Showing papers on "Embeddedness published in 2019"

Walking the walk or talking the talk? Corporate social responsibility decoupling in emerging market multinationals

Abstract: Research shows that emerging market multinational enterprises (EM-MNEs) increasingly use corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting as a global legitimation strategy. Less is known about when their CSR reporting is decoupled from their CSR performance. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, we argue that EM-MNEs’ CSR decoupling is shaped by their dual embeddedness in their home countries and the global institutional environment. We then examine how EM-MNEs’ home country institutional voids and degree of internationalization affect their tendency to engage in such decoupling. Our model receives partial support in a study of 93 MNEs from 15 emerging markets between 2005 and 2012.

Education as a Lifelong Process

Abstract: In modern societies, education has become a lifelong process. This has made the principles of life-course research of utmost significance in empirical education research. As stated by Glen H. Elder, these can be described as: (1) focusing on long-term educational processes over the individual lifespan; (2) considering individual educational pathways within their institutional and social embeddedness (e.g., within not only formal educational institutions but also nonformal/informal contexts such as the family, peer groups, and other social networks); (3) analyzing decision-making processes in education linked to the idea of agency and the idea of plan-making, creative, and self-determining actors; (4) investigating the time structure and timing of educational events and transitions and the consequences they have for the subsequent educational pathways and educational chances; and (5) conceptually differentiating age, cohort, and period effects. This chapter discusses the importance of these five principles for the conception, design, and possibilities for analysis of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). In the context of these principles, we formulate methodological advantages of longitudinal data on educational processes that can be attained within the idea of NEPS. In particular, panel data improve the opportunities to describe trajectories of growth and development over the life course and to study the patterns of causal relationships over longer time spans.

Networked but Commodified: The (Dis)Embeddedness of Digital Labour in the Gig Economy:

Abstract: This article investigates the (dis)embeddedness of digital labour within the remote gig economy. We use interview and survey data to highlight how platform workers in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan...

Roots to Grow: Family Firms and Local Embeddedness in Rural and Urban Contexts:

Abstract: The present study analyzes the nexus among business growth, ownership structure, and local embeddedness—that is, the involvement of economic actors in a geographically bound social structure—in rur...

Who Fills Institutional Voids? Entrepreneurs’ Utilization of Political and Family Ties in Emerging Markets:

Abstract: How do entrepreneurs fill institutional voids that prevail in emerging markets? By incorporating insights from both the political and family embeddedness perspectives, we argue that both political ties and family ties can compensate for gaps in the institutional infrastructure of emerging markets. Specifically, we propose and examine the partial substitutability of family ties for political ties as a means of filling institutional voids. Our empirical work based on Chinese private enterprises strongly supports this argument. We also find that the effective utilization of family ties is contingent on both family members’ motivation (willingness to use resources for the firm) and entrepreneurs’ mobilization (authority in the family to mobilize family members). This study bridges the literature on political ties and family ties to understand their respective costs and benefits and therefore advances our understanding of entrepreneurs’ networking strategies in emerging markets.

Job satisfaction, job stress and nurses' turnover intentions: The moderating roles of on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness

Abstract: Aim Using an interactionist perspective to test on-the-job embeddedness and off-the-job embeddedness as possible moderators for the predictive effects of job satisfaction and job stress on nurses' turnover intentions Background As turnover worsens nurse shortages across the globe, researchers needs to find ways to work out and reduce nurses' turnover intentions By exploring contributory factors, namely on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness as two distinctive forms that both act as moderators, we add to the literature on effective nurse retention and highlight that incorporating off-the-job factors can provide a more realistic understanding of why people consider leaving their organization Design Survey of 361 nurses of the United Kingdom's (UK's) National Health Service, in 2016 Method We conducted hierarchical multiple regression and simple slope analyses Results Job satisfaction was negatively associated with turnover intentions, and this negative relationship was stronger when off-the-job embeddedness was high (vs low) Job stress was positively related to turnover intentions, yet high (vs low) off-the-job embeddedness buffered this relationship In contrast, when on-the-job embeddedness was high (vs low), the relationship between job stress and turnover intentions were even stronger Conclusion Results showed that using an interactionist perspective is useful in predicting nurse turnover Nursing management should be made aware of the importance of being embedded off-the-job to prevent nurse turnover This paper issues guidelines to form a more comprehensive staff retention programme for the healthcare sector

