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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the analytical productiveness of a discursive power perspective in understanding interdisciplinary teams' inefficient decision processes, and to discuss the ethical consequences of such an approach.Design/methodology/approachBased on a case study of an interdisciplinary team in a Danish hospital, the paper analyzes the team's decision practices as a result of discursive power operations that privilege and marginalize groups and persons.FindingsThe paper shows that a discourse of equality dominates the team's decision practices. This produces a tendency among members to word observations as reflections whereas expert assessments are rendered unlikely and unwelcome. The paper demonstrates that this analysis is productive in understanding why interdisciplinary teams struggle to develop efficient decision processes. Furthermore, the paper suggests that managers should respond ethically to these discursive power operations with political interventions.Originality/valueA variety of theoretical models have been proposed to understand interdisciplinary teams' problematic decision processes. This paper makes an original contribution to this field by shoving how a discursive framework provides a productive analytical strategy. Moreover, the paper's proposition of political intervention as an ethical way of securing social sustainability is unprecedented.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine inspiring ideas in which Japanese companies are finding innovative ways to tap into base of the pyramid (BOP) markets to increase their profit while simultaneously reducing poverty and contributing to BOP society.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines a potential and some issues of Japanese business in BOP market through case analysis of Yakult Honsha Co Ltd and Nihon Poly‐Glu Co Ltd.FindingsThe paper reveals that Japanese companies have a particular aptitude and strength for BOP business. The paper have three findings: Japanese company has a source of BOP business; Japanese companies have aptitude and strength for BOP business; and the time is ripe for Japanese companies to break into the BOP market.Research limitations/implicationsThere are few cases of Japanese companies which are engaging in BOP business. It could be kind of difficult to get a general result on Japanese business.Practical implicationsThis paper shows that a high potential for Japanese companies to succeed in BOP market and some issues facing Japanese companies.Originality/valueThis paper is the first which analyzed some cases of Japanese BOP business and revealed a high potential of Japanese companies for BOP business.

PurposeInduction is the process of newcomers entering and becoming part of an organization. In one sense newcomers represent an opportunity for organizations to learn and change, but in another sense newcomers are instigated into an existing institutional order. The purpose of this paper is to explore how induction of newcomers can be understood as both organizational renewal and the maintenance of status quo, and to develop ways of describing this in terms of learning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is designed as a qualitative study of induction practices in two branches of a Danish retail bank and a Danish management consulting company. The data are based on 30 semi‐structured interviews and on some observations in the case companies. The data have subsequently been analyzed phenomenologically and thematically in light of a pragmatist understanding of learning.FindingsThe paper provides two main findings. The duality of induction, in terms of organizational renewal and the maintenance of status quo can be conceptualized and meaningfully discussed through the metaphors of organizational rhythm and generative dance. And if this ambiguous dimension of induction is recognized, organizational idiosyncrasies, ways of doing and taken‐for‐granted aspects can be thrown up for discussion and thus potentially change or stabilize organizational practice based on persons and institutional order.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper adds to the growing academic debate of the complex nature of practice in general, and induction in particular. In addition, the paper has implications for practitioners involved in induction, as the paper highlights the need to rethink induction as both an opportunity to create organizational renewal and a way of maintaining status quo.Originality/valueSeeing the duality of induction and exploring it through the metaphors of organizational rhythm and generative dancing is original and potentially enriching for researchers and practitioners.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to challenge calls for a monolithic rural home‐based business (HBB) sector and instead propose meaningful sub‐sectors of HBB that fit within contemporary rural economic development theory. This informs business support and policy objectives.Design/methodology/approachSurvey analysis of rural microbusinesses in the North East of England compares home‐based and other rural microbusinesses to illustrate their defining characteristics. Case study interviews are then used to test theory development and provide greater understanding about the motivations and aspirations of HBB owners.FindingsThe research demonstrates that the rural HBB sector is not homogenous. For some, the home is the business, for others it is a convenient location and for others it is not the place of work, simply the registered business address. This has significant implications for the needs of each type of business and their prospects for growth.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper introduces the concept of sub‐sectors of HBBs but more detailed survey work can establish whether these are fully inclusive. With a changing economic climate, further research might also examine the resilience of these businesses in recession and their ability to react to growth opportunities in a period of upturn.Originality/valueAs an emergent area of study in the fields of small business and rural economy, HBBs are potential vehicles for both social and economic development. With large numbers of HBBs in rural areas, this paper illustrates the need to understand both their potential and their limitations in order to maximise their contribution to vibrant and sustainable rural economy.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing debate on organizational socialization by exploring the constitutive aspects of socialization practice. By taking a practice stance, the paper explores how the constitutive aspects shape the evolution of the socialization practice and of the overall organizational functioning. The aim is to address a clear gap in the literature as it does not have fully investigated socialization as an evolving practice in the web of other organizational practices.Design/methodology/approachThe research relies on a case study analysis, which focuses on a multinational consulting firm. The paper focuses on the evolution of two main practices within the company one of which is socialization and the second is knowledge management.FindingsThe main result emerging from the field study is that the evolution of the socialization practice as well as its alignment with other organizational practices is affected by a set of constitutive aspects. The analysis of these elements allows to disarticulate the nature of a practice and to clarify how it evolves. The paper is particularly interesting as during the analysis, the case study firm experienced an external shock. This latter resulted to be a relevant cornerstone for understanding the evolution and alignment of the socialization practice and of the organizational functioning as a whole.Research limitations/implicationsThe research presents two clear limitations. First, the results might be very case‐specific. Further analysis should be done to increase consistency and validity of the findings. Second, the qualitative methodology needs further improvement as the practice based analysis of socialization is still at its infancy and thus is not well assessed.Practical implicationsFindings indicate that socialization practice might be somehow rigid over time and unable to match the evolving organizational setting. The case study further shows that while the procedures which are embedded in a practice might not change apparently, their content might be substantially affected by external facts.Originality/valueStarting from the recognition that the evolution of the socialization practice has not received enough attention, this paper sheds new light on how a set of constitutive aspects may facilitate/hinder such evolution.

PurposeThe dynamic capability view serves to explain how particular practices ensure the firm's performance and competitiveness within a continuously changing environment. In this paper, the staff induction processes of two small firms in The Netherlands (management consultancy and biotech (BT) start‐up) are examined from a practice‐based view. The authors explore whether the staff induction processes of these firms can be regarded as practices, and if so, whether and how these firms have developed a dynamic capability in staff induction.Design/methodology/approachCase studies are conducted in the management consultancy and biotechnology sectors to explore the practising of dynamic capability.FindingsThe findings suggest small firms can effectively develop and master their staff induction processes (as practices), but do this on the basis of ad hoc problem solving rather than a dynamic capability. If small firms develop any dynamic capability at all, they apparently do so towards specialized resources and processes that are perceived as most critical to the firm's continuity and performance (e.g. product development in the case of the BT firm). As such, this study confirms Winter's hypothesis about the fundamentally different cost structures of dynamic capabilities and ad hoc problem solving, which explains why dynamic capabilities tend to be rare and ad hoc problem solving prevails in many small organizations.Originality/valueThe paper examines the interaction between staff induction practices, dynamic capabilities, learning strategies, and ad hoc problem solving in two small firms. Implications for practitioners are that consciously engaging in learning strategies helps to adapt practices and build a dynamic capability in staff induction.