Managerial Need Research Articles

Money talks? The motivational mechanisms of base pay on well-being and work performance.

Whether compensation serves as a motivational resource for employees is still a debated subject. It has been suggested that the effect of pay on motivation could be contingent on the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs as outlined by self-determination theory. The current research explored the role of amount of base pay as well as pay fairness discrepancy in relation to basic psychological need satisfaction, autonomous work motivation and, in turn, psychological well-being (i.e., vigor and emotional exhaustion), turnover intentions, and work performance. Managerial need support was also included in the model, so its mechanisms and its effects on the outcomes could be measured against those of pay. Using a combination of archival data and employees' self-reports from 593 Norwegian workers, results revealed that amount of base pay did not predict satisfaction of any of the basic needs, pay fairness discrepancy negatively predicted satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and relatedness and positively predicted satisfaction of the need for competence, whereas managerial need support significantly predicted satisfaction of all three needs. While there was no significant direct relation from amount of base pay to any of the outcomes, results showed a significant direct relation from managerial need support to psychological well-being (positive to vigor and negative to emotional exhaustion)and turnover intentions (negative). There was also a significant direct positive relation from pay fairness discrepancy to turnover intentions.

Individual Resilience in the Organization in the Face of Crisis: Study of the Concept in the Context of COVID-19.

In the context of a health crisis of unprecedented magnitude that we have experienced such as COVID-19 we join the efforts of practitioners and researchers to answer the question: ‘What is the organizational context that promotes individual adaptation in a context of adversity?’. Specifically, our research aims to explore organizational practices that promote individual resilience in a COVID-19 crisis situation and in a Tunisian context. Therefore, we believe that the paradigm (resilience in the face of the COVID-19 crisis) and the context (Tunisian) both constitute the originality of our article. Our research contribution consists in demonstrating that the company has a managerial need to strengthen the psychological protective factors of its employees, which will promote their individual resilience in the organization. This necessarily leads it to develop the individual’s defense mechanisms against trauma, psychological reconstruction and post-resilience learning. This modeling of resilience allowed us to observe and recognize it in sixteen Tunisian companies by using a qualitative study based on sixteen semi-structured interviews analyzed by the ‘Nvivo 12’ software in order to explore the functioning of individual resilience in a real organizational context.

THE EFFECTS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY TO COMPETITIVENESS AND CORPORATE IMAGE: A STUDY ON CHOCOLATE AGENT ENTREPRENEURS

This study investigates the entrepreneur personalities of chocolate agents and their effect on competitiveness and corporate image. The object of the study is chocolate agent resellers which are spread throughout Indonesia. The total sample is 110 entrepreneurs who work as company agents. The method used is survey confirmatory method. From this research, seven entrepreneurial personalities that can increase competitiveness and corporate image are found. The practical implication is that companies’ managerial need to set up criteria for agent recruitment and to be selective in choosing agents. The chosen agents must be trained continually to develop their personality traits such as the ability to think positively, develop leadership traits, be open-minded, have consciousness of the importance of business, be friendly, give good service, be independent, and be able to reach targets. Keywords : Entrepreneur Personality, Competitiveness, Corporate Image, Company Agents JEL Classifications: D41, D91, L26 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.9262

The contested community police officer: An ongoing conflict between different institutional logics

This paper concentrates on the ongoing conflict about the role and work of community police officers in the Netherlands. This conflict can be understood as a result of conflicting institutional logics. Although there are important differences between the community officers, there is the logic or perspective used by most of the community officers. This logic puts much emphasis on personal relations, trust-building, direct information, craftsmanship, tacit knowledge, involvement and discretion and experience. However, community officers have also been confronted with two other logics, with more emphasis on crime fighting and managerial control. In addition, there is also a third, more implicit logic, built upon a frame consisting of two opposing images of community officers. On the one hand, many of the current community officers are seen as old-fashioned and outdated. On the other hand, a more positive image of new community police officers is presented, called community officers 2.0 This can be seen as a way to create a new type of community police officers that is more in line with the managerial need for organizational control and with a more limited and instrumental view on community policing.

