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This chapter examines employee learning behavior as a function of work characteristics. Karasek’s Demand-Control (DC) model proposes that high job demands and high job control are conducive to employee learning behavior. A review of 18 studies revealed that whereas most of these supported these predictions, methodological and conceptual shortcomings necessitate further study. Perhaps the most important weakness of the DC-based research on learning is that the conceptual foundations of the DC model regarding employee learning behavior are quite rudimentary, while the role of interpersonal differences in the learning process is largely neglected. The second part of this chapter explores the relationship between work characteristics and learning behavior from the perspective of German Action Theory (AT). AT explicitly discusses how work characteristics affect learning behavior and assigns a role to interpersonal differences. We conclude by presenting a model that integrates action-theoretical insights on learning with DC-based empirical results.

Karasek's (1979) job demands-control model is one of the most widely studied models of occupational stress (de Lange, Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers, 2003). The key idea behind the job demands-control model is that control buffers the impact of job demands on strain and can help enhance employees’ job satisfaction with the opportunity to engage in challenging tasks and learn new skills (Karasek, 1979). Most research on the job demands-control has been inconsistent (de Lange et al., 2003; Van Der Deof & Maes, 1999), and the main reasons cited for this inconsistency are that different variables have been used to measure demands, control, and strain, not enough longitudinal research has been done, and the model does not take workers’ individual characteristics into account (Van Der Deof & Maes, 1999). To address these concerns, expansions have been made on the model such as integrating resources, self-efficacy, active coping, and social support into the model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001b; Johnson & Hall, 1988; Demerouti, Bakker, de Jonge, Janssen, & Schaufeli, 2001a; Landsbergis, Schnall, Deitz, Friedman, & Pickering, 1992). However, researchers have only been partially successful, and therefore, to continue reducing inconstencies, we recommend using longitudinal designs, both objective and subjective measures, a higher sample size, and a careful consideration of the types of demands and control that best match each other theoretically.

Self-employed workers typically report higher well-being levels than employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanisms that lead to differences in work engagement between self-employed and organizationally employed high-skilled workers.

Self-employed and organizationally employed high-skilled workers (N=167) were compared using a multigroup multilevel analysis. Participants assessed their job control (general level) and reported their work engagement during work tasks (task level) by means of the Day Reconstruction Method. Aspects of job control (autonomy, creativity, and learning opportunities) and task characteristics (social tasks and core work tasks) were contrasted for the two groups as predictors of work engagement.

Self-employed workers reported higher levels of job control and work engagement than organizationally employed workers. In both groups, job control predicted work engagement. Employees with more opportunities to be creative and autonomous were more engaged at work. Self-employed workers were more engaged when they had more learning opportunities. On the task level, the self-employed were more engaged during core work tasks and social tasks.

The findings suggest that self-employment is an effective way for high-skilled workers to increase the amount of job control available to them, and to improve their work engagement. From an intervention perspective, self-employed workers may benefit most from more learning opportunities, more social tasks, and more core work tasks. Organizationally employed workers may appreciate more autonomy and opportunities for creativity.

This study contributes to a better understanding of the role that job control and task characteristics play in predicting the work engagement of high-skilled self-employed and organizationally employed workers.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the interactive effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on R&D output by analysing Chinese-listed industrial family firms. It proposes modelling the moderating influence of quality of government (QOG) on the relationship between family firm governance types (family control and family management) and R&D output from the “twin agency” perspective (Stulz, 2005).

The data set is organised as an unbalanced panel. This study exploits random-effects GLS regression, analysing both cross-sectional and time variation, and estimating the mean effects. The GLS model corrects the variance- and sequence-related problems of linear model random items and remains consistent and robust when the error term is heteroscedastic and non-normally distributed.

The findings provide several empirical conclusions: in areas with a higher QOG, family firms with greater family control (i.e. voting rights of the board) achieve more R&D output than firms with less family control; and QOG has no significant interactive effects with family management (i.e. the ratio of family managers among top managers) on R&D output. The main contribution of this paper is to show that in areas with a higher QOG, greater R&D output for family firms depends on greater family control rather than family management. These findings give a better understanding of the interactive influence of inside and outside agency problems in family firms in general and their R&D output in particular across different cities, and may help both family firms’ leaders and government policy makers to foster innovation by controlling intrinsic and extrinsic agency problems.

