Original Article
Fateme Beygi Nasrabadi; Gholamreza Malekzadeh
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION In developing countries, most public organizations for urban services experience inactivity, stagnation, and inflexibility, leading them to inefficiency, poor service delivery, poor urban integration, and dissatisfaction among citizens. This condition is known as organizational ...
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1- INTRODUCTION In developing countries, most public organizations for urban services experience inactivity, stagnation, and inflexibility, leading them to inefficiency, poor service delivery, poor urban integration, and dissatisfaction among citizens. This condition is known as organizational inertia. The current research aims to identify the causes and consequences of this phenomenon for urban service organizations in Mashhad city. This research is a qualitative study based on the grounded theory with an emerging approach as its strategy. Despite the acknowledged importance of this problem and the necessity of addressing it, little research has been done in this field. On the one hand, previous scholars have mainly examined the financial outcomes of organizational inertia by conducting quantitative studies, while its antecedents remain unclear. On the other hand, the causes and consequences of this organizational phenomenon are expected to be different in various cultural contexts, structures, and even industries. Accordingly, the primary purpose of the current research is to explore the organizational inertia in the context of Iranian public organizations. 2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In physics, inertia is the state of an object to resist change in the speed or direction of movement. The organization literature has defined it as the organization's resistance to environmental changes. The background of this organizational-level construct is rooted in different theories such as open systems, learning, political and social systems, and organizational culture. In regard to conceptualizing, scholars have considered three components of insight, action, and psychological for organizational inertia. The current research typically adds to the literature on inertia in public organizations of developing countries. In addition, it identifies and examines the factors affecting organizational inertia. 3- METHODOLOGY To collect the qualitative data, some interviews were conducted among experienced managers of Mashhad municipality, members of the city council, and university professors. The interviewees were identified by a purposeful sampling method and studied using semi-structured interviews, which continued until the theoretical saturation. Grounded theory with three stages of open, central, and selective coding was used to analyze the obtained data. 4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION The findings of the research indicated that the causes for organizational inertia are as internal (including the lack of identification and prioritization of city issues, non-dynamic and non-strategic policies of the organization, lack of strategic thinking culture in the organization, existence of cumbersome and outdated laws, lack of planning and in the result of weakness in the executive affairs of the city, failure to use the results of research projects and transformation programs, inertia in managers, weakness in the competencies of managers, lack of motivation to change in employees, risk aversion and laziness of employees, weakness in designing human resources systems that encourage dynamism, defects in knowledge management systems), contextual (the size of the organization, the bare structure, the city management council structure, the temporary nature of the managers' management period, the city council's preoccupation with daily affairs instead of managing affairs, the lack of a competitive environment), urban (poor synchronization of citizens with developments in the provision of urban services, inconsistency and disorganization in city affairs and the absence of an integrated urban management system, the complexity of city issues and inconsistency between organizations involved in urban services), and political (political space governing the organization, requirements beyond the duties of the municipality, etc disproportionate to the municipal infrastructure from other institutions, demands of extra-organizational pressure groups). Furthermore, its consequences are determined to be at three levels: intra-organizational (low effectiveness, poor performance, low innovation), social (dissatisfaction, distrust, reduced participation), and inter-organizational or city (competitiveness with other cities). 5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS The research finding includes a substantive theory for causes and consequences of organizational inertia resulting from our close connection with the population under study. The practical and research implications of the research are also discussed.
Original Article
Samaneh Ghahremani; Reza Sepahvand; Mohammad Hakkak; Hojjat Vahdati
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Organizations use various tools to control corruption and organizational misconduct. Some organizations take a passive approach and fight corruption, and some focus on proactive controls. In the meantime, the leading organizations to make the organization healthy include efficient ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
Organizations use various tools to control corruption and organizational misconduct. Some organizations take a passive approach and fight corruption, and some focus on proactive controls. In the meantime, the leading organizations to make the organization healthy include efficient operational processes, flexible and responsive structure to the environment, innovation atmosphere, and so on. They use what is known as structural capital. The present study used grounded theory to design a structural capital model to reduce corruption in the banking network.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Structural capital is a function of human capital and the determining factor of organizational form. On the other hand, structural capital is created openly and independently of human capital as soon as it is affected by human capital. For example, organizational structure and organizational culture can have fundamental independent effects. Therefore, structural and human capital help organizations interact with each other. The organization's mission and vision, core values, strategies, work systems, and internal processes, known as structural capital, play a vital role in preventing administrative and financial corruption and dramatically reducing the cost of fighting it. Therefore, the leading question of the research is how the structural capital in the banking network is formed to reduce corruption, what are the causal, contextual, and intervening factors for the formation of this capital, and what strategies can be used to reduce corruption and organizational health.
