job enrichment. organizations should screen employees at the stage of recruitment and employ those who have appropriate value and human characteristics in order not to face such problems. furthermore, the management style should encourage employees to perform their tasks proactively. on the other hand, managers should undermine their employees' dissatisfaction that leads to employees' negligence and immorality and subsequently imposes excessive costs on the organization.
Mohammad Lagzian; Mohammad Hossein Homayoni Rad
Abstract
Current research paper is to delve into the employee-organization relationships as an effective factor on organizational citizenship behavior. The employee-organization relationships involve two dimensions: perceived organizational support and organizational identity. Job autonomy is a moderator variable ...
Read More
Current research paper is to delve into the employee-organization relationships as an effective factor on organizational citizenship behavior. The employee-organization relationships involve two dimensions: perceived organizational support and organizational identity. Job autonomy is a moderator variable between the employee-organization relationships and organizational citizenship behaviors. To do so, employees of Central Library of a governmental university has been assessed; and for the assessment of research conceptual model, a correlation approach and linear regression (with the use of SPSS application) has been used. Results indicate that perceived organizational support and organizational identity have a relationship and each of them have a relationship with organizational citizenship behavior; however job autonomy does not regulate the relationships of perceived organizational support and organizational identity with organizational citizenship behavior
Ahmad Tavakoli; Mohammad Lagzian; Ali Davoudnia; Ali Alizadeh Zoeram
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the Walton’s quality of work life (QWL) factors and job satisfaction (JS). The statistical population consisted of top and middle managers and experts of Gas Company of Razavi Khorasan province. A sample of 146 was selected based ...
Read More
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the Walton’s quality of work life (QWL) factors and job satisfaction (JS). The statistical population consisted of top and middle managers and experts of Gas Company of Razavi Khorasan province. A sample of 146 was selected based on proportional sampling method. A standard questionnaire as well as Walton’s WLQ factors for job satisfaction was used to collect research data. In order to test research hypothesis, Spearman and Pearson correlation statistics were utilized. The results indicated a medium figure for WLQ and JS and significant relationship between these constructs. It was further noticed that there is a positive relationship between individual components of WLQ indicating fair compensation, safe and healthy work, environment opportunity for continued growth and security, constitutionalism, social relevance of work life, total life space, social integration, capacity for human development, and job satisfaction.
Gholamreza Malekzadeh; Mostafa Kazemi; Mohammad Lagzian
Abstract
The primary objective of this research is to evolve “a model for Organizational Intelligence in Iranian Universities”. Based on the literature review, the dimensions and components of organizational intelligence in public universities were identified using expert panel opinions and DELPHI technique. ...
Read More
The primary objective of this research is to evolve “a model for Organizational Intelligence in Iranian Universities”. Based on the literature review, the dimensions and components of organizational intelligence in public universities were identified using expert panel opinions and DELPHI technique. A novel model for organizational intelligence in Iranian universities is investigated by using DEMATEL methodology. The proposed model consists of eight dimensions: structural, cultural, strategic, communicational, informational, functional, behavioral, and environmental dimensions. Each one of these dimensions in turn consists of its own components. The results showed that the “Structural”, “Cultural”, “Strategic”, “Informational” and “Environmental” dimensions are the cause dimensions while the “Behavioral” and “Communicational” dimensions are the effect dimensions. Hierarchical levels of these dimensions are also determined.