Innovation attributes and pedagogical quality: a concretization of joint theories on course management systems acceptance

The utilization of information and communication technologies in support of teaching and learning is still on its way to expand its potentials in higher education. Facing different venues of course delivery, computer-mediated communication technologies seem to be the most efficient and cost-effective. Since the mid-1990s, course management systems (CMSs) have gradually evolved, and taken an irreplaceable important role in higher education. From the perspectives of pedagogical impact and instructional resource consumption, Morgan (2003) considered that CMSs form the academic system equivalent of enterprise resource planning systems. Based on an extensive review on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) at the outset, this study bridges the TAM and IDT, and proposes a conceptual model of the acceptance of CMSs to acknowledge antecedents (i.e., innovation attributes, self-efficacy (SE), pedagogical quality (PQ) and perceived evaluation of function (EF)). Theoretically, the perceived innovation attributes of CMSs impact users’ perceived usefulness (PU) and actual use (AU). The antecedents, such as SE, PQ, and EFs, are also anticipated to have impacts on the AU and use of perception. PU is influenced by perceived ease of use (PEOU), while behavioral intention (BI) is concurrently influenced by PEOU and PU. Moreover, AU is influenced by BI. Finally, discussion and suggestions for future research of the proposed model are also provided.     

领导-成员交换如何以及何时影响员工偏离行为?社会控制理论的视角

领导-成员交换是组织人际关系研究的重要组成部分,一直以来受到研究者的广泛关注。然而,当员工作为领导者的"圈内人"时,似乎容易受到领导者的特殊"保护",并从事偏离行为。基于社会控制理论,本研究采用多来源的问卷调查方法,探讨了领导-成员交换的消极面。研究结果表明:高质量的领导-成员交换关系导致员工产生感知偏离容忍,进而导致其偏离行为增加。这一过程又受到员工道德推脱水平的调节作用,即当员工的道德推脱水平较高时,领导-成员交换通过员工的感知偏离容忍正向影响其偏离行为的间接效应显著;当员工的道德推脱水平较低时,上述间接效应不显著。本研究为领导-成员交换提供了更加全面和辩证的研究视角,同时也拓展了社会控制理论、感知偏离容忍和偏离行为的相关研究。除此之外,本研究也为企业管理实践提供了可供借鉴的经验和指导。     

Reducing perceptions of overqualification and its impact on job satisfaction: the dual roles of interpersonal relationships at work

A sizeable portion of the working population perceives that they are overqualified for their jobs. This is problematic, given that research consistently shows that such beliefs translate into lower levels of job satisfaction. Hence, it behoves human resource management (HRM) scholars to identify factors that influence perceptions of overqualification and also moderators that may reduce the negative effect of perceived overqualification on job satisfaction. In this study, we present a moderated path model that posits that the quality of the relationships that employees hold with their leader and with their team is not only antecedents of perceived overqualification but it is also hypothesised to weaken the negative relationship between perceived overqualification and job satisfaction. Survey data that were gathered from two organisations in the Netherlands (n = 183) supported the model. Implications for theory and practice in HRM are discussed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

The influence of greenwash on green word-of-mouth (green WOM): the mediation effects of green perceived quality and green satisfaction

The study discusses the influence of greenwash on green word-of-mouth (green WOM) and explores the mediation roles of green perceived quality and green satisfaction. The research object of this study focuses on Taiwanese consumers who have the experience to purchase information and electronics products in Taiwan. This research utilizes structural equation modeling to undertake an empirical study. The results indicate that greenwash negatively affects green WOM. Besides, this paper proves that greenwash negatively impacts green perceived quality and green satisfaction which would positively influence green WOM. This study demonstrates that green perceived quality and green satisfaction mediate the negative relationship between greenwash and green WOM. It means that greenwash does not only have a directly negative effect on green WOM, but also have an indirectly negative effect on it via green perceived quality and green satisfaction. Thus, this study suggests that companies should decrease their greenwash behaviors and enhance their consumers’ green perceived quality and green satisfaction to increase their consumers’ green WOM.     

A combined random effect and fixed effect forecast for panel data models

When some of the regressors in a panel data model are correlated with the random individual effects, the random effect (RE) estimator becomes inconsistent while the fixed effect (FE) estimator is consistent. Depending on the various degree of such correlation, we can combine the RE estimator and FE estimator to form a combined estimator which can be better than each of the FE and RE estimators. In this paper, we are interested in whether the combined estimator may be used to form a combined forecast to improve upon the RE forecast (forecast made using the RE estimator) and the FE forecast (forecast using the FE estimator) in out-of-sample forecasting. Our simulation experiment shows that the combined forecast does dominate the FE forecast for all degrees of endogeneity in terms of mean squared forecast errors (MSFE), demonstrating that the theoretical results of the risk dominance for the in-sample estimation carry over to the out-of-sample forecasting. It also shows that the combined forecast can reduce MSFE relative to the RE forecast for moderate to large degrees of endogeneity and for large degrees of heterogeneity in individual effects.     

