Organizational socialization and positive organizational behaviour: implications for theory,research, and practice

The purpose of this paper is to advocate a shift in research and practice on organizational socialization towards one based on positive organizational behaviour (POB). First, we demonstrate how the prevailing perspectives of organizational socialization are based on a cognitive‐learning process that emphasizes information and knowledge acquisition. We then review the literature on POB and psychological capital (PsyCap) and argue that socialization processes should be designed to develop the PsyCap of newcomers. We offer a new approach to organizational socialization called socialization resources theory (SRT) and describe four broad socialization resources that can be used to develop newcomers' self‐efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. Finally, we discuss the implications of this approach for research and practice on organizational socialization. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why solidarity matters (and sociability doesn't): The effects of perceived organizational culture on expatriation adjustment

This study examines the relationship between perceived organizational culture and cross‐cultural adjustment. Using the organizational culture framework of Goffee and Jones (1996, 1998) that describes organizational culture as the intersection of sociability (e.g., the level of friendliness and socialization between organization members) and solidarity (e.g., the commonality of interests and goals among organization members), this research examines home and host organizational culture as they affect expatriation adjustment regardless of culture novelty (e.g., national cultural differences). The data were obtained through a self‐administered questionnaire filled in by 166 expatriates from 29 nationalities and assigned to 39 countries. The analyses showed that perceived home and host solidarity predicts expatriates' work and general adjustment, though not interactional adjustment. These results confirm that perceived organizational culture is a predictor of expatriation cross‐cultural adjustment. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Gendering of Air Canada: A Critical Hermeneutic Approach

Through the use of critical hermeneutics, the paper provides a deep analysis and offers clues as to how management, through the power of communication, can contribute to producing and reproducing embedded gender‐based assumptions and values through organizational culture, which can both enable and constrain organizational members. It examines gender discrimination as it relates to employment equity in a well‐known airline. We show how an organizational culture, supported by society and communicated through language, can impede progress within an organization through the power of language, and highlight a number of clues as to the processes of gender discrimination at work. Copyright © 2011 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.     

Network centrality,organizational innovation,and performance: A meta‐analysis

Based on samples from 40 studies encompassing 15,860 organizations, we use meta‐analysis methods to examine the relationships between network centrality, organizational innovation, and performance, and to predict the influence of organization size, institutional environment, and industry on these relationships. Results show that network centrality positively influences both organizational innovation and performance. In addition, findings indicate that the impact of network centrality on organizational innovation is stronger for small organizations while that on organizational performance is stronger for large organizations. The influence of network centrality on overall organizational innovation/performance is stronger for organizations in developed institutional environments as well as in knowledge‐intensive industries. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国文化与组织行为：本土管理研究的路径探讨

本土管理理论的开发离不开对中国独特文化的理解。但中国文化对组织行为的作用机制究竟如何，是一个亟待回答的问题。为此通过对国内外现有研究成果的系统梳理，文章首先界定了本土文化的相关概念，然后基于文化构成，从基本假设、价值观和子文化三个方面探讨了具体文化要素对组织行为的影响作用，最后从中国文化情境的双重属性出发，揭示了文化影响组织行为的制度环境效应和个体偏好效应，构建了中国文化与组织行为的关系路径，并对未来研究进行了展望。     

企业文化刚性对战略调整影响的内在作用机理分析

企业文化具有一种难以改变的刚性特征,企业在进行战略调整的过程中,企业文化的这一特征将从组织成员的认知刚性、组织的资源依赖性、企业文化的组织记忆特征和企业组织的社会化过程等四个方面,对企业的战略调整行为产生深刻的影响。因此,企业战略的实施与调整必须将这种影响因素及其内在作用机理考虑在内。     

Behaviour‐Based and Outcome‐Based Control Systems: A Meta‐Analytic Study

Sales control systems are instruments used by firms to improve performance and other organizational outcomes. To understand their antecedents and consequences, this paper conducts a meta‐analysis based on 104 studies. The results showed significant relationships between behaviour‐ and outcome‐based control systems and the complexity of the products, bonuses, financial performance, sales innovation, organizational support and satisfaction with supervisors. The outcomes revealed that behaviour‐based control systems were the most effective mechanism in turbulent markets and for determining financial performance. However, outcome‐based control systems were the most efficient instrument for complex products.     

Through the looking glass: Strategic organizational practices in strategic management

The field of strategic management indicates that there is no ‘one best way’ to manage strategy over time, leaving researchers with a pluralistic research setting. The findings here suggest that strategic organizational practices, a construct from the international business literature, can provide insight into the strategy formation process. I argue that strategic organizational practices, which are actor‐centered and embedded with values and beliefs, reflect both the content and process of strategy, and the organizational environment itself, thereby providing a pluralistic context of theoretical study. Through the exploration of four practices implemented by a large Canadian‐based multinational enterprise, the paper encourages a more explicit integration of strategic organizational practices, as a unit of analysis, into the field of strategic management. Copyright © 2017 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing organizational ethics: How ethics becomes pervasive within organizations

This study analyzes real experiences of culture management to better understand how ethics permeates organizations. In addition to reviewing the literature, we used an action-research methodology and conducted semistructured interviews in Spain and in the U.S. to approach the complexity and challenges of fostering a culture in which ethical considerations are a regular part of business discussions and decision making. The consistency of findings suggests patterns of organizational conditions, cultural elements, and opportunities that influence the management of organizational cultures centered on core ethical values. The ethical competencies of leaders and of the workforce also emerged as key factors. We identify three conditions—a sense of responsibility to society, conditions for ethical deliberation, and respect for moral autonomy—coupled with a diverse set of cultural elements that cause ethics to take root in culture when the opportunity arises. Leaders can use this knowledge of the mechanisms by which organizational factors influence ethical pervasiveness to better manage organizational ethics.     

