Perceived conflict avoidance by managers and its consequences on subordinates' attitudes

Conflict handling by managers gives rise to significant emotional and cognitive experiences for affected employees and has far‐reaching effects on the effectiveness of a group and an organization. In this conceptual paper, we argue that despite many claims made by managers in their self‐reports that they engage in either dominant or compromising conflict‐handling strategies when managing conflict within a group, they may be perceived by employees as adopting neglect or avoidance behaviors. We examine how such perceived managers' avoidance styles could influence employees' perceptions with regard to justice, trust, and politics within an organization.     

The relationship between cultural values and learning preference: the impact of acculturation experiences upon East Asians

Globalization and technology advancement are creating more biculturalism at workplaces and learning settings. However, little is known about acculturation experience and its influence on a person's cultural values and learning preference. The research reported in this study investigates the impact of acculturation experiences upon the relationship between cultural values and learning preference of 292 Far East Asians (from Confucian‐influenced societies) and Asian Americans. Different preferences for learning methods and different levels of traditional cultural values were found between these two groups of adult learners. Acculturation experience was identified as the influential factor for the differences. However, they all still retain their traditional cultural values in various degrees regardless of the length of time the individual had been exposed to the acculturation experience. The impact of cultural values on an adult's learning preference is an area of concern in cross‐cultural training and development.     

Emotional Intelligence and Venture Performance

Scholars emphasize the importance of emotion in entrepreneurship and the potential of emotional intelligence, but research is sparse in the field. We develop and test a novel partial mediation model of emotional intelligence, interpersonal processes, and venture performance. The results indicate that interpersonal emotional skills, which entail the recognition and management of emotions in others, has a direct effect on venture performance, but intrapersonal emotional skills pertaining to self‐awareness and regulation of emotions do not. Additionally, both the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions of emotional intelligence have an indirect influence on firm performance via interpersonal processes that entail functioning in key activities within the firm. We discuss the implications and address potential avenues for future research on this important topic.     

Role of Gender in Conflict Handling in the Context of Outsourcing Service Marketing

Do male and female outsourcing service marketers differ in their responses to conflict‐handling styles of outsourcers? The paper addresses this question by identifying relationship‐oriented typologies of conflict handling from extant literature and examining their effects on key relational outcomes in outsourcing relationship in A sia. Specifically, the paper considers how outsourcers’ conflict‐handling styles impact trust and commitment by male and female outsourcing service providers’ ( OSP s). Data were collected from male and female OSP s and analyzed using F actor and H ierarchical M ultiple R egression analyses. Findings show significant differences in the relationship between conflict‐handling styles and relational outcomes between male and female OSP s. Precisely, integrating conflict handling–trust relationship is significantly stronger for males than for females, whereas compromising conflict handling–trust relationship is significantly stronger for females than for males. Findings show no statistical differences in accommodating conflict handling–trust relationship between the groups. These findings lead to research and managerial implications that conclude the paper.     

Conjoint models of family decision making

The objective of this research is to develop viable approaches to modeling joint decisions. Using conjoint-analysis-type preference data, three methods are developed to combine individual preferences to approximate joint preferences and predict joint decisions. The first is an equal weighting model, which is a simple average of individual members' part-worth utilities. The second is a relative influence model, which combines individual utility functions using a measure of derived influence. The third is a conflict resolution model, which combines utility functions using a measure of conflict. In addition to these three combination models, individual member models and a joint model based on the joint preferences are available.The application area in which the models are operationalized is family decision making. The decision involves choice of a job by MBA students and spouses at a major private university. The models are first calibrated using preference data on hypothetical jobs from MBAs, spouses, and couples and then evaluated on their ability to predict the actual job chosen.     

Culturally Customizing Websites for Immigrant Communities in the United States

Recent research suggests that the customization of online marketing messages to meet the cultural preferences of immigrant communities increases preferences for those messages. Level of acculturation may be used as a segmentation variable that accounts for this effect, with lower levels of acculturation matching the preference for the home country's culture in marketing messages. Comparisons between Asian- and Hispanic-American preferences across levels of acculturation are made, and possible convergences in preferences through acculturation are examined. The results indicate that Taiwanese-Americans have culturally-rooted preferences for web content based on their acculturation levels. Furthermore, the study shows that the web content preferences of Taiwanese- and Hispanic-American consumers converge as members of these groups acculturate.     