Service-Sales Ambidexterity: Evidence, Practice, and Opportunities for Future Research

Aligning the service-sales interface within and beyond organizational boundaries is worthwhile, yet many firms are not reaping the rewards of such practice. The managerial need for in-depth insights into the blending of selling and service delivery could be better informed through resolution of current open theoretical debates. This position article extends the current knowledge base on the service-sales interface in three ways. First, we offer a synopsis of current scholarly progress on blending service delivery with sales and identify contextual conditions that foster effective service-sales ambidexterity. Second, turning to current practice, we use an empirical case study to demonstrate how a multinational company strategically deploys online learning to bridge structural knowledge and skills gaps within its reseller network to build ambidextrous capacity in the channel and support solution selling. Complementing this human learning approach, we also explore recent advances in machine learning and their impact on the service-sales interface. Third, we blend these academic and practice perspectives to offer a service-sales interface agenda that identifies directions for future research in terms of both the theoretical development of ambidexterity and defining the effective blending of technologies at the service-sales interface that enables ambidexterity in practice.

Programação linear aplicada à mobilidade urbana: análise do trajeto da residência à escola de estudantes universitários

O crescente aumento demográfico aumentou a necessidade gerencial do transporte de passageiros em algumas regiões brasileiras, caso que ocorre na região Sudeste, mais precisamente a região metropolitana da grande São Paulo. Assim, as metrópoles passaram a sofrer com problemas no trânsito, transportando passageiros em veículos lotados gerando reflexos diretos na mobilidade urbana. O presente estudo teve como objetivo aplicar a programação linear para análise do trajeto da residência à escola de estudantes universitários na análise da origem e destinos. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa descritiva através da coleta de dados de trajeto e modalidades de transporte de 19 estudantes. Foi desenvolvido um modelo de programação linear que considerou três variáveis de decisão, transporte público, automóvel particular e transporte por aplicativo. Os resultados demonstraram ser o automóvel particular a melhor opção de escolha, seguido do transporte por aplicativo e transporte público.

Basic psychological needs and work motivation: A longitudinal test of directionality

Most work-related studies of self-determination theory (SDT) have focused either on satisfaction of basic psychological needs or on types of work motivation when studying motivational processes at work. The few studies that have considered both mechanisms have usually assumed that satisfaction or frustration of basic psychological needs is a prerequisite of different types of work motivation. Nevertheless, the directionality of this relation has not been explicitly tested in previous studies of the workplace. The current study explored the relations among managerial need support, basic psychological need satisfaction at work, and work motivation. It tested competing sets of hypotheses regarding the directionality of these three core constructs within SDT’s model of work motivation. A longitudinal analysis suggested that managerial need support was positively directly related to basic psychological need satisfaction but not directly related to work motivation. Further, results indicated that basic psychological need satisfaction was related to work motivation over time and not the other way around. In addition, it was found an indirect relation between in managerial need support and in work motivation through in basic psychological need satisfaction. These findings have important implications for future SDT research testing process models in the workplace.

The implications of need-satisfying work climates on state mindfulness in a longitudinal analysis of work outcomes

Literature on mindfulness in the workplace is scarce, and the antecedents of state mindfulness are not understood. This study sought to investigate antecedents and outcomes of state mindfulness in a self-determination theory model in the work domain. Specifically, the present study contributes to an understanding of mindfulness by examining the implications of managerial need support and subsequent need satisfaction on state mindfulness, as well as outcomes of state mindfulness among employees. Results from a longitudinal analysis using data from four time points over 15 months supported the prediction that a need-supportive work climate related positively to state mindfulness through satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Furthermore, higher levels of state mindfulness had positive implications on subjective well-being as well as work-related outcomes. Specifically, the results showed a positive relation to subjective well-being and goal attainment, while a negative relation to burnout. Lastly, need satisfaction had an indirect relation to these outcomes through state mindfulness. These findings contribute to creating a link between the literature showing the importance of need-supportive work climates for well-being and other work-related outcomes, and the emerging literature on the positive benefits of mindfulness in organizational settings.

