Sales force social exchange in problem resolution situations

While sales managers spend much of their time resolving sales force-related problems, existing theory offers little insight into the social exchange processes which occur in problem resolution situations. Using a qualitative inquiry method rooted in grounded theory, we uncover three key social exchange contributions used by sales managers when dealing with problem situations in the sales force: sales manager responsiveness, caring, and aggressiveness. We then show that the extent to which managers use these exchange contributions in problem situations is a function of manager characteristics, problem-specific characteristics, and the situational context. We also show that the extent to which managers invest in these three social exchange contributions has implications for the quality for the interpersonal relationships between salespeople and their managers, and for the effectiveness of problem resolution activity.

Optimising employee engagement with internal communication : a social exchange perspective

Drawing on principles of social exchange this thesis employs mediated regression to investigate the relationship between internal communication and employee engagement in the Australian workforce. Findings suggest organisations and supervisors should focus internal communication efforts toward building greater perceptions of support and stronger identification among employees in order to foster optimal engagement. This research contributes to public relations and management scholarship through understanding how perceived support and identification act as mediating mechanisms in the relationship between internal communication and employee engagement at the organisational and supervisory level.

Optimizing employee engagement with internal communication : a social exchange perspective

Employee engagement is linked to higher productivity, lower attrition, and improved organizational reputations resulting in increased focus and resourcing by managers to foster an engaged workforce. While drivers of employee engagement have been identified as perceived support, job characteristics, and value congruence, internal communication is theoretically suggested to be a key influence in both the process and maintenance of employee engagement efforts. However, understanding the mechanisms by which internal communication influences employee engagement has emerged as a key question in the literature. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether social factors, namely perceived support and identification, play a mediating role in the relationship between internal communication and engagement. To test the theoretical model, data are collected from 200 non-executive employees using an online self-administered survey. The study applies linear and mediated regression to the model and finds that organizations and supervisors should focus internal communication efforts toward building greater perceptions of support and stronger identification among employees in order to foster optimal levels of engagement.

Leaders' personal wisdom and leader-member exchange quality: The role of individualized consideration

Business scholars have recently proposed that the virtue of personal wisdom may predict leadership behaviors and the quality of leader–follower relationships. This study investigated relationships among leaders’ personal wisdom—defined as the integration of advanced cognitive, reflective, and affective personality characteristics (Ardelt, Hum Dev 47:257–285, 2004)—transformational leadership behaviors, and leader–member exchange (LMX) quality. It was hypothesized that leaders’ personal wisdom positively predicts LMX quality and that intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration, two dimensions of transformational leadership, mediate this relationship. Data came from 75 religious leaders and 1–3 employees of each leader (N = 158). Results showed that leaders’ personal wisdom had a positive indirect effect on follower ratings of LMX quality through individualized consideration, even after controlling for Big Five personality traits, emotional intelligence, and narcissism. In contrast, intellectual stimulation and the other two dimensions of transformational leadership (idealized influence and inspirational motivation) did not mediate the positive relationship between leaders’ personal wisdom and LMX quality. Implications for future research on personal wisdom and leadership are discussed, and some tentative suggestions for leadership development are outlined.

Social Exchange at Work and Emotional Exhaustion: The Role of Personality

Unbalanced social-exchange processes at work have been linked to emotional exhaustion. In addition to organizational factors, individual differences are important determinants of reciprocity perceptions. This study explored whether broad and narrow personality traits were associated with perceived lack of reciprocity (organizational and interpersonal levels), and whether personality moderated the relationship between reciprocity and emotional exhaustion, in a sample of 322 civil servants. Extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, internal locus of control, and Type A behavior predicted reciprocity. The relationship between perceived lack of reciprocity with the organization and emotional exhaustion was stronger for individuals reporting lower negative affect or higher extraversion. These findings highlight the importance of personality for understanding perceived reciprocity at work and its impact on emotional exhaustion.

Social Support Quality in Internet Based Information and Communication: From "Digital Divide" to "Voice Divide"

