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1 – 10 of over 131000
Article
Publication date: 31 December 2021

M. Anaam Hashmi, Abdullah Al Ghaithi and Khaled Sartawi

This study aims to examine the impact of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) on employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and organisational commitment (OC) with a special…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the impact of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) on employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and organisational commitment (OC) with a special focus on the United Arab Emirates. It also analyses the mediating effect of employee happiness on the relationship between FWA and employees’ perceived productivity, OC and perceived work quality.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative, non-experimental correlational study was used for this research project. The study yielded numerical data, which were analysed using a deductive approach. The analysis aimed at exploring the relationships between the constructs, which were viewed as variables; these relationships were considered correlations, mediation and moderation. The sample comprises employees currently working at different public and private sector organisations, representing all major service industries in the UAE. Nine questions were used to assess the flexibility at work and six out of the nine questions were used to measure the level of FWAs using the Likert scale.

Findings

FWA has a significant and positive association with the employees’ perceived productivity, quality of work and OC. It was confirmed that happiness plays a mediating role in the relationship between FWA and employee outcomes. The facility allows employees to manage their personal and professional lives with ease using their preferred work method. This ability promotes employee satisfaction. In conclusion, managers and employees around the world should view FWAs as a positive tool to enhance employee productivity and OC, particularly in an emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The participants’ honesty was a limitation, which could raise questions on the validity of this study. This limitation arises when the self-report method is used for data collection. Use of multiple instruments could be another limitation.

Practical implications

Organisational leaders can use FWAs to improve employee outcomes. When an organisation grants flexible work options to employees, it implies that the organisation trusts its employees to complete the task. This factor motivates all employees to work with dedication, which is particularly true if the employees are creative people and wish to work on their preferred time and place.

Originality/value

This study is significant because the findings will allow managers to assess the benefits of using FWAs to improve employee productivity, particularly in the service sector. It combines the aspects of perceived productivity, OC and perceived work quality, as well as employee happiness to assess the role of FWAs in organisations. The study also investigates the influence of FWAs in improving these employee outcomes. Based on the literature review, this study on FWAs is the first of its kind in the UAE, the country using a truly multinational workforce coming from more than 100 countries and cultures.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2019

Zhiming Cheng, Ingrid Nielsen and Henry Cutler

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between aged care employees’ perceived job quality and intention to stay in current aged care facilities, mediated by work

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between aged care employees’ perceived job quality and intention to stay in current aged care facilities, mediated by work-life interference.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the nationally representative employee–employer matched data from the 2012 National Aged Care Workforce Census and Survey in Australia. It applies the theoretical lens of the Job Characteristics Model and a mediation analytical model that controls for a rich set of employee, employer and regional characteristics.

Findings

This paper finds that higher perceived job quality positively correlates with greater intention to stay and that work-life interference mediates the relationship between perceived job quality and intention to stay.

Research limitations/implications

This paper cannot make inference about causal relationship. Future studies on the aged care workforce should collect longitudinal data so that time-invariant unobservables can be eliminated in econometric modelling.

Practical implications

Efforts by the aged care sector to design quality jobs are likely to have significant positive correlation with the intention to stay, not only because employees are less likely to leave higher quality jobs per se, but also because higher quality jobs interfere less in the family lives of aged care workers, which itself is associated with greater intention to stay.

Originality/value

The results add to a small literature that has investigated how work-family variables can mediate between interventions that organisations put in place to improve work-life balance, and employee outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2020

Yariv Itzkovich, Niva Dolev and Moran Shnapper-Cohen

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between incivility and two organizational and personal attitudes, namely, perceived ethical climate and perceived quality

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between incivility and two organizational and personal attitudes, namely, perceived ethical climate and perceived quality of work-life of nurses, in the framework of organizational climate.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantitative data of 148 nurses working in a medium-sized hospital in Israel were collected. Furthermore, qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses and 14 doctors from the same hospital, constructing a mixed-method approach.

Findings

Findings revealed that witnessing or experiencing incivility affected the nurses' perception of the ethical climate of their work unit and their perceived quality of their work-life. Additionally, we found that the relationship between incivility and nurses' perceived quality of work-life was partially mediated through their perceived ethical climate. The qualitative data supported some of the findings.

Originality/value

The article stretches the incivility theory beyond its dyadic boundaries, prominently showing the spillover effect of incivility as an organizational problem. Additionally, it offers some evidence-based support for the multidimensionality of incivility, strengthening the need for a construct cleanup.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Eun Young Nae, Hyoung Koo Moon and Byoung Kwon Choi

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the boundary conditions in the relationship between feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) and work performance. The authors hypothesized that…

2589

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the boundary conditions in the relationship between feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) and work performance. The authors hypothesized that the positive influence of employees’ FSB on their work performance is influenced by perceived quality of feedback. The authors also expected that employees’ trust in their supervisors moderated the interaction between their FSB and perceived feedback quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 202 employees in South Korea. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypothesis.

