Thomas M. Begley

A Comparison of Entrepreneurs and Managers of Small Business Firms

This study explores the relationship between entrepreneurship and small business management. Business founders are classified as entrepreneurs and nonfounding chief executives are classified as small business managers. Findings indicate that (a) on personal and firm characteristics, eight variables differentiate the groups; (b) onfinancial performance indicators, entrepreneurial firms show higher growth rates; and (c) hard-driving competitiveness consistently associates with financial performance for small business managers but not for entrepreneurs. Data come from questionnaires completed by members of the Smaller Business Association of New England.

The role of negative affectivity in pay-at-risk reactions: a longitudinal study.

In this article, the authors examine the moderating role of negative and positive affectivity on the relationship of bonus size with bonus satisfaction and distributive justice in a company that had installed an unpopular pay-at-risk (PAR) compensation system. Extending the met expectations hypothesis, the authors predict that those low in negative affectivity will show a more pronounced positive relationship between size of PAR bonus and bonus reactions than those high in negative affectivity. Conversely, the authors expect positive affectivity to be unrelated to pay reactions. The results support their hypotheses. Implications are discussed.

The relationship of the Jenkins Activity Survey to Type A behavior among business executives

Abstract The Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) is a widely used instrument to assess the Type A behavior pattern. The present study examines the internal structure of the JAS through (1) factor analysis of the 52-item questionnaire, (2) comparison of the results of this factor analysis with work previously reported, and (3) factor analysis of the 21-item Type A scale within the JAS. While efforts to develop the JAS have thus far concentrated on employees in large organizations, this study examines reports of behavioral patterns in a sample of executives from smaller firms. Results include (1) identification of five factors, three of which are similar to factors identified in earlier studies, (2) identification of a subset of items within the JAS that show consistency across studies in loading on particular factors, and (3) discovery of the possibility that two scales within the JAS, Type A and Factor H (Hard-Driving and Competitive), are essentially the same in their defining items. The results are presented with a view toward improving the measurement capabilities of the JAS.

Personal Orientation, Work Stress, and Illness.

This paper examines personal orientations as anodynes for work stress and illness. Structural equation modelling indicates that mastery and religious beliefs lessen work stress, anxiety, and depression. Mastery also lessens somatic complaints. In addition, the interaction between optimism and work stress affects anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints.