Lloyd C. Harris and Emmanuel Ogbonna
This article explores differentiation in the responses of precarious workers to the instability and uncertainty imposed on their work by employing organizations. Our focus is on…
Abstract
Purpose
This article explores differentiation in the responses of precarious workers to the instability and uncertainty imposed on their work by employing organizations. Our focus is on the ways in which different workers respond to precarious working conditions, with a particular interest on marginalised groups who have been especially overlooked by studies of workforce precarity.
Design/methodology/approach
Employs an approach akin to grounded theory in an exploratory research design and utilizes in-depth, semi-structured interviews of 56 precarious workers.
Findings
Finds that different precarious workers, with divergent characteristics and resources, facing differing working conditions, and diverse structural constraints vary in the ways in which their strategies of surviving precarious work are manifested. Uncovers three differing forms of precarious workers who each employ a different range of tactics and strategies in work.
Originality/value
Generates insights into differentiation of precarious workers in their responses to the ambiguous, challenging and, in many ways, subjugating conditions of their working conditions.
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Lloyd C. Harris and Emmanuel Ogbonna
Our core aim was to explore the perceptions of precarious workers on the ways in which the pandemic impacted their relationships with their employing organizations and to explore…
Abstract
Purpose
Our core aim was to explore the perceptions of precarious workers on the ways in which the pandemic impacted their relationships with their employing organizations and to explore the ways in which they viewed the pandemic as (re)shaping the dynamics of precarious work and the extent to which they saw the pandemic as contributing to substantive improvement in their working lives or whether the pandemic is exacerbating their marginalisation.
Design/methodology/approach
We adopted an approach akin to grounded theory in an exploratory research design and utilized in-depth, semi-structured interviews as the most apposite method of data collection. Our research design centred on a two-phase data collection approach, which were intended to gather data at two points. First, during the most difficult part of the pandemic, which we describe as the “Lockdown phase” and second, during the period wherein the pandemic rules were eased but elements of the risks remained; the “New Normal phase”.
Findings
This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study of the reflections and interpretations of precarious workers on the impacts of the pandemic on their relationships with their employing organizations. We supply findings across three periods – pre-the COVID-19 pandemic, during the pandemic lockdown phase and post-lockdowns in the “new normal phase”.
Research limitations/implications
The first contribution of the study is the importance of “voice” and giving voice to workers in nontraditional, fragmented and marginalised employment. Our study builds on these contributions by exploring the journeys of precarious workers and is particularly valuable in that we explore the perceptions of these workers across the societal, organizational and employment/working turbulence of the pandemic. The second contribution arises from the insights developed through studying the working lives and experiences of precarious workers longitudinally rather than in a single, snapshot fashion. A third contribution centres on how precarious workers felt they were treated by others during both the two phases of the study. The insights here are complex and, in parts, contradictory – reflecting the interpretations and conflicted opinions/deeds of those connected with precarious workers.
Originality/value
It is particularly important for scholars to understand the ways in which the pandemic shaped (or reshaped) the dynamics of precarious work and to understand whether the evolving conceptions of the centrality of such workers as “essential” during the pandemic (Crane and Matten, 2021) contributed to substantive or merely illusory, improvements in their working lives. Thus, we analyse the reflections of precarious workers on changes to their working lives that are linked to the pandemic.
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Doga Istanbulluoglu and Lloyd C. Harris
Falsified online reviews (FORs) are the published/viewable consumer-generated online content regarding a firm (or its representatives) or its services and goods that is, to some…
Abstract
Purpose
Falsified online reviews (FORs) are the published/viewable consumer-generated online content regarding a firm (or its representatives) or its services and goods that is, to some degree, untruthful or falsified. The purpose of this study is first to explore the nature of FORs, focusing on reviewers' interpretations and refections on falsity, intent, anonymity and the target of their FOR. Secondly, the authors examine the valence and veracity dimensions of FORs and introduce a typology to differentiate their variations.
Design/methodology/approach
using an exploratory research design, 48 interviews were conducted with participants who post online reviews on social media about their experiences with food and beverage serving outlets.
Findings
The results show four common forms of FORs on social media. These are reviews focused on equity equalizing, friendly flattery, opinionated opportunism and malicious profiteering.
Research limitations/implications
The authors provide exploratory and in-depth information via interviews, but do not analyse the content of FORs.
Practical implications
Firms should be aware of varieties of FORs and that these may not be limited to malicious content. This is important in terms of showing that in dealing with FORs, a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. FORs are not always entirely fabricated, and instead various levels of falseness are observed, ranging from slight alterations to complete fabrications.
Originality/value
Previous research explored how to identify and differentiate FORs from truthful ones, focusing on the reviews or how they are perceived by readers. However, comparatively little is known of the reviewers of FORs. Hence, this study focuses on reviewers and offers new insights into the nature of FORs by identifying and examining the main forms of FORs on social media.
