By drawing on social exchange theory, we developed a theoretical model to explore the effect of political skill on unethical pro-supervisor behavior (UPSB) via leader–member exchange (LMX) and the way in which immediate supervisor empowering leadership moderates this mediated relationship. A three-wave study (n = 442) provided evidence suggesting that political skill is positively related to UPSB and that LMX partially mediates this relationship. Immediate supervisor empowering leadership moderates the effect of political skill on LMX, and political skill is positively and indirectly related to UPSB via LMX when the level of immediate supervisor empowering leadership is high. Although political skill is beneficial to both employees and organizations in many respects, our study provides empirical evidence that can improve our understanding of how political skills trigger UPSB. The practical and theoretical implications of our findings are discussed.

Although practitioners and scientists agree that user adoption of new technologies is a key success factor in digital transformations, little is known about how specific management factors are related to user behavior. In particular, the temporal nature of digital transformation projects is largely neglected. Therefore, we propose a systematic, theory-based framework for the management of digital adoption (MDA) and derive specific process-oriented hypotheses for content-, process-, and context-related management factors, their relationships to user adoption, and underlying psychological processes (e.g., performance expectancy or social influence). We applied the MDA framework in the context of a large digital transformation project in a logistics company in a two-wave research design. We tested the process-oriented hypotheses based on latent change score analysis among 1,095 users. The results support the assumption that changes in management factors, largely mediated by changes in the psychological processes, lead to changes in user behavior.

Organizations involved in safety-critical operations often deal with operational tensions, especially when involved in safety-critical incidents that is likely to violate safety. In this paper, we set out to understand how the disclosures of safety-critical incidents take place in the face of reputational tension. Based on the case of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), we draw on image repair theory and information manipulation theory and adopt discourse analysis as a method of analyzing safety-critical incident press releases and reports from the NNPC. We found NNPC deploying image repair as part of incident disclosures to deflect attention, evade blame and avoid issuing apologies. This is supported by the violation of the conversational maxims. The paper provides a theoretical model for discursively assessing the practices of incident information disclosure by an organization in the face of reputational tension, and further assesses the risk communication implications of such practices.

Research has demonstrated that trusting belief in one's ability is critical to coproducer selection; however, the importance of trusting belief in dedication has been ignored. This study aims to explore how reputation (i.e., word-of-mouth, certification, and recommendation) affects trusting belief in a potential coproducer's ability and dedication and examines its mediating effects in coproducing with a potential partner.

Empirical results show significant mediating effects of trusting belief in a potential coproducer's ability from certification, word-of-mouth, and recommendation, which in turn motivate coproduction, whereas certification leads to the motivation for coproduction through trusting belief in a potential coproducer's dedication. The findings refer to a unitary acceptance of ability but a divergent recognition of dedication. The focal party may regard certification as factual without personal distortion, while the recommendation is an evaluation worth considering. In considering dedication, the focal party may be unable to assess the extent of distortion from second-hand information (e.g., word-of-mouth).

This study examines the role of entrepreneurs’ multi-country resources and mobility in achieving transnational entrepreneurship survivability. Outlined by the Forms of Capital model through the context of transnational entrepreneurship, this research provides a layer of understanding on the individual-opportunity-venture nexus in entrepreneurship through to exploring the way individual resources contribute towards venture survivability in a dynamic environment. The findings indicate that there are four core configurations associated with long-term entrepreneurial survivability, with geographical mobility is present as the necessary condition in achieving the outcome of interest. Theory-wise, this study speaks to the discourse of individual-opportunity-venture nexus through the configurations revealed from the findings. Practice-wise, the configurations will be useful for transnational entrepreneurs and policymakers interested in developing policies to encourage transnational venture sustainability.

The majority of supervisor organizational embodiment (SOE) research has focused on its role as an important boundary condition in the context of leadership and management studies. In a multi-source field study, we seek to extend this research stream by examining an antecedent and outcome of SOE. Specifically, we leverage social cognitive theory to develop and test a trickle-down model of organizational embodiment across three organizational levels (i.e., upper-level managers, middle-level supervisors, and lower-level employees). Subsequently, we propose and demonstrate that manager organizational embodiment (MOE) trickles down and positively impacts SOE. In turn, SOE trickles down and positively impacts employee organizational embodiment. Furthermore, supervisor neuroticism strengthens the relationship between MOE and SOE when supervisor neuroticism is relatively high compared to relatively low. The findings provide evidence for a trickle-down model of organizational embodiment. Theoretical contributions, practical implications, and future research are discussed.

