Behavioral Outcomes of Grievance Activity

Using individual employee data from four unionized organizations over two 3-year periods, this study analyzes the effects of grievance filing and settlement activity on post-grievance settlement outcomes. The results show that performance ratings, work attendance rates, and promotion rates declined and turnover rates increased for grievance filers compared with nonfilers following grievance settlement, in contrast to the absence of significant differences between the two employee groups on any of these measures before or during grievance filing and settlement. Similar findings emerged for the supervisors of grievance filers relative to the supervisors of nonfilers. The evidence suggests that employers exercise retribution against grievance filers and their supervisors, although a "true performance" explanation of these findings cannot be ruled out.     

Shop Stewards' Satisfaction with Grievance Procedures

A model of shop stewards' satisfaction with grievance procedures, focusing on procedure characteristics and procedure outcomes is estimated for 831 shop stewards. The results indicate that stewards are more satisfied with procedures that permit oral presentation of grievances at the first step and include screening by grievance committees or other union officials. Stewards' satisfaction is negatively related to grievance filing rates and the size of the stewards' work groups, but is positively related to the proportion of grievances resolved at year end and the unions' success rate. The implications for designing more effective grievance procedures are discussed.     

Bargained Equality: The Strengths and Weaknesses of Workplace Gender Equality Agreements and Plans in France

‘Bargained equality’ reflects wider characteristics of French employment relations whereby state‐driven collective bargaining is a major mode of regulation but is based on weak workplace bargaining cultures outside the largest firms. This article focuses on duties on French employers to bargain on gender equality. It presents findings of a project evaluating workplace agreements and plans on gender equality, based on a sample of 186 agreements submitted in 2014–2015, in 10 sectors, and in‐depth interviews in 20 companies. Despite a rise in formal compliance due to stronger enforcement since 2012, our analysis shows that most companies submitting plans or agreements do not systematically address quantitative measurement of pay or other gender gaps. As well as sectoral differences, the analysis also identifies ‘generational effects’: processes of change which occur as collective agreements expire and are replaced are dependent on local dynamics of bargaining. Based on this analysis, we argue that attention should be paid to the resources available to local bargaining actors, in order to promote an equality agenda.     

Accompaniment,Workplace Representation and Disciplinary Outcomes in British Workplaces — Just a Formality?

The Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 provides data that, for the first time, measure the extent to which workforce representation is part and parcel of grievance and disciplinary processes in British workplaces. This article explores the impact of the introduction of the statutory right to accompaniment at grievance and disciplinary hearings on rates of disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and employment tribunal applications. It concludes that there is little evidence to suggest that either the right to accompaniment or the operation of formal grievance and disciplinary procedures moderates disciplinary outcomes. Instead, it argues that trade union and employee representatives may be influential in facilitating the resolution of workplace disputes.     

Veiled diversity? Workplace experiences of Muslim women in Australia

This study sheds light on the mobilisation of Islamic discourses in the lives of working Muslim migrant women and its interaction with Australian society in the context of diversity management as a workplace practice. Informed by a multilevel perspective on diversity management, this paper suggests that focusing exclusively on organisations and holding them solely accountable for diversity policies may be intensely inadequate as diversity management is impacted by both macro-societal and micro-individual issues. Through qualitative research by drawing on interviews with Muslim migrant women employed in the formal economic sector, the findings underscore the need for sophistication in dealing with the complexities presented by migration, ethnicity, religion and gender.     

Improved Metrics for Workplace Dispute Resolution Procedures: Efficiency,Equity, and Voice

Many debates surround systems for resolving workplace disputes. In the United States, traditional unionized grievance procedures, emerging nonunion dispute resolution systems, and the court‐based system for resolving employment law disputes have all been criticized. What is missing from these debates are rich metrics beyond speed and satisfaction for comparing and evaluating dispute resolution systems. In this paper, we develop efficiency, equity, and voice as these standards. Unionized, nonunion, and employment law procedures are then qualitatively evaluated against these three metrics.     

