Alexa A. Perryman

The Moderating Effect of CEO Power on the Board Composition–Firm Performance Relationship*

Prior studies of the relationship between the composition of boards of directors and firm performance offer equivocal results. Drawing on agency and power circulation theories, we attempt to reduce this equivocality by asserting that CEO power moderates the relationship. Specifically, an outside director dominated board is needed to check a powerful CEO, but monitoring by other executives provides sufficient constraints on CEOs with low power. We used event study methodology to test the effects of the interaction between board composition and CEO power on stock market reaction to 73 unexpected CEO deaths. We found support for our theorizing among two of three sources of CEO power. Thus, although regulatory trends increasingly support outside director dominated boards, our findings indicate that this may not always benefit shareholders and that CEO power should be considered when constructing boards.

Effects of Selection and Training on Unit-Level Performance Over Time: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach

Surprisingly few data exist concerning whether and how utilization of job-related selection and training procedures affects different aspects of unit or organizational performance over time. The authors used longitudinal data from a large fast-food organization (N = 861 units) to examine how change in use of selection and training relates to change in unit performance. Latent growth modeling analyses revealed significant variation in both the use and the change in use of selection and training across units. Change in selection and training was related to change in 2 proximal unit outcomes: customer service performance and retention. Change in service performance, in turn, was related to change in the more distal outcome of unit financial performance (i.e., profits). Selection and training also affected financial performance, both directly and indirectly (e.g., through service performance). Finally, results of a cross-lagged panel analysis suggested the existence of a reciprocal causal relationship between the utilization of the human resources practices and unit performance. However, there was some evidence to suggest that selection and training may be associated with different causal sequences, such that use of the training procedure appeared to lead to unit performance, whereas unit performance appeared to lead to use of the selection procedure.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Reputation Mediators in the Relationships Between Accountability and Job Performance and Satisfaction

Holding people answerable for their actions captures the essence of accountability, which is one of the most fundamental constructs in the organizational sciences and, unfortunately, one about which little is known. This study formulated and tested a model that sought to explicate the intermediate linkages between accountability and job performance and satisfaction. Specifically, the hypothesized model suggests that accountability affects organizational citizenship behavior, which in turn influences job performance and satisfaction through personal reputation. Three alternative models were also examined, but the hypothesized model demonstrated the best fit to the data. Strengths and limitations of the study, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed.

Meso-level theory of accountability in organizations

Accountability is ubiquitous in social systems, and its necessity is magnified in formal organizations, whose purpose has been argued to predict and control behavior. The very notion of organizing necessitates answering to others, and this feature implies an interface of work and social enterprises, the individuals comprising them, and subunits from dyads to divisions. Because the nature of workplace accountability is multi-level as well as interactive, single-level conceptualizations of the phenomenon are incomplete and inherently misleading. In response, this chapter sets forth a meso-level conceptualization of accountability, which develops a more comprehensive understanding of this pervasive and imperative phenomenon. The meso model presented integrates contemporary theory and research, and extends our perspectives beyond individual, group, unit, or organizational perspectives toward a unitary whole. Following this is a description of challenges and opportunities facing scholars conducting accountability research (e.g., data collection and analysis and non-traditional conceptualizations of workplace phenomenon). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as are directions for future research.

The moderating effects of personal reputation on accountability-strain relationships.

Although felt accountability has predicted positive outcomes in some studies, it has demonstrated anxiety-provoking properties in others. This inconsistency has led researchers to search for moderating variables that explain why felt accountability promotes or impedes favorable outcomes. Building on these studies, the authors examine the moderating effects of personal reputation on the felt accountability-strain relationship. As hypothesized, the results indicate that a positive personal reputation ameliorated the strain reactions caused by felt accountability. In particular, as felt accountability increased, individuals with strong personal reputations experienced less job tension and depressed mood at work, as well as more job satisfaction, but individuals with weak personal reputations experienced the opposite outcomes.

Limited outlet distribution: Selective and exclusive channel distribution of the United States based national paper trade alliance firms

Abstract Within channels of distribution, the profitability of the wholesaler-distributor continues to be threatened from many sources. However, the imminent demise of the middleman that has been predicted for many years has yet to materialize. Those middlemen that do well have found ways of maintaining relevance and creating value. This paper seeks to evaluate how the participants in the supplier to distributor channel in a global industry both perceive and participate in selective or exclusive distribution, i.e. utilize a ‘Limited Outlet Distribution (LOD)’ strategy. Data were collected qualitatively through four case studies and quantitatively through the administration of an electronic questionnaire. Results indicate that selective or exclusive distribution strategies are being utilized in the channel, but more so by manufacturers than distributors.