Creating jobs through public subsidies: An empirical analysis

This paper analyses the impact of government grants on labour demand using plant level data for manufacturing industry in Ireland. Our data consists of a large sample of plants and their complete grant history. We provide evidence that additional employment is created over and above the level that would have prevailed in the absence of grant payments. We also find differences in the employment response to subsidies between domestic and foreign-owned plants, with the former creating more additional jobs per euro of grant payment. Simple cost-benefit analysis reveals that a large part of the costs of grants appears to be recouped in additional wage streams under reasonable assumptions.     

An empirical study on the nexus between the emotional intelligence of top managers and their assessment of intellectual capital

This study considers intellectual capital based on the assumption that this capital, which possesses social aspects, is related to the emotional capacities (i.e., emotional intelligence) of an organization’s members. A literature review indicates that this relationship has been previously noted and studied, and researchers agree that the emotional intelligence of the members of an organization affects the organization’s intellectual capital. Based on this analysis, this relationship is examined in the Turkish business context. Data are collected from top managers, who can affect the intellectual capital oftheir businesses and who, as human beings, are emotional. Thus, in this study, the emotional intelligence of top managers and their opinions regarding the intellectual capital of their businesses are considered to be related, with interesting results. When all of the factors of emotional intelligence that are likely to affect opinions regarding intellectual capital are examined using a multivariate model, the effect of emotional intelligence is revealed. Primarily, three factors of the emotional intelligence—empathy and communication skill, self-awareness and sociability—affect the participants’ opinions regarding the intellectual capital of their businesses. Univariate models are used to evaluate the effect of each emotional intelligence factor on the participants’ opinions regarding the intellectual capitalof their businesses. Empathy and communication skills affect opinions about the quality of human capital. Self-awareness affects opinions about the organizational commitment of workers. Sociability can affect opinions about information technology and information sharing. In summary, emotional intelligence affects opinions about human capital quality, information technology and information sharing.     

Job autonomy, trust in leadership, and continuous improvement: An empirical study in health care

This research examines the influence of autonomy in day-to-day work on commitment of frontline employees to continuous improvement. Our hypothesized model links the job characteristics theory of work design that associates job autonomy with responsibility for outcomes, and the total quality management perspective that advocates empowering employees in order to generate commitment to continuous improvement. Further, as leadership is known to have a role in shaping job behaviors, and is considered important for the success of total quality management, the influence of trust in leadership on the relationship between job autonomy and commitment to continuous improvement is also examined. We test our hypotheses on data collected from individual employees working for an outpatient health care organization that is applying lean principles for managing and improving work processes. Based on our results, we present implications for organizations implementing continuous improvement initiatives such as lean, particularly in service environments such as health care.     

The quest for logia psyche in business leadership: An empirical study of cognitive moral development in construction industry dyads

This research study examines the ageless human debate of the body versus the soul, testing leadership in the industry of building constructors. Based on Kohlbergian theory of cognitive moral development, the multidisciplinary literature review advances the proposition that moral development proceeds in waves of egoism, leading to altruism that is couched in power—“the apple of the eye.” The results from respondents of the Iowa Architects Institute of America (n = 93) indicated that, despite their higher education and aesthetic interests, the sample of architects ranked low on moral maturity level compared to the average of the Defining Issues Test data bank as a whole. Principled scores were 36.4 for architects and 39.1 for the data bank. This research also compared the moral maturity of intra‐industry groups in marketing dyads consisting of architects, contractors, and suppliers using analysis of variance. Again, it was expected that architects with higher education and aesthetic interests would rank highest. Findings of post hoc comparisons revealed no significant difference in moral maturity level between architects and contractors engrossed in the same power paradigm (p = 1.00), yet a significant difference existed between architects and suppliers (p = 0.024). This implication is consistent with the teleological ethical pattern that is prevalent in research studies of salespeople.     

An empirical study of other‐oriented and rational self‐interest leadership approaches

Other orientation is defined as “the extent to which individuals are concerned with the welfare of others” (Meglino & Korsgaard, 2007, p. 59). Other‐oriented leaders focus their attention on organizational objectives coupled with a human resource emphasis, whereas rational self‐interested leaders concern themselves with organizational objectives coupled with self‐emphasis. This quantitative study examines philanthropian and servant leadership, which are other‐oriented leadership approaches, and transactional leadership, which is a rational self‐interested leadership approach, to determine the effectiveness of the approaches in the 21st century. This study further examines the results of a hermeneutic phenomenological study of philanthropian leadership that introduced a new other‐oriented leadership model. This study focuses on leadership preferences of leaders, employees, and third‐year undergraduate business students to determine if there is a significant difference between preferences among groups for other‐oriented and rational self‐interest‐oriented leadership approaches.     

