The moderating effects of traditionality–modernity on the effects of internal labor market beliefs on employee affective commitment and their turnover intention

This study addresses a possible moderating effect of cultural values on the relationship between employee beliefs in human resource management (HRM) practices and employee outcomes. Although employee belief regarding internal labor market (ILM) operation within their firms could be positively related to employee commitment and negatively related to their turnover intention, employee cultural values may act as a contextual variable that strengthens or weakens such relationships. We test the moderating effects of two cultural values, traditionality and modernity in the context of Kenya where the blend of these cultural values is an emerging reality, given the rapid pace of urbanization in recent years coupled with effects of globalization and the digital era. Our study indeed found support for the moderating effects of these cultural values. The association between ILM beliefs and employee affective commitment was found to be greater for employees with more traditional values. In contrast, the relationship was weaker for employees with more modern cultural values. These moderating patterns were also found in the relationship between ILM beliefs and turnover intention. Implications for management research, theory, and practice are discussed.     

The effects of labor supply shocks on labor market outcomes: Evidence from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Since September 2000, as a result of mobility restrictions, the supply of Palestinian workers competing for local jobs in the West Bank has increased by about fifty percent. This paper takes advantage of this unique natural experiment to study the effects of labor supply shocks on labor market outcomes. Using quarterly information on wages and employment in each city in the West Bank, the paper analyzes the short-run adjustment of labor markets to a large inflow of workers separately from the effects of political instability. The results suggest that low-skilled wages are adversely affected by an increase in the supply of low- and high-skilled workers, while high-skilled wages are only weakly negatively related to an increase in their own supply. This is consistent with a scenario in which high-skilled workers compete for low-skilled jobs, pushing the low-skilled into unemployment. This latter hypothesis is confirmed by analyzing the effects of changes in labor supply on unemployment.     

Why are the unemployed in worse health? The causal effect of unemployment on health

We analyse the effect of unemployment on health using information from the German Socio-Economic Panel of the years 1991-2008. To establish a causal effect we rely on fixed-effects methods and plant closures as exogenous entries into unemployment. Although unemployment is negatively correlated with health, we do not find a negative effect of unemployment due to plant closure on health across several health measures (health satisfaction, mental health, and hospital visits). For this subgroup of the unemployed, unemployment does not seem to be harmful and selection effects of ill individuals into unemployment are likely to contribute to the observed overall correlation between poor health and unemployment.     

The mediating effect of psychological empowerment on the relationship between participative goal setting and team outcomes – a study in China

In the late twentieth century, it is popular to research the effect of participative goal setting. The general conclusion is that the relationship between participation and performance is inconsistent and unclear at individual level. With team becoming a more dominant mode in organizing, motivating, and managing, it is worthwhile to investigate the effect of participation in team goal setting. This study aims to test the mediating effect of psychological empowerment (PE) on the relationship between participative team goal setting and team identity and team performance. Executive MBA students (371) in 75 groups from China Europe International Business School in China participated in the study. The data from Business Strategy Game and questionnaire found positive relationship between participative team goal setting and team identification, and team performance is partially mediated by PE. Implications for the goal-setting theory and practice are discussed, and future research directions offered.     

The effect of human resource practices on perceived organizational support in the People’s Republic of China

Using a sample of workers and managers employed by a hotel located in Southeastern People’s Republic of China, we investigated the relationship between various human resource management practices and the perceived organizational support (POS) experienced by the employees. We then investigated the effects of POS on employee satisfaction. Our data suggest that hiring practices, training, and compensation practices predict POS. These results are consistent with previous research. We also found that POS influences worker satisfaction and acts as a mediator between select HR practices and satisfaction. This study contributes to the literature by replicating Western-based findings with a Chinese sample and illustrating that the attitudes of Chinese employees can be influenced through the use of HR practices.     

What effect does uncertainty have on the length of labor contracts?

The literature on duration of explicit labor contracts has suggested that increased uncertainty should be associated with shorter labor contracts. More recently, it has been argued that the effect of uncertainty on contract duration depends on the type of uncertainty involved. Specifically, if the uncertainty pertains to aggregate real shocks, then contract durations should increase as workers seek to insure themselves against the repercussions of such shocks. Using a sample of 1876 labor contracts signed during the period 1977–1988, this paper provides an empirical test of the foregoing hypothesis (known as the efficient risk sharing hypothesis). The paper presents results from estimation of a generalized-probit, simultaneous equation model, in which the dependent variables are contract length, indexation of the contract through a cost-of-living allowance, and the rate of wage change specified in the contract. The empirical findings confirm the efficient risk sharing hypothesis.     