Exploring the effects of institutional pressures on the implementation of environmental management accounting: Do top management support and perceived benefit work?

Environmental management accounting (EMA) has been regarded as an effective way to deal with environmental issues and economic performance. On the basis of institutional theory, this research aims to examine the effects of institutional pressures on the implementation of EMA and how such effects are affected by top management support and perceived benefit. Data were collected from the manufacturing firms in the Yangtze River Delta using questionnaire survey method. The results indicated that coercive pressure and normative pressure positively and significantly affect the implementation of EMA whereas mimetic pressure has no significant effect. Furthermore, top management support and perceived benefit play different moderating roles in the relationships between institutional pressures and the implementation of EMA. Top management support and perceived benefit positively moderate the relationships between coercive pressure, normative pressure, and the implementation of EMA although negatively moderate the relationship between mimetic pressure and the implementation of EMA. On the basis of the findings, policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The search for legitimacy and organizational change: The agency of subordinated actors

This article investigates the organizational changes triggered by the implementation of certified management systems (CMS) in Denmark and explores how institutionalized organizational practices change over time. The study shows that improvements in performance were not significant in the implementation of CMS, though in most cases its adoption implied organizational changes. The study also shows that the search for external legitimacy was appropriated by various internal organizational actors, other than management. When internal actors share the institutionalized beliefs and norms of the wider society, they implicitly strive to reduce decoupling. We argue that understanding the social dynamics of legitimacy in organisations requires paying attention to the agency of superordinated as well as subordinate actors.     

The devolution of HR to the line: Implications for perceptions of people management effectiveness

The devolution of human resource responsibilities from human resource managers to line managers is both a growing and global trend. A number of authors has suggested that there are positive as well as negative consequences of devolution. The current study conducted a survey of US human resource managers to explore the effect of devolution on human resource managers' perceptions of people management effectiveness in their organizations. Results revealed a positive effect of devolution on perceived people management effectiveness. However, this effect was qualified by an interaction between devolution and line support. Contrary to expectation, this interaction revealed that providing line managers with training and support for their human resource responsibilities had a greater positive impact on perceived effectiveness in organizations that had not devolved (non devolvers) compared to those that had (devolvers).     

Positive psychological capital and emotional labor in Korea: the job demands-resources approach

This study examined the effect of organizational justice perception on service employees' positive psychological capital and the influence of positive psychological capital on surface and deep acting. Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and the literature on positive work environment, the indirect effects of perceived distributive and procedural justice on surface and deep acting through service employees' psychological capital were hypothesized. Using data from 263 flight attendants of the largest airline company in South Korea, the results indicated that perceived distributive and procedural justice were positively related to service employees' psychological capital, which, in turn, fostered deep acting but not surface acting. Deep acting was negatively related to emotional exhaustion, while surface acting showed a positive relationship. Emotional exhaustion, in turn, increased turnover intention. This study offers contributions to our understanding of positive psychological capital and implications for emotional labor in service management. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.     

Exploring the black box in Spanish firms: the effect of the actual and perceived system on employees' commitment and organizational performance

Several studies in strategic human resource management have described a relationship between people-management practices and organizational performance. However, the mediating processes that explain such a relationship remain unexplored. This study examines how both the actual people-management system (assessed by managers) and the perceived system (assessed by employees) influence employees' commitment, and how this in turn contributes to employee and organizational outcomes. Multilevel analyses of a sample of 732 employees from 26 Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supported a model in which employees' commitment mediates between the actual system and unit-level absenteeism, which in turn has an effect on productivity. Results also showed the importance of the perceived system in attempting to understand the true effect of the actual system on employees' commitment to the organization.     

Factors affecting high-involvement product purchasing behavior

This study integrates the theory of planned behavior and theory of perceived value to discuss the effects of brand valuation, subjective norm, and promotion on perceived value. It also employs linear multivariate analysis integrated with fuzzy neural network techniques to validate the hypotheses. The population of this study is the consumers who have purchased luxury goods in three major metropolitan areas in Taiwan (Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung). Questionnaires are distributed in department stores and boutique stores in those metropolitan areas by convenience sampling. This study also explores the purchase of high-involvement products, including the luxury goods. The empirical results are as follows: brand valuation has a significant positive effect on perceived value; promotional method has a significant positive effect on purchasing behavior; high price promotion causes brand valuation to have negative effects on perceived value; the brand valuation and perceived value relationship is affected by non-price promotion; perceived value has a significant positive effect on purchasing behavior. Management implications and suggestions for the future study are also proposed.     

