UNT Theses and Dissertations - 95 Matching Results

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Trust and Governance in Hybrid Relationships: An Investigation of Logistics Alliances
Transaction cost economics (TCE) theorists traditionally have classified transactions between firms as governed by either market or hierarchy. By assessing characteristics of the transaction - asset specificity, uncertainty, and frequency - firms choose the governance form which minimizes transaction costs, the costs of administering the business deal. During the 1980s, however, TCE has found itself unable to explain the proliferation of strategic alliances. These hybrid relationships seek the benefits of both markets and hierarchies, including quasi-integration, the control of assets without actual ownership. Further, hybrids tend to prefer trust-based relational contracting. TCE's acknowledgment of hybrids, however, raises other questions surrounding the behavioral assumptions which supposedly influence the transaction characteristic governance linkage. Various dissenting researchers have theorized that (1) trust is more dominant in business than opportunism (2) the behavioral assumptions actually function as variables in different contexts, and (3) trust offers an integration mechanism for behavioral variables.
Strategic Reorientation in the Computer Software and Furniture Industries: a Hierarchical Regression Analysis
Insufficient literature exists in the area of incremental and revolutionary change to explain and predict the convergence and reorientation phenomena happening in organizations. The process of strategic reorientation involves the internal organizational complexities of fast-paced (within two years) changes in competitive strategy as a necessary condition coupled with changes in at least two of organization structure, power distribution, and control systems. Antecedent forces believed to influence the discontinuous change process include industry sales turbulence, structural inertia/firm size, firm past financial performance, CEO turnover, top management team turnover, management team heterogeneity, management environmental awareness, and external attributions for negative financial performance. Punctuated equilibrium was the foundational theory for this study in which a strategic reorientation model published in Strategic Management Journal was reconstructed. The research question was: What seem to be the significant time-based antecedent forces or conditions that lead to strategic reorientation? The study used two hierarchical logit regression models to analyze data gathered from COMPUSTAT PC Industrial Data Base and Compact Disclosure (CD-ROM) over the years 1987-1993 from the turbulent computer software and stable furniture industries. Qualitative data were found in 10-K reports and President's Letters in Annual Reports filed with the SEC and available on Laserdisclosure. The sample, exclusive of 3 multivariate outliers, included 74 software firms and 43 furniture firms for a pooled total of 117 firms. When separate industries were analyzed using the first of the Systat logit hierarchical regressions, results showed no statistically significant effects. By contrast, when data were pooled, the second hierarchical logit regression model, which included industry turbulence and firm size, showed these one-tailed statistically significant results: strategic reorientation is positively affected by prior industry turbulence and CEO turnover, but is negatively affected by prior top management team turnover and the interaction between industry turbulence and external attributions for negative financial performance.
Strategic International Human Resource Management: an Analysis of the Relationship between International Strategic Positioning and the Degree of Integrated Strategic Human Resource Management
In Strategic International Human Resource Management (SIHRM), the human resource function is actively involved in the strategic activities of the firm. While the idea holds promise as a useful response to global competition, previous research has provided limited supporting empirical evidence. Specifically, few studies have sought to equate certain outcomes with the degree of SIHRM practiced across various types of international firms. By separating firms into categories such as multidomestic, global, and hybrid, and by classifying SIHRM according to the degree of integration with strategic planning, a clearer picture could emerge as to the relationship between firm and SIHRMtype. To that end, top strategic executives, such as CEOs, and top HRM executives from eighty four U.S. based firms were surveyed regarding their firm type, the degree of SIHRM practiced, and certain outcomes such as amount of expatriate training and expatriate failure. Additionally, financial results were obtained to determine performance of various firms. Results indicated that while many companies choose a highly integrated formof SIHRM, there is no significant relationship between firm type and SIHRMtype. Additionally, there was no association detected between SIHRMtype and expatriate training and expatriate failure. Finally, there was no significant difference infinancialperformance between firms with the most integrated type of SIHRMand firms with less integrated versions. Interestingly, the HRMprofessionals were more likely to equate their firms with the most integrated types of SIHRMthan were other managers. This may mean that the relationship between HRM and strategic planning is often one of perception. A model of the relationships between SIHRM, firm type, HRM activities, and outcomes is proposed, along with suggestions for future research and limitations of the study.
Introduction of Self-Manage Work Teams at a Brownfield Site: a Study of Organization-Based Self-Esteem and Performance
This empirical study is aimed at understanding the patterns of relationships among the organization structure of self-managed work teams in terms of three sets of constructs: 1. organization-based self-esteem; 2. consequent behaviors of intrinsic work motivation, general job satisfaction, organization citizenship, and organization commitment; and 3. performance. The primary significance of this study is that it adds to the pool of empirical knowledge in the field of self-managed work team research. The significance of this study to practicing managers is that it can help them make better-informed decisions on the use of the self-managed work team structure. This study was a sample survey composed of five standardized questionnaires using a five-point Likert-type scale, open-ended questions, and demographic questions. Unstructured interviews supplemented the structured survey and for means of triangulation of results. The variables were analyzed using regression analysis for the purpose of path analysis. The site was a manufacturing plant structured around self-managed work teams. The population was full-time, first-line production employees.
Small Business Owner-Managers and Corporate Managers: a Comparative Study of Achievement Motivation, Risk Taking Propensity and Preference for Innovation
Despite the economic significance of entrepreneurship, relatively little is known about the entrepreneur, particularly how the entrepreneur differs from the corporate manager. This problem is both cause and symptom of the discord regarding definitions of the entrepreneur, rendering sampling, research replication and generalizations about entrepreneurs problematic. As a result, inquiry has failed to adequately establish how entrepreneurs differ from managers, a problem partially stemming from a dearth of methodologically rigorous comparisons of entrepreneurs with managers. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of psychological constructs to predict a proclivity for entrepreneurship. Moreover, differences in types of small business owner-managers were also investigated. Included in the research model were three common themes in the entrepreneurship literature: achievement motivation, risk taking propensity and preference for innovation. Also incorporated were the interactions of the psychological constructs, as well as individual and firm demographic variables.
