John A. McClendon

Managing HR in the Small and Medium Enterprise: The Impact of Professional Employer Organizations

Due to their limited size, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cannot justify full-time HR professionals in their organizations. Thus, the complex and time-consuming nature of many HR activities can result in a significant drain on existing managerial resources. Professional employer organizations (PEOs), however, offer SMEs an alternative for handling their workforce by providing compensation programs, regulatory compliance, and other HR-related services. This study examines the satisfaction levels of 763 customers of one large PEO. Results show that firm growth, past HR problems, workforce size, contractual detail, service representative-client relations, value congruence, and overall PEO usage are significantly related to managerial satisfaction with PEO services.

Determinants of strike-related militancy: An analysis of a university faculty strike

This article examines the determinants of differences in militancy among the union workers involved in a faculty strike at Temple University in 1990. Three forms of strike-related militancy are investigated: voting to continue the strike, voting to defy a court injunction, and picketing and related strike-support activities. The results indicate that job attitudes, attitudes toward the union, the perceived instrumentality of striking, attitudes toward militancy, social support, and some demographic variables were related to at least one form of militancy examined. The three forms of militancy, however, had different determinants. For example, social support and union commitment were significantly related to the more risky and confrontational forms of militancy, but not to voting to continue a strike.

Professional Employer Organizations and Their Impact on Client Satisfaction With Human Resource Outcomes: A Field Study of Human Resource Outsourcing in Small and Medium Enterprises

Increasingly, small and medium enterprises are outsourcing human resource (HR) activities to professional employer organizations (PEOs). The authors draw on social network theory, transaction cost economics, and social exchange theory to examine how PEO and client characteristics moderate the impact associated with outsourcing human capital-enhancing HR services. Results from a study suggest that using a PEO for human capital-enhancing services was positively related to HR outcomes and that this relationship was stronger when a weak-ties service delivery model was used, client receptivity was high, and the PEO contract was more detailed.

Correlates of life satisfaction and unemployment stigma and the impact of length of unemployment on a unique unemployed sample

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test a process model of coping with job loss by examining the impact of distal to proximal variable sets for incrementally explaining two distinct subjective well‐being variables: life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. A second purpose is to test for mean differences between study scales for increasingly long‐term unemployed individuals.Design/methodology/approach – A unique sample of unemployed victims completed an online survey investigating the impact of six variable sets on life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. These sets fall within the McKee‐Ryan et al. taxonomy and included: human capital and demographics; personal and financial coping resources; cognitive appraisal; escape‐focused coping; problem‐focused coping; and job search effort.Findings – Results partially supported the hypothesized variable set impact order on both life satisfaction and unemployment stigma. In addition some significant differences on study variables were found comparing fou...

Member support for union mergers: An analysis of an affiliation referendum

A changing labor relations climate has caused many national unions to merge with smaller independent unions in recent years. One aspect of the merger process concerns the willingness of independent union members to support affiliation with a national union (Chaison, 1986). This article examines the determinants of indivudual-level voting behavior using data gathered from members of an independent union who rejected a proposed affiliation with a national union in a membership referendum. Logistic regression results indicate that affiliation supporters perceived the affiliation as improving union effectiveness, were influenced by social support among co-workers in favor of the merger, and perceived the saliency of the independent union’s support for the affiliation proposal. Conversely, affiliation opposition was influenced by the employer’s “vote no” campaign and by perceptions that affiliation would lead to an increased probability of strikes and to future increases in dues.

Crossing the line: The determinants of picket line crossing during a faculty strike

This study builds on the strike-militancy literature by examining the determinants of the union member’s decision to cross a picket line during a 29-day university faculty strike. As hypothesized, voting behavior in authorization and ratification elections significantly predicted crossing behavior, suggesting that strike voting may provide information about the level of support for the strike and, in turn, the level of bargaining power. In addition, satisfaction with the administration, union commitment, attitudes toward unions, co-worker social support, and the perceived cost of striking were significantly related to crossing behavior.

Exploring the Impact of Situational Background, Emotional, and Job Search Variables on Coping With Unemployment by Drinking Versus Considering Self-Employment

A diverse sample of unemployed respondents completed an online survey investigating the impact of situational background, emotional and job search-related variables, and beyond controlled-for variables on two new coping with unemployment outcomes, coping by drinking, or coping by considering self-employment. The authors were able to reliably measure both types of coping outcomes. For coping by drinking the authors found that having a higher base salary when laid off, greater denial of job loss, lower positive self-assessment, and lower job search confidence led to higher coping by drinking. For coping by becoming self-employed the authors found that being unemployed longer, having a higher base salary when laid off, greater financial strain, and higher job search confidence led to higher coping by considering self-employment. These results have implications for Employee Assistance Programs.

Effects of layoff victims' justice reactions and emotional responses on attitudes toward their previous employer

Purpose – This papers aim is to study a neglected research outcome within the last ten years, i.e. the impact of unemployment on the willingness of those laid off (victims) to endorse their previous employer to others.Design/methodology/approach – A unique sample of unemployed victims completed an on‐line survey investigating the impact of personal background variables, organizational background variables and layoff treatment variables on their willingness to endorse their previous employer.Findings – As expected, the perceived legitimacy of closure/procedural justice explained willingness to endorse. It was also found that higher perceived distributive justice was related to willingness to endorse. Collectively both layoff treatment variables explained most of the endorsement variance. Length of unemployment was positively related to anger and depression, and anger and depression were each negatively related to previous employer endorsement. In addition, it was also found that an unexpected new outcome,...

Exploring the Impact of Demographic, Personality, and Job Reattainment Variables on Unemployment-Delayed Retirement Intent

A diverse sample of unemployed respondents completed an online survey investigating the impact of demographic, personality, and job reattainment variables on their unemployment-delayed retirement intent (UDRI). The authors found that being unemployed for a longer time period, older, having more dependents to support, in greater denial of recent job loss, as well perceiving poor job re-attainment prospects were each related to higher UDRI. Poor job reattainment was measured using two separate items: perceptions of obtaining another job that would not be as good and taking time, and perceptions that there was no end in sight to unemployment. The results have implications for Employee Assistance Plans.

Union authorization card signatures and union certification election vote

One stage of the union organizing process involves the legal requirement that at least 30% of the employees in a potential bargaining unit express a desire for union representation by signing union authorization cards. Beyond the necessary legal requirement, do the data generated by card signing provide a potentially valuable source of information that may be useful to the union organizer in formulating campaign tactics? In addition, do authorization cards provide a sufficiently valid basis for establishing bargaining unit recognition as is the case in Canada? In order to explore these possibilities, the relationship between card signing behavior and certification vote in six union representation elections is examined. Although card signing and vote for certification are significantly related, overall results indicate that relying on union authorization card data as an indicator of vote at the individual level is questionable.