Vol. 12 - No. 1 - March 2020
Vol. 12 - No. 1 - March 2020
1 | March 2020
Editor-in-chief: Łukasz Sułkowski
eISSN 2543-831X
Co nte nt s
Łukasz Sułkowski
Covid-19 Pandemic; Recession, Virtual Revolution Leading
to De-globalization? 1
Grzegorz Baran
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design
Social Innovations 36
Marta Mazur-Małek
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office 58
Łukasz Sułkowski
Clark University BC, Massachussets, USA
Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
Public Consulting Group
[email protected]
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1248-2743
Objective: The article is an attempt to make a diagnosis about the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on global trends, including organizational processes in enterprises, and challenges for
organization leaders in many areas. Issues such as recession phase in which the economy will
find itself, de-globalization and the increase in virtualization of both the economy and entire
societies are discussed in the article.
Methodology: The research method is a review of the literature, not very extensive, on the
subject. There is a lack of research on social and cultural consequences of Covid-19 pandemics,
and at the same time we are experiencing a flood of media information. The author is aware
that impact assessment is subject to uncertainty and that it must be multidimensional.
Łukasz Sułkowski
Findings: The review of the literature, as well as reports from financial institutions, show that
the economies of individual countries are entering a phase of stagnation and recession. This will
probably lead to a global recession. The text indicates the sectors and types of enterprises that
will be most affected by the changes. The article proves that governments’ attitude to health
care functions may change, as well as the role of states and international financial institutions.
Virtualization of communication seems to be an important change. It is difficult to answer the
question whether a pandemic will affect globalization or de-globalization, government decisions
at national level are significant, but they draw from international experience.
Value Added: The article becomes an important voice on the impact of a pandemic on the
functioning of the economy and globalization.
JEL codes: I18: Health, Government Policy, F6: Economic Impacts of Globalization, G01:
Financial Crises
Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has a very significant impact on social and economic
life by deeply transforming the conditions of functioning of people and organ-
izations. Forecasting directions and depth of change is, at the current stage
of development of the pandemic, very difficult, due to possible scenarios
of Covid-19 progress and varied reactions in individual countries. However,
it seems that in many areas of management, a diagnosis of the impact of a
pandemic on organizational processes and predicting the challenges that
managers and organizations face in many sectors are needed.
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Covid-19 Pandemic; Recession, Virtual Revolution Leading to De-globalization?
Literature review
In December 2009, a new viral lung disease, later named Covid-19, broke
out in Wuhan, China. The origin of the virus is probably zoonotic and derived
from bats. It is most likely that at the Wuhan market, the SARS-CoV-2 virus
overcame the interspecies barrier and began to infect people. Originally,
China tried to hide the outbreak of the epidemic by trying to silence the doc-
tor-whistleblower, but the scale of the spread of the epidemic, primarily due
to the infectivity of the virus, forced the Chinese authorities to take radical
action. On February 8, 2020, shortly after the start of systematic analyses,
33,738 confirmed cases of the infection and 811 deaths were reported in
China (Liu, Gayle, Wilder-Smith, & Rocklöv, 2020). On March 11, 2020, WHO
announced the Covid-19 pandemic, pointing to the global health threat of
the spread of coronavirus. China has become the first training ground for
3
Łukasz Sułkowski
4
Covid-19 Pandemic; Recession, Virtual Revolution Leading to De-globalization?
by the Fed, has already been implemented. In the editorial to the first issue
of this year’s “British Medical Journal”, Response to the emerging novel
coronavirus outbreak Kickbusch, I., and Leung, G. draw attention to China’s
decisive response in the fight against the epidemic, which is based on polit-
ical decision. Probably many countries will need strong governance and fast
decisions about health regulations that could respond to scale and speed
of pandemic development (Kickbusch & Leung, 2020).
Fornaro, L., and Wolf, M. believe that the shock caused by the coronavirus
will not only lead to a supply and demand crisis, but will also have significant
impact on employment and productivity growth. This is due to the fact that
agents are pessimistic about the growth of productivity in the future (Fetzer,
Hensel, Hermle, & Roth, 2020). Since interest rates are below zero, central
banks cannot counteract effectively. Employment and economic activity are
falling sharply. Companies react by cutting investment expenditure, which
negatively increases productivity and can in turn lead to recession (Fornaro,
Wolf, 2020). Thus, as the literature review and, above all, the reports of finan-
cial institutions show, with the development of quarantine the economies of
individual countries are entering a phase of stagnation and even recession.
This will probably be reflected in a global recession.
Structural changes
It is likely that various sectors of the economy will be affected by the progres-
sion of the coronavirus pandemic to varying degrees, although the scale of
the losses is likely to be very broad and multi-sectoral. The most sensitive
and at the same time most affected by the epidemic sectors will include
tourism, hotel industry, gastronomy, culture, show business, cinematography,
transport, education and health (Albulescu, 2020a). Trade, financial, banking
and insurance sectors as well as fuel extraction and processing, and many
other activities are also sensitive (Albulescu, 2020b). Few types of specialized
activities related to pharmaceutical production, medical devices, protection
5
Łukasz Sułkowski
and OHS, as well as selected types of ICT activities can count on maintaining
or even increasing the growth rate. Probably the most threatened are entities
from the SME group that do not have the resources to survive the crisis.
The likely consequence of the growing crisis of the world economy will be
the increase in the intervention role of states and international financial insti-
tutions. Shielding economy packages that give the opportunity to: postpone
loan and tax repayments, take over part of the employment or social security
costs by the central budget, grant state aid, are introduced by governments
of many countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Poland.
The fundamental change will probably also be the new attitude of gov-
ernments to health care, which will be based more on safety management
and disaster medicine.
Virtualization of communication
6
Covid-19 Pandemic; Recession, Virtual Revolution Leading to De-globalization?
The question is worth considering whether the Covid-19 pandemic will con-
tribute to the increase of globalization or, on the contrary, will strengthen
de-globalization tendencies. Both variants are possible. The increase in
globalization may be explained by the structural tendencies described ear-
lier. Recession, virtualization of communication, and the growing need for
coordination of epidemic, health and medical activities between countries
can force national governments and international organizations to strengthen
cooperation on a global scale. On the other hand, de-globalization tendencies
may take over (Balsa-Barreiro, Vié, Morales, & Cebrián, 2020, pp. 1–4; Kozlov
& Sokolova, 2020, He, Lin, & Zhang, 2020). Undoubtedly, at the current stage
of development of the pandemic, national governments play a leading role.
They make decisions on health and public policies regarding: introduction of
emergency states (e.g. Slovakia), division of the country into epidemic threat
zones (China, Italy), closing of borders, forced quarantine and isolation of
citizens, construction of hospitals, mobilization of health service, army and
others services. The role of other institutions such as: WHO, churches, the
European Union is complementary. In this sense, governments will generally
come out with a stronger power from the pandemic crisis compared to the
time before the crisis. At the current stage of the crisis (mid-March 2020),
countries make their own choices, choosing more radical health and public
policies (e.g. China, South Korea, Poland) or smaller-scale activities (e.g. UK,
USA). Countries also rely primarily on the resources of their own health care and
the national health and safety system. If large-scale, coordinated international
action does not take place, we can speak of absolute dominance of fighting
the pandemic at national levels, using only international experience. Let us
hope that the development of vaccine and drug work is more international,
which is favored by open access to medical publications on coronavirus. Thus,
we will not find the answer to the question about the forecasted effects of a
pandemic in the form of deepening globalization or de-globalization.
7
Łukasz Sułkowski
Conclusions
8
Covid-19 Pandemic; Recession, Virtual Revolution Leading to De-globalization?
References
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Virology. doi: 10.1002/jmv.25706.
Balsa-Barreiro, J., Vié, A., Morales, A. J., & Cebrián, M. (2020). Deglobalization in
a hyper-connected world. Palgrave Communications, 6(1), 1–4.
Brightman, C., Treussard, J., & Ko, A. (2020). Oh My! What’s This Stuff Really
Worth?. Advisors Perspectives. https://www.advisorperspectives.com/commen-
taries/2020/03/05/oh-my-whats-this-stuff-really-worth, 10.03.2020.
Fetzer, T., Hensel, L., Hermle, J., & Roth, C. (2020). Perceptions of Coronavirus
Mortality and Contagiousness Weaken Economic Sentiment. Published Mar 8. arXiv
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10.03.2020.
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He, L. Y., Lin, X., & Zhang, Z. (2020). The impact of de-globalization on China’s eco-
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Khan, N., & Fahad, S. (2020). Critical Review of the Present Situation of Corona Virus
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Journal of Intercultural Management
Vol. 12 | No. 1 |March 2020 | pp. 12–35
DOI 10.2478/joim-2020-0030
Understanding Uncertainty
and Risk in Management
ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this text is to identify approaches to defining and subsequently
reviewing the definitions of uncertainty and risk as interdisciplinary terms which are of key
importance in modern management.
Methodology: The work is theoretical. The main method used in the research process was the
analysis of scientific literature. A one-dimensional logical classification method was also used,
in order to categorize approaches to defining uncertainty and risk, satisfying the exhaustive
and mutually exclusive criteria in the selection of categories of approaches.
Findings: The main results of the work are: 1) identification of approaches to defining uncertainty
and risk, 2) interdisciplinary review of definitions of uncertainty and risk indicating the criteria
to distinguish between the two, and 3) determination of the meaning of the terms uncertainty
and risk in modern management.
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
Value Added: Considering the approaches to defining uncertainty and risk taken from many
fields and disciplines of science, this text is a compendium of theoretical knowledge for the
proper understanding and meaning of these concepts in management.
Recommendations: The research findings can have implications for both management theory
as well as the practice of organization management.
Introduction
Uncertainty and risk are the subject of research in many fields and disci-
plines of science, which is why they have become interdisciplinary terms
that determine the process of effective management (Tchankova, 2002).
The interdisciplinary nature of management sciences justifies a plural-
istic approach to the perception of risk (Jedynak, 2017) as one of the key
areas of activity for business entities. Therefore, uncertainty and risk in
the context of management should be analyzed in multiple dimensions.
The interdisciplinary nature of management sciences allows us to un-
derstand them as the cumulated value of all areas of the organization’s
activities in which numerous disciplines intertwine (Czakon & Komańda,
2011; van Baalen & Karsten, 2012).
In order to properly understand uncertainty and risk in the field of man-
agement, it is necessary to familiarize oneself with the definition-based-ap-
proaches in various areas of science, as they determine the formation of
their significance in contemporary management of organizations.
The purpose of this study is to identify approaches to defining and
subsequently reviewing the definitions of uncertainty and risk as inter-
disciplinary terms which are of key importance in modern management.
13
Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
van der Heijden (2000) The possibility of an event occurring by means of a cause and effect
chain of reasoning, characterized by the inability to estimate the
probability of its occurrence.
