Grace McQuilten, Deborah Warr, Kim Humphery and Amy Spiers
The purpose of this paper is to consider the social turn in contemporary capitalism and contemporary art through the lens of art-based social enterprises (ASEs) that aim to create…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the social turn in contemporary capitalism and contemporary art through the lens of art-based social enterprises (ASEs) that aim to create positive social benefits for young people experiencing forms of marginalisation, and which trade creative products or services to help fulfil that mission. A growth in ASEs demonstrates a growing interest in how the arts can support social and economic development, and the ways new economic models can generate employment for individuals excluded from the labour market; extend opportunities for more people to participate in art markets; and challenge dominant market models of cultural production and consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper considers a number of challenges and complexities faced by ASEs that embrace a co-dependence of three goals, which are often in tension and competition – artistic practice, social purpose and economic activity. It does so by analysing interviews from staff working with 12 ASE organisation’s across Australia.
Findings
While the external forces that shape ASEs – including government policy, markets, investors and philanthropy – are interested in the “self-sufficient” economic potential of ASEs, those working in ASEs tend to prioritise social values and ethical business over large financial returns and are often ambivalent about their roles as entrepreneurs. This ambivalence is symptomatic of a position that is simultaneously critical and affirmative, of the conditions of contemporary capitalism and neoliberalism.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in social enterprise literature presenting empirical research focussing on the lived experience of those managing and leading ASEs in Australia.
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Jessie Gevaert, Christophe Vanroelen, Lara Stas and Deborah De Moortel
The ideal-typical entrepreneur presents him/herself in the neoliberal iconography as an autonomous and pro-active individual who is highly engaged with his/her vocation…
Abstract
Purpose
The ideal-typical entrepreneur presents him/herself in the neoliberal iconography as an autonomous and pro-active individual who is highly engaged with his/her vocation. Nevertheless, empirical research on the actual work engagement of the self-employed is scarce. In addition, phenomena like “necessity self-employment” and “economically dependent self-employment” raise concerns about the potential eudaimonic well-being outcomes of these self-employed. In this study, it was therefore investigated to what extent necessity self-employment and economically dependent self-employment are associated to work engagement and whether this relation is mediated by intrinsic job resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) involving 5,463 solo self-employed participants. For analyzing the data, structural equation modeling (SEM) with the Lavaan package was used.
Findings
Both necessity self-employment and economically dependent self-employment were linked to poor work engagement, however, intrinsic job resources mediated both effects.
Originality/value
While previous studies have shown differences in hedonic well-being between opportunity/necessity entrepreneurs, and economically (in)dependent entrepreneurs, this study considers their distinct profiles regarding eudaimonic well-being. Eudaimonic well-being was deemed particularly relevant because of its implications for other outcomes such as life satisfaction, psychological well-being, ill-health, business performance and persistence in self-employment.
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Liz Lee‐Kelley, Deborah A. Blackman and Jeffrey Peter Hurst
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a relationship between learning organisation theory and the potential to retain knowledge workers. It emphasises that human resource…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate a relationship between learning organisation theory and the potential to retain knowledge workers. It emphasises that human resource (HR) managers must recognise specific relationships between learning organisation elements, job satisfaction facets and turnover intent as they emerge for their knowledge workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was undertaken sampling knowledge workers in the information technology (IT) industry. Measured on a Likert scale, the instrument was designed to explore the impact of learning organisation disciplines upon job satisfaction and the importance of job satisfaction in determining turnover intent.
Findings
Analysis of the survey showed evidence of a relationship between learning organisation disciplines and turnover intent. All the learning organisation disciplines discussed in the paper correlated to at least one of the six job satisfaction dimensions, of which reward and challenge exerted the most significant influence upon turnover intent.
Practical implications
The results suggest that three initial strategies should be implemented by HR managers in order to reduce possible staff turnover. The strategies identified are first, linking shared vision, challenge and systems thinking together via personal mastery; second, being more critical of which mental models are developed and shared within the organisation; and finally, developing team learning systems throughout the organisation.
