Union elections at the local level: the role effectiveness of committee persons

Survey data were collected before and after a local union governance election in which half of the committeeperson incumbents lost. Examination of committeeperson role effectiveness shows that those who lost were rated significantly lower before the election compared to those who were retained. Newcomers who replaced incumbents were rated higher than those they replaced. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Operationalizing the outcomes of union commitment: The dimensionality of participation

In contrast to the past and current reliance upon a unidimensional or additive index of union participation, our research presents evidence of the multidimensional nature of the construct of union participation, a behavioral manifestation of union commitment. In this study, we examined a more diverse set of items than typically used in studies of union commitment and participation, ranging from holding union office to voting and to the more mundane, day-to-day activities which may take place in the workplace. Our results suggest three distinct dimensions to union participation, each representing potentially varying strengths of union commitment: an administrative factor reflecting office holding duties; an intermittent factor, reflecting participation in activities scheduled or available at particular times; and a supportive factor, reflecting on-going participative activities in support of other members of the union. Our findings further suggest these dimensions are relatively stable across time periods in two diverse samples: a retail worker sample and a nursing sample. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Good relationships at work: The effects of Leader–Member Exchange and Team–Member Exchange on psychological empowerment,emotional exhaustion,and depression

Emotional exhaustion and depression pose a threat to employees' psychological health. Social relationships at work are important potential buffers against these threats, but the corresponding psychological processes are still unclear. We propose that the subjective experience of high‐quality relationships with supervisors (i.e., Leader–Member Exchange [LMX]) is one of the protective factors against psychological health issues at work and that this effect is mediated by psychological empowerment. We tested these assumptions with two studies (one cross‐sectional and one time lagged) on diverse samples of employees from different organizations. The first study employed emotional exhaustion as the outcome measure; the second used depression. Results from both studies support the proposed process by showing that LMX positively affects empowerment, which negatively affects emotional exhaustion (Study 1) and depression (Study 2). Additionally, Study 2 also showed that Team–Member Exchange is as important as LMX for preventing psychological health issues among employees. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Whether power holders construe their power as responsibility or opportunity influences their tendency to take advice from others

Empirical evidence suggests that power elicits a generic tendency to disregard advice. We examined different responses power holders may show in their tendency to take advice depending on the construal of power. We report a field study and an experiment among managers and other powerful professionals (Studies 1 and 2) and an experiment in which participants were assigned to a powerful role (Study 3). Across studies, we found a higher tendency to take advice among those who construed their power as a responsibility rather than as an opportunity. This effect of the construal of power on advice taking was mediated by a heightened perceived value of advice, not by decreased confidence in own judgments or sense of power. Accordingly, the increase in advice taking when power was construed as a responsibility was observed regardless of whether the advice came from subordinates (Study 1), expert advisors (Study 2), or a less powerful teammate (Study 3). This highlights the relevance of considering how power holders construe their power in order to understand their tendency to take advice from others. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leader‐signaled knowledge hiding: Effects on employees' job attitudes and empowerment

The authors introduce the concept of leader‐signaled knowledge hiding (LSKH) and conduct two studies observing what happens when leaders signal employees that knowledge hiding (KH) is practiced, tolerated, and expected. Social learning theory provides the basis for predicting that LSKH encourages subordinates to hide knowledge, even though they suffer from negative job attitudes in reaction. In Study 1, data measured at two time points (N = 1,162) shows that LSKH positively predicts KH among subordinates. The KH dimensions of evasive hiding and playing dumb (but not rationalized hiding) negatively relate to job satisfaction and positively affect turnover intentions. Study 2 (N = 1,169) replicates these results with cross‐sectional data. Moreover, Study 2 demonstrates that evasive hiding and playing dumb negatively affect empowerment, whereas rationalized hiding has a positive effect. Both studies reveal that subordinates will show less KH when they work under leaders who avoid LSKH and in turn have more job satisfaction, feel more empowered, and harbor fewer turnover intentions. The results in this study provide important practical implications for knowledge management activities.     