Holton (2004) Events about which it is not possible to obtain reliable data and it is
not possible to estimate the probability of their occurrence.
Carbonara and Caiazza A situation where decision makers have limited knowledge to be able
(2010) to accurately describe the results of future events.
Spiegelhalter (2017) The inevitable unpredictability of the future resulting from unpredict-
able factors expressed by classical probabilities.
14
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
15
Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
Raiffa & Luce (1957) One of the conditions for making managerial decisions that require the
ability to determine the probability of anticipated effects of decisions.
The Commission on Uncertainty as to the outcome of an event when two or more possibil-
Insurance Terminol- ities exist. This is measurable uncertainty as to whether the intended
ogy of the American purpose of the action will be achieved
Risk and Insurance
Association (1966)
Pasieczny (1981) A situation where at least one of the elements that make it up is not
known, but the probability of its occurrence is known.
Wilson & Crouch The product of the probability of occurrence and the severity of the
(1982) event’s consequences.
Holscher (1987) Risk of failure to achieve intended profit due to incomplete information.
16
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
Sierpińska & Jachna Danger of failure to achieve the intended goals or of incurring loss.
(1993)
Uyemura & Deventer Volatility of net cash flow streams generated in a given undertaking,
(1993) measured by standard deviation.
Kumamoto & Henley A combination of: outcome, probability, significance, cause and effect
(1996) scenario, and population affected.
Buschgen (1997) Possibility of deviation of the actual result of the decision taken from
the planned results.
Rosa (1998) A situation or event in which material or human value is at risk and the
outcome of which is uncertain.
Johanning (1999) Uncertainty about the deviation of the results obtained from those
planned.
Marshall (2001) The possibility of events or adverse trends causing future losses or
fluctuations in future income levels.
Knechel (2002) The probability that the results of the process will not meet expecta-
tions.
Stabryła (2006) The degree of variability or uncertainty in achieving the intended eco-
nomic result or organizational effect.
Aven & Renn (2009) Uncertainty and severity of events and their consequences in relation
to values.
ISO Guide 73 (2009), The degree of uncertainty associated with achieving the organization’s
Risk Management – goals.
Vocabulary
17
Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
ISO 31000 (2018) Risk Effect (expressed as a deviation from the expected state) of uncertainty
Management-Guide- on objectives (which may have different aspects and categories and may
lines be used at different levels of management).
As can be seen from the review of the risk definitions made in Table 2, the
method of defining this concept has changed over the years, from a narrow
approach, focusing on the probability of negative events, to a broad approach
analyzing the real consequences of risk materialization (Aven, 2012). In addi-
tion, in many cases, the concept of risk is treated the in the same way as the
concept of uncertainty or a strong interdependence between the two can
be observed. Approaches to defining risk can be divided into 6 categories:
· due to the cause, source (Pasieczny, 1981; Holscher, 1987; Kreim, 1988;
Rosa, 1998),
· due to the ability/ inability to achieve the planned objectives (The Com-
mission on Insurance Terminology of the American Risk and Insurance
Association 1966; Gruszka & Zawadzka, 1992; Sierpińska & Jachna, 1993;
Johanning, 1999; Knechel, 2002; Damodran, 2002; Doerig, 2003; Stabryła,
2006; ISO Guide 73, 2009; ISO 31000, 2018),
· due to its role in the decision-making process (Raiffa & Luce, 1957; Sinkey
Jr, 1992; Buschgen, 1997; Urbanowska-Sojkin, 2013),
· due to the expected results and outcomes (Zieleniewski & Szczypiorski,
1963; Denenberg, 1964; Lawrence, 1976; Wilson & Crouch, 1982; Kumamoto
& Henley, 1996; Gardner & Mills, 1998; Kendall, 1998; Marshall, 2001; Cambell,
2005; Buła, 2003; Regda, 2007; Aven & Renn, 2009),
· due to the possibility of estimating (Markowitz 1959; Uyemura & Deventer,
1993; Marsh, 1995).
In most cases, definitions of risk, like uncertainties, are induction inequality
definitions that do not exhaust the catalog of possible ways of their under-
standing (thus they show the feature of incompleteness). On the contrary, they
become the basis for refinement by other authors. Such examples are the
18
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
definitions of Knight (1921) and Keynes (1921) clarified e.g. by Snowdon et al.
(1998). In the catalog of definitions of risk, one can also find a few examples of
classical equality definitions, which clearly lay out the meaning of the concept
(limited possibility of various interpretations). These are suggestions of e.g.
Lawrence (1976), Wilson & Crouch (1982), where the definition is presented
in the form of an unambiguous mathematical formula. Taking into account
the function of definitions, the ways of understanding risk, as presented,
can be included in the projecting, regulatoring. However, one can also find
an example of a reporting definition whose task is to standardize existing
ways of understanding a given concept for a given group. The definitions
of risk contained in international standards, e.g. ISO Guide 73 (2009) may be
an example of this. Here the definition of risk has been unified on the basis
of its common understanding in the environment of the organization, the
consequence of which is a precise and specific understanding of it in the
environment of entities implementing the ISO 31000 standard.
Despite the strong dependencies existing at the level of defining risk and
uncertainty, examples can be identified where they are defined as separate
concepts that should not be used synonymously. Definitions of uncer-
tainty and risk formulated by the same authors can be found in the scien-
tific literature (Table 3).
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Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
Based on the above considerations and taking into consideration the va-
riety of relationships between uncertainty and risk, it can be concluded that
they are disjoint concepts. However, on the basis of numerous common ele-
ments (Pablo, 1999) they are largely dependent on each other. The differences
can be determined by a number of criteria, which are presented in Figure 1.
20
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
21
Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
22
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
and even if they do, it is not possible to estimate the degree of probability of
their occurrence. Therefore, the effects of the decision undertaken in these
conditions are most often unpredictable) (Tyszka, 2010).
Risk in management is usually analyzed in organizational terms. Thereupon,
the risk relates to management at all levels of the hierarchical organization
and may affect the functioning of the entity in the short, medium as well as
long term. Furthermore, the risk relates to the organization’s activities in
three dimensions (Bugdol & Jedynak, 2012):
· strategic (risk related to the organization’s strategy and organizational
objectives),
· tactical (risk related to undertaken ventures, mergers, acquisitions, de-
velopment of products and services),
· operational (risk related to routine activities).
In turn, uncertainty in relation to management processes is perceived
in external and internal categories (depending on the nature of its source)
(Johansen et al., 2014; Bombola, 2014). The reasons for identifying such
categories of uncertainty are:
1) in case of external uncertainty:
· emergence of new uncertainties resulting from social, cultural, techno-
logical, economic and climate changes (Obłój, 2007),
· the far-reaching process of internationalization of enterprises and econ-
omies (Pierścionek, 2011),
· changes in the functioning of economies and societies (Raynor, 2008),
· process changes in management forced by macro-scale events (Montana
& Charnov, 2008).
2) in case of internal uncertainty:
· unexpected intra-organizational changes caused by changes in objec-
tives, management assumptions or cultural standards in the organization
(Koźmiński & Latusek-Jurczak, 2011),
· the possibility of disturbing the functional balance of the entity (Simon, 2007),
· managerial mistakes (Goffee & Jones, 2006).
23
Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
Conclusion
The deliberations that are the subject of this text have enabled the iden-
tification of approaches to the definition of uncertainty and risk on the
basis of an interdisciplinary review of definitions of these concepts in the
scientific literature. The multitude of definitions of uncertainty and risk
that were identified indicates their significance in many areas and disci-
plines of science. This interdisciplinarity is the core for their understand-
ing both in the theory of management sciences as well as in the practice
of managing organizations.
The numerous definitions of uncertainty and risk that were identified
have been divided based on one-dimensional logical classification method
(Bailey, 1994; Saran, 2014) into categories that satisfying the exhaustive and
mutually exclusive criteria thus creating approaches to defining them. On this
basis, four approaches to defining uncertainty (due to: causes, possibility/
impossibility to assess probability, role in the decision-making process, an-
ticipated consequences) and five approaches to defining risk (due to: cause/
source, possibility/impossibility to achieve the assumed objectives, role in
the decision making process, expected outcomes/results, possibilities of
estimation). Therefore, specific approaches differ from each other in the
ways of understanding and the possibilities of interpreting the meaning of
the concepts of uncertainty and risk.
On the basis of the various definitions of uncertainty and risk that were
identified, a catalog of criteria distinguishing them was also developed, due
to the need to prevent blurring of the boundaries between the ways of un-
derstanding these two dependent, but separate concepts.
It should be emphasized that the way of understanding uncertainty and risk
(determined by definitions, sector specificity, scale of the entity’s operations,
strategy and even individual characteristics of the managerial staff) depends
on the effectiveness of operations and results (Subramaniam et al., 2011),
and sometimes even survival in a globalized economic environment and high
24
Understanding Uncertainty and Risk in Management
25
Piotr Jedynak, Sylwia Bąk
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Journal of Intercultural Management
Vol. 12 | No. 1 |March 2020 | pp. 36–57
DOI 10.2478/joim-2019-0031
Grzegorz Baran
Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
[email protected]
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2480-8058
Objective: The aim of the research is to develop a new original concept of social innovation
lab based on the concept of living labs seen from the perspective of design-led approach to
management and innovation.
Methodology: The research was carried out with use of non-empirical (theoretical) framework.
The existing knowledge was the source of reasoning leading to solve the scientific problem.
It was rather implicit two-stage process of reasoning. The first stage was to reframe the con-
ceptual framework, which was based on the analysis of the living lab concept seen from the
perspective of the unique nature of social innovation and its limits. In the second stage, proto-
typing of a new concept of social innovation living lab was built on the conceptual framework
developed at the first stage.
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
Findings: The original theoretical model of social innovation living lab and its operationalization
have been developed. It is based on the concept of living labs regarded as long term environments
for open innovation that are being developed with real users in real contexts, and framed from
the perspective of design-led approach to management and innovation.
Value Added: The literature review has revealed the significant lack of research studies on the
processes of generating social innovation. The proposed original model of social innovation
living lab helps fill this gap. Social innovations as successful exploitation of new ideas to meet
social problems and needs are essential in social and economic life. However, the conventional
approaches to innovation are not sufficient to develop social innovation due to its nature. The
proposed approach describes the operation of the social innovation living lab as an effective
way to develop such innovations and at the same time the methodology useful in the further
research.
Recommendations: The proposed original approach to the processes of designing and accom-
plishing social innovation can help to develop such innovations in a more intentional and goal-ori-
ented way, which is difficult using traditional laboratories due to the nature of such innovations.
