When Does Public Service Motivation Fuel the Job Satisfaction Fire? The Joint Moderation of Person–Organization Fit and Needs–Supplies Fit

Abstract

This study takes a comparative approach to study the ‘outcome’ performance of a work-integration social enterprise (WISE) and a ‘for-profit’ work-integration organization that both provided employment enhancement programmes to NEETs. Participants at both organizations completed general self-efficacy questionnaires before and after engagement on the programmes. Additionally, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were held with the owners and staff at both organizations. The results revealed no significant difference between the ‘outcome’ performance of the WISE and for-profit organization. However, an analysis of the organizational aims, values and structures suggests that the ‘added value’ offered by the WISE came from the different induction policy that it operated.     

Is the Public Oversight of Auditors Effective? The Impact of Sanctions on Loss of Clients,Salary and Audit Reporting

This study examines the consequences of sanctions against individual Swedish auditors issued by the Supervisory Board of Public Accountants (SBPA). The results provide no support for individual auditor client loss after receiving a sanction. However, we find that Big 4 auditors have a lower salary after the sanction than before. Finally, we do not find that auditors become more conservative in their reporting after being sanctioned. Collectively, our results support that public oversight sanctions have relatively limited consequences for auditors of private companies.     

Auditor Independence and the Cost of Capital Before and After Sarbanes–Oxley: The Case of Newly Issued Public Debt

An important aim of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) was to reduce the cost of capital by enhancing auditor independence. However, prior literature has argued that SOX has been ineffective in meeting this objective. We contribute to this debate by first providing evidence suggesting that auditor independence has increased following SOX. Though we posit an inverse relationship between auditor independence and cost of capital, it is an open question whether this relationship has become stronger or weaker following SOX. An examination of this relationship reveals that auditor independence is more strongly related to bond rating and bond yield premium in the post-SOX period relative to the period before SOX. This evidence suggests greater price sensitivity of corporate debt to the level of auditor independence following SOX. We also show that controlling for the effect of auditor independence and other factors, cost of debt decreased following SOX.     

Job characteristics,work–home interference and burnout: testing a structural model in the South African context

The aim of this study was to test a structural model that included job demands and job resources, negative work–home interference (WHI) and burnout (exhaustion, cognitive weariness and cynicism). A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random samples (n = 330) were taken of workers employed in the earthmoving industry in eight provinces of South Africa. Job characteristics (including job pressure, job control and job support) were measured by items that were adapted from the Job Content Questionnaire and a validated questionnaire on experience and evaluation of work. The Survey Work–Home Interaction – Nijmegen was used to measure negative WHI, while the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and cognitive weariness scale were administered to measure exhaustion, cognitive weariness and cynicism. Structural equation modelling with Amos showed that job demands (e.g. job pressure) and job resources (job control, supervisor support and colleague support) contributed to negative WHI. Negative WHI mediated the relationship between job demands and burnout and partially mediated between job resources and burnout.     

Comparing Nonprofit Charter and Traditional Public School Board Member Perceptions of the Public,Conflict, and Financial Responsibility: Is there a difference and does it matter?

In this paper, survey data collected from nonprofit charter school board and elected public school board members in Minnesota is used to test three hypotheses relating to theories of New Public Management, democratic governance, and small group dynamics. We find that nonprofit charter school board members perceive lower levels of conflict, place less priority on the general public, and perceive a higher degree of governance responsibly in the area of financial management, than elected board members. We conclude that the increased use of nonprofit charter schools has potentially substantial implications on accountability and effectiveness in the delivery of public education.     

Comparing Public and Private Sector Employees’ Innovative Behaviour: Understanding the role of job and organizational characteristics,job types,and subsectors

Abstract

Innovation is argued to be of key importance in the public sector. Little is known about possible sector differences in innovative behaviour. The stereotype in literature is that public employees are less innovative. We analyse whether sector is associated with innovative behaviour and the influence of job/organizational characteristics. We test this by using a three-country representative survey in Scandinavia with 8,310 respondents. We control for subsectors/industries and job functions. We do not find that public employees are less innovative. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of understanding the major differences in innovative behaviour between different subsectors/industries and job types.     

