A “practice” perspective in Logistics Management - A practice theory approach in a “two-case” case study in Greece
(2015) SMMM20 20151Department of Service Studies
- Abstract
- Keywords
Practice, Practice theory, Supply chain and Logistics, Management, Logistics manager, Managerial work, Shadowing, “Two case” case study, Greece
Thesis Purpose
The aim of this thesis is to provide a deep insight into the logistics managers’ work practices as well as to introduce, apply and contribute in the development of a new theory in the service management domain, which is the practice theory. The researcher’s objective is to supply with information as well as to shed light on how logistics managers cope with their daily duties and why they perform in such a way. In order this to be achieved, the practice theory is applied, as this is the only way to study the productive and reproductive managerial behavior and extract... (More) - Keywords
Practice, Practice theory, Supply chain and Logistics, Management, Logistics manager, Managerial work, Shadowing, “Two case” case study, Greece
Thesis Purpose
The aim of this thesis is to provide a deep insight into the logistics managers’ work practices as well as to introduce, apply and contribute in the development of a new theory in the service management domain, which is the practice theory. The researcher’s objective is to supply with information as well as to shed light on how logistics managers cope with their daily duties and why they perform in such a way. In order this to be achieved, the practice theory is applied, as this is the only way to study the productive and reproductive managerial behavior and extract essential and primary data about service management. Two Greek logistics managers are being studied and explored thoroughly, assisting the effort for managerial practices’ explication.
Research Method/Methodology
For the completion of this thesis, an abductive qualitative research process with “two case” case study methodology has been applied. The empirical data were gathered through shadowing the respective logistics managers for four weeks in total, conducting semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the two participants as well as with document analysis. The first two methods are actually the main sources of data, as they provided a deeper understanding of the managerial work and practice. The findings are analyzed, interpreted and then compared, in order to be emphasized the similarities and differences.
Findings
The findings from the “two case” case study are introduced and analyzed for each logistics manager separately. With this way, an explicit, coherent and thus a more completed illustration of each manager’s practice is provided, which is carried out based on the seven components of practice. The findings are a nexus of managers’ principles and beliefs, understanding and routines as well as daily activities and priorities, all substantial elements of a practice. The cross case comparison, highlight and summarize the key patterns as well as provide additional details, relevant to the research question.
Value
The empirical findings and the results that this thesis provides about the managerial behavior and practice, can hardly be found in the management literature. This is mainly due to the alternative point of view that the practice theory advocates as well as due to the fact that this theory is not adopted often by the social researchers in the service management domain. Hence, these data can be used as an educational basis for novice managers in the service management domain or even as a further contribution in the effort to develop the management practice theory. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/7373432
- author
- Panagiotis, Tsimtsilis LU
- supervisor
-
- Klas Hjort LU
- organization
- course
- SMMM20 20151
- year
- 2015
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 7373432
- date added to LUP
- 2016-02-04 13:22:10
- date last changed
- 2016-02-04 13:22:10
@misc{7373432,
abstract = {{Keywords
Practice, Practice theory, Supply chain and Logistics, Management, Logistics manager, Managerial work, Shadowing, “Two case” case study, Greece
Thesis Purpose
The aim of this thesis is to provide a deep insight into the logistics managers’ work practices as well as to introduce, apply and contribute in the development of a new theory in the service management domain, which is the practice theory. The researcher’s objective is to supply with information as well as to shed light on how logistics managers cope with their daily duties and why they perform in such a way. In order this to be achieved, the practice theory is applied, as this is the only way to study the productive and reproductive managerial behavior and extract essential and primary data about service management. Two Greek logistics managers are being studied and explored thoroughly, assisting the effort for managerial practices’ explication.
Research Method/Methodology
For the completion of this thesis, an abductive qualitative research process with “two case” case study methodology has been applied. The empirical data were gathered through shadowing the respective logistics managers for four weeks in total, conducting semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the two participants as well as with document analysis. The first two methods are actually the main sources of data, as they provided a deeper understanding of the managerial work and practice. The findings are analyzed, interpreted and then compared, in order to be emphasized the similarities and differences.
Findings
The findings from the “two case” case study are introduced and analyzed for each logistics manager separately. With this way, an explicit, coherent and thus a more completed illustration of each manager’s practice is provided, which is carried out based on the seven components of practice. The findings are a nexus of managers’ principles and beliefs, understanding and routines as well as daily activities and priorities, all substantial elements of a practice. The cross case comparison, highlight and summarize the key patterns as well as provide additional details, relevant to the research question.
Value
The empirical findings and the results that this thesis provides about the managerial behavior and practice, can hardly be found in the management literature. This is mainly due to the alternative point of view that the practice theory advocates as well as due to the fact that this theory is not adopted often by the social researchers in the service management domain. Hence, these data can be used as an educational basis for novice managers in the service management domain or even as a further contribution in the effort to develop the management practice theory.}},
author = {{Panagiotis, Tsimtsilis}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{A “practice” perspective in Logistics Management - A practice theory approach in a “two-case” case study in Greece}},
year = {{2015}},
}