T J Kamalanabhan

The purpose of this study was to test the association among occupational stress, coping strategies, mental health, physical health and job satisfaction. A paper-and-pencil survey battery comprising of five scales was completed by 360 participants. Results indicate that there is negative association between occupational stress and health (both mental and physical), also occupational stress with job satisfaction. Furthermore, there is an impact of coping strategies on the health and the attitudinal outcome (job satisfaction) of the participants. Findings convey that there exist significant differences among the dimensions of job satisfaction, relationship dynamics' is reported to be the principal dissatisfying factor. Organisations continuously demand the best performance from its employees and for this very reason, their stress levels have to be managed. Coping strategies have to be devised to manage the occupational stress so that the employees are physically and mentally fit to perform their job. In addition, employees must be aware of their stress prone areas and the coping strategies suitable for them.

The study investigates the mechanism of internal communication in the context of sport organizations. This article illustrates the relationship between internal communication (peer communication, coach-player communication, communication training, and internal public relation [PR] practices) and commitment of individual players in the sports, broadening the understanding of internal communication practices in sport organizations. This study hypothesized a positive relationship between internal communication dimensions and sport commitment through survey methodology. Using multivariate regression technique, the hypotheses were tested on a sample of 223 players from National Cricket Academy of India that has produced some of the best cricketers in the world. Positive relationships between peer, coach-player communication, communication training, and internal PR practices of the organization and predicting individual sport commitment of players. Stronger predictions were observed for communication training and internal PR practices as compared to peer communication and coach-player communication. The study provides valuable insights from the player’s perspective on internal communication process in a sports organization to ensure individual sport commitment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined the influence of communication training and internal PR practices on individual sport commitment.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between organisational change processes and its impact on individuals from the perspective of enterprise resource planning (ERP) users. The study is based on the perceptions of ERP users on change processes adapted in their organisations and its outcome at an individual level. The perceptions were obtained by means of a questionnaire survey administered to 160 respondents from India. The data collected has been analysed using statistical techniques such as multiple regressions. At an academic level, the study enables one to study the performance of the change processes from the perspective of the end user of ERP. For practitioners, these relationships would facilitate decision-making on change processes as per their impact. To the best of our knowledge, a study of this nature is the first of its kind in India. Evaluation of a change process in an ERP context highlights the importance of elements other than technical aspects that have generally been the focus of several ERP studies. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Purpose: This study aims to empirically examine how the perception of social capital in work teams motivates individuals to proactively seek tacit knowledge from teammates and the subsequent impact on individual creative performance. In addition, it offers an empirical validation of interrelationships between the different sub-dimensions of social capital. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire-based survey was used, and data were collected from 437 professionals working in the information technology (IT) sector. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS 22 was used for hypothesis testing. Findings: As per the findings of the study, all social capital dimensions, except shared language and benevolence-based trust, demonstrate a significant positive influence on tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour of employees. The results also provide evidence that point to a significant positive relationship between tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour and the creative performance of employees. Further, a significant positive interrelationship between different social capital dimensions is confirmed. Originality/value: As per the findings of the study, all social capital dimensions, except shared language and benevolence-based trust, demonstrate a significant positive influence on tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour of employees. The results also provide evidence that point to a significant positive relationship between tacit knowledge-seeking behaviour and the creative performance of employees. Further, a significant positive interrelationship between different social capital dimensions is confirmed.

