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Article
Publication date: 16 May 2024

Joseph Eyo Duke, Arzizeh Tiesieh Tapang, Obal Usang, Kechi Alphonsus Kankpang and Samuel Edet Etim

This paper examines the moderating role of firm size (FS) and industry type in the relationship between high-performance work practices (HPWPs) and entrepreneurial firm…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the moderating role of firm size (FS) and industry type in the relationship between high-performance work practices (HPWPs) and entrepreneurial firm performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive research design involving a five-year dataset from firms in the retail and services industries of Nigeria was used in the analyses.

Findings

The use of HPWPs is widespread among entrepreneurial firms, with ability- and motivation-enhancing practices being dominant. Country context influences the types of HPWPs implemented by entrepreneurial firms. FS and industry type do not have significant moderating effects on the relationship between HPWPs and the performance of entrepreneurial firms. The positive effect of HPWPs on performance is consistent with findings made in prior studies.

Research limitations/implications

FS plays a neutral role in the relationship between HPWPs and entrepreneurial firm performance. Within the broader retail and services industries, this relationship is weaker in capital-intensive firms compared to less capital-intensive ones. The restricted focus on only retail and service industries may limit the universal applicability of the findings.

Practical implications

Findings indicate that the efficacy of HPWPs is neither influenced by FS nor industry type. Entrepreneurial firms with higher capital intensity benefit relatively more from the use of HPWPs.

Originality/value

Unlike other research efforts focusing on a single moderating influence, this study combines two important contextual factors, FS and industry type, to provide a better understanding of HPWPs. The study spotlights the effects of country context in the implementation of HPWPs in a way that prior studies have not done.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2024

Nipa Ouppara, Wayne Fallon and Gabriela Coronado

This paper aims to explain how the dynamics of inter-firm relations between small and large firms can, in the case of some behaviours, be interpreted as inter-organizational…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explain how the dynamics of inter-firm relations between small and large firms can, in the case of some behaviours, be interpreted as inter-organizational bullying.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on a qualitative approach adopting the critical incident method to explore the subjective experiences of 13 individual managers and owners of small service businesses in dealing with the representatives/executives of the large corporations they serviced. The method facilitated an investigation of the significant occurrences identified by the small-firm respondents about the undue advantage taken by the large firms. This was found to be more than simple occasional opportunistic or unfair business practices perpetrated by representatives of the large firms but, instead, involved bullying.

Findings

The results revealed that large corporations actively, though covertly, sought to take advantage of their small service providers by resorting to bullying practices. Intimidation, opportunism, use of deceitful or unfair business practices, as well as abuse of power, were manifestations of inter-organizational bullying committed by the large and powerful corporations. The contrasting characteristics of size, access to resources, economic and market power were identified as strong impediments against building effective ethical relational exchanges between the large corporations and their small service providers.

Research limitations/implications

The study's findings provide valuable insights into the root causes and consequences of inter-organizational bullying. However, it is crucial to interpret these results in the context of this specific study. It is worth nothing that these findings primarily represent the self-perception of inter-organizational bullying among small service providers and may not capture other viewpoints or aspects of the industrial sector. Replicating this study in different sectors could enhance the generalizability of the conclusions drawn.

Practical implications

This analysis is valuable in understanding what constitutes the phenomenon referred to as inter-organizational bullying. It also assists to understand the conditions when large firms exhibit such behaviours and their implications on the well-being of relevant stakeholders.

Social implications

Firstly, the business partners should maintain a healthy relationship if they want to avoid incidents of bullying, which can harm the performance of the relationship. In doing so, they need to reduce the level of uncertainty in their business relationships through the transparent information exchange, formulating commonly agreeable contracts and enhancing communication procedures. They also need to put aside their self-interest, but rather strive for achieving results that will be beneficial to both parties.

Originality/value

This exploratory study offers a novel and unexplored way of theorizing inter-organizational bullying, as well as uncovering its antecedents and impacts on the welfare of small businesses, particularly small service providers.