The effect of economic policy uncertainty on China’s housing market

This study examines the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and housing price at the macro-level in China as a developing country. The empirical evidence indicates that EPU has a leading effect on China’s housing market. In general, the housing market is prosperous when economic policy is stable and there is a positive relationship between housing price variation and EPU, which means housing market risk grows under unstable economic policies in this developing economy. Moreover, economic policy variation affects low-amplitude changes in housing prices. A variation of policy uncertainty enhances the risk premium of the housing market. By contrast, the level of EPU influences high-amplitude changes in housing prices, which reflects the trend of EPU dominating China's housing market.     

The influence of organizational context on the managerial turnover–performance relationship

This study performs a comprehensive examination of organizational context in the relationship between managerial turnover and organizational performance. Using theoretical frameworks of human and social capital, we focus on the moderating roles of entity size, employment system, industry brand, and location. To test our hypotheses, we worked with the company records of a multinational fashion retail group with more than 4,000 stores grouped into eight different brands and 100,000 employees in more than 31 countries. To estimate the causal contextual effects of the relationship between voluntary managerial turnover and organizational performance, we designed a quasi-experiment using propensity score matching analysis. Our results show that the dysfunctional side of managerial turnover is significant for stores that are large, for stores managed under a primary employment system, for brands operating with higher levels of service orientation, and for countries with more restrictive employment protection legislation. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice and for future research.     

Policy impacts on the propensity to travel by HSR in the Amsterdam – London market

This paper investigates the impacts of possible measures to enhance HSR market share in the London-Amsterdam market. To this aim, we adopted a two-level aggregate nested logit model able to jointly model trip distribution and trip generation, thus taking into account that the tested policies may increase or decrease the overall demand. The model was applied to an extensive dataset about passenger flows traveling between London airports and HSR station and Amsterdam in the period 2015–2019. The results show that both the reduction of HSR fares and the application of an air ticket tax, albeit with different impacts in terms of stimulus or reduction effect on overall demand, are ineffective in increasing HSR market share, if not adequately supported by improving HSR service. Increasing HSR frequency and reducing HSR travel times constitute the best opportunities to increase HSR ridership by stimulating a higher substitution effect than modifications in relative fares. Lastly, the recent queueing at airports, following staff shortages and strikes, significantly lower air transport demand and potentially has a substantial upward effect on HSR market share.     

The caring hand that cripples? The effects of the European regional policy on local labour market participation in Southern Italy

The European Regional Policy supports the most disadvantaged regions of the EU, aiming to foster a long-run convergence process. Between 2007 and 2013, the EU devoted substantial resources to low-income convergence regions, covering about one quarter of the EU population. Like other disadvantaged areas, Southern Italy received conspicuous funding. This work attempts to evaluate the effect of the intensive funding on local labour market participation across the convergence regions of Southern Italy, using a Diff-in-Diff identification strategy in a Dynamic Spatial Framework. An element of strength in this study is represented by the NUTS-3 dataset employed, drawn from official records. Controlling for socio-economic covariates, autoregressive components and spatial spillovers, the results obtained show a negative impact of the intensive EU funding on labour market participation. Many reasons may account for this phenomenon, ranging from poor targeting and monitoring, to the distortionary effects of the funds, to the strategic behaviour of the national government.     

The historical development of the Swiss rental market – A new price index

A new data set is employed to construct an index of the Swiss rental residential market starting as early as 1936. Given the data sample at our disposal of slightly less than 1000 paired data points spread across all Switzerland, we focus on using the most efficient type of repeated-measurement index to evaluate the yearly price development of the rental property market. In the process of building the index, an alternative of the SPAR method (Sale Price Appraisal Ratio) is developed and compared against a structural time series model and the Case–Shiller approach. The newly developed ISPAR (Inverse SPAR) method yields qualitatively similar results to the regression based methodology yet is influenced to a lesser extent by the sample size. The structural time series model is the version least influenced by the sample size. An interesting finding in our sample is that despite the large time span between successive price measurements, no notable improvement is obtained using the 3SLS method of Case–Shiller instead of the traditional Bailey et al. method.     

The effects of low internal integration between purchasing and operations on suppliers’ resource mobilization

A company that suffers from low internal integration between corporate functions performs worse than its more integrated competitors, leaving it in a position of competitive disparity. This paper reports on an investigation of the effects of internal integration between purchasing and operations on the mobilization of supplier resources. Low internal integration generates uncoordinated operations and purchasing behaviors that negatively affect supplier resource mobilization. We find that the lack of operations support for eight major purchasing initiatives in a construction company negatively affects supplier resource mobilization, resulting in poor exchange outcomes for the suppliers. Furthermore, different types of uncoordinated behaviors affect suppliers’ resource mobilization in diverse negative ways. Based on the results, we offer a categorization of diverse types of supplier mobilization activities and offer several managerial implications for both buyers and suppliers.     

