Paul D. Sweeney

Distributive and procedural justice as predictors of satisfaction with personal and organizational outcomes.

Distributive justice was found to be a more important predictor of two personal outcomes, pay satisfaction and job satisfaction, than procedural justice, whereas the reverse was true for two organizational outcomes-organizational commitment and subordinates evaluation of supervisor. However, procedural and distributive justice also interacted in predicting organizational outcomes. We discuss limitations of this study and directions for future research.

Wage comparisons with similar and dissimilar others

Considerable research has been completed on the link between social comparisons and employee satisfaction. Surprisingly, however, few of those studies contrast the effects of various comparisons with others on pay satisfaction. Based on social comparison theory, we expected that comparisons with similar others would be more important predictors of pay satisfaction than comparisons with dissimilar others. Across four studies, the degree of similarity of the comparison other was varied. In Studies 1 and 2, respondents made pay comparisons inside or outside the organization. In Studies 3 and 4, respondents made pay comparisons with referents in the same and different occupations. In all four studies we found that while similar others did provide employees with important information that affected their satisfaction, so did information about dissimilar others. We suggest that the importance of a job in our self-definitions, with pay level being among the most overt markers, may account for our findings. Using pay as a yardstick may lead us all to widen our search for information about others, including ordinarily discrepant others. Alternative explanations and directions for research are discussed.

Social comparisons and income satisfaction: A cross‐national examination

In this study we look at the cross-national applicability of social comparison theory. National samples of workers in 12 countries were used to examine the effect of social comparisons on pay satisfaction. After controlling for actual pay levels, three different pay comparisons were predictive of satisfaction with pay. Further, we showed that these social comparison effects extended across the majority of countries in this sample. We call for more research that specifically examines cultural dimensions of comparisons, within and across borders.

The Effects of Information Technology Project Complexity on Group Interaction

This study investigates the effect of varying project complexity on the group interaction processes of small information technology (IT) project teams. The projects included two complex tasks (i.e., LAN and WAN development tasks) and a less complex development task (i.e., a small business Web site development task). The study found that project complexity can affect the group interaction process. Participants reported significantly higher expectations, group integration, communication, and participation while working on less complex projects. Efforts to organize project personnel and define roles were more effective with less complex projects. Power struggles and noninvolvement remained a problem for teams regardless of project complexity. This study identifies and confirms key problem areas that can lead to project failure as IT projects become more complex. The results should interest both researchers and information systems managers, because the study is among the first to extend the common body of knowledge concerning group interaction and task complexity to IT projects.

Locus of Control as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Perceived Influence and Procedural Justice

A survey of 172 employees of a consumer products manufacturing firm was used to test hypotheses about procedural justice. Some reviewers have noted that perceptions of procedural justice are enhanced by the degree of perceived influence workers have in decision making. However, not all research on this topic is consistent. We suggest that the perceived influence-procedural justice relation may be moderated by an employees locus of control orientation. Our data support this hypothesis. Perceived influence was more likely to lead to perceptions of procedural justice for internals than externals. Implications of these results are discussed.

Project characteristics and group communication: an investigation

The research study presented examined the effects of technological complexity on project group communication. The same project teams performed three separate projects involving the development of an HTML Website, the development of a local area network (LAN), and the development of blueprints for a wide-area network (WAN). Each of the projects exposed groups to a different level of complexity. The results of the study indicated differences in group information sharing, group communication focus, and group gatekeeping activities. In each of these cases, the groups had greater communication with the less complex project task, the HTML project. The study did not find significant differences in group communication concerned with member withdrawal or group conflict.

How CIOs Overcome the Competing Values Challenge: Irish CIOs' Perspectives

Competing values are a fact of organizational life. However, there are gaps in our understanding about how these opposing beliefs hinder influence processes. This article draws on interview data to demonstrate how Irish Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are able to convince their colleagues to support new projects within their firms in the face of competing values. Focused interviews were used to explore the influence process and the competing values phenomenon, since this type of research is at an early stage and qualitative methods and analysis serve as a rich source of theory development. The data showed that the CIOs who did not face competing values were able to successfully influence other executives to support proposed projects. Additionally, half of the remaining CIOs who did face competing values were also successful at influencing their colleagues. In these cases, several features of the situation existed, including (a) small relative project size, (b) projects that were consistent with both external and internal environmental conditions, (c) the use of upward influence, and (d) the right combination of influence behaviors. Finally, we suggest actions that CIOs can use to successfully influence other executives when faced with the challenge of competing values.

A CROSS‐NATIONAL COMPARISON OF EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION: INSIGHTS FOR AMERICAN MANAGEMENT

Three manufacturing facilities of an international consumer products company were studied to determine cross‐cultural differences in how managers address employee participation. Despite nearly identical products, a common company culture, and other similarities, European managers demonstrated a very different perspective on employee participation than American managers. Implications for American managers are developed from these contrasts.

Assessing trust among IS personnel: a view of general trust, trust of management and inter-organizational trust

Trust is a central component in most relationships and a vital component in business transactions. This paper evaluates several trust levels for IS personnel. The general trust of people, trust of management and supervisors, and inter-organizational trust are evaluated. The study surveyed 168 information systems workers. The results indicate a low level of trust by information systems personnel in all aspects of trust. These results should be of notice for management in IS organizations because they must understand the perceptions of their employees as they conduct business both internally in their organization and in dealing with potential customers or clients.

Group interaction constructs for hands-on LAN projects: an initial investigation

Group work has long been an effective approach to solving organizational problems and making high quality management decisions. This has been particularly true for information systems projects. This research effort attempts to define the constructs for group interaction as it pertains to small groups (i.e. 3-7 members). The subjects were students who were placed into groups and then assigned a short technology-intensive LAN building project. Five constructs were identified as comprising group interaction for IT projects, including: 1) group cohesion; 2) group communication problems; 3) group conflict; 4) member encouragement; and 5) group leadership. These factors were then contrasted with previous research on group interaction where the groups faced an intellectual (decision making) task, not a short technology-intensive task. The factors comprising the constructs from the two studies were different.