‘I’m not the police’: Practical strategies for sport coach mentors to develop trust and trustworthiness

This paper examines trust and trustworthiness in sport coach mentor-mentee relationships. Specifically, we investigate the place and importance of trust from the mentor’s perspective and establish how trustworthy impressions are actively developed. Guided by the theoretical ideas of Hardin (2002) and Hoy and Tschannen-Moran (1999), we conducted 18 online, two-to-one semi-structured interviews with nine mentors affiliated with two National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport. Data were subjected to a phronetic, iterative analysis, which involved inductive and deductive sensemaking and an interactive writing process. Key findings suggested a) that the mentors defined trust as a crucial construct in the development of mentee motivation, learning, and engagement, b) establishing trustworthy impressions was important for the mentors’ material and non-material interests, c) mentors reported how mentees were initially aloof due to an apparent distrust of NGBs, and d) mentors used numerous interactional strategies to create trustworthy impressions. These included i) deformalising mentor-mentee relationships, ii) actively demonstrating reliability as mentors, iii) using mutually beneficial lies to simultaneously secure buy-in and build mentee confidence and self-esteem, iv) illustrating their own fallibility as sport coaches, v) considering the value of displaying their own coaching competency, and vi) developing mentees’ competencies through empowerment. The findings offer practical strategies for NGBs and other [non]sporting bodies to support mentors in creating trustworthy impressions and build successful mentoring relationships

A proposed trust management model for organisations: the case of the Ethiopian banking sector

Ethiopia, a developing country on the African continent, has experienced double digit growth during the last decade. To sustain this growth, the country needs a sound and healthy banking sector. Consensus exists that trust is a valuable resource that can make a difference. It influences the quality of relationships between an organisation and its employees and management. It enables organisations such as banks, to retain their most valuable employees and customers, and improve organisational functioning. Most leaders agree that high levels of trust are critical to the success of their organisations. In this study, the existing theoretical principles and models relating to trust, were analysed in depth, and followed up by an empirical study to determine to what extent trust management practices were being applied. A quantitative survey was conducted on a probability sample of 405 participants from the eight largest banks in Ethiopia. From the measured items, 54 usable factors were identified by using exploratory factor analysis. The calculated Cronbach alpha values indicated a satisfactory internal consistency. While the Pearson product-moment correlation applied to the factors, indicated a dominance of statistically significant positive correlations. Various informative results emerged from the empirical survey, amongst which were, the relative weak application of trust management practices such as trust drivers and trust builders. Some barriers were also identified such as the trustworthiness of coworkers/ team members, the immediate supervisor and top management. Thus, it was evident that proper trust management practices had not been fully established within the banking sector in Ethiopia. There was thus a need for some guidelines in this regard. An integrated trust management model was therefore developed, and tested, through Structural Equation Modelling, and validated to satisfy this need.Human Resource ManagementD. Admin. (Human Resource Management

Through the Eyes of the Family: A Collective Case Study of Family Business Consulting

Interest in family businesses has increased over the last 50 years. Little empirical research, however, has been devoted specifically to the study of family business consulting. Various practitioners have offered their insights regarding approaches and tools, and a few empirical studies have offered the practitioners’ viewpoints regarding the practice area. The purpose of this study was to add to this small body of research by providing a view of family business consulting through the lens of the family business member. The chosen method of inquiry was collective case study, to allow for both contextual understanding and cross-case comparison. A total of nine participants across three cases were involved in the study. Several primary themes emerged from the study. To be considered a family business consultant by family members, a consultant needed to have entered the family business system through the family portal. The work of family business consultants was focused on inter-generational issues. Factors important to a successful consultation included chemistry with the family business leader, trust, values, and the involvement of non-business spouses. Finally, family members identified the maintenance of intact family member relationships as an important component of success in a family business consultation. Themes suggested by this study both supported and extended findings exploring family business consulting from the practitioner\u27s point of view. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/et

Through the Eyes of the Family: A Collective Case Study of Family Business Consulting

