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1 – 10 of over 22000
Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Avinandan Mukherjee and Neeru Malhotra

Role clarity of frontline staff is critical to their perceptions of service quality in call centres. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of role clarity and its…

7322

Abstract

Purpose

Role clarity of frontline staff is critical to their perceptions of service quality in call centres. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of role clarity and its antecedents and consequences on employee‐perceived service quality.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual model, based on the job characteristics model and cognitive theories, is proposed. Key antecedents of role clarity considered here are feedback, autonomy, participation, supervisory consideration, and team support; while key consequences are organizational commitment, job satisfaction and service quality. An internal marketing approach is adopted and all variables are measured from the frontline employee's perspective. A structural equation model is developed and tested on a sample of 342 call centre representatives of a major commercial bank in the UK.

Findings

The research reveals that role clarity plays a critical role in explaining employee perceptions of service quality. Further, the research findings indicate that feedback, participation and team support significantly influence role clarity, which in turn influences job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Research limitations/implications

The research suggests that boundary personnel in service firms should strive for more clarity in perceived role for delivering better service quality. The limitations are in sample availability from in‐house transaction call centres of a single bank.

Originality/value

The contributions of this study are untangling the confusing research evidence on the effect of role clarity on service quality, using service quality as a performance variable as opposed to productivity estimates, adopting an internal marketing approach to understanding the phenomenon, and introducing teamwork along with job‐design and supervisory factors as antecedent to role clarity.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 17 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 May 2021

Anderson Betti Frare and Ilse Maria Beuren

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of comprehensive performance measurement systems (PMS), role clarity and strategic flexibility on the individual creativity…

1400

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of comprehensive performance measurement systems (PMS), role clarity and strategic flexibility on the individual creativity of founders/managers of startups.

Design/methodology/approach

The research population comprises 611 Brazilian startups in the e-commerce, retail and wholesale segments. One owner/manager of each startup was contacted by the survey, obtaining 91 valid responses. For data analysis, symmetric and asymmetric techniques were applied, respectively: partial least squares-structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.

Findings

The findings show that the comprehensive PMS is an important predictor of individual creativity, role clarity and strategic flexibility. Role clarity has a direct effect on creativity and promotes partial mediation between comprehensive PMS and creativity. Comprehensive PMS and role clarity are of great importance and have high performance in favor of creativity, while strategic flexibility has high performance, but is of low importance. Several causal combinations promote high individual creativity.

Practical implications

It offers founders/managers an insight into the aspects that are worth of efforts to foster individual creativity in their startup.

Originality/value

The key contribution of the study is that the comprehensive PMS, which includes financial, non-financial and other measures for product and process innovation, can directly and indirectly (through role clarity) influence individual creativity.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2014

Subasinghage Maduka Nuwangi, Darshana Sedera, Shirish C. Srivastava and Glen Murphy

Contemporary offshore information system development (ISD) outsourcing is becoming even more complex. Outsourcing partner has begun “re-outsourcing” components of their projects

1892

Abstract

Purpose

Contemporary offshore information system development (ISD) outsourcing is becoming even more complex. Outsourcing partner has begun “re-outsourcing” components of their projects to other outsourcing companies to minimize cost and gain efficiencies. This paper aims to explore intra-organizational information asymmetry of re-outsourced offshore ISD outsourcing projects.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was conducted to get an overall view of information asymmetry between principal and agents (as per the agency theory).

Findings

Statistical analysis showed that there are significant differences between the principal and agent on clarity of requirements, common domain knowledge and communication effectiveness constructs, implying an unbalanced relationship between the parties. Moreover, the authors' results showed that these three are significant measurement constructs of information asymmetry.

Research limitations/implications

In this study the authors have only considered three main factors as common domain knowledge, clarity of requirements and communication effectiveness as three measurement constructs of information asymmetry. Therefore, researches are encouraged to test the proposed constructs further to increase its precision.

Practical implications

The authors' analysis indicates significant differences in all three measurement constructs, implying the difficulties to ensure that the agent is performing according to the requirements of the principal. Using the agency theory as theoretical view, this study sheds light on the best contract governing methods which minimize information asymmetry between the multiple partners within ISD outsourcing organizations.

Originality/value

Currently, to the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has undertaken research on intra-organizational information asymmetry in re-outsourced offshore ISD outsourcing projects.

