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1 – 10 of over 63000Darticléia Almeida Sampaio da Rocha Soares, Eduardo Camargo Oliva, Edson Keyso de Miranda Kubo, Virginia Parente and Karen Talita Tanaka
This paper aims to assess the relationship between cultural profiles and the economic, environmental and social dimensions of electricity companies’ reporting based on the Global…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the relationship between cultural profiles and the economic, environmental and social dimensions of electricity companies’ reporting based on the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the competing values framework, developed by Cameron and Quinn, as the theoretical starting point, with primary data collected through surveys that assessed organizational culture and with secondary data collected through the GRI indicators reported by the companies.
Findings
First, the framework shows whether a company’s organizational culture corresponds with one of the following options: clan, adhocracy, market or hierarchy. The results show that most of the companies’ organizational cultures were hierarchical, characterized by a greater need for stability and control and a formal work environment. Clans were the second most popular type of organizational culture, characterized as having greater internal flexibility, more informal environments and fewer hierarchical levels. Second, by combining the above results with the assessment of the GRI indicators in the companies’ sustainability reports, the study checked whether the companies had strong (balanced) or non-balanced cultures. The results show that there was a greater correlation between a strong (balanced) culture and the total value of the reported indicators, compared to a non-balanced culture.
Originality/value
The paper takes an innovative approach by correlating two different but well-recognized methodologies as a way to create a more holistic assessment that can help stakeholders to understand both the way these companies work and how this choice reflects the transparency of their reporting.
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Fang Jia, Zhilin Yang, Li Ji and Shen Xu
Previous literature suggests that people might purchase symbolic products to signal their social identity. However, in the organizational context, subordinates as customers might…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous literature suggests that people might purchase symbolic products to signal their social identity. However, in the organizational context, subordinates as customers might choose products with less brand prestige than what they want and can afford, just to make sure their choices are below the invisible “red-line” set by the brands of their supervisors. The authors term the phenomenon as “boss ceiling effect,” and term the behavior that people often downgrade their original choice to make sure the brand prestige is lower than that of the product owned by their boss as “downgrading behavior,” which have not been explored and well explained by existing literature so far. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct qualitative study to explore the existence of boss ceiling effect and providing possible influential factors of brand downgrading attitude. The quantitative study empirically examines the relationships among undesired self, perceived risk, organizational culture balance, and downgrading attitude and intension.
Findings
The authors find that undesired self-congruence and perceived risk are positively related to the downgrading attitude. In addition, the culture balance directly affects the brand downgrading attitude negatively and also moderates the relationship between undesired self-congruence and downgrading attitude positively and the relationship between perceived risk and downgrading attitude negatively.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to both organizational culture research and symbolic consumption research by considering symbolic consumption behavior in organization context. It is of great practical implications for marketers of symbolic consumption to understand the downgrading behavior.
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Inês Silva, Álvaro Dias and Leandro F. Pereira
The purpose of the study is to investigate the differences between generational groups (specifically Generations X, Y and Z) in terms of variables that influence organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate the differences between generational groups (specifically Generations X, Y and Z) in terms of variables that influence organisational commitment and intention to stay within an organisation. The aim is to fill the research gap in understanding how different factors influence commitment and retention across different generations.
Design/methodology/approach
This study follows a quantitative approach based on cross-sectional survey data. The respondents were employees of Generations X, Y and Z. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis.
Findings
The results of the study indicate several relationships between variables and organisational commitment/intention to stay. Person-organisation fit is positively related to organisational commitment, and work-life balance is positively related to both organisational commitment and intention to stay. The mediation of organisational commitment shows a positive relationship with person-organisation fit and work-life balance. In addition, there are positive relationships between organisational culture and both organisational commitment and intention to stay, as well as a positive relationship between person-organisation fit and intention to stay. Furthermore, all three Generations (X, Y and Z) show positive relationships between organisational commitment and intention to stay.
Research limitations/implications
The implications of the study are twofold. First, it provides theoretical contributions by uncovering the relationships between various variables and organisational commitment/retention. Second, it provides practical implications for organisations by highlighting the importance of person-organisation fit, work-life balance and organisational culture in fostering commitment and retention among employees of different generations.
Originality/value
The originality and value of this study lies in its exploration of the differences between generational groups in terms of variables affecting organisational commitment and intention to stay. By addressing this research gap, the study contributes to the existing literature on organisational commitment and retention. The detailed presentation of theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations and suggestions for future research enhances the overall value of the study.
