bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Global marketing managers
Authors: Griffith David A. , Hoppner Jessica J.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

Although a great deal of research has focused on global marketing strategy development and implementation, little research has focused on the global marketing managers charged with the responsibilities of developing and implementing such strategy. The aim of this paper is to develop a model that identifies a set of soft skills that have the ability to increase the effectiveness of global marketing managers in making the tactical adaptations necessary to develop and implement global marketing strategy in an increasingly complex and dynamic marketplace.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model is developed with coinciding propositions.

Findings

The model developed theorizes that the ability of global marketing managers to make tactical adaptations to the firm's global marketing strategy (and thus enhance performance) is driven by the soft skills of tacit knowledge, experience, learning, unlearning, intuition, self‐confidence, flexibility, prioritization of problems, working under pressure and ambiguity tolerance.

Practical implications

The model highlights the specific soft skills that firms can work to foster in their global marketing managers and educators can work to incorporate within a curriculum. Through the development of these soft skills within a firm's global marketing managers, the firm can achieve a competitive position within the marketplace.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to conceptualize a specific set of soft skills that enhance a global marketing manager's ability to make tactical adaptations to the firm's global marketing strategy by which the firm can be more competitive. As such, this study provides for a better understanding of how soft skills relate to the development and implementation of global marketing strategy and how firms can be more competitive by not only employing unique human capital, but by developing global marketing managers who are more effective at adapting to constantly changing global market conditions.
Islamic banks
Authors: Amin Muslim , Isa Zaidi , Fontaine Rodrigue
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction and its effect on image, trust, and customer loyalty for Islamic banks.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data from Islamic banks and dual‐window Islamic banks, pertaining to two different customer segments (Muslims and non‐Muslims).

Findings

The results indicate that customer satisfaction has a significant relationship with image, image has a significant relationship with trust, and trust has a significant relationship with customer loyalty for both customer segments. Furthermore, significant differences occur in the effect of customer satisfaction on image, image on trust, and trust on customer loyalty between Muslim and non‐Muslim customers.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that Muslim customers establish relationships with Islamic banks because they trust that Islamic banks are Shariah compliant. Therefore, providing secure banking products that are fully compliant with Islamic principles are necessary.

Originality/value

This research is important as it clearly demonstrates that the loyalty of Muslim and non‐Muslim customers to Islamic banks is influenced by customers being satisfied, as well as the image of and trust in Islamic banks. In this context, when customers are unwilling to trust Islamic banks, they are also unwilling to be loyal.
The effect of CSR knowledge on customer liking, across cultures
Authors: Chomvilailuk Rojanasak , Butcher Ken
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of corporate social responsibility (CSR) knowledge on customer liking for the bank across two countries and cultural contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Three CSR variables were tested for their comparative influence on customer liking under different cultural value conditions. Surveys were completed by 204 bank consumers in Australia and 219 bank customers in Thailand. ANOVA and regression were used to test hypotheses.

Findings

Perceptions of existing CSR performance and new CSR initiative had significant effects on liking for the bank. However CSR orientation had no effect. These influences varied substantially depending upon the community orientation of the target customer.

Research limitations/implications

Understanding the differing roles of the two significant CSR variables provide insights into the complexities of CSR relationships. The successful introduction of a scale to measure a salient internal outcome measure, called liking for the bank, suggests future research opportunities.

Practical implications

The differential impact of CSR information on customer responses highlights the importance of understanding different cultural contexts and suggests that careful segmentation strategies are required for particular CSR campaigns. In particular, new social‐cultural segmentation bases may be required.

Originality/value

A combination of three CSR variables, together with new CSR information reflecting aspects of CSR not previously used in combination. A new affective customer response measure was used. The first cross‐cultural and country analysis to be conducted for CSR‐customer response relationships within the banking sector. Use of the cultural value of community orientation as a moderator.
The effect of motivation on trust in the acceptance of internet banking in a low income country
Authors: Akhlaq Ather , Ahmed Ejaz
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The aim of this study is to find out the type of motivation that provokes an individual to trust and use the internet banking system in a low income country. In this paper, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation are studied that may build trust in an individual to accept internet banking technology.

