Causes of newspaper firm employee burnout in Korea and its impact on organizational commitment and turnover intention

This study assesses the degree of burnout among newspaper firm employees in Korea and investigates the causes and consequences of this phenomenon. A survey of reporters and non-reporting staff members from the 10 national daily newspaper firms in South Korea indicates that employees suffer from burnout. In particular, respondents claimed to have experienced a higher level of exhaustion than cynicism and a diminished sense of professional efficacy. Overload, a non-autonomous, non-supportive work environment, and dissatisfaction with the work itself, level of pay, co-workers, supervisors and promotion opportunities were also contributing factors. As a result of burnout, employees reported diminished commitment to the organization and increased turnover intention.     

The impact of large-scale employee share ownership plans on labour productivity: the case of Eircom

Large-scale employee share ownership plans (ESOPs) have been a distinctive characteristic of Irish public enterprise reform, with shareholdings of 14.9% being allocated to employees as part of firm restructuring and privatisation programmes. This paper presents a case study analysis of a large-scale ESOP in Eircom, Ireland's former national telecommunications operator. We identify changes in labour productivity (LP) during 8 years before and after the establishment of the company's ESOP and use a framework based on Pierce, Rubenfeld and Morgan (1991, The Academy of Management Review, 16, 121–144) and Pierce, Kostova and Dirks (2001, Academy of Management Review, 26, 298–310) to explore the role played by the ESOP. The ESOP was found to play a key role in enabling firm-level reform through concession bargaining and changes in employee relations, and thereby indirectly affecting LP. However, despite the substantial shareholding and influence of the ESOP, we find that it has failed to create a sense of psychological ownership among employees, and thereby further impact on productivity.     

Challenged and satisfied: the role of organisational ownership and employee involvement

Abstract

This study aims to offer a more fine-grained approach to our understanding of the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. Building on organisational theory and Job Demand-Control model, we investigated an important institutional characteristic – organisational ownership – as an additional moderator to influence the interactive effects of job demands and control upon job satisfaction. Using data collected from 1838 Chinese retail sector employees, we found that this three-way interaction was strongest for employees working in foreign-invested firms, who experienced higher employee involvement at work and perceived a high level of challenge-related stress. The relationship was weakest for employees in state-owned enterprises who reported low levels of both employee involvement and challenge-related stress. Our study constitutes an early attempt to assess the impact of institutional characteristics such as ownership on aspects of human resources management, and highlights the need for further research to recognise the importance of such characteristics as contextual factors that influence the effect of organisational practices and the work environment upon individual work-related outcomes. The paper’s concluding sections elaborate on the contributions our research makes both to theory as well as to the practicalities faced by human resource managers in contexts such as China.     

企业新生代员工组织承诺与离职倾向关系研究

文章探讨企业新生代员工的组织承诺与人才流动性的关系研究。通过调查问卷量表进行调查,以全国各企业单位新生代员工为主,对其发组织承诺量表、离职倾向量表进行测查及统计分析。提出建议有:加强对员工忠诚度的培训,为职工打造职业发展规划;重视新生代个人成长,了解个体需求差异;减少公司集体活动,增加员工个人可支配时间。     

Non-regular professionals' dual commitment in South Korea: antecedents and consequences

There is a growing concern with whether nonregular professionals are concurrently committed to both the organization and their profession and whether such commitments are beneficial to that organization. This article seeks to investigate the relationship between organizational justice variables and the dual commitment of nonregular professionals via perceived organizational support (POS) and the subsequent effect of the dual commitment on organizational citizen behavior. Hypotheses are developed and then tested through structural equation modeling with data collected from a total of 1143 part-time instructors at South Korean universities. The findings of this study reveal that the perceptions held by nonregular professionals of organizational justice constructs concurrently influence organizational commitment and professional commitment via POS and that both commitments are positively associated with altruistic behavior. The findings advance our understanding of the dual commitment of nonregular professionals and provide universities with managerial implications as to how to manage effectively part-time instructors. Limitations, directions for future research, and conclusions are presented.     

High commitment HRM and organizational and occupational turnover intentions: the role of organizational and occupational commitment

Using data from 41 managers and 143 chefs from 41 Indonesian restaurants, we examined whether High Commitment Human Resource Management (HCHRM) is negatively related to chefs’ organizational (ORTI) and occupational turnover intentions (OCTI). In addition, we examined whether organizational commitment (ORC) mediates the HCHRM–ORTI relationship and occupational commitment (OCC) moderates the HCHRM–OCTI relationship. Results from hierarchical level modeling analyses (chefs nested in restaurants) showed that HCHRM is negatively related to both chefs’ ORTI and OCTI. In addition ORC mediates the HCHRM–ORTI relationship, and OCC moderates HCHRM–OCTI relationship. These results have important implications in terms of the unique role the two foci of commitment play in the HCHRM–ORTI and OCTI linkages.     

