bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Many cheers make light the work: how social support triggers process gains in teams
Authors: Hüffmeier Joachim , Hertel Guido 
Published: March 2011

PurposeSocial support from fellow team members has been neglected as a unique source of process gains in teams. This paper seeks to introduce the Model of Social Support within Teams (MSST) that explicates testable hypotheses on effects of team partners' affective and task‐related support on team performance.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model is proposed that specifies the psychological mechanisms by which affective and task‐related support from fellow team members evoke process gains in teams compared with individual work. Moreover, moderators and potential limits of these beneficial effects are described. The model integrates results from experimental research on behaviour in small groups with findings from field studies on organisational citizenship behaviour, team cognition, and efficacy beliefs at the individual and team level.FindingsIt is predicted that affective support predominantly increases individual members' motivation, while task‐related support predominantly improves coordination within teams. Moreover, various moderators (team members' dispositions, task design, team characteristics) are considered.Practical implicationsAccording to this analysis, social support can be an effective measure to trigger process gains in teams, and thus to increase team performance and organisational success. Concrete interventions to foster social support in teams are derived from the model, among them task design, consideration of social attitudes in selection and staffing, and team training.Originality/valueThis paper introduces a theoretical model explicating a previously neglected source of process gains in teams. In contrast with other sources of process gains, social support relates to the interaction among team members and integrates both motivation and coordination gains.
“… with a little help from my friends”: friendship, effort norms, and group motivation gain
Authors: Kerr Norbert L. , Seok Dong‐Heon 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on new research that explores the effect of co‐worker friendship and performance norms on the Köhler motivation gain effect.Design/methodology/approachFemales worked at a motor persistence task with either a more capable coactor or with a more capable team‐mate (where the group's task had conjunctive task demands; i.e. the performance of the weaker team‐mate defined the group's score). The co‐workers (coactors or team‐mates) were either friends or strangers. Participants were also led to believe that their co‐workers and peers endorsed social norms prescribing either high or low level of effort at the task.FindingsCompared to comparable individual control workers, the inferior‐ability coactors showed a significant motivation gain (attributable to social‐comparison processes); this gain was not moderated by either friendship or performance norms. Inferior‐ability members of the collaborative teams worked significantly harder than the coactors (attributable to the indispensability of their efforts under these work conditions), but only when their partners were friends or the performance norms prescribed high effort.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses on short‐term laboratory groups of females working together for a very brief period. The applicability of the findings to more typical work teams will require further research.Practical implicationsThe research suggests that the task motivation of particular team members (namely, those with the least ability) can be increased by strengthening social ties between team‐mates and promoting high effort social norms.Originality/valueThe research adds to a growing literature that identifies when and why members of work groups will work harder than comparable individual workers.
The role of star performers in software design teams
Authors: Volmer Judith , Sonnentag Sabine 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis study seeks to extend previous research on experts with mainlyad‐hocgroups from laboratory research to a field setting. Specifically, this study aims to investigate experts' relative importance in team performance. Expertise is differentiated into two categories (task functions and team functions) and the paper aims to investigate whether experts in task and team functions predict team performance over and above the team's average expertise level.Design/methodology/approachLongitudinal, multi‐source data from 96 professional software design engineers were used by means of hierarchical regression analyses.FindingsThe results show that both expert members in task functions (i.e. behavior that aids directly in the completion of work‐related activities) and the experts in team functions (i.e. facilitation of interpersonal interaction necessary to work together as a team) positively predicted team performance 12 months later over and above the team's average expertise level.Research limitations/implicationsSamples from other industry types are needed to examine the generalizability of the study findings to other occupational groups.Practical implicationsFor staffing, the findings suggest that experts are particularly important for the prediction of team performance. Organizations should invest effort into finding “star performers” in task and team functions in order to create effective teams.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the relationship between experts (in task functions and team functions) and team performance. It extends prior research on team composition and complements expertise research: similar to cognitive ability and personality, it is important to take into account member expertise when examining how to manage the people mix within teams. Benefits of expertise are not restricted to laboratory research but are broadened to real‐world team settings.