How do leadership motives affect informal and formal leadership emergence?

To what extent and in what ways do leadership motives of potential leaders predict their informal and formal leadership assignments? To address these questions, we conducted two studies in a military setting. In the first study (n = 215), we examined a mediated‐moderation model in which we hypothesized that the motivation to lead (MTL) of candidates to an elite unit would predict their teamwork behaviors and their tendency to emerge as leaders of their peers. We further hypothesized that cognitive ability would interact with MTL to predict teamwork behaviors and that teamwork behaviors would mediate the relationship between this interaction and leadership emergence. In Study 2, we followed up 60 candidates who were selected to the unit and examined whether MTL would predict the extent to which they achieved formal leadership roles. The findings of Study 1 supported the hypotheses included in the moderated mediation model. In Study 2, as expected, MTL predicted formal leadership emergence. We discuss several theoretical implications of these findings. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employee judgments of and behaviors toward corporate social responsibility: A multi‐study investigation of direct,cascading, and moderating effects

Do employee judgments of their organization's corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs relate to CSR‐specific performance and in‐role job performance? Can middle managers influence the formation of such judgments and what factors might moderate such cascading influences? To answer these yet unaddressed questions, we conduct three studies. Study 1 takes an organizational justice perspective and tests our baseline model. Results show that employees' CSR judgments trigger their affective commitment and performance on extra‐role CSR‐specific behaviors; however, extra‐role CSR‐specific performance is unrelated to in‐role job performance. Study 2 replicates Study 1's findings while, in addition, applies a social information processing approach and offers novel insights by demonstrating the cascading effects of managers' CSR judgments on employee CSR judgments. Investments made in CSR programs in order to improve employee judgments and behaviors may be unsuccessful if employees' CSR judgments are based on social information that remains unchanged. In addition to replicating the findings from studies 1 and 2, study 3 draws from middle management involvement and leadership theories to show that leadership styles and managers' involvement in implementing deliberate strategy can strengthen or weaken these cascading effects. This highlights the important role of middle managers as “linking pins” in the CSR strategy implementation process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do not like it when you need it the most: Examining the effect of manager ego depletion on managerial voice endorsement

This paper advances the understanding of managerial voice endorsement based on a self‐regulation perspective. We suggest that although managers might potentially benefit more from employees' upward voice when they are more depleted, they are paradoxically less likely to diligently process or endorse such voice under ego depletion. We draw from ego depletion theory and argue that when managers are more depleted of their self‐control resources, they will spend less cognitive effort in processing voice. In turn, they tend to reject employee voice due to status quo bias and confirmation bias. We further suggest that the detrimental effect of ego depletion on voice endorsement is stronger when the voicing employee is perceived as having low expertise. We conducted an experience sampling study surveying 62 managers about voice events they encounter at work over 10 days (Study 1) and an experiment with 198 managers (Study 2). These two studies support our hypotheses. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.     

Is it pay levels or pay raises that matter to fairness and turnover?

Two studies examined the relationship between actual pay and distributive and procedural justice, and the extent to which these perceptions were related to two important pay satisfaction dimensions, pay level and pay raise, and ultimately, impacted turnover. For each study the measures of pay and justice variables were obtained on a cross‐sectional basis, while the measure of turnover was necessarily lagged. Results showed that distributive justice mediated the relationship between pay and both pay level satisfaction and pay raise satisfaction. Furthermore, distributive justice was a stronger predictor of pay level satisfaction; whereas procedural justice was a stronger predictor of pay raise satisfaction. Procedural justice also played a moderating role in Study 2. The study also showed that only pay raise satisfaction was significantly and negatively related to turnover in Study 1, and to turnover via turnover intention in Study 2. Results support the value of considering pay satisfaction as multidimensional when evaluating justice issues in a compensation context. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The dynamics of strike votes: Perceived justice during collective bargaining

