Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change: Volume: 5 | Issue: 2

Volume 5 Number 2 – 2008 105–107

Editorial Paul Iles Articles

109–127

Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review of post-reform research Jie Shen and Xin Deng

129–140

Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the change in the Indian economic policies Karabi C. Bezboruah

141–157

Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors of support for change Chaiporn Vithessonthi and Markus Schwaninger

159–173

E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work Howard Taylor, George Fieldman and Yochanan Altman

175–189

Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their local environment Viveca Asproth and Christina Amcoff Nyström

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ISSN 1477-9633

ISSN 1477-9633

Volume Five Number Two

Organisational Transformation & Social Change

Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change | Volume Five Number Two

Journal of

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Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 Organisational Transformation and Social Change (OTASC) is an international English language, peer reviewed scholarly journal. It is dedicated to an academically sound approach to enquiry and exploration into change in organisations and social systems, and it seeks convergence of these and related disciplines so as to form a science of social communities. This journal takes the view that situations involving people are normally highly complex, and hence it sees all human/social conditions and processes in terms of the complexity paradigm. While OTASC particularly encourages systemic, operational research and cybernetic approaches, it should also be seen as a general vehicle to explore theory and practice about change deriving from the more traditional academic disciplines. OTASC encompasses the social sciences, including organizational and management science, management systems/operational research and cybernetics, social psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, psychohistory, as well as economics, law, mathematics and matters relating to the information or knowledge society. While preference will be given to papers that are well grounded in the scientific literature, OTASC will also consider more exploratory pieces of work that seek to provide an opening for alternative thought. All articles will be submitted to two referees, nominated by the Editorial Committee, for peer review.

Editorial Board Yochanan Altman Bela Banathy Soeren Brier Zhicheng Chen Keith Dowding Daniel Dubois Sebastian Green Stig Holmberg Hiroyuki Itami Mike Jackson Devi Jancowicz George Klir Alexander Laszlo Monica Lee Gerald Midgley Niculae Mihaita Jan Owsinski Jose Perez Rios Rajesh K. Pillania Mark Rouncefield Juan Salcedo Randall Schuler Markus Schwaninger Jie Shen

Human Resource Development, UK Systems, Social Evolution, USA Cybernetics and Semiotics, Denmark Strategic Management, OR, China Politics, UK Complexity and Living Systems, Belgium Strategic Management, Ireland Systemic Modelling, Sweden Knowledge, Invisible Assets, Japan Systems, UK Human Resource Development, UK General Systems, USA Knowledge Evolution, Mexico Human Resource Development, UK Systems, OR, UK Cybernetics, Romania Systems Social Change, Poland Systems Thinking and Cybernetics, Spain Knowledge Management, IILM, India Ethnomethodology, UK Social Migration, Spain Human Resource Strategy, USA Managerial Cybernetics, Switzerland (International) Human Resources Management

Organisational Transformation and Social Change is published three times per year by Intellect, PO Box 862, Bristol, BS99 1DE, UK. The current subscription ratesare £33 (personal) and £210 (institutional). A postage charge of £9 is made for subscriptions of Europe (outside UK), and £12 for the rest of the world. Subscriptions may also be paid for in Euros, by cheque only and at the discretion of the subscriber for €50 (personal) or €240 (institutional). Subscriptions, enquiries and bookings for advertising should be addressed to: Journals Manager, PO Box 862, Bristol BS99 1DE, UK. Journal website: http://www.intellectbooks.com/journals/otsc.htm

Editors Maurice Yolles School of Business Information Liverpool John Moores University 98 Mount Pleasant Liverpool L3 5UZ UK [email protected]

Paul Iles Running Stream Professor HRD Leeds Business School Leeds Metropolitan University Headingley Campus Leeds LS6 3QS, UK [email protected]

Assistant Editor Ann Mulhaney [email protected]

Editorial Administrator Nicky Hovell Faculty of Business and Law Liverpool John Moores University 98 Mount Pleasant Liverpool L3 5UZ UK [email protected]

© 2008 Intellect Ltd. Authorisation to photocopy items for internal or personal use or the internal or personal use of specific clients is granted by Intellect Ltd for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) in the UK or the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service in the USA provided that the base fee is paid directly to the relevant organisation.

Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed in Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (ISBSS), and Journal of Economic Literature (EconLit). ISSN 1477-9633

Printed and bound in Great Britain by 4edge, UK

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Editorial Notes for Contributors OTSC publishes papers in English. Either British or American spelling will be accepted, but the use of either must be consistent within one article. When preparing manuscripts for submission, authors should refer to current copies of the journal and follow its style as closely as possible. Manuscripts must be typewritten, double-spaced, with generous margins in 12 point Times Roman. Authors are particularly requested to incorporate the following conventions of the journal into their typescripts:-

– The theoretical processes were clearly observable, for in the culmination period Smith (1992) observed ‘it was obvious that the conflict had reached a pitch when the leader of the opposition said “it is not possible to negotiate further on this matter”’. – Quotations over 40 words should be single spaced, without quotation marks, and indented.

• For example: – Book reference: Thom, R. (1975), Structural Stability and Morphogenesis, Place: Publisher. Smith, F.T. (1992a), ‘The Politics of the Unnecessary’, Politics Users Manual, ed. Smith, T., Jones, W., Place: Publisher, pp. 101–11.

– Journal reference: Smith, F.T. (1992), ‘The Politics of – Indicate dates as follows: 1 July 1992. the Unessential’, Journal of European Philosophy, 1: 3, pp. 4–17. – When specific, both names and nouns should be capitalised, but not – A non-reference bibliography may 1. The name of the paper and the when generalised. The following be added if this is deemed to be a name and institution of the provides an example: the European necessary addition to the references. author(s) should be stated. Community, Yugoslavia, the Commonwealth of Independent 10. Manuscripts will normally be 2. Abstracts of up to 100 words should States. A European community, a linguistically corrected and edited appear after the title and name of commonwealth of independent before printing. Proofs will author(s). No references should States. No full stops are used normally be sent to the author appear in the abstract. between letters, e.g. NATO, EC, IS. once; the author is expected to read them carefully and return 3. Keywords taken from the abstract 8. Footnotes should appear as them promptly to the Editorial should be specified. Endnotes accumulated at the end of Office. the paper as notes. Endnotes which are comments should appear as 4. Illustrations, photographs and tables 11. The copyright of all material superscripts as in 3. should be provided in good copy and published is vested in the journal. take account of the size of the 9. References appearing in the body of 12. The author must complete and journal. Figures and tables should an article should follow the be numbered consecutively, and return the copyright form Harvard system referring to the referred to in the text by number as enclosed with proofs. author’s name and date, e.g. (Thom they appear in the text. Captions 1992; Smith 1992; Smith 1992a). should appear at the bottom of the 13. Two copies of manuscripts figures/tables. intended for publication in the – If a referenced paper has three or journal should be submitted to more authors the reference should editors when sent by post, or an 5. Sections and subsections should be always appear as first author email version can be sent in Rich clearly differentiated, and should be followed by et al. Text Format files. The author is numbered consecutively, normally requested to retain a complete – The references are listed alphabetiwith an introduction specified as copy of the manuscript. The cally at the end of the manuscript section 1. editors will be glad to comment on prior to the end-notes and without the synopses of the proposed reference within the end-notes, 6. Mathematical expressions or Greek contributions. which should be used sparingly, kept or other symbols should be written brief ,and to the point. clearly with ample spacing. Any unusual characters should be indicated on a separate sheet. 7. Use single quotation marks and double quotation marks for quotations within quotations. Thus:

– Journal titles should not be abbreviated. Titles of books, newspapers, or journals appearing in the text should be italicised. Journal volume, numbers and pages should be given in that order. Translations of original titles should appear in parentheses.

Any matters concerning the format and presentation of articles not covered by the above notes should be addressed to the Editor. The guidance on this page is by no means comprehensive: it must be read in conjunction with Intellect Notes for Contributors. These notes can be referred to by contributors to any of Intellect’s journals, and so are, in turn, not sufficient; contributors will also need to refer to the guidance such as this given for each specific journal. Intellect Notes for Contributors is obtainable from www.intellectbooks.com/journals, or on request from the Editor of this journal.

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Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 © 2008 Intellect Ltd Editorial. English language. doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.105/2

Editorial Paul Iles Co-Editor, JOTASC This edition of JOTASC has five papers, three of which are about change in emerging, transitional or developing economies whilst two concern information and communication technologies in Western countries. Three are literature reviews whilst two are based on empirical studies, one using qualitative and one quantitative methodologies. There has been much written recently on the shift in economic power from West to East, and the emergence of the BRIC bloc of big, rich, industrialising countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China). This edition of the journal is timely in that there are two articles on this bloc of countries. Shen and Deng’s article on gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy explores through a thorough literature review one impact of China’s economic reform, which has brought significant changes to its income distribution system. This article critically and systematically reviews a growing but scattered literature on gender wage inequality in postreform China. It concludes that, due to appropriate rewards of human capital characteristics, marketisation has given rise to a gender wage differential which is similar to or smaller than the differential in most industrialised and developing nations. Moreover, the gender wage gap is smaller in urban industries than in rural ones. Gender wage discrimination that accounts for unexplained components is generally smaller than that of the earnings differential. Increased market competition does not seem to have reduced gender wage inequality. However, the current literature is inconclusive, as it examines the gender wage inequality of only a tiny fraction of the country’s vast population and geography before China’s accelerated reform programme in the late 1990s. Large-scale empirical research which explores the effects of such reform on gender wage inequality is therefore urgently needed. The article is particularly interesting in that it brings together research by economists and sociologists, often employing quite different methodologies. It has implications also for politics and HRM in terms of its significance for HRM policies in organisations, especially around diversity and equality, as well as government policy in this area. It should also inspire research into other growing inequalties and disparities in China, such as the growing gap between urban and rural, East and West, and rich and poor, as well as the growing ethnic and regional inequalities currently receiving much media interest. India is often spoken as a rival to China for Asian economic leadership and influence. Karabi Bezboruah’s article on applying the congruence OTASC 5 (2) 105–107 © Intellect Ltd 2008

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model of organisational change in explaining changes in economic policies looks at recent developments in India, faced with a dynamic and globalised external economic environment and a deteriorating internal economic environment. The Indian government also began reform of its economic policies, overhauling India’s economic system by making it more market oriented. This article applies the well-known Nadler–Tushman’s Congruence Model of organisational change to the changes in the Indian economic system and attempts to examine the model’s validity in large-scale organisational settings. The findings show that although the change process is consistent with the model’s features, the model does not recommend any action strategies to handle resistances. Resistance being a significant part of any change process, inclusion of strategies to manage resistance would enhance the applicability of the congruence model. However, with the focus on the BRIC group, there is a danger of neglecting the economic transformation that is rapidly occurring in other countries, such as the countries of South-East Asia. Another article by Vithessonthi and Schwaninger looks at Thailand, and also at the resistance issues mentioned but unexplored in the Indian article. It examines job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors of support for change amongst school-teachers in Thailand. Studies on change management have often attempted to determine the factors that influence employee resistance to change. The focus of this study is to test whether job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development influence employee support for downsizing. Data were gathered from a sample of 86 teachers at one private school in Bangkok, Thailand. The analysis was carried out using multinomial ordered probit regression. The results suggest that the level of job motivation is negatively associated with the level of support for change, and that the level of self-confidence for learning and development is not associated with the level of support for change. This is an interesting finding which needs replication in other sectors and countries. The relationship of other variables such as commitment or engagement to resistance to change would also be worth exploring. The final two articles take us back to the West and the central issue of communication and change. E-mail at work: a cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work by Taylor, Fieldman and Altman takes us back specifically to the United Kingdom and the rapid and decisive impact electronic communication has had on our lives in general and the work place in particular, notably e-mail as the preferred communication medium (though there is also a rapid growth of web 2.0 technologies and social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, Youtube and Second Life and Linkedin which may challenge the dominance of e-mail, and seem already to have done so amongst younger age groups). A literature review examines the available evidence on their potential negative effects, given that the benefits of e-mail communication for individuals and organisations are more often noted in the literature. It is argued that the particular characteristics of 106

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electronic mail and communication may have an adverse impact upon wellbeing, stress and productivity. E-mail may act as a stress conduit, but is also in itself a potential stressor, and may also impair productivity due to its communication characteristics, affecting key operational aspects such as decision making and team cohesion. It may escalate disputes, facilitate harassment and encourage litigation. The article presents a framework identifying antecedents and potential personal and organisational outcomes, and concludes with an outline agenda for further research as a first step in developing strategies to overcome e-mail’s potential negative consequences. In the final article by Asproth and Nystrom the results of a Swedish pilot study on the ‘Arena for Sustainable Innovative Development of small and medium-sized enterprises’ are discussed. The project aimed to create and test a model for collaboration and sustainable development among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in local areas. This is an issue facing many countries, especially those where SMEs are a dominant force in the economy. The research question in this article is focussed on issues concerning use of ICT, information exchange and communication among the interested parties. The pilot study was accomplished in a qualitative and explorative way with semi-structured interviews. As a result of the study some questions are identified as needing further investigation.

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Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 © 2008 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.109/1

Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review of post-reform research Jie Shen Monash University, Australia Xin Deng University of South Australia Abstract

Keywords

China’s economic reform has brought significant changes to its income distribution system. This article critically and systematically reviews a growing but scattered literature on gender wage inequality in post-reform China. It concludes that, due to appropriate rewards of human capital characteristics, market liberation gives rise to a gender wage differential which is similar to or smaller than the differential in most industrialised and developing nations. Moreover, the gender wage gap is smaller in urban industries than in rural ones. Gender wage discrimination that accounts for unexplained components is generally smaller than that of the earnings differential. Increased market competition does not seem to reduce gender wage inequality. However, the current literature is inconclusive, as it examines the gender wage inequality of only a tiny fraction of the country’s vast population and geography before China’s accelerated reform in the late 1990s. Large-scale empirical research, exploring effects of such reform on gender wage inequality is therefore urgently needed.

gender wage inequality gender wage gap gender wage differential gender wage discrimination gender wage difference China

1. Introduction The post-reform research on gender wage inequality in China is critically and systematically reviewed in this article. Earnings inequality is mainly a Chinese post-reform phenomenon. China has a long tradition of Confucianism that discriminated against women. Such a tradition diminished during the planned economy (1949–1978) when China was committed to gender equality, particularly in the labour market. Prior to the reform, female work participation in urban areas reached more than 90 per cent. Such a level was matched by only a few developing countries (Croll 1995). The Chinese central government adopted a system of national wage scales, which was based on the principle of socialist egalitarianism and cradle-tograve ‘welfarism’ (Loscoco and Bose 1998; Warner 1995). The socialist egalitarian ideology suppressed human capital characteristics and induced equal pay between males and females (Liu, Meng and Zhang, 2000; Meng and Miller, 1995). Although wage discrepancies in rural areas still OTASC 5 (2) 109–127 © Intellect Ltd 2008

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existed, between 20 and 40 per cent in some instances, and opportunities to work away from the farm were limited by policy (Chan, Madsen and Unger, 1992; Rozelle et al. 2002), overall gender wage differentials, relative to other countries, were small (Croll, 1995; Rozelle et al. 2002). This was particularly so in urban areas. However, the downside was that egalitarianism in the labour market curtailed economic efficiency (Knight and Song 2003). Economic reform has replaced the Maoist ideal of socialist egalitarianism with Deng Xiaoping’s policy of ‘a few getting rich first’. Since the mid1980s, firms have been given autonomy to determine within government guidelines their own remuneration systems. Such guidelines have gradually loosened and evolved into a request for abiding by only minimum wages since the early 1990s (Shen 2007). Although the deep-rooted egalitarianism amongst the Chinese still plays a role in the wages system, some enterprises tend to use group pay when they allocate bonuses so that everybody in the group receives the same amount (Mitsuhashi et al. 2000), egalitarianism has become more and more unacceptable to employers and employees alike. Decentralisation and marketisation of wage system allow managers to link remuneration to firm’s profitability and individual labour productivity, and consequently provide room for discrimination (Hughes and Maurer-Fazio 2002; Knight and Song 2003; Ng 2004). Although firms have stronger incentive to improve profitability, more intensive competition force them to pay greater attention to cost reduction, paying their employees a wage that is lower than the market value has been utilised as a way to cut down cost. It is not surprising that employees with less human capital are more likely to be underpaid. As a result, alongside rising unemployment and inadequate social welfare, there has been widening income disparity in both urban and rural areas, between regions, and between population groups (Shen 2007). In the last two decades, China has moved from one of the most equal countries to one of the most unequal ones in terms of income distribution. This is evidenced by the change of Gini coefficient – it has risen from 0.3 in 1981 to 0.45 in 2002 (Kuroda 2006). Some researcher reported Gini coefficient as high as 0.495 in 2007 (Xinhua News Agency 2007). China’s income inequality has now surpassed that of all developed countries, and may soon reach that of high-inequality countries like Brazil, Mexico and Chile if current trends continue. It is particularly alarming as income disparity in other transition countries has not widened as quickly as that in China. The United Nation’s 2005 China Report notes that more than 90 per cent of Chinese people believed that income inequality was too great and about 80 per cent wanted their national government to solve the imbalance (The UN 2005). As Shen (2007: 25) argued, ‘the ever-widening earnings gap between the rich and poor, in stark contrast to the official ideology of China’s Communist Party, is a major source of discontent for many ordinary Chinese’. Wage discrimination against females has emerged as a major phenomenon of income inequality (Hughes and Maurer-Fazio 2002; NBSC 2005; 110

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MOLSS 2005; Rozelle et al. 2002; World Bank 2002). China has a large female population, which reached 630 million at the end of 2004, and female employment accounts for nearly 45% of total employment (NBSC 2005; MOLSS 2005). Gender wage inequality in China is an important topic for empirical research in order to determine the effect of reform of the largest transitional economy on the largest female workforce in the world. China’s experience may have significant implications for other transitional economies. Similar to China, many transition economies in East Europe experienced widening wage gap, rising unemployment and declined female labour force participation rates. Contrary to China where female employees are paying higher price compared with their male counterparty for such change, female employees fared relatively well in these countries. The decline in male labour force participation in the early years of transition is reported to exceed that of female labour force participation, and there has been a consistent increase in female relative wages across Eastern Europe, despite a substantial decline in female relative wages in Russia and Ukraine (Brainerd 2000). Not surprisingly, there is a growing literature which examines gender earnings inequality in China since the middle 1990s. This increase is also largely due to the fact that the phenomenon of gender earnings inequality contradicts the principle underlined in Mao’s famous slogan ‘Women hold up half the sky’ (funu neng ding banbian tian), and in the Chinese constitution that guarantees women equal rights with men in all aspects of life and equal pay for equal work. However, there is a lack of research that summarises and assesses the findings of existing scattered studies which would clarify whether past research has scientifically and satisfactorily explained this new phenomenon. Many questions are worth seeking answers to: How large is the earning gap between men and women in China? What are the major sources of gender wage inequality? Is western literature equally powerful when applied to the Chinese context? Has past research on China’s gender wage inequality advanced knowledge? What are the major limitations of the existing literature? To answer these questions, this article reviews post-reform research on gender wage inequality in China, aiming to develop a better understanding of its size and sources, the effects of economic reform, and to explore avenues for further research. The databases searched represent virtually all areas of academic study, economics and peer-reviewed business and scholarly publications in English and Chinese. The period chosen was 1990–2007, as this represents the time when the early 1990s economic restructuring in China began to make itself felt, and research on the topic flowed as a result. The search terms are the same as the key words of this article. The search term ‘wage difference China’ returns with more than 5,000 articles alone from Google Scholar alone, there were nearly 2000 articles found in JSTOR with the same term. Other databases that returned Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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with more than 50 articles are Blackwell Synergy (248) and Kluwer (89). The titles and abstracts, where available, were screened to identify the potentially relevant publications. Two reviewers independently identified the publications and extracted the findings of the studies cited. Differences were resolved through discussions, and 25 articles were selected for this literature review. These articles were published between 1995 and 2007, with eleven papers published between 1995 and 1999 and ten papers published between 2000 and 2004. This indicates continuing interest in this area since the mid-1990s. Majority of the research uses Oaxaca decomposition method to test the existence of gender discrimination. As shown in the sections below, these papers have covered a wide range of areas and utilised data sources including nation-wide household survey and surveys covering several cities, a group of firm and households. To meet our objectives, the remaining article is structured as follows: Firstly, it reviews western concepts explaining gender earnings inequality, including earnings differential and gender discrimination, and the underlying sources. Secondly, it assesses by themes past studies on these issues in China, including gender earnings inequality in both urban and rural industry, across ownership sectors and across regions. Subsequently, it revisits the research questions set for this article, discusses limitations of past studies and further research directions, and draws some conclusions.

