Normative target‐based decision making

This paper relates normative expected‐utility decision making to target‐based decision making, and introduces a new quantity, the aspiration equivalent. We show that using the aspiration equivalent as a target provides a new method for choosing between lotteries that is consistent with expected‐utility maximization. Furthermore, we show that the aspiration‐equivalent target provides a win–win situation for executive–manager delegation. This result furnishes a new link between normative decision analysis and target‐based decision making. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ordering utility functions based on mean-seeking behavior1

We consider utility function partial orderings to predict comparative portfolio features with two risky assets. No utility ordering can predict comparative holdings of the riskier asset for any reasonable definition of the latter. We thus reinterpret results of Arrow-Pratt and Ross as predicting comparative mean-seeking behavior. We also present a stronger utility ordering which predicts comparative portfolio means with no joint distribution restrictions. Thus we present a progression of contexts, with successively more relaxed distributional restrictions and hence successively stronger restrictions on utility function pairs, in which comparative mean-seeking behavior (not comparative risk avoidance) is predictable.     

Knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations: An organizational culture perspective

This conceptual paper investigates the process of knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations from the perspective of organizational culture. The paper identifies obstacles to knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations and emphasizes the importance of organizational and project cultures in this process. The study provides some suggestions for improving knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations and notes the implications of the paper for project management.     

Prevention incentives in long‐term insurance contracts

Long‐term insurance contracts are widespread, particularly in public health and the labor market. Such contracts typically involve monthly or annual premia which are related to the insured's risk profile. A given profile may change, based on observed outcomes which depend on the insured's prevention efforts. The aim of this paper is to analyze the latter relationship. In a two‐period optimal insurance contract in which the insured's risk profile is partly governed by her effort on prevention, we find that both the insured's risk aversion and prudence play a crucial role. If absolute prudence is greater than twice absolute risk aversion, moral hazard justifies setting a higher premium in the first period but also greater premium discrimination in the second period. This result provides insights on the trade‐offs between long‐term insurance and the incentives arising from risk classification, as well as between inter‐ and intragenerational insurance.     

Policy instruments for sustainability‐oriented organizational learning

The concept of sustainable development implies the need for organizational learning in business corporations to find innovative solutions. In this context, the paper analyzes the requirements and options for environmental policy to induce sustainability‐related learning processes in corporations. It discusses the impacts of different policy instruments on these processes. Initially, the particular challenges of organizational learning for sustainability are being sketched out. Drawing on organizational learning studies, a subsequent section of the paper addresses fundamental elements and drivers for organizational learning processes on different levels in business corporations. The particular nodes where public policy can influence corporate learning processes are the central focus of these considerations. On this basis, we examine existing policy instruments frequently used in environmental policy with regard to their potential to foster learning processes towards sustainability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Developing dynamic organizational theories; three system dynamics based research strategies

Quality & Quantity - There is an increasing attention for dynamic organizational theories. The system dynamics methodology, although originally developed for practical contributions, is...     

Enhancing employee and organizational performance through coaching based on mystery shopper feedback: A quasi‐experimental study

Based on reinforcement theory, a quasi‐experimental design was used to evaluate the effect of (a) feedback obtained from (b) a relatively neutral third party (namely, mystery shoppers) that was obtained on a (c) variable interval schedule for managers to use to (d) coach their employees. An interrupted time‐series design showed that both employee and organizational performance increased as a result of this intervention. Performance dropped when this intervention was cut back and, subsequently, discontinued. These results were replicated in two additional restaurants. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Strategic inter‐organizational environmentalism in the US: A multi‐sectoral perspective of alternating eco‐policy roles

During the last several decades, numerous policies and programs intended to advance environmental goals have been formulated in the US by governmental bodies and implemented by businesses and nongovernmental organizations. This article forwards a multi‐sectoral perspective that business and nonprofit organizations have also been significantly involved in environmental policy and program formulation, as well as implementation, and that governments have also fulfilled the latter strategic role in US environmental policy. In this article, nine US environmental initiatives are described and categorized according to which of the three sectors' organizations were significant formulators of the programs and which were significant implementors. Implications for future research include investigation of other environmental dyadic program combinations in addition to those presented, extension of the present analysis beyond dyads into environmental policy networks, inclusion of the strategic environmental program evaluation stage to complement formulation and implementation and exploration of effectiveness variables in cross‐sectoral, inter‐organizational collaborations. Implications for educators and practitioners are also presented. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.     

