Employee Involvement and Pay at U.S. and Canadian Auto Suppliers

We use survey data and field research to investigate the effects of employee involvement practices on outcomes for blue-collar workers in the auto supply industry. We find these practices raise wages by 3-5%. The causal mechanism linking involvement and wages appears to be most consistent with efficiency wage theories, and least consistent with compensating differences. We find no evidence that employee involvement affects plants? survival or employment growth.MIT International Motor Vehicle Program and the Case Western Reserve University Center for Regional Economic Issue

Understanding Behavioral Sources of Process Variation Following Enterprise System Deployment

This paper extends the current understanding of the time-sensitivity of intent and usage following large-scale IT implementation. Our study focuses on perceived system misfit with organizational processes in tandem with the availability of system circumvention opportunities. Case study comparisons and controlled experiments are used to support the theoretical unpacking of organizational and technical contingencies and their relationship to shifts in user intentions and variation in work-processing tactics over time. Findings suggest that managers and users may retain strong intentions to circumvent systems in the presence of perceived task-technology misfit. The perceived ease with which this circumvention is attainable factors significantly into the timeframe within which it is attempted, and subsequently impacts the onset of deviation from prescribed practice and anticipated dynamics

Tie Me Up!: An Empirical Investigation of Perceived Tie Characteristics on Prospective Connections

How do social networks motivate people to connect not only to their previously existing friends but also to novel or blind new contacts? We report the results of an experiment to identify the value that participants give to alternative network characteristics when deciding to connect to a social network. We focus on network tie characteristics because they represent information that potentially can be automated and provided without compromising privacy policies. Our experiment employed q-methodology to capture participants’ subjective values as they evaluated potential connections described by their tie strength, variety, and quantity, three important tie characteristics. We identify four distinct groups of individuals in terms of value. Our findings suggest social networks should include network characteristics to encourage joining and blind ties. They also suggest that current social network interfaces and research need to be augmented to address network tie characteristics

How do you search for the best alternative? Experimental evidence on search strategies to solve complex problems

Through a controlled two-stage experiment, we explore the performance of solution search strategies to resolve problems of varying complexity. We validate theoretical results that collaborative group structures may search more effectively in problems of low complexity, but are outperformed by nominal structures at higher complexity levels. We call into question the dominance of the nominal group technique. Further close examination of search strategies reveals important insights: the number of generated solutions, a typical proxy for good problem-solving performance, does not consistently drive performance benefits across different levels of problem complexity. The average distance of search steps, and the problem space coverage play also critical roles. Moreover, their effect is contingent on complexity:a wider variety of solutions is helpful only in complex problems. Overall, we caution management about the limitations of generic, albeit common rules-of-thumb such as "generate as many ideas as possible”

Trust and Information Sharing in Supply Chains

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91120/1/poms1284.pd

Short-Term Bias and Strategic Misalignment in Operational Solutions: Perceptions, Tendencies, And Traps

In this study, we use a multi-method approach to examine the following questions: when faced with explicit profit gaps, does a firm’s strategic orientation influence manager perceptions regarding the ability of various tactical options to resolve the gap, do managers feel pressure to pursue certain tactical options over others, and what implications do tactical mismatches with strategy have for long-term gap resolution? As part of the research process, we build a grounded systems model (using grounded theory and Systems Dynamics techniques) which attempts to capture how tactical changes, in combination with the firm’s competitive strategy, can ostensibly impact a firm’s profit gap over time. Surveys are then used to evaluate the model, including simulations which evaluate the efficacy of manager’s preferred tactics to resolve the profit gap in the short and long-term. Results show that while managers feel competing pressure to resolve a profit gap using both tactics aligned with their strategy and tactics designed to cut costs, they are biased toward short-term cost cutting tactics in such situations – often resulting in misalignment with the firm’s focal strategy. Should such misalignment occur, while short-term gaps may be resolved, long-term gaps remain unresolved or may even expand, i.e., things get “better before worse”. This research contributes to understanding how managerial tendencies and tactical adjustments contribute to or detracts from a firm’s ability to realize their intended strategy. Although research has investigated the content of strategy, research has not fully investigated the dynamics through which tactical shifts may impact strategic outcomes