Design/methodology/approach

With the sample size of 109 respondents, structural equation modeling is used to find the measurement and the structural model for this research.

Findings

Extrinsic motivation did not fit within the measurement model and was therefore excluded. Finally, the research model showed that intrinsic motivation is responsible in building user's trust in the acceptance of internet banking.

Research limitations/implications

This research is difficult to generalize because of the relatively small sample size. However, the sample has been taken from the biggest city of Pakistan, Karachi, which accommodates people from almost every region of the country suggesting that the results could be generalized to an extent. Future research can use this model to study the adoption of internet banking in other regions.

Practical implications

This research contributes to the banking industry including foreign banks that have laid the foundations and infrastructure for a robust internet banking environment but still have not reached the optimal user base due to lack of trust. Banks need to follow a strategy to work on intrinsic motivational factors such as perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment to induce trust in individuals to attract more internet banking users.

Originality/value

Despite the benefits, internet banking is not being used extensively in low income countries. The research fills the gap for the low income country by using the motivation theory and the technology acceptance model to increase the level of trust in individuals to adopt internet banking. This integrated model can also be applied to other developing countries which are relatively new to internet banking.
Focus of attention at work and organization‐based self‐esteem
Authors: Gardner Donald G. , Pierce Jon L.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the questions “How does employees' focus of attention at work theoretically relate to organization‐based self‐esteem?”, and “Does job focus and off‐job focus moderate relationships between organization‐based self‐esteem, and employee attitudes and perceptions of job complexity?”.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants in two different samples completed questionnaires containing measures of organization‐based self‐esteem, focus of attention at work, job complexity, and a variety of attitudes and behavioral intentions.

Findings

What and how much employees think about when they are at work changes relationships between organization‐based self‐esteem and employee perceptions of and attitudes towards their workplaces. Job focus and off‐job focus of attention intensified or weakened relationships with organization‐based self‐esteem.

Research limitations/implications

Conclusions about causality are constrained by the cross‐sectional data collected in this study.

Practical implications

It appears that managers should attempt to draw employees' attention to self‐esteem bolstering aspects of their jobs; and away from debilitating ones.

Social implications

Societies benefit by having members with positive well‐being, to which organization‐based self‐esteem may contribute.

Originality/value

This is the first theoretical analysis and empirical study of relationships between organization‐based self‐esteem and employee focus of attention at work.
Ethical and empowering leadership and leader effectiveness
Authors: Hassan Shahidul , Mahsud Rubiná , Yukl Gary , Prussia Gregory E.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how ethical leadership and empowering leadership are related to leader‐member exchange relations (LMX), affective commitment, and leader effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using questionnaires filled out by 259 subordinates of public and private sector managers. Relationships among variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results indicated that ethical leadership and empowering leadership have positive associations with LMX, subordinate affective commitment, and perception of leader effectiveness.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine the independent and joint relationships of empowering leadership and ethical leadership with leadership effectiveness and the mediating role of LMX.
The executive mind: leader self‐talk, effectiveness and strain
Authors: Rogelberg Steven G. , Justice Logan , Braddy Phillip W. , Paustian‐Underdahl Samantha C. , Heggestad Eric , Shanock Linda , Baran Benjamin E. , Beck Tammy , Long Shawn , Andrew Ashley , Altman David G. , Fleenor John W.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The theoretical and practical criticality of self‐talk for leader success receives extensive multidisciplinary discussion, without a great deal of empirical research given the challenge of assessing actual self‐talk. The purpose of this paper is to advance research and theory on self‐leadership by examining leader self‐talk and its relationship to effectiveness and strain.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 189 senior executives' self‐addressed, future‐oriented letters were collected. The executives wrote these letters to themselves for their own personal development; thus, the language used represented a form of naturally occurring self‐talk. Two types of self‐talk were coded: constructive and dysfunctional. Supervisor and direct report ratings of leadership of others and creativity and self‐ratings of job strain were collected.

Findings

Extensive variability among leaders in constructive self‐talk was found. Exemplars of constructive and dysfunctional self‐talk are presented. Constructive self‐talk positively related to effective leadership of others and creativity/originality as evaluated by subordinates and superiors and was negatively related to job strain. Dysfunctional self‐talk related negatively to creativity/originality.

Originality/value

In addition to illustrating the types of self‐talk used by leaders, research is extended by providing some of the first empirical evidence of how leaders' free‐flowing thoughts are related to their effectiveness and their overall well‐being, lending direct support to a principal proposition from the self‐leadership framework.
SERV*OR in China: testing the effect of service orientation on service skills performance
Authors: T.K. Luk Sherriff , Lu Ken , Liu Ben
Published: February 2013

Purpose

– The present study is specifically designed to accomplish two objectives: to validate the SERV*OR scale in an emerging oriental market; and to test empirically the effect of service orientation on front-line employees
'
service performance in various service skill areas.

Design/methodology/approach

– The whole research involved a triangulation process, which involved in-depth interviews, pilot test, and survey interviews, to collect both qualitative and quantitative information to validate the measurement scales and test the hypotheses. The major objective was to validate the measurement scales and test the relationship between service orientation and front-line service employees
'
performance in various skill areas.

Findings

– The results from measurement scale development show that service orientation was represented by service leadership, service contact, human resources management, and service system, whereas service skills were embodied by functional skills and technical skills. Results from structural equation model (SEM) analysis show that various dimensions of the service orientation have differential positive effects on different types of the service skills.

Research limitations/implications

– Although the model is supported by empirical findings, only through replication in other service industries can it enhance its generalizability. Such factors as investment in service training, quality of training program, employee learning attitude may mediate or moderate the effect of service orientation on performance in different skill areas and future research should include them for a better explanation of the effect of service orientation on service skills.

Practical implications

– Based on the results of this study, firms can strengthen the service orientation as an effective strategy to improve service skills and this broad strategy can be decomposed into more workable tactics like building service leadership, service contact, human resources management and service system improvement.

Originality/value

– The present study bridged the macro and micro perspectives by developing a framework that provides a deeper and richer portrait of what kind of front-line employees engage in good service performance and, at the same time, what kind of service orientation component will be more effective in facilitating service performance. The findings contribute to the explanation of significant variance in employees
'
service performance. The present study is thus a compelling extension of the previous approach to research on service behavior.
Shopping motivation as a moderator in the retail service evaluation
Authors: T.K. Luk Sherriff , Sharma Piyush , S.N. Chen Ivy
Published: February 2013

Purpose

– Prior research explores the moderating effects of age and gender on the relationships in the comprehensive service evaluation model, but it ignores the role of contextual variables. The study aims to test the moderating effect of an important contextual variable (shopping motivation) on the service evaluation process.

Design/methodology/approach

– Responses were collected from 2,727 shoppers in six retail categories (cosmetics, electronics, fashion, jewelry, telecommunication services, and department stores) using a mall-intercept approach and all the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling technique.

Findings

– The study finds that relationships among sacrifice, value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions are stronger in retail categories with utilitarian vs hedonic shopping motivation. In contrast, the relationships among service quality, value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions are stronger in hedonic vs utilitarian retail categories.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper uses a cross-sectional survey to test all the hypotheses, hence it cannot study actual shopping behavior in future. Moreover, it examines shopping motivation at a retail category level and not at individual shopper level. The results may also vary based on cross-cultural differences in customer expectations and perceptions.

Practical implications

– The findings would help retail managers to identify relevant service dimensions, to improve perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, and value for the shoppers in their stores, which in turn may lead to more favorable behavioral intentions.