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Alireza Nazarian, Peter Atkinson, Pantea Foroudi, Rezvan Velayati, Dilini Edirisinghe and Asieh Hosseini Tabaghdehi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the relationship between leadership style and OCB through newly developed balanced organisational culture and trust variables. Unlike most studies, which have been on chain hotels, this study investigates these relationships in independent hotels in Iran. Additionally, organisational size was also included in the study.
Design/methodology/approach
Using information from Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, 160 independent hotels were identified and approached. A survey was assembled using well-known instruments. In total, 392 usable questionnaires out of 1,150 distributed were collected from employees and analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
Contrary to previous studies, it was found that in this context, neither transformational nor transactional leadership affects trust directly but only through balanced organisational culture, and only transactional leadership had a direct relationship with OCB. Also, organisational size had a moderating effect on the relationship between trust and OCB.
Originality/value
The authors add to the theoretical literature dealing with the different behaviour of constructs developed in a Western context in other contexts and suggests that hotel managers in a collectivist culture, like Iran, who want to build OCB can do so by creating organisational culture conditions (Balanced Organisational Culture) that foster trust between managers and their subordinates.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the availability and the real use of work-life (WL) benefits by employees. Most research focuses on adoption, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the availability and the real use of work-life (WL) benefits by employees. Most research focuses on adoption, and some studies have analysed the levels of use. However, it is yet to be explained why some firms offer formal WL benefits, which ultimately are not used by employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses developed here are tested using data from a sample of 146 Spanish private firms, which is very relevant because findings from research developed in Anglo-Saxon contexts cannot necessarily be extended elsewhere.
Findings
The results reveal that availability significantly influences the level of use of WL programmes. Both the proportion of women employees in the organization and the formalization of the WL balance culture moderate the relationship between availability and use.
Practical implications
These findings hold lessons for practitioners and researchers interested in WL balance and its actual diffusion among employees. Practitioners should consider WL balance in an unrestrictive way, thinking about different kinds of employees and not only women with caring responsibilities. The mere provision of benefits to a small part of the workforce does not guarantee any of the positive outcomes related to WL balance.
Originality/value
Aside from exploring the availability-use gap, this research was conducted in a non-Anglo-Saxon context.
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Giancarlo Gomes, Gérson Tontini, Vania Montibeler Krause and Marianne Bernardes
This research aims to investigate the role of transformational leadership and organizational culture – encompassing Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchical and Market Cultures – in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to investigate the role of transformational leadership and organizational culture – encompassing Clan, Adhocracy, Hierarchical and Market Cultures – in the context of work–life balance for healthcare workers. It aims to present a comparison of observations made pre and mid-pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data from a varied sample of 355 employees (258 before and 97 during the pandemic) representing multiple sectors and positions within a hospital. The interpretation of the data was accomplished using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
Findings reveal that prior to the pandemic, transformational leadership significantly influenced all forms of organizational culture perceptions, with a strong influence on Clan Culture. Clan Culture displayed a consistent positive correlation with WLB both before and during the pandemic. During the pandemic, Market Culture exhibited a negative effect on WLB and Adhocracy Culture demonstrated a positive effect, impacts which were absent before the pandemic. Transformational leadership had a positive impact on WLB before the pandemic, but no discernible effect during the pandemic was observed.
Originality/value
The results indicate that the dynamics between transformational leadership, organizational culture and work–life balance are susceptible to alterations in the face of external crisis events. This study offers a unique exploration of these dynamics in the healthcare sector during the ongoing global pandemic.
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Li Lin, Peter Ping Li and Hein Roelfsema
As the global presence of Chinese firms grows, increasing numbers of Chinese managers are working abroad as expatriates. However, little attention has been paid to such Chinese…
Abstract
Purpose
As the global presence of Chinese firms grows, increasing numbers of Chinese managers are working abroad as expatriates. However, little attention has been paid to such Chinese expatriate managers and their leadership challenges in an inter-cultural context, especially across a large cultural distance. To fill the gap in the literature concerning the leadership challenges for expatriate managers in an inter-cultural context, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate the leadership styles of Chinese expatriate managers from the perspectives of three traditional Chinese philosophies (i.e. Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism) in the inter-cultural context of the Netherlands.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this qualitative study were collected via semi-structured, open-ended, narrative interviews with 30 Chinese expatriate managers in the Netherlands.