Details

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

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 April 2024

Mingqiong Mike Zhang, Jiuhua Cherrie Zhu, Helen De Cieri, Nicola McNeil and Kaixin Zhang

In a complex, ever-changing, and turbulent business world, encouraging employees to express their improvement-oriented novel ideas through voice behavior is crucial for…

Abstract

Purpose

In a complex, ever-changing, and turbulent business world, encouraging employees to express their improvement-oriented novel ideas through voice behavior is crucial for organizations to survive and thrive. Understanding how to foster employee promotive voice at work is a significant issue for both researchers and managers. This study explores how to foster employee promotive voice through specific HRM practices and positive employee attitudes. It also examines the effect of employee promotive voice on perceived organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a time-lagged multisource survey design. Data were collected from 215 executives, 790 supervisors, and 1,004 employees in 113 firms, and analyzed utilizing a multilevel moderated serial mediation model.

Findings

The findings of this study revealed that promotive voice was significantly related to perceived organizational performance. Innovation-enhancing HRM was positively associated with employee promotive voice. The HRM-voice relationship was partially mediated by employee job satisfaction. Power distance orientation was found to significantly moderate the relationship between innovation-enhancing HRM and employee job satisfaction at the firm level. Our findings showed that innovation-enhancing HRM policies may fail to foster promotive voice if they do not enhance employee job satisfaction.

Originality/value

This study challenges some taken-for-granted assumptions in the literature such as any high performance HRM bundles (e.g. HPWS) can foster employee promotive voice, and the effects of HRM are direct and even unconditional on organizational outcomes. It emphasizes the need to avoid potential unintended effects of HRM on employee voice and the importance of contextualizing voice research.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 May 2024

Shubh Majumdarr, Shilpee A. Dasgupta, Yusuf Hassan, Abhishek Behl and Vijay Pereira

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between digital transformational leadership (DTL) and innovation capability (IIC) in multinational (MNC) firms’…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between digital transformational leadership (DTL) and innovation capability (IIC) in multinational (MNC) firms’ settings. The current study emphasises the mediating-moderating impact of symmetrical internal communication (SIC) and trust in leadership (TIL) in further shaping this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers adopted three-wave data consisting of responses from 323 cross-border team members working in MNC firms. A moderated-mediation model was tested using Hynes’ Process Macro and IBM Amos.

Findings

The empirical findings underscore a positive relationship between DTL and IIC and the mediation by SIC. Furthermore, the researchers also identified a moderated mediation relationship of TIL.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the moderated mediation relationship among DTL, SIC, IIC and TIL using the complexity leadership theory perspective.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2024

Maximiliano Emanuel Korstanje

Social sciences have discussed the host–guest relation from many theoretical lenses and perspectives. Violence as well as local crime has been studied as one of the major risks…

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Abstract

Purpose

Social sciences have discussed the host–guest relation from many theoretical lenses and perspectives. Violence as well as local crime has been studied as one of the major risks concerning tourism security. Anyway, less attention was given to homeless people and their interaction with foreign or local tourists. The purpose of this paper is oriented to explain how globalization has winners and losers, in which case, as noted, thousands of persons are excluded from the formal labor marketplace or the economic system year by year.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper that discusses critically not only the recent advances of sociology in urban tourism but also the connection between homeless people and tourists.

Findings

There is an urban underclass formed by those who have been excluded from the economic system. What is more important, such an underclass situates nearby luxury hotels and tourist destinations creating serious contradictions or zones of disputes. These contradictions have been approached by different sociologists since the turn of the 20th century.

Research limitations/implications

The question of sustainability, as well as the idea of liveable cities, and the efficient organization of the city, have occupied a central position in the academic debate, above all after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present paper, the authors put in dialogue the contributions of Marc Auge with Zyggy Bauman toward a new understanding of this postmodern phenomenon.

Originality/value

Based on the metaphor of vagabonds and tourists, we give a snapshot of the problem of homelessness in Buenos Aires city and its effects on the tourism industry. Unlike other English-speaking countries where the cities are actively organized by the state, Buenos Aires city lacks a planned program to regulate and relocate homeless people. They dwell in nonplaces nearby tourists sleeping in the streets near luxury hotels (but for sure escaping any planning or governmental control).

Details

International Journal of Tourism Cities, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-5607

Keywords

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