Journal of Management & Organization

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.24pmid: N/A

AbstractEmerging empirical evidence has noted that multimarket firms may not always behave in ways that are consistent with their multimarket positions. Assuming multimarket ties between firms exists that are sufficient to permit tacit agreement among them to refrain from aggressive competition, we describe how additional factors are likely to affect the decision of managers of multimarket firms to abide by such an agreement. In particular, we focus on factors that are likely to make the negative consequences of violating a tacit agreement of mutual forbearance more salient and those that encourage managers to direct their firms to behave in more cooperative ways.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.10pmid: N/A

AbstractWorkaholism is an important workplace phenomenon that has received less empirical testing than might be expected. This study of 100 New Zealand blue-collar workers tested whether three dimensions of the workaholism triad: work involvement, drive to work and work enjoyment were related to anxiety, depression and insomnia, and in the majority this was supported. Work involvement was positively related to all outcomes, while work enjoyment was negatively related. Drive to work was positively related to anxiety and insomnia only. Overall, consistently, large amounts of variance were explained by the workaholism triad. While previously untested in the literature, a three-way interaction of the workaholism triad was found towards anxiety and insomnia. Overall, higher work involvement was useful in buffering detrimental outcomes for those with either high work involvement or high drive to work, but not both. The present study provides a new way of understanding the effects of workaholism in the workplace.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.12pmid: N/A

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to examine firms’ adoption of corporate social responsibility activities and the efficacy of such activities in specific contexts and industries. This paper analyses the specific context of the Spanish construction and real-estate industry. By using a longitudinal multi-case approach, the study suggests links between market orientation and corporate social responsibility. The research also identifies two profiles of firms. The first group, which is proactive (e.g., market oriented), demonstrate altruistic concerns about consumers and corporate social responsibility; for the second, which is more reactive, their concerns about corporate social responsibility are more opportunistic and aimed at attracting additional customers or responding to competitive pressures.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.33pmid: N/A

AbstractPrior studies on strategic management and entrepreneurship have argued that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is positively associated with performance when firms face certain contingencies, specifically, the dynamism of the external environment and the attributes of resources/capabilities owned by the firm. However, the current empirical evidence is inconclusive. This study advances the argument that the interactive effects of EO, environmental dynamism, and the rareness of resource–capability (rareness) combinations positively influence firm performance. By combining data collected via a secondary database and a questionnaire survey from 237 public firms in Taiwan, this study finds that EO positively influences firm performance. The EO–performance relationship is further moderated by the rareness of resource–capability combinations and environmental dynamism. It is also found that firm performance is collectively determined by the three-way interactions of EO, rareness, and environmental dynamism. That is, when firms own rare resources and are located in a dynamic environment, EO will lead to improved performance.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.11pmid: N/A

AbstractMergers and acquisitions can be a mechanism used by firms to access innovative knowledge, including intellectual property, and to strengthen and expand their core capabilities. In the mergers and acquisition context, the creation of value depends on the transfer of capabilities and knowledge being carried out successfully during the post-acquisition integration process. The paper adopts this view. It examines the role of the top management and personnel who hold knowledge and skills linked to the capability of the acquired firm considered most valuable by the acquiring firm in the transfer of knowledge from the acquired firm to the acquiring firm. The paper also examines whether the impact of the retention of the acquired firm's high-value human resources (HVHR) on knowledge transfer is moderated by the degree of embeddedness of the knowledge to be transferred. Furthermore, the study identifies the factors that influence the retention of the acquired firm's HVHR. We tested the model using data from a sample of 57 domestic, related, friendly Spanish mergers and acquisitions belonging to a wide variety of industries. The results support the notion that the more embedded the knowledge, the greater the impact of the acquired firm's HVHR retention on the knowledge transfer. They also show that the autonomy granted to the acquired firm, the frequency of use of rich media among the personnel of both firms, and the acquired firm's pre-acquisition profitability are factors encouraging the acquired firm's HVHR to remain. The study contributes to the literature on knowledge transfer in mergers and acquisitions by highlighting the relevance of retention of the acquired firm's HVHR for knowledge transfer, as well as demonstrating the importance of taking into consideration the nature of the knowledge to be transferred. It also contributes to the literature on the implementation process in mergers and acquisitions by identifying factors available to managers to favor HVHR continuity in the acquiring firm or the one resulting from the merger.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.13pmid: N/A

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine whether outsourcing frontline functions warrants equivalent level of customer-orientated behaviors as provided by a principal organization, and, if not, what the causes of the differences are. A total of 753 frontline workers of a leading South Korean telecommunications company and its partner companies responded to a survey regarding their levels of customer-oriented behaviors, their supervisor's degree of customer orientation, and their organization's training on customer orientation. Structural equation models were then utilized to examine the proposed relationships. The results show that the frontline workers of the partner organizations have a significantly lower level of customer-oriented behaviors compared with those of the principal organization. The immediate supervisor's degree of customer orientation and customer-orientation training accounted for a significant amount of difference found between the principal and partner organizations.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.9pmid: N/A

AbstractFeedback to students is an important feature of assessment in higher education. Constructive and timely feedback guides students to improve on a continuous basis in the process of their tertiary education. This paper outlines an exploratory study based on survey research, which was conducted on a large sample of undergraduate students on management courses in a New Zealand university. Following a review of the relevant literature a conceptual model was developed using systems thinking principles. A questionnaire was designed consisting of 20 closed Likert questions and two open questions designed to explore students’ perceptions of the feedback given to them on their formative assessments. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken of the data collected from over 600 valid responses. The quantitative analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, an exploratory factor analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis. The four main factors to emerge were: improvement of work quality, improvement of results, need for feedback and quality of feedback. The qualitative analysis was based on these themes. The results of these analyses are discussed in this paper. This paper attempts to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding the better understanding of the complex relationships between feedback and student learning in tertiary level management education.

doi: 10.1017/jmo.2013.22pmid: N/A