Positive Chair-CEO work relationships: Micro-relational foundations of organizational capabilities

With the increasing separation of the of the roles of the CEO and Chairperson, the interplay between them has been attracting considerable interest in both communities of scholarlship and practice. We examine the ways in which the work relationships between these two supreme executive functions may help in developing organizational processes and outcomes. In so doing, we shift the discussion from a corporate governance lens to examining how micro-level mechanisms, which are rooted in individual actions and interactions involving behavioral, cognitive and emotional mechanisms, may help cultivate higher-level processes and outcomes. Using a qualitative methodology in which pairs of Chairpersons and CEOs were interviewed, we developed a conceptual model which specifies how the nature of Chairperson-CEO work relationships may be conducive to cultivating organizational capabilities of knowledge creation and cultivate collective resilience, through the shaping of a supportive organizational communication climate. In so doing, we extended a micro-foundation framework by advancing a micro-relational lens to the corporate governance research and theory and more broadly to the literature on strategic leadership.     

Knowledge work as organizational behavior

Knowledge work has been defined as a profession, a characteristic of individuals, and as an individual activity. We review and critique these definitions of knowledge work and propose that knowledge work is best understood as discretionary behavior in organizations. As such, knowledge work is understood to comprise the creation of knowledge, the application of knowledge, the transmission of knowledge, and the acquisition of knowledge. Each of these activities is seen as a discretionary behavior. Employees are likely to engage in knowledge work to the extent that they have the (a) ability, (b) motivation, and (c) opportunity to do so. The task of managing knowledge work is focused on establishing these conditions. Organizational characteristics such as transformational leadership, job design, social interaction and organizational culture are identified as potential predictors of ability, motivation and opportunity. Implications for further research and practice are identified.     

Strategic development as a means of organizational change: Four case histories

This article summarizes the work which is being undertaken in strategic decision making by the Management Advisory Unit of the Chemical and Allied Products Industry Training Board. It sets out the process used, the scope of the unit's activity—including four outline case histories, and a view of some general findings of ‘the state of the art’ in the chemical industry based on industry sector and in-company projects, research and experience.     

Complex technological capabilities in emerging economy firms: The role of organizational relationships

Formal organizational relationships are important sources for capability building in emerging economy firms eager to move up the value chain. We examine how access to valuable knowledge available to firms via organizational relationships creates learning opportunities necessary for the development of complex technological capabilities. Using a sample of 852 observations of emerging economy firms from the Indian software industry between 1992 and 2000, we find that developing strong domestic intra-organizational relationships, through affiliation with a moderately diversified business group or operating in a related industry, promote more complex technological capabilities. In the case of foreign inter-organizational relationships, we find that greater foreign client contact enhances the complexity of firm technological capabilities. However, accessing knowledge from domestic inter-organizational relationships appears to hinder the development of firm complex technological capabilities. An interesting result from our research was that having greater access to knowledge from foreign intra-organizational relationships, embedded within foreign subsidiaries, did not lead to the development of complex firm technological capabilities. The results of our study highlight that for emerging economy firms wanting to improve their complex technological capabilities, there may be diminishing benefits to learning from and acquiring knowledge available within specific types of formal organizational relationships.     

The pressure for growth as an organizational problem

A basic argument of this paper is that organizations are under pressure to increase their revenues because of rising aspirations of those who provide goods and services to the organization. The paper then presents an analytical tool which can be used to identify different strategic alternatives for handling the described situation. These alternatives can be classified into three main categories: customer oriented, technology oriented and provider oriented strategies. The application of the method is illustrated by an application to the situation of the newspaper industry.     

Improving employees' work centrality improves organizational performance: work events and work centrality relationships

High work centrality is related to positive performance and behaviour of employees. This unique paper discusses a longitudinal study, comparing change in work centrality among individuals who experienced meaningful work events to individuals who did not experience these events, over the course of twelve years. The findings indicate that not experiencing expressive work events (which leads to an improvement in autonomy, interest, variety, and responsibility) reduces work centrality, whereas work events such as promotion, advancement (including to a managerial position) and qualifications, are effected by high work centrality. Work events, such as improvement in pay, working conditions, and interpersonal relations at work, had no effect on those who experienced them and those who did not. The theoretical and practical implications for Human Resources Development (HRD) are discussed.     

A review and reconceptualization of organizational commitment.

This paper argues that current, global conceptions of organizational commitment may be deficient in several respects. A review of macro approaches to the nature of organization, as well as research on reference groups and role theory, indicates that a multiple commitments approach may be more precise and meaningful. It is suggested here that employees experience several different commitments to the goals and values of multiple groups. Some implications of this perspective are presented.     