Originality/value

– This paper offers new insights on the differences in expectations, perceptions, and evaluations of shoppers in hedonic vs utilitarian retail categories, and introduces the moderating role of shopping motivation, an important contextual variable.
Internet forums and negotiation of healthcare knowledge cultures
Authors: Keeling Debbie , Khan Amna , Newholm Terry
Published: February 2013

Purpose

– Internet forums are an important arena for information exchange between consumers. Despite healthcare being one of the most accessed information categories on the internet, knowledge of exchange between patients in online communities remains limited. Specifically, little is known about how patients negotiate knowledge in online forums to understand and manage their diseases. This paper aims to illustrate this by presenting data that demonstrate the construction of tacit knowledge within online health communities, and how consumers exercise their “voice” within complex professional services.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper reports an exploratory single case study of an online discussion forum for breast cancer sufferers, in which participants discuss their experience with healthcare services and related pharmaceutical products. Textual data were collected and analysed from the forum retrospectively from an 11-month period, entailing contributions from 252 participants.

Findings

– The paper challenges prevalent managerial and professional perspectives that evaluate online health information in terms of its correspondence with conventional medical information. In the absence of normative assumptions that broadly guide health service encounters, forum participants negotiate their understandings in the context of their personal experience.

Practical implications

– This novel culture offers potential for developing rich and sometimes more appropriate understandings of health than available from the medical establishment. It discusses how service providers can exploit such opportunities towards improving service provision, facilitating the consumer voice within a complex service.

Originality/value

– Re-evaluating the value of online forums, the paper identifies the mechanisms through which health consumers co-create knowledge within online communities, and how these mechanisms can inform and complement future service provision.
Burnout among accounting and finance academics in Ireland
Authors: Byrne Marann , Chughtai Aamir , Flood Barbara , Murphy Evelyn , Willis Pauline
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the levels of burnout experienced by accounting and finance academics in Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this cross‐sectional survey study were collected from 100 accounting and finance academics teaching in Irish third level institutions. Independent sample t‐tests, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and step‐wise multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data.

Findings

Results indicate that the majority of accounting and finance academics experience low or average burnout with regard to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation but encounter a high degree of burnout with regard to personal accomplishment. While none of the background or workload variables captured in the study explain variation in the levels of burnout experienced, some aspects of job satisfaction are significant predictors of the three dimensions of burnout.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional design of this study does not allow causal inferences to be made. Furthermore, since all data were self‐reported, it is possible that common method variance may be an issue. Despite these limitations, results suggest that increasing faculty members’ job satisfaction can be a useful strategy for preventing academic burnout.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the issue of burnout among academics in an Irish context. Moreover, it is one of the few studies, which has explored the phenomenon of burnout among university faculty members.
The efficiency of the “Learning Management System (LMS)” in AOU, Kuwait, as a communication tool in an E‐learning system
Authors: Assaf Alfadly Ahmad
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The integration of a Learning Management System (LMS) at the Arab Open University (AOU), Kuwait, opens new possibilities for online interaction between teachers and students. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficiency of the LMS at AOU, Kuwait as a communication tool in the E‐learning system and to find the best automated solution possible.

Design/methodology/approach

The study participants were 500 students (270 female and 230 male) from AOU, Kuwait. The participants began to use the LMS in January 2009 and, up to the date of the analysis, used the system continuously during three academic years. The researcher used a quantitative research design because the descriptive statistics were demonstrated in frequency counts and percentages and the responses were analyzed numerically.

Findings

This study found that the majority of the AOU, Kuwait students welcome the LMS system at their university. However, there are many reasons why LMSs have failed, including high cost of technology, poor decisions, competition, and the absence of appropriate (or any) business strategies, especially market assessment of consumer demand.

Originality/value

This project identifies different milestones in delivering the LMS process and recommends the best solution to automate the E‐learning procedure at the Open University, Kuwait. The goal is to reduce time, effort and cost when implementing this new solution. The study suggests that students are important stakeholders whose active involvement increases exchange of pedagogical information and promotes interaction among teachers.
Teacher participation in decision making and its impact on school and teachers
Authors: Sarafidou Jasmin‐Olga , Chatziioannidis Georgios
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine teacher involvement in different domains of decision making in Greek primary schools and explore associations with school and teacher variables.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey employing self‐administered questionnaires, with a Likert‐type scale assessing teachers’ actual and desired participation in three domains of decision making, was used. Scales measuring perceived school climate, self‐efficacy and job satisfaction were also included. Data were collected from 143 teachers working in primary schools located in different areas in Greece.

