Tzung-Cheng Huan

The new logic in building isomorphic theory of management decision realities

Purpose – This article aims to describe ethnographic theory and research that maintains the integrity of the individual case while generalizing to multiple cases in research on management decisions. The study aims to provoke and prod management decision researchers to employ ethnographic research tools rather than relying only or mainly on the dominant logic of variable‐based empirical positivism.Design/methodology/approach – Details of two studies of multiple cases in two task environments inform explicit statements of the principles necessary for bridging the gap between management decision practice and research. Six principles serve as pillars for this bridge.Findings – Averages mislead. Partial regression coefficients inform about the impact of variables but mislead in hinting at the sufficiency of individual variables for all cases when high or low values on any one variable are not sufficient or necessary for a high or low outcome on a dependent variable. Research on management decisions must mainta...

Applying Complexity Theory to Solve Hospitality Contrarian Case Conundrums: Illuminating Happy-Low and Unhappy-High Performing Frontline Service Employees

Purpose This paper aims to advance a configural asymmetric theory of the complex antecedents to hospitality employee happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of employees’ quality of work performance. The study transcends variable and case-level analyses to go beyond prior statistical findings of small-to-medium effect sizes of happiness–performance relationships; the study here identifies antecedent paths involving high-versus-low happy employees associating with high-versus-low managers’ assessments of these employees’ performances. Design/methodology/approach The study merges data from surveys of employees (n = 247) and surveys completed by their managers (n = 43) and by using qualitative comparative analysis via the software program, fsQCA.com. The study analyzes data from Janfusan Fancyworld, the largest (in revenues and number of employees) tourism business group in Taiwan; Janfusan Fancyworld includes tourist hotels, amusement parks, restaurants and additional firms in related service sectors. Findings The findings support the four tenets of configural analysis and theory construction: recognize equifinality of different solutions for the same outcome, test for asymmetric solutions, test for causal asymmetric outcomes for very high versus very low happiness and work performance and embrace complexity. Research limitations/implications Additional research in other firms and additional countries is necessary to confirm the usefulness of examining algorithms for predicting very high (low) happiness and very high (low) quality of work performance. The implications are substantial that configural theory and research will resolve perplexing happiness–performance conundrums. Practical implications The study provides useful case-level algorithms involving employees’ demographic characteristics and their assessments of work facet-specifics which are useful for explaining very high happiness-at-work and high quality of work performance (as assessed by managers) – as well as algorithms explaining very low happiness and very low quality of work performance. Originality/value The study is the first to propose and test the tenets of configural theory in the context of hospitality frontline service employees’ happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of these employees’ quality of work performances.

Applying complexity theory to solve hospitality contrarian case conundrums

Purpose This paper aims to advance a configural asymmetric theory of the complex antecedents to hospitality employee happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of employees’ quality of work performance. The study transcends variable and case-level analyses to go beyond prior statistical findings of small-to-medium effect sizes of happiness–performance relationships; the study here identifies antecedent paths involving high-versus-low happy employees associating with high-versus-low managers’ assessments of these employees’ performances. Design/methodology/approach The study merges data from surveys of employees (n = 247) and surveys completed by their managers (n = 43) and by using qualitative comparative analysis via the software program, fsQCA.com. The study analyzes data from Janfusan Fancyworld, the largest (in revenues and number of employees) tourism business group in Taiwan; Janfusan Fancyworld includes tourist hotels, amusement parks, restaurants and additional firms in related service sectors. Findings The findings support the four tenets of configural analysis and theory construction: recognize equifinality of different solutions for the same outcome, test for asymmetric solutions, test for causal asymmetric outcomes for very high versus very low happiness and work performance and embrace complexity. Research limitations/implications Additional research in other firms and additional countries is necessary to confirm the usefulness of examining algorithms for predicting very high (low) happiness and very high (low) quality of work performance. The implications are substantial that configural theory and research will resolve perplexing happiness–performance conundrums. Practical implications The study provides useful case-level algorithms involving employees’ demographic characteristics and their assessments of work facet-specifics which are useful for explaining very high happiness-at-work and high quality of work performance (as assessed by managers) – as well as algorithms explaining very low happiness and very low quality of work performance. Originality/value The study is the first to propose and test the tenets of configural theory in the context of hospitality frontline service employees’ happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of these employees’ quality of work performances.