The Relationship between Just-in-Time Purchasing and Total Quality Management and Their Effects on the Performance of Firms Operating in the U.S.: an Empirical Investigation
U.S. companies have implemented just-in-time purchasing (JITP) and total quality management (TQM) techniques to improve their global competitive position. The lack of empirical research on these techniques with firm's performance is the reason to explain further their strategic values as management innovations in different types and sizes of organizations. From a theoretical foundation on the relations between innovation, strategy and performance, the following research questions were generated: (1) Are JITP and TQM positively related to the firm's performance?, (2) Do the combination/sequence of implementing JITP and TQM have a relation with the firm's performance?, and (3) Is the relationship between JITP and TQM to the firm's performance moderated by any of industry type, firm size,firm type and/or duration of JITP and TQM techniques? A model is developed and hypotheses are proposed. A survey is mailed to firms operating in the U.S. that have implemented one or both techniques. Questionnaire items measuring JITP, TQM, performance, and moderating variables - industry type, firm size,firm type, and duration of JIT purchasing and TQM techniques— are either developed or borrowed from other studies. From rosters of the American Society for Quality Control and the National Association of Purchasing Management, 1884 target respondents result in a 20.3 percent response rate. Reliability and factor analysis of the constructs are established. The research model is tested by canonical correlation analyses before a separate hierarchical regression analysis of sets is run for each of the three performance factors: financial and market, time-based quality and material productivity. The extent of JITP and TQM implementation positively and significantly relate with firm's performance. Furthermore, the relation between JITP and financial and market performance is higher in industries that face high foreign competition. Firm size, firm type and duration of JITP and TQM techniques are nonsignificant moderators. An improved research model is …
An Investigation of the Relationship between Work Value Congruence in a Dyad and Organizational Commitment as Mediated by Organizational Influences
Researchers suggest that value congruence in superior-subordinate dyads results in positive outcomes for an organization (Kemelgor, 1980; Meglino, Ravlin, & Adkins, 1989; 1990; Parkington & Schneider, 1979; Senger, 1971; Weeks, Chonko, Kahle, 1989). Further, evidence is presented which suggests that commitment at the organizational level is achieved, in part, through value congruence at the individual level of analysis. Analysis at the individual level reflects the effect of shared values on interpersonal relations. Work value congruence in a dyad enhances the development of a high quality dyadic relationship. The subordinate in such a relationship perceives being allowed more participation in decision making, more positive work experiences, and less role stress (Turban & Jones, 1988). These items have been found to be predictor variables of commitment from Steer's (1977) framework of antecedents. In this study, a research model was proposed which suggests that work value congruence in the subordinate-superior dyad leads to organizational commitment through its effect on subordinate perceptions of role stress characteristics, participation, and work experiences. The model integrates the organizational aspects of the Steer's (1977) framework for organizational commitment with the interpersonal effect of work value congruence. A field study design using a sample of 96 subordinate-superior dyads at a large Midwestern manufacturing corporation was used for the study. The influence of dyadic work value congruence on organizational commitment as mediated by subordinate perceptions of role stress, participation, and initiation structure/consideration were tested using hierarchical regression. The results of the study indicate that value congruence has a direct influence on OC rather than being mediated by perceptions of role stress characteristics, participation in decision making, and work experiences as predicted in the proposed model. Role stress characteristics and participation in decision making were also found to directly influence levels of OC, however, support was not found for the positive …
Effectiveness in Company-sponsored Foundations : A Utilization of the Competing Values Framework
The purpose of this study was to determine the criteria used by foundation directors in assessing the effectiveness of contribution programs in company sponsored foundations. Quinn and Rohrbaugh's Competing Values Approach of organizational effectiveness was used as the theoretical framework for the study. The Competing Values Approach is an integrative effectiveness model which clusters eight criteria of effectiveness into four theoretical models of organizational effectiveness.
The Impact on the Buyer-Seller Relationship of Firms Using Electronic Data Interchange
This research investigated whether the buyer-seller interorganizational relationship (IOR) differed between a firm and two classes of customers. The first class used electronic data interchange (EDI) with the firm and the second class used the traditional paper-based purchasing system. IOR characteristics included reputation, skill, direct power, indirect power, reciprocity, and efficiency.
An Examination of the Similarities and Differences Between Transformational and Authentic Leadership and Their Relationship to Followers' Outcomes
To date there is no comprehensive understanding of what leadership is, nor is there an agreement among different theorists on what a good or effective leader should be. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the theoretical and empirical similarities and differences of two styles of leadership – transformational and authentic leadership. Follower outcomes, as well as, the effects of trust and psychological capital within these paradigms are of particular interest. Although theoretical differences are proposed for the leadership style, the extent of overlap suggests the need to more closely examine each theory. Pilot studies were created to validate original scenarios created for the study as well as to examine the validity and reliability of new measurement instruments. The dissertation is designed to determine whether the relationships between authentic leadership and a variety of follower outcomes including performance, affective commitment, satisfaction, trust, and organizational citizenship behavior are similar to those between transformational leadership and these outcomes. In addition, variables more unique to authentic leadership research including psychological capital and follower well-being were examined within both paradigms to determine whether their relationships are similar to each type of leadership style. An experimental study using Qualtrics was used to collect the data with the expectation that there would be significant differences in the two styles of leadership such that each explains unique variance in follower behavior. The results of this dissertation support the lack of perceptual difference between the two theories of leadership. The results of this experiment do not come completely unexpected because of the ethical overlap between the two styles of leadership. Although subjects in the experiment could differentiate authentic leadership from transformational leadership based on the manipulations, authentic leadership effects were not significantly different when compared to transformational leadership effects. As a result, analyses in my research do …
Institutionalization of Ethics: a Cross-Cultural Perspective
Business ethics is a much debated issue in contemporary America. As many ethical improprieties gained widespread attention, organizations tried to control the damage by institutionalizing ethics through a variety of structures, policies, and procedures. Although the institutionalization of ethics has become popular in corporate America, there is a lack of research in this area. The relationship between the cultural dimensions of individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity and the perceptions of managers regarding the institutionalization of ethics is investigated in this study. This research also examined whether managers' level of cognitive moral development and locus of control influenced their perceptions. Data collection was performed through a mail survey of managers in the U.S. and India. Out of the 174 managers of American multinationals who responded to the survey, 86 were Americans and 88 were Indians. Results revealed that managers' perceptions were influenced by the four cultural dimensions. Managerial perceptions regarding the effectiveness of codes of ethics and the influence of referent groups varied according to their nationality. But, managers from both countries found implicit forms of institutionalizing ethics, such as organizational systems, culture, and leadership to be more effective in raising the ethical climate of organizations than explicit forms such as codes of ethics, ethics officers, and ethics ombudspeople. The results did not support the influence of moral reasoning level and locus of control type on managerial perceptions. The results suggested that in order for ethics institutionalization efforts to be successful, there must be a fit or compatibility between the implicit and explicit forms of institutionalizing ethics. The significance of this study rests on the fact that it enriched our understanding of how national culture affects managerial perceptions regarding the institutionalization of ethics. This is the first comparative study between U.S. managers and Indian managers that examines the variables, …
Cultural Diversity and Team Performance: Testing for Social Loafing Effects
The concept of social loafing is important with regard to organizational effectiveness particularly as organizations are relying on teams as a means to drive productivity. The composition of those teams is likely to reflect the current movement of racial and ethnic minorities in the work place. The primary purpose of this research was to determine the role cultural diversity plays in enhancing performance and thereby eliminating social loafing. The research study is significant because 1) it is among the first to use culturally diverse work groups while examining the social loafing phenomenon, and 2) the groups were intact project teams, rather than ad-hoc groups commonly found in social loafing experiments. It was anticipated that the members of culturally homogeneous groups would engage in social loafing when their individual efforts were "buried." However, subjects in both culturally diverse and culturally homogeneous groups resisted social loafing behaviors. Additional statistical analysis revealed that as group orientation increased, performance levels increased as well. Group orientation, then, appears to be a more powerful determinant of performance than group composition. It is expected that the time these groups had together and the performance feedback opportunities provided them, prior to the experiment, contributed significantly to these results. Future research suggestions were made that could help establish a causal relationship.
