Agile or Fragile? - The Depleting Effects of Agile Methodologies for Software Developers

Despite the increasing diffusion of agile software development methodologies (ASDM) in firms, aca-demic studies in this field – though rising in number – are largely missing out on the implications for the individual software developer. The application of agile methodologies in software development projects has significant impact on the individual developer’s way of working. While some empirical research evaluated the advantages of ASDM for individuals, potential negative consequences for de-velopers, who have to cope with multiple draining demands in their daily work, remains largely unex-plored. Using resource depletion theory as a lens, we develop a research model to examine how the use of ASDM potentially decreases individual job satisfaction and increases turnover intention. We suggest that the effect is mediated by developers’ level of depletion expressed by psychological strain. In addition, we aim to determine who is more or less affected by depletion in an agile context intro-ducing the capacity for self-control as a moderator. To test our model, we plan to conduct a cross-sectional field survey among software developers working in agile teams. Drawing attention to under-represented negative implications on an individual level, we want to contribute to a more balanced picture of ASDM use in theory and practice

Are Proactive Employees Proactive Performers? The Moderating Role of Supervisor-Subordinate Marital Status Similarity

In accordance with the similarity attraction paradigm, this paper investigates when and how proactive employees can be rated as proactive performers by proposing supervisor-subordinate marital status similarity as a relational moderator and leader-member exchange as the mediator. It therefore advances understanding of performance evaluation of proactive employees. Data from a sample of 471 Chinese employees and their 161 supervisors are used to examine the models hypothesized. The results show that LMX mediates the interaction effect between a proactive personality and supervisor-subordinate marital status similarity on supervisors’ evaluations of proactive performance. When proactive employees and their supervisors have similar (dissimilar) marital status, the indirect relationship between proactive personality and supervisor-rated proactive performance via LMX is stronger (weaker). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

Family-work Conflict and Performance of Women-owned Enterprises: The Role of Social Capital in Developing Countries--Implications for South Africa and Beyond

One critical issue that is highly overlooked in developing regions is the family embeddedness of women entrepreneurs, even though the women in developing countries simultaneously hold several roles in the family and their businesses. As such, this study focused on evaluating the impact of family-work conflict (FWC) on the performance of women-owned businesses in a developing world context. The findings indicate that FWC negatively influenced the performance of women-owned businesses. Additionally, the moderating effect of social capital in this association was examined. The findings suggest that both bonding social capital and bridging social capital buffers the negative effect of FWC on the performance of women-owned businesses, such that the performance of women-owned businesses characterized by high levels of bonding/bridging social capital is affected less by FWC than those with low levels of bonding/bridging social capital. The study culminates with a discussion of the implications and policy measures that can be adopted to harness the potentials and capabilities of women entrepreneurs in developing countries to foster economic growth and development

Does the CEO effect differ in times of crisis? Evidence from US and China during the global financial crisis

This study investigates short-term fluctuations in the CEO effect, measured as the proportion of variance in firm performance attributable to individual CEOs, in response to macroeconomic crises, with a specific focus on the global financial crisis. Utilizing multilevel modeling on a 15-year dataset of US firms and assessing three performance metrics, we identify a significant decline (increase) in the CEO effect on accounting-based (market-based) performance measures (measure) from the pre-crisis to the crisis period, followed by a significant rebound post-crisis. We replicate the analysis using a sample of Chinese firms and find a consistent pattern. Our research advances the CEO effect literature by emphasizing the dynamic nature of the CEO effect in an international context. Our findings highlight that the CEO effect is not static but can undergo short-term fluctuations due to significant changes in the macroeconomic environment.</p

Too Drained from Being Agile? The Self-Regulatory Effects of the Use of Agile ISD Practices and their Consequences on Turnover Intention

While much is known about the beneficial effects of agile information systems development (ISD), scholars have largely neglected to address its potential downsides. Specifically, research on this topic has thus far overlooked the ambivalent implications of the specific demands placed on developers working in agile ISD teams, including potentially depleting effects. Drawing on ego depletion theory and the associated literature, we provide a more balanced view and introduce self-regulatory resource depletion triggered by using agile ISD practices—encompassing software development (SD) and project management (PM) practices—as a theoretical perspective on why agile developers experience different levels of work-related fatigue that lead to stronger or weaker turnover intentions. Furthermore, we propose that due to the specific way in which agile ISD methods organize ISD project work, developers’ perceived workload influences the intensity by which agile ISD practices affect self-regulatory resources and developers’ feelings of fatigue. We examined our research model using a multimethod approach including quantitative and qualitative data. We found that the use of agile SD practices enhances developers’ self-regulatory resources and reduces fatigue and turnover intention. Our results also show that perceived workload strengthens the energizing effects of the use of agile SD practices and reveals a depleting effect of the use of agile PM practices, with countervailing implications for turnover intention. This study contributes to agile ISD literature by drawing a more nuanced and balanced picture with both resource-enhancing and resource-draining effects of the use of agile ISD practices. Finally, we give managerial advice regarding factors to consider when designing and managing agile ISD projects

Copreneurs\u27 Coping Strategies for Work-Family Conflict

Family businesses including copreneurships have a high failure rate. Copreneurs experience work-family conflict (WFC), which can have a negative effect on business sustainability. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that copreneurs used in managing WFC to achieve business sustainability for longer than 10 years. Three copreneurs from 3 copreneurial businesses located in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, who have employed effective strategies to cope with WFC to achieve business sustainability longer than 10 years, participated in the study. The WFC model for business/marriage partners (copreneurs) and the reciprocal coping model served as the conceptual framework that grounded the study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company documents, and a reflective journal. The data were analyzed using the framework of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and making conclusions. Emerging themes included strategy themes of personal coping, family-friendly organizational supports, and integrated coping. The implications for positive social change include the potential to help copreneurs use strategies identified to manage WFC to improve business sustainability, which may contribute to wealth creation and poverty reduction in the local economy