Introduction
37
Grzegorz Baran
While reviewing the worldwide literature, the significant lack of research on the
design and accomplishment of social innovation was found. Consequently,
research efforts were aimed at building the concept of a social innovation
lab. It is based on the concept of living labs framed from the perspective of
design-led approach to innovations.
The research was carried out with use of non-empirical (theoretical) frame-
work. This means that the existing knowledge was the source of reasoning
leading to solve the scientific problem. In such a research, new knowledge
arises in a complex and mostly implicit reasoning process involving: analysis
38
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
The subject and fundamental context of the undertaken research are social
innovations. In the context of the identified research problem, processes of
designing and creating social innovations are particularly important. Conse-
quently, the presentation of current state of knowledge includes a concept
39
Grzegorz Baran
40
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
41
Grzegorz Baran
42
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
43
Grzegorz Baran
Living labs
While reviewing the literature on living labs it was found that this concept is
still in the initial stage of development (Eriksson et al., 2005; Følstad, 2008;
Klimowicz, 2015; Keyson et al., 2017). The concept of living labs originates
from Professor William Mitchell at MIT. It was initially used to observe the living
patterns of users in smart homes, where real people was observed in their
usage of emerging technologies in the setting of a real home (Eriksson et
al., 2005). As Bergvall-Kåreborn et al. note, „today, there is an ongoing trend
in Europe to tailor a living lab concept in wider use to enhance innovation,
inclusion, usefulness and usability of ICT and its applications in the society”
(Bergvall-Kåreborn et al., 2009).
Building on numerous studies, living labs can be regarded as long term
environments for open innovation that enable experimentation with real users
in real contexts (Hillgren, 2013; Veeckman et al., 2013; Leminen et al., 2012;
Følstad, 2008). Veeckman et al. describe living labs as an emerging open
innovation approach that involves multiple stakeholders (including users) to
co-create value that eventually leads to innovation. This is possible as living
labs offer a new way of structuring research through validation and testing
in real-life contexts (Veeckman et al., 2013, p. 6). According to Leminen et
al., living labs provide networks that support creating innovations that better
meet user needs (Leminen et al., 2012). As Romero Herrera note, living labs
offer a socio-technical infrastructure to support user-centric innovation
processes. They offer collaborative platforms for professionals from differ-
ent disciplines to work together with future users and other stakeholders
44
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
to develop solutions that are rooted in the daily life practices. Users play an
active role in arising and applying contextualized practice-based knowledge
in the innovation processes (Keyson et al., 2017, p. 9).
Consequently, living labs can reconstruct the interaction space. Leminen
et al. cite the interview with one of living lab participants: „by living labs, we
mean reconstructing the interaction space. It can be any space, anywhere,
suitable for collaborative design, the application of knowledge for empow-
erment, uplift, and development of people and communities for the use of
innovation” (Leminen et al., 2012, p. 6). Reconstruct in the context of social
innovation can also mean to reframe and rebuild what has been lost in search
of economically measured development. Rebuild the interaction space in
that sense would mean developing conditions for cooperation, human em-
powerment by co-creating and sharing knowledge, development of people
and communities for the creativity and use of innovation. This means that
living labs can be a means of management reframing and reconstruction
(Klimowicz, 2015; Leminen, 2015), which is very promising as social innova-
tion’s purpose is considered.
Klimowicz presents the main features of living labs (Klimowicz, 2015, p. 188):
· They are innovation platforms that connect and engage all stakeholders
(end users, scientists, industry people, policy makers) at an early stage in
the innovation process.
· They are designed to experiment and gain the participation of users in
real life, thus becoming a value for both users and society.
· They create opportunities for cooperation.
· Users play a significant role by identifying needs and formulating de-
mand, bringing innovative ideas to solve current and real world problems
in a unique and integrated way.
As Leminen et al. write, „successful innovation development is nowa-
days dependent on understanding both existing and emerging user needs,
through which business opportunities are developed” (Leminen et al., 2012,
p. 6). According to Romero Herrera, „innovative sustainable solutions in living
45
Grzegorz Baran
Results
46
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
solution itself, but from the change associate with the successful imple-
mentation of this solution at the level of social practices and interactions,
and thus established patterns of social behavior (e.g. change of established
habits, patterns of action, social relations). This is in line with the findings
of numerous researchers who claim that social innovations are related to
a change of social practices (Howaldt & Schwarz, 2010; Murray et al., 2010).
In this sense, social innovation can also be caused by technological
innovation. For example, the option of paying by phone (as a technological
novelty), which begins to gradually change the way payments are made and
the relationships between social actors involved in this system. Although
social innovation is often related to innovative products, services or pro-
cesses that enable fresh solutions to social problems (Olejniczuk-Merta,
2013, p. 30), they should deliver something more than the intentional and
goal-oriented solution to a single problem. Consequently, little is still known
about the mechanisms behind the emergence of social innovation and how
to manage their design and implementation. As social innovation is both
a component and a cause of social change (Olejniczuk-Merta, 2013, p. 27;
Howaldt & Schwarz, 2010, p. 28), they cannot be created in technical labs
isolated from the real world and real users.
The concept of social innovation living labs suggests the foundations of
a completely different approach based on the design-led approach (Simon,
1969/1996; Braha & Maimon, 1997; Aken, 2004; Bucolo & Matthews, 2010).
Such an approach uses design qualities as a way of thinking and acting, but
also methodology, culture and the working environment. According to Braha
& Maimon, design „as problem solving is a natural and the most ubiquitous
of human activities. Design begins with the acknowledgment of needs and
dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs, and realization that some
action must take place in order to solve the problem” (Braha & Maimon,
1997, p. 146). Design as an approach to social problem solving is particularly
relevant because its tools and methodologies are grounded in the authentic
understanding of users’ experiences. It supports an organization in creating
47
Grzegorz Baran
The „(re)frame” stage is crucial both for the emergence of new knowledge
and the creation of novel solutions. Design-led approach brings a different
way of framing situations and possible problem solutions. Thus, it can trigger
a cultural transformation of the way organizations undertake their businesses
(Bucolo et al., 2012, p. 18). Consequently, the core ability of design thinking is
to capture new knowledge to enable the possible futures (Bucolo & Matthews
2010, p. 180). To achieve this, the new knowledge must be created in a real
world and with the involvement of real users, which is enabled by the next
two stages: building and learning.
48
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
The details on the three stages of the proposed approach are presented
in Table 1. It contains the tools and activities as components of those stages,
which enable the operation of the social innovation living labs.
Table 1. Components of the presented approach to the operation of social innovation living labs
49
Grzegorz Baran
50
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
Final remarks
The literature review has revealed the significant lack of research studies
on social innovation and especially the processes of its generating. Thus,
the research study was aimed at creating a new approach to designing and
accomplishing social innovation in more intentional and goal-oriented way.
Consequently, the theoretical model of social innovation lab and its opera-
tionalization have been developed.
The model is based on the concept of living labs as long term environ-
ments for open innovation developed with real users in real contexts, and
examined from the perspective of design-led approach to management and
innovation. The operationalization of the model includes the open proposition
of tools and activities divided into three stages of the proposed conceptual
model: reframing, building and learning, which enable the operation of such
a social innovation living lab.
The uniqueness of this proposal is also determined by some properties
of the social innovation lab. Thirst, the operation of the social innovation
living lab was depicted as the sequence of three stages: reframing, building
and learning. This sequence actually has an evolutionary nature and the real
process is shaped by the results of consecutive activities. Secondly, the
aforementioned process is a kind of iterative movement: from the theoret-
ical background (reframing) to the real empirical world (building within the
reframed theoretical framework and the feedback from the learning), and
back again (reframing with use of the feedback). Consequently, the proposed
approach serves both practice and theory in the same process. Those two
spheres are interdependent: scientific cognition serves to create a better
base for building future solutions, and learning in the process of improving
the current solutions generates new knowledge.
Finally, the proposed approach describes the operation of the social in-
novation lab, but at the same time the same methodology was used in in the
conducted research that resulted in the creation of this proposal. The first two
51
Grzegorz Baran
initial methodological stages were carried out in that research: reframing and
building the model of social innovation living lab. However, it was assumed
that future empirical research will be carried out that will provide data for the
subsequent iterations aimed at improving subsequent prototypes of such
a laboratory and developing the related scientific knowledge background.
52
Social Innovation Living Labs as Platforms to Co-design Social Innovations
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Journal of Intercultural Management
Vol. 12 | No. 1 |March 2020 | pp. 58–77
DOI 10.2478/joim-2020-0032
Marta Mazur-Małek
University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
[email protected]
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8546-4004
Process Management:
the Case of the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
ABSTRACT
Objective: The objective of the article is to mark the introduction of process changes in relation
to the Emergency Travel Document service by The Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The paper
analyses the changes and relates them to process and cost management strategies. Thus, it
presents how process efficiency may be managed
Methodology: The article is of a theoretical and practical nature. The method used in the
theoretical part is a review of literature on process management. The second part includes an
analysis of The Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s own documents.
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Findings: The use of digitalization greatly facilitates the process for British citizens who are
abroad and need to obtain a travel document. This facilitation applies to both customers and
FCO employees. Numerous factors influence the processing time reduction, which in turn
increases productivity.
Value Added: This article presents an example of the practical use of digitization in the pro-
cess of issuing the Emergency Travel Document. The value is to show the impact of modern
technologies on improving the processes for the organization itself (in the form of optimizing
operational costs and increasing efficiency) and for the customers.
Key words: digitalization, Emergency Travel Document, The Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
process management, efficiency
Introduction
59
Marta Mazur-Małek
that the organization focuses on its long-term goals and consistently pur-
sues them while involving employees and decision-makers at all levels. The
Anglo-American and German approaches focus primarily on the internal
sphere of the organization and the quality and accuracy of information. M.
Chmielowiec-Lewczuk (2017) regards these latter approaches dominant in
the field of cost management.
At the beginning of the 20th century, F. Taylor defined the work of an or-
ganization as a set of tasks with specific procedures along with a manner
and order of execution (Chmielowiec-Lewczuk, 2017). Management aims
at planning and optimizing those activities. In the midst of the 20th century,
thanks to the introduction of the first computers, it became possible to
create algorithms in which a person is defined as a function of information.
For several decades, computer programs, designed to understand work
as a process in which existing resources are transformed into a planned
result, have been used in organizations. In the 1970s, it has become widely
known that, due to the understanding of work as a function of information
processing, a reliable global communication system was necessary to make
work as efficient as possible.
According to W. Toszewska-Czerniej (2016), service improvement can be
achieved by process standardization. This is especially important in the case
of an organization offering a particular service in multiple locations. Moreo-
ver, service and procedure standardization are also extremely important in
the public sector as it is tasked with consistently and reliably providing its
services to its “owners,” so all of the members of the society. As an effective
process, W. Toszewska-Czerniej (2016, p.592) defines the full and productive
commitment of available resources as well as the use of time in a manner
consistent with the aspirations of the employees and the employer.
