Instrumental variables estimation: Assumptions,pitfalls, and guidelines

Researchers striving to ensure rigor in their scientific findings face a common pitfall: Endogeneity. To tackle this problem, scholars have increasingly adopted instrumental variables estimation (IVE). Although there are many published works showing how IVE should be used, many applied researchers still have trouble understanding how to use the method correctly. In this article, we provide a methodological overview of IVE by discussing the underlying conditions valid instruments must satisfy as well as common mistakes made in using IVE. Using simulated data, we further demonstrate the sensitivity of IVE to violations of its conditions. We then take stock of the literature in a social science discipline (i.e., leadership research) and provide insights regarding trends and shortcomings in the application of IVE. Based on our review, we categorize the different types of instruments used and discuss the potential appropriateness of each type. We conclude by providing non–technical guidelines targeted at the study design, analysis, and reporting phases, which will help applied social science researchers to ensure they use IVE correctly.     

Customer negative events and employee service sabotage: The roles of employee hostility,personality and group affective tone

Abstract

In the service industries, customer negative events towards a service provider, such as unreasonable demands or low-quality interpersonal treatment, might trigger service sabotage behaviours by the employee in response. Mitigating the problems associated with customer negative events is therefore an important issue for both practitioners and researchers. In the present study, we incorporate the perspectives of affective events theory into our research framework to clarify the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the customer negative event–service sabotage relationship in the context of face-to-face service. Specifically, we theorize and examine whether customer negative events lead to employee service sabotage through emotional reactions of the service worker (i.e. state hostility) and whether their personality traits (i.e. extraversion and neuroticism) and the work unit context (i.e. group affective tone) moderate this process. The sample was composed of 195 hairstylists and 61 managers from 61 hair salons in Taiwan. The results of hierarchical linear modelling showed that hairstylists' state hostility mediated the negative event–sabotage relationship. In addition, hairstylists' neuroticism and the affective tone of the unit moderated the relationship between negative events and state hostility, which in turn predicted service sabotage. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.     

Understanding knowledge transfer in M&As: An integration of resource orchestration and social capital theories and evidence from UK acquiring firms

Whileknowledge transfer is one of the key components in determining Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) success, the current M&A literature has produced inconsistent findings regarding its antecedents and consequences. To address this research gap, this study explores the roles of functional integration and shared goals in facilitating knowledge transfer, which will in turn determine M&A success. To provide a more nuanced understanding of knowledge transfer, this study examines bilateral knowledge flows (e.g., knowledge transfer to a target firm from the UK acquiring firm and knowledge transfer from a target firm to the UK acquiring firm). Our research framework is built upon two different theoretical perspectives, namely resource orchestration and social capital theories. Our propositions were tested empirically across a sample of 131 UK cross-border M&A firms. Our results reveal that the affirmative roles of functional integration and shared goals in increasing knowledge transfer both to and from a target firm are confirmed and that knowledge transfer to the target firm is deemed decisive for M&A success. Based on the findings, we discuss theoretical and practical implications, followed by limitations and future study consideration.     

Relational Leadership Theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing

Relational leadership is a relatively new term in the leadership literature, and because of this, its meaning is open to interpretation. In the present article I describe two perspectives of relational leadership: an entity perspective that focuses on identifying attributes of individuals as they engage in interpersonal relationships, and a relational perspective that views leadership as a process of social construction through which certain understandings of leadership come about and are given privileged ontology. These approaches can be complementary, but their implications for study and practice are quite different. After reviewing leadership research relative to these two perspectives I offer Relational Leadership Theory (RLT) as an overarching framework for the study of leadership as a social influence process through which emergent coordination (e.g., evolving social order) and change (e.g., new approaches, values, attitudes, behaviors, ideologies) are constructed and produced. This framework addresses relationships both as an outcome of investigation (e.g., How are leadership relationships produced?) and a context for action (e.g., How do relational dynamics contribute to structuring?). RLT draws from both entity and relational ontologies and methodologies to more fully explore the relational dynamics of leadership and organizing.     

How Governance Misalignment and Outsourcing Capability Impact Performance

Notwithstanding the popularity of outsourcing as a business strategy, the performance benefits realized through outsourcing efforts are observed to be mixed in practice. This leads to important unresolved questions regarding why some firms are able to derive substantial value from their outsourcing initiatives while other firms are left disappointed. This study joins an emerging literature integrating transaction cost economics and capabilities‐based perspectives to develop a deeper understanding of the drivers of outsourcing performance. I develop a theoretical model that examines the independent and joint influence of governance misalignment (i.e., deviation from transaction cost's predicted mode of governance) and a firm's outsourcing capability on the performance of outsourced processes. I test the theoretical model using a dataset of 172 outsourced and 156 in‐house processes. The finding that governance misalignment corresponds to inferior process performance supports transaction cost's discriminating alignment hypothesis. Interestingly, I also find that a retained technical expertise (TE) and outsourcing knowledge management routines (OKMR; both contributors to a firm's outsourcing capability) positively influence outsourcing performance both directly and via their relationship with governance misalignment. While a retained technical expertise and outsourcing knowledge management routines each positively influence outsourcing performance, they do so in distinctive ways. These findings have important managerial implications and make a significant theoretical contribution. Specifically, this study demonstrates that the notion of a governance misalignment is firm‐specific, conditional on the governance capabilities of the organization. This insight underscores the value of integrating transaction cost logic with capabilities‐based perspectives.     

