Trust in strategic alliances: what does it mean and how is it built?

Informed by social exchange theory (SET) this study examines the role of trust in strategic alliances. Interviews were conducted with 17 participants who were strategic alliance managers in their organization. The study finds that trust is important to strategic alliance managers, and without it alliance managers would find it difficult to keep their alliance going. Trust is built over time, and based on the past experiences that the alliance manager has with their partner. The study found that prior networks, timely and appropriate communication and information exchange, fairness preservation and inter-firm adaptation were important in developing trust in the strategic alliance.

The mediating effect of internal service quality on employee turnover – empirical evidence from Taiwanese nurses

Informed by social exchange theory (SET) this study examines the role of trust in strategic alliances. Interviews were conducted with 17 participants who were strategic alliance managers in their organization. The study finds that trust is important to strategic alliance managers, and without it alliance managers would find it difficult to keep their alliance going. Trust is built over time, and based on the past experiences that the alliance manager has with their partner. The study found that prior networks, timely and appropriate communication and information exchange, fairness preservation and inter-firm adaptation were important in developing trust in the strategic alliance.

Expatriate skills training strategies of Chinese multinationals operating in Australia

Recent years have witnessed a phenomenal growth in outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Chinese multinationals. In contrast to their developed country counterparts, Chinese multinationals lack experience in foreign expansion and international operation. Although there has been increasing academic attention placed on Chinese outward FDI, little research on expatriate skills training of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) has been conducted. Since the mainstream research focuses on expatriate pre-departure training rather than on learning during assignment, this study aims to bridge this gap by exploring how Chinese MNEs cope with expatriate training and skill enhancement when operating in an advanced economy such as Australia. The study utilises cross-level, in-depth interviews to analyse expatriate training in seven Chinese multinationals. Drawing on social learning theory, some patterns of Chinese expatriate skills training strategies are revealed, such as internationalisation as learning, the use of subsidiaries as a training tool, and learning as belonging.

Iterative development of Stand Up Australia : a multi-component intervention to reduce workplace sitting

Sitting, particularly in prolonged, unbroken bouts, is widespread within the office workplace, yet few interventions have addressed this newly-identified health risk behaviour. This paper describes the iterative development process and resulting intervention procedures for the Stand Up Australia research program focusing on a multi-component workplace intervention to reduce sitting time. The development of Stand Up Australia followed three phases. 1) Conceptualisation: Stand Up Australia was based on social cognitive theory and social ecological model components. These were operationalised via a taxonomy of intervention strategies and designed to target multiple levels of influence including: organisational structures (e.g. via management consultation), the physical work environment (via provision of height-adjustable workstations), and individual employees (e.g. via face-to-face coaching). 2) Formative research: Intervention components were separately tested for their feasibility and acceptability. 3) Pilot studies: Stand Up Comcare tested the integrated intervention elements in a controlled pilot study examining efficacy, feasibility and acceptability. Stand Up UQ examined the additional value of the organisational- and individual-level components over height-adjustable workstations only in a three-arm controlled trial. In both pilot studies, office workers’ sitting time was measured objectively using activPAL3 devices and the intervention was refined based on qualitative feedback from managers and employees. Results and feedback from participants and managers involved in the intervention development phases suggest high efficacy, acceptance, and feasibility of all intervention components. The final version of the Stand Up Australia intervention includes strategies at the organisational (senior management consultation, representatives consultation workshop, team champions, staff information and brainstorming session with information booklet, and supportive emails from managers to staff), environmental (height-adjustable workstations), and individual level (face-to-face coaching session and telephone support). Stand Up Australia is currently being evaluated in the context of a cluster-randomised controlled trial at the Department of Human Services (DHS) in Melbourne, Australia. Stand Up Australia is an evidence-guided and systematically developed workplace intervention targeting reductions in office workers’ sitting time.