Team identification: a determining factor of performance
Authors: Solansky Stephanie T. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis study seeks to explore why some teams realize performance gains and others do not. Team identification is proposed as an explanatory mechanism of performance.Design/methodology/approachData from two longitudinal studies with 42 teams (270 individuals) are examined using regression analysis. Study 1 relies on student teams, while Study 2 is based on two field samples of actual working teams. In both studies, team identification was captured prior to the objective performance measures.FindingsThis study empirically provides evidence that team identification is linked to team performance across three settings.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the sample size is relatively small within each study, the implications are that team process variables such as identification matter when gauging performance across all three settings.Practical implicationsIt is critical that team‐oriented processes, such as identification, are promoted if managers hope to see performance gains within work teams. Just because a team is created, this does not guarantee that the members will operate as a collective entity to accomplish tasks. If the members of the team identify with one another, they are more likely to outperform individual‐oriented teams.Originality/valueThere is little agreement regarding performance gains and teamwork. This study demonstrates that teams with identification are better performers across three settings, in which two are based on applied settings of actual intact work teams. This study is also valuable because it provides longitudinal data, given that identification is measured prior to performance.
Determinants of board and audit committee meeting frequency
Authors: Greco Giulio 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of board and audit committee meeting frequency.Design/methodology/approachThe determinants studied are related to the ownership structure and to the board characteristics. The study is conducted in an agency setting featured by high ownership concentration and large insider shareholders. Hypotheses are developed based on agency theory. The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of Italian listed companies. Negative binomial regression is used in the multivariate analysis to test the relationships. Robustness checks provide further empirical support.FindingsThe paper finds that insider ownership negatively impacts – either on the board or on the audit committee meeting frequency – whilst the proportion of independent directors in the board has a positive impact. This evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that insider ownership and board independent monitoring are substitute control mechanisms. The findings also show that audit committees are more active in larger firms.Originality/valueThe paper provides an agency theory‐based explanation of the board and the audit committee meeting frequency, in a setting featured by large controlling shareholders.
Further evidence on knowledge spillover and the joint determination of audit and non‐audit fees
Authors: Krishnan Gopal V. , Yu Wei 
Published: March 2011

PurposeFor more than 25 years auditing research has examined whether knowledge spillovers or synergies exist from the joint provision of audit and non‐audit services as well as whether the audit client benefits from knowledge spillovers. However, empirical evidence on knowledge spillover remains mixed and elusive. This article seeks to contribute to this debate, using a large sample covering both the pre‐ and the post‐Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) era. A post‐SOX focus can be potentially informative because SOX has fundamentally changed the mix of audit and non‐audit services that can be offered to audit clients.Design/methodology/approachA two‐stage least squares regression model is used to control for simultaneous bias due to the joint determination of audit and non‐audit fees. A panel dataset is also used.FindingsA strong and significant negative relationship is found between audit fees and non‐audit fees. The results suggest that knowledge spillover flows from non‐audit to the audit side, as well as from the audit side to the non‐audit side. For the overall sample, a 1 percent increase in non‐audit fees is associated with a 0.59 percent decrease in audit fees. Similarly, a 1 percent increase in audit fees is associated with a 0.49 percent decrease in non‐audit fees.Research limitations/implicationsThough a comprehensive set of determinants of audit and non‐audit fees is used, it is possible that the model may not include some other unknown determinants of fees paid to auditors.Practical implicationsThe study contributes to the debate on whether regulators should ban all non‐audit services. It is found that when the same audit firm performs both audit and non‐audit services, there are synergies, i.e. insight learned from performing one function helps the other.Social implicationsAt the economy level, the findings suggest that cost savings, due to knowledge spillover, are partly passed on to the clients, particularly by Big 4 auditors.Originality/valueThe findings on the existence of knowledge spillover in the post‐SOX era are potentially informative to regulators, auditors, audit clients, and audit committee members.