Findings

The multidimensional approach to measuring teacher participation in decision making revealed quite high actual participation in decisions concerning students’ and teachers’ issues, but low levels of participation in managerial decisions. The discrepancy between the actual and desired levels of participation showed significant deprivation across all decision‐making domains. Greater participation in decisions concerning teacher issues and lower levels of deprivation of participating in managerial issues were associated with teachers’ perceptions of better leadership and higher collegiality in schools. The strongest predictor of both teachers’ sense of efficacy and job satisfaction was their participation in decisions concerning teacher issues.

Practical implications

Educational leaders should promote forms of participation in decision making that increase teachers’ actual involvement in decisions concerning their duties and opportunities for development and also provide for more sharing on issues concerning the school management, particularly for women.

Originality/value

The study underlines the value of dimensionality in investigating decision making in schools.
Organizational decline
Authors: Heine Klaus , Rindfleisch Heike
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to propose an integrative framework of organizational decline on the firm‐level.

Design/methodology/approach

In recent years, there has been a growing number of contributions to the research field of organizational decline from diverse theoretical perspectives and different levels of analysis. In this paper, an integrative framework of organizational decline on the firm‐level is proposed that relies on a process perspective, combining insights from organizational ecology, path dependence and the resource‐based view.

Findings

Different theoretical perspectives are used to explore various aspects of the problem of organizational decline. A theoretical framework as a theoretical perspective is developed to guide research and to interconnect diverse theoretical findings. Based on the suggested framework, two archetypes are distinguished which lead an organization to insolvency: malabsorptive incompetence and maladapted competencies.

Originality/value

The proposed framework allows the capture of the dynamic process of organizational decline and the identification of the triggers driving organizational decline.
Art imitates life: art and architecture as a driving force for change
Authors: Holloway Cripps Kaisa G.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of art and architecture by leadership as a driving force to effect change of perception of an organization's identity. While some claim life imitates art, from a management discipline lens the paper aims to state that art imitates life through introduction of a conceptual model.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of organizational art and architecture, leadership, identity and change is undertaken and synthesized with Lewin's theory and concepts of force field analysis. Case studies from Africa, Europe and the USA are analyzed.

Findings

Organizational leadership uses art and architecture as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This is exemplified through evaluation of choices in the organizations examined.

Practical implications

This paper establishes a relationship between choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity and proposes a conceptual model for further study. This model opens potentially several new streams of research in management and organizational change disciplines.

Originality/value

There is a small subset of scholarship and studies in the fields of management and organizational change, with a scant amount focused on choices organizational leadership makes on art and architecture and how they can be used as a driving force to effect change in perception of identity. This paper attempts to initiate further research and empirical studies.
A case study of district leadership using knowledge management for educational change
Authors: Hannay Lynne , Ben Jaafar Sonia , Earl Lorna
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the work of district leadership of a large Canadian school district in becoming a learning organization over four years using knowledge management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study conducted from 2000‐2004 using a naturalistic research paradigm with the underlying principles of grounded theory. Data were collected from a sample of six supervisory officers through individual and focus group interviews.

Findings

Using knowledge management practices, the senior leaders of a large school district organically developed a unified new amalgamated super‐district. They redefined their roles from managers to knowledge leaders in order to reshape the district into a learning organization that could positively respond to the continual changes being rained down on them.

Practical implications

This paper offers insights that are both theoretical and practical on how senior leaders transform their role from operational managers to knowledge leaders for school improvement. The conceptual framework proves valuable in understanding how change can work in practice.

Research limitations/implications

Although the study is limited by the specific context from which data were drawn, it offers useful lessons and direction for large districts undergoing major reforms.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the role of senior leadership as knowledge leaders managing a district towards becoming a learning organization via organic processes that promote knowledge flow.
The impact of change management on the attitudes of Turkish security managers towards change
Authors: Yilmaz Sefer , Ozgen Huseyin , Akyel Recai
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of how managerial methods can be used during the change process to direct employees' attitudes positively towards change. This study also aims to provide considerable implications for the homeland security managers suitable for the applications on the area of homeland security. Paying requisite attention to the attitudes of employees towards change and careful selection of change management methods is considered critical for determining the ultimate success.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in this study were obtained by the questionnaire survey method, analyzed by using a statistics software program, and main findings of the study were evaluated. The last section of this study has a discussion and a conclusion which includes specific evaluations and recommendations regarding the homeland security organizations and their practices in Turkey. Due to the large data set available, only the main findings are presented in this paper.