Toward a framework for mixed-gender selling teams and the impact of increased female presence on team performance: Thought development and propositions

Team selling and the increasing representation of women in the sales force are two current trends contributing to the complexity of managing the sales environment, yet little work exists investigating the impact of women on selling team performance. This paper anchors on cognitive resource diversity theory and integrates relevant prior research to propose a new proposition-driven framework that explains why gender diversity of team members improves team performance. Specifically, we provide evidence to suggest that the addition of females to all-male selling teams should positively impact team performance by reducing the average turnover rate of high performers within the team; by enhancing relational skills, organizational citizenship behaviors, and shared leadership within the team; and by building on the favorable effects associated with team heterogeneity. We also consider the moderating effects that potentially deeply ingrained connections among members of all-male teams may have on changes in team gender composition, as well as the importance of a culture of organizational inclusion on the favorable effects of team heterogeneity overall. Managerial implications of increased female presence on teams are proffered, along with suggested next steps in research and limitations of the present conceptualization.     

Follow the Leader or the Pack? Regulatory Focus and Academic Entrepreneurial Intentions

Drawing on the academic entrepreneurship and regulatory focus theory literature, and applying a multilevel perspective, this paper examines why university academics intend to engage in formal (spin‐off or start‐up companies and licensing university research) or informal (collaborative research, contract research, continuous professional development, and contract consulting) commercialization activities and the role local contextual factors, in particular leaders and work‐group colleagues (peers), play in their commercialization choices. Based on a survey of 395 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academics working in 14 Scottish universities, the research findings suggest that an individual's chronic regulatory focus has a direct effect on their formal and informal commercialization intent. The results reveal that the stronger an individual's chronic promotion focus the stronger their formal and informal commercialization intentions and a stronger individual chronic prevention focus leads to weaker intentions to engage in informal commercialization. In addition, when contextual interaction effects are considered, leaders and workplace colleagues have different influences on commercialization intent. On the one hand, promotion‐focused leaders can strengthen and prevention‐focused leaders can under certain circumstances weaken a promotion‐focused academic's formal commercialization intent. On the other hand, the level of workplace colleague engagement, acting as a reference point, strengthens not only promotion‐focused academics’ intent to engage in formal commercialization activities, but also prevention‐focused academics’ corresponding informal commercialization intent. As such, universities should consider the appointment of leaders who are strong role models and have a track record in formal and/or informal commercialization activities and also consider the importance workplace colleagues have on moderating an academic's intention to engage in different forms of commercialization activities.     

Workplace Bullying,Psychological Perspectives and Industrial Relations: Towards a Contextualized and Interdisciplinary Approach

Workplace bullying is increasingly recognized as an important area of debate, particularly among researchers adopting a psychological perspective of work. This paper examines definitions of workplace bullying and explores less orthodox approaches within a British context. It focuses primarily on managers as perpetrators, and comments on the ‘bullying organization’, the relevance of human resource management and of gender. Context, the workplace balance of power, workers’ collective resistance and trade unions are then emphasized as significant factors and the potential for developing a contextualized, politicized and interdisciplinary approach to workplace bullying is suggested. Links with mobilization theory are explored, and the issue is also examined within the UK public sector environment.     

Revisiting the firm,industry, and country effects on profitability under recessionary and expansion periods: A multilevel analysis

Research summary: Despite voluminous past research, the relevance of firm, industry, and country effects on profitability, particularly under adverse contexts, is still unclear. We reconcile institutional theory with the resource‐based view and industrial organization economics to investigate the effects of economic adversity, such as the 2008 global economic crisis. Using a three‐level random coefficient model, we examine 15,008 firms across 10 emerging and 10 developed countries for the 2005–2011 period. We find that firm effects become stronger under adversity, whereas industry effects become weaker, as well as country main and interaction effects, particularly among the emerging economies. These findings confirm our assumptions that the firm's own fate is, to a great extent, self‐determined; a reality that is even more pronounced during periods of extreme economic hardship. Managerial summary: In this research, we examine how generalized economic adversity affects the balance across the firm‐, industry‐, and country‐specific factors determining firm profitability. We specifically examine 15,008 firms from 10 emerging and 10 developed countries during the 2005–2011 period to investigate the effects of the 2008 global economic crisis on firm performance. We find that in such adverse conditions, the role of the industry and the country are reduced and the firm's own resources and capabilities become more pertinent for firm performance. This phenomenon is more pronounced across emerging markets. We conclude that the firm's own fate is, to a great extent, self‐determined, a reality that is markedly more evident during periods of extreme economic hardship. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of sexual harassment on employees’ family undermining: Social cognitive and behavioral plasticity perspectives

