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1 – 10 of over 2000Timothy David Butler, Craig Armstrong, Alex Ellinger and George Franke
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between being a “great place to work” (GPTW) and firm performance. While lists such as the “Fortune 100 best places to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between being a “great place to work” (GPTW) and firm performance. While lists such as the “Fortune 100 best places to work” were initially regarded solely as publicity vehicles for ranked firms, researchers have since tried to untangle the relationship between being a GPTW and firm performance, often by focussing on HRM systems and practices. In contrast, the study focusses on the valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and organization-exploitability aspects of being a trustworthy employer, place where workers take pride in their work and enjoy the people with whom they work.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses four distinct samples of firms drawn from Fortune’s best companies to work for, Glassdoor.com’s Employees’ Choice Awards, Careerbliss.com’s 50 Happiest Companies in America, and Achievers.com’s 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Awards databases in a longitudinal design to compare performance attributes of listed firms to their respective industry peer groups.
Findings
Being a GPTW is associated with greater productivity, growth potential, and higher operating profits.
Research limitations/implications
Some GPTW firms are privately held and were excluded from analysis.
Practical implications
Rather than focussing on individual HRM practices and techniques, employers may realize greater performance improvements by focussing on building a reputation as a trustworthy employer and fostering an environment where employees take pride in their work and enjoy working with each other.
Originality/value
Other GPTW studies have focussed on HRM practices as antecedents to performance outcomes, which may not accurately reflect the attributes of the GPTW construct. This study focusses squarely on the underlying attributes of being a GPTW: employer trustworthiness, worker pride, and camaraderie and how they affect firm performance.
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Sarah Ecklebe and Natascha Löffler
The purpose of this paper is to explore employees' perceptions of the quality of internal communication in German organizations during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore employees' perceptions of the quality of internal communication in German organizations during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, the paper aims to identify antecedents and outcomes of high-quality internal communication during the pandemic. In doing so, it draws important practical and theoretical implications for pandemic-era communication, particularly surrounding issues such as employees' needs and strategic approaches to communication during the pandemic, as well as the effects of successful internal (crisis) communication.
Design/methodology/approach
A representative survey was conducted on employees (n = 934) working at different types of organizations in Germany. After a dimensionality check was conducted through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the proposed hypotheses were tested by conducting a structural equation model (SEM) using the R package lavaan.
Findings
This study identifies several antecedents of high-quality internal communication during the Covid-19 crisis, such as the frequency of communication at the beginning and during the pandemic, the dissemination of substantial information, participative communication and a clear rejection of secrecy. Furthermore, the findings show that high-quality internal communication has a positive impact on the employee–organization relationship (EOR).
Originality/value
This study suggests that strategic alignment of internal communications during the Covid-19 pandemic is crucial: by considering a number of factors, organizations can positively influence employees' perceptions of the quality of their internal communication. In terms of theoretical implications, this study discusses how the concept of high-quality internal communication can be operationalized and explores the outcomes that this can generate.
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The aim of this paper is to examine characteristics of good employers that have often had inadequate emphasis in previous research.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine characteristics of good employers that have often had inadequate emphasis in previous research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates three different ranking schemes, Fortune’s 100 Best Employers, Glassdoor.com’s Employees’ Choice Awards, and Careerbliss.com’s 50 Happiest Companies in America, to test several hypotheses.
Findings
Significant hallmarks of great places to work are an employer’s trustworthiness, employee pride and the camaraderie that should exist among workers.
Originality/value
While there are no insights or findings that will surprise readers, it widens the debate on factors that make for good employers as well as concluding with ideas for further research.
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Mieke Audenaert, Adelien Decramer, Thomas Lange and Alex Vanderstraeten
Drawing on climate theory and social exchange theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the strength of the expectation climate, defined as the degree of…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on climate theory and social exchange theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the strength of the expectation climate, defined as the degree of agreement among job incumbents on what is expected from them, affects their job performance. To explain this relationship, the authors utilize mediating trust-in-the organization effects as an explanatory avenue.
