Theses and Dissertations - Department of Management
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Item Organized Labor in Etowah County, Alabama(University of Alabama Libraries, 1956) Barksdale, Oliver D.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThe purpose of this thesis is to study organized labor in Etowah County, Alabama. Emphasis will be given to the history of unions, and to an analysis of the present union scene. Certain background material will be included to establish the setting in which this union activity has occurred.Item Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction Factors Relating to Intent to Turnover for American Expatriates: An Empirical Study(University of Alabama Libraries, 1990) Birdseye, Meg Guerin; Odewahn, Charles; Dulek, Ronald; University of Alabama TuscaloosaItem The dark side of LMX: variances among out-group members in growth need and work outcomes(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Wu, Keke; Johnson, Diane E.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaGiven my interest in LMX relationships and impression management (IM) behaviors, this dissertation was focused on the out-group in LMX, regarding member job performance and attitudes (Study I), and the impact of IM on performance ratings (Study II). With the suspicion that there may be individual differences that separate those who do not belong in the out-group from those who may belong there, Study I was designed to address the question concerning how the differences among out-group members impact their job performance and attitudes. Specifically, this study investigated the effect of growth-need strength (GNS) on out-group member job performance and job related attitudes. By adopting theories of person-job fit, some of the causes of undesirable work outcomes among out-group members, such as low commitment, low satisfaction, and high turnover intentions, were examined. Results from Study I suggest that for out-group members with a high growth-need, a better relationship with the supervisors may bring higher growth satisfaction and decreased turnover intent, but also more stress. With evidence found in Study I that not all out-group members believed that they belonged in the out-group, Study II investigated whether these out-group members would try to change their out-group status by means of IM. Cognitive Dissonance Theory was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. Data for both studies were collected from a state-owned hospital in main land China. Findings from Study II indicate that out-group members with a higher growth-need would use impression management more frequently, and that impression management attempts can be effective in improving performance ratings, even for out-group members.Item Risk perceptions and venture creation decisions: establishing the boundary conditions of overconfidence and perceived environmental munificence(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Robinson, Anthony; Marino, Louis D.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThis dissertation leverages cognition theory to examine the relationship between risk perceptions and venture creation decisions and seeks to establish overconfidence and perceived environmental munificence as boundary conditions for that relationship. Risk perceptions of the new venture are negatively associated with venture creation decisions. As the threat of possible loss and uncertainty associated with the new venture increase, the likelihood for gains associated with deciding to create the new venture decrease. Overconfidence and perceived environmental munificence are expected to moderate the relationship between risk perceptions of the new venture and venture creation decisions. Overconfidence is a cognitive bias that mitigates the relationship between risk perceptions of the new venture and venture creation decisions because the overconfident, while aware of risks, tend to be less sensitive to the possibilities of loss affecting their new ventures based upon skewed perceptions. Additionally, greater amounts of perceived environmental munificence are expected to weaken the negative relationship between risk perceptions of the new venture and venture creation decisions. The effects of risks on the new venture decision are perceived as less likely in resource-rich environments. The relationship between perceived risks and venture creation decisions is, thus, likely to be influenced by the boundary conditions of overconfidence and perceived environmental munificence. The results provide support for the hypothesized relationship between risk perceptions and venture creation decisions. It also provides evidence that perceived environmental munificence moderates the relationship between risk perceptions and venture creation decisions. However, it does not provide support for the hypothesized boundary condition of overconfidence.Item The personal cost of being in the in-group: the relationship between leader-member exchange quality and work-family conflict(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Lawrence, Ericka R.; Kacmar, K. Michele; University of Alabama TuscaloosaResearch examining the influence of leader-member exchange (LMX) on employee outcomes is plentiful. However, research exploring the potential negative consequences of engaging in LMX relationships has been limited. In order to obtain a better understanding of these complex relationships, this study predicts a curvilinear relationship between LMX and work-family conflict. Role overload and job engagement also are examined as mediators of the LMX and work-family conflict relationship. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine 72 dyads. The findings from this study indicate that a curvilinear relationship does not exist between LMX and work-family conflict. Additionally, role overload and job engagement did not mediate the relationship between LMX and work-family conflict. A discussion of the results along with the strengths, limitations, directions for future research and practical implications are also presented.Item Character, conditions, and cognitions: the role of personality, climate, intensity, and moral disengagement in the unethical decision-making process(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Tillman, C. Justice; Kacmar, K. Michele; University of Alabama TuscaloosaDespite increased attention given to unethical decision-making, few studies have simultaneously examined the multiple influences that may effect this outcome. In addition, few studies have examined the processes through which unethical decision-making may be influenced. Drawing on field theory and the concept of situational strength and social cognitive theory and the concept of moral disengagement, the researcher examined the simultaneous influence of the meta-personality trait core self-evaluation, ethical climate, and moral intensity on ethical decision-making along with the role of moral disengagement as a mediator of the relationship between core self-evaluation and intent to engage in unethical decision-making. In addition, intent to engage in unethical decision-making was explored as a mediator of the relationship between core self-evaluation and unethical behavior. Maximum-likelihood structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the main effects of core self-evaluation, ethical climate, and moral intensity as well as the mediating and moderating hypotheses. The study's implications as well as limitations and directions for future research are discussed.Item An examination of the role of social networks in the commercialization of entrepreneurial innovations(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Noble, David; Kacmar, K. Michele; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThrough the extension of Seibert, Kraimer, and Liden's (2001) social capital framework to the field of entrepreneurship, this paper develops and tests a theoretical model focusing on how an entrepreneur's social network structure and resources combine to impact the commercialization attempts of entrepreneurs regarding their innovative products and services. By drawing an analogy between an entrepreneur's social network and an organization's absorptive capacity, the model I propose predicts how the structure of an entrepreneur's social network and the resources embedded within that network may lead to the acquisition of essential resources and information, and ultimately, impacting the successful commercialization of their opportunity. This model bridges a gap in the entrepreneurship literature by testing long standing beliefs and assumptions regarding the role of social networks, including that a large network is always better and weak ties are necessarily more beneficial than strong ties.Item Who has conflicts with whom?: a social capital approach to conflict and creativity in teams(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Hood, Anthony Carl; Kacmar, K. Michele; Bachrach, Daniel G.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaExtant team conflict research treats conflict as a shared perceptual team property whereby it is assumed that all of a team's members experience equivalent amounts of conflict. This traditional approach is silent concerning whether team members vary according to how much conflict each team member experiences with each of their team members. This customary treatment of team conflict as a shared perceptual property of the team has led to inconsistent findings in the empirical record concerning the predictive power of the team conflict construct for predicting a team's creativity. In an effort to provide conceptual and empirical clarity to this issue, the present dissertation utilized social capital theory and analysis to examine the relationship between team conflict and team creativity. With its explicit focus on dyadic interactions, social capital is argued to be a more appropriate lens than the conventional paradigm for understanding how and why conflicts between team members influence team members' ability to be creative. It is argued that a social capital approach provides a more rigorous and appropriate test of the theoretical and empirical justifications for the team conflict--team creativity relationship. The dissertation attempted to replicate and extend the findings of previous studies of team conflict and team creativity by utilizing measures of conflict derived using both sociometric and psychometric methods. Results from a lagged study of 132 teams engaged in a complex, 10-week business game simulation revealed that team conflict was predictive of team creativity using the traditional, yet less precise, psychometric method, but was not predictive of team creativity using the sociometric method. The study's inability to replicate previous research findings using the social capital approach calls into question the validity of traditional team conflict approaches for predicting team creativity. Further, the discrepant findings open a new line of inquiry addressing when and under what conditions the social capital approach to conflict predicts team creativity.Item Ethical leadership in firms: antecedents and consequences(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Li, Chenwei; Johnson, Diane E.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaRecent ethical misconduct of leaders, in some high profile firms, has drawn increased attention to the reality that, ignorance on the ethics of leaders could threaten the survival of companies, and that ethical leadership may be a critical piece for company success. This dissertation aims to further our knowledge of ethical leadership by examining moral emotions as the antecedents (Model I) and employee creativity as the consequence (Model II) in two separate models. Specifically, drawing on empathy literature and moral affect theory of gratitude, Model I hypothesized that leaders' moral emotions (empathy and gratitude) should predict ethical leadership behaviors. Based on ethical leadership literature and theories of creativity, Model II hypothesized that ethical leadership, both directly and indirectly, should create high levels of psychological safety and certainty, and have an effective and positive influence on promoting employee creativity. Data collected from two semiconductor companies in China were used in the dissertation. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations and directions for future research were discussed.Item An examination of the mediators and moderators in the relationship between justifications, organizational contexts, and discrimination in personnel selection(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Holmes IV, Oscar; King, James E.; Avery, Derek R.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaDiscrimination research has largely focused on what has been called old-fashioned racism. However, research exploring modern racism is a burgeoning area. This dissertation attempted to extend and build theory on modern racism by explaining when justifications and organizational contexts can lead people to discriminate in personnel selection situations. Explicit and implicit justifications are examined and tested using directives from leaders, coworkers, and customers. Additionally, two organizational contexts, diversity climate and the hiring context, are examined to determine when they may lead to discrimination. Three-way interactions are hypothesized among modern racism, submissiveness to authority, and agreeableness that are posited to affect one's propensity to discriminate. Finally, two mediation processes, stereotype activation/application and casuistry, are hypothesized as the psychological processes that explain the decision making process. Binary logistic regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results from three lab studies revealed that explicit coworker justifications led to both the selection of fewer and more Black job applicants. Stereotype activation/application mediated the relationship between explicit justifications and organizational contexts on the selection of Black job applicants but not between implicit justifications and Black job applicants. A complete discussion of the results along with the theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also presented.Item Adherence to organizational routines: a micro-foundations lens(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) Maalouf, Jamal Tanios; Combs, James G.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaOrganizational routines are viewed as a source of strategic competitive advantage that enhances firm performance. How do organizations continue to adhere to organizational routines after the routines are integrated in the work flow? I introduce and define a new construct, adherence to routines, which captures the theoretical phenomenon of maintaining the repeatability of organizational routines. I apply trait activation theory to explain why employees adhere to routines. I theorize that three individual traits: (1) conscientiousness, (2) openness to experience, and (3) individual entrepreneurial orientation impact adherence to routines. Moreover, I theorize that employees' perception of their supervisors' initiating structure leadership moderates the relationships between the three individual traits and adherence to routines. In this study, I developed a scale for the newly introduced construct adherence to routines. Using a sample of 543 employees surveyed in the U.S., I validated the new scale. The findings also support my arguments that conscientiousness is positively related to adherence to routines, and that openness to experience and individual entrepreneurial orientation are negatively related to adherence to routines. I also found support for employees' perception of their supervisors' initiating structure leadership as a moderator to the relationship between conscientiousness and adherence to routines. These results suggest that initiating structure leadership may have triggered the expression of conscientiousness, resulting in higher levels of adherence to routines.Item Choosing between the formal and informal economy: how do business managers in emerging markets decide?(University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) Abi Aad, Amine A.; Combs, James G.