M10 - Business Administration: GeneralReturn

This paper uses the Malmquist Productivity Index to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hotel productivity. It decomposes total factor productivity change (TFPC) into technical efficiency, pure and scale efficiency, and technical change to conclude on productivity growth before and after the outbreak of the pandemic. 112 hotels in four cities of the United States between 2011–2021 were subject to the analysis, using a multi-input (room, labor, and F&B costs) multi-output (accommodation, F&B, and total revenue) DEA-Malmquist model. The pandemic did not have an adverse effect on hotel productivity change, mainly due to the developments attributed to technological advancements. The paper offers crucial managerial implications. The results of the analysis emphasize the prominence of investment in technology to sustain productivity levels. It supports managers with strategy development and offers decision makers a wider overview of the sector.

A mall has a holistic solution for a variety of consumer needs. Malls have aggressively spread in small cities too. The presence of malls in tier II & III cities of India may have provided diversified experiences of mall culture to its residents. Malls offer an abundance of retail offerings with entertainment and leisure. Previous studies focused upon metro city malls and provided results towards mall attributes, consumer experiences, evoked emotional responses, and patronage intentions. Hence, it is indeed necessary to examine the behavioral aspects associated with visitors of small (non-metro/tier II & III) city malls to assess the change in consumption patterns of small city consumers. The present study attempts to investigate linkages among mall attractive dimensions, visitors’ experiences, and visitors’ emotions. A sample size of 613 (from malls of tier II & III cities, India) was analyzed using SEM through SmartPLS 3. Finding suggests significant relationships with few exceptions. Responders’ emotions (pleasure and arousal) are predicted when they are interacted with mall attractive dimensions due to experiences. The results may benefit mall management, mall tenants, consumers, and society at large.

This study aims to understand the mechanisms of consumers’ online grocery shopping (OGS) acceptance in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Through this perspective, an extended technology acceptance model is employed by including the fear of COVID-19 factor to reveal the extent of the Turkish consumers’ acceptance of OGS. We have tested the proposed research model on 455 survey participants living in various cities of Turkey. Structural equation modeling is employed to test the eleven research hypotheses. The results indicate that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude are valid predictors of OGS acceptance. Besides, the fear of COVID-19 negatively moderates these relationships. By revealing these empirical results, this study provides some useful insights into our understanding of the acceptance mechanisms of OGS processes in a pandemic situation. We hope to pinpoint the underlying reasons for the vast expansion of OGS among Turkish customers in pandemic times.

Business transformations are critical to making a giant leap to create an outstanding customer experience and dominate the market. This study explores how companies with different Continuous Improvement Maturities manage the people side of a business transformation, focusing on establishing a Continuous Improvement culture. A semi-structured interview with 28 different companies and 30 interview partners from 21 different industries will explore the People Excellence approach’s differences in People Engagement, People Enablement, and People Empowerment. The study also investigates the different views on Continuous Improvement Systems and their impact on the organization. The focus on people, culture, and Leadership to achieve significant and sustainable business results from companies with a strong Continuous Improvement System will be evident, compared to companies with no structured Continuous Improvement System or a fragile Continuous Improvement System.

In the context of business performance assessment, current research often focuses on evaluating effects of innovation projects with start-ups. Subsumed as corporate venturing (CV), investigating the impact of these projects is becoming increasingly important. Thus, the number of studies on the ex-post value of corporate venturing projects (CVP) has steadily increased over the last years. In contrast, this research attempts to cover the evaluation of CVP in the period between from the contract conclusion to termination. By conducting interviews, this research primarily aims at identifying indicators applied for evaluating CVP performance during the cooperation of subjects in the automotive industry. The results obtained show that evaluation is mostly based on subjective criteria and that no formal indicators are implemented to manage CVP during the collaboration phase. This research contributes to literature by revealing practically applied CVP performance indicators during the collaboration phase and by discussing their weaknesses.

This paper empirically examines the influence of desk sharing on the various forms of employee commitment. Previous literature has examined the influence of innovative workspace on employee satisfaction as well as the possible the benefits and disadvantages of desk sharing, but not the influence desk sharing may have on employee commitment. Our study examines the level of commitment in organisations that apply desk sharing compared to those with traditional office settings, finding that desk sharing does not necessarily have a negative influence on commitment. Indeed, desk sharing employees show higher level of affective commitment when applied moderately. However, a radical application of desk sharing leads to lower commitment; thus, when applying desk sharing it is important to consider the specific conditions, organizational needs as well as managerial example. The findings point to a number of implications relating to the application of desk sharing and other flexible office settings.

A model for managing strategic alignment and dynamic capabilities (DC) of Supply Chain Management (SCM) information systems (IS) has been developed and applied to a traditional German steel company and a highly innovative Austrian steel company. Different concepts of leading researchers have been combined to get a holistic and detailed view of IS capabilities' impact on strategic fit. The model enables companies to identify ideal levels to strategic fit needed from SC integration and its antecedents for predefining architectural artefacts as sources for dynamic capabilities. The study contributes to new insights into the IT productivity paradox, where possibilities from IS investments remain unused. Essential concepts for optimising SC performance by reducing SC complexity and increasing SC agility have been identified and integrated. The study highlights value enabler and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods of digital SC models and how the model's ontology can be used to increase alignment autonomy. Finally, the approach supports organisational learning and development of cognitive profiles through collective assimilation and sensemaking effects.

With this study, we will test the interrelations between the psychological concept of self-efficacy of managers and its influences on the resistance to change. The results show that it makes a qualitative difference, if change in competences occurs in a positive or a negative direction and that there is a clear predisposition of managers concerning change. Both results have to be taken into account in designing changes processes.