Leader‐Member Exchange,Group‐ and Individual‐Level Procedural Justice and Reactions to Performance Appraisals

Previous research has established that relationships with authority figures and procedural justice perceptions are important in terms of the way in which employees react to organizational procedures that affect them. What is less clear are the reasons why exchange quality with authorities is related to perceptions of process fairness and the role of procedural justice climate in this process. Results indicate that individual‐level perceptions of procedural justice, but not performance ratings, partially mediate the relationship between exchange quality and reactions to performance appraisals, and that procedural justice climate is positively related to perceptions of procedural justice and appraisal reactions. These results support a more relational than instrumental view of justice perceptions in organizational procedures bound by exchange quality with an authority figure. Our study suggests that it is essential for managers to actively monitor and manage employee perceptions of process fairness at the group and individual levels. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Iterative Project Processes Within Temporary Multi‐Organizations in Construction: The Self‐, Eco‐, Re‐Organizing Projects

Theory‐based studies claim that informal processes interfere with the formal mechanisms and structures of projects in the construction sector. These processes structure and transform multi‐organizations. This four‐year case study reveals empirical evidence about how processes effectively evolve over time and affect formal mechanisms and structures. The results show: (1) the significant differences between what is planned and what actually unfolds in project processes; (2) how iterative processes overshadow linear ones; (3) how informality and “iterativity” eventually end up as self‐, eco‐, and re‐organizing projects and organizations, confirming that projects (re)create the very processes and structures that initiate them.     

L’Évaluation économique de l'investissement dans la conservation des sols: Le cas des aménagements antiérosifs dans le bassin versant du lac Lagdo au Cameroun

This article presents an analysis of the economic impact of erosion control facilities on farm operations in the watershed of Lake Lagdo in Cameroon. Over the past several decades, erosion control facilities, which are erosion control techniques, have been introduced in Cameroon. No assessment of the impacts of these on farm operations had yet been made. Drawing on data from a survey carried out in 2007 and 2008 and a switching regression model, the study concentrates on the effectiveness of the production factors of parcels of land with and without erosion control facilities. The comparison of the average crop yields of the operations in our sample that either adopted or did not adopt such facilities shows a significant difference, representing up to 10% of the value of the farm production. Proof of a positive selection bias is also found, indicating that the farms with above‐average crop yields are more likely to adopt erosion control facilities. Such facilities on the parcels of land also provide an advantage in terms of increasing the productivity of inputs. The analytical approach developed and the positive conclusion of the selection bias can be pertinent to assessing other soil conservation technologies promoted in the area.     

Pro-environmental behaviors for thee but not for me: Green giants,green Gods,and external environmental locus of control

Understanding consumers' allocation of environmental responsibility to external forces (i.e., those perceived to be beyond their direct control) is important yet under-researched. This paper examines how these external attributions affect consumers' pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). A model of external environmental locus of control (i.e., external-ELOC) is tested, consisting of two superordinate dimensions: powerful-others (encapsulating corporate and government responsibility facets) and chance/fate (incorporating God/higher-power and natural earth-cycle facets). The two higher-order factors negatively associate; such that consumers ascribing environmental responsibility to powerful-others engage in PEBs; whereas those attributing environmental change to chance/fate typically do not. The results inform practical and public policy implications; pinpointing ways for corporations and governments to target their pro-environmental efforts and to sway consumers who share in the ecological burden.     

Parental style and consumer socialization among adolescents: A cross-cultural investigation

The paper examines how parental style affects consumer socialization in a cross-national context, focusing on family communication orientation, adolescents' use of influence strategies, susceptibility to peer influence, and impulse buying tendency. Multiple-informant data from each family (i.e., father, mother, and adolescent) are used in the analysis. The findings suggest that Chinese adolescents, compared with their Canadian counterparts, use less bilateral influence strategies (reasoning, bargaining), but more unilateral influence strategies (playing on emotions, stubborn persuasion); they are also less susceptible to peer influence, and have less impulse buying tendency. Across both cultures, authoritarian parents are more socio-oriented than authoritative, permissive, and neglectful parents, whereas authoritative and permissive parents are more concept-oriented than authoritarian and neglectful parents. Furthermore, adolescents with authoritative and permissive parents more likely use bilateral influence strategies than those with authoritarian parents, while adolescents with neglectful parents use more unilateral influence strategies than those with other parental styles. These findings provide novel insights on market segmentation and international marketing practices.     

Assessing a Perfect European Optimum Currency Area: A Common Cycles Approach

In this paper we introduce a new definition for an optimum currency area (OCA) which is more restrictive than the previous ones. Indeed, using both a cointegration and a common cyclical feature analysis in a VAR(p)framework, a set of countries is said to constitute a perfect OCA if theshort-run dynamics is perfectly correlated while long-run relationships arenot constrained. Using seasonally unadjusted industrial production indicesfor the period 75:M1 to 97:M4, we show that European countries are notsufficiently related to fit our definition.     

Risk Management in Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses and How Accountants Contribute*

We investigate how owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) perceive, make sense of, and practice risk management. Drawing on Schatzki's practice theory, we theorize on how and why risk management happens in SMEs. Thus, we fill a gap in the extant literature, which focuses almost exclusively on risk management within large organizations. We interview entrepreneurs and conduct site observations to gain insight into their risk management activities, the drivers that lead to the adoption of said activities, their attitudes toward risk management, and how their accountants may shape and contribute to risk management in SMEs. We find that rather than a specific set of formal processes, entrepreneurs view risk management as a mindset that emphasizes the preservation of key assets, creation of competitive advantages, and development of local talent and expertise. We observe practices that are mainly informal yet planned, deliberate, and fully integrated within the fabric of organizations that align with ideal forms of risk management. We also find that full-time, in-house accountants do help entrepreneurs with risk management, while external accountants, whose main activities relate to financial statement preparation and tax filings, do not systematically help entrepreneurs manage risk. We contribute to both the theory and practice of risk management by sharing empirical insights into how SME owners perceive, make sense of, and manage risk.