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This chapter examines the effect an informal control namely trust-in-superior and subordinates’ truthfulness in revealing their private information on budgetary slack. A laboratory experiment was conducted. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression were used to test the hypotheses proposed in this chapter. The independent variables were trust-in-superior and subordinates’ truthfulness in revealing their private information. The dependent variable was budgetary slack. The results indicate that trust-in-superior reduces the budgetary slack created by subordinates under private information condition. In addition, the results show that subordinates’ truthfulness in revealing their private information mediates the effect of trust-in-superior on budgetary slack.

In this paper, I show how a consideration of legitimacy processes is of theoretical use in addressing two current issues in status research. First, I investigate under what conditions the contrast between the sex composition of a work group and the sex composition of an organization’s authority structure may trigger the salience of gender status in task groups. I argue that this contrast will make gender status salient when an evaluation from an authority figure outside the group creates inconsistency and uncertainty in the current status structure within the group. Delegitimation of a superior is one such process that produces this inconsistency and uncertainty. Second, I examine under what conditions status position compared to identity will more likely stimulate behavior among work group members. I argue that the legitimation of the superior and the group’s status order reduce the likelihood that group members will pursue status inconsistent, identity behaviors. Delegitimation, however, increases opportunities for acting in identity consistent ways and reduces the costs for doing so, thus enhancing the likelihood of identity-based behaviors.

Despite the benefits of delegation, anecdotal and survey-based evidence suggests that firms do not optimally delegate decision-making authority. However, to date, no quantifiable evidence supports this claim.

We design an experiment to explore the superior’s choice between delegation and information elicitation. We also examine the effect of the superiors’ choice on the amount of effort provided by subordinates to gather decision-facilitating information.

We find that, compared to economic predictions, superiors delegate less often than they should. Subordinates exert lower effort when superiors elicit information than when superiors delegate the decision to them. As a result, superiors earn lower profit when they elicit information than when they delegate decision-making authority.

Our empirical evidence supports two main tenets espoused in the literature on the allocation of decision rights. First, the evidence of under delegation contributes to the literature which maintains that superiors’ tendency to under-delegate leads firms to become overly centralized.

By designing a novel experimental, we identify systematic ways in which behavior deviates from economic theory and contribute to the discussion on how firms utilize information. In particular, under delegation prevents firms from exploiting economies that arise from local capabilities and task specialization, and results in forgone profits.

Drawing on cue utilization theory and the theory of motivated reasoning, we investigate the impact of consumer xenocentrism on product preferences in a situation where domestic products objectively outperform their foreign counterparts.

We develop and test a model linking xenocentrism to consumers’ preference towards domestic vs. foreign products by (1) examining the mediating role of consumers’ ability to identify the superior product and (2) assessing the role of product involvement in potentially moderating this relationship. An experimental design was employed, whereby respondents (Thai consumers, N = 579) were asked to compare two products in the same product category, one foreign and one domestic. In one condition, the foreign product outperformed the domestic one on a range of relevant product attributes, whereas in a second condition, the opposite was the case.

Our findings provide clear evidence that xenocentric consumers often cannot recognize the superiority of domestic products and, even if they do, they still exhibit preferences toward (inferior) foreign products. Thus, for xenocentric consumers, it seems that the country of origin (COO) overrides other cues and often results in suboptimal product choices.

Our study adds to our theoretical understanding of the functioning of the consumer xenocentrism construct and has important implications for foreign companies targeting xenocentric consumers as well as for local firms seeking to counteract xenocentric tendencies.

This study aims to explore the double-edged sword effect of work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) on employees’ occupational mental health. Drawing on job demand-resource theory, the authors examined the double mediating mechanism of work autonomy and work-family conflict on the relationship of WCBA, work engagement and work burnout. At the same time, the authors examined the moderating role of responsiveness from superiors, hoping to clarify how WCBA brings employees positive experiences (engagement) or negative experiences (burnout).

Under the mediating mechanism of work autonomy and work-family conflict, the authors built a dual-path model and moderated mediation model to examine the effect of WCBA on work engagement and burnout. Two-stage paired data were collected from various industries in China by distributing questionnaires to employees. The hypotheses were tested using the structural equation model and the bootstrap test method.

The results showed that WCBA positively affects work engagement and burnout. Work autonomy plays a mediating role both in the relationship between WCBA and work engagement and in the relationship between WCBA and work burnout. In addition, work-family conflict plays a mediating role both in the relationship between WCBA and work burnout and in the relationship between WCBA and work engagement. Responsiveness from superiors not only moderated the relationship between WCBA and work autonomy and between WCBA and work-family conflict but also moderated the mediating effects of work autonomy and work-family conflict.

This study examined the double-edged sword effect of WCBA on employees’ occupational mental health, the dual mediation of work autonomy and work-family conflict and the moderating effect of responsiveness from superiors. This study can enrich the understanding of the effects of WCBA as well as the influential factors and boundary conditions related to employees’ occupational mental health. Organizations (represented by superiors) and individuals were integrated into one model, providing a new perspective for studying WCBA. The research will help managers and individuals gain a comprehensive understanding of WCBA, and how to enhance its positive effects and circumvent its negative effects.

Discusses several propositions on the causes and realized strategies that are likely to be found in different industrial marketing‐purchasing situations involving rejecting versus accepting superior technological innovations ‐ innovations independently verified to provide superior operating characteristics and lower total costs compared to currently used products and manufacturing processes. Develops a theory of customer rejection of superior manufacturing technologies and product‐service innovations as a vehicle for summarizing a set of related propositions explaining such behavior. Reviews suggestions for empirical research to test the theory.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of superior support, in the presence of a range of work role stressors, on both conflict and enrichment aspects of work-life interface simultaneously. The paper frames the research narrative of superior support by contextualizing it within superior’s dichotomous and opposing roles of organizational performance driver and support provider.