Findings

The results showed that while employees’ FSB was positively related to work performance, the influence was stronger for employees who perceived they were receiving high quality of feedback from supervisors. The authors also found that the moderating effect of feedback quality on the relationship between FSB and work performance was stronger when employees had high levels of trust in their supervisors.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that if managers wish to encourage employees to achieve work goal and desirable performance levels by actively engaging in FSB, they should pay more attention to providing high quality of feedback and building trust with employees.

Originality/value

This study contributes to expand the understanding of FSB-work performance relationship by verifying the boundary conditions, which suggests the importance of examining the moderating factors in the FSB mechanism.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

Francisco Javier Lloréns Montes, Antonia Ruiz Moreno and Luis Miguel Molina

Many organizations are adopting quality and innovation as practices that allow them to achieve competitive advantage owing to an increase in competitiveness. The goal of this…

1789

Abstract

Many organizations are adopting quality and innovation as practices that allow them to achieve competitive advantage owing to an increase in competitiveness. The goal of this paper is to examine whether quality can be regarded as a resource that sets up the necessary bases for implementing innovations in organizations. First, the concepts of quality and innovation are determined, so that we can analyse how they relate to each other. Later on, the different contributions existing that deal with the relationship between quality and innovation are revised. In the second part of the research, we formulate and verify some hypotheses, which are empirically tested using a sample of bank employees in several financial entities. Results allow us to establish that quality relates to innovation both directly and indirectly, in the latter case through employees’ satisfaction.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 103 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 September 2014

Erik Modig and Sara Rosengren

– This paper aims to investigate the impact of advertising creativity on consumer perceptions of product quality, value, retailer brand attitude and purchase intention.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the impact of advertising creativity on consumer perceptions of product quality, value, retailer brand attitude and purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 shows the impact of creativity (high/low) for two product categories (mineral water and chewing gum) and one known retailer. The findings are replicated and extended in Study 2 for four categories (mineral water, chewing gum, batteries and detergent) and two known retailers.

Findings

The results show that advertising creativity positively signals perceived product quality, which increases perceived value. These effects fully mediate a positive impact on retailer brand attitude and purchase intentions. The positive effect of advertising creativity on perceived product quality is mediated by perceived advertisement effort.

Practical implications

This study introduces advertising creativity as a way for retailers to increase perceived product quality and value. The results show that advertising creativity increases perceived effort on behalf of the sender, which positively influences purchase intentions.

Originality/value

The current study shows that advertising creativity can work as a signal of product quality, which has positive effects for retailers.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 23 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Jonathan H. Westover

There is a growing body of comparative research examining country differences in job satisfaction and its determinants. However, existing research cannot explain similarities in…

Abstract

Purpose

There is a growing body of comparative research examining country differences in job satisfaction and its determinants. However, existing research cannot explain similarities in job satisfaction levels across very different countries, nor can it explain the differences between seemingly similar countries. Moreover, there has been no significant research conducted to date that has examined the country-level contextual conditions that are poised to impact worker satisfaction and its determinants. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, the author address this existing gap in the academic literature on job satisfaction by using non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (Work Orientations I, II, and III: 1989, 1997, and 2005) to examine cross-national differences in job satisfaction and its determinants. The author compare and combine previous international political economy theoretical work and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine global macro-level variables and their impact on worker satisfaction cross-nationally.

Findings

Study results demonstrate that both intrinsic and extrinsic work characteristics strongly impact worker job satisfaction. Furthermore, country by country regression and HLM results suggest that there are important country differences in both the perceived importance of various work characteristics and workers’ self-report experiences with both intrinsic and extrinsic work characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

To get a clearer picture in the HLM analysis as to the full impact of these various country-contextual impacts on differences in perceived job characteristics and worker satisfaction, future research needs to examine a greater number and wider variety of countries, while exploring other theoretically relevant country-level variables that may help to explore country-level differences from these various cross-national theoretical frameworks. Additionally, a more diverse and greater number of participating countries would also potentially help in achieving levels of significance in the level-2 covariates in the HLM models.

Practical implications

Due to the fact the worker job satisfaction impacts firm performance and various measures of worker well-being, firms (regardless of economic sector or private/public status) need to be cognizant of these differences and unique challenges and work to tailor management philosophy and policy to create a unique work atmosphere that will benefit the interests of both the employer and the employee, as well as society at large.

