Sylvia Rohlfer - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sylvia Rohlfer

This is a book that starts by quoting the ‘pioneering’ definition of trade unions by Sidney and B... more This is a book that starts by quoting the ‘pioneering’ definition of trade unions by Sidney and Beatrice Webb of 1894, and ends with the sentence ‘if European trade unions are to survive . . . ’ In the 200 pages in between, there is arguably the most extensive condensation of knowledge on European unions ever written in an authored book. So, even in the worst scenario, in the case European trade unions will not survive, this will remain the peak of understanding about them – a sort of swansong of over a century of trade union studies, as central a reference for the understanding of the decline of unions as much as the works by Webb were on their emergence. In the best scenario, and in line with the optimist tone of much of its content, this may well become a ‘pioneering’ explanation of how they did it. Trade Unions in Western Europe is a perfect sequel of the influential book by one of its authors, Understanding European Trade Unionism of 2001. That book was an intellectually elegant interpretation of the history of European unions through the detailed examples of Britain, Germany and Italy. Its limits were a rather high level of abstraction and a relatively narrow geographic scope. This new book tackles both issues: the authors have got their hands dirty by interviewing trade unionists on a number of concrete issues and have covered 10 countries. Its conception is influenced by a debate that has grown since the book of 2001: that of union ‘revitalisation’, that is, the possibility for unions to regain the initiative and make strategic choices rather than be simply determined by changing external conditions. Its completion, however, is also shaped by the crisis that has hit western capitalism and in particular western Europe since 2008. For institutionalist scholars, periods of crisis are not the best times to do research, as events are too quick and serendipitous. But for Gumbrell-McCormick and Hyman’s political economy approach, the crisis must have been an additional reason of interest, and when they describe mobilisations and political shifts of the last few years, hope and concern can be easily perceived. The book starts with two introductory chapters on the varieties of trade unionism and on the challenges that they are facing. It then moves to the analysis, centred on five central strategic issues: recruitment, organisational redesign, bargaining, politics and inter nationalism. The idea of strategy is central in the authors’ approach. While perfectly conscious that all strategies in industrial relations, by employers and unions alike, are inherently incomplete and even contradictory, they argue strongly for the capacity of social actors to make decisive choices and challenge the context. In the last decade,

Social Science Research Network, Jan 31, 2004

This paper analyses what is understood by the “key players” involved in the promotion of benchmar... more This paper analyses what is understood by the “key players” involved in the promotion of benchmarking, within a comparative context looking at Germany and the UK. A content analysis of the key components of benchmarking in the leading texts is undertaken which is then used to examine the position and role of employer organizations, professional consultancies, trade unions and government

Progress in international business research, Jul 31, 2023

Management-Revue, 2022

Over the past four decades, scholars from employment relations, human resource management, organi... more Over the past four decades, scholars from employment relations, human resource management, organisational behaviour and labour economics have published a vast body of literature concerning employee voice (Wilkinson & Fay, 2011). Employee voice is thereby understood as the opportunity to participate in organisational decision-making and to have a say in influencing the own work and the interests of managers and owners (Barry &Wilkinson, 2016) or-in the case of employee silence-to withhold these views and concerns (Morrison & Milliken, 2003). Employee voice and silence have been linked to organisational performance and the development of competitive advantage (Barry & Wilkinson, 2016). They are a vital ingredient for the positive relationship between strategic human resource management and organisational performance (Wood & Wall, 2007), implying a link between employee voice and innovation (Rohlfer et al., 2022). Employees with the opportunity to communicate unique ideas to management and to participate in decision-making give them the possibility to express 'creative ideas and new perspectives, increasing the likelihood of innovation' (Grant, 2013, p. 1703; Zhou & George, 2001).

Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2019

management revue, 2022

Based on their growing innovation capabilities, Chinese companies have become important players i... more Based on their growing innovation capabilities, Chinese companies have become important players in the global innovation arena. Among the factors influencing these firms’ innovation, cultural values have increasingly attracted scholars’ attention. However, research on the relationship between one of the key elements of traditional Chinese culture, Confucianism, and innovation remains scarce. By focusing on two core elements of Confucianism, we extend the innovation contingency literature in examining whether Confucianism is associated with management and product innovation at the firm level in China. Through an empirical examination of a highly innovative private company in China’s premium kitchen appliance market, we find that Confucianism, as reflected in innovative management practices, can foster product innovation. Specifically, benevolence as a Confucian virtue can trigger innovation by forcing a user-centred focus and widening managers’ perspectives of stakeholder interests. ...

Questionnaires for the study on management innovation in Moroccan SMEs: Empowering leadership beh... more Questionnaires for the study on management innovation in Moroccan SMEs: Empowering leadership behaviour, middle manager voice and voice behavior.

Journal of Business Research, 2022

Industrial Relations Research Unit and people associated with it. The papers may be work of a top... more Industrial Relations Research Unit and people associated with it. The papers may be work of a topical interest or require presentation outside the conventions of a normal journal article. A formal editorial process ensures that standards of quality and objectivity are maintained. In this paper, Sylvia Rohlfer, a doctoral student attached to IRRU, analyses what is understood by the ‘key players ’ involved in ‘benchmarking’, within a comparative context looking at Germany and the UK. She undertakes a content analysis of the key components of benchmarking in the leading texts, and uses this to examine the position and role of employer organisations, professional consultancies, trade unions and government bodies in the dissemination and implementation of benchmarking at company level. Rohlfer concludes with a critique of benchmarking that deconstructs the conventional presentation of a benign and objective technique and instead argues that context is vital to its application and ‘succes...

