Theory for an age of crisis: seeing money as an organizational process

The worldwide financial crisis and the need to understand the conditions leading up to it and the associated responses highlight the importance of money in organizations. Yet, money is undertheorized in management theory and considered uninteresting or “inert” (Mitchel & Mickel, 1999 ). In contrast, related social sciences and organizational practices provide rich insights into the socially contingent and expressive qualities of money. This paper proposes a new multidimensional framework for analyzing money as a social construct and suggests how it can be used to theorize and research the collapse of financial markets and the Great Recession. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From grobal management to glocal management: Latin American perspectives as a counter‐dominant management epistemology

Management is known as a global phenomenon. However, its “global” façade tends to mean that management knowledge and practices are usually created and developed in Western countries—mainly the United States—to be transferred supposedly problem‐free to other locations. This paper discusses how management has spread globally via Americanization, and is therefore a grobal phenomenon. From a Latin American perspective, this transfer can be problematic, especially as it tends to suppress locally developed knowledge and experiences. In denaturalizing grobal management, we propose glocal management as an alternative to the current Anglo‐centric view of the field, and believe this new view can take into account hybridism and local realities. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Protect,profit, profess,promote: Establishing legitimacy through logics of diversity in Canadian accounting firm recruitment documents

Prospective accounting recruits are increasingly diverse. Drawing on a theoretical framework that combines legitimacy theory, impression management, and institutional logics, we use content analysis to examine how the eight largest Canadian accounting firms refer to diversity in their recruitment websites. Our analysis reveals accounting firms adopt multiple institutional logics and various impression management strategies to enhance legitimacy in the eyes of prospective diversity‐sensitive employees. We find four “Ps” of diversity‐related institutional logics—protect, profit, profess, and promote—all of which are at play in accounting firms' websites. Further, we find that diversity is far from being an institutionalized concept. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What does diversity management mean for the gender equality project in the United Kingdom? Views and experiences of organizational “actors”

There has been a shift at the organizational level away from a traditional “equal opportunity” paradigm underpinned by notions of social justice, with a specific focus on tackling gender inequalities towards a business‐led “diversity management” paradigm, with a focus on the individual and their contribution to the organization. We argue that diversity management as a concept and model has the potential to undermine the gender equality project, but drawing on a UK‐based study we conclude that whether or not it presently does so in practice is less clear. Nevertheless, our study, presenting views and experiences of multiple organizational actors, demonstrates the seductiveness of the diversity discourse, which could herald danger for the future direction and substance of the gender equality project. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why do companies issue convertible bond loans? An empirical analysis for the Canadian market

To identify issuer motives, we study the determinants of announcement effects of convertible debt issues in the Canadian market. Classified into equity‐ and debt‐like, wealth effects are significantly more negative for equity‐like convertible bond issuers. Equity‐like convertibles are significantly negatively affected by agency costs of equity. However, agency costs of debt have no significant effect on debt‐like convertibles. Consistent with Stein (1992), this suggests convertibles in particular represent a substitute for equity. Moreover, convertible debt offers announced by income trusts experience significantly less negative wealth effects than offers by nontrusts—a finding explained by a more debt‐like convertible design, very low agency costs of equity in case of income trusts, or both. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Framing the usefulness of eHRM in talent management: A case study of talent identification in a professional services firm

As talent management evolves from intuitive to evidence‐based decision‐making, the role of electronic Human Resource Management (eHRM) to gather, distribute, and analyze data becomes more critical. However, surprisingly few academic studies investigate the role of technology in talent management. Drawing on a qualitative case study of talent management in a large professional services firm, this paper critically examines how eHRM information technologies are framed as useful within talent identification discourses. The findings reveal two distinct but interrelated sets of processes employed to identify talent and suggest that the perceived usefulness and centrality of eHRM are influenced by how stakeholders shape their understanding of effective talent management. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Moderating Role of Strategic Integration in Performance Improvement Through Purchasing Social Responsibility in Thailand