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaWhy do managers in emerging markets conduct some activities in the informal economy and others in the formal economy when they have a choice? Using institutional economic theory, previous research shows that, at the country level, weak formal institutions create institutional voids that increase the transaction costs of using the formal economy. To evade high transaction costs, managers in emerging markets use the informal economy. However, previous research does not explain, at the firm level, why managers in emerging markets conduct some activities in the informal economy while conducting others in the formal economy. I theorize that, at the firm level, managers' social ties with formal institutions protect them against being singled out for enforcement and against potential opportunistic behaviors by business partners. In particular, opportunism, which increases transaction costs, might take place in the informal economy because contracting parties cannot be held legally accountable. That is, managers' social ties with formal institutions allow them to keep the transaction costs of using the informal economy lower than the transaction costs of using the formal economy for a specific activity. Moreover, I argue that not all managers who have social ties with formal institutions are prone to conduct more activities in the informal economy. In particular, based on regulatory focus theory, I argue that managers who have a promotion focus mindset are more prone to use their social ties with formal institutions to conduct activities in the informal economy. Using a sample of 206 Lebanese respondents, I developed two new scales: manager's social ties with formal institutions and manager's propensity to use informal economy. I then used these scales to empirically test my theory. The results of this study support my theory that managers who have social ties with formal institutions are more prone to conduct activities in the informal economy. However, the results of this study did not support the argument that managers who have a promotion focus mindset are more prone to use their social ties with formal institutions to conduct activities in the informal economy.Item The frustration-aggression hypothesis revisited: a deviance congruence perspective(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Crawford, Wayne S.; Johnson, Diane E.; Kacmar, K. Michele; University of Alabama TuscaloosaIn 1939, Dollard and colleagues presented the frustration-aggression theory. The main tenet of the theory posits that individuals become frustrated when goal attainment is prohibited or interrupted. Further, following frustrating events, individuals will respond with aggressive behaviors as a form of retaliation against agents of the frustrating events. Organizational deviance has been posited as one such aggressive reaction (Fox & Spector, 1999). This dissertation takes a unique perspective on organizational deviance; I argue that situations may arise when organizational deviance perceptions also serve as an antecedent of frustration. Specifically, I argue that in circumstances where supervisors’ and subordinates’ perceptions of employee deviance are incongruent, or misaligned, employees will become frustrated. Frustrated employees engage in aggressive behaviors in the form of retaliation and displaced aggression (Berkowitz, 1989). In the current study, I propose that frustrated employees may both retaliate at work and displace their aggression in both the work and family domains. Thus, I argue frustration leads to higher levels of coworker abuse, greater levels of relationship conflict, and greater work-to-family conflict. I also hypothesize that frustration will result in employees engaging in fewer interpersonal citizenship behaviors, which is also detrimental to organizations. This dissertation uses a time-lagged research design and field sample to test the hypotheses offered. A sample of 215 supervisor-subordinate dyads from a large municipality in the southeastern United States was used for hypothesis testing. I followed the latent congruence modeling procedures to test the hypotheses offered (Cheung, 2009). The structural-equation based latent congruence model allowed me to test the effects of incongruence on the mediator and whether frustration ultimately predicted the outcome variables. I did not find support for the hypothesized mediation model using congruence analysis.Item Sins of the parents: how parenting style affects successors and key family firm outcomes after succession(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Shanine, Kristen; Combs, James G.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThe intent to transfer control to the next generation is a defining characteristic of family firms. Yet, most family-controlled firms fail to transfer control and, when they do, the next generation’s leadership often fails to meet expectations. The succession literature describes characteristics of key actors and relationships that shape effective successions, but it does not leverage sociology research and theory on the key aspect that makes family firms different – i.e., families. Consequently, current theory does not explain how parenting influences successors’ personality, emotional well-being, or behavior, nor does it explain how these factors affect employees and the firm’s future prospects. I, therefore, develop new theory and extend parental control theory from sociology to help explain how parents in family firms influence successors and the family firm. In particular, I predict that predecessor parenting styles, described by Baumrind (1971) and later modified by Maccoby and Martin (1983) (i.e., Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent Permissive, and Negligent Permissive), affect successor’s psychological profile (i.e., well-being, impostor phenomenon, and entitlement), which then has consequences for the leadership style the successor adopts, employee behavioral responses to the successor, and the firm’s strategy. My theory helps explain why some family successors are more successful than others. In order to test my theory, I developed a parenting style scale using student responses (N=233) and working adult responses (N=260). I also conducted a series of mediation regression analyses using a sample of matched employee and successor survey responses (N=52 firms). Results suggest that