3- METHODOLOGY
This research is a qualitative study adopting an inductive paradigm. In the present study, semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool, and the resulting data were analyzed using open, central, and selective coding. In the qualitative part, purposeful sampling was used to conduct 21 interviews based on theoretical saturation. The findings were validated through the researcher's self-review and member control technique. The results of the research include the identification of causal, background, intervening factors, and the consequences of structural capital that reduces corruption and finally presents the final model of structural capital that reduces corruption in the banking network. Structural equation modeling software was used to validate the research model. Two hundred questionnaires were distributed among the available people, and finally, 190 well-qualified questionnaires were collected. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed by considering the opinions of several management professors.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The results indicate that the advances in information technology, the existence of several regulatory organizations, including the central bank, the desire of the country's top officials to fight corruption, the requirements of international organizations, anti-money laundering regulations, the law prohibiting interference of government employees and Basel banking standards were identified as the causal factors of structural capital that reduce corruption in the banking network.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
In general, it can be said that according to the extracted categories and the proposed research model, it can be concluded that to reduce and eliminate corruption in the banking system, it is necessary to revise the indicators of structural capital in organizations. They say What causes the reduction of administrative corruption is the design of correct, rational, and transparent systems and mechanisms, especially in sectors prone to corruption. In other words, proactive control in the form of structural capital is much more effective than retrospective control in dealing with administrative corruption. Therefore, this research provides insight into reducing administrative corruption, which is necessary to close the way to financial corruption using structural capital. Dealing with corruption after the commission of corruption is like an after-death cure. Proper structuring and developing the organization's structural capital is considered a strong barrier against corruption in the banking network.
Original Article
Gholamreza Farsidoost; Mehdi Moradi; Abolfazl Soleimani
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTIONCompanies operate in an environment where the public expects them, in addition to their ability to generate profits, to maintain a balance between business growth and social progress. Therefore, corporate social responsibility has become an inevitable priority for business leaders. Furthermore, ...
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1- INTRODUCTIONCompanies operate in an environment where the public expects them, in addition to their ability to generate profits, to maintain a balance between business growth and social progress. Therefore, corporate social responsibility has become an inevitable priority for business leaders. Furthermore, the activities of companies are different in terms of the degree of risk-taking, and thus, risk management is of great concern for them in dynamic global environments. Organizational risk management pays special attention to more effective identification of risks and social communication of the company. Also, to reduce the effects of uncertainty on the company's performance, managers can manage profit within a framework of accounting standards by affecting the structure of actual transactions and maintaining the stock price and support of their shareholders. But what the general investors understand about social responsibility is to report the companies' financial issues transparently. 2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKAs a ranking factor instead of internal control, risk management targets the companies' strategy to manage their attitude and exposure to risk and increase their value. Theoretically, a manager's trust or willingness to participate in social responsibility relates to corporate governance and the company's executive motivations. Social responsibility is morally optional rather than morally required, and the risk management model strengthens a manager's economic incentive to allocate some company resources to social responsibility activities. The agency perspective of social responsibility argues that entrenched managers in a company with strong corporate governance may use social responsibility activities to collude with shareholders to gain higher management authority to benefit from personal interests. In other situations, managers who are ascertained of positive benefits from these activities may choose social investments even if they are not value-adding. Factors such as capital market pressure, product market competition, and job-related incentives can motivate managers to perform earnings management. When the company has more effective organizational risk management, it has more potential opportunities, so managers may be less willing to manipulate profits. Managers use actual earnings management more when the risk management system is relatively weak. Some managers believe that social responsibility can reduce the possibility of disclosure of companies' participation in earnings management by providing the interests of the beneficiaries and presenting an image of social and environmental concerns. Earnings management practices harm the collective interests of stakeholders. Hence, the managers who manipulate the profit can address the activism and vigilance of the stakeholders through social responsibility methods. 3- METHODOLOGYThis research is a quantitative study. Its strategy is multiple linear regression and moderated regression analyses based on panel data. Needed data was gathered from 102 companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) from 2015 to 2021. Eviews software (version 12) was used to analyze the data. 4- RESULTS & DISCUSSIONThe results show that the variable of organizational risk management has a positive and significant effect on the variable of corporate social responsibility. This result may be because risk management leads managers to social responsibility activities by creating a top-down view and guiding future harmful risks from society that may take the company off the track of success. Also, the interactive variable of actual earnings management with organizational risk management has a positive and significant effect on the variable of corporate social responsibility. The interaction of real earnings management strategy with risk management provides the necessary platform through increasing short-term productivity and consequently removing the managers' concern about maintaining their position and interests, encouraging them to carry out socially valuable activities with future benefits. 5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONSEffective organizational risk management can reduce the effects of individual and general risks on the company's social responsibility goals. Companies with more effective risk management are more willing to invest in humanitarian activities. Also, actual earnings management can affect organizational risk management preferences that are applied to increase social responsibility activities. Our results have critical strategic implications for stakeholders and regulators regarding managerial opportunism and corporate governance mechanisms. Managers should focus more on organizational risk management and actual earnings management in the framework of accounting standards to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.
