Junior Management Science, Volume 6, Issue 4, December 2021

  1. Jinhao Shu, The M&A Behavior of Family Firms, 673-699
  2. Anastasia Kieliszek, A Signaling Theory Perspective on Building Supportive Responses to Organizational Change: An Experimental Study, 700-744
  3. Nadja Ganter, Factors Influencing Developers’ Acceptance of Native Development Environments: An Expansion of the Technology Acceptance Model, 745-756
  4. Christian Ertel, The Effects of Clawback Provisions on Investment Behaviour, 757-789
  5. Alexander Böhle, Multi-Period Optimization of the Refuelling Infrastructure for Alternative Fuel Vehicles, 790-825
  6. Sandra Decker, Pathways from Role Identification Level to Attention Residue in Multiple Team Membership, 826-838
  7. Katharina Isabella Kühn, Is Visiting the ESB Website Deteriorating the Air Quality of our Countries? A Statistical Analysis of the Relationship Between Air Pollution Levels and Information & Communication Technologies , 839-851
  8. Ventana Rebecca Pünchera, The Exercise of Power in Strategy Meetings: A Comparison of Political Behavior in Online and Offline Meetings, 852-890
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The M&A Behavior of Family Firms

Jinhao Shu, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 673-699

The present study aims to identify the driving acquisition goals of family firms’ acquisitions and analyse the role of innovation
in these acquisitions. Therefore, the study deploys a qualitative approach investigating 15 German family firms to derive
patterns within the qualitative data. As a result, the study proposes 14 propositions, which mainly suggest a co-existence of
multiple goals in acquisitions. Similarly, the propositions argue that the goals related to the categories of expansion, market
competitiveness and innovation are decisively driving the acquisitions undertaken by family firms. The study further proposes
that the acquisition of innovation is a critical key to the success of family firms and a means to an end for achieving other
related goals such as the survival of family firms. Beyond getting a broader understanding of the acquisitions made by family
firms, the study shows further avenues for research in the field of family firms’ M&A activities.

Keywords: Family Firm; Innovation; Mergers & Acquisitions; Drivers of Mergers & Acquisitions; Acquisitions Motives; Acquisition Goals; Innovation in Mergers & Acquisitions.

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A Signaling Theory Perspective on Building Supportive Responses to Organizational Change: An Experimental Study

Anastasia Kieliszek, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Master thesis)

Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 700-744

Organizations are frequently unsuccessful in creating employee support for change. Research has asserted that one important
reason for change resistance is employee uncertainty. Yet despite wide consensus that leadership and communication are
key vehicles to influence employees’ change reactions, employee uncertainty concerning the leader of the change, and how
this uncertainty can be addressed have been largely disregarded. Drawing on signaling theory, I propose that leaders who
signal their charisma and change commitment when announcing change can alleviate uncertainty by assuring employees
about the leader’s characteristics and intentions, and thereby foster supportive responses to change. Specifically, I test the
main and interactive influence of leader charisma and change commitment signals in determining employees’ affective and
normative commitment to, and behavioral support for, organizational change. In line with the proposition that charismatic
signaling is inherently values-based and needs to be morally validated by followers, I investigate its effect on follower change
commitment as a function of followers’ openness to change and self-transcendence values. My findings from an experimental
vignette study in a sample of 284 US employees reveal that in particular leader charisma signaling, and weakly leader change
commitment signaling, have positive main, but non-interactive effects on follower behavioral support for change, which do not
operate indirectly through follower affective and normative change commitment. Further, I report that followers’ behavioral
support for change elicited by leader charisma and change commitment signaling varies as a function of followers’ openness
to change and self-transcendence values. Above and beyond effects concerning behavioral change support, leader charisma
signaling is revealed to increase followers’ expression of openness to change, conservation, and self-transcendence values
when advocating organizational change. I discuss implications for theory and practice in managing employee responses to
organizational change.

Keywords: Organizational change; leadership; charisma; signaling; commitment.

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Factors Influencing Developers’ Acceptance of Native Development Environments: An Expansion of the Technology Acceptance Model

Nadja Ganter, ESB Business School Reutlingen (Bachelor thesis)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 745-756

Keywords: Native development environment; third-party develope; mobile app development; technology acceptance.

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The Effects of Clawback Provisions on Investment Behaviour

Christian Ertel, University of Stuttgart (Master thesis)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 757-789

Clawback provisions are increasingly adopted into corporate compensation systems. So far, various effects on the behavior of managers are identified. Interestingly, unplanned and potentially dysfunctional effects of clawback provisions have been scarcely a topic in accounting research. This study investigates the effects of clawback provisions on investment behavior. In the first part of the study, a formal-analytical model is derived that describes the relationship between clawback provisions and investment behavior. The model is based on prospect theory of Kahnemann/Tversky (1979). In the second part of the study two experiments with 205 participants are described, which were conducted using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Consistent with the derived model, the results show that clawback provisions significantly affect investment behavior. The prerequisite for this is that a clawback clause influences the decision problem sufficiently. The study contributes to a better understanding of unplanned and potentially dysfunctional effects of clawback provisions. Moreover, the developed model provides a basis for further research on the topic.

Keywords: Clawback-Klauseln; Investitionsverhalten; Entscheidungsverhalten; Prospect-Theory.

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Multi-Period Optimization of the Refuelling Infrastructure for Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Alexander Böhle, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Bachelor thesis)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 790-825

Alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) are gaining increasing attention as a mean to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. One of the most critical barriers to the widespread adoption of AFVs is the lack of sufficient refuelling infrastructure. Although it is expected, that an adequate number of alternative fuel stations (AFS) will eventually be constructed, due to the high resource intensity of infrastructure development, an optimal step-by-step construction plan is needed. For such a plan to be actionable, it is necessary, that the underlying model considers realistic station sizes and budgetary limitations. This bachelor thesis addresses this issue by introducing a new formulation of the flow-refuelling location model, that combines multi-periodicity and node capacity restrictions (MP-NC FRLM). For this purpose, the models of Capar and Kluschke have been extended, and the pre-generation process of sets and variables has been improved. The thesis furthermore adapts and applies the two evaluation concepts Value of the Multi-Period Solution (VMPS) and Value of Multi-Period Planning (VMPP) to assess the model’s relative additional benefit over static counterparts. Besides, several hypotheses about potential drivers of the two evaluation concepts VMPS and VMPP have been made within the scope of a numerical experiment, to help central planners identify situations, where the additional complexity of a dynamic model would be worthwhile. While the MP-NC FRLM has proven to provide additional benefit over static counterparts, it comes at the cost of a higher solving time. The main contributor to the higher solving is hereby the incorporation of a time module.

Keywords: Alternative fuel vehicle; refuelling infrastructure; optimal location; multi-period; fuel station.

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Pathways from Role Identification Level to Attention Residue in Multiple Team Membership

Sandra Decker, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Bachelor thesis)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 826-838

More than two third of knowledge workers are assigned to multiple teams simultaneously. Participating in several teams can also mean enacting several roles. Psychosocial experiences like role switching have been neglected in research so far but are crucial for the success of multiple team membership (MTM) in organizations. Therefore, this paper considers the pathways from role identification level in one role to attention residue in another role. This relationship is explained with the role transition and self-regulation theory and two mechanisms: Personal engagement and interrole conflict. It is assumed, that the role identification level leads to personal engagement, moderated by role identification dispersion and to interrole conflict, moderated by interruptions. Personal engagement in the preferred role leads to attention residue in the other role, as well as interrole conflict leads to attention residue. This conceptual model shows that unbalanced person-role matches can result in a negative, cognitive outcome of MTM.

Keywords: Multiple team membership; attention residue; role identification; role transition; self-regulation.

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Is Visiting the ESB Website Deteriorating the Air Quality of our Countries? A Statistical Analysis of the Relationship Between Air Pollution Levels and Information & Communication Technologies

Katharina Isabella Kühn, ESB Business School Reutlingen (Bachelor thesis)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 839-851

Information and communication technology (ICT) is often praised for reducing emissions, however, data centres enabling these
technologies have a high energy demand which produces emissions due to CO2-intensive energy production. The purpose of
this paper is to investigate whether a relationship between ICT categories and air quality exists and how ICT affects it. This
will contribute to a greater understanding of how to mitigate the effect of the rise of new digital technologies.
This paper examines the effects of ICT aspects (Knowledge, Technology, Future Readiness) on air quality in 57 countries by
using multilinear regression. The results show that a linear relationship between ICT factors and air quality exists. Technology
has a negative effect on air quality, whereas Future Readiness has a positive effect. The effect of Future Readiness on air
quality is almost twice as high compared to Technology. A relationship between Knowledge and air quality, as proposed in
the literature, could not be proven by the model. It can be concluded that this combination of findings provides some support
for the conceptual premise that the net effect of ICT on air quality might be positive and that the share of the total carbon
footprint of the ICT sector might have been forecasted too high.

Keywords: Information technology; air quality; energy consumption; sustainability.

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The Exercise of Power in Strategy Meetings: A Comparison of Political Behavior in Online and Offline Meetings

Ventana Rebecca Pünchera, University of Zurich (Master thesis)
Junior Management Science 6(4), 2021, 852-890

Understanding how power is exercised in strategy meetings is a vital step toward increasing the effectiveness of strategic
undertakings. The objective of this master thesis is to gain important insights into issues of power and politics by investigating
strategists’ micropolitical tactics in online and offline meetings. Existing research has examined the exercise of power in
meetings, yet there is little understanding to date regarding the evolution of political behavior in online meetings. Hence,
conducting a qualitative case study, this research aims to uncover and compare the applied political tactics in online and
offline meetings. Specifically, several problem-centered interviews were conducted and analyzed by means of a grounded theory
approach. Furthermore, by integrating different power theories, a theoretical framework was developed. The empirical
study reveals that different contextual factors impact power dimensions in meetings. Furthermore, it indicates that employees
draw on specific power resources depending on whether meetings are conducted online or offline. Finally, by highlighting a
paradigm shift of the exercise of power with the trend from offline to online meetings, particular attention is paid to consequences
for strategic work. With these findings, the thesis contributes to the existing strategy-as-practice literature. Moreover,
the generated insights provide managers with knowledge regarding the psychology of the political function of online and
offline meetings.

Keywords: Meeting; power; politics; political behaviour; strategy theory; strategic work.

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