Organizational Support and Contract Fulfillment as Moderators of the Relationship Between Preferred Work Status and Performance

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine organizational context variables as moderators of the relationship between preferred work status and job performance. The moderators were perceived organizational support (POS) and psychological contract fulfillment. Design/Methodology/Approach Survey data was collected from 164 participants working in a health and fitness organization. These participants ranged in age from 18 to 79 years old (M = 40, SD = 12.5) and held various positions including middle managers, clerical workers, maintenance workers, and sports trainers. Findings The relationship between preferred work status and extra-role performance was negative when POS was higher but not when POS was lower. Also, the relationship between preferred work status and extra-role performance was positive when contract fulfillment was lower but not when it was higher. No moderating effects were found when examining in-role performance. Implications Given the large and growing use of part-time workers it is important to understand differences across various subgroups of them in order to better inform human resource policies and practices. Specifically, the results highlight a key role for the management of reciprocity perceptions. Originality/Value The literature on part-time workers suggests there are important differences between employees who work part-time because they prefer it and those who work part-time but prefer to work full-time. Research regarding the relationship between preferred work status and performance has produced mixed results. This study helps reconcile conflicting results regarding the relationship between preferred work status and performance by examining the moderating effects of theoretically relevant variables

Farmer attitudes and livestock disease: exploring citizenship behaviour and peer monitoring across two BVD control schemes in the UK

The eradication of BVD in the UK is technically possible but appears to be socially untenable. The following study explored farmer attitudes to BVD control schemes in relation to advice networks and information sharing, shared aims and goals, motivation and benefits of membership, notions of BVD as a priority disease and attitudes toward regulation. Two concepts from the organisational management literature framed the study: citizenship behaviour where actions of individuals support the collective good (but are not explicitly recognised as such) and peer to peer monitoring (where individuals evaluate other’s behaviour). Farmers from two BVD control schemes in the UK participated in the study: Orkney Livestock Association BVD Eradication Scheme and Norfolk and Suffolk Cattle Breeders Association BVD Eradication Scheme. In total 162 farmers participated in the research (109 in-scheme and 53 out of scheme). The findings revealed that group helping and information sharing among scheme members was low with a positive BVD status subject to social censure. Peer monitoring in the form of gossip with regard to the animal health status of other farms was high. Interestingly, farmers across both schemes supported greater regulation with regard to animal health, largely due to the mistrust of fellow farmers following voluntary disease control measures. While group cohesiveness varied across the two schemes, without continued financial inducements, longer-term sustainability is questionabl

Trust in financial services: the influence of demographics and dispositional characteristics

So far, very little attention has been paid to examining consumer perceptions of trust from an interdisciplinary perspective. The purpose of this study is to examine how consumer trusting belief and disposition to trust within the financial services sector vary on the basis of individual demographic differences in trust. The research provides new insights into how consumers with higher dispositional trust have higher institutional trust and higher trusting belief and how consumers’ trusting belief significantly differs according to their demographic background in terms of age, marital status, ethnicity and gross annual income. The findings offer useful insights for the managers in financial institutions to carefully consider the impact of the influence of these individual differences on consumer behaviour in order to serve the needs of consumers in their target market and be able to design financial products and develop trust building strategies to attract and retain them. They also call for the action of the regulators and the financial institutions to play their part in building strong institutional systems that contribute to engendering higher levels of consumer trust

A prospective study of postmenopausal hormone use and ovarian cancer risk

The relationship between postmenopausal hormone use (PMH) and ovarian cancer risk is unclear, particularly for specific hormone formulations, but recent studies suggest that there is a positive association. We conducted a prospective observational study with 82 905 postmenopausal women, including 389 ovarian cancers, in the Nurses' Health Study from 1976 to 2002. Compared with never users of PMH, both current and past users of ⩾5 years had a significantly elevated risk of ovarian cancer (RR=1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07–1.86 and relative risk (RR)=1.52, 95% CI 1.01–2.27, respectively). Examined by hormone type in continuous years, use of unopposed estrogen was associated with a significant increase in the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (P for trend <0.001; RR for 5-year increment of use=1.25, 95% CI 1.12–1.38). Use of estrogen plus progestin (RR for 5-year increment of use=1.04, 95% CI 0.82–1.32) was not significantly associated with ovarian cancer risk. Generally, results were similar for serous tumours (RR for 5-year increment of unopposed estrogen use=1.23, 95% CI 1.07–1.40) and slightly stronger for endometrioid tumours (RR for 5-year increment of unopposed estrogen use=1.53, 95% CI 1.20–1.94). Recency of use was not significantly associated with ovarian cancer risk, but statistical power was limited here