Increasing loyalty in the arts by bundling consumer benefits

Purpose Operatic events are an important sector of the performing arts industry and are currently facing the challenges of decreasing demand and price-based competition from other sectors of the performing arts industry. It is posited that adding value and ensuring satisfaction may enhance consumer loyalty, and therefore, the likelihood of sales and continued subscriptions may be increased. The purpose of this paper is to examine bundling as a marketing management technique for opera companies and hypothesises that offering attractive “package deals” that bundle various benefits with the seat ticket may increase participation and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A discrete choice experiment with opera patrons is used to evaluate the application of bundling to improve increased demand and loyalty. Findings It is concluded that offering bundles creates a greater likelihood of customer satisfaction and favourable behavioural intentions, which may lead to increased loyalty. Participants expressed strong support for value-added elements. Such package deals included a variety of elements: opportunity for a visit backstage to meet the cast, informative introductions to operas and facilitated parking options. Consumers’ level of overall willingness to purchase a bundle was altered based on the attributes that made up that bundle. The findings of this research confirm that the theory of bundling can be applied to arts marketing and provides support for the development of bundling strategies to enhance opera attendance. Research limitations/implications It is recognised that the research needs to be tested in different countries in order to know the extent to which the findings of this study can be generalised. Additionally, future research could use other statistical methods such as regression and structural equation modelling to holistically model behaviour. Finally, as well as testing customer-stated intentions, the model also needs to be tested with actual patronage behaviour following the development and application of bundling strategies. Future research could also consider how bundling and other aspects relating to opera attendance could be used as part of the branding strategy associated with opera attendance; in particular how to develop, increase and maintain loyalty and therefore brand resonance in opera attendees. Practical implications The findings have useful implications for event organisers and policymakers and suggest bundling strategies that could be utilised. It is has been found that loyalty can be enhanced by adding value and ensuring satisfaction, and therefore, increase the likelihood of sales and repeat purchase. Social implications Opera represents a significant cultural heritage and is a valuable component of the performing arts, both historically and currently. Opera is a form of art whose survival is threatened by an increasingly diminished audience whose average age is steadily increasing. This decrease in audience attendance has led to radical changes in the management and marketing of opera houses, where theaters have moved increasingly towards a business-oriented model where improved branding and bundling strategies can be utilised. Originality/value This makes a theoretical contribution by advancing performing arts research and furthering the notion that bundling can increase the likelihood of opera attendance, satisfaction, ongoing loyalty, and also addresses a managerial need of an arts marketing organisation.

Establishing measures and drivers of consumer brand engagement behaviours

Discussion of consumer brand engagement within the broader brand management literature adopts largely a psychological view for conceiving the nature of the construct. As a result, little focus has been devoted to consumer brand engagement behaviours – an aspect that has high managerial relevance. Of particular relevance are the challenges of establishing appropriate measures and better understanding the drivers of brand engagement behaviours. With the aim of addressing these challenges, this paper presents a theoretically-grounded and empirically-validated measure of consumer engagement behaviours based on the Actual Brand Engagement framework proposed by brand experts. This paper first establishes the framework’s suitability given the literature on engagement behaviours. The framework is conceptualised through demonstrating the importance of consumer brand knowledge, category involvement and corporate-level associations in driving engagement behaviours, thereby accommodating the role of brand-, category- and corporate-level factors. Using data collected from Australian consumers, the framework is empirically established by demonstrating: (1) the validity of the Actual Brand Engagement framework for measuring engagement behaviours and (2) the predictive validity in explaining a consumer’s willingness to pay a price premium. Cumulatively, this study addresses both the academic and managerial need for guidance as to how to best measure and influence brand engagement behaviours.

Show them the money? The role of pay, managerial need support, and justice in a self-determination theory model of intrinsic work motivation.

The link between money and motivation has been a debated topic for decades, especially in work organizations. However, field studies investigating the amount of pay in relation to employee motivation is lacking and there have been calls for empirical studies addressing compensation systems and motivation in the work domain. The purpose of this study was to examine outcomes associated with the amount of pay, and perceived distributive and procedural justice regarding pay in relation to those for perceived managerial need support. Participants were 166 bank employees who also reported on their basic psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic work motivation. SEM-analyses tested a self-determination theory (SDT) model, with satisfaction of the competence and autonomy needs as an intervening variable. The primary findings were that amount of pay and employees' perceived distributive justice regarding their pay were unrelated to employees' need satisfaction and intrinsic work motivation, but procedural justice regarding pay did affect these variables. However, managerial need support was the most important factor for promoting need satisfaction and intrinsic work motivation both directly, indirectly, and as a moderator in the model. Hence, the results of the present organizational field study support earlier laboratory experiments within the SDT framework showing that monetary rewards did not enhance intrinsic motivation. This seems to have profound implications for organizations concerned about motivating their employees.