To date, most family firm innovation research has concentrated upon governance and R&D behaviour (Block, 2012; Brinkerink and Bammens, 2018; Chrisman and Patel, 2012; Lee and O’Neill, 2003). Few studies, however, have been performed from the major strategic (control) and operational (management) orientations, into the influence of outside (QOG) and inside (governance) factors upon innovation. This study attempts to fill that gap. It uses patent counts to measure the economic and technological importance of innovation. It argues that different QOG may lead major controllers or executives in family firms to have different motivations, and hence to approach innovation differently from the agency perspective.

The main contribution of this study is to show that in areas with a higher QOG, higher R&D outputs of family firms depend on higher family control rather than family management, due to the interactive influence of inside and outside agency problems. When family management is high, the direct effect is high, because family management may reduce the principal–agent agency cost (PAAC), but the interactive effect of QOG and family management is not significant. In areas with high QOG, although family management may reduce the PAAC, principal–principal and altruism agency costs may increase. Based on the twin agency theory, differing inside expropriation issues between strategic (family control) and operational (family management) orientations are the main differentiator, one accentuated by the external expropriation issues of QOG.

These results contribute to a better understanding of family firms in general and their R&D output in particular across different cities. The findings also show of interest for government policy makers who should be aware of the significance of FFs’ characteristics for innovation and their incentives to conduct R&D projects.

The research uses Stulz’s (2005) “Twin agency” concept to analyse the interacting effects of state-level agency problems of governments with firm-level agency problems of family firms on R&D output. This paper answers the main question: What are the interactive effects of QOG and family firm governance on R&D output? The main contribution of the paper is to bridging the current gap in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of job demand, job control, and supervisory support on stress among nurses in China, Japan, Argentina, and the Caribbean using the Job demand‐control (JDC) and the Job demand‐control‐support (JDCS) models.

The authors have employed a comparative research design, cross‐sectional survey methodology with convenient random sampling, and a commonly used statistical analytic strategy.

The results highlight that job demand, job control, and supervisory support are important variables in understanding stress among nurses. This has been corroborated in China, Japan, Argentina, and the Caribbean. Based on their findings and what is available in the literature, the authors report that the JDCS model has universal significance albeit it works somewhat differently in different contexts.

This study's contribution comes from its comparative nature, theoretical anchor, its use of one of the most popular models of stress, its focus on a profession that is demonstrably stressed, its use of common measures and an established analytic strategy. The study's findings underscore the cross‐cultural usefulness and application of the JDCS model along with its threshold and substitution effects and limiting conditions.

This paper aims to assess the interactive impact of dispositional threat orientation and affirmation (both self-affirmation and self-efficacy) on the effectiveness of fear appeals.

A 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 fully crossed, mixed experimental design is used. The study is conducted through an on-line survey platform. Participants are nationally representative in terms of age, gender and geographic location within the USA.

Threat orientation impacts individuals’ responses to fear appeals. Control-oriented individuals respond in a more adaptive manner, heightened-sensitivity-oriented individuals are a “mixed-bag” and denial-oriented individuals respond in a more maladaptive manner. Affirmations (both self-affirmation and self-efficacy) interact with threat orientation in some cases to predict response to threat.

This research used a cross-sectional approach in an on-line environment. A longitudinal study with a stronger self-affirmation intervention and self-efficacy manipulation would offer a stronger test.

Social marketers should consider whether their primary target market has a general tendency toward a particular threat orientation when considering the use of fear appeals. Social marketers should consider the potential benefits of a self-affirmation intervention.

Individuals’ personality dispositions impact how they respond to fear appeals, which may explain why some seemingly well executed fear appeals are unsuccessful whereas others succeed.

Little or no research has examined the use of self-affirmation to overcome the challenges posed by dispositional threat orientation. This research gives an early glimpse into how these issues interplay.

