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Article
Publication date: 13 May 2014

Patricia V. Roehling, Mark V. Roehling, Ashli Brennan, Ashley R. Drew, Abbey J. Johnston, Regina G. Guerra, Ivy R. Keen, Camerra P. Lightbourn and Alexis H. Sears

The purpose of this paper is to use data from the 2008 and 2012 US Senate elections to examine the relationship between candidate size (obese, overweight, normal weight) and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use data from the 2008 and 2012 US Senate elections to examine the relationship between candidate size (obese, overweight, normal weight) and candidate selection and election outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using pictures captured from candidate web sites, participants rated the size of candidates in the primary and general US Senate elections. χ2 analyses, t-tests and hierarchical multiple regressions were used to test for evidence of bias against overweight and obese candidates and whether gender and election information moderate that relationship.

Findings

Obese candidates were largely absent from the pool of candidates in both the primary and general elections. Overweight women, but not overweight men, were also underrepresented. Supporting our hypothesis that there is bias against overweight candidates, heavier candidates tended to receive lower vote share than their thinner counterparts, and the larger the size difference between the candidates, the larger the vote share discrepancy. The paper did not find a moderating effect for gender or high-information high vs low-information elections on the relationship between candidate size and vote share.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is needed to understand the process by which obese candidates are culled from the candidate pool and the cognitions underlying the biases against overweight candidates.

Social implications

Because of the bias against obese political candidates, as much as one-third of the adult US population are likely to be excluded or being elected to a major political office.

Originality value

This study is the first to use election data to examine whether bias based on size extends to the electoral process.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2009

Patricia V. Roehling, Mark V. Roehling, Jeffrey D. Vandlen, Justin Blazek and William C. Guy

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether overweight and obese individuals are underrepresented among top female and male US executives and whether there is evidence of…

2173

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether overweight and obese individuals are underrepresented among top female and male US executives and whether there is evidence of greater discrimination against overweight and obese female executives than male executives.

Design/methodology/approach

Estimates of the frequencies of overweight and obese male Fortune 100 CEOs and female Fortune 1000 CEOs were obtained using publicly available photographs and raters with demonstrated expertise in evaluating body weight. These “experts” then estimated whether the pictured CEOs were normal weight, overweight or obese.

Findings

Based upon our expert raters’ judgments, it is estimated that between 5 and 22 per cent of US top female CEOs are overweight and approximately 5 per cent are obese. Compared to the general US population, overweight and obese women are significantly underrepresented in among top female CEOs. Among top male CEOs, it is estimated that between 45 and 61 per cent are overweight and approximately 5 per cent are obese. Compared to the general population overweight men are overrepresented among top CEOs, whereas obese men are underrepresented. This demonstrates that weight discrimination occurs at the highest levels of career advancement and that the threshold for weight discrimination is lower for women than for men.

Practical implications

Weight discrimination appears to add to the glass ceiling effect for women, and may serve as a glass ceiling for obese men.

Originality/value

This paper uses field data, as opposed to laboratory data, to demonstrate that discrimination against the overweight and obese extends to the highest levels of employment.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 November 2014

Ana Patrícia Duarte, Daniel Roque Gomes and José Gonçalves das Neves

This study aims to examine the influence of different corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions on prospective applicants’ responses, namely, organizational attractiveness…

1267

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the influence of different corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions on prospective applicants’ responses, namely, organizational attractiveness and intention to apply for a job vacancy (IAJV).

Design/methodology/approach

Using an experimental 2 × 3 crossed factorial design (n = 195), the level of engagement of a hypothetical company in socially responsible practices (high vs low) was manipulated concerning three dimensions of CSR (employees, community and environment and economic level). Participants were randomly assigned to one of the six conditions and, after reading the corresponding scenario, were asked to evaluate the extent to which the company was considered a good place to work and their IAJV in it.

Findings

The level of engagement in socially responsible practices had a positive effect both on the degree to which participants favorably perceived the organization as a place to work and on their IAJV. Furthermore, the level of engagement in practices toward employees and in the economic domain had a stronger effect on participants’ responses than the engagement in practices that benefit community and environment.

Research limitations/implications

Data were obtained in a laboratory setting, so the generalization of results to actual job search settings must be made with caution.

Practical implications

CSR can be a source of competitive advantage in the recruitment of new employees. Because not all CSR dimensions have the same effect on applicants’ responses, companies should take into account the CSR dimensions in which they are engaged and communicate them to the public.

Originality/value

As far as we know, this is the first study to examine the impact of different CSR dimensions both on organizational attractiveness and IAJV.