Deconstructing religious identity, difference, and belonging : implications for anti-racist pedagogy

Increasing numbers of Australians identify with a multiplicity of religion groups or have no religious affiliation. Despite this, the representation of religious groups other than Christian—and the implications of this for anti-racist pedagogy in Australian schools—is seldom explored. This article interrogates the ways in which the most prominent of these minority religious groups (Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish) were spoken about in two Melbourne newspapers and considers the implications of this interrogation for multicultural pedagogy in globally integrated local school contexts, such as those in Australia. Methodologies of social cultural theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA) are used to investigate newspaper discussions from the different viewpoints of their experiential, systemic, and normative focus. I find that notions of religious identity described in the media are stylized in form and an almost-silent normative self-identity is defined against clichéd typologies made within a crucible of race, identity, and belonging.

No evidence for mirror system dysfunction in schizophrenia from a multimodal TMS/EEG study

Dysfunctional mirror neuron systems have been proposed to contribute to the social cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia. A few studies have explored mirror systems in schizophrenia using various techniques such as TMS (levels of motor resonance) or EEG (levels of mu suppression), with mixed results. This study aimed to use a novel multimodal approach (i.e. concurrent TMS and EEG) to further investigate mirror systems and social cognition in schizophrenia. Nineteen individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 19 healthy controls participated. Single-pulse TMS was applied to M1 during the observation of hand movements designed to elicit mirror system activity. Single EEG electrodes (C3, CZ, C4) recorded brain activity. Participants also completed facial affect recognition and theory of mind tasks. The schizophrenia group showed significant deficits in facial affect recognition and higher level theory of mind compared to healthy controls. A significant positive relationship was revealed between mu suppression and motor resonance for the overall sample, indicating concurrent validity of these measures. Levels of mu suppression and motor resonance were not significantly different between groups. These findings indicate that in stable outpatients with schizophrenia, mirror system functioning is intact, and therefore their social cognitive difficulties may be caused by alternative pathophysiology.

Summer is a good time for informal education

Students look forward to summer because usually it means a break from formal and non-formal education. Formal education refers to education in formal educational institutions, such as pre-schools, primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions and other registered training organisations. Non-formal education refers to organised educational activity outside the established formal system, that is intended to deliver a defined set of learning objectives to an identifiable group of learners (Chemistry in Australia, October 2014, page 33). Informal education refers to all learning outside the formal non-formal educational system; informal education is often associated with life-long learning as it can include reading non-fiction books and scholarly articles, viewing documentaries and other informal professional development. Informal education can also include travel to other countries and climates. Social constructivist theory maintains that learning occurs in social settings; conversely, most learners are limited by their cultural experiences. For example, Australian students have little first-hand experience of sublimation, but this is commonly observed in very cold climates when frost, ice or snow apparently “disappears” as it sublimes to water vapour, without passing through the liquid state. A favourite summertime activity is to go to the movies, especially in air-conditioned cinemas on a hot day or night. Watching movies are a form of virtual travel, and many educators make use of movies to illustrate chemistry concepts. Some movie producers want a sense of authenticity and work hard to get the details right, even though those details might be incidental to the main plot. For example, in Centurion, Roman soldiers fail in their rescue attempt, and are taunted by the Picts for stupidity -- they would have succeeded if they had only realised that metal become brittle in the cold. Another favourite example comes from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, when Bilbo, Samwise and Gollum are crossing the Dead Marshes and see lights that appear to float over the Marshes. These wills-o-the-wisp have been known for centuries, and was the subject of a debate between George Washington and his officers. Washington and Thomas Paine, “the Father of the American Revolution”, believed that the lights were due to a flammable gas released from the marsh, while Washington’s officers believed that the lights were due to a flammable liquid on the surface of the marsh. On Guy Fawkes Night, 5 November, 1783, the Washington-Paine experiment showed that when mud at the bottom of a river was disturbed, bubbles of flammable gas rose to the surface of the water. (Unknown to Washington and Paine, Alessandro Volta had performed a similar experiment in 1776.) A problem with informal education is that it is often unguided. Students may find it difficult to discern the difference between scientific reality and an artistic distortion of reality in novels and movies. Educators have an important role here. If we only teach facts and concepts, learners will be dependent on a teacher. If however, we foster students’ curiosity and ability to exercise judgement, they will be able to learn for themselves, not just during the summer, but also in every season of every year.

