Organizational Capital and Joining-up: Linking the Individual to the Organization and to Society

Do employees ever make efforts on behalf oftheir employing organization's interests or fellowemployees' interests when it is not in their directself-interest to do so? By drawing on organizationalbehavior literature relating to the joining-up process,organizational commitment, and organizationalcitizenship behavior, and integrating these insightswith economic theory, this article provides a newexplanation of why employees' efforts are typicallysuboptimal and what organizational activities canresolve this problem. The key variable explainingwhether organization members behave responsibly or notis the presence of organizational capital formedeither during the joining-up process or in preparationfor it.     

Modelling school participation based on the theory of planned behaviour / Modelamiento de la participación escolar basado en la teoría del comportamiento planificado

This study evaluated a predictive model of school participation based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour. Attitudes towards social justice, perceived control and subjective norm on school participation were tested, mediated by the behavioural intention in favour of social justice in a sample of 443 secondary school students. The proposed model showed good fit (χ² = 597.740, df = 342; RMSEA = .041). The behavioural intentions towards social justice and perceived behavioural control were directly related to school participation. An indirect effect of perceived control on participation was detected, mediated by behavioural intention, but no evidence was found of the indirect effect of either attitude or norm on school participation.     

Me,an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurial identity,outgroup social identification,attitudes and intentions towards business creation / ¿Yo,un emprendedor? Identidad emprendedora,identificación social con el exogrupo,actitudes e intenciones respecto a la creación de empresas

This article aims to further investigate the role of social identity processes in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions (EI). We investigate the general hypothesis that social identification with entrepreneurs is positively associated with EI and its antecedents such as attitude, perceived social norm (subjective norm) and perceived behavioural control (self-efficacy), considered as mediators. In particular, the role of three dimensions of social identification (affects, ties and self-typicality) was empirically studied in a sample of students that answered a questionnaire. Results from regression analyses show that the affects dimension is positively linked to attitude and the perceived social norm, which mediate its association with EI. Likewise, the ties dimension appears to relate positively to EI and attitude, the latter mediating the relationship with the former. Results regarding the self-typicality dimension are mixed (significant association with perceived behavioural control, non-significant association with EI). The discussion addresses the importance of social identity processes in EI formation, study limitations, as well as possible future studies of both theoretical and practical relevance.     

Effects of mandatory notification training on the tendency to report hypothetical cases of child abuse and neglect

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of mandated notification training upon the tendency of individuals to report hypothetical cases of abuse and neglect. A second objective was to investigate the factors that influence the decision to report and to determine whether mandated notification training had an effect on these factors. Comparisons were drawn between a no training and a recent training group (with random allocation). An additional group of participants who had received training some time ago was included. Five hypothetical vignettes were responded to by 41 teachers and school personnel who had recently completed training, 31 people who had not completed training and 73 people who had completed training some years previously. Where the quality of evidence of abuse and thus suspicion of abuse was relatively high, there were no differences in the likelihood of reporting between trained and untrained participants, all of whom were very likely to report. Ambiguous evidence of abuse had a strong negative influence on reporting likelihood, although mandatory reporting training reduced this inhibition. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ladders and lifting: How gender affects safety behaviors in the fire service

This research explores the degree to which gender affects safety behaviors and outcomes in the fire service. Semistructured focus groups and interviews were conducted based on findings from the literature on women and gender in the fire service. Four focus groups (N?=?22) and eight interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using NVivo 10 software. This methodology explored if female gender improves safety behaviors through (1) weighing the risks and benefits of dangerous situations, (2) focusing on biomechanics and technique, (3) asking for help, (4) being motivated to report injuries, (5) being heard by colleagues, and (6) illuminating a hostile work environment’s contribution to safety. Participants report that women have less of a “tough guy” attitude than their male colleagues and felt that deviating from the modernist American hyper-masculine norm may have a positive impact on their work practices and injury outcomes. If women in the fire service perceive risk differently than their male colleagues, perhaps strengthening efforts to recruit women and creating a culture that values their perspective will improve the occupation’s overall safety outcomes. Further research is necessary to quantify these gender differences and their relationship to safety outcomes.     

The Mechanistic Structure Shift and Strategic Reorientation in Declining Firms Attempting Turnarounds

Past researchers have observed that decliningorganizations often experience mechanistic structuralchanges that centralize authority, increase reliance onformalized procedures, and reduce the amount of information flowing to top managers. Many haveproposed that this “mechanistic shift” indeclining organizations reduces their adaptivecapability by making innovative organizational change in response to decline less likely. However,despite much research on declining firms and theirturnaround attempts, many questions about mechanisticshifts remain, such as: (1) To what extent do declining firms become systematically mechanistic whentrying to recover from decline? (2) What aspects ofdeclining firms' situations make mechanistic shifts morelikely? (3) Do mechanistic shifts reduce the likelihood of large-scale strategic reorientation asdeclining firms attempt to recover? We sought answers tothese questions through an analysis of data fromin-depth interviews with top managers (mostly CEOs) at 29 U.S. firms attempting turnarounds fromdecline. Our primary finding was that mechanisticstructure shifts did restrict firms' abilities to changetheir strategic orientations in response to decline. Highlighting the important role of the contextof turnaround attempts, we further found the averagedeclining firm attempting a turnaround did not becomemore mechanistic, but that turnaround attempts launched from financial crises were significantly morelikely to lead to mechanistic shifts. Also, we foundthat the common practice of replacing the firm's CEOduring turnaround attempts had conflicting andparadoxical effects on firms' abilities to enact strategicreorientations.     