Materialism and life satisfaction: The moderating roles of alexithymia and product retention tendency

This research examines how alexithymia and product retention tendency affect the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. Extant research has established that materialism has a negative effect on personal well‐being and that consumer culture and marketing facilitates this effect by encouraging consumers to focus on material pursuits to satisfy extrinsic goals. However, previous research has not explored how emotional personality traits and lifestyle values influence this “dark side” of materialism. Alexithymia is an emotional personality trait that inhibits an individual's ability to identify, describe and regulate emotions. Results from survey data show that alexithymia moderates the effect of materialism on life satisfaction, such that the effect is negative for individuals without alexithymia, but positive for individuals with alexithymia. Moreover, product retention tendency attenuates the negative effect of materialism for individuals without alexithymia, but strengthens the positive effect of materialism for individuals with alexithymia. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Team deep-level diversity,relationship conflict,and team members' affective reactions: A cross-level investigation

Drawing from recent advances in the study of deep-level diversity in work teams and the similarity–attraction paradigm, this study examines the ways in which diversity in personality characteristics and preference for teamwork among team members influences the relationship between relationship conflict and subsequent team member affective reactions. Using a longitudinal, multilevel sample of 53 teams (260 respondents), results reveal that similarity or homogeneity in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability weakens the negative influence of relationship conflict on team member affective reactions, while heterogeneity in extraversion and preference for teamwork also weakens these relationships. A discussion of theoretical and practical implications follows.     

An integrative approach to relationship marketing,customer value,and customer outcomes in the retail banking industry: a customer-based perspective from Turkey

Given how important it is to provide superior value to customers and to maintain customer loyalty for a sustainable competitive advantage, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationships among relationship marketing components of – trust, competency, commitment, communication, and conflict handling, – relationship investment, relationship quality, perceived customer value, satisfaction and loyalty in an integrated framework in the Turkish retail banking industry. Unlike previous studies, this research extends the literature by analysing affective as well as cognitive dimensions in the same model with a holistic view by simultaneously examining the direct and indirect effects of the related concepts. The distinctive nature of this study is its evaluation of customer satisfaction and loyalty from the perspective of actual consumers. The research model was tested using data collected from 685 retail banking customers by applying structural equation modelling. The findings show that relationship marketing induces loyalty through relationship quality, customer value, and satisfaction, which are mainly provided by trust, communication, and relationship investment. Furthermore, relationship investment and relationship quality are the most important factors in the development of customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. The emotional value dimension, which captures the affective aspects of perceived value, has the strongest effect on both satisfaction and loyalty.     

The Influence of Past Negotiations on Negotiation Counterpart Preferences

Choosing the right counterpart can have a significant impact on negotiation success. Unfortunately, little research has studied such negotiation counterpart decisions. Three studies examined the influence of past negotiations on preferences to negotiate again with a counterpart. Study 1 found that the more favorable a past negotiated agreement the stronger the preference to negotiate with the counterpart in the future. Moreover, this relation was mediated through liking of the counterpart. Study 2 manipulated the difficulty of achieving a favorable agreement in the negotiation and found a significant effect of this situational factor such that subsequent counterpart preferences were less favorable when the negotiation was difficult. Similar to Study 1, this effect was mediated through liking of the counterpart. Study 3 examined the possibility of debiasing negotiator preferences from the biasing influence of situational characteristics by providing relevant information about the negotiation situation. Replicating the results of Study 2, negotiation difficulty affected counterpart preferences before additional information was given or when irrelevant information was given. However, once negotiators received relevant information on the negotiation situation, the effect of negotiation difficulty disappeared. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Integrating Uncertain Preferences into Status Quo Analysis with Applications to an Environmental Conflict

An algorithm is put forward to conduct status quo analysis when preference uncertainty exists for at least one decision maker (DM) in a strategic conflict. This research integrates into a unified framework two recent expansions of the graph model for conflict resolution, preference uncertainty and status quo analysis. Both of these developments enhance the applicability of the graph model, preference uncertainty by accommodating uncertainty in DMs' preferences and status quo analysis by addressing the dynamics of conflict. The combination of preference uncertainty and status quo analysis improves the flexibility of the graph model in both modelling and analysis. A new model of an environmental conflict is analyzed to demonstrate how the new algorithm can be applied.     

Cultural intelligence as a predictor of expatriate adjustment and performance in Malaysia

This research tests the linkage between cultural intelligence, expatriate adjustment to the host country's environment and expatriate performance while on international assignments. The investigation is carried out with data from 134 expatriates based in multinational corporations in Malaysia. The results highlight a direct influence of expatriates’ cultural intelligence on general, interaction and work adjustments. The improved adjustments consequently have positive effects on both the expatriates’ task and contextual performance. The research findings have implications for both international human resource management (IHRM) researchers and managers.     

Unpacking the Goal Congruence–Organizational Deviance Relationship: The Roles of Work Engagement and Emotional Intelligence

Drawing from research on person–organization fit, work engagement, and emotional intelligence, this study investigates the mediating role of work engagement in the link between goal congruence and organizational deviance, as well as how this mediating effect might be moderated by emotional intelligence. Data captured from 272 employees of four IT companies show that the goal congruence between employees and their supervisor negatively affects the former’s organizational deviance, though this effect disappears when controlling for the intermediate role of work engagement. Further, emotional intelligence moderates both the positive relationship between goal congruence and work engagement and the negative relationship between work engagement and organizational deviance, such that these relationships become invigorated at higher levels of emotional intelligence. The findings also reveal that the indirect effect of goal congruence on organizational deviance through work engagement is more pronounced at higher levels of emotional intelligence, which offers evidence of moderated mediation. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.     