2. Concepts of gender wage inequality The earnings inequality based on gender has been a common social problem in many developing and industrialised countries (Blau and Kahn 1994; Brainerd 2000; Katz and Autor 1999). This is particularly so in transitional economies, such as Russia and Ukraine (Brainerd 2000). Western economists separate the gender wage differential from wage discrimination in order to explore sources of gender earnings imparity (Arrow 1972; Becker 1957; Oaxaca and Ransom 1994; Neumark 1988). Economists, such as Oaxaca and Ransom (1994) and Neumark (1988), argued that gender wage differentials are resulted from attempts to reward human capital endowments. Since employees may be different in this regard, they should be rewarded accordingly. If there is a perceived productivity differential between men and women and if their capital characteristics are appropriately rewarded, their wages may differ. As Blau and Kahn (1992, 1997) argued, gender wage difference is influenced by how observed and unobserved skills of men and women are rewarded in the market. Competitiveness in the market is largely based on efficiency that requires an appropriate reward. Under conditions of perfect competition, with perfect information, and no transaction costs, gender wage disparity should exist only where there are differences in productivity between genders (Hare 1999). Skill-biased technical change is often regarded as the main culprit of wage differential (Bound and Johnson 1992; Katz and Autor 1999; Juhn, Murphy and Pierce 1993). Skill-biased technical change is not gender-specific – but it can be largely associated with gender. 112

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Liberalisation of economies enables an appropriate reward of human capital characteristics, and hence gives rise to potential gender wage differentials. The experience from developed countries indicates that gender wage differentials tend to be smaller in countries with centralised collective bargaining that emphasise egalitarian wage policies in general, e.g. Sweden, Norway and Australia, but larger in countries that have decentralised, market-oriented wage determination with enterprise-level bargaining, e.g. United States and Canada (Gunderson 1994; Blau and Kahn 1995). Former centrally planned economies tend to have the smallest gender wage gaps (Meng 1996). Gender wage discrimination is not driven by productivity differences but is sex-based (Arrow 1972; Becker 1957). Economists define discrimination as willingness to pay, either directly or in the form of a reduced income, to be associated with some people instead of others (Becker 1957: 14). Gender wage discrimination arises from personal tastes of individuals, including employers, employees and consumers, and often the industry’s own preference for particular types of workers (Arrow 1972; Becker 1957; Blau and Kahn 1992, 1997; Hare 1999). In the literature, it is commonplace that gender wage discrimination is unexplained by observable differences in human capital (Millimet and Wang 2006). Statistical discrimination occurs when the employer is unable to measure accurately the productivity of each individual worker and pays each worker according to the perceived average productivity of all workers of that type (Hare 1999). Such wage structures are likely to undervalue, or not reward at all, some skills of women and thus result in discrimination. The social consequence of such discriminated wage structures is that women are discouraged from participating in employment and investing in education and skill enhancement, and that the valuable human capital of women are underdeveloped and underutilised in the society. Gender wage differentials and wage discrimination are often reflected in industry or occupational segregation. Rozelle et al. (2002) argued that the explained wage gap is also attributable to men and women’s accessibility to a certain industry, a certain type of firm, or job. For example, there are differing shifts in the occupational and industrial distribution of employment between men and women. While men comprise a larger share of employment in heavy industry, the expected shift in the industrial structure away from heavy industry should favour women relative to men. Men and women may exhibit different productivity over different occupations. This is particularly relevant to China, where rural migrants are not allowed to fill many occupations in the urban areas due to the hukeo (household registration) system. As Meng (1998a) pointed out, such occupational segregation is the most important source of gender wage disparity among Chinese migrants. Meng (1998a) also argues that occupational segregation can be attributable to both wage differentials and wage discrimination. Although occupational segregation resulting from differences in human capital characteristics is an example of wage differentials caused Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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by the low possibility of one gender group finding jobs in a specific sector, employers’ prejudice against one gender group over the other is an example of gender wage discrimination. However, many scholars are optimistic about the role of market forces on reducing gender discrimination, suggesting that, in the long run, gender wage discrimination is not sustainable under perfect market competition, as firms that do not discriminate against females are able to achieve higher productivity and efficiency than those that do (Arrow 1973; Becker 1957; Liu et al. 2000). Becker (1957) argued that market forces may result in less gender wage discrimination if it becomes too costly for employers to compete with those who do not discriminate against females. Some authors find that wage discrimination is less likely in more market-oriented enterprises and suggest that market liberalisation will improve women’s economic position (Meng 1998b; Liu et al. 2000). According to these authors, it can be argued, therefore, that in the longrun, equality of wages can contribute to economic efficiency. The methods of Oaxaca (Oaxaca 1973; Oaxaca and Ransom 1994), Blinder (1973) and Neumark’s (1998) are well-known as Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition for analysing the composition of the gender wage difference. According to these researchers, the total gender wage gap consists of the gender wage differential – attributable to gender differences in observable productive characteristics (explained component) – and the residual gap – attributable to differences in the male and female returns to these productive characteristics. This residual is an unexplained component attributable to discrimination, but could also be due to differences in unobserved productive characteristics. Nevertheless, critics of OaxacaBlinder decomposition are concerned with the neglect of the remainder of the distribution (Jenkins 1994; Millimet and Wang 2006). If western concepts are equally applicable to the Chinese context, China’s transition from a centrally controlled economy to a marketised economy is most likely to exert two competing gender effects on wages. On one hand, liberalisation of the market fosters efficiency and productivity, which requires appropriate reward of human capital, and, consequently, widens the gender wage gap, but on the other hand, increasing market competition might function as a catalytic agent of gender equality, thus reducing the incidence of gender wage inequality. Nevertheless, it is important to clarify how the largest economic transition has actually affected gender wage inequality.

3. Gender wage inequality in China: the review findings China had separated rural and urban labour markets for over half a century. Although since the late 1980s the restrictions on rural–urban migration have been gradually eased, rural migrants have not been entitled to the same employment and social welfare as have urbanites. For this reason, in this article we look at gender wage inequality in the urban industry and the rural industry separately. The last decade has also seen 114

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an increase in income disparity between different enterprise ownership types. In 1994, the average wage of workers in foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) was 31% higher than that of workers employed in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) (China Statistical Yearbook 1995). Since 1990, the income of employees in SOEs have increased faster than those in other sectors. The average wage in SOEs exceeded that of all other sectors for the first time in 2003 (Shen 2007). Hence, we also look at gender wage inequality across enterprise ownership types. Moreover, there are large income disparities between regions as well. Economic development has generally been more rapid in coastal provinces than inland. According to the state statistics, in 2003 the average incomes of urban dwellers were 14,867 and 6,530 CHY in Shanghai and Ningxia respectively, making a difference of 8,337 CHY, which increased by 1,031 CHY over 2002. In rural areas, farmers in Shanghai had the highest average income (6,654 CHY), which was 4.25 times higher (an increase of 0.07 times compared to 2002) than the income of farmers who lived in Guizhou. Generally, the regional income gaps among rural dwellers are larger than those of urban dwellers. Hence, it would be interesting to find out if regional income disparity has an impact on gender wage inequality.

4. Gender wage inequality in the urban industry 4.1. Size of gender wage inequality Scholars did not become concerned with China’s gender earnings inequality until the middle 1990s. Azizur Rahman Khan was one of the international scholars who first noticed this issue. Referring to the Chinese official statistics, he reported that overall during the late 1980s, Chinese women’s earnings were about 80 per cent of men’s and about 50 per cent of men’s in privately owned enterprises (POEs) in the urban area (Khan 1996). Analysing the official data presented in labour yearbooks, Maurer-Fazio, Rawski and Zhang (1999) revealed that the gender earnings gap widened nationally in urban industry between 1988 and 1994; the unadjusted gender earnings gap reached between 34–54 per cent. Xu, Tang and Wang (2006) reported that the overall gender earnings gap in two urbanised towns in Zhejiang Province reached 32% between 1999 and 2000. In contrast to the findings of the above-mentioned studies, other studies have reported a small gender wage gap. Hughes and Maurer-Fazio (2002) and Gustaffson and Li (2000) argued that the urban female–male earnings ratio was about 80 per cent between 1988 and 1995. The gender wage gap in urban China rose from 15.5 per cent in 1988 to 17.55 in 1995, but its average level was smaller compared to many other countries. According to Gustaffson and Li (2000), gender wage gap is smaller among the youngest employees and those with better educational qualifications. Similarly, according to Maurer-Fazio and Hughes (2002), the overall gender wage gap was 14 per cent in 1991. Using the data of the Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP), Bishop, Luo and Wang (2005) Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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revealed that the gender earnings gap increased slightly from 19 per cent in 1988 to 20 per cent in 1994. The gender wage gap was reported as about 10 per cent in the study of Shu and Bian (2003), which is smaller than reported in other studies. Shu and Bian (2003) also disagreed on the increase in the gender wage gap; instead, they argued that the gap was stable from 1988 to 1995. Liu et al. (2000) concluded in their study that there was increasing competition but no perfect competition, between 1988 and 1994, in the markets of the Chinese transitional economy. The effect of marketisation on increasing wage differentials overwhelms any discrimination reduction effect of competition.

4.2. Sources of gender wage inequality Scholars examined the components of the gender earnings gap in order to explore the various contributing factors and the change in pattern. In their study, Bishop et al. (2005) found that the ratio of the gap between unexplained and total earnings was high. However, while the gender wage gap increased slightly, the relative share of gender wage discrimination declined from 71 per cent to 61 per cent during the study period. Similarly, Liu et al. (2000) argued that, as wage differentials were mainly the result of appropriate awards of human capital characteristics and sectoral differences in wage policies, the relative share of discrimination declined considerably between 1988 and 1994. Shu and Bian (2003) found that gender earnings inequality resulted mainly from women’s unchanged disadvantaged status in education, employment, political life and promotion over the study period. Shu and Bian argued that the increasing marketisation reduces the share of gender wage discrimination only in the most marketised cities. Gustafsson and Li (2000) argued that the share of wage discrimination in the total wage gap increased from 1988 to 1995. Millimet and Wang (2006) conducted a distributional analysis based on the notion of stochastic dominance and found that, between 1988 and 1994, large gender earnings gaps existed at the distributional level in terms of annual earnings and hourly wages. Gender discrimination explained one-third of the disparity in the lower end, but it was not evident at all in the upper end of the distribution. Gender discrimination and female underpayment worsened in the lower region of the distribution, but improved in the upper end. Rising in gender earnings inequality was most severe for the youngest females. However, the authors’ conclusion, that female underpayment was a source of discrimination, does not seem to be able to explain the real source of gender wage discrimination. Millimet and Wang (2006) were supported by Hughes and Maurer-Fazio (2002) and Xu et al. (2006) who argued that gender wage gaps decrease among those with a relatively high educational attainment. Hughes and MaurerFazio (2002) argued that married women experience larger total gender wage gaps than single ones and a larger proportion in the area of wage discrimination. 116

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5. Gender wage inequality in the rural industry 5.1. Size of gender wage inequality Gender wage inequality in China’s rural industry was first reported in Meng and Miller (1995); its finding was further discussed in Meng (1998a), in which, on an average, women earned 20 per cent less than men in the 49 sample township and village enterprises (TVEs) in 1985. In a 1989 study of 249 farm households in Guangdong Province, Hare (1999) found a substantial gender wage gap in the rural industry reflected in the fact that women earned 37.8 per cent less than men. Analysing data collected from 230 villages across eight provinces, Rozelle et al. (2003) reported that, while the average wage of males rose by 2 per cent, those of females fell by 9 per cent, and the gender wage gap increased from 29 per cent to 45.7 per cent during the study period 1988 to 1995. Dong et al. (2004) looked at gender wage inequality in the private rural industry in three counties in Shandong and Jiangsu provinces in 1999 and 2000, and argued that men’s annual and hourly wages were 32.9 per cent and 34.7 per cent higher in the respective provinces than women’s, indicating that privatisation had increased gender inequality.

5.2. Sources of gender wage inequality In their study, Dong et al. (2004) revealed a large amount of gender wage discrimination, accounting for between 82.22 per cent and 93.65 per cent of total gender wage gaps in the post-privation period. This percentage was higher than in the pre-privatisation era. The wage gap attributable to productive characteristics rose by a very small margin. Meng (1998b) suggested about 16 per cent as the gender wage discrimination coefficient at the aggregate level in the rural industry. Based on this figure, the author argued that gender wage discrimination in China’s rural industry was much more serious than in the urban sector for industrial and developing economies (like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and Taiwan). This was because a traditional female discrimination culture was deep-seated in rural China. Supporting Meng (1998b), Xu et al. (2006) argued that gender wage inequality in rural areas was largely a result of discriminatory practices, for example institutional constraints on migration and differentiated gender roles in society and family. Meng (1998a) found significant differences between the market and nonmarket groups in the structure of wages, and concluded that increasing market liberalisation reduced the contribution of wage discrimination in total wage gaps. However, Rozelle et al. (2003) disagreed with Meng (1998a) by arguing that rising competition did not affect gender wage gaps during their study period. In Hare’s (1999) study, the structure of wages did not vary with the sex of the individual. However, households, for example land holding and household size and composition, contributed to the observed gender wage differentials through their influence in the formation of the individual’s reservation wages. The supply side of the labour market played a critical role in contributing to the wage gap in the rural Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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industry. Women were more likely to become wage employed when the household’s demand for agricultural labour input was low. Nevertheless, there seems to be consensus that the relative share of wage discrimination decreases in the rural industry over time (Dong et al. 2004; Meng 1998a; Rozelle et al. 2003). There is not much literature, except for Meng (1998a) and Xu et al. (2006), devoted to the gender wage differential and discrimination of rural migrants. Meng (1998a) argued that there was a significant gender wage gap (34%) among migrants during the study period and it was mainly due to occupational segregation, for example the unequal treatment of male and female attributes in occupational assignment. The share of gender wage differentials and discrimination accounted for 27 per cent and 73 per cent respectively of the total wage gap. However, while discrimination in occupational attainment was a very serious problem for migrants, intra-occupational gender wage discrimination was lower for them than for workers in the rural industry. Xu et al. (2006) reported that the gender earnings gap was much less among migrants than among local residents, and was biggest, before 2000, among those working as agricultural labourers in rural areas.

6. Gender wage inequality across enterprise ownership types A number of studies on China’s gender wage gap have confirmed the effects of enterprise ownership. Maurer-Fazio et al. (1999) attributed a large part of the gender wage gap to the crowding of women into lowrewarding industries. Relatively, the gender wage gap in collectively owned enterprises (COEs) was smaller, between 1988 and 1994, than in other ownership types of enterprise. The study of Hughes and Maurer-Fazio (2002) shows there were significant wage differences and the gender wage gap was smaller in SOEs than in joint-ventures (JVs). Hughes and MaurerFazio (2002) argued that the industrial effect was much stronger on the gender wage gap than that of occupation. Specifically, the wage gaps between married women and their single counterparts were much higher in JVs than in SOEs and COEs. Liu et al. (2000) revealed that there was substantial widening of gender wage differentials across ownership sectors in Shanghai and Jinan cities, and that gender wage differentials and discrimination increased in the middle 1990s from the state to the collective/private sector. In a similar vein, in their study, Xu et al. (2006) found that the gender earning differentiation is least among the selfemployed and largest in POEs. Two studies are exceptions, since they propose findings different from those mentioned above. Rozelle et al. (2003) argued that there was no systematic association between the level of wage discrimination and the degree of market orientation by industry, ownership or job type. Gustafsson and Li (2000) noticed that the size of earnings was highly dependent on geographic location and the ownership type of the enterprise. However, they did not specify whether gender earning gaps were also associated 118

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with these two factors, or produce conclusive findings on the relative impact of gender earnings differentials and discrimination.

7. Gender wage inequity across regions Only a few studies examine the effect of location on gender wage inequality and their findings are very diverse. Using data from 1988 to 1992 for a national urban household survey of 24,372–30,894 working individuals, Ng (2004) divided China into three regions: eastern, central and western. The authors found that, up until the 1990s, the western region (the least developed) had the largest gender earnings gap and the eastern region (the most developed) had the highest female–male earnings ratio (0.83–0.86) during the whole study period. The female–male earning ratio increased for all regions, indicating gender wage differences reduced over the period. Prior to 1991, gender wage discrimination in the eastern and central regions was not obvious. Relatively, the urban gender earnings differential was lower than in rural areas. Analysing data from a 1988 national income survey of 9,009 urban households, Xie and Hannum (1996) found that the effects of gender on returns to education and work experience were regionally static. Supporting Xie and Hannum (1996), the research of Bishop, Luo and Wang (2005) did not reveal any regional variations in gender wage gaps that actually increased between 1988 and 1994.

8. Discussions In this section, we revisit research questions set for this review study, and discuss the limitations of past studies. Research Question 1 asked whether Chinese women are financially disadvantaged in the wages they earn. Past studies all agreed that economic reform, which has liberalised markets and enterprise management, had resulted in widespread gender wage inequality replacing socialist egalitarianism in both urban and rural industries. Yet, past studies did not reach consensus on the size of gender wage inequality, which reportedly ranged from 10 per cent to 54 per cent in urban industries and from 20 per cent to 45.7 per cent in the rural sector, and on whether gender wage inequality increased over time. Among migrants, the size of the gender earnings gap was about 34 per cent in the early 1990s, which falls within the reported wide range (Meng 1998a). Following the majority, including Bishop et al. (2005), Dong et al. (2004); Hare (1999), Gustaffson and Li (2000), Hughes and Maurer-Fazio (2002), Meng (1998a,b), Rozelle et al. (2003), Knight and Song (2003) and Shu and Bian (2003), and referring to international literature, for example Blau and Kahn (1992, 1994), Brainerd (2000) and Ogloblin (1999), we are inclined to draw three conclusions with regard to the size of gender wage inequality. First, the overall gender wage gap in China is smaller than or similar to that of other industrialised and developing nations. This indicates, to a certain extent, that Maoist gender equality ideology has been maintained in the transition from a command economy to a market economy. Second, the overall gender wage gap was stable in Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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the first two decades of economic reform. Third, the gender wage gap in the urban industry is smaller than in its rural counterpart. Research Question 2 dealt with the major sources of gender wage inequality. Past studies are much divided in estimating relative sizes of the gender wage differential and discrimination. While the reported sizes of gender wage discrimination in the total earnings gap range from zero (in the upper end of the distribution) to 71 per cent in the urban industry, those in the rural industry vary from 16 per cent to 94 per cent (including among migrants). Past studies found that education, work experience and marital status are the universally accepted factors mostly associated with the gender wage differential. The gender wage gap decreases with an increase in a worker’s level of education and duration of employment. Women generally lag behind men in their average number of years of schooling (China Educational Commission, 1996) and often have a disruption in their careers due to child-bearing. In contrast to their unmarried counterparts, married women’s intermittent labour force participation is an important cause of gender wage gaps. There are variations in gender wage gaps across ownership types, where they decrease from the selfemployed, to the state, to the collective, to FIE/JVs and to private enterprise. Also, all studies, except that of Gustaffson and Li (2000), argued that the relative share of gender earnings discrimination had decreased since China’s economic reform. Moreover, it is widely agreed that gender wage discrimination is more serious in rural rather than urban industries, due to a deep-seated discriminatory culture that exists in rural areas. Research Question 3 dealt with whether western literature is equally powerful when applied to the Chinese context, and research on China’s gender wage inequality has indeed advanced knowledge in this area. As discussed in Blau and Kahn (1992, 1995, 1997), western literature differentiates wage differential from discrimination by examining the components attributable to differences in productive characteristics (explained factors) and in rewarding productive characteristics (unexplained factors). Without exception, when analysing China’s gender wage differential and discrimination, all past studies used western concepts proven to be equally powerful when applied to the Chinese context. First, this review study shows that there is a consensus in the literature that China’s economic reform, which allows market-oriented wage determination system and free selection of occupations and employees, has increased gender wage differentials. This is because marketisation enables human capital, mainly education and experience, to be appropriately rewarded. Second, market liberalisation and the relaxation of socialist egalitarian control result in gender wage discrimination in the workplace. However, due to the fact that past studies have been mainly application of the Western concepts to the Chinese context, they have developed a better understanding of gender wage difference in China, but have contributed little in advancing the theory. The only exception is the study of Hare (1999), which examined 120

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land holding and household size as explanatory variables for observed gender wage differentials. Research Question 4 asked what the major limitations of the existing literature are. This review study has identified several limitations that prevent past studies from producing consistent and up to date findings. First, the most common study period of past research is between 1988 and 1995, including that of Gustafsson and Li (2000), Hare (1999), Hughes and Maurer-Fazio (2002), Liu, Meng and Zhang (2000), Maurer-Fazio et al. (1999), Meng (1998a,b); Meng (2003), Ng (2004), Shu and Bian (2003) and Xie and Hannum (1996), This period is ten years into reform. Rozelle et al. (2003) argued that gender wage discrimination might have emerged in the early stage of reform, e.g. 5–10 years, so if the size of wage discrimination remained stable, the trend in changes could not be detected in their study periods. In the first few decades, there were a large number of non-market enterprises (Meng 1998b). As discussed earlier, China’s economic reform has deepened since 1997 and only since then has it been developing a full market economy, greatly increasing the level of competition. Wage scales and structures before 2000 were very different after that year. For example, before 1994 state-sector wages were substantially above collective pay scales (Maurer-Fazio et al. 1999). Workers also preferred SOEs to COEs and POEs. This situation has largely changed as many SOEs and COEs have encountered financial difficulties or, since the late 1990s, been privatised. Before the 1990s, there were many restrictions on rural residents who worked in urban areas and many of these restrictions have since been lifted. The change in migration policy has had significant effects on job attainment, as well as on the gender earnings gap. Using 1995 data, Meng (1998a) analysed only the gender wage gap among early migrants who had different work and life experiences from that of new migrants now. More job opportunities have become available for migrants since 1990. During recent years, China has devoted much effort to developing a harmonious society by dealing with widespread labour disputes and other social problems, including income inequality and gender discrimination. These recent economic reforms and social development certainly have significant impact on gender wage differentials and discrimination, which the existing literature has failed to reflect and address. Also, although data was heavily focused on the period between 1988 and 1995, different study periods are used in past studies, which may be a cause of their often inconsistent findings. Second, the data of past studies represents a tiny fraction of China’s huge labour force (Maurer-Fazio et al., 1999) even some of them have wide geographical coverage. China has a vast and diverse economy. Across regions, there are significant differences in economic development and wages. The sample bias, for example studies focusing on a selection of few regions, invariably results in inconsistent and even contradictory results. Xu et al.’s (2006) study area, for example, is a newly urbanised town where there is a highly developed rural economy, resulting in relatively Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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higher incomes for rural residents compared to urban residents. The findings of this study, however, are hardly universal and under-representative in China. Meng (1998a) argued that gender wage discrimination is more serious in the non-market group than in the market group. This finding contradicts the well-agreed argument that gender earnings inequality is less serious in a planned economy than in a market economy (Blau and Kahn 1995; Gunderson 1994; Meng 1996), and, due to its sample bias, is hardly universal. Therefore, one should be always cautious when using the results of the past studies. Third, there should be a concern for the quality of data used in past studies. As Maurer-Fazio et al. (1999) pointed out, some studies extracted data from yearbooks that do not provide information about individual characteristics, for example education, experience and age breakdown. Migrants, however, who have become an important labour force in the urban industry, are often excluded from urban surveys. Unavailability of some essential personal data makes it impossible to clarify the relative importance of wage differentials and wage discrimination in a representative population. FIEs and JVs, an important part of the Chinese economy that employs a large number of employees and has affected considerably Chinese wage system, were often excluded in the analyses. So too was the earnings gap of farmers. Moreover, ‘the reliability of Chinese official statistics is often considered problematic’ (Warner 2002: 396).