Findings

Findings suggest that the methods used, such as informing the employees about what is going on regarding change, consulting them and maintaining participation of the employees to the change process, have a positive impact on the attitudes of security managers towards change. This means that if an organization complies with the advice of the change literature asserting that the employees should be informed of, consulted and participate in the change from the outset of the process, the employees would probably commit themselves to change rather than resisting it.

Originality/value

The topic of this study is believed to be of vital importance in the area of homeland security organizations of Turkey and other countries in the context of change management for the sake of success in change initiatives. It is hoped that this study will make contributions to the existent literature in that it combines two disciplines, namely, change management and homeland security management, in just one case study. This combination would add considerable insights into the success and/or failure of the change initiatives launched in the organizations of homeland security generally and in Turkey specifically.
Underneath organizational health and knowledge sharing
Authors: Trong Tuan Luu
Published: February 2013

Purpose

This research excursion through shipping companies in Vietnam seeks to examine if corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences trust, which in turn engenders the chain of effects from upward influence behavior through organizational health to knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach which contributed to the analysis of 412 responses returned from self‐administered structured questionnaires dispatched to 635 middle level managers.

Findings

From the findings emerged a model of organizational health and its levers such as CSR, trust, and upward influence behavior. Ethical CSR was found to nurture high level of trust in the organization.

Originality/value

Through the findings of the research, the insight into the CSR‐based model of organizational health highlights the role of ethical CSR, trust, and organizationally beneficial upward influence tactics in building organizational health in shipping companies in the Vietnam business setting.
Insider action research: premises and promises
Authors: Ranjan Kumar Madhu
Published: February 2013

Purpose

This paper aims at developing a set of guidelines for potential inside action researchers (IARrs).

Design/methodology/approach

Action research was done in three units of Indian Railways. At each unit two IARrs were engaged. The six IARrs and the author (also an IARr at one of the units) used reflection during action and reflection after action to conduct the action research.

Findings

The paper shows that IARrs must carry good credibility, relationships have to be continually worked, ethical clearance must be dynamic to the emerging situations and the IARrs should not emphasize the pattern of their previous interactions with the members of the research world.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on the action research done in manufacturing units within Indian bureaucracy. The generalization of findings to other organizational set up was not verified.

Practical implications

It brings out specific “dos” and “don'ts” for a prospective IARr.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the action research method by bringing out new issues faced by IARrs while conducting insider action research in large organizations. With respect to large‐scale change, it brings out that perception of shared world among IARrs facilitates large scale change. Middle managers are better suited as IARr than top managers and an ab‐initio large scale planning is not necessary to cause a large scale change in the long run.
High performance work systems in corporate turnaround: a German case study
Authors: Mihail Dimitrios M. , Mac Links Myra , Sarvanidis Sofoklis
Published: February 2013

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the nexus of high‐performance work systems (HPWS) with corporate change that leads to enhanced performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a case study method and analyzes the impact of a HPWS, adopted at a German medical technology company, on corporate turnaround and performance outcomes. In the present study, conducting in‐depth interviews with the social partners of corporate change, the authors investigate how leadership, competition forces and employee relations interacted with a bundle of high‐performance work practices led the company to massive changes in production with noticeable performance outcomes.

Findings

The analysis lends support to the HPWS approach that links certain high‐commitment work practices to corporate changes and enhanced performance outcomes such as rising employee productivity and sales over the last decade.

Practical implications

The study pinpoints key factors that could optimally be used as a best practice framework for change management leading to corporate turnaround in a highly volatile world economy.

Social implications

The HPWS approach, facilitating corporate turnaround, underlines the importance of social partnership for modern corporations to handle groundbreaking changes and survive the fierce competition in global markets.

