Challenging the ‘dirty worker’—‘clean client’ dichotomy: Conceptualizing worker-client relations in dirty work

Dirty work research has long analytically prioritized focusing on the people who do dirty work, largely sidestepping who the clients of dirty work are and what contribution they can make to workers’ experience of the job as more or less dirty. We address these oversights through a systematic review and analysis of 65 articles, theorizing the role played by clients within dirty work. Firstly, we propose a three-fold categorization of dirty work clients based on their temporal-spatial proximity to the work and explain how clients can be a source of stigma through communicative and corporeal interactions with workers. Secondly, we collate existing discussions that mention worker-client relations into a conceptual framework of clients’ contributions to dirty work through considering several feedback loops between clients’ and workers’ behaviours and discourses. In doing so, we examine the ways in which clients can both reinforce and alleviate workers’ experience of dirty work stigma.     

Intermediate Units in Multinational Corporations: Advancing Theory on their Co‐parenting Role,Dynamics and Outcomes

Due to the dispersion of headquarters’ activities across organizational and geographical boundaries, intermediate units (IUs) are emerging as a key actor in international business. These units are intermediate structural layers between headquarters (HQ) and local subsidiaries with specific HQ responsibilities. Through a systematic review of 68 studies published between 1996 and 2020, we develop a conceptual framework that integrates complementary streams of theoretical and empirical research with IUs as the focal unit of analysis. Our aims are to disentangle how the main theories in this field address the antecedents of IU creation, and explain the dynamism in the roles and functions of IUs and their outcomes. We also propose a conceptualization of IUs as co‐parents in a dynamic system in which parenting functions are shared by IUs and headquarters. Finally, we highlight avenues for future research, emphasizing opportunities to advance the understanding of IUs using different theoretical lenses that may help scholars position their work within the broader stream of literature.     

The Corporate Headquarters in the Contemporary Corporation: Advancing a Multimarket Firm Perspective

Abstract

The corporate headquarters (CHQ) is the central organizational unit in the contemporary corporation and is critical for value creation in the overall firm. Since the early 1960s, a significant body of research on the CHQ has evolved along two separate but related streams. The first stream focuses on the CHQ in the multibusiness firm, whereas the second stream concerns the CHQ in the multinational firm. In this article, we promote a consistent multimarket firm perspective that draws on research in both streams. First, we describe the origins and evolution of CHQ research in each stream and articulate the benefits of a multimarket firm perspective. Second, we integrate the conversations found in the two streams into a schematic framework, review the studies' findings, and establish a shared language. We also propose ways in which scholars in each stream might enrich their work by incorporating some of the theories, methods, and findings of the other stream. Third, we discuss four fundamental inquiries for future research that draw upon the cumulative CHQ research in both streams. Overall, this article informs the study of the CHQ and, thereby, contributes to our understanding of the contemporary corporation.     

Identifying Demand and Supply of Part‐time Jobs Using Personnel Data. An Application to Italy

The percentage of part‐time workers in Italy is very low compared with most European countries. In this paper we try to contribute to an explanation. We use data on the employees of a large Italian company operating in the service sector, and apply a particular econometric framework that allows identification of potential demand and supply. We find that demand and supply are potentially very large on average, but they are difficult to match at the individual worker/job level. The firm might observe a relevant employee’s characteristics that are positively correlated with the employee’s propensity to a part‐time job but are negatively correlated with the profitability of that employee on that job. The firm might also use the revealed willingness to switch to a part‐time job as a sign that the employee is likely to be unprofitable for the company.     

Organizational climate and burnout in a New Zealand social service agency

A two-phase study was conducted on the relationship between organizational climate variables and burnout among personnel in a multifunction community service agency. Initial interviews with a small pilot sample identified major sources of stress, which were then incorporated into a second-phase questionnaire to all staff. Multiple regression analyses illustrated that perceived interactions between head office administrators and sections of the agency contributed significantly to emotional exhaustion, whereas perceptions of within-section interactions and involvement in decision-making had a positive impact on personal accomplishment. Perceived communication levels, however, were negatively related to personal accomplishment. The findings suggest the importance of organizational variables and highlight strategies for burnout reduction and effective stress management in human service organizations.     

Organizational climate and burnout in a New Zealand social service agency

Abstract

A two-phase study was conducted on the relationship between organizational climate variables and burnout among personnel in a multifunction community service agency. Initial interviews with a small pilot sample identified major sources of stress, which were then incorporated into a second-phase questionnaire to all staff. Multiple regression analyses illustrated that perceived interactions between head office administrators and sections of the agency contributed significantly to emotional exhaustion, whereas perceptions of within-section interactions and involvement in decision-making had a positive impact on personal accomplishment. Perceived communication levels, however, were negatively related to personal accomplishment. The findings suggest the importance of organizational variables and highlight strategies for burnout reduction and effective stress management in human service organizations.     