Design/methodology/approach
In a time-lagged data sample of 568 public service employees, whose job performance is rated by their 242 line managers, the authors apply multilevel modeling. The authors employed stratified random sampling techniques across 75 job categories in a large, public sector organization in Belgium.
Findings
The analysis provides support for the argument that expectation climate strength via mediating trust-in-the organization effects impacts positively on the relationship between employee expectations and performance. Specifically, the significant association of the expectation climate strength with trust suggests that the perceived consensus about the expectations among different job incumbents demonstrates an organization’s trustworthiness and reliability to pursue intentions that are deemed favorable for employees. The authors conjecture that expectation climate strength breeds trust which strengthens employees’ job performance.
Practical implications
HRM professionals in general, and line managers in particular, should heed the advice and carefully manage their tools and practices in an effort to signal compatible expectancies to different job incumbents in the same or similar roles.
Originality/value
The results shed new light on the mechanisms through which the strength of collective expectations impacts employee outcomes.
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Van Thac Dang and Ying-Chyi Chou
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of extrinsic motivation, workplace learning, employer trust and self-efficacy on foreign laborers’ cross-cultural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of extrinsic motivation, workplace learning, employer trust and self-efficacy on foreign laborers’ cross-cultural adjustment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses structural equation modeling to analyze the data from a sample of 258 Vietnamese laborers in Taiwan.
Findings
The results show a significantly positive impact of extrinsic motivation, workplace learning, employer trust and self-efficacy on cross-cultural adjustment.
Originality/value
The findings of this study provide important implications for academic researchers and organizations concerning management and development of successful foreign laborers. From a theoretical aspect, this study shows new evidence on the impacts of extrinsic motivation, workplace learning, employer trust and self-efficacy on foreign laborer cross-cultural adjustment. In addition, this study enriches theories in the field of self-determination motivation, workplace learning, trust and self-efficacy literature. From a practical aspect, this study provides implications for business managers to make better policies in training and managing foreign laborers.
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Maria S. Plakhotnik, Kristina S. Shmaytser and Kirill A. Feofilov
The purpose of this study was to investigate attractiveness of internship advertisements to the prospective applicants through the lens of employer branding. By giving attention…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate attractiveness of internship advertisements to the prospective applicants through the lens of employer branding. By giving attention to internship attractiveness, universities and companies expand current collaborations around internship provision to enhance student internship experiences, satisfaction and employment prospects and to foster long-term sustainability of internship programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed-methods design employing a concurrent triangulation strategy. The authors conducted a content analysis of 94 internship listings published in the largest Russian job portal, HeadHunter, and collected surveys from 274 prospective interns.
Findings
The study shows a mismatch between employer branding strategies and prospective interns' perceptions of employer attractiveness. Companies emphasize economic value and visual identity as well as functional attributes, while prospective interns prioritize development value and symbolic attributes. The findings suggest internship advertisements do not appeal to potential applicants.
Research limitations/implications
The results are limited to business students from specific universities in Russia, so further research is needed to include students with different majors and from other countries. The study is also limited to advertisements available via a large online job portal. A comparative analysis of effectiveness of various communication channels for internship promotion could yield useful results.
Practical implications
Career center advisors, academic program directors and internship coordinators should work with company leaders, human resources and marketing decision-makers, and recruitment specialists to better understand interns' drivers of attraction and audit the internship advertisements. Employers could use the study results to strengthen recruiting messages and, hence, attractiveness of the employer brand to potential interns.
Originality/value
The study contributes by applying the employer branding theory to an understudied population of interns, hence providing new insights into internships as collaboration between universities and companies. By focusing on internship positions, which differ from full-time permanent positions across many aspects, including the positions' duration, pay, supervision and purpose, the study assists in understanding the distinct drivers of attraction of interns, which are missing from published research on the topic.
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To deal with the agenda of extensive research to establish employer branding as a valuable Human Resource (HR) practice, this study aims to examine perception of seafarer to…
Abstract
Purpose
To deal with the agenda of extensive research to establish employer branding as a valuable Human Resource (HR) practice, this study aims to examine perception of seafarer to explore the attributes related with employer branding in maritime industry. This study intends to explore the applicability of instrumental-symbolic framework of employer branding in maritime industry to understand the dimensions related with attractiveness of seafarers’ jobs.
