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Traditional measures of role conflict and role ambiguity assess the frequency with which a person experiences issues with role expectations. The cognitive model of stress developed by Lazarus and Folkman in 1984 emphasizes that a potentially stressful episode does not actually create distress unless it is appraised as threatening. This study takes the first step towards integrating these two approaches, by adding threat appraisals to the traditional measures of conflict and ambiguity. Surveys were distributed to all employees of an electronics/software firm, measuring role stress, physical and psychological strain, several work related attitudes, and withdrawal behaviors. The new measure of role conflict was more predictive of the strain outcomes than was the traditional measure of role conflict, and in general shows promise as a better way of measuring role stress.

Examines the relationships between trust and perceived control on faculty reactions to a new merit pay system. In this system, faculty committees made recommendations to the administration, who made the final award decisions. A total of 286 faculty responded toasurvey that asked about their beliefs regarding the criteria used to make merit awards, their perceptions and opinions about the merit system, perceived outcomes from having the system, how much they trusted the administration, how much they trusted their colleagues, and whether they saw the merit system as being used as a negative form of control. Respondents indicated that the more they trusted the administration, the more they saw positive outcomes from the new system. The more the system was seen as a method of negative control, the more respondents reported negative outcomes from the program. In general, support was found for Lawler’s prescriptions regarding the role of trust and valid performance measures in effective merit pay systems.

Examines the relationship between perceived technological self‐efficacy (TSE) ‐ the belief in one’s ability to perform successfully a technology sophisticated new task ‐ and people’s reactions to change. Survey respondents were 205 telecommunications repair technicians, who were being trained to use a new computerized job assignment system. Indicates that technicians with high levels of TSE were significantly more satisfied with their jobs, reported doing more work of a higher quality, demonstrated fewer withdrawal behaviours, and were more committed to the organizations after the change, compared with workers with low TSE. Provides guidelines for enhancing self‐efficacy when making such changes.

Examines the relationship between focus of attention ‐ how much a person thinks about job and off‐job factors during work ‐ and people’s reactions to change. Survey respondents were 205 telecommunications repair technicians who were being trained to use a new computerized job assignment system. Results indicate that technicians with high job focus reacted more strongly to a job change over time, being less absent and more job involved, compared with low job focus technicians. High levels of off‐job focus were associated with increasing levels of withdrawal. Discusses focus of attention’s role in the facilitation of organizational changes.

This paper examines the relationships between four contextual factors related to empowerment (communication with supervisor, general relations with company, teamwork, and concern for performance) and the four components of psychological empowerment (meaning, impact, self‐determination, and competence) identified by Spreitzer and her colleagues. We surveyed 203 employees of a manufacturing firm, using new and established measures of contextual factors and Spreitzer’s measures of empowerment components. The contextual factors were found to be differentially associated with the elements of psychological empowerment. Communication with supervisor and general relations with company were significantly related to the empowerment facets of meaning, self‐determination, and impact, but were not related to the facet of competence. Teamwork was related to meaning and impact. Concern for performance was related to meaning and self‐determination. These associations also varied by type of job. We conclude with implications for research and practice.

In 1991, the International Association for Management Education (AACSB) dramatically changed the way “intellectual contributions” (IC) of colleges of business are measured for accreditation. This fundamental change provided the impetus to re‐engineer a basic organizational process – the performance model – in an academic, not‐for‐profit organization. More specifically, this paper reports on one school’s experience with re‐engineering its IC policy under the newer mission‐driven standards without the overriding goal of “profit.” Our experiences are framed using a standard performance model.

One‐hundred‐thirty‐five university faculties participated in a survey‐based study of burnout. This study investigated the role of person‐organization value congruence on the experience of burnout. Also, the mediating role of burnout on the relationship between person‐organization value congruence and outcomes (in congruence with Maslach, Schaufel and Leiter's theory) was examined. As predicted by a coping/withdrawal framework, burnout was associated with less time spent on teaching, service/administrative tasks, and professional development activities. To a lesser extent, burnout was associated with spending more time on non‐work activities. Person‐organization value congruence was strongly associated with burnout. Value congruence had direct relationships with several of the outcome variables, and, consistent with the model, burnout partially or fully mediated the relationship between congruence and satisfaction, spending less time on teaching, and on professional development activities.

This paper represents a discussion of transfer pricing (TP). Key factors are identified and propositions developed from tax accounting and other perspectives. Stages of the TP decision process are identified along with the critical factors directly affecting sales and a TP audit. Propositions are derived which show relationships among these variables and tax rates, competition, and TP methodologies. Finally, academic research implications are suggested.

This paper aims to utilise a typological matrix as the basis to categorise various corporate‐society interventions. It aims to argue that an instrumental version of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is hegemonic in both the theoretical and normative domains of mainstream research, and that this hegemony underpins an intellectual blockage that prevents the field from achieving critical reflexivity and ultimately, a justifiable raison d'eˆtre.

The paper reflects on the extant CSR literature in the context of globalisation; presents a two‐dimensional typological matrix to be used in positioning corporate‐society interventions; provides examples of particular activities relevant to each quadrant of the matrix; and considers the wider political economy of CSR research.

The logical implications of the corporation as an institution behaving in increasing accordance with the normative expectations of mainstream CSR scholarship will likely lead in the direction of increasing corporate hegemony.

The paper proposes the adoption of the more theoretically coherent and empirically precise terms enlightened self‐interest and corporate social irresponsibility in CSR and related research streams, as well as the institutional relocation of much future CSR research to disciplinary areas outside of the business school.

The typological matrix presented in this paper offers a new way of locating corporate‐society interventions. The partial abandonment of the term “CSR” by researchers, as well as the institutional relocations of much CSR research, are original notions.