Details

Management Research: The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1536-5433

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2002

Patricia Ordóñez de Pablos

Investigates organizational knowledge strategies in Spanish industry; using survey questionnaire covering: organizational knowledge management, organizational learning and…

3069

Abstract

Investigates organizational knowledge strategies in Spanish industry; using survey questionnaire covering: organizational knowledge management, organizational learning and performance. Applies Bierly and Chakrabarty’s typology of generic knowledge strategies to perform cluster analysis and classify firms. Implications for strategy emerge: each firm owns a specific bundle of resources forming organizational capabilities; uniqueness nature is outcome of different organizational decisions. Knowledge strategies determine stocks and flows of organizational knowledge and competitive advantage of firms. Decisions involving trade‐offs between knowledge exploitation or exploration, internal or external knowledge, breadth of knowledge base, etc. should be made to configure the best strategy. Results show organizational performance varies across clusters. Knowledge strategy should be integrated among strategic decisions to get good organizational fit.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2013

Pamela Aronson and Jeylan T. Mortimer

Studies of the work “choices” of mothers are plentiful – from the factors that influence occupational selection to the reasons why women work or “opt out” when they have children…

Abstract

Studies of the work “choices” of mothers are plentiful – from the factors that influence occupational selection to the reasons why women work or “opt out” when they have children. However, we know little about how subjective preference for full or part-time work is “aligned” or “misaligned” with mothers’ objective work status. Based on qualitative interviews from the MacArthur Network’s “Transition to Adulthood and Public Policy” study, we consider the “alignment” of objective work intensity (full vs. part time) and subjective preferences, finding that one-third of the working mothers in the sample are “misaligned.” At the same time, the majority preferred full-time work: two-thirds (66 percent) either wanted to work full time and did so, or wanted to work full time but were actually employed part time. One-third of the working mothers had a preference for part-time work (although some worked full time). Only 12 percent of the working mothers in the sample were able to work part time and desired this arrangement. Furthermore, regardless of the alignment of their objective work status and preference, the majority of these mothers emphasized self-fulfillment and intrinsic satisfaction though work.

Details

Visions of the 21st Century Family: Transforming Structures and Identities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-028-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2007

Sarah Moore, Patricia Sikora, Leon Grunberg and Edward Greenberg

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether empirical support exists for two commonly held beliefs about the work‐home interface: women, and particularly managerial women, are…

1726

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether empirical support exists for two commonly held beliefs about the work‐home interface: women, and particularly managerial women, are prone to “super‐mother” or “super‐manage” in an effort to balance both career and child‐rearing, and these demands diminish markedly when children reach school age.

Design/methodology/approach

Via a survey mailed to their home, 1,103 managerial and non‐managerial men and women completed measures of work‐home and home‐work conflict, work‐related stress and strain, and reported their number of work, domestic, and leisure hours per week.

Findings

Somewhat consistent with the popular beliefs, the authors found that managerial women reported working significantly more in the home; measures of conflict and strain, however, while showing some effect were not impacted to the degree that managerial women's combined number of work and home hours per week might suggest. The authors also found that measures of hours, conflict, and strain did not diminish abruptly when children entered school, due perhaps in part to manager's increased work hours and managerial women's renewed work emphasis when children entered school. Measures of hours, conflict, and strain did show some reduction for parents of teenaged children, although they were still significantly higher than those of nonparents.

Originality/value

Aside from being one of the few empirical papers to examine the impact of child rearing on managerial women, our data show how these demands are not confined to working parents of preschoolers.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 22 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2005

Rajshekhar (Raj) G. Javalgi, Patricia R. Todd and Robert F. Scherer

A classical model of organizational ecology dynamics which is utilized to characterize an ecosystem called the internet is proposed and a parallel is drawn between the population…

3243

Abstract

Purpose

A classical model of organizational ecology dynamics which is utilized to characterize an ecosystem called the internet is proposed and a parallel is drawn between the population ecology model and the current global e‐commerce environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Survivorship theory is applied to global e‐commerce. The Verhulst‐Pearl logistic equation can be used to describe the inhibition of growth within an ecosystem. The approach is to apply the Verhulst‐Pearl logistic equation to describe international growth dynamics of the internet.

Findings

When applying the Verhulst‐Pearl equation to the internet environment around the world, the number of domain names or host counts, the rate at which there is an increase or decrease in the number of domain names, and the availability of information technology infrastructure are all factors that are part of the equation. The model of population dynamics presented in our discussion lends itself to the description of the current pattern of growth within the internet environment.

Practical implications

The application of population ecology to international growth dynamics describes the long‐term survival and differentiation strategies that impact success. The next evolution of firms on the internet, which may be the ultimate survivors, should follow the path characterized as low cost producers with a focus on meeting the needs of the consumers on the internet. An ecological approach allows managers to ascertain the effectiveness of their organizations in the internet environment and accordingly devise strategies to embrace changes and challenges of the global environment.

Originality/value

The population ecology conceptual framework offers promise for a more sophisticated and methodologically rigorous approach to future investigations by both researchers and practitioners. The operationalization of the organizational ecology model for application to the internet is an extension of the literature.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

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