Findings
The results clearly show that the leadership style of Chinese expatriate managers is deeply rooted in the three traditional Chinese philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism, even in an inter-cultural context. Specifically, the study reveals two salient aspects of how Chinese expatriate managers frame and interact with a foreign cultural context from the perspectives of traditional Chinese philosophies. First, the Chinese expatriate managers reported an initial cultural shock related to frictions between the foreign cultural context and Confucianism or Taoism, but less so in the case of Legalism. Second, the Chinese expatriate managers also reported that their interactions with the Dutch culture are best described as a balance between partial conflict and partial complementarity (thus, a duality). In this sense, the leadership style of Chinese expatriate managers is influenced jointly by the three traditional Chinese philosophies and certain elements of the foreign cultural context. This is consistent with the Chinese perspective of yin-yang balancing.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to offer a more nuanced and highly contextualized understanding of leadership in the unique case of expatriate managers from an emerging market (e.g. China) in an advanced economy (e.g. the Netherlands). The authors call for more research to apply the unique perspective of yin-yang balancing in an inter-cultural context. The authors posit that this approach represents the most salient implication of this study. For practical implications, the authors argue that expatriate leaders should carefully manage the interplay between their deep-rooted home-country philosophies and their salient host-country culture. Reflecting on traditional philosophies in another culture can facilitate inter-cultural leadership training for Chinese expatriates.
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Tian Gao and Bruce Gurd
The balanced scorecard (BSC) has been a popular management innovation in health care. Implementing an innovation like the BSC can change the professional subcultures of a…
Abstract
Purpose
The balanced scorecard (BSC) has been a popular management innovation in health care. Implementing an innovation like the BSC can change the professional subcultures of a hospital. The purpose of this paper is to measure subcultures to establish the level of change during the implementation of a management innovation in a single Chinese public hospital.
Design/methodology/approach
Four surveys were administered to the staff of a single hospital, and a 100,000-word research diary was compiled from observation of the research process. A longitudinal case study design was administered from 2006 to 2009. The competing values tool was administered twice to assess organizational cultural change.
Findings
There was a change in the culture of different professional groups. The group with the strongest dominating culture type, which relies on cohesion, morale and employee participation in decision-making, shows the most positive change in cultural types during the BSC implementation process. Management innovations such as the BSC can create more balance in each professional group.
Practical implications
The successful implementation of a management innovation in a hospital requires the managers to consider meeting the demand of medical professional groups and achieve desired culture type change, which in turn may help to achieve the expected results.
Originality/value
This paper provides support to the finding that groups with a dominant group culture are more receptive to change and implementing a management innovation can influence professional group’s culture. It also provides evidence that the implementation of BSC can create more balance in each professional group’s culture. Although these findings come from health care, it may have relevance to other contexts in China.
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Panagiotis Polychroniou and Panagiotis Trivellas
This study aims to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and performance. It concerns the aspects of culture related to culture strength and unbalance and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between organizational culture and performance. It concerns the aspects of culture related to culture strength and unbalance and its impact on introvert and extrovert firm performance, controlling for business environment and size.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the competing values model (CVM), culture strength is measured as the intensity of the culture values driving the company. The cultural unbalance is measured by the sum of absolute deviations of organizational members’ culture perceptions across the four archetypes (adhocracy, clan, hierarchy and market) imposed by CVM from the individual “average” shared cultural value. Evidence is drawn upon a sample of 1,305 employees of 114 Greek firms.
Findings
The findings indicate a strong positive relationship between culture strength and internal performance (innovation competence and human relations) as well as firm outcomes (profitability, growth and reputational assets). On the contrary, culture unbalance exerts a negative influence to market position, growth and innovation competence.
Practical implications
Understanding the nature of the association between culture strength, unbalance and firm performance would enable academics and practitioners to reflect critically on the core culture values which shape employee involvement and formulate leaders’ quality improvement decisions and actions, so as to achieve sustainable competitive advantage at the organizational level.
Originality/value
This research provides supporting empirical evidence for the culture–performance link by identifying the principle culture value characteristics (strength and unbalance), which exert both direct and interaction effects on the introvert and extrovert aspects of firm performance.
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From the data derived from a Vietnamese hospital, this study seeks to discern which organisational culture types, leadership styles, and trust types pave the path for the…
Abstract
Purpose
From the data derived from a Vietnamese hospital, this study seeks to discern which organisational culture types, leadership styles, and trust types pave the path for the implementation of the balanced scorecard (BSC) system.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a case research approach with a triangulation of data collation methods encompassing access to documents, field observations, and interviews. The in‐depth interviews with 37 hospital members and field observations were conducted during 21 months from March 2009 to November 2010.
Findings
The findings show that features relating to organisational change in terms of organisational culture, leadership style, and trust can impact the success of BSC implementation; nonetheless, the opposite direction can merely be encountered in the relationship between leadership style and BSC implementation.
Originality/value
The study offers insights into a successful model of BSC implementation in the healthcare sector built on such antecedents as organisational culture, leadership, and trust.
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