A decade of change: Managers' attachment to their organizations and their jobs

In this study geographically mobile managers in 1978 were compared to mobile managers in 1989 and significant changes were found in career patterns and attachment to the organization and the job. The managers in 1989 were changing jobs and relocating more frequently than were the 1978 managers. They were also less satisfied with their companies. Job involvement and job satisfaction, however, were higher among the 1989 managers than among the 1978 managers. Retrospectively, the 1989 managers thought they were less loyal to their companies than they had been five years previously. Managers' attachment to their organizations may be tied to challenging jobs that provide career development opportunities; those organizations unwilling or unable to provide such jobs may experience higher managerial turnover.     

Dual roles in psychological contracts: When managers take both agent and principal roles

Departing from the long-espoused assumption that managers act only as agents in employees' psychological contract with the organization, this paper asserts that in addition to the agent role, some managers, in an attempt to further their own self-interests, form and enact their own psychological contracts as principals with select employees. The combination of these dual roles often yields unacknowledged but significantly negative consequences for the employing organizations, the managers who choose a principal role, and the select employees with whom they form a psychological contract. Drawing upon agency, psychological contract, and social exchange theories, we develop the distinctive characteristics of the agent vs. principal roles, identify the antecedents that motivate managers to assume a principal role, develop four archetypes for combining the dual roles, and suggest the potentially harmful consequences for the above three parties mentioned. The paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research.     

企业领导类型与中层管理者能力之间关系的实证研究

文章以麦格雷戈和巴斯的领导者类型划分为基础,以德鲁克等管理者的能力素质理论作为中层管理者能力刻画的工具,提出不同领导类型与中层管理者能力存在影响的假设,然后通过样本选取和问卷调查,验证了转换型领导与中层管理者的认知能力、人际关系能力、团队建设能力及商业能力具有正向影响;交易型领导与中层管理者的商业能力具有正向关系,与中层管理者的自我认知能力具有反向影响,而与中层管理者的人际关系能力、团队建设能力的关系不明显.研究结果为企业中层管理者的成长和团队建设提供参考借鉴.     

An empirical study of depositor sensitivity to bank risk

Using a cross-sectional data set on U.S. commercial banks, the argument that during the mid 1980s to early 1990s depositors were insensitive to bank risk is empirically examined. Bank risk is measured by the predicted probability of bank failure as a function of contributing factors. The natural log of bank deposits is then regressed on bank risk and other control variables. The coefficient on bank risk in this equation measures the sensitivity of deposits to bank risk. A close examination of the estimated coefficient on bank risk offers little support for the argument that depositors were insensitive to bank risk.     

Attitudes towards different sources of executive appraisal: a comparison of Hong Kong Chinese and American managers in Hong Kong

This study examines the attitudes of three groups of managers in Hong Kong, namely, Hong Kong Chinese managers in local Chinese firms (HK/HK), Hong Kong Chinese managers in US firms (HK/US) and American managers in US firms (US/US), towards supervisory, peer, subordinate and multi-source appraisal of executive performance. The more recent perspective of crossvergence, within the convergence-divergence debate, provides the theoretical foundation for formulating the hypotheses. The findings indicate support for this new perspective of crossvergence. There is also evidence of the coexistence of all the three perspectives of convergence, divergence and crossvergence. The study found that the practice of supervisory appraisal is supported more by HK/US and US/US managers than by HK/HK managers. Furthermore, both HK/US and US/US managers are more supportive of subordinate evaluation than peer evaluation. Overall, the findings indicate that the traditional Chinese values may be more congruent with the notion of supervisory appraisal than with peer and subordinate evaluation. The study thus points out the importance of the compatibility of norms and beliefs regarding a management practice such as performance appraisal with the local national cultures in determining the acceptance and hence the transferability of that practice across countries.     

The content of manufacturing strategy: An empirical study

While there has been an extensive literature written on manufacturing strategy since the 1960s, little empirical research has been done. This article reports on a study of manufacturing strategy in thirty-nine companies based on questionnaire responses received from manufacturing managers.The study indicates that things are not as bleak as the literature might suggest. About one-third of the companies appear to have a well-developed manufacturing strategy. In those cases where the manufacturing strategy exists it is consistent with the business strategy and internally consistent among mission, objectives, policies, and distinctive competence.The term “manufacturing strategy” is not well understood by the managers surveyed. When asked to state their manufacturing strategy, they gave statements about what manufacturing should be, what it should do, how it should do it, and why it should do it. Apparently, the terminology itself is confusing. Frameworks for stating both business strategies and the elements of manufacturing strategy need to be strengthened and some specific suggestions are given in the article for doing so.Even though two-thirds of the companies did not have well-developed manufacturing strategies, 80% of the managers felt that manufacturing had lent competitive strength to the business. This was being done through the development of a distinctive competence in manufacturing that provided competitive advantage.Manufacturing strategies seemed to follow from business strategy. This is contrary to the literature, which indicates that manufacturing strategy is missing, or, at the very least inconsistent with business strategy and marketing strategy. Perhaps a stronger relationship exists than was previously thought. This article provides some evidence for establishing this premise and also provides data on the general status of strategy in manufacturing today.     