Inefficient incentives and nonprice allocations: Experimental evidence from big‐box restaurants

Queues are puzzling because they are consistent with wasted profit in equilibrium. Standard rationales trace the puzzle to the pricing of goods. This article uses field experimental evidence from large‐scale restaurants to trace the puzzle to the pricing of labor. The customary wage contract in these settings fosters congestion and longer queues because it can encourage workers to emphasize the quality rather than quantity of output. To study this problem, the field experiment pays waiters bonuses for customer volume on days with excess demand, in addition to the tips and hourly wages they customarily receive. The experimental contract shortens queues substantially, generating surplus gains for consumers with no discernible cost in terms of perceived service quality. Workers earn more via the bonuses and because they earn more in tips. Short‐run profits increase by at least 49%. There is no discernible reduction in long‐run profit. The firm reverted to the baseline contract on excess demand days after many months of evidence, even after acknowledging the gains from the experimental contract. The evidence suggests the puzzle may partly be explained by inefficient wage contracting.     

Driving sectoral sustainability via the diffusion of organizational eco‐innovations

Using insights from institutional literature, the resource‐based theory of the firm, and internationalization, we explain variations in the diffusion of organizational eco‐innovations. Studies have previously reported that the drivers of eco‐innovation are regulatory pressures, technology push, market pull, and firm factors. But relatively little attention has been paid to nontechnological forms of eco‐innovation, such as environmental management systems (EMS). Consequently, how exactly to encourage EMS adoption across sectors is still unclear. We attempt to address this question by combining sectoral panel data (2009–2014) from a number of sources in Spain. The econometric analysis reveals that environmental policy is driving the adoption of ISO 14001 largely due to differences across sectors in energy and pollution intensity. In addition, the adoption of ISO 9001 increases the use of ISO 14001 in industry because of complementarities between the two systems. Third, in highly internationalized sectors, firms adopt a greater amount of ISO 14001.     

The role of organizational cultures in information‐systems security management: A goal‐setting perspective

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of strong organizational cultures in setting information‐systems security goals. In doing so, we explore and discuss the concept of culture within three financial organizations with different social and organizational structures, and seek to demonstrate the importance of having a cohesive culture in efficiently setting information‐security goals. The relationship between goal setting, culture strength, and performance is also discussed, as there have been studies that indirectly indicate that such a relationship may exist. The contribution of this work to interpretive information‐systems research consists of its study of culture and goal setting in a security‐management context, and its grounding within an interpretive epistemology. In addition, this research promotes an interdisciplinary and interorganizational theory to foster dialogue that transcends industry‐specific contexts and explores different organizational practices that can improve leadership's role in human life.     

The strategic use of managerial incentives in a non‐profit firm mixed duopoly

A mixed duopoly setting is examined where a private non‐profit firm (NPO) competes with a private profit‐maximizer. The NPO's stakeholders select a contract for their managers. A novel NPO objective function is utilized which takes into account all the likely returns to the NPO's stakeholders (NPO profits and the surplus accruing to the NPO stakeholders) in such a commercial setting. In sub‐game perfect equilibria, it is shown that the NPO's managers generally will not be given the NPO's true objective to optimize. It is also shown that aggregate social welfare may increase or decrease due to this managerial contracting behavior or the use of NPO membership fees. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The burden of glory: Competing for nonmonetary incentives in rank‐order tournaments

In an environment in which elite, highly paid professionals compete for nonmonetary rewards, we find evidence of underperformance. Our analysis suggests that choking under pressure from high‐stakes nonmonetary rewards is behind the underperformance. This implies that high stakes nonmonetary rewards can create meaningful pressure on individuals and lead to worse performance, a distinct issue that has yet to be adequately examined. These findings come from an examination of the behavior of top U.S. golfers competing to earn a place on the U.S. Ryder Cup team via their performance in PGA Tour tournaments with differing allocations of Ryder Cup qualifying points.     

Behavior‐ and characteristic‐based price discrimination

We develop a model of behavior‐ and characteristic‐based discriminatory pricing where consumers are heterogeneous both in tastes and in price sensitivity. Each firm is able to distinguish between the consumers that have bought from it and those that have bought from the rival. Furthermore, each firm learns the price sensitivity of their own consumers. We show that using this additional information may yield higher profits than uniform pricing provided that consumers are heterogeneous enough with respect to price sensitivity. We also discuss consumer surplus implications of such behavior‐ and characteristic‐based price discrimination, and we show that the impact of price discrimination depends on both the consumer type and the level of consumers’ heterogeneity.     