Details

VINE: The journal of information and knowledge management systems, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-5728

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 November 2021

Peter Foreman and David A. Whetten

Although the organizational identity (OI) construct (Albert & Whetten, 1985) is now in its fourth decade, research in the field has been somewhat uneven, particularly with respect…

Abstract

Although the organizational identity (OI) construct (Albert & Whetten, 1985) is now in its fourth decade, research in the field has been somewhat uneven, particularly with respect to an essentialist view and hypothetico-deductive type of studies. Believing that this stems in large part from insufficient construct clarity (Suddaby, 2010), this theory-development initiative presents an expanded conceptual framework. The authors exploit several key elements of individual identity and make the case for using these as the basis for conceptualizing an organizational-level equivalent. Starting with the premise that an individual’s identity is the product of comparisons, two dimensions are identified: the type of comparison (similarity, difference), referred to as the “identity conundrum,” and the object of comparison (self–other, self–self), referred to as the “identity perspective.” The authors then propose a four-cell distinctive conceptual domain for OI and explore its implications for scholarship.

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2005

David A. Foote, Scott J. Seipel, Nancy B. Johnson and Michelle K. Duffy

To propose new commitment construct‐policy commitment, and to examine the influence of attitude, role clarity, and role conflict on policy commitment, as well as the influence of…

10283

Abstract

Purpose

To propose new commitment construct‐policy commitment, and to examine the influence of attitude, role clarity, and role conflict on policy commitment, as well as the influence of policy commitment on citizenship behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a self‐report questionnaire and a sample of 148 workers in a rural manufacturing plant, we use structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques to examine the effects of attitude, role clarity, and role conflict on policy commitment, as well as the effect of policy commitment on the conscientiousness and civic virtue dimensions of citizenship behavior.

Findings

SEM revealed that attitudes and role clarity positively influenced policy commitment, and that policy commitment positively influenced conscientiousness and civic virtue.

Research limitations/implications

Our sample is relatively small (N=148) and largely homogeneous, which may limit its generalizability. A number of additional research opportunities are suggested in the study, including those designed to further explore the nature of the policy commitment construct and those designed to examine its relationship with other known commitment antecedents and outcomes. Implications for practitioners and researchers are suggested.

Originality/value

Commitment in organizations has long been conceptualized as acceptance of organizational goals and dedicated effort on behalf of the organization itself. However, we believe this conceptualization of commitment may be considerably less salient in today's highly mobile work environment. This study introduces the construct of policy commitment, a conceptualization of commitment as belief in and proactive endorsement of specific courses of action (i.e. policies) that embody the values resident within organizations.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 43 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2012

Joep Cornelissen, Lars Thøger Christensen and Kendi Kinuthia

The purpose of this paper is to engage with the issue of construct clarity in corporate communications research giving particular attention to corporate branding and identity…

6952

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to engage with the issue of construct clarity in corporate communications research giving particular attention to corporate branding and identity whereby a critique of existing alignment models provides a basis for a shift in the debate geared towards an alternative approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The commentary offers a discussion of a particular challenge to theory development around the clarity and specification of key constructs such as corporate identity and corporate brands. This leads to an elaboration of existing models of corporate branding and identity management and the subsequent suggestion for a shift towards alternative analytical interpretive models that are not premised on ontological assumptions of a conduit model of communication and objectivist assumptions of alignment and consistency. Shifting the debate in this direction has significant implications for research as well as practice.

Findings

There is a need to move away from sender‐dominated conduit models of communication and towards a constitutive model. This emphasizes the constitutive character of communication thus giving credence to the role of language and framing in the processes and products of organizational branding and identity. It also considers the relational or social process in the ascriptions of identity.

Originality/value

The paper proposes a new approach to corporate branding and identity and highlights the need for a more integrated understanding of the role of communication in the creation and promotion of these brands and identities.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 46 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Jodie-Lee Trembath

The purpose of this paper is to provide clarity around the notion of the expatriate academic (EA), a construct that is increasingly essential to theories of expatriate management…

1435

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide clarity around the notion of the expatriate academic (EA), a construct that is increasingly essential to theories of expatriate management and higher education management. A review of the literature on academic mobility showed that terms such as “international academic” and “foreign faculty” provide highly variable definitions and results, while those papers that self-consciously used the term “EA” were more likely to provide consistency across definition and findings. This allowed for analysis of the characteristics of this unique group.

