Towards a further understanding of the relationship between job attitudes and employees’ responses:the case of Greek banks in recessionary times

The 2008 global financial crisis is described as the deepest the world has experienced since the stock market crash in 1930s. This has led to a liquidity shortfall and solvency problems for most banking systems across the globe (Otero-Iglesias 2015; Soriano 2011). The crisis has mostly been concentrated on the financial systems of US and Europe, and although it did not affect all EU countries with the same intensity, its aftermaths were almost identical to all EU member states, including Greece (EC 2012). Precisely for the Greek case, due to the unprecedented Greek debt crisis and the subsequent recession, the domestic economy has been struggling against bankruptcy. In response to the political pressures from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank, the Greek banking sector underwent a momentous structural transformation through tremendous business amalgamations, the rationalisation of most banks’ branch network, and extensive retrenchment implementations, all of which radically changed the domestic banking landscape. This paper examines the impact of employees work-related attitudes (namely their organisational commitment, job satisfaction and psychological contract breach) on their EVLN behavioural responses towards the organisational changes introduced in the Greek banking sector. The paper aims to advance our understanding on human behaviour within organisations operating under business and economic uncertainty and complexity. To serve its purpose, the study aims at addressing the following research question: What is the impact of work-related attitudes on employees’ EVLN behavioural responses? This paper adopts the positivism paradigm and a quantitative approach. A questionnaire survey distributed to 1,500 employees in Greek banks. Data collected from a sample of 1,259 responses returned, and data analysed by carrying out Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using the AMOS statistical software. Contrary to prior research examined the process of planning and implementating organisational change at organisational levels (Armenakis and Bedeian 1999; Weick and Quinn 1999), this study follows a more anthropocentric approach by focusing at a micro-level (individuals) within organisations to examine their attitudes, behaviours and cognitions (Vakola 2013; Oreg et al. 2011; Armenakis et al. 2007; Cunningham 2006; Rafferty and Griffin 2006;). The significance of understanding individuals’ responses to organisational change is of a great importance as their responses are determined by the extent to which they embrace organisational change, and therefore these behaviours could determine its smooth and successful implementation

A critical review of the exit-voice-loyalty-neglect literature:limitations, key challenges and directions for future research

The study of human behaviour holds a prominent role in organizational behavior literature. For almost 45 years, the exit, voice, loyalty and neglect typology has attracted scholars’ interest and has been linked to employee responses towards dissatisfaction and problematic events in the workplace. This paper reviews the literature and identifies and addresses key theoretical and methodological deficiencies that the exit, voice, loyalty and neglect typology faces that have been either ignored or undeveloped. Moreover, by unpicking this typology as currently portrayed in the existing literature, it proposes key challenges that need to be addressed and provides directions for future research

Strategic decision-making process (SDMP) in times of crisis:evidence from Greek banks

This paper investigates the strategic decision making process (SDMP) of Greek banks’ top management in the context of profound organisational changes introduced in 2012 due to the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. It focuses on the impact of three key dimensions of the SDMP, namely, rationality, intuition and political behaviour, relating to four changes introduced, namely, mergers and acquisitions, branch network rationalisation, integration of information technology (IT) and downsizing of operations and personnel. A survey questionnaire was conducted, targeting Greek banks’ top management. Out of 140 questionnaires, 78 were returned, a 55.71% response rate. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling. Research findings identify rationality as a key dimension of SDMP for all organisational changes, as there was high focus on identifying and analysing all required information, use of external financial advisors, and reliance on multiple methods of information gathering. Decision-makers used their intuition in the form of past experience when making acquisition decisions, whilst their personal judgment and “inner voice” were neglected.Finally, political behaviour was not displayed during this process, as decision-makers were open with each other about their interests and preferences, and there was no bargaining, negotiation or use of power amongst them. One limitation was that of not considering all the factors that might help measure SDMP. Also, this study was conducted in a period of political and financial uncertainty for Greek banks, as well as for the Greek economy in general, so findings may not be generalizable to other industries and countries. Conducting interviews could have offered deeper insight as well. This study’s value lies in the fact that the organisational changes were determined by Greece’s leaders, and thus the Greek banks had to operate under a dynamic, inflexible and non-autonomous environment. Also, this study extends prior SDMP research by examining the impact of the three key SDMP dimensions on four types of organisational change

Multiple Helices as Agents of Change? The Case of the Neighborhoods of the Future Project and the Development of Direction for Policy and Practice on Health, Happiness and Wellbeing for the next Generation of Older Adults