Original Article
Mohammad Sadegh Akbari Nooghabi; Azar Kaffashpoor; Mahdi Bahrami; Sajad Pourkian
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
The current research aims to investigate the effect of strategic leadership on the ability to create sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, it examines the mediating role of human capital and innovation ambidexterity. The target population of the research is enterprises ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
The current research aims to investigate the effect of strategic leadership on the ability to create sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, it examines the mediating role of human capital and innovation ambidexterity. The target population of the research is enterprises operating in the growth center of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Strategic leadership is the process of directing strategic plans and ensuring their satisfactory implementation, the objective of which is to succeed the organization in the long term. Leadership is considered one of the most important duties and roles of a manager. The importance of this task is high such that some scholars relate a manager's success to their ability to direct human resources. Human capital is a set of management skills such as creativity, problem-solving ability, and leadership embedded in the organization's employees. Human capital is a constitution of all potential and actual capabilities of employees that can be strengthened with proper investment. The ability of an organization to simultaneously discover innovative opportunities and implement innovation is a contradiction called innovation ambidexterity. Sustainable competitive advantage is defined as higher-than-normal returns associated with the performance and expectations of the capital market.
3- METHODOLOGY
The current research is a positivist study in terms of paradigm, inductive in terms of approach, practical in terms of purpose, descriptive-analytical in terms of method, and quantitative in terms of data and research design. The target population of this research is comprised of 110 enterprises at the growth center of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, from which 86 were sampled with the simple random method. Thus, its level of analysis is organizational. Needed data was collected by distributing a written questionnaire, whose reliability was affirmed using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability coefficient. To assess the questionnaire's validity, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and evaluated in terms of both convergence and divergence. The collected data was analyzed by conducting a structural equation modeling in SmartPLS software.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Research results confirmed all its hypotheses and indicated that strategic leadership has a direct positive significant effect on sustainable competitive advantage. Additionally, it affects sustainable competitive advantage indirectly through human capital and innovation ambidexterity.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Practical and research implications are presented as follows.
It is suggested that enterprises hold a workshop for their managers to teach important points of strategic leadership and the art of influencing others. It is suggested that managers redefine the organizational goals and vision based on the current conditions of the environment, redesign the organizational structure according to new goals and conditions, organize training programs for employees to develop their human capital, design programs to improve moral values in the organization; enhance the organizational culture by arranging individual and group counseling meetings for employees and managers.
It is suggested that managers establish a research and development center, establish a closer and more organized relationship with university professors in order to use new knowledge and transform it into new technologies, and establish an industry-university liaison office. Company managers are advised to give priority to hiring and employing creative and innovative employees. Also, for any innovation presented by the employees that leads to the creation of a creative product or service, allocate a percentage of the sales profit to encourage them.
Considering the dramatic difference between the enterprises in the growth center regarding age, market size, type of activity, growth stage, number of employees, and other factors, it is suggested to approach them differently and study these enterprises in separate and more specialized categories.
