Comparing cases: studies of commitment systems in Australia and the United States

Using the experiences of PhD research which employed a comparative case study methodology to study industrial relations and commitment systems at brownfield and greenfield sites in Australia and the United States, this paper discusses the issues and challenges that may confront a student undertaking research of this type. It argues that while the original research questions and proposed methodology may, frustratingly, need to change during the course of the research, this can ultimately provide for a richer study and better results. The paper outlines the stages of the case study research and the complexities of combining qualitative and quantitative research methods. In conclusion, the paper briefly summarises the research findings to demonstrate the benefits of long-term, organisationally based case studies.     

The role of leaders in generating management innovation†

Abstract

This study provides an empirical insight into the level of management innovation in Australian service organisations, conceptualising management innovation using an integrative framework of management innovation which encompasses four dimensions, new managerial practices, processes, structures and techniques. In addition, the study contributes to the contingency-based literature by examining the role of leaders, in respect to both leadership style (initiating and consideration styles) and the use of controls (diagnostic and interactive use), as drivers of management innovation. Data were collected through a mail questionnaire distributed to 445 middle level managers. The findings show that leadership style influences management innovation with a more initiating style associated with the extent of use of new managerial techniques. Management innovation was also influenced by the use of controls with a more interactive (diagnostic) approach associated with the extent of use of new managerial processes and techniques (practices and structure). In line with the Competing Values Framework, the findings highlight the tension involved in the role of leaders in generating management innovation.     

Team Decision Making in Virtual and Face-to-Face Environments

We conducted a laboratory study on 65 teams performing a decision-making task. The two experimental manipulations involved the use of different communication media and decision frames. The decision frame manipulation involved informing the team to choose the demonstrably correct solution versus the solution that seemed most likely. These factors interacted to reveal novel insights about their multiplicative effects on decision processes and team psychological states. Further, main effects of the communication medium were found for team psychological states and decision behavior. Results suggest that virtual teams were at a disadvantage when the task was framed as having a demonstrably correct solution. Conversely, face-to-face teams were more effective, particularly when told that the task had a demonstrably correct solution. Face-to-face teams were more effective on all decision behaviors. Media synchronicity theory serves as a unifying framework to contextualize this research in the literature.     

Attributes influencing clothing store choice for an emerging market’s Generation Y Twixter customers

The aim of this paper was to determine the key attributes influencing a sub-segment of Generation Y, the Twixters’ choice of clothing retailers in South Africa, an emerging market. Generation Y has been identified as an important segment particularly for apparel and the Twixter sub-group comprises a third of the segment. Using a positioning theory lens, retailers need to understand the attributes a target market finds important as stores are positioned in consumers’ minds on those attributes. The study therefore sought to determine what these Twixters consider to be important attributes in their clothing store selection. The study comprised two stages; a qualitative stage based on focus group discussion data in which the attributes were determined, discussed and defined, and a quantitative stage, which involved a survey administered to 368 Twixter respondents which determined the relative importance of the attributes to Twixters in their clothing store selection. The results reveal that these Twixters appreciate the price–quality relationship and prefer clothing stores which provide high quality, unique and fashionable merchandise that meets their value for money requirements. The results of the study, although not generalisable, provide noteworthy insight for clothing store and apparel marketers targeting these Generation Y customers.     

Too hot to handle? Trust and human resource practitioners' implementation of anti‐bullying policy

In this article, we examine the dynamics of trust in the triadic relationship between HR, employees and managers when dealing with allegations of workplace bullying. Previous research has shown employees to be dissatisfied with HR practitioners' responses to complaints of workplace bullying, and we explore the novel angle of the HR practitioners' perspective through semistructured interviews. Paralleling extant employee accounts, the findings suggest that HR practitioners rarely judge situations as bullying where a manager is accused. Trust between employee, manager and HR practitioner is essential for the successful resolution of bullying claims, yet this study suggests multiple directions of distrust. By virtue of their role alignment and previous experiences of handling bullying, HR practitioners were found to prioritise their relationships with managers, automatically distrusting employees' bullying claims. Despite also distrusting managers to effectively deliver HRM practices, it appears that bullying complaints are ‘too hot to handle’ for HR practitioners given the risks to their relationships with managers.     

The many faces of pay variation

Research on pay variation and organizational outcomes has yielded inconsistent results. We argue that this is due to a lack of construct clarity regarding pay variation, and we attempt to provide clarification by distinguishing among the sources and types of pay variation. Using these distinctions, we integrate different theoretical perspectives on pay variation, and we propose avenues through which different kinds of pay variations affect outcomes. This clarification also elucidates some measurement concerns affecting pay variation studies.     

Examining the reliability of self-reported data on school participation

Many studies evaluate the impacts of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs on schooling using self-reports on enrollment and attendance even though there are reasons to doubt the reliability of these data. In this paper, we examine the extent to which school-age girls overstate their school participation. Using administrative data from a cash transfer experiment in Malawi and school attendance ledgers collected as part of the impact evaluation, we find that while all study participants overstate their enrollment and attendance rates, the extent to which this happens is significantly higher in the control group than the CCT arm. This finding implies that exclusive reliance on self-reported school participation data can lead to a serious underestimation of actual program impacts. We recommend that self-reports be supplemented using alternative sources of data on school participation that are appropriate to the experiment at hand — even if such efforts are likely to increase evaluation costs.