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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Yehoshua Liebermann and Shmuel Stashevsky

Previous research suggests that perceived risk is an important ingredient in the consumer decision‐making process. The purpose of the present study is to investigate what are the…

15166

Abstract

Previous research suggests that perceived risk is an important ingredient in the consumer decision‐making process. The purpose of the present study is to investigate what are the perceived barriers to Internet usage and e‐marketing by both users and non‐users. By understanding these potential obstacles, more efficient marketing strategies will become available that will drive Internet use and e‐commerce. A detailed perceived risks map has been developed using a qualitative research paradigm. We suggest a model with the factors affecting the Internet’s perceived risk elements. The factors are demographic traits and usage behavior characteristics. The model is tested against a sample of 465 employed adults.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Shmuel Stashevsky and Ronald J. Burke

3503

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Shmuel Stashevsky and Meni Koslowsky

To examine leadership style (transactional versus transformational), knowledge level, and team cohesiveness as antecedents of team performance.

16458

Abstract

Purpose

To examine leadership style (transactional versus transformational), knowledge level, and team cohesiveness as antecedents of team performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted among students studying for an MBA. The 252 participant students were involved in a computerized business simulation course which required forming teams of about six members. Each team represented the management of one firm that competed with the other groups.

Findings

Transformational leadership was associated with a higher level of team cohesiveness, as compared to transactional leadership. Both knowledge level and team cohesiveness predict team performance, particularly among men.

Research limitations/implications

The student sample may not necessarily represent responses from workers in an actual organization. From a measurement perspective, the reliability of the one item scale of leadership could not be ascertained.

Practical implications

For improving team performance, a manager should enhance team knowledge and encourage greater team cohesiveness.

Originality/value

Using a simulated research design, leadership style, an antecedent associated with individual performance, was also found to be related to team performance.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Meni Koslowsky and Shmuel Stashevsky

Over the past decade, the social power taxonomy has been applied in many organizational contexts. This study aims to examine the issue of organizational values as antecedents of…

5245

Abstract

Purpose

Over the past decade, the social power taxonomy has been applied in many organizational contexts. This study aims to examine the issue of organizational values as antecedents of social power.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 187 Israeli MBA students participated in a study of power and values, as measured by organizational practices and behaviors.

Findings

Findings indicated that soft power bases were preferred over harsh, as expected. In addition, support for the hypothesis of an interaction affect was obtained as charismatic leaders in a complex work environment used punishment very rarely. The findings were discussed in terms of the use in organizations of power strategies as a function of values.

Originality/value

Although the main independent variables, organizational type (routine vs complex) and leadership style (transformational vs transactional), had each been studied independently, this was the first study of their interaction.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Ronald J. Burke

With half of those in leadership positions maybe falling short, the purpose of this paper is to review literature on why leaders fail.

14274

Abstract

Purpose

With half of those in leadership positions maybe falling short, the purpose of this paper is to review literature on why leaders fail.

Design/methodology/approach

A number of recent journal articles, book chapters and books were examined.

Findings

The paper identified common causes of failure and possible remedial actions. Leaders that fail behave in ways reflective of their personality that limit or derail their careers. These flaws include arrogance, aloofness, perfectionism, insensitivity, selfishness and betraying the trust of others.

Research limitations/implications

Very little research on this important topic has been conducted.

Practical implications

Solutions highlight the role of early feedback in reducing leadership failures.

Originality/value

This paper raises a topic important in leadership development but ignored by both researchers and managers.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Min‐Ping Huang, Bor‐Shiuan Cheng and Li‐Fong Chou

The current leadership literature has paid little attention to understanding the intervening mechanism by which leaders influence followers. In order to partially bridge this gap…

6533

Abstract

Purpose

The current leadership literature has paid little attention to understanding the intervening mechanism by which leaders influence followers. In order to partially bridge this gap, the article aims to present a value‐fit charismatic leadership theory which focusses on the key intervening mechanism – person‐organization values fit.

Design/methodology/approach

The model was tested empirically on 180 participants, including 51 managers and 129 employees from 37 large‐scale companies in Taiwan.

Findings

Based on the block regression analysis, the results showed that CEO charismatic leadership has both direct and indirect effects on employees’ extra effort to work, satisfaction with the CEO, as well as organizational commitment, which are mediated by employees’ perceived person‐organization values fit. The findings also provided evidence that the relationship between charismatic leadership and person‐organization values fit is significant. Furthermore, the analysis also showed the significant effects of person‐organization values fit on employee outcomes.

Originality/value

The study shows how CEO charismatic leadership can, through the mediating effect of person‐organization values fit, have profound influence on employee outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Zoe S. Dimitriades

The purpose of the article is to examine the validity and reliability of Spreitzer's and Menon's instruments in a culturally diverse environment. To test whether individualized…

3881

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the article is to examine the validity and reliability of Spreitzer's and Menon's instruments in a culturally diverse environment. To test whether individualized measures of Hofstede's cultural dimensions are related to employee empowerment in the Greek context.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate the multidimensional nature of the empowerment construct and the discriminant validity and reliability of its basic dimensions principal component analysis with varimax rotation is conducted. Furthermore, correlation analysis is employed to examine the relationship between empowerment, power distance and uncertainty avoidance and to compare current with existing findings. The analysis is based on valid responses from 154 Greek employed students to self‐administered surveys.

