Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Case study
Publication date: 29 August 2023

Rita J. Shea-Van Fossen, Janet Rovenpor and Lisa T. Stickney

Data for the case came from public sources, including legal proceedings, court filings and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The authors perused hundreds of court…

Abstract

Research methodology

Data for the case came from public sources, including legal proceedings, court filings and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The authors perused hundreds of court documents and identified 28 that were most relevant to this case. The authors also used press interviews with the women highlighted in the case. The authors have no relationship with the company and no one from the company has reviewed the information presented in this case. As the case is drawn from sworn legal testimonies, interviews and related documents in the public domain, the authors did not have to seek approval for publication.

Case overview/synopsis

Pinterest touted itself as “the nicest place on the Internet.” It had an almost 80% female user base and purported to have an inclusive culture that embraced diversity. However, in June 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, two former female employees of color violated their non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to publicly accuse Pinterest of racial and gender discrimination. In August 2020, Pinterest’s former Chief Operating Officer, Francoise Brougher, filed a lawsuit charging the company with gender discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, and authored a public blog post titled, The Pinterest Paradox: Cupcakes and Toxicity, detailing her own experience with the company’s discriminatory culture. Three days later 236 of Pinterest’s 2,545 employees staged a virtual walkout and 445 employees signed a petition in an attempt to change Pinterest’s policies and culture. The case provides a brief overview of Pinterest, including its mission, values and organizational culture, and details several incidents and complaints by female and minority employees. The case questions whether employee complaints are a relatively narrow issue involving disgruntled former employees who did not fit at the organization or a much broader issue involving discrimination and managerial neglect in creating and maintaining a nondiscriminatory, inclusive culture. Students are encouraged to evaluate the situation in which Co-Founder, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Ben Silbermann finds himself, evaluate the actions taken and decide if Silbermann should take any additional actions to address the discrimination claims and ensure a positive culture for all employees.

Complexity academic level

This case is appropriate for graduate and advanced undergraduate level courses in organizational behavior, human resource management and business law or any course where discrimination and workplace culture are discussed.

Details

The CASE Journal, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 1544-9106

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 October 2023

Kernysha L. Rowe

A recent study reported Black women are frequently labeled unprofessional due to hair presentation, 1.5 times more likely to be sent home citing “unprofessional hair,” and 80…

Abstract

A recent study reported Black women are frequently labeled unprofessional due to hair presentation, 1.5 times more likely to be sent home citing “unprofessional hair,” and 80% likely to alter their natural hair texture (Dove, 2019) through chemicals or heat to fit into organizational norms. Meanwhile, conversations about hair discrimination and bias remain whispers in The Ivory Tower. Despite this study, contemporary research regarding higher education and the politics of Black women, Black hair, and hair texture is sparse. The lack of representation in higher education organizations and lack of literature suggest that Black, higher education professional women are at risk of experiencing chilly work environments that could impact belonging, career trajectory, and earning potential. Some individuals outside the African Diaspora may consider the notion of a physical characteristic, like hair, to be insignificant, let alone a salient identity for Black women. However, my experience as a higher education practitioner and scholar states differently. I assert higher education institutions continue to perpetuate and reproduce oppressive dynamics that specifically target Black women and Black hair when hair discrimination and bias are left out of the conversation to address diversity and inclusion concerns. This chapter introduces a historical context of Black hair discrimination; explores my lived experiences navigating Black hair, hair texture, and professionalism in higher education; outlines challenges for higher education institutions and prioritizes Black women alongside diversity and inclusion efforts.

Article
Publication date: 15 April 2024

Nanouk Verhulst, Hendrik Slabbinck, Kim Willems and Malaika Brengman

To date, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the use of implicit measures in the service research domain is limited. This paper aims to introduce implicit measures and explain…

Abstract

Purpose

To date, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the use of implicit measures in the service research domain is limited. This paper aims to introduce implicit measures and explain why, or for what purpose, they are worthwhile to consider; how these measures can be used; and when and where implicit measures merit the service researcher’s consideration.

