Why supervisors make idiosyncratic deals: antecedents and outcomes of i‐deals from a managerial perspective

Abstract

Purpose

Idiosyncratic deals are personalized employment conditions individual workers have negotiated. This study aims to investigate influences on supervisors' authorization of i‐deals and their evaluation of these arrangements.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural modeling was used to analyze survey data from n=263 supervisors managing telecommuting employees in the German public administration.

Findings

Supervisors differentiated among i‐deals regarding development, flexibility, and workload reduction. Their authorization of developmental i‐deals was influenced by employee initiative. Supervisors viewed these i‐deals to have positive implications for employee motivation and performance. Flexibility i‐deals were influenced by structural conditions such as the type of work the employee performed. Supervisors viewed these i‐deals to enhance work‐life benefits. Supervisors tended to grant workload reduction i‐deals in the context of unfulfilled organizational obligations towards employees.

Research limitations/implications

Relying on single‐source cross‐sectional data, our results provide a managerial perspective on i‐deals. Conclusions regarding implications for employees are tentative. Recommendations for future study designs are discussed.

Practical implications

Managers need to better recognize that i‐deals take different forms, and these forms are associated with different outcomes. I‐deals provide a way to experiment with innovative human resource practices.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine i‐deals from a supervisor perspective. It is the first to identify differential circumstances and consequences managers associate with authorizing three distinct forms of i‐deals.

Citation

Hornung, S., Rousseau, D.M. and Glaser, J. (2009), "Why supervisors make idiosyncratic deals: antecedents and outcomes of i‐deals from a managerial perspective", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 24 No. 8, pp. 738-764. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940910996770