The Impact of Person-Organization Fit and Psychological Ownership on Turnover in Open Source Software Projects

Open source software (OSS) projects represent an alternate form of software production by relying primarily on voluntary contributions. Despite the immense success of several mainstream OSS projects such as Mozilla, Linux, and Apache, a vast majority of such projects fail to sustain their development due to high levels of developer turnover. While existing research in the area has offered a rich foundation, we know little about how developers’ perceptions of fit with the project environment may be moderated by the sense of ownership they have toward the project and how it may impact their turnover intentions. Using survey data from 574 GitHub developers, we tested a model to examine the impact of Person-Organization fit and psychological ownership on developers’ turnover intentions. Our results suggest that two relevant dimensions of fit, namely, value and demands-abilities fit, negatively impact turnover intentions and that their sense of ownership moderates these effects

Turnover Intention among Employees of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): The Moderating Role of Employee Engagement

Purpose – This study was conducted to ascertain the influence of person-organization fit (P-O fit) and job satisfaction on turnover intention within Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, the mediating role of employee engagement in both of these associations was explored.  Methodology – A cross-sectional survey was administered, targeting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Lampung, Indonesia. The study involved 198 participants and data collection was conducted through the utilization of a questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, a quantitative approach incorporating structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed, using the AMOS software package version 24.0. Findings – The study showed that P-O Fit and job satisfaction had a negative impact on turnover intention. Employee engagement was also identified as a mediating factor in both of these relationships. Originality – There was a lack of extensive study examining the correlation between the variables within the specific context of SMEs, particularly in Lampung. Therefore, this study was carried out to introduce a study model grounded in social exchange theory

Employee Compensation: Research and Practice

[Excerpt] An organization has the potential to remain viable only so long as its members choose to participate and engage in necessary role behaviors (March & Simon, 1958; Katz & Kahn, 1966). To elicit these contributions, an organization must provide inducements that are of value to its members. This exchange or transaction process is at the core of the employment relationship and can be viewed as a type of contract, explicit or implicit, that imposes reciprocal obligations on the parties (Barnard, 1936; Simon, 1951; Williamson, 1975; Rousseau, 1990). At the heart of that exchange are decisions by employers and employees regarding compensation

Engagement of Information Systems Professionals in Open Source Software Development

Open source (OS) development of software is becoming increasingly desirable for individuals and organizations alike. Organizations that heavily resisted this new way of developing software are now actively participating in this process. Participation of information systems (IS) professionals in the open source environment has been a focal point in this stream of research in information systems. The dissertation goes beyond participation and examines engagement of IS professionals in the open source environment. The concept of engagement facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between a person and a his or her work. The three essays in the dissertation examine three aspects of IS professional’s engagement in the open source domain: job engagement, platform engagement, and continued participation. The first essay, using the job characteristics model as a theoretical framework, explores the role of job characteristics in driving job engagement and job satisfaction in open source projects. The second essay examines factors that can influence IS professionals continued contribution to future activities of an open source development platform. Using the social exchange theory, the second essay examines how perceived justice of rewards in OS projects can impact IS professionals’ platform engagement and intention to participate in future platform activities. The third essay explores the role of external feedbacks in open source projects. Using the signaling theory, this essay examines how characteristics of external feedback can interact with motivations to influence continued participation intention. The three essays are expected to enrich the information systems literature by providing new insights on various factors that can enhance engagement of IS professionals in the open source domain. The essays also contribute to the IS literature by applying the job characteristics model, social exchange theory, and signaling theory in the context of open source development

THE ROLE OF OWNERSHIP AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN PREDICTING DEVELOPER TURNOVER IN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE PROJECTS

Open source software (OSS) development methodology that promises to produce reliable, flexible, and high quality software code, at minimal cost, by harnessing the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process and has become increasingly popular in the past few years. For-profit companies have increasingly adopted the OSS paradigm to produce quality software at low cost. A vast majority of OSS projects depend on voluntary contributions by developers to sustain their development. In this context, turnover of developers has been considered a critical issue hindering the success of projects. This dissertation develops two studies addressing the issue. The first study is a methodological pilot and lays the foundation of this research by focusing on modeling turnover behavior of core open source contributors using a logistic hierarchical linear modeling approach. It argues that argue that taking both the developer and the project level factors into account will lead to a richer understanding of the issue of turnover in open source projects. The second study provides a conceptual integration of developer and project level factors using the Ownership, Role theory and Social Identity literatures, and proposes testable hypotheses, methods and findings. The implications of this research are likely to benefit OSS managers in understanding the developer and project level factors associated with developer turnover and the contexts in which they interact

