scholarly journals Professional status and norm violation in email collaboration

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Axtell ◽  
Karin S. Moser ◽  
Janet McGoldrick

Purpose Status is a central aspect of teamwork relationships and successful collaboration in teams, both online and offline. Status group membership and status perception shape behavioural expectations and norm perceptions of what is appropriate, but despite their importance have been neglected in previous research. Status effects are of special interest in online collaboration, e.g. via email, where no immediate feedback or non-verbal/paraverbal communication and direct observation is possible. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in research. Design/methodology/approach An experimental scenario study with two different professional status groups (lecturers and students) tested status effects on causal attributions, intergroup bias and emotional and collaborative responses to perceived norm violations in emails. Findings Results overall showed three key findings: a “black-sheep-effect” with harsher negative attributions for same status members, more aggression and less cooperation towards lower status senders and stronger (negative) emotional reactions towards high status senders. Originality/value The findings are important for managing professional online communication because negative personal attributions, strong emotions and aggressive behaviours can increase team conflict, lead to mistakes and generally undermine performance.

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Girts Racko

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how knowledge exchange between academics and clinicians in Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs) is influenced by their social position based on their symbolic and social capitals, that is, their personal professional status and connections to high-status professional peers, knowledge brokers, and unfamiliar professional peers. Design/methodology/approach Using an online survey, the author triangulates the cross-sectional measurement of the effects of academic and clinicians’ social position in the initial and later phases of CLAHRCs with the longitudinal measurement of these effects over a two-year period. Findings First, academics and clinicians with a higher personal professional status are more likely to develop joint networks and decision making both in the early and later phases of a CLAHRC. Second, academics and clinicians who are more connected to higher status occupational peers are more likely to develop joint networks in the early phase of a knowledge exchange partnership but are less likely to become engaged in joint networks over time. Third, involvement of knowledge brokers in the networks of academics and clinicians is likely to facilitate their inter-professional networking only in the later partnership phase. Practical implications Academics and clinicians’ capitals have a distinctive influence on knowledge exchange in the early and later phases of CLAHRCs and on a change in knowledge exchange over a two-year period. Originality/value Prior research on CLAHRCs has examined how knowledge exchange between academics and clinicians can be encouraged by the creation of shared governance mechanisms. The author advances this research by highlighting the role of their social position in facilitating knowledge exchange.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy R. Moake ◽  
Christopher Robert

PurposeHumor can be a useful tool in the workplace, but it remains unclear whether humor used by men versus women is perceived similarly due to social role expectations. This paper explored whether female humorists have less social latitude in their use of aggressive and affiliative humor in the workplace. This paper also examined how formal organizational status and the target's gender can impact audience perceptions.Design/methodology/approachTwo scenario-based studies were conducted where participants rated the foolishness of the humorist. For Study 1, participants responded to a scenario with an aggressive, humorous comment. For Study 2, participants responded to a scenario with an affiliative, humorous comment.FindingsResults suggested that high-status female humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women were viewed as less foolish than low-status female humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women. Conversely, status did not impact perceptions of male humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women. Results also indicated that high-status women who used affiliative humor were viewed as less foolish when their humor was directed toward low-status men versus low-status women. Conversely, no differences existed for high-status men who used affiliative humor with low-status men and women.Practical implicationsNarrower social role expectations for women suggest that interpersonal humor can be a riskier strategy for women.Originality/valueThis study suggests that women have less social latitude in their use of humor at work, and that organizational status and target gender influence perceptions of female humorists.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tugce Ertem-Eray ◽  
Eyun-Jung Ki

PurposeAs the number of corporate blogs has continued to increase over the years, this study examines the use of relationship cultivation strategies of Fortune 500 companies on their corporate blogs. Moreover, it focuses on how companies use corporate blogs as interactive online communication channels to create a sense of community among their publics.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of Fortune 500 company corporate blogs was conducted to examine the use of relational cultivation strategies and their methods of promoting a sense of community.FindingsFindings indicate that networking and sharing tasks are used most frequently among all relational cultivation strategies on corporate blogs, and that there are statistically significant differences among industries for using relationship cultivation strategies on corporate blogs. The most frequently used dimension of sense of community on corporate blogs is shared emotional connection.Originality/valueStudies analyzing social media as public relations tools have not yet focused on community building. In fact, few studies have examined the community building aspect of corporate blogs in the public relations field. To fill this gap, this study focuses on community building and analyzes how companies use corporate blogs as an interactive online communication channel to create a sense of community among their publics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Kotlyar ◽  
Leonard Karakowsky ◽  
Mary Jo Ducharme ◽  
Janet A. Boekhorst