Hours underemployment and employee turnover: the moderating role of human resource practices

Using Canadian nationally representative, multisource longitudinal data, this paper examines relationships between hours underemployment, employee turnover and human resource practices. The results of hierarchical linear models indicate that underemployed employees are more likely to leave an organisation that relies heavily on part-time workers, whereas they are more likely to stay when their employers hire regularly from within the company. These findings extend the literature on hours underemployment from individual-level direct effects to organisational-level moderating factors, and accordingly, they provide empirical evidence that human resource professionals can use to address the detrimental effects of underemployment.     

Regulation in a political economy: explaining limited commitment and the ratchet effect

Abstract. This paper shows that in a political economy with repeated elections governments that possess full commitment behave as if their commitment is limited. Two different endogenous versions of the ratchet effect obtain: If contracts of previous governments tie newly elected governments, governments are unable to resist renegotiation. If previous contracts do not bind new governments and taxation has a crowding–out effect, a ratchet effect occurs that is similar, but not identical to the standard ratchet effect that is due to intertemporal non–commitment. Social welfare may be higher in the latter case, when the governing party is allowed to use bonds. Received: March 14, 2000     

The relationship between career plateauing,employee commitment and psychological distress: the role of organizational and supervisor support

This research examines the role played by an employee's supervisor and organization in the relationship between structural and content plateauing, affective commitment to the organization, and psychological distress. Our analyses, based on data taken from a sample of 575 hospital employees, reveal that there is a significant relationship between the two forms of plateauing and perceived supervisor support, whereas only hierarchical plateauing is related to perceived organizational support. Our results also highlight the mediating effect of perceived organizational support in the relationship between hierarchical plateauing, perceived supervisor support, and the consequences examined.     

High‐commitment human resource practices and employee outcomes: The contingent role of organisational identification

In this paper, we examine whether the relationship between high‐commitment human resource (HR) practices and two employee outcomes, quit intentions and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs), is contingent on organisational identification. Incorporating insights from both social exchange and social identity theories, we propose that the relationship between high‐commitment HR systems, intention to quit, and OCBs is attenuated when employees strongly identify with their organisation. This proposition was tested and supported with employees of a Swedish relocation company and a Greek shipping organisation. For high identifiers, as perceptions of HR practices deteriorated from high to low, they were associated with smaller increases in quit intentions and smaller decreases in citizenship behaviours. But overall, high identifiers always had lower quit intentions and higher citizenship behaviours than low identifiers, which is managerially reassuring.     

The impact of psychological ownership on employee retention in mergers and acquisitions

Research has demonstrated that turnover rates among employees and executives in the acquired firm are much higher during an M&A event. Recent empirical and review articles on M&A have also shown that employee retention/turnover can best be understood by looking at psychological attributes and perceptions of M&As, thus drawing significant attention to the psychological and ‘human’ side voids to theoretically exploit and enhance understanding of people-related problems in M&A endeavors. In this article, we develop a moderated mediation model and propose that acquired firm employees' psychological ownership is positively related to acquired firm employees' retention through the direct and mediating effects of employees' commitment and involvement in M&A. We also propose that the effect of acquired firm employees' psychological ownership on employees' commitment and involvement and, ultimately, acquired firm employees' retention is moderated by loss of acquired firm autonomy. We also discuss implications for theory and practice, as well as future research directions of such an employees' psychological ownership perspective on retention effects.     

Affective commitment and turnover intentions among healthcare professionals: the role of emotional exhaustion and disengagement

This paper utilises the conservation of resources theory to examine the mediating role played by disengagement in the relationships between emotional exhaustion, affective commitment and turnover intentions among healthcare professionals. Structural equation modelling was conducted on data obtained from 302 healthcare professionals in a major Australian cancer hospital. Our findings demonstrate that disengagement fully mediates the relationships between emotional exhaustion and both affective commitment and turnover intentions. Recommendations for future research are suggested and practical implications discussed.     

Moderating effect of employee perception of responsible downsizing on job satisfaction and innovation commitment

Abstract

Firms strive to innovate and enhance their competitive advantage. However, firm innovation relies on employee willingness to innovate. Therefore, how job satisfaction motivates employees to innovate has become a crucial topic. Additionally, for firms implementing a downsizing strategy to achieve a competitive edge, employee perception of downsizing may moderate the effect of employee job satisfaction on innovation commitment. To investigate the relationships between critical variables and employee innovation, we studied 277 nonsupervisory employees and three groups of stakeholders in a company and employed quantitative and qualitative methods to examine our research construct. The results revealed that job satisfaction regarding direct supervisors, pressure at work, peer relations, support of family, and health substantially affected employee innovation commitment. Employee perception of responsible downsizing strategy altered the influence of these factors. The findings of this research construct can guide organizational research and managerial practices.     

