Personalwesen und Leadership
Transparency in Complex Compensation Systems
Ana Möller Quintanar, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 7(1), 2022, 185-200
The purpose of the present work is to examine the effects of full pay transparency, in the organisational context of complex compensation systems, on the comparisons employees draw between each other. To do so, an overview of compensation systems, including their purposes and components is presented. Second, the term of full pay transparency is introduced and defined. Lastly, this work offers several scenarios of social comparisons conducted under full pay openness in an equitable compensation system. In a first scenario, where employees pose as fully rational actors, full pay transparency presents positive fairness perceptions of the pay structure. In a second scenario, in which organisational members’ rationality is inhibited by biases, the compensation system is perceived as inequitable, other things equal. Concluding, full pay openness does not necessarily garner positive effects in social comparisons. Furthermore, variable pay, as a component of the pay mix, seems to pose a hindrance to the fairness perceptions of employees. The author notes that an adequate communication strategy and involvement of employees in the strategic process of implementing full pay transparency may counter the negative effects found.
Keywords: Compensation; pay transparency; social comparison.
Ungenutztes Potenzial in der Belegschaft? Die Auswirkungen von digitaler Mitarbeiterbeteiligung
Kathleen Reinke, Universität Paderborn (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 7(1), 2022, 134-149
Unternehmensinternes Crowdsourcing ist ein Phänomen, welches in der Praxis immer mehr an Bedeutung gewinnt. Führende multinationale Konzerne nutzen das Konzept, um die geografisch voneinander getrennte Belegschaft zu verbinden. Der Einfluss, den diese neuartige Form der Arbeitsorganisation auf das soziale Kapital eines Unternehmens hat, bleibt bislang unzureichend erforscht. Die vorliegende Arbeit wird den aktuellen Stand der Praxisnutzung des internen Crowdsourcings durch einen systematischen Literaturüberblick aufarbeiten, um die tatsächlichen Effekte des Konzeptes von den prognostizierten Effekten hervorzuheben. Die prognostizierten Effekte wurden anhand des Job Characteristics Modells (1976) modelltheoretisch fundiert. Dargelegt wird, inwieweit sich eine Einführung digitaler Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten auf das Empowerment der Belegschaft auswirkt und wie dieses die Unternehmenskultur beeinflusst. Es lässt sich festhalten, dass internes Crowdsourcing das Potenzial hat, ein tendenziell erhöhtes Empowerment der Belegschaft durch Erhöhung der intrinsischen Motivation zu stimulieren und Hierarchien abflachen zu lassen. Die Grenzen des Konzeptes liegen in den Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Faktoren Commitment, Unternehmenskultur und Effektivität des Crowdsourcings.
Keywords: Crowdsourcing; New Work; Employee Commitment; Corporate Citizenship; Corporate Culture.
Agiles Mindset und Arbeitszufriedenheit: Paradigmenwechsel oder alles beim Alten? Eine empirische Analyse des Einflusses eines agilen Mindsets auf die Wirkbeziehungen des Job Characteristics Models
Julia Füntmann, Universität zu Köln (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 7(1), 2022, 32-66
In einer dynamischen Unternehmensumwelt sind Mitarbeiter mit einem agilen Mindset ein essentieller Erfolgsfaktor. Der Arbeitszufriedenheit dieser Mitarbeiter kommt somit eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Bislang bietet die Forschung keine Antwort darauf, welchen Einfluss ein agiles Mindset auf den Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitsgestaltung und Arbeitszufriedenheit hat. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit soll die Frage beantwortet werden, ob ein agiles Mindset den Zusammenhang zwischen Tätigkeitsmerkmalen und Arbeitszufriedenheit beeinflusst. Die quantitative Studie (N=953) basiert auf dem Job Characteristics Model (JCM). Das agile Mindset wird als Moderatorvariable in das Modell eingesetzt und mittels hierarchischer Regressionsanalysen analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das agile Mindset als Moderator auf den Zusammenhang von Autonomie und Arbeitszufriedenheit, sowie Rückmeldung und Arbeitszufriedenheit einwirkt. Auf den Zusammenhang von Anforderungsvielfalt und Arbeitszufriedenheit hat das agile Mindset jedoch keinen signifikanten Einfluss. Insgesamt zeigt die Studie, dass Elemente der Arbeitsgestaltung gezielt dazu genutzt werden können, die Arbeitszufriedenheit von Personen mit hohem agilen Mindset zu steigern.
Keywords: Job Characteristcs Model; Arbeitszufriedenheit; Agiles Mindset; Moderatoranalyse.
Pathways from Role Identification Level to Attention Residue in Multiple Team Membership
Sandra Decker, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (Bachelorarbeit)
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.
A Signaling Theory Perspective on Building Supportive Responses to Organizational Change: An Experimental Study
Anastasia Kieliszek, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Masterarbeit)
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.
Ohne Moos nichts los? Eine Discrete-Choice-Analyse der Präferenzen von Medizinstudenten für die Arbeit auf dem Land
Markus Probst, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(3), 2021, 507-546
Keywords: Landärztemangel; Discrete-Choice-Experiment; Medizinstudenten in Deutschland.
