A relational view of climate adaptation in the private sector: How do value chain interactions shape business perceptions of climate risk and adaptive behaviours?

Studies exploring climate change adaptation in the private sector have seldom investigated the effect of business network interactions on climate vulnerability and adaptation outcomes. This paper proposes a novel theoretical framework to explore how business–network dynamics affect risk perceptions and adaptive behaviours in business firms. The framework is empirically grounded in a comparative analysis of business–network dynamics from three agricultural value chains in Jamaica that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. The results illustrate how the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of value chain actors are influenced by business interdependencies and interfirm relationships. We find that the level of formality of business exchanges (contractual or noncontractual), the level of resource interdependency, and the ability to diversify access channels to critical resources can influence the propagation of climate‐related risks and influence actors' exposure and sensitivity to those risks. The study also offers evidence of the role played by bonding and bridging relational ties on adaptive capacity. The framework and findings provide a foundation for a new research agenda exploring a relational view of firm adaptation strategy in response to climate risks.     

‘Business as usual?’ Retail employee perceptions of organizational life following cross-border acquisition

The question of whether strong organizational cultures can be exported across borders has been continually debated in the management and business literature. With increased retail internationalization, the question arises in how far global retailers will be able to transpose their cultural values – which are regarded as key levers to business success – into other national contexts. A case study of the acquisition of a UK retailer reveals workforce compliance to behavioural norms and consent to company values at Schein's () second tier of organizational culture. However, the cultural integration espoused in the retailer's literature is not achieved, but differentiation and fragmentation (Martin, , ) prevail at store level, despite the probable existence of a strong sectoral culture (Ogbonna and Harris, ).     

How do industrial relations climate and union instrumentality enhance employee performance? The mediating effects of perceived job security and trust in management

In this study, we examine the effects of two key variables associated with union effectiveness on the job performance of employees, and the mechanisms that explain such effects. More specifically, we investigate whether employees' perceptions that their union has a constructive relationship with management (industrial relations climate) and is able to act as an agent for their concerns (union instrumentality) promotes their job performance by enhancing their perceived job security and trust in management. Drawing on three waves of data from 303 employees and their immediate supervisors within 17 private enterprises in China, we find employees' perceptions of union effectiveness influence their job performance by enhancing both their perceived job security and trust in management. These findings are consistent with social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory. This article contributes to the literature by improving our understanding of how unions influence employees' work performance and by explaining how employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate and union instrumentality influence their job performance. It also sheds light on the important issue of the effectiveness of unions in China, a country where the centrality of the Chinese Communist Party is often considered to have reduced the instrumentality of unions.     

How does a diversity climate shape the relationship between demographic diversity and organizational social capital in the U.S. federal government?

Although intergroup conflict caused by demographic differences in organizations disrupts social interactions between employees, little empirical research has been conducted to understand how to effectively manage demographic diversity in the public workforces. By combining two theories of diversity and inclusion, this article explores the independent and joint effects of three dimensions of demographic diversity (gender, race, and age) and a diversity climate on organizational social capital in the US federal government. Statistical analysis shows a negative relationship between age diversity and organizational social capital and a contrasting positive relationship between a diversity climate and social capital. More important, the diversity climate as a key moderator conditions the impact of racial diversity and age diversity on social capital. The findings suggest the importance of a supportive diversity climate in improving the quality of social relationships within demographically diverse organizations.     

Can a workplace have an attitude problem? Workplace effects on employee attitudes and organizational performance

Using the employee opinion survey responses from several thousand employees working in 193 branches of a major U.S. bank, we consider whether there is a distinctive workplace component to employee attitudes despite the common set of corporate human resource management practices that cover all the branches. Several different empirical tests consistently point to the existence of a systematic branch-specific component to employee attitudes. “Branch effects” can also explain why a significant positive cross-sectional correlation between branch-level employee attitudes and branch sales performance is not observed in longitudinal fixed-effects sales models. The results of our empirical tests concerning the determinants of employee attitudes and the determinants of branch sales are consistent with an interpretation that workplace-specific factors lead to better outcomes for both employees and the bank, and that these factors are more likely to be some aspect of the branches' internal operations rather than some characteristic of the external market of the branch.     