This study examined the effects of workplace sexual harassment on family undermining. The investigation focused on the mediating role of moral identity and the moderating role of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). The results, which were based on employee-spouse dyadic data collected in China, indicated that employees’ perceptions of sexual harassment were negatively related to their sense of moral identity and positively related to family undermining behavior. Moreover, reduced moral identity mediated the relationship between sexual harassment and family undermining. Furthermore, OBSE attenuated the main effect of sexual harassment on moral identity and the indirect effect of sexual harassment on family undermining via reduced moral identity. Our findings offer insightful theoretical contributions and managerial implications that indicate new directions for research on sexual harassment and work-family relations.     

Who gets the carrot and who gets the stick? Evidence of gender disparities in executive remuneration

This paper offers a new explanation of the gender pay gap in leadership positions by examining the relationship between managerial bonuses and company performance. Drawing on findings of gender studies, agency theory, and the leadership literature, we argue that the gender pay gap is a context‐specific phenomenon that results partly from the fact that company performance has a moderating impact on pay inequalities. Employing a matched sample of 192 female and male executive directors of U.K.‐listed firms, we corroborate the existence of the gender pay disparities in corporate boardrooms. In line with our theoretical predictions, we find that bonuses awarded to men are not only larger than those allocated to women, but also that managerial compensation of male executive directors is much more performance‐sensitive than that of female executives. The contribution of attributional and expectancy‐related dynamics to these patterns is highlighted in line with previous work on gender stereotypes and implicit leadership theories such as the romance of leadership. Gender differences in risk taking and confidence are also considered as potential explanations for the observed pay disparities. The implications of organizations' indifference to women's performance are examined in relation to issues surrounding the recognition and retention of female talent. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender Differences in the Returns to and the Acquisition of On-the-Job Training

This article finds that gender differences in on-the-job training significantly affect the male/female wage gap. First, we find that previously trained workers exhibit larger cumulative wage gains during their current training. Thus, a substantial portion of the gender wage gap results from the fact that women have little prior training relative to men. Second, a significant amount of the observed male/female wage differential is explained by less female acquisition of current training. Gender differences in workplace promotion and training practices help explain why women accumulate less training than men. Both of these sources of gender differences have lessened from 1976 to 1985, which has led to a narrowing of the male/female wage gap.     

Revisiting the gender gap in CEO compensation: Replication and extension of Hill,Upadhyay, and Beekun's (2015) work on CEO gender pay gap

Research Summary: The increasing number of women chief executives motivates considerable interest in examining possible gender differences in CEO compensation. Recently, Hill, Upadhyay and Beekun reported that female CEOs receive greater compensation than male CEOs, which runs counter to common wisdom that the gender pay gap in the labor market favors men over women. With the goal of contributing to cumulative knowledge development in this area, we seek to reexamine Hill et al.'s finding about gender differences in CEO compensation by extending the analyses further in time, using a larger sample of firms and more rigorous empirical analyses. Our findings, which are robust to different statistical procedures and econometric specifications, do not reveal reliable evidence for differences in compensation paid to male and female CEOs. Managerial Summary : For years, a lively debate has centered on the issue of gender pay gap. The ubiquity of the pay gap between men and women has recently been questioned by Hill et al. who identify the chief executive officer (CEO) role as a workplace position where women receive greater compensation than men. Our investigation examines whether women CEOs are indeed compensated substantively more than male CEOs. We seek to replicate earlier work by Hill and colleagues, using an expanded dataset over a longer period of time and with more rigorous analytical tools. We do not find reliable evidence for a difference in compensation paid to male and female CEOs, suggesting that claims about gender gap in CEO compensation favoring women over men may be premature.     