Design/methodology/approach

To gain an understanding of how implicit measures could benefit service research, three promising implicit measures are discussed, namely, the implicit association test, the affect misattribution procedure and the propositional evaluation paradigm. More specifically, this paper delves into how implicit measures can support service research, focusing on three focal service topics, namely, technology, affective processes including customer experience and service employees.

Findings

This paper demonstrates how implicit measures can investigate paramount service-related subjects. Additionally, it provides essential methodological “need-to-knows” for assessing others’ work with implicit measures and/or for starting your own use of them.

Originality/value

This paper introduces when and why to consider integrating implicit measures in service research, along with a roadmap on how to get started.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2023

Eric R. Kushins and Myriam Quispe-Agnoli

Compared to Whites, People of Color (POC) in the USA face substantial cultural, structural and institutional challenges on their paths to entrepreneurial success. Many of these…

Abstract

Purpose

Compared to Whites, People of Color (POC) in the USA face substantial cultural, structural and institutional challenges on their paths to entrepreneurial success. Many of these challenges have their roots in institutional racism—pervasive discriminatory practices and policies found within institutions. Institutional theory suggests that organizations gain access to institutions and resources when they conform to “appropriate” business practices. How does the reality of institutional racism square with institutional theory when many of those institutions, like banks, are fundamentally afflicted by racist practices and norms? Can another institution, the family, act as a resource substitute to provide POC business owners the necessary resources for success?

Design/methodology/approach

Focusing on White-, Black- and Asian-American business owners, the authors analyze data from the USA. Census's Annual Business Survey.

Findings

Despite vast performance differences between POC- and White-owned businesses, family firms of every racial group outperform their same-race nonfamily counterparts. Idiosyncratic resources families bring into family firms, known as familiness, appear to help mitigate the challenges to entrepreneurial success that POC face.

Practical implications

Policy makers should consider specific types of support different entrepreneurs require given the kinds of hurdles racial minorities continue to face in the USA.

Social implications

Despite scholarly attention on family firm heterogeneity, there is scant research on race.

Originality/value

This research is one of the first to explore the implications of institutional racism on institutional theory and the first to employ this concept within the context of family firms.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 29 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 3 October 2023

Krista Jaakson and Mariya Dedova

This study aims to answer two research questions: first, to what extent can workplace bullying be explained by ageism? And second, does the likelihood of workplace bullying…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to answer two research questions: first, to what extent can workplace bullying be explained by ageism? And second, does the likelihood of workplace bullying increase when age interacts with gender and ethnic minority?

Design/methodology/approach

The authors report results from a survey carried out in 11 organizations in Estonia (N = 1,614) using the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (Einarsen et al., 2009).

Findings

The results show that ageism does not explain bullying in Estonia. As in some earlier studies, older age correlates negatively with negative acts, and women report less work-related bullying than men. These findings were unexpected because Estonia's post-socialist background and the highest gender wage gap in Europe suggested otherwise. However, there is gendered ageism in work-related bullying such that older women report more negative acts in their workplace. Respondents from ethnic minority groups do not experience more bullying in general, nor in combination with age. Surprisingly, managers reported both person- and work-related bullying more than employees with no subordinates.

Originality/value

The study contributes to intersectionality literature with a view to workplace bullying in post-socialist study context.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 44 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 27 November 2023

Adelina Broadbridge

Abstract

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Appearance in the Workplace
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-174-7

Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2023

Olivia Kyriakidou, Joana Vassilopoulou and Dimitria Groutsis

The unanticipated disruption caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic led to the extensive use of flexible working arrangements. In such a boundaryless work environment, however…

