Search results

This study examined the effects of behaviour modelling training (BMT) on four measures of training effectiveness two years after the training. The results suggested that BMT had positive effects on trainee reactions and on subjective measures of behavioural change and organisational performance. Positive training outcomes were associated with the degree of congruence between the BMT skills and organisational norms, specific goals and feedback, and external support for the BMT programme.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences in human resource (HR) practices between large and mid‐sized organizations.

With organization life cycle as the theoretical base, this study collects data on HR practices from a sample of mid‐sized firms in one western state and compares the results to a previously published study of HR practices in much larger firms. Mid‐sized firms are defined as having between 300 and 3,000 employees (mean=1,205); the average number of employees in the large firm sample was 30,700.

While there are some similarities in HR practices, it appears that HR organizations in large firms are more targeted at strategic business issues and have achieved a greater degree of outsourcing and/or information technology application for the routine, file maintenance aspects of HR work. On the other hand, HR informants in mid‐sized firms are more operationally focused, appear to be more satisfied with the skills and knowledge of their significantly smaller HR staffs, and give their HR organizations higher ratings on performance along multiple dimensions.

Limitations to the present study include the use of a single informant and a limited sample of mid‐sized firms (n=32). However, the study suggests numerous possibilities for future research, including expansion of the sample both in size and geographic scope, the collection of measures of performance for comparison with those of HR satisfaction, and fuller development of a set of expectations for HR focus dependent on the size and rate of growth of the organization.

The HR practices of large and small (less than 500 employees) firms have been studied in the past. This paper fills a gap in organization life cycle theory by examining HR practices in mid‐sized firms, suggesting in particular that the drive to refocus HR on strategic issues in large firms may be inappropriate in enterprises with 300 to 3,000 employees.

States that outdoor management development (OMD) is on the increase. Based on personal experience, lists the characteristics of effective OMD programmes, and argues that this type of training can be very powerful. On the basis of a review of relevant literature and anecdotal evidence, discusses ten salient features of OMD that account for this power: emotional intensity; psychological safety; consequentiality; enhanced self‐confidence; use of metaphors; unpredictability; experiencing peak performance; multiple skill/knowledge types; developing the whole person; and focus on transfer.

In recent years, organisations around the world have been seriously affected by a range of economic, political and social upheavals that have gathered momentum in most parts of the globe. The viability of the conventional (pyramidal) organisational structures is being challenged in conjunction with major shifts in the roles of mid and top managers. In many countries, the pace of the above socio‐economic events and uncertainties is happening at an unprecedented pace. Some markets are showing signs of potential gigantic expansions while others (historically prosperous) are on the verge of complete collapse (Dent, 1991). In responding to the socio‐economic challenges of the nineties, organisations (across the board) have resorted to dismantling the conventional pyramidal structure and adopting so‐called “leaner” structures (see Zeffane, 1992). The most common struggle has been to maintain market share in an economic environment increasingly characterised by excess labour supply (Bamber, 1990; Green & Macdonald, 1991). As organisations shifted their strategies from “mass production” to “post‐fordism” (see, for example Kern and Schumann, 1987), there has been a significant tendency to emphasise flexibility of both capital and labour in order to cater for the niche markets which are claimed to be rapidly emerging, world‐wide. This has resulted in massive organisational restructuring world‐wide.

The inherent characteristics of professional services (i.e. high in credence properties, customized and featuring information asymmetry) often cause difficulties for clients to confidently evaluate technical outcomes before, during or even after service delivery. This results in considerable client psychological discomfort. This study aims to blend a revised social interaction model and uncertainty reduction theory to investigate the role that service provider’s interpersonal communication style plays in establishing client psychological comfort and satisfaction in a health-care context.

The study draws on cross-sectional data collected from 355 hospital patients following visiting a physician plus an experimental design in an Eastern culture (Thailand).

