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1 – 10 of 29This paper aims to explore why private equity (PE) cares about corporate social responsibility (CSR) of its investees given their relatively short investment time-horizon and how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore why private equity (PE) cares about corporate social responsibility (CSR) of its investees given their relatively short investment time-horizon and how it designs corporate governance (CG) bundle to achieve both financial and CSR goals of the private firms it invests in.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study design is applied to get deeper insights on the why and how questions posed. Analysis is based on triangulation of secondary data and in-depth interviews with both PE and their investee firms.
Findings
The authors find that long-term sustainability supported by CSR increases firm value. They also outline specific CG bundle that the PE uses to achieve both its financial and CSR goals. CG mechanisms appeared to reflect agency theory, but even more resource dependence theory.
Practical implications
The outlined CG bundle could be used as a template for all types of private firm owners to improve both financial and CSR performance of the firm.
Originality/value
The paper adds to fragmented area of CG and CSR interface. The authors specifically focus on several under-researched contexts of this interface: private small and medium size firms (SMEs), emerging markets and PE investors.
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Krista Jaakson, Anne Reino and Peter Bernard McClenaghan
Understanding the relationship between performance and trust in virtual teams is receiving significant attention due to “connected” virtual team contexts becoming more prevalent…
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding the relationship between performance and trust in virtual teams is receiving significant attention due to “connected” virtual team contexts becoming more prevalent. This paper reports on new findings relating to the dynamics of trust and performance in virtual team contexts. The study aims to explore the evolution of trust and its mediating role in determining the performance of virtual teams, as well as to investigate if and how performance itself affected trust.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a longitudinal quantitative survey of 71 international virtual student teams working in four universities in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Russia.
Findings
In line with swift trust and social norms theory, the authors found that relatively high levels of initial trust did not change over the period of the teams’ projects in general, but in teams where feedback on performance was negative, both trust and trustworthiness declined significantly. Trust had a small mediating effect between group performances in two consecutive measurement points, meaning that past performance had an impact on trust, which in turn impacted the teams’ next performance. However, no mediating effect was present between individual and team performance.
Practical implications
The authors conclude that managing virtual teams should concentrate on team actions and achieving and recognising small quick wins at least as much as dealing with trust, specifically. Negative performance feedback should not deteriorate members’ perception of benevolence and integrity in the team.
Originality/value
The paper distinguishes the dynamics of two trust components and tests new models with these as partial mediators in determining virtual team performance. Importantly, the authors challenge the notion that emotional component of trust, perceived trustworthiness, is less relevant in virtual teams.
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Ilona Baumane-Vītoliņa, Madara Apsalone, Erika Sumilo and Krista Jaakson
The purpose of this paper is to analyse generational differences with regard to honest behaviour and honesty as a personal value in post-Soviet business environment: in Estonia…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse generational differences with regard to honest behaviour and honesty as a personal value in post-Soviet business environment: in Estonia and Latvia.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 781 service employees from six retail organizations in Estonia and Latvia were surveyed to assess likelihood of dishonest behaviour and to rank their values according to the Rokeach instrumental value scale.
Findings
Older generations report higher likelihood of honest behaviour than younger generations. Post-war and early generation X, born between 1945 and 1970, also rate honesty and responsibility higher as their individual values.
Originality/value
The complexity of generational differences in ethical behaviour and honesty as a personal value has not been widely researched in post-Soviet business environment.
Krista Jaakson, Hannele-Marianne Aljaste and Piia Uusi-Kakkuri
The relationship between organisational innovativeness (OI) and company performance has been studied extensively, and the associations found have mostly been positive. However, as…
Abstract
Purpose
The relationship between organisational innovativeness (OI) and company performance has been studied extensively, and the associations found have mostly been positive. However, as OI is a multidimensional concept, more nuanced research is needed to identify which dimensions of innovativeness companies should focus on. The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally investigate the links between dimensions of OI and company financial performance, based on a sample of Finnish and Estonian pharmaceutical biotechnology companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews inquiring about OI were conducted in 26 biotechnology companies and then their performance was measured over three subsequent years using objective financial data. Due to limited sample size, qualitative comparative analysis is employed in addition to non-parametric statistical tests.