Interest in family businesses has increased over the last 50 years. Little empirical research, however, has been devoted specifically to the study of family business consulting. Various practitioners have offered their insights regarding approaches and tools, and a few empirical studies have offered the practitioners’ viewpoints regarding the practice area. The purpose of this study was to add to this small body of research by providing a view of family business consulting through the lens of the family business member. The chosen method of inquiry was collective case study, to allow for both contextual understanding and cross-case comparison. A total of nine participants across three cases were involved in the study. Several primary themes emerged from the study. To be considered a family business consultant by family members, a consultant needed to have entered the family business system through the family portal. The work of family business consultants was focused on inter-generational issues. Factors important to a successful consultation included chemistry with the family business leader, trust, values, and the involvement of non-business spouses. Finally, family members identified the maintenance of intact family member relationships as an important component of success in a family business consultation. Themes suggested by this study both supported and extended findings exploring family business consulting from the practitioner\u27s point of view. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/et

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making in Higher Education Administrators in Post-Secondary Institutions in Eastern Tennessee

This purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the impact of emotional intelligence on decision-making in higher education administrators. A qualitative research design was used for this study. Data was collected in three phases from the following sources; survey, case study submissions, and open-ended face-to-face interviews. The research data, about emotional intelligence and decision-making, were collected form ten higher education administrators. Constant comparative method was an important part of the data collection process for this study. Range of participant leadership experience was 3-8+ years and participant roles were either, Department Chair, Program Director, Dean, Provost, and President. The findings from this research study indicate that decision-making is impacted by emotional intelligence of higher education leaders. Empathy, self-awareness, and relationship management were influential components in navigating difficult situations, conflict resolution, and the decision-making process

Essays on the Influence of Review and Reviewer Attributes on Online Review Helpfulness: Attribution Theory Perspective

With the emergence of digital technology and the increasing availability of information on the internet, customers rely heavily on online reviews to inform their purchasing decisions. However, not all online reviews are helpful, and the factors that contribute to their helpfulness are complex and multifaceted. This dissertation addresses this gap in the literature by examining the antecedents that determine online review helpfulness using attribution theory. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the impact of authenticity (review attribute) on review helpfulness, showing that the expressive authenticity of a review enhances its helpfulness. The second essay investigates the relationship between the reviewer attributes i.e., motivation, activity, and goals in online reviews. The study employs various machine learning techniques to investigate the influence of these factors on reviewers\u27 goal attainment. The third essay explores how the reviewer attributes are related to the helpfulness of online reviews. The dissertation offers significant theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, the dissertation provides new insights into novel review and reviewer attributes. The study proposes a taxonomy of online reviews using means-ends fusion theory offering a framework for understanding the relationships between different components of online reviewer attributes and their contribution to the attainment of specific goals, such as emotional satisfaction. The study also highlights the importance of understanding the motivations and activities of online reviewers in predicting emotional satisfaction and the conditional effects of complaining behavior on emotional satisfaction. The findings inform review platform owners, business owners, reviewers, and prospective consumers in decision-making through helpful reviews. To review platform owners, the findings help segregate helpful reviews from the humongous number of reviews by determining the authenticity of the review. To business owners, the findings can help in understanding consumer behavior and taking necessary actions to provide better service to their customers. To reviewers, this dissertation can act as a guideline to write helpful reviews and to determine their helpfulness. Finally, to consumers or review readers, this dissertation provides an understanding of helpful reviews, thus allowing them to take product or service purchase decisions

Mind the gap: gap factors in intercultural business communication : a study of German-Indian semi-virtual tech/engineering teams

While the affordances of technology have facilitated virtual modes of global collaboration, cultural variances and a geographically-dispersed environment can also lead to impaired group communication in team interaction. This qualitative study draws on data gathered from four organizations to investigate the miscommunication and cognitive dissonances reported by virtual German-Indian engineering/tech communities of practice. The study argues that it is not so much the performance or doing of a communicative act that creates dissonances, but the gaps, i.e., the absence or not-doing of certain communicative actions expected in a collaborative context. The gap factors are experienced as unfulfilled reciprocal expectations, and are classified and explored against three parameters: 1) the culture of a technological community of practice, 2) the power relations between the interactants, and 3) the consequences of virtual communication. The findings indicate a complementary divergence between the two groups regarding the nature of gaps. While the German teams report gaps in communicative efficiency and content caused e.g., by non-disclosure, euphemistic language and a deficiency in push communication, the Indian teams perceive gaps in relationality and affective signaling. At the same time, they are two sides of the same coin, with the divergences arising from the way in which the intersecting structural parameters are viewed as being salient in interaction. The study concludes with implications and suggestions for organizational practice