P. J. Denning and R. Medina-Mora (1995) presented the process as a system
of connected loops, which allows for its better understanding and modifi-
cation. The authors relate the crisis in the services sector to the insufficient
development of its effectiveness. Yet, the automation of the process in the
60
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
production sector, as the authors suggest, has allowed for the continuous
improvement of its efficiency.
In the early 1980s, many organizations adopted Deming’s method of To-
tal Quality Management (TQM). Deming assumes that satisfying consumer
needs is associated with continuous improvement and statistical monitoring.
Additionally, the method implies that the employee is an internal client of the
organization and his work-related needs should be met in order for both the
process and the organization to succeed.
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Marta Mazur-Małek
The figure depicts the relationship between the customer and the con-
tractor (producer). The loop consists of four related stages covering:
· the emergence of a need (for a producer’s product/service),
· establishing cooperation rules (price, time needed to create a product/
perform a service, specific product/service details etc.),
· performance of the service/production of the product,
· final satisfaction with the course of cooperation of both the client and
the contractor.
Each of the stages is to lead to the next stage, provided that it is correctly
and fully completed. If any one of the stages is not completed (e.g. the cus-
tomer is not satisfied with the final result of their purchase), most likely the
need for the contractor’s product/service will not occur again. P. J. Denning
and R. Medina-Mora consider the fourth stage – the satisfaction of each
party to the transaction – as the factor most often overlooked in the work of
the organization. According to them, it is a source of many dangers for the
organization, because it is most often not organized well enough.
A dissatisfied customer not only will not make the purchase again, but may
also decide to lodge a complaint. The cost of which (the emotional cost for
employees, the reputation cost for the organization and the cost of losing
recurring customers) turns out to be much higher than the cost of organizing
62
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
63
Marta Mazur-Małek
64
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Research methodology
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is a unit of the British gov-
ernment responsible for foreign operational cooperation at the economic,
political and social level. The FCO is tasked with promoting UK interests
abroad as well as supporting British citizens and businesses around the
world. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office operates a worldwide net-
work of embassies and consulates, employing over 14,000 employees in
almost 270 diplomatic missions.
The FCO’s (Commonwealth Office 2016) consular department’s strategy
for 2016–2020 defines the duties of a consular officer. One of them is issu-
65
Marta Mazur-Małek
66
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
divided into two groups. The first group contained the following question:
How is the process improved?
The second group included the following research questions:
Are streamlined processes faster to perform?
Are streamlined processes cheaper to perform?
Do streamlined processes require fewer actors?
The first question referred to the workflow theory and was based on
process loops, while the questions from the second group were related to
the empirical process of ETD introduction.
Research results
By comparing data collected during the project and before its start, and
especially by comparing data from its very beginning and end, one can de-
termine if and how much has the total time of ETD issuing been cut down.
The improvement of the process as a whole was influenced by the improve-
ment of its individual parts. The operation of each organization is based on
the coordination of three processes: the materials-related process, the
information-related process and the process of coordination and commu-
nication between people (Denning, Medina-Mora, 1995). All three types of
processes occur in the general ETD issuing process. Models showing the
workflow loops of the ETD issuing process before and after the introduced
changes for all three types of processes are depicted in figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
The main processing centre, the ETD hub, was responsible for receiving
and processing information received from clients; while the other centres
in the region - called spoke - printed the physical document and handed it
out to the client locally. The process related to materials before and after
the changes is depicted in figures 2 and 3.
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Marta Mazur-Małek
Figure 2. Workflow of the ETD issuing process before the changes: materials
Source: author’s own work based on: Denning & Medina-Mora, 1995.
Figure 3. Workflow of the ETD issuing process after the changes: materials
Source: author’s own work based on: Denning & Medina-Mora, 1995.
Due to the changes in the process, primarily due to the introduction of the
possibility of submitting ETD applications online, the earlier need to submit
applications in paper version was eliminated. Digitizing the application pro-
cess saves paper and time, because the consular officer processing data
68
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The process related to information before and after the changes is depicted
in figures 4 and 5.
Figure 4. Workflow of the ETD issuing process before the changes: information
Source: author’s own work based on: Denning & Medina-Mora, 1995.
69
Marta Mazur-Małek
Figure 5. Workflow of the ETD issuing process after the changes: information
Source: author’s own work based on: Denning & Medina-Mora, 1995.
70
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Source: author’s own work based on: Denning & Medina-Mora, 1995.
71
Marta Mazur-Małek
Figure 7. Workflow of the ETD issuing process after the changes: communication
Source: author’s own work based on: Denning & Medina-Mora, 1995.
72
Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
tors, the data carrier and/or the communication channel. The process
improvement in this case encompasses changes in every aspect of the
process: related to materials, information and interpersonal communica-
tion. It is also associated with systemic changes affecting the structure
of the process. The structure as well as the number and character of the
contractors, the data carrier and the communication channel have changed.
The second group of research questions related to whether streamlined
processes are faster to perform. The analysis of the documents related to
the ETD project shows that due to the introduction of the changes described
above, the time needed to complete the ETD issuing process has been re-
duced. There are many factors that contributed to the time reduction:
· digitization of information about the ETD;
· limiting the human factor involvement;
· the requirement to submit ETD applications online;
· entering data electronically by the client;
· making payments and sending documents electronically by the client;
· automatic transfer of customer data into the system;
· regionalization of the process to standardize the service.
The average time it took to issue an ETD before making changes was:
· children: 75 minutes;
· adults: 60 minutes.
· The average time it took to issue an ETD after the changes was:
· children: 60 minutes;
· adults: 45 minutes.
Comparing the above data, it should be noted that the time needed to
issue an ETD has been reduced for both: the customers under 18 and adults.
For children’s applications, the average ETD issuance time was reduced by
15 minutes, which was a 20% reduction in time. For adult applications, the
average ETD issuance time was also reduced by 15 minutes, which was a
25% reduction in time. Research therefore confirms that streamlined pro-
cesses are faster to perform.
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Marta Mazur-Małek
The next research question in this group read as follows: Are stream-
lined processes cheaper to perform? Improved processes allowed the
ETD hub employees in Warsaw to issue more ETDs in comparison to
consular officers in diplomatic units before the changes were introduced.
This means that the shorter production time of a single ETD translates into
less financial effort on the part of the FCO. The introduction of the changes
and the operation of the ETD hub in Warsaw allowed consular employees
in the 11 diplomatic units participating in the project to devote their time
to other clients and consular affairs. The unit cost of performing an ETD
service was reduced, while the price of the service did not change, which
resulted in an increase in the profitability of the service from the point of
view of FCO. Considering the above, it should be confirmed that streamlined
processes are cheaper to perform.
The last research question dealt with the number of contractors and read
as follows: Do streamlined processes require fewer contractors?
The changes introduced in the process significantly reduced the involve-
ment of the human factor. The biggest impact on this limitation was due to
the change in applying for an ETD online. It significantly reduced the num-
ber of customers coming to the Embassy or Consulate in search of help. In
addition, regionalizing the process also limited the involvement of consular
employees in the units participating in the project. Considering the above, it
should be confirmed that streamlined processes require fewer contractors.
Based on the above data and literature analysis, one can confirm that the use
of digitization of documents can be successfully implemented to streamline
organizational processes.
Recommendations
Based on the results obtained in this study and their analysis, practical
conclusions regarding the further operation of the enterprise and its devel-
opment can be drawn.
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Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
While expanding the reach of the ETD project one should consider the
following:
· Increasing the scale of the project will also increase the financial effort and
intensify bureaucratic activities. Under such conditions, it will be much more
difficult to closely monitor activities and to measure and test the process.
· Smaller pilot projects bring more freedom when trying out new approaches
or technological solutions or regulations. Projects on a much larger scale
work better when all aspects of the project are specified: responsibility,
time, regulations, customer approach, dispute resolution.
· Increasing the scale of the project will limit the involvement of the consu-
lar employees in successively “taken over” organizations. There may also
appear reluctance on the future spokes. It could be related to employees’
(who are “cut off” from their previous tasks) fear of losing their job.
· When increasing the scope of the process, account should be taken
of subsequent participant organizations and their specific geographical,
cultural and economic conditions (Banerjee et al., 2017).
· The Anglo-American and German approaches to cost management, ap-
plied in this project, focus primarily on the internal area of the organization
and the quality and accuracy of information. It could be advantageous for
the FCO to also apply the Japanese approach to cost management and
plan long-term strategies on offered services as well as work on gathering
and using customers’ feedback.
75
Marta Mazur-Małek
References
Banerjee, A., Banerji, R., Berry, J., Duflo, E., Kannan, H., Mukerji, S., Shot-
land, M., & Walton, M. (2017). From Proof of Concept to Scalable Policies: Challeng-
es and Solutions, with an Application. Journal of Economic Perspectives, American
Economic Association, 31(4).
Denning, P. J., & Medina-Mora, R. (1995). Completing the Loops. Interfaces, 3, 42–57.
doi:10.1287/inte.25.3.42.
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Process Management: the Case of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
77
Journal of Intercultural Management
Vol. 12 | No. 1 |March 2020 | pp. 78–91
DOI 10.2478/joim-2020-0033
Objective: The discussion presented in this paper focuses on the practical coaching techniques
premised on lasting principles of human learning; principles that are crucial to coaching relation-
ships of all kinds. The principles involved tap into years of psychological research and practice
(Kanfer & Goldstein, 1991; Mahoney, 1991) that focuses on issues that prompt changes in people,
the important factors that fosters relationships and the ways of getting people to give up their
regular actions for a new set.
Findings: The research was not able to identify the specifics of what people value in different
cultures; however, it captures the major active ingredients in learning endeavor, without taking
culture into consideration.
Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
Value Added: The article discusses 3 main types of challenges that leadership coaches find
across the globe and offers guidelines to handle them
Recommendations: Future papers on that topic research should include both qualitative and
quantitative research findings.
Introduction
79
Michał Chmielecki, Marcela Contreras-Loera
with their daily dealings with people. The research was not able to identify
the specifics of what people value in different cultures; however, it captures
the major active ingredients in learning endeavor, without taking culture into
consideration. Different coaches have applied them in different fields, and
it has been effective for them. This shows how robust the technique really
is. Discussions like this may be used to talk about the vast differences that
are pertinent in working across peculiar cultures and rather than focusing
on offering culture specific advice, we have focused on the more common
coaching issues that span across many cultures. The offered framework is
designed to assist coaches in dealing with people in a personalized manner
and based on the learning methods, communication styles, relationship
norms an assumption about leadership, this framework can be adjusted.