Since several factors may influence the relationship between strategic leadership and sustainable competitive advantage, according to a review of the research literature as well as field observations, it is suggested to consider mediators such as knowledge capital, organizational culture, brand reputation, strategic flexibility, business intelligence, etc.
The research reached a big difference between humanities and non-humanities growth center companies (including engineering, agriculture, basic sciences, veterinary medicine, and sports sciences). Accordingly, it is suggested to conduct separate research on them for a more detailed investigation.
Original Article
Jalil Ghodrati; Mohsen Moradi; Alireza Mazidi
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
The new attitude toward career management considers it a tool for human resource development. The main goal of career management is to balance the organization's needs with those of employees. Job plateauing is a crucial career management factor affecting organizational outcomes. ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
The new attitude toward career management considers it a tool for human resource development. The main goal of career management is to balance the organization's needs with those of employees. Job plateauing is a crucial career management factor affecting organizational outcomes. It is a point in an employee's professional life where the possibility of vertical promotion or increasing job responsibilities seems extremely weak or unlikely. In service organizations, due to the type of work and the need to have highly motivated employees with high work spirit, it is doubly important to pay attention to job plateauing. Therefore, the current research was to explain this phenomenon among the employees of Maskan Bank.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The career path is an arrangement of the work-life according to employees' attitudes and motivations they have to perform their work roles. Career path allows employees to see their future direction in the organization as well as the abilities and skills needed to be prepared with enthusiasm for the new position. Accordingly, the career path is capable of reducing job plateauing. A career path requires motivation and a clear view of progress that can be created by career management. Indeed, through career path development, career management can reduce the possibility of job plateauing.
3- METHODOLOGY
Since this research seeks to develop a model to eliminate job plateauing with a career path approach, it is an applied study. According to the method, it is a descriptive survey. Following a career path approach in the qualitative phase, the indicators of job plateauing were identified based on reviewing the literature and conducting semi-structured interviews. Then, they were categorized using an exploratory factor analysis. After that, a Delphi questionnaire that was designed from identified indicators was provided to experts. The statistical population of the qualitative phase is comprised of Maskan Bank experts in employment and human resource management and university professors. In the quantitative phase, the staff of Maskan Bank is the statistical population. Based on Morgan's table, a sample size of 384 was selected by simple random sampling.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The results indicated three initial dimensions for the model of job plateauing. During the Delphi process, another dimension was added called social plateauing. According to experts, social plateauing means an employee prevents accepting more responsibilities due to their dependence on other people (e.g., parents) or a second job. Nowadays, to prevent an imbalance between work and personal life, employees consider both their personal and family lives and may prefer to remain in their current jobs instead of holding more job responsibilities in higher positions.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Due to changes in organizational environments, job plateauing is considered one of the most critical issues related to career management. According to the results of Delphi, job plateauing is comprised of four dimensions, including structural, content, work-life, and social plateauing. Adjusting the job flatness with other factors provides a necessary context for increasing vitality, social harmony, social interaction, job and life satisfaction, social responsibility, social participation, and growth. On the one hand, considering the organizational structure of Maskan Bank, the possibility for its employees to be promoted in the hierarchy of positions is not possible or done slowly. On the other hand, its field of specialized activity (housing and construction) makes most of employees' affairs monotonous and repetitive. Therefore, to reduce the rate of job plateauing, it is suggested that employees of Maskan Bank participate in decision-making and that managers include organizational solidarity in the organization's plans to decrease job conflict.
