Supplier–supplier relationships in buyer–supplier–supplier triads: Implications for supplier performance

A growing number of studies and evidence from industries suggest that, besides managing the relationship with its suppliers, a buyer needs to proactively manage the relationships between those suppliers. In a buyer–supplier–supplier relationship triad, the buyer, as the contracting entity, influences the suppliers’ behaviors and the relationship between them. By considering the relationships in such a triad, we are able to gain a richer and more realistic perspective of buyer–supplier relationships. In this study, our goal is to examine supplier–supplier relationships in buyer–supplier–supplier triads, focusing on how such relationships impact the supplier performance. We frame the supplier–supplier relationship as co-opetition—one in which competing suppliers work together to meet the buyer's requirements. We investigate the role of the buyer on such relationships, and how the buyer and co-opetitive supplier–supplier relationships affect supplier performance. We find mixed empirical support for our hypotheses. However, we are able to demonstrate the dynamics of supplier–supplier co-opetition in the buyer–supplier–supplier triad. We point out the need for further studies in this area.     

The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–organisation and person–job fit

Human resource management (HRM) practices can play an important role in matching people with the organisations and the jobs they work in. However, little is known about how employees perceive and interpret HR practices and whether or how these perceptions relate to perceptions of person–organisation (P–O) and person–job (P–J) fit. This study aims to bridge strategic HRM and person–environment fit literature by examining possible mediating and moderating roles of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between employee perceptions of a broad set of HR practices and employee attitudes and behaviours. Results from a sample of 412 employees support direct relationships as well as a mediating and moderating role of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between perceived HR practices and employee outcomes.     

Who is fit to serve? Person–job/organization fit,emotional labor,and customer service performance

This study investigates person–job (P–J) fit and person–organization (P–O) fit perceptions and relates these perceptions to employees' emotional labor and customer service performance. Data from a two‐point, time‐lagged study of 263 employees and 690 customers reveal that both P–J and P–O fit relate positively to deep acting and negatively to surface acting, in accordance with an emotional labor perspective. In addition, P–J and P–O fit are jointly associated with emotional labor, such that the positive link between P–J fit and deep acting is stronger, and the negative link between P–J fit and surface acting is weaker when P–O fit is high. Emotional labor partially mediates the interactive effects of P–J and P–O fit on service interaction quality and customer satisfaction; service interaction quality relates positively to customer satisfaction. These findings have multiple theoretical and practical implications.     

High-Performance HR Practices,Work Stress and Quit Intentions in the Public Health Sector: Does person–organization fit matter?

Drawing on the attraction–selection–attrition (ASA) framework, this paper examines a mechanism, namely person–organization (P–O) fit, through which high-performance HR practices (HPHRPs) affect two negative employee outcomes: work-related stress and quit intentions. Using a sample of Egyptian public health sector workers, a mediation model is tested empirically using structural equation modelling. The study results show that HPHRPs positively affected P–O fit, which in turn had significant negative associations with work stress and quit intentions. P–O fit also explained a high proportion of mediation in the relationship between HPHRP and both outcomes.     

Skewness preference,mean–variance and the demand for put options

This paper compares the mean–variance and the mean–variance–skewness approaches to modelling expected utility. Attention is focused on a problem encountered in risk management: determining the optimal demand for a put option hedging the return on an asset with a negatively skewed return distribution. It is demonstrated theoretically that incorporating positive skewness preference into the decision‐maker's objective function typically produces a reduction in the demand for put options when compared with the mean–variance solution. A state‐dependent example is provided to illustrate how a mean–variance–skewness objective can result in a significant reduction in the optimal amount of crop insurance demanded when compared with the mean–variance solution. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Searching for a balance: work–family practices,work–team design,and organizational performance

The crucial impact of work–family issues on employee's well-being has been recognized and responded with a variety of research in field of organizational behavior. However, few studies examine the impact of how work–family practices affect productivity at firm-level. Following the research stream of strategic human resource management, we proposed that work–family may form the norm of reciprocity, which is a more sophisticated and more critical, internal social-structure component to enable organizational performance. We also examine the contingent effect, work–team structure – on the extent to which the work–family practices are appreciated by employees – and then create complementarities. We conduct a longitudinal study and utilize a data set of 204 Taiwanese public-traded firms to test our hypotheses. The results show that, contrary to our prediction, utilizing work–family practices does not have a significant positive impact on organizational productivity. However, the most important finding of this study is that there are synergies between work–family practices and work–team design on organizational productivity. Work–team design is an important situation in which the returns of work–family practices can be enhanced.     