Methods
Discussion
80
Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
81
Michał Chmielecki, Marcela Contreras-Loera
of the learners as well as you the coach. Cultures can sometimes be polarizing
and the ability of a coach to accommodate different cultures, helps him/her
create hypotheses about the person they are coaching. Would the person
being coached be better spurred by a personal goal or a collective goal?
Would this person want the coach to take the free-flowing approach that
offers flexibility and freedom or will the person rather a more authoritative
expertise and clear instruction from the coach? Would it be better for the
coach to get to know the person first or just proceed immediately to the task
at hand? Will this person be comfortable with the coach’s preference for quick
linear decisions? Taking time to test-relevant hypotheses can help the coach
avoid unnecessary hurdles in the future. A leader can generate the hypothesis
and test it out on persons from different culture so as to be better informed.
Cultural heroes can be identified and reasons why they are honored
learnt. Learn who their leaders are and how they lead. Learn what important
lessons they imbibe and what their educational system entails. It is also
advised that coaches review resources that highlight broad dimensions of
cultural differences and the distinct social and professional discourse in
different cultures (e.g., Cushner & Brislin, 1996; Gudykunst, Ting-Toomey &
Nishida, 1996; Hofstede, 1991; Hofstede, 2009; Lewis, 1996). Studying the
traditions of other culture is important, but not adequate because of their
cultural blinders, it becomes impossible for coaches to formulate relevant
hypotheses about others. The cultural influence of the coach cannot be
completely separated from how they interpret the information they gather
about the culture of others. Based on their own culture, coaches have a pre-
sumed expectation of what learners will want from the learning process as
well as how people respond to feedback or new information. How people
relate with one another is another factor that cannot be sidelined as such.
When faced with a task that transcends different cultures, people have to
dig deep, probe further in order to understand themselves and others. As
expected, they will then adjust their approach and techniques based on
the findings made. A study of the cultural differences and the planning for
82
Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
unexpected interactions could have smoothed the way for a French leader
who embarked on a 3-year-long engineering project in the UK. He was made
understand that a couple of adjustments would have to be made by him when
he started the project. After all, his team had something in common – same
profession – although the language was different. However, immediately
when the project started, his team leaders started clashing and he, being
the head, was surprised with the difference in understanding of status and
roles of engineers as well as the approach used by teams to resolve issues.
He later stated that if he had known that this was what he would face, there
would have been fewer mistakes. Expecting it tough would have made him
prepare better and as such, it would have become easier. If he had made
room for unknown cultural differences, he would not have had that much
difficulty on the job. There was a case of an American manager’s coaching
with a new worker from Singapore as a result of their varying understand-
ing of the boss-subordinate relationship. The boss asked the employee to
highlight the areas he would need to be coached on and together, they were
to identify development priorities. In some cultures, this joint participation
would have been ideal as it would make the subordinate feel valued. However,
this was not the case in this instance. The employee saw this as an attempt
at abdicating responsibilities and legitimating authority by the employer.
This undermined the manager’s credibility and the manager had to adjust
appropriately when he observed the interpretation given to his actions. He
started giving specific instructions on how to approach tasks as opposed to
his former actions where he gave room for open-ended questions. The culture
appropriate role of the manager was then restored with this new method.
2. Personalize the approach. The perspective a person might take cannot
be predicted from what might be unique about their culture, even though
culture can help the coach prepare hypotheses in anticipation of cultural
differences. The fact is that the differences in people’s character and per-
spective cannot be solely pinned on their culture. Each person is a product
of his/her personal experiences, genetics, and sub-cultural forces beyond
83
Michał Chmielecki, Marcela Contreras-Loera
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Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
the impersonal coaching method which was used (Hicks & Peterson, 1996;
Peterson, Uranowitz, & Hicks, 1999).
Cultural variables that are supposed to be considered by coaches are also
being used as a cloak of avoidance. As a coach, you may sometimes hear
sentences like “you don’t understand me, and you never will” or “that is not
how we do things in my country”. There is a possibility that such a person is
resisting change under that disguise or may have ulterior motives which the
person conceals with statements like that.
An Italian manager vehemently claimed that the communication technique
suggested by his American coach would never work in the Italian culture
when he was having issues gaining full cooperation from his team. Rather
than continue in the process that he felt would never work, he decided to
probe into the manager’s objections and accepted that such techniques may
not be so successful in Italy. With a few other techniques readily available,
the coach suggested that the manager try out a new skill as an experiment
to see how it would work.
Based on this, the Italian was surprised to see how well they worked. As
shown in this example, coaches can be sensitive to cultural differences
without allowing their work to be affected by these differences.
3. Orchestrate change. Coaches do not have to do everything themselves
to be effective. They can enable learning by organizing the resources and
setting up conditions favorable for development. In some cases, the coach
may not be the expert on what the learner needs, but an environment of
with the right resources and people can help the learner get the information,
support and opportunities needed. In this case, the coach does not have to
bear the burden of having to meet the expectations, feedback, instructions
and advice instead the well-set up community and the person being coached
as well have the responsibility of ensuring the training continues in the right
direction. The fact that the leader is afforded better flexibility is a major
advantage of orchestrating the cross-cultural coaching. If a person is not
convinced by the techniques used by the coach an he/she needs a better
85
Michał Chmielecki, Marcela Contreras-Loera
86
Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
Conclusion
First, leaders know themselves as well as what they can offer in terms of
development techniques. They are open to new methods, capabilities and
assumptions. Second, the process of coaching is something leaders pay
close attention to. They are always searching for the next ingredient that
87
Michał Chmielecki, Marcela Contreras-Loera
will enhance the learning process and help them connect better with oth-
ers (Goleman 2000; Porras & Robertson, 1992). Third, leaders adjust to the
person being coached and their individual goals and values in the cultural
context. In situations where such a person is trying to create a radical change,
the leader has a responsibility to accommodate the person’s foundation
and build on the unique capabilities of that person. With the help of these 3
sources, a leader can be adaptable, creative and adaptable in maintaining
the coaching relationship and processes.
88
Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
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Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Law-
rence Erlbaum Associates.
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard business review, 78(2),
4–17.
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S. (1996). The influence of cultural individualism-collectivism, self construals, and
individual values on communication styles across cultures. Human communication
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Hargrove, R. (2008). Masterful coaching. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Hermans, H. J., & Kempen, H. J. (1998). Moving cultures: The perilous problems of
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Hunt, J. G. (1991). Leadership: A new synthesis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publi-
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ing high performance teams. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(1), 61–76.
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Leadership Coaching Across Cultures
Tichy, N. M., & Cohen, E. (1997). The leadership engine. New York: HarperCollins.
91
Journal of Intercultural Management
Vol. 12 | No. 1 |March 2020 | pp. 92–137
DOI 10.2478/joim-2020-0034
Objective: The main objective of this paper is to explore/investigate the role of social media in
searching and acquiring the talented employees and the appropriate rationales behind and ways
of using the social media for such purposes with due advantages and risks involved.
Methodology: This paper uses the literatures published from 2010 to 2019 to highlight the re-
search on social media influence on searching talent for organizations. For due purpose, Scopus
and ResearchGate databases have been utilized to search the papers using the keywords such
as social media, social networking sites, online recruitment & selection, candidate screening,
hiring, human resources management and talent search.
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Findings: Although social media is getting popular among employers, they are not utilizing this
platform as the main rather as secondary sources. LinkedIn is the most preferred source among
the employers for searching and acquiring talents.
Value Added: The paper is expected to contribute to the existing literature through an in-depth
literature survey as well provide some proper guidelines for the HR professionals to conduct
efficient search and recruitment.
Recommendations: The authors have provided some action recommendations based on the
literature survey such as (a) the recruiters should make proper reliability and validity tests of
the information collected through social media, (b) organizations that intends to use social
media information need to develop a proper and transparent social media policy and user
codes of conduct, (c) the codes of conducts should be linked to the training manual of the HR
professionals who involve in talent search and acquisition, (d) organizations should use social
media for searching talents more than screening/selecting, (e) social media should be used as
a secondary instrument rather than the sole one; and (f) organizations/hiring professionals
should focus only on job related information and professional social media (such as LinkedIn).
Key words: social media, social media recruitment, hiring professional, organization, human
resources, recruitment & selection
JEL Codes: J23 Labor demand, L86 Information and internet services
1. Introduction
93
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
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The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
fully conscious of the risks and benefits of such exposure (Melanthiou et al.,
2015). In fact, a more methodical exploration of the benefits and pitfalls of
social recruitment and the role of social media during the hiring process will
discard some light on the reasons behind why companies choose to or not
to utilize, this contemporary method of employee search.
2. Literature survey
The origin of human resource management (HRM) has its ancestry dates
back to 1800s resulting from Robert Owens’ development of “welfare to
work” which called for the requirement of improving the working atmosphere
for staffs (Deadrick & Stone, 2014). Between 1900 to 1970s, HRM widened
encircling the age of Fredrick Taylor that emphasized to increase production
efficiency. Throughout this phase, HRM was evident as related to relationship
movement. The primary theory behind HRM was largely connected to the
welfare, safety, and psychology movements (Kaufman, 2014).
In fact, HRM in current period, it is established and accepted as com-
bination of approaches that significantly increase the success of overall
business. Human resources management is currently defined as policies,
processes, and systems concerning the inclusion of employee performance
to the overall company strategy (Noe et al., 2014). The sub-functions of
HRM include recruiting & selection, training and development, performance
appraisal, reward systems, and compensation & benefit, even preparing
and executing manpower policy. One of the important functions of HRM is
to search and recruit the talented workforce for appropriate organizational
positions to fill in. Recruiting objectives differ from the filling empty positions,
type of candidates required, and time required to fill each and every position.
Recruiting strategy of an organization consists of whom, where, and how to
recruit. The subsequent steps include the authentic recruitment activities
and the results in comparison to the objectives.
95
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
2.1 Recruitment
With the overall HRM expansion in terms of extents and topics, the particular
aspect of recruiting and its subsequent procedures of screening and selecting
have evolved as well. For example, from the 1950s to 1980s approximately 75%
of applicants were connected through newspaper advertisements (Hebberd,
2017). At the end of the 19th century, a number of web-based recruiting sites
such as careerbuiler.com, hotjobs.com, and monster.com were launched
creating the pathway for online job seekers tremendously which increased
from 6% in 2002 to 96% in 2006 (Hebberd, 2017). The contemporary level of
recruiting mostly comprises of internet, which has become the top source
for recruiting till 2012; including more than 90% of employers using SNS for
screening purposes and 97% of recruiters use LinkedIn for hiring purposes
(Hebberd, 2017). The digital age in organizations should be included with
attention leading to the need to notify employers of the diverse aspects of
the incorporation of the internet sites (including social media) used in the
recruiting, screening, and selecting processes (Villeda & McCamey, 2019).