EuroMed Journal of Business, 2021

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore the role of empowering leadership, organizational... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to explore the role of empowering leadership, organizational climate for initiative and job autonomy in spurring innovative work behavior (IWB).Design/methodology/approachThis study resorted to the structural equation modeling technique along the Bayesian estimation approach to analyze the mediating role of the organizational climate for initiative and job autonomy in the empowering leadership-IWB link in data gathered from CEOs, middle managers and non-managerial employees of 444 small and medium enterprises in Morocco.FindingsThe findings revealed that empowering leadership is a prerequisite of IWB as subordinates, who are empowered by their leaders, demonstrate IWB. Further, organizational climate for initiative and job autonomy mediate the empowering leadership-IWB link.Practical implicationsThis research has demonstrated that firms and organizational leaders who seek to make their middle managers innovative in their job should adopt empoweri...

This paper examines the structural boundaries of benchmarking activity and their implications for... more This paper examines the structural boundaries of benchmarking activity and their implications for the area of Human Resource Management (HRM). Drawing on empirical research in the financial services (FS) and the mass-process production (MPP) sectors, the paper demonstrates that specific patterns in benchmarking practice can be attributed to sector and organisational characteristics. Although similarities in practices are observed, these structural limits on benchmarking have various implications for the management of HR. The research shows that benchmarking in HR is not currently widespread; that it is more likely to be adopted by companies in FS; and that it concentrates mainly on the collection and comparison of statistical data. At the moment there is little involvement of employee representatives in benchmarking activities, but this is likely to change once management extends its benchmarking activities into the area of HRM.

Management and Organization Review, 2021

Exposing under which conditions management innovation diffuses within firms, this study investiga... more Exposing under which conditions management innovation diffuses within firms, this study investigates at the individual level the mediating influence of middle managers’ voice behavior on the relationship between CEOs’ empowering leadership behavior and perceived management innovation. We also propose that the magnitude of this relationship depends on middle managers’ collectivist orientation. This study exploits a unique Moroccan sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and utilizes structural equation modeling to analyze the studied relations. We found that the positive relationship between CEOs’ empowering leadership behavior and management innovation is mediated by middle managers’ voice. This effect is conditioned by middle managers’ collectivist orientations, which positively influence their attention to CEOs’ signals and the value and frequency of their contributions to management innovation. While research has identified the external and organizational factors that...

Sustainability, 2020

This paper explores the most recent Fintech (financial technology) phenomenon from an ecosystem p... more This paper explores the most recent Fintech (financial technology) phenomenon from an ecosystem perspective. Differentiated from the earlier Fintech evolution led by traditional financial institutions, “cross-sector” Fintech that operates at the intersection of financial services and information technology disrupts existing business models of banks while creating novel ecosystem dynamics. This study explores the Fintech ecosystem composition to understand better business model innovation based on underlying ecosystem dynamics while focusing on the specific role of cross-sector actors. These actors have escaped scrutiny despite being mature and experienced and having strong resource bases. Adopting a comparative case study method by considering the China-based Alibaba Group and Tencent, the study’s findings indicate that novel business model developments based on strong technological expertise and scale-based resources by cross-sector Fintech render a functional perspective on fast-d...

Academy of Management Proceedings, 2019

Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business-JESB, 2016

The article outlines selected issues that are of particular relevance in entrepreneurship researc... more The article outlines selected issues that are of particular relevance in entrepreneurship research, including comparative research, studies at lower levels of enquiry as well as contextualized enquiries, and where we see special interest from the Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business when it comes to receiving submissions.

Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business-JESB, 2018

It is widely acknowledged that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot afford underutili... more It is widely acknowledged that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cannot afford underutilize their workforce and owner/managers encourage ways to involve employees. In this article, we focus on what is known about formal employee involvement and participation (EIP) practice in SMEs. Based on a systematic, "aggregative" literature review (Briner and Denyer 2012; Gough et al. 2012) we identify key research on EIP in SMEs that is embedded in practice and provides utility for practitioners and policy makers. The findings not only allow us to comment briefly on the evolution of EIP research in SMEs, but to identify methodically what is known and not known about EIP practice in SMEs. We go therefore beyond the limited review provide by Sameer and Őzbilgin (2014) and identify with a higher level of confidence three key directions for future academic research.

Chinese Management Studies, 2018

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between culture and regional inn... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between culture and regional innovation performance in China where innovation is deemed as a key for sustainable economic development. The diversity of China’s regional culture and its rising economic and innovative capability enhancement provides an opportunity for such an exploration. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts the GLOBE’s nine cultural dimensions to empirically examine the relationship between culture and Chinese regional innovation performance through multiple regression analysis. Findings The study results find that performance orientation and gender egalitarianism have positive and significant influences on regional innovation performance, while institutional collectivism has a negative and significant influence. The remaining six GLOBE cultural dimensions show no significant effect on regional innovation performance. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first re...

The Source of Innovation in China, 2015

Some visionary scholars and practitioners have testified to Chinese innovation as a reality (e.g.... more Some visionary scholars and practitioners have testified to Chinese innovation as a reality (e.g. Abrami et al., 2014; McKinsey and Company, 2012); although most others are still not giving any credit to the innovation in China yet (Zhang and Olivares, 2012). To start with, we need to look at the strategic evolution in the western organizational theory and also distinguish different types of innovation. In terms of innovation types, one commonly understood radical innovation is a basic scientific and technological invention, which could essentially have a profound impact on human life. Another is organizational innovation, the crucial requirement for a business to run successfully. Different classifications and typologies co-exist, and it can be confusing for readers, seeing these together, to form conclusions as to whether or not China, or indeed Chinese enterprises, are innovative.

White Papers Focus on Teaching and Learning, 2010