Original Article
Morteza Piri; Meysam Jafari
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Investigating psychological resilience strategies in organizations is important because it can help organizations create a culture of resilience that supports the well-being of employees and the organization as a whole. Resilience can help employees cope with stress, adapt to ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
Investigating psychological resilience strategies in organizations is important because it can help organizations create a culture of resilience that supports the well-being of employees and the organization as a whole. Resilience can help employees cope with stress, adapt to change, and thrive in challenging situations. Those organizations for whom resilience is a priority can benefit from increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improved employee morale. Investigating psychological resilience strategies in organizations is necessary to enhance the well-being of employees and the whole organization. A culture of resilience can help organizations thrive in challenging times and support long-term success and sustainability. The ultimate goal of educational organizations that are impressive learning organizations is to make people exert relatively stable behaviors. If education and learning are means to realize other organizational goals in other organizations, educational organizations are humanizing and changing behavior. Therefore, the employees of these organizations and their human resource managers are the target of organizational psychology research more than other fields. Identification and analysis of psychological resilience strategies of human resources in educational organizations can provide a broad perspective on managing employees and controlling changes. According to the stated contents, appreciable research has not investigated the strategies of psychological resilience of human resources in educational organizations. In the research that has dealt with psychological resilience so far, research gaps in the field of psychological resilience strategies are evident. In addition to covering the existing research gap, the present research will contribute to developing literature in the research field. Therefore, the current research aims to identify and rank psychological resilience strategies of human resources.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Psychological resilience is a person's ability to endure and overcome adversity without heavy damage to his mental state. Resilience, until recently, was considered a personal trait but is quickly becoming a critical skill for success in the workplace. Any stressful event or situation that makes a person feel overwhelmed and unable to handle and manage assigned responsibilities can be psychologically harmful. In addition to everyday stress, there are also severe incidents such as bullying, sexual harassment, and humiliation that can hurt a person's psychology. Psychological resilience gives a person the strength to face workplace daily stress and severe incidents without emotional damage. Psychological resilience in the workplace has the following benefits: a productive work environment, happier teams that are better equipped to manage different types of stress, a positive work culture, increased employee engagement, high employee job satisfaction, improved employee relations, self-respecting personnel, and employees with practical knowledge to balance their personal and professional lives. Many organizations have succeeded in creating a resilient workforce by creating a healthy work culture where employees thrive. A high commitment to building resilience in employees is critical for an organization.
3- METHODOLOGY
This research is an applied study in terms of purpose, and regarding the method, it is a mixed study with an inductive-comparative paradigm. The statistical population of this research in the qualitative section was university professors and experts in educational management, human resource management, and organizational behavior. According to the purpose of the study, a sample size of 19 people was selected by conducting purposeful sampling using the snowball technique. The statistical population of the quantitative part was comprised of senior and middle managers and staff at Urmia University, which was sampled using the non-probability method.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
In the qualitative part, analyzing the data obtained from the interviews in MAXQDA software led to the extraction of 14 psychological resilience strategies. In the quantitative phase, the analysis was carried out using the DEMATEL method. The strategies identified in the qualitative phase are as follows: perceived organizational support, coping with work-family conflict, the importance of feedback, strategic agility, horizontal management, psychological empowerment, job-employee fit techniques, tension management, improving the quality of work life, training programs, structural empowerment, dealing with cognitive distortions, effective communication, and constructive organizational culture. Based on DEMATEL analysis, strategic agility, structural empowerment, horizontal management, perceived support, and job-employee fit techniques are the most effective strategies. Psychological empowerment, flat management, tension management, and effective communication are both permeating and being influenced. Senior human resource managers at the university have paid enough attention to job matching techniques, such as fitting the tasks and abilities of people and the full description of responsibilities to improve the employees' performance and psychological health given the changes and social and work developments. Implement organizational empowerment and support requirements. The tangible attention of the organization to the employee, in addition to improving commitment and work attachment, also significantly improves productivity and job involvement.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Resilience in the workplace improves the organizational performance of employees. With the spread of emerging crises, psychological resilience has become more crucial, and human characteristics are needed to improve performance. In addition, resilience can be strengthened and developed by developing effective strategies to reduce vulnerability to stress and the impact of adversity in the workplace. According to DEMATEL analysis, stress management, feedback importance, improving the quality of work life, and effective communication were the strategies that had the most influence on others. Strategic agility, structural empowerment, horizontal management, and perceived organizational support were influenced more than the others. Psychological empowerment, flat management, tension management, and effective communication are penetrating and are influenced by other strategies. Educational and awareness programs about mental resilience include presentations, workshops, and training sessions for individuals and organizations. It is suggested that modifying the structure of work duties, responsibilities, and expectations should fit with the power and capacity of the employees. In this regard, human resource managers and supervisors of various departments should plan tasks with sufficient knowledge of functional and personality characteristics.
Original Article
Salar Moradi
Abstract
1-INTRODUCTION
The performance of human resources is a fundamental factor in an organization, and the increase in organizational performance can be under various factors. In this regard, extensive research has been conducted on human resource performance, and many variables have been identified ...