Any organization utilizing social media as part of their recruitment attempt
should consider the general consequences on the organization and its hiring
strategy. With the amplification in global competitive rivalry, organizational
effectiveness is determined by its ability to attract talented personnel. As
an element of the fundamental attainment of human capital, HR hiring of-
ficers must successfully complete the procedure of recruiting and selecting
upcoming competent human resources. Recruitment and selection are two
complicated functions in which organizations look for prospective employees
who match the organization’s requirements. Recruiting is simply a process
of attracting talented job candidates to a company (Lussier, 2015). Selection
is the process of choosing the best-qualified candidate from the pool of
recruited applicants (Lussier, 2015). It is the first step of hiring a candidate
where the organization should be extremely cautious and selective in finding
the right future working partners for organizations.
96
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
2.2 Selection
The second step of hiring is selection that can be termed as the process of
choosing the best-qualified candidate from the pool of recruited applicants
(Lussier, 2015). During this process, there is an appraisal to decide appli-
cants’ work-related knowledge, skills and abilities (ISO 30405: 2016), as well
as the hard and soft skills. Another important part of selection is candidate
screening defined as the procedure of reviewing applicants’ strengths and
weaknesses, in order to make an adequate selection decision. The conven-
tional screening process focuses on a person-job fit (person and organization
fit) defined as the knowledge, skills, and abilities (also known as KSAs) job
applicant that develop the potentiality of sufficiently performing a job. The
technique used in selecting applicants differs depending on the nature of
job and organization’s culture.
In practice, the selection process begins with an evaluation or testing
the information presented on a resume/CV and focusing on the visual form
of the resume including legibility, professionalism etc. The screening pro-
cess continues with a search for contradictory information, asymmetrical
employment record and complementary clues that might indicate a certain
applicant is well matched (or not) for the job opening. After the initial resume
screening, top matched candidates who best fit with the job requirement
are selected for an interview or some other standardized tests depending
on the organizational hiring policy. Even those tests should not be used as
exclusive screening tools; they can provide objective information about the
job candidate. On the other hand, Youngman (2017) reported that the validity
of personality tests is still inconclusive. According to him such tests should
be used with utmost caution recommending for employers to control a test
that has been validated with the procedures indicated by the Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity Commission. Moreover, any identical tests used must be
pertinent to job qualification, administered, and recorded consistently for all
job candidates in order to reduce the discrimination suit by the job applicants.
97
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
In many previous papers “social media” and “social networking sites” were
used interchangeably, each of them carries a specific meaning. Social media
is powered by Web 2.0 allowing the connections among individuals through
industrial devices; therefore, social networking sites, social shopping, so-
cial playing, and social positioning are all elements of social media (Haag
& Cummings, 2013). On the other hand, social networking sites (SNS) are
those online platforms in which individuals can mechanically produce an
account, acquire friends, and share information (Haag & Cummings, 2013).
These social media accounts are very familiar now not only for individuals
but also many organizations are using them as a platform of advertising and
for other different purposes like job advertising, online selling platforms etc.
It has been anticipated that as of 2013, U.S. companies paid over $5 billion
for social media advertisements, and by 2018, that number was predicted to
increase up to $15 billion (Zhu & Chen, 2015). The first social media site was
launched in 1997 with the creation of Sixdegrees.com that permitted users
98
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
99
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
100
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Research question 2: What are the motives and risks of using social
media in searching and acquiring talents?
This paper uses the literature published from 2010 to 2019 to highlight the
research on social media influence on searching talent for organizations. For
the same purpose, Scopus and ResearchGate databases have been utilized
to search the papers using the keywords social media, social networking
sites, online recruitment & selection, candidate screening, hiring, human
resources management and talent search. The motivations behind using
those two research networks are that they are the leading search engines to
get scientific articles. They provide meta- information and have the highest
probability to be within the title, abstract and keywords. Although, Google
Scholar is one of the largest storages of scientific and academic papers, I have
not used that as it is very difficult to limit to search keywords within the items.
After the initial search with the keywords, 619 articles were detected.
After removing the articles which were published before 2010, the number of
papers stood to 434. Finally, those article were removed from consideration
which did not include social media or social networking for hiring (recruitment
& selection), rather the themes were too general or too specific such as
online recruitment & selection, influence of social media in HRM, internet in
HRM, branding through social media, social media background check, social
media marketing etc. After final screening, the number of articles was 477.
The filtering technique we used has been depicted on Figure 1. After that,
the abstracts and information have been gone through and the titles, author
name (s) and years of publication have been identified on Table 1:
101
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
102
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Abel, S. (2011). The role Facebook is defined as a social-oriented site, Master Thesis,
of social networking not often used for recruitment now, although Business
sites in recruitment: companies predict that Facebook will gain more Administration
Results of a quantitative importance within the next three years. Track: Human
study among German Resource
companies Management,
School of
Management
and Governance
University of
Twente
Davison et al. (2011). Many managers and HR practitioners are using Journal of
Friend or foe? The social networking websites to make important Business
promise and pitfalls of HR decisions such as recruiting, selecting, and Psychology, 26
using social networking terminating individuals.
sites for HR decisions
Dennis, C. M. (2011). The law relating to use of social media issues are Massachusetts
Legal implications of still developing, but courts are likely to rely upon Law Review,
employee social media principles established well before the advent 93(4)
use of social media. Employers must be cognizant
of the risks inherent in the use of social media
among their employees and the potential liability
issues throughout the employment relationship,
from pre-employment, to employment, to post-
employment.
Lory, B. E. H. (2011). Using Facebook as a tool in the pre-employment Master of
Employer use of screening of applicants can offer employers Arts Thesis,
Facebook as a tool a fast and efficient way to get information about Organizational
in pre-employment prospective employees that could preempt Leadership,
screening of applicants: negligent hiring decisions. St. Catherine
Benefits and ethical, University
legal, and privacy
implications
Hoogen, E. (2012). The Organizations should actively recruit via SNSs, but BSc. Thesis,
Role of social media not to use SNSs for checking a job applicant during Management
in recruitment and the selection process. Studies &
selection processes Education and
Competence
Studies,
University of
Rotterdam
Kluemper, et al. (2012). SNWs may provide useful information for Journal of
Social Networking potential use in organizational research and Applied Social
Websites, Personality practice, taking into consideration various legal Psychology,
Ratings, and the and ethical issues. 42(5)
Organizational Context:
More That Meets the
Eye?
103
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
Iddekinge et al. (2013). Facebook ratings did not contribute to the Journal of
Social media for prediction of criteria such as job performance, Management
selection? Validity and turnover intentions and actual turnover beyond
adverse impact potential more traditional predictors, including cognitive
of a Facebook-based ability, self-efficacy, and personality. Furthermore,
assessment there was evidence of subgroup difference in
Facebook ratings that tended to favor female and
white applicants.
Pritchard, M. (2013). Considering the extensive internet usage of Refereed
How social recruitment Generation Y students, it is imperative for Discussion
requires students to cooperative and work integrated learning practices Paper, 18th
manage a responsible and programs to support students in cultivating WACE World
digital footprint a responsible digital footprint. It is recommended Conference on
that sensitization commences at freshman (first Cooperative &
year) orientation and that it extends to curriculum Work Integrated
content, policies and campus awareness Education, June
campaigns. 24 -27, 2013,
Durban, South
Africa.
104
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Kluesner, K. E. (2013). Higher levels of privacy invasiveness and less Thesis, Degree
Fairness perceptions serious levels of the legitimate business concerns of Master
of screening social found resulted in lower fairness perceptions of Arts in
networking sites for indicating potential issues employers may Industrial and
hiring decisions encounter as they attempt to balance their Organizational
legitimate business concerns with applicants’ Psychology,
privacy concerns. Middle
Tennessee State
University
Ollington et al. (2013). The connector role is identified as a specific Personnel
Online social networks: attraction mechanism that recruiters use to create Review, 42(3)
an emergent recruiter numerous weak ties, where some are so weak
tool for attracting and that they barely constitute ties at all. Branding,
screening transparency and data specificity are three
mechanisms recruiters use to strengthen these
ties when performing the attracting and screening
functions.
Reicher, A. (2013). The At least, a fifth to a quarter of employers uses Berkeley
background of our being: internet search engines or social networks to Technology Law
Internet background screen candidates at some point during the hiring Journal, 28(1)
checks in the hiring process, suggesting a taxonomy of three different
process approaches to internet information gathering.
Roth et al. (2013). Social Organizational practice has outpaced the scientific Journal of
media in employee- study of SM assessments in an area that has Management,
selection-related important consequences for individuals (e.g., being 20(10)
decisions: A research selected for work), organizations (e.g., successfully
agenda for uncharted predicting job performance or withdrawal), and
territory society (e.g., consequent adverse impact/diversity).
Roulin, N., & Bangerter, Recruiters and potential applicants (students and Personnel
A. (2013). Social graduates) both perceive professional SNWs (e.g., Psychology,
networking websites LinkedIn) as a potential antecedent of Person-Job 12(3)
in personnel selection: fit information and personal SNWs (e.g., Facebook)
A signaling perspective as a potential antecedent of Person-Organization
on recruiters’ and fit information. When evaluating the same SNW
applicants’ perceptions profile, recruiters and potential applicants focus
on different sections of the profile (e.g., recruiters
focus more on job-related information), but they
tend to infer similar personality traits.
Sameen, S., & Cornelius, LinkedIn is a widely used SNS for screening Journal of
S. (2013). Social candidates and hiring professionals consider Business
networking sites and professional qualifications, organizational fit Studies
hiring: How social media and communication skills to be the major Quarterly, 7(1)
profiles influence hiring determinants of selection or rejection of
decisions candidates.
105
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
Lorenz, B. (2014). If Companies require that their offices will search Conference
I do not like your online out information, ask around for background Paper, Institute
profile, I will not hire you! information or find other sources if they are not of Informatics,
allowed to do that. This at the same time might be Tallinn
violating peoples’ rights to privacy. University
Nikolaou, I. (2014). Job seekers still seem to use job boards more International
Social networking web extensively than SNWs. The association between Journal of
sites in job search and LinkedIn usage, its effectiveness, and time spent Selection and
employee recruitment on SNWs and LinkedIn effectiveness, on the other, Assessment,
is stronger for ‘passive’ candidates, demonstrating 22(2)
the important role of SNWs for attracting ‘passive’
candidates. HR professionals are more engaged
in LinkedIn than Facebook and were considering
the former as more effective than the latter in the
recruitment process.
Pike et al. (2014). Information from social networking sites can Information
Information from be useful, yet can create ambiguity for decision Systems
social networking sites: makers because of context collapse made possible Journal, 28
Context collapse and in SNS technologies.
ambiguity in hiring
process
Zide et al. (2014). There are significant differences with respect Employee
LinkedIn and to ten of the LinkedIn variables in how people Relations, 36(5)
recruitment: how profiles presented themselves across the three groups.
differ across occupations There were also several gender differences found.