What drives alignment between offered and perceived well-being initiatives in organizations? A cross-case analysis of employer–employee shared strategic intentionality

This study investigates the conditions of alignment between an organization's business strategy and the well-being initiatives (WBIs) offered to employees and employees' perceptions of the latter. We conducted a comparative study on the conditions of alignment between offered and perceived WBIs in three companies with different business strategies. Findings highlight that the alignment between offered and perceived benefits depends on what we label as “shared strategic intentionality”: (1) how employers use their understanding of the organization's business strategy to craft WBIs and (2) employees' attributions about why their employers offer WBIs the way they do and of the broader understanding of the organization's business strategy. We contribute to the strategic HRM literature by proposing an integrative position with regard to the macro (i.e., employer-focused) and micro (i.e., employee-focused) research traditions. Our position has the advantage of looking at employers' intentions and at employees' attributions of intentions simultaneously, and unravels the central role of business strategy in shaping their alignment. From a practical standpoint, not only do we bring a more nuanced understanding of the strategic HRM challenges faced by employers and employees in settings with different business strategies, but we also initiate a discussion about the traps and best practices associated with configuring effective WBIs in organizations.     

社会危机背景下的联结行动说服策略研究 ——基于社交媒体中的用户生成内容文本分析

近年来的社会危机事件表明,社交媒体平台已成为传播信息、开展联结行动的主流社会报道工具。基于决策与推理的双系统说服模型—启发式与系统式处理,本文通过微博平台定量地探讨了联结行动中积极分子的用户生成内容(UGC)与公众参与间的复杂关系。借鉴道德判断和认知加工文献,视道德呼吁内容为启发式线索,功利呼吁内容为系统式线索,考察其重要性,并从情绪唤醒的角度研究了社会危机中常见的两种消极离散情感:焦虑和悲伤。利用两个不同社会危机期间(2016年魏则西事件和2018年泰国沉船事件)的数据集,结合机器学习算法与负二项回归模型,发现两类呼吁性内容均可刺激普通用户作为扩散者参与联结行动。同时,嵌入在UGC中的悲伤情绪增加了道德呼吁的重要性,而焦虑情绪则促进了功利呼吁的正向影响。实证结果对联结行动的行动者、危机管理者和应急救援部门都具有重要的现实意义。     

Revamping research on unrelated diversification strategy: perspectives,opportunities and challenges for future inquiry

With the aim of achieving an advanced understanding of current research on unrelated diversification and providing fruitful groundwork to foster active interchange between disciplinary traditions, this paper detects articles from two relevant research streams; i.e., strategic management and financial economics. We first provide a brief overview of management thinking on unrelated diversification strategy. Then, we present a conceptual map that offers a comprehensive appreciation of unrelated diversification strategy antecedents (i.e., environmental and institutional, organizational value-enhancing, and managerial drivers), implementation process (i.e., managerial complexity, misallocation of resources, and structural inertia), and consequences (i.e., diversification premiums and discounts). Finally, we unpack the major gaps in our current knowledge that may help refocus the research agenda on unrelated diversification strategy and revamp the apparent waning proclivity of this issue.     

Intergenerational resource tensions in the workplace and beyond: Individual,interpersonal, institutional,international

The workforce is rapidly aging. Already at record highs, labor force participation rates of both over-55 and over-65 age segments are expected to nearly double in the immediate future. The current chapter describes how these sweeping demographic changes necessitate both the unprecedented utilization of older workers and intergenerational collaboration, but also present the danger of heightened generational tension. We describe the specific risk factors for such tensions, highlighting the presence of generational boundaries at multiple levels: (a) individual, (b) interpersonal, (c) institutional, and (d) international. Drawing from our own work and relevant management literature, we then identify three broad domains within which intergenerational tensions are particularly salient at each of these levels: active Succession tensions over enviable resources and influence (e.g., employment), passive Consumption tensions over shared asset usage (e.g., healthcare) and symbolic Identity tensions over figurative space (e.g., cultural fit) (SCI). We conclude with suggestions for potential interventions, and major open areas for future organizational research, both of which should focus on how to maximize the utility of unprecedented intergenerational collaboration.     

