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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a model on how business managers perceive that an employee’s psychological contract influences his or her attitude toward an organizational change. More specifically, it aims to provide insight into the managerial views on: first, the affective, behavioral and cognitive responses of employees toward organizational change; second, the pre-change and change antecedents of these responses; and third, the role of the psychological contract as a pre-change antecedent. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from in-depth interviews with 39 human resource directors, change managers and management consultants in eight European countries. Based on detailed grounded theory-driven analyses of the qualitative data, a conceptual model was developed. Findings – Based on the grounded theory analysis, a model emerged that positions the individual change perception and individual answer to the “what’s in it for me?” question as central determinants of an employee’s attitude toward change. Moreover, the model distinguishes between “influencing” variables that shape the employees’ change perception, and “overruling” variables that can potentially reverse the change perceptions. Practical implications – A strong emphasis on managing the employment relationship by fulfilling mutual obligations and by creating trust will yield more constructive responses to organizational change than focussing on managing an organizational change as an independent event. Originality/value – As one of the first in its field, this study provides insight in the sense-making processes during organizational change, while adopting a managerial perspective. A grounded theory approach by means of interviewing, serves as a first step toward better understanding of the development of employees’ affective, behavioral and cognitive responses to organizational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Despite the current focus on demand-based care, little is known about what clients consider important when they have a request for formal long-term care services. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – Questions about the access process to care services were added to the “Senior Barometer”, a Dutch web-based questionnaire that assesses the opinion of older people about different aspects in life. The questionnaire surveyed both people who already requested care services (“users”), and people that did not (“future clients”). Findings – The results show a significant difference in what people expect to be the first step from what users actually did, when requesting formal care services. In addition, there was a significant difference on how “users” and “future clients” rated several access service aspects. Research limitations/implications – The results give valuable information on how both “users” and “future clients” value the access process. The findings also provide valuable input for organizations providing long-term care for older clients about the important issues that have to be considered when organizing the access process. Originality/value – This study shows what older people in the Netherlands find important during the access process to care and this has not been explored before. The difference between what “users” and “future clients” find of importance in the care access process suggests that it is difficult for people to foresee what will be important once the need for care arrives, or where they will turn to with a request for care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to examine how organizational change and attitude towards change affects the fulfillment of the psychological contract. The influence of type of change, impact of change, former change experiences and frequency of change on fulfillment of the psychological contract is assessed, as well as the influence on the employee's attitude towards change. Design/methodology/approach – Regression analyses were carried out to test the effects of the change antecedents and the attitude towards change on the fulfillment of the psychological contract and to test the effects of the change determinants on the attitude towards change. The data used in this study are from 161 respondents working for different organizations who completed an online questionnaire. Findings – The results show that type of change, impact and former experience with organizational change influence attitude towards change. With respect to the fulfillment of the psychological contract, only frequency, former experiences and the attitude towards change had an impact. Research limitations/implications – A limitation is the cross-sectional design of the study. A recommendation for future research is to further explore the results by using case studies or longitudinal research. Practical implications – This study contributes to managers', HR professionals' and change professionals' understanding of the change factors that have the highest impact for employees. Originality/value – This study highlights the effects of organizational changes on the psychological contract and includes the role of attitude towards change. Empirical research in this area is scarce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study aims to explore generational differences in the psychological contract of hospitality employees and work outcomes such as commitment and turnover intention. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in 20 hotels (n=359) from a four-star hotel chain in The Netherlands using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using MANOVA and post-hoc analysis. Findings – Findings suggest that opportunities for development and challenge, variation and responsibility are more important to younger generations of hospitality workers. Generation X placed high value on work-life balance, autonomy and job security. No differences were found for work atmosphere, salary and task description. Significantly lower commitment and higher turnover intention was also found for Generation Y. Practical implications – The findings provide insight into generational differences in expectations that hospitality workers have of their employers. This helps managers in developing management styles as well as human resource policy to better address these expectations. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to explore the psychological contract in a hospitality context and contributes empirical evidence to the body of knowledge on generational differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine age-related perceptions of the quality of relationships at work and performance in mentally and physically demanding care service work settings. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in six residential homes for the elderly in Germany. Data of 150 respondents were analyzed using multiple hierarchical regression and mediation tests. The mediating role of relationship quality in the relationship between age and employee performance was examined. Findings – It was found that older employees experienced better exchange relationships with their supervisors, and that this mediated the relationship between age and job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The sample is female dominated. Organizations are in transition from conventional organizational structure to team structure with employees' high company and job tenure. Practical implications – A higher relationship quality suggests a higher quality of older workers' job appraisal, which might be a starting point for older followers to rethink career perspectives and start further individual development. Originality/value – The findings extend earlier studies and provide more insight into the relationship between age, relationship quality, and employee performance from a follower's point-of-view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the influence of age and age-related attitudes on relationship factors. In addition, it seeks to assess how both factors affect care service work performance. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the influence of age and age-related attitudes on the relationship quality among employees, affecting performance in mentally and physically demanding work settings. The authors conducted the research in six residential homes for the elderly in Germany (152 respondents) and collected the data with questionnaires. Data are analyzed by multi-hierarchical regression analyses. Findings – Results show that age-related attitudes (intergenerational cooperation and the perception of older employees' capabilities) are important factors influencing the perceived quality level of in-group cooperation. Both age-related attitudes and relationship factors influence perceived employee performance, and job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The findings contribute to understanding how age-related attitudes influence relationships among employees, the relationship between employees and supervisor, and the effect on service performance. The mono-cultural sample might be a limitation, as well as the composition of the sample: The majority of respondents were female. Practical implications – For leaders, supervisors and managers the results contribute to understanding how employees' age-related attitudes, in mentally and physically demanding work settings, influence the quality level of relationships and outcomes. This is relevant in the context of leaders/supervisors promoting followers' individual development and group/team development. Originality/value – The paper shows that in care service work with an increasing number of older employees, the positive perception of age-related attitudes influences relationship quality and performance positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The paper aims to introduce the papers in this special issue which highlight the importance of cooperation in organizations, and outline future research directions. Design/methodology/approach - Conceptual approaches to cooperation in organizations are described and a brief outline is given to each paper in the special issue. Findings - This special issue brings together studies that enhance our theoretical understanding of cooperation, addressing core issues related to the role of cultural differences, virtual communication, team processes, leader behavior, and the impact of norms on cooperation. Practical implications - Factors that facilitate or hinder cooperation in organizations are highlighted, and suggestions on how to deal with those issues in practice are provided. The papers facilitate understanding of the role of cultural differences, communication, team processes, and leader behavior on cooperation in organizations. Originality/value - The paper provides an introduction to the special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to inform readers on what is known on information processing in virtual teams and to discuss the consequences of these findings for the management of virtual teams. Design/methodology approach: Systematic review of the literature on information processing in virtual teams based on a general information processing model for teams. Findings: An overview of the most relevant factors that influence the effectiveness of virtual teams is provided. Research limitations/implications: The review is based on existing literature on virtual teams and it discusses future research directions opened by the conceptualization of virtual teams as information processing systems. Practical implications: The paper identifies the factors that can improve the effectiveness of information processing in virtual teams. Originality/value: The general information-processing model for teams enables a systematic integration of the fragmented literature on virtual teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]