Customer-oriented boundary-spanning behaviors: Test of a social exchange model of antecedents

Using a sample of 281 frontline service employees of a national retail bank, we test a social exchange model of antecedents of three dimensions of customer-oriented boundary-spanning behaviors suggested by prior boundary-spanning and services marketing/management literatures: external representation, internal influence, and service delivery. In support of our hypotheses, we identify fully mediated relationships from procedural, interactional, and distributive justice to external representation and internal influence via job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Our results generally support our expectation that the indirect effects of procedural justice on external representation and internal influence are stronger than the indirect effects of distributive or interactional justice on these behaviors. Also, our results reveal no significant indirect effects of procedural and distributive justice on service delivery behaviors. However, we find an unexpected direct positive path from interactional justice to service delivery behaviors. We interpret this latter finding in light of the normative value of interactional justice as a source of role modeling or managerial legitimacy.     

Linking Human Resource Development Practices to Counterproductive Work Behaviour: Does Employee Engagement Matter

ABSTRACT

Although there is strong evidence in the literature to support the relationship between human resource development (HRD) practices and counterproductive work behavior (CWB), little is known about the psychological processes underlying this relationship. The present study examined whether employee engagement mediates the relationship between HRD practices and CWB. Participants were 271 employees enroled in a part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at a large public university in Nigeria. After controlling for demographic characteristics, results showed that HRD practices were negatively related to CWB. The results also indicated that employee engagement plays a role in mediating the relationship between HRD practices and CWB.     

Using product design strategically to create deeper consumer connections

Historically, product design has most often been considered a process for creating functional differentiation through added features, superior performance, and so forth. However, with the advent of more design-oriented companies, such as Apple, Dyson, and others, design is increasingly being seen as an important strategic tool in creating preference and deeper emotional value for the consumer. In this research, we show how different design elements may be used strategically to create two very different outcome chains from a consumer's perspective. This work shows that certain design elements are more likely to create functional product differentiation and transactional consumer outcomes, while other design strategies tap a more emotional form of value creation. As we show, an emotional focus in value creation is more likely to create desired and powerful outcomes such as loyalty, joy of use, and even passion. Given current business trends towards relationship-based customer management, this emphasis on emotional value creation through product design is particularly relevant. In order to make these ideas actionable, we offer specific product design strategies that managers can use to enhance the transactional and relational value of their customer relationships.     

Intrinsic religiosity and counterproductive work behavior: The mediating role of Islamic work ethic

This research aims to examine the impact of intrinsic religiosity on counterproductive work behavior directed toward the organization (CWB-O) and the mediating role of Islamic work ethic in this impact. The data were collected from employees working in the hotel and restaurant industry (n = 684). The findings revealed that intrinsic religiosity had a positive and significant effect on Islamic work ethic. It was found that Islamic work ethic also had a negative and significant effect on CWB-O. Similarly, intrinsic religiosity had a negative and significant effect on CWB-O. In addition, it was identified that the Islamic work ethic had a mediating role in the impact of intrinsic religiosity on CWB-O. Taking into consideration that the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and CWB-O and the role of Islamic work ethic in this relationship has not yet been examined in literature, the theoretical contribution of the current research can be better understood. From the perspective of practical contribution, this research may help and guide managers to understand how intrinsic religiosity affects CWB-O.     

如何做好建筑工程的设计监理工作

设计费虽然只占工程全部投资的极少部分,但是,工程投资总量中绝大部分的投资由设计决定,工程设计决定着项目的建设投资,因此,做好建筑工程的设计监理工作势在必行.本文从保持设计监理部门的独立性、有效监控设计投资、有效监控设计质量、建立设计监理的激励机制四方面对设计阶段的监理工作进行了探讨.     

自我决定理论与积极组织管理

积极组织管理的目的是帮助员工自我实现,自我实现源自于员工强烈的内在动机。根据自我决定理论,组织应当满足员工的三大心理需要,同时促使员工采取自主定向归因才能使员工产生内在动机。所以积极组织管理的重点应当包括重视员工能力培养、进行合理的工作设计、构建和谐的人际氛围、提高员工心理资本四个方面。     

(Im)Balanced customer-oriented behaviors and AI chatbots' Efficiency–Flexibility performance: The moderating role of customers’ rational choices

Artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbots are increasingly deployed in frontline encounters, because they combine frontline service efficiency and flexibility. Using a large-scale data set with more than 130,000 man–machine dialogues from an e-bike sharing platform, Study 1 reveals a complex relationship between chatbots' customer-oriented behaviors and their efficiency–flexibility ambidexterity. Chatbots' level of efficiency–flexibility ambidexterity is higher when their functional and relational customer-oriented behaviors are balanced rather than imbalanced (i.e., a negative imbalance effect) and when they are balanced at a higher rather than a lower level (i.e., a positive balance effect). A follow-up experiment, Study 2, and online survey, Study 3, consistently show that the negative imbalance effect is stronger as customers' perceptions of non-personalization costs decrease and privacy concerns increase, while opportunity cost has no significant influence on the negative imbalance effect. However, consistent with rational choice theory, the positive balance effect is stronger as non-personalization costs increase, privacy concerns decrease, and opportunity cost decreases. In addition, Study 1 and 3 consistently show that in alignment with the stimulus–organism–response framework, efficiency–flexibility ambidexterity partially mediates the relationship between chatbots’ (im)balanced customer-oriented behaviors and customer patronage. This study contributes to the literature on frontline ambidexterity by introducing an AI application context and a more nuanced nonlinear view of the antecedents and consequences of frontline ambidexterity.     