An Empirical Investigation of Personal and Situational Factors That Relate to the Formation of Entrepreneurial Intentions
New entrepreneurial organizations emerge as a result of careful thought and action. Therefore, entrepreneurship may be considered an example of planned behavior. Previous research suggests that intentions are the single best predictor of planned behavior. Given the significance of intentions, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the personal characteristics of the entrepreneur and perceived environmental factors, and entrepreneurial intentions.
The Relationship Between Environmental Barriers and Modes of Technology Transfer: A Study of United States Companies with Operations in Mexico
This study is an empirical evaluation of the relationship between perceptions of the elements of the remote environment of business and the mode of transfer utilized by 90 United States companies transferring technology to Mexico. Characteristics of the technology, the company, and the industry were found, from a thorough search of the literature, to be the key aspects of technology transfer. The primary hypothesis predicted that a significant relationship would exist between perceptions of barriers and choice of transfer mode.
Determination of the Relationship Between Ethical Positions and Intended Behavior Among Managers
This study was conducted to determine the relationship between managers' ethical positions and their intended behavior.
The Manager as a Source of Departmental Power in a Manufacturing Company
The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between position-related sources of power and person-related sources of power in organizations. The subject is the power of an organizational sub-unit compared to other units. Theory on the structural sources of power is well established in the literature. The question in this study is whether the individual manager, the person, is another major source of power for the organizational unit. A major objective of the study is to fill this gap in the literature on power in organizations. A secondary objective of this study is to see if one can rank the individual position-related sources of power and person-related sources of power, identified through a literature review, within each group in terms of their relative importance. The type of this study is exploratory. It is a descriptive study explaining the "what is" about the relationship between position and person sources of power in a manufacturing company. Results indicate that there is a two-way relationship between manager power and department power, and that one can rank order the sources of power in terms of their contribution to a department's or manager's power. Power is defined in this study as the ability to get things done.
Influence of Significant Other and Locus of Control Dimensions on Women Entrepreneur Business Outcomes
The personality characteristic locus of control internality is widely-accepted as a trait possessed by women entrepreneurs. Recent research also suggests the presence of a coexisting attribute of similar strength, characterized as influence of a significant other. The presence of one personality characteristic implying perception of self-directed capability, together with indication of need for external assistance, poses a theoretical paradox. The study's purpose was to determine the nature and extent of direct and interactive effects which these and related variables had on entrepreneur return on investment. It was hypothesized that dimensions of significant other, as operationalized for this research, would support internality of locus of control and also modify constraining effects of educational and experiential disadvantage which the literature cites as pertinent to women entrepreneurs. This was nonexperimental, exploratory research of correlational cross-sectional design which examined hypothesized variable linkages. A convenience sample from a women's entrepreneur networking group was surveyed. Significant other elements were derived from factor analysis, resulting in four common dimensions. These factors, together with Rotter's Locus of Control instrument scores, reports on levels of education and experience, and hypothesized interactions, were independent variables. Hierarchial multiple regression was used to test a proposed path model. Two interpretable four-factor solutions derived from significant other variables were tested in two models. Although neither model attained overall significance, individual variables were directionally as hypothesized, and locus of control and certain factoral dimensions attained bivariate significance. Significant other factors appear to influence locus of control through statistical suppression as they interact with other variables. Results point toward a possibility that significant others who most affect female entrepreneur performance are those who give specific advice and aid, rather than moral support. Further research to explore what seems a strong relationship between return on investment and locus of control internality is recommended.
A Study of the Relationships between Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Corporate Performance
This work collected four years of financial data from an employee-owned firm and a traditionally-owned firm from the same industry. The data were then organized to provide measures of three dimensions of corporate performance: (1) employee turnover, (2) productivity, and (3) profitability. Based upon a review of the literature, employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) are reported to enhance corporate performance after their adoption. Additionally, ESOPs are purported to perform better than traditionally-owned companies. This dissertation developed hypotheses to ascertain whether or not the particular ESOP used in this study conformed to these expectations. The first set of three hypotheses was tested using multiple regression techniques to determine if the ESOP experienced a reduction in turnover, an improvement in productivity, and an increase in profitability following its conversion to employee-ownership. The results of the regressions found that there was no incremental significance. There was no improvement noted in the performance of the ESOP firm. Another component of this investigation was to determine whether improvements in corporate performance were temporary or permanent phenomena. This portion of the research was rendered superfluous when no improvements were available for analysis. The final question that was examined was whether the ESOP would demonstrate better performance than a traditionally-owned control firm during the post-intrusion period. There was no significant difference discovered in productivity and profitability. A marked difference was identified in terms of turnover. However, it was the traditionally-owned firm which performed better than the employee-owned firm—the opposite of what was predicted. These findings, although interesting, had to be evaluated as inconclusive because of innate differences between the treatment and control firms. The variance between the two companies may be attributed to such factors as company size and marked differences in their respective labor markets. The ESOP used in this study did not demonstrate any of …
Dominant Decision Cues in Labor Arbitration; Standards Used in Alcohol and Drug Cases
During the past twenty years, extensive research has been conducted concerning the judgmental processes of labor arbitrators. Previous research, sometimes referred to as policy capturing, attempted to identify the criteria or standards used by arbitrators to support their decisions. Much of the research was qualitative. Due to the categorical nature of the dependent variables, log-linear models such as logit regression have been used to examine decisional relationships in more recent studies. The decision cues used by arbitrators in 249 published alcohol- and drug-related arbitration cases were examined. The justifications for arbitrators' decisions were fitted into Carroll Daugherty's "seven tests" of just cause. The dominant cues were proof of misconduct, the appropriateness of the penalty, and the business necessity of management's action. Foreknowledge of the rule by the grievant and the consequences of a violation, equal treatment of the grievant, and an appropriate investigation by management were also important decision cues. In general, grievants in alcohol and drug arbitration cases fared as well as grievants in any other disciplinary arbitrations. However, when the cases were analyzed based on the legal status of the drug, illicit drug users were at a considerable disadvantage.
