Majid Ghasemy, James Eric Gaskin and James A. Elwood
The direction of causality between job satisfaction and job performance (known as the holy grail of industrial psychologists) is undetermined and related research findings in…
Abstract
Purpose
The direction of causality between job satisfaction and job performance (known as the holy grail of industrial psychologists) is undetermined and related research findings in different organizational contexts are mixed. Based on the ample literature, mainly from Western countries, on the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance, a non-recursive bow pattern model was utilized to investigate the direct relationship between these two variables in an Asia–Pacific higher education system.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is quantitative in approach and survey in design. Additionally, to meet the statistical requirements of non-recursive bow pattern analysis, the authors added welfare as a theory-driven instrumental variable to introduce exogenous variability. Using the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) estimator, the authors fitted the model to the data collected from 2008 academics affiliated with Malaysian public universities and polytechnics.
Findings
The results showed that while job satisfaction is considerably influenced by welfare, it is not a significant predictor of job performance directly. In addition, a meaningful positive correlation between the disturbance terms of job satisfaction and job performance was observed, suggesting the existence of other factors that could increase both job satisfaction and job performance. The findings' theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and a list of theory-driven evidenced-based policies in this regard is provided.
Originality/value
This is the first study to test a non-recursive bow pattern model and examine the holy grail of industrial psychology based on the PLSe2 methodology, as a parametric approach to partial least squares (PLS), in a higher education context. This study also provides higher education researchers with the advantages of the PLSe2 method, especially in causal-predictive modeling, in the context of applied higher education research.
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Gisela Sender, Gustavo Cattelan Nobre, Sungu Armagan and Denise Fleck
The relationship between job satisfaction and performance is a topic that has been intriguing scholars and managers for a long time. With the flourishing of positive psychology…
Abstract
Purpose
The relationship between job satisfaction and performance is a topic that has been intriguing scholars and managers for a long time. With the flourishing of positive psychology, it has been called the happy-productive worker thesis. New concepts led to new results but still divergent. This study aims to understand the past 20 years of research on the topic, also called the holy grail of the organizational sciences, helping to unwrap conclusions so far.
Design/methodology/approach
Bibliometric analysis was performed with R statistical tool’s support, complemented by content analysis, based on studies from three major databases between 1999 and 2019. The empirical studies were analyzed according to the constructs used, shedding light on when the happy-productive worker thesis is more likely to be confirmed.
Findings
Results show a variety of constructs and instruments used to operationalize the constructs. This lack of convergence accounts for a large part of the general inconclusiveness of the topic. Indicated research gaps can be useful to both academics and practitioners.
Research limitations/implications
Only studies declared as related to the happy-productive worker thesis were considered.
Practical implications
Managers can benefit from considering the findings as a basis for decision-making regarding investments in employee happiness at work, focusing on the aspects of happy constructs that lead to productive criteria.
Originality/value
The application of mixed methods, complementing the bibliometric with thorough content analysis, provided a more detailed overview of current knowledge about the topic, helping to disentangle different concepts that were treated as similar. Thus, it is possible to understand in which situations happy workers are really more productive.
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Draws attention to the growing importance of learning as a majorcompetitive base, which has given rise to the notion of the learningorganization. Some commentators believe that…
Abstract
Draws attention to the growing importance of learning as a major competitive base, which has given rise to the notion of the learning organization. Some commentators believe that the only source of sustainable competitive advantage is likely to be the ability of companies to learn faster than their competitors. Reviews the literature of strategic change and competition and supports the process view of the impermanence of a firm′s strategic position and the fragility of the bases of competition. Explores the relationships between the learning processes and strategic change, and develops a conceptual framework of a “competitive learning organization” which highlights the current lack of emphasis on the competitive dimension in many models of the learning organization. Proposes a model which promotes learning at different levels in the organization and a learning focus which encompasses the need to understand the dynamics of competitive forces, the satisfaction of change customer needs and the importance of systems thinking.
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Thomas A. Wright and Russell Cropanzano
For decades, since at least the famous Hawthorne studies, the happy/productive worker thesis has forcefully captured the imagination of management scholars and human resource…
Abstract
For decades, since at least the famous Hawthorne studies, the happy/productive worker thesis has forcefully captured the imagination of management scholars and human resource professionals alike. According to this “Holy Grail” of management research, workers who are happy on the job will have higher job performance, and possibly higher job retention, than those who are less happy. But what is happiness? Most typically, happiness has been measured in the management sciences as jobsatisfaction. This viewpoint is unnecessarily limiting. Building upon alittle remembered body of research from the 1920s, we suggest a twofold, expanded view of this thesis. First, we suggest the consideration of worker happiness as psychological well-being (PWB). Second, incorporating Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build model ofpositive emotions as the theoretical base, we suggest that the job satisfaction to job performance and job satisfaction to employee retentionrelationships may be better explained by controlling for the moderating effect of PWB. Future research directions for human resource professionals are introduced.
