Wearables in the workplace: The brave new world of employee engagement

Organizations increasingly introduce wearable devices, hoping to improve organizational performance. Wearables provide new and unique opportunities for engaging employees with their work and their organizational environment. The performance-related feedback these devices provide is supposed to help both employees and managers navigate the work environment more effectively. Despite the compelling benefits of wearables, they may prove to be detrimental to organizational performance unless a number of ethical issues are addressed. This article provides an overview of the benefits that certain wearable technologies can provide employees and managers, as well as the challenges they may create for organizations.     

The ABC's of ACB: Unveiling a clear and present danger in the sales force

While anti-citizenship behavior (ACB) is under-researched across all academic domains, sales and marketing researchers have not done any work in the area. This oversight is significant given recent survey data that suggests sales representatives are misbehaving at an alarming rate; 60% of sales managers have caught their reps cheating on expense reports (an example of ACB) and 36% believe such behavior has gotten worse over the past several years. Directed towards the goal of understanding salesperson ACB, this research provides the first conceptual model of ACB in the sales force. The model contends that characteristics of the organization (justice and intra-firm competition) and contextual factors (fit and job stress) directly affect the performance of ACB while individual level factors (locus of control, self-monitoring and introversion) moderate the performance of these behaviors. In addition, this research explains the intra- and inter-organizational consequences of salesperson ACB and suggests several ways by which managers can address this issue.     

Diversity goals: Reframing the debate and enabling a fair evaluation

While diversity has enjoyed significant popularity in the corporate world for the last two decades, researchers continue to put forward conflicting results regarding the business benefits of workplace diversity. Some say workplace diversity is good for businesses; others argue it is an undertaking full of challenges; and yet others assert that it doesn’t really matter. With this in mind, we attempted to synthesize the research that evaluates the impact of workplace diversity on the organizational bottom line. We find an over-emphasis on demonstrating the business case of diversity in economic denominations, which—to some extent—has limited our understanding of the complex dynamics associated with diversity. We identify a lack of attention toward institutional forces as one of the reasons that has restricted our focus on mere economic gains. Overall, we recommend broadening our definition of goals that organizations have when adopting diversity initiatives by including ‘gain of legitimacy’ and ‘creation of goodwill’ as part of the essential consequences of diversity programs.     

工作压力双路径视角下国防研发人员主动性行为形成机理：职场精神力的调节效应

研发人员主动性行为是实现国防科技企业创新与高质量发展的重要竞争力来源,但有关工作压力背景下主动性行为的形成机理仍缺乏实证探索。以双元工作压力理论为基础,探讨了挑战性压力与阻碍性压力对国防研发人员主动性行为的作用机制,重点考察了工作繁荣与情绪耗竭的中介作用以及职场精神力的调节效应。针对8家国防科技企业及科研院所的630名研发人员开展实证研究,分析结果表明：挑战性压力和阻碍性压力分别对主动性行为起正向与负向作用;工作繁荣和情绪耗竭分别在挑战性压力、阻碍性压力与主动性行为间起部分中介作用;职场精神力正向调节挑战性压力与工作繁荣的关系,负向调节阻碍性压力与情绪耗竭的关系;职场精神力不仅调节了挑战性压力通过工作繁荣影响主动性行为的间接效应,还调节了阻碍性压力通过情绪耗竭影响主动性行为的间接效应。     

Putting sport into organizations: The role of the accountant

This paper examines how organizations can promote in their employees similarly high levels of interest, motivation, and fun that participants in sports commonly experience. Particular emphasis is placed on the role accountants can play in using what this paper terms hygiene and elevating factors. Hygiene factors ensure the fair and transparent recording of financial events; without them, the sport of work cannot occur. Elevating factors allow employees to experience their work as fun and enjoyable, and ultimately provide the basis for a high-quality game of work. In helping to put sport into work, accountants will find themselves creating systems that go well beyond what they have done in the past, and dismantling some of the systems they once worked so hard to construct and oversee.     

Computerization,workplace organization,skilled labour and firm productivity: Evidence for the Swiss business sector

The present study explores empirically the hypothesis that information and communication technologies, new organizational practices and human capital are important determinants of firm efficiency and performance, further that the combined use of these three factors leads to a mutual strengthening of their impact on firm performance. The analytical framework is that of a production function at firm level. The new contribution of this study to the empirical literature is that it is the first empirical study of this type for the Swiss business sector, using a rich data set at firm level for the year 1999 which were collected by means of a postal survey, and giving particular attention to the complementarity issue (several approaches) and to the endogenization of the technology and organization variables.     

More than mere fragments? The use of the Workplace Employment Relations Survey data in HRM research

This paper explores the use of the British Workplace Employment Relations (WERS) survey data in HRM research. While the WERS surveys contain much material of relevance to key debates in the HRM area, there is a prima facie case that there has not been as much WERS-based research in the HRM area as might have been consequently expected. This paper examines why this might be the case, and considers the prospects for the further use of WERS data by HRM researchers. While noting the limits of survey data to address key questions in the area, it suggests that there is a need for a programme of research that builds upon the valuable insights that can be obtained from WERS-based research by the complementary generation of more context-rich information via focused case studies and associated qualitative research.     

Ethno-cultural diversity and organizational effectiveness: a field study

This paper examines the relationship between ethno-cultural diversity and attitudinal and non-attitudinal measures of organizational performance in a field setting. Data were collected from ninety-eight respondents in seven branches of a leading Canadian bank. As compared to culturally homogeneous branches, the culturally heterogeneous branches experienced lower levels of absenteeism and achieved higher productivity and financial profitability despite their lower scores on job satisfaction, organizational commitment and workplace coherence, and higher rates of turnover. These relationships were moderated by age, job tenure, organizational position, children's age, location of education and previous employment, birthplace and education level.     

Using workplace population statistics to understand retail store performance

We explore the value of recently released workplace geographies and accompanying census-based workplace zone statistics (WZS) and an associated classification of workplace zones (COWZ). We consider how these data could support retailers in their operational and strategic decision-making, including the evaluation of retail demand and retail store performance in localities where trade is driven by non-residential demand. In collaboration with major UK grocery retailer The Co-operative Group we explore the relationship between workplace population composition and store trading characteristics using a series of case study stores within Inner London. We use empirical store trading data to identify store and product category level temporal sales fluctuations attributable to workplace populations. We also use census-derived flow data to identify the spatial origins of workplace population inflow. We identify that store performance exhibits characteristics attributable to demand driven by these populations. We conclude that workplace population geographies, WZS and the COWZ afford considerable potential for understanding drivers of store performance, observed store trading patterns and evaluation of retail store performance. We suggest that the next step is to build these populations and their micro geography spatial and temporal characteristics into predictive models and evaluate their potential for store performance evaluation and location-based store and network decision-making within this sector.     

Uncovering the relationship between workaholism and workplace destructive and constructive deviance: an exploratory study

Given the significant social and economic costs and/or benefits associated with workplace deviance, researchers have been interested in examining the antecedents of deviant behaviour. Similarly, as the incidence of workaholism has increased, there has been a need to further understand the positive and negative consequences of workaholism in an organizational context. This exploratory study examined the relationship of three workaholism components with measures of workplace destructive and constructive deviance. Data were collected from 142 male and female employees working in six companies in Brazil using anonymously completed questionnaires. The results suggest that the workaholism components were significantly related to two measures of deviance. This provides partial support for the hypothesized relationship. Future research directions and practical implications are discussed.