Pay Referents and Satisfaction with Pay: Does Occupational Proximity Matter?

We explore whether employees compare their pay to the pay of others in a similarly prestigious occupation and, if so, whether this comparison has a negative impact on pay satisfaction. Using an experimental vignette methodology, Study 1 found that people are more inclined to compare with others from a similar or identical occupation and that comparison negatively impacts pay satisfaction. This comparison and its negative effect is particularly strong in high‐prestige occupations. Based on survey data, Study 2 also showed that the average pay of others in occupations of similar prestige is negatively correlated with employees’ pay satisfaction. This negative correlation was also stronger in higher‐prestige occupations. Our analysis highlights the importance of occupational prestige as a main factor influencing pay comparison.     

Does Quality Still Pay? A Reexamination of the Relationship Between Effective Quality Management and Firm Performance

Because of the changing competitive environment, quality might have lost some of its luster and emphasis in business. The research question we aim to address in this paper is: Does quality still pay in the new competitive environment? Using replication research, we re‐examine the impact of an effective total quality management (TQM) program on a firm's operating performance in the new competitive environment. We use publicly available data for award‐winning firms and adopt several control‐firm‐selection approaches in our event study. Based on data from more than 500 firms, we find that over a 10‐year period—6 years before to 3 years after winning their first quality award—firms in our sample perform significantly better than control groups in various operating performance measures. Not only do award‐winning firms have better results after receiving awards, they also have superior performance records before the award. Our results suggest that quality is still critical to achieving long‐term competitive advantages, and firms who continuously improve their quality continue to reap rewards by way of sales and financial performances exceeding those of their competitors.     

Product Modularity,Process Modularity,and New Product Introduction Performance: Does Complexity Matter?

Modularity has the potential to impact various facets of new product introduction performance including product development lead time, frequency of new product introduction, on time introduction and product innovation. The impact of modularity on new product introduction performance, however, may vary for different levels of product and process complexity. This study empirically investigates relationships between perceptual measures of product modularity, process modularity, and new product introduction performance and explores whether an objective product/process complexity measure moderates these relationships. Using survey‐based methodology we probe both manufacturers of technically simple products and technically complex products. Hierarchical regression models are used to test hypotheses concerning the main effects of product and process modularity and the effects of their interactions with complexity on new product introduction performance. The results show that the main effect of product modularity was positive and its interaction with complexity was disordinal and negative, suggesting that the positive effect of product modularity on new product introduction performance is dampened when complexity is high. For process modularity, only the interaction effect (positive) was statistically significant and it was also disordinal in nature. Thus, the effect of process modularity on new product introduction performance is heightened when complexity is high. The implications of these findings are discussed and more specific theoretical and managerial implications are delineated by examining the impacts of these main and interaction effects on individual measures of new product introduction performance (frequency of new product introduction, product development lead times, product innovation, and on‐time product launch).     

Organizational Environments and Performance: A Linear or Nonlinear Relationship?

The external circumstances that organizations confront are an important influence upon their prospects of success. The resources available within the environment, the multiplicity of stakeholder demands to be addressed and the rates of change in these, each have serious implications for organizational functioning. Nevertheless, it remains conceivable that the effects of different dimensions of the environment are not straightforwardly positive or negative, but may follow nonlinear patterns posing very different challenges at different levels. To draw lessons for public organizations seeking to understand how best to respond the circumstances that they face, this paper examines linear and nonlinear effects of different dimensions of the organizational environment on the performance of over 500 organizations using both objective and subjective measures of the environment. Strong support is found for the presence of linear relationships between each environmental dimension and type of measure and performance, but no evidence of statistically significant nonlinear environmental effects. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Big Data and Performance: What Can Management Research Tell us?

The special issue focuses on the theory and evidence linking the use of Big Data related technologies by businesses with their performance. Here we connect the papers accepted for the special issue to the overarching theme of Big Data as an emerging concept within the business management literature. We present two prominent case studies examining the use Big Data technologies on performance and strategy, followed by a discussion on how themes around Big Data and Performance may be examined from a theoretical perspective. Finally, based on a synthesis of papers in the current issue, we discuss the emerging issues and trends within the academic literature, relevant for future research.     

Production Competence and Business Strategy: Do They Affect Business Performance?

The purpose of this article is threefold. First, a comprehensive measure of production competence that assesses the level of support that manufacturing provides for the strategic objectives of a firm is developed. Second, hypotheses relating production competence to several financial measures of business performance are tested using data from a large sample of firms (n=65) in the furniture industry. Third, the impact of business strategy both directly on performance and as a moderating variable in relation to production competence is analyzed. The results of the study suggest that production competence may have more of an effect on business performance for certain strategies than for others.     