A Study of the Relationship between the Intensity of Short-Range and Medium-Range Capacity Management and the Effectivenesss of Manufacturing Operations
The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between intensity of short-range and medium-range capacity management and effectiveness of manufacturing operations. Data were collected to test the null hypothesis which stated that intensity of short-range and medium-range capacity management does not influence manufacturing effectiveness. Intensity of short-range and medium-range capacity management was indicated by the following variables: (1) production standards; (2) priority determination; (3) delivery dates determination; (4) material requirements planning; (5) routing information; (6) capacity utilization; and (7) backlog measurement. Manufacturing effectiveness was indicated by the following variables: (1) delivery dates performance; (2) lead times; (3) subcontract work; (4) direct labor overtime; (5) direct labor efficiency; (6) plant and equipment utilization; and (7) work in process inventory. The population selected to provide data for this study is the manufacturing firms in the State of Texas with five hundred or more employees. Over 42 percent of the eligible firms responded to a six-page questionnaire. Several multivariate techniques were utilized for data analysis: (1) factor analysis; (2) canonical correlation analysis; (3) bivariate correlation; (4) multiple linear regression; (5) cross-tabulation; and (6) analysis of variance. The results of this research did not adequately support the rejection of the null hypothesis. However, they did definitely identify a distinct group of capacity management intensity variables that influence manufacturing effectiveness in specific cases. Intensity variables were placed in three groups that identified how influential they were over the effectiveness measures. The most influential group included the variables: production standards and material requirements planning. The indication for the manufacturing manager is to concentrate on improvements in these areas. Effectiveness variables were also placed in three groups that identified the level at which the variables were influenced by the intensity variables. The highly influenced group included plant and equipment utilization and delivery dates performance.
Environmental Scanning Behavior in Physical Therapy Private Practice Firms: its Relationship to the Level of Entrepreneurship and Legal Regulatory Environment
This study examined the effects of entrepreneurship level and legal regulatory environment on environmental scanning in one component of the health services industry, private practice physical therapy. Two aspects of scanning served as dependent variables: (1) extent to which firms scrutinized six environmental sectors (competitor, customer, technological, regulatory, economic, social-political) and (2) frequency of information source use (human vs. written). Availability of information was a covariate for frequency of source use. Three levels of entrepreneurship were determined by scores on the Covin and Slevin (1986) entrepreneurship scale. Firms were placed in one of three legal regulatory categories according to the state in which the firm delivered services. A structured questionnaire was sent to 450 randomly selected members of the American Physical Therapy Association's Private Practice Section. Respondents were major decision makers, e.g., owners, chief executive officers. The sample was stratified according to three types of regulatory environment. A response rate of 75% was achieved (n = 318) with equal representation from each stratum. All questionnaire subscales exhibited high internal reliability and validity. The study used a 3x3 factorial design to analyze the data. Two multivariate analyses were conducted, one for each dependent variable set. Results indicated that "high" entrepreneurial level firms scanned the technological, competitor and customer environmental sectors to a significantly greater degree than "middle" or "low" level groups, regardless of type of legal regulatory environment. Also, "high" level firms were found to use human sources to a significantly greater degree than did lower level groups. Empirical evidence supporting Miles and Snow's (1978) proposition that "high" level entrepreneurial firms (prospectors) monitor a wider range of environmental conditions when compared to "low" level (defender) firms was presented. The results also confirmed that market and technological environments were scanned most often. Finally, the results added to the construct validity of the …
Trends in Strategic Planning in Private Social Service Agencies: A Test of the Ramanujam and Venkatraman Planning Model
This study modified the Ramanujam and Venkatraman (1987) questionnaire that was used to develop their model of planning system dimensions and planning effectiveness, and tested the model on a sample of private social service agencies. The criterion measures were level of planning sophistication, agency size, perceived environmental uncertainty, and relative competitive position. The sample was randomly drawn from private social service agencies which were members of the Community Council of Greater Dallas. Telephone interviews with fifty executive directors were conducted by a trained, impartial interviewer. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to predict group membership between informal and formal planners. Of the nine dimensions in the model, three dimensions correctly classified 84 percent of the sample. The three dimensions were fulfillment of planning objectives, use of decision making techniques, and lack of resistance to planning. The level of perceived environmental uncertainty was another criterion set. Directors who perceived high uncertainty paid more attention to the external environment, used more decision making techniques, and relied on functional specialists when planning. Large and small agencies were classified by their annual budgets. Stepwise discriminant analysis using the planning system dimensions failed to reject the null hypothesis. Agencies reporting strong relative competitive positions placed greater emphasis on seeking information for planning from external sources. These agencies also reported less resistance for planning within their organizations, fulfillment of more planning objectives, and a flexible planning system. The discriminant analysis correctly classifed 74 percent of the sample. Finally, the study provided some baseline information on the use of planning techniques by private social service agencies. Just over half of the sample reported having written strategic plans covering at least three years.
Visual Aspects of Internal Correspondence and Their Impact on Communication Effectiveness
Technologists predict that electronic information dissemination will create a paperless work environment. In spite of such predictions, paper-based internal communication will remain the primary medium for disseminating information in organizations for decades to come. However, electronic technology will have an impact on paper information production that may be more profound than changes following word processing's introduction. Previously unavailable for everyday production to enhance word meaning, certain graphic techniques now can be used to access readers' preconditioned symbol meanings to increase comprehension of routine correspondence and information internalization. This quasi-experimental field study examines interactions among laser-printer graphic treatment and communication variables as contributors to explaining variance in comprehension. Set Multiple Regression/Correlation analysis identifies significant variance explained by conditional relationships between near-typeset quality text and readers' self-interest and between near-typeset quality text and text's readability. The conditional relationship of near-typeset quality and self-interest shows increase in reader comprehension at a greater rate than the comprehension increase rate attributed to the reader's self-interest increase alone. This suggests that conditional relationships may be accessing an internal judgment process interpreting greater self-interest in near-typeset printed text. The conditional relationship between near-typeset quality and readability reveals that at more difficult reading levels comprehension is greater for near-typeset text. The significance of this relationship indicates that an internal judgment process is involved rather than the difference being attributed to legibility treatment. The strength of these conditional relationships suggests that planning for communication policies and practices should be a part of organizational strategic planning in the same ways as are financial analysis, operations planning, or human resource management.
Determinants of Small Firm Performance: the Importance of Selected Managerial Personality Traits, Perceived Environmental Uncertainty, Scanning Activities, and Managerial Goal Setting Activities
Much of the previous research on organizational performance deals with the larger businesses. As such, the owner/managers of small firms and researchers interested in small businesses have had to work with planning models which were not formulated with small businesses in mind. Therefore, the general purpose of this study is to help correct this deficiency and add to the body of knowledge concerning the contributions specific factors make toward increasing the performance of small firms. Specifically, selected managerial personality traits, managerial perceived environmental uncertainty, managerial scanning habits, and managerial goal setting activities are utilized to develop three models. The three models are used to determine the relationship the factors have to each other and the contribution the variables make toward the performance of the firm. The firms included in this study are located in a South Central metropolitan area. The firms have between 2 and 100 employees, sales of less than 3 million dollars, and have been in operation 2 years or longer. This study utilizes regression analysis and path analysis to determine the effects the factors have on each other and their contribution to the firm's performance. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSSx) is utilized to run the regression analysis. An Analysis of Linear Structural Relationships by the Method of Maximum Likelihood (LISREL) is utilized for the path analysis. Using path analysis, the third model demonstrates a total coefficient of determination for structural equations of 0.09. However, only two of the four factors have a t value of 2.0 or greater. The study also indicates the personality trait of dogmatism is inversely related to managerial scanning -.349 p <.01. Perceived environmental uncertainty is negatively correlated to performance at -.215 p <.05. None of the remaining factors demonstrated significant relationship to the firm's performance.
