Employee–organization exchange and employee creativity: a motivational perspective

Abstract

A critical omission in employee creativity literature is lack of a clear understanding of why and how employee–organization exchange (EOX) affects employee creativity. We collected three-phrase data from 384 employees working with 64 supervisors in Guangdong Province, China. Results of Mplus (using design-based modeling approach) suggest that (i) need satisfaction mediates the EOX-creativity relationship, (ii) leader-member exchange (LMX) enhances the positive EOX-need satisfaction relationship, (iii) creative self-efficacy (CSE) neutralizes the positive need satisfaction-creativity relationship, and (iv) the indirect effect of EOX on creativity via need satisfaction is stronger for employees with high quality LMX and with low CSE. Using inducement-contribution framework, the study integrates social exchange and self-determination theories to explicate the mediating role of need satisfaction in the EOX-creativity relationship. Further, the study contributes to the understanding of the EOX-creativity relationship by examining the boundary conditions of LMX (as a synergistic enhancer) in the first stage and CSE (as a neutralizer that diminishes gains) in the second stage of indirect effect.     

Labour Shortage in Hong Kong: Causes,Consequences and Policies*

This paper addresses the issue of labour shortage in Hong Kong. Labour shortage is a secular phenomenon caused mainly by a stagnation in the growth of the labour force. The major long-term factors that explain this stagnation are a decline in fertility, a fall in the labour participation rate, a reduced intake of immigrants and a rising outflow of emigrants. Labour imposes a capacity constraint on the growth of the economy. This paper considers policies which may alleviate the supply constraint on the economy, including reducing emigration, importing labour and increasing immigration intake. These policies, which would lead to a faster expansion of the labour force, are evaluated and compared.     

An integrated approach for port selection,ship scheduling and financial analysis

Ship routing and scheduling is an important activity for ship operators at both planning and operation levels. Ship operators, as commercial entities, have to closely monitor routing and scheduling in relation to their financial implications. This paper presents an integrated approach for port selection, ship scheduling and financial analysis. It aims to discuss the architecture and the major features of an integrated intelligent system for liner shipping. Currently many liners still perform ship routing and scheduling manually based on professional knowledge and experience. The proposed system is developed with an international liner company and is flexible to account for user inputs according to the real situation in the port selection module. Also the system provides two modes in the scheduling module: automatic and manual. The automatic mode makes use of an optimisation model to find the optimal proforma schedule (PFS). The manual mode allows manual modifications to be performed to accommodate the existing liners to allow for a smooth implementation. The financial analysis module examines the financial consequences of the PFS which are crucial for making commercial decisions. As a whole, the solution algorithm calls for an integrated approach that can integrate data from various sources with different levels of certainties and accuracies, knowledge gained from practical operations and optimisation routines. The system will be useful for ship operators in liner shipping.     

Does the look matter? The impact of casino servicescape on gaming customer satisfaction,intention to revisit,and desire to stay

Despite huge investment made by casinos on their physical structures, little has been know if physical environment actually affects psychological responses of gaming customers. This paper explores how dimensions of servicescape influence customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions in the casino environment. Using Bitner's model of physical surroundings, we hypothesized how ambience, navigation, seating comfort, interior decor, and cleanliness affected cognitive and affective satisfaction of gaming customers. We further proposed that gaming customer satisfaction would affect their desire to stay and intention to revisit. Data from 513 gaming customers of Macau offered support to most of our hypotheses. Implications for research and managerial practices were also discussed.