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1 – 10 of over 6000The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total…
Abstract
The subject of part‐time work is one which has become increasingly important in industrialised economies where it accounts for a substantial and growing proportion of total employment. It is estimated that in 1970, average annual hours worked per employee amounted to only 60% of those for 1870. Two major factors are attributed to explaining the underlying trend towards a reduction in working time: (a) the increase in the number of voluntary part‐time employees and (b) the decrease in average annual number of days worked per employee (Kok and de Neubourg, 1986). The authors noted that the growth rate of part‐time employment in many countries was greater than the corresponding rate of growth in full‐time employment.
Fábio Marques, Paulo Sérgio Miranda Mendonça and Charbel José Chiappetta Jabbour
The concept of sustainability is often viewed by organizational leaders as being abstract and difficult to apply in organizational reality. It is thus necessary to conduct more…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of sustainability is often viewed by organizational leaders as being abstract and difficult to apply in organizational reality. It is thus necessary to conduct more focused research to develop specific dimensions of the sustainability concept. In this context, the objective of this work is to analyze the social dimension of sustainability among supermarkets in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a literature review and the development of a framework of social business variables, the study examined which practices small and medium Brazilian supermarkets have adopted to promote the social dimension of sustainability. These companies were examined with the goal of relating the actions of each organization to their social performance.
Findings
The study found that the Brazilian supermarkets in the sample group practise social responsibility focused on strict regulations and labor laws; these practices conformed with existing legislation but did not address the development of broader actions or social projects. The results show continuities and discontinuities in the adoption of social practices among organizations in order to meet the requirements of labor legislation. The authors found a lack of social projects and greater integration into the community in which each supermarket operates.
Originality/value
The study contributes to research on social responsibility in retail, with a specifically Brazilian focus.
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Eluiza Alberto de Morais Watanabe, Caroline Rodrigues do Nascimento, Michele Gasparoto Moreira Teixeira de Freitas and Mayra Monteiro Viana
Sustainable food consumption is crucial to protect the environment and to promote a better quality of life. Our study analyses and compares the causes, perceived consequences of…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainable food consumption is crucial to protect the environment and to promote a better quality of life. Our study analyses and compares the causes, perceived consequences of food waste and practices to mitigate it in supermarkets and restaurants.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with managers or other responsible persons with mastery of information about food waste of restaurants (self-service and à la carte) and supermarkets. The data were analysed via thematic content analysis.
Findings
The leading causes of food waste for the interviewed supermarkets and restaurants were improper handling by the staff, ineffective stock control management and lack of employee training. Supermarkets perceived other causes such as inadequate food packaging, refrigeration and temperature issues and dishonesty of carriers. The perceived consequences of food waste were mainly related to the economic aspect. Regarding adopting practices to reduce waste, some highlights are employee training, waste management by a specialized employee, assertive demand forecasting, meal preparation in the store and food donation. Just the supermarkets employ price reduction as a practice to reduce food waste. We concluded that, in general, supermarkets perceive more causes for waste than restaurants but do not necessarily present practices to mitigate these additional causes.
Originality/value
This research expanded the scope of studies about food waste and reveals procedures that those in charge can implement to reduce food waste. Our study analysed the causes, practices and consequences of food waste in two types of food channels (supermarkets and restaurants, in different formats). The literature does not clearly disclose aspects assigned to different food marketing channels, especially in emerging economies.
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Dennis Nickson, Chris Warhurst, Cliff Lockyer and Eli Dutton
This paper considers a so far unappreciated sector of the labour market – lone parents. The number of lone parents has increased dramatically in recent years. Consideration of…
Abstract
This paper considers a so far unappreciated sector of the labour market – lone parents. The number of lone parents has increased dramatically in recent years. Consideration of lone parents allows for a discussion of two key issues within the contemporary labour market: the attempts by government to increase the number of lone parents in work; and relatedly, governmental initiatives which have sought to reform the tax and benefit system to make work more attractive and also address the need for work‐life balance for parents. The paper considers these issues by reporting a small‐scale piece of research that sought to address the viability of the supermarket sector as a suitable employer for lone parents. The results suggest that the increasing numbers of students entering the labour market means that supermarkets are unlikely to consider lone parents as an important, discrete source of labour.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine satisfaction level among food retail employees concerning their pay and to compare pay referent and pay level satisfaction of employees in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine satisfaction level among food retail employees concerning their pay and to compare pay referent and pay level satisfaction of employees in supermarkets and discount stores in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was used to gather data from a sample of 246 higher, middle level management and shop floor staff. The study selected ten leading retail organisations, five each from the supermarket and discount sectors. All had strong perceived image and quality, selling both national and own‐brands. All were located in London.
Findings
The study revealed that generally, UK retail employees are not satisfied with their pay. However, supermarket employees recorded higher levels of satisfaction compared with their counterparts in the discount stores.
Research limitations/implications
The results are limited to the UK food retail sector and, therefore, should not be generalised or be regarded as an indication of the general reaction of the UK workers in this area of study.
Practical implications
The UK grocery retailers may need to review their general approach to employee reward systems in order to induce pay level satisfaction among their employees.
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Nicole Torka, Peter Geurts, Karin Sanders and Maarten van Riemsdijk
The purpose of this paper is to explore antecedents of perceived intra‐ and extra‐organisational alternatives among employees in the Czech Republic, Poland and the Slovak Republic.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore antecedents of perceived intra‐ and extra‐organisational alternatives among employees in the Czech Republic, Poland and the Slovak Republic.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 9,068 low‐educated supermarket employees at 360 supermarkets. LISREL analysis was employed.