The Effect of Language Differences and National Culture on Operational Process Compliance

With increasing frequency, firms are locating their operations in disparate countries with distinct national cultures and languages. This study develops and empirically tests hypotheses relating an operation\u27s process compliance performance to (1) the presence of a language difference between the location of the operation and that of headquarters and (2) the national culture of the location of the operation and that of headquarters. Employing an international sample of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants located primarily in Western nations, the analysis reveals that a language difference between the location of a plant and the firm\u27s headquarters is consistently related to decreased process compliance at the plant level. Regarding national culture, only limited evidence of a direct relationship between national cultural dimensions (at either the plant or headquarters location) and process compliance exists. However, the analysis does suggest that cultural congruence between the location of the plant and that of headquarters can relate to improved compliance performance. Such a relationship depends on the specific national cultural dimension studied. While these results are obtained in a specific manufacturing setting, they potentially have implications for process compliance in any global operation

'Behavioural System Dynamics': a very tentative and slightly sceptical map of the territory

In this piece, I consider the paper by Stouten et al. (2017) in terms of behavioural science. I first consider what, in broad terms, a ‘behavioural turn’ might offer System Dynamics (SD) and then explore in more detail the scope of the territory within which a behavioural approach to SD might be useful

Understanding Project Champions’ Ability to Gain Intra-Organizational Commitment for Environmental Projects

A key enabler of environmental projects is the ability of the project champion to gain commitment to the project from other stakeholders in his or her organization. This paper develops a model of commitment-gaining success that is based on intra-organizational influence theory. The model also includes the project payback, customer pressure, government regulation, top management support and the project champion’s position in the organizational hierarchy. The model was tested using survey data from 241 environmental professionals describing their attempts to gain the buy-in of purchasing managers, operations managers, industrial engineers and others for environmental projects. The results (obtained from hierarchical regression analysis) show that intra-organizational commitment is positively associated with the project champion’s influence behavior—in particular, the champion’s use of three influence tactics (inspirational appeals, consultation and rational persuasion) and avoidance of a fourth tactic (ingratiation). Commitment is also positively associated with project payback and with top management support for the environment and negatively associated with environmental regulation. The paper contributes to the OM knowledge base of environmental project implementation by bringing new theory to bear on the topic, by focusing on individual-level, rather than organization-level, variables and by taking a confirmatory, large sample approach which complements extant exploratory research. In addition, the paper contributes to the OM field by evaluating various antecedents to cross-functional integration. The results also provide specific guidance to those who champion environmental projects within their companies

Different departments, different drivers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and performance consequences of voluntary information exchange between the production and sales functions. Design/methodology/approach Building on the motivation-opportunity-ability framework, the authors first posit a general model for bilateral information exchange across functional levels. The innovation presented in this model consists in allowing both sides of such an exchange (e.g. production-to-sales and sales-to-production) to differ in the perceived adequacy of information they receive. The two sides can also differ in terms of how their motivation and ability impact that adequacy. To test the model, the authors make use of survey responses and objective data from sales, production and executive managers of 182 Chinese manufacturers. Findings Analysis of the sample shows that the sales-to-production exchange has a smaller estimated performance effect than the production-to-sales exchange. Although shared opportunity is important in predicting both sides of the exchange, the measure of motivation appears to only significantly impact the sales-to-production exchange. In contrast, the measure of ability only appears to significantly affect the production-to-sales exchange. Research limitations/implications Although limited to a regional context, differences in information-sharing drivers on the two sides of production-sales dyads pose strong implications that may be generalizable. Practical implications Specifically, these findings suggest alternative approaches and foci for resource investment that higher level managers can leverage in developing more effective cross-functional work settings. Originality/value This study differentiates itself from extant literature on information sharing by focusing on cross-functional (vs intra-functional) and voluntary (vs routine) information exchange