The Effects of the Conflict Settlement Process on the Expressed Degree of Organizational Commitment
The purpose of this research was to study the effect of the conflict settlement process on the degree of expressed organizational commitment of employees in a collective bargaining setting. The research was done in a basic industry in northern Alabama. The instrument included the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Mowday, Porter, and Steers. Demographic variables measured were education, age, and sex. Main effects variables were tenure; union membership; and self-described experience with and feeling toward grievance/arbitration as a category 1 grievant, category 2 grievant, witness, and supervisor. Data were analyzed with hierarchical multiple regression. No statistically significant results were found. Limitations included the economic climate of the region and the industrial relations climate of the company.
Hostile Environment: A Discriminant Model of the Perceptions of Working Women
This study examines the problem of operationally defining "hostile environment" sexual harassment, ruled a type of disparate treatment actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by the United States Supreme Court on June 19, 1986. Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines a hostile environment as an "intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment," there is no consensus as to what is "offensive" behavior. An extensive review of the literature yielded various attempts to define and ascertain the magnitude of sexual harassment, but the fact that the actual percentages varied indicates that this is a difficult issue to measure. As perception by the victim is the key, this study surveyed 125 working women from all over the United States to determine their perceptions of behaviors that constitute sexual harassment. Discriminant analysis was then used to correctly classify 95% of the women according to their perceptions of having experienced sexual harassment. Using tests for proportions, three hypotheses were found significant. Women who have been sexually harassed are more likely to view sexual harassment as a major problem. Older men are more likely to have their behavior perceived as sexual harassment. In addition, women who have experienced acts such as staring, flirting, or touching in the workplace are more likely to perceive those acts as sexual harassment. The hypotheses deemed not statistically significant yielded interesting results. Younger women are not more likely to be harassed than older women. Neither are single or divorced women more likely to experience sexual harassment. All women, regardless of age, marital status, or geographic location, are vulnerable to sexual harassment. Of importance are which variables contributed the most to the women's perceptions of sexual harassment. None of the demographic variables was found significant, but the women perceived that they had been sexually harassed if sexual remarks, …
The Introduction of Robotic Technology: Perceptions of the Work Force of an Aerospace Defense Company
This dissertation examines the effect that the introduction of an advanced manufacturing technology, specifically robotics, has on the work force of an aerospace defense company. In this endeavor, there are two main objectives. First, this study determines whether workers feel that their jobs are threatened by the introduction of robotic technology. Secondly, the research compares the degree to which workers from different labor types feel this threat. A review of the literature reveals that the technical factors involving manufacturing technology have been thoroughly examined and discussed, but the effect that they have on the work force has been somewhat neglected. This dissertation develops ten hypotheses to ascertain the perceived threat to job security for workers within an aerospace defense company. This study is based on an employee survey that examined the employee's perceived threat to job security by the introduction of robotics. The primary research was obtained from employees within an aerospace defense company through the use of questionnaires in a three phase approach. The first phase utilized a pretest that sampled the questionnaire prior to the company-wide solicitation. The second phase administered the questionnaire to the three labor types within the work force. Phase three consisted of data reduction and the comparison of the primary data to the research hypotheses. The results of the study concluded that workers closer to the robotic technology (hands-on employees) felt more threatened about their job security than workers more removed from the technology (support personnel and management). It was further found that the hands-on workers felt that the major factor that lead to the introduction of robots was the desire to lower labor costs while support personnel and managers felt that the major factor that lead to the introduction of robots was due to increasing productivity. Additional hypotheses tested in this study include …
Structural Holes and Simmelian Ties: Exploring Social Capital, Task Interdependence, and Individual Effectiveness
Two contrasting notions have been put forward on how social capital may influence individual effectiveness in organizations. Burt (1992) sets forth the informational and control advantages that are possible by building an open network characterized by large numbers of structural holes. In contrast, Coleman (1990) and Simmel (1950) have suggested that network closure, exemplified by large numbers of Simmelian ties, enables actors to develop trust, cohesiveness, and norms which contribute to effectiveness. Simmelian ties are strong, reciprocal ties shared by three actors. It is proposed that an actor's network cannot be dominated by both structural holes and Simmelian ties. Thus, this study examines whether a moderating variable is at work. It is proposed that the actor's task interdependence in the workplace influences the relationship between network closure and individual effectiveness. Actors in less task interdependent environments will benefit especially from the information and control benefits afforded by a network characterized by structural holes. Conversely, actors in highly interdependent environments will benefit especially from the creation of trust and cooperation that result from large numbers of Simmelian ties. Data was collected on 113 subjects in three organizations. Subjects were asked to rate the strength of their relationship with all organization members and their own level of task interdependence. Contrary to expectations, nearly all subjects reported high levels of task interdependence. Raters in each organization provided individual effectiveness measures for all subjects. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical set regression and bivariate correlation. The results indicated support for the hypothesized relationship of Simmelian ties with task interdependence. When examining all cases, no support was found for the hypothesized relationship of structural holes and Simmelian ties with individual effectiveness and of structural holes with task interdependence. Nonetheless, additional analyses provided some indication of an association between Simmelian ties and individual effectiveness. Task interdependence did …
Customer Induced Uncertainty and Its Impact on Organizational Design
How firms facing environmental uncertainty should organize their activities remains an important and challenging question for today's managers and organizational researchers. Proponents of contingency theory have argued that organizations must adjust their activities to fit the level of environmental uncertainty to ensure long-term survival. Although much work has been done on contingency theory, it is clear that our understanding of uncertainty is far from complete. One important aspect of today's organizations is their focus on service, mass customization, and continuous innovation. This focus often results in the customer being brought either into the organization or at least into closer contact with it. Even though the literature provides numerous evidences of the increasing customer focus, it is yet to empirically explain how the complications of customer-organizational interactions might create uncertainty for contemporary organizations. The traditional measure of uncertainty still considers customers as an environmental factor causing demand uncertainty while ignoring the complex nature of customer and organizational encounters. Seeking to further refine the concept of uncertainty and focusing on the contemporary business phenomena, this study develops measures aspects of customer induced uncertainty and examines their relationships with three organizational design variables. Specifically, this study explains the complicated nature of customer - organizational encounters that creates organizational uncertainty. Also, this study develops three operational measurement instruments for the three aspects of customer induced uncertainty. Finally, this study shows specific relationships between aspects of customer induced uncertainty and specific organizational design variables. This study conducted a mail survey of middle level managers. With a sample size of 118 the measurement instruments were shown to have validity and reliability using factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. Regression analyses indicate the presence of specific rather than general relationship between customer induced uncertainty variables and organizational design variables. Regression results suggested that the relationships between customer induced …
An investigation of the relationships between job characteristics, satisfaction, and team commitment as influenced by organization-based self-esteem within a team-based environment
Team-based management is a popular contemporary method of redesigning jobs in order to more effectively utilize the human potential of employees. The use of such management techniques should result in increased satisfaction and team commitment; however, many research studies have failed to demonstrate increases in affective outcomes on the part of the employee. The research question examined in this study is, "What specific job dimensions and situational factors result in higher levels of satisfaction and team commitment?" The Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) provided a basis for this study. The model was designed for individual contributors and has not been extensively used in team research. As expected it was found that within a team-based environment higher levels of the five core job dimensions of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and job feedback were associated with increased satisfaction and team commitment. Organization-based self-esteem was found to mediate the relationship between the five core job dimensions and the affective outcome variables. Contrary to expectations, however, it was found that consultative team members experienced higher levels of satisfaction and commitment than substantive team members. In addition, consultative team members reported higher levels of two core job dimensions, skill variety and task significance, and on the overall Job Diagnostic Survey than did substantive team members. These findings have significant implications for companies undergoing organizational redesign and questions whether those companies should implement advanced levels of employee involvement activities if the organizational goal is to increase satisfaction and commitment. The study employed a survey research design in which data was collected using a self-report questionnaire. A heterogeneous sample of 183 team members participating in either a consultative and substantive team from four different companies in nine locations provided the data for this field survey. Multivariate analyses, including hierarchial set regression, were …