Findings
Age, job autonomy and organisation size predict both forms of perceived alternatives. Tenure appears to influence both forms of perceived alternatives positively. Job challenge and sex only predict perceived extra‐organisational alternatives. Unexpectedly, despite relatively high unemployment rates, the respondents perceive extra‐organisational alternatives.
Research limitations/implications
Some of the antecedents of perceived alternatives identified in research among workers in Western societies seem to have a different or no impact on the perceived alternatives of employees in these countries. The study comprises only cross‐sectional data. In order to test causality a longitudinal design is needed.
Practical implications
Managers should offer development and promotion opportunities in order to prevent turnover and to enhance internal flexibility as well as reflect on inducements for female and older workers.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies exploring employee perceptions in Central European transition countries. Moreover, in general, research on the perceived alternatives of low‐educated employees is very scarce. Therefore, this research also contributes to knowledge about their labour market perceptions.
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Neale Slack, Gurmeet Singh and Shavneet Sharma
This paper aims to examine the effect of service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction on customer repurchase intention, word-of-mouth, complaining behaviour and price…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effect of service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction on customer repurchase intention, word-of-mouth, complaining behaviour and price sensitivity, as well as the effect of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
A public intercept survey collected data from 480 supermarket customers. Statistical package for the social sciences was used to provide descriptive and inferential analysis.
Findings
Results reveal the predominance and magnitude of effect of empathy positively on customer satisfaction, customer repurchase intention and word-of-mouth, and negatively on customer complaining behaviour and price sensitivity. Customer satisfaction also significantly affects these customer loyalty and disloyalty dimensions.
Research limitations/implications
This research was conducted in the supermarket sector of only one country.
Practical implications
Insights have been provided to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty outcomes, and negate customer disloyalty outcomes, in the supermarket sector.
Originality/value
This study provides suggestions to supermarket executives regarding the significance of empathetic, customer-oriented behaviour by front-line supermarket service employees.
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Balkrushna Potdar, Tony Garry, Juergen Gnoth and John Guthrie
This study aims to provide empirically generated insights into the drivers of guardianship behaviour among frontline service employees (FLEs) within retail settings.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide empirically generated insights into the drivers of guardianship behaviour among frontline service employees (FLEs) within retail settings.
Design/methodology/approach
The research framework comprises a quantitative survey of 507 frontline service employees at national supermarkets within New Zealand.
Findings
The findings of the survey suggest that service employee perceptions of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, their level of psychological ownership towards the supermarket and personal moral beliefs, shape their guardianship behaviours and, consequentially, the prevention of in-store deviant behaviours by customers such as shoplifting.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it offers both a conceptual foundation and an empirical-based evaluation of the antecedents and role of guardianship behaviour among frontline service employees. Second, the conceptual model derived from this research may aid practitioners in developing strategies that engender guardianship behaviours in their employees within service contexts.
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Balkrushna Potdar, Tony Garry, John Guthrie and Juergen Gnoth
The purpose of this paper is to explore how interactional justice within a retail context may influence employee organizational commitment and how this may evoke guardianship…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how interactional justice within a retail context may influence employee organizational commitment and how this may evoke guardianship behaviors that manifest in shoplifting prevention.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a phenomenological approach conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews with 26 shop-floor employees of two major national supermarket chains in New Zealand.
Findings
The findings suggest that interactional justice in the workplace is important in shaping organizational commitment amongst employees. Additionally, heightened organizational commitment may have a significant effect on employee propensity to engage in shoplifting prevention/guardianship behavior. A conceptual model is developed based on these findings.
Practical implications
Retail managers may promote and exercise interactional justice practices with employees to improve their organizational commitment and consequential shoplifting prevention/guardianship behaviors.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, and from a theoretical perspective, it offers both a conceptual foundation and empirical-based evaluation of interactional justice and its effect on organizational commitment and, specifically, on guardianship/shoplifting prevention behaviors. Second, and from a pragmatic perspective, the conceptual model derived from this research may assist retailers in developing interactional justice strategies that encourage organizational commitment of employees that consequently leads to employees’ guardianship/shoplifting prevention behaviors. Finally, it explores significance and role of employee perceptions of interactional justice, employee workplace attachment and organizational commitment within the context of retail crime prevention.
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Michela Vignoli, Marco Depolo, Manuels Cifuentes and Laura Punnett
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how disagreement between supervisors and their subordinates on leadership style (transformational and transactional) is related to employees…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse how disagreement between supervisors and their subordinates on leadership style (transformational and transactional) is related to employees’ outcomes, considering both work team characteristics (social support and conflict), and employees’ well-being (burnout, work engagement and poor health). The role played by the size of the work team is also analysed.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample is composed of 24 supervisors and 468 employees working in grocery stores of a large retail chain; 369 employees worked in 14 medium-size work teams and 99 employees worked in small-size work teams. Disagreement on leadership style between supervisors and their subordinates has been computed as the difference between the score reported by the supervisor and the score reported by the worker on the same items. Linear regression analyses, ANOVA and multilevel analyses have been computed.
Findings
Multilevel analyses results showed that, considering the disagreement on transformational and transactional leadership style and the work team size, only disagreement on the transformational leadership style is related to employees’ outcomes. Higher clustering effects, meaning that the between-groups variability was bigger than the variability within groups, have been found in conflict between members and burnout. Furthermore, results showed that work team size moderated the relationship between disagreement on transformational leadership style and burnout.
Practical implications
In order to enhance workers’ well-being and produce a better working climate it could be useful to focus on reducing the disagreement on leadership style between leaders and theirs subordinates.
Originality/value
Disagreement between supervisors and their subordinates, in order to understand the role played by leadership on work team characteristics and workers’ well-being, has rarely been studied before.
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