The role of follow‐up in achieving results from self‐assessment processes

Let us measure, then what? Exploring purposeful use of innovation management self-assessments

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding regarding how managers attempt to make purposeful use of innovation management self-assessments (IMSA) and performance information (PI).

Design/methodology/approach

An interpretative perspective on purposeful use is used as an analytical framework, and the paper is based on empirical material from two research projects exploring the use of IMSA and PI in three case companies. Based on the empirical data, consisting of interviews and observations of workshops and project meetings, qualitative content analysis has been conducted.

Findings

The findings of this paper indicate that how managers achieve a purposeful use of PI is related to their approach toward how to use the specific PI at hand, and two basic approaches are analytically separated: a rule-based approach and a reflective approach. Consequently, whether or not the right thing is being measured also becomes a question of how the PI is actually being interpreted and used. Thus, the extensive focus on what to measure and how to measure it becomes edgeless unless equal attention is given to how managers are able to use the PI to make knowledgeable decisions regarding what actions to take to achieve the desired changes.

Practical implications

Given the results, it comes with a managerial responsibility to make sure that all managers who are supposed to be engaged in using the PI are given roles in the self-assessments that are aligned with the level of knowledge they possess, or can access.

Originality/value

How managers purposefully use PI is a key to understand the potential impact of self-assessments.

A multicriteria model on calculating the Sustainable Business Excellence Index of a firm with fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated methodology for benchmarking the sustainability of organizations. The fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods have been used for this purpose. The FAHP is used to determine the weights of the criteria by decision makers, and the rankings of the alternatives are determined by TOPSIS. The proposed instrument is used to calculate the Sustainable Business Excellence Index (SBEI) and its potential impact on the formulation of firm strategy. To demonstrate the applicability of the model, illustrative examples are presented.

Design/methodology/approach

– After a careful literature review, a sustainable business excellence framework is created and a fuzzy system is developed to assess firms’ sustainability. Finally, the SBEI is computed.

Findings

– The results indicate that the suggested fuzzy approach is feasible for benchmarking the sustainability of organizations. It allows the decision makers to express their opinion regarding the importance of criteria and evaluate each alternative and then have this input coordinated in a quantitative fashion.

Research limitations/implications

– Practitioners and consultants can use the instrument for conducting quality management benchmarking within and across organizations. Researchers can use the instrument in future studies for further theory development in this area.

Originality/value

– As far as the authors are aware, no previous study research has assessed the SBEI of an organization with fuzzy sets. As such, it responds to a number of contemporary challenges in the business excellence theory, most importantly the broad need to identify agile organizations.

ADOPTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE INNOVATION WITHIN ORGANIZATION — AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF TQM METAMORPHOSIS

Little research has been done on the adoption and implementation of administrative innovation and its diffusion within the organization. In our study we explore this in the context of Total Quality Management in a large, global company. The analysis is based on extensive historical data and in-depth interviews. Our findings highlight the role of internal change agents in the diffusion process within the firm. We also open up the dynamics of the adoption process and illustrate how the adopted administrative innovation is transformed during the adoption and implementation phases.