The Value of Ties: Impact of Director Interlocks on Acquisition Premium and Post-acquisition Performance
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) evolved as alternative governance structures for firms seeking to combine resources with other firms, access larger markets, or acquire strategic assets. In spite of managers’ enthusiasm about the practice, studies show mixed results regarding post-acquisition performance of acquiring firms. The impact of acquisitions on the performance of acquiring firms has therefore remained inconclusive. A few reasons for this have been suggested and recent meta-analytic research efforts indicate that studies in M&A may have ignored variables that have significant effects on post-acquisition performance. In a bid to extend the literature on M&A and identify cogent variables that impact on acquisition performance, this dissertation draws on social network theory to advance a proposition for the value-of-ties. This was done by examining the impact of directorate interlocks on acquisitions specifically and organizational strategy in general. A non-experimental cross-sectional study of 98 interlocked directorate companies simultaneously involved in acquisitions was conducted. Several multiple regression analyses were conducted and the results obtained suggest that there is a positive linear relationship between director interlocks and post-acquisition performance and that to some extent this relationship is moderated by acquisition experience. The study also showed that director interlocks have a negative linear relationship with acquisition premium. This study complements the body of knowledge on acquisitions and network theory. It also successfully combined a multi-level approach to research on organizations and strategic management.
An Analysis of the Determinants of Recovery of Businesses After a Natural Disaster Using a Multi-Paradigm Approach
This study examines the recovery process of businesses in Homestead, Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The goal of this study was to determine which organizational characteristics were useful in predicting the level of physical damage and the length of time to reopen for affected businesses. The organizational characteristics examined were age, size, pre-disaster gross sales, ownership of the business location, membership in the Chamber of Commerce, and property insurance. Three-hundred and fifty businesses in the area were surveyed. Because of the complexity of the recovery process, the disaster experiences of businesses were examined using three paradigms, organizational ecology, contingency theory, and configuration theory. Models were developed and tested for each paradigm. The models used the contextual variables to explain the outcome variables; level of physical damage and length of time to reopen. The SIC was modified so that it could form the framework for a taxonomic examination of the businesses. The organizations were examined at the level of division, class, subclass, and order. While the taxa and consistent levels of physical damage, the length of time needed to reopen varied greatly. The homogeneous level of damage within the groups is linked to similarity in assets and transformation processes. When examined using the contingency perspective, there were no significant relationships between the level of physical damage and the contextual variables. Only predisaster gross sales and level of physical damage had moderate strength associations with the length of time to reopen. The configuration perspective was applied by identifying clusters of organizations using the contextual variables. Clusters were identified and examined to determine if they had significantly different disaster experiences. The clusters varied significantly only by the length of time to reopen. The disaster experience of businesses is conceptualized as a process of accumulation-deaccumulation-reaccumulation. The level of physical damage is driven by …
Merger Type and Performance: A Longitudinal Study of the Food and Kindred Products Industry
The purpose of this study was to measure merger performance on a longitudinal basis using a micro perspective. Specifically, this study looked at the performance of a sample of mergers drawn from the food and kindred products industry, Standard Industrial Classification code 20, for a period of five years before and five years after the merger using two performance measures. The performance measures, namely market returns to stockholders and return on investment, have been used extensively in the literature to study the performance of mergers and acquisitions, albeit on macro samples. The study offered significant statistical support for the hypothesis that mergers benefit the acquiring firm and its stockholders, as well as for the hypothesis that merger performance in the latter time period of study (1977 to 1984) was better than in the former (1968 to 1977). However, no significant difference in performance was found across merger types. The study discussed the managerial implications of these findings and offered directions for future research in the area of merger performance.
Virtual Entrepreneurship: Explicating the Antecedents of Firm Performance
Prior research has examined entrepreneurial businesses spatially located in the physical or offline context; however, recent radical information and technological breakthroughs allow entrepreneurs to launch their businesses completely online. The growth of the online business industry has been phenomenal. Predictions for worldwide online sales estimate it to reach $2 trillion in 2016. Virtual entrepreneurship refers to the pursuit and exploitation of opportunities via virtual platforms. Web 2.0 cybermediaries offer web-based platforms that function similarly to traditional intermediaries in a virtual setting and minimize barriers to entry for virtual entrepreneurial firms. The use of such cybermediaries with increasing success suggests an implicit shift in the dominant logic that typically underpins the functioning of entrepreneurial firms operating in the physical world. In this relatively uncharted territory, marked by a focus on profit, cooperation, collaboration and community, three ideal-type institutional logics i.e. Market, Corporation and Community, blend together. It is posited that a Virtual Entrepreneurial Logic guides the norms, behaviors, and practices of entrepreneurial firms operating via these virtual platforms. This raises the question whether the blending of three ideal-type logics leads to the existence of different antecedents of performance. A business model antecedent addressing the economic dimension, a community antecedent addressing the community dimension and a co-creation antecedent addressing the collaborative dimension of the Virtual Entrepreneurial Logic were therefore empirically examined in this study. Thus, three research questions were investigated to explicate the antecedents. Primary data from 1396 virtual entrepreneurial firms was collected (business model antecedent n=366, community antecedent n=732 and co-creation antecedent n= 298) to test the proposed hypotheses. Results provided support for the three antecedents. This study makes important theoretical and practical contributions to understanding the domain of virtual entrepreneurship from a blended logics perspective. Using the theoretical lens provided by institutional logics helps shed light on the pivotal role …
The Occupationally Injured Employee: Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes from Psychosocial Stressors
This research explores whether a firm's psychosocial stressors contribute to strains or outcomes important to the organization. The psychosocial stressors chosen for study include: role conflict and ambiguity, workload (qualitative and quantitative), participative decision making, autonomy, and security. Independent variables were the emotional strains of job satisfaction and job commitment. The independent variables for behavioral strains included injury, lost days, workers' compensation claims, and absenteeism. Three moderators: age, gender, and social support were evaluated for interaction effects. The study sampled 77 occupationally injured and 81 non-injured employees from one medium sized Army community hospital. This study uses multivariate hierarchical multiple set regression as its principal analytical method. The hierarchial procedure orders the sets into an a priori hierarchy and enters each set sequentially from the hierarchy, evaluating the increase in $\rm R\sp2.$ The results suggest that psychosocial stressors are significant variables to consider when investigating workers' emotional and behavioral strains. For example, age, participation, and satisfaction were found statistically significant in differentiating between the occupationally injured and the non-injured samples. The study also found that ambiguity, participation, and autonomy influenced emotional strains. Additionally, age and social support appear to moderate the relationship between some psychosocial factors and emotional and behavioral strains. Age moderated the relationship with only emotional strains, while social support moderated both emotional and behavioral strains. Further, social support was found to have a main effect on the emotional strains of satisfaction and commitment, but not on any behavioral ones. Age was found to have a direct effect on the behavioral strains of workers' compensation claims. Finally, although not statistically significant when entered as a set and evaluated using the statistical analysis techniques in this study, a relationship between age and workers' compensation claims and qualitative workload and absenteeism were suggested. The economic and human costs associated with …
Toward the Development of Information Technology Variables to Help Predict Organizational Structure
There is a growing awareness that information technology plays a critical role in helping determine organizational structure. Unfortunately, that role has not been adequately defined. This study provides a foundation for an increase in our understanding of the relationship between information technology and organizational structure by defining a new set of information technology variables and identifying differences in organizational structure based on these new variables.
