Investigating managers’ fine-grained evaluation processes in organizations: Exploring two dual-process perspectives

The dual-process theory is a significant theory in both organizational theory and social psychology and two conjectures about this theory are considered in this manuscript; the default-interventionist vs. parallel-competitive account. Our research goal is to empirically investigate these two views. In concrete terms, by using event-related potentials (ERPs), we seek to study the fine-grained brain processes and self-reported feelings involved in managers’ evaluations of target employees within an economic context (firing employees) vs. a social network context (excluding employees). Using the stereotype content model categories, each target employee has high (or low) warmth and high (or low) levels of competence. In the fine-grained ERP analysis of the brain process, we focus on three time windows of interest: novelty detection (N2) and goal violation detection (N400) at the unconscious level, and we then evaluate conscious emotional arousal (late positive potential, LPP). Finally, we focus on the self-reported feelings when having to fire or exclude target employees. As goal pursuit theory predicts, the brain dynamics and self-reported measures differ widely across the two organizational contexts; in concrete terms, processes at a later stage overrule early stages depending on the context. This implies that the data bespeaks more for the parallel-competitive account than the default-interventionist account. We discuss the implications of these findings for research in management and management practice.</p

Highly Recommended? How Relation-Specific Attachment Styles Bias Customers Willingness to Recommend

Recently concepts from attachment theory are being applied to business situations. In this paper we focus on how relationship specific (RS) versus general (G) attachment styles affect the willingness-to-recommend (WtR) by customers. Such WtR refers to the likelihood of customers to recommend the services of their service provider to other customers, based on their experiences with the provider. This WtR is often measured by means of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) which is assumed to be a reliable (credible) market signal as it originates from customers themselves and not from the firm. This study provides insights in this issue using data from 798 members of an online panel from the Netherlands, covering four service industries. Customers are surveyed on their RS and G attachment styles, trust in, satisfaction with, and commitment to their service provider, as well as their WtR this provider. Findings emerge from econometric parallel mediation analyses. This study shows that customers' RS but not the G attachment styles bias their appraisal of trust in, satisfaction with and commitment to the service provider, which in turn affects their WtR. More specifically, across the four service industries, customers scoring higher on RS anxiety and/or avoidance show systematically lower levels of trust in and satisfaction with, and commitment to the firm, ultimately leading to lower WtR. Firms should especially target those customers that score higher on RS avoidance (possibly in combination with higher levels of RS anxiety) as their WtR is strongly biased which might create uncertainty for other customers about the firm's reputation

Linear Increments with Non-monotone Missing Data and Measurement Error.

Linear increments (LI) are used to analyse repeated outcome data with missing values. Previously, two LI methods have been proposed, one allowing non-monotone missingness but not independent measurement error and one allowing independent measurement error but only monotone missingness. In both, it was suggested that the expected increment could depend on current outcome. We show that LI can allow non-monotone missingness and either independent measurement error of unknown variance or dependence of expected increment on current outcome but not both. A popular alternative to LI is a multivariate normal model ignoring the missingness pattern. This gives consistent estimation when data are normally distributed and missing at random (MAR). We clarify the relation between MAR and the assumptions of LI and show that for continuous outcomes multivariate normal estimators are also consistent under (non-MAR and non-normal) assumptions not much stronger than those of LI. Moreover, when missingness is non-monotone, they are typically more efficient

Estimating body composition in adolescent sprint athletes : comparison of different methods in a 3 years longitudinal design

A recommended field method to assess body composition in adolescent sprint athletes is currently lacking. Existing methods developed for non-athletic adolescents were not longitudinally validated and do not take maturation status into account. This longitudinal study compared two field methods, i.e., a Bio Impedance Analysis (BIA) and a skinfold based equation, with underwater densitometry to track body fat percentage relative to years from age at peak height velocity in adolescent sprint athletes. In this study, adolescent sprint athletes (34 girls, 35 boys) were measured every 6 months during 3 years (age at start = 14.8 +/- 1.5yrs in girls and 14.7 +/- 1.9yrs in boys). Body fat percentage was estimated in 3 different ways: 1) using BIA with the TANITA TBF 410; 2) using a skinfold based equation; 3) using underwater densitometry which was considered as the reference method. Height for age since birth was used to estimate age at peak height velocity. Cross-sectional analyses were performed using repeated measures ANOVA and Pearson correlations between measurement methods at each occasion. Data were analyzed longitudinally using a multilevel cross-classified model with the PROC Mixed procedure. In boys, compared to underwater densitometry, the skinfold based formula revealed comparable values for body fatness during the study period whereas BIA showed a different pattern leading to an overestimation of body fatness starting from 4 years after age at peak height velocity. In girls, both the skinfold based formula and BIA overestimated body fatness across the whole range of years from peak height velocity. The skinfold based method appears to give an acceptable estimation of body composition during growth as compared to underwater densitometry in male adolescent sprinters. In girls, caution is warranted when interpreting estimations of body fatness by both BIA and a skinfold based formula since both methods tend to give an overestimation

Local host response following an intramammary challenge with Staphylococcus fleurettii and different strains of Staphylococcus chromogenes in dairy heifers

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are a common cause of subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The CNS inhabit various ecological habitats, ranging between the environment and the host. In order to obtain a better insight into the host response, an experimental infection was carried out in eight healthy heifers in mid-lactation with three different CNS strains: a Staphylococcus fleurettii strain originating from sawdust bedding, an intramammary Staphylococcus chromogenes strain originating from a persistent intramammary infection (S. chromogenes IM) and a S. chromogenes strain isolated from a heifer's teat apex (S. chromogenes TA). Each heifer was inoculated in the mammary gland with 1.0 x 10(6) colony forming units of each bacterial strain (one strain per udder quarter), whereas the remaining quarter was infused with phosphate-buffered saline. Overall, the CNS evoked a mild local host response. The somatic cell count increased in all S. fleurettii-inoculated quarters, although the strain was eliminated within 12 h. The two S. chromogenes strains were shed in larger numbers for a longer period. Bacterial and somatic cell counts, as well as neutrophil responses, were higher after inoculation with S. chromogenes IM than with S. chromogenes TA. In conclusion, these results suggest that S. chromogenes might be better adapted to the mammary gland than S. fleurettii. Furthermore, not all S. chromogenes strains induce the same local host response

Regional integration, multinational enterprise strategy and the impact of country-level risk: the case of the EMU

The European Monetary Union (EMU) provides a new macro-level, institutional setting for multinational enterprises (MNEs). The authors investigate the impact of regional integration on MNE strategy by analysing Belgian firms’ entry-mode choices in foreign markets, both EMUand non-EMU ones, with a focus on what impact remains of countrylevel risk. They demonstrate that regional integration has altered the impact of countrylevel institutional risk on MNE entry-mode choices inside the EMU. The conventional predictions of international business theory have been reversed, with higher country-level risk inside the EMU driving a preference for wholly owned subsidiaries.Within the integrated region, insider firms now view higher country-level risk as the equivalent of higher, micro-level contracting risk. Such risk can best be mitigated through full internalization, combined with arm’s length contracts, rather than through equity joint ventures