Building social entrepreneurship for the hotel industry by promoting environmental education

Purpose Social entrepreneurship by hoteliers in “going green” promotes a better future for the environment and arguably also for the human race. However, going green potentially increases costs for both hoteliers and their guests. Environmental education (EE) is possibly a useful vehicle for the hotel industry to gain support for greener operations. This research aims to investigate the potential impact of EE on increasing customer uptake of green hotels. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted to collect data from three winners of a green hotel competition. Six surveyors were dispatched, and 155 usable responses were obtained. Data were analyzed with AMOS 16.0 to estimate an structural equation modeling (SEM) model of how EE affects environmental motivation (EM) and how this relates to visitors’ intentions. Findings Model estimation shows that a moderating variable effect exists between EE and visitors’ intentions. The cause is approximately 40 per cent direct and 60 per cent mediated through EM. That environmental education affects visit intention for green hotels both directly and through creating environmental motivation is evidence that the hotel industry can expect to enhance the use of their socially responsible green services by facilitating EE. In research terms, how best to invest in EE to support the social entrepreneurship of hotels providing green services is a research area to pursue for developing criteria to maximize benefits while supporting business viability. Originality/value This study shows that social entrepreneurs who provide green services can expand their area of social responsibility and generate more potential customers by supporting EE. The findings and applications of this study are useful both for academia and practitioners.

The Complexity Turn in Human Resources Theory and Research

This study proposes and tests empirically a configural asymmetric theory of the antecedents to hospitality employee happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of employees’ quality of work-performance. The study confirms and goes beyond prior statistical findings of small-to-medium effect sizes of happiness-performance relationships. The study merges data from surveys of employees (n = 247) and surveys completed by their managers (n = 43) and by using qualitative comparative analysis via the software program, fsQCA.com. The study analyzes data from Janfusan Fancyworld, the largest (in revenues and number of employees) tourism business group in Taiwan; Janfusan Fancyworld includes tourist hotels, amusement parks, restaurants and additional firms in related service sectors. The findings support the four principles of configural analysis and theory construction: recognize equifinality of different solutions for the same outcome; test for asymmetric solutions; test for causal asymmetric outcomes for very high versus very low happiness and work performance; and embrace complexity. Additional research in other firms and additional countries is necessary to confirm the usefulness of examining algorithms for predicting very high (low) happiness and very high (low) quality of work performance. The implications are substantial that configural theory and research will resolve perplexing happiness-performance conundrums. The study provides algorithms involving employees’ demographic characteristics and their assessments of work facet-specifics which are useful for explaining very high happiness-at-work and high quality-of-work performance (as assessed by managers)—as well as algorithms explaining very low happiness and very low quality-of-work performance. The study is the first to propose and test the principles of configural theory in the contest of hospitality frontline service employees’ happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of these employees quality of work performances.

Complexity Theory, Configural Analysis, and Deepening the Service Dominant Logic

Abstract Recognizing Gigerenzer’s (1991) dictum that scientists’ tools are not neutral (tools-in-use influence theory formulation as well as data interpretation), this chapter reports theory and examines data in ways that transcend the dominant logics for variable-based and case-based analyses. The theory and data analysis tests key propositions in complexity theory: (1) no single antecedent condition is a sufficient or necessary indicator of a high score in an outcome condition; (2) a few of many available complex configurations of antecedent conditions are sufficient indicators of high scores in an outcome condition; (3) contrarian cases occur, that is, low scores in a single antecedent condition associates with both high and low scores for an outcome condition for different cases; (4) causal asymmetry occurs, that is, accurate causal models for high scores for an outcome condition are not the mirror opposites of causal models for low scores for the same outcome condition. The study tests and supports these propositions in the context of customer assessments (n = 436) of service facets and service-outcome evaluations for assisted temporary-transformations of self via beauty salon and spa treatments. The findings contribute to advancing a nuanced theory of how customers’ service evaluations relate to their assessments of overall service quality and intentions to use the service. The findings support the need for service managers to be vigilant in fine-tuning service facets and service enactment to achieve the objective of high customer retention.

Complexity Theory and Human Resources Management: Transcending Variable and Case-Based Perspectives of Service Employees' (Un)Happiness and Work Performance

ABSTRACT This chapter describes and tests the principles of configural theory in the context of hospitality frontline service employees’ happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of these employees’ quality of work performances. The study proposes and tests empirically a configural asymmetric theory of the antecedents to hospitality employee happiness-at-work and managers’ assessments of employees’ quality of work performance. The findings confirm and go beyond prior statistical findings of small-to-medium effect sizes of happiness-performance relationships. The method includes matching cases of data from surveys of employees (n = 247) and surveys completed by their managers (n = 43) and uses qualitative comparative analysis via the software program fsQCA.com. The findings support the four principles of configural analysis and theory construction: recognize equifinality of different solutions for the same outcome; test for asymmetric solutions; test for causal asymmetric outcomes for very high versus very low happiness and work performance; and embrace complexity. The theory and findings confirm that configural theory and research resolves perplexing happiness–performance conundrums. The study provides algorithms involving employees’ demographic characteristics and their assessments of work facet-specifics which are useful for explaining very high happiness-at-work and high quality-of-work performance (as assessed by managers) – as well as algorithms explaining very low happiness and very low quality-of-work performance.