– This paper aims to address the question – is heritage interpretation an effective tool in tourism?
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address the question – is heritage interpretation an effective tool in tourism?
Design/methodology/approach
The author takes a critical stance seeking to identify and evaluate key assumptions and questions about the nature and effectiveness of heritage interpretation as a tourism management tool.
Findings
There are significant gaps in the available research into interpretation and in those areas that have been studied, there is only limited evidence that interpretation is effective. There are few important findings in this area and even where there are some sound and useful conclusions, they still do not address some of the more fundamental concerns about interpretation more broadly.
Research limitations/implications
The paper identifies a set of topics for future research based on the outcomes of the review and consideration of the critiques of interpretation that could be used to improve and extend interpretation in tourism.
Originality/value
By taking a critical perspective on interpretation and questioning the untested and implicit assumptions about the nature and role of this activity within tourism, the paper identifies issues relevant to the conduct of tourism research more generally that have been given little attention in the academic literature to date.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible…
Abstract
The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible alternatives. We need the vision and the courage to aim for the highest level of technology attainable for the widest possible use in both industry and services. We need financial arrangements that will encourage people to invent themselves out of work. Our goal, the article argues, must be the reduction of human labour to the greatest extent possible, to free people for more enjoyable, creative, human activities.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Craig L. Pearce, Charles C. Manz and Samuel Akanno
The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the linkage between leadership and sustainability. Recent scandals involving executive leadership have significantly contributed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the linkage between leadership and sustainability. Recent scandals involving executive leadership have significantly contributed to the topic of sustainability becoming one of the most important concerns of the management literature in the twenty‐first century.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors’ approach is to review the extant literature and develop a theoretical model of the connection between leadership, in its many forms, and sustainability.
Findings
Most treatments of sustainability have focused on glorifying top executives for their sustainability efforts or vilifying them for their lack thereof. The authors claim that this perspective is oversimplified and flawed.
Research limitations/implications
The authors develop several readily testable propositions to guide future research.
Practical implications
The practical implications of the authors’ model are focused on the engagement of employees at work: the philosophical perspective espoused in the model is one founded on empowerment and active involvement.
Social implications
The model purports mechanisms through which organizations can develop more robust systems that ultimately can translate into more sustainable organizational practices.
Originality/value
The presented model is original in that the authors propose that broadening management development across all levels of organizations, along the lines of shared leadership theory, will facilitate organizational sustainability.
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Srinivas Durvasula and Steven Lysonski
Based on their size, disposable income, and purchasing power, generation Y (Gen Y) consumers are viewed as the Holy Grail for marketers. Conversely, some of this group's behavior…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on their size, disposable income, and purchasing power, generation Y (Gen Y) consumers are viewed as the Holy Grail for marketers. Conversely, some of this group's behavior disturbs public policy officials, particularly when dealing with issues such as poor financial planning, bulimia and anorexia nervosa. The key question for both marketers and policy makers is what is the best way to understand the Gen Y segment? The vanity concept is used in this study as a way to understand the Gen Y consumer segment. The purpose of this paper is to examine vanity perceptions (cross‐nationally and by gender) as well as social and business implications with vanity.
Design/methodology/approach
Key research expectations are proposed that are related to cross‐cultural and gender differences on vanity perceptions. A sample of approximately 125 Gen Y consumers in two eastern and two western cultures was used to find support for the research expectations. Statistical results are reported.
Findings
The results clearly show that both gender and country have an impact on vanity perceptions. Concern for both physical appearance and professional achievement are higher in eastern cultures as compared to western cultures. Both males and females are highly concerned about physical appearance and professional achievements. However, self‐assessment of physical appearance and professional achievement are significantly lower among females as compared to males.
Research limitations/implications
In future studies it would be interesting to study differences among other countries and consumer groups.
Practical implications
The results of this study provide evidence to marketers that vanity appeals can resonate well with Gen Y especially those in China and India. For consumer protection advocates, results offer insights about the extent to which importance of vanity is likely to increase, especially in countries that embrace globalization.
Originality/value
So far, no study has applied the vanity scale to understand the Gen Y segment, despite the financial power of this group in purchasing both desirable and undesirable products; nor has any study examined whether vanity perceptions vary cross‐nationally, especially between economically developed western cultures and developing economies with large populations representing eastern cultures.