Findings

Overall, the results of the present study are congruent with the literature in the area, confirming the usefulness of a view of empowerment characterized by the dimensions of perceived control (or impact), perceived competence, and goal internalization (or meaning). Furthermore, the level of psychological empowerment in this investigation compares quite favorably with reported findings from Canada, the USA and Australia. Finally, whereas uncertainty avoidance is significantly positively associated with overall empowerment and all of its sub‐scales, contrary to expectations, power distance is unrelated to feelings of empowerment.

Research limitations/implications

Although the results, in line with existing findings, seem to confirm the cross‐national validity and reliability of the Spreitzer and Menon instruments, they also tentatively indicate the potential relativity of the empowerment concept in non‐American settings – especially in terms of its important determinants. Future research should aim to refine the discriminant validity of Spreitzer's sub‐scale of self‐determination. Replication of current findings using probability sampling to address issues of potential within‐country cultural variability also warrants further consideration.

Originality/value

The study establishes the validity and reliability of two of the most popular instruments in the empowerment literature in the Greek context. In addition, the paper highlights links between work‐related cultural values and perceived empowerment among Greek employees – a pertinent but inadequately researched issue in Greece.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Abraham Carmeli and Asher Tishler

The goal of this study is to examine the effect that nine managerial skills of the firm's top management team (TMT) (persuasiveness, administrative ability, fluency in speaking…

13674

Abstract

Purpose

The goal of this study is to examine the effect that nine managerial skills of the firm's top management team (TMT) (persuasiveness, administrative ability, fluency in speaking, knowledge about group tasks, diplomacy and tact, social skills, creativity, conceptual skills, and cleverness) have on the performance of industrial firms (a weighted average of seven performance measures).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from chief executive officers of 93 industrial enterprises in Israel through structured questionnaires and complementary in‐depth investigation. Both multivariate (robust canonical analysis and hierarchical regressions) and in‐depth analyses were used to analyze the study's results.

Findings

The results show that managerial skills possessed by the TMT strongly affect firm performance, their impact apparently being greater than that of variables representing industry sectors, firm size and age, and perceived environmental uncertainty. In particular, skills that are required to manage people (human resources skills) are found to be more important to firm performance than intellectual abilities.

Practical implications

The study emphasizes the importance of complementary managerial skills as an indicator of quality TMT. The TMT's ability to make good decisions and lead the organization to meet external and internal constituents is a very complex task.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the literature by first, providing support to the importance of managerial skills for firm performance; second, suggesting a new avenue to incorporate the resource based view into the field of strategic leadership in general and managerial skills in particular; and finally, indicating the importance of simultaneously testing the effect of a set of predictors (managerial skills) on a set of performance measures.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Daniel Sodenkamp, Klaus‐Helmut Schmidt and Uwe Kleinbeck

The recently introduced collective effort model (CEM) enlightens from a theoretical point of view different facets of the relationship between individual and group performance…

1985

Abstract

Purpose

The recently introduced collective effort model (CEM) enlightens from a theoretical point of view different facets of the relationship between individual and group performance. From a more practical point of view, the Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System (ProMES) can be seen as an ideal counterpart to the CEM. ProMES is a technique enabling work groups to improve their performance. The article aims to show how CEM and ProMES can be put together.

Design/methodology/approach

A ProMES implementation in an industrial setting is described. Moreover, ProMES effects are analyzed by assistance of the knowledge from the CEM.

Findings

It was found that the overall positive productivity effects of ProMES can be increased if a pay‐for‐performance‐system is added on. That is, feedback reports can easily serve for the implementation of a group compensation system. Therefore, the overall effectiveness score has to be taken into account.

Originality/value

The paper is a useful source of information for organizations looking to better their organizational performance through the implementation of CEM and ProMES.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Constant D. Beugré, William Acar and William Braun

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of the external environment on the emergence of particular forms of transformational leadership.

12648

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of the external environment on the emergence of particular forms of transformational leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

To develop a conceptual model, the extant literature on environment and transformational leadership was used. Specifically, the focus was on the constructs of volatility of the external environment, environmental uncertainty, and existing models of transformational leadership.

Findings

In this article, an environment‐induced model of transformational leadership was developed, which identifies three types of transformational leaders – revolutionary, evolutionary and transgressor. Revolutionary transformational leaders are likely to emerge in organizations operating in volatile environments and whose members show either a high or a low degree of receptivity. However, evolutionary‐transformational leaders are likely to emerge in less volatile environments whose members show a high degree of receptivity, and transgressor‐transformational leaders would emerge in less volatile environments whose members show a low degree of receptivity.

Research limitations/implications

This model is a conceptual one and has not been empirically validated yet. However, the model's propositions have implications for research. Organizational scholars may empirically test the extent to which firms' external environments influence the types of transformational leaders that emerge within them. They may also assess the extent to which the external environment facilitates employee acceptance of particular forms of transformational leadership.

Practical implications

Knowing the external environment of a firm may help select the appropriate type of leaders needed to move the organization ahead. For instance, when organizations face high volatile environments, they may be well advised to select revolutionary‐transformational leaders as CEOs or change agents.

Originality/value

The value of the present article lies in the fact that it binds together the literature on the firm external environment and transformational leadership. Thus, the article helps reduce the artificial boundary between macro and micro issues in the study of organizations.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

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