Scaling sustainability from the organizational periphery to the strategic core: Towards a practice‐based framework of what practitioners “do”

This paper explores what sustainability managers do when attempting to scale sustainability to a strategic level within their organization. Drawing on semistructured interview data with 44 sustainability managers in large, for‐profit companies, we identify three distinct scaling microstrategies that individuals use when scaling sustainability. We label these conforming, leveraging, and shaping. Our analysis also finds that sustainability managers deploy combinations of these microstrategies in three distinct approaches, which we call the assimilation approach, the mobilization approach, and the transition approach. Finally, we interrogate the degree to which employing these different approaches achieves a peripheral, intermediate, or strategic scale of sustainability within the organizations represented in the study. Our paper contributes to theory and practice at the interface of strategy and sustainability by developing a practice‐based Scaling Approach Framework, whereby an assimilation approach is associated with organizations with sustainability at a peripheral scale, a mobilization approach is associated with an intermediate scale of sustainability, and a transition approach is associated with scaling sustainability to a strategic level. From these results, we propose a Scaling Progression Model that reflects the phases that individuals progress through when scaling sustainability.     

Explaining organizational responsiveness to work‐life balance issues: The role of business strategy and high‐performance work systems

This article applies new insights into business strategies and high‐performance work systems (HPWSs) to examine why organizations adopt work‐life balance programs (WLBPs). Results indicate that a product leadership business strategy is positively related to the likelihood of adopting WLBPs, whereas a cost leadership business strategy is negatively related to the adoption of these programs. Moreover, our analyses establish a mediating role of HPWSs in the relationship between business strategies and the adoption of WLBPs. Our results also demonstrate that different industries vary in adoption of work‐life balance programs. This supports the institutional theory of organizational responsiveness to work‐life balance issues. We tested our hypotheses with two waves of the nationally representative Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey. Implications and specific suggestions for human resource practitioners are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The psychological contract and the transition from office‐based to home‐based work

This article explores how the transition from office‐based to home‐based work impacts upon the psychological contracts of employees involved. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, utilising a short‐term longitudinal design, the setting is a local authority which implemented a 3‐month home‐working pilot scheme. Using the psychological contract as an analytical framework it is shown how the implementation of the changes impacts upon the psychological contracts not only in the workplace but also in the home. In both the arenas of work and the home, obligations are surfaced (and sometimes renegotiated) and boundaries are redrawn. The relationship with the employer becomes increasingly transactional, enabling participants to redefine the status of work in relation to their other priorities. Whilst homeworkers exhibit an increased commitment to the mode of work and become more productive for their employer, they also exhibit a more transactional orientation to work, threatening to leave if homeworking is withdrawn. We explore the methodological and theoretical implications of our findings drawing attention to the analytical potential of the psychological contract for generating more critical insights.     

Promoting organizational learning and self‐renewal in Taiwanese companies: The role of HRM

This study identifies key characteristics of human resource management (HRM) practices that contribute to promoting positive learning attitudes and creating a self‐renewal organizational climate. We use a behavioral perspective to develop a framework to show the relationships among learning‐oriented HRM, positive learning attitudes, and a self‐renewal organizational climate. Structural equation analysis is applied to empirically test the relationships and the path model suggests that a learning‐oriented HRM plays an important role in either directly creating a self‐renewal organizational climate or indirectly facilitating positive learning attitudes that foster organizational self‐renewal. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

There is no ‘I’ in team: Career concerns,risk‐taking incentives,and team outcomes

The National Basketball Association contracting rules provide plausibly exogenous variation in career concerns near contract end. We use this setting to study how individual career concerns affect risk‐taking behavior and can sabotage team performance. Using the frequency and duration of player injuries from 1991 to 2013 we measure individual risk‐taking behavior. We find that the average player's likelihood of missing a game due to injury falls by 0.06 percentage points (or over 100% relative to the mean injury rate) in the final 3 months of his contract, and when missing games due to injury is unavoidable, his recovery time drops by 22 days. However, “elite” players with virtually no career concerns actually miss more games due to injury. Finally, we find that elite players missing too many games and “average” players playing before healthy, combine to hurt team performance. For each additional player in the last 3 months on contract, the win probability for that team falls by over 2.6%.