Findings
Overall, OI did not decisively influence financial performance in the studied sector. There were, however, dimensions related to human resource policies that appeared to have more potential to positively impact financial performance, whereas the strategic dimension was actually aversive to certain performance indicators.
Research limitations/implications
The study limitations are a small sample, possible managerial bias in the assessment of OI, and focus on financial measures only.
Practical implications
The study demonstrates that OI is a multidimensional construct and not all dimensions play an equal role in financial performance. Innovation-supportive human resource policies and strategic flexibility contributes to financial performance in the pharmaceutical biotechnology sector.
Originality/value
The contribution of the study is the analysis of a specific sector with a longitudinal approach by bridging quantitative and qualitative approach.
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Krista Jaakson, Maaja Vadi and Ilona Baumane-Vītoliņa
Employee dishonesty is problematic for businesses in general, particularly for retailers. The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse selected factors associated with the…
Abstract
Purpose
Employee dishonesty is problematic for businesses in general, particularly for retailers. The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyse selected factors associated with the perceived likelihood of dishonest behaviour among retail employees. Specifically, the role of three negative work outcomes – insufficient pay, boredom, and perceived injustice – is investigated, as well as the effect of individual values and espoused organisational values.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 784 retail employees from six retail organisations located in Estonia and Latvia. A survey questionnaire that used manipulated scenarios of work outcomes and organisational values was administered.
Findings
The study concludes that perceived injustice produces more dishonesty than other negative work outcomes (insufficient pay and boredom), whereas boredom was a surprisingly strong trigger for the perceived likelihood of dishonest behaviour. Individual ethical values determined the perceived likelihood of dishonest behaviour as hypothesised while sensation-seeking values did not. Espoused organisational values had no significant effect on the perceived likelihood of dishonest behaviour.
Practical implications
The results imply that the breach of distributional and procedural justice simultaneously associates most with employee dishonesty, and retail employee selection is the key to curbing dishonest behaviour in the workplace.
Originality/value
The paper makes a contribution to behavioural ethics literature by studying dishonest employee behaviour in the post-communist context while addressing various forms of dishonest behaviour, in addition to stealing. Also, the effect of espoused organisational values has been scarcely studied before.
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Oleksandr Dorokhov, Krista Jaakson and Liudmyla Dorokhova
Due to population ageing, the European Union (EU) has adopted active ageing as a guiding principle in labour and retirement policies. Among the strategies for active ageing…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to population ageing, the European Union (EU) has adopted active ageing as a guiding principle in labour and retirement policies. Among the strategies for active ageing, age-friendly workplaces play a crucial role. This study compares age-friendly human resource (HR) practices in the Baltic and Nordic countries. The latter are pioneers in active ageing, and as the employment rate of older employees in the Baltics is like that in the Nordic countries, we may assume equally age-friendly workplaces in both regions.
Design/methodology/approach
We used the latest CRANET survey data (2021–2022) from 1,452 large firms in seven countries and constructed the fuzzy logic model on age-friendliness at the workplace.
Findings
Despite a high employment rate of older individuals in the Baltics, HR practices in these countries fall short of being age-friendly compared to their Nordic counterparts. Larger firms in the Nordic countries excel in every studied aspect, but deficiencies in the Baltics are primarily attributed to the absence of employer-provided health and pension schemes. The usage of early retirement is more frequent in the Nordic countries; however, its conceptualisation as an age-friendly HR practice deserves closer examination. Our findings suggest that the success of active ageing in employment has translated into age-friendly HR practices in larger organisations in the Nordics, but not in the Baltics. It is likely that high employment of older individuals in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is a result of the relative income poverty rate.
Originality/value
Our model represents one of the few attempts to utilise fuzzy logic methodology for studying human resource practices and their quantitative evaluation, especially concerning age-friendly workplaces.
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Piret Masso, Krista Jaakson and Kaire Põder
The study's objective is to estimate the association of specific perceived employer-provided benefits on employees' intention to leave in different age cohorts during coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
The study's objective is to estimate the association of specific perceived employer-provided benefits on employees' intention to leave in different age cohorts during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Informed by the psychological theories of ageing, the authors propose three age-cohort-specific hypotheses in three motivational domains: security and health benefits, flexible work arrangement and education-related benefits.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a large survey of employees in Estonia (n = 7,209) conducted in 2020 and test the association of specific benefits and their interactions with age on employees' intention to leave.