Employee work–life balance outcomes in Ireland: a multilevel investigation of supervisory support and perceived organizational support

This article examines how employee perceptions of supervisory and organizational support for work–life balance, in addition to the number of work–life balance programmes available, predict a number of work–life balance outcomes including role conflict, job satisfaction, family satisfaction and turnover intentions in a sample of large private and public sector organizations in Ireland. The attitudes of HR managers towards work–life balance programmes are also explored. To account for the nested structure of the data, analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modelling. We found that perceptions of work–life supportiveness as measured at the HR manager and immediate supervisor levels affect employee uptake of work–life programmes, employee work–life balance outcomes and turnover intentions.     

Person–organization fit and employee outcomes: test of a social exchange model

Data obtained from subordinate–supervisor dyads (N = 314) of a large manufacturing company in South Korea were used to test a moderated mediation model of the processes linking person–organization (P–O) fit and employee work attitudes and behaviors. The results revealed that the influence of P–O fit on work attitudes and behaviors was indirect through perceived social exchange with organization. In addition, the relationship between P–O fit and perceived social exchange with organization was moderated by leader–member exchange (LMX) quality. Specifically, a high-quality LMX enhanced the positive effects of P–O fit on perceived social exchange with organization.     

Negative work–family/family–work spillover and demand for flexible work arrangements: the moderating roles of parenthood and gender

In recent years, companies have increasingly adopted flexible work arrangements (FWAs) to help company managers address negative work–family/family–work spillover (inter-role conflicts between work and family roles). Accordingly, we investigate the effects of parenthood and gender on the relationship between negative work–family/family–work spillover and demand for FWAs. Based on a sample of 1577 managers (967 females and 610 males) of South Korean companies, the results show that parenthood has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between negative work–family/family–work spillover and the demand for FWAs, regardless of gender. The present study highlights the importance of parenthood not only in addressing negative work–family/family–work spillover but also in expressing a demand for FWAs.     

Testing a new measure of work–life balance: a study of parent and non-parent employees from New Zealand

The present study extends the established theoretical lenses for understanding the work–family interface beyond conflict and enrichment, suggesting role balance as a theory for understanding how balance among roles can be beneficial for employees. The present study develops a measure of work–life balance and tests whether work–life balance is beneficial beyond conflict and enrichment for all employees. Two employee studies were conducted on (1) 609 parents and (2) 708 non-parents, and structural equation modeling confirmed that the balance dimension was distinct from other work–life dimensions and outcomes, and the analysis of multiple models showed that work–life balance plays a significant indirect mediation effect between conflict and enrichment toward outcomes. Overall, work–life balance was important and broadly identical for both samples with consistent effects toward job and life satisfaction, and psychological outcomes, with work–life conflict being detrimental, work–life enrichment beneficial and work–life balance providing additional benefits, especially toward life satisfaction. The findings provide greater generalizability and highlight the importance of balance for all employees, especially those typically excluded in the work–family literature such as single and childless employees.     

Managing an Externalised Workforce: Freelance Labour-use in the UK Book Publishing Industry

Editorial departments in the UK book publishing sector have shrunk considerably recently and many former in–house employees have transferred to home–based, self–employed (freelance) status, often still working for their former employers. The results of interviews with in–house managers of externally–based freelancers are presented here, along with a model of segmented labour markets.     