Linking long-term capacity management for manufacturing and service operations

For firms that combine manufacturing and service operations in one system, the task of managing capacity is not straightforward. New goods and services may not have the same set of competitive priorities, and the models and concepts available in the literature for service operations differ from those for manufacturing operations. We address this problem and review the concepts and models for capacity management in the long term in both streams of literature, i.e. manufacturing and services, to develop a unified framework for manufacturing and service operations. The framework creates transparency between new goods manufacturing and service operations, since the same long-term capacity management structure is used for both product types, as well as between capacity strategy and planning strategy, since new goods and services are treated simultaneously. In the framework, the concepts of chase and level strategies are redefined for service operations to allow for integration with manufacturing operations. A case study demonstrates the usefulness of the integrated approach for long-term capacity management.     

The nature of learning being facilitated by frontline managers

This article, which is based on research conducted at five Australian organizations, explores the role frontline managers play in promoting and facilitating learning at work, an area in the field of workplace learning and human resource development that has not been extensively researched. This article provides a brief review of the literature, outlines the theoretical framework and research methodology and design utilized and presents the research findings and a brief discussion. The results of this study suggest that frontline managers, who were considered leaders of learning within their respective organizations, take an instrumental approach to leading employee learning, that is, learning is seen largely as a mechanism for getting work done. Additional evidence suggests that some frontline managers provide a more expansive learning environment through the purposeful creation of conditions for learning for their employees, beyond the immediate focus on learning, simply for the purpose of getting the work done. A further finding is that much of what frontline managers do in the promotion and facilitation of employee learning is deeply embedded in the idea and practice of being an effective manager. It is hoped that the findings will provide guidance to human resource development and frontline managers in shaping learning at work.     

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.     

Developing Absorptive Capacity Theory for Public Service Organizations: Emerging UK Empirical Evidence

A strong public policy focus on high performance means that utilizing management knowledge effectively is at a premium for UK public service organizations. This study empirically examined two English public agencies to explore the inter‐sectoral transfer of a strategic management model originally developed in the private sector – absorptive capacity – which is one way of conceptualizing an organizational competence in such knowledge mobilization. Two theoretical contributions are made. First, a new absorptive capacity framework for public service organizations is developed which recognizes the participation of public agency project teams during an innovation process proceeding over time with phases of co‐creation, testing, metamorphosis and diffusion. Second, our novel framework modifies an early influential model of absorptive capacity. Counter to this model, we argue that realized absorptive capacity requires agency from skilled and embedded actors to turn ‘curbing routines’ into ‘enabling routines’ in all four stages. Project (middle) managers have flexibility in their roles to seize episodic moments of opportunity to innovate and achieve service delivery goals, and to build absorptive capacity capability. Absorptive capacity capability develops organically over time. Future research directions are discussed.     

The Job Demands-Resources Model in emergency service volunteers: Examining the mediating roles of exhaustion,work engagement and organizational connectedness

Using a sample of 887 volunteer emergency service workers in South Australia, we conducted a study based on the JD-R framework to examine the roles of three mediators in the relationship between job characteristics and volunteer well-being. These were (i) exhaustion as a mediator in the relationships between job demands and both poor mental health and turnover intentions; and (ii) work engagement and organizational connectedness as mediators in the relationships of job resources (training and organizational support) with happiness and turnover intentions. Organizational connectedness, a relatively new construct, is a positive state of well-being that involves an emotional connection with other workers, with service recipients and with aspects of the task and the organization's values. Results indicated that all three mediators were important in explaining volunteer well-being. Specifically, job demands were positively related to exhaustion, which, in turn, was linked to ill-health and turnover intentions. Job resources were positively related to work engagement and organizational connectedness, which were, in turn, negatively related to turnover intentions. However, while organizational connectedness mediated the relationship between job resources and happiness, this was not the case for work engagement. The roles of these variables in future research in paid and voluntary work are discussed.     

