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.

An Empirical Assessment of a Learning and Knowledge Management Typology for Research Joint Ventures

Abstract: As innovation and technology management grow in complexity the need for inter-organizational cooperation increases. Part of this cooperation requires the understanding of how knowledge management and learning processes may function to support a successful research and development collaboration. To further this understanding we introduce a typology to help categorize various collaborative efforts within a research joint venture environment. The typology is based on two dimensions the locus of the research joint venture knowledge and the knowledge management approach. Using a broad-based European database 98 research joint venture projects were used to evaluate the typology. We test two hypotheses related to these relationships. Implications for research and management of these types of projects are also introduced throughout the paper.

‘Time Is Running Out’. The Yodel Order and Its Implications for Platform Work in the EU

Abstract: This commentary examines case C-692/19, an order in response to a request for a preliminary ruling regarding the scope of application of working time protection, handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in April 2020. A courier working for a shipping company filed a claim before a UK employment tribunal demanding reclassification as a ‘worker’ with access to the national legislation implementing Directive 2003/88/EC on working time. The tribunal decided to refer the question to the CJEU. At first glance, some elements of the order may give us the impression that EU working time protection does not cover workers who may find themselves in a situation of (bogus) self-employment, including those in the platform economy. However, this is not the case. The order is based on a specific set of facts that are in line with the CJEU’s established jurisprudential practices on the concept of worker, according to which workers formally classified as self-employed under the contract or the national law are excluded from the scope of the Working Time Directive only if they enjoy genuine, not nominal organisational autonomy. This analysis is organised as follows. After some introductory remarks, part 2 summarises the arguments of the remitting court and reviews the business model of the delivery company. Part 3 critically discusses some passages of the order. It also examines the notion of ‘worker’ as shaped by the CJEU, highlights strengths and shortcomings of this interpretive attitude, and summarises the proposals to overcome the weaknesses of an under-inclusive and potentially ineffective application of EU law. After appraising the widespread practices in the platform economy and the most recent regulatory developments, part 4 demystifies the issue of organisational flexibility, which is often understood in a unidirectional way, to the advantage of business. This analysis concludes by advocating for a purposive adaption of existing legal categories, beyond the formalistic approach adopted by the referring court in this case.

Do different uses of performance measurement systems in hospitals yield different outcomes

Abstract: Background: Inspired by the new public management movement, many public sector organizations have implemented business-like performance measurement systems (PMSs) in an effort to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. However, a large stream of the accounting literature has remained critical of the use of performance measures in the public sector because of the inherent difficulty in measuring output and the potential adverse effects of performance measurement. Although we acknowledge that PMSs may indeed sometimes yield adverse effects, we highlight in this study that the effects of PMSs depend on the way in which they are used. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate various uses of PMSs among hospital managers and their effects on hospital outcomes, including process quality, degree of patient-oriented care, operational performance, and work culture. Methodology: We use a survey sent to 432 Dutch hospital managers (19.2% response rate, 83 usable responses). For our main variables, we rely on previously validated constructs where possible, and we conduct ordinary least squares regressions to explore the relation between PMS use and hospital outcomes. Results: We find that the way in which PMSs are used is associated with hospital outcomes. An exploratory use of PMS has a positive association with patient-oriented care and collective work culture. Furthermore, the operational use of PMSs is positively related to operational performance but negatively related to patient-oriented care. There is no single best PMS use that positively affects all performance dimensions. Practice Implications: The way in which managers use PMSs is related to hospital outcomes. Therefore, hospital managers should critically reflect on how they use PMSs and whether their type of use is in line with the desired hospital outcomes.

Earnings Inequality and Coordination Costs: Evidence from U.S. Law Firms

Abstract: Earnings inequality has increased substantially since the 1970s. Using evidence from confidential Census data on U.S. law offices on lawyers’ organization and earnings, we study the extent to which the mechanism suggested by Lucas (1978) and Rosen (1982), a scale of operations effect linking spans of control and earnings inequality, is responsible for increases in inequality. We first show that earnings inequality among lawyers increased substantially between 1977 and 1992, and that the distribution of partner-associate ratios across offices changed in ways consistent with the hypothesis that coordination costs fell during this period. We then propose a 'hierarchical production function' in which output is the product of skill and time and estimate its parameters, applying insights from the equilibrium assignment literature. We find that coordination costs fell broadly and steadily during this period, so that hiring one’s first associate leveraged a partner’s skill by about 30% more in 1992 than 1977. We find also that changes in lawyers’ hierarchical organization account for about 2/3 of the increase in earnings inequality among lawyers in the upper tail, but a much smaller share of the increase in inequality between lawyers in the upper tail and other lawyers. These findings indicate that new organizational efficiencies potentially explain increases in inequality, especially among individuals toward the top of the earnings distribution.