To date, empirical research exploring the complex mechanisms of when and how information seeking from supervisor affects newcomers' task-related outcomes remains in its infancy. With a sample of 394 newcomers and their supervisors, drawing on the conservation of resources theory and professional image construction theory, we proposed and confirmed two paradoxical paths regarding perceptions of professional image construction – concern about impairing competence-image and confidence in improving commitment-image – that connect newcomers' information seeking from supervisor with their emotional exhaustion during socialization and ultimately can elevate and degrade their task-related outcomes, respectively. In addition, we found that supervisors' favorable feedback weakened the relationship between information seeking from supervisor and competence-image impairment concern, whereas it strengthened the linkage between information seeking and commitment-image improvement confidence. This study thus provides a more comprehensive picture for scholars and practitioners.

In an era of hypercompetition, research and development (R&D) investments are vital for organizations to stay competitive. This microlevel study draws on dynamic managerial capability (DMC) theory to explore the mechanisms contributing to competitive advantages. It posits that DMCs enhance firm performance by increasing R&D spending, and explores the moderating role of slack resources due to their effect on resource availability. Employing hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping methods on a longitudinal sample comprising 31 German DAX firms, the findings robustly demonstrate that DMCs facilitate firm performance by fostering R&D expenditures and confirm the moderating effect of specific slack resources. However, only internal but not external slack resources amplify the relationship between DMCs and R&D intensity. Overall, this study emphasizes the critical role of managers’ microlevel capabilities in determining firm performance and sheds light on how different slack resources influence the relationships between DMCs, R&D intensity, and firm performance.

There are significant ambiguities surrounding the academic discipline of management, which can be analysed in terms of three major debates. First the professional status of management brings with it questions about restriction or access to management education, the control of curricular and the relative importance of basic, applied and consultancy-driven research. Second, there are debates about the changing nature of management research, which require the accomodation of increasing diversity within management theory. Finally, the ambiguities associated with these debates can be seen to have impacted on the development of management education, its accessibility and diversity. The ambiguities associated with these debates must be carefully managed if the discipline is to prosper. New organisational forms are needed to embed management teaching and research within the complex collaborative relationships of the many stakeholders involved.

This quantitative study explores the perceptions of 379 nurses using a survey to assess awareness of, participation in, and effectiveness of 28 workforce retention strategies offered by Queensland Health. Perceptions of workforce retention strategies were also examined to determine if any aspects of the strategy (retention factors) had an influence on turnover intention. The major findings were that respondents were more aware and had participated to a greater extent in those strategies that were included in Queensland Health policy or were part of the nursing Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. Strategies ranked as most effective included those that provided a monetary advantage and to a lesser extent, a professional development opportunity. A positive relationship was found between retention factors and decreased turnover intention.

The nexus of legacy and leadership is an understudied area. Drawing on the legacy of leadership researcher, Professor Ken Parry, and incorporating several well supported themes of the phenomenon of leadership, the similarities between legacy and leadership are explored. Key themes include followership, sensemaking, change, context, the social influence process, and leadership as artifact.

While startups are acknowledged for their potential to address sustainability issues, little is known on how to assess their impact, given the uncertainty they deal with and their lack of resources. This paper investigates the ones that are supposed to be ‘best-in-class’ in that matter, that is, startups targeting sustainability, in order to explore how they integrate sustainability impact assessment in their entrepreneurial process. We conducted a multiple case study of eight sustainable startups, based on a 2-year longitudinal research in their incubator to gather multiple sources of information. Our results revealed that the integration of the triple bottom line in the entrepreneurial process has a major effect on startups’ sustainability impact assessment practices. ‘Born-sustainable startups’, which have aimed for the triple bottom line since idea generation, have more robust tools and routines than ‘Transitioned sustainable startups’, which integrated the triple bottom line during prototype/validation.

In the management literature, authority is generally defined as, or confused with, power (legitimate or otherwise) on the one hand, or (less frequently) attributed to subordinate concession on the other. In short, authority is thought to have two faces. The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate the confusions surrounding the use of authority and to suggest that more attention should be directed to the important differences between authority, power and legitimacy. An analysis of managerial authority is discussed that argues for the crucial relationship, recognised by the ancients, between authority and rhetoric. Authority, it is argued, is not legitimate power but a source of power and is established by effective rhetoric.