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1-INTRODUCTION
The performance of human resources is a fundamental factor in an organization, and the increase in organizational performance can be under various factors. In this regard, extensive research has been conducted on human resource performance, and many variables have been identified with direct and indirect effects on the performance of employees and human resources. In recent years, the creation of efficient organizations in providing services and responding to citizens' demands has been the focus of public sector managers in most countries. Organizations must define their formal structure in such a way that they can be an efficient organization. The parliament and the legislature, as one of the most influential organizations or institutions with legal authority, are not exempt from this rule, and in this institution, paying attention to the performance of human resources is an undeniable necessity. Also, many all-round developments of the countries depend on the institution of the parliament and the representatives' performance. Accordingly, as a symbol of the people's sovereignty in political systems based on representation, the parliament plays a vital role in determining public policies by holding the legislation, representation, and supervision tasks. The quantitative and qualitative level of the performance of the representatives and the institution of the Islamic Council, along with a set of soft and hard instruments and personal characteristics and capabilities of the representatives, is influenced and interacted with the environment and the overall structure of power and politics in the Islamic Republic. Based on this, this article aims to evaluate and analyze the individual, institutional, and structural variables affecting the performance of the members of the Islamic Council.
2-THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In general, the review of the conducted research shows the fact that all factors affecting the performance of human resources come from three areas: individual, institutional, and structural. In terms of individual factors, Brown (2014), Indahingwati et al. (2019), Mitchell et al. (2020), and Paais and Pattiruhu (2020) consider personal characteristics and capabilities, knowledge and literacy, and individual capacities to be involved in the performance of human resources. In terms of institutional factors, Spender and Kijne (2012), Meng and Berger (2019), and Thanh et al. (2020) have examined organizational structures and practices, regulations and guidelines, and satisfaction. In terms of structural factors, Chen et al. (2012), Limaj and Bernroider (2019), Meng and Berger (2019), and Harijanti et al. (2021) considered social, cultural, economic, and political conditions; and Cai et al. (2018) and Cetinkaya and Rashid (2018) the role of the effective media on human resource functions.
3-METHODOLOGY
In terms of method, the current research was a descriptive-correlation study carried out with a survey. The statistical population of the research included the representatives of the Islamic Council in different periods, among which a sample size of 150 was selected based on Lin and Morgan's table. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire distributed among the sample members by purposeful sampling. Finally, 141 questionnaires were completed and subjected to the analysis. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential techniques in Spss and AMOS software. It is worth noting that the questionnaire's validity was ascertained by considering the experts' opinions, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficients greater than 0.7.
4-RESULTS & DISCUSSION
To determine the intensity and direction of the influence of independent variables on the performance of representatives in the two dimensions of legislation and supervision, a structural equation model has been used, which defines how to measure a variable using two or more observed variables. Concerning the model fitness evaluation, the absolute, comparative, and parsimonious fit indices indicated that the model fit is acceptable. The results showed that the structural and institutional factors had positive and significant effects on the overall performance of the representatives, while the impact of individual factors was not confirmed. The insignificant effect of these factors may be due to the high power of structural and institutional factors in the country's political system. As a result, in many cases supporting a candidate, some parties create expectations for the representative of a constituency that directly affect their executive and supervisory performance. In general, these arguments are highly aligned with the results of the hypotheses testing.
5-CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
The performance of the parliament representatives is generally assessed concerning two tasks: legislation and supervision. If these two particular tasks are done well, the overall dynamics of the system will follow. Efficient laws are the laws that representatives have taken care of drafting and approving. Specifically, the extent of citizens' adherence to the laws is mainly the product of the legislators' correct view of the conditions of both society and citizens. In the regulatory dimension, the efficiency of other executive and regulatory institutions can be derived from the representatives' performance. In other words, no matter how successful the representatives are in their supervisory function, subordinate institutions can also perform their duties well within the framework of the law. In addition, nowadays, the problem of corruption and the lack of proper functioning of some institutions of society has led to the public distrust of many citizens towards the pillars of the system, which can be turned into a prominent opportunity if the parliament properly performs its monitoring duty. Therefore, the quality of its legislative and supervisory performance is very effective in the sustainable development of the country and society. Accordingly, performance measurement is a process that aims to determine the degree of adequacy and worthiness of representatives in terms of performing assigned duties and accepting responsibilities and can be affected by various factors. According to the analytical and descriptive results from examining the influence of independent variables on dependent variables, it can be said that individual, institutional, and structural factors more or less affect the behavior and performance of the Islamic Parliament representatives. On the one hand, the cultivation and optimal use of the media in terms of educating and informing citizens about the importance of the Islamic Council, and on the other hand, the local, regional, and national monitoring representatives' performance may have dramatic roles in improving their performance.