Effects of Venture Team Demographic Characteristics on Team Interpersonal Process Effectiveness in Computer Related Venture Teams
In order to remain competitive, firms must be able to merge diverse, differentiated people into teams. In comparison to solo ventures, venture teams not only offer a broader base of physical and financial resources and varying points of view, but also positively influence the profitability, growth, and survivability potential of new ventures. Despite the growing importance and potential benefits offered by venture teams, relatively little is known about assembling and maintaining effective venture teams in the field of entrepreneurship. More specifically, information is needed to understand what composition and combination of demographic characteristics of team members would contribute to the effectiveness and success of a venture team. In this study the relationship between venture team demographic characteristics and team effectiveness (which is defined in terms of the interpersonal process of venture team members in their group activities) is investigated. The demographic characteristics examined include average age, age heterogeneity, average level of education, educational background heterogeneity, gender heterogeneity, and functional background heterogeneity. A field study, involving face-to-face and telephone interviews with the venture teams is used to gather data from40 computer related venture teams in a large midwest U.S. city. The venture teams are identified through the local Chambers of Commerce, peer referrals, and library research. Information is gathered on demographics and team interpersonal process effectiveness using a pre-validated instrument. Data are analyzed using regression analysis. The results indicate that average age negatively and significantly relates with team interpersonal process effectiveness. Furthermore, average level of education positively and significantly relates with team interpersonal process effectiveness. The other demographic variables, age heterogeneity, educational background heterogeneity, gender heterogeneity, and functional background heterogeneity do not produce significant relationships.
Social Exchange Under Fire: Direct and Moderated Effects of Job Insecurity on Social Exchange
This study is concerned with the impact of job insecurity on the vital social exchange relationship between employee and employer. Specifically, it explored the relationship between job insecurity and two important social exchange outcomes—organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Moreover, it assessed the moderating effects of individual factors (communal orientation and powerlessness) and situational factors (trust in management, procedural fairness, and organizational support) on these relationships.
Time-Based Manufacturing Competence and Business Performance: An Empirical Study in the Steel Minimill Industry
The main research question pertains to the relationship between time-based manufacturing competence and business performance: Is there a positive relationship between time-based manufacturing competence and business performance. The objective of the study, therefore, is to examine the relationship between time -based manufacturing competence and business performance.
Total Quality Environmental Management: A Study of the Relationship between Quality Practices and Environmental Performance of the Standard and Poor 500 Companies
The purpose of this study is to explore empirically the correlation of quality practices and environmental performance and suggest its applicability as a model for integrating the two fields.
Corporate Entrepreneurship: Strategic and Structural Correlates and Impact on the Global Presence of United States Firms
Corporate entrepreneurship, its correlates, and its impact on the global presence of firms were examined through 439 United States companies, represented in all geographic realms of the world. Executives responded to a lengthy survey of organizational characteristics which enabled corporate entrepreneurship and its dimensions--innovation, proactiveness, and risk taking--to be examined in firms with varying global presence. Risk factors were assigned to countries and realms from the averaged rankings of three published risk-forecasting services. Maximum risk country, maximum risk geographic realm, average risk of countries, average risk of geographic realms, number of countries, and number of geographic realms, were differentially weighted to equalize scales and combined into a composite global presence scale. Strategy-related variables--competitive aggressiveness and adaptiveness--dominated other organizational attributes in explaining corporate entrepreneurship, and corporate entrepreneurship dominated other variables in explaining global presence, according to correlation and multiple regression analysis. Although no variables correlated strongly with measures of global presence, corporate entrepreneurship consistently had significant positive correlations across all six measures of global presence and the composite global presence scale. In forward stepwise multiple regressions, corporate entrepreneurship was the first variable entered into the prediction equation for five of the six measures of global presence; only when the dependent variable was the number-of-countries measure of global presence did scanning load before corporate entrepreneurship. Of the dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship, risk taking had the weakest correlations with measures of global presence, although risk was the theoretical basis for the first four measures of global presence; the risk taking dimension of corporate entrepreneurship represents executives' perceptions of risk, whereas global presence was derived from published risk rankings of countries. Environmental dynamism and heterogeneity, although not hostility, correlated with corporate entrepreneurship; however, neither environmental element showed a systematic relationship with global presence. Overall, corporate entrepreneurship, driven primarily by strategy-related variables, influenced the global …
Cognitive Complexity in Group Performance and Satisfaction
In this study, a comparison was made between the various levels of group cognitive complexity and its relationship to task performance and task satisfaction. The goal of this research is to answer the general question, "Should decision-making groups consist of individuals who are similar in the way they differentiate and/or integrate various stimuli in order to increase performance and satisfaction?" The preceding research problem was analyzed in a laboratory setting using a 2 X 2 factorial design blocked on the variable, cognitive complexity. The Repertory Grid was used to measure the cognitive complexity of 228 student subjects. These subjects were stratified into groups of three based on their cognitive complexity score on the Repertory Grid (Kelly, 1955). Each group was treated randomly with one of two levels of task complexity (complex or not complex). Moreover, the groups received an imposedgroup structure that incorporated centralized or decentralized decision-making. Results indicated that groups consisting of cognitively complex members outperformed groups consisting of noncomplex members. No support was obtained for the two-way interaction between group cognitive complexity and either task complexity or group structure. Support was obtained for the interaction between task complexity and group structure on both task satisfaction measures. The highest satisfaction levels occurred with a complex task in a decentralized structure. In addition, the three-way interaction effect on the task satisfaction scale between group structure, task complexity, and group cognitive complexity was significant. The means, however, were not in the predicted direction. For cognitively simple groups, a complex task with a decentralized structure lead to the highest task satisfaction level; whereas, a less complex task with a decentralized group structure lead to the lowest task satisfaction score for noncomplex members. There were no significant differences for cognitively complex groups when analyzing the three-way interaction between group cognitive complexity, task complexity, …
The Influence of Interorganizational Trust, Individualism and Collectivism, and Superordinate Goal of JIT/TQM on Interorganizational Cooperation: An Exploratory Analysis of Institutions in Mexico
Since their introduction to the United States from Japan in the 1980s, inter-organizational cooperation practices between buyers and suppliers have provided lower costs, shorter development and production cycles, and higher levels of quality and productivity. Many studies of interorganizational cooperation have relied on transaction cost economicsframeworks,which ignore cultural differences. Few studies have analyzed inter-organizational cooperation in Mexico, a less-developed country (LDC) with a cultural and industrial environment differentfromthe U.S. This study is concerned with the influence of interorganizational trust, individualism and collectivism (indcol), and the superordinate goal ofjust-in-time/total quality management (JIT/TQM) on inter-organizational cooperation.