The aim of this paper is to provide a representation of the employee viewpoint on emerging issues related to HRM practices associated with the ‘new employment relationship’. Data obtained from employees across two studies in two very different countries – South Africa and New Zealand has been used to represent the employee perspective. Interestingly, a number of shared perceptions about these HRM practices are found to exist between employees from South Africa and New Zealand, suggesting the problems employees currently experience with the HR practices in the workplace that aim to promote this new relationship could be more widely shared.

The areas of shared concern highlighted by employees were mainly related to the implementation of HRM practices. For example, insufficient line management commitment, unfairness and inconsistency in the application of HR policies were all issues that were commonly raised, as was poor communication. Employees attributed these problems to the inadequate skills of those responsible for the implementation of HRM, and tended to be of the view that they could effectively be resolved through the HR department playing a more central role in the implementation of HRM in an organisation, training of line managers to carry out their HR responsibilities more effectively and increased consultation with employees.

Employees participating in these studies appeared to demonstrate a surprisingly high level of awareness and cognisance in identifying problems with HR practice and more significantly how these problems might be rectified. This would support the importance of accessing the employee perspective in both the implementation and research into HRM in practice. Based on the issues highlighted by the employees, increased co operation between line management, the HR department and employees is suggested to facilitate the effective design and implementation of HRM practice in this era of new employment relations.

The incessant trend towards the internationalisation of the marketplace will continue to dominate the agendas of managers of Australia's manufacturing establishments as they approach the next millennium. Empirical studies of the determinants of the firm's export marketing behaviour have been quite prolific and internationally comprehensive (Aaby and Slater 1989) and the characteristics and attitudes of the firm's main decision makers are often posed as important explanatory variables. The current study also examines the significance of managerial characteristics, commitment and attitudes towards exporting behaviour, by concentrating on a sample of firms drawn from a single industry (food and beverage processors) and with similar size and locational characteristics (small-medium firms located in regional Victoria).

A logistic regression model with a binary dependent variable (ie current exporter vs non-exporter) and, initially, 19 independent variables was formulated and estimated. An optimal model utilising only six of the most significant, management-related variables was able to predict the probability of a firm being an exporter with an accuracy of over 90% . The importance of management's willingness to commit both its mind and its firm's resources to the export endeavour and its recognition of the importance of price competitiveness were significant discriminators of active export behaviour. Exporting managers were also found more likely to be tertiary educated and foreign language fluent but not necessarily any younger than their non-exporting counterparts.

Human Resource Management (HRM), as a sub-discipline of management science, is in its infancy. HRM practices are often Utopian in expectation and fail to incorporate a realistic view of existing knowledge bases in the psychological, social, and biological sciences. The HRM discipline relies upon theoretical approaches (eg theories of motivation, satisfaction, and performance) which are: (1) almost invariably linear in conceptualisation and depend largely upon correlational evidence, (2) frequently validated within nonrepresentative contexts that are overly constrained by researchers and (3) overly simplistic in that the constraints and patterns imposed by our biological, psychological and social systems are frequently ignored or assumed to constitute random error within the models. This frequently translates into HRM practices which map reasonably well onto theory yet fall short of yielding expected outcomes. The theories do not match the realities observed. We point to nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory as a way of conceptualising how common HRM practices may translate into observable outcomes. Such an approach will force managers to pull back from simple reliance on linear predictions and realise that truly effective HRM practices should be sensitive to the unique, complex and less systematically predictable patterns of human behaviour.

Clive had the privilege of speaking with Kerry in late March 2010. They covered a number of governance issues, and here are Kerry's thoughts.

From a New Zealand perspective, but also with an eye on the US and UK, and to a lesser extent Australia, for me the overriding issue is that boards and Directors are not providing consistently strong leadership that adds value to businesses.

Underneath that I think that there are three specific issues. Firstly, there is a real shortage of directors with a strong business background. These are the sort of people who have been senior executives or chief executives. They understand strategy and leadership in the broadest sense of the word, and they can lead people and organizations. They have been well trained to make decisions and understand how business decisions are made. Critically, they know about sustained business improvement and creating high performance companies – how to lead people and to use systems to increase productivity. So, if you are trying to recruit directors now in New Zealand, there is a very limited pool of people who have that real depth of business background. There are a lot of people who want to be directors and who are trained in accounting, law and other professions, but there is an increasing shortage of people with the real depth of business experience that is required.