This research aims to understand the performance of purchasing social responsibility (PSR) through moderating effect of purchasing strategic integration. The results show that PSR directly influences purchasing performance, while the relationship between PSR and purchasing performance is partially mediated by organizational learning. Moreover, strategic integration negatively moderates the relationship between PSR and purchasing performance. This study suggests that the adoption of PSR affects the operations of both buyers and suppliers in a supply chain that further encourage organizational learning and increases purchasing efficiency. The results also show that organizations may realize this effect of PSR practices but may focus on other purchasing practices, which affects purchasing performance. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disclosing elements of disclosure: a test of legitimacy theory and company ethics

This paper focuses on some of the ethical issues related to voluntary disclosure of qualitative information by Canadian public companies. Drawing on various organizational theories, we examine some of the ways that companies can symbolically manage legitimacy through disclosure. Press releases of a sample of companies that received cease‐trading orders were analysed for their use of language. We found that high‐risk companies attempted to manage legitimacy by selectively releasing information and by using ambiguous language. Moreover, some companies behaved unethically by using language that suggested a positive future despite the imminent release of a cease‐trading order. These findings have implications for organizational and accounting theorists and stakeholders in the corporate, fiduciary, and investment communities. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crisis management in information system projects: lessons of a case study

This case study is reflective of the action‐research perspective documents applied in an intervention to manage a crisis during an information technology development project. The aim was to better understand how tools used to solve unstructured problems might help resolve such crises. The development and implementation of an intervention utilizing multiple tools is described. As a result of the intervention, a shared meaning of the crisis emerged among the major stakeholders along with a consensus as to appropriate solutions and action steps. Work on the project resumed to the satisfaction of management. Recommendations for future research are offered. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adoption of the Balanced Scorecard: A Contingency Variables Analysis

Our study investigates the adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a strategic planning system. We empirically examine the firm‐level factors—business‐level strategy, firm size, environmental uncertainty, investment in intangible assets, and prior performance— that are posited to differentiate BSC adopters from nonadopters. Drawing on a sample of Canadian firms and utilizing both survey and archival data, we find that BSC adopters (a) are more likely to follow a Prospector or Analyzer business strategy, (b) are significantly larger, (c) exhibit significantly higher environmental uncertainty than nonadopters, and (d) have weaker prior performance. Copyright © 2011 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining Reactions to Workplace Diversity: The Role of Dissimilarity–Attraction in Teams

This paper examines existing theory for understanding diversity in teams and offers propositions consistent with a unique dissimilarity–attraction framework. Prior relational demography research is examined and collective findings are used to purport this new direction for the field. Given current organizational and societal norms that emphasize a shift to a more proactive approach to diversity and inclusion, dissimilarity itself is suggested to signal positive cues for social identification and initial attraction among team members. The analyses may offer new approaches for framing hypotheses in relational demography research. Practical implications for management hinge on the notion that an understanding of these processes can have real and substantial impacts on team dynamics and associated competitive advantage. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of rewards on psychological health in the workplace: Underlying mechanisms

The effort‐reward imbalance (ERI) model in the workplace (Siegrist, 1996) suggests that inequity of rewards contributes to a degradation of mental health through a process of devaluation. The objective of our study is to test this hypothesis empirically. Data were collected from 659 agents in three call centres located in the province of Quebec. A bootstrap mediation test show that perceived inequity with respect to rewards (recognition, promotion, job security) affects the level of psychological distress through the perception of being valued by the organization. Perceived inequity affects mental health because it signals to workers the extent to which they are valued by their organization. Our correlational study provides evidence of the internal validity of the ERI model. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

To improve investors' valuation of accounting earnings in emerging markets: evidence from Taiwan

The valuation of accounting earnings is related to the level of earnings management used by the firm. In emerging markets where earnings management is typically pervasive, investors lose confidence in accounting earnings and thus tend to under‐value earnings. Using data from Taiwan, we show that better governance characteristics are associated with improved investor valuation of accounting earnings. Under weaker governance structures, such as excessive control on the part of majority shareholders, small board size, and chief executive officer/chairman of the board duality, the market tends to under‐value accounting earnings. Reducing controlling shareholders' ownership, increasing board size, and reinforcing the monitoring function of the board improves investors' ability to value accounting earnings. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microfoundations of institutional change: Contrasting institutional sabotage to entrepreneurship

