http://hdl.handle.net/2330/15 Search the Channel search http://bora.nhh.no:8080/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/2330/1650 Title: Toppledelsens troverdighet ved kriser : en studie av legitimitetsprosesser ved Åsgard-overskridelsene og Åsta-ulykken <br/> <br/>Authors: Hillestad, Tore <br/> <br/>Abstract: I denne avhandlingen settes søkelyset på hvordan symbolske sider ved toppledelsens respons på ulike kriser, påvirker deres legitimitet. Dette undersøkes gjennom to kvalitative case- studier: (1) Statoil i forbindelse med de økonomiske overskridelsene ved Åsgard- prosjektet, og (2) NSB i forbindelse med Åsta-ulykken. Studien belyser spesielt forholdet mellom de krav og forventninger toppledelsen konfronteres med, og hvordan deres tilpassning til og påvirkning av disse, influerer deres legitimitet. Dette er konkretisert i følgende forskingsspørsmål: • Hva er innholdet i kravene og forventningene som rettes mot toppledelsen ved de ulike formene for kriser som studiens case representerer? • Hvordan responderte toppledelsen på kravene og forventningene for å oppnå legitimitet? • I hvilken grad og hvordan påvirker symbolske aspekt ved ledelsens respons på kravene og foreventningene gjennom hva de kommuniserer, deres legitimitet ved kriser? I analysen kombineres teori om impression management og institusjonell teori. Institusjonell teori belyser hvordan legitimitet kan påvirkes gjennom passiv tilpasning til eksterne krav og forventninger. Ledere framstår dermed som symbolske objekter. Impression management- teori forklarer hvordan ledere mer aktivt kan påvirke eksterne aktørers oppfatninger, og dermed også legitimitet. Her framstår ledere som symbolske arkitekter i konstruksjonen av legitimitet. Ved å integrere disse perspektivene i analysen belyses ulike sider ved legitimitetsprosessene som studeres. På bakgrunn av analysen blir det utledes proposisjoner om både situasjonsspesifikke sammenhenger basert på ”within-case-analyse”, og universelle sammenhenger basert på ”across-case-analyse”. Studien avdekker et universelt funn som indikerer at ledere ved å la seg ”rituelt piske” gjennom å utvise ydmykhet og ta selvkritikk, kan styrke sin legitimitet ved ulike kriser. Dette forklares ved at ledere på denne måten responderer på en sosialt konstruert oppfatning av hva deres moralske ansvar for krisen innebærer. På bakgrunn av dette utdypes og predikeres hvordan ulike krisers karakteristika legger føringer for hvilke former for budskap som er mest effektive for å styrke ledelsens legitimitet. Fri, 29 Oct 2004 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2330/1613 Title: Trust in initial encounters : a motivational, cognitive theory <br/> <br/>Authors: Johansen, Svein Tvedt <br/> <br/>Abstract: In this dissertation I develop a theoretical model on the effects of risk on the formation of trust in the initial stages of a relationship. Risk is proposed to influence trust in two ways: First, risk exerts a direct influence on trust. Risk may decrease trust, increase trust, or increase trust under specific conditions. Second, risk may affect the level of trust indirectly by influencing the effect of social stimuli on the formation of trust. In this second indirect effect of risk, risk is first proposed to influence the content of trust, or what trust is about as represented in the importance a trustor attaches to benevolence or ability. Moreover and related to the effect of risk on the form of trust, risk is further proposed to affect what people seek to know or the informational goals people adopt, and the interpretive schemas people use while processing social stimuli. In describing the indirect effect of risk on the formation of trust, I differentiate between rolebased and personal trust. Role-based trust emphasizes ability and reliability and is vested in people’s structural expectations toward social and professional roles. Personal trust emphasizes benevolence and is vested in a trustor’s appraisal of the personal traits and motivations of a trustee. High risk, I argue will activate personal trust, and cause people to interpret information in light of a person schema whereas low risk is proposed to activate rolebased trust and should cause people to interpret information in light of a role schema. Unlike conventional models of trust formation and development, which see trust as being based on declarative knowledge; the present model argue that trust in the initial stages of a relationship will be based on people’s experience with information processing and their experiences of fluency in information processing and relevance. Social stimuli that are structurally congruent with active interpretive schemas as well as relevant to active informational goals will increase trust whereas incongruent and irrelevant information should reduce trust. Sun, 29 Oct 2006 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2330/1482 Title: Governance of IT sourcing relationships : an empirical investigation of the influence of contract mechanisms and behavior <br/> <br/>Authors: Ravndal, Bjarte <br/> <br/>Abstract: This work is an empirical investigation of IT sourcing contracts and relationships, and on a general level, it is about the relationship between formal contract governance and relational governance of business relationships. It is a study of ‘the nature of contract’, with an emphasis on how elements of the contract influence on co-operation in business relationships (IT sourcing relationships). We employed a cross-sectional design, with data on IT contracts and relationships between a Norwegian industrial buyer and its suppliers of IT products and services. Our results suggest that it is relevant to focus on micro analytic elements of formal contracts, here expressed as contract mechanisms. The contract mechanisms show different effect on contract behavior. Detailed requirement specifications and penalty mechanisms seem to drive competition between the parties. They are extremely powerful discrete mechanisms that could be used in more certain sourcing situations. If, however, the sourcing situation at hand is more complex, then the parties should be very cautious. Measurement and specificity are so powerful that the combination might restrict co-operation. On the other hand, co-operative behavior seems to be promoted by the use of detailed requirement specifications, and by working together in lasting relationships. Finally, we found that environmental and behavioral uncertainty should be treated differently. Environmental uncertainty promotes competition and discrete contract behavior, while behavioral uncertainty seems to promote lasting and co-operative relationships. Sat, 29 Oct 2005 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2330/1481 Title: A grammar of motives for understanding individual toursit behaviour <br/> <br/>Authors: Prebensen, Nina K. <br/> <br/>Abstract: The present thesis is about tourist motivation and choice of destination and activities. The idea is to examine how, and to what degree, motivation relates to travel behaviour and subsequent toursit satisfaction, as such the thesis focuses on the process of toursit buying behaviour. As the title of the thesis indicates, tourist motivation is the main issue. Burke(1969) introduces a grammar of five key terms "act, agent, agency, scene, and attitude" through which one can explain the motivation symbolic action, and further stresses the appropriate relationships among the elements. The thesis is divided into three parts. In Part A, the introduction discusses tourist motivation and its consequences and antecedents. The perspective of the thesis is described, and finally, the research outlined. In part B, the main findings and contribution of the thesis are highlighted. In part C, a collection of six published papers is presented. Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:26:11 GMT