National and international studies demonstrate that the number of teenagers using the inter-net increases. But even though they actually do have access from different places to the in-formation and communication pool of the internet, there is evidence that the ways in which teenagers use the net - regarding the scope and frequency in which services are used as well as the preferences for different contents of these services - differ significantly in relation to socio-economic status, education, and gender. The results of the regarding empirical studies may be summarised as such: teenager with low (formal ) education especially use internet services embracing 'entertainment, play and fun' while higher educated teenagers (also) prefer intellectually more demanding and particularly services supplying a greater variety of communicative and informative activities. More generally, pedagogical and sociological studies investigating "digital divide" in a dif-ferentiated and sophisticated way - i.e. not only in terms of differences between those who do have access to the Internet and those who do not - suggest that the internet is no space beyond 'social reality' (e.g. DiMaggio & Hargittai 2001, 2003; Vogelgesang, 2002; Welling, 2003). Different modes of utilisation, that structure the internet as a social space are primarily a specific contextualisation of the latter - and thus, the opportunities and constraints in virtual world of the internet are not less than those in the 'real world' related to unequal distribu-tions of material, social and cultural resources as well as social embeddings of the actors involved. This fact of inequality is also true regarding the outcomes of using the internet. Empirical and theoretical results concerning forms and processes of networking and commu-nity building - i.e. sociability in the internet, as well as the social embeddings of the users which are mediated through the internet - suggest that net based communication and infor-mation processes may entail the resource 'social support'. Thus, with reference to social work and the task of compensating the reproduction of social disadvantages - whether they are medial or not - the ways in which teenagers get access to and utilize net based social sup-port are to be analysed.

Tourism dependence and host community perceptions: notes on the social exchange theory

This article examines the opinions of the local population on the south coast of the Spanish province of Alicante regarding the development of tourism in recent years, analysing their perception of the benefits of tourism using the social exchange theory. This study is presented in two stages. The qualitative stage, which is based on in-depth interviews and focus groups, acts as a guide for the second stage, which consists of a survey conducted with the resident Spanish population. It was found that people linked to the tourist sector through their work view tourism as the driving force behind the economic and social development of their towns, although they are more critical than others of the model that has been established. They defend the development process that has taken place, but feel that overcrowding brings their towns to a standstill and needs to be resolved.

Liderança, qualidade de troca social em equipes de trabalho e o comprometimento organizacional: um estudo com peacekeepers brasileiros no Haiti

Este trabalho apresenta o resultado de cinco estudos teóricos e empíricos embasados nas teorias de trocas sociais entre Líder-liderados (leader-member exchange), nas trocas sociais entre integrantes de equipes (team-member exchange) e no comprometimento organizacional, realizados nos anos de 2012 e 2013. A pesquisa empírica investigou a liderança, o comprometimento organizacional e o trabalho em equipe, mediante a participação voluntária de militares do Exército Brasileiro, dentre os quais se destacam aqueles que integraram a Missão de Paz para Estabilização do HAITI (MINUSTAH). Os dados da pesquisa foram coletados mediante o emprego de entrevistas individuais, realização de grupos focais (focus group) e aplicação de surveys pela internet. Os resultados dos estudos qualitativos indicaram a relevância da qualidade das trocas sociais entre líderes e liderados e do comprometimento organizacional para o trabalho desenvolvido na Missão de Paz para Estabilização do HAITI (MINUSTAH). Os estudos quantitativos indicaram o papel mediador do componente afetivo do comprometimento organizacional na relação entre a qualidade de trocas líder-liderado e a qualidade de trocas sociais em equipes. Análises comparativas identificaram diferenças no padrão de qualidade das trocas sociais estabelecidas entre líderes e liderados, entre os diferentes níveis hierárquicos e entre os militares que atuaram ou não na MINUSTAH. Verificou-se, ainda, que níveis mais elevados na qualidade de trocas sociais estabelecidas entre líderes e liderados e em equipes de trabalho estão associados a níveis mais elevados do componente afetivo de comprometimento organizacional. Estima-se que o presente estudo possa contribuir para o avanço de pesquisas sobre liderança e trocas sociais, além de subsidiar o aperfeiçoamento de programas de ensino, de treinamento e de fomento a pesquisas científicas, que possam favorecer as relações civis-militares no contexto brasileiro.

Countering the trend towards careerist orientation in the age of downsizing:test of a social exchange model

Predicated on the assumption that employee careerist orientation resulting from organizational actions to cut costs constitutes a potential threat to their long-term profitability and success, this study proposed and tested a social exchange model of careerist orientation in the People's Republic of China. Specifically, it was hypothesized that organizational justice and career growth opportunities will be related to careerist orientation, but the relationship will be mediated by trust in employer. Structural equation modeling results provided support for the model. Trust in organization fully mediated the relationship between careerist orientation and its antecedents.

Trust as a mediator of the relationship between organizational justice and work outcomes:test of a social exchange model

Data obtained from full-time employees of a public sector organization in India were used to test a social exchange model of employee work attitudes and behaviors. LISREL results revealed that whereas the three organizational justice dimensions (distributive, procedural and interactional) were related to trust in organization only interactional justice was related to trust in supervisor. The results further revealed that relative to the hypothesized fully mediated model a partially mediated model better fitted the data. Trust in organization partially mediated the relationship between distributive and procedural justice and the work attitudes of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment but fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and these work attitudes. In contrast, trust in supervisor fully mediated the relationship between interactional justice and the work behaviors of task performance and the individually- and organizationally-oriented dimensions of citizenship behavior.