Credit Where It’s Due: The Law and Norms of Attribution

The reputation we develop by receiving credit for the work we do proves to the world the nature of our human capital. If professional reputation were property, it would be the most valuable property that most people own because much human capital is difficult to measure. Although attribution is ubiquitous and important, it is largely unregulated by law. In the absence of law, economic sectors that value attribution have devised non-property regimes founded on social norms to acknowledge and reward employee effort and to attribute responsibility for the success or failure of products and projects. Extant contract-based and norms-based attribution regimes fail optimally to protect attribution interests. This article proposes a new approach to employment contracts designed to shore up the desirable characteristics of existing norms-based attribution systems while allowing legal intervention in cases of market failure. The right to public attribution would be waivable upon proof of a procedurally fair negotiation. The right to attribution necessary to build human capital, however, would be inalienable. Unlike an intellectual property right, attribution rights would not be enforced by restricting access to the misattributed work itself; the only remedy would be for the lost value of human capital. The variation in attribution norms that currently exists in different workplace cultures can and should be preserved through the proposed contract approach. The proposal strikes an appropriate balance between expansive and narrow legal protections for workplace knowledge and, in that respect, addresses one of the most vexing current debates at the intersection of intellectual property and employment law

Constructs of Successful and Sustainable SME Leadership in East Africa

Despite the markedly increased foreign investment, East African economies remain characterized by low levels of investment and capital formation with high level of attrition amongst indigenous small and medium enterprises. While there is a high failure rate amongst these SMEs, some are beginning to turn the corner and are exhibiting signs of robustness, innovativeness and sustainability. Relying on narrative accounts of successful SMEs leaders in Kenya and Uganda obtained through interviews and focus group discussions, this study sought to construct an account of leadership practices and ascriptions of success for SMEs that had succeeded. The study identified eight leadership constructs characteristic of successful SME leaders in Kenya and Uganda grouped into visioning, building commitment, social capital, personal values, anticipation and resilience, resourcefulness, responsiveness, and entrepreneurial orientation. While these results, on the face value, are apparently not unique, it was in the nuances of the leadership practice that difference was made. In conclusion, the study highlights implications for these findings in relation to policy and leadership practice among SMEs

Strategies to Retain Revenue Management Analysts in the U.S. Airline Industry

The voluntary turnover of revenue management analysts in the U.S. airline industry is an issue, compelling revenue management leaders to implement retention strategies that successfully reduce employee turnover. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies revenue management leaders used within the last 15 years to retain revenue management analysts. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was Maertz\u27s 8 motivational forces of job attachment and voluntary turnover. The targeted population was comprised of revenue management leaders at an airline in Dallas, Texas who had demonstrated successful strategies to reduce employee turnover. Using criterion-based sampling, 4 revenue management leaders were selected for study participation. Data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews and company documents, then analyzed via Yin\u27s 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. Interpretations were then subjected to member checking and methodological triangulation to strengthen the trustworthiness of findings. Two main themes emerged: leadership influence and analyst career environment. The findings provide a better understanding of revenue management analyst retention and increase knowledge of factors that influenced turnover in the U.S. airline industry. With this knowledge, revenue management leaders can implement retention strategies that have successfully reduced employee turnover. The implications for positive social change include the potential to overcome emotional discomforts about work or psychological obligations to leave, which can encourage job satisfaction and improve employee retention

Strategies Used to Retain Talent in the Insurance Industry

Employee engagement levels are critical to organizations that desire to retain a workforce that innovates, produces positive results, and stays committed to the organization. The purpose of this single case study was to explore employee engagement strategies used by business leaders to retain talent. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Deci\u27s self-determination theory. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with four participants within the insurance industry having three or more years of management experience and having a positive reputation for engaging employees. The participating company is located in central Indiana. Participants answered 10 open-ended questions related to employee engagement and retention of talent. Data were transcribed and coded to identify themes. The modified van Kaam method was used for analysis of the data. Open and honest communication between managers and employees, managers looking beyond words to recognize disengagement and respectful and a caring leadership team at all levels of the company were amongst the prominent themes identified during data analysis. The study findings may contribute to business practices positively by increasing the understanding of the importance of employee engagement strategies in a work setting as well as how engagement levels affect retention. The study findings may contribute to social change by providing leaders ideas on how to provide greater job satisfaction to employees, which could translate into improved professional and personal lives by providing employees a greater feeling of fulfillment and confidence with their job

Strategies Software Company Sales Managers Implemented to Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover

The high rates of voluntary employee turnover in software sales organizations have forced business leaders to search for strategies that reduce voluntary employee turnover. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies of a small group of sales managers who had demonstrated reduced voluntary employee turnover in their software manufacturing companies. Ten managers from 5 software manufacturing companies who had a minimum of 5 years of management experience were recruited and participated in semistructured, face-to-face interviews. The conceptual framework included Herzberg\u27s 2-factor theory for exploring the relationship between job satisfaction and voluntary employee turnover. Open and frequent communications, constant performance feedback, and transparency align appropriately with the tenets of Herzberg\u27s 2-factor theory. The Yin method for analyzing data through the process of data grouping, scrubbing, and organizing resulted in the emergence of themes including communications, recognition, and the work environment. All 10 sales managers spoke extensively about the importance of these themes in reducing voluntary employee turnover. These managers \u27noticed the little things,\u27 they gladly celebrated team successes, and they visibly supported their teams through actions. Findings from this study will provide a positive influence on social change through productivity improvements resulting in lower cost products and services, improving community prosperity. Additionally, consumers may benefit from these successful managers, as they facilitate a more expedited process of new products and services to the market