106
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Zhang, L. (2014). Legal Although there are many advantages in using International
and ethical implications social media networks to assist HR to select Journal of
of using social media and filter job candidates, there are reasons for Innovation, 2(1)
in human resource concerns.
management
Chiang, J. K. & Suen, The recruiters make inferences about job Computers
H. (2015). Self- seekers’ person–job fit and person–organization in Human
presentation and hiring fit based on argument quality in specific self- Behavior, 48
recommendations in presentation categories, which in turn predict
online communities: recruiters’ intentions to recommend job seekers
Lessons from LinkedIn for hiring. Although certain specific categories
of self-presentation offering source credibility
have positive associations with person–person
(P–P) fit perception, there is a non-significant
relationship between perceived P–P fit and hiring
recommendations.
Diglel, A. & Yazdanifard, There is a distinction between how users of social European
R. (2015). The networking sites perceive the utility and purpose Journal of
utilization of social of social networking sites and how recruiters Business and
networking websites by see the social networking sites. Users of Social Social Sciences,
companies as a hiring networking sites utilizes them mostly for social 4(1)
tool; its effectiveness networking purposes, while recruiters utilize
and reliability from these sites to accumulate character data about
the applicants and job seekers without the candidates perpetually
employer’s perspective comprehending what data was considered.
Nevertheless, Social networks offer an intense
apparatus for employers to achieve a pool of
experienced individuals that they may not
otherwise have the capacity to reach.
Dinesh, M. & Kumar, Social media sites carry with distinct advantage International
M. K. R. (2015). Is social of enabling companies to reinvent themselves Journal of
media a preferable internally as well as externally Business and
source of recruitment? Administration
An employers’ Research
perspective with Review, 2(11)
reference to IT sector in
Bangalore
Drake, J. R. & Furner, A request for social media account logins reduces Conference
C. (2015). Screening job the trust in the employer, whereas collectivism, paper, Twenty-
candidates with social perceived privacy protection competence, and first Americas
media: A manipulation of social media production increases trust in the Conference on
disclosure requests employer. Information
Systems, Puerto
Rico, 2015
107
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
Hazelton, A. S. & It is crucial for both employers and employees The Hilltop
Terhorst, A. (2015). to be on the same page with social networking Review, 7(2)
Legal and ethical policies and procedures. Educating employees
considerations for social regarding the established guidelines will help
media hiring practices in prevent any mishaps in the workplace. Becoming
the workplace informed on the best practices, and then applying
them will have a tremendous impact on the work
environment.
108
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Rana, G. (2015). Use Numbers of people being hired through these Degree Thesis,
of social media to find medias are increasing everyday with increasing International
suitable applicants in the number of users and with different new platforms Business,
advertising industry available. It can be assumed that use of social ARCADA
media will grow in future for recruitment in
advertising agencies as well as other sectors. With
appropriate choice of words and designs and good
communication and interaction skills employers
can establish themselves as a desired recruiter.
Schneider, T. J. (2015). If password is requested, 57.87% applicants would PhD Thesis,
Social networking sites refuse the request, and would thus remove Doctor of
and personnel selection: themselves from the applicant pool reducing Philosophy,
An initial validity the utility of an organization’s selection system Industrial/
assessment and thereby impact an organization’s bottom Organizational
line. Also, the password request could result in Psychology,
adverse impact for protected groups, and lead to The School of
legal action on behalf of applicants within these Graduate and
groups. There was only a slight potential benefit Postdoctoral
to the loss of applicants in that those remaining Studies, The
in the pool were slightly higher on agreeableness University
and conscientiousness, and lower on psychopathy. of Western
However, the effect sizes were small, and those Ontario
remaining in the applicant pool scored higher on
impression management, suggesting that their
more favorable personality scores may have been
dissimulated.
Aguado et al. (2016). Applicants show more positive attitude to the Journal of
Applicant reactions to use of professional SNWs compared to non- Work and
social network web use professional SNWs. In addition, female and young Organizational
in personnel selection applicants have less positive attitudes than males Psychology,
and assessment and other participants towards the use of non- 32(3)
professional SNWs.
Black, S. W., & Schmidt, Developing technologies and other developments Social Media
G. (2016). How to Stay that could have significant impact on how social in Employee
Current in Social Media media is best used by organizations Selection and
to Be Competitive Recruitment
in Recruitment and (Chapter 10)
Selection
Cooley, D., & Parks- Older employers checked candidates once online, The Journal of
Yancy, R. (2016). Impact whereas younger employers checked candidates Social Media in
of traditional and multiple times. Society, 5(3)
internet/social media
screening mechanisms
on employers’
perceptions of job
applicants
109
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
Hoek et al. (2016). SNS profiles were either accessed as part of Personnel
Publishing personal an organization’s official selection process Review, 45(1)
information online: through integrating internet screening as part
How employers’ access, of the formal process and obtaining candidate
observe and utilize social permission, or through covert (without consent)
networking sites within observation. Facebook was primarily used to
selection procedures identify a candidate’s organization fit and make
assessment of their soft skills, whereas LinkedIn
distinguished their professional attributes and
job fit. Problems were associated with the extent
to which SNSs were reflective of the person and
whether a candidate’s personal life reflected
their work. Respondents focused more upon
the legality, rather than the ethics, of accessing
“private” information via SNSs.
Ladkin, A., & Buhalis, D. Considerations for employers include website International
(2016). Online and social attributes, issues of fairness in the recruitments Journal of
media recruitment: process and brand reputation. For prospective Contemporary
Hospitality employer and employees, the considerations center on public Hospitality
prospective employee and private online profiles. Considerations Management,
considerations common to both include the value of an online 28(2)
presence, the blurring of boundaries in online
information and legal implications.
110
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Baert, S. (2017). Candidates with the most beneficial Facebook New Media &
Facebook profile picture picture obtain approximately 38% more job Society, 20(3)
appearance affects interview invitations compared to candidates
recruiters’ first hiring with the least beneficial picture. In addition,
decisions evidence suggested for a higher effect of Facebook
profile picture appearance on hiring chances
when candidates are highly educated and when
recruiters are female.
Cerro et al. (2017). LinkedIn is a very useful tool that provides Aloma, 35(2)
Interpersonal perception added value by speeding the initial phase of the
of LinkedIn profiles and personnel selection process: the filtering of CVs.
employability However, the benefits offered by this method
serve only to streamline this process, not to
eliminate the need for it.
Egerová, D. & Eger, L. Most companies provide explicit organizational Education
(2017). Recruitment related information and available information Excellence and
through the use of regarding job characteristics. On the other hand, Innovation
corporate websites – the findings indicate that most companies do not Management
A comparative study communicate components regarding their culture through
and do not provide content specifically targeting Vision 2020.
college or university candidates. Moreover, only Conference
a half of companies from the study sample paper presented
(AutoSAP) uses social media as a part of their at Norristown:
recruitment efforts. International
Business
Information
Management
Association
111
Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
Priyadarshini et al. Through social media it has become very easy for The Qualitative
(2017). Employer to interact with the prospective employers. By Report, 22(4)
attractiveness using social media, resumes and applications can
through social media: be received from prospective employees shortly
A phenomenological to the applicants with equal efficiency. Further,
study social media reduces many costs for the company
by enabling to reach potential employees. Lastly,
the usage of social media should be restricted to
recruitment and marketing only.
Zubielqui et al. Social media serves as a mediator for the effect of Technological
(2017). Social media, external knowledge flows on firm innovativeness Forecasting &
open innovation & when firms attach high importance to modern Social Change
HRM: Implications for HRM practices. Furthermore, while the results
performance demonstrate that innovativeness and firm
performance are positively related, innovativeness
does not translate into improved firm performance
in firms that attach low importance to modern
HRM practices.
Callan, R. C. (2018). Manipulation of justice rules being related to PhD Thesis,
The effects of selection perceptions of the associated procedural justice Psychology,
system characteristics rules, also related to overall procedural justice Old Dominion
and privacy needs perceptions. Further, privacy concerns were University
on procedural justice related to overall procedural justice perceptions.
perceptions: An The moderating role of privacy concerns on
investigation of social the relationship between procedural justice
networking data in rule perceptions and overall procedural justice
employee selection perceptions was not supported. A post-hoc
analysis revealed that the interaction between
objective procedural justice and privacy
concerns had a small effect on procedural justice
perceptions.
Koch, T., Gerber, C., & De Despite still utilizing some traditional methods SA Journal
Klerk, J. J. (2018). The of recruiting, South African recruiters follow of Human
impact of social media their international counterparts, with LinkedIn Resource
on recruitment: Are you being central to their respective recruitment Management, 16
LinkedIn? processes. The use of Twitter and Facebook for
recruitment was found to be substantially lower
in South Africa than elsewhere. Without following
a focused approach, the volume of work that
emanates from using social media may overwhelm
a recruiter.
Kutlu1 et al. Most recruiters prefer ‘Easy Apply’ for all Conference
(2018). LINKEDIN recruitment on LinkedIn because of its ease of use. Paper.
for recruitment: Department of
An examination of Management
recruiters’ use of “Apply” Information
and “Easy Apply” Systems,
features Bogazici
University,
Istanbul,
TURKEY.
112
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Nugroho, F. E., & Applicants’ Facebook contents significantly affect Jurnal Ilmiah
Trinugroho, I. (2018). the recruitment decisions which are indicated by Manajemen,
Facebook contents the difference of choice from the first phase to 8(2)
and job recruitment: third phase. Qualified applicants are associated
A experimental study with more professional contents on their Facebook
accounts
Kimberly et al. Social media and other data privacy issues have The Internet of
(2018). Social media, had a transformative impact on the workplace. People, Things
data privacy and the They have also presented organizations with and Services
internet of people, many issues, both positive and negative, to Workplace
things and services in consider. Specifically, with regard to selection Transforma-
the workplace: A legal and termination of employment, social media tions (Book
and organizational has played an increasingly prominent role in chapter)
perspective organizations. Likewise, data management and
employee privacy are vital, as wellness programs,
GPS tracking, and mobile devices are often offered
to employees.
Roulin, N., & Levashina, Initial LinkedIn-based ratings correlate with Personnel
J. (2018). LinkedIn as self-reports for more visible skills (leadership, Psychology
a new selection method: communication, and planning) and personality
Psychometric properties traits (extraversion), and for cognitive ability.
and assessment LinkedIn-based hiring recommendations are
approach positively associated with indicators of career
success. Potential adverse impact is also limited.
Profiles that are longer, include a picture, and
have more connections are rated more positively.
Some of those features are valid cues to
applicants’ characteristics (e.g., applicants high
on conscientiousness have longer profiles). An
itemized LinkedIn assessment is more effective
than a global assessment.