Understanding refugee entrepreneurship incubation – an embeddedness perspective

Abstract: Purpose Recent years have seen a wave of immigration in western countries. Entrepreneurship can foster refugees’ integration in the labour market. Hence, the authors observe an emergence of incubators with social purpose, addressing the key challenges of refugee entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to look at the particularities and the impact of business incubation on entrepreneurial development and embeddedness of refugee entrepreneurs in the host country by applying the theoretical lens of mixed embeddedness theory. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a qualitative case study approach exploring one business incubation model for refugee entrepreneurs in Germany. For a multi-stakeholder perspective, the data were collected through a participatory focus group workshop and semi-structured interviews of refugee entrepreneurs and incubator stakeholders (e.g. incubator management, mentors and partners) contributing to the incubation. The data collection extends over the duration of five months of the incubation programme. Findings The empirical results emphasise the impact of the business incubator on refugee entrepreneur’s development and embeddedness. In this analysis, the authors identify key themes of a particular incubation process addressing the lack of embeddedness and barriers to refugee entrepreneurs in the host country. From the results, the authors elaborate a particular business incubation process framework of refugee entrepreneurs. Originality/value The findings enhance the understanding how business incubation contributes to the embeddedness of refugee entrepreneurs in their new hosting environment. Thus, this research contributes to the existing literature by extending incubation model frameworks towards refugee entrepreneurship and embeddedness perspectives. Furthermore, the study emphasises the role of the incubator in the context of the dimensions of the mixed embeddedness of the refugee entrepreneurs.

The growth of food banks in Britain and what they mean for social policy

Abstract: Recent UK social policy has been dominated by welfare reform and austerity. This article draws on empirical research to argue that the rise and prominence of food banks is the embodiment of a wider political–economic trajectory of social policy change which has intensified significantly since 2010 and involved reinterpretations of the causes of and responses to poverty. It highlights the potential of food banks as a lens through which to interrogate the consequences of these policy shifts in relation to: the importance of structural determinants; the inadequacy of relying on ad hoc privatised caring initiatives; and the increasing embeddedness of food banks in local welfare landscapes. The article concludes by arguing that food is an important conceptual tool, which critical social policy researchers should employ more often to explore questions of justice, equality and wellbeing.

The translation of entrepreneurial intention into start-up behaviour : The moderating role of regional social capital

Abstract: This article examines the moderating role of regional social capital in the intention–behaviour link in entrepreneurship. We investigate to what extent the regional social capital context in which ...

Stakeholder Salience for Small Businesses: A Social Proximity Perspective

Abstract: This paper advances stakeholder salience theory from the viewpoint of small businesses. It is argued that the stakeholder salience process for small businesses is influenced by their local embeddedness, captured by the idea of social proximity, and characterised by multiple relationships that the owner-manager and stakeholders share beyond the business context. It is further stated that the ethics of care is a valuable ethical lens through which to understand social proximity in small businesses. The contribution of the study conceptualises how the perceived social proximity between local stakeholders and small business owner-managers influences managerial considerations of the legitimacy, power and urgency of stakeholders and their claims. Specifically, the paradoxical nature of close relationships in the salience process is acknowledged and discussed.