Numeric‐to‐verbal translation of probability expressions in SFAS 5
Authors: Du Ning , Stevens Kevin 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how accountants interpret verbal uncertainty expressions with a focus on numeric‐to‐verbal translation.Design/methodology/approachAccounting for loss contingencies (SFAS 5) were chosen as a setting to study this research question. The approach used was a behavioral experiment where participants choose probability phrases for 11 numeric probabilities for two default conditions.FindingsThe results indicate a clear pattern, where thresholds for accrual and disclosure decisions can be easily identified in the numeric‐to‐verbal translation. Also, the base rate appears to affect the assessment of the uncertainty related to potential default, but does not affect mapping of numeric values to verbal terms.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of 11 probabilities does not cover all regions of the [0, 1] probability line and may leave regions of the probability interval not mapping to any SFAS 5 phrase. Also, this study uses upper‐level undergraduate accounting students, whose judgments are similar to novice auditors but may differ from experienced auditors.Practical implicationsThe evidence suggests that unlike verbal‐to‐numeric translation, which is unstable and context dependent, numeric‐to‐verbal translation is quite consistent among individuals, and is unlikely to be affected by the contextual information. The results complement prior findings in auditors' judgment, and suggest that interpreting uncertainty expressions can be improved if auditors are encouraged to use numeric‐to‐verbal translation when they apply accounting and auditing standards in forming an opinion on the financial report.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to examine the mapping of numeric probabilities to verbal probability terms.
The functional‐institutional and consequential‐conflictual sociological approaches to accounting ethics education
Authors: Sisaye Seleshi 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThere is limited research that utilizes the consequential‐conflictual (CC) approaches, which utilized radical orientation of double loop, second order and reorientation of organizational learning strategies. Both the functional‐institutional (FI) and CC approaches are integrated with the sustainability and ecological resources management literature. The aim of this paper is to fill this research gap.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies FI and CC sociological approaches.FindingsThis paper's contribution to the managerial auditing education literature is based on the proposition that ethics education can improve the moral and ethical reasoning of auditors, when the educational processes incorporate both the FI and CC sociological organizational learning strategies. The paper suggests that ethics education in auditing could benefit from experiential teaching methods utilized in allied applied disciplines of medicine, engineering, and educational psychology.Research limitations/implicationsSociological approaches have been commonly applied in behavioral managerial accounting and control systems research. This paper extends the FI and CC framework to ethics education in managerial auditing research.Practical implicationsThe subject of accounting ethics education is important to auditors. When accounting ethics education utilizes both the FI and CC teaching approaches, the managerial auditing education processes become interactive and cooperative by bringing experiential organizational experiences to the classroom.Originality/valueAccounting ethics education is shaped by ecological and environmental sustainability concerns. Recently, business school interest and growth in sustainability management has contributed to the integration of ethics education in managerial auditing and accounting contexts, overcoming the shortcomings accounting programs experienced from stand‐alone ethics courses.
Poverty: social control over our labor force
Authors: Yanagisawa Anton 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to raise concern and discussion about poverty. This paper explores the difficulties of defining poverty and its origins.Design/methodology/approachThis paper utilizes research from psychological and sociological literature to analyze differing schools of thought regarding poverty. A macro‐level perspective of poverty is defined and compared to a micro‐level perspective of poverty. The lack of conformity concerning these opposing schools of thought often impedes the development of solutions for poverty.FindingsWhat society believes to be true about poverty will influence how society treats poverty. Some solutions to poverty may only perpetuate the problems of the impoverished depending on how poverty is operationally defined and its origins understood. Literary research is used to support a hypothesis that poverty exists in function to society to insure a readily available, low wage, labor force.Social implicationsThe provided information regarding the impact of poverty on society and the individual could aid in the development of government and corporate solutions. Solutions for poverty could be enhanced and employed more accurately by examining the viewpoint of this author.Originality/valueThis paper is of importance for mental health practitioners, corporations, and government branches interested in treating the social effects of poverty.