Interest alignment for joint business development: How global software houses and consulting firms work together in the enterprise systems sector

Despite the relatively long history of strategic alliances in the enterprise systems sector, studies examining the relationships between software houses and consulting firms have been rare and fragmented, particularly those related to the mechanisms that promote interest alignment for delivering a joint value proposition to the market. Through the cross‐analysis of two case studies, we identify 10 mechanisms that are regularly used for interest alignment purposes as well as counterpoints that contribute to the literature regarding the search for a consistent explanation for the longevity of hybrid organizational forms. Additionally, the study provides some insights related to the impact of innovation massification on competitiveness, partners' interdependence, and the presence of complementary contracts along with insights into the coexistence and interaction of other mechanisms that may help to explain the persistent existence of hybrid organizational forms in markets. Copyright © 2015 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.     

Generational Differences in the Importance,Availability, and Influence of Work Values: A Public Service Perspective

This study uses a sample of 832 Canadian public servants to test a theoretically derived framework which hypothesizes that generational cohort: (1) predicts the importance public servants place on intrinsic and extrinsic work values, (2) predicts the perceived availability of such rewards in public service workplaces, and (3) impacts the relationship between perceived availability of important rewards, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Our study adds to the limited body of research on generational cohort and work values in the public service. Generational cohort had little impact on the importance of work values, but did predict perceived availability of work‐rewards and the relationship between perceived availability of important rewards, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Findings could help public service organizations' recruitment and retention efforts. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental Multi‐dimensionality and Staff Localization in Multinational Enterprises: The Case of Korean Firms

The person–environment fit theory posits that the term “environment” can be defined at different levels. This study delineates two environmental dimensions (strategic and organizational) and empirically examines the potential moderating effects of two strategic factors (intra‐ and inter‐regional diversification) on the relationship between two organizational factors (subsidiary ownership and host‐country experience) and MNE subsidiary staffing composition. The results indicate that strategic and organizational dimensions have impacts on subsidiary staffing composition. This study also finds that the interaction effects between strategic and organizational factors are significant only when there is congruence between demands from different environmental dimensions.     

Outsourcing Canadian Armed Forces logistics in a foreign theatre

Successful outsourcing of military logistics depends much on cooperation and efficiency, and this article provides an in‐depth analysis of challenges this may pose using collaborative competence theory. Using an exploratory approach, this paper is based on a review of the existing literature and on the experience of the Canadian Armed Forces in a foreign theatre. Specifically, the information collected comes from on‐site observation during the UN mission in Bosnia, semistructured interviews, and archives. Our analysis shows that outsourcing military logistics activities in a foreign theatre should be seen as building and managing a “temporary network.” In order to overcome challenges in such a situation, the Armed Forces must specifically act on the adaptability of all individuals in the theatre. The approach should be based on “collaborative competence.” Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Partial or total integration in a cross‐border merger? Building a Nordic bank culture

The rate of failure for international mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is exceptionally high, since the integration of merging firms does not function well. Using a process perspective, this study aims to analyze the integration process in a cross‐border merger and the development of a common organizational culture. A framework based on premerger cultural and organizational fit, synergy, and resulting organizational culture is developed to study the growth of Nordea, a merger of four Nordic banks. Data include in‐depth interviews and secondary sources. This case study shows how cultural and managerial differences are dealt with and synergies realized. Building a broad organizational culture involving human resource management, decision making, technology, competitiveness, and customer relationships is necessary for merger integration, but it is costly and difficult. We suggest that success in mergers lies in managers creating a new cultural identity with unique values and perspectives.     

The role of national culture in financial literacy: Cross-country evidence

This paper examines the effect of national culture on adult financial literacy levels in 12 countries. Contrary to earlier financial literacy studies, our results are directly comparable across countries given that we use the standardized OECD/INFE financial literacy survey data and Hofstede's, 2001, cultural dimensions to capture financial literacy and national culture. In line with the financial socialization theory, we find that uncertainty avoidance positively influences financial literacy, while individualism negatively influences financial literacy. We conclude that national culture affects financial literacy and that it is important to account for cultural dimensions in future international financial literacy research.     

Firm Resources and Corporate Venturing Investment

Corporate venturing (CV) in which established firms invest in new entrepreneurial businesses involves identifying opportunities and creating new combinations of resources to seize opportunities. Moving beyond literature that has focused predominantly on the consequences of CV, we adopt a resource‐based view to examine how knowledge‐based and organizational‐slack resources relate to the level of firm CV. The implications of the findings for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2011 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.