Rhokeun Park

DOES EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ENHANCE FIRM SURVIVAL

Research on employee ownership has focused on questions of productivity, profitability, and employee attitudes and behavior, while there has been little attention to the most basic measure of performance: survival of the company. This study uses data on all U.S. public companies as of 1988, following them through 2001 to examine how employee ownership is related to survival. Estimation using Weibull survival models shows that companies with employee ownership stakes of 5% or more were only 76% as likely as firms without employee ownership to disappear in this period, compared both to all other public companies and to a closely matched sample without employee ownership. While employee ownership is associated with higher productivity, the greater survival rate of these companies is not explained by higher productivity, financial strength, or compensation flexibility. Rather, the higher survival is linked to their greater employment stability, suggesting that employee ownership companies may provide greater employment security as part of an effort to build a more cooperative culture, which can increase employee commitment, training, and willingness to make adjustments when economic difficulties occur. These results indicate that employee ownership may have an important role to play in increasing job and income security, and decreasing levels of unemployment. Given the fundamental importance of these issues for economic well being, further research on the role of employee ownership would be especially valuable.

Group incentives and financial performance: the moderating role of innovation

Using a nationally representative and multisource data set, this study examines the mediating role of organisational commitment in the relationship between group incentives and financial performance. The study also investigates the moderating role of innovation in these relationships. The results demonstrate that organisational commitment partially mediates the relationship between group incentives and financial performance. The findings of this study support the hypotheses that the relationships of group incentives with organisational commitment and financial performance are stronger in more innovative companies than in less innovative companies. The results provide implications on how group incentives affect financial performance and which organisations in particular should provide their employees with group incentive practices. Contact: Professor Rhokeun Park, College of Business Administration, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 107 Imun-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-791, Korea. Email: rkpark75@ hufs.ac.kr

Employee participation and outcomes: organizational strategy does matter

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) in the relationship between employee participation and organizational commitment, and the moderating role of organizational strategy in those relationships. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed hypotheses were tested by multilevel analyses with data from surveys of 1,105 employees and 49 managers in 49 companies located throughout South Korea. Findings – The results demonstrated that POS mediated the relationship between employee participation and organizational commitment, and that participation practices were related more strongly to POS and organizational commitment in companies with a prospector or analyzer strategy than in companies with a defender strategy. Research limitations/implications – Organizational-level variables were measured by one manager in each company. This study provides important implications regarding the fit between participation practices and organizational st...

Mediating role of perceived supervisor support in the relationship between job autonomy and mental health: moderating role of value–means fit

Abstract Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study investigates the relationship between job autonomy and mental health and the mediating role of perceived supervisor support (PSS) in that relationship. The study also examines whether employees’ work values moderate the relationships between job autonomy and PSS and mental health. Although it is well known that job autonomy has close relationships with mental health, we know little about the roles of PSS and employees’ values in these relationships. Using data from a nationally representative survey, this study found that PSS mediated the relationship between job autonomy and mental health. Furthermore, intrinsic work values positively moderated the relationships of job autonomy with PSS and mental health, whereas extrinsic work values negatively moderated these relationships. These findings support the idea of value–means fit. The findings provide important implications, beyond SDT, for how employees’ mental health can be improved and which employees benefit more from job autonomy.

The roles of OCB and automation in the relationship between job autonomy and organizational performance: a moderated mediation model

Abstract This study examines the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in the relationship between job autonomy and organizational performance in the manufacturing industry. The study also investigates the moderating role of automation in those relationships. Although it is well known that job autonomy has an intimate relationship with employees’ attitudes at the individual level, no studies have yet elucidated the relationships of job autonomy with OCB and organizational performance at the organizational level. Moreover, no research has investigated the role of automation in an OB discipline, although automation constitutes an important contextual variable. Using a moderated mediation model, this study found that OCB mediated the relationship between job autonomy and performance, and that these relationships were stronger in less automated organizations. The findings offer implications regarding how job autonomy can improve organizational performance and which organizations benefit more from job autonomy.

Autonomy and citizenship behavior: a moderated mediation model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of perceived organizational support (POS) in the relationships between job autonomy and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and the moderating role of organizational strategy in those relationships. Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses were tested by a moderated mediation model using multilevel survey data that were collected in South Korea in 2008. Findings – This study found that POS mediated the relationship between autonomy and OCB regardless of organizational strategy, and that job autonomy was more strongly related to POS in companies with an analyzer strategy than with a defender strategy. The results also indicated that the indirect relationship between job autonomy and OCB via POS was stronger in companies with an analyzer strategy than in companies with a defender strategy. Research limitations/implications – This study provides a new mechanism in the relationship between job autonomy and OCB using social exc...

Family leave for employed women: Interaction effects of gender discrimination and household responsibilities in South Korea

Family leave policies are among the approaches used by employers across the globe to ease work–family strains among employed women, and enhance employee engagement and productivity. Yet some research suggests a critical dilemma facing some women: taking advantage of family leave may improve their ability to maintain both job and family, while lessening their status as valued employees in the eyes of employers that discriminate. This study utilizes secondary data from a sample of 1630 employed women from the 2008 Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families to examine the moderating roles of perceived gender discrimination on the relationships between family leave provisions and work–family conflict; and the moderating role of housework responsibilities on the relationships between family leave provisions and work–family conflict of women employees. The results suggest that the availability of leave policies is more strongly associated with decreased work–family conflict for women employees who report less perceived gender discrimination at the workplace, and who have greater housework responsibilities.

Responses to job demands: moderating role of worker cooperatives

Purpose This study examines the mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between job demands and job search behavior. The study also explores the moderating role of worker cooperatives in the relationship between job demands and organizational commitment. There is little extant research on the relationships of job demands with employee behaviors, and the roles of worker cooperatives in those relationships. Design/methodology/approach Using the multi-level moderated mediation model, this study analyzed surveys conducted in capitalist firms and worker cooperatives in the metropolitan area of Seoul in 2016. Findings This study provided evidence that organizational commitment mediated the relationship between job demands and job search behavior in the total sample. The findings revealed that worker cooperatives moderated the relationship between job demands and organizational commitment. In other words, while the negative relationship between job demands and organizational commitment wa...

Family role overload’s relationship with stress and satisfaction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the mediating role of stress in the relationship between family role overload and job satisfaction; and second, to investigate the moderating roles of self-efficacy and job involvement in the association between family role overload and stress. Design/methodology/approach The proposed hypotheses were tested using a moderated mediation model with a data set collected from a large insurance company in Seoul, South Korea, in 2012. Findings The findings indicate that stress mediates the relationship between family role overload and job satisfaction. The results also confirmed that family role overload is more strongly related to stress for employees with high self-efficacy and job involvement than for those with low self-efficacy and job involvement. Research limitations/implications Since the survey was conducted only in an insurance company, it is difficult to generalize the results of this study. However, the findings from this study provide insights into how family role overload is transferred to dissatisfaction in the workplace, and which types of employees experience a greater level of stress from family role overload. Practical implications The findings suggest that managers should identify which employees have strong self-efficacy and job involvement, and provide them with more measures to reduce stress. Originality/value While previous studies have focused on the relationship between work role overload and stress, the present study provides evidence of the relationship between family role overload and stress. In addition, some previous studies have researched the interactions between job stressors and personal characteristics, but the present study elucidates the interactions between family stressors and personal characteristics.