Natural religion and “moral capitalism”
Authors: Leathers Charles G. , Patrick Raines J. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeAt the 2009 Devos economic forum on the global financial crisis, David Cameron, then leader of the British Conservative Party and now Britain's Prime Minister, called for embracing a “moral capitalism.” The purpose of this paper is to consider the insights into a moral framework for the modern economic order that might be drawn from natural religions perceived by Adam Smith and Thorstein Veblen.Design/methodology/approachA review of the two perceptions of natural religions provide the basis for assessing their compatibilities with the type of competitive market economy that Smith observed in the eighteenth century, and with a modern market economy of large corporate enterprises and global financial markets. Particular attention is given to reforms that curb the practices that led to the global financial crisis.FindingsSmith's “pure and rational” natural religion has been interpreted as being compatible with the type of competitive market economy that he analyzed in Wealth of Nations. Veblen's natural religion of “Christian morals” had a natural rights analogue in the ethics of a competitive market economy in which market relationships were heavily influenced by production resting heavily on personal skills of craftsmen and trade relying on the honesty of small merchants.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary focus is on reforms in those aspects of the financial sector of the modern market system that have been associated with the current global financial crisis. What the two natural religions might suggest in the nature of broader socio‐economic reforms, e.g. corporate governance issues, would require a much larger study.Social implicationsWhile debates over a “moral capitalism” will be influenced doctrinal stances of institutional religions, sectarian differences may be bridged by considering natural religions that are rational and rest on the principle of fair play and mutual service.Originality/valueBecause of the attention that has been given to Smith's and Veblen's critical commentaries on institutional religions, the paper shows that their perceptions of natural religions and how those religions might relate to the economic order are easily overlooked.
Disabled people's living standards: filling a policy vacuum
Authors: Doessel D.P. , Williams Ruth F.G. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeGovernment policy can alleviate inequities in living standards. Disabled people often qualify for government assistance which is one way that their living standard can improve, although arbitrary systems for distributing assistance are not likely to serve equity objectives. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the key variables to which government should direct attention, in order to alleviate both horizontal and vertical inequity in grants to disabled people.Design/methodology/approachThere is no literature, either theoretical or empirical, that specifically addresses this problem. This paper invokes important economic concepts associated with the nineteenth century English philosopher/economist, John Stuart Mill, as well as the 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Amartya Sen. Mill's general conception of how government should behave in treating citizens was elaborated subsequently in the public finance literature on principles of taxation. These notions are about “the equal treatment of equals” and “the unequal treatment of unequals”. Sen's recent discussion of the “conversion handicap” from his general framework of capabilities is highly relevant to the question addressed here.FindingsThese concepts, applied with some analytical tools of algebra and geometry, show that Mill's principles can combine with Sen's into a relevant conceptual framework. The central principles and concepts for policy formation on the standard of living for disabled people are not random; they can be specified with clarity.Originality/valueThis paper contributes the relevant conceptual “yardsticks” by which policy for distributing assistance to disabled people can be evaluated. Steps, towards devising better approaches to the distribution of assistance to disabled people can now be taken.
Stalinism versus Hitlerism: the basic intentions and results
Authors: Raiklin Ernest 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the soundness of equating Stalinism and Nazism (Hitlerism), expressed in a resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on July 1, 2009.Design/methodology/approachThe paper compares the two movements from three different angles: first, in their basic intentions; second, in their basic accomplishments; third, in the correlation between their basic intentions and their basic results.FindingsThe paper finds that: in theirproclaimedshort‐ and long‐term goals, Stalinism and Hitlerism have nothing in common; in theiractualshort‐term (there was no long‐term) results, they were similar in content but different in form; it was theirvery naturethat doomed their efforts to translate their basic intentions into basic results.Originality/valueThe paper shows that a similarity or dissimilarity of the two movements can be ascertained not in their total but in their parts such as, for instance, the goals they achieved and the methods they employed.
Affordability of private tertiary education: a Malaysian study
Authors: Jebaraj Benjamin Samuel , Srikamaladevi Marathamuthu M. , Muthaiyah Saravanan , Raman Murali 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the affordability of private tertiary education for households in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe relevant literature is reviewed to provide an overview of the affordability of private tertiary education. Data are obtained randomly from a private university in Malaysia and the results are analyzed using the one‐sample t‐test and one‐way ANOVA.FindingsThe proxy of affordability, which is the average household income, reveals the per capita average is more than three times the national average, which points out the non‐affordability of students from low and average earning households to afford private tertiary education in Malaysia. Financial assistance of students at the tertiary level is insufficient and may warrant further policy and administrative improvements to reach deserving students. There is also difference in income and hence affordability between urban‐rural households, a perspective that demands changes in the current income distribution policies. In order to address the issues highlighted in this study, salient suggestions have been proposed.Originality/valueThis paper reinforces the need to address the issue of affordability of tertiary education and its significant importance, especially to developing countries.