Effects of Accurate and Inaccurate Feedback on Work Performance: The Role of the Awareness of Inaccuracy

ABSTRACT

This study compared the effects of accurate (i.e., contingent) and inaccurate (i.e., non-contingent) feedback on work performance under two different work conditions. Under one work condition, participants could clearly see the outcome of their performance (i.e., visible condition). Under the other condition, they could not clearly see the outcome of their performance (i.e., non-visible condition). One hundred and twenty participants were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions (i.e., accurate/visible, inaccurate/visible, accurate/non-visible, and inaccurate/non-visible) and asked to perform a simulated work task. The results indicated that inaccurate feedback was as effective as accurate feedback under the non-visible condition, but inaccurate feedback was less effective than accurate feedback under the visible condition.     

Impact of Customer Traffic and Service Process Outsourcing Levels on e‐Retailer Operational Performance

Many service firms deliver services via a mix of internally developed and delivered (i.e., insourced) and externally developed and delivered (i.e., outsourced) service processes. Service process outsourcing is especially common in e‐retailing. Portions of e‐retail customer ordering processes and delivery processes can be digitized and contracted to third‐party vendors. Via outsourcing, service systems change from dyadic to triadic. Prior research examines consumer perceptions of dyadic (consumer to e‐retailer) outcomes, but little research considers service co‐delivery with outsourcing partners (i.e., triadic systems). Literature also does not focus on joint associations of service process outsourcing and customer traffic with e‐retailer operations. We analyze several years of data on North American e‐retailers. We first examine factors associated with e‐retailer outsourcing levels, for front‐end and back‐end service processes. We observe customer traffic is positively associated with future outsourcing. We then examine how outsourcing moderates associations between contemporaneous customer traffic and e‐retailer operational performance, as measured by numbers of processed orders, website response times, and customer satisfaction. Results suggest outsourcing levels are associated with operational outcomes, yet surprisingly, high outsourcing and high traffic jointly may not benefit e‐retailers.     

Researchers' Perspectives on Supply Chain Risk Management

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) is a nascent area emerging from a growing appreciation for supply chain risk by practitioners and by researchers. However, there is diverse perception of research in supply chain risk because these researchers have approached this area from different domains. This paper presents our study of this diversity from the perspectives of operations and supply chain management scholars: First, we reviewed the researchers' output, i.e., the recent research literature. Next, we surveyed two focus groups (members of Supply Chain Thought Leaders and International SCRM groups) with open‐ended questions. Finally, we surveyed operations and supply chain management researchers during the 2009 INFORMS meeting in San Diego. Our findings characterize the diversity in terms of three “gaps”: a definition gap in how researchers define SCRM, a process gap in terms of inadequate coverage of response to risk incidents, and a methodology gap in terms of inadequate use of empirical methods. We also list ways to close these gaps as suggested by the researchers.     

Continued usage of technology versus situational factors: An empirical analysis

Mainstream technology management literature suggests that research on continued usage of technology is largely based on two perspectives, namely (i) a forward-looking perspective that underpins the technology acceptance model (TAM), and (ii) a retrospective perspective that is based on the expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT). We propose an extended framework to re-examine continued usage of technology by combining these two perspectives and incorporating individual, social and environmental factors as additional variables. Our study, in the context of users’ continued usage of e-learning tools, reveals that in addition to user satisfaction and perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, system service support and social pressure are significant factors that affect continued usage of technology. Our findings enrich the theoretical framework of continued usage of technology, and provide e-learning developers with managerial insights on how to entice learners to continue using their e-learning tools.     

基于顾客心理期望等待时间的服务策略研究

顾客在排队系统获取服务时，会存在心理上的期望等待时间，该期望会影响顾客在排队系统中的行为变化和流动，从而影响企业收益。本文以传统的M/M/1排队系统为背景，基于顾客存在期望等待时间的前提下，以企业收益最大化为优化目标进行研究。首先，对相应基础理论和模型假设进行介绍；其次，对顾客存在心理期望等待时间情形提出三种新的策略：重新定价、通过折扣对顾客期望值进行调整、提高服务率；然后，分别对上述三种策略进行优化分析，并同现有结果进行比较；研究表明：三种策略都比维持原有定价带来更大收益；当折扣力度较小时或顾客对费用感知强于时间感知时，折扣策略优于重新定价策略；当折扣力度较大或顾客对时间感知强于费用感知时，重新定价策略优于折扣策略；最后，通过对最优结果分析提出相应管理启示。本文的研究对于顾客存在心理期望等待时间的服务定价具有重要的指导意义和实际应用价值。     

Leadership behavior and employee well-being: An integrated review and a future research agenda

