IE University

About: IE University is a education organization based out in Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Corporate governance & Supply chain. The organization has 527 authors who have published 1709 publications receiving 64682 citations.

Demystifying Qualitative Data Analysis for Novice Qualitative Researchers

Abstract: Qualitative research is a rich and diverse discipline, yet novice qualitative researchers may struggle with figuring out how to approach their qualitative data analysis among the plethora of possibilities. After years of teaching qualitative research to undergraduate students, we have consistently seen their confusion, frustration, and even fear about how to approach their data. In an effort to help novice qualitative researchers come to grips with the “craft” of qualitative research, this paper presents a foundational model that facilitates a comprehensive yet manageable approach to qualitative data analysis. Based on an exhaustive review of expert qualitative methodologists, along with our own experience of teaching qualitative research, this model synthesises commonly-used analytic tactics that are likewise applicable to novice qualitative researchers. This foundational model consists of four iterative cycles: The Inspection Cycle, Coding Cycle, Categorisation Cycle, and Modelling Cycle, and memo-writing is inherent to the entire analysis process. Analysis begins with basic quantitative inspection of the data, followed by multiple coding cycles that begin with inductive approaches and move towards deductive strategies. Codes are then grouped and categories are drawn out. A final conceptual framework can thus be elaborated to synthesise and corroborate previous knowledge from the literature review with the findings that emerged from the data analysis. This model can also facilitate the development of reflexive and critical thinking skills: we often find that students are unsure and hesitant about engaging in interpretative thinking, so we foster their confidence and skills by emphasising memo-writing throughout the entire research process. In order to provide guidelines for novice researchers, we suggest three types of memos that can be applied to most qualitative research projects: the research diary, the methodological memo, and the analytical memo. The qualitative data analysis model presented in this paper can be used to analyse diverse types of qualitative data and it can be used with a variety of methodologies; if students are interested in exploring different qualitative data analysis methods, they can look to the references cited in the present analysis method for a good starting point. This qualitative data analysis method offers a solid foundation from which novice qualitative researchers may “get their hands dirty” with qualitative data analysis and develop their qualitative sensibility. The next time they embark upon a qualitative study, they will already have a clearer idea of how to go about the research and can thus make better-informed methodological and analytic decisions. For the novice qualitative researcher seeking to learn the craft of qualitative data analysis, the model outlined in this paper offers a structured way to familiarise yourself with some of the most common qualitative data analysis techniques while offering enough flexibility to be adapted within a wide range of qualitative methodologies and research areas.

Il lavoro 'a chiamata' e le piattaforme online della 'Collaborative Economy': nozioni e tipi legali in cerca di tutele (On-Demand Work and Online Platforms in the Collaborative Economy)

Abstract: Italian Abstract L’articolo offre un quadro delle piu recenti tendenze del mercato del lavoro legate all’economia digitale. Sono passati in rassegna il crowd-employment e il lavoro a chiamata via piattaforma online, articolazioni flessibili della prestazione presso operatori digitali che facilitano l’incontro di domanda e offerta di lavoro. Al fine di inquadrare i servizi resi dalle piattaforme in una cornice legislativa nazionale e sovranazionale, si descrivono le prime iniziative regolatorie in materia (specificatamente, la Comunicazione sulla Collaborative Economy della Commissione Europea e la proposta di legge italiana sulla Sharing Economy). Si rendera conto della giurisprudenza che si e sviluppata nei confronti del servizio di mobilita condivisa Uber, analizzando in particolare il caso spagnolo, quello italiano e, da ultimo, quello britannico. Ci si rivolgera con occhio critico all’armamentario lavoristico per valutarne l’eventuale obsolescenza ovvero apprezzarne l’attualita. Si descriveranno per sommi capi gli sviluppi dell’antico dibattito sulla necessita di attrezzare nuove categorie (ad esempio, un tertium genus tra lavoro autonomo e lavoro subordinato) per rispondere alle esigenze di un mercato in trasformazione. La pluridecennale esperienza italiana della parasubordinazione, pur nella sua “peculiare anomalia”, rappresentera il metro di paragone: se ne tratteggera l’evoluzione, per concentrare l’attenzione sul portato del comma 1 dell’art. 2 del d.lgs. 81/2015 (i.e. le collaborazioni organizzate dal committente). Infine, si avanzera una proposta di disciplina della cosiddetta “gig-economy”, tentando una riconciliazione tra le formule contrattuali atipiche e l’apparato normativo vigente, con particolare riferimento agli innesti legislativi introdotti dal pacchetto del “Jobs Act”. In particolare, s’individuera una buona soluzione di politica del diritto nel processo di estensione automatica degli effetti dello statuto protettivo tipico della subordinazione ai lavoratori economicamente o organizzativamente dipendenti.English Abstract The paper, after giving an overview of recent labour trends in the digital economy, describes alternative working arrangements such as “crowdworking” and “work on-demand via platform”. The regulatory framework and the legal consequences of such innovative and non-standard forms of work are analysed in detail with emphasis on the improper classification of workers in the gig-economy. In the second section, the essay focuses on the recent Communication of the European Commission on Collaborative Economy that is aimed at establishing under which conditions an online platform should be considered a provider of the “underlying services”. This focus is followed by an analysis of antitrust as well as labour law implications of Spanish, Italian and British rulings. The contribution explores the proposals on how to craft an intermediate category between employees and independent contractors. Workers in the on-demand economy have brought lawsuits alleging that the online platforms are misclassifying them as independent contractors, but the question remains still unsolved. Proponents recently advocated that a third category would be a good fit for digital platform work. Conversely, as far as Italy is concerned, the quasi-subordinate category created an opportunity for uncertainty and arbitrage resulting in the erosion of protection. The article describes the notion of the so called “collaborazioni organizzate dal committente” (contractors whose performance is organised by the principal) as a tool to expand crowdworkers’ rights.Finally, the most recent Italian labour market reform could eventually provide a solution for the current disputes on how work in the gig-economy could be regulated. In fact, the “collaborazioni organizzate dal committente” scheme could represent a useful template since it broadens the scope of the protections granted to standard employees.

Creating Learning Communities

Abstract: “Friends are God’s way of apologizing for our families,” is a quote attributed to the great American playwright Tennessee Williams. They are an important source of happiness in our lives, much of which we spend working, so perhaps it’s worth exploring how friendship can play a positive role in our careers.

Antecedents of Mass Customization Capability: Direct and Interaction Effects

Abstract: Research suggests that flexible manufacturing resources, customer involvement, and product management tools contribute to a high level of mass customization capability. Conceptualizing these antecedents as resource types, we examine hypotheses about their direct and complementary effects on mass customization capability. Analyzing secondary survey data from 238 plants in eight countries and three industries via hierarchical linear regression, we find that each individual resource type has a positive direct effect on mass customization capability, as long as the levels of the other two resources are at their sample mean value. Probing these results via conditional effects and marginal effects plots provides partial support for the complementarity argument, and unveil complex nonlinear interactions among the three resource types. When the level of one resource type is low, the two remaining resource types exhibit a strong bivariate complementary effect on mass customization capability. Conversely, when one resource type is at a high level, the complementary effect on mass customization capability of the two remaining resource types disappears and is replaced by a cancellation effect. The detection of complementary effects and of cancellation effects are two specific theoretical contributions to the literature on how manufacturers can enhance their capability to mass customize.