Originality/value
This study emphasises that HR managers should recognise specific career needs for their knowledge workers and that adopting appropriate strategies will increase retention.
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Marek Marciniak and Deborah Drummond Smith
The purpose of this study is to investigate the value investors place on S&P index additions relative to uncertainty surrounding the firm and the market. Investors look for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the value investors place on S&P index additions relative to uncertainty surrounding the firm and the market. Investors look for reassuring signals or tell-tale signs around uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
Variation in the market response to announcements of S&P additions to the 400, 500 and 600 indices is examined against measures of risk factors. Internal risk factors include firm size relative to the index, total firm risk and liquidity, and whether the firm is a brand new index entrant. External risk factors related to market uncertainty are measured by the Chicago Board of Exchange volatility index.
Findings
Firms with lower market capitalization relative to the index, higher total risk, lower trading volume and first-time entrants to any S&P index elicit a positive market reaction compared to firms with less pricing uncertainty. In times of increased market uncertainty, investors tend to place more value on signals from respected institutions such as S&P, and riskier firms benefit more from inclusion in the S&P index. Overall, this study finds that the market overreaction is explained by the degree of uncertainty surrounding the added firms, as well as by the degree of market uncertainty at the time of the announcement.
Originality/value
The findings of this study suggest that investors interpret the prospect of S&P index addition as an opportunity for firms to reduce uncertainty surrounding them, and thus partially hedge their exposure to market uncertainty by joining an index tracked by dozens of index funds. The value of such a hedging strategy rises for riskier firms during market turbulence.
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Graham Frobisher, Deborah Price and Jo Brewis
The 7th decade manager (7DM) is an overlooked and under-researched group in organisation studies. This paper explores the changes which 7DMs experience in later life through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The 7th decade manager (7DM) is an overlooked and under-researched group in organisation studies. This paper explores the changes which 7DMs experience in later life through the lenses of age, work and identity.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist methodology was adopted and data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with 32 managers across 10 different sectors in England and Scotland. These data were analysed thematically.
Findings
Change manifested itself in various contradictory ways across three domains of age, work and identity. Age was experienced dichotomously, with these 7DMs identifying as subjectively younger yet openly (if reluctantly) accepting signs of ageing. They appeared more tolerant and kinder but could be impatient and outspoken. Work remained important, providing structure, a sense of purpose and camaraderie; however, career progression was not. Altruistically, the 7DMs exercised generativity by providing their colleagues with counsel in both work and personal matters. Their sense of self and identity work featured prominently, particularly in the liminality associated with the impending cessation of work. Preparation for the psychosocial transition to retirement was lacking.
Research limitations/implications
This project would have benefitted from a larger and broader cohort demographic. Whether there are any significant gender or ethnic differences in attitudes, values or approaches to work cannot be ascertained from the data obtained. Future studies should therefore include a greater diversity of participants. There may also be merit in investigating if any differences exist for the ex-military 7DM manager compared to others.
Practical implications
Organisations can benefit from greater recognition of the value experienced managers in their later working lives can bring. Both the broader community of managers and their employers would benefit from leveraging the experience, knowledge and attributes of older managers in their passage through their 7th decade and better prepare younger people to succeed them.
Social implications
Different agencies such as government, employers, professional bodies like the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Trade Unions or consultancies may wish to explore the benefits and practicalities of preparing the individual for the transition to retirement. Importantly, this should address the psychosocial connotations associated with ceasing work. Whilst this applies to all 7th decade workers, we suggest that there are some challenges that are peculiar to being an older manager.
Originality/value
Whilst much is known about older workers, research relating to older managers, especially those in their seventh decade, is largely absent. This paper illustrates the changes and challenges they experience in both their professional and personal lives, some of which seem to be unique to this age group and many of which would benefit from being addressed in organisational policy and practice as well as further research.