Why Hurry? The Slow Process of High Growth in Women-owned Businesses in a Resource-Scarce Context

Abstract: This article critically uncovers how embeddedness within a resource-scarce context influences high-growth women’s entrepreneurship. Research suggests that though highly embedded women entrepreneurs can easily access resources and attain legitimacy, resulting in high-growth businesses, they can also become locked into existing systems that constrain their growth development paths. Using 16 qualitative cases developed in Cameroon, we unpack and resolve this paradox by analyzing how entrepreneurial path creation by women entrepreneurs enables the realization of growth aspirations. Implications for initiatives to support high-growth women’s entrepreneurship in resource-scarce contexts are critically examined.

Defying contextual embeddedness : evidence from displaced women entrepreneurs in Jordan

Abstract: Although entrepreneurial practices and processes are evolving and changing globally, models of entrepreneurship remain masculinized, embedded in advanced economies and associated with notions of in...

Motivation of female entrepreneurs: a cross-national study

Abstract: Purpose This paper focuses on the motivation of females to start businesses in developed and emerging economies. Although the issues related to the motivation of entrepreneurs have been widely studied, there are a few studies focusing on the differences in women’s entrepreneurial motivation in countries with different levels of market economy development. Furthermore, existing studies on female founders mainly adapt the concepts that have often been developed in male-dominated paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth motivations of female entrepreneurs in different contexts and discover the dissimilarities in women’s entrepreneurial motivations in countries with different levels of economic development. Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research approach is applied in this study to explore the social-driven and profit-driven motives of female entrepreneurs. The authors have employed purposeful sampling to select cases. The authors investigated the motivations of 45 female entrepreneurs in Norway (12), Russia (21) and Ukraine (12). Semi-structured interviews were used to collect primary data. The authors have also triangulated the data collected from interviews with the data available on the internet, company reports and newspaper publications. Findings The findings indicate that women often pursuit business opportunities to satisfy social needs, rather than focusing on traditional business outcomes such as growth or profit. However, different contexts – the emerging economies context of Russia and Ukraine and the developed one of Norway – seem to influence the motivation to establish new ventures differently. The study found a stronger desire to contribute to a society’s needs among female founders in Norway compared to their counterparts in Russia and Ukraine. This indicates that cultural and social context in developed countries, such as in Norway, probably provides more possibilities for female entrepreneurs for self-realisation elsewhere leaving more room for focusing on societal issues in business in comparison with emerging countries contexts. Originality/value A novel conceptual contribution is the exploration of links between the social-driven and profit-driven motives of female entrepreneurs in emerging and developed economises. The study also adds to debates relating to context embeddedness of smaller firms.

Rural social enterprises as embedded intermediaries: The innovative power of connecting rural communities with supra-regional networks

Abstract: The question of how social enterprises foster social innovation in rural regions remains largely unexplored. In this paper, I develop the assumption that the embeddedness of social enterprises in rural communities and their ability to connect rural communities with supra-regional networks and decision makers are crucial preconditions for generating and fostering social innovation in the countryside. By applying the social network approach and a cross-case analysis of social enterprises in rural regions of Austria and Poland, I show how rural social enterprises mobilise ideas, resources and support from external sources not primarily for their own benefit but for that of their rural region. As embedded intermediaries, they contribute to transformational change and wellbeing, albeit they are only one of many forces that drive rural development.

The double-edged sword of external search in collaboration networks: embeddedness in knowledge networks as moderators

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inverted U-shaped relationship between external search in the collaboration network and firm innovation outcomes. It also seeks to explore whether these curvilinear relationships are moderated by the network centrality and structural holes in the knowledge network.,In this empirical research, the authors collected a sample of patents in the smartphone industry over the period of 2000-2017. Then the authors examined the direct roles of external search breadth and depth in the collaboration network and the moderating role of network embeddedness in the knowledge network by using negative binomial regression.,Results found that external search in the collaboration network contributes more to firm innovation outcomes when the breadth and depth of the external search are moderate rather than high or low. Furthermore, both network centrality and structural holes in the knowledge network have positive effects on the external search breadth – innovation outcomes and external search depth – innovation outcomes relationships.,The authors collected the patent data within the single industry and excluded other types of industries. This may limit the generalization of the findings.,The paper has practical implications for adopting appropriate search strategies in the collaboration network and developing a better understanding of the effect of network embeddedness in the knowledge network on firm innovation outcomes. The findings suggest future directions for technology-intensive industries to improve their innovation output.,This study adds value to open innovation literature by pointing out a curvilinear relationship (inverted U-shaped) between external search breadth/depth and innovation outcomes in collaboration networks, in contrast to studies focused on firms’ external collaboration strategies in a certain industry context. Furthermore, this study reinforces the key contingent role of embeddedness in knowledge networks. This study provides a valuable theoretical framework of innovation outcome determinants by connecting the network perspective of open innovation theory with an embeddedness view.

