Effects of kin density within family-owned businesses

We examined how kin density within family-owned firms related to perceptions of nepotism and organizational justice; we also examined the moderating role of family membership in these relationships. In a sample of 79 family employees and 299 non-family employees in 21 family-owned businesses, both kin density and family membership were found to be related to nepotism perceptions. Additionally, family membership moderated the relationships of kin density to nepotism and justice perceptions, as well as the relationship between nepotism and justice perceptions. Finally, nepotism perceptions provided a partial mediating link between kin density and organizational justice perceptions. These results suggest that kin density and family membership are important variables to consider in understanding the experiences and attitudes of employees in family-owned businesses.     

Family therapists and family business: A view of the future

The family business is a unique entity that has recently come to the attention of business consultants and family therapists. The unique processes of family business are amendable to the applications of family systems theory, organizational development theory, and various theories that focus on individual growth and development. In this paper we review some of the basic concepts relative to understanding family businesses and briefly outline our approach to consultation with family businesses.     

The Relationship Between Machiavellianism and Knowledge Sharing Willingness

Knowledge sharing has become a legitimate and important organizational activity. Over the last two decades, firms have become creative in their efforts to make knowledge sharing take place. Meanwhile, Machiavellian orientation has been regarded as one of the most important variables in the study of management and organizational behavior for the last three decades. However, the existing literature does not offer any measure of relationships between Machiavellianism and knowledge sharing willingness. Therefore, this research aims to explore the relationship between Machiavellianism and knowledge sharing willingness. With a total of 325 valid questionnaires completed by employees, the paper presents some conclusive and valuable suggestions for businesses and scholars alike.     

Organizational Attractiveness and Individual Differences: Are Diverse Applicants Attracted by Different Factors?

Recruiting is a critical staffing activity for organizations, but its impact on the job seeker is poorly understood. Much remains to be learned about individual differences in reactions to recruitment efforts. This paper discusses the results of a study of MBA candidates that examined (a) the relative importance of various job, organizational, diversity, and recruiter characteristics on assessments of organizational attractiveness, and (b) the extent to which these assessments differed when applicant race and gender are taken into account. Results confirmed that relative to organizational, diversity, and recruiter characteristics, job factors were reported as most important to organizational attraction. However, within the job, diversity, and recruiter characteristics categories interesting gender and/or race differences emerged. The implications of these differences for research and for practices are offered.     

MANAGING DIVERSITY: HOW ORGANIZATIONAL EFFORTS TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY MODERATE THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ON AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT

Using the interactional model of cultural diversity, we examined whether the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on affective commitment can be mitigated by perceived organizational efforts to support diversity. Across 3 studies, we found that perceptions of workplace racial discrimination are negatively related to affective commitment. In 2 out of 3 studies, this negative relationship was attenuated as employees perceived more organizational efforts to support diversity. Studies 1 (mostly Whites) and 2 (mostly Hispanics) showed that organizational efforts to support diversity attenuate the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination on affective commitment. However, in Study 3 (African Americans), results showed that when organizational efforts to support diversity are high, the negative relationship between perceived racial discrimination and affective commitment became stronger. Studies 2 and 3 also extended these results by showing that the interaction of perceived racial discrimination and organizational efforts to support diversity indirectly influences turnover intent.     

Studying Complex Discursive Systems.

Scholars increasingly theorize about the power of communication to organize and structure social collectives. However, two factors threaten to impede research on these theories: limitations in the scope and range of existing methods for studying complex systems of communication and the large volume of communication produced by even small collectives. Centering resonance analysis (CRA) is a new text analysis method that has broad scope and range and can be applied to large quantities of written text and transcribed conversation. It identifies discursively important words and represents these as a network, then uses structural properties of the network to index word importance. CRA networks can be directly visualized and can be scored for resonance with other networks to support a number of spatial analysis methods. Following a critique of existing methodologies, this paper describes the theoretical basis and operational details of CRA, describes its advantages relative to other techniques, demonstrates its face validity and representational validity, and demonstrates its utility in modeling organizational knowledge. The conclusion argues for its applicability in several organizational research contexts before describing its potential for use in a broader range of applications, including media content analysis, conversation analysis, computer simulations, and models of communication systems.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ATTENDANCE CONTROL POLICY IN REDUCING CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

An attendance control policy based on the Katz and Kahn (1966) motivational pattern of legal compliance was implemented in one department of a large manufacturing organization with two comparable departments serving as controls. A pre-post measure of absenteeism served as the criterion in a 2 × 3 factorial analysis of variance. The factors were the attendance control policy and 3 levels of absence groups (high, average, and low). It was hypothesized that a control policy based on legal compliance would lead to a meaningful reduction in absenteeism among high absence workers who were considered to be chronic absentees by the organization. The results supported the effectiveness of the attendance control policy among chronically absent workers, although the policy did not lead to improvements in attendance among regular attenders. The implications of the study are discussed in the context of organizational efforts to control chronic absenteeism.     

