A multilevel, identity-based approach to leadership development

A frontier of leadership development is examined involving the respective roles of levels-of-analysis and identity in constructing an integrated development system. An approach is described in which individual and relational leadership identities are the focus of developmental efforts at lower organizational levels (e.g., individual contributor and first-level supervisor) but collective identities become the focus at higher levels (e.g., general manager and above). The separate areas of levels-of-analysis and leader identities are first discussed in terms of their respective relevance to leadership development. These are then discussed jointly in elaborating on a proposed development approach that integrates across organizational levels as well as levels of development (i.e., leader development and leadership development). In developing collective leadership identities, processes that involve participants in engaging across boundaries (functional, hierarchical, geographical) are recommended.     

Bayesian forecasting of electoral outcomes with new parties’ competition

We propose a new methodology for predicting electoral results that combines a fundamental model and national polls within an evidence synthesis framework. Although novel, the methodology builds upon basic statistical structures, largely modern analysis of variance type models, and it is carried out in open-source software. The methodology is motivated by the specific challenges of forecasting elections with the participation of new political parties, which is becoming increasingly common in the post-2008 European panorama. Our methodology is also particularly useful for the allocation of parliamentary seats, since the vast majority of available opinion polls predict at national level whereas seats are allocated at local level. We illustrate the advantages of our approach relative to recent competing approaches using the 2015 Spanish Congressional Election. In general, the predictions of our model outperform the alternative specifications, including hybrid models that combine fundamental and polls models. Our forecasts are, in relative terms, particularly accurate in predicting the seats obtained by each political party.     

Firm heterogeneity, productivity and spatially bounded knowledge externalities

In this paper, we argue that conceptually disentangling the ‘context versus composition’ aspects of regional growth is a multilevel issue. By applying multilevel models (also called random-effects models), we show (1) the importance of considering firm-specific characteristics simultaneously with region-specific characteristics, as we find that a large part of what is traditionally assigned to the impact of the region should be assigned to firm-specific characteristics and (2) that existing single-level methodologies can be problematic, as they are vulnerable to the charge of estimating significance levels that are too liberally assigned and promote exaggerations. This is illustrated empirically by showing that single-level approaches would lead to the conclusion that innovation spillovers are highly significant in a setting of Dutch urban growth differentials, while multilevel analyses shows less liberally assigned significance levels. We conclude that multilevel-effect models better fit research questions that combine firm and spatial characteristics simultaneously, especially because they allow firm-specific characteristics to be differently linked to their regional contexts.     

International heterogeneity in the associations of new business models and broadband Internet with music revenue and piracy

Broadband Internet has fundamentally changed business models in many industries. In the music industry, for instance, old business models were challenged by illegal competitors, and broadband Internet has enabled value creation through new business models. The changes that established business models experienced in the wake of broadband Internet, however, differed vastly across national markets, and these differences are not well understood. We build a conceptual framework and study the extent to which differences in economic and cultural factors are associated with different market outcomes in the wake of the proliferation of broadband Internet. Thus, we compile two unique data sets from the music industry, comprising (1) revenue data for 36 countries and 22 years and (2) piracy data for 47 countries and >2 years. We use a Bayesian multilevel model to explore between-country heterogeneity in the associations between these variables and broadband Internet adoption and business model innovations. Our results show that the negative association between broadband Internet penetration and music revenue is weaker in high-income countries, where income restrictions are less likely to drive demand towards illegitimate piracy services. In terms of cultural factors, we find that a market's response to the introduction of broadband Internet is less negative in countries scoring high on Hofstede's individualism and uncertainty avoidance dimensions. Furthermore, we find that overall revenues only recover after the latest generation of streaming services (e.g., Spotify) has been introduced, and the adoption of these services is associated with lower levels of online music piracy.     

The importance of the firm and destination effects to explain firm performance

An interesting question in tourism management is why tourist firms obtain different performance levels. Firm performance in the tourism industry depends mainly on the destination where the company operates (location or destination effect), and on firm internal resources and characteristics (firm effect). The purpose of this paper is to determine the relative importance of the firm and destination effects using a multilevel approach and hierarchical linear models. The findings show that both effects impact significantly on firm performance, and also that the firm effect is more important than the destination effect. We equally provide some insights about the relationships between these two levels with the aim of building bridges between them.     