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Andrew Bruce, John Wills Lloyd and Michael J. Kennedy
Self-monitoring has become one of the most widely employed self-control procedures in special education for students with learning disabilities and emotional or behavioral…
Abstract
Self-monitoring has become one of the most widely employed self-control procedures in special education for students with learning disabilities and emotional or behavioral disorders. Although its success has been documented across age groups, settings, and diverse applications, researchers have continued to study the question of whether focusing self-monitoring on certain target behaviors – particularly attention to task or academic performance – will yield superior outcomes for students. We review 11 available studies that have examined this issue, classifying each study according to the ways in which the researchers had students monitor their own behavior. The results show only small differences among the different methods and indicate a need for teachers to continue exercising professional judgment in planning the use of self-monitoring.
Ray Fisk, Stephen Grove, Lloyd C. Harris, Dominique A. Keeffe, Kate L. Daunt, Rebekah Russell‐Bennett and Jochen Wirtz
The purpose of this paper is to highlight important issues in the study of dysfunctional customer behavior and to provide a research agenda to inspire, guide, and enthuse. Through…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight important issues in the study of dysfunctional customer behavior and to provide a research agenda to inspire, guide, and enthuse. Through a critical evaluation of existing research, the aim is to highlight key issues and to present potentially worthy avenues for future study.
Design/methodology/approach
In reviewing recent and past advances in the study of customers behaving badly, an overview of existing research into customers behaving badly and addressing issues of terminology and definition is provided. Thereafter, three perspectives that provide the most opportunity and insight in studying the darker side of service dynamics are outlined. This leads to a review of some of the research design and methodological problems and issues that are faced when rigorously studying these issues. Subsequently, the paper devotes a section to the provocative idea that while dysfunctional customer behavior has many negative influences on customers, employees, and service firms, there are actually some positive functions of customers behaving badly.
Findings
A research agenda is provided that is believed to identify and discuss a range of projects that comprises not only insightful theoretical contributions but is also practically relevant.
Originality/value
The paper identifies a range of issues about which managers should be aware and proactively manage.
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Since the merger of Lloyds and TSB banks in 1995/96, the number of operational staff working within the company has increased two‐fold, paving the way for Lloyds TSB to develop a…
Abstract
Since the merger of Lloyds and TSB banks in 1995/96, the number of operational staff working within the company has increased two‐fold, paving the way for Lloyds TSB to develop a new company training, programmes, aimed specifically at operational and support staff.
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Kate L. Daunt and Lloyd C. Harris
This paper aims to examine the associations between individual factors (personality and demographic variables) and contextual factors (servicescape and situation‐specific…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the associations between individual factors (personality and demographic variables) and contextual factors (servicescape and situation‐specific variables), and the motives that drive episodes of dysfunctional customer behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Self‐report data were collected from a survey of bar, hotel, and restaurant customers (n=380). Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis were utilized to analyze the data.
Findings
Analysis of the data revealed three clusters of motives labelled: financial egotists, money grabbers, and ego revengers. Statistically significant differences were revealed across the personality, servicescape, and situation specific variables for each motive. However, no differences were found concerning demographic variables.
Research limitations/implications
This research emphasizes the primacy of three customer behavior motivations. Future research might investigate the motives for dysfunctional customer behavior across different organizational contexts and the dynamics between such motivations.
Practical implications
The findings of the study indicate that service managers can proactively control and manipulate servicescape and situation‐specific variables that relate to customer misbehavior motives.
Originality/value
No existing scholarly research has developed a data‐grounded understanding of the motivations of dysfunctional customer behaviors. Moreover, to date, no study has explored the associations between customer's motives to misbehave and personality, situation specific, servicescape, and demographic variables.
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A considerable proportion of donor aid is dedicated to technical assistance to support developing countries in their development initiatives. The majority of this aid comes from…
Abstract
A considerable proportion of donor aid is dedicated to technical assistance to support developing countries in their development initiatives. The majority of this aid comes from globally-operating international donors including the World Bank and the European Union. In spite of several harmonization attempts, there still exist major differences in their procurement regulations and standard contracts. Based on an extensive literature review on consulting services and an in-depth analysis of the standard forms of contract, it was found that divergence between both forms is not only clear but also paradigmatic owing mainly to market orientation paradigm differences. The findings and recommendations help advance research on and practice of various types of consultancy services in general.
Although there has been much academic discussion of employee behaviours as potential barriers to market orientation, comparatively little attention has been focused on…
Abstract
Although there has been much academic discussion of employee behaviours as potential barriers to market orientation, comparatively little attention has been focused on organizational barriers to market orientation. No single study has undertaken a holistic review of structural, strategic and systems impediments. The aim of this paper is to extend and synthesize existing research into the obstacles to market orientation by performing a holistic analysis of the organizational characteristics which influence the extent of market orientation in an organization. This paper begins with a brief review of existing research into the barriers to developing market orientation. After a discussion of research design and methodology, the summary findings of three in‐depth case studies are presented and eight hypotheses are forwarded. Thereafter, the results of a survey of organizational barriers to market orientation are presented and the findings are discussed. The paper concludes with a number of implications for both strategic marketing and management theory and practice.