Employee Relations: An International Journal

Kokubun, Keisuke

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-12-2016-0246

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between organizational commitment (OC) and extrinsic, intrinsic, and social rewards, among employees who work for Japanese manufacturing companies in China.Design/methodology/approachHierarchical regression analysis was utilized to examine survey data obtained from 27,854 employees, who work for 64 Japanese manufacturing companies in China.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that the variables measuring extrinsic, social, and intrinsic rewards were strongly related to OC, suggesting that the antecedents of OC in Japanese companies are different from those in other kinds of corporations in China and the West. A further comparison between university graduates and other employees showed that for graduates, extrinsic and intrinsic rewards had a stronger influence on OC than social rewards, compared to non-graduates.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used self-report data from individual respondents, which may have resulted in common method bias. Future research might consider including supervisor-rated scales to strengthen the study design and reduce common method bias.Practical implicationsAs Japanese companies in China have both Western and Chinese characteristics, they often utilize balanced human resources management (HRM) practices. To enhance their employees’ OC, especially those with less formal education, it is most effective to focus not only on some particular rewards but also on more varieties of rewards. However, balanced HRM may not be equally effective for enhancing the OC of university graduates, who prefer to obtain more extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and fewer social rewards. As Japanese companies are sometimes said to be less attractive workplaces, especially for university graduates, the results of this study could help HR professionals revise their HRM strategies and employ workers who can contribute to their Chinese branches on a long-term basis.Originality/valueThis research investigates how employees of Japanese companies in China could have higher OC, by focusing on the difference between university graduates and non-graduates and utilizing a large volume of their opinion data.

Santos, Clarice; Hilal, Adriana V. Garibaldi de

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-04-2017-0094

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine gender issues in Brazil from the perceptions, experiences, and discourses of professional women in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on 26 in-depth interviews with female professionals. The methodology consists of an exploratory approach through content analysis.FindingsDespite the fact that Brazil demonstrates an idealized national ethos that promotes equality, gender roles are still very traditional. Participants recognized gender issues at work, including covert discrimination, though most did not acknowledge experiencing them personally.Originality/valueThere is dissonance between global trends and the actual experience of female professionals in Brazil. Although participants rejected the idea of personally experiencing inequality, they acknowledge its existence in human resources (HR) practices. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy where gender inequality is perpetuated and organizations and HR departments do not seem to have a proactive role as change agents.

Brandl, Bernd; Lehr, Alex

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-04-2017-0075

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a general micro-theoretical framework that helps to understand the embeddedness of trade unions within the European system of industrial relations, and the consequences of this embeddedness for industrial relations outcomes. First, starting from the paradoxical observation of a trend towards homogeneity within a complex, multi-layered European industrial relations system consisting of heterogeneous and autonomous agents, the paper aims to explicate the mechanisms which produce these similarities. Second, the paper seeks to analyse potential mechanisms for transnational trade union cooperation and, third, it concludes by outlining its applicability as the basis for methodological approaches which enable realistic and policy relevant analyses.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is conceptual and focusses on the development of a general micro-theoretical framework which captures European industrial relations actors’ behaviour and outcomes. It integrates theoretical and empirical accounts from differing social science disciplines and from various methodological starting points on trade union action and interaction into one general micro-theoretical framework.FindingsStarting from a typology of trade union goals, the authors show how various social mechanisms lead to interdependencies between trade unions and review empirical evidence for their consequences. The authors, then, identify a set of motives for transnational cooperation that would allow outcomes that are in line with trade union objectives.Originality/valueAgainst the background that previous studies on trade union action and cross-national interaction have paid less attention to the puzzling stylised fact that industrial relations outcomes are mimicked by heterogeneous and autonomous agents actors in different countries, the authors address this research gap by developing a novel general micro-theoretical framework for the analysis of transnational trade union action and interaction in order to better understand the underlying causal mechanisms for the common behaviour and outcomes of autonomous actors.

Al-Shiyab, Ahmed Abdelhalim; Ababneh, Raed Ismail

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-02-2017-0043

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the consequences of workplace violence against healthcare staff in Jordanian public hospitals.Design/methodology/approachA convenient sample included 334 physicians and nurses employed in eight different public hospitals, different departments and different working shifts were surveyed by filling the designed questionnaire.FindingsThe findings indicated workplace violence had a clear moderate impact on the respondents’ interaction with patients, performing work responsibilities, ability of making decisions, and professional career. The most frequent workplace violence consequences were damaging staff’s personality and prestige, increasing laziness and unwillingness to serve patients. Workplace violence consequences also included aggressive behavior, fear while dealing with patients, increase job insecurity, and lack of professional responsibility. In addition, demographic variables such as gender, education, job title, working shift, and income showed statistical significant differences in the attitudes of participants toward the consequences of workplace violence.Practical implicationsThis study highlighted the necessity of healthcare policy makers and hospital administrators to establish violence free and safe working environments in order to retain qualified healthcare staff that in turn improves the health services quality.Originality/valueThere is a lack of research and documentation on violence in the healthcare settings in developing countries. This study is one of the first to examine the consequences of workplace violence that affect public physicians and nurses.

Pagan, Ricardo

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-03-2017-0064

PurposeThe mismatch between desired and actual hours of work per week is common among the employed in many countries and has important effects on the adequate functioning of labour markets. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the likelihood of being underemployed, matched or overemployed in terms of hours worked for workers without and with disabilities in Germany by using longitudinal data.Design/methodology/approachData are taken from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985-2013) for a large sample of salaried workers aged 16-64. The authors have used a “Random-effects ordered probit model” to estimate the impact of being disabled on the likelihood of suffering any type of working time mismatch. Additionally, the authors have estimated a “Tobit Random-effects model” on the number of hours of underemployment and overemployment.FindingsFemales with disabilities are more likely to be overemployed than females without disabilities. In addition, only females with disabilities experience a lower number of hours of underemployment than females without disabilities. As for overemployment, both males and females with disabilities are more likely to report a higher number of hours of overemployment as compared to their non-disabled counterparts.Originality/valueThis paper therefore shows the importance of combating and reducing the hours of overemployment for all workers in general and for males and females with disabilities in particular. A large longitudinal data set has been used in the paper and it is the first attempt to estimate the determinants of being underemployed, matched and overemployed for workers without and with disabilities.

Han, Kyongji; Kim, Andrea

2018 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/ER-10-2016-0202

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the additive and differential effects of short-term-oriented group incentives (STOGIs) and long-term-oriented group incentives (LTOGIs) on psychological ownership and organizational commitment.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzed data from 17,255 US employees in the 2005 data set of the National Bureau of Economic Research Shared Capitalism Research.FindingsBoth additive indices of group incentives have direct positive relationships with psychological ownership and organizational commitment, as well as indirect positive relationships with organizational commitment through psychological ownership. STOGIs have a stronger relationship with organizational commitment and LTOGIs have a stronger relationship with psychological ownership.Originality/valueThe value of this research lies in exploring the differential effects of short-and long-term group incentives, which provides new insight into the theory of group incentives and practical implications for their effective utilization.