适宜技术与诊疗最优化临床应用患者方面的影响因素

从诊疗中的认识论和辩证法的角度,通过实际案例分析医生及患者对选择适宜技术实现诊疗最优化的消极和积极的影响;阐述了患者自身的经济状况在很大程度上影响着适宜技术的应用;患者的心理因素和家人的态度在一定程度上也影响着适宜技术的应用及实现诊疗最优化。医生要提高自己的综合素质,患者要充分发挥自己的主观能动性,消除消极的影响,增强积极的影响,共同促进适宜技术的临床应用及实现诊疗最优化。     

Organizational Size and Salesforce Evaluation Practices

This study examines the relationship between organizational size and salesforce evaluation practices of two hundred and sixteen industrial goods organizations. Eight propositions derived from the organizational behaviour and economics literature were tested. The results demonstrate that some managerial activities change in a manner which is consistent with organizational theory. Large organizations use a wider range of quantitative criteria, use more formalized methods of evaluation, and make greater use of pre-determined performance standards than small organizations. The results suggest that attempts to determine theories of sales management practice should include organizational size as a candidate explanatory variable.     

Deliberate practice among South African small business owners: Relationships with education,cognitive ability,knowledge, and success

The study examines antecedents and outcomes of deliberate practice activities in South African small businesses. Deliberate practice consists of individualized self‐regulated and effortful activities aimed at improving one's current performance level. Interview and questionnaire data from 90 South African business owners showed a direct impact of deliberate practice on entrepreneurial knowledge as well as an indirect effect on business growth via entrepreneurial knowledge. Cognitive ability and education were identified as antecedents of deliberate practice. Findings underline the importance of continuous proactive learning efforts in small business. The results of this study are relevant for policy makers, consultants, and credit providers.     

The study of organizational behaviour in family business

Family businesses (FBs)—enterprises that are significantly influenced by family members and kinship ties—are ubiquitous and play a crucial role across all world economies. Because of the embeddedness of family and business systems in FB, these organizational forms are theoretically distinct from their non-family counterparts. Curiously, FBs have been largely overlooked in the organizational behaviour (OB) literature. The limited available research at the interface of OB and FB highlights the importance of FB as a unique context to advance OB theories, and of OB as a promising discipline to increase our understanding of FB. In a selective review of literature focused on the four topics of values and goals, leadership and power, trust and justice, and conflict, we discuss how insights from the general theory of communal and exchange relationships open exciting avenues for research at the FB-OB interface. Rich fruits of intellectual harvest await scholars who focus on behavioural research in FB.     

Crash avoidance and driver assistance technologies – Are they used?

Crash avoidance technologies have potential to mitigate collisions, and actual crash reductions have been identified for some systems. This study measured observed on-off rates of these technologies as an indicator of use, with a focus on lane maintenance systems (i.e., designed to keep vehicles within lanes by warning, braking, and/or steering) and studied factors that might increase their acceptance and use. Vehicles from nine manufacturers fitted with lane maintenance systems were observed at service departments during 2016. Systems were turned on in 51% of 983 vehicles. The activation rate was higher for systems with braking/steering interventions and vibrating warnings and decreased with total mileage. Large proportions of front crash prevention (93%), blind spot monitoring (99%), rear cross-traffic alert (97%), and driver monitoring alert (90%) systems were enabled, and most optional settings were set to factory defaults. Owner surveys linked to observations showed that drivers who had lane maintenance systems turned off believed warnings were distracting and unnecessary compared with drivers whose systems were on.     

IS THERE A METHOD TO OUR MADNESS? THE IMPACT OF DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY ON ORGANIZATIONAL SURVEY RESULTS

Results from 3 organizational survey efforts were used to explore the impact of data collection method on 5 outcomes: response preference, item completion rate, use of don't know responses, item mean and variability. The first study compared 977 online with 711 opscan responses in a U.S. government agency. The second study compared a Time 2 administration of 893 online with 732 opscan responses. The third study examined 4,654 automated phone (IVR) with 3,587 paper responses in a global pharmaceuticals firm. Although method utilization varied considerably by country, the more technological approaches were preferred in the U.S., and younger employees were significantly more likely to respond online. Overall, survey method accounted for a relatively small percentage of unique variance in the data (0% to 4%). Practitioners may be better off choosing an administration method based on factors such as cultural fit and ease of implementation rather than issues of data quality.     

