The many benefits of employee well‐being in organizational research

We undertake three objectives in this Incubator. We begin with a discussion of how well‐being has been considered in organizational research. Second, we provide an overview of the relationship between employee well‐being and such workplace outcomes as job performance, employee retention, and cardiovascular health. Third, we introduce exciting research directions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When does adaptive performance lead to higher task performance?

Adaptive performance is a facet of performance that reflects acquiring enhanced competencies in response to change. Micro‐level researchers have assumed that adaptive performance is beneficial for task performance. Similarly, macro‐level researchers have suggested that organizations need to attend to, monitor, and respond to contingencies in their environments for adaptive performance to be beneficial for firm performance. Drawing from the attention‐based theory of the firm and resource theory, we suggest that perceptions of organizational politics and individual differences in conscientiousness constitute contingencies of the adaptive performance–task performance relationship. In a sample of 92 call center employees, we found that adaptive performance is positively associated with task performance but that conscientiousness and organizational politics jointly influence the adaptive performance–task performance relationship. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring the perceived influence of safety management practices on project performance in the construction industry

Although safety management is known to be vital to construction projects, very few studies have solicited views from construction practitioners about their perceptions of which safety management practices (SMPs) are important to construction projects and related to project performance. An empirical study was undertaken in Hong Kong in order to shed more light on this topic. In the study, the importance levels of 15 popular SMPs and five project performance criteria were rated by 232 respondents. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and three SMP categories - information, process, and committees - were extracted. Of these three categories, safety management process was perceived by the construction practitioners as being the most important, followed by safety management information and committees. Moreover, the effect of the three SMP categories on a composite project performance variable was tested using hierarchical regression analysis. Results indicate that the “information” and “committees” categories were associated with project performance positively and significantly. One of the major conclusions of the study is that the construction industry has paid relatively less attention to safety management committees, which were empirically analyzed as having a strong perceived impact on project performance. In order to improve project performance, construction companies should promote the criticality of safety management committees.     

基于DEMATEL方法的海运行为形成因子影响关系分析

为揭示并量化海运人因可靠性分析(HRA)中行为形成因子(PSF)间复杂的影响关系,采用DEMATEL方法对航海人员值班任务中9个PSF的依赖关系进行建模和分析,并验证该方法的有效性。结果表明:船上组织的完善程度、驾驶台班组成员的合作质量、可用时间等PSF在系统中的作用大;船上组织的完善程度、人机界面(MMI)与运行支持的完善性、值班区间以及培训和准备的充分性4个PSF为原因因素,驾驶台班组成员的合作质量、同时出现的目标任务数量、可用时间、船上工作及船舶航行条件和操作规程/计划的可用性5个PSF为结果因素。安全管理人员应针对作用大或原因因素中的PSF制定安全管理措施,改善情景环境,提高人因可靠性。     

单元板式轨道扣件刚度突变对行车安全性的影响分析

为研究单元板式无砟轨道扣件刚度整体及局部突变对行车安全的影响,指导扣件系统的养护维修,利用有限元方法和轮轨耦合系统动力学原理,建立车辆-轨道-路基系统垂向耦合动力学模型。研究扣件系统整体刚度突变和局部刚度突变对列车的振动特性和轮轨垂向作用力的影响规律。结果表明:扣件刚度从20 kN/mm增加到80 kN/mm时,轮对和转向架的振动加速度分别增加40.1%和28.2%,轮轨垂向力增加28.4%,车体变化不大;当局部扣件刚度突变时,车体、轮对、转向架的振动加速度和轮轨垂向力均较基本刚度(50 kN/mm)有所增大。扣件刚度整体突变以及局部突变均会对列车振动特性和轮轨垂向作用力产生不利的影响,建议及时对扣件系统进行养护检修,以保证行车的平稳性和安全性。     

