Workplace aggression

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Tummers ◽  
Yvonne Brunetto ◽  
Stephen T.T. Teo

Purpose – Public employees are often confronted with aggression from citizens, managers and colleagues. This is sometimes a function of having a monopoly position of many public organizations. As a result, citizens cannot opt for alternative providers when not served well. This could give rise to aggression. Furthermore, increased budget cuts might give rise to higher stress, workload and consequential aggression at times. This paper analyzes articles on workplace aggression, both the three articles of this special issue and more broadly. The purpose of this paper is to provide researchers with methodological and theoretical future research suggestions for new studies on workplace aggression. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review. Findings – By taking new methodological and theoretical routes, scholars can contribute to the analysis and potential solutions concerning workplace aggression in the public sector. First, the authors advise researchers to move beyond cross-sectional surveys. Instead, diary studies, longitudinal studies and experimental methods (such as randomized control trials) should be increasingly used. Furthermore, scholars can focus more on theory development and testing. Future studies are advised to connect workplace aggression to theoretical models (such as the Job Demands-Resources model), to theories (for instance social learning theory) and to public administration concepts (such as public service motivation and trust in citizens). Originality/value – This is one of the few articles within the public management literature which provides new methodological and theoretical directions for future research on workplace aggression.

Author(s):  
Rodney J. Dormer

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the recently increased use of the word “investment” in the public management discourse. In particular, it examines the implications of this for accounting and public governance. It asks, is that discourse simply concerned to account for “investment” in the efficient provision of public goods and services? Or does it also seek to hold governments, and government agencies, to account for the results they achieve and, more broadly, for their investment in, and stewardship of, the capacity to do so in the future? Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a range of literature as well as speeches made by both New Zealand politicians and officials to track the emergence and evolution of a discourse in respect of “an investment approach”. As such, the analysis represents a diachronic approach for, as Jäger and Meyer (2009) note: “To identify the knowledge of a society on a topic, the analyst has to reconstruct the genesis of this topic” (p. 46). Findings The initial adoption of “an investment approach” occurred in the context of attempts to gain a clearer focus on, and accountability for, the results of government interventions. Subsequently, a broader, and arguably more classic, conception of public investment has involved a developing focus on changes to the nation’s economic, social and environmental capitals. Both approaches provide significant practical challenges for accounting and the continued relevance of the accounting profession. Research limitations/implications The paper points to an urgent need to engage the accounting profession in debates that extend beyond the adoption of accrual accounting for the control of inputs and the provision of outputs. It is suggested that a future research agenda should focus on how models of well-being, and the public capitals that enable well-being, might be better accounted for and monitored. Originality/value This paper provides an insight into the emergence, spread and ultimate fading of the use of the word “investment” in the public policy discourse in New Zealand. However, it also places that process in a wider development that is focusing on citizens’ well-being. In so doing, it also highlights the challenges for the accounting profession created by the investment turn – whether relating to investment in operational activities or in public capitals.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Mattei ◽  
Giuseppe Grossi ◽  
James Guthrie A.M.

Purpose Public sector auditing research has changed rapidly over the past four decades. This paper aims to reveal how the field has developed and identify avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a structured literature review following Massaro et al. The sample comprises papers on public sector auditing published in accounting and public sector management journals between 1991 and 2020. Findings The present analysis highlights that academic research interest in public sector auditing has grown and become more diverse. The authors argue this may reflect a transformation of the public sector in recent decades, owing to the developing institutional logics of public sector reforms, from traditional public administration to new public management and now new public governance. Originality value This paper offers a comprehensive review of the public sector auditing literature, discussing different perspectives over time. It also outlines the various public sector reforms introduced over the period of the study. In reviewing the existing literature, the authors highlight the themes for future research and policy settings.


Author(s):  
Peter Leisink ◽  
Lotte B. Andersen ◽  
Christian B. Jacobsen ◽  
Eva Knies ◽  
Gene A. Brewer ◽  
...  