Authoritative predecessor parenting leads to successor psychological well-being, and Indulgent Permissive predecessor parenting leads to successor entitlement. Additionally, I found that successor psychological well-being mediates the relationships between Authoritative predecessor parenting and successor transformational leadership, and employee affective commitment. Overall, I found that the best kind of parenting style (i.e., Authoritative) in family science literature has the most positive impact in family firms. Broadly speaking, my theory and findings have implications for future research in that they point to the importance of family dynamics in family firms. Research in family science shows that parenting affects the behavior of family members, and my study is among the first to show how this research might be leveraged to better explain key attributes and outcomes of family firms.Item Risk in the eye of the beholder?: an examination of risk evaluation, role expectations and workplace risk-related behavior(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Stoutner, Oliver Keith; Bachrach, Daniel G.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThis dissertation presents the results of three studies designed to enhance understanding of how individual risk evaluation pertains to role theory and how prospect theory can offer clues on the process undergirding the translation of employee role expectations into behavior in the workplace. In studies 1 and 2 I develop a novel scale for evaluating employee risk-related role expectations. Study 3 draws on a sample of 439 working adults and examines how coworker general (non-work-related) risk propensity affects employee’s role expectations regarding risk and expectations of coworker approval. Further, I explore the linkages between employee expectations and subsequent behavior and the influence of coworker indicated approval. Integrating prospect and role theories, I find support for the hypothesis that coworker risk propensity has a negative relationship with employee risk-related role expectations, and expectations of approval. I also find support for the positive relationship between employee risk-related role expectations and behaviors, and mixed support for the positively moderating role of coworker indicated approval. Implications for theory and practice are discussed along with directions for future research.Item Exchange without return: helping behaviors over time in positive and negative reciprocity relationships(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Leon, Matthew R.; Halbesleben, Jonathon R. B.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThere is broad awareness that the health of coworker relationships is often built on reciprocity and assessments of member exchanges, where relationships are pursued or terminated based on benefits received. Both social exchange theory and equity theory propose that, when an exchange relationship is no longer favorable (i.e., a negative reciprocity relationship), an individual should terminate it to prevent resource losses. While this is economically rational, it often is impossible or impractical to terminate a relationship in a work context. The objective of this dissertation is to address this apparent mismatch between theories of helping behavior and typical workplace dynamics. I do so by exploring three possible explanations for this mismatch. First, I argue that the one of the key assumptions of social exchange theory, that the relationships are voluntary, may not always hold in a work setting. Second, I argue that fluctuations in investment behavior, specifically helping, changes in a non-linear fashion over time. Finally, I examine the impact of reciprocity, perceptions of team member efficacy, and third-party investment on helping behaviors in a sustained, negative reciprocity relationship. Across two experiments and one field study, I found that helping behaviors change discontinuously over time, individuals will help a partner complete an interdependent task regardless of reciprocation, and that helping is driven by a combination of factors including partner performance and general perceptions of a partner's helpfulness.Item Tales from the dark side of entrepreneurship(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Tucker, Reginald Lewis; Jackson, William E.; Marino, Louis D.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThis dissertation proposes that personality is a missing link in the intention-behavior relationship that can help explain why some individuals who have entrepreneurial intentions take entrepreneurial action, but others do not. My theory is grounded in Markman and Baron’s (2003) person-entrepreneurship framework that posits individuals who have a personality that fits with the demands and tasks of entrepreneurship, and are guided by entrepreneurial intentions, are likely to enter into entrepreneurship and find success. Presumably, individuals who have entrepreneurial intentions are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors than individuals who do not have entrepreneurial intentions. To evaluate my argument, I analyze data collected from MBA alumni of a university in the Southeastern region of the United States. I collected data over two time periods with a series of hierarchal linear regressions to test the intention-behavior relationship with narcissism, psychopathy, and ADHD as the moderating personality variables. Overall, results suggest that dark personalities do influence the intention-behavior relationship. The interaction of entrepreneurial intentions and psychopathy had a positive and significant relationship with both discovery behaviors and exploitation behaviors. The interaction of entrepreneurial intentions and ADHD was also positive and significant for discovery behaviors, but not for exploitation behaviors. Narcissism did not have a significant relationship as a main effect with either entrepreneurial behavior.Item Toward an understanding of one’s future work self salience as an indicator of work related behaviors(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Bellairs, Tom; Halbesleben, Jonathon R. B.