How digital visualizations shape strategy work on the frontlines

The scholarship on Open Strategy and the role of visualization in strategy work are maturing streams of research. Open Strategy scholarship has so far primarily focused on how employees can contribute ideas to strategy making. Also, the lion's share of strategy visualization research has been on the role of visuals in strategy development by top management. Therefore, focusing on the role that specific visualization features play, especially within strategy realization work by frontline employees, can contribute to the nexus of both streams of research. We attempt to do so by drawing on a qualitative interpretive case study of how a university faculty employed digital visualizations to implement a significant organizational turnaround strategy. The focus of the faculty was on strategically transforming the undergraduate curriculum to reverse quality drift and enrollment decline, while gaining international accreditation. The study findings highlight how digital visualizations' features (i.e., incorporating non-narrative elements, network depiction, and adaptive interface functionalities) influenced the realization phases of strategy understanding and strategy enactment. In particular, the study shows that the understanding of strategy appeared to be enhanced by three affordances, namely, affectivity, relationality, and interactivity of the visualization tools and their associated features. Our study further shows that frontline employees' work on strategy enactment was shaped simultaneously via both legibility affordances (aiding the enactment of strategy consistent with the original intent) and enunciability affordances (enabling the enactment of strategy beyond the original intent). We contribute to the literature by showing how digital visualizing features work together as a bundle of affordances reciprocally reinforcing each other and influencing the strategy realization work of frontline employees, thereby enhancing the understanding of strategy and aiding in its enactment.     

Shared service center research: A review of the past,present, and future

More than 75% of Fortune 500 companies have established models of shared services with the aim of gaining superior performance by cost savings and service enhancements. Despite scholars' complaints about scant shared service center (SSC) research, this study shows that the actual shortcoming in this stream concerns a high fragmentation of the academic literature (e.g., we found 137 works in the initial search and 83 works in a refined screen). In this first comprehensive literature review, we synthesize peer-reviewed articles and classify them into 4 perspectives according to their research questions (i.e., determinant, process, control, and outcome). We identify 17 major research areas across these perspectives. Additionally, we provide information on methodologies and theories. On the basis of the literature synthesis, we discuss opportunities and gaps and propose an agenda for future research. Specifically, we suggest 3 potential research directions (i.e., direct relationships, mediating, and outcome effects) regarding SSCs during their operational maturity phase.     

A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF A SERVICE GUARANTEE ON SERVICE QUALITY

This paper develops a theoretical framework that relates a service guarantee to service quality. The framework hypothesizes that a service guarantee can positively affect service quality through its positive effect on both learning through service failure and employee motivation and vision. A longitudinal, empirical study was conducted to test these hypotheses. Surprisingly, the service guarantee was not found to have a direct effect on learning through service failure. However, the service guarantee clearly had a positive effect on service quality primarily through its positive effect on employee motivation and vision. The research strongly supports using a service guarantee to improve service quality.     

调节焦点视角下工作压力对员工创造力的影响

基于调节焦点理论,本研究探讨了促进型调节焦点在挑战性工作压力和员工创造力之间、防御型调节焦点在阻碍性工作压力和员工创造力之间所起的中介作用,并根据社会信息处理理论,进一步探究了参与型领导在此过程中的调节作用。通过对202份调查问卷进行统计分析,得出以下研究结论:(1)挑战性工作压力能够诱发员工的促进型调节焦点,阻碍性工作压力能够诱发员工的防御型调节焦点;(2)促进型调节焦点在挑战性工作压力与员工创造力之间起中介作用,即挑战性工作压力通过增强促进型调节焦点继而提高员工创造力,防御型调节焦点在阻碍性工作压力与员工创造力之间的没有起到中介作用;(3)参与型领导增强了挑战性工作压力与促进型调节焦点之间的正向关系,并在这个模型中起调节作用;(4)参与型领导削弱了阻碍性工作压力与防御型调节焦点之间的正向关系,但并没有在整个模型中起到调节作用。以上研究为"如何使员工在沉重的工作压力下提高创造力"等问题提供了一个新的解释,具有重要的理论和实践意义。     

On‐Call Overtime for Service Workforce Scheduling when Demand Is Uncertain

This article builds on prior research to develop shift scheduling models that include on‐call overtime for service environments where demand is uncertain. The research is motivated by recent developments in nurse scheduling, such as laws prohibiting mandatory overtime and the popularity of self‐scheduling systems. For single‐period scenarios, models are developed, solution methods are described, and results are explored for a variety of environments. Results show that the use of on‐call overtime can reduce costs slightly, with the amount of savings dependent on characteristics of the scheduling environment. The factor that most significantly affects cost savings is the cost of outside agency workers relative to overtime workers. In addition to lowering costs, on‐call overtime greatly reduces reliance on outside agency workers, which can have important practical implications in terms of quality of service and workforce morale. Results based on single‐period models motivate multiperiod formulations for single‐ and multidepartment scenarios, and solution methods are outlined for those cases. The possibility of using multiperiod models within a rolling horizon framework with forecast updating is discussed. This goes along with an extension of the traditional workforce management hierarchy that separates overtime and regular‐time scheduling, as seen in practice with self‐scheduling and shift‐bidding systems.     