Originality/value

Using a case study method, the analysis lends some support to the HPWS perspective that links high‐commitment work practices to enhanced corporate performance.
Perceptions of organizational politics and hotel employee outcomes
Authors: Karatepe Osman M.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

This paper aims to propose and test a research model that investigates work engagement as a mediator of the effects of perceptions of organizational politics on affective organizational commitment, extra‐role performance, and turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from a sample of 231 full‐time frontline employee‐supervisor dyads in Iran. The relationships in the model were tested using LISREL 8.30 through structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results show that the fully‐mediated model provides a better fit to the data than does the partially mediated model and further indicate that work engagement acts as a full mediator of the impacts of perceptions of organizational politics on affective organizational commitment, extra‐role performance, and turnover intentions.

Research limitations/implications

In future studies testing the effects of challenge and hindrance demands simultaneously on work engagement would be useful. Replication studies with larger sample sizes in different hospitality settings in Iran as well as other developing countries in the Middle East are in order to cross‐validate the findings.

Practical implications

Providing training programs could make employees cope with difficulties associated with other hindrance demands and their potential effects on organizational politics. In training programs employees can be motivated to speak up when they observe the root causes of organizational politics and unfair decisions in the workplace. This is important, because having a transparent work environment establishes trust between managers and employees. In addition, top management of the hotels should devise new policies and procedures that would minimize the possibility of political decisions.

Originality/value

Empirical research regarding the relationships among perceptions of organizational politics, work engagement, and hotel employee outcomes in the hospitality management and marketing literature is sparse. This study partially fills in this void by investigating the mediating role of work engagement via data obtained in the Iranian hotel industry.
The role of perceived organizational support on emotional labor in the airline industry
Authors: Hur Won‐Moo , Won Moon Tae , Jun Jae‐Kyoon
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether and how the perceived organizational support (POS) influences emotional labor and the relationship between emotional labor and flight attendants' outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses from a sample of 256 flight attendants in South Korea.

Findings

The results showed that POS has a positive effect on deep acting. Furthermore, it was found that surface acting has a positive influence on emotional exhaustion, whereas deep acting has a negative influence on emotional exhaustion. In addition, emotional exhaustion has a negative influence on organizational commitment, while organizational commitment has a negative influence on turnover intention. Furthermore, POS moderated the relationship between deep acting or surface acting and emotional exhaustion.

Originality/value

The current study broadened the conceptual work and laboratory studies in emotional labor by examining the role of POS on emotional regulation strategies related to emotional exhaustion. In addition, this study sheds new light on customer service management within the airline industry by examining flight attendants' emotional labor, particularly interactions with POS.
Aligning strategy to threat: a baseline anti‐terrorism strategy for hotels
Authors: Paraskevas Alexandros
Published: February 2013

Purpose

Although the threat of terrorist attacks is not a new phenomenon for hotels, limited literature exists on measures that hotels can take to prevent them or limit their damage. The purpose of this paper is to propose a baseline strategy to address this threat.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the terrorist attack cycle and the security function models introduced in this paper, 19 hotel security experts, members of an international working group on terrorism, were tasked to reach consensus on a baseline anti‐terrorist strategy for a hotel. To reach this consensus, the study employed the Nominal Group Technique.

Findings

The study presents a six‐step baseline anti‐terrorism strategy and a series of measures and actions under each step. In the centre of this strategy lies the disruption of the terrorist attack cycle.

Research limitations/implications

There are limitations inherent to the Nominal Group Technique which may not allow the generalizability of the findings. However, every effort was made to ensure the reliability and validity of the study.

Practical implications

The study suggests a shift from physical protection alone to a more intelligence‐led approach. Counter‐surveillance, terrorist behavioral analysis, higher visibility of security measures, stronger relationships with local community leaders, collaborative relationships with emergency response agencies and strategic use of risk intelligence providers will have to take a higher place in the agendas of hotel security departments.