Job Crafting as Means to Live out One’s Calling: An Examination of NPO Employees
Larissa Maser, Universität Mannheim (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(2), 2021, 347-369
Employees increasingly search for jobs in which they can pursue their preferences and interests – more precisely, their callings. Those pursuing their callings are assumed to be more satisfied with their job and to perform better. To provide more insight into this topic, this study examines the relationship between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction by actively pursuing the calling. However, it has not yet been extensively analyzed how employees can convert the perception of a calling at work into actually living it out. This question can possibly be explained by the emerging phenomenon called job crafting. Employees engaging in job crafting techniques might change their work environment in order to be able to live out their calling. Therefore, this study investigated the role of job crafting as moderator in the relationship between perceiving a calling and living a calling as well as in the relationship between living a calling and job satisfaction. The model was tested in a context of nonprofit organizations using a sample of 300 employees and a cross-sectional study design. Data was collected with an online survey for a period of three weeks and analyzed with IBM SPSS PROCESS by means of OLS regression analysis. Living a calling was found to be a full mediator in the relationship between perceiving a calling and job satisfaction. The variables scope of action, employment relationship, and gender are also significantly related to job satisfaction. Against expectations, job crafting does not show any of the two moderating effects but was found to be a partial mediator in the relationship between perceiving a calling and living a calling.
Keywords: Calling; job crafting; job satisfaction; nonprofit organizations.
The Power of Personality Traits in Allocation Decision-Making: A Secondary Analysis of a Laboratory Experiment
Lilla Tolnai, Universität Wien (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(2), 2021, 299-323
Individual differences have been addressed by many authors in social sciences, however personality has been neglected. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role of personality in social decision-making situations. Prior researches on the role of personality either focused on how personality influences social and economic preferences or on the link between personality and influence in social decision-making. The present thesis intends to combine these two aspects with the help of a secondary analysis of a bargaining experiment. To test personality, the Five Factor Model was included and social preferences were measured with the help of social value orientation. The findings show that two personality dimensions (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) indicate social preferences and four personality dimensions (Agreeableness, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness) influence the ability to use structural power. Furthermore, it has been found that the link of personality and bargaining behavior is moderated by social preferences. The findings of the present thesis provide various theoretical and empirical implications for personality psychology, human resource management, and organizational behavior.
Keywords: Social decision-making; fairness; personality; Five Factor Model; social value orientation.
Employment Protection Legislation, Youth Unemployment and the Role of the Educational System
Kimberly Klebolte, University of Oxford (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(1), 2021, 60-80
Research on the effect of employment protection legislation (EPL) on unemployment is extensive. However, results are ambiguous and were not able to show a clear pattern of how EPL is affecting labour market outcomes. Recent research has focussed on the effect of EPL on youth unemployment, linking higher protection to higher unemployment among young labour market entrants compared to their adult peers. Moreover, it is argued that EPL might not have a universal effect on youth unemployment but must be considered in an interplay of institutional factors, including vocational specificity. Based on these findings, this thesis provides a comprehensive assessment of the effects of EPL and vocational specificity on the labour market chances of young people compared to adults. As young people in particular often find their way into the labour market via temporary contracts, it is distinguished between EPL for regular and temporary contracts. A total of 28 OECD countries are examined from 1985 to 2013 using OECD data. In line with previous research, there appear to be no main effects of regular EPL or the vocational specificity on its own on the level of youth unemployment or the youth-to-adult unemployment ratio, but there is a positive effect of temporary EPL on the youth-to-adult ratio. This suggests that especially for young people deregulation of these contracts — contrary to the usual theoretical assumptions — can have a positive effect on their labour market situation.
Keywords: Labour market; EPL; unemployment; youth; education.
The Glass Cliff – Women’s Thrive to Save Poor Performance and how to Approach it in the Workplace
Julia Vetter, ESCP Europe (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(1), 2021, 39-59
Keywords: Glass cliff; women in leadership; discrimination; equality; management.
Are Firms Paying for the Minimum Wage? Evidence from Germany
Maximilian Kühn, University of Mannheim (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 6(1), 2021, 25-38
Following an intensive discussion, Germany introduced a nationwide minimum wage on 1 January 2015, which was set at an hourly wage of €8.50. Undeniably, there is a significant amount of international and national literature that discusses the minimum wage, both generally and specifically, in Germany. Counterintuitively, only small, negative employment effects are identified for the German minimum wage, whereas some international studies (e.g. for the US) even found positive effects. However, only a few papers focus on different sorts of adjustment channels that firms are applying as a response to the higher labor costs. This thesis focuses on the analysis of firms’ profitabilities and asks if profit margins significantly declined in highly affected industries, as a response to the nationwide minimum wage. Therefore, this paper uses a Difference-in-Difference approach that compares the ratio of pre-tax profits to revenue in industries which are more exposed than their less affected counterparts. To define the exposure of an industry to the minimum wage, the Structure of Earnings Survey of 2014 is used to calculate industry specific bite measures. Surprisingly, no significant decrease in firm’s profitability can be found as a response to the German minimum wage introduction in 2015. This result is consistent over all model specifications that are used in the underlying thesis.