Leadership’s Role in Process Safety: An Understanding of Behavioral Science Among Managers and Executives Is Needed

ABSTRACT

A recent prevalence of high visibility catastrophic events has garnered increased attention to process safety issues. While the use of Behavior-Based Safety interventions demonstrate a reduction in workplace injuries by targeting employee behavior, we believe that process safety requires a greater focus on the behavior of leaders (e.g., creating and executing strategy). One effective method to begin targeting leader behavior for the improvement of process safety is to teach leaders about the principles of behavior, including ways by which the science may be applied within their own organizational models.     

Are People Willing to Buy Natural Disaster Insurance in China? Risk Awareness,Insurance Acceptance,and Willingness to Pay

After the Wenchuan earthquake (magnitude 7.9, May 12, 2008), intensive debates on how China should establish a natural disaster insurance system were initiated among researchers, policymakers, and insurance professionals. Our focus was the social aspects of disaster insurance, explored in China through a nationwide survey. Our questionnaires investigated people's risk awareness, insurance acceptance, their opinions on governmental measures for disaster management, and their willingness to pay for disaster house insurance. We analyzed the results at both regional and individual scales. We found that the integrated hazard index and respondents’ experience of insurance (considered objective factors), and their opinions on the importance of insurance and government responsibility (considered subjective factors) showed strong correlation with the regional overall acceptance of disaster insurance. An individual's decision to participate highly depended on his/her experience of both insurance and disaster and his/her opinion on the importance of insurance as a coping mechanism. Respondents from poverty‐stricken or less‐developed counties were not necessarily more reluctant to accept natural disaster insurance, though they exhibited relatively lower ability to afford insurance. In general, respondents had correct perceptions of natural disasters in their areas; however, people from regions with a greater multihazard threat showed less willingness to accept disaster insurance because they tended to expect the government to undertake to cover losses and considered insurance to be less important. People's willingness to pay for an assumed disaster house insurance was also investigated and analyzed. We consequently discuss the policy implications for developing a disaster insurance system in China.     

Dynamics in Groups: Are We There Yet?

We know that groups are dynamic entities, and yet we rarely study them as such. Previously hamstrung by limited theory, a decade of advances in understanding the fundamental nature of groups and change promised a revolution in group research. Our goal here is to review those theoretical developments and then examine their impact on our empirical understanding of group dynamics. Examining work done and not done, we will take stock of this work, identify the obstacles that seem to keep us focused more on group statics than dynamics, and then close by offering suggestions about not only what approaches to take when studying group dynamics, but also how the field can help develop these approaches. We hope that a review of the group dynamic literature in 2021 will celebrate our coming empirical accomplishments rather than lament a lack of them.     

6 Structure,Affect and Identity as Bases of Organizational Competition and Cooperation

Abstract

Competing organizations are often defined by their niche overlap or structural equivalence in resource dependence, but the very structure that defines competitors can also identify cooperators. There is a fine line between competition and cooperation, but current theories give insufficient guidance as to which will take place and also contribute to the belief that cooperation between competitors is illegitimate. We show that the legitimacy of these practices, as well the evaluation of their welfare implications, are context bound. Individuals and societies that have been influenced by different theories of competition could reasonably (and have) reach different conclusions as to the legitimacy of competitor cooperation. We then critique extant ideas as to when competitors will cooperate, which rely on industry structure, and suggest instead that perception and social identity are more important in tipping the cooperate–compete balance. We conclude by showing how our arguments inform an important current stream of management research, on the process of institutional change.     

Shifting the Goalposts? Analysing Changes to Performance Peer Groups Used to Determine the Remuneration of FTSE 100 CEOs

This paper examines year‐on‐year changes to the composition of performance peer groups used for relative performance evaluation in setting CEO pay in FTSE 100 companies and finds evidence of peer selection bias. The authors find that firms keep their peer groups weak by excluding relatively stronger performing peers. They also show that peer selection bias is less pronounced in firms with higher institutional investor ownership, which suggests that institutional investors might be aware of the risks of peer selection bias. The results suggest that peer group modifications can be viewed, at least in part, as an expression of managerial rent‐seeking.     

Bureaucratic Bashing and Praising: What Effect Does it Have on the Performance Citizens Assign Agencies?

Public Organization Review - An online experimental survey was conducted to examine the impact of bureaucracy framing on respondents’ views regarding the performance of a local government...     

Objective Performance Feedback: Is Numerical Accuracy Necessary?