Managerial support for basic psychological needs, somatic symptom burden and work-related correlates: A self-determination theory perspective

Somatic symptom burden, or the experience of physical symptomatology without a medical explanation, is related to functional disability and poor quality of life. The consequences of somatic symptom burden extend beyond the individual and affect society, as manifested in higher medical utilization and lower job productivity. Using self-determination theory, we posited that employees' perceptions of managerial support for basic psychological needs may be associated with lower levels of somatic symptom burden among employees, in part because such contexts promote autonomous self-regulation (a type of motivation) at work. Also, we posited that somatic symptom burden among employees would explain some of the relations of managerial need support and autonomous self-regulation at work to indices of work-related functioning, namely emotional exhaustion, turnover intention and absenteeism. Results from 287 Norwegian employees confirmed these hypotheses. These findings not only identify a theoretical mechanism that may explain (in part) the origin of somatic symptoms, but also offer a model by which social-contextual and motivational factors affect important work-related outcomes. These findings also bespeak the importance of developing workplace interventions that provide support for satisfaction of the basic psychological needs.

수입 패션 멀티샵의 점포속성과 의복쇼핑성향이 점포애고에 미치는 영향

An understanding of store patronage behavior is a critical issue for retail managers, especially when it comes to a new kind of retail store, as it enables them to identify and target potential customers. Reflecting this managerial need, this study is focused on the fashion multi-brand shop, specifically investigating its store attributes, customers` shopping orientation, and store patronage. Accepting the shifting marketing paradigm from 4P`s marketing mix to 7P`s marketing mix, the 7P`s marketing mix is employed in this study to measure the store attributes, including people(sales oriented and customer oriented), price, place, promotion, physical environment, process, and product. The store attributes significantly influencing patronization are found as customer oriented sales people, product, physical environment, and process. The shopping orientations of the customers, 222 female adults aged from 20s to 40s are found as ostentatious, pleasant, fashion pursuant, rational, and addictive. The consumers who are ostentatious, pleasant, and fashion pursuant are highly likely to be patronize to the fashion multi-brand shops.

Identity Struggles in Merging Organizations

Mergers as a type of organizational change call attention to questions of identity. In this article, the authors ask: How do people collectively reconstitute their group identities for themselves and others, and in particular, how do they renegotiate understandings of sameness and difference called into question by merging? The authors draw on qualitative case data from two different merger contexts within the health care sector to develop rich descriptions and a deeper understanding of the identity struggles of four groups of employees. They identified four patterns of identity work ranging from more proactive forms of positioning as “mavericks” or fighters” to more passive forms as “adapters” or “victims” as each group struggled to navigate an altered, fluid, and emerging landscape of potential resources for self-understanding and affiliation. The authors show how identity regulation and identity work manifest themselves in three domains of language, practices and space, and how identity regulation and identity work mutually interact. Thus, the negotiation of identity in merging is a dialectic process in which managerial identity regulation aimed at enhancing convergence across groups may be undermined both by groups’ attempts to reestablish differences and by a countervailing managerial need to accommodate (and thus sustain) differences in order to enable groups to locate themselves in the emerging entity.

Applying a systems thinking framework to assess knowledge assets dynamics for business performance improvement

Knowledge assets represent strategic resources and sources of organizational value creation. Their effective development and deployment is at the basis of organizational value creation capacity. However there is still a lack of applied approaches and tools explaining how knowledge assets dynamics take place in organizational value creation mechanisms. In particular, there is a managerial need to define decision-support frameworks that can enable managers to understand how knowledge assets interact each other and with organizational performance in order to support the achievement of company’s strategic objectives. A better understanding of why and how knowledge assets management initiatives can be turned into value creation mechanisms with positive impacts on business performance is fundamental to avoid misallocation of resources and to support management decisions.This paper proposes a systems thinking-based framework, the Knowledge Assets Dynamics Value Map (KAVDM), to explicate the working mechanisms by means knowledge assets can evolve on the basis of knowledge management initiatives and affect business performance improvements. The KAVDM offers a holistic view of the mechanisms at the basis of how knowledge assets are translated into organizational value. It supports the explanation and monitoring of how knowledge assets are interpedently and dependently linked, and how the management of one knowledge asset activates flow dynamics, that influence both other knowledge assets and business performance. Using the KAVDM managers can reflect upon the knowledge components grounding a company’s value creation and assess their mental models and views of the reality. Finally, an application of the KAVDM within a construction company is presented and its main managerial benefits addressed.