Stressors,work engagement and their effects on hotel employee outcomes

Our study aims to revisit the challenge-hindrance stressor framework among customer-contact employees. Specifically, our study links challenge and hindrance stressors to four critical employee outcomes via work engagement (WE). These outcomes are quitting intentions, service recovery performance, creative performance, and job performance. Data came from hotel employees in customer-contact positions in three waves and their direct supervisors in Nigeria. As hypothesised, WE fosters service recovery, creative, and job performances, while it mitigates quitting intentions. Inconsistent with our predictions, hindrance stressors boost WE and challenge stressors exert detrimental effects on WE. Although WE links challenge and hindrance stressors to the aforementioned outcomes, the signs of the mediating effects are not congruent with what is hypothesised in the study. These unexpected findings agree with Bakker and Sanz-Vergel’s [2013] proposition that categorisation of job demands as challenge or hindrance stressors may not always be straightforward.     

From travel to virtual work: The transitional experiences of global workers during Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed how global work is conducted in multinational enterprises. There has been a rapid and forced shift from global mobility to global virtual work. Taking a transition perspective and drawing on event system theory, this paper examines the transitional working experiences of global workers amid a global health pandemic. Through 32 in-depth interviews (pre- and in-Covid-19), our findings reveal how this exogenous event has transformed previously unquestioned and enshrined global work routines. By unpacking the transition process, we find that global workers were challenged to reconfigure the structural and relational dimensions of their global work. We disentangle the strategic and sustainable lessons learnt on the future of global working for multinational enterprises.     

Exposure to workplace bullying and negative gossip behaviors: Buffering roles of personal and contextual resources

This study adds to business ethics research by investigating how employees' exposure to workplace bullying might spur their negative gossip behaviors, as well as how this effect might be buffered by their access to two personal resources (religiosity and innovation propensity) and two contextual resources (work meaningfulness and trust in top management). Survey data collected among Canadian-based employees who work in the religious sector reveal that workplace bullying increases the likelihood that they spread negative rumors about other organizational members, but this effect is weaker when employees (1) can draw from their religious faith, (2) are motivated to generate innovative ideas, (3) derive meaning from their work, and (4) have confidence in the trustworthiness of top management. For management scholars and practitioners, this study thus pinpoints different resources that diminish the risk that workplace bullying infuses work environments with even more negative energy, as might occur if bullying spills over into additional, negative gossip behaviors.     

真实型领导与领导—成员匹配对工作繁荣的影响：社会嵌入视角

工作繁荣是个体成长和进步的标志,已成为组织管理领域日益关注的重要话题。文章从社会嵌入视角出发,探讨了真实型领导与领导-成员匹配对工作繁荣的影响,考察了真实型领导和领导-成员匹配如何通过工作繁荣的传导机制间接影响员工创新行为,并分析了差序氛围的调节效应。通过对200份有效问卷的实证分析表明：真实型领导与领导-成员匹配都对工作繁荣有显著正向影响;工作繁荣显著正向影响员工创新行为;工作繁荣在真实型领导与员工创新行为之间起完全中介作用,在领导-成员匹配与员工创新行为之间也起完全中介作用;差序氛围负向调节了领导-成员匹配对工作繁荣的影响,且负向调节了工作繁荣在领导-成员匹配与员工创新行为间的中介作用。研究结论不仅拓展了中国情境下有关工作繁荣的研究,而且为组织管理者如何促进员工工作繁荣提供了理论指导。     

Influence of community design on user behaviors in online communities

While the question of how community design influences user behavior in online communities has recently attracted considerable research, few studies have empirically evaluated the influencing factors of specific user behavior. Building on a conceptual framework of identity-based vs. bond-based attachment in online communities, this study evaluates the influence of several antecedents on user attachment as well as attachment's mediating role for explaining consumer behavior. Results of a survey reveal that network effects, intergroup comparison, and social categorization have a positive and significant effect on common identity attachment, whereas this is not the case with in-group interdependence. Conversely, collectivism, interpersonal similarity, and social interaction drive common bond attachment, while personal information has no effect. Most importantly, the results show that common identity attachment is the primary driver of user behavior in online communities.     