The concluding chapter synthesizes the insights and gives a comprehensive answer to the volume’s overall question. It sets directions for future research and discusses implications for public organizations’ practice. There is ample evidence that management contributes to performance, both directly and indirectly, through influencing employees’ (public service) motivation, organizational commitment, and job performance. There is also evidence that management contributes to employee outcomes, both positive, such as their job satisfaction and employability, and negative, such as stress and burnout. The chapter reflects critically on the state of public management research and outlines four key issues for future research: (1) work toward an integrated theoretical framework; (2) develop more comprehensive theoretical models; (3) pay attention to the public sector context; and (4) increase methodological rigor. The chapter contends that public management–performance research remains relevant in the era of inter-organizational networks and co-production, if and when studies pay explicit attention to the public sector context and to the frontline employees involved in service production. The chapter advises public organizations to invest in service provision policies that fit the organizational mission and create the conditions for their implementation by frontline managers who can help public employees create public value.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 830-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Paul ◽  
Alexander Rosado-Serrano

Purpose During the last two decades, studies on the theoretical models in the area of international business (IB), such as gradual internationalization and the born-global firms, have gained the attention of researchers. The purpose of this paper is to critically review the studies on the process of internationalization (Gradual Internationalization vs Born-Global/International new venture models) to identify the research gaps in this area and to prepare a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach Systematic literature review method was employed for this review. The authors highlight the findings from prior studies, compare and contrast salient characteristics and features, based on the articles published in journals with an impact factor score of at least 1.0, and provide directions for research. Findings The authors find that there are several areas that were under-explored in prior research. There is a great potential for theoretical extension and theory development in this field as it covers the tenets of four subjects: IB, marketing, strategic management and entrepreneurship. Originality/value There is no comprehensive/integrated review exploring the methods/variables and constructs used in prior studies integrating gradual internationalization/born-global models based on all the articles published in well-regarded academic journals. This review seeks to provide deeper insights, which help us to contribute toward the development of this research field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoxin Ma

Purpose This paper aims to bring to the fore some neglected implications of the dual employment systems in China, especially for the public sector. Design/methodology/approach This paper reinterprets some recent developments in understanding Chinese employments and incorporates the relevant research in arguing for a dualistic view of employment in China[1]. Findings In highlighting the unique dualistic employment contexts in China and an indigenous phenomenon of “unequal pay for equal work”, this paper finds public management studies in China to deserve a separate platform for future research. Research limitations/implications Future Chinese management studies on public sector should contextualise their findings and conclusions, taking into account the employment structure at their research settings. More studies on the public sector are needed to better understand the dualistic Chinese employment relationships, especially for better public management policies and practices in China. Social implications It calls for more scholarly attention on the social injustice embedded in the dualistic employment in China. Originality/value It extends the ongoing discussions of Chinese employment reform and its implications on organising work and employment in China, while unveils important implications of the dualistic employment for future Chinese management research, especially in the public sector.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingshan Zheng ◽  
Tomas Thundiyil ◽  
Ryan Klinger ◽  
Andrew T Hinrichs

Purpose – Utilizing attribution theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose a more nuanced theoretical understanding of role clarity – supervisor satisfaction trajectories. The authors also identify leadership characteristics that moderate these trajectories: supervisor developmental feedback (SDF) and interpersonal justice. Design/methodology/approach – In this field study, survey responses were collected from 334 employees. Data were submitted to hierarchical polynomial regression. Findings – The impact of too much role clarity was dependent on the level of interpersonal justice and SDF. When these moderators were high, too much role clarity had a decremental effect on supervisor satisfaction. When these moderatos were low, high role clarity was depicted by an asymptotic trajectory. Research limitations/implications – Cross-sectional data were collected from a single source. Future research might attempt to replicate findings using longitudinal designs and multiple data sources. Proposed mediating mechanisms might be measured and incorporated into tests of the theoretical models. Practical implications – When managing employee role clarity, more is not always better. Decision makers should examine supervisor-subordinate characteristics to predict employee responses to increased levels of role clarity. Even under optimal conditions, one should expect decreasing marginal returns from role clarity interventions. Originality/value – This is the first study to explore nonlinear relationships between role clarity and supervisor satisfaction. This is also the first study to explore moderators of role clarity trajectories.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenio Anessi-Pessina ◽  
Carmela Barbera ◽  
Mariafrancesca Sicilia ◽  
Ileana Steccolini