This paper addresses little understood microfoundations of institutionally driven organizational change and utilizes an institutional‐conflict‐based approach to examine innovation in organizational forms. Using a two‐case comparative analysis, we longitudinally examine the antecedents, mechanisms, and success/failure of attempts at change by institutional entrepreneurs. We analyze and develop theoretical insights on the interplay between internal political processes and external competitive actions in the creation of innovation in organizational forms and the subsequent legitimacy struggles through which an organizational field evolves in a sports (cricket) business context. We draw implications for institutional actors by observing patterns in organizational and institutional evolution in such contexts. We contribute to institutional entrepreneurship literature by developing a nuanced process model of success and failure in institutional entrepreneurship. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

L'effet des récompenses sur l'état de santé psychologique des travailleurs: les mécanismes sous‐jacents

The effort‐reward imbalance (ERI) model in the workplace (Siegrist, 1996 ) suggests that inequity of rewards contributes to a degradation of mental health through a process of devaluation. The objective of our study is to test this hypothesis empirically. Data were collected from 659 agents in three call centres located in the province of Quebec. A bootstrap mediation test show that perceived inequity with respect to rewards (recognition, promotion, job security) affects the level of psychological distress through the perception of being valued by the organization. Perceived inequity affects mental health because it signals to workers the extent to which they are valued by their organization. Our correlational study provides evidence of the internal validity of the ERI model. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between corporate social performance and earnings management

This study assesses the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and earnings management. Based on a sample of 109 Canadian companies drawn from the Michael Jantzi Research Associates – Canadian Social Investment Database for the years 2004 and 2005, our findings corroborate the multiple objectives hypothesis suggesting that the level of CSP is positively associated with earnings management. Using individual measures of CSP, we find a positive association between firm's CSP ratings related to environment and employees, and the earnings management activities. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Akbar's multiculturalism: lessons for diversity management in the 21st century

This paper challenges the hegemony of US‐centric perspectives in the diversity management literature by explaining how non‐Western histories and cultures may provide alternative contexts for understanding and managing diversity. In pursuit of this, the paper describes how Muslim ruler Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar conceptualized multiculturalism in 16th century India, and how his principles of sulh‐i‐kul, rah‐i‐aql, and rawa‐i‐rozi may be adopted to develop a sociopolitical environment conducive to managing cultural diversity in organizations, an environment currently lacking even in the majority of democratic countries in the world today. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of top management team traits on corporate financial performance in the US

This article aims to study the effect of human capital on the financial performance of the most admired American firms. Human capital is measured in terms of the demographic attributes and the diversity of top managers. The use of panel linear multiple regressions reveals that the most successful firms are characterized by coherent and homogeneous top management teams with moderate tenure and excellent wages. Moreover, the heterogeneity of managers is recommended for fairly young top management teams and for larger firms operating in a turbulent environment. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Promoting remote workers' psychological health: Effective management practices during the COVID-19 crisis

The aim of this study was to identify specific management practices that promote the psychological health of remote workers in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. A two-round Delphi study was conducted among 28 teleworkers and 22 managers. A list of 60 specific management practices was presented and participants had to identify whether each one could be used in the current remote working context and, if so, how useful it was to promote psychological health at work. Results indicate that most specific management practices usually used in a face-to-face setting can also be used in a remote context (85%). Practices that show consideration, establishing work structure, and allowing flexibility were also identified as the most useful to promote remote workers' psychological health during the pandemic. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge about specific management practices, remote working, and crisis management. It also suggests specific practices that managers can adopt to promote the psychological health of their employees during a period of crisis, even while managing from a distance.     

The business school scorecard: Examining the systematic sources of business school value

Stakeholder relationships are a critical resource that contribute to or inhibit value creation. Building on this assertion, we explore the value of the business school at a stakeholder level. We draw on research by the Canadian multistakeholder working group, the Business School Research Network (BSRN), which was established to facilitate collaborative interinstitutional research on the management and practice of business schools. We provide a conceptual model of the value chain and associated scorecard that take into account the sources of value judgments that pertain to a business school at the stakeholder‐level. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.