9. Conclusions The ever-widening wage inequality, including gender earnings inequality, is a major source of discontent for many ordinary Chinese people. This article reviewed the post-reform research on gender wage inequality in order to examine its size and sources, and applicability of western literature to the Chinese context. It is inferred that economic reform has resulted in gender wage inequality attributable to both wage differential (explained by appropriate rewards of human capital characteristics, such as education, experience, marital status) and gender discrimination. The size of the gender wage differential is relatively larger than that of gender discrimination, but smaller than in most industrialised and developing nations. Gender wage discrimination is much more serious in the urban industry than in the rural industry, due to deep-seated discriminatory culture existing in rural areas. However, it needs to be noted that the findings of past studies are inconclusive and inconsistent. This is mainly due to the current literature drawing a picture of gender wage inequality only of the first two decades of reform, and then of a minor fraction of China’s vast and diverse population. Past Chinese studies have mainly applied western concepts which are proven very applicable to the Chinese context, but made little theoretical contribution. One of this study’s objectives is to identify avenues for further research into gender wage differentials and discrimination. According to the perfect market competition approach, with intensification of market competition 122

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and development of a harmonious society, gender wage differentials and discrimination will gradually decrease. However, Rozelle et al. (2003) argued that rising competition in China did not affect the gender wage gap between 1988 and 1995, which is ten years after the beginning of reform. How the recent acceleration of economic reform and the development of a harmonious society have affected gender wage inequality in China is yet unknown, hence, further empirical research is indicated. To develop a better understanding of these effects, it would be necessary for new research to collect more representative data in order to examine changes in both gender wage gaps and the relative shares of wage differentials and discrimination nationwide. Further research can be done in at least two areas: one is to collect and analyse more recent data to cover a wider range of population so as to provide a more comprehensive and up-to-date picture of gender wage difference; the other is to conduct in-depth research via case study or specific survey on gender wage difference. The second area can be down in many different ways. A representative sample of population (e.g. university graduates) may be surveyed to identify factors that may lead to gender discrimination, and population cohorts suffering greater discrimination. Ideally, the surveyed population can be traced over an extended period so as to identify more complicated issues that may evolve over the time, such as job change, promotion and pay rise. Since the late 1970s, China has been at the elementary stage of developing the full market economy and it will take many years for it to become a perfectly competitive market. Further liberalisation will continue to give rise to a gender earnings differential. It is, however, predicted that China’s current efforts to build a harmonious society will reduce gender wage discrimination. We suggest that its efforts should focus on changing policies of sex-differentiated lay-offs which force female workers to retire earlier, eliminating stronger prejudices against women in the rural industry and improving their education. Also, relaxation of the hukeo system would improve the current inferior residential status of migrants, especially female, and thereby reduce industrial and occupational segregation. Empirical studies that evaluate the impact of those policies on both gender wage gap and gender wage discrimination would provide useful information for policy makers. The enforcement of Labour Laws against discrimination is also very important. China has prided itself for providing equal opportunity for women, and anti-discrimination was not an issue under socialist society prior to reform. Wide-spread discrimination in labour market after reform leads to the incorporation of the first anti-discrimination provisions in the 1994 Labour Law. More specialised provisions, including those found in the 1995 Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests, followed soon thereafter. However, the law does not seem to have improved women’s employment condition. While China does not publish official statistics on the gender breakdown of wages, we can observe a steady decrease in the share Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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of female employees among urban units in recent years. The proportion of female employees in urban units dropped from 38 per cent in 1994 to 36.4 per cent in 2001 (Calculated from China Labour Statistical Yearbook 2005). Unfavourable employment conditions against female are likely to be the driving force of this change. And there are plenty anecdotal evidences showing that females are still discriminated in labour market. For example, some employers openly stated in their job advertisements that only male candidates will be considered, or be given priority. In recent years, employees have won several high-profile cases of discrimination on the basis of height, place of origin, hepatitis B status. This has discouraged similar discriminative practices. However, gender discrimination has yet attracted enough attention. The lack of enforceable legal definition of gender discrimination as well as the long history of Confucian culture that looks down upon females can be important factors. The gap in gender wage difference is unlikely to close without an enforceable legal framework to address gender discrimination. Raising society’s awareness on this issue is also important. However, none of them will be an easy task in an oversupplied labour market like China. Works cited Arrow, K. (1972), ‘Models of Job Discrimination and Some Mathematical Models of Race Discrimination in the Labour Market’, in A.H. Pascal (ed.), Racial Discrimination in Economic Life, Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, pp. 83–102, 187–204. Becker, G.S. (1957), The Economics of Discrimination, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Bishop, J.A., Luo, F.J. and Wang, F. (2005), ‘Economic Transition, Gender Bias, and the Distribution of Earning in Urban China’, Economics of Transition, 13: 2, pp. 239–260. Blau, F.D. and Kahn, L.M. (1992), ‘The Gender Earnings Gap: Learning from International Comparisons’, American Economic Review, 82: 2, pp. 533–538. ——— (1994), ‘Rising Wage Inequality and the U.S. Gender Gap’, American Economic Review, 84: 1, pp. 23–28. ——— (1995), ‘The Gender Earnings Gap: Some International Evidence’, in Richard Freeman and Lawrence F. Katz (ed.), Differences and Changes in Wage Structures, Chicago: University Chicago Press (For NBER). ——— (1997), ‘Swimming Upstream: Trends in the Gender Wage Differential in the 1980s’, Journal of Labour Economics, 15: 1, pp. 1–42. Blinder, A.S. (1973), ‘Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates’, Journal of Human Resource, 19, pp. 436–455. Bound, J. and Johnson, G. (1992), ‘Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980s: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations’, American Economic Review, 82, pp. 371–392. Brainerd, E. (2000), ‘Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union’, Industrial and Labour Relations Review, 54: 1, pp. 138–162. Chan, A., Madsen, R. and Unger, J. (1992), Chen Village Under Mao and Deng, Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

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Meng, X. and Miller, W.P. (1995), ‘Occupation Segregation and Its Impact on Gender Wage Discrimination in China’s Rural Industrial Sector’, Oxford Economic Papers, 47: 1, pp. 136–155. Meng, X. (1996), ‘An Examination of Wage Determination in China’s Rural Industrial Sector’, Applied Economics, 28: 1, pp. 715–724. Meng, X. (1998a), ‘Male-female wage determination and gender wage discrimination in China’s Rural Industrial Sector’, Labour economies, 5, pp. 67–89. Meng, X. (1998b), ‘Gender Occupational Segregation and Its Impact on the Gender Wage Differential Among Rural-Urban Migrants: A Chinese Case Study’, Applied Economics, 30, pp. 741–752. Meng, X. (2003), ‘Unemployment, Income Inequality and Poverty in Urban China’, in Kishor Sharma (ed.), Trade Policy Reform, Growth and Equality in Asian Developing Countries, New York: Routledge. Millimet, D.L. and Wang, L. (2006), ‘A Distributional Analysis of the Gender Earnings Gap in Urban China’, Contributions to Economic Analysis and Policy, 5: 1, Article 5. Mitsuhashi, H., Park, H.J., Wright, P.M. and Chua, R.S. (2000). ‘Line and HR executives’ Perceptions of HR Effectiveness in Firms in the People’s Republic of China’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11: 2, pp. 197–217. National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC) and Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MOLSS) (2005), China Labour Statistical Yearbook, Beijing: China Statistical Press. Neumark, D. (1988), ‘Employer’s Discriminatory Behaviour and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination’, The Journal of Human Resources, 23: 3, pp. 279–295. ——— (1998), ‘Employers’ Discriminatory Behaviour and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination’, Human Resource Management, 23: 3, pp. 279–295. Ng, Y.C. (2004), ‘Economic Development, Human Capital, and Gender Earnings Differentials in China’, Economics of Education Review, 23: 6, pp. 587–603. Ogloblin, C. (1999), ‘The Gender Earnings Differential in the Russian Transition Economy’, Industrial and Labour Relations Review, 52, pp. 602–627. Oaxaca, R. (1973), ‘Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labour Markets’, International Economic Review, 14, pp. 693–709. Oaxaca, R. and Ransom, M. (1994), ‘On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials’, The Journal of Econometrics, 61, pp. 5–21. Rozelle, S., Dong, X., Zhang, L. and Mason, A. (2002), ‘Gender Wage Gaps in PostReform Rural China’, Pacific Economic Review, 7: 1, pp. 157–179. Shen, J. (2007), Labour Disputes and Their Management in China. Oxford: Chandos Publishing. Shu, X.L. and Bian, Y.J. (2003), ‘Market Transition and Gender Gap in Earnings in Urban China’, Social Forces, 81: 4, pp. 1107–1145. The United Nations (UN) (2005), ‘The National Human Development Reports for China’, http://www.undp.org.cn/modules.php?op⫽modload&name⫽News&file⫽ article&topic⫽40&sid⫽228. Accessed 17 August 2006. Xie, Y. and Hannum, E. (1996), ‘Regional Variation in Earnings Inequality in Reform Era Urban China’, American Journal of Sociology, 101: 4, 950–992. Xinhua News Agency (2007), China Suffers Widening Income Gap, China Daily: Beijing, January 2007. Xu, W., Tan, K.-C. and Wang, G.X. (2006), ‘Segmented Local Labour Markets in Post-Reform China: Gender Earnings Inequality in the Case Of Two Towns in Zhejiang Province’, Environment and Planning A, 38, pp. 85–109. 126

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Warner, M. (1995), The Management of Human Resources in Chinese Industry. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ——— (2002), ‘Globalization, Labour Markets and Human Resources in AsiaPacific Economies: An Overview’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13: 3, pp. 384–398. World Bank (2002), China: Country Gender Review, Washington DC: East Asia Environment & Social Development Unit, World Bank.

Suggested citation Shen, J., & Deng, X. (2008), ‘Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review of post-reform research’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change 5: 2, pp. 109–127, doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.109/1

Contributor details Jie Shen (Dr) is Associate Professor in International Human Resource Management, Department of Management, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is Adjunct Associate Professor at University of South Australia, Guest Professor at Southwest Jiao Tong University, Shanghai University and Fujian Normal University. His main research interests are International Human Resource Management (IHRM) and HR and industrial relations (IR) in China. Contact: Jie Shen (Dr), Associate Professor in International Business, Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Monash University, Melbourne, 3000, Australia. Tel: 0061-3-99055465, Fax: 0061-3-9905 5412. E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Xin Deng is Lecturer in Economics at University of South Australia. Her research is in applied Microeconomics areas, and her previous publications cover a wide range of topics including state owned enterprises reform in China, taxation modelling and cost evaluation of non-market goods. Contact: Xin Deng (Dr), Lecturer, School of Commerce, Division of Business, University of South Australia. Tel: 61-8-83020743, Fax: 61-8-83020992. E-mail: [email protected]

Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review . . .

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Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 © 2008 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.129/1

Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the change in the Indian economic policies Karabi C. Bezboruah University of Texas at Dallas

Abstract

Keywords

Faced with a dynamic and globalised external economic environment and a deteriorating internal economic environment, the Indian government decided to reform its economic policies. The changes meant overhauling India’s economic system by making it more market oriented. This article applies Nadler–Tushman’s Congruence Model of organisational change to the changes in the Indian economic system and attempts to examine the model’s validity in large-scale organisational settings. The findings show that although the change process is consistent with the model’s features, the model does not recommend any action strategies to handle resistances. Resistances being a significant part of any change process, inclusion of strategies to manage resistances would enhance the applicability of the congruence model.

congruence model Nadler–Tushman’s model Indian economic reforms change management organisational change

1. Introduction The economic system of a country is the backbone on which the country designs its development. A large-scale transition involving the economy of a nation of a billion people is not only merely a process but it also means changing the identity as well as future of the country. Models for explaining organisational changes have been espoused by several scholars over the years (Weisbrod 1976; Nadler and Tushman 1988; Burke 2002; Bolman and Deal 2003). The purpose of this article is to evaluate the policy change process implemented by the Government of India in the early 1990s by applying the congruence model developed by Nadler and Tushman in 1997. This article, by examining the policy reforms in the framework of the congruence model, seeks to assess the validity of this model in largescale economic transitions. The economic reforms of India initiated as a result of severe economic crisis have, over the years, led to increased foreign investment, growth in entrepreneurial ability, higher collaboration with multi-national corporations, and an increased importance of India in international economics. Because of these achievements post-reform, the change process merits scholarly study. Such massive policy changes of a nation have not been previously studied in the framework of any organisational change model. OTASC 5 (2) 129–140 © Intellect Ltd 2008

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In analyzing the applicability of the congruence model, this article considers the Indian sub-continent as an organisation. Although there are vast differences between a country and an organisation in terms of factors such as population, culture, history and purpose, the differences do not affect the analysis because the Nadler–Tushman model takes these factors into account while analyzing the change process. As per the model, an organisation’s environment, history and resources are the primary inputs in the change process. Similarly, in India’s economic transition, its history, its economic, political, social and cultural environment and its resources are the prime inputs in the transition. Because of this characteristic of the Nadler–Tushman model, it is possible to consider the country of India as an organisation and explain the broad economic changes in the framework of the model. According to Nadler and Tushman (1997: 34), congruence is ‘the degree to which the needs, demands, goals, objectives, and/or structures of one component are consistent with those of the other’. The greater the congruence, the higher is the performance of the organisation. This is a comprehensive model that specifies inputs through outputs. According to this model, the key components of the change leaders include envisioning, energising and enabling. Envisioning means creating and communicating a vision of a future state with which the people identify and has greater intrinsic value. Energising and enabling involve empowering the people involved in the change with the necessary tools and resources. The changes brought about by the Indian economic reforms were of an institutional nature, that is, they were implemented at the national level and involved a series of deregulation, delicensing and privatisation activities. For the purposes of this article, these changes at the institutional level have been interpreted at the operational or the organisational level. Thus, the economic reforms implemented in the Indian economy have been taken as reforms or changes in an organisational setting. Such an interpretation would assist in the applicability of a change model to explain the transition of India from a closed and protected economy to a more open and entrepreneurial one. This article is divided into four sections. First, the literatures on organisational change management and the Indian economic reforms are briefly explored. This review of the literature presents an overview of the theories and models espoused by change management scholars and focuses on the change efforts of the Indian leaders and its effects on the Indian economy. After the review, the congruence model of change is analysed and applied to the Indian context. This is followed by an analysis of the findings, and subsequent conclusions.

2. Literature review 2.1. Overview of the organisational change management Change is a permanent feature and an ongoing process in organisations and institutions. Change can be proactive or reactive, incremental or 130

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discontinuous and through choice or due to an impending organisational crisis. Large-scale changes, which involve changing the way a nation had been functioning, require careful planning and implementation. The implementation of such large-scale changes requires extensive attention because it affects not only the daily operations and subsequent changes (Meyer and Stensaker 2006) but also changing the mindset of a diverse set of people. After a review of the change literature, Meyer and Stensaker (2006) have developed five categories of recommendations for developing change capacity. The categories are framing (the reasons and rationale for change as well as the technique for communicating the change), participation (involving those affected by change), pacing and sequencing (pace and timing of change), routinising (use existing or establish new routines to handle change) and recruiting expert personnel. In the absence of these categories, it would be difficult to develop change capacity. Gardner (2006), who believes that all change processes are gradual, identifies seven factors that might cause a change in perspective or a change in the way of doing things of an individual or institution. These factors are reason (rational approach), research (collection of relevant data pertaining to costs and benefits), resonance (fit of the idea with the current situation), redescriptions (reinforcing views), rewards, real world events and resistances to change. Changes, according to Gardner (2006: 18), can occur ‘when the first six factors operate in consort and resistances are relatively weak’. Argyris and Schon (1974) maintained that people have mental orientations with respect to acting in situations. These orientations guide people, in the case of organisations, managers, in planning, implementing and reviewing their actions. The scholars state that there is a split between the theories people espouse and their actions. Based on these, Argyris and Schon developed two models – Model I and Model II. Model I believes in unilaterally setting goals and working to achieve them. Here the change managers unilaterally control and manage the task environment. The consequences are defensive relationships, low freedom of choice, reduced production of valid information and little public testing of ideas. The Model II environment, on the other hand, focuses on internal commitment, valid information, and free and informed choice. It includes shared and participatory decision making which leads to minimal defensive relationships and high freedom of choice. Argyris (2000) urges change managers to move from Model I to Model II environment because Model I behaviour focuses on winning and suppressing negative feelings. Based on Argyris’ (2000) arguments, it can be said that the use of Model I theories by change managers can act against the long-term interests of the organisation. The Model II environment encourages open communication and that helps change managers to address some of the mundane aspects. Thus, the literature on change management views change as a gradual and rational process that includes in-depth research as well as participation by those affected by change. It also means having talented individuals Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the . . .

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to implement the changes, manage resistances and to communicate the changes process to others on a regular basis.

3. Necessity of change in Indian economic policies 3.1. The Indian economy at the time of reforms Until the 1990s, India was a stringently controlled and a highly regulated economy. With the economic reforms of the 1990s, the central political leadership completely overhauled the Indian economy by initiating a massive paradigm shift from a state-oriented to a market-oriented economy, thereby embracing globalisation and catapulting India into the world economy. The changes initiated in the wake of severe economic crises were aimed at macroeconomic stability and international confidence in the Indian economy (Singh 1997). Overall, the major areas covered by the reforms were fiscal deficit reduction, industrial and trade policy, agricultural policy, infrastructure development, financial development, privatisation and social sector development. Some of the internal reforms were the abolishment of industrial licensing, reduction in the number of industries reserved for the public sector, relaxation of the anti-trust legislation to facilitate expansion and diversification, banking reforms and changes in the tax system. External reforms include the devaluation of the Indian currency, increase in the direct foreign investment to 51 per cent, lowering of licensing requirements for imports, and reductions in tariffs (Nayar 1998). Changes can be due to either internal or external forces. Internal could be in the form of growth pressures whereas external could be the environmental pressures that compel an organisation to change. In the case of India, the impending economic crises because of balance of payments problems, and a decrease in foreign exchange reserves pushed the need for reforms in the foreign economic policies. Reforms were brought about in the national economic policies to deregulate the economy as well as privatise some of the loss making public sector industries (Bhalla 1995). These policy reforms brought about changes in various areas of the economy.