The effects of employee stock ownership on stock liquidity: Evidence from the Korean market

This study investigates the relationship between the level of employee stock ownership (ESO) and stock liquidity. Using Korean ESO data, we find that ESO is positively associated with various liquidity measures. Stock-owning employees tend to mitigate information asymmetry to increase their benefits from the transparent market. We also find stronger effects when the firm is not an affiliate of a chaebol family group, and is less monitored by financial analysts, foreign investors, and outside directors. Furthermore, we employ various robustness tests to mitigate potential endogeneity concerns.     

Mobley revisited: dynamism in the process of employee turnover

In the employee turnover literature, studies of antecedents at static points prior to the ‘stay versus leave’ decision have generally not exhibited great predictive power. Mobley (1982 Mobley, W.H. 1982. Some Unanswered Questions in Turnover and Withdrawal Research. Academy of Management Review, 7(1): 111–6. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) suggests that such studies require the inclusion of change, time, actions and operations. A study is accordingly reported here in which employee recall of satisfaction, commitment and withdrawal intentions at three periods prior to the stay/leave decision is examined. Measures recalled at a single time (static) are found to be unreliable or even contrary to expectation. Alternately, change in variables is found to be significantly more predictive of final turnover than static measurements of these variables, especially over a year. Different antecedents appear to dominate in the turnover process at different times. Furthermore, antecedents differ over demographic groups, suggesting that movement capital may affect turnover.     

Effectiveness of organizational efforts to lower turnover intentions: The moderating role of employee locus of control

In the current career climate characterized by change and turbulence, employees may demonstrate limited psychological attachment to their employers. Rousseau (1998) suggested that organizations can elicit psychological attachment from employees by reinforcing perceptions of organizational membership and demonstrating care and support for them. The effectiveness of these strategies, however, may depend on individuals' personality traits. In this study, we examined the moderating effect of locus of control in the relationship among four valued aspects of the work environment—information sharing, job significance, opportunity for learning, and availability of rewards for performance—and employees' intentions to stay. In two empirical studies, we found that information sharing, job significance, and locus of control interacted to positively affect intentions to stay and that opportunity for learning, availability of rewards for performance, and locus of control also interacted to increase intentions to stay. Implications of these results for theory building and practice are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Comptes rendus: The political economy of housing in Britain

Book reviewed in this article: Murie, A., Niner, P. and Watson, C. 1976: Housing policy and the housing system (HPHS). Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series , Volume I, No. I, Houses and people in the city (HPC), 1976. Antipode , Urban political economy issue (UPE) (ed M. Boody) Political Economy of Housing Workshop (PEHW) of the Conference of Socialist Economists 1975: Political economy and the housing question (PEHQ). Political Economy of the Housing Workshop of the Conference of Socialist Economists 1976: Housing and Class in Britain (HCB). National Community Development Project 1976: Whatever happened to council housing? (WHCH). National Community Development Project 1976: Profits against houses: an alternative guide to housing finance (PAH). Marx, K. edn. 1970: Capital, Volume 1. Nell, E. 1972: Economics: the revival of political economy. Broadbent, T. A. 1977: Planning and profit in the urban economy. Centro di Ricerche sui Modi di Produzione (a cura di Enzo Mingione) 1977: L'uso del territorio in Cina. Darke, R. and Walker, R. editors, 1977: Local government and the public. Sewell, W. and Coppock, J. , editors, 1977: Public participation in planning. Hart, D. A. 1976: Strategic planning in London: the rise and fall of the primary road network. Hayden, D. 1976: Seven American utopias: the architecture of communitarian socialism, 1790–1975. C. G. Pickvance , IJURR/RIRUR, Beverley Farm, University of Kent, Canterbury, England.     

The role of management and trade union leadership on dual commitment: The mediating effect of the workplace relations climate

This article examines the effect of transformational and laisser‐faire leadership on the part of local union leaders and immediate supervisors on the dual commitment of unionised workers. Building on the social information processing perspective, it is suggested that these leadership styles are linked to commitment through the workplace relations climate (WRC). Based on a sample of 834 unionised workers, our results suggest that WRC represents an important mechanism explaining the effect of the immediate supervisor's leadership in unionised settings. Results also show that transformational leadership on the part of union representatives is positively linked to union and organisational commitment. This article contributes to the WRC and dual commitment literatures by going beyond structural and institutional explanations and considering relational and actor‐related variables, such as leadership styles.     

Predicting employee commitment and satisfaction: the relative effects of socialization and demographics

This study compared the relative influences of organizational socialization and demographic variables on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Organizational variables were assessed by asking 193 Chinese employees in Hong Kong to evaluate socialization within their companies, namely: (1) training received; (2) understanding of the organization; (3) co-worker support; and (4) future prospects within their companies. Dependent variables were standard measures of (affective, continuance and normative) commitment and of satisfaction (with co-workers, pay, promotion, supervisors and the work). Results revealed higher correlations between the socialization measures and job satisfaction and commitment than between the demographic measures and the dependent variables. Although a few demographic measures had some predictive power, the regression analyses confirmed that the socialization variables were consistently stronger predictors of both satisfaction and commitment. Strategic implications for human resource management are discussed.