Design/methodology/approach

This study appropriates a meta-narrative approach to literature review, analysing 23 papers about EAs to develop a more comprehensive conceptualisation of this term and to identify key-related themes.

Findings

By reviewing 23 papers identifying with the term, a carefully constructed definition of the EA is provided, distinguishing EAs from other types of internationally mobile academic and demonstrating characteristics that EAs display in their professional lives. Recommendations are made to researchers, universities and EAs themselves for how these findings may affect the EA employment cycle. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to aggregate the results of literature on EAs, putting forward a clear definition and description to aid future research and clarify the research stream.

Details

Journal of Global Mobility, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-8799

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 August 2008

Keyoor Purani and Sunil Sahadev

The purpose of the paper is to explore the moderating role of industrial experience in the relationship between different facets of a sales person's satisfaction with the job and…

3321

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore the moderating role of industrial experience in the relationship between different facets of a sales person's satisfaction with the job and his/her intention to quit the job.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on the data collected from sales persons from a pharmaceutical company in India. Dimensions of job satisfaction have been specifically developed for this study due to the cultural specificity of the context. The job satisfaction scale was developed through a process of qualitative research.

Findings

The paper finds that industry experience moderates the job satisfaction, disinclination to quit relationship for most of the job satisfaction dimensions. Specifically it is seen than Industry experience has a moderating effect when the effect of a salesperson's satisfaction with the organizational HR policies, supervisor satisfaction, compensation policies and career development and disinclination to quit, are considered.

Research limitations/implications

The paper contributes to the existing literature by considering the moderating effect of Industry experience, a variable hitherto not considered in sales management literature. This extends knowledge on the factors that affect a sales person's disinclination to quit – an extremely important factor in sales force management

Originality/value

While this paper extends the already existing knowledge about the moderating variables that affect the relationship between job satisfaction and intention to quit, its original contribution is in terms of the setting – India, as well as the identification of a moderating variable‐industry experience.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 23 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2019

Hajar Mariah Hashim, Yee Guan Ng, Othman Talib and Shamsul Bahri Md Tamrin

This paper aims to present the process of construction and content validity of flood disaster preparedness action (FDPA) items to measure flood preparedness characteristics and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present the process of construction and content validity of flood disaster preparedness action (FDPA) items to measure flood preparedness characteristics and activities among the small and medium enterprises (SME).

Design/methodology/approach

The content validity process involved the act of conceptualization, development and validation. In short, it was implemented to develop the FDPA items that were used to measure flood preparedness at the SME level. The steps began with literature review (adopt and adapt) and judgment of expert panel on the item development process. The list of 54 items was developed. A panel of eight experts rated its content validation during a focus group discussion.

Findings

In total, 52 items were acceptable to be passed on to the next stage of data collection. The items content validity (I-CVI) measurement of the items was within an acceptable range of more than 0.75, except for two items: Q38 and Q39. The scale content validity (S-CVI) value gave an excellent score of 0.95. Several items with low I-CVI score values for relevancy and clarity were subject to modification.

Practical implications

Content validity ensured accurate interpretations of results. To support the construct validity of an instrument, documenting findings from content validity was essential.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrated the initial phase of scale development on FDPA items. This newly developed item allows the integration of several flood disaster preparedness activities construct by review and judgment process by the panel of experts in the field.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 July 2018

Jon Aarum Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to question the usefulness of comparisons between theories on servant leadership and transformational leadership.

11507

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to question the usefulness of comparisons between theories on servant leadership and transformational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of scholarly works on these two theories is presented from the original works of Greenleaf, Burns and Bass to the current research.

Findings

Based on the four categories of construct clarity, two competing alternatives are identifiable in the scholarship of both servant and transformational leadership. There are thus 16 versions of each theory.

Research limitations/implications

The literature review contains no new empirical data. The many versions available today of each theory do not make comparisons meaningful. The prevalence of several versions of theories on servant leadership and transformational leadership implies that they are no longer specific and useful theories.

Originality/value

Critical comments are presented on the usefulness of comparisons between servant leadership and transformational leadership. Thus, the value of these theories is also questioned.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 39 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

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