Changes in Indian workforce and globalisation have resulted in an increase in heterogeneous information technology (IT) teams. Team heterogeneity has been shown to impact various team outcomes. This paper examines the impact of demographic, knowledge and underlying diversity in IT teams on various team outcomes. Data were collected from 62 software development (SD) teams and analysed using multiple regressions. The result suggests that more than other forms of heterogeneity, underlying heterogeneity in SD teams has been consistently a significant predictor of the various team outcomes and thus impacts the team effectiveness. Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

A thorough understanding of the college attributes influencing decision-making process is important from the marketing perspective. The current study aims to explore factors influencing students' search behaviour and choice in college choice decision, establishing the importance of college attributes in decision making. The study was conducted by surveying students aspiring admission to engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, India, yielding a total sample of 1,174. Factor analysis was done to rank factors influencing choice based on their level of importance. Results showed that students in Tamil Nadu consider institutional merits, faculty features, social factors, campus and cost, academic reputation, and college equity as criteria in selecting higher learning technical institution. This study will help colleges to improve their recruitment strategies and students to improve the way they search for information for educational decision making.

With the advent of knowledge economy, knowledge has become the most crucial component of organizations and to remain competitive, knowledge based organizations depend on their employees to share knowledge and to learn from each other. The main purpose of this study is to develop insights to further the understanding of enablers of employees’ knowledge sharing behavior. The study discusses the circumstances under which employees voluntarily engage in knowledge sharing with peers and how such behavior benefits the employees in workplace. A range of work on social capital, knowledge sharing and work performance is reviewed with an aim to identify the gaps and based on it, a theoretical framework is proposed. The framework incorporates the antecedents and outcomes of engaging in different types of knowledge sharing behavior – routinized and in-depth knowledge sharing which includes both contribution and seeking aspects. Drawing upon social capital theory, three dimensions of social capital are taken as the factors affecting knowledge sharing with peers – structural, relational and cognitive capital; and job performance as the outcomes - task performance and creative performance. We propose that the effect of perceived social capital on knowledge sharing (contribution and seeking) is contingent on the complexity of knowledge involved in the process. Structural, relational and cognitive capital is likely to have more influence on in-depth knowledge contribution and seeking with peers compared to routinized knowledge sharing. While considering the outcomes of job performance, routinized knowledge sharing is likely to be more significant in daily task performance, whereas in-depth knowledge sharing enhances creative performance of employees. Compared to previous studies that explored the role of social capital in knowledge sharing, this work is unique by offering a model that incorporates the different types of knowledge sharing behavior and its differential impact on job performance. It discusses the knowledge seeking aspect of knowledge sharing process as well, which has been overlooked in prior studies and thereby provides a conceptual comparison of different behavioral contexts in a single model.

The study examined the impact of perceived organisational support on in-role performance and extra performance towards supervisors, co-workers and patients. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical officers and staff nurses working in primary health centres of Tamilnadu. From the results, it is found that perceived organisational support showed a positive impact of on in-role performance and extra role performance. It is found the extra role performance towards patients is greater compared to other job performance measures. The results of the study emphasise the public health department has to identify and reward substantial performers and review welfare policies that are perceived to be unattractive by healthcare professionals. Copyright © 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Many entrepreneurship researchers share the opinion that entrepreneurship is a positive force which enhances employment generation and promotes new products and services to meet the needs and wants of their clients. However; emphasis on entrepreneurship within micro enterprises is limited. Hence, an attempt was made to identify and assess entrepreneurial attitude orientation and competencies and skills among women entrepreneurs in micro enterprise leading to entrepreneurial success and ultimately life satisfaction. Multivariate analysis technique like Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were conducted to identify the entrepreneurship success related factors. The findings showed a direct relationship between entrepreneurial attitudes related constructs and entrepreneurial competencies related factors, leading to entrepreneurial success, and life satisfaction among micro entrepreneurs.

This paper aims to explore the links between systems of human resource management practices and the firm performance in India. Content analysis of the annual reports was done to identify the human resources attributes disclosed by a sample of 165 large sized firms in India. The financial performance measures were collected from the Prowess database. Regression analysis was used to examine the effect of the human resource management system on the financial performance of the firm. Reverse causal effect of financial performance on the human resource management system was also examined using regression analysis. The study found that the human resource management practices have statistically significant impact on the measures of firm financial performance. The reverse causal relation showed that the financial measure market capitalisation has a significant and positive influence on the human resource management practices.