3.2. The results of the change in economic policies The implementation of the economic reforms was gradual, and over the years, changes in several areas were noticed. Most notable was the increase in foreign direct investment, privatisation of some of the loss making industries in the public sector, an increase in the presence of multinational corporations in India, a significant decline in the poverty rate, and a stronger presence of India in the world economy. The gradual implementation of the reforms led to positive economic growth only during the first five years post-reforms. The following five years experienced slow economic growth and was much below the target set by the government. An analysis of the performance of the major areas after the changes were implemented resulted in the following observations – failure by the government to invest in public services; industrial policies favouring a few investor-friendly states resulting in less than uniform development among 132

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the states; high tariff levels among the developing countries; low export rate due to India being a high-cost producer; and rigid laws relating to employment and retrenchment of labour resulted in high production costs and low productivity (Ahluwalia 2002). The effects of the gradual changes were mixed. For example, the primary sector lagged behind the secondary and tertiary sectors, and the non-uniform implementation of the reforms led to uneven growth across states. The services sector, especially the information technology enabled services enjoyed the greatest surge due to the deregulation. Employment in this sector also increased due to the presence of large numbers of well-educated and English speaking people. According to Datt and Ravallion (2002), in spite of a strong national rate of growth, this sectoral and geographic imbalance of growth hampered an equivalent reduction of the poverty rate. However, the cumulative effect of the changes was very significant to the Indian economy. This is reflected in India’s increasing gross domestic product (GDP). The Indian economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7 per cent in the decade since 1996 and achieved an 8.5 per cent GDP growth in 2006. Exports of merchandise, services and industry increased 23 per cent, 10.3 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively (World Bank 2007).

4. The necessity of a change model A change model assists in explaining any changes implemented in an organisation in a simplified manner. The models try to illustrate the various factors or variables that have a strong influence on the changes. Because of the complex nature of organisations, a change model needs to be holistic in order to take into account factors such as organisational structures, culture, leadership processes, individuals, knowledge, as well as capabilities. The selection of a change model to explain organisational changes is crucial because the model would need to adequately represent the changes. In this article, the congruence model is applied to the Indian context in order to explain the economic changes of the 1990s. The application of the model would, in turn, assist in evaluating its validity in large scale changes.

5. The congruence model and its applicability to the Indian economy Nadler and Tushman’s change model is an open systems model based on the proposition that the effectiveness of an organisation is determined by the congruence between the various elements of the organisation. According to the open systems theory, the organisation is dependent on its environment. The outputs from the transformation of the system-received inputs are again exchanged for new inputs (Hendrickson 1992). There are four basic components in the transformation process of an organisation – task or the specific work activities; individuals or the knowledge, skills, needs and expectations; formal organisational arrangements which includes the structures, processes and methods; and informal organisation that involves implicit, unstated values, beliefs and behaviours (Palmer, Dunford Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the . . .

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and Akin 2006). The inputs towards the transformation process include the external environment, internal resources and the organisation’s history. Based on these inputs, the organisation’s leaders formulate the strategy for initiating changes. The outputs are the performance of the various sectors of the organisation after the changes are implemented. The economic policy reforms initiated by the Indian government were a gradual process involving a period of about 6 years from 1991 to 1997. These changes can be categorised as a first-order, incremental change that involves maintaining and developing the continuity of the organisation as opposed to second-order, discontinuous change involving radical transformation in the nature of the organisation. Nadler and Tushman (1995) added another dimension to this distinction between the incremental and discontinuous change by incorporating the concepts of anticipatory or reactive of changes to the external environment (Palmer, Dunford and Akin 2006). In the case of changes in the Indian policies, the changes were primarily reactive in nature. The impending economic crisis faced by India was due to the Gulf War between Iraq and the United States in the early 1990s that led to a short-term rise in the prices of oil. The collapse of the Soviet Union, India’s largest trading partner in 1991 was another cause of India’s economic crisis (Nagaraj 1997). Similarly, there were demands from international lenders such as the international monetary fund (IMF) to deregulate and liberalise India’s economy in order to avoid a debt crisis and maintain economic stability (Basu 1993). In addition, weak economic policies by earlier governments whereby expenditures exceeded revenue leading to high fiscal deficits and heavy borrowing by the government were also responsible for the economic crisis (Nayar 1998). The economic reforms brought about by the government were, thus, a reaction of these pressures to bring about change in the national policies. Moreover, these incremental changes in the policies were adaptive to the pressures of India’s deteriorating economic situation as well as the dictates of international lenders. The congruence model outlines eight steps while analyzing organisational problems. Table 1 lists the eight steps and then analyses them in the context of the changes. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8

Identification of symptoms of problem existence Specification of the key elements of the organisation – environment, resources and strategy Identification of outputs – the desired and the actual Classification of the problems, that is, the gap between the desired and the actual outputs Describe the organisational components by collecting data on the four components Evaluation of the congruence between the various components Identify the key factors requiring attention by linking the congruence analysis to the problem identified Identification of action steps that might remove or reduce the problem

Table 1. Eight steps of Nadler–Tushman’s congruence model. 134

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5.1. Application of the congruence model to the Indian economic change process In the context of the changes brought about by the economic reforms in India, the eight steps would be as follows. The symptoms that suggested that there existed a problem in the Indian economy are a balance of payments problem, high fiscal deficits and high inflation. The inputs for the transition are the policies that were formulated to bail the country out of severe economic crisis. These policies were in response to external pressures as well as internal efforts at stabilising the economy. The intended outputs of the change efforts were to improve India’s economic stand in the international arena as well as to make India a more deregulated and globalised economy. The problems or the gaps between the intended and actual outputs are deficiencies in the policies implemented by the previous governments. Being a democracy, the new policies related to changes in the economic system need to be dictated by consensus. In addition, the government initiating the changes was a minority government which was subject to coalition politics as well as the demands of the opposition parties. The next sections would discuss in detail steps 5 through 8, that is, the organisational components, the congruence between them, and identify actionable steps.

5.2. The organisational components in the change process Following is a brief description of the four important organisational components involved in the change process. Task – the task or the specific work activities in the change process involved formulating economic policies that would initiate and sustain the changes. Informal organisation – this includes the implicit, unstated values, beliefs and behaviours of the organisation. India being a socialist democratic republic, its policies, ideals and values were dictated by social concerns, namely, those which benefited the whole society. However, with globalisation and reforms in countries such as China as well as radical changes in erstwhile communist nations and the break-up of the Soviet Union, India had to change its socialist values for a market-oriented, capitalist approach. Formal organisational arrangements – the policies that were implemented were recommended by a high-powered committee comprising of the Tax Reform Committee, the Committee on the Financial System and the Insurance Reform Committee. Other key groups such as political parties, organised labour groups, and the public – the middle class in particular – were also included in order to build consensus on the changes (Nayar 1998). Individual – this level consists of the knowledge, skills, needs and expectations of the organisations undergoing the change. The change efforts initiated by the Indian government became more definite with the appointment of Dr. Manmohan Singh, a renowned scholar in economics and a proponent of open markets as India’s Finance Minister. Dr. Singh Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the . . .

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had the necessary knowledge, skills and experience in liberal economic policies, and was instrumental in framing the changes that led to replacing of the previous economic policies with policies characterised by medium levels of protection and regulation. In the next section, the fit between these four organisational components is studied.

5.3. Assessing congruence or consistency between the organisational components There needs to be consistency between the four components involved in the change process, namely, task, informal organisation, formal organisational arrangements, and the individual in order for the change to be effective. As discussed earlier, the specific task to bring about change involved framing new market oriented and investor friendly policies that were very different from the policies implemented by previous governments. In fact, the socialist values that guided the country’s policies since independence from British rule were somewhat given up in order to avoid a huge public debt and an impending economic crisis. Moreover, the new policies were framed after much discussions and deliberations with key stakeholder groups such as political organisations, organised labour groups, committees set up for different areas, interest groups, industrialists, as well as the general public. The change would not have been effective if it had not been for the appointment of a skilled Finance Minister whose knowledge in the field of deregulation, delimitation and open market systems assisted in the framing of policies that propelled India into the forefront among the developing nations. Thus, the four components are consistent with each other and this explains why the changes initiated by the Indian government were effective in boosting the country’s economic health. In the event of inconsistencies between the components, Nadler and Tushman (1988) suggested an identification of the key factors needing attention and identifying actionable steps that would reduce or remove the problem as mentioned in steps seven and eight of the congruence model. In this analysis, the four components were consistent with the change and the need for identifying key factors and solutions do not arise. The changes in the Indian economic system is also consistent with the stage-based theory developed by Rogers (1983) to explain how new ideas or initiatives are disseminated and adopted by the society. The five stages identified by Rogers in the diffusion process of a new initiative are knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. Roger’s argument was that dissemination of ideas is high when the perceived superiority of the initiative is high compared with the existing practice as well as when the initiative’s perceived compatibility with the existing social system is high. In the Indian context, the new economic policies were successfully implemented because the perceived success rate of the new policies in stabilising the economy was very high. Also, economic changes in the communist countries and China also changed the mindset of the Indian people regarding market oriented policies. 136

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6. Findings and conclusions The application of the Congruence model to the Indian economic policy changes implemented in the early 1990s shows that the changes were well planned in terms of a gradual and piecemeal implementation that replaced high levels of economic protection and regulation by medium protection and regulation. This strategy of gradual implementation was followed because the change leaders had to build consensus among the key stakeholders and groups as the policies were implemented. These policies were also designed to gradually transform India from a highly insulated economy to one that is more integrated with the world economy. The cautious and gradual approach was undertaken by the change leaders in order to avoid repeating the failed economic reform efforts of previous Indian governments. Earlier attempts at reforming the economic policies were unilateral approaches that did not include consensus building or research. As a result, those reforms failed. The model explains that the change efforts were consistent with the final output or goal of the government. The eight-step analysis found that the context of the organisation that defined the strategy to be used fits well with the four important components involved in the change process. Because of this consistency, the output or the goal – to achieve economic stability and improve India’s economic standing in the world economy – of the change leaders was achieved. Moreover, because the change process was gradual, there was adequate room for feedback among the various stages of change. This ensured adaptation and modification of the policies based on the prevailing political and economic conditions. The findings also suggested that the information on the change process was available to all stakeholders and these stakeholders were involved in the decisionmaking process. Thus, this model applies well to the changes in the Indian economy as the change managers planned well in implementing the changes. The congruence between the different organisational components reduced the need for examining the changes based on steps 7 and 8 of the model. This is because in step 7, those organisational components are identified that have some problems and do not fit with the other components. The problems can pose a hindrance in the achievement of the change outcome. In step 8, actions are taken to remove or reduce this problem and bring about coherency between the components. Because of the congruency between the various components such as task, formal organisation, informal organisation and the individual in the Indian economic policy changes, the need for steps 7 and 8 do not arise. The congruence model, however, does not mention any resistances to change. Resistances are deeply embedded in change efforts and could be in the form of both active and passive resistances. The resistances that cropped up in the Indian economic reforms in the form of opposition from other political parties to implement new policies were also managed by the able leadership of the change leader and the bureaucrats assisting in the transition. In addition, the economic situation during that period necessitated Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the . . .

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such a change in policies and as such, the reforms were contextual to a certain extent as well. Although Gardner (2006), as mentioned earlier, stated that change is possible when resistances are relatively weak to other factors, changes were implemented and effective to a large extent despite strong resistances from various quarters. Public sector managers resisted because they did not want to give up the old management techniques, control and power. Similarly, organised labour groups resisted changes in fear of losing employment but they were taken into confidence during the change process thereby minimising opposing pressures. Since 2006, however, the Indian government has stalled the privatisation of public sector industries because of the resistances from within the ruling political party and their communist allies. By applying the Congruence model of change to the Indian economic reforms, this article examined the economic change process in the framework of the model as well as evaluated the model’s applicability. The findings showed that as per the model, the various elements involved in the change process in the Indian change scenario were consistent with each other. The main drawback of the model is that it did not recommend any action strategies to manage resistances to change. This becomes starker with the stalling of the privatisation efforts in recent years due to political pressures, which have created a barrier for the country’s effort to implement market-oriented practices. These are resistances that can be mitigated through proper discussions and negotiation. Moreover, welfare policies for employees displaced or losing employment would also help in reducing the resistances. On the other hand, the congruence model when applied to the complex change process of a nation’s policies is useful in that it shows the need for fit between the elements as well as flexibility to deal with changing conditions in a globalised environment. This model can serve as a template for future economic transitions of nations and can provide change agents with a framework for formulating and implementing the change plan. It can also be used to evaluate any large-scale changes post-implementation as the organisational components and the continuous feedback can be used to measure the effectiveness of the change process. Thus, this model can be used in the beginning as well as after the changes have been implemented and can guide change managers to better manage the transition phase and thereafter. Needless to say that in order to maintain sustainable success in a fast-changing world, change managers should possess capabilities to face any competition or threat proactively or reactively by framing policies, that fits any situation.

7. Research implications The analysis of the Indian economic reforms suggests that the components involved in the transformation process were consistent with each other as per the congruence model. However, this model might not be able to explain all aspects of such a large-scale change that involves the economy 138

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and future of a whole nation. This is because the model leaves out an important aspect of any transformation, that is, resistance from those affected by the change. On the other hand, the model provides a holistic view as it encompasses the various elements of the organisation. Diagnostic models of change management assist in explaining how the change process works out. Congruence model is one such explicit model that tries to link the causal relationship of any change. Yet, the question arises regarding the necessity or usefulness of models to explain organisational change. According to Burke (2002), as cited in Palmer, Dunford and Akin (2006: 108–109), organisational change models help in reducing complex situations into more manageable categories and also identify the activities that needs the most attention. The models also bring out the interconnectedness of the elements and processes which highlights the sequence of events that were involved in the change process. Although application of these models to nations and economic transformations is not common, these models can be useful to analyse changes in the national context. Such application can provide insight to the change processes from the planning stage so that the complex processes are categorised into more manageable units. Further, this can also help in extending and modifying the model by evaluating its applicability in all aspects of large-scale transitions. This article provides a gateway for future research on economic transitions of nations by applying change management tools and models. Future studies would assist in proving a change model’s applicability and validity as well as evaluate its usefulness and shortcomings in different organisational environments. This could assist in modifying and refining the change models in order to enhance their characteristics. Works cited Ahluwalia, M.S. (2002), ‘Economic Reforms in India since 1991: Has Gradualism Worked?’, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16: 3, pp. 67–88. Argyris, C. (2000), Flawed Advice and the Management Trap: How Managers Can Know When They’re Getting Good Advice and When They’re Not, New York: Oxford University Press. Argyris, C. and Schön, D. (1974), Theory in Practice: Increasing Professional Effectiveness, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Basu, K. (1993), ‘Structural Reform in India, 1991–93: Experience and Agenda’, Economic and Political Weekly, 28: 48, pp. 2599–2605. Bhalla, A.S. (1995), ‘Recent Economic Reforms in China and India’, Asian Survey, 35: 6, pp. 555–572. Burke, W.W. (2002), Organization Change: Theory and Practice, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E. (2003), Reframing Organizations, 3rd ed., San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Datt, G. and Ravallion, M. (2002), ‘Is India’s Economic Growth Leaving the Poor Behind?’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16: 3, pp. 89–108. Gardner, H. (2006), Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing our Own and Other People’s Minds, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the . . .

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Hendrickson, L.U. (1992), ‘Bridging the Gap between Organization Theory and The Practice of Managing Growth: The Dynamic System Planning Model’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 5: 3, pp. 18–37. Meyer, C.B. and Stensaker, I.G. (2006), ‘Developing Capacity for Change’, Journal of Change Management, 6: 2, pp. 217–231. Nadler, D.A. and Tushman, M.L. (1995), ‘Types of Organizational Change: From Incremental Improvement to Discontinuous Transformation’, in D.A. Nadler, R.B. Shaw, A.E. Walton and Associates (eds.), Discontinuous Change: Leading Organizational Transformation, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 15–34. ——— (1997), Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational Architecture, New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ——— (1988), ‘Strategic Organization Design: Concepts, Tools, and Processes’, Glenview: Scott Foresman. Nagaraj, R. (1997), ‘What has Happened Since 1991? Assessment of India’s Economic Reforms’, Economic and Political Weekly, 32: 44/45, pp. 2869–2879. Nayar, B.R. (1998), ‘Political Structure and India’s Economic Reforms of the 1990s’, Pacific Affairs, 71: 3, pp. 335–358. Palmer, I., Dunford, R. and Akin, G. (2006), ‘Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach’, New York: McGraw-Hill. Rogers, E.M. (1983), Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press. Singh, M. (1997), ‘Interview: Liberalization and Globalization: Where is India Heading?’, World Affairs, 1: 1, pp. 16–42. Weisbrod, M.R. (1976), ‘Organizational Diagnosis: Six Places to Look for Trouble With or Without a Theory’, Group and Organization Studies, 1, pp. 430–447. World Bank (2007), ‘India Country Overview (2006)’, http://go.worldbank.org/ NLCX7C1VC0. Accessed 12 November 2007.

Suggested citation Bezboruah, K. (2008), ‘Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the change in the Indian economic policies’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change 5: 2, pp. 129–140, doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.129/1

Contributor details Karabi C. Bezboruah is a doctoral candidate in the Public Affairs programme at the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas. She also teaches courses in Public Administration such as bureaucracy and nonprofit organisations at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her interests include organisational change and behaviour, corporate philanthropy, nonprofit management and emotional intelligence. Contact: Karabi C. Bezboruah, EPPS – Public Affairs, Mail Station WT 17, University of Texas at Dallas, 2601 N. Floyd Rd., Richardson, TX 75080, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

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Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 © 2008 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.141/1

Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors of support for change Chaiporn Vithessonthi Mahasarakham University Markus Schwaninger University of St. Gallen Abstract

Keywords

For the most part, studies on change management have attempted to determine the factors that influence employee resistance to change. The focus of the present study is to test whether job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development influence employee support for downsizing. Data were gathered from a sample of 86 teachers at one private school in Bangkok, Thailand. The analysis was carried out using multinomial ordered probit regression. The results suggest that the level of job motivation is negatively associated with the level of support for change, and that the level of self-confidence for learning and development is not associated with the level of support for change. These results are counterintuitive, and they refute our initial hypotheses.

change management downsizing job motivation learning support for change

1. Introduction Greater competition, rapid technological and social changes in an emerging market economy have made efficiency improvement a crucial managerial challenge for firms to remain competitive in the marketplace. However, authors on organisational change have pointed out that managerial choices may be influenced by pressures from employees and institutional inertia (e.g., Barnett and Carroll 1995). Firms with poor performance tend to be shrinking; downsizing is then either a consequence of poor performance or one of to the options for improving performance. According to resource-based and dynamic capabilities views, it is essential for a firm to actively manage internal resources in order to sustain competitive advantages over time (Teece, Pisano and Shuen 1997). A key issue with respect to the management of firm performance is the use of downsizing. In a narrow view, downsizing has been defined as the planned reduction in a firm’s personnel intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a firm (Alien et al. 1995; Cascio 1993; Freeman and Cameron 1993; Wayhan and Werner 2000); in a broader perspective, downsizing has been defined as a reduction in the use of a firm’s resources to improve its performance

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(DeWitt 1998). DeWitt (1998) argues ideas that downsizing is a restructuring process, entailing three resource reduction choices: retrenchment, downscaling and down scoping. In this article, we refer to all the three kinds of downsizing. It has been argued that the main benefits of downsizing are efficiency improvement and increased profitability. A firm that better manages its human resources so that firm-specific capabilities are created is more likely to stay competitive in the marketplace (Wright, Dunford and Snell 2001). Nevertheless, downsizing can be viewed as a breach of the psychological contract between a firm and its employees, leading to a reduction in trust in management (Mishra and Spreitzer 1998). Empirical research has found mixed results concerning the effect of downsizings on efficiency and profitability (Cascio 1993; McKinley, Sanchez and Schick 1995). One plausible explanation for this may be the influences of employees in the aftermath of downsizings. That is, a firm’s downsizing success is contingent upon the attitude of employees towards change initiatives. In change management literature, employee resistance to change has been cited as the main factor derailing change initiatives (Regar et al. 1994; Kotter 1995). Although downsizing destroys the existing social networks in a firm, it also creates a new social network that may provide new opportunities for employees who have survived (Shah 2000). Accurate knowledge of employee reaction to change is clearly essential to the selection and implementation of strategies by the firms, and employees are key firm assets, making downsizing strategies crucial. This raises important questions. What factors influence the extent to which employees support organisational change? The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding of employee reaction to downsizing initiatives in the context of an emerging market economy where economic growth has rapidly changed the competition landscape for local firms. This study addresses a question that is crucial for firms pursing strategic change. It focuses on the key factors that can explain observed differences in the level of support for change among the employees that face downsizing. Given that firms usually attempt to initiate a wide range of strategic actions, including downsizing, after firm performance has begun to deteriorate, it is particularly surprising that few studies (e.g., Judson 1991; Kotter 1995) have attempted to explain the differences in the level of support for change that has been observed among employees. Past research has placed considerable emphasis on various factors that can minimise employee resistance to change. Consequently, this article tries to link observed differences in the levels of support for change among employees to several factors in addition to change management models. Several researchers (Dent and Goldberg 1999; Mabin, Forgeson and Green 2001) have begun to place substantial emphasis on various factors that can influence employee reactions to change that occur in different contexts. In broad terms, employee reaction to change has been tied to a 142

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wide range of factors, from prevailing change process conditions to specific employee perceptions. Given that importance of these factors, it is not surprising that Kotter (1995) suggests that managers should attempt to investigate and understand the factors that lie behind observed differences in the levels of resistance to change and support for change in order to have successful change initiatives. In this article, we therefore attempt to address this important topic in the context of downsizing in an emerging market economy that has been largely neglected by past studies. We focus exclusively on a sample of employees that can be clearly regarded as being in a downsizing situation in Thailand. We then attempt to examine and explain the differences among these employees in their support for change in spite of the firm’s downsizing that might affect their job. Research suggests that employees develop beliefs about the extent to which they are motivated to achieve their tasks and assignments (Herzberg 1968). Empirical evidence suggests that job motivation is related to a variety of work-related attitudes and outcomes (Deery et al. 1995). Two important issues requiring further attention are the relationship between job motivation and support for change on the one hand and the factors influencing the development of job motivation on the other. Likewise, research suggests that self-efficacy for development and learning influences one’s performance (Maurer 2001). As such, it is of great interest to understand the effects of self-confidence for learning and development on behaviours of employees. In this study, we propose that job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development play an important role on an employee’s support for change. Under circumstances in which a firm’s strategic choice such as downsizing might significantly affect employees in the firm, employees’ perceptions are more likely to influence their level of support for the firm’s decision. Thus, an important research issue deals with the nature of employees’ perceptions during the downsizing process and how to enhance the positive effects of such perceptions while reducing the negative effects of such perceptions. This study attempts to fill a gap in current research on downsizing and change management by empirically examining the role of employees’ job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development in predicting employees’ support for change in the context of a downsizing endeavour pursued by a large private school in Thailand. In general, the work pattern in Thailand differs from that found in North America in that it is shaped by different values. For instance, in contrast to the United States with their universalism- and individualismoriented culture, Thailand’s culture is stamped with enthusiasm for particularism and communitarianism (Cf. Hofstede, 1992: 54). Thus, these have implications on how Thai employees view the world and the people around them. In particular, they will more likely react differently to changes in the organisation than the Americans. For example, as in many Asian countries, avoiding confrontation is the norm in Thailand (Cf. Hofstede Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors . . .

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1992: 123f.): Traditionally, Thais seem to find it difficult to accept a direct negative response or answer. Hence, Thais tend to make excuses rather than offer a direct negative answer. Consequently, in our survey we have not used any scales including ‘no’ answers.

2. Literature review and hypotheses 2.1. Job motivation Job motivation has emerged as one of the most important factors influencing a variety of work-related variables (Jalajas and Bommer, 1999; Stumpf and Hartman, 1984). Many studies in the field of change management suggest that job motivation is positively related to organisational commitment (e.g., Deery et al. 1995; Morrow 1983), work performance (Jalajas and Bommer 1999), commitment (Jalajas and Bommer 1999; Morrow 1983). In addition, Brockner, Grover, Reed and DeWitt (1992) find that perceived job enrichment has a positive and significant effect on work effort. Research on the effect of job motivation on employee absenteeism suggests that the two variables are negatively correlated (Blau 1986; Deery et al. 1995). Recent research in the field of change management has raised interest in the extent to which employees can be motivated to perform their jobs and in the way of how firms can motivate employees (e.g., Herzberg 1968; Kanfer 1990; Vroom, 1964). When employees have high job motivation, they are likely to show better adaptive responses to any change in the organisation. Broadly speaking, managers, acting on behalf of the firm, might make decisions that affect the job motivation of employees (Korsgaard, Sapienza and Schweiger 2002), which in turn affects their attitudes and behaviours toward the decisions. If we apply the same basic rationale to how job motivation would affect absenteeism, organisational commitment and work effort, it is plausible that job motivation will be able to influence employees’ support for organisational change pursued by a firm. Now, consider an organisation change from which only benefits to a firm and its employees will result. All employees must support the change in order for any of them to derive the benefits. Thus, there is an incentive for employees to try to support the firm’s implementation of the change in an effort to reap private benefits. In such a situation, employees are likely to be motivated to support the change. However, employees with higher levels of job motivation are likely to provide higher levels of support for change. Studies of job motivation support the notion that motivation is defined in relation to need strength (e.g., McClelland and Boyatzis 1984; Herzberg 1968). McClelland and Boyatzis (1984) argue that humans are motivated by need for power, achievement and affiliation. Scholars distinguish two types of motivation: intrinsic motivation refers to the relationship between employees and their job itself (Hui and Lee 2000), and is derived from within the individuals or from the activity related to the job itself (Sansone and Harackiewicz 2000); and extrinsic motivation applies to the relationship between individuals and externally administered rewards such as pay 144

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(Komaki, 1982). Hackman and Oldham, (1976) suggest that key characteristics that induce intrinsic motivation include task variety, task significance, task identity, and task feedback. Guerrero and Barraud-Didier (2004) suggest that job motivation can result in the high involvement in the company that will increase effectiveness and productivity. However, age can account for the degree of job motivation. In this respect, Kanfer and Ackerman (2004) argue that the attractiveness of higher levels of effort is a negative function of age, because the perceived utility of effort is expected to decline with age. Empirically, Stumpf and Hartman (1984) find that work motivation has improved perceived work performance, and has lowered the intention to quit. Recently, Halbesleben and Bowler (2007) find that work motivation (e.g., achieving striving motivation, status striving motivation and communion striving motivation) mediates the relationship between emotional exhaustion and job performance in the sample of professional firefighters. It is logical to argue that the more job motivation a person has, the greater his/her effort to adapt to organisational change, and the greater her support for change. Employees are likely to ascertain that their job motivation and work effort are aligned; the alignment process might have some implications for their decision. For example, if employees have low job motivation, it should be relatively more difficult to increase their support for change and build trust between managers and employees in the context of downsizing. On the other hand, employees with high job motivation are more likely to be adaptive to and support downsizing, other things being equal. In sum, we hypothesise that: H1: Higher levels of job motivation are positively associated with support for change.

2.2. Self-confidence for learning and development Human resource management research has long included ideas that relate employees’ self-confidence in their ability to learning and development on the one hand to work performance on the other. Research into self-confidence for learning and development suggests that humans have different beliefs about the factors responsible for what happens to them. Individuals with an internal locus of control consider what happens to them as determined by factors under their control; on the other hand, individuals with an external locus of control consider what happens to them as determined by factor outside their control (Elangovan and Xie, 1999). Self-confidence for learning and development continues to receive increasing research interest, possibly due to its importance for employees’ work performance. It is however an under-researched topic, particularly when it comes to the role that self-confidence for learning and development plays in employees’ reaction to organisational change. In the literature, self-confidence is also known as self-efficacy (Maurer 2001). There has been a growing awareness in the organisational psychology Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors . . .

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literature that self-efficacy is a key determinant of individuals’ intention and choice to pursue an activity (e.g., Bandura 1977). For instance, empirical research examining the roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy suggests that there is a positive relationship between entrepreneurial selfefficacy and entrepreneurial intentions (Zhao, Seibert, and Hills 2005). Self-efficacy has been defined as beliefs or perceptions that one possesses the ability to complete a certain task (Foley, Kidder, and Powell 2002). In addition, Bandura (1997) suggests the notion that self-efficacy has three levels: (1) task specific self-efficacy; (2) domain self-efficacy; and (3) general self-efficacy. This categorisation however is not helpful in the context of our article which aims to explain differences in the level of support for organisational change. In the literature we have found a distinction, which relates closer to the intention of our study: self-efficacy for development and learning and selfefficacy for performance (e.g., Maurer 2001). According to Maurer (2001), self-efficacy for development and learning refers to one’s (self-)confidence in developing skills and learning new things, whereas self-efficacy for performance refers to one’s confidence in performing a task for which one already possesses the skills required to perform it. We shall concentrate on the learning of new skills or advanced levels of currently possessed skills, which is crucial for competence development. One can argue that selfconfidence is conceptualised as a more global variable, whereas self-efficacy is usually conceptualised as a more local variable, implying that it is a different construct. In this respect, we do not argue for the equivalence of the two constructs, per se, rather we suggest that when we have focused on one facet of self-confidence, that is, self-confidence for learning and development, the differences between self-confidence for learning and development and self-efficacy for development and learning to become smaller. That is, self-confidence has now been conceptualised at a more local level. Whether employees exploit potential career development is likely to depend initially on the degree to which employees believe that they possess the ability to develop skills and knowledge required to perform new tasks. Therefore, employees’ self-confidence for learning and development may be an important determinant of work performance in a new work setting where a new set of skills and knowledge might be needed. In the context of organisational change where employees are likely to have perceptions of job uncertainty, employees’ self-confidence for learning and development may influence employees’ reaction to change. We hypothesise that employees with high levels of self-confidence for learning and development tend to feel more comfortable with organisational change than those with low levels of self-confidence for learning and development. Because employees’ self-confidence for learning and development is likely to influence the degree to which employees actually learn and develop, low levels of self-confidence for learning and development may cause employees to be afraid of potential failures to perform in a new work environment, because of their limited capability to learn new 146

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knowledge and/or develop new skills. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will support the change. On the other hand, employees with high levels of selfconfidence for learning and development tend to consider learning new skills resulting from organisational change as achievable. In this view, they may see the change as an opportunity to improve their career prospects rather than a threat, leading them to support the change. Based on this argumentation we present the following hypothesis. H2: An employee’s self-confidence for learning and development will be positively (negatively) related to support for change.

3. Methodology 3.1 Data collection and sample The setting for this study was a private school in Thailand employing 108 full-time teachers at the time of the survey in 2004. Declining numbers of enrolled (both new and current) students over past few years (e.g., from approximately 200 new students per year in 1990 to around 100 new students per year in 2004) had caused the management team to make multiple efforts to improve the school’s efficiency and profitability. However, the numbers of enrolled students still continued to decline each year, pressurising the management team to engage in workforce reductions. The downsizing programme was initially aimed to lay off approximately ten teachers by the start of the next academic year (i.e., 2005–2006) so as to improve the student/teacher ratio and cash flows. Teachers were informed about the downsizing decision in August 2004. At the time of the survey (during the first two weeks of September 2004), teachers did not know the full details of the downsizing programme (e.g., the involuntary nature of the workforce reductions programme). A multiple-item survey in Thai was administered during working hours to a random sample of 100 employees at the school. The original questionnaire written in English was translated into the Thai language by one of the authors. In order to determine the clarity and the readability of the original questionnaire written in the Thai language, three other Thais had reviewed and revised the questionnaire. Then, a professional Thai–English translator back-translated the questionnaire into the English and the authors examined each item for translation error. The inspection did not find any instances where an item’s meaning had significantly changed because of the translation. Survey instructions stressed that it was a survey about the planned downsizing of the school and the participation in this survey was voluntary and confidential. Ninety-one questionnaires were returned, presenting a response rate of 91 per cent. Of these, three questionnaires were excluded from the analysis because of those respondents who did not complete the main part of the questionnaires. The final sample comprised 88 cases. According to the Office of the Primary Education Committee, Ministry of Education (Thai Ministry of Education, 2006), the number of primary Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors . . .

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1

Factor analysis has not been chosen because interval data were not assumed. The use of ordinal data in factor analysis may substantially alter the underlying metric scaling (Kim and Mueller, 1978). In addition, a three-point scale is likely to result in the departure from the normal distribution assumption.

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and secondary public school teachers in Bangkok for the academic year 2006–2007 was 12,682 teachers, 77 per cent of which held a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent. Nonetheless, there was no information on the distribution of the teachers by gender and tenure. The structure of the sample was representative of both the population of the 108 teachers at this school and the population of school teachers in Bangkok and Thailand, at least with regard to the distribution of the school teachers by educational background. Eighty per cent of the sample had a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent, mean age ⫽ 44.1 years, mean position tenure ⫽ 14.8 years, mean organisational tenure ⫽ 17.8 years. In comparison with other schools in Bangkok on the basis of the number of teachers, the sample school can be considered as a large school. Listwise deletion of missing values of the remaining sample reduced the sample size to 86 respondents (for further data analysis with two control variables: education and gender). It should be noted that the data used in this article were part of a larger survey that included 22 variables measured by 66 questionnaire items. It was a trade-off between the number of variables studied and the comprehensiveness of variable measurement in the above-mentioned survey; thus, only three items were used to measure each variable to increase the response rate. The focus of this article is on job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development because both variables seem to be closely related in terms of conceptual construct, and thus should be discussed together in this article. Other variables under study (e.g., perceived change in status, commitment, perceived organisational support, power, pride as a consequence of change, etc.) will be discussed in more details in our other papers. An overview of the survey items is given in the Appendix.

3.2 Measures Unlike other studies that treated the ordinal data as the matrix data and employed a factor analysis, this study examined whether the indicators for each variable were internally consistent, that is whether it was possible to reduce the number of indicators, with the following procedures, for the use of the multinomial ordered probit model.1 We averaged across the original indicators to form an average indicator, plotted the average indicator along with the original indicators in a graph, and examined the pattern of directions of the indicators. Using this procedure, it could be observed whether the indicators for each variable followed the same pattern of directions or not. In addition to applying the graphical analyses, we also examined the Spearman correlation coefficient. Support for change was measured using a three-item scale. Because there is no consensus on a definition of support for change, three newly developed items were used to measure the degree of behaviours that were conceived of representing employees’ support for change. The three items were similar in spirit to those used by Bovey and Hede (2001). These items were measured using a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) 148

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to 5 (strongly agree). Following the procedure, the measure of support for change included two items (Cronbach’s alpha ⫽ 0.70). Job motivation was measured using a three-item measure adopted from those used by Hui and Lee (2000). Respondents were asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with these items using a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). All three items were transformed to be used for the measure of job motivation (Cronbach’s alpha ⫽ 0.81). Self-confidence for learning and development was measured using a three-item measure. One item was adopted from a study by Maurer et al. (2003) reflecting employees’ perceptions of their capability to learn new knowledge and develop new skills. Respondents indicated the degree to which they agreed with these items using a five-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Following the procedure, the measure of self-confidence for learning and development included all three items (Cronbach’s alpha ⫽ 0.83). To control differences in education across teachers in the sample, the education variable, a categorical variable, was used to represent education and coded as follows: ‘0 (a degree below a bachelor level)’; ‘1 (a degree equivalent to a bachelor level)’; and ‘2 (a degree equivalent to a master level)’. To control differences in gender, the gender variable was included and coded as follows: ‘0 (male)’ and ‘1 (female)’.

3.3 Multinomial ordered probit model Because of the ordinal nature of the dependent variables, we therefore employed the multinomial ordered probit regression models to test the hypothesised relationships. In comparison with the ordinary regression model, the multinomial ordered probit model would be more appropriate as an analytical tool for estimation in this study because (1) the existence of a ranking of levels of a variable is taken into account, (2) it assumes that the differences between any two adjacent levels of a variable need not be the same and are unknown, and (3) it does not assume the independence of irrelevant alternative property (Alvarez and Nagler, 1998). The maximum likelihood function using the command PLUM (Polytomous Universal Model procedure) with a probit link function, in the SPSS package version 13 (see Borooah, 2002), was used to estimate parameters. It is noteworthy that the small sample size and number of parameters estimated can impose a potential estimation problem for the full model. This will be discussed in the next section.

4. Results Because the sample size was relatively small and might cause the estimation problem for the multinomial ordered probit regressions, measurement scales for dependent variables and independent variables were recorded (i.e., the original scales ‘1’ and ‘2’ were recoded as ‘1’; the original scales ‘3’ was recoded as ‘2’; and the original scales ‘4’ and ‘5’ were recoded as ‘3’) to alleviate the estimation problem before the multinomial ordered Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors . . .

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1. Support for change 2. Job motivation 3. Self-confidence for learning and development 4. Education 5. Gender

Mean

S.D.

1

2

2.16 2.66 2.50

0.81 0.63 0.66

.70 .26* .21*

.81 .38**

0.94 0.74

0.44 0.44

.12 .11

.05 .06

3

4

5

.83 .15 ⫺.09 ⫺.19

-

Notes: N ⫽ 86. Correlations typed in bold are significant at the 0.01 level or the 0.05 level (2-tailed). *p ⬍ .05, **p ⬍ .01. Scale reliabilities (Cronbach’s alpha) are shown along the diagonal.

Table 1: Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation coefficients for the study variables. probit regression was computed. Table 1 presents the results of the descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation coefficients and scale reliabilities (Cronbach’s alpha) of the study variables. Respondents reported a mean support for change of 2.16 (SD ⫽ 0.81), indicating support for change to be relative prevalent in the school. Support for change was related to all variables under study (with the exception of the education and gender variables) and showed the positive correlation with job motivation (r ⫽ 0.26, p ⬍ 0.05) and the positive correlation with self-confidence for careeringrelevant learning and competence development (r ⫽ 0.21, p ⬍ 0.05). The results of the multinomial ordered probit models are presented in Table 2. Model 1 (Table 2) is a baseline model containing control variables. It shows that education and gender have statistically significant coefficients suggesting that teachers with higher education and female teachers are likely to have lower levels of support for change when the organisations announce downsizing. Models 2 and 3 individually add the variable of interest to test the hypotheses. Model 4 is a full model that includes all the variables of the study to check for robustness of the results. Model 2 provides results that test Hypothesis 1, which proposes that job motivation would be positively associated with support for change. In Model 2, the coefficients for job motivation are however negative and statistically significant. These results provide no support for Hypothesis 1, suggesting that teachers with high levels of job motivation are less likely to support the change. Model 3 provides results that test Hypothesis 2, which proposes that self-confidence would be positively related to support for change. In Model 3, self-confidence for learning and development are negatively and partially predictive of support for change, suggesting that higher levels of self-confidence for learning and development increase the likelihood of having lower levels of support for change. Thus, Hypothesis 2 receives no support. The results of Models 2 and 3 are contradictory to those of the results of Spearman correlations. That is, on the basis of the correlation coefficients, support for change was positively and significantly correlated with job

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Model 1 Dependent Variable Level 1 Estimate ⫺2.350** Threshold S.E. 0.682 Level 2 Estimate ⫺1.441* S.E. 0.665 Education Level 0 Estimate ⫺1.550* S.E. 0.735 Level 1 Estimate ⫺1.635* S.E. 0.662 Gender Level 0 Estimate ⫺0.534† S.E. 0.297 Job motivation Level 1 Estimate S.E. Level 2 Estimate S.E. Self-confidence for Level 1 Estimate learning and S.E. development Level 2 Estimate S.E. ␹2 8.771*

Model 2

Model 3

⫺2.717** 0.720 ⫺1.754* 0.700 ⫺1.603* 0.756 ⫺1.806** 0.691 ⫺0.488 0.303 ⫺0.818† 0.480 ⫺0.668* 0.336

⫺2.553** 0.685 ⫺1.606* 0.665 ⫺1.450* 0.735 ⫺1.624* 0.663 ⫺0.613* 0.304

Model 4

⫺2.789** 0.725 ⫺1.814** 0.703 ⫺1.568* 0.762 ⫺1.790 0.698 ⫺0.537 0.309 ⫺0.541 0.534 ⫺0.604 0.345 ⫺0.829† ⫺0.555 0.455 0.512 ⫺0.307 ⫺0.159 0.276 0.286 15.078* 12.700* 16.335*

Notes: N ⫽ 86. Parameters for variables’ highest level are set to zero because they are redundant. Coefficients typed in bold are significant at the 0.01 level, the 0.05 level, or the 0.10 level. † p ⬍ .10, *p ⬍ .05, **p ⬍ .01.

Table 2: Regression results of support for change. motivation and self-confidence for learning and development. However, the correlation coefficients of 0.26 and 0.21 can be considered to be of statistical significance but of less economical significance. On the other hand, the results of Models 2 and 3 suggest that job motivation and self-confidence for change are negatively predictive of support for change. It can be seen that the results of Models 2 and 3 were only partially and statistically significant; that is, the coefficients for job motivation were significant at the 0.05 level and the 0.10 level. Hence, one can argue that the relationship between job motivation and support for change is not statistically significant at the traditional level of 0.05. Similarly, the relationship between support for change and self-confidence for learning and development was not significant at the traditional level. Finally, examination of Model 4 suggests that the results are mixed. With all variables entered into the model, all but coefficients for control variables that were statistically significant in the earlier model become significant in the full model, suggesting that taken together, job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development are not predictive of support for change. A plausible explanation for these results is that the small sample size led to an estimation problem for the full model with the large number of parameters being estimated. In this case, the relatively clear results of Models 1, 2 and 3 overrule the results of Model 4.