In this chapter, we review empirical research evidence on the relationship between stressors and catecholamines (i.e., adrenaline and noradrenaline) and cortisol. With respect to acute stressors, both laboratory and field research have shown that the exposure to stressors leads to an increase in catecholamine and cortisol levels. With respect to more chronic stressors, research evidence is less consistent. Chronic mental workload was found to be related to elevated adrenaline levels. With respect to cortisol responses the interaction between workload and other variables seems to play a role. Empirical studies suggest that chronic stressors affect the responsivity to acute stressors. Research showed that after the exposure to stressors catecholamine and cortisol recovery is delayed.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) altered the relationship between auditors and their clients by requiring an external audit of companies’ internal controls. Regulatory guidance is interpreted and applied by external auditors to comply with SOX. The purpose of this paper is to apply service operations management theories and techniques to the internal control audit process to better understand the role regulatory guidance plays in audit services. We discuss service operations management theories that apply to the production of audit services and employ the operations management technique of simulation to examine the effects of a historical relationship between the client and the auditor, information sharing between the client and the auditor, and the auditor’s perceived risk of the client on the internal control audit process. The application of service operations management theories and the simulation results illustrate that risk and information sharing are key factors for the audit process. The results suggest the updated Public Company Accounting Oversight Board guidance from Auditing Standard 2 to Auditing Standard 5 appropriately increased audit effectiveness by encouraging risk-based judgments and information sharing. This paper merges accounting and service operations management research to examine the effects of regulatory guidance on the internal control audit process. The paper uses simulation to illustrate the importance of interpreting regulatory guidance and the specific effects of risk and information sharing on the internal control audit process.

The topic of impulsive buying has been studied by researchers for nearly 70 years and made a large number of valuable discoveries. However, most of the existing research studies focused on the impulse buying behavior in the context of single person shopping from the perspective of individuals and lack of research on impulse buying behavior in the context of shopping with others from the perspective of communities. Given that consumers' decision-making in the presence of others is significantly different from that when they are alone, it is necessary to probe into the internal mechanism of impulse purchase behavior in the context of shopping with others.

In total three experiments were used to test the hypothesis. Study 1 examines the differences in the motivation of impulsive desire among consumers with different impulsive traits. A total of 240 undergraduates were recruited to participate in the study. The purpose of study 2 is to examine the effect of external attribution on consumer guilt, which leads to the failure of self-control. A total of 256 undergraduate students participated in the study 2. The purpose of study 3 was to test the moderating effect of the intensity of ties on the impact of goal on impulse purchase intention. A total of 240 subjects participated in study 3.

When shopping with companions, consumers with different impulse traits have different initial impulses in the face of temptation, but they may have a similar higher willingness to buy on impulse. There are two reasons: on the one hand, consumers with high-impulsive traits produce a higher desire to buy on impulse driven by hedonistic motivation. In contrast, consumers with low-impulse traits will also have a higher impulse purchase desire driven by prosocial motivation. On the other hand, external attribution can lead to the failure of self-control and impulse purchase behavior. However, the above effects only occur when there is a strong connection between consumers.

First, this paper simulates the phenomenon of impulse purchase in the relational situation through experimental methods; if the research based on the real consumption scenario can be carried out, the research results will be more convincing. Second, whether there are other intermediary mechanisms, such as whether external attribution can affect consumers' self-control through perceived social support, need to be further tested. Finally, it is also necessary to examine the role of other regulatory variables, such as consumers' sense of power, the type of self-construct, etc., and these research clues will further enrich the research on impulsive buying in the context of relationship.

First, businesses can launch more accurate marketing strategies for consumers who are shopping together, find ways to reduce consumers' attention to their own responsibility or fault and guide them to conduct external attribution to their impulsive consumption behavior. The findings also have implications for consumers to control their own impulse purchase behavior. In addition, the results of this study can provide new insights into the government to prevent social crisis and carry out consumer education.

The key contribution of the current research is that, unlike existing studies that focus on the exploration of impulsive buying in the context of single person shopping, this study explores the internal mechanism and causal process on how consumers' impulsive buying behavior occurs when shopping with others. The authors further make a contribution to a self-control theory by demonstrating that external attribution has a negative effect on self-control in relational situations. Finally, this study also finds that the intensity of ties can moderate the impacts of focus goals on impulsive buying behavior.