Social exchange: Empirical examination of form and focus

We investigate similarities and differences among prominent types of social exchange (psychological contract fulfillment, perceived organizational support, trust in the organization, leader-member exchange, and trust in the supervisor) and propose that two higher-order factors represent social exchanges with the organization and with the supervisor. We investigate their prediction of important employee work attitudes, citizenship behaviors, and performance. Based on data from 448 employees, empirical tests support the existence of organization- and supervisor-directed social exchanges. Tests using structural equation modeling support unique predictions of attitudinal and behavioral work outcomes.     

Multilevel Information Presentation Strategy and Customer Reaction: An Empirical Investigation in an Online Setting

This study investigates the use of polyinstantiated information in management of customer relationships. Polyinstantiation can be used to present different information to different customers who are segmented according to some criterion, such as prior purchase behavior. An empirical study shows that presentation of multilevel benefits information affects customer satisfaction with the offer and information quality which, in turn, affect the overall Web satisfaction. This effect is independent of and comparable in size to the effect of customer prior attitude toward the Web and the Internet. Although the present study employs a Web-based retail setting, the relationships between this information presentation approach and measures of user/consumer satisfaction need not be limited to retail scenarios or to online interactions. We discuss the applicability of this technique of information control to different types of interactions between organizations and their constituents.     

Team deep-level diversity,relationship conflict,and team members' affective reactions: A cross-level investigation

Drawing from recent advances in the study of deep-level diversity in work teams and the similarity–attraction paradigm, this study examines the ways in which diversity in personality characteristics and preference for teamwork among team members influences the relationship between relationship conflict and subsequent team member affective reactions. Using a longitudinal, multilevel sample of 53 teams (260 respondents), results reveal that similarity or homogeneity in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability weakens the negative influence of relationship conflict on team member affective reactions, while heterogeneity in extraversion and preference for teamwork also weakens these relationships. A discussion of theoretical and practical implications follows.     

Trust-opportunism paradox,relationalism, and performance in interfirm relationships: evidence from the retail industry

Building on recent theoretical work documenting that interorganizational relationships (IORs) are ‘multifaceted and multiplex’ we investigate, from the agent's perspective, the joint effects of trust and opportunism in fostering (or inhibiting) relationalism, which, in turn, is predicted to influence performance within interfirm exchange relationships. Based on longitudinal survey data on 409 catalog intermediaries affiliated with a large retail firm, we found strong support for most of the hypothesized relationships. Implications for future research are offered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Translating Corporate Social Responsibility into Action: A Social Learning Perspective

Journal of Business Ethics - Interest in the microfoundations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has grown over the past decade. In this study, we draw on social learning theory to examine...     

An examination of the use of high‐investment human resource systems for core and support employees

In this study, we examine two competing perspectives regarding the relative use of high‐investment human resource (HIHR) systems for core and support employees within establishments. Using data from 420 establishments, we compare a universal perspective suggesting that the level of HIHR exposure core employees receive is always greater than the level of exposure for sup‐port employees, with a contingency perspective suggesting that the relative level of exposure for these employee groups is contingent on strategy, HR philosophy, or industry.The results did not provide support for the universal prediction that core employees always receive higher levels of exposure to HIHR systems than support employees within the same establishment. Moreover, while strategy and HR philosophy were positively related to the level of HIHR system use across establishments, they did not influence the relative level of exposure to HIHR systems for core and support employees. Interestingly, however, industry did exert a unique impact such that core em‐ployees received significantly greater exposure to HIHR systems than sup‐port employees in nonmanufacturing firms.There were no significant differ‐ences in exposure for these two groups in manufacturing industries. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.