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how status-based labels, based on future capabilities, can impact people's risk tolerance in decision making. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors developed and tested theoretical arguments using a set of three studies employing a scenario-based approach and a total of 449 undergraduate business students. Findings – The findings suggest that labeling people in terms of future capabilities can trigger perceptions of public scrutiny and influence their risk preferences. Specifically, the results reveal that individuals who are recipients of high-status labels tend to choose lower risk decision options compared to their peers. Research limitations/implications – The study employed scenarios to examine the issue of employee labeling. The extent to which these scenarios have truly captured the dynamics of labeling is questionable, and future research should employ a field-based study to examine whether the reported effect can be observed in a “real” work context. Practical implications – Organizations are concerned about their future leadership capacity and often attempt to grow leadership talent by identifying high-potential employees early on. The results of this study suggest that such practice may have an unintentional negative effect of reducing high-potentials’ tolerance toward risky decision making, thus potentially impacting these future leaders’ decision making in the realm of corporate strategy, R&D, etc. Originality/value – The issue of how labeling individuals in terms of future capabilities can impact their risk preference has been largely ignored by organizational research. This paper suggests that the popular practice of identifying high-potential employees may have unintentional negative effects by lowering their risk tolerance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar ◽  
Syed Zamberi Ahmad ◽  
Norman S. Wright ◽  
Hazbo Skoko

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the determining factors of entrepreneurial business startup in Saudi Arabia from an eclectic perspective. Design/methodology/approach Based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data of 2000 Saudi Arabian respondents, the study analyzes a multitude of individual factors which are classified into four groups: financial resources; social legitimacy; entrepreneurial personality; and entrepreneurial competencies. Gender and education are moderating variables influencing the relationship, whereas age is a control variable using binary logistic regression technique. Findings Out of ten hypotheses, only four hypotheses, namely, income, fear of failure, perception of high status and knowledge of other entrepreneurs, have a significant relationship with the possibility of a business startup. Originality/value Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 394-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yui-Yip Lau ◽  
Adolf K.Y. Ng ◽  
Ka-Chai Tam ◽  
Erico Ka Kan Chan

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the development of logistics and supply chain education through conducting comparative study between high diploma and associate degree. This study will critically review the added value of sub-degree courses of professional education. What exactly drives sub-degree students to enroll for a high diploma and associate degree program in maritime logistics and supply chain studies? How do they select to enroll such programs? Do such programs foster the students to equip in the professions? What do they look for obtaining professional status afterwards? Design/methodology/approach To address the stated queries, this study will analyze students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of sub-degree education and their motivation on enrolling these courses through a questionnaire survey. Findings In the context of higher education, sub-degrees of professional studies experienced tremendous growth in recent decades. Many academic institutions have recorded an upward trend in providing professional education on subjects that traditionally focused on apprentice-style, non-academic learning approach. However, the reasons behind the steady growth of the demand of sub-degree level of professional education have been under-researched. Research limitations/implications This research is based on Hong Kong data only. Originality/value The paper not only increases the scope and depth of research area in logistics and supply chain education but also contributes theoretically to the understanding on the curriculum of sub-degree logistics and supply chain programs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Michael Wendt ◽  
Joachim Griesbaum ◽  
Ralph Kölle