Why do workers decide to go on strike or change their mind during a strike? This field study aims to determine to what extent employees' perceptions of justice formed during the collective bargaining process influence their strike vote. Data were collected from a North American university faculty that went on strike 21 months after the expiration of its collective agreement. The results show that perceived justice about collective bargaining is a determinant of the strike vote. The role played by the employer and the union as a source of (in)justice and the importance of the four types of justice perceptions (procedural, distributive, interpersonal, and informational) vary depending on the context of ballots (initiate, continue, or end the strike). This suggests that the reduction of uncertainty leads to the activation of three different mechanisms: judgmental heuristics (salience), social comparison, and cognitive dissonance. The results also suggest that employees attempt to be as rational as possible when they decide to go on strike. Nevertheless, the decision to join strikers and to continue the strike is partly based on an emotional process: employees use the strike to punish the employer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived support in a dual organizational environment: Union participation in a university setting

There is extensive research on employee attitudes regarding employers and unions, but these studies have underemphasized social and affective forces. Most studies also examine attitudes toward either the union or the employer without considering how these attitudes might relate to one another. The present study of faculty (N = 306) at a large public research university demonstrated that perceptions of union support were positively related to union participation and perceptions of administration support were negatively related to union participation. Subjective norms and general union attitudes were related to perceptions of union support, and subjective norms were related to perceived organizational support. Taken together, an individual's participation in a union recognition effort depends not only on union instrumentality, but also upon social relationships with the union and administration. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A test of job security's direct and mediated effects on withdrawal cognitions

Two field studies were undertaken to investigate the nature of the relationships between job security, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and withdrawal cognitions. Study 1 was conducted in an organization immediately following its acquisition by another company (N=137). Study 2 was conducted in an organization that had experienced a number of layoffs and expected more in the future (N=188). Covariance structure analysis was used to test for direct, complete mediating, and partial mediating effects. Study 2 was used to cross-validate the findings from study 1. Results from both studies provide strong support for the proposition that job satisfaction and organizational commitment mediate the effects of job security on withdrawal cognitions. The two studies diverge when explicating the nature of the relations between job security, satisfaction, and commitment. Study 1 suggests job satisfaction completely mediates the effects of job security on commitment. Study 2 suggests that both satisfaction and commitment mediate the relationship between job security and withdrawal cognitions. Contextual differences that may have contributed to these findings are discussed. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social norms of accompanied young children and observed crossing behaviors

Introduction

Social norms for accompanied young children and crossing behaviors were examined in two studies conducted in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel.

Method

In Study 1, road behaviors of young children crossing with and without accompaniment and older children were observed, and the actual social norm for accompanied school children younger than 9-years-old was examined. In Study 2, the perceived norm of accompaniment was tested by questionnaires.

Results

Young children who crossed without accompaniment exhibited poorer crossing skills compared to older children and to young children crossing with accompaniment. In the four locations observed, the actual accompaniment rate ranged between 15%-60%. The perceived social norm for child accompaniment was lower than the actual norm.

Conclusions

The discussion refers to both theoretical issues and their practical implications.     

Commitment,procedural fairness,and organizational citizenship behavior: a multifoci analysis

Research on commitment, procedural fairness, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) suggests that employees maintain distinct beliefs about, and direct behaviors towards, multiple targets in the workplace (e.g., the organization as a whole, their supervisor, and fellow workgroup members). The present studies were designed to test for “target similarity effects,” in which the relationships between commitment, procedural fairness, and OCB were expected to be stronger when they referred to the same target than when they referred to different targets. As predicted, we found that: (1) the positive relationship between commitment and OCB, and (2) the mediating effect of commitment on the positive relationship between procedural fairness and OCB, was particularly likely to emerge when the constructs were in reference to the same target. Support for these target similarity effects was found among layoff survivors (Study 1) and student project teams (Study 2). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as are limitations of the studies and suggestions for future research. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure and freedom in creativity: The interplay between externally imposed structure and personal cognitive style

