This exploratory research on a decade of Total Quality Management in one factory opens up the black box of the learning curve. Based on the organizational learning literature, we derive a quality learning curve that links different types of learning in quality improvement projects to the...

The article sets out an experience-based account of “Learning from Differences”, underpinning engaged research as an alternative to conventional detached social science. There is a central focus on Action, and Action Research, with particular reference to policy development at regional...

Innovation at work is mainly driven by employees' ideas. This paper reports a study of the effectiveness (e.g., rate of suggestion making) of schemes for capturing these ideas. Based on a survey of 182 UK organizations, the study shows that decentralized suggestion schemes and work-based systems...

Purpose – Quality Circles and Kaizen Events have resulted in productivity and quality improvements for organizations. There is limited empirical research comparing these two approaches. This research study was designed to understand the similarities and differences in the structure and...

This paper provides evidence on the incidence, scope and nature of employee participation in Korea. The key findings include: (i) the incidence of works councils (WCs) is higher than in most other countries; (ii) not all WCs are functioning well with a little less than 70% of Korean firms having...

Maximizing potential revenue and profitability performance continues to be a key objective for Direct Checks as the company’s core product - personal checks - moves through the decline stage of the product life cycle; and, the department with the most potential to positively impact the...

A manager's perception of industry structure (dynamism) has the potential to impact various organizational strategies and behaviors. This may be particularly so with regard to perceptions driving organizational learning orientations and innovation based marketing strategy. The position taken...

Recent research has paid much attention to MNCs from developed countries, which are the largest international R&D investors. However, the germination of international R&D investment from emerging countries, such as China, has been neglected in academia. According to data from UNCTAD (2005) and...