Managers’ Corporate Entrepreneurial Actions and Job Satisfaction

Through the development and extension of theories and scholars’ subsequent empirical analyses of significant, theoretically grounded research questions, the knowledge about corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and its successful use continues to advance. Moreover, the literature suggests important relationships between the corporate environment, managers’ entrepreneurial behavior and successful implementation of corporate entrepreneurship actions. In an attempt to test some of those relationships, we describe an empirical study of 523 managers that examines the relationships among the antecedents to managers’ entrepreneurial behavior, a decision to implement entrepreneurial actions, and resulting job satisfaction and reinforcement practices.     

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.     

致我们终将逝去的First Job

与人生中很多第一次一样，第一份工作对人的一生具有特殊意义。无论快乐、辛苦抑或不适应，它终将成为我们职业生涯的起点和底色。下面请听三位企业家讲述第一份工作时的峥嵘岁月吧。     

Job rotation and employee performance – evidence from a longitudinal study in the financial services industry

Job rotation, i.e. a lateral transfer of an employee between jobs within a company, is frequently used as a means to develop employees, learn about their abilities as well as to motivate them. We investigate the determinants and performance effects of job rotation empirically by analyzing a large panel data-set covering the German banking and financial services sector. In particular, we study (i) how prior individual performance affects the propensity to rotate and (ii) how performance changes after the rotation. We find that while both, low- and high-performers rotate, lateral moves are more frequent among low performers. However, those having been rotated between jobs achieve a higher performance in subsequent years as compared to other non-rotating employees in a comparable position. Interestingly, this effect is driven by high performers, whereas for low performers, we find no significant relationship between job rotation and future performance. The results thus suggest that firms should focus their job rotation programs on high performers and should not expect that low performers achieve performance gains when being rotated to a different function.     

带有并行机的混合Job Shop调度问题

本文分析带有并行机的混合Job Shop调度问题并建立其模型,利用改进的遗传算法求解问题,在算法设计中,采用基于工序的编码方式,分两步进行解码,给出相关的遗传操作,列举实例说明带有并行机的混合Job Shop调度问题,并针对实例进行仿真实验验证算法和编码方式的有效性和可行性,最后指出进一步的研究方向。     

Job demands–resources: a gender perspective on employee well-being and resilience in retail stores in China

Abstract

Organisational resilience can be promoted through human resource management (HRM) practices that enhance individual employees’ well-being and ability to cope with adversity. However, the extant literature tends to neglect the influence of gender on employee well-being and resilience. Shop floor employees in retail stores often undertake demanding roles, characterised by considerable pressure and low pay, and attendant high levels of employee turnover. Drawing on the job demands–resources model, by analysing data collected from 697 employees at foreign-invested retail stores in China, this paper found that workload and employee participation in decision-making had a similar impact on the well-being of both male and female employees. However, the impact of job security and emotional demands on employees differed by gender. This paper extends the job demands–resources model by articulating the influence of gender on employee well-being. Additionally, its empirical insights, drawn from an emerging economy context, enable a contribution to the literature on employee well-being and resilience. Relevant implications for HRM and resilience are discussed.     

有此一Job——“荐客”

很多职场人士都很羡慕“猎头”们的工作和生活,因为他们出入高级写字楼、会所,通过“贩卖”职场精英获得丰厚的报酬。然而,羡慕归羡慕,繁重的生活和对风险本身的“恐惧”等原因却使他们不敢轻易迈出成为职业猎头的一步。于是,“荐客”的出     

Economics,economists, and public policy☆

This article examines the role of economics and economists in shaping public policy by, first, examining the employment of economists in government, academe, and the private sector. In the United States, only a minority of Ph.D. economists (about 12 percent) are employed in government, and several important departments of the federal government employ few economists. The article goes on to illustrate the pitfalls that economists face in assisting and advising with public policy by examining the adoption of statistical profiling in Unemployment Insurance. The article concludes that, if the economics profession and economic research are to be effective in shaping public policy, then academic economists must become more directly involved with policy makers in government and decision makers in business.     

Why Do I Feel Valued and Why Do I Contribute? A Relational Approach to Employee's Organization‐Based Self‐Esteem and Job Performance

Drawing on the relational perspective and self‐consistency theory, we theorize how relationships involving work‐centric, off‐work‐centric, and/or personal components can affect an employee's organization‐based self‐esteem and job performance in Chinese organizational contexts. Matched data were collected from a multi‐source sample that included 219 employee–supervisor dyads from a Chinese bank. Results based on hierarchical regression analyses reveal that a high‐quality relationship with a supervisor through work and off‐work domains (leader–member exchange and guanxi) is positively related to organization‐based self‐esteem. Organization‐based self‐esteem plays a mediating role in the relationship between guanxi and job performance. Additionally, career mentoring from a supervisor (a work‐centric relationship involving personal components) moderates the relationship between organization‐based self‐esteem and job performance.     

Incentive to manipulate earnings and its connection to analysts’ forecasts, trading, and corporate governance

We develop a model where insiders?? decision to manipulate earnings is linked both to their stake and to corporate governance. We show how earnings manipulation affects analysts?? forecasts and institutional trading. More precisely, whenever there is ??excessive?? earnings manipulation, we observe less optimistic analysts. Furthermore, institutions exhibit positive feedback trading behavior and appear to ??front-run?? analysts?? errors. Finally, companies with strong corporate governance are less prone to these phenomena, being able to avoid the detrimental effects of insiders?? incentives. We then provide strong empirical evidence to support our model.     