主动性-被动性员工创新行为:基于分布式领导的作用机制研究

员工创新是企业创新驱动的重要推动力和提升其核心竞争力的关键。当前中国组织情境中,存在着两种不同性质的员工创新行为:主动性员工创新行为和被动性员工创新行为,两者所产生的创新绩效存在巨大差异。然而,现有文献对被动性员工创新行为研究不足,理论研究已经无法适应实践的需要,因此,有必要将两种不同性质的员工创新行为放在一个框架下进行研究,以丰富创新行为的研究内涵。本文以新兴的领导发展取向——分布式领导为切入点,引入组织支持感作为中介变量,上下级关系和价值观匹配作为调节变量,构建了分布式领导对主动性-被动性员工创新行为的作用模型。为了验证该模型,以408名知识型员工为研究对象,通过多元回归分析的方法进行检验,研究结果发现:分布式领导对主动性员工创新行为具有正向影响,对被动性员工创新行为具有负向影响;组织支持感在分布式领导与主动性-被动性员工创新行为之间起中介作用;上下级关系和价值观匹配正向调节分布式领导与组织支持感之间的关系,并进一步验证了有调节的中介作用。同时,上下级关系和价值观匹配交互调节了分布式领导与组织支持感之间的关系。本文研究为解构中国创新管理实践中纷杂多样的创新行为提供了理论诠释,丰富了...     

Collaboration-based HR systems and innovative work behaviors: The role of information exchange and HR system strength

Integrating strategic human resource (HR) management research with the componential theory of creativity, we investigate the influence of a strategically anchored set of HR practices on employees’ idea generation, promotion, and realization (i.e., innovative work behaviors (IWBs). Specifically, we argue that perceived collaboration-based HR systems rated by employees facilitate IWBs through promoting information exchange. We take a multilevel approach and further propose that the strength of a collaboration-based HR system at the unit-level (i.e., shared employee perceptions) moderates the relationship between employee perceptions of such systems and information exchange. We propose that this relation will be stronger in units with greater levels of collaboration-based HR system strength. We test our model by collecting data at two different time points from 204 employees in 50 departments working at seven manufacturing organizations in Turkey. Results from multilevel and structural equation modeling support all hypotheses and point to the theoretical importance of taking into account idiosyncratic and collective perceptions of HR systems simultaneously. Practical implications that follow from our results suggest intentionally designing, implementing, and regularly communicating collaboration-based HR practices to facilitate IWBs.     

Tour Scheduling and Task Assignment of a Heterogeneous Work Force: A Heuristic Approach

The dual problem of work tour scheduling and task assignment involving workers who differ in their times of availability and task qualifications is examined in this paper. The problem is presented in the context of a fast food restaurant, but applies equally well to a diverse set of service operations. Developing a week-long labor schedule is a nontrivial problem, in terms of complexity and importance, which a manager spends as much as a full workday solving. The primary scheduling objective (the manager's concern) is the minimization of overstaffing in the face of significant hourly and daily fluctuations in minimum staffing requirements. The secondary objective (the workers’ concern) is the minimization of the sum of the squared differences between the number of work hours scheduled and the number targeted for each employee. Contributing to scheduling complexity are constraints on the structure of work tours, including minimum and maximum shift lengths and a maximum number of workdays. A goal programming formulation of a representative problem is shown to be too large, for all practical purposes, to be solved optimally. Existing heuristic procedures related to this research possess inherent limitations which render them inadequate for our purposes. Subsequently, we propose and demonstrate a computerized heuristic procedure capable of producing a labor schedule requiring at most minor refinement by a manager.     

Frontline Participatory Behavior in Networks: Identity Work and the Corresponding Behavioral Determinations

Studies that adequately reflect on the distinctive workings of collaborative networks and, more specifically, the importance of the participatory behaviors of frontline workers are in short supply. To address this gap in the literature, this article reports on a quantitative study of the identity work tensions and corresponding behavioral determinations of a set of frontline workers from thirteen collaborative social welfare networks in Virginia. This study found some evidence that their roles as enacted inside of the boundaries of their home organizations and the associated identities may differ from or conflict with their interorganizational, boundary spanning roles and associated identities. In some instances, the resulting tensions complicated the achievement of behavioral determinations by these frontline workers that would favor the realization of a collaborative advantage.