Survey data was collected from Malaysian work adults. Drawing on a sample of 1,051 cases, structural equation modeling technique is used to examine the effect of superior support, with the presence of work role stressors, on individuals’ work-life experience. Three alternate models are compared: superior support as moderator of stressors-strain relationship; both superior support and work stressors as direct antecedents of work-life experience; and superior support as indirect antecedent (mediated by work role stressors) of work-life experience.

Findings evidence the favorable model of superior support as indirect antecedent (mediated by work role stressors) of work-life experience. In addition, superior support has significant impact on work role ambiguity and work-life enrichment, however, its effect on work role conflict, work role overload and work-life conflict is not significant. Findings of the study also demonstrate the distinct effect of work role stressors on work-life experience in terms of direction and strength of impact.

While superior support promotes greater work-life enrichment, its effect on work-life conflict is limited. Therefore, instead of superior support, employers have to identify alternate resources to assist employees to deal with conflict and interference of work-life interface. Distinctiveness of various work role stressors and interaction between these work role stressors offer practical implications to employer that all stressors at workplace should not be treated as identical and common to each other. Distinct effort should be taken to address different forms of work role stressors so that work-life conflict (resource depletion) can be minimized while work-life enrichment (resource gaining) can be enhanced.

The research investigates superior support in relation to work stressor and work-life experience by scrutinizing the role of supervisors from the vantage point of supervisors as performance drivers as well as support providers. This provides a balanced narrative as compared to previous research focussing solely on either the support perspective or the employee effort extraction perspective. In its execution, the research incorporates enrichment aspect of work-life experience, in addition to the conflict and negative effect. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources Theory, the study teases out important implication for employers and researchers to show that superior support and work role stressors come together to shape individuals’ work-life experience by depleting resources (work-life conflict) and gaining resources (work-life enrichment) simultaneously, as well as drawing out the dilemma of supervisors as performance drivers and support providers at the same time.

The purpose of this study is to gain more insight in how line managers react to power use of superiors and subordinates in conflict situations.

The data was collected from 488 line managers; the majority of these managers worked in business services and non‐profit organizations. To measure the reaction of the line manager, the “Test for handling common organizational conflicts” was used, which incorporates a response factor (conflict style) and a situation factor (a combination of the opponent's behaviour and the organizational position).

The results showed, as expected, that managers' dominant or submissive reactions to opponents' dominant or submissive behaviour depend on opponents' power positions. The predicted directions of these relationships were that managers would react more complementarily to their superiors and would react more reciprocally to their subordinates. The hypotheses on the complementary reaction to superiors were supported. Managers submissiveness was more and dominance less with dominant superiors than with submissive superiors, and vice versa. Managers' reciprocal reaction in conflicts with subordinates was found for managers' submissiveness, but not for their dominant behaviour. The results showed complementary interactions, namely, managers dominate more with submissive subordinates than with dominant subordinates.

This study shows the structuring role of the hierarchal relationship in conflict interactions, and the prevailing position of complementary conflict patterns between managers and their superiors. The results supported the theoretical propositions in most cases, and they provide a better understanding of the use of dominance and submissiveness by managers.

Although competitive advantage is the cornerstone concept in strategic management it still remains a poorly defined and operationalized construct. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the concept of competitive advantage, to identify the problems that stem from its current conceptualization from the majority of the literature.

The paper undertakes an extensive literature review, audit of logical inference, syllogistic reasoning and Bayesian expressions in order to examine the problems associated with the current conceptualizations of competitive advantage.

Several drawbacks and fallacies relating to current conceptualizations of competitive advantage were identified that create an urgent need for a more robust definition which could better serve the needs of both empirical research and management practice.

The authors by no means claim that the literature review undertaken in this paper on the concept of competitive advantage and on the problems derived from its conceptualization was exhaustive or absolute. Rather, this paper constitutes an attempt to stimulate efforts and provide directions on the further conceptual development of competitive advantage.

The findings allow practising managers to not necessarily associate competitive advantage with its sources and with the determinants of superior performance.

The findings contribute to the evolution of the strategic management field by identifying, categorizing and mapping potential problems, drawbacks and fallacies, associated with the conceptualization of competitive advantage as currently delineated in the literature, and by suggesting some criteria for the development of a conceptually more robust definition.

Workplace incivility has detrimental effects on targets of such behaviors and can lead to further conflict. This research aims to examine whether cultural differences in people’s approach to social respect and status may influence their responses to incivility displayed by superiors and subordinates.

Three studies (n = 1043) examined how people from honor cultures (southern states of the USA; Latin America) and dignity cultures (northern states of the USA) would perceive and respond to uncivil superiors relative to uncivil subordinates. Studies 1 and 2 used scenarios; in Study 3, employed participants recalled their own incivility experiences.

Participants from honor cultures were more likely to perceive the mistreatment negatively if it came from a superior than a subordinate (all studies) and more likely to indicate that they would retaliate against an uncivil superior than an uncivil subordinate (Studies 1 and 3). Moreover, for participants from honor cultures (but not from dignity cultures), anger mediated the relation between the appraisal of incivility and retaliation only when the offender was a superior (all studies).

This research relied on scenarios and people’s recollections, focusing on a limited range of responses to incivility. Future research should conduct laboratory experiments and examine additional responses. Nevertheless, these findings suggest that being mistreated by a superior or a subordinate has different meanings and consequences for people from diverse cultures, which can have implications for cross-cultural work interactions.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first to compare people’s emotional and behavioral responses to uncivil superiors with their responses to uncivil subordinates in honor cultures.