Creative Abilities of Indian Managers and Blocks to Creativity Enhancement

In the globalized arena, managers need to play a great variety of roles and in order to be effective performers on such roles, they need to sharpen their creative abilities as well as maintain the various blocks thereto at low level. A preliminary step is to make an assessment of existing state of the strengths and weaknesses regarding the same. As independent investigators, the authors initiated such an assessment with reference to managerial personnel in the selected Indian organizations. The generalized findings of such an assessment will provide some direction to the organizations and their managers for the formulation/re-formulation of appropriate strategies so as to develop creative abilities within themselves. In the present study, creative abilities of the managerial personnel, by and large, have been found at high level. Such a high level of creative abilities is also because blocks to creative personality were found only at moderate level (not at high level). Such a climate favours the initiation and promotion of creativity and innovation. The study also revealed that managerial personnel need to improve their creative abilities in terms of ‘sensitivity’ and ‘entrepreneurship’. The managerial personnel of the selected organizations have perceived themselves as having greater level of ‘allergy to ambiguity’ and they also perceived the other studied blocks to creative personality as having at moderate level (desirably not at low level) which may appear as barriers in the process of nurturing creative abilities and promoting innovation capabilities in the given set-up. Organizations are complex social, political and technical systems and there is no simplistic formula for becoming more creative and innovative in practice.

Public service productivity: how to capture outputs?

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the micro‐level (managerial) measurement of service productivity in the context of public services, in particular, the role of different output elements.Design/methodology/approachCurrent knowledge on the issue is summarised based on the existing literature on service productivity and public sector performance. Measurement challenges and potential solutions are studied in four different services of the city of Helsinki, Finland.FindingsThe case study demonstrates that complex service outputs can be divided into components (both tangible and intangible) that can be utilised in designing more sophisticated productivity measures. The findings add to the existing understanding about issues related to public service output definition.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides knowledge to support the application of a disaggregated approach to service productivity measurement. However, more research is needed in order to fully utilise this approach in practice.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study may help managers identify service output components in public/social services. This can be used as a starting point for developing novel productivity measures.Originality/valueA key challenge in examining service productivity relates to the intangible nature of services; it is especially difficult to define the actual outputs produced. The challenges seem to be most severe in the public sector due to its specific characteristics. Many of the existing studies examine the issue at macro level. In large multi‐service organisations there is a managerial need to gather micro‐level information on productivity. This paper demonstrates how a disaggregated approach presented in the earlier literature can be operationalised. The approach yields a detailed understanding of different output components, which is a necessary step in designing relevant productivity measures for operative‐level management.

An evolutionary perspective on convergence: inducing a stage model of inter-industry innovation

Throughout the past decade, the phenomenon of technological convergence has increasingly gained managerial attention. In particular, the phenomenon can be regarded as a special form of technological change, where the coming-together of previously distinct knowledge bases gives rise to the creation of new applications and business models. Since the resulting creative destruction may exceed previously established industry boundaries, as a consequence, convergence does not only promise the creation of new value, but may imply significant disruptions to established industries. Driven by a managerial need for understanding convergence from an innovation management perspective, as well as by contradictive perceptions in previous research, this paper introduces an evolutionary perspective on the phenomenon. The study is based on an inductive and embedded multiple-case approach, involving 26 firms in the information and communications industry sectors. Four different stages of a convergence process are identified, described and formalised: (1) knowledge convergence, (2) technological convergence, (3) applicational convergence and (4) industrial convergence.

Critical complexities: From marginal paradigms to learning networks

The concepts of critical theory and complexity merit criticism. Growth of knowledge merits paradigmatic sacrifices. The erosion of orthodox establishments and an on‐going re‐structuring of research communities make the sciences of management susceptible to the influences of critical social scientists. A change of paradigms ceased to be a threatening emergency so vividly evoked by Kuhn. The new complex world of overlapping research networks is less hierarchic, more mobile, and not easily centralized. In boundary‐less correlations all critical research paradigms are subjected to a networking and re‐networking at all times. Postmodernist anarchism (“anything goes”) is presently giving rise to the theories of organisational learning. The latter express a methodological compromise with respect to the paradigms and a political compromise with respect to the governance structures. The underlying tensions motivate an ongoing search for a sustainable compromise between a critical thrust of research and a managerial need for governance, accountability and control.

Implementing Quality Improvement Programs Designed to Enhance Customer Satisfaction: Quasi-Experiments in the United States and Spain

A multinational firm uses sophisticated, state-of-the-art methods to design and implement customer satisfaction improvement programs in the United States and Spain. Quasi-experimental analysis reveals a complex and surprising picture that highlights (1) implementation issues (empowerment), (2) a construct of residual satisfaction not captured by customer needs, and (3) the managerial need for combining nonequivalent controls and nonequivalent dependent variables.