Organizational Support in the Workplace: The Case of Korean Hospital Employees

This paper tests three hypotheses on who getsmore support from his or her work organization: (1) Thevalidation hypothesis predicts that employees withgreater social support from their co-workers and supervisors receive more organizationalsupport, because their support validates or legitimizesorganizational support; (2) the positive affectivityhypothesis predicts that employees high on positiveaffect receive more organizational support, becausethey are more likable; and (3) the moderation hypothesispredicts that positive affect and social support do notgenerate organizational support independently, but each acts on the other to affectorganizational support. An assessment of the hypothesesover a sample of 1882 hospital employees in Koreaprovided strong support for the validation hypothesisand partial support for the moderation hypothesis. Contraryto the positive affectivity hypothesis, employees' gooddisposition in itself works against the bringing forthof relevant organizational support, net of support from their supervisors and co-workers.Additional findings related to the unique features ofthe current hospital employees in Korea are alsoreported. Finally, we discuss cross-cultural research implications of the study in moredetail.     

Does the mandate make a difference? reporting decisions in emotional abuse

Mandated (N = 57) and non‐mandated (N = 94) reporters were questioned as to their perceptions of the seriousness of 20 vignettes related to child emotional abuse, as well as their willingness to report the actions contained in the vignettes to child protective services. No difference was observed between mandated and non‐mandated reporters on the mean number of vignettes considered reportable. In addition, several psychosocial variables, including perceptions of teasing, political viewpoint, tendencies towards diffuse responsibility, perceptions of child protective services (CPS) and attitude towards helping others, were measured. Separate regression equations for mandated and non‐mandated reporters showed two different models in predicting reporting tendencies. Mandated reporters were most affected by the seriousness of the situation and their willingness to engage in prosocial behaviour, whereas non‐mandated reporters were most motivated by judgements of the seriousness of the abusive situation and their faith in child protective services. Being a male was also observed to be more predictive of reporting for non‐mandated reporters. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An extended theory of planned behavior intervention for older adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

A randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a 4-wk extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) intervention to promote regular physical activity and healthy eating among older adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease (N = 183). Participants completed TPB measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention, as well as planning and behavior, at preintervention and 1 wk and 6 wk postintervention for each behavior. No significant time-by-condition effects emerged for healthy eating. For physical activity, significant time-by-condition effects were found for behavior, intention, planning, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm. In particular, compared with control participants, the intervention group showed short-term improvements in physical activity and planning, with further analyses indicating that the effect of the intervention on behavior was mediated by planning. The results indicate that TPB-based interventions including planning strategies may encourage physical activity among older people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.     

Teachers' Attitudes toward Reporting Child Sexual Abuse: Problems with Existing Research Leading to New Scale Development

This paper details a systematic literature review identifying problems in extant research relating to teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse and offers a model for new attitude scale development and testing. Scale development comprised a five-phase process grounded in contemporary attitude theories, including (a) developing the initial item pool, (b) conducting a panel review, (c) refining the scale via an expert focus group, (d) building content validity through cognitive interviews, and (e) assessing internal consistency via field testing. The resulting 21-item scale displayed construct validity in preliminary testing. The scale may prove useful as a research tool, given the theoretical supposition that attitudes may be changed with time, context, experience, and education. Further investigation with a larger sample is warranted.     

CATEGORY REPORTING IN CHARITABLE GIVING: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

We examine the effect of category reporting on charitable giving, aiming to disentangle the publicity effect from the category effect. We compare subjects' donation decisions under three reporting plans: category reporting, where an honored category is prespecified and qualifying subjects were publicly acknowledged; category no reporting, where the same category was utilized but the qualifying donors were not publicly acknowledged; and no reporting, where neither category setting nor public reporting was utilized. We found that category reporting significantly increased average donations relative to no reporting, and that this superiority was due to the dual presence of the category setting and the public reporting. The category setting anchors donations toward the category threshold and increased the average donations when the threshold was modestly set. The public reporting, on the other hand, only worked at the highest category level. It further increased the donations by providing extra social‐image benefits. (JEL C90, C91, D64, H00)     

A Study of the Determinants and of the Impact of Flexibility on Employee Benefit Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of individual characteristics and organizational justice on employee benefit satisfaction, and to explore the role of flexible benefit plans. Employees from three Canadian organizations were surveyed. A total of 285 usuable questionnaires were returned, for a response rate of 42%. The variables in the model accounted for more than 40% of the variance in benefit satisfaction. The findings showed that while distributive and procedural justice were useful in predicting benefit satisfaction, the concept of process justice had the greatest effect on satisfaction. Among the variables, communication had the greatest impact. The effect of flexibility, although significant, was ambiguous. Sociodemographic factors had a very limited effect when perceptual variables were introduced into the equation. The paper also sets out the limitations of the study and its practical implications, and makes some suggestions for future research.     