The role of political tactics on the organizational context–career success relationship

Drawing from the norm of reciprocity, signal theory, and psychological contracts, we argue that the use of different types of political tactics, based on their social desirability, can be reciprocal behavioral reactions to contextual cues (i.e. perceptions of organizational support and politics) that can predict career success. Using a sample of 117 middle managers, our findings suggest that the use of sanctioned political tactics partially mediates the relationship between perceptions of organizational support and career success, while non-sanctioned political tactics suppress the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and career success.     

The effect of unethical behavior on trust in a buyer–supplier relationship: The mediating role of psychological contract violation

Research on trust in buyer–supplier relationships has tended to focus on the performance outcomes of a trusting relationship, as well as the processes that serve to build trust. Largely absent from the buyer–supplier literature is an in-depth examination of activities that break down trust, and the resulting effect on supplier trust in the buyer. The authors propose and test a model that evaluates psychological contract violations between a buyer and a supplier as a mediating variable of the effect of unethical activities on trust within a partnership. Survey data was collected from 110 tier one suppliers of major corporations in the state of Ohio. Our results show how a supplier's perception of a violation of the psychological contract either partially mediates or fully mediates the relationship between the buyers unethical activity and the suppliers trust in that buyer. We discuss how suppliers may demonstrate bounded ethicality when they overlook perceived unethical behaviors by the buyer.     

Impact of prosocial motivation on organizational citizenship behavior: the mediating role of ethical leadership and leader–member exchange

Quality & Quantity - This study empirically examined how ethical leadership and leader-member exchange mediates the relationship between prosocial motivation and organizational citizenship...     

The impact of intellectual property rights protection on trade: The role of a “third country” in market power and market expansion effects

This study analyzes the impact of increased protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in importing countries on the inventing countries’ exports in the presence of “third countries.” In this study, “third countries” include all countries that compete with the inventing countries in exporting similar products to the importing countries. The most significant contribution of this study is to develop an alternative empirical approach for analyzing the impact of IPRs on trade flows. This approach considers three players (the inventing/exporting country, the importing country, and “third countries”) and thus is tentatively called the “three-country model.” The findings confirm that our “three-country model” provides important insights into the impact of IPR protection on international trade, especially in the context of increasingly fierce competition in international trade. We found that the emergence of a third country restrains the market power effects and stimulates market expansion effects. Specifically, when a third country appears, the increased protection of IPRs in the importing countries encourages the inventing countries to increase their exports. However, the export elasticity of IPR protection is highest for primary products and lowest for technology-intensive and human capital–intensive products.     

Political market failure? The effect of government unity on energy technology policy in industrialized democracies

When do governments implement technology policies that allow society to solve social problems at a lower cost? Focusing on the case of energy, we argue that in industrialized democracies, severe social problems provoke an effective technology policy response when the government is unified. A unified government can easily strike the bargains required to secure political support for new technology programs. We test this theory against data on public energy research and development (R&D) in 22 OECD countries, 1980–2006. We find that as government fractionalization increases in a country, the sensitivity of public energy R&D to wasteful energy use, which presents economic and environmental difficulties to the society, declines. The analysis reveals a new reason for ineffective technology policies and contributes to the broad literature on political market failure.     

Bridging the gaps or fecklessness? A moderated mediating examination of intermediaries’ effects on corporate innovation

Intermediaries are frequently used as external institutions to bridge knowledge gaps and enlarge innovation search. Although there is a consensus that ties with intermediaries have a significantly positive impact on firms’ innovation performance since external knowledge sources are important to firms’ innovative activities, far less is known about how these intermediaries become effective drivers of corporate innovation. From the capacity-based view, this study proposes that intermediaries facilitate the development of dynamic capability which further causes remarkable innovation. A firm's dynamic capability acts as a mediator in the relationship between intermediaries and innovation performance. It is also observed that organizational structure formalization and strategic conformity negatively moderate the mediation effect. This proposed theoretical framework is proven by empirical results from a moderated mediation analysis using a sample of Chinese manufacturing firms.     

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.     

The mediating influence of work–family conflict and the moderating influence of gender on employee outcomes

Finding a balance between work and home continues to be a challenge for many employees. The influence of work–family conflict both from work interfering with family (WIF) and from family interfering with work (FIW) on employee outcomes is not well understood. Although substantial empirical research supports the general view that work–family conflict results from employees having conflicting roles, many previous studies examine work–family conflict and outcomes in the same, or ‘matching’ domains. Some studies on work conflict also have found cross domain outcomes that are largely unexplained. This research addresses this gap in the field by developing and testing the hypothesis that cross domain relationships will be mediated by conflict in the matching domains. Specifically, this study proposes that WIF mediates the relationship between FIW and four employee work outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior and task performance), and that FIW mediates the relationship between WIF and life satisfaction. This research also examines the moderating role of gender on the relationships while controlling for age and family status. The results of this study using a sample of 435 full time employees in the US provide support for most of the hypothesized relationships. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.