Design/methodology/approach
Sample of the study is Indian seafarers include only officers from both deck and engine. Total 276 usable responses were considered at the end for data analysis.
Findings
Both, the instrumental and symbolic attributes explained significant variance in predicting attractiveness of seafarers’ occupation, thus supporting hypotheses 1 and 2. In particular, among instrumental dimensions, social/team activities, structure, advancement, travel opportunities and pay and benefits positively predicted seafarers’ attraction towards their job. As symbolic dimension, sincerity, competence and prestige was positively related, and ruggedness was negatively related to attractiveness of the present job among seafarers.
Practical implications
Overall, the present findings ascertain the utility of the framework as a conceptualization of employer brands and support the applicability of instrumental-symbolic framework for understanding the dimensions of occupational attractiveness in different context and culture, i.e. Indian Seafarers.
Originality/value
Although the popularity of employer branding is growing amongst human resources practitioners, but still, there is dearth of academic (mainly empirical research) literature on the subject, `appeals to management researchers (Cable and Turban, 2001; Backhaus and Tikoo, 2004, Edwards, 2009; alniacik and alniacik, 2012; Kucherov and Zavyalova, 2012). With this in consideration and to deal with the agenda of extensive research to establish employer branding as a valuable HR practice, the present study examines perception of seafarer to explore the attributes related with employer branding in maritime industry.
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Mee Sook Kim, Kaumudi Misra and Jean M. Phillips
The purpose of this study is to apply reciprocity theory to understand how hypothetical work location decision outcomes and individual differences affect employees’ trust in their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to apply reciprocity theory to understand how hypothetical work location decision outcomes and individual differences affect employees’ trust in their employer and willingness to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs).
Design/methodology/approach
Three vignettes were used to manipulate work location decision outcomes and hypotheses were tested using Hayes’ (2008) PROCESS in a sample of 378 adults who worked in the USA during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Findings
Participants reported greater OCB intentions through higher trust in the employer when given their hypothetical choice of work location compared to being assigned one, and when assigned to their preferred compared to nonpreferred location. External work locus of control (EWLC) moderated the effects of work location on trust in the employer. The relationship between trust and OCB intentions was weakened when employees perceived greater difficulty in leaving their jobs.
Originality/value
This study examined the roles of felt reciprocity, individual differences, choice and hypothetically receiving one’s preferred work location, on trust in the employer and willingness to engage in OCBs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mindie N. Le and Brian H. Kleiner
States that there is a growing concern regarding the potential liability from negligent hiring within the university and public sector. Considers the lack of insurance cover in…
Abstract
States that there is a growing concern regarding the potential liability from negligent hiring within the university and public sector. Considers the lack of insurance cover in this area. Discusses the measures employees can take to limit their exposure to this problem, covering the key points stated in most legal claims. Urges employees to immediately contact a lawyer if sued due to the short timescale to respond.
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Rosa Faaliyat, Keith Townsend, David Peetz and Susan Ressia
This paper explores the experiences of non-English-speaking background (NESB) skilled employees working in Australian workplaces, their perceptions of managers' actions and how a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the experiences of non-English-speaking background (NESB) skilled employees working in Australian workplaces, their perceptions of managers' actions and how a lack of employee involvement and participation (EIP) practices and performance appraisal (PA) is perceived regarding career progression.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory research project is based on 26 semi-structured interviews with skilled migrant NESB employees based in Australia. Social exchange theory (SET) and labour market segmentation theory (LMST) are applied to help explain macro- and micro-level influences on NESB employees and their relationships with their line managers and the workforce.
Findings
Participants perceived line managers to be highly communicative and approachable; however, they indicated how a lack of EIP in decision-making and in their PA affected career progression opportunities for NESB employees. While they were satisfied overall with their jobs, the research indicated a need for improved practices and support from the broader organisation in these two identified areas.
Originality/value
There is relatively little research on how the challenges of an increasingly diverse workforce are managed, particularly from NESB employees' perspective. Therefore, this research fills a gap concerning NESB employees' experience in Australian organisations.
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