Abstract

Problem: PhD education is growing and international evaluations, accreditations and regulations are generating institutionalization based on normative rhetoric. The Bologna agreement in European Higher Education is a powerful example.

Research Questions: The main research questions are:

Methodology: 82 PhD candidates from Norway and Sweden, all supervised until graduation as PhDs by the authors, are studied. Three models, one for each phase of the PhDs’ careers, are used to analyze each PhD. The phases, or processes, are the pre-doc process before PhD education, the PhD process, and senior processes after PhD education, i.e. education, research, cooperation and leadership.

Findings: The overall result is that a large proportion of the PhDs studied are caught in the middle, both in PhD and Senior processes. Consequently, improvements are needed, in all three carrier processes, i.e. pre-doc, PhD education and post-doc.

Practical implications: Based on the finding we argue normatively that a one-year thesis should be included in master programs for students who wish to continue to a PhD program. We also argue that post-doc programs must include education, research and cooperation, and an experienced mentor.

Originality: The study is unique because its focuses on a large group of PhD candidates who the authors have supervised and have had longstanding relations with after PhD graduation.

Sammendrag

RECs waferfabrikk ble etablert i 2003 i Hydros industripark på Herøya. Industrien i Grenland har lange tradisjoner for samarbeid mellom arbeidsgivere og arbeidstakere på mange nivå. Etter en krevende oppstart gikk REC-fabrikken en periode med store overskudd, helt til prisen på silisiumwafere begynte å synke i 2009. Fra da av gikk det utforbakke til den ble slått konkurs i september 2012. Vi har studert hvordan Lean-produksjonsmetodikk ble brukt til styring og ledelse av fabrikken både i oppgangs- og nedgangstider, og beskriver i denne artikkelen møtet mellom en medvirkningskultur preget av den norske samarbeidsmodellen og en rasjonell-analytisk lederorientert produksjonsfilosofi, Lean. Våre funn viser at innføring av Lean ikke nødvendigvis er noen hindring for praktiseringen av den norske arbeidslivsmodellen, og at det er hvordan Lean oversettes og anvendes i praksis som avgjør hvorvidt det oppnås synergier og positive resultater.

Abstract

Established multinational companies (MNCs) facing not only strong competition but also disruptive change often die. One key factor is their inability to divest themselves of legacy resources. Kodak is a generic example of this. In spite of sensing, seizing, and even some transformation, it failed because of a failure to remove legacy resources. We view legacy removal as a significant managerial activity and as a critical dynamic capability. In the divestment process, it involves political skills in dealing with affected stakeholders. Employing a case study of the mobile telephony MNC, Telenor, we develop insights into managerial activities intended to ensure legacy removal. In its first period of legacy removal in the 1990s, Telenor was able to evolve from a state-owned domestic operation into an MNC. Digitalization and the need to become a digital services provider means that it is currently engaged in a second period of legacy removal. This second period is under ongoing research.

Abstract

The integration of environmental, social and governmental (ESG) performance into corporate reporting is not only changing external reporting, but also the organization itself. As IR sheds light on the interdependencies of capitals creating value for organizations over time, it is expected that organizations engaging in Integrated Reporting (IR) will increase the value relevance of their ESG performance. To study the impact of IR, we rely on a sample of 1513 firm-year observations from 2004–2015. We conduct a regression-based comparison of organizations using IR to (1) themselves before the implementation of IR and to (2) competitors not using IR. The findings demonstrate that organizations increase the value relevance of their ESG performance by adopting IR. Nevertheless, IR should not be adopted with the objective of outperforming competitors, as we found no evidence that the value relevance of ESG performance is higher for organizations using IR than for non-IR users. Using most recent longitudinal data, we show the efficiency of IR, providing evidence that its implementation increases the value relevance of ESG performance and adding to the recent debate in the IR literature, e.g. Mervelskemper and Streit (2016).

Abstract

In this paper we model credit spreads on contingent convertible bonds (CoCos) in the Norwegian financial bond market, using a Merton-style option model approach. We examine whether the Merton risk default model provides a good measure of CoCo bond prices. We find that this model, although favoured by its simplicity, is overly sensitive to changes in the volatility of firm asset values, and fails to account for liquidity premiums. We further ask if CoCo prices account for the prepayment risk that are unique to these hybrid, equity-like capital instruments. Analogously, we ask if CoCo bonds offer cheap funding for banks relative to equity capital. We find no evidence that bond markets under-price the CoCo risk of the trial banks. Still, we find that CoCos offer cheap funding for banks relative to issuing equity capital. In addition, CoCos offer a capital cushion for banks when most needed.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore how and under what conditions a highly skilled team of internal management consultants were able to create consistency between their day-to-day management development practices and new or changing demands. Findings from the explorative field study indicate that the observed consistency was an outcome of learning within an ecology of learners. Within this context, there are two types of learning involved in the change dynamics over time. The first type of learning is the adjustment to new, external ideas through a change in a collective mind-set – based on learning from the experiences of others. The second type of learning is the adjustment of internal routines and practices to the new mind-set – based on the consultants’ experiences from the translation of the new ideas into practice. The emergence of a temporarily situated, focused activity system that had linkages to the formal organizational context enabled a balance between the two types of learning. As an outcome, the team of consultants discovers the intelligence of a new mind-set, became committed to the mind-set, and became capable of developing routines and competence with respect to the new mind-set.