Genetic polymorphisms in the cyclooxygenase-2 gene, use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and breast cancer risk

INTRODUCTION: The association between use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and breast cancer risk remains unclear. Inconsistencies in previously reported findings may be partly due to differences in expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2. We hypothesized that genetic polymorphisms (COX-2 .926, COX-2 .5209, and COX-2 .8473) may reduce overall breast cancer risk or risk for subtypes of breast cancer by modulating the inflammatory response and may interact with aspirin or any NSAID use. METHODS: We conducted a population-based, case-control study in which we genotyped 1,067 breast cancer cases and 1,110 control individuals included in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project. RESULTS: No major effects of the three COX-2 variant alleles on breast cancer risk were found. A total of eight distinct haplotypes and 18 diplotypes were observed in the population. Overall, no significant associations between COX-2 haplotypes/diplotypes and breast cancer risk were observed. Among women who used aspirin or any NSAID there was little evidence for an interaction with the at-risk COX-2 genotypes, with one exception. Among women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer, the reduced risk for any NSAID use was only evident among those who had at least one variant C allele of COX-2 .8473 (odds ratio = 0.7, 95% confidence interval = 0.5 to 1.0; P for the interaction = 0.02). There was no corresponding interaction for aspirin use, possibly because of limited power. CONCLUSION: These data provide modest evidence that the C allele of COX-2 .8473 may interact with NSAIDs to reduce risk for hormone receptor positive breast cancer

Properties that influence business process management maturity and its effect on organizational performance

Abstract BPM maturity is a measure to evaluate how professionally an organization manages its business processes. Previous research provides evidence that higher BPM maturity leads to better performance of processes and of the organization as a whole. It also claims that different organizations should strive for different levels of maturity, depending on their properties. This paper presents an empirical investigation of these claims, based on a sample of 120 organizations and looking at a selection of organizational properties. Our results reveal that higher BPM maturity contributes to better performance, but only up to a point. Interestingly, it contradicts the popular belief that higher innovativeness is associated with lower BPM maturity, rather showing that higher innovativeness is associated with higher BPM maturity. In addition, the paper shows that companies in different regions have a different level of BPM maturity. These findings can be used as a benchmark and a motivation for organizations to increase their BPM maturity

The BMP Antagonist Follistatin-Like 1 Is Required for Skeletal and Lung Organogenesis

Follistatin-like 1 (Fstl1) is a secreted protein of the BMP inhibitor class. During development, expression of Fstl1 is already found in cleavage stage embryos and becomes gradually restricted to mesenchymal elements of most organs during subsequent development. Knock down experiments in chicken and zebrafish demonstrated a role as a BMP antagonist in early development. To investigate the role of Fstl1 during mouse development, a conditional Fstl1 KO allele as well as a Fstl1-GFP reporter mouse were created. KO mice die at birth from respiratory distress and show multiple defects in lung development. Also, skeletal development is affected. Endochondral bone development, limb patterning as well as patterning of the axial skeleton are perturbed in the absence of Fstl1. Taken together, these observations show that Fstl1 is a crucial regulator in BMP signalling during mouse development

Developing international business relationships in a Russian context

The collapse of the former Soviet Union has opened up a wealth of business opportunities for companies seeking new markets in the Russian Federation. Despite this, firms intending to do business in Russia have found themselves hampered by cultural differences in business practices and expectations. As Russia integrates into the global economy, understanding such practices and the managerial mindset of business people is crucial for managers who hope to navigate Russia's complex markets. This study draws on the trust literature and adopts quantitative tools to deconstruct the Russian 'Sviazi' system of social capital business networking. We develop a model isolating three dimensions of Sviazi: one an affective or emotional component; the second, a conative component; and the third, a cognitive component. The model provides a useful guide for helping foreign firms to succeed in Russia, while also serving as a basis for further research in the field. Keywords

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda

Although social media use is gaining increasing importance as a component of firms’ portfolio of strategies, scant research has systematically consolidated and extended knowledge on social media marketing strategies (SMMSs). To fill this research gap, we first define SMMS, using social media and marketing strategy dimensions. This is followed by a conceptualization of the developmental process of SMMSs, which comprises four major components, namely drivers, inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Next, we propose a taxonomy that classifies SMMSs into four types according to their strategic maturity level: social commerce strategy, social content strategy, social monitoring strategy, and social CRM strategy. We subsequently validate this taxonomy of SMMSs using information derived from prior empirical studies, as well with data collected from in-depth interviews and a quantitive survey among social media marketing managers. Finally, we suggest fruitful directions for future research based on input received from scholars specializing in the field