Linking perceived organizational support with employee work outcomes in a Chinese context: Organizational identification as a mediator

Perceived organizational support (POS) is viewed as an important explanatory framework for understanding the relationship between employees and the workplace, and is regarded by some researchers as central in understanding job-related attitudes and behaviors of employees. However, less research has taken into account the role of organizational identification, which reflects how individuals define the self with respect to their organization, as a potential influence on such relationships. Drawing on a cross-organizational sample of 238 subordinate-supervisor dyads from the People’s Republic of China, we examined whether organizational identification mediates the effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on work outcomes including turnover intentions, work performance, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results from the current study showed that organizational identification fully mediates the relation of POS to OCB-directed to individuals, and partially mediates relations between POS and other work outcomes (turnover intention, work performance, OCB-directed to organization). Implications for management theory and practice are discussed.     

A missing link: psychological ownership as a mediator between transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behaviour

Interest in psychological ownership (PO) has increased due to its influence on employees’ attitudes and behaviours. This study focuses on PO as a mediator between transformational leadership (TL) and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) in the Korean public sector, which does not have employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). With a total of 214 cases from the Korean public sector, structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis was conducted, and chi-square difference-based model comparison was performed to examine the mediating effect. Results indicated statistically significant relationships between TL and employees’ PO and between employees’ PO and their OCB. A statistically significant full mediating role of PO between TL and OCB in the Korean public sector context was found.     

From start to finish: Flexi-time as a social exchange and its impact on organizational outcomes

We employ arguments from social exchange theory to develop a framework explicating the relationship between flexi-time and employee absenteeism, employee turnover, and organizational profitability. Then, employing data from 1,064 private sector organizations located in France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we test our hypothesized model via path analysis. We found flexi-time to have a significant negative relationship with employee turnover and a significant positive relationship with organizational profitability, controlling for organizational, industry, and country factors, as well as other flexible work arrangements. The relationship between flexi-time and absenteeism did not reach significance in our estimations. We highlight the implications of our work and outline directions for future research.     

Individual value systems,organizational investments,and personal constraints as predictors of organizational commitment: Direct or indirect effects?

This study attempted to determine if individual value systems, organizational investments, and personal constraints affect organizational commitment directly or only indirectly through job satisfaction. Previous research has determined that certain job characteristics exert only indirect effects on the value or affective dimension of organizational commitment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether other categories of antecedents have any direct effects on value commitment. The study used hierarchical regression on data from 270 evening MBA students employed full-time in managerial or professional positions. Results showed that organizational investments and the Protestant Work Ethic both exerted significant direct effects on organizational commitment as predicted. Personal constraints showed a negative relationship with value commitment, opposite to the prediction, while the effect of the Materialistic Work Ethic was nonsignificant. However, job satisfaction showed a substantially higher correlation with value commitment than did any other antecedent.     

Need for leadership as a moderator of the relationships between leadership and individual outcomes

Earlier research on situational leadership theories has produced little and partly contradictory evidence about the role of situational moderator variables in explaining the relationship between leadership and outcomes. In this article, we propose to concentrate on need for leadership as a singular moderator of the relationships between leadership and employee outcomes. Using a sample of 958 Dutch employees from various organizations, the moderator hypothesis was tested. Need for leadership was paired with three leadership factors and five outcome variables, generating 15 possible moderating effects. Five of these were significant. Although the findings compare favorably with other studies using leadership moderators, the effects are weak, and there is not much evidence that leadership–outcome relations are reversed by need for leadership.     

Impact of managed care on physician organizational behavior.

This article examines how physicians act, react, and organize when managed care forces them to consolidate into larger groups and business corporations. Physicians have experimented with ownership by hospitals or business corporations to gain capital, management skills, and information systems. Now they're moving toward physician-owned groups with "outsourcing" of administrative and information system functions. The mood, movement, and momentum of physicians, in short, is toward integrated physician organizations bound together by information that amplifies on their core competencies and capacities to deliver care.     

A cross-validation of a structural equation model of accidents: organizational and psychological variables as predictors of work safety

A study to establish a structural equation model of accidents is presented. The eight variables included in the model were those associated with accidents in previous research. The reliability of questionnaires to measure those variables and a structural equation model relating them are provided. The model explaining the occurrence of accidents was cross-validated through three Spanish samples (n=123; 182; 124).The model presented a good fit to data in two samples, while a third had unclear fit indices. Therefore, most relationships among variables did not vary among these three samples. The role of the safety variables in the model is discussed. The discussion is also focused on risk measurement difficulties commonly reported in the literature. Finally, some suggestions for future safety research with structural equation modelling techniques are provided.     

The compressed work week as organizational change: behavioral and attitudinal outcomes

The results from recent studies on the compressed work week have been compiled and categorized in order to provide some basis for generalizing the effects of the work schedule on employee attitudes and behavior. It appears that attitudes toward the compressed week are favorable, with some generalization to job attitudes. Performance outcomes are ambiguous, although there are no reported decreases; fatigue seems to be the only negative aspect of the longer day. An examination of mediating variables suggests more complex relationships between the implementation of the compressed work week and potential outcomes. These relationships are described and directions are indicated for future research.