矿用聚氨酯注浆材料阻燃及加固性能研究

为获得压缩强度和阻燃性能兼顾的聚氨酯注浆材料,通过L9(34)正交试验,研究Mg(OH)2含量、甲基膦酸二甲酯(DMMP)含量、异氰酸酯指数、辛酸亚锡含量对聚氨酯注浆材料的阻燃性能及压缩性能的影响。获得这种聚氨酯注浆材料的最佳制备条件。对比分析最佳制备条件试样及不加阻燃剂试样的热稳定性。结果表明:DMMP含量和Mg(OH)2含量对平均燃烧时间影响显著;Mg(OH)2还有补强加固作用,对压缩强度影响最为显著,其次为异氰酸酯指数。在Mg(OH)2,DMMP,辛酸亚锡质量分数分别为16%,24%和0.4%,异氰酸酯指数为1.10时,聚氨酯注浆材料兼顾阻燃性能和压缩性能,平均燃烧时间为13.9 s,压缩强度为19 MPa,其热稳定性明显优于不添加阻燃剂样品。     

基于AHP法的诱发露天矿作业现场碰撞事故危险点重要度排序

露天矿作业现场运行的设备碰撞事故属于安全生产重大事故,尽管发生并不频繁但是同类事故依然在生产中发生。控制诱发该类事故的危险点是现场安全管理的重点,根据现场的事故案例运用AHP法,通过对危险点排序找出其中的重要度,确定碰撞事故中的主要诱发因素,以此在动态生产中识别系统关键节点的危险性,找到预防同类碰撞事故的有效措施。由于诱发危险点在生产中的复杂性,AHP法解决的只是一段时间内的问题,但也为快速掌握安全预控问题提供了一种研究思路。这样在管理资源有限的条件下,为工艺运行的安全预防和控制提供可靠的保障。     

Effects of EGR on performance and emissions of a diesel engine fuelled with balanites aegyptiaca/diesel blends

In this study, balanites Aegyptiaca (L.) Del biodiesel was blended in proportions of 10% and 20% on the volume basis with diesel fuel and tested in a single cylinder, VCR diesel engine under measured load conditions with varied EGR rates (0, 10 and 20%). The results showed that B10 and B20 blends shown a significant reduction rate in terms of NO_x emissions that were familiar with biodiesel blends. At peak load conditions, BTE increased slightly for test fuel blends compared with pure diesel fuel while the BSFC rate and EGT suffered from increasing and decreasing nature with respect to blending percentage. From the emissions point of view, with the increase in blends percentage, a significant reduction rate is observed in terms of CO and HC concentrations (up to 12.34 and 17.5%, respectively) while NOx emissions decreased at peak load conditions (up to 24.34%). HC and CO emissions decreased with increase in blends percentage. However, lower levels of NO_x and EGT (up to 21.37 and 8.47%, respectively) and the average increase in terms of BTE and BSFC (up to 2.83 and 2.9%, respectively) can be realised with B20 test fuel blend under 20% EGR rate.     

A multilevel investigation of predictors and outcomes of shared leadership

For modern organizations, shared leadership becomes increasingly important. Knowledge on shared leadership may be limited, as past research often relies on cross-sectional data or student samples, and most studies neglect the multilevel nature of shared leadership. Our research model includes transformational leadership, trust, and organizational support as predictors of shared leadership. Furthermore, we analyze the influence of shared leadership on team performance and team creativity. In total, 160 teams with 697 employees participated in our field study. Data collection took place at three time points. To test our hypotheses, we used multilevel modeling with a Bayesian estimator. We found relationships of transformational leadership and trust with shared leadership at the team level and of transformational leadership, trust, and organizational support with shared leadership at the individual level. Furthermore, shared leadership fully mediated the effect of the three input factors on team performance and team creativity. This study contributes to the understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of shared leadership. Furthermore, the dynamic development of team processes based on an input–mediator–output model is explored. On the basis of the results, organizations can increase shared leadership behavior by focusing on transformational leadership and trust building.     

On the search for mimetic patterns in environmental disclosure: an international perspective

In this paper, we assert and test the proposition that environmental disclosure (ED) is structured by institutionalised myths and that is why ED is decoupled from environmental performance and media pressures. Focusing on firms from Canada, France and Germany, findings show that ED mimetic isomorphism for different topics varies among countries and by industry sensitiveness to the environment. The results corroborate the institutional presumption that institutionalised myths vary among different contexts. Our findings also suggest that institutionalised ED structures may not reflect environmental performance, mimetic patterns being affected by environmental performance. However, the decoupling between ED mimetic isomorphism and environmental performance decrease when firms’ ED credibility is questioned by the media.