Why do employees keep choosing the high-premium health care plan? An investigation of the financial consequences and logic of employee health care plan selections

In 1991, Dannon employees had the choice to stay with their current health care plan or switch to a new plan which offered a lower premium and less hospital cost coverage that better fit the needs of most employees. Both plans were the same in all other respects. Only 25% of employees chose the new lower-premium plan over the old plan. This article reports a collaborative effort between The Dannon Company and Cornell University's Center for Advanced HR Studies to identify the patterns of employee choices, and the effects of those choices on the actual costs that employees incurred. The actual decisions of 287 Dannon employees were examined, and the out-of-pocket costs that they actually incurred in the two years after the plan was introduced were calculated. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Is employee training really gender-neutral? Introducing a sex/gender-sensitive model of training

This integrative literature review reflects on the discourse in training theory and practice that employee training is gender-neutral. In a review of 78 multidisciplinary empirical studies from across the world, 90% of studies show that sex/gender impacts the work environment of training participants, their characteristics, interaction with the training design, and/or training outcome. This suggests that a gender-neutral approach to training may not reflect the reality of sex/gender differences; hence, there is a need for reflectivity on the role of sex/gender in training theory and practice to ensure that employee training is inclusive and equitable. This review introduces a sex/gender-sensitive model of training to guide future research and practice, including the recommendation to move beyond decontextualised, binary sex-category based research towards a situated and intersectional understanding of the multiple aspects of sex and gender in training.     

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.     

How do high-involvement work processes influence employee outcomes? An examination of the mediating roles of skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation

How do high-involvement work processes influence employee outcomes? In this paper, we use Vandenberg et al.'s [Vandenberg, R. J., Richardson, H. A., & Eastman, L. J. (1999). The impact of high involvement work processes on organisational effectiveness: A second order latent variable approach. Group and Organisational Management, 24, 300–339] elaboration of Lawler's [Lawler, E. E. (1986). High-involvement management: Participative strategies for improving organizational performance. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass] model to test direct links and to explore skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation as mediators. Survey data were collected from a large New Zealand organisation providing distribution services and results were analysed through structural equation modelling. While there are important direct effects, the results demonstrate that both skill utilisation and intrinsic motivation transmit high-involvement processes into valuable outcomes for employees. The benefits to employees of such processes are direct but also lie in the way they make the work itself more motivating and enable them to deploy and grow their skills. This implies that forms of work organisation and supervision that offer workers greater opportunity for discretion, and involvement in the decisions that concern them, create the conditions for greater learning and, in turn, contribute to their well-being.     

Associations between perceived employability,employee well-being,and its contribution to organizational success: a matter of psychological contracts?

We investigated interactions between perceived employability and employees' perceptions about psychological contract obligations made by the employer in relation to life and job satisfaction, self-rated performance, and turnover intention. We hypothesized that perceived employability relates positively to job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and self-rated performance and negatively to turnover intention under the condition of many promises. Conversely, perceived employability relates negatively to job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and self-rated performance and positively to turnover intention under the condition of few promises. Analyses using a sample of 463 workers from seven Belgian organizations showed that perceived employability was positively related to all outcomes except job satisfaction. The number of promises was positively related to job and life satisfaction, and to self-rated performance, and negatively to turnover intention. Contradictory to our expectations, with the exception of turnover intention, the relationships between perceived employability and the outcomes were relatively stronger and positive under the condition of few promises compared with many promises.     

Employment security and employee organizational citizenship behavior: does an ‘iron rice bowl’ make a difference?

Empirical evidence linking employment security to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is equivocal. Limited research has considered the effect of employment status. Using data from 217 subordinate–supervisor dyads in a large state-owned enterprise in China as basis, our research found significant association between overall perceived employment security and employee OCB. However, this relationship may vary depending on employment status. Further analysis suggested a curvilinear relationship for permanent employees with an ‘iron rice bowl’ (lifetime employment) and a linear relationship for contractual employees without an ‘iron rice bowl’. Our study contributes to a thorough understanding of the relationship between employment security and positive behaviors in terms of OCB by integrating the literature on social exchange, psychological contract, and proactive behavior.     

How do services of owner-occupied housing affect income inequality and redistribution?

This paper aims at analyzing the redistributive impact that the inclusion of the imputed rental market value of owner-occupied housing would have if used for quantifying the ability to pay rather than imputation based on cadastral values. We consider the Spanish personal income tax as reference, due to the differential treatment that it provides for imputed income from owner-occupied housing, together with the exceptionally high percentages of home ownership in Spain. By means of micro-simulation we explore the consequences of alternative possibilities for dealing with implicit income from owner-occupied housing.     

What is the joint effect of employee satisfaction and customer orientation on the organizational culture in metalworking manufacturing?

It is a known fact that culture is an important element for the organizations. In this context, a research has been carried out in which the main subject is about to investigate the organizational culture depending on the factors of employee satisfaction and customer orientation in metalworking manufacturing firms. To perform the study, we constructed an original model and conducted research with 578 employees of metalworking organizations. After the data analysis, we determined that organizational culture has positive-significant correlation with employee satisfaction and customer orientation (at the 0.000 level). Additionally, the total explained variance of organizational culture – depending on employee satisfaction and customer orientation – has come out as a satisfying value (0.53). According to the results of our research, we are able to conclude that employee satisfaction and customer orientation has a mid-level effect on creating a substantial organizational culture.     