Findings
The results show that older cohorts are generally less prone to leave their jobs. Benefits that employers could use during the COVID-19 crisis generally had negative associations with the intention to leave, but age-specific differences were negligible; only the perceived provision of flexible work arrangements reduced the younger cohort's intention to leave relatively more.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few that allows us to make inferences regarding the benefits preferences amongst the working population during an unprecedented health crisis.
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Krista Jaakson and Mariya Dedova
This study aims to answer two research questions: first, to what extent can workplace bullying be explained by ageism? And second, does the likelihood of workplace bullying…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to answer two research questions: first, to what extent can workplace bullying be explained by ageism? And second, does the likelihood of workplace bullying increase when age interacts with gender and ethnic minority?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors report results from a survey carried out in 11 organizations in Estonia (N = 1,614) using the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (Einarsen et al., 2009).
Findings
The results show that ageism does not explain bullying in Estonia. As in some earlier studies, older age correlates negatively with negative acts, and women report less work-related bullying than men. These findings were unexpected because Estonia's post-socialist background and the highest gender wage gap in Europe suggested otherwise. However, there is gendered ageism in work-related bullying such that older women report more negative acts in their workplace. Respondents from ethnic minority groups do not experience more bullying in general, nor in combination with age. Surprisingly, managers reported both person- and work-related bullying more than employees with no subordinates.
Originality/value
The study contributes to intersectionality literature with a view to workplace bullying in post-socialist study context.
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Raul Eamets and Krista Jaakson
Recent economic recession has highlighted the role of labour market flexibility as a key factor of competitiveness of a country. Despite the fact that labour mobility can…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent economic recession has highlighted the role of labour market flexibility as a key factor of competitiveness of a country. Despite the fact that labour mobility can essentially be seen as part of labour market flexibility, there is notable research gap concerning spatial mobility and other facets of labour market flexibility. The purpose of this special issue is to fill these gaps.
Design/methodology/approach –
The papers in the special issue represent various quantitative methods and databases, whereas mainly micro data (workplace, labour force or immigrant surveys, job search portal, etc.) is used. However, the type of labour market flexibility addressed is both micro- and macro-level.
Findings
It is demonstrated that labour occupational mobility is determined by the business cycle, numerical flexibility, occupational categories, and sector. Spatial mobility may have counterintuitive effects on individual occupational mobility depending on gender and it is related to various flexibilities in the workplace. It is also suggested that different types of flexibilities on a firm level are interdependent of each other.
Originality/value
The special issue adds to the labour market related knowledge by integrating labour market flexibility and mobility. Individually, both phenomena have been studied before, but not much research is devoted to their inter-linkages. The special issue also contributes by examining labour market flexibility and spatial mobility in the context of different countries, economic cycles, and institutional settings.
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Krista Jaakson, Jaan Masso and Maaja Vadi
Purpose — This chapter is aimed at testing the strength of three different drivers to engage in dishonest behavior at work — financial gain, response to injustice, and escape from…
Abstract
Purpose — This chapter is aimed at testing the strength of three different drivers to engage in dishonest behavior at work — financial gain, response to injustice, and escape from boredom — and shedding light to the power of individual and organizational values to hold down the effect of these drivers.Design/methodology/approach — We analyze the data of 167 service employees from a large retail organization, who responded to questionnaires which manipulated drivers and organizational values.Findings — As a result we find that the financial and injustice drivers are effectively triggering several dishonest behaviors, whereas — contrary to the expectations — boredom at work does not threaten employers with employee engagement in dishonest behavior. We do find weak moderating effect of individual values in reacting to the drivers for some forms of dishonest behaviors, but the role of organizational values was marginal.Originality/value — In this chapter dishonest behavior is divided into nine specific dishonest acts involving management and customers as the stakeholders whose interests are at stake. We attempt to associate these behaviors with particular drivers. We also look at the moderators in this process: individual and organizational values. To date, espoused values of the organization is an underexplored organizational instrument compared to other situational variables, for instance, the existence of codes of ethics.
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