Partner-based opportunism,interface structure,and performance efficiency in upstream and downstream alliance activities contexts

Few alliance studies have theorized that opportunisms effect on performance efficiency is contingent on other factors. Our study posits that alliance partner size and no end-point serve as interface structure mechanisms that condition the efficiency outcomes of partner-based opportunism in alliances. We argue that the direct effect of partner-based opportunism, and the moderation effects of alliance partner size and no end-point, differ according to the alliance activities context (i.e., upstream vs. downstream). Our hypotheses were tested using a survey of 361 alliances. We observe that partner-based opportunism is indeed associated with performance inefficiencies. Further, while alliance partner size has a nonsignificant moderating effect, no end-point has a positive moderating effect, on the relationship between partner-based opportunism and efficiency; that is, the negative link becomes less negative for no end-point alliances. We find that the negative performance relevance of partner-based opportunism remains significant among upstream alliances, but drops to nonsignificance for downstream ones. We show that alliance partner size has a negative moderating effect on the link partner-based opportunism to performance efficiency among downstream, but not upstream, alliances. Lastly, we find that the positive moderating effect of no end-point is significant among upstream, but not downstream, alliances. Our results generate important implications for managers' efforts to design and govern alliances.     

The Gender Pay Gap for Private‐Sector Employees in Canada and Britain

The gender earnings differentials for private‐sector employees in Britain and Canada are similar, substantial and significant. Using linked employer–employee data, we show that women are more likely to be employed in low‐wage workplaces than men in both counties. After accounting for the workplace, women continue to earn less than comparable men. Although men and women face a more equal pay structure within their workplace than they do across workplaces, a substantial portion of the gender pay gap in both countries remains unexplained by the individual characteristics or workplace effects considered in this study.     

How to inhibit a partner's strong and weak forms of opportunism: Impacts of network embeddedness and bilateral TSIs

This study investigates the moderating effects of a firm's network embeddedness and a partner's transactional specific investments (TSIs) on relationships between the firm's TSIs and its partner's strong- and weak-form opportunism, and compares the efficiency among these moderator variables. The regression results suggest that (1) a firm's TSIs are positively related to partner's opportunism when network embeddedness and the partner's TSIs are relatively low; but (2) a firm's TSIs are negatively related to partner's opportunism when network embeddedness and the partner's TSIs are relatively high. Furthermore (3) network embeddedness is more effective in inhibiting partner's weak-form opportunism than in inhibiting strong-form opportunism resulting from the firm's TSIs. Finally (4) with regard to the relationship between TSIs and weak-form opportunism, the negative moderating effect of network embeddedness is greater than the negative moderating effect of partner's TSIs. This study explains reasons why conflicting views exist about the relationship between TSIs and partner's opportunism, reveals the differences in the moderating effects of network embeddedness and partner's TSIs, and makes new contributions to both transaction cost theory and embeddedness literature. It also provides, for firms involved in TSIs in a buyer–supplier relationship, insightful managerial suggestions about ways to reduce their partner's varying forms of opportunism.     

Ownership concentration and product innovation in Chinese private SMEs

Product innovation is extremely important to the growth, success, and ultimate survival of firms. Although its unique features in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have gained growing attention in the literature, there is limited knowledge as to how ownership concentration moderates the relationship between product innovation and its determinants. Based upon insights from agency and institutional theories, we examine the moderating effects of ownership concentration on the relationship between product innovation and its key determinants in Chinese SMEs, utilizing a large dataset of 43,728 Chinese firms over the period 2005–2006. We focus on examining the differences between single-owner SMEs, where there is dominant control of one family member, and multiple-owner SMEs, where principal-agent conflicts and principal-principal conflicts are more likely to occur. Our findings indicate that single-owned firms tend to convert research and development into product innovation more efficiently than firms with multiple owners, who are typically better at utilizing external sources of knowledge and human capital.     

Occupational Achievements of Same‐Sex Couples in the United States by Gender and Race

This article offers a framework that allows for the simultaneous comparison of all sexual orientation–gender–race/ethnicity groups after controlling for characteristics. The analysis suggests that occupations matter in explaining earnings differences among groups. The article also displays the high magnitude of the gender wage gap in an intersectional framework. The sexual orientation wage premium of lesbians is quite small for blacks and much higher for Hispanics and Asians than for whites. For men, departing from the white heterosexual model involves a substantial punishment; the racial penalty is larger for heterosexuals whereas the sexual orientation penalty is greater for whites.