Does changing mandated reporting laws improve child maltreatment reporting in large U.S. counties?

The effects of changes in mandated child maltreatment reporting laws have not been systematically evaluated. To better understand the effects of these changes, the objectives of the present study are: (1) to assess the relationships between report rates and state universal and clergy reporting laws in 2010; (2) to compare the changes in total, confirmed, and maltreatment type report rates and with changes in reporting laws from 2000 to 2010, and (3) to examine whether there is any relationship with report rates and the nature of the mandated reporting law change. We used county-level data from the U.S. National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System for the years 2000 and 2010 to evaluate changes in reporting rates for total reports, confirmed reports, and confirmed maltreatment types while controlling for concurrent changes in child and community variables. We found that trends in 2010 for increased total and confirmed reports were similar to 2000 for counties with universal and/or clergy reporting requirements, which significantly contributed to report rates even after controlling for child and community factors. Universal reporting was associated with higher report rates for physical and sexual abuse, and clergy reporting requirements were associated with more sexual abuse, medical neglect and psychological maltreatment confirmed reports. However, while counties in states that changed their clergy reporting laws had higher increases in total reports, they had fewer confirmed physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and psychological maltreatment reports. More pronounced changes were noted in a state that made more pronounced changes in its clergy reporting laws. Policymakers should consider whether changing requirements for mandated reporting meaningfully improves child maltreatment identification.     

Public Attitudes Toward Reporting Partner Violence Against Women and Reporting Behavior

Drawing from attitude‐behavior research tradition, this study used a national probabilistic sample of the Spanish adult population (N= 2,432) to test hypotheses regarding correlates of public attitudes toward reporting partner violence against women, and the relationship between attitudes toward reporting and actual reporting behavior. Results show the importance of several correlates of public attitudes toward reporting. Also, our results have suggested a potential disconnect between attitudes and behavior because failure to intervene appears to be a common response of those aware of incidents of partner violence against women.     

Socialization and Newcomer Adjustment: The Role of Organizational Context

Research on how the context of work affects HRMpractices in general, and socialization practices inparticular, is relatively scarce. The present studyassesses a model linking context, socialization, and newcomer adjustment. Self-report data frombusiness school graduates after 4 months (N = 295) and10 months (N = 223) on the job revealed that mechanistic(vs. organic) structure, organization size, and jobs of high motivating potential were eachpositively associated with organizations' use of whatJones (1986) refers to as institutionalizedsocialization, and this form of socialization waspositively associated with newcomer adjustment. Contraryto expectations, neither a newcomer's bureaucraticorientation nor growth need strength moderated therelationship between socialization andadjustment.     

CONFORMITY TO RELIGIOUS NORMS REGARDING ABORTION

Attitudes toward abortion are analyzed, through a factorial design, as a function of religion at age 16, spouse's religion, and current religion. In regard to the Catholic norm against abortion, the main effect of current Catholicism and the interaction of that and spouse's religion are significant. Among White Catholics, a Catholic spouse increases opposition to abortion, but among non-Catholics, increases acceptance. Converts tend to accept the Catholic norm, but only if they have a non-Catholic spouse. The attitude of ex-Catholics closely follows current affiliation. Catholic turned Baptist or Fundamentalist oppose abortion more than even steadfast Catholics. Links with Judaism (being Jewish at age 16, married to a Jew, or Jewish currently) increase acceptance of legalized abortion. A significant interaction between the first two factors also appears.     

The Cognitive Analysis of Competitive Structures: A Review and Critique

In recent years, there has been a growth ofinterest in the study of business competition from acognitive perspective. This paper reviews this rapidlyexpanding literature in order to synthesize keyempirical findings and identify significant theoreticaland methodological issues which warrant furtherinvestigation. It is argued that the notion ofcompetitive enactment and the associated cognitive lifecycle approach recently advanced by Porac and hisassociates (Porac, Thomas, & Baden-Fuller, 1989; Porac& Thomas, 1990; Levenhagen, Porac, & Thomas, 1993)represent a potentially major breakthrough in ourunderstanding of the dynamics of competition in industriesand markets. However, several important propositions arederived for which the currently available empiricalevidence is found wanting. Furthermore, a number of methodological hurdles are identified whichhave yet to be overcome if the validity of thesepropositions is to be investigated with an acceptabledegree of rigor.     

Does fairness matter in tax reporting behavior?

Experimental results show that taxpayers who receive no public transfer generally perceive their exchange equity with the government to be less equitable than taxpayers who receive a public transfer. Furthermore, the effect of the public transfer on reported income depends on the extent to which the taxpayers use the perception of equity in their tax reporting decisions. Subjects who perceive equity to be important in their tax reporting decisions report more income when they receive a public transfer, but report less income when they receive no public transfer, as predicted by equity theory. In contrast, subjects who perceive equity to be less important in their tax reporting decisions act directionally consistent with the economic effect. That is, taxpayers who receive no public transfer tend to report more income than those who receive a public transfer.