情绪性工作及其对酒店管理的启示

情绪性工作具有目的的间接性、调节的主动性、要求的职业性三个相互联系的特征。酒店服务工作的特殊性决定了服务接待人员在工作岗位上必须要提供产生积极状态的情绪要素,营造出良好的情绪氛围,形成和保持积极愉快的情绪状态。酒店服务人员必须学会进行情绪状态的自我调节,使之符合工作需要。酒店管理层则要从招聘、培训、树立员工第一的观念,要通过营造良好情绪感受氛围等关注员工的情绪性工作,降低情绪性工作的消极后果,增强其积极效果,提高员工的工作满意度和幸福感,从而实现员工和酒店共同发展。     

激励对员工工作的影响研究——基于两种激励理论的探讨

人作为生产活动的主体，往往根据自身需求是否得到满足来决定其工作态度，迫使许多企业和学者对激励进行研究，由此诞生了很多激励理论，其中需求层次理论以人的需求层次来划分人们的不同需求，双因素理论以保健因素和激励因素的划分来分析人们的需求，这两种理论之间相互联系，一个针对人的需要和动机，一个针对满足这些需要的目标和诱因，两者结合起来运用才能够更好、更有效地激励人们。     

The impact of high-performance work systems in the health-care industry: employee reactions,service quality,customer satisfaction,and customer loyalty

The purpose of this study is to empirically test the effects of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on employee attitude, service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in health-care organisations. The proposed research model was tested using structural equation modelling for hypotheses, based on data collected from 196 pairs of employee–customer respondents in four selected hospitals with more than 500 beds. The results indicate that hospitals can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through efficient operations, employee engagement, and service quality. One of the key findings of our study is that HPWS in health-care organisations influence employee reaction and service quality.     

Beyond Adoption Intention: Online Communities and Member Motivation to Contribute Longitudinally

As online communities become increasingly relevant to business, it is critical to understand how to support contributors' motivation to contribute content longitudinally. In this article, we draw on existing literature on motivation and technology characteristics to conceptualize a model of longitudinal content contribution. We view longitudinal content contribution as a recursive process of interaction between contributors, other participants, and the IT artifacts of online communities. Our study has several important theoretical contributions: first, our study argues that different types of motivation exist and we need to understand how to support contributors' autonomous motivation; second, our study adds the time dimension to content contribution; third, our study clarifies the path from content contribution to motivation; forth, our study helps explain why some rewards can be detrimental to contributors' motivation. Future studies are needed to extend our model and test the propositions from our model.     

Exploring antecedents of customer citizenship behaviors in services

Social exchange theory explains how a party in social interaction provides the other party with reciprocal rewards. Applying this concept to the customer context, this study empirically investigates determinants of customer citizenship behaviors (CCBs) in services. For the generalizability of the study across various service providers, the data were collected based on Bowen’s (1990) classifications of services. With a total of 665 usable customer responses, structural equation modeling was adapted to test the theoretical research model. This study reveals that customers’ perceived support and justice from the service provider positively influence affective commitment toward the organization, resulting in CCBs. The results show that customers’ perception of organizational support has the partial mediation effect between customers’ perception of organizational justice and their affective commitment. Furthermore, customers’ affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between customers’ perceived organizational justice and CCBs, but fully mediates the effect of customers’ perceived organizational support on CCBs.     

Using design science to improve web search innovation in real estate

We analyze 14 leading real estate websites, seven residential and seven commercial. They exhibit limited demographic and geographic information systems (GIS) data display capability. They exhibit economic data display capability except one, and lack demographic, economic, and GIS data search capability. Real estate web searching is inefficient, time consuming, and inflexible. To overcome these limitations, we use design-science to create three search modes (Sc2, Sc3, and Sc4). Sc2 uses demographic data, Sc3 economic data, and Sc4 GIS data.     

Moving beyond initial success: Promoting innovation in small businesses through high-performance work practices

After firms experience initial success, leaders frequently turn their attention toward producing and selling their products or services more efficiently, likely at the expense of ongoing innovation. This seemingly prudent decision may unintentionally lead firms to become one-hit wonders, effectively limiting their potential success over time. To help prevent a firm's early success from being its only success, small business executives should adopt practices that promote innovation yet don’t come at substantial cost given limited financial resources. Focusing on the positive influences of ability, commitment, and feedback, we propose a system of high-performance work practices (HPWPs) as an economical means of encouraging innovative behavior that allows for efficiency without losing an emphasis on creativity and entrepreneurial action. This article outlines and discusses nine specific HPWPs targeted for smaller businesses that are expected to promote and fully realize the potential of employees as the driving force for innovation and sustained success.     

Using Attribution Theory to Help Frame Moral Dilemmas: An Empirical Test of the President Clinton – Monica Lewinski Case

This study extends theapplication of attribution theory to analyzemoral dilemmas. Kelley's model of causalattribution is proposed as a pedagogical toolin helping students organize and evaluatecomplex moral dilemmas while avoiding commonperception errors. By posing three questions,students are challenged to identify patternsand context of behaviors that help arrive atthe source cause(s) of those behaviors. To testthe usefulness of Kelley's model in analyzingmoral dilemmas, the President Clinton – MonicaLewinski case is empirically tested. Resultssupport the usefulness of Kelly's model ofcausal attribution as a valid and useful toolfor students in framing complex moral dilemmasand avoiding common perception and attributionerrors.