Клейменова Е.П. - The Art of Writing Abstracts (Клейменова Е.П. - The Art of Writing Abstracts.pdf)

The ART of WRITING ABSTRACTSABSTRACTSSAMPLESABSTRACT 1Laurie J. Kirsch (Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania 15260). The Management of Complex Tasks in Organizations: Controlling theSystems Development Process. Organization Science/Vol. 7, No. 1 (1996).Control theory attempts to explain how one person or group in an organization can ensure thatanother person or group works toward and attains a set of organizational goals.

Prior empirical workinvestigating control theory has shown that characteristics of the task and of the organizationalenvironment predict the use of various types of control. However, this paper argues that when controltheory is applied to a complex, nonroutine task such as the management of information systemsdevelopment, the theory of control is incomplete. In particular, it proposes that knowledge of the task isa key determinant of type of control.Four modes of control (behavior, outcome, clan, and self are identified from the organizationalliterature: each highlights different aspects of control in organizations. Building on prior empiricalwork, this paper integrates the different theoretical perspectives and predicts the circumstances underwhich each type of control will be implemented.

Survey responses from 96 participants of 32 systemsdevelopment efforts suggest that the extent to which behaviors are monitored interacts with the projectsponsor’s level of systems development knowledge to determine the amount of behavior control; thatoutcome control is a function of the extent to which the behaviors are monitored and outcomes aremeasurable; and that self-control is dependent on the extent to which outcomes are measurable and thelevel of the project sponsor’s knowledge about systems development activities.

No relationshipbetween clan control and the independent variables was found.ABSTRACT 2Vassilis M. Paradakis, Spyros Lioukas, David Chambers (London Business School, LondonU.K., Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece). Strategic Decisionmaking Processes: The Role of Management and Context. Strategic ManagementJournal/Vol. 19 (1998).This paper investigates the relationship between the process of strategic decision-making andmanagement and contextual factors. First, drawing on a sample of strategic decisions, it analyzes theprocess through which they are taken, into seven dimensions: comprehensiveness/rationality, financialreporting, rule formalization, hierarchical decentralization, lateral communication, politicization,problem-solving dissension. Second, these process dimensions are related to (1) decision-specificcharacteristics, both perceived characteristics and objective typologies of strategic decisions, (2) topmanagement characteristics, and (3) contextual factors referring to external corporate environmentand internal firm characteristics.

Overall, the results support the view that strategic decision processesare shaped by a multiplicity of factors, in all thesecategories. But the most striking finding is that decision-specific characteristics appear to have the mostimportant influence on the strategic decision-making process, as decisions with differentdecision-specific characteristics are handled through different processes. The evident dominance ofdecision-specific characteristics over management and contextual factors enriches the traditional‘external control’ vs. ‘strategic choice’ debate in the area of strategic management. An interpretation ofresults is attempted and policy implications are derived.ABSTRACT 3Kathleen M.

Sutcliffe, Gerry McNamara (Department of Organizational Behavior andHuman Resource Management, The University of Michigan Business School, Ann Arbor,Michigan 48109-1234; Department of Management, Broad Graduate School of Management,Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1122). Controlling DecisionMaking Practice in Organizations. Organization Science/Vol. 12, No. 4 (2001).How are decision practices fostered in organizations and how are they linked to decision outcomes?This study addresses these questions by examining one financial institution’s efforts to standardize andcontrol decision making across geographically separated organizational units. We argue thatdecision-maker behavior is situated and is not simply a function of individual choice.

Rather, inorganizational settings decision-makers are subject to a hierarchy of influences that affect the decisionprocesses they use and their resulting decision choices. To test our ideas, we examined 900 borrower“risk rating” decisions and found general support for our hypothesis. . Decision makers were morelikely to use the prescribed practice when decisions were important, when the decision target wasknown, and when the decision maker was located in a larger subunit.

Decision makers altered theirdecision practices in the short term, but in the long term they appeared to partially revert to their earlierpractices. Reliance on prescribed practice fostered stability in decisions, but surprisingly appeared tonegatively affect future judgments. The findings indicate that organizations can change moremicroaspects of decision making, but these changes may be transitory. Moreover the results suggestthat decision makers may become complacent when they rely on prescribed decision practices, atendency that can have untoward consequences for the organizations in which they are embedded.ABSTRACT 4Byron Sharp, Anne Sharp (Marketing Science Center, University of South Australia, CityWest, North Terrace, Adelaide 5000, Australia).

Loyalty Programs and Their Impact onRepeat-purchase Loyalty Patterns. International Journal of Research in Marketing 14 (1997)473-486.Loyalty programs are currently increasing in popularity around the world. This paper discusses thepotential of loyalty programs to alter the normal market patterns of repeat-purchase behavior whichcharacterize competitive repeat-purchase markets. In line with this thinking, a large scale loyaltyprogram is evaluated in terms of its ability to change normal repeat-purchase patterns by generating‘excess loyalty’ for brands in the program. Panel data were used to develop Dirichlet estimates ofexpected repeat-purchase loyalty statistics by brand.

These estimates were compared with the observedmarket repeat-purchase behavior. Overall a trend towards a weak level of excess loyalty was observed,although the expected deviation was not consistently observed for all the loyalty program brands. Onlytwo of the six loyalty program participant brands showed substantial excess loyalty deviation.However, these deviations in repeat-purchase loyalty were observed for non-members of the loyaltyprogram as well as members and appear likely to be at least partially the result of other loyalty effortsparticular to these brands.ABSTRACT 5Webster F.E., Jr.

(1992). The Changing Role of Marketing in Corporation.Journal of Marketing 56 (4): 1-17.The purpose of this article is to outline both the intellectual and pragmatic roots of changes that areoccurring in marketing, especially marketing management, as a body of knowledge, theory, andpractice and to suggest the need for a new paradigm of the marketing function within the firm. First, theorigins of the marketing management framework, the generally accepted paradigm of the marketingdiscipline for the past three decades, are considered.

Then shifting managerial practice is examined,especially the dissolution of hierarchical bureaucratic structures in favor of networks of buyer-sellerrelationships and strategic alliances. Within those new forms of organization, the changing role ofmarketing is discussed and reconceptualization of marketing as a field of study and practice isoutlined.ABSTRACT 6Hakansson H., Snehota I.

(1994). No Business is an Island: The Network Concept of BusinessStrategy / Marketing Perspective.The aim of this article is to explore the contributions that could be made to the conceptual frame ofreference for business strategy management by one of the research programs which focuses on theorganization-environment interface, and to which a network approach has been applied. We start byexamining some of the assumptions underlying the current “strategy management doctrine”. Thenetwork model of the organization-environment interface is then reviewed and three central issues ofthe strategy management doctrine are discussed from the viewpoint of the network model:.(I) organizational boundaries, (2) determinants of organizational effectiveness, and (3) the process ofmanaging business strategy.The conclusion reached is that in all three changes are required in the assumptions of the businessstrategy model.