Performance evaluation of reverse logistics in food supply chains in a circular economy using system dynamics

Supply chains are composed of multiple stakeholders who have complex interrelationships. In addition, the forward and reverse flow of materials, information, human resources, and finance occurs among different stakeholders in closing the loop of supply chains. Reverse logistics (RL) activities are gaining importance in terms of size and quantity due to both economic and environmental concerns. These flows in RL in supply chains are both dynamic and complex in nature. Further, the environmental impact of RL activities has barely been considered in holistic way in available literature. In this study, a system dynamics model has been developed to analyze and comprehend the green performance of RL activities by predicting the environmental impact of RL activities. The proposed model has been validated by a case study in the context of a food supply chain. In the company where the case study is carried out, the environmental effects of RL activities have been analyzed. These activities in a food supply chain in terms of CO₂ (carbon dioxide), NO_x (nitrogen oxide), SO₂ (sulfur dioxide), and PM (particulate matter) emissions have been predicted through a system dynamics model for the years 2020 to 2024. The proposed methodology is applied in a food supply context, a major player in retail business, especially in emerging economies. According to our findings, the RL activities in a food supply chain can significantly contribute to green performance management by minimizing food waste and loss; hence, the environmental impacts of such activities should be closely examined from a managerial perspective.     

The Effects of Tolerance for Ambiguity and Task Uncertainty on the Balanced and Combined Use of Project Controls

This study contributes to the literature by examining antecedents to different combinations of management control systems. These combinations include combined use, focusing on the absolute magnitude of the project manager's organic and mechanistic control activities, and the balanced use, that is their relative magnitude. It is proposed that project managers' perceived task uncertainty and tolerance for ambiguity have direct and interaction effects on their balanced and combined use of different combinations of project control. Consistent with the hypotheses, the results show negative relationships between high tolerance for ambiguity and balanced and combined use of organic and mechanistic controls. Further, task uncertainty appears to have a direct, significant negative effect on balanced use, but not on combined use. Furthermore, as proposed, a negative significant interaction effect was found. The results were controlled for project size, project type and level of innovativeness.     

社会交换视角下组织支持感跨界增益的情感性路径研究

随着经济的快速发展,员工在追求事业成就的同时,也越来越关注工作与家庭的平衡。过往有关工作领域支持性角色资源跨界影响工作-家庭增益的研究中较少关注个体对资源的情感性评估和给个体心理资源带来的改变。本文采用问卷调查法获取了443名在职企业员工的样本数据,探讨了组织支持感影响工作-家庭增益的情感性路径。结果表明:组织支持感显著正向影响工作-家庭增益;组织认同和核心自我评价分别在组织支持感与工作-家庭增益的关系中起部分中介作用,诠释了组织支持感跨界增益的多重中介路径。本文为管理者从社会交换视角理解工作家庭正向互动的过程提供了理论借鉴。管理者应将“组织、员工、家庭”视为一个更大的资源交换系统,从组织支持角度去促成员工工作与家庭的积极关系。     

Revenge Exacerbates the Effects of Interpersonal Problems on Mentors’ Emotional Exhaustion and Work‐Family Conflict: A Self‐Defeating Perspective

Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study examined the link between negative mentoring experiences (i.e., interpersonal problems) perceived by mentors and their work‐family conflict (WFC) by focusing on the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of revenge. The results of a field survey of 187 mentors in China supported all of our hypotheses, indicating that interpersonal problems perceived by mentors were positively related to their WFC. This relationship was also found to be mediated by the mentors’ emotional exhaustion. In addition, revenge against protégés was found to moderate the main effect of interpersonal problems on emotional exhaustion and the indirect effect of interpersonal problems on WFC. Specifically, revenge exacerbated the positive relationship between interpersonal problems and emotional exhaustion. Further, emotional exhaustion mediated the indirect effect of interpersonal problems on WFC when the level of revenge was high, but not when it was low. The findings of this study provide insightful theoretical contributions and managerial implications that indicate new directions for research related to mentoring and work‐family relationships. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Employee development and voluntary turnover: testing the employability paradox

The employability paradox is a concern among employers. It states that development activities enhancing employees' employability also increase the risk for employee turnover. This study examined this paradox and probed the relationship between six development activities and voluntary turnover mediated by perceived employability. We tested both a turnover‐stimulating path via perceived external employability (i.e. perceived job alternatives with other employers) and a retention path via perceived internal employability (i.e. perceived job alternatives with the current employer) by using two‐wave longitudinal data from 588 employees. The results put the turnover risk into perspective: only upward job transition positively influenced turnover via perceived external employability. Also, the retention path via perceived internal employability was not supported: several development activities were positively related with perceived internal employability, but perceived internal employability did not influence turnover. We did, however, find a direct retention effect of skill utilisation. Overall, the results downplay the employability paradox.     