Suen, H. (2018). How A candidate who can better control his/her SNS Computers
passive job candidates information is less likely to perceive that his/her in Human
respond to social privacy has been invaded during SNS screening Behavior, 85
networking site by potential employers, thus mitigating his/her
screening perception of procedural unfairness. In addition,
when SNS screening is more transparent, the
candidate is less likely to perceive the selection
procedure as unfair, which will reduce his/her
intention to withdraw from employment selection.
Villeda, M., & McCamey, SNS should be used in recruiting and selecting of International
R. (2019). Use of social employees, but employers should not solely rely Business
networking sites for on such platforms. Employers greatly benefit from Research, 12(3)
recruiting and selecting the unbiased information concerning SNS, but as
in the hiring process time progresses and processes evolve.
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114
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
Social media is getting popular to the employers and jobseekers for sev-
eral reasons. The causes for such popularities have been identified on the
following paragraphs dividing between the employers and job applicants:
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Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
It is not to mention that there are a few benefits to using SNS in the hiring.
Numerous organizations, especially in technologically advanced countries
have already integrated it to some extent. Among them, some notable ex-
amples are cheap cost and decreased time to hire, the capacity to reach out
to a younger age group and a bigger pool of applicants, attracting passive
job applicants, and providing organizations with a diverse tool for predicting
the performance of tentative employees.
However, there are more than a few challenges associated for using
social media information for hiring, which should also be noted by the HR
professionals who are involved in hiring process. The main challenges/risks
are legal issues, the incapability to employ a varied pool of candidates (re-
garding age, gender, and race) and the lack of validity and reliability of these
platforms. As a hiring approach, social media provide more benefits at the
recruitment stage, having no damage in attracting more job applicants when
the charge is nominal. Rather social media use might create further troubles if
used during the screening and selection process (Villeda & McCamey, 2019).
A notable benefit of using social media sites for jobseekers in is that so-
cial media is a low costs medium for searching for job opportunities. Job-
seekers can connect to the social platforms of companies (Job pages in
SM) and can effortlessly have entrance to the vacancies companies post.
Applicants can even do this secretly, which could be possibly an advan-
tage for who presently employed thus assisting the jobseekers in a more
responsive manner (Reiners, 2013).
Further, they can easily access to influential referees and important infor-
mation about the company (Kroeze, 2015) helping them to prepare even better
for the job screening process. On the other hand, social media and social
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The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
networking sites especially can raise the possibility to connect and swap infor-
mation between the employers and job applicants face to face. Jobseekers
and recruiters mutually can preserve, organize, and widen their social asso-
ciation more efficiently with the help of social media where they can filter out
relevant information and use them to generate new cooperative opportunities.
In case of limitations for jobseekers, the first thing comes out is that
users (also applicants) seldom realize what information might be disclosed
publicly (Madejski et al., 2011) or how a normal post or comment might
be misjudged (Wang et al., 2011) by a possible future employer. An appli-
cant’s social networking site does not contain only personal data posted
online by him/her but also pictures/shares/comments uploaded by others
such as friends, family or institutions. Such information might be incorrect,
which might even damage them as an individual (Henson et al., 2011). Social
media information might also be inaccurate as there is a lack of reliability
that could be transferred when used in the hiring process since one party
(candidate) has real information compared to the other (employer) who just
interprets it (Villeda & McCamey, 2019).
Individuals are become the victim of identity theft or when fake information
is posted about them on someone else’s website (i.e., libelous information)
(Davison et al., 2012). A study by Kluemper (2012) showed that employers
reject jobseekers based on what they find about them on social media. He
found that 35% of employers said that they would reject a jobseeker because
of information they found on social media.
Based on the previous findings, the study attempts to make several recom-
mendations for the employers on using the social media for hiring purposes.
The suggestions are highlighted on the following paragraphs:
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Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
118
The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
At present, individuals may be hired and promoted to roles with greater re-
sponsibility without being trained in how to spot, avert, and react to challenging
social media use among employees they manage (Pallarito, 2014; Roberts
& Sambrook, 2014). The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM,
2016a, 2016b) reported the results of two surveys with HR professionals
showing the following: Only 56% of respondents in 2011 and 59% in 2013
had a formal or informal policy on applicant screening in their organization.
This means that risks such as slander (Lieber, 2011) are almost inevitable,
given that around 40% of employers do not have such a policy. Attempts
to control what is shared by employees on social media is less likely to be
effective than a proactive discussion and effective training only if the respon-
sibilities and confidentiality issues are understood will they be acted upon
(Hyman, 2016). While code of conducts may exist, few of these are actually
linked to induction training upon hiring or promotion. There are reasons to
believe that training and discussion are the keys to ensuring that the under-
lying aspects of the code of conduct are understood and applied. Training,
however, is unlikely to reduce discriminatory practices. The organization
must have a policy of fair and unbiased treatment, modeled by its leaders
and reinforced through additional training and appropriate legal selection
practices (Holland & Jeske, 2017). If the training is not complemented by
good management practice (e.g., such as having an open discussion around
inclusion vs. discrimination, ethical leaders that role-model ethical behavior
when discriminatory practices are discovered), codes of conduct are unlikely
to be effective (recommendations on the EEOC, 2016).
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Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
Organization can use social media information as additional tool for initial
recruitment rather than solely relying on that. Social media can act as the
tool of checking the information on CV or resume of candidates.
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The Role of Social Media on Talent Search and Acquisition: Evidence from Contemporary Literature
The social media is gaining rapid attention from the academicians and re-
searchers but there are very few evidences (both theoretical and empirical)
on how to utilize, when to utilize such a platform form different HR functions.
The paper is based on previous literatures where the findings and suggestions
are summarized and highlighted. The Authors are hopeful that this paper
will help the researchers to further investigate in this matter in more deeply
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Md Sajjad Hosain, Ping Liu
and with wider scope, thus acting as the bridge for additional investigation
as this area of HRM needs more attention and results to be implemented.
6. Conclusion
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Journal of Intercultural Management
Vol. 12 | No. 1 |March 2020 | pp. 138–157
DOI 10.2478/joim-2020-0035
ABSTRACT
Objective: This paper investigates how expatriates and UAE citizens understand the effectiveness
of expats’ performance and significance in the workplace. In addition, it explores the difficulty
of managing expats to achieve operational excellence.
Methodology: A questionnaire was sent to over 1000 subjects whose feedback was analysed
using descriptive statistics. A t-test has been used for the inferential part whenever requirements
allowed it; in case this was not possible, a Mann-Whitney U test was used.
Findings: The results of the conducted statistical analysis suggest that expats think it is difficult
to be managed in the UAE compared to the locals who find it relatively easy to manage them.
Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
Value Added: The results of the conducted statistical analysis point some important conclu-
sions about the way that expats and local Emiratis view differently in managing expats and
effectiveness of expats.
Recommendations: A further research of this study can be done by examining various types of
firms and organizations, by distinguishing them based on their provided services. Comparison
among the 7 emirates could also be examined. Comparison between the views of different
nationalities of the expats would be very interesting. Other parameters to be examined include
age, educational level, nationality (or country of origin), and marital status of the participants.
Introduction
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Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
Literature Review
There are various key factors that lead to operational excellence in firms
(Deloite, 2014; Wassem et al., 2019). The best practices, which led to oper-
ational excellence, include the following:
· Alignment to the goals and principles;
· Focused group activities;
· Reduction in the work that is in progress;
· Quickly switching to different relevant technologies;
· Kaizen of operations (continuous improvement);
· Discipline in the workforce;
· Manufacturing and production with zero monitoring required;
· Maintenance of machines and equipment;
· Assured delivery of quality;
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Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Zoheir Ezziane
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Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
of people from different countries can be highly useful for a firm in gaining
significant advantage in the market (competitive advantage). Since all firms in
a market are likely to have many things in common, one major effect on a firm’s
competency can be produced by employing people from different cultures and
using their knowledge, skills and experience for the benefit of the firm to im-
prove the underlying business process and gain overall competitive advantage
(Scullion & David, 2010; Zgodavova, Hudec, & Palfy, 2017; Aytug et al., 2018).
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core of their methodology and adopt the culture to accommodate the same.
This can be particularly beneficial for organizations, which are in the current
sphere and where most of the things are dynamic in nature (Yang & Rhee,
2017; Zhang, Jex, Peng, & Wang, 2017; Yang, Zhang, & Yang, 2018).
Consider for example, the employees working in an oil company in the UAE.
In such company, there would be employees from Asian countries such as
India and Pakistan and at the same time, there would be employees from
western countries such as USA, UK etc. These countries have altogether
different cultures and therefore mixing them together is a challenge for or-
ganizations because most of the people have to adjust themselves to the
requirements of the organizations. In addition, the firm faces the difficulty of
managing these employees. The fact that most of these employees belong
to different countries and cultures could be used to benefit organizations
in the UAE. Distinct competencies that these employees possess can be
used for the benefit of organizations in operational excellence (Kessler, Cao,
O’Shea, & Wang, 2014; Oyemomi et al., 2019).
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Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
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Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Zoheir Ezziane
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Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
Statistical analysis
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rating of each of the questions. Secondly, the results of the tests regarding
the comparison between the answers of local Emiratis and expats to the
questions are displayed.
The difficulty of managing expats in the UAE is illustrated in table 1. 84 (8.4%)
respond “highly difficult”, 341 (34.1%) respond “difficult”, 217 (21.7%) respond
“neutral”, 319 (231.9%) respond “easy” and 39 (3.9%) respond “very easy”.
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Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
When analyzing the effectiveness of expats’ experience and skills in operational ex-
cellence as depicted in table 3, 321 (32.1%) respond “very effective”, 361 (36.1%)
respond “effective”, 260 (26.0%) respond “neutral”, 39 (3.9%) respond “ineffective”
and 19 (1.9%) respond “highly ineffective”. It is observed that the absolute majority
of the sample 682 (68.2%) rates the effectiveness of expats’ experience and skills in
operational excellence at least effective.
Table 3. Rate the Effectiveness of Expats’ Experience and Skills in Operational Excellence
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Table 4. Rate the Effectiveness of Leaders and Managers in Managing Expat Employees in the UAE
Table 5 presents the mean and the standard deviation of the variables
that express the importance that the sample recognizes on the 4 features
of the questionnaire. These features are presented in descending order of
importance:
· Difficulty of managing expats in the UAE (2.89 ± 1.068);
· Effectiveness of leaders and managers in managing expats participants
(2.40± 1.198);
· Effectiveness of expats’ experience and skill in operational excellence
(2.07 ± 0.950);
· Effectiveness of expats, as a distinct competency to organizations (2.03
± 0.933).
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Managing Expats and Their Effectiveness: A Comparative Study
151
Panagiotis Papadopoulos, Zoheir Ezziane
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