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaFuture work self (FWS) refers to who a person aspires to become in the future as it relates to his or her work. FWS serves as a distal goal that motivates individuals to engage in three work-related behaviors: job crafting, proactive career behavior (PCB), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Because there is multifinality in goal attainment (e.g., several goals linked to the same means), individuals take steps, serving focal and distal goals, to advance in achieving their FWS. As individuals move toward their work goals, they incorporate feedback to reassess their progress and alter steps necessary to fully achieve their future self. I expand future focused research by integrating regulatory focus theory (RFT)—how individuals approach desired or avoid undesired outcomes—and extend research on three work-related behaviors in the context of becoming one’s FWS. I expect that a person’s promotion focus (and not prevention focus) will moderate the relationship between one’s FWS and these three work-related behaviors (i.e., job crafting, PCBs, OCBs). Overall, I suggest that a FWS is a valuable motivational resource that induces specific work-related behaviors.Item Dynamic capabilities “now we see them” in the airline industry(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Jifri, Ali; Marino, Louis D.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaThe study of dynamic capabilities is one of the dominant research streams in strategic management. This dissertation contributes to the dynamic capabilities literature by theorizing and testing key questions regarding the relationship between dynamic capabilities and firm performance. Specific questions to be resolved include: 1) how does the performance of dynamic capabilities affect how firms adapt and co-evolve with the environment, 2) what is the interplay of two different kinds of dynamic capabilities operating simultaneously in the same context, and 3) what role does environmental dynamism and munificence play in the relationship between capability development and fitness in asset intensive industries. These questions are examined in the context of the airline industry where I identify two main capabilities that act as dynamic capabilities, namely, Resource Planning Capability (RPC) and Alliance Management Capability (AMC). First, I propose that there is a positive relationship between the two main capabilities (RPC and AMC) and sustained performance. Secondly, I propose alliance orientation will precede the development of an alliance capability. Third, I propose the interaction effect of AMC and RPC is positively associated with sustained performance. Finally, I propose that the positive relationship between each of these capabilities and sustained performance is moderated by environmental dynamism and environmental munificence such that the relationships is weaker, or stronger, at different levels of dynamism and munificence. I test hypotheses using longitudinal panel data on a sample of 132 firms in the airline industry. The analysis was performed using econometric estimators: a stochastic frontier estimator to test technical fitness of capabilities and random effect estimator to test the effect on dependent variable sustained performance. The results show that the two capabilities (RPC and AMC) have a positive effect on sustained performance. Interestingly, the two moderators appear to have differing effects on the two capabilities. Environmental dynamism appear to strengthen RPC and weakens AMC. Conversely, environmental munificence strengthen AMC and weakens RPC.Item The more we know; the less we know: the effects of interpersonal networks on employees misperception of peers preferences to utilize family-friendly benefits(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Mandeville, Ashley; Halbesleben, Jonathon R. B.; University of Alabama TuscaloosaPluralistic ignorance is a situation in which individuals inaccurately perceive the attitudes of their peers within their work group to be different from their own and subsequently align their behavior with what they mistakenly believe are the attitudes of their peers. Prior research on has tended to focus on the consequences of pluralistic ignorance, including a recent study on family-friendly benefit utilization. This study seeks to examine the predictors of misperceptions, a key ingredient of pluralistic ignorance, in the context of peers’ preferences to utilize family-friendly benefits, using social network analysis. Specifically, this study examines the role of centrality on the degree to which central members misperceive their peers’ preferences over time and the degree to which their preferences influence the group over time. Further, this study examines how the overall network structure can suppress the relationship between centrality and misperceptions. Contrary to what one may assume, the more central an employee in their network, the greater their misperceptions of their peers’ preferences towards family-friendly benefit utilization. The results of this study imply that pluralistic ignorance is a possibility, even for work groups with close interpersonal relationships.