This research investigates how creativity is influenced by externally imposed structure (how structured the task is), internal, cognitively produced, structure (how structured the individuals' cognitive style is), and the interaction between these two factors. Reviewing past literature, we find a contradiction. Studies that focused on the situational perspective found that externally imposed structure increases creativity. In contrast, studies that focused on the individual found that systematic (structured) cognitive style decreases creativity. In two empirical studies we investigated this seeming contradiction. We focused on two aspects of externally imposed structure: The construction of the task (Study 1) and the instructions provided (Study 2). The findings of both studies revealed that creativity was higher under structured conditions. We also show that intuitive individuals are more creative than systematic individuals, but mainly under free conditions, where structure is not externally imposed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can self‐sacrificial leadership promote subordinate taking charge? The mediating role of organizational identification and the moderating role of risk aversion

The extant literature on the relationship between self‐sacrificial leadership and subordinate behavioral outcomes has primarily focused on the influence of this leadership on subordinate affiliative behaviors. Our research proposed a theoretical model explaining why and when self‐sacrificial leadership might promote taking charge, an exemplar of challenging behaviors. We tested this model across two studies conducted in China. In addition, we also examined the differences in the boundary conditions for self‐sacrificial leadership to influence taking charge and affiliative behaviors (cooperation in Study 1 and helping in Study 2 ). Our results revealed that (i) self‐sacrificial leadership was positively related to subordinate taking charge, with organizational identification acting as a mediator for this relationship, and (ii) risk aversion moderated both the self‐sacrificial leadership–subordinate taking charge relationship and the mediating effect of organizational identification, such that the relationship and its mediating mechanism were weaker for subordinates high rather than low in risk aversion. These moderating effects, however, could not generalize to cooperation and helping. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of our results and directions for future research were discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A contingency model of union commitment and participation: Meta‐analysis of the antecedents of militant and nonmilitant activities

Correlation estimates from a meta‐analysis of 108 studies including 126 independent samples and nearly 70 000 participants were used to test multiple path models of the antecedents of militant and nonmilitant union participation. Variables moderating the relationship between union commitment and participation were examined. The magnitude of the relationship between commitment and militant participation was moderated by status‐based group membership (i.e., white collar versus blue collar), supporting a contingency model of union participation. Results updated and further developed an integrative model of union participation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asian Americans and workplace discrimination: The interplay between sex of evaluators and the perception of social skills

In two role‐playing scenarios, we investigate how White male and female evaluators perceive an Asian American versus White job candidate on the dimensions of competence and social skills and how these perceptions affect evaluators' decisions in hiring and promotion. Specifically, Study 1 examines how the perceptions of competence and social skills affect Asian (versus White) college graduates' chance of obtaining a non‐technical (versus technical) position, and Study 2 tests how these perceptions affect Asians' probability of promotion relative to Whites'. Our findings suggest that female evaluators were less likely to select Asian than White candidates into positions involving social skills and were less likely to promote Asian than White candidates into these types of positions. Furthermore, female evaluators' perception that Asians were less socially skilled than Whites mediated both of these decisions. This paper contributes to the understanding of workplace discrimination of Asian Americans. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employee representation and occupational health and safety: the significance of Europe

This paper considers the implementation and operation of provisions for employee representation in health and safety in a number of member states of the European Union. It describes the results of two studies undertaken in seven European countries, including the UK, between 1989 and 1993. These studies compared legislative provisions for employee representation in health and safety in different countries and analysed the information available on the implementation and operation of these provisions. With regard to the coverage and implementation of legislation, the research found a similar pattern in all of the countries studied, with Britain distinguished by a number of features, most notably the very specific rights on this subject given to trade unions. However, analysis of information on operation of the provisions in all of the countries studied pointed to the strong association between trade union workplace organization and support as a powerful influence and determinant of the effectiveness of employee representation in health and safety. Taking this finding into account, the paper discusses the present and future situation in Britain with special reference to the implications of the provisions on employee representation found in the CEC Framework Directive 89/391.