Structural influences on organizational commitment

Relationships of several aspects of organization structure with organizational commitment were examined within a multiple regression framework for 262 public sector employees. As a set, the six structural variables accounted for over 20% (p < .001) of the variation in organizational commitment for the vocationally heterogeneous sample studied. Overall, these results suggest that future model-building efforts should take organization structure into account as one potentially important dimension of influences on organizational commitment.     

Towards a positive organizational study of family-owned businesses: Embracing a fertile territory

In response to the lead article “The study of organizational behavior in Family Business” (this issue), the present commentary focuses on the study of family-owned businesses from a positive organizational perspective with the aim of enriching the avenues for research proposed by the authors. Based on the socioemotional wealth approach, it is argued that family-owned firms represent a unique organizational context to advance positive organizational scholarship (POS) concepts. Likewise, the field of POS is emphasized as an important field of study to increase our understanding of family-owned businesses. In a selective review of the literature, the topic of prosocial practices is discussed. In doing so, it is hoped that scholars begin embracing the fertile territory at the interface between POS and family-business research.     

Reactions to Organizational Alcohol Testing and Treatment Programs

We used organizational justice theory to explore reactions to employer-sponsored alcohol testing and alcohol treatment policies among a sample (N = 1,777) of the employed public in a western state. Level of alcohol use and safety-sensitivity of the job were related to the perceived fairness of alcohol testing. In addition, voluntary treatment policies were rated more positively than coerced or monitored policies in terms of fairness and organizational attractiveness. Alcohol use moderated the effects of treatment policy on perceived fairness and organizational attractiveness, although the effect sizes were small. These results support the use of organizational justice theory to explain reactions to organizational alcohol testing and treatment and provide a basis for future research in this area.     

Computer‐based systems and organizational decision making: An architecture to support organizational innovation

Decision Support Systems (DSS) have been developed to support the computational, judgmental, and negotiation decisions typically encountered by organizational decision makers. Software for generating ideas has also become available. However, these systems typically operate on the individual or small group level, not on the broader organizational level. Also, their focus is usually on the decision‐making process while neglecting the product. This article first develops a framework relating decision types to current DSS. It then proposes an architecture for integrating these component systems to support innovation at an organizational level and to support assessment of the creative product as well as the process.     

Using the score method to construct asymmetric confidence intervals: An SAS program for content validation in scale development

Expert review sessions are often conducted to determine the content validity of scale items. The accurate quantification of content validity is usually limited by a relatively small number of experts as well as by a small number of rating categories. These factors, combined with the bounded and discrete nature of rating scale categories, hinder use of traditional methods for computing standard errors and confidence intervals. Using an application of the score method, researchers can construct an asymmetric interval that is better suited for these situations. SAS code is provided to automate the computations, and a discussion of two methods for using the obtained results for content validation decisionmaking follows.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN NEGOTIATION OUTCOME: A META-ANALYSIS

Studies reporting the objective settlements obtained by men and women in negotiations were reviewed. Differences in outcomes were expected due to differences in perceptions, behaviors, and contextual factors between men and women. In the sample of studies, men negotiated significantly better outcomes than women. Opponent sex, relative power of the negotiator, integrative potential of the task, mode of communication and year of the study were tested as moderators of the effect. Although the overall difference in outcomes between men and women was small, none of these hypothesized moderators or several exploratory moderators reversed or eliminated this effect. The organizational significance of the findings is discussed in terms of the glass ceiling, a gender-based earnings differential and women in negotiation positions. Directions for future research in the laboratory and the field are suggested.     

Impacts of artificial intelligence on organizational decision making

Of all of the new technologies emerging in the late 20th century, the production of artificial intelligence may provide the most profound impacts on organizational decision making. Because the development of artificial intelligence technologies and models has largely been based on psychological models of human cognition, the effects of their implementation in complex social settings have not been thoroughly examined. This paper is an attempt to generate research which will develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of artificial intelligence and its role in complex organizations. A set of 11 hypotheses has been developed which examine the relationships between artificial intelligence technologies and the dimensions of organizational decision making. It is argued here that the implementation of expert systems will lead to less complex and political decision processes, while the implementation of natural language systems will lead to more complex and political decision processes.