The study reveals three key findings. First, an affiliative communication style is positively associated with psychological comfort, but not so a dominant communications style. When both styles are presented, the high-affiliative style overshadows the low-dominant style and creates the highest psychological comfort. Second, clients’ perceptions of professional’s affiliative and dominant styles influence psychological comfort differentially under varying conditions of clients’ cognitive social capital, collectivist value-orientation but not service criticality. Third, a competing model suggests psychological comfort acts as a partial mediator between affiliative communication style and satisfaction.

To generalize the findings, further studies might be conducted in other professional services and in individualist Western cultures.

The findings have important managerial implications for the appropriate use of communication style to build psychological comfort and engage clients of professional services firms.

The findings shed light on the important role of an everyday social function – interpersonal communications and how this impacts client psychological comfort and satisfaction.

This is one of the few studies in a services context that examines the impact of professionals’ communications style. Moreover, it examines the impact of cultural value-orientation, cognitive social capital, service criticality in moderating the communications style – client psychological comfort relationship.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

In an increasingly global business environment, the interaction of people with different cultural and ethical norms requires that multinational corporations consider these differences in addressing the concerns of stakeholders at home and abroad. This article examines the cultural and ethical issues facing MNCs in developing an international code of ethics and training expatriate managers.

In the 21^st century, effective church leaders need to be prepared to emphasize and demonstrate ethical leadership, personal responsibility, and community service. The foundation for success in all those areas lies in the ability of church leaders to initiate, develop, and maintain positive functioning relationships. Based on over 40 years experience in various church leadership roles, the author provides his unique relational principles of effective church leadership, including (a) mission, (b) conflict management, (c) power and influence, (d) collaboration, (e) emotions are facts, (f) forgiveness, (g) reconciliation, and (h) love.

This study aims to examine consumer purchase behavior towards E-pharmacy from a consumption value perspective. For this purpose, the influence of consumption values on consumer purchase intention is evaluated. Further, the role of consumer involvement in online purchase setup in the context of E-pharmacy is observed using moderation analysis.

The study used a cross-sectional survey design, wherein the respondents in the Delhi-National Capital Region of India were approached using a purposive sampling method. Responses received through the structured questionnaire were subjected to analysis using Smart PLS Version 4.0.9.6.

Results indicate a significant influence of functional (partial), emotional, social and conditional values on consumers’ purchase intention. Moreover, the moderation effect of consumer online involvement is seen in functional value (partial) and emotional value–purchase intention relationships.

This study reinforces the use of the consumption value perspective to explain consumer purchase behavior toward information system (IS)-based platforms such as E-pharmacy. Some of the results, in this context, that did not establish significant relationships between a given form of consumption values and purchase intention, open up the possibilities of retesting the said relationships in the future. The researchers would realize the benefit of such examinations, as the E-pharmacy sector further evolves and matures in the future. Further, the successful establishment of a significant moderating role of consumer online involvement in certain consumption value-purchase intention relationships such as safety, perceived convenience and comfort value paves the way for future researchers to explore consumer online involvement for a similar role in IS research.

This study provides cues for E-pharmacy marketers to focus on enhancing product safety, usage comfort, users’ social image and awareness toward health consciousness that will help build purchase intention and assist in overcoming the challenges in the long run. It further suggests that marketers should have a strong re-look at forming price value perceptions and they must enhance the interactive features of the company’s mobile apps/websites with the help of the emerging artificial intelligence tools to re-orient the epistemic value and perceived convenience value toward E-pharmacy services. Furthermore, this study recommends following digital marketing practices to increase consumer online involvement, which would help strengthen perceived convenience formation that would otherwise be difficult to attain for E-pharmacy consumers.

This study provides novel insight into consumer purchase intention evaluation through the consumption value perspective in an emerging E-pharmacy market. The consumption value frame of reference helps to understand consumers’ buying rationale that affects their buying behavior beyond the initial adoption. Further, the moderation analysis of consumer online involvement provides an additional dimension to understanding consumer buying behavior concerning E-pharmacy.