From action theory to the theory of the firm

Since Coase's (1937) pioneering article, the theory of the firm, especially in its neoclassical form, has developed tremendously. The criticisms leveled against it confirm its interest and usefulness - which is not to say that it cannot be improved upon or corrected in many respects. This chapter is intended to contribute to a broadening of the theory of the firm, starting from a theory of human action that encompasses a wide range of motivations. It also suggests specific ways in which the conception of the firm can be improved.Action; Action theory; Firm; Motivations; Organization; Theory of the firm;

Individual differences in good manners rather than compassion predict fair allocations of wealth in the dictator game

Objective. One of the most common tools for studying prosociality is the dictator game, in which allocations to one’s partner are often described in terms of altruism. However, there is less consensus regarding the motivations driving these allocations, which may represent either emotional concern for others (compassion), adherence to social norms regarding fairness (politeness), or both. Method. In this paper, we apply personality psychology to the study of behavior in the dictator game, in which we examine the discriminant validity of distinct prosocial constructs from the Big Five and HEXACO models in relation to allocations of wealth. Results. Across four studies (combined N = 798) utilizing both hypothetical and incentivized designs, we found that the politeness—but not compassion—aspect of Big Five agreeableness, as well as HEXACO honesty-humility, uniquely predicted dictator allocations within their respective personality models. Conclusions. These findings contribute to a growing literature indicating that the standard dictator game measures “good manners” or adherence to norms concerning fairness, rather than pure emotional concern or compassionate motives, which have important implications for how this paradigm is used and interpreted in psychological research

Institutions and reciprocity in the employment relationship

Homo oeconomicus has dominated mainstream Economics during the last century. One of the main assumptions of this model is that humans maximise their own utility functions. In other words, homo oeconomicus, before taking action, considers the consequences on their own future interests, which are generally assumed to be monetary. This thesis provides experimental results showing that human behaviour often differs from that of homo oeconomicus, particularly in environments where trust and reciprocity are salient concerns. To be precise, this dissertation analyses the employment relationship, focusing particularly on the importance of trust and the role of direct reciprocity in the relationship between managers and workers. Reciprocity is an important contract enforcement device in the presence of incomplete labour contracts. By reciprocity between employer and employee, what is meant is a predisposition, within the institutional context of defined employment tasks, to cooperate with the other party even at personal cost, and a willingness to punish the other party if they violate cooperative norms, even when punishment is costly to the individual. The original contribution of this thesis goes beyond this result and shows the impact of informal employment rules on reciprocity. In particular, it uses experimental methods to identify two distinct governance patterns for employment relationships: the rigid governance structure and the flexible governance structure. The former is characterised by task-centred rules and defines the boundaries of jobs in a much more specific way than the latter, which is characterised by function-centred rules, and gives rise to a more flexible and discretionary model of employment relationships. The most important original experimental result of this thesis is that rigid governance characterised by taskcentred rules and low reciprocity is better suited to one-shot transactions, whereas flexible governance characterised by function-centred rules and a high level of reciprocity is better suited to repeated transactions

Work Organisation and Innovation

[Excerpt] Innovations in work organisation have the potential to optimise production processes in companies and improve employees’ overall experience of work. This report explores the links between innovations in work organisation – under the broader label of high performance work practices (HPWPs) – and the potential benefits for both employees and organisations. It draws on empirical evidence from case studies carried out in 13 Member States of the European Union where workplace innovations have resulted in positive outcomes

Relationships Between Transformational Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Ghanaian Organizations

The recent global financial crisis prompted organizations to search for effective ways to minimize loss of revenue due to settlement of organizational scandals. Transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) are known to affect employees and subsequently organizational productivity. However, little is known about the relationship between transformational leadership and the OCB of employees of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Ghana. The purpose of this quantitative study was to bridge the gap in knowledge by examining the relationships between transformational leadership and the OCB of employees of MNCs in Ghana. The theoretical frameworks for this study were Bass\u27 transformational leadership theory and Organ\u27s OCB theory. A random sample of 180 employees, who had worked with MNCs in Ghana for at least 5 years, were surveyed on transformational leadership using a 40-item transformational leadership scale and OCB using a 24-item OCB scale. A correlation coefficient test and a regression analysis revealed statistically no significant correlational relationship between transformational leadership and OCB, and statistically no significant multiple regression relation between the4 dimensions of transformational leadership and OCB. The implication for social change includes importance to theory, business managers, and the society, that there is no relationship between transformational leadership and OCB of employees in MNCs in Ghana. Apprising individuals of this lack of relationship would inspire future researchers to search for other types of ethical leadership or non-financial incentives that could influence positive behavior of employees to enhance the organization\u27s productivity, and produce ethical citizens for society