Leader–member exchange,subordinate stewardship,and hierarchical governance

In this article, by integrating the institutional theory, leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, and stewardship theory, we propose a model of subordinate stewardship behaviors in organizational hierarchies and the resultant hierarchical governance structures. First, we develop propositions suggesting that the quality of LMX (supervisor–subordinate) is determined by three antecedents: leader characteristics, subordinate characteristics, and internal organizational context. The quality of LMX, in turn, affects the subordinate stewardship behaviors. Second, by integrating institutional theory and stewardship theory, we propose that the interaction between isomorphic pressures and the level of subordinate stewardship behaviors may result in four distinct types of hierarchical governance structures: isomorphic stewardship, isomorphic controls, firm-specific controls, and firm-specific stewardship. These governance mechanisms reflect the internal drive toward subordinate stewardship, while complying with the external norms of isomorphism. Thus, different types of governance structures may exist between and within firms. Implications of this model are discussed here.     

Women,Business, and Finance in 19th Century Milan

This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on the relations between women and the economy market by adding a backward and Mediterranean country on the chart of female engagement in the world of business.With regard to Anglophone settings,scholars found women managing small and medium business,entering trade,purchasing shares and“consols”,supporting firms,lending money,and investing capitals for profit.As for Italy,women’s involvement in economic activities is almost completely unknown because of the paucity of studies on the theme.The way the country industrialized played a role in that,as it drove scholars’attention mainly if not exclusively to corporate and large enterprises,where men were obviously ad lead.As privileged sources of business and economic historians,such as trade directories,narrative tales,family,and company papers often undervalue if not hiding the female participation in the“public”sphere of the economy,this work draws on fiscal sources,tax rolls,and estate returns in particular.Notwithstanding robust limitations of such documents due to the high rate of evasion and elusion in Italy,their examination unveils the relevance of women’s role not only in family business,but also in“petty”trade and informal finance,all activities that were crucial to the catching up process of a“late joiner”like Italy.     

Does the Presence of Voice Imply the Absence of Silence? The Necessity to Consider Employees’ Affective Attachment and Job Engagement

Employer‐sponsored voice practices (ESVPs) are a tool used by human resource management to increase voice behavior and fulfill legal requirements for employee participation and consultation. Conceptual papers question the usefulness of ESVPs, arguing that they may promote selective expression at work in the way that employees who use ESVPs suggest work‐related process improvements (i.e., promotive voice) but still remain silent about issues that disturb smooth cooperation (i.e., cooperative silence). Prior research that treated voice and silence as being mutually exclusive cannot clarify how using ESVPs relates to voice and silence and under which conditions these links are particularly strong. Drawing from an employee survey in a UK branch of a multinational technology company, we apply a differentiated approach that treats voice and silence as separate behaviors and considers their specific motivators. Results from structural equation modeling show that even though employees use ESVPs and engage in voice, silence may still linger as a potential threat to performance and well‐being. Moreover, moderator analyses revealed that affective attachment to the organization increased and job engagement decreased the occurrence of this potentially dangerous coincidence. Our findings provide evidence for the usefulness of more differentiated approaches to employee voice and silence and indicate that factors that facilitate voice, be they formal procedures or pro‐organizational attitudes, might not suffice to overcome silence at work. We close with a discussion on ways to facilitate voice while reducing silence at the same time. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Small,Local and Cheap? Walkable and Car-oriented Retail in Competition

Abstract

I develop a model of competition between walkable shops, and other shops whose customers drive (car-oriented shops). Walkable shops operate in monopolistic competition within a local area, or neighbourhood. A small cost advantage for car-oriented shops can turn into a larger price advantage. High prices in walkable shops effect a regressive transfer from poorer to richer consumers, since the poorer are less likely to have cars. Internalizing environmental and social costs of urban automobile use could reduce prices and increase capacity utilization in walkable shops in more densely populated local areas. Many common combinations of planning and pricing tools fail to internalize important costs, and may actually subsidize driving to shop, but a combination of planning and the pricing (through taxation) of retail parking could effectively internalize the relevant costs.     

Talent management,absorptive capacity,and firm performance: Does it work in China and Russia?

This article investigates the relationship between talent management (TM), absorptive capacity (AC), and firm performance. We build a theoretical framework and examine the mediating role of a firm's AC in TM–performance relationships in the contexts of China and Russia. We use a sample of 120 Chinese and Russian firms to provide empirical evidence of our hypotheses. Our results show for both Chinese and Russian firms, a well‐developed TM system positively influences a firm's ability to acquire, assimilate, and exploit knowledge as well as increase the overall level of a firm's AC. We also found support for the argument that TM has an indirect positive effect on firm performance through its AC; moreover, the effect is stronger for Chinese firms, specifically, within the link between AC and performance.     

Government Performance and Chief Executives’ Intangible Assets: Motives,Networking, and/or Capacity?

This study explores the impact of chief executives’ intangible assets – motives, capacity and networks – on government performance. Three main hypotheses suggesting a direct relationship between these assets and performance are tested using data from municipalities in El Salvador, where the chief executive is the elected mayor. The research involved an in-field survey of 135 Salvadorian mayors (out of 262) and data collected from national agencies, focusing on two dimensions of municipal performance: service delivery (electricity and running water) and expansion of revenue (with national grants). After controlling for municipal and constituent-level factors, findings indicate that the chief executive’s capacity (specifically mayoral expertise) is positively correlated to municipal delivery of electricity and running water; intrinsic motivation is linked to expansion of water services; and municipalities whose chief executives are nationally networked tend to receive more grant monies. This study contributes to the literature on government performance by assessing the role of chief executives’ intangible assets in the developing context of a relatively newly established democracy in Latin America.     

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.     

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.