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5. Discussion and conclusion Both hypotheses are therewith provisionally refuted, which is surprising in the light of the assumptions made at the outset. The aim of this article is to relate an employee’s job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development to the employee’s support for organisational change. At the most basic levels, the findings in respect of job motivation extend current research on the importance of developing job motivation by linking employees’ job motivation to the aim of a firm’s downsizing endeavours: support for change in order to improve the efficiency and profitability of the firm. In doing so, we support Stumpf and Hartmann’s (1984) suggestion that work motivation is the driver of work performance. Firms invest in human resource system with the hope that this investment will translate into higher levels of job motivation, more advantageous human capitals, and thus better work performance. In the context of downsizing, firms would expect to receive support for change from employees with high levels of job motivation. The negative and significant impact of job motivation in Model 2 suggest that this does not indeed occur. Rather than being supportive of change in the context of downsizing, we found that job motivation had a negative effect on teachers’ support for change. The results are inconsistent with other studies (e.g., Narayan et al. 2007). Narayan et al. (2007) find that people who were motivated to learn demonstrated higher levels of readiness to change in a United States sample of 127 driving under influence offenders. The findings suggest that employees with high levels of job motivation do in practice provide relatively low levels of support for change, at least when they are confronted with downsizing. One plausible explanation for this effect is that one may be afraid of being seen as providing support for a plan that will result in a potential layoff of his/her colleagues and that one may be indeed required to provide moral support to those who will be affected by the downsizing by means of providing no support to the downsizing. From these data one might conclude that the human resource system, which had increased job motivation of the employees, had failed in that it had not been able to generate the employees’ support for the downsizing. The findings pertaining to self-confidence for learning and development suggest that this may not help a firm with its downsizing. That is, employees with self-confidence for learning and development tend to provide low levels of support for change when a firm introduces downsizing. The results suggest that a somewhat complex process governs the relationship between self-confidence for learning and development and a variety of variables that represent employees’ behaviour. When employees have self-confidence for learning and development, this facilitates their actual learning and development in response to the requirement of new work demand. This benefits the firm. However, when a firm introduces organisational change (e.g., downsizing) to improve firm performance, employees with high self-confidence are unlikely to provide support for change. 152

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The results suggest that it will be easier to realise a downsizing programme, if the workforce consists of employees with low levels of selfconfidence for learning and development. One may conjecture that this level of self-confidence will lead to a more effective change programme, with improvements of the organisation’s efficiency and profit. Even though such an assumption would require additional empirical evidence, one can cogently assume that employee support – ceteris paribus – leads to downsizing success. The different characteristics of employees required in different contexts are problematic for firms. On the one hand, one may argue that employees with self-confidence for learning and development are strategic assets that potentially help a firm sustain competitive advantage over time (Wright et al. 2001), because these employees are more likely to be capable of significantly improving work performance and adapting to new job requirements. On the other hand, based on the findings of this study, employees with high self-confidence for learning and development are less likely to provide support for change; thus, a firm that introduces downsizing is less likely to receive employee support for change, reducing the probability of downsizing success. Taken together, the results about education and selfconfidence for learning and development results suggest that when a firm initiates changes in the organisation, it should expect that employees with high education and self-confidence for learning and development tend to provide low levels of support. One plausible explanation for the results is that teachers with high education and self-confidence for learning and development hold beliefs that there are other existing job opportunities available to them outside the organisation; thus, they might see no incentives to support downsizing pursued by the school. A number of limitations to this study require attention. First, as discussed earlier, the small sample size led to an estimation problem for the full model, thereby making coefficients for explanatory variables in the full model insignificant. Second, self-reported data in this study made it difficult to separate method variance from true score variance. It is possible that method variance bolstered or weakened the magnitude of relationships between predictors and outcomes. To reduce the possibility of mono-method bias, future studies should aim to incorporate other methods than relying on subjects’ self-reports. For instance, future research should assess the extent to which direct observation of employees can be used to measure the employees’ job motivation and support for change. Last but not least, this study is exclusively based on cross-sectional data; hence, the causal inferences regarding predictor/outcome relationships could not be determined. Longitudinal designs in future studies would enable true causal inferences. This said, there is much more work to be done. An obvious extension of this line of research would be to compare data from this study with data from other downsizing plans and organisational contexts. For example, we would hypothesise that job motivation would decrease resistance to a downsizing. The logic is that an employee may be morally obliged to not Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors . . .

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support the downsizing that will negatively affect his or her colleagues. As suggested before, future research should look more closely at the dynamic interplay between job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development in order to tease out more subtle effects on the development of human resource potential. More specifically, job motivation and selfconfidence for learning and development not only improve work performance but also decrease support for change. Are there differences in the effects of job motivation on support for change in the context of asset expansion versus downsizing programmes? At the same time, it should be examined whether the different types of data analysis methods significantly influence the outcomes of the study. This is particularly important because scholars in management studies tend to adopt the ordinary regression analysis in their study of dependent variables that are measured on ordinal scale. McKelvey and Zavoina (1975), for example, suggest that using regression models that do not appropriately account for the nature of ordinal data may provide misleading results. Therefore, we might want to revisit our analysis in order to examine the extent to which employees’ job motivation and self-confidence in learning and development are likely to have negative effects on employees’ attitudes and behaviours in other contexts. Finally, longer-term implications of job motivation and selfconfidence for learning and development should be studied. This should be set alongside further work on the processes that create employees’ job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development. This should lead to a more comprehensive account of the processes that govern employee reaction to a variety of organisational initiatives.

Appendix: Questionnaire survey items Support for change 1. I agree with the organization’s decision to make this change. 2. This change is acceptable to me. 3. I certainly comply with this change. Job motivation 1. I take pride in doing my job as well as I can. 2. I try to think of ways of doing my job effectively. 3. I feel a sense of personal satisfaction when I do my job well. Self-confidence for learning and development 1. I am very confident at learning and developing new skills relevant to my job. 2. I know I am very capable of keeping up with new techniques and knowledge required for my job. 3. I can develop my career-relevant skills.

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Bandura, A. (1977), ‘Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change’, Psychological Review, 84: 2, pp. 191–215. Bandura, A. (1997), Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control, New York: W.H. Freeman. Barnett, W.P. and Carroll, G.R. (1995), ‘Modeling Internal Organizational Change’, American Review of Psychology, 21: 1, pp. 217–236. Blau, G. (1986), ‘Job Involvement and Organizational Commitment as Interactive Predictors of Tardiness and Absenteeism’, Journal of Management, 12: 4, pp. 577–584. Borooah, V.K. (2002), Logit and Probit: Ordered and Multinomial Models, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Bovey, W.H. and Hede, A. (2001), ‘Resistance to Organisational Change: The Role of Defence Mechanisms’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16: 7/8, pp. 534–548. Brockner, J., Grover, S., Reed, T.F. and DeWitt, R.L. (1992), ‘Layoffs, Job Insecurity, and Survivors’ Work Effort: Evidence of an Inverted-U Relationship’, Academy of Management Journal, 35: 2, pp. 413–425. Cascio, W.F. (1993), ‘Downsizing: What Do We Know? What Have We Learned?’, Academy of Management Executive, 7: 1, pp. 95–104. Deery, S.J., Erwin, P.J., Iverson, R.D. and Ambrose, M.L. (1995), ‘The Determinants of Absenteeism: Evidence from Australian Blue-Collar Employees’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 6: 4, pp. 825–848. Dent, E.B. and Goldberg, S.G. (1999), ‘Challenging ‘Resistance to Change’’, The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35: 1, pp. 25–41. DeWitt, R.L. (1998), ‘Firm, Industry, and Strategy Influences on Choice of Downsizing Approach’, Strategic Management Journal, 19: 1, pp. 59–79. Elangovan, A.R and Xie, J.L. (1999), ‘Effects of Perceived Power of Supervisor on Subordinate Stress and Motivation: The Moderating Role of Subordinate Characteristics’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20: 3, pp. 359–373. Foley, S., Kidder, D.L. and Powell, G.N. (2002), ‘The Perceived Glass Ceiling and Justice Perceptions: An Investigation of Hispanic Law Associates’, Journal of Management, 28: 4, pp. 471–496. Freeman, S.J. and Cameron, K.S. (1993), ‘Organizational Downsizing: A Convergence and Reorientation Framework’, Organization Science, 4: 1, pp. 10–28. Guerrero, S. and Barraud-Didier, V. (2004), ‘High-Involvement Practices and Performance of French Firms’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15: 8, pp. 1408–1423. Halbesleben, J.R.B. and Bowler, W.M. (2007), ‘Emotional Exhaustion and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Motivation’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 1, pp. 93–106. Hackman, J.R. and Oldham, G.R. (1976), ‘Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory’, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16: 2, pp. 250–279. Herzberg, F. (1968), ‘One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?’, Harvard Business Review, 46: 1, pp. 53–62. Hofstede, G. (1992), Cultures and Organizations. Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill. Hui, C. and Lee, C. (2000), ‘Moderating Effects of Organization-Based Self-Esteem on Organizational Uncertainty: Employee Response Relationships’, Journal of Management, 26: 2, pp. 215–232. Jalajas, D.S. and Bommer, M. (1999), ‘The Influence of Job Motivation Versus Downsizing on Individual Behavior’, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 10: 4, pp. 329–341.

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Judson, A. (1991), Changing Behavior in Organizations: Minimizing Resistance to Change. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell. Kanfer, R. (1990), ‘Motivation Theory and Industrial and Organizational Psychology’, in M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1, pp. 75–170. Kanfer, R. and Ackerman, P.L. (2004), ‘Aging, Adult Development, and Work Motivation’, Academy of Management Review, 29: 3, pp. 440–458. Kim, J.-O. and Mueller, C.W. (1978), ‘Factor Analysis: Statistical Methods and Practical Issues’, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Komaki, J. (1982), ‘Managerial Effectiveness: Potential Contributions of the Behavioral Approach’, Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 3: 3, pp. 71–83. Korsgaard, M.A., Sapienza, H.J. and Schweiger, D.M. (2002), ‘Beaten Before Begun: The Role of Procedural Justice in Planning Change’, Journal of Management, 28: 4, pp. 497–516. Kotter, J. (1995), ‘Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail’, Harvard Business Review, 73: 2, pp. 59–67. Mabin, J.V., Forgeson, S. and Green, L. (2001), ‘Harnessing Resistance: Using the Theory of Constraints to Assist Change Management’, Journal of European Industrial Training, 25: 2–4, pp. 168–191. Maurer, T. (2001), ‘Career-Relevant Learning and Development, Worker Age, and Beliefs About Self-Efficacy for Development’, Journal of Management, 27: 2, pp. 123–140. Maurer, T.J., Wrenn, K.A., Pierce, H.R., Tross, S.A. and Collins, W.C. (2003), ‘Beliefs About ‘Improvability’ of Career-Relevant Skills, Relevance to Job/Task Analysis, Competency Modelling, and Learning Organization’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24: 1, pp. 107–131. McClelland, D.C. and Boyatzis, R. (1984), ‘Leadership Motive Pattern and LongTerm Success in Management’, in C.D. Spielberger (ed.), Motives, Personality, and Society: Selected Papers. New York: Praeger. McKelvey, R.D. and Zavoina, W. (1975), ‘A Statistical Model for the Analysis of Ordinal Level of Dependent Variables’, Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 4, pp. 103–120. McKinley, W., Sanchez, C.M. and Schick, A.G. (1995), ‘Organizational Downsizing: Constraining, Cloning, Learning’, Academy of management Executive, 9: 3, pp. 32–44. Mishra, A.K. and Spreitzer, G.M. (1998), ‘Explaining How Survivors Respond to Downsizing: The Roles of Trust, Employment, Justice, and Work Redesign’, Academy of Management Review, 23: 3, pp. 567–589. Morrow, P.C. (1983), ‘Concept Redundancy in Organizational Research: The Case of Work Commitment’, Academy of Management Review, 8: 3, pp. 486–500. Narayan, A., Steele-Johnson, D., Delgado, K.M. and Cole, P.A. (2007), ‘Differential Effects of Pretraining Influences on Readiness to Change’, The Journal of Psychology, 141: 1, pp. 47–60. Regar, R.K., Mullane, J.V., Gustafson, L.T. and DeMarie, S.M. (1994), ‘Creating Earthquakes to Change Organizational Mindsets’, Academy of Management Executive, 8: 4, pp. 31–46. Sansone, C. and Harackiewicz, J.M. (2000), Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Shah, P.P. (2000), ‘Network Destruction: The Structural Implications of Downsizing’, Academy of Management Journal, 43: 1, pp. 101–112.

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Stumpf, S.A. and Hartman, K. (1984), ‘Individual Exploration to Organizational Commitment or Withdrawal’, Academy of Management Journal, 27: 2, pp. 308–329. Teece, D.J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A.A. (1997), ‘Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management’, Strategic Management Journal, 18: 7, pp. 504–534. Thai Ministry of Education (2006), Education Statistics: 2006, Bangkok, Thailand: Thai Ministry of Education Printing Office. Vroom, V.H. (1964), Work and Motivation, New York: Wiley. Wayhan, V.B. and Werner, S. (2000), ‘The Impact of Workforce Reductions of Financial Performance: A Longitudinal Perspective’, Journal of Management, 26: 2, pp. 341–363. Wright, P.M., Dunford, B.B. and Snell, S.A. (2001), ‘Human Resources and the Resource-Based View of the Firm’, Journal of Management, 27: 6, pp. 701–721. Zhao, H., Seibert, S.E. and Hills, G.E. (2005), ‘The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy in the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 6, pp. 1265–1272.

Suggested citation Vithessonthi, C., & Schwaninger, M. (2008), ‘Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors of support for change’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change 5: 2, pp. 141–157, doi: 10.1386/ jots.5.2.141/1

Contributor details Chaiporn Vithessonthi is a visiting lecturer in the Faculty of Accountancy and Management at Mahasarakham University. He received his doctorate degree from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. His research interests include international management, corporate finance and competitive strategy. Contact: Chaiporn Vithessonthi, Faculty of Accountancy and Management, Mahasarakham University, Kantarawichai, Mahasarakham 44150, Thailand. E-mail: [email protected] Markus Schwaninger is a Professor of Management at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. His research focuses on issues of general management, namely strategy and organisational transformation. Methodologically, his works are oriented towards innovative approaches to dealing with complexity. Contact: Markus Schwaninger, Institute of Management, University of St. Gallen, Dufourstrasse 40a, CH-9000 St Gallen, Switzerland. E-mail: [email protected]

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Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 © 2008 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.159/1

E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work* Howard Taylor Buckinghamshire New University George Fieldman Buckinghamshire New University Yochanan Altman London Metropolitan University Abstract

Keywords

With the rapid and decisive impact electronic communication has had on our lives in general, and the work place in particular, notably e-mail as the preferred communication medium, this literature review paper examines the available evidence of its potential negative effects. Even though the benefits of e-mail communication for individuals and organisations are well noted, it is argued that the particular characteristics of electronic mail and communication may have an adverse impact upon well-being, stress and productivity. E-mail may act as a stress conduit but is also in itself a potential stressor. It may impair productivity too due to its communication characteristics, affecting key operational aspects such a decision making and team cohesion; it may escalate disputes, facilitate harassment and encourage litigation. We present a framework delineating antecedents and potential personal and organisational outcomes and conclude with an outline agenda for further research as a first step in developing strategies to overcome e-mail’s potential negative consequences.

e-mail electronic communication well being stress productivity

1. Introduction In all areas of work and work-related domains, electronic-mail has become the primary source of communication in the workplace (APS 2003) with 98% of ‘business-to-business’ communication worldwide employing it (Business Communicator 2004). E-mail is also rapidly becoming the preferred medium of personal to organisational communication, evidenced by the steep rise in personal computers and home-based Internet communication (Levitt and Mahowald 2003; Rosenberg 2003). However, it seems that the move to this new era of communication is driven more by the immediate, practical advantages, and the availability of the technology, rather than a rational assessment of its advantages and disadvantages. The use of e-mail and electronic messaging is the biggest change in the OTASC 5 (2) 159–173 © Intellect Ltd 2008

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*

At Thomas Edison’s Ontario home, the birthplace of the telephone, there is a small plaque depicting instructions to the users of the then new medium: how to speak, at what voice level and intonation, at what distance from the receiver, key phrases, etc. At the time these made a necessary manual;

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nowadays, one reads the notes with a wry smile: surely everyone knows what one can and can’t do with a telephone? As we are at the onset of a world e-mail dominated epoch, we likewise could do with some user instructions, deployment conventions, and best practice. That may be no mean task.

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medium of communication since the introduction of the telephone, which became an integral part of the development of the modern business era of the last century. It is likely that communication in the new millennium will present new concerns and challenges. The apparent advantages in using e-mail as the preferred medium of communicating, as well as other forms of electronic messaging (mobile phone texts, Internet chat rooms), have opened up immense opportunities for work-related communication and derived efficiencies. The technology is easy to use and cost-effective, facilitating networking and access (Garton and Wellman 1995), as is indeed manifested in it being so readily, rapidly and universally embraced in a wide range of occupations and services. For example, in the legal profession, Horton Flaherty (2001) discloses that attorneys are now negotiating, advising, exchanging documents and responding to clients via e-mail. In the medical profession Neville (2004) reported a major impact of e-mail on doctor-patient relations. E-mail communication now dominates such diverse areas as after sales service and local government – resident contacts (Riquelme 2004). E-mail is even being used in psychotherapy (McDaniel 2003) and counselling (Nakada and Masayuki 2000) – a traditional domain of face-to-face interaction. Indeed, The transfer from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy, and more recently to a knowledge-based economy (OECD, 1996), may have stirred a fundamental and irreversible shift in the nature of workplace communications (Castells 2001). Improved communication technology means, for example, that it is now much easier to work in a location that is physically detached from other workers for long periods (as well as in multi locations) and still be a formal member of a singular team (Arnold et al., 2005). This change in working practice as a consequence of advances in technology has added to the discourse on work-related stress an important new interface: that of work and home life (e.g. Sutherland and Cooper 2000). But are these changes all positive? Now that e-mail use has become so ubiquitous, perhaps it is time to begin to ask questions about the possible disadvantages and perhaps even negative consequences for this form of communication. In line with Hart and Cooper (2001) who argue that viewing any work experience as either stress-positive or stress-negative is too simplistic, we believe the time has come to question e-mail, not discounting its considerable advantages, as to its potentiality as a source of stress in the work context, as well as assess its possible negative effect on related productivity. The aim of this article therefore is to highlight areas of concern that have emerged and examine the divergent positions voiced as evidenced in the extant literature, concerning the impact of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the form of e-mail. We will outline the impact that e-mail is having on people at work, especially in the areas of wellbeing and health, on the one hand, and for productivity and efficiency, on the other. The literature was derived from a comprehensive search of management psychology databases, for example, Psychinfo (covers 1,900 journals 160

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in 35 languages), and ABI/Inform/Proquest (articles from business and management journals, trade and industry publications, and UK newspapers). Searches were made covering the period 1974 to January 2005, using the following key-word combinations: (1) electronic mail systems and communication (2) computer-mediated communication and stress (3) electronic communication and health. The papers, books, book chapters and articles were finally selected based on their abstracts. The search revealed a bias in favour of a focus on productivity rather than health in relation to electronic communication. For example, a search of Psychinfo produced 104 hits relating to electronic communication and productivity as against 21 hits for electronic communication and stress. Altogether we review here 73 papers, books, book chapters and articles, which specifically addressed the topic.

2. Workplace stress and communication With workplace stress reaching epidemic proportions (Cooper and Clarke 2003), and the ever-increasing compensation costs of stress-related workplace injury (Griffin 2004), the study of stress at work has become of major interest to scholars and practitioners alike. In a review of studies looking at the characteristics of companies with the highest number of stress-related compensation claims compared with those with the lowest number of claims, Moran, Wolff and Green (1995) showed that the worst organisations had at least ten times as many claims as the best in each industry. More importantly, they showed that workers’ compensation costs and associated occupational stress could be managed through employer-driven initiatives. They also claim that, even though some of the causes were external to the employer, the most important factor was the organisation itself and its management practices. Communication and social relationships may be a major factor in stress at work. A number of attempts to categorise potential sources of job stress have been made. Sutherland and Cooper (2000) for example suggest six categories: the job itself, role, relationships at work, career stress, organisational climate, and home and work interface. Most, if not all, categorisations of the potential sources of stress recognise social relationships and, incorporated in them, communication at work as important relevant factors (Cooper and Marshall 1978; HSE 2004; Le Blanc, Jonge and Schaufeli 2000; Sutherland and Cooper 2000). In Johnson and Hall’s (1988) demand-control-support model, social support is assumed to be a critical factor, acting as a buffer to stress. Relationships with superiors, colleagues and subordinates can thus act to reduce job stress: the model emphasises the positive aspects of social relations. One wonders though whether this is a wholly adequate conceptualisation of the role of social relations. Some doubt was cast on the buffer effects of social support on stress (Cohen and Wills 1985); and the major changes we currently evidence in the nature of work and careers raise this question too (Guest and Conway 2002). E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication . . .

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3. E-mail as an inbuilt work stressor Romm and Pliskin (1999) present the features of e-mail that may have particular implications for stress in a work setting. They are: •

• •

•

•

Speed. Messages transmitted by e-mail can reach their destination in a very short time, regardless of whether the message is being sent to the office next door or to someone on the other side of the globe. Multiple addressability. The capacity to send an e-mail message simultaneously to a large group of people. Recordability. The capacity to store e-mail messages indefinitely, automatically. This feature allows a database of messages to develop. Some of the messages may have no significance at the time but may later be used as evidence, in a dispute for example. Processing. This allows a message to be altered by a recipient before forwarding it on to other recipients. Information can be added, removed or emphasised. Routing. Defined as the capacity of senders to transmit messages to groups of addressees whose names may or may not appear as recipients. This function allows the sender to alter the names of the recipients in a group, resulting in individuals who think they are being sent the same message as others, actually receiving slightly (but significantly) different messages. This feature also allows messages to be passed on to individuals who the original sender had not intended the message to get to.

3.1. Work overload A common complaint of e-mail users is its impact on their workload. A large survey by the Australian Psychological Society (APS 2003) found that 80 per cent of workers spent more than 20 per cent of their day dealing with e-mails. Most of those surveyed said they dealt with between twenty and fifty work-related e-mails a day; although receiving one hundred e-mails a day is not uncommon (Horton Flaherty 2001). Most (69%) found having to deal with their daily intake of e-mail mildly or moderately stressful; and those who sought psychological help about workplace stress identified e-mails as part of that stress (APS 2003). In that context it may be worthwhile to note that Karasek and Theorell’s (1990) influential model puts job strain as a consequence of two factors: job demand and job decision latitude (control). Thus job strain is conceived not only as a consequence of job demand but also dependents on the degree of control a worker can exercise. Jobs that are high in demand but also high in job decision latitude would not necessarily produce strain. This could help in understanding the stress caused by having to deal with large numbers of e-mails. The problem may result not only from the volume of e-mails received but also from the inability to control e-mail traffic as well. 162

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4. The potential of e-mail to disturb social relationships at work E-mail may contribute to workplace stress in a number of different ways. The new technology has exacerbated some problems that already existed, such as work overload (see above). However, some of the unique features of e-mail also influence communication in a manner that may contribute to stress in new ways. These are listed below.

4.1. Electronic mail communication may make it more difficult to understand and respond to a message A survey of 26,000 e-mail users showed that 52 per cent of respondents struggled to interpret personal e-mails (Yahoo 2003). The findings identified a new cyber disorder: PPMT (pre and post mail tension) relating to anticipated and sent mail. Schwartz (2003) also identified potential e-mail misunderstanding as a source of interpersonal difficulties. In a work setting, inherently stressful communications may inevitably occur from time to time (for example, instructions to workers to achieve certain targets or goals). E-mail may seem an attractive means to carrying out such communications. This is because the sender of such communication can eschew or postpone having to deal with any objections, or adverse reactions of the recipient. However, top-down imposition of goals has been shown to be stress inducing and Quick et al. (1981, 1997) showed that stress could be reduced by the use of goal-setting only when a participatory and interactive relationship existed between supervisor and individual, more so perhaps in a virtual work environment, where little face-to-face communication is possible.

4.2. Electronic mail communication may encourage an inhospitable working environment Social support is a means of enhancing an individual’s capacity to deal with stress at work by increasing their perception that they are cared for and loved, that they are held in some esteem and valued, and belong to a social framework (Quick et al. 1997). The ‘isolationist’ property of e-mail communications thus involves a potential health risk, since isolation is a risk factor for both mortality and morbidity (Borkovec 2005; House, Landis and Umberson 1988). The monitoring of work-based e-mail is apparently not uncommon (Hacker et al. 1998). In a case study, Romm and Pliskin (1999) showed how e-mail could be employed to manage people through surveillance and tight control of movements by requiring them to report regularly on their whereabouts and deeds. However, efficiency gains were achieved at a cost of increased stress and general discontent. In customer service work environments it would be easy to monitor performance through surveillance of e-mail communication. Thus, for instance, in private banking, service providers are required to respond to customers’ communications within two hours of receipt of e-mail, their response speed (and response contents) being open to scrutiny of their superiors (Altman 2005). E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication . . .

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Sutherland and Cooper (1988) showed that inconsiderate behaviour, close supervision, and rigid performance monitoring by supervisors contributed significantly to feelings of job pressure. Negative health effects of poor superior–subordinate relationships reported in the literature include: hypertension (Kahn et al. 1972), coronary heart disease (Haynes and Feinleib 1980), diastolic blood pressure (Mathews et al. 1987; Wager, Fieldman and Hussey 2003) and a higher risk of psychiatric disorder (Stansfield, Head and Marmot 2000). Concern about the effects of inconsiderate behaviour led Taylor, Fieldman, and Lahlou (2005) to examine the effect that a single e-mail communication might have on a recipient’s physiological response. In a controlled experiment they showed that blood pressure was higher when an e-mail recipient was reading a threateningly worded reprimand than when they were reading a nonthreateningly worded reprimand. E-mail may become an instrument for harassment and bullying too; Baruch (2004) brought convincing evidence of widespread e-mail bullying in one large organisation. E-mail bullying was associated with anxiety and intent to leave, and negatively associated with job satisfaction and performance. Finally, e-mail communication has been shown to escalate disputes. In a comparative study, Friedman and Currall (2003) demonstrated how the structural properties of e-mail (textual, electronic and asynchronous) make it more likely that disputes would escalate when people communicate electronically than when they communicate face-to-face or via the telephone. By asynchronous, they mean that the communicators are not copresent, but rather they can read and respond whenever they desire. The result is not a conversation but a series of one-directional comments.

5. E-mail’s potential negative impact on productivity Perhaps because of the self-evident productivity advantages of communicating via e-mail: speed, immediacy, accessibility and cost, there is little research about its potential drawbacks. The evidence that does exist – for the period preceding the e-mail revolution – suggests that electronic communication has its disadvantages too. A number of studies have shown that groups that interact via electronic media take longer to complete tasks than groups interacting face-to-face (Kiesler et al. 1985; Weisband 1992). Straus and McGrath (1994) found some advantages to interaction via electronic media (as compared to face-to-face interaction) in the generation of ideas and creativity; but maintain that computer-mediated communication was particularly inappropriate for a judgement task where participants had to determine disciplinary action. Other studies showed that computer-mediated interaction reduces paralinguistic and social context cues and prevents the full exchange of views and feedback available in face-to-face interaction (McGuire, Kiesler and Siegel 1987; Sproull and Kiesler 1986). These studies also found that the number, length, complexity and novelty of arguments are much reduced in computer-mediated groups compared with face-to-face groups. Computer-mediated discussions tend to consist of simple statements of 164

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position rather than real argumentation. The limitations associated with computer-mediated interaction (restricted ability to exchange verbal and paralinguistic information or to provide dynamic feedback and convey social context cues) tend to discourage the exchange of arguments. Work on group decision-making has shown that some of the least desirable aspects of group behaviour, such as ‘groupthink’ and group polarisation occur when argumentation is absent. There would appear to be a strong case for arguing that important decisions should not be made via e-mail. Research has also shown that computer-mediation reduces perceived hierarchy in team communication (Kiesler and Sproull 1992, Straus 1996), and may lead to the establishment of alternative hierarchies in electronic environments (Gatzenbrucker 2004). However, electronic communication also reduces the context and milieu of other team members, conveyed through non-verbal and paraverbal nuances, present in face-toface communication (Argyle et al. 1970; Bordia 1997; Thompson and Coovert 2002). The effect of this may be demonstrated in the area of negotiations (Poole, Shannon and DeSanctis 1992). E-mail is increasingly replacing face-to-face and telephone communication (Seaberry 2000); however, we know little of how e-mail and face-to-face negotiations differ (Morris et al. 2002) and the evidence is inconclusive. One study (Purdy, Nye and Balakrishnan 1997) found an advantage for e-mail, another study showed e-mail to be disadvantageous (Arunachalam and Dilla 1995), and at least two studies found no significant difference between e-mail and faceto-face negotiations (Barsness and Tenbrunsel 1998; Croson 1999). These mixed findings suggest that e-mail negotiations may differ with context, sector and organisation. Morris et al. (2002) claimed that e-mail negotiations suffered from low levels of rapport. They proposed that a combination of personal contact (via telephone) and e-mail interaction might be more effective. As a more socially constrained medium of communication (Chaiken and Eagly 1983, Guadagno and Cialdini 2002), e-mail may require more negotiating than the more traditional modes of communication. Early studies comparing computer-mediated communication with face-to-face communication, showed that participants were more likely to violate social norms of politeness, and preferred to be task focused (Siegal et al. 1996). Participants interacting face-to-face were found to like their discussion partners more than those interacting via computer (Kiesler et al. 1985; Weisband and Atwater 1999). Guadagno and Cialdini (2002) also showed gender differences in the effectiveness of messages in different modalities. Women in the face-to-face condition reported more agreement with the message than women in the e-mail condition. There was no significant difference in agreement for men in the face-to-face and e-mail conditions. The authors suggest this is because women focus more on relationship formation and co-operation than do men. One of the advantages of e-mail communication is that it allows messages to be sent without interrupting the recipient. The ability to contact people without interrupting them is a feature of e-mail that may have an E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication . . .

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empowering effect for people with a related anxiety. The anxiety may be a consequence of the communicator having lower status than the recipient or it may be that the communicator is intimidated by the recipient, or simply that the communicator is more generally anxious about social contact. On the other hand, from the early days of experimental psychology we know that interruptions may be disruptive to people engaged on a task. Furthermore, modern broadband ‘always-on’ technology allows personal computers to check for new e-mail every minute, and the application can be set to provide an audible alert upon receipt of a new message. These innovations provide opportunities for frequent interruptions, which may be detrimental to work productivity.

6. The potential of e-mail to impact on emotions Without the additional cues of facial expression, gestures, tone of voice, or head nods, the feedback that one normally receives when communicating is lost (Weisband and Atwater 1999). It has been suggested that the use of emoticons (e.g. happy face, sad face) may aid non-verbal communication. However, Krohn (2004) has shown that an understanding of such symbols is not universal, especially among older generations. According to Nakamura, Buck and Kenny (1990) facial expressions are key to understanding emotional states, and e-mail is often used to communicate factual information without addressing any germane emotional issues. However, in circumstances where there is an emotional element, it has been suggested that electronic communication may exacerbate the emotion. For example, Walther (1996) suggests that much personal information can be conveyed by text, and cites examples of e-mail romances, on-line social support communities, and virtual weddings. The use of electronic communication in developing social support networks is one of the fastest growing and interesting areas of social change. The recent development of on-line groups providing support in areas ranging from on-line dating to ‘whistle blowing’ on organisational practices, demonstrate the potential of the worldwide web for social empowerment. Research on social support (e.g. Tardy 1992; Searle, Bright and Bochner 2001) makes a distinction between informational support (solutions to technical problems, practical advice) and emotional support (improving one’s sense of self worth). There is evidence to show that both of these elements are present in on-line support networks. Davidson, Pennebacker and Dickerson (2000) provide examples of the importance of informational support in on-line illness support groups. However, Preece (1999) points out that people using such on-line support groups are often looking for more than just factual information. When people are suffering from a problem it is vital to be able to communicate with others who understand the problem. On-line support groups provide people with the opportunity to empathise or identify with each other (an important component of psychotherapy). However, in a work setting the lack of cues may lead to an intensifying of emotions in an entirely different and more negative way. Friedman and Currall (2003) propose that diminished feedback will result in weakened 166

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E-mail characteristics Speed and convenience

Recordability Multiple addressability, processing, routing Lack of social cues (facial expression, feedback) Lack of conversational cues (turn-taking, colour, clarification, tone)

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Anticipated impact Increased number of messages and increased expectation of response speed Increased control potential Communication manipulation Weakened interpersonal, bonds; lowered commitment Focus of attention on internal (negative) states

Negative personal and organisational consequences Work overload, errors

Resentment, reduced autonomy Potential harassment; possible litigation More misunderstandings, lower decision quality, context; escalation of disputes Greater susceptibility to negative affect (mood) and negative evaluations

Table 1. E-mail characteristics and their negative effects on personal and organisational outcomes. interpersonal bonds that in turn may act as a trigger for conflict escalation. According to Kiesler and Sproull (1992), when disagreements occur electronically, social behaviours such as politeness and acknowledgement of the other’s perspective decrease and participants engage in deeper conflict. One of the key features that comprise the stress response is the concomitant emotional reaction. To understand the impact of e-mail on stress at work, we need to understand how e-mail affects the communication of emotion. Acceptance theory (Hayes 1987; Hayes, Strosahl and Wilson 1999) may provide a useful framework for understanding how emotions are affected by electronic mail. Psychological acceptance refers to a willingness to experience feelings, especially negative feelings such as fear, without having to avoid them or let them determine one’s actions. Bond and Bunce (2003) have shown that acceptance predicts levels of mental health. The lack of conversational communication embedded in e-mail communication may hinder the effective processing of negative feelings and consequently increase stress. Summary model: e-mail, stress and productivity outcomes. The model shown in Table 1 summarises the relationships proposed in the literature between particular e-mail characteristics, the changes in the work setting that these characteristics produce, and subsequent potentially negative personal and organisational outcomes.

7. What we need to know about e-mail’s impact in the workplace The rapid development of electronic technology and its deployment has led to an understandable lag in the body of research examining its characteristics, usage and impact. We propose a number of areas of particular promise for further research. Much of the evidence to date concentrates on e-mail as a communication tool, but we need to know a great deal more. To help organisations in formulating policies regarding organisational use of e-mail, further evidence is needed to demonstrate how communication practices interact E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication . . .

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with the features of e-mail to produce outcomes such as work overload and lack of control. We need to know what communication compositions will yield the best communication results in a collegial work environment. At the micro (individual) level, of high relevance are the effects of specific words, phrases and tonal signifiers such as font, message structure and emphasis (Boje, Oswick and Ford 2004). We need to know, firstly, whether and how such message characteristics affect the message recipient. Secondly, we need to know how these relate to important organisational outcome variables of employee well-being, health and productivity, as well as mediating variables, such as interpersonal trust. Morris et al.’s (2002) study of e-mail negotiations is an example of how research findings could be used to improve the outcomes of e-mail-based communication. The study examines the process of negotiating deals and interpersonal disputes via e-mail. Overcoming obstacles such as initial mistrust and interpersonal friction is achieved through a series of, largely automatic, verbal and non-verbal behaviours. E-mail inhibits the process of exchanging personal information through which negotiators establish rapport. The results showed that the liabilities of e-mail communications could be minimised by a brief, pre-negotiation, personal telephone call. At the organisational level, we need to discover how organisations with different communication styles, and different levels of trust and reciprocity, differ on outcome variables relating to productivity and well-being. It is possible that records of e-mail messages could be used by organisations to develop communication policies. Such policies may help organisations to change and develop into more effective and, dare we say, more humane workplaces by changing the corporate and personal communication styles of their managers and workers. And while there is some evidence on the communicative effects of email, we know next to nothing on its organising qualities (Weick 1995) in a work context. What are e-mail’s effects on work processes, structures, power distribution, relationships, motivation, commitment, organisational citizenship behaviour, to mention but a few. At the meta organisational level we may want to find out how organisational clusters (sectors, industries) differ in their ‘e-mail behaviour’ and how, in turn, this shapes distinctive organisational cultures. As Sutherland and Cooper (2000) point out, interpersonal skills training is usually a key issue in leadership training programs. It may now be time to include e-mail communication skills as a key part of the interpersonal skills training for all managers and assess its impact on developing a constructive e-mail culture at the workplace. Finally, its potential to facilitate industrial democracy may be a liberating quality of electronic communications. Its effect in facilitating political democracy is well recognised (Smith 2004; Holmes and Grieco 2002). Realising the full potential of electronic communication in the workplace may add an important course to organisational citizenship. We would benefit from longitudinal studies of e-mail communication policies and ‘best practice’ case studies. However, as studies on e-democracy have shown, 168

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there are potential dangers in opening up policy making to the will of the majority – we may not like the direction the majority want to take. Acknowledgement We gratefully acknowledge the help of Frank Bournois, Jacques Rojot and two anonymous reviewers. All the authors contributed equally to this work.

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Suggested citation Taylor, H., Fieldman, G., & Altman, Y. (2008), ‘E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change 5: 2, pp. 159–173, doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.159/1

Contributor details Yochanan Altman is Research Professor of International HRM and Comparative Management at London Metropolitan University and Visiting Professor of International HRM with CIFFOP, University of Paris (Panthéon-Assas). Educated in occupational psychology and organisational anthropology he is also a trained psychotherapist. Yochanan is Founding Editor of the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, European Editor of the journal Human Resource Planning and past Editor of Journal of Managerial Psychology. Yochanan’s research interests are in international human resource management, careers, gender, change management, creativity and organisational spirituality. Contact: 262 Shakespeare Tower, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DR, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Dr. George Fieldman is Principal Lecturer in Psychology at Buckinghamshire New University. He obtained his BSc and PhD degrees from King’s College London. His research interests are in Health and Evolutionary Psychology. He has various entries on BBC News online regarding his own research and invited commentary upon the research of others. He is a qualified Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist in practice in London. Contact: Buckinghamshire New University is High Wycombe, HP11 2JZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Howard Taylor’s PhD research is titled ‘The effects of communication style on task performance and well being’. Howard is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Buckinghamshire New University. He has presented papers relating to the negative effects of certain communication styles and is involved in ongoing research into effective communications, especially electronic communication. Contact: Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe, HP11 2JZ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication . . .

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Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change Volume 5 Number 2 © 2008 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.175/1

Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their local environment Viveca Asproth Mid Sweden University Christina Amcoff Nyström Mid Sweden University Abstract

Keywords

In this article the results from a Swedish pilot study in the project ‘Arena for Sustainable Innovative Development of small and medium-sized enterprises’ is presented. The project in a whole aims to create and test a model for collaboration and sustainable development among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in local areas. The research question in this article is delimited to issues concerning use of ICT, information exchange and communication among the interested parties. The pilot study was accomplished in a qualitative and explorative way with semi-structured interviews. As a result of the study some questions are identified as urgent to further investigate.

communication SME collaboration information exchange ICT

1. Introduction Collaboration between different kinds of organisations such as companies is resulting in a range of important outcomes for the collaborating parts. Collaboration not only transfers existing knowledge among organisations but also facilitates the creation of new knowledge and produce synergistic solutions. Organisations can also achieve a more central and influential position in relation to other organisations through the collaboration (Hardy et al. 2003). To achieve the positive effects with collaboration, communication and information exchange between the organisations must be efficient. Much of today’s communication and information exchange between organisations are often sporadic and isolated. Virtual teams can bridge the inter-organisational boundaries and provide a considerable competitive advantage (Lipnack and Stamps 1997; Townsend et al. 1998). The term Virtual team can be used for teams that are separated in time and/or in space and teams bridging organisational boarders (Watson-Manheim, Chudoba and Crowston 2002). According to Zakaria, Amelinckx and Wilemon (2004), the human challenges of virtual teams are: • •

Creating effective team leadership Managing conflict and global virtual teams dynamics

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Developing trust and relationships Understanding cross-cultural differences Developing intercultural communication competence

Handy (1995), Maznevski and Choduba (2000) and Crossman and Lee-Kelley (2004), among others, claim that ‘trust needs touch’ at least in the initial stage. Crossman and Lee-Kelley (2004) conclude that low commitment from the individual leads to low trust and that team effectiveness is inhibited, yet organisational efficacy in dispersed teams requires high mutual commitment and high trust. They also conclude that trust takes time to develop. Holmqvist (2003) and Rashman and Hartley (2002), recommend organisational learning as a tool to, in the first place, not only develop an intercultural communication competence but also as a complement to learn more about each other. The use of organisational learning within an organisation can, when used in an appropriate way, be successful. The question is how to transfer the concept to inter-organisations. There might be competitiveness and conflicting interest that put hindrance in the way (Asproth 2006). To increase the possibilities for fruitful collaboration between Swedish small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in geographically delimited locations in a peripheral region, a research project has been initiated. Swedish SMEs represents a mix of very small enterprises and there are few examples of research projects focusing on this kind of enterprises and the problems they are facing. Swedish SMEs in this context might well represent SMEs in general. The overall research project (in Swedish the ‘Arena project’) is in an initial phase and a pilot study has been carried through. The connection between the ‘Arena project’, the pilot study and this part presentation is presented in figure 1 below. The background and interested parties are presented in the next section.