Purpose – Budgeting is central in public organizations. From a research viewpoint, it is an extremely multifaceted and potentially rich field to investigate and develop. The changing institutional and socio-economic landscape, moreover, requires a profound reassessment of its roles and features in accounting studies. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing European literature on public budgeting, looking at how public administration, public management, and accounting contribute to current budgeting theories and practices and to advance a proposal on how they can individually and jointly contribute in the future. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collect and analyze all the papers on public budgeting in the European context that were published in all the issues of 15 major accounting and public-management journals since 1980. Findings – Budgeting has so far played a rather marginal role in European public management and accounting research. Among the existing papers, most focus on the Anglo-Saxon context, look at the intra-organizational aspects of budgeting, emphasize its managerial and allocative functions, either adopt an interpretive theoretical framework or make no explicit reference to theory, and rely on qualitative analyses. Public budgeting lies at the intersections between different disciplines and professions, but this multifacetedness has been largely neglected by the existing literature. These intersections thus offer significant opportunities for future research. Building on the distinction between the intra- and inter-organizational foci of budgeting, between its different functions (i.e. allocative, managerial, external accountability), and between the accounting and the public administration and management perspectives, the authors propose possible future research topics. Originality/value – Budgeting plays a central role in public organizations and is used to allocate a large share of national incomes. This paper explores the existing literature and puts forward some potentially fruitful avenues for future research.


Author(s):  
Craig R. Carter ◽  
Marc R. Hatton ◽  
Chao Wu ◽  
Xiangjing Chen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to update the work of Carter and Easton (2011), by conducting a systematic review of the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature in the primary logistics and supply chain management journals, during the 2010–2018 timeframe. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology which follows the methodology employed by Carter and Easton (2011). An evaluation of this methodology, using the Modified AMSTAR criteria, demonstrates a high level of empirical validity. Findings The field of SSCM continues to evolve with changes in substantive focus, theoretical lenses, unit of analysis, methodology and type of analysis. However, there are still abundant future research opportunities, including investigating under-researched topics such as diversity and human rights/working conditions, employing the group as the unit of analysis and better addressing empirical validity and social desirability bias. Research limitations/implications The findings result in prescriptions and a broad agenda to guide future research in the SSCM arena. The final section of the paper provides additional avenues for future research surrounding theory development and decision making. Originality/value This SLR provides a rigorous, methodologically valid review of the continuing evolution of empirical SSCM research over a 28-year time period.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-102
Author(s):  
Sajeev Abraham George ◽  
Anurag C. Tumma

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to benchmark the operational and financial performances of the major Indian seaports to help derive useful insights to improve their performance. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology has been used with the help of data collected on the 13 major seaports of India. The first stage of the DEA captured the operational efficiencies, while the second stage the financial performance. Findings A window analysis over a period of three years revealed that no port was able to score an overall average efficiency of 100 per cent. The study identified the better performing units among their peers in both the stages. The contrasting results of the study with the traditional operational and financial performance measures used by the ports helped to derive useful insights. Research limitations/implications The data used in the study were majorly limited to the available sources in the public domain. Also, the study was limited to the major seaports which are under the Government of India and no comparisons were carried out with other local or international ports. Practical implications There is a need to prioritize investments and improvement efforts where they are most needed, instead of following a generalized approach. Once the benchmark ports are identified, the port authorities and other relevant stakeholders should work in detail on the factors causing inefficiencies, for possible improvements in performance. Originality/value This paper carried out a two-stage DEA that helped to derive useful insights on operational efficiency and financial performance of the India seaports. A combination of the financial and operational parameters, along with a comparison of the DEA results with the traditional measures, provided a different perspective on the Indian seaport performance. Considering the scarcity of research papers reported in the literature on DEA-based benchmarking studies of seaports in the Indian context, it has the potential to attract future research in this field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Shakeel ◽  
Peter Mathieu Kruyen ◽  
Sandra Van Thiel

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a review of the selected literature in ethical leadership synthesizing findings from 45 articles selected from journals on leadership, public administration, organizational behavior, psychology and ethics. Design/methodology/approach Four themes are addressed: the conceptualization of ethical leadership theories, the existence of popular measurement instruments for ethical leadership, findings on ethical leadership in the public sector and outcomes of ethical leadership in terms of benefits and negative consequences. Findings The definition by Brown et al. (2005) is the most frequently used definition, even though recent criticism states that this definition may be too narrow. Ethical leadership is usually measured by means of a survey; however, there are at least three different questionnaires in use. In the public sector, ethical leadership has been linked to both positive outcomes and negative consequences. Research limitations/implications This paper only includes selected academic articles and does not include published books. Originality/value Based on our findings, the authors present recommendations for future research, among others into a broader conceptualization of ethical leadership and the use of mixed methods.


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