How does the availability and use of flexible leave influence the employer–employee relationship?

In this article, we develop, and empirically test, a moderated mediation model of the effects of flexible leave on employees' organizational attachment. Drawing on a social exchange framework and signaling theory, we explore how the material and non-material nature of exchange between the employer and employee shapes their relationship. First, we show that the relationship between the availability of flexible leave and organizational attachment is shaped by two competing mediators, perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived flexibility stigma. Second, we delineate between availability and use of the policy, to show how the effect of POS is enhanced and perceived flexibility stigma reduced, with use. Our findings demonstrate that the relationship between the availability of flexible leave and organizational attachment is complex, but is enhanced through use of flexible leave. We contribute toward HRM scholarship about the relationship between employees' experience of HR practices and their corresponding impact on employees' subsequent behavior.     

Working sick and out of sorts: a cross-cultural approach on presenteeism climate,organizational justice and work–family conflict*

Abstract

A climate of presenteeism has important effects on employee well-being and the organization itself. Our study, based on surveys of health sector employees in six different countries (Brazil, Ecuador, Lebanon, Portugal, Russia and Spain) examines whether organizational justice plays a mediating role in the relationship between a presenteeism climate in the organization and work–family conflict (WFC). Our results indicate that the perception of organizational justice and the presenteeism climate do influence WFC. Moreover, higher levels of WFC were found in non-Latin countries. This study contributes to the work attendance and life balance field by providing cross-cultural empirical evidence corroborating the effect of justice and presenteeism climate on the WFC.     

Is your open-innovation successful? The mediating role of a firm's organizational and social context

Open firms are not equally successful. This is because, in order to benefit from external sources of knowledge, firms must be able to absorb such knowledge. The paper outlines a firm's context as a set of organizational and social features, which may be considered absorptive capacity antecedents. It explores the mediating role of such antecedents in the relationship – hitherto insufficiently researched – between the degree of openness and innovative performance. The use of a methodology combining both direct interviews and survey of Italian firms has allowed us to confirm the supposed mediating role. We also identify different modes for companies to open up their innovation process and, for each of them, the antecedents that are consistent with choices regarding the degree of openness.     

Are you a net creator or destroyer of talent? Seven indicators of organizational health for talent‐intensive organizations

As far back as the ninth century BCE in Greece, a talent was a form of currency. In the 21st century, talents remain currency as the special gifts of knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics that individuals bring to organizations. Talent management, also known as human capital management, HCM, is a focus of leadership studies that increasingly strives to acknowledge and measure the tangible contributions that individuals make to the bottom line. In this symposium, we offer a position paper by Ted Harro and Leslie Miller who detail an innovative approach to address how leaders of organizations can create a consistent, positive flow of talent necessary to support success. Our respondents, Karen Kirwan, Dave Wondra, and Edward Perez, each add their perspectives to this timely discussion.     

Do quality perceptions of health and social services vary for different ethnic groups? An empirical investigation

The United States is now more ethnically diverse than any other time in its history. In 2000, minority ethnic groups comprised 26% of the US population; by 2010, they comprise 35%, and in 2080 they will form the majority of American citizens. And among these ethnic groups, African Americans (12.4%), Hispanics (15.4%) and Asians (4.4%) were the most predominant in 2000. The growth of this segment of the population is not only in terms of numbers but also in terms of economic development. Minority groups are showing marked improvement in income and education levels leading to greater purchasing power. As a result, for‐profit companies are increasingly targeting minority populations with products and promotions specifically designed for specific minority groups. Even non profit organizations such as educational programs, social service and healthcare agencies are striving to design specific services and culturally competent outreach models in order to serve this increasingly diverse marketplace. But despite the strides made by non profit agencies, several studies note the tremendous disparities between the ethnic and racial groups in the seeking and the receipt of health‐care and social services. Additionally, there is limited empirical information about the perceptions of minority consumers. In order to effectively serve minority groups, it is essential to understand their experiences with the non profit service industry and to assess their ongoing concerns. In this study, we focus on two critical components of the non profit world – healthcare and social services. We conducted a survey to compare and contrast the social service and health‐care quality perceptions of three ethnic groups: Caucasians, African‐Americans and Hispanics. Our study, undertaken in collaboration with community health centers, reveals distinct differences in perceptions between the three ethnic groups. Based on our findings, we outline a set of implementable strategies for social service and community health organizations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.