Original Article
Behzad Sadeghi; Kamal Sakhdari
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Studies show that high-growth firms play a vital role in increasing the number of jobs, improving productivity, and creating new products. Accordingly, firm growth has been the focus of entrepreneurship, strategic management, and economics researchers in recent years. However, ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
Studies show that high-growth firms play a vital role in increasing the number of jobs, improving productivity, and creating new products. Accordingly, firm growth has been the focus of entrepreneurship, strategic management, and economics researchers in recent years. However, although a lot of research has been done on the factors affecting the growth of these firms in developed economies, our knowledge of emerging economies is scattered and little. Firms operating in emerging economies face unique challenges such as institutional gaps, lack of infrastructure, and political instability. Therefore, it seems that the theories developed regarding firm growth in developed economies are not suitable for explaining this phenomenon in the context of emerging markets. In addition, since studies conducted in emerging markets have dealt with firm growth through different lenses, including institutional, resource-based, and network approaches, this has led to the dispersion of existing knowledge in this field. According to this, A comprehensive framework for identifying factors affecting the growth of firms in these markets has not yet been provided. Therefore, it seems that the analysis and synthesis of existing knowledge in the field of firm growth in emerging markets will provide researchers with the possibility of a better understanding of this phenomenon.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In general, firm growth is a multifaceted concept defined differently by scholars. Previous studies in the field of factors affecting the growth of firms have also examined this phenomenon from different aspects. A group of researchers has focused on market-oriented strategies emphasizing the importance of understanding and identifying customers' needs and preferences and competitors' activities to achieve competitive advantage. Another group of researchers, by adopting a resource-based perspective, emphasizes the role of valuable, rare, inimitable, and irreplaceable resources in gaining competitive advantage and growth. However, institutional theory is a more recent perspective to approach firm growth. This viewpoint points out that, in addition to the firm's strategy and resources, institutions determine the extent of its growth. Finally, the most recent perspective on firm growth comes from the network theory, which has been emphasized especially in the context of firms' growth in emerging markets. This theory highlights the importance of relationships and social capital in facilitating the growth of firms.
3- METHODOLOGY
This research is a fundamental study concerning purpose, and regarding the data collection method, it is a meta-synthesis study. By comparing and combining the qualitative findings of previous research, meta-synthesis can help advance theories, resolve conflicts within a field, and identify future directions for research. The current research has utilized Sandelowski and Barroso's meta-synthesis model. This approach provides a systematic review of qualitative research findings and allows the researcher to interpret existing findings through a 7-step systematic process. According to the main research question in the first step, to collect research data, keywords and phrases related to firm growth in emerging economies were identified. Then, to systematically review and find the sources, the desired keywords were searched in the title, abstract, and keywords in the three subject categories of management and business, economics, and social sciences in the scientific databases of Web of Science and Scopus. Finally, after removing unrelated articles, 104 articles related to the research question were obtained, and in this way, the qualitative findings of these articles were used for the final analysis.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Regarding growth in emerging markets, the research findings indicated that organizational characteristics, managerial characteristics, resources, strategy, and environment are the five components of firm growth. Also, The research findings show that in the context of these economies, in addition to technical and market capabilities, firms should have organizational capabilities such as agility, organizational resilience, and political capabilities to protect themselves against environmental uncertainty. Moreover, it was determined that the firms' political capital is a multi-purpose concept, providing access to financial and physical resources in line with the firm's growth. Identifying the formal and informal market sectors in emerging economies, the findings also recommend the firms develop appropriate strategies for these sectors.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Previous studies regarding the factors affecting the growth of firms in emerging economies have addressed this phenomenon with different approaches, which has led to the dispersion of existing knowledge. This research was conducted to fill this theoretical gap and identify the factors affecting the growth of firms in emerging markets. The research results emphasize the market-political ambidexterity strategy, having complementary market and non-market strategies, and enhancing the team's professional characteristics. Also, according to these results, future research is suggested to identify the mechanisms of isolation of competitive advantage in emerging economies, identify non-market complementary strategies, investigate the effect of political capital as a multi-purpose capital on the growth of firms, and identify various strategies that firms use for the formal and informal sectors.