Originality/value

The paper presents, for the first time, two models that industry practitioners will find useful when designing security policies: the terrorist attack cycle and the security function model. Each component of the proposed strategy provides a starting point for the design of security strategies tailored on the security needs and budget of any hotel property.
The relationship between conflict, anticipatory procedural justice, and design with intentions to use ombudsman processes
Authors: Harrison Tyler R. , Hopeck Paula , Desrayaud Nathalie , Imboden Kristen
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of anticipatory procedural justice, seriousness/type of conflict, and design of ombudsman processes with intentions to use ombudsman processes to resolve disputes.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was a 3 (type of conflict with three scenarios nested in each type)×3 (design of ombuds system). Subjects read scenarios and filled out Likert type survey items related to seriousness of conflict, anticipatory procedural justice, and intentions to use ombuds processes.

Findings

Perceived seriousness and anticipatory procedural justice were significantly related to intention to use ombuds process, but design of ombuds process was not.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to scenarios of academic conflict. Research should be extended to experienced conflicts and conflicts in other contexts.

Practical implications

Potential users of ombuds processes are more concerned with principles of fairness and justice than the specific elements of how dispute systems are designed. While the design of a system needs to insure disputants perceive it to be fair, institutions concerned with resolving disputes between/among members should be more concerned with having a system than about promoting specific details about the design of that system.

Originality/value

This study advances both the study of ombuds processes/design and anticipatory procedural justice. This study provides unique findings related to both the design of ombuds processes and the conditions under which disputants might utilize the process. Additionally, procedural justice is demonstrated to be useful in forming decisions about use of processes, not just evaluations after processes have been used.
Process, people, and conflict management in organizations
Authors: Gross Michael A. , Hogler Raymond , Henle Christine A.
Published: February 2013

Purpose

In this viewpoint, the authors argue that the predominant method of analyzing conflict management focuses too heavily on the managerial interests in administrative efficiency and productivity rather than on the needs of individuals and organizations. The aim of this paper is to employ Weber's analysis of conflict systems, specifically the distinction between formal and substantive rationality, to support the authors’ view.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a viewpoint, where content is dependent on the author's opinion and interpretation.

Findings

Conflict management based on Weber's theories of formal and substantive rationality will benefit organizations and society by promoting a more positive perception of corporate behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could examine the relationship between organizational justice and the more global concepts of formality and rationality. Similarly, future research on justice may be expanded by through the notion and perception of legitimacy by members of the organization. How employees accept a system as fair and just has potential import for future justice research.

Practical implications

The combination of formal and substantive rationality offers a practical, and meaningful, way of dealing with conflict from a personal orientation as well as an organizational one. It orients conflict resolution toward people rather than productivity concerns. It further safeguards organizational interests by minimizing litigation, negative publicity, and other adverse effects of conflict.

Originality/value

Weber theorized that formal rationality requires organizations to develop clear, objective, and universal procedures in order to carry out administrative routines. Substantive rationality, in contrast, acknowledges that specific cases may demand particularized decision‐making focusing on individual cases. The paper draws on the procedural justice literature to show how these procedures can be implemented in a fair manner.
The influence of geographical concentration and structural characteristics on the survival chance of textile firms
Authors: Puig Francisco , García‐Mora Belén , Santamaría Cristina
Published: February 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contribution of location (geographical concentration) and firm structure (age and subsector) to the risk of business failure.

Design/methodology/approach

The Markov's regression analysis was made for a sample of over 11,700 Spanish textile‐clothing firms.

Findings

The results obtained from the analysis suggest that the risk of business failure is increased by some risk factors relative to the structural characteristics of the firms (younger firms and specialization in low‐tech activities), and under determined locational circumstances.

Research limitations/implications

Our conclusions have been obtained starting from a sample of manufacturing firms in the Spanish textile sector. An extension of this work would be to test its robustness in other countries (for example, Italy or Portugal) and/or for other industries such as footwear and furniture.

Practical implications

Explaining the different levels of risk business failure shown by firms in an industry.

Originality/value

Work that has studied the failure of the textile firms within this location‐subsector relationship is still scarce. Given that the viability of clusters and of European textile have been put into question, our work evidences that the risk of failure related to the firm's location and structure needs to be tested jointly, so that the way in which the firm addresses environmental changes can be appraised.