A model of antecedents of consumers' post brand attitude upon exposure to a cause–brand alliance

• A cause–brand alliance is a type of cause‐related marketing campaign in which the brand supports a cause in response to a consumer purchasing a product associated with the brand. Using the meaning transfer, attribution, and schema theories, the researchers developed a model and hypotheses addressing structural relationships among key antecedents of brand attitude change upon encountering a cause–brand alliance. The model and the hypotheses were tested in the context of hypothetical cause–brand alliance scenarios. Findings indicate cause–brand alliance attitude as a strong direct predictor of post brand attitude, whereas cause involvement, perceived brand motivations, and prior brand attitude indirectly predict post brand attitude through their effects on cause–brand alliance attitude. Cause–brand fit also indirectly predicts cause–brand alliance attitude via perceived brand motivations. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of co-location in higher education institutions on small firms’ perspectives of knowledge transfer

Since 1980, the UK has experienced a dramatic growth in firms and employment in information–intensive business services, such as management consultancy and market research. Recent expansion of new and small firms operating in these sectors is the focus of a major ESRC–sponsored research project currently under way at Cambridge University Small Business Research Centre.

Small business service firms are able to compete successfully with large firms due to the imperfect nature of the market which characterizes business services demand and supply, together with specialization of expertise. The success of small business service firms depends on informal person–to–person networks, word–of–mouth recommendation and repeal business based on successful earlier assignments or personal contacts acquired, for example, while working in a large consultancy or market research company. This paper examines the types of networks utilized by small business service firms and argues that two distinct types exist: demand– and supply–related networks; the former involves links with clients, the latter links and co–operation between complementary small business service firms.     

Going beyond self–other rating comparison to measure leader self‐awareness

Data were collected from leaders who rated their interpersonal competencies, were rated by their direct reports on the same competencies, and then were asked to predict as accurately as possible how their direct reports rated them. Leader self‐awareness was examined by analyzing self–other ratings and prediction–other ratings with a supervisor‐rated measure of leader effectiveness. Results showed that prediction–other ratings explained a greater percentage of the variance in leader effectiveness than did self–other ratings. These results suggest that prediction–other rating comparison may be a viable additional way to measure self‐awareness in organizational settings and may avoid some of the disadvantages when only using self‐ratings or self–other ratings.     

Human resource management's role in clarifying the new psychological contract

This article discusses the importance of understanding and managing the changing employee–employer relationship (psychological contract). It offers a brief discussion on changing employee–employer expectations and provides a definition and discussion on the importance of the psychological contract in managing employee–employer relationships. Several employee–employer interactions in which human resource management (HRM) personnel can help clarify and reshape the psychological contract are presented.     

Predictors of the adoption of work–care arrangements: a study of South African firms

This study examines predictors of work–care arrangements in South African organisations. It investigates the adoption of 23 work–care arrangements in organisations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Organisational size, female presence in the organisation and in trade unions, female leadership and trade union density are tested as predictors of the adoption of these arrangements. In addition, foreign ownership, a previously untested variable predicting the adoption of work–care arrangements, is included in this study. The findings show that the level of adoption of work–care arrangements in South African organisations is low. Organisational size and female presence in senior managerial positions are found to be associated with the greater adoption of work–care arrangements. The study adds to existing work–family research by examining work–care integration in a non-Western context. Furthermore, the study is innovative in the addition of foreign ownership as an independent variable and the inclusion of a broader range of work–care arrangements in the study. The study is relevant for other developing nations and extends the existing research on employer involvement in work and care in developed nations.     

Analysing mediating effects underlying the relationships between P–O fit,P–J fit,and organisational commitment

Abstract

Person–Organisation fit (P–O fit) and Person–Job fit (P–J fit) are important predictors of employees’ commitment to their organisations. Yet little is known about the underlying mediating variables that account for these relationships. Based on assumptions derived from Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Social Identity Theory (SIT), the present study predicts that the effects of P–J fit and P–O fit on employee commitment are mediated by job satisfaction and organisational identification, respectively. An online survey (N = 432 employees) was used to test the proposed relationships using a series of path models in AMOS. As expected, P–O fit and P–J fit are positively related to affective, normative, and continuance commitment, with P–O fit showing stronger effects than P–J fit. Organisational identification and job satisfaction completely mediate the effects of fit on the commitment facets. Evidence of differential effects for P–O fit and P–J fit suggest that different forms of fit operate in different ways to influence facets of organisational commitment. This knowledge can be helpful for advancing the integration of SIT and SET in the context of the employee–organisation relationship and for designing interventions to foster organisational commitment.     