Leadership behavior has a significant impact on employee behavior, performance and well-being. Extant theory and research on leadership behavior, however, has predominantly focused on employee performance, treating employee well-being (typically measured as job satisfaction) as a secondary outcome variable related to performance, rather than as an important outcome in and of itself. This qualitative state of the science review examines the process by which leadership behavior (i.e., change, relational, task, passive) affects employee well-being. We identify five mediator groupings (social-cognitive, motivational, affective, relational, identification), extend the criterion space for conceptualizing employee well-being (i.e., psychological: hedonic, eudaimonic, negative; and physical), examine the limited evidence for differential processes that underlie the leader behavior-employee well-being relationship and discuss theoretical and methodological problems inherent to the literature. We conclude by proposing a theoretical framework to guide a future research agenda on how, why and when leadership behavior impacts employee well-being.     

Operations Strategy Research in the POMS Journal

In this paper, we examine the operations strategy literature in the POMS journal to determine what has been learned and to suggest new directions for further study in this important area of research. Our review of this literature resulted in the selection of thirty‐one relevant articles, many of which draw upon multiple theoretical perspectives. We identify eight such theoretical perspectives, and go on to classify these perspectives in terms of the scope of inquiry employed in the research (focused versus aggregated) and the researcher's assumptions about choice processes (behavioral versus rational). In doing so, we show that this body of work is dominated by papers that draw upon theoretical perspectives enabling a more holistic scope of inquiry, with a bias towards a view of strategy as a highly rational process. Building on our systematic review and integration of the literature, we suggest multiple areas for future research.     

Decoupling thinking in service operations: a case in healthcare delivery system design

The notion of decoupling thinking has been well established in the manufacturing operations and supply chain management literature. This paper explores how this decoupling thinking can be applied in service operations and in particular in health care. It first reviews the relevant literature on decoupling fundamentals, the front- and back-office distinction, and new emerging decoupling thinking in service operations. Subsequently, a flow-based framework including content and process is developed for decoupling thinking in service operations. The framework provides an integrated perspective on customer contact, flow driver and flow differentiation (level of customisation). The framework hence, through flow differentiation, introduces the concept of standardisation versus customisation in a service context. This is followed by a health care case example to illustrate how the framework can be applied. The managerial implications are primarily in terms of a modularised approach to system design and management. The framework offers potential for benchmarking with other service systems as well as with manufacturing systems based on the shared foundation in decoupling thinking. Finally, suggestions are provided for further research opportunities derived from this research.     

Online Intermediary as a Channel for Selling Quality‐Differentiated Services

When deciding whether to utilize an online intermediary in addition to their own distribution channels, quality differentiated service providers face the trade‐off between the benefit of extended reach and the threat of increased competition. Using an analytical framework, we analyze when and how service providers may utilize an online intermediary to their advantage in the presence of advance selling (i.e., selling a service at an early date for future consumption). In general, when an online intermediary is used, the competition effect dominates the reach effect and leads to a falling price trend. Interestingly, we find that the negative effect of increased competition on profits, due to intermediary usage, can be reversed by committing to self‐imposed participation limits (i.e., selling only a predetermined amount of services through the online intermediary). This ensures that the service provider is better off selling through both its own site and the online intermediary, rather than selling exclusively using either channel.      

Innovative Knowledge Transfer Patterns of Group-Affiliated Companies: The effects on the Performance of Foreign Subsidiaries

The objectives of this paper are to determine the patterns of innovative knowledge transfer strategies of globalized group-affiliated companies (GACs) from emerging markets and to assess the effects of these patterns on the performance of foreign subsidiaries. The sample are comprised of 52 Korean business groups, called chaebols, which consist of 181 parent firms and their 1,068 foreign subsidiaries as of the end of 2009. In the study, we employ the perspectives of organizational learning and internal resource-based theories of the organization, and the results are assessed based on cluster and post-hoc regression analyses. The authors identify five distinct groups of innovative knowledge transfer patterns, i.e., 1) small inactivator, 2) hyperactive transferor, 3) laissez faire exploiter, 4) hands-on exchange avoider, and 5) moderate researcher. Our cluster and post-hoc regression analyses support the main hypotheses, i.e., 1) there will be differences in patterns of innovative knowledge transfer strategies of globalized GACs within chaebols; and 2) these differences will influence the performance of foreign subsidiaries. Our contribution to the extant literature is to fill the vacuum that exists in the current empirical studies on 1) a positive vs. negative balance of exploratory and exploitative innovative knowledge exchanges among GACs within a business group and 2) the phenomenal patterns of innovative knowledge transfer and their effects on the performance of foreign subsidiaries in the context of emerging market GACs. Therefore, our analyses advance the research in the area of innovative knowledge management in the context of the emerging market business groups.