Predictors and processes of satisfaction with work–family balance: Examining the role of personal,work, and family resources and conflict and enrichment

Drawing from resource-based theories, we conduct two studies to investigate the unique and relative importance of personal (e.g., resilience, proactive health behaviors), work, and family resources (i.e., enriched job and family roles, work and family support) to balance satisfaction, and the mediating roles of conflict and enrichment. We test our hypotheses in Study 1 using a cross-sectional survey of 216 employees and in Study 2 using a time-lagged survey over 3 months with 220 employees. Across both studies, work and family resources (e.g., enriched job and family characteristics, work and family support) were positively related to balance satisfaction. In general, work resources were more relevant to balance satisfaction than were personal or family resources. In terms of processes, work resources relate to less work-to-family conflict and greater work-to-family enrichment which in turn, relate to greater balance. In contrast, the family-to-work directions of conflict and enrichment were just weakly related to balance. Across the two studies, findings regarding the role of personal resources were mixed. We discuss how these findings expand our understanding of work–family balance and the practical implications for human resource practitioners.     

Wage inequality and the labor market impact of economic transformation: Croatia, 1970–2008

In this paper, we examine wage inequality and wage differentials in Croatia from 1970 to 2008 using two long aggregate time series on the distribution of income. We focus especially on changing income inequality related to educational and vocational attainment, changing income inequality within those groups, and how these two components of inequality were affected by the economic transformation from socialism to capitalism. We find that income inequality between groups rose moderately post-transformation, while overall inequality increased more sharply. This finding is consistent with a growing importance of individual rather than group productivity in labor market compensation, a change broadly consistent with the economic transformation of the Croatian labor market.     

High-Performance HR Practices,Work Stress and Quit Intentions in the Public Health Sector: Does person–organization fit matter?

Drawing on the attraction–selection–attrition (ASA) framework, this paper examines a mechanism, namely person–organization (P–O) fit, through which high-performance HR practices (HPHRPs) affect two negative employee outcomes: work-related stress and quit intentions. Using a sample of Egyptian public health sector workers, a mediation model is tested empirically using structural equation modelling. The study results show that HPHRPs positively affected P–O fit, which in turn had significant negative associations with work stress and quit intentions. P–O fit also explained a high proportion of mediation in the relationship between HPHRP and both outcomes.     

Employment protection reforms,employment and the incidence of temporary jobs in Europe: 1996–2001

This paper uses longitudinal data on individuals from the European Community Household Panel over the 1996–2001 period to investigate the impact of reforms of employment protection systems in nine countries on the incidence of employment and of temporary jobs for wage and salary workers. Important features of the research design include the use of individual fixed effects models as well as the inclusion of country-specific trends in the dependent variable. A robust finding is that policies making it easier to create temporary jobs on average raise the likelihood that wage and salary workers will be in temporary jobs. This effect is felt primarily when the regional unemployment rate is relatively high. However, there is no evidence that such reforms raise employment. Thus, these reforms, while touted as a way of jump-starting individuals' careers in the job market, appear rather to encourage a substitution of temporary for permanent work.     

Managing organizational entry in China: the roles of newcomer–supervisor exchange,incumbent support,and perceived insider status

The socialization literature has long recognized the important role of perceived insider status in facilitating newcomer adjustment, but knowledge on how to cultivate this desirable psychological state is limited. This study examines newcomer–supervisor exchange as an antecedent of perceived insider status of newcomers, which in turn facilitates their social adjustment and task mastery during organizational entry. We also explore incumbent support as a boundary condition for these effects. We conducted a survey study on 320 new employees and 92 supervisors in China. This study revealed that newcomer–supervisor exchange was related positively to newcomers’ perceived insider status, and perceived insider status mediated the positive relationships of newcomer–supervisor exchange with social adjustment and task mastery. In addition, incumbent support moderated the positive relationship between newcomer–supervisor exchange and perceived insider status, as well as the positive mediated relationships of newcomer–supervisor exchange with social adjustment and task mastery through perceived insider status. Specifically, these relationships were weaker when incumbent support was higher. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Savings and investments in the OECD, 1970–2007: A test of panel cointegration with regime changes

In this paper we test for the existence of a long-run relationship between investment and savings (the Feldstein–Horioka puzzle) in a panel of 18 OECD countries, 1970–2007, allowing for heterogenous breaks in the coefficients. For this purpose we develop a bootstrap panel cointegration with breaks robust to cross-section dependence, shown by simulation to enjoy good size and power properties provided that some care is applied in its use. The tests suggest that, even allowing for parameter shifts in the countries where capital control regulations changed in the sample period, there is no evidence of an investment–savings long-run relationship for the panel as a whole.     

Diffusion and spatial equilibrium of a social norm: voting participation in the United States, 1920–2008

Social conformity can spread social norms and behaviors through a society. This research examines such a process geographically and over time for voting, which is strongly influenced by the norm that citizens should vote. A mathematical model for the spread of voting participation under the influence of social conformity is developed based on the diffusion equation, and predictions are tested with spatial analysis of state-level voter turnout in American presidential elections from 1920 to 2008. Results show that voter turnout has converged to a stable equilibrium in its geographical distribution across the states—but it is an equilibrium that results in persistent differences at the state level. Results are compared to individual-level and agent-based models. The model may be applied to other types of social diffusion that depend on specific geographical location.     

