Business and Information Technology

Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results (SOAR) is a strengths-based framework for strategic thinking, planning, conversations, and leading that focuses on strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results. The SOAR framework leverages and integrates Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to create a transformation process through generative questions and positive framing. While SOAR has been used by practitioners since 2000 as a framework for generating positive organizational change, its use in empirical research has been limited by the absence of reliable and valid measures. We report on the reliability, construct validity, and measurement invariance of the SOAR Scale, a 12-item self-report survey organized into four first-order factors (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results). Data from a sample of 285 U.S. professionals were analyzed in Mplus using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling. The Four-Factor first-order exploratory structure equation modeling (ESEM) had the best model fit. Measurement invariance tests found the scalar invariance of the SOAR Scale across gender and education groups. Implications are discussed for using the SOAR Scale to build resilience at the individual, the team, and the organizational levels.

Measuring Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results: Psychometric Properties of the 12-Item SOAR Scale

A wave of sustainability initiatives is affecting many traditional corporate functions. While many companies focus on their own internal sustainability initiatives, there is a small but growing number of initiatives focused on promoting sustainability across the supply chain. The resulting sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is faced with the challenge of justifying its contribution to the performance of the focal company. This study attempts to gain insights into the perception professionals have of the impact of SSCM on corporate environmental, social, and economic performance. The study looks into the moderating effects of company size, industry collaboration, and regulatory framework on the relationship between SSCM and corporate performance. Using a mixed methods approach, this research collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data from 242 respondents. Simple and multiple linear regressions in Minitab 17 were used to analyze the quantitative data; qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. In the end, triangulation was used to integrate the quantitative and qualitative analyses to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions reported by survey respondents.

The results of this study show that SSCM is statistically significant to corporate environmental, social, and economic performance based on the independent variables analyzed. The results also show that the moderating effect of company size, industry collaboration, and regulatory framework on the relationship between SSCM and corporate performance made a difference for all three moderators based on factorial plot analysis. However, only the regulatory framework was found to be a statistically significant moderator based on regression analysis. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data showed that SSCM helps the focal company mitigate risks and improve, or preserve, its reputation. Another benefit of SSCM is its ability to help the focal company create a competitive edge with sustainability-conscious stakeholders. At the macro level, the benefits of SSCM are in the areas of long term availability of natural resources, respect for human rights, and better opportunities for persons from socially disadvantaged groups. The challenges of SSCM were reported to be in the areas of cost, difficult enforcement and implementation, and the lack of a common commitment to SSCM throughout the supply chain. These challenges could be overcome through leadership, collaboration, and consistent regulations at the corporate, industry, and country levels respectively. The triangulation (meta inference) showed alignment between the correlation between SSCM and economic performance, and the fact that solutions to most of the reported challenges to the implementation of SSCM in the thematic analysis had economic implications for the focal company. This study provides corporate leaders and governments with meaningful insights into how SSCM can be leveraged as an effective tool to enhance corporate performance and sustainability initiatives.

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A Mixed Methods Analysis of Professionals' Perceptions of the Impact of Sustainable Supply Chain Management on Company Performance

Employees who remain with an organization because they want to, represent a positive organizational phenomenon known as affective commitment (AC). The purpose of this study is to investigate the predictive ability of strategic human resource (HR) practices to create AC in the context of federal knowledge workers, determine the role of SOAR in the relationship between strategic HR practices and AC, and the effect of AC on positive behavioral outcomes. SOAR stands for strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results. This mixed methods study explored the relationship among strategic HR practices. SOAR, AC, and behavioral outcomes. Data were gathered using a survey instrument containing 42 items. The population was federal knowledge workers in a science and technology field. 204 participants completed the study survey and a final sample of N = 188 surveys were used for analysis. Quantitative analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics; qualitative analysis included thematic analysis. Results from the quantitative analysis suggested that strategic HR practices predict AC; the SOAR construct is a partial mediator of the relationship between strategic HR practices and AC; SOAR did not function as a moderator of the relationship between strategic HR practices and AC; and AC encourages the development of positive behavioral outcomes. Results from the qualitative thematic analysis suggested that there are seven prominent themes that sustain commitment in this federal organization and they are: accountability, career advancement, leadership, meaningful work, mission, reward/recognition, and training. For federal organizations similar to this one, it is recommended that they engage the SOAR approach to increase the effectiveness of strategic HR practices in generating AC; implement strategic HR practices that encompass the seven major themes; a positive proactive way of viewing employee commitment by cultivating AC as opposed to studying turnover trends; and engage in conversations about strategic change using dialogical methods based on appreciative inquiry. Future research could include studies on how the Federal Government communicates strategic HR practices to their employees and whether or not they choose to adopt dialogical versus diagnostic approaches

A mixed methods study on the relationship among strategic HR practices, SOAR and affective commitment in the federal workplace

This is an exploratory qualitative case study of the state of sustainability programs within a set of 12 mid-sized U.S. banks compared among themselves and then compared to a set of 12 global banks. This research was designed in two phases. Phase one presented the current state of sustainability within mid-sized U.S. banks and global banks based upon each bank's public data as organized into three sections: a bank profile, major strategic initiatives, and bank sustainability initiatives and programs. Phase two data were analyzed from 24 interviews with key executives within each bank. A structured interview format was used, and the interviews were conducted in-person, by phone, or via email depending on the respondent's preference. The research found that the majority of mid-sized U.S. banks had, from a regulatory view point, achieved the broader aspects of sustainability. Mid-sized U.S. banks had not seized the spirit of sustainability by organizing and communicating their efforts in the context of a voluntary formal reporting mechanism. Mid-sized banks generally relied on government compliance reports to communicate their efforts .. It was found that the global banks demonstrated a willingness to embrace the spirit of sustainability past any regulatory requirements, but found their efforts were still in the process of integration within their many business units. It was also found that there is a need for one globally accepted reporting mechanism for sustainability performance

Business and Information Technology

Items in this collection

Measuring Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results: Psychometric Properties of the 12-Item SOAR Scale

A Mixed Methods Analysis of Professionals' Perceptions of the Impact of Sustainable Supply Chain Management on Company Performance

A mixed methods study on the relationship among strategic HR practices, SOAR and affective commitment in the federal workplace

An exploratory study comparing mid-sized U.S. banks' and global banks' sustainability programs

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A Mixed Methods Analysis of Professionals' Perceptions of the Impact of Sustainable Supply Chain Management on Company Performance

A mixed methods study on the relationship among strategic HR practices, SOAR and affective commitment in the federal workplace

An exploratory study comparing mid-sized U.S. banks' and global banks' sustainability programs

Items in this collection