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Hannah Deborah Haemer, Jairo Eduardo Borges-Andrade and Simone Kelli Cassiano
This paper aims to investigate the prediction of current and evolutionary perceptions of professional development through five learning strategies at work and through training and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the prediction of current and evolutionary perceptions of professional development through five learning strategies at work and through training and how individual and job characteristics predict those strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Variables were measured in a cross-sectional survey, with 962 individuals. Relationships were tested through linear regression analysis and structural equation modeling.
Findings
The criterion variable current professional development is positively associated to three learning strategies: intrinsic and extrinsic reflection, seeking help from others and trial and error. The relationship between this latter learning strategy and that criterion variable is moderated by work experience. Hours of training also predict that criterion variable. Seeking help from others and educational level predict perceived evolutionary development. Socio-cultural and technical-organizational work environment variables predict those five strategies.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional research design yields potential for monomethod bias. Longitudinal, multilevel and multiple collection design studies should be conducted in the future.
Originality/value
A wide range of occupations and organizational contexts was investigated by using two different measures of professional development as criterion variables. A larger effect size was found for one of them, given just three learning strategies as antecedent variables. Training and formal education had smaller effects. The importance of taking into account different characteristics of workplace learning environments is highlighted.
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This article looks at girls who fight in order to evaluate theories of education for marginalized girls. As oppositional culture and educational resistance theories suggest for…
Abstract
This article looks at girls who fight in order to evaluate theories of education for marginalized girls. As oppositional culture and educational resistance theories suggest for boys’ misconduct in school, girl fights are found to be a product of deindustrialization, family expectations, and peer culture. Within peer groups of marginalized students an oppositional culture develops such that girls gain respect from their peers by fighting because they demonstrate a necessary toughness. Girls who fight have a complicated relationship to education. Contrary to oppositional culture theory, these girls value educational achievement. However, the girls’ relationships with teachers are strained. Teachers do not appreciate “tough” girls. Race, class, and gender together construct a student culture that produces girls who fight in school.
Julian Barling, Inez Dekker, Catherine A. Loughlin, E. Kevin Kelloway, Clive Fullagar and Deborah Johnson
Develops, tests and replicates a model of workplace sexual harassment and its personal and organizational consequences. The frequency of sexual harassment experiences predict…
Abstract
Develops, tests and replicates a model of workplace sexual harassment and its personal and organizational consequences. The frequency of sexual harassment experiences predict workplace negative mood which, in turn, predicts psychosomatic wellbeing, turnover intentions and interpersonal (i.e. co‐worker and supervisor) job dissatisfaction. Using LISREL VIII, shows that the model fits the data for a sample of employed Canadian females (n = 202), but not for a sample of employed Canadian males (n = 137). Finally, an analogous model suggesting that sexual harassment predicts negative mood which, in turn, predicts self‐esteem, concentration difficulties and grades, fit the data for a sample of 120 female undergraduate students. Discusses conceptual and practical implications, and future research directions.
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Nancy Horak Randall, Sue Carroll Pauley and Aaron B. Culley
Baby boomers are now the fastest growing group of adopters of social media. This research uses qualitative research methodologies to understand the factors influencing adoption…
Abstract
Baby boomers are now the fastest growing group of adopters of social media. This research uses qualitative research methodologies to understand the factors influencing adoption and use of social media and other emergent technologies by baby boomer and silent generation women. Life Course Perspectives (especially as combined with either Role Theory and/or Social Exchange Theory), and Family Systems Theory provide a strong basis for considering reciprocal socialization as an important dynamic in relationships between different generations, specifically within families. This research reveals and examines a particular form of reciprocal socialization between family members, the process of social media adoption. Using a convenience sample of 28 women born before 1963, we examine the characteristics of women who use computers, and more specifically who use social networking sites and other forms of emergent technology such as Skype. We also investigate the familial and social factors that women report as contributing to their adoption of social media. Women report that children, specifically daughters, strongly influence their decision to use social media such as Facebook. Women who do not use social media are found to either report lack of interest or perceived lack of ability to negotiate new technology, or to indicate that use of social media is unnecessary to them due to the spatial proximity of their families.