Creating well-being through reciprocal relationships

Peer reviewe

Physiological Correlates of Volunteering

We review research on physiological correlates of volunteering, a neglected but promising research field. Some of these correlates seem to be causal factors influencing volunteering. Volunteers tend to have better physical health, both self-reported and expert-assessed, better mental health, and perform better on cognitive tasks. Research thus far has rarely examined neurological, neurochemical, hormonal, and genetic correlates of volunteering to any significant extent, especially controlling for other factors as potential confounds. Evolutionary theory and behavioral genetic research suggest the importance of such physiological factors in humans. Basically, many aspects of social relationships and social activities have effects on health (e.g., Newman and Roberts 2013; Uchino 2004), as the widely used biopsychosocial (BPS) model suggests (Institute of Medicine 2001). Studies of formal volunteering (FV), charitable giving, and altruistic behavior suggest that physiological characteristics are related to volunteering, including specific genes (such as oxytocin receptor [OXTR] genes, Arginine vasopressin receptor [AVPR] genes, dopamine D4 receptor [DRD4] genes, and 5-HTTLPR). We recommend that future research on physiological factors be extended to non-Western populations, focusing specifically on volunteering, and differentiating between different forms and types of volunteering and civic participation

A Sociability-based Theory of Solidarity

Notwithstanding the increasing interest that solidarity recently attracted in social, political, and moral philosophers, the foundations of a philosophical research field on solidarity have still to be laid. This thesis pursues the broad aim to contribute to this foundational work and is organized and structured accordingly. The substantive goal of the whole research project that unfolds henceforth is to reach a definition of the concept of solidarity, which is not intended to overcome or dismiss our everyday intuitions and commonsensical understandings of solidarity, but rather to make sense of what is underpinned by them. The dissertation is divided into four chapters. In Chapter 1, I take the steps from Durkheim, who is by broad acknowledgment regarded as the pioneering theorist developing a systematic account of solidarity. The potentially original contribution of Chapter 1 is a conclusive focus on some questions that can be formulated out of Durkheim\u2019s framework and have been quite neglected by the commentators of his works. One of such open questions, that is, the extent to which anthropological assumptions on human nature \u336 and especially sociability \u336 may influence any theorization of solidarity, prepares the terrain for the subsequent development of the dissertation. Chapter 2 aims at shedding light on this intuition, which is elaborated in terms of an updated nomological reappraisal of human nature and a genuinely original concept that I propose, that is, the \uabanthropological load\ubb. By this concept, I mean a scalar property of social, ethical, and political concepts which indicates the extent to which the conceptual space for theorizing each of them is determined by anthropological assumptions. Following Durkheim\u2019s suggestion, I consider sociability as the most salient anthropological assumption for theorizing solidarity. Accordingly, at the end of Chapter 2, I present a possible strategy to frame the structure of the concept of sociability, that is, that of a dispositional and open cluster concept. Chapter 3 is intended to unpack some core features that compose the cluster of sociability, that is, capacity of self-categorization, the capacity of empathy, and capacity of being moved by prosocial motivation. For each of these features, it is proposed to adopt a definition borrowed from the pertinent scientific literature which will be selectively presented and discussed. To conclude, Chapter 4 takes the final and crucial step of the whole research project, that is, the definition of solidarity. The structure of this chapter is twofold. Firstly, I still present seven cases that are, at least intuitively, solidarity-evoking. In so doing, a phenomenological catalog of solidarity will be provided, wide enough to give a flavor of the pervasiveness of the phenomenon; the remainder of the chapter will be devoted to the question of whether all of these cases can be covered by a concept of solidarity, to be defined. The subsequent endeavor of defining solidarity, to be attempted in the second section, shall stick to the methodological guidance offered by Chapter 2. Thus, the definition of solidarity will be developed accordingly, that is, based on the sociability-related properties unpacked in Chapter 3