Leader–member exchange and guanxi are not the same: differential impact of dyadic relationships on fit perceptions,helping behavior,and turnover intention

Extant literature on person–environment fit has underlined the positive impact of leader–member exchange (LMX) on person–supervisor (PS) fit. We challenge this assumption and propose that LMX, which captures the working relationship between employees and their managers, is more strongly associated with person–organization (PO) fit, not PS fit. We further propose that the personal aspect of the relationship between employees and their managers, namely supervisor–subordinate guanxi, is more strongly associated with PS fit than LMX. Finally, we theorize that LMX and supervisor–subordinate guanxi will be associated with turnover intention and helping behavior targeting the supervisor, respectively, through their differential impact on PO and PS fit. Data collected from 267 leader–member dyads in 17 companies in China using a two-wave procedure supported our hypotheses. These results have implications for theories on the multi-dimensional nature of the person–environment fit as well as research differentiating LMX and supervisor–subordinate guanxi.     

The Impact of the EU–US Open Skies Agreement and the Resulting British Airway's Open Skies Initiative: Passenger Numbers in London,Amsterdam and Paris

Abstract

The advent of the EU–US Open Skies Agreement has been widely anticipated. A number of consequences have been predicted, for example, impacts on fares, passenger volumes, choice and consumer welfare. Airline costs are also predicted to fall as a result of increased competitiveness and increased cooperation among airlines. For the short period since the implementation of the Agreement, it is relatively easy to assess the supply-side changes that have been made, but more difficult to make wider judgements. This paper indicates the data that will be required to make these judgements and notes some methodological difficulties. Early estimates of the impact on passenger numbers are given using time series analysis focusing on London airports, in particular London Heathrow and airports served by British Airway's Open Skies Airline from Paris Orly and Amsterdam Schipol.

Impact de l'accord Ciel Ouvert entre l'UE et les États-Unis et de l'initiative Open Skies résultante de British Airways: nombre de passagers à Londres, Amsterdam et Paris

Résumé L'avènement de l'accord Ciel ouvert entre l'UE et les États-Unis avait été très largement prévu, et on a prédit un certain nombre de conséquences, notamment l'impact sur le prix des billets, sur les volumes de passagers, sur le choix pour les consommateurs et sur leur bien-être, entre autres. On prévoit également que les coûts des compagnies d'aviation devraient baisser, en conséquence de l'augmentation non seulement de la compétitivité, mais aussi de la concurrence entre les compagnies. A l'issue de la courte période qui s'est écoulée depuis l'implémentation de l'Accord, il est relativement aisé d’évaluer les variations qui se sont produites du côté de l'offre, mais beaucoup plus difficile de formuler des opinions plus générales. La présente communication indique les données qui seront requises pour formuler ces jugements, et souligne certaines difficultés sur le plan de la méthodologie. Des premières évaluations de l'impact sur le nombre de voyageurs ont été avancées, sur la base d'analyses à série temporelle concentrées sur les aéroports de Londres, notamment l'aéroport Heathrow de Londres et les aéroports desservis par la compagnie Open Skies de British Airway entre Paris Orly et l'aéroport Schipol d'Amsterdam.

El efecto del Acuerdo de Cielos abiertos entre la UE y EE.UU. y el resultado de la Iniciativa de Cielos abiertos de British Airways: número de pasajeros en Londres, Ámsterdam y París

Resumen El advenimiento del Acuerdo de Cielos abiertos entre la EU y EE.UU. era algo ampliamente esperado. Se han pronosticado muchas consecuencias, por ejemplo, los efectos sobre las tarifas, los volúmenes de pasajeros, las opciones y el bienestar de los consumidores. También se ha pronosticado la caída de los costes de las aerolíneas debido a una mayor competitividad y el incremento de la cooperación entre las aerolíneas. En el corto periodo de implantación del Acuerdo, es relativamente fácil evaluar los cambios que se han dado en el lado de la oferta, sin embargo, es más difícil realizar estimaciones mayores. Este trabajo indica que se necesitan datos para realizar estas estimaciones y hace referencia a algunas dificultades metodológicas. Los primeros estimativos del efecto sobre los números de pasajeros se han obtenido mediante análisis de series de tiempo centrados en los aeropuertos de Londres, en particular, el de Heathrow, y en los aeropuertos atendidos por la Aerolínea de Cielos abiertos de British Airways de Orly, en París, y Schipol, en Ámsterdam.