Financial Consequences in Foreign Subsidiary Manager Performance Evaluations

ABSTRACT

This explorative study contributes to the limited body of knowledge on the financial impacts of using multiple forms of controls in managerial performance evaluations. The study explores (1) how short-term profitability is affected by headquarters' emphasis on financial, nonfinancial and selected behavioral controls in the performance evaluation of overseas subsidiary managers, and (2) whether the effects of such evaluations vary with perceived environmental changes. Documentary and survey data for a sample of multinational companies headquartered in Finland propose that the emphasis of financial controls by top management improves short-term profitability more than an emphasis on nonfinancial or behavioral controls. Simultaneous emphasis of all three types of controls does not significantly increase short-term profitability over an emphasis on financial controls, because the positive effect of behavioral controls is mostly offset by a negative effect of nonfinancial controls. Perceived environmental changes appear to moderate the relationship between the headquarters' emphasis on nonfinancial controls and short-term profitability. These findings imply that in the short-term and regardless of the environmental contingencies analyzed, financial controls are more effective than nonfinancial or behavioral controls in improving profitability, but packages comprising financial and behavioral (action accountability) controls in particular can improve short-term profitability even more.     

Public Employee Acceptance of New Technological Processes: The case of an internal call centre

Abstract

The present work explores employee acceptance of process innovation in a public administration from a complementary three-fold theoretical perspective, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Cognitive Model of Satisfaction (CMS) and the Satisfaction-loyalty Model (SLM). The proposed model integrates these approaches, and considers the moderating effect of employees' perceived experience with the new process. Although findings support that behavioural intentions are determined by perceived usefulness, satisfaction and attitude towards the new technology, we find that as employees' perceived experience increases, use intention becomes a routine, and the evaluation of the new process proves irrelevant in terms of usefulness or quality.     

High involvement work system,work–family conflict,and expatriate performance – examining Taiwanese expatriates in China

This study explores the effects of multinational companies (MNC) implementation of a high involvement work system (HIWS) for their expatriates on both expatriate work–family conflict (WFC) and their performance. We surveyed 174 Taiwanese expatriates stationed in China. Data were collected on: (1) perceived human resource management (HRM) practices concerning ‘high involvement work system’; (2) perceived work–family conflict; (3) job satisfaction; and (4) supervisor ratings of expatriate job performance. Structural modeling techniques helped us examine in one model the interdependent relationships among high involvement work system, work–family conflict, and expatriate performance in their host country. Our results show that a high involvement work system is positively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. However, a high involvement work system is also positively related to expatriate work-family conflict, which in turn is negatively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. Our findings remind managers that a high involvement work system may produce multiple effects on various dimensions of employee work life, and not all of these effects may be positive.     

From schoolyard to workplace: The impact of bullying on sales and business employees' machiavellianism,job satisfaction,and perceived importance of an ethical issue

Bullying can precipitate many negative outcomes at work, but previous research does not adequately address how such misbehavior affects employee dispositions and attitudes; how these characteristics impact ethical decision making is also underexplored. Given these research gaps, the purpose of this study is to assess (1) the impact of bullying on Machiavellianism and job satisfaction, and (2) the influences of Machiavellianism and job satisfaction on perceived ethical issue importance, a measure of ethical decision making. Three hundred eighty‐four sales and business employees working for different firms operating in the United States answered a self‐report questionnaire. The findings showed that, after accounting for social desirability bias, workplace bullying was positively associated with Machiavellianism and negatively associated with job satisfaction. Machiavellianism was negatively related to the perceived importance of an ethical issue embedded in a vignette highlighting Machiavellianism and latent bullying behaviors. In addition, job satisfaction was positively related to ethical issue importance. Finally, both Machiavellianism and job satisfaction mediated the relationship between bullying experiences and importance of an ethical issue, as evidenced by their significant indirect effects. HR professionals should minimize bullying and Machiavellianism to reduce the corrosive effect on the ethical environment and enhance work attitudes and ethical decisions.