Just-In-Time Purchasing and the Buyer-Supplier Relationship: Purchasing Performance Implications Using a Transaction Cost Analytic Framework
The just-in-time purchasing literature resoundingly endorses long-term, cooperative buyer-supplier relationships. Significant anecdotal and descriptive evidence indicates that such relationships are rare in practice, raising questions as to the performance consequences of this gulf between theory and practice. Using an accepted theoretical model of the buyer-supplier relationship, transaction cost economics, this study examined the purchasing performance implications of the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship under just-in-time exchange. The focal purpose of the study was to examine the performance consequences of crafting long-term, cooperative relationships. The research design employed was a cross-sectional field study, involving a static-group comparison, implemented through the use of a mail survey. A dual-stage cluster sample of eight hundred purchasing managers and professionals employed in the two digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 36, Electronic and Other Electrical Equipment and Components, was provided by the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM). The questionnaire was pretested and the substantive validity of the measurement scales assessed. Scales were purified via correlational and reliability analyses. Criterion-related and construct validity were established via correlational, exploratory factor, and confirmatory factor analyses. The three hypotheses of the study, involving extant tests of the association between the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship and purchasing performance (i.e., as reflected by transaction costs), were tested via analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models. All three hypotheses were supported by the data to varying degrees. The confirmation of the theoretical model of the study provides empirical evidence to researchers and practitioners as to the superiority, in exchange efficiency terms, of cooperative relationships under conditions of just-in-time exchange. It may not be presumed, however, that cooperative exchange will enhance efficiency in all exchange environments.
An Empirical Investigation of the Interaction Effects of Leader-Member Locus of Control on Participation in Strategic Decision Making
The purpose of this study was to test for a relationship between locus of control and participation in strategic decision making. The research model included the variables of gender, locus of control, job-work involvement and preference for participative environment as possible influences on team member participation in strategic decision making. Another feature of the model was the proposed three-way interaction effect on member participation. This interaction included member job-work involvement, member preference for participation and leader locus of control.
An Empirical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Using Assigned, Easy Goals to Strengthen Self-efficacy Perceptions and Personal Goals in Complex Task Performance
The perception of self-efficacy is a central cognitive construct in explaining motivation. Assigned goals are established in the literature as affecting self-efficacy, but only a few researchers investigated their effects in complex tasks. One stream of research revealed the positive effects of easy goals on performance in a complex task without regard to self-efficacy perceptions. In the present study, the focus was on the effects of assigned, easy goals on self-efficacy and personal goals in complex task performance. It was expected that easy goals would be superior to moderate or impossible goals because the complexity and uncertainty of the task distorts subjects' perceptions of goal difficulty.
The Influence of Change in Organizational Size, Level of Integration, and Investment in Technology on Task Specialization
Major changes in organizational structural paradigms have been occurring. Recent journal articles propose that the older philosophies of expanding organizations and increasing internal specialization are no longer viable means to enhance competitiveness as espoused in earlier journal articles. Downsizing, rightsizing, and business process reengineering have all been used as methods of accomplishing organizational work force reduction (OWFR) and enhancing organizational posture. It has been established that as organizations grow, specialization increases. Causes for OWFR have not been established nor have effects upon structure been studied. Previous structural factor studies have focused upon organizations engaged in end-game strategies done during periods of internal and economic growth. This study evaluates the impacts of OWFR and its relationship to the structural factor of specialization during a non-munificent economic period. Three independent variables, dis-integration, change in the number of employees, and change in technology, were used as measures to determine whether specialization decreased when organizations downsized. The dependent variable, specialization, was obtained through a pre-tested questionnaire. The three independent variables were obtained using the Compustat data base as a secondary source of information. The Compustat data was verified using data from Compact Disclosure. Questionnaires were mailed to fifty-one fully integrated oil companies. Forty were returned after three mailings yielding a response rate of seventy-eight percent. The unit of analysis for the data collected was the firm. The data were analyzed using multiple regression to determine the strength of the relationship between the variables. Results indicate a significant relationship between two of the independent variables and the dependent variable: dis-integration and specialization and change in the number of employees and specialization. Findings were insignificant for the third independent variable and the dependent variable: change in technology and specialization. Analysis of the quantitative results and the qualitative responses of the participants show that dis-integration and a …
Organizational Commitment: A Cross-National Comparison of Arab and Non-Arab Employees in Saudi Petrochemical Companies
Individuals with different personal demographics and job-based factors have different attitudes and behaviors, which can influence their levels of commitment to their organizations. These differences in organizational commitment increase as their cultural backgrounds differ significantly. Personal demographics and job-related factors are reliable predictors of employees' commitment to their employing organizations. The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate if there is a difference in the level of employees' commitment to Saudi petrochemical companies on the basis of differences in their personal demographics and job-related factors.
Environmental Scanning Practices of Manufacturing Firms in Nigeria
The purpose of this study was to examine scanning practices in a developing country by looking at the scanning behavior of executives of Nigerian manufacturing firms. Specifically, this study examined the decision maker's perception of environmental uncertainty (PEU), the frequency and degree of interest with which decision makers scan each sector of the environment, the frequency of use of various sources of information, the number of organizational adjustments made in response to actions of environmental groups, and the obstacles encountered in collecting information from the environment.
The Effects of Intergroup Competition and Noncompetition on the Decision Quality of Culturally Diverse and Culturally Non-Diverse Groups
The primary purpose of this study was to explore the challenges and benefits associated with cultural diversity within groups. The research hypotheses were proposed to test the effects of cultural diversity on group performance and group processes by comparing culturally diverse and culturally homogeneous groups under conditions of intergroup competition and noncompetition. This experiment was conducted using 500 upper-level undergraduates enrolled in the principles of management course for the fall semester.
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