Purpose – In the context of social media marketing, so called viral stealth videos (VSVs) often attract as much or even more attention than videos that directly advertise products (product advertising video (PAV)). However, beyond this, the product or brand-related impact of such videos is not so clear. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate brand perception of PAVs and VSVs in YouTube. Design/methodology/approach – The research design is based on an examination of comments of six VSVs and six PAVs on YouTube. Therefore, the content of 1,080 posts was analyzed to capture the topic, the attitude toward the video and the pragmatic intent of posts. Findings – Results indicate that there are strong differences with regard to users ' perception of the two analyzed video type segments. The content of VSVs is clearly recognized as positive more often than the content of PAVs. In contrast, only PAVs evoke substantial brand awareness but receive rather mixed results with regards to brand assessment. Research limitations/implications – As a whole, the study is widely descriptive and of explorative value. Nevertheless, the research design can be estimated as a first step to measure the brand-related impact of online videos. Ideally, the data generated in the investigation should be combined with traffic and conversion data of the brands’ websites to get an encompassing picture of the marketing related impact of the investigated online videos. Practical implications – Seen from a marketers’ perspective, one can recommend PAVs over VSVs as there are hardly any brand-related impacts of VSVs visible in online communication. PAVs are perceived less positively but they are able to evoke brand awareness at least. Originality/value – According to the authors’ knowledge this investigation is one of only a few studies that analyzes real online communication in the context of video-based online marketing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1336-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annica Björkman ◽  
Martin Salzmann-Erikson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe online communication about the experiences and attitudes toward Swedish Healthcare Direct, a national telephone advice nursing (TAN) service. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive research design was adopted using a six-step netnographic method. Three Swedish forums were purposefully selected and data from the virtual discussions were collected. Findings Three themes emerged: expectancy and performativity of the nurses, absurdity in accessibility and the scrutinizing game. The most prominent finding was the scrutinizing game, which included aspects of bidirectional mistrust from both nurses and callers. Another salient finding was the attitudes that callers held toward nurses who used a technique interpreted as “passing the buck.” Research limitations/implications The use of a nethnographic method is novel in this area of research. Consequently, the body of knowledge has regarding telephone advise nursing service has significantly been broadened. A limitation in this study is that demographic data for the posters are not available. Practical implications Bidirectional distrust is an important issue that must be acknowledged by TAN services, since it might damage the service on a fundamental level. Healthcare providers, politicians, and researchers should account for the power and availability of virtual discussions when seeking consumers’ opinions and evaluating the quality of the care provided. Originality/value This analysis of the ongoing discussions that take place on the internet provides insight into callers’ perceptions of a national TAN service. The bidirectional mistrust found from both the nurses and the callers might be a threat to callers’ compliance with the advice given and their care-seeking behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazel Kershaw-Solomon ◽  
Nick Beech ◽  
Jeff Gold ◽  
Julia Claxton ◽  
Tricia Auty ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact competency frameworks as standardisation can have on the employee engagement of academic staff within higher education (HE) through their employment as managerial tools. Design/methodology/approach A literature review is conducted from which the conditions for effective competency frameworks are evaluated and the influence of changes in the HE environment in the form of political agendas and tight resources are explored. Findings This paper provides insights into the dynamics of public service modernisation and the tensions between the dominant discourse of managerialism and the degree of agency afforded to professional academics. It highlights the relevance of informal peer relationships in setting the climate to generate collegial bonding and professional engagement that underpin successful teacher fellowship accreditations. It further highlights the key role managers play in this process and provides a conceptual framework highlighting the dynamics and combined effect of employee engagement and competency frameworks set within complex HE environment. Practical implications This paper brings together the prerequisites for effective implementation of competency frameworks to implement successful employee engagement strategies set within the complexities of the HE context, which has not been studied to date. Armed with such insights, Human Resource Development (HRD) departments and universities can implement competency assessments that generate greater staff engagement. Originality/value The paper provides a critical approach in reviewing the impact of Continued Professional Development and its link to professional status and thus helps British Universities and others to understand how the mechanisms at work affect engagement levels of academic staff. Armed with this depth of understanding of how the change initiative works, with whom and under what circumstances, universities will be better able to meet target UK Professional Standards Framework membership levels required by the higher education academy (HEA) and, subsequently, the HEA to meet their targets for the government.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Yeandle ◽  
Liz Fawkes ◽  
Clare Carter ◽  
Chris Gordon ◽  
Elizabeth Challis

Purpose – National treatment guidelines regarding Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, 2009) make a number of recommendations relating to system and cultural treatment variables including: access to services, autonomy and choice, developing an optimistic and trusting relationship and managing endings and transitions. The purpose of this paper is to look at a model which could help organisational effectiveness across a range of service settings in relation to personality disorder. Design/methodology/approach – Explanation of why the McKinsey 7S organisational model (Waterman et al., 1980) may be useful in assessing organisational effectiveness in relation to personality disorder. Findings – Cultural and organisational factors across a range of levels need to be aligned to allow for effective service delivery. This is particularly important in working with this client group where strong emotional reactions and subsequent organisational splits are common. Practical implications – The application of this tool within clinical leadership and service development would be particularly important for coherence within generalist (as opposed to specialist) settings. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge this analysis is unique as a review of NHS culture across a range of settings and discussion of the implications for service delivery for patients with BPD.


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