Performance feedback is ubiquitous in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM); yet its essential components are still debated. It has been assumed that performance feedback must be accurate, but this assumption has not been well established. Two experiments were carried out to research feedback accuracy. Experiment 1 was a single-subject design where performance feedback accuracy was manipulated. Results from Experiment 1 suggested feedback may not need to be accurate to improve performance prompting a follow-up study. Experiment 2 was a repeated measures between-groups design with three types of objective feedback: accurate, high (triple) and low (1/3) inaccurate, and no feedback control. Both accurate and tripled feedback significantly improved performance over the control and low-inaccurate feedback groups. Performance feedback may have reduced time off-task across all three feedback conditions compared to the control. Data from performance feedback research need multi-faceted analysis to fully understand how and why performance feedback changes behavior.     

Palliative care programs: what, why, and how?

Establishing a palliative care service can improve patient care and ease family concerns for patients who are hopelessly ill. For the hospital, such services can improve utilization outcomes. Take a closer look at a palliative care service operating for nearly five years at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.     

Say on Pay: Ein Überblick über Gestaltungsoptionen, ökonomische Konsequenzen und Erkenntnisse aus Empirie und Laborexperimenten

Most countries of the European Union as well as the US recently introduced shareholder votes on the remuneration of executives, also referred to as “Say on Pay” (SoP). Interestingly, legislators in different jurisdictions opted for quite dissimilar voting right regimes. We provide an overview of the main regulatory approaches and discuss the potential impact of variations in SoP design on the structure of compensation contracts and the utility of shareholders and executives. We find that pre-contractual SoP and conditional post-contractual SoP with binding consequences are in the best interest of shareholders. By contrast, advisory SoP typically suffers from lacking enforceability. We also find that post-contractual SoP with binding consequences results in efficiency losses because it fuels moral hazard on the part of shareholders. We complement the theoretical analysis with a discussion of recent empirical and experimental studies on Say on Pay.     

‘Contestation,negotiation, and resolution’: The relationship between power and collective leadership

The relationship between power and collective leadership (CL) has been theoretically understood and empirically addressed in many different ways. To make sense of this diversity, we investigate and diagram the role of power in CL. First, we identify six representations of power—six ways in which scholars have found that power shapes the emergence and enactment of CL. These representations include: Even in CL, individual power matters; Leaders can devolve power to their subordinates by empowering them; Contextual characteristics related to power can influence the possibility and enactment of CL; CL can create the collective power necessary for people in marginalized positions to challenge embedded power dynamics; Power is intrinsic to the co-construction process; Attributions affect who can enact CL, how they are viewed, and whether they have power. Second, we offer a conceptual framework that provides a comprehensive way to understand the relationship between power and CL. The framework includes two dimensions, one related to power (that runs from episodic to systemic) and the other related to CL (that runs from entitative to emergent). Third, we create a conceptual map by placing the six representations within this framework. Based on our research, we make the case that we cannot understand CL without understanding the ubiquitous, complex, and even contradictory role of power. We also suggest avenues for expanding and elaborating discussions of power in the CL literature.     

An Examination of Procedural and Object-oriented Systems Analysis Methods: Does Prior Experience Help or Hinder Performance?*

Interest in object-oriented analysis (OOA) and object-oriented design (OOD) has expanded rapidly over the last several years. Proponents of OOA and OOD have called the shift to these methods “revolutionary” and have cited a number of impressive claims with respect to their use. However, empirical research investigating these claims remains in its infancy. Moreover, an examination of the literature reveals inconclusive and often conflicting results for OOA and OOD methods relative to traditional data and/or procedural techniques. This paper presents the results of an empirical study that examined both experienced and novice systems analysts using both procedural and object-oriented techniques. This research examined whether experience in using procedural methods helped or hindered performance using OOA and compared procedural and OOA methods on the subjective mental workload induced. A human problem-solving model adopted from Newell and Simon (1972) provided the theoretical framework for this study. Dependent variables include subjective mental workload, solution quality, time to perform task, and attitudinal measures. Although some of these dependent variables have been used in past research, we believe this is the first time that subjective mental workload (SMW) has been examined in an IS context. Our results indicate that both novice and experienced subjects demonstrate higher SMW when using OOA. In addition, as a group, novices prefer object-oriented techniques and find these techniques easier as compared to experienced subjects.     

In—Credible Government: Legitimacy, Democracy, and Non-Governmental Organizations

This article analyses emerging trans-global networks of governance that are coming to light within a post-democratic form of governance that relies upon specific technologies of credibility building, as opposed to universalistic mechanisms of representation. Using the NGO sector as a model, and using examples from fieldwork conducted in the unraveled contexts of Bosnia and Croatia, and the unraveling context of Ecuador over the past decade, we show how intervention within the global south and post conflict realms, although often couched using such master terms as democracy, development and freedom, are in fact geared towards the generation of political legitimacy and influence through relationships based upon the exchange of credibility.