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This thesis develops and demonstrates a methodology for formulating a link between physical efficiency, economic efficiency, and organizational efficiency, and then uses the link developed earlier for justifying capital expenditures. Two scenarios have been used to demonstrate the methodology in two phases. The first phase deals with the formulation of the link between physical efficiency, economic efficiency, and organizational efficiency. The second phase uses the methodology developed in phase one to perform a multi-period analysis. This multi-period analysis shows that an increase in the efficiency of the physical environment results in an increase in the efficiency of the economic environment for two hypothetical companies. The increase in the efficiency of the economic environment results in increased profits, which are a necessary but not sufficient condition for the existence of the organization. The increase in profits further leads to satisfaction of individual wants for four classes of contributors to the organization, and, thus, to an increase in the overall efficiency of the organizational process. / Master of Science

A number of behavioral studies have suggested that, where professionals are employed in bureaucratic organizations, there can be serious conflicts between the norms of one’s profession and those of one’s employing organization. Known as organizational-professional conflict (OPC), this conflict has been associated with dysfunctional organizational outcomes, including increased turnover and decreased job satisfaction among professional employees. Previous studies of this phenomenon have been performed with respect to several professions, including public accounting and internal auditing, as well as engineering and other non-accounting professions. Until now, however, the antecedents and consequences of OPC have not been studied in the emerging profession of management accounting. Questionnaires were mailed to 599 members of the National Association of Accountants. A 47-percent response provided a usable sample of 281, of whom 201 are management accountants. Variables measured included organizational commitment, professional commitment, and conflict between accountants and their supervisors regarding the professional status of management accounting (SSCON), which are hypothesized antecedents of OPC; OPC itself; and job satisfaction and turnover intent, which are hypothesized consequents of OPC. The correlation and regression models depicting the hypotheses were supported by the data, and all were significant at alpha=0.05, with the relationships · i in the predicted direction. A path model, which depicts hypothesized relationships as causal linkages was constructed and tested. The model was supported by the data: OPC explained 16 percent of the variance in turnover intent for non·CMAs, 23 percent for CMAS; and it explained 15 percent of the variance in job satisfaction for non-CMAS, ll percent for CMAS. The hypothesized antecedents of OPC explained 38 percent of the variance in OPC for non·CMAs, 45 percent for CMAS. The variable SSCON, which has not appeared in previous studies, was a significant predictor of OPC (p = 0.004) for CMAS, but it was not significant (p = 0.059) for non-CMAS. The most important predictor of OPC turned out to be organizational commitment, which was highly significant for both groups: p < 0.0001 for non-CMAS, and p = 0.0002 for CMAS. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

In this dissertation, I systematically explore the nature and role of two firm capabilities: absorptive capacity (or external learning capability) and technological capability. I examine how firm capability interacts with intra-firm and industry factors, and how it impacts organizational outcomes. In the first paper, I review literature on absorptive capacity and distill its distinct effect on various organizational outcomes. I identify key theoretical underpinnings behind the diverse conceptualizations of absorptive capacity and their corresponding measures, and use meta-analytical techniques to synthesize the effects of absorptive capacity. The second and third papers of my dissertation examine how technological capability interacts with certain internal and external contingency factors in influencing firm innovation and industry evolution. In the second paper, I take an intra-firm focus, and I identify managerial cognition as an important internal factor that impacts the relationship between technological capability and innovation. More specifically, I study how a firm's technological competence interacts with managerial experience in shaping that firm's innovation choices. Using data from the satellite industry, I show that diversity and relatedness of technological resource, as well as CEO experience, work differently in shaping product versus application innovations. In the third paper, I investigate how capabilities beyond focal technology producers influence industry evolution. Based on longitudinal analyses of the evolution of the satellite industry, I show that complementors, component suppliers, and customers are important external factors that shape industry evolution. Overall, my dissertation demonstrates the interrelated roles of firm capability, managerial cognition, and innovation ecosystem on firm and industry-level outcomes. / Ph. D. / In this dissertation, I examine how firm capability interacts with other factors in influencing companies’ innovation decisions and the evolution of an industry. In the first paper, I review and synthesize existing studies on firm capability by focusing on the absorptive capacity (AC) literature. I identify key conceptualizations of AC, key outcomes of AC, and use meta-analytic techniques to distill AC’s effects. In the second paper, I examine how technological capability works together with managerial experience in shaping companies’ innovation choices in the small satellite industry. Small satellites, commonly defined as satellites that are less than 500 kilograms, are important innovations that substantially reduced the costs of building, launching, and operating satellites. In recent years, the small satellite industry has seen tremendous growth in terms of satellite production and deployment. I categorize innovation choices in this industry as product innovation (such as introduction of new launch systems, improved satellite components, and novel ground equipment) or application innovation (such as finding novel applications of existing satellite products by analyzing data transmitted from satellite systems and providing implications). Results show that while having related technology is positively related to product innovation, having a CEO with more diverse experience is positively related to application innovation. In the third paper, I examine how the small satellite industry emerged and evolved. Results show that beyond technological capabilities of focal small satellite manufacturers, technological advancements from complementors (launch vehicle providers) and customers (satellite operators) have jointly influenced the evolution of this industry.

No / Changes in organisational forms are central to the way new technologies impact on the future of work and employment. Drawing on case¿study evidence of a call centre and its client relations and a multinational IT firm and its partnership with a government department, this paper explores the implications for skill and managerial control.

Yes / This article explores the use of `company culture¿ as a means of management control. It reports on research conducted in a consultancy that aimed to secure loyalty from its employees through a conscious policy of organised `play¿ at company socials. Employees were given a certain amount of freedom over their working lives in exchange for accepting company regulation of their social time. Here it is argued that this normative control differs from historical attempts to ensure that employees were of good moral character. In earlier interventions social and community obligations were emphasised, now every `virtue¿ encouraged is designed to be exercised in the workplace, often at the expense of the individual or the community. Further, that while control through organisational culture does have some of the advantages claimed for it in the prescriptive literature, it also extends the employment contract to areas previously outside the managerial prerogative.

Yes / Despite the widespread recognition of the paybacks of “going green” and “going clean”, limited research has focused on the impact of lean-green strategy on firm growth. In this study, we contribute to strategy and environmental sustainability literatures by investigating the possibility that the influence on lean-green strategy and firm growth is driven by different levels of industry competition, managerial power and family ties. Using panel data from 732 firms in four major industrialised economies (the US, Germany, France and the UK), we found that lean-green strategy positively relates to firm growth and this relationship is amplified at higher levels of competition, managerial power and family ties. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.

Yes / This paper reports on the findings of an empirical study that explores the perception of HIV third sector managers in India of their own effectiveness and the contextual factors in which they work. A qualitative methodology with case study design was employed. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) managers and two focus-group interviews with 16 non-managerial staff were carried out to generate primary data. The paper attempts to contextualise the model ‘parameters of managerial effectiveness’ (Analoui, 1999, 2002), and its related contextual factors in India. The findings identify managerial and leadership factors and influences that impact the effectiveness of NGO managers. It also confirms that, by and large, the framework is applicable to the NGO managers in India given the different context in which they must operate. These differences provided basis for the construction of a modified behavioural model for managerial behavioural analysis and their human resource development (HRD) needs. It provides a basis for HRD policy formulation for designing and implementing adequate training and development (T&D) for NGO managers in the third sector in India. This unique and first-time study contributes to the present stock of theoretical knowledge and understanding of the effectiveness of the managers in a sensitive untouched area within the third sector and organisations in a developing country.