This article describes a case study on a project to create cooperation between international (EU) and national governments, small and large enterprises, universities and non-governmental charitable and social organizations. It explains the nature of the project and investigates the implications of the project for the discourse concerning the Triple Helix. The project, still in progress at the time of writing, required the stimulation of large scale and pervasive innovative responses to the challenge of aging populations in European countries, particularly as regards the creation of appropriate homes and neighborhoods that will enable the new generation of older adults to live well, happily and healthily. People in this new generation is conventionally referred to as baby boomers, the largest, longest lived, healthiest, wealthiest, longest working older generation that Europe has ever seen. The paper describes the first stage of the project - the creation of an inclusive dialogue between the different parties. Then it presents a discussion of the learnings from the case study for organizers of other similar dialogues, based upon an in-depth interview with the initiator of the project, who is also one of this article’s co-authors. It also proposes a new configuration of Triple Helix model. We conclude this paper by presenting a question that Triple Helix participants as agents of change will have to answer in the future

Modernising the curriculum and pedagogy : to be or not to be? using film and online video to engage students and enhance learning

This article reviews the literature on using films and videos (whether fictional or fact), particularly in their online versions, to support teaching and curriculum development in higher education, with a special focus on management education. It identifies the value of these inputs in securing student engagement and learning and in exploring difficult concepts in areas such as business ethics. It poses the question as to why the use of film and video is not more prevalent, particularly given the ease of identification and access of appropriate material in an age of online video, and the possibility of using students to search for and identify this material and use it themselves. It concludes by suggesting that one of the problems lies in the decentralisation of responsibility for quality and content to individual lecturers, who are content to use conventional approaches to education

The Impact of the Economic Crisis upon Human Resource Development (HRD): Evidence from two Greek Banks

This study investigates the nature and changes of Human Resource Development (HRD) in two Greek banks under the challenging context of the economic crisis. It examines the latter’s impact upon HRD as it was perceived from different stakeholders and through a pre and ongoing-crisis assessment approach. The study draws upon qualitative research data from two case study banking organisations in Greece, reporting on 76 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (HR staff, Bank Managers, employees) undertaken in 2014, six (6) years after the fall of Lehman Brothers. The study contributes to academic knowledge as being the first empirical research offering a unique perspective through examining changes of HRD within a specific industry and national context (Greek banks) against a backdrop of an economic downturn. Its findings also raise important questions for HRD professionals, in both academia and practice in relation to claims and aspirations which prevail in respect of HRD and organisational change and business transformation

Multiple helices as agents of change? The case of the neighborhoods of the future project and the development of direction for policy and practice on health, happiness and wellbeing for the next generation of older adults

This article describes a case study on a project to create cooperation between international (EU) and national governments, small and large enterprises, universities and non-governmental charitable and social organizations. It explains the nature of the project and investigates the implications of the project for the discourse concerning the Triple Helix. The project, still in progress at the time of writing, required the stimulation of large scale and pervasive innovative responses to the challenge of aging populations in European countries, particularly as regards the creation of appropriate homes and neighborhoods that will enable the new generation of older adults to live well, happily and healthily. People in this new generation is conventionally referred to as baby boomers, the largest, longest lived, healthiest, wealthiest, longest working older generation that Europe has ever seen. The paper describes the first stage of the project - the creation of an inclusive dialogue between the different parties. Then it presents a discussion of the learnings from the case study for organizers of other similar dialogues, based upon an in-depth interview with the initiator of the project, who is also one of this article’s co-authors. It also proposes a new configuration of Triple Helix model. We conclude this paper by presenting a question that Triple Helix participants as agents of change will have to answer in the future

Information management in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper reviews the information management aspects of the early months of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Coronavirus 19 outbreak. It shows that the transition from epidemic to pandemic was caused partly by poor management of information that was publicly available in January 2020. The approach combines public domain epidemic data with economic, demographic, health, social and political data and investigates how information was managed by governments. It includes case studies of early-stage information management, from countries with high and low COVID-19 impacts (as measured by deaths per million). The reasons why the information was not acted upon appropriately include “dark side” information behaviours Stone et al. (2019). Many errors and misjudgements could have been avoided by using learnings from previous epidemics, particularly the 1918-19 flu epidemic, when international travel (mainly of troops in World War 1) was a prime mode of spreading. It concludes that if similar outbreaks are not to turn into pandemics, much earlier action is needed, mainly closing borders and locking-down. The research is based on what was known at the time of writing, when the pandemic’s exact origin was uncertain, when some statistics about actions and results were unavailable and when final results were unknown. Governments faced with early warning signs or pandemics must act much faster. This is one of the first analyses of information management practices relating to the pandemic’s early stages

The role of qualification frameworks in assuring appropriate selection of assessment methods for quality learning

This paper aims to identify the role of qualification frameworks in defining appropriate assessment methods to assess the earning gained by the learners. It demonstrates a successful mechanism of mapping courses to certain life-long learning and employability skills, measured in multiple progressive stages. The paper provides tools and criteria used to support Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) while selecting appropriate assessment methods to assure high quality learning