Originality/value

While the nature of work has changed dramatically in the post-war era in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy, particularly over the past two decades, this paper examines the previously unexamined country-level contextual and global macro-historical variables driving differences in work quality and perceived worker satisfaction.

Details

Evidence-based HRM: a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-3983

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2020

Rajesh Rajaguru, Roshni Narendran and Gayathri Rajesh

Social loafing is a key inhibitor in group-based student learning and is a key challenge in administering group-based assessments in higher education. This study examines…

1999

Abstract

Purpose

Social loafing is a key inhibitor in group-based student learning and is a key challenge in administering group-based assessments in higher education. This study examines differences in the effects of antecedents of social loafing (disruptive behaviour, social disconnectedness and apathy) on work quality by comparing student-created and instructor-created groups. The study also investigates how group members' efforts to “pick up the slack” of social loafers in the two kinds of groups moderate the effect of antecedents of social loafing on work quality.

Design/methodology/approach

Post-graduate students from two different sessions of the Marketing Management unit participated in the study: 95 students from session 1 and 90 students from session 2. One session represented student-created groups and the other session represented instructor-created groups. Each group consisted of five students. Partial Least Square (PLS) estimation using SmartPLS was used to assess the direct and interaction effects.

Findings

The results indicate differences in the effects of the antecedents of social loafing such as apathy and disruptive behaviour on work quality for both student-created and instructor-created groups. Social disconnectedness was found to have no significant effect on work quality. Interestingly, the study found significant differences in the effects of “pick up the slack” on the work quality of student-created and instructor-created groups. Members of student-created groups who picked up the slack of social loafers improved the work quality for unit assessment. This effect was not significant for instructor-created groups.

Originality/value

Extant literature on social loafing predominantly focusses on its effect on students' work quality and educational achievement. This study contributes to the literature by investigating how the student-created and instructor-created group members' efforts to pick up the slack of social loafers moderate the effects of the antecedents of social loafing on work quality.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 62 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2023

Tong Yang, Yanzhong Dang and Jiangning Wu

This paper aims to propose a method for dynamic product perceived quality analysis using social media data and to achieve a macro–micro combination analysis. The method enables…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a method for dynamic product perceived quality analysis using social media data and to achieve a macro–micro combination analysis. The method enables the prioritization of perceived quality attributes and provides perception causes.

Design/methodology/approach

To rationalize the macro–micro combination, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used to identify the main factors affecting perceived quality which served as the combination basis; by using the combination basis for consumer segmentation, macro-knowledge (i.e. attribute importance and quality category of the attribute) is achieved by term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF)-based attribute importance calculation and KANO-based attribute classification, which is combined with micro-quality diagnostic information (i.e. perceived quality, perception causes and quality parameters). Further, dynamic perception Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) is built to present the attribute priority and perception causes.

Findings

The framework was validated by the new energy vehicle (NEV) data of Autohome. The results show that price and purchase purpose are the most influential factors of perceived quality and that dynamic perception IPA can effectively prioritize attributes and mine perception causes.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to analyze dynamic perceived quality using social media data, which contributes to the research on perceived quality. The paper also contributes by achieving a combined macro–micro analysis of perceived quality. The method rationalizes the macro–micro combination by identifying the factors influencing perceived quality, which provides ideas for other studies using social media data.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 123 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2011

Rajat Roy and Ryan Chau

The purpose of this research is to explore how a successful global and a local brand may compete side by side in an existing market place based on consumer‐based brand equity and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore how a successful global and a local brand may compete side by side in an existing market place based on consumer‐based brand equity and consumers' status‐seeking motivation for purchasing a global versus local brand.

Design/methodology/approach

The data for this research were collected through a self‐administered survey from students in a large Western Australian university.

Findings

The results show that a global brand is generally preferred in terms of all the dimensions of consumer‐based brand equity over a local brand. However, a significant interaction emerged between the type of brand and high versus low status‐seeking motivation consumers. A global brand is strongly favoured in terms of awareness, perceived quality and overall brand equity by high status seekers while a local brand seems to enjoy loyalty and overall brand equity among low status seekers. A global brand is also clearly preferred over a local brand along all dimensions of consumer‐based brand equity amongst high status‐seeking consumers. Further, a local brand is clearly preferred in terms of consumer‐based brand equity over the global brand by Australians whereas the global brand remains a clear favourite with non‐Australians.

Research limitations/implications

Findings may not generalize beyond Australian sample and the product category.

Originality/value

This empirical research explores how global and local brands may compete with each other based on their strengths. This research also addresses a theoretical gap identified by Yoo and Donthu.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 131000