Franchisee-based brand equity: The role of brand relationship quality and brand citizenship behavior

Despite the evidence that brand management is core to the success of franchising businesses, limited empirical work has focused on branding in such business-to-business (B2B) exchanges. Integrating social exchange theory and the identity-based brand management framework, this study proposes that brand relationship quality is crucial in promoting franchisee brand citizenship behavior that can enhance brand equity attributable to franchisees, thereby advancing a model of '. franchisee-based brand equity' (FBBE). Survey results from 352 franchisees in franchised B2B exchanges suggest that brand relationship quality promotes brand citizenship behavior, thereby enhancing FBBE. Additionally, moderated mediation analysis indicates that the indirect effect of brand relationship quality on FBBE via brand citizenship behavior is stronger when franchisor competence is high. However, franchisor-franchisee relationship duration has no moderating effects on these relationships. The findings of this study have implications for franchising practitioners that are interested in understanding the role of brand relationship management in promoting franchisee brand citizenship behavior and FBBE.

Reduced mu suppression and altered motor resonance in euthymic bipolar disorder: evidence for a dysfunctional mirror system?

Social cognitive difficulties are common in the acute phase of bipolar disorder and, to a lesser extent, during the euthymic stage, and imaging studies of social cognition in euthymic bipolar disorder have implicated mirror system brain regions. This study aimed to use a novel multimodal approach (i.e., including both transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalogram (EEG)) to investigate mirror systems in bipolar disorder. Fifteen individuals with euthymic bipolar disorder and 16 healthy controls participated in this study. Single-pulse TMS was applied to the optimal site in the primary motor cortex (M1), which stimulates the muscle of interest during the observation of hand movements (goal-directed or interacting) designed to elicit mirror system activity. Single EEG electrodes (C3, CZ, C4) recorded mu rhythm modulation concurrently. Results revealed that the patient group showed significantly less mu suppression compared to healthy controls. Surprisingly, motor resonance was not significantly different overall between groups; however, bipolar disorder participants showed a pattern of reduced reactivity on some conditions. Although preliminary, this study indicates a potential mirror system deficit in euthymic bipolar disorder, which may contribute to the pathophysiology of the disorder.

Trust in management: the role of employee voice arrangements and perceived managerial opposition to unions

This study examines the relationship between employee voice arrangements and employees’ trust in management using data from the 2007 Australian Worker Representation and Participation Survey of 1,022 employees. Drawing on social exchange theory and employee relations literature, we test hypotheses concerning the relationships between direct and union voice arrangements, perceived managerial opposition to unions and employees’ trust in management. Consistent with our predictions, after controlling for a range of personal, job and workplace characteristics, regression analyses indicated that direct voice arrangements were positively related to employees’ trust in management. Union voice arrangements and perceived managerial opposition to unions were negatively related to trust in management. The article concludes by highlighting the study’s implications for management practice and avenues for further research.

The relationship between ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior: linear or curvilinear effects?

In this study, we examine the nature of the relationship between ethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), defined as unethical behavior conducted by employees with the aim of benefiting their organization, and whether the strength of the relationship differs between subordinates experiencing high and low identification with supervisor. Based on three-wave survey data obtained from 239 public sector employees in China, we find that ethical leadership has an inverted u-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with UPB. As the level of ethical leadership increases from low to moderate, UPB increases; as the level of ethical leadership increases from moderate to high, UPB decreases. Further, we find that the strength of this inverted u-curve relationship differs between subordinates with high and low identification with supervisor. That is to say, the inverted u-shaped relationship between ethical leadership and UPB was stronger when subordinates experienced high levels of identification with supervisor. The theoretical and managerial implications of our findings for understanding how to manage UPB in an organizational context are discussed. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.