A “missing scroll” of The Functions of the Executive

Learning from the past to envision the future: a five-year review 2005-2009

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the topics published in the journal in the five-year period from 2005 to 2009.

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative examination of content by year identifies prevalent themes.

Findings

– The beginning and ending of the time period demonstrate continued interest in major figures of our field and the context of their thinking. Quality, excellence and continuous improvement were recurrent topics as were those of business in society, ethics and social responsibility. The value of historical analysis with suggested methodologies for further study was included.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper is limited to the topical papers within this five-year timeframe and a qualitative analysis of themes. Fewer than expected papers were published on leadership and international subjects given their important to the field.

Practical implications

– Aspiring authors may find the historical background for the current topics of entrepreneurship, quality, ethics and social responsibility convenient. Helpful advice from experts about how to study management history is highlighted. Cross-cultural and international historical linkages on themes and concepts are identified as areas in need of additional research.

Social implications

– The social construction of studying and teaching history is discussed. The context in which major writers lived and events occurred is recognized as a major factor in interpreting situations.

Originality/value

– The paper reviews over 100 articles to categorize the historical origins of current and recurring topics into major themes. Papers are organized by topic, person or event into a chart by year.

The reestablishment of the Journal of Management History

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide a review of the reinstitution of the Journal of Management History (JMH) following its five-year merger with Management Decision. In this review, the final issue of the merger in 2005 is examined through the four volumes of JMH that were published after the separation. Across this time period, trends in topics and approaches, as well as identify particularly impactful work, were investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

– With a taxonomy developed in a previous review of JMH (Hardy et al., 2015), articles were sorted by independent raters for the following dimensions: focus (i.e. person, topic or event), historical approach (i.e. an account or analysis) and readership (i.e. public policy or management). After full consensus was reached, these categories were examined to identify themes and shifts in trends over the target time period. Finally, the impact of articles published between 2005 and 2009 was evaluated by using citations provided by Google Scholar.

Findings

– In the years following the separation of JMH from Management Decision, a few notable shifts were observed in the journal’s focus, approach and readership. This time period was first characterized by a heavy emphasis on topic-based articles. The emphasis subsequently shifted to strike a balance between focusing on people and topics. There was also fairly balanced use of historical analysis and historical account approaches. The final shift led to a majority of articles having a person-based focus. Interestingly, the largest impacts were made all by articles with a focus on particular management topic.

Originality/value

– This quantitative review provides insight into the development of JMH following its reestablishment as independent publication outlet.

Fluid leadership in dynamic contexts

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine an historical account of an effective leader who was able to draw from multiple styles of leadership, and choose a dominant style based upon contextual constraints and demands context, and subordinate behaviors associated with leadership styles not suited to the context.

Design/methodology/approach

– To identify his prominent style at each leadership episode, we critically analyzed Nehemiah’s leadership role transitions across 13 chapters of text using sociohistorical method and a quasi-repeated treatment design via qualitative comparative analysis.

Findings

– We found that Nehemiah adapted his behaviors such that his prominently displayed leadership style varied based on dynamic configurations of demands placed on him during his rebuilding efforts. As Nehemiah progressed through distinct stages of his mission, he differentially emphasized tactics associated with different styles of leadership in response to the contextual demands that were most salient during each stage.

Practical implications

– Organizational leaders are presented with evidence that developing a broad repertoire of leadership behaviors is essential to guiding followers within dynamic environments.

Originality/value

– This paper uses a novel historical source material to investigate contemporary leadership concepts grounded in established theoretical frameworks. Using this material, we demonstrate the applicability of various leadership styles within different contexts, and use Nehemiah as an illustration of an effective leader capable of fluidly enacting multiple leadership styles.

Humphreys J, Roberts F. Responsible executive leadership

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to develop a moral identity perspective on Barnard's conceptualization of executive responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses a prospective study design, as an alternative to a transitional grounded approach, to develop a theory-based framework to compare textual patterns in Barnard's writings. By using Barnard's conceptualization of executive responsibility within the identity control theoretical framework, the paper analyzes the challenges of executive moral identification.

Findings

– The paper develops a theory-based, yet practical, typology of moral identification of responsible executive leaders.

Research limitations/implications

– Although this proposed typology appears rather parsimonious, it is recognized that issues of moral behavior are certainly complex, and therefore should be addressed in a requisite manner in future model developments.

Originality/value

– The paper posits that Barnard's conceptualization provides a useful channel to address the critical domain at the intersection of responsible executive leadership, identity, and ethics relative to the issues of CSR, diversity management, gender equity, and community involvement. The paper considers the typology of moral identification to be an operative conduit for subsequent empirical research and practical guidance for executive leadership development.

Re‐discovering Barnard: the functions of the … leader?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight Barnard's groundbreaking ideas, and to interpret his contributions to the philosophy and practice of business as they apply to the twenty‐first century executive.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper makes use of primary data by focusing on Barnard's The Functions of the Executive, as well as other material written by, and about, him. Barnard's insights on executive management are then reinterpreted in light of Ramey's Leadership Quality Commitments, whose balance is deemed an essential marker of success for twenty‐first century leaders.

Findings

The paper presents Barnard as a pioneer philosopher in the field of management, whose rich contributions have permeated management theory and practice since he first published his seminal work 71 years ago. Barnard's concept of cooperation is re‐discovered as the basis of a leadership framework that places the executive at the center of a system responsible for balancing an unstable equilibrium among life, work, and society.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that Barnard's contributions are as relevant now as they were 71 years ago. Exploring the competencies that make executives effective and efficient, for example, provides insights regarding the combined roles of the executive as leader and manager.

Originality/value

The bulk of Barnard's contributions is found in the field of management, yet his views on cooperation, moral responsibility, motivation, positive interdependence, decision making, authentic self‐hood, strategy and legacy seem incredibly in line with leadership theory. Re‐discovering him as a leadership thinker may help to bridge the conceptual gap that is perceived to exist between management and leadership literature.