Embeddedness in context: understanding gender in a female entrepreneurship network

Abstract: In this paper I argue that through a process of embeddedness in context, a female entrepreneurship network is able to challenge gender structures. I investigate how a female entrepreneurship networ...

The Role of Embeddedness on Regional Economic Resilience: Evidence from the UK

Abstract: This paper examines the role of local industrial embeddedness on economic resilience in UK Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS2) regions. The 2008 financial crisis had a profound effect on the socioeconomic conditions of different places. UK regions had significantly divergent experiences based on their capacity to avoid or overcome the shock. Research has shed light on some potential drivers behind this differential resilience performance such as skills, but others, such as the degree of a production system’s local embeddedness, are largely underexplored. This paper aims at filling this gap. We hypothesise that the combination of positive external economies of complexity and negative lock-in effects lead to an inverted U-shaped relationship between embeddedness and resilience. We use a novel dataset and method for approximating embeddedness and fixed-effects panel regressions for the period 2000–2010 to control for regional heterogeneity. The results support our hypothesis and suggest that embeddedness has a positive effect on resilience up to a point, after which more embeddedness leads to negative resilience effects. The results call for greater attention on the relationships among local industries, particularly with regards to the recent development of local industrial strategies.

Community tensions, participation, and local development: Factors affecting the spatial embeddedness of anaerobic digestion in Poland and the Czech Republic

Abstract: Anaerobic Digestion plants (AD plants) are an important part of energy transition towards low-carbon rural economies in Central European countries. However, their benefits in making rural spaces more energy sustainable and energy self-sufficient are frequently questioned. In our paper, we strive to deepen our understanding of the level of embeddedness of two modes of operation of AD plants (AD on-farm, AD off-farm) in cases of Poland and the Czech Republic. We evaluate the pros and cons of both modes and assess their importance for the local rural development and energy transition through the lens of their embeddedness in the life of rural communities. Through questionnaire surveys in two municipalities (Buczek in Poland, Stonava in the Czech Republic, n = 232) and a set of expert interviews (19) with local and regional stakeholders, we have found that AD plants are specific rural enterprises as they usually rely on local biomass resources and are generally more grounded in the local economy and in local social structures than other enterprises. We also discovered that both types of AD plants investigated create significant (but varied) linkages with local stakeholders. The awareness of ADs among local population is high and significantly influenced by previous visits to the AD plant. By providing jobs and organizing local events for the local population operators of AD plants create space for their deeper acceptability and their embeddedness into the life of rural communities, however, site-specificity and local socio-cultural contexts must be also considered.

The contextual embeddedness of women’s entrepreneurship : towards a more informed research agenda.

Abstract: ‘For the modern man the patriarchal relation of status is by no means the dominant feature of life; but for the women on the other hand, and for the upper-middle class women especially, confined as...

International remittance rails as infrastructures: embeddedness, innovation and financial access in developing economies

Abstract: Remittances to developing economies constitute one of their most important and consistent forms of capital inflow, but have long been limited by costs and risks associated with trans-border payment...

Entrepreneurship and embeddedness: dynamic, processual and multi-layered perspectives

Abstract: Contemporary research has demonstrated that entrepreneurship is a fundamentally contextualized phenomenon and unfolds differently in different contexts. Despite the extensive coverage of the import...