Household preference revisions and decision making: The role of disconfirmation

In this paper, we examine the role of disconfirmation as an important determinant of household preference revisions and decision making. Although prior research has examined decision influence and information exchange in household decision making, the impact of disconfirmation on individual family member preferences and the joint household preference has not been explicitly studied. Analogous to the main types of social influence found within groups, we identify two types of disconfirmation that impact individual preferences arising from family interaction or discussion. These two types of disconfirmation are informational disconfirmation, related to new product information revealed in family discussion being different than one's prior beliefs, and preference disconfirmation, where a family member has incorrect expectations of the preferences of other influential household members. An empirical study involving a household vacation decision demonstrates significant disconfirmation effects in explaining individuals' post-discussion preferences, as well as the joint household preference and decision. Based on the empirical results, we discuss various implications and suggest future research to study the specific consequences of disconfirmation in household decisions.     

To seek variety or uniformity: The role of culture in consumers’ choice in a group setting

One stream of research suggests that individuals in a collectivistic culture tend to follow the others’ choices in a group choice setting (e.g., Markus and Kitayama 1991). Other research, however, suggests that the choices others make have little impact on the individuals’ choices in this cultural context (e.g., Kim and Drolet 2003). The current research attempts to test these competing hypotheses by examining individuals’ choices in group choice contexts (Ariely and Levav 2000). First, comparisons of 517 meal order slips from two local restaurants in Korea with simulated outcomes indicate a profound group-level uniformity seeking in dish selections. Second, our field experiment reveals that members of a collectivist culture tend to follow group members’ choices when group influence is evident. Unlike the previous findings of studies conducted on individuals from Western cultures, selections made in accordance with the cultural norm do not result in the reduction of emotional well-being for the collectivist cultural individuals. Finally, we provide more direct evidence for the hypothesized role of culture by showing that the choices of individuals with collectivistic cultural backgrounds are associated with higher uniformity-seeking tendency compared to those of individualistic cultural backgrounds.     

A brand preference and repurchase intention model: the role of consumer experience

Consumer brand preference is an essential step towards understanding consumer choice behaviour, and has therefore always received great attention from marketers. However, the study of brand preference has been limited to traditional marketing focusing on functional attributes to maximise utility. But now the shift to experiential marketing broadens the role of the brand from a bundle of attributes to experiences. Technological advancements have helped to increase the similarities between brand attributes and product commoditisation. Consequently, consumers cannot shape their preferences among brands using rational attributes only. They seek out brands that create experiences; that intrigue them in a sensorial, emotional and creative way. This study seeks to develop a model that provides an understanding of how brand knowledge and brand experience determine brand preference and to investigate its impact on brand repurchase intention. Accordingly, exploratory focus group discussions are employed followed by a survey of mobile phone users in Egypt. The findings provide insights into the relative importance of consumer perceptions on different brand knowledge factors in shaping brand preferences. It also demonstrates the significance of consumers’ experiential responses towards brands in developing their brand preferences that in turn influence brand repurchase intention. The model therefore offers managers a new perspective for building strong brands able to gain consumer preferences.     

Managing International Distribution Channel Partners: A Cross-Cultural Approach

Although the topic of conflict has been extensively studied in the distribution channels literature from a domestic perspective, there is relatively little published research examining the construct within the international distribution channels context. This is of particular concern because cross-national channel partnerships are on the rise, and divergent cultures may engender heightened conflict, which has a deleterious effect on channel performance. This article explores the extent to which different channel leadership styles, predicated on Hofstede's dimensions of national culture, can be effective strategies to manage conflict in international distribution channels. Specifically, the article examines whether the relationship between leadership style and conflict in international distribution channels is moderated by national culture. Additionally, the impact of manifest conflict on international channel partner performance is investigated. A conceptual model and research propositions are developed. The use of leadership styles to manage disagreements among international channel partners is argued to be culturally specific. International channel management implications and directions for future research are suggested.     

Students' Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Role of Prior Learning Experiences and Emotional,Social, and Cognitive Competencies

Despite literature acknowledges that emotional, social, and cognitive (ESC) competencies favor entrepreneurial success, research has scantly investigated if they influence entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, studies use work and extracurricular activities as proxies for competency possession without investigating their impact on competency development. To address this void, we analyze the direct and mediating effects of ESC competencies on self‐employment intentions. Results from a sample of university students demonstrate that higher levels of ESC competencies predict entrepreneurial intent, and only international and cultural experiences indirectly favor self‐employment intentions. This study offers insight to the debate on competency development in entrepreneurial education.