How uncivil customers corrode the relationship between frontline employees and retailers

This study investigates the effects of customers’ uncivil treatments on frontline retail employees’ emotions, deviant behaviors and relationship with the retail organization. Our theoretical model is based on both marketing and personnel management literatures. 415 frontline retailing American employees answered our questionnaire. Employees treated uncivilly by customers feel angry but have to hide their negative emotions, which leads them to emotional exhaustion and deviant behaviors. Paradoxically, employees’ strong commitment to their retailing organization brings about more deviant behaviors. We propose some managerial strategies to cope with uncivil customers, as well as future research on this important and under-researched topic.     

Constructive deviance as a driver for performance in retail

A growing body of research is concerned with deviance in the workplace. While much research has explored negative forms of deviance, we examine constructive deviance: behaviour that deviates from salient norms and benefits the reference group. We empirically explore manifestations, determinants and performance outcomes of constructive deviance in standardised work processes. We do this through a mixed-methods study in bakery trading departments of an Australian retailer. We illustrate that constructive deviance occurs in these settings and show that some manifestations of constructive deviance improve organisational performance and pave the way for applying constructive deviance as a strategic tool in retail.     

传统观念弱化了辱虐管理的消极影响吗?——传统性的两阶段调节效应研究

以往研究认为持传统观念的员工(即传统性较高的员工)较少受到辱虐管理的消极影响,即认为传统性缓解了辱虐管理对上下级互动关系的消极影响,然而传统性缓解还是加剧了辱虐管理对员工心理福祉造成的损伤,传统性又如何影响员工心理福祉损伤与行为偏差之间的关系,这些问题没有得到关注。本文利用117份MBA学生两期调研数据和202份领导-员工配对数据进行研究发现:(1)辱虐管理与员工人格解体具有显著的正相关关系;(2)传统性加强了辱虐管理与人格解体之间的正相关关系;(3)传统性削弱了人格解体与人际指向偏差行为之间的正相关关系。与以往认为传统性缓解了辱虐管理消极影响的研究不同,本研究发现传统性加强了辱虐管理对员工心理福祉的损害,但削弱了心理福祉损伤与人际指向偏差行为之间的关系。     

Negative affectivity and workplace deviance: the moderating role of ethical climate

This study investigates (1) the relationship between employees’ trait of negative affectivity (NA) and workplace deviance and (2) the moderating role of ethical climate in the above relationship. Data was collected from 310 employees in 40 Taiwanese companies, and hierarchical linear modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that NA was positively related to workplace deviance. In addition, the rules climate weakened the relationship between NA and workplace deviance, and both the instrumental climate and the caring climate strengthened the relationship between NA and workplace deviance. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed.     

工作场所越轨行为的形态、员工反应与组织对策

工作场所越轨行为是指组织成员有意采取的针对其他组织成员或组织财物的违反组织重要主流规范的行为。本文旨在探讨当前工作场所越轨行为的形态特征、员工的反应以及工作场所越轨行为与组织对策间的关系。通过对580名员工的问卷调查,研究发现:(1)生产型过失、损公肥私与合作破坏行为是最常见的工作场所越轨行为类型;(2)员工最不能容忍的是违法行为与合作破坏行为;(3)视情形而定与沉默是员工较可能采取的对工作场所越轨行为的反应方式;(4)曝光与存档有利于防控生产型过失、损公肥私与合作破坏行为,定向引导有助于防控违法行为。     

Developing a multidimensional scale of customer-oriented deviance (COD)

Although frontline employees' bending of organizational rules and norms for customers is an important phenomenon, marketing scholars to date only broadly describe over-servicing behaviors and provide little distinction among deviant behavioral concepts. Drawing on research on pro-social and pro-customer behaviors and on studies of positive deviance, this paper develops and validates a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional construct term customer-oriented deviance. Results from two samples totaling 616 frontline employees (FLEs) in the retail and hospitality industries demonstrate that customer-oriented deviance is a four-dimensional construct with sound psychometric properties. Evidence from a test of a theoretical model of key antecedents establishes nomological validity with empathy/perspective-taking, risk-taking propensity, role conflict, and job autonomy as key predictors. Results show that the dimensions of customer-oriented deviance are distinct and have significant implications for theory and practice.     

The normalization of deviance in healthcare delivery

Many serious medical adversities result from violations of recognized standards of practice. Over time, even egregious violations of standards of practice may become “normalized” in healthcare delivery systems. This article describes what leads to this normalization and explains why flagrant practice deviations can persist for years, despite the importance of the standards at issue. This article also provides recommendations to aid healthcare organizations in identifying and managing unsafe practice deviations before they become normalized and pose genuine risks to patient safety, quality care, and employee morale.     

Auditors gone wild: The “other” problem in public accounting

Following the scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, and Qwest Communications, the accounting profession has spent the past several years trying to get back on track. While Sarbanes-Oxley may improve the decision-making of audit professionals, and help prevent future large-scale catastrophes that hurt stockholders and bring down firms, there is another problem in public accounting that few consider and nobody has proposed to solve: deviant workplace behavior. Previous research describes deviant workplace behavior as the voluntary behavior of organizational members that violates significant organizational norms and, in so doing, threatens the well being of the organization and/or its members. Building from recent work in various business literatures, this is the first research since the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley to examine workplace deviance at Big 4 accounting firms. Taking a cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach, the authors endeavor to explain why workplace deviance has infiltrated accounting firms and how it is undermining their effectiveness and derailing their long-term prospects for success. After describing its genesis and effects, the authors prescribe several managerial strategies for preventing deviance and minimizing its effects on a firm.     

Deviant behavior in retail,when sales associates “Go Bad”! Examining the relationship between the work–family interface,job stress,and salesperson deviance

The unique role of retail sales associates combined with retailers desire to establish relational selling, make associates vulnerable to work–family conflict (WFC). Unfortunately, research examining how retail sales associates cope with a WFC is limited. This research investigates relationships between WFC, job stress, and three dimensions of salesperson deviance: organizational, interpersonal, and frontline. Findings indicate that WFC has a significant direct effect on all three deviant behaviors, as well as job stress. Interestingly, the relationship between job stress and deviant behavior is not significant. This finding adds to the debate regarding job stress as a mediator between WFC and deviant behavior or outcome variable.     

差序式领导对知识型员工建设性越轨行为的影响机制研究

建设性越轨行为是员工在亲社会动机驱动下所表现的角色外行为,现已成为组织管理学界日益关注的重要问题,而差序式领导作为中国特有的领导风格之一,到底会促进还是抑制员工建设性越轨行为的结论不一。文章基于我国文化情景,以16家企业的394名知识型员工作为调研样本,构建差序式领导对建设性越轨行为影响的关系模型,鉴于员工动机和行为结果是由个体感知和组织环境刺激交互效应所导致,故引入个体层次的内生动机、内部人身份感知以及组织层次的团队动机氛围分别作为中介变量和调节变量。实证结果表明,差序式领导对建设性越轨行为具有显著正向影响,内生动机对该影响途径具有完全中介效应;差序式领导与建设性越轨行为的关系均受到内部人身份感知、精熟动机氛围的正向调节效应,受到绩效动机氛围的负向调节效应,且各部分调节效应均被内生动机所中介。研究结论揭示了差序式领导对知识型员工建设性越轨行为的影响机理,对指导组织管理者如何科学对待员工建设性越轨行为提供了理论指导和实践指引。