Original Article
Sara Javanbakht; Mohammad Mohammadi; Hamid Rezaiefar
Abstract
1- INTRODUCTION
Globally, medical sciences universities are increasingly witnessing sophisticated guests with heightened expectations, high workforce diversity, constant emergence of new technologies, and unyielding cost pressures in the wake of intense competition. Thus, the role of managers ...
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1- INTRODUCTION
Globally, medical sciences universities are increasingly witnessing sophisticated guests with heightened expectations, high workforce diversity, constant emergence of new technologies, and unyielding cost pressures in the wake of intense competition. Thus, the role of managers is exceedingly becoming dynamic and highly complex. These university players should grapple with rapid change and the challenges of surviving in an information-based, knowledge-intensive, and service-driven economy. Such challenges have brought about a dramatic shift in the strategic imperatives of medical sciences universities and thrown up a new set of role demands and professional challenges for senior managers and leaders in the industry. These universities, therefore, must develop leaders with competencies that correspond with and are specific to their distinct business challenges and goals to better their organizational health. This study aims to design a model of managerial competencies based on organizational health using a mixed approach. Considering the importance of health issues in organizations and the need to promote them in medical sciences universities, this research may enrich the literature on organizational health in addition to providing practical implications for the population under study.
2- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The origins of the meritocracy movement can be traced back to Katz's work in the 1950s. Although he did not use the terms competence or competence, he introduced three categories of technical, human, and administrative skills, which provided a framework for distinguishing the performance of effective managers according to skills, which had a significant contribution to the foundation of the competence approach. After that, Selznick and his successor, McClelland, used the term competence to indicate a substantial factor that affects individual learning. In 1991, Woodruff proposed competence in the form of behavioral dimensions and a combination of motivation, trait, skill, self-concept, and social role. By combining their knowledge, skills, and abilities, competent managers can perform their duties and responsibilities in a way compatible with the organization's strategic goals. Organizational health, as the primary indicator of organizational effectiveness, refers to the organization's ability to continue its life so that it confronts the external destructive forces and directs them toward its main goals and objectives. According to Parsons' (1961) organizational genealogy, which is derived from his general theory of social systems, any organization must have four characteristics for its survival and continuous growth: 1) adaption: acquiring sufficient resources and compatibility with its environment; 2) goal achievement: setting goals and implementing them; 3) Unity: maintaining the integrity and internal coherence of the organization; 4) Invisibility: creating and maintaining the specific values of the organization.
3- METHODOLOGY
The research is "applied" in terms of its purpose, which was carried out within the framework of the pragmatism paradigm and the mixed-exploratory (qualitative-quantitative) approach. Based on this, first, the foundation's qualitative data research method was used, and managerial competencies were identified based on the participants' point of view. Accordingly, the sampling method was purposeful and judgmental. Based on this, 22 faculty members and administrators of medical sciences universities with managerial experience were selected. The interviewees included nine academic faculty members and nine executive directors of the university. We used semi-structured interviews to study participants and a three-stage process with open, central, and selective coding to analyze the data. In the quantitative phase, we conducted a structural equation modeling in SmartPLS v.3 to validate the proposed model. The data collection tool in the quantitative phase was a questionnaire designed based on qualitative results. The quantitative sample included 800 presidents, vice presidents, and senior managers in medical sciences universities selected by stratified random sampling.
4- RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The results indicated that the competencies of organizational health management include cognitive, social, functional, strategic, and ethical. Causal factors affecting organizational health management competencies include organizational and individual. Influential background factors include organizational values, cooperative culture, inter-individual trust, honesty and transparency in the workplace, and institutional requirements of the external environment. Intervening factors include the characteristics of employees such as job satisfaction, loyalty, organizational commitment, adherence, and belongingness. Individual strengthening strategies include empowering human resources, cultivating employees' professional ethics, and managing employees' attitudes and behaviors. Organizational strategies include reward systems and culture and change management.
5- CONCLUSIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Since few studies exist on competencies of organizational health management, the current research helps strengthen the existing knowledge in the field. This issue reveals the contribution of the present research by developing a competency model. It can be an important starting point for further studies on promoting organizational health through managers' competencies.