Keywords: Minimum wage; Germany; difference-in-difference; adjustment channels; profitability; firm-level performance.
The Effect of Gratitude on Individuals’ Effort – A Field Experiment
Oriana Wendenburg, Universität zu Köln (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 5(4), 2020, 429-451
This study uses a real-effort survey experiment to investigate whether expressions of gratitude induce reciprocal behaviour and hence significantly increase individuals’ effort. I extend existent literature by exploring non-pecuniary gifts that signal different degrees of gratitude, all combined with an interpersonal element. Based on a formal model, I hypothesize that a greater amount of gratitude is accompanied by higher levels of provided effort. The results show that appreciation in form of a thank you note positively affects reciprocal effort choice, compared to receiving no gratitude. An even higher level of gratitude conveyed in form of a video clip, however, does not impel subjects to provide more effort. Moreover, while I detect women to behave more reciprocally than men, this effect is least present in the gratitude treatments. These insights provide valuable implications for experimental research as well as for organizations and modern labour markets, emphasizing that non-monetary gifts, such as expressions of appreciation, are a cost-effective tool for human resource management to determine workers’ effort.
Keywords: Gratitude; non-pecuniary gifts; gift giving; reciprocity; personnel economics.
Over-Confidence Bias in strategischen Entscheidungsprozessen: Entstehung, Konsequenzen und Lösungsansätze
Jule Neckermann, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 5(3), 2020, 392-409
Da Manager sich und ihre Entscheidungsfähigkeit häufig überschätzen, kommt es immer wieder zu Fehlentscheidungen und folgenschweren Krisen für Unternehmen. In dieser Arbeit wird diese Verzerrung durch Selbstüberschätzung, der Over-Confidence Bias, daher zunächst in den Kontext strategischer Entscheidungsprozesse eingearbeitet. Hier zeigt sich insbesondere, dass sich die kognitive Verzerrung durch Over-Confidence nicht nur auf eine Phase des Entscheidungsprozesses bezieht; stattdessen resultiert ein übersteigertes Selbstbewusstsein aus einer Vielzahl anderer kognitiver Verzerrungen, situativer Faktoren sowie diversen motivationalen und physiologischen Zuständen und stellt somit ein komplexes Konstrukt in der Forschung dar. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird daher ebenfalls untersucht, welche Einflussfaktoren zur Entstehung des Bias führen und welche Chancen, aber auch Risiken dadurch entstehen können. Um diesen Risiken entgegenwirken zu können, werden in dieser Arbeit ebenfalls mögliche Lösungsansätze und Debiasing-Techniken vorgestellt, die an bisherige Forschungsergebnisse aus der Psychologie und der Wirtschaftsforschung anknüpfen und den Over-Confidence Bias in strategischen Entscheidungsprozessen reduzieren können.
Keywords: Overconfidence; strategische Entscheidung; kognitive Verzerrungen; Debiasing.
Erfolgsrelevante Kompetenzen von Führungskräften in Change-Management-Prozessen in Familienunternehmen
Lena Hinkelmann, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 5(2), 2020, 176-196
Viele Organisationen und Unternehmen befinden sich derzeit in einem radikalen Wandel – insbesondere ausgelöst durch die digitale Transformation und die zunehmende Internationalisierung. Für das Gelingen der Change-Management-Prozesse sind maßgeblich Führungskräfte verantwortlich, wodurch deren Kompetenzen für erfolgreiches Transformationsmanagement verstärkt in den Fokus der Forschung rücken. Diese Fähigkeiten werden im Rahmen der folgenden Publikation mithilfe eines qualitativen, auf semi-strukturierten Leitfadeninterviews basierenden Ansatz erforscht. Als Fazit sind zwei zentrale Erkenntnisse hervorzuheben: Erstens wurden zehn erfolgsrelevante Fähigkeiten einer Führungskraft im Change von Familienunternehmen identifiziert, welche sich in drei Metaebenen – die mitarbeiter-, persönlichkeits- und die ressourcenorientierten Kompetenzen – unterteilen lassen. Zweitens kam die Arbeit zu dem Ergebnis, dass die erfolgsrelevanten Change-Kompetenzen einer Führungskraft im Familienunternehmen stark vom Kontext – insbesondere von der Mitarbeiteranzahl, dem Reifegrad der Mitarbeitenden und dem Fortschritt im Change – abhängen.
Keywords: Change Management; Familienunternehmen; Leadership; Change Management Kompetenzen; Transformationsprozesse.
Recruiting Generation Y for the Backbone of Economy: Organizational Attractiveness of Small, Family Owned, and Rural Firms
Johannes Caprano, Technische Universität München (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 4(4), 2019, 493-523
Keywords: Organizational attractiveness; family firm; SME; rural firm; hidden champion.