An empirical test of contributing factors to different forms of maverick buying

Maverick buying is the non-compliant, off-contract buying of goods and services, for which an established procurement process is in place based on pre-negotiated contracts with selected suppliers. The phenomenon is common in organizations using organization-wide frame agreements. Maverick buying prevents the full utilization of volume discounts negotiated, and also raises unnecessary process costs. This paper focuses on three types of maverick buying drawn from previous literature. Survey data on Finnish governmental procurement is used to test whether characteristics of users and their work contexts, drawn from literature in organizational behavior, affect the reasons for engaging in maverick buying. The results provide guidance on how different types of maverick buying in an organization can be reduced. Specifically, it is shown that all types of maverick buying can be reduced by limiting the task autonomy of the buyers. Additionally, different types of training can help prevent the behavior. Investing in reward and sanction systems, however, does not appear to be helpful in reducing the three types of maverick buying tested for in this study.     

Happiness in transition: An empirical study on Eastern Europe

This paper analyzes the determinants of life satisfaction in a pooled data set of representative individual survey data from seven East European countries collected during the early phase of economic and political transformation using ordered logit models. Those core socio-demographic and economic variables relevant in the US and West European countries have a similar impact on happiness in Eastern Europe under conditions of dramatic economic, political, and social change. The individual effects of variables across countries are not statistically different from the results obtained from the pooled data set. Cross-country differences in aggregate happiness can be explained well by variations in the unemployment rates, the degree of political freedom and the human development index.     

Role of line managers in human resource management: empirical evidence from India

Of late, the line management role has been reorganized in business organizations and they are now increasingly taking up responsibility for core HRM functions. Line managers' role in HRM has been recognized in academic research but it is likely impact on the effectiveness of HRM that has remained relatively under researched, especially in India. The focus of the study was, thus, to empirically examine the relationship between dimensions of line managers' role in HRM and effectiveness of HRM in the Indian context. Primary data were obtained from HR managers of top-ranking companies through a single cross-sectional survey based on a research instrument designed by the researcher. The instrument was tested for unidimensionality, reliability and validity. SEM capabilities of LISREL 8.50 were utilized to test the conceptual research model based on the hypothesized relationships. The findings provided mixed support for the conceptual model. The present research has implications for both academicians and practitioners. The study is expected to serve as a guide in understanding the role of line managers vis-a-vis HRM, a largely unexplored area in the Indian context.     

An empirical investigation of the antecedents,behaviors, and outcomes of bad leadership

This exploratory study identifies actions and behaviors that subordinates attribute to bad leadership and explores the implications these factors have for organizations. Data were obtained through a Web‐based survey that generated 335 respondents who completed at least some of the questions. Results identified the prevalence of bad leaders, behaviors causing a leader to be perceived as bad, the impact of bad leaders on the employee and organization, whether these bad leaders had always been bad, and what happened to the bad leader. An interesting discovery was that the majority of bad leaders were either promoted or rewarded by the organization.     

Labour supply and commuting time: An empirical study

We estimate a simple labour supply model that incorporates commuting time in a utility maximizing framework. Housing prices are assumed to vary with commuting time, and the elasticity of housing prices with respect to the latter is estimated to be about 10 percent. Using this elasticity estimate the price of commuting time averaged over all individuals is $3.22 while the wage rate is $4.72; thus commuting time is implicitly valued at about two-thirds of the wage rate on average. As far as work hours are concerned, almost all individuals are on the backward bending part of their labour supply curve.     

The value of legal housing titles: An empirical study

This paper estimates the value of legal housing titles using a Costa Rican urban housing survey conducted in 1997. The general results obtained regarding the value of legal titles to the average individual are consistent with past estimations found in the literature, but the implications for policy are new; as some groups are shown to value legal titles more than others. The criterion used to create these groups was inspired by the theoretical guidelines provided by past literature and could be easily reproduced by policy makers who may wish to target these types of individuals.     

Implicit leadership in an intercultural context: theory extension and empirical investigation

Prior literature highlights that subordinates' identification with their leader is important for leader success. This study explores new mechanisms of implicit leadership and their effects on identification by subordinates. Using data from two sources – subordinates from five regional clusters and expatriate leaders – this study reveals that a leader's underfulfilment of subordinates' expectations of leadership harms their leader identification. Moreover, simple fulfilment of subordinates' expectations toward leadership does not affect their identification; to do so requires overfulfilment. Furthermore, the effects of underfulfilment strengthen with greater collectivism and low power distance, whereas overfulfilment effects are mitigated by these cultural dimensions.