Coaching and employee organizational citizenship behaviours: The role of procedural justice climate

This study investigates how the level of procedural justice climate (PJC) in a group may reduce or increase the impact of coaching behaviour of department managers on the organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) of their subordinates in the hospitality sector. The sample consists of 40 department managers and 176 employees of 12 five star hotels operating in Northern Cyprus. A multilevel analysis using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) was utilized due to the nested nature of employees in their corresponding departments. Effective coaching is especially more important in departments where procedural justice climate is low. When the PJC is low, the role of effective coaching becomes imperative for OCBs of employees. In line with the substitutes for leadership theory, the higher levels of PJC serve as a substitute for coaching.     

Organizational identification as a determinant of customer orientation in service organizations

The marketing literature suggests that frontline employees are the central determinant of how customer-oriented a service organization is perceived to be by its customers. However, little is known about the contingencies of employees’ customer orientation (CO) beyond personality traits and broadly construed work attitudes. Based on the social identity approach, the present article develops a multilevel model whereby CO is the result of identity-based management of frontline employees. Two empirical studies in the travel industry show that employees’ CO depends on employees’ organizational identification and their leaders’ acting as role models of CO.     

Multilevel psychic distance and its impact on SME internationalization

We expand the conceptualization of psychic distance and use a multilevel framework by studying it as a founder’s psychic distance in the pre-entry phase of entering a specific foreign market, and the SMEs (firm) psychic distance in the post-entry phase of entering that specific foreign market. Based on qualitative research involving six SMEs’ with 18 internationalization events, we found that psychic distance at country and business levels causes difficulties for SMEs in the post-entry phase because of their lack of knowledge. Bridge-makers possessing knowledge about target markets help SMEs to overcome psychic distance challenges. Trust in the relationship with the bridge-maker is an important ingredient to gain knowledge that alleviates the SMEs’ psychic distance challenges. Finally, we go beyond country-business levels of psychic distance by showing that psychic distance also matters at bridge-maker level. This relates to their lack of knowledge about the target market and SMEs’ routines.     

Longitudinal analysis versus cross-sectional analysis in assessing the factors influencing shoppers’ impulse purchase behavior – Do the store ambience and salesperson interactions really matter?

Numerous studies in the marketing literature focused on consumer behavior in general, but relatively few studies have examined Impulse purchase behavior (IPB). Although few studies examined IPB, the vast majority of the studies were conducted using the cross-sectional design. These studies suffer from certain limitations like random measurement error, common method bias, causality & validity-related issues that are inherently associated with the cross-sectional design. Despite these limitations, very few studies have examined the IPB using the longitudinal design. Multilevel structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) is conducted in the study to analyze the longitudinal data for examining the changes in the causal effects of the factors influencing the shoppers' IPB over a period of time. Additionally, structural equation modeling (SEM) is conducted to examine changes in the causal effects of the factors influencing IPB at each time point of data collection. Drawing upon the stern's model and stimulus-organism-response model, the study examines the causal effects of the factors influencing the IPB. The results of ML-SEM indicate significant fluctuations in the factors influencing IPB over time. Similarly, the results of SEM indicates that few factors (like store ambience and salesperson interactions) have shown a significant influence on IPB in the initial time points (i.e., during the initial store visits of shoppers), but became insignificant over a period of time in their subsequent store visits. The findings suggest that the store crowd, secondary customers influence, and in-store promotions show a significant influence on the IPB, compared to the store ambience and salesperson interactions.     

A multilevel perspective on organizational buying behavior in coopetition–an exploratory case study

This article offers a new and interesting perspective on organizational buying behavior by focusing on the simultaneous existence of both cooperation and competition, that is, coopetition. Coopetition may bring undesired knowledge leaks, opportunism, and weakened competitive advantage, and it is therefore important to understand how coopetition develops over time through interrelated activities on multiple levels. The article aims to improve our understanding of the development of organizational buying behavior through adopting a multilevel perspective on coopetition. The empirical study is based on exploratory case study research involving a single case from the manufacturing sector featuring a large multinational buyer and its supplier. The findings of the study show that organizational buying behavior in coopetition develops through interrelated activities on the individual, the organizational, and the relational level. Over time, dominating activities evolve from being ambivalent on an individual level to become authoritative on a company level and finally to being opportunistic on a relational level. Theoretically, this study contributes to organizational buying behavior literature by examining coopetition from a multilevel perspective. From a managerial perspective, the findings establish the importance of recognizing individual-, and organizational-level activities.