Coherent Dempster–Shafer equilibrium and ambiguous signals

This paper reappraises the Dempster–Shafer equilibrium, a novel solution concept for signaling games introduced by Eichberger and Kelsey (2004), and suggests a new refinement approach. It is demonstrated that if the types of the Sender–but not messages–are assumed to be ex-ante unambiguous, then the Receiver’s conditional Choquet preference derived by the Dempster–Shafer updating rule coincides with subjective expected utility. This property of the pessimistic updating rule narrows the pooling, but not separating, Dempster–Shafer equilibrium to be behaviorally equivalent to the perfect Bayesian equilibrium. Moreover, if one refines the separating Dempster–Shafer equilibrium à la Ryan (2002a) by imposing the belief persistence axiom, then no deviations from the perfect Bayesian equilibrium are feasible. To eliminate Ryan’s type of behavior, a less stringent refinement based on the notion of coherent beliefs is elaborated.     

Cities for nations? Examining the city–nation–state relation in Information Age Malaysia

Accounts of new forms of society and economy supported by advances in information and communications technology have both identified and fostered a belief in the growing importance of cities and urban–regions. Cities, indeed, would appear to be replacing nation–states as the dominant unit of economic organization and social identification. Yet conceptualizations in the existing literature are derived from a small number of supposedly paradigmatic urban cases. This article argues that urban and regional studies should be attentive to a diversity which is perhaps lost in the universalizing epochal phrase ‘Information Age’. The on–going development of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a high–tech urban expansion of the Malaysian national capital, Kuala Lumpur, is used as a case study to (re)examine city–nation–state relations. Rather than presuming a substitution of ‘cities for nations’, the article identifies dimensions of reworked mutuality between the MSC city–region and the Malaysian nation–state. MSC urban development is shown to be: (1) an expression of re–scaled central (federal) state power; (2) a ‘national node’ for plugging Malaysia into the global information society; and (3) an exemplary space of high–tech Malaysian nationalism. These traits may have resonances elsewhere. However, the intention here is not to posit a set of generalized new city–nation–state mutualities, but rather to highlight the importance of exploration through specific urban–national cases. Les récits de nouvelles formes de société et d’économie facilitées par les progrès de la technologie de l’information et des communications ont à la fois instauré et renforcé une croyance en l’importance croissante des grandes villes et régions urbaines. Les villes remplaceraient mÁme les États–nations en tant qu’unités prédominantes de l’organisation économique et de l’identification sociale. Pourtant, les conceptualisations existantes sont tirées d’un petit nombre de cas urbains supposés typiques. Cet article affirme que les études urbaines et régionales devraient s’attacher à une diversité peut–Átre effacée par l’expression généralisatrice incontournable: l’ère de l’information. Le développement actuel du Super Corridor Multimédia (MSC), extension urbaine de la haute–technologie de la capitale de la Malaisie, Kuala Lumpur, sert d’étude de cas pour (ré)examiner les relations ville–État–nation. Au lieu de supposer une substitution des nations par les villes, l’article définit les dimensions d’une mutualité refaçonnée entre la ville MSC–région et l’État–nation malais. L’extension urbaine du MSC est présentée comme une expression redimensionnée de la puissance de l’État (fédéral) central, un ‘n?ud national’ permettant de connecter la Malaisie à la société d’information mondiale, et un espace caractéristique du nationalisme malais High–tech. Ce portrait peut trouver un écho ailleurs. Cependant, le but n’est pas ici de poser en principe un ensemble de nouvelles mutualités généralisées ville––État–nation, mais de souligner l’importance d’une exploration à travers des cas urbains–nationaux spécifiques.     

Interns’ perceptions of HR practices and their influence on fit and intentions to join

Abstract

This study examines interns’ perceptions of HR practices and their influence on person–organization fit, person–job fit, and intentions to join the organization. The hypotheses are developed with signaling theory and attraction, selection, attrition (ASA) theory. Utilizing a time lagged study design of 71 interns employed in a United States based service firm, we found positive perceptions of HR practices rated early in the internship were related to increased person–organization fit, person–job fit, and intentions to join the organization at the end of the internship. Our findings also showed that person–organization fit and person–job fit fully mediated the relationship between HR practices and intentions to join the organization.