Abstract

The unanticipated disruption caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic led to the extensive use of flexible working arrangements. In such a boundaryless work environment, however there are significant concerns, especially around inclusivity and discrimination. Given the increasing concerns surrounding hybrid and remote work settings, the authors investigated whether the extent of working in substantially flexible working arrangements relates to employees’ perceived ostracism and inequality, distinguishing between working from home, in a hybrid mode or from the office. In addition, the authors theorised that in flexible working arrangements, high-quality leader relationships, such as leader–member exchange (LMX) and servant leadership are likely to reduce perceptions of ostracism and inequality. Based on a survey of 161 professionals, who worked to varying degrees in flexible working arrangements, the authors found that employees who worked extensively in a hybrid mode were less likely to report experiences of ostracism and inequality in comparison to employees who worked mainly from home or in an office. Furthermore, a moderation analysis showed that the effects of LMX and servant leadership on perceptions of ostracism and inequality were much stronger for individuals who work in hybrid working arrangements than those who work at the office or from home. This research makes an important contribution to our understanding of how different degrees of flexible working arrangements affect employees by demonstrating the role of high-quality leader relationships in reducing perceptions of ostracism and inequality at different degrees of work flexibility.

Details

Contemporary Approaches in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Strategic and Technological Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-089-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 April 2024

Natalie Wall

Abstract

Details

Black Expression and White Generosity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-758-2

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2022

Md. Shamsul Arefin, Omar Faroque, Junwei Zhang and Lirong Long

Aligning employees' goals with organizational goals is an overarching objective of an organization to increase employees' outcomes and, ultimately, the firm's performance…

1105

Abstract

Purpose

Aligning employees' goals with organizational goals is an overarching objective of an organization to increase employees' outcomes and, ultimately, the firm's performance. Employees' perceived goal congruence is proposed to be an important mediator of the effect of high-performance work systems (HPWS) on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). In this paper, the authors proposed and tested a moderated mediation model that depicted how servant leadership increased or restrained these effects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used data from 56 managers and 322 employees working in Bangladeshi organizations. The study conducted cross-level analyses using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the hypothetical relationships among variables.

Findings

This study revealed that employees' perceived goal congruence mediated the influence of HPWS on OCB. Consistent with the moderated mediation prediction, employee-perceived goal congruence mediated the relationship between HPWS and OCB when servant leadership is high.

Originality/value

This study examined how and when HPWS affects OCB by incorporating perceived goal congruence and servant leadership as mediating and moderating variables, respectively.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. 18 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 April 2024

Mengke Wang, Chen Qian, Ataullah Kiani and Guangyi Xu

Stewardship behavior is an important embodiment of the spirit of employee ownership, which is critical to the sustainability of companies, especially under the influence of the…

Abstract

Purpose

Stewardship behavior is an important embodiment of the spirit of employee ownership, which is critical to the sustainability of companies, especially under the influence of the COVID-19 epidemic. Most previous studies have focused on how to motivate employees’ stewardship behavior, but little is known about how stewardship behavior affects employees themselves. The purpose of this study is to explore how employee stewardship behavior affects their work-family interface based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, structural equation modeling was conducted using two-wave survey data from 323 employees through three internet companies in Southern China.

Findings

Results reveal that engaging in stewardship behavior is positively correlated with both positive emotion and emotional exhaustion. Positive emotion and emotional exhaustion, in turn, mediate the effects of stewardship behavior on work–home interface. Family motivation influences the strength of the relationships between positive emotion or emotional exhaustion and work–family interface, that is, high family motivation strengthens the positive association between positive emotion and work–family enrichment and weakens the positive association between emotional exhaustion and work–family conflict.

Practical implications

This study suggests that managers should give employees more support and care to ease the worries of engaging in stewardship behavior. Also, organizations should recruit employees with high family motivation, which can reduce the negative effects of stewardship behavior on work–-family interface.

Originality/value

Based on an actor’s perspective, this study examines both the positive and negative effects of stewardship behavior on employees themselves, thereby increasing understanding of the dual effect of stewardship behavior. In addition, this study further elucidates the mechanisms that moderate the positive and negative effects of individual family motivation on their engagement in stewardship behavior within the COR theory.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000