1.1. The project This section presents the project ‘Arena for Sustainable Innovative Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ which the results in this article are a part of. These results are also a base for further research in the area. The research project ‘Arena for Sustainable Innovative Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ is a co-operation between Mid Sweden University, the county administrative board, and the local authority of the city of Östersund. The project aims to create and test a model for collaboration and sustainable development among small and medium sized companies in local areas. In the project, two industrial areas, Odenskog and Lugnvik, are taking part. A third constellation of companies working with vehicles, vehicle technical centre (VTC) is also incorporated in the project. VTC is a co-operation of interested parties with their background in either 176

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Figure 1: The connection between the aim of the different parts – the overall research project – ARENA – the Pilot project and the part study.

military vehicle education or civil enterprises with connection to vehicles. The area of Odenskog is characterised by increasing heterogeneity among the enterprises and trading. The interested group, representing most of the enterprises in the area, wishes to remove the label as a ‘traditional industrial estate’ in favour of trading and visiting customers. This is to some extent in conflict with the existing city planning due to limited permissions to establish new kinds of trades. The first enterprises in the other district – Lugnvik – moved from Odenskog in the 1970s, and were earlier characterised as enterprises demanding large spaces such as hauliers, scrap yards for old cars, and localities for building materials. The district today has problems with respect to lack of uniform displaying and problems for customers to find in the area. The interested group in the area runs a project with the aim to clean up the area and produce uniform displays and enterprise signs. Many of the enterprises in the three studied clusters are in some kind of an organisational transformation phase, trying to increase their competitiveness. According to the Statistics, Sweden, a small enterprise is an enterprise with 10–49 employees. The European commission defines small and middle sized enterprises as companies with a range of 10–250 employees. In the studied areas almost every enterprise falls under the definition of the Statistics Sweden and certainly within the European commission. There are also quite a few companies that have less than ten employees, the so-called micro companies. Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their . . .

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The concept ICT is an abbreviation for Information and Communications Technology. The difference from the concept IT is that the focus of communication has been highlighted in the first concept whereas it was implicit in the latter definition.

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The overall aim with the ‘Arena project’ (see figure 1) is to create and test a model for collaboration and sustainable development among small and medium sized companies in local areas. Questions to be answered in the ‘Arena project’ are: •

• •

What kind of problems and requirements can be found in small enterprises with respect to information exchange and communication with others? Which information is needed to promote active engagement among the interested parties? How does the knowledge creation and exchange work between the actors?

An initial pilot study, aiming to investigate the necessary conditions for collaboration between small enterprises, supporting systems run by the local authorities and higher education, in order to reach sustainable development of the trade and industry was carried through. The aim of this article is to present the results from this initial pilot study limited to the questions concerning communication and information exchange among the interested parties.

2. Method This section presents the used Method in the pilot study. The method used in the pilot study was qualitative and explorative. The study was carried through with help of analysis of background information such as brochures, annual reports and homepages. Opinions and experiences concerning collaboration were collected by semi-structured interviews. Fifteen representatives for the trade and industry representing the three company clusters, representatives for the local authorities and seven representatives for the University have been interviewed. The participants from the three company clusters have been selected mainly based on their representation of not only either enterprises belonging to service sector, production or trading but also the fact that they represent different enterprises sizes. Representatives from the local authorities and the University have been selected with respect to their experiences with collaboration with SMEs. An interview guide was constructed. The guide was divided into questions about collaboration between companies, co-operation with the university and support from the local authorities and questions about communication and information exchange. The part of the guide containing questions concerning co-operation with the university was used for the university interviews as well as the part of the guide containing questions about support from the local authorities was used for the local authority interviews.

3. Ongoing research – ICT and small enterprises This section presents relevant literature and ongoing research in the area of ICT1 and small enterprises (SMEs). The focus when identifying the 178

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articles/papers have been on ICT, SMEs, Networks, organisational change, collaboration, virtual teams and trust.

3.1. Networks and their importance for SMEs Several researchers conclude that there are great advantages for enterprises to cooperate in clusters (Enright 1995; Maillat et al. 1995; Piore and Sabel 1984; Porter 2001). Accordingly, Carbonara (2005: 213), discusses the advantages of cooperating in cluster: Clusters base their competive advantages on two distinctive aspects: the inter-networking processes and the speed and easy circulation of information and knowledge. Hence, a cluster can be seen as an extended enterprise where the different actors (the cluster firms) are usually specialised in single manufacturing phases that require intense coordination, flexible relationships and apporpriate supportintg tools to manage the networking activities.

World Wide Web (WWW) offers great opportunities for SMEs to extend their customer base into the global marketplace (Tetteh and Burn 2001). However, there is a need to adopt a different approach to strategic planning and management which can enable an extensive infrastructure network based on shared resources with other firms. Accordingly, SMEs could save costs if they share resources with others and carefully analyse and plan for e-businesses. Internet technology offers general advantages for businesses to collaborate (Power and Singh 2007). Organisations using Intranets to support the internal communication can reach great advantages with the use of this technology because it supports communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing (e.g. Bank and Nyström 2005; Nyström 2006b). Well-functioning external communication demands well-functioning internal communication. The Intranet can be extended in order to allow special groups – e.g. customers and suppliers – to share a delimited part of the Intranet. The Intranet is extended with an Extranet with the main aim to support external communication with specific stakeholders (Nyström 2006b; Telleen 1999).

3.2. Use of technology demands organisational change in SMEs SMEs as well as any type of organisation could be analysed from different points. One way to get a comprehensive view would be to study organisations as the fusion or synergism of four spheres – Competence or human skills, Management, Organisation and Technology (Holmberg 2001) (see Figure 2). Holmberg (2001) argues that the interdependence of the spheres has been ignored or even omitted in development and maintenance processes of organisations. The focus is normally only on one sphere at a time. The adoption of technology in organisations differs. According to SMEs, recent data on the diffusion and adoption of ICTs show that the ICT penetration is still quite low among SMEs (Eurostat 2002; IDC 2000; OECD 1998; Carbonara 2005). Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their . . .

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Figure 2: Synergy-4, adapted from Holmberg (2001).

It is well known that Internet-based technologies and other ICTs offer great opportunities and advantages for organisations as a foundation for collaboration – both within the organisations as well as between organisations. Hence, Power and Singh (2007) among others, conclude that the application of Internet-based technologies provides significant potential opportunities for the integration of business processes between firms (Power and Singh 2007 referring to Cagliano, Caniato and Spina 2003 and Segev, Patankar and Zhao 2003). Benefits based on this integration could, for example be reducing costs for searching for and accessing information (Berthon et al. 2003; Krumwiede, Swain and Stocks 2003), but limiting factors could also be the increase of information processing and coordination costs because of the reducing of transaction costs (Kulkarni and Heriot 1999). Organisations implementing Internet technology in order to create more integrated supply chain will probably be confronted with the need for structural change (e.g. Power and Singh 2007; Reid and Catterall 2005). This change could mean a need to develop new processes (e.g. Jayaram, Vickery and Droge 2000; Mitev 1996) or involve new structures, roles and competencies for the management of such process (Malhotra 2000; Power 2004). This is in line with the Synergy-4 Model by Holmberg (2001). If new technologies are implemented to support inter-organisational collaboration, an analysis concerning the structure of the organisation, the processes and the management as well as the competence in the organisation and necessary measures should be carried out (the other spheres in the Synergy-4 model). According to Rabinovich, the Internet and the Web may have had the most profound impact on business integration and collaboration of all information technologies (Rabinovich, Bailey and Carter 2003). Sanders defines e-business technologies as the Internet, Web, and web-based applications (Sanders 2007). Findings show that the use of e-businesstechnologies has a positive impact on intra-organisational collaboration 180

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(collaboration between organisations) as well as inter-organisational collaboration (collaboration between two or more departments in an organisation). Furthermore, the existence of inter-organisational collaboration has also a positive impact on intra-organisational collaboration (ibid). Use of e-business technologies, inter- and intra-organisational collaboration has a positive influence on organisational performance (ibid). However, Sanders points out the fact that collaboration is not synonymous with ebusiness technology use which wrongly has been presumed by a lot of companies. Collaboration, according to Sanders (2007: 12) is: a result of human interaction which can only be supported by IT, one of which are e-business technologies, but not replaced.

Companies should therefore consider investing in e-business technologies in order to promote internal collaboration. IT can be aggregated into several categories. Barki, Rivard and Talbot (1993) have divided IT into six categories as follows: transaction processing systems, decision support systems, inter-organisational systems, communication systems, storage and retrieval systems and collaborative work systems. Another categorisation is provided by Kendall (1997); production oriented information technologies and coordination oriented information technologies. Some of these ITs might have more impact on collaboration and integration than others which future research should consider (Sanders 2007).

3.3. SMEs and collaboration with the environment – conditions and obstacles Vescovi (2000) has identified ‘six natural troubles’ related to SMEs in introducing e-communication. It should be noticed that these ‘troubles’ not necessarily appear at the same time. The ‘troubles’ are: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Unclear communication strategy New communication paradigms Non-integrated marketing communications Company involvement in the Internet challenge; People for Internet communication and Organisational change.

The first ‘trouble’ – unclear communication strategy – could be related to a waiting attitude to the use of the own Web site where absence of purpose and strategy are common. According to Vescovi (2000), referring to Schlosser and Kanfer (2000) and Vescovi (1998), several researchers pointed out a prevalent attitude of undervaluing the updating and vitalising problems of the web site. The absence of strategies could also be related to development of Intranet as a common problem (Bank and Nyström 2005; Nyström 2006a). Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their . . .

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To solve ‘trouble’ number two – new communication paradigms – diffusion and access to computers and computer competence is needed. The attendance ‘on the Net’ demands also quick responses because of the changed expectations (Vescovi 2000). Bank and Nyström did also notice the problem with poor access to the Intranet caused by limited number of computers among assistant nurses which caused uninformed employees (Bank and Nyström 2005). The presence on the net – trouble number three – demands coordinated marketing strategies so the Web site shows a uniform view of the company according to contact information and so on. The fourth ‘trouble’ – company involvement in the internet challenge – addresses issues as patience and carefully planning. The result from marketing activities through the Web site does not come immediately. Request for a strong cultural change, long time needed for the results, and the investment in continuous updating processes creates quick enthusiasms and fast disappointments (Vescovi 2000) – ‘trouble’ number five – people for internet communication. The focus when developing Web sites has been too much on technical solutions. Vescovi (2000) argues that marketing competencies must enter the stage in order to market the companies better. The last ‘trouble’ – Organisational change – demands that the entire organisation has competence to use the technology. This is in line with the idea of Synergy-4 by Holmberg (2001) who argues that change in the technology demands an overhaul of competence, management and organisation. SMEs could increase their level of competence and power of attraction in several ways. One way is to use ICT in different ways – when collaborating and so on. Another way is to adopt the idea of Knowledge Management in a systematic way. Wong and Aspinwall (2005) have in a study, systematically determined the Critical Success Factors for Knowledge Management implementation in the SME sector. Their study offers information to SMEs which, according to the authors, are still lagging far behind when it comes to Knowledge Management practices.

3.4. Trust as a prerequisite for collaboration Zaheer, McEvily and Perrone (1988) say – referring to Arrow (1974), Granovetter (1985) and Macauley (1963) – that several theoretical traditions have recognised the importance of trust in economic exchange. To obtain new business opportunities a range of new forms of interorganisational collaborations are formed. The important role of trust in cooperative relationships have for some while been paid attention to as expressed by Smith, Carroll and Ashford (1995, page 15): The study of trust and its impact on cooperative relationships at all levels may be particularly fruitful area of future research.

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The formation of cross-cultural trust includes a reciprocal element and falls under two behavioural categories. The first is credibility where one part believes that the other part has capabilities, competence, expertise and resources to contribute to a successful outcome. The second category is benevolence, i.e. beliefs about the emotional aspects of the other part’s behaviour (Johnson and Cullen, 2002). As mention earlier it is important that group members trust each other and that they work in a shared context with shared goals. Additionally, commitment to these goals and the identification with the collective are important aspects that foster cooperative instead of competitive behaviour (Coleman 1999; Zand 1997). Handy (1995), Maznevski and Choduba (2000), and Crossman and Lee-Kelley (2004), among others, claim that ‘trust needs touch’ at least in the initial stage. Crossman and Lee-Kelley (2004) conclude that low commitment from the individual leads to low trust and that team effectiveness is inhibited, yet organisational efficacy in dispersed teams requires high mutual commitment and high trust. They also conclude that trust takes time to develop.

4. Results of the pilot study This section presents the results from the pilot study, limited to issues concerning ICT use, collaboration in terms of learning, information exchange, communication and knowledge sharing.

4.1. The use of websites and intranet Most of the enterprises websites were mainly used for publishing. Collaboration and more advanced use modes were only found among enterprises belonging to a group of companies. Several web sites were designed as one-way communication – pushing of information. Some of the interviewees also mentioned the risk with publishing to trivial information on the Intranet though more important issues disappeared (information overload). Several interviewees mention the increased importance of updated and informative websites with respect to new markets in Asia. In general, the information retrieval from different websites was increasing and the possibility to subscribe for newsletters were used more than before.

4.2. Communication Personal meetings, cellular phones and e-mail were mentioned as very important when the interviewees were communicating with external parties. Communication through e-mail should be preceded by a personal meeting if the contact would remain and long-term collaboration will be established. Personal meeting must be effective with a clearly outspoken purpose, and end with a plain contract. The contract must also contain questions left to the next meeting, and meetings must be documented. Contact with customers was experienced as more and more important and the number of personal contacts increased. Some of the interviewees

Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their . . .

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experienced use of e-mail to be problematic with respect to information overload (spam). Some interviewees used their secretary function as a filter whereas others did not experience information overload as any problem. The amounts of undesired information were experienced to increase. Someone among the interviewees explained the problem with too much information as a matter of prioritisation: ‘the customers are most important, then come the suppliers and last the authorities’. Some sellers in an enterprise, who worked in the field, had desired more contact and communication with their other fellow workers. The enterprises had solved this desire with phone meetings every month which worked well. The enterprises in VTC communicated primarily by public information meetings and secondarily by arena meetings/discussion groups. Thirdly, the website was used for information exchange.

4.3. Information exchange Everyone thought information exchange to be difficult. There is a lot of noise. Some enterprises are sending information to their employees in the pay envelope whereas others use weekly meetings. In the work with information exchange, it is important to think about the purpose, costs and estimated benefit related to the information. Updating information was among several interviewees experienced as difficult and a problem. Some enterprises, who worked with projects, used a common database connected to a project management system. This was believed to be a condition to ensure that everyone had proper information.

4.4. Technology matured enterprises Some of the enterprises in the study used more advanced technology than others and were also using the technology in a more advanced mode. These firms felt it is natural to use online chat functions with web cameras as a similar communication channel as videoconferences (but simpler and cheaper). These firms demanded more functions to support online communication. The Intranet in one of these enterprises was totally integrated with the enterprise system in the enterprise. Some other interviewees also mention web meetings where computer and phone are used together. These communication modes presuppose that the parties know each other before and personal meetings have already been carried out. ‘There is no problem with new technology but the maturing should be high’ as someone said. One of the interviewed enterprises has an operator solution in the form of ‘round robin’ where everyone in the enterprise is connected and the first unoccupied telephone line (cellular phone) works as an operator.

4.5. Electronically discussion boards and bulletin board systems Most of the interviewees had not heard about systems like bulletin board systems (BBSs) or computer based conference systems. None among the interviewees were using such systems. Someone mentioned the problem to 184

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adapt new technology. ICTs are supposed to be effective, but what is effectivity? Quality is not especially effective and vice versa. It is difficult to measure effectiveness in ICTs.

5. The results related to ongoing research This section relates the results from the pilot study in section 4 with the literature and ongoing research presented in section 3. Some of the factors identified by Wong and Aspinwall (2005) that are important for SMEs in their work with adopting Knowledge Management are also present in the results from the study of SMEs presented in this article. The factors are application of technological tools such as collaborative tools, knowledge bases, etc, utilisation of the intranet or internet and ease of use of the technology. Several of the enterprises in the study pointed out the same ‘troubles’ as Vescovi (2000): unclear communication strategy – or lack of, company involvement in the internet challenge – poor matured websites and no strategy for how to use the internet in a strategic manner, organisational change and the increased importance of updated websites. Adoption and diffusion of technology should also be considered together with changes in the organisation, updating of competence and procedures as well as an overhaul of the management of the enterprises (Holmberg, 2001). Collaboration can be viewed in stages – from simple information exchange to true collaboration (Sanders, 2007; Sabath and Fonatanela, 2002). Sanders suggests that future research should consider the relationship between specific types of IT and their linkage to specific collaboration needs. The interviewees could see advantages of cooperating in cluster/networks (Carbonara, 2005) but problems with contacts and communication were also mentioned. These problems or hindrances could be related to the demand for trust and development of relationships formulated/explained by Zakaria, Amelinckx and Wilemon (2004). Several interviewees explained the need to meet in person before establishing contact through e-mail or other electronic communication media. This is also explained by Handy (1995), Maznevski and Chouduba (2000) and Crossman and Lee-Kelley (2004) – ‘trust needs touch’ at least in the initial stage. Several of the problems occurring in the participating enterprises can also be found in larger enterprises. Anyhow, we believe that these problems are more critical in SMEs with respect to the fact that several functions in SMEs might be handled by one or few persons whereas these functions in larger enterprises probably are handled by an organisational unit or division. SMEs are more vulnerable.

6. Concluding remarks Several questions were identified in the study. Some of these questions concerned issues about knowledge management, adoption of ICTs, maturing Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their . . .

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in use of ICTs related to communication modes, and importance of communication strategies. There is a gap between enterprises concerning maturing related to the use of ICT. Technology matured enterprises use the technology in a natural way and the technology is in some sense experienced as transparent – the users are focused on the aim with the communication, not the ingoing units of the technology such as web cameras, microphones, communication programs, chat functions, and so on. •

How can this natural use of technology be transferred to low-technology matured enterprises?

Enterprises in the clusters were anxious about the continuity of the collaboration through projects – as all kinds of projects financed by external money – tend to break down when the projects have to survive on their own. •

How can the continuity and viability in such projects be guaranteed so they will survive on their own?

Interviewees pointed out the necessity of trust among collaboration parts. Communication among the participants demands personal meetings before more advanced communication modes can be used – ‘Trust needs touch’. •

How can communication be facilitated and simplified?

Further research should focus on the questions above and issues concerning the transformation of organisations/enterprises from one state to another in order to guarantee viability. A model supporting collaboration among SMEs with respect to their special problems should therefore be developed. Acknowledgements This article is part of the project ‘Arena for Sustainable Innovative Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’. The authors thank the project leaders and the interviewees in the participating constellation of SMEs.

Works cited Asproth, V. (2006), ‘Inter-Organizational Management and Decision-Making’, Systemist, 28: 2, pp. 4–12. Bank, B. and Nyström, C.A. (2005), ‘Intranet Use – A study of Five Swedish Organisations’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change, 2: 2, pp. 153–180. Barki, H., Rivard, S. and Talbot, J. (1993), ‘A Key-Word Classification Scheme for IS Research Literature: An Update’, MIS Quarterly, 17: 1, pp. 209–226. Berthon, P., Ewing, M., Pitt, L. and Naude, P. (2003), ‘Understanding B2b and the Web: The Acceleration of Coordination and Motivation’, Industrial Marketing Management, 32: 7, pp. 553–562.

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Suggested citation Asproth, V., & Nyström, C. (2008), ‘Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their local environment’, Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change 5: 2, pp. 175–189, doi: 10.1386/jots.5.2.175/1

Contributor details Viveca Asproth is a Professor in Informatics at Mid Sweden University in Östersund, Sweden. She has published papers on visualisation, spatial systems, decision support, anticipation and fuzzy systems. In her current research, she is focusing on inter-organisational issues. Contact: Department of Information Technology and Media, Mid Sweden University, Akademigatan 1, S-831 25 Östersund, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] Christina Amcoff Nyström is a PhD/Senior lecturer in Informatics at Mid Sweden University in Östersund, Sweden. Her current research and interests concerns Intranets and their impact on organisations. Example of sub-questions: power, empowerment, influence, philosophy of technology and strategies related to Intranets and organisations. Contact: Department of Information Technology and Media, Mid Sweden University, Akademigatan 1, S-831 25 Östersund, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected]

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Volume 5 Number 2 – 2008 105–107

Editorial Paul Iles Articles

109–127

Gender wage inequality in the transitional Chinese economy: A critical review of post-reform research Jie Shen and Xin Deng

129–140

Applying the congruence model of organisational change in explaining the change in the Indian economic policies Karabi C. Bezboruah

141–157

Job motivation and self-confidence for learning and development as predictors of support for change Chaiporn Vithessonthi and Markus Schwaninger

159–173

E-mail at work: A cause for concern? The implications of the new communication technologies for health, wellbeing and productivity at work Howard Taylor, George Fieldman and Yochanan Altman

175–189

Communication and information exchange among SMEs and their local environment Viveca Asproth and Christina Amcoff Nyström

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