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School innovativeness determines the vitality of schools as learning organizations. However, schools markedly vary in innovativeness, and research is needed to account for this variability. The present study provides a theoretical account of this variability based on an uncertainty management perspective. Conceptualizing participative decision-making as an organizational routine through which uncertainty is shared and collectively managed, we hypothesize that participative decision-making is conducive to the school's organizational capacity to foster innovation. Our hierarchical linear modeling analysis of 7507 schools in 41 countries lends support to this hypothesis. The findings demonstrate that the level of school innovativeness tends to be higher in schools that make greater use of participative decision-making. This pattern was observed in all countries examined, and the pattern was even clearer in countries with a stronger cultural orientation toward uncertainty avoidance. Although further research is needed, this study concludes that participative decision-making can promote school innovativeness by facilitating the distributed management of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The concept of participative decision-making (PDM) has been well established as a positive organizational factor, and has recently gained attention as a measure of gender inclusivity in the workplace. However, findings regarding gender differences in the experiences of PDM are inconclusive. This study hypothesized that women perceive themselves as less influential than men at the organizational level rather than at the workplace level. Furthermore, the study explored whether these assumed gender differences depend on the gender typicality of occupational positions and professions. We expected gender differences to be more pronounced for male-typed positions and professions (e.g., leadership, engineer) compared to non-male-typed occupational positions and professions (e.g., non-leadership, nurse). Methods: Data on experiences with participative decision-making at the workplace and organizational levels were drawn from a large representative Swedish survey (N = 10,500; 60% women). Results: Results showed that women experienced being less influential than men at the organizational level, whereas the experiences of women and men did not differ at the workplace level. The gender difference at the organizational level was not related to the gender typicality of position and profession. Discussion: The findings highlight the importance of the inclusion of both women and men in strategic, large-scale decisions for achieving gender equality at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionThe concept of participative decision-making (PDM) has been well established as a positive organizational factor, and has recently gained attention as a measure of gender inclusivity in the workplace. However, findings regarding gender differences in the experiences of PDM are inconclusive. This study hypothesized that women perceive themselves as less influential than men at the organizational level rather than at the workplace level. Furthermore, the study explored whether these assumed gender differences depend on the gender typicality of occupational positions and professions. We expected gender differences to be more pronounced for male-typed positions and professions (e.g., leadership, engineer) compared to non-male-typed occupational positions and professions (e.g., non-leadership, nurse).MethodsData on experiences with participative decision-making at the workplace and organizational levels were drawn from a large representative Swedish survey (N = 10,500; 60% women).ResultsResults showed that women experienced being less influential than men at the organizational level, whereas the experiences of women and men did not differ at the workplace level. The gender difference at the organizational level was not related to the gender typicality of position and profession.DiscussionThe findings highlight the importance of the inclusion of both women and men in strategic, large-scale decisions for achieving gender equality at work.

Due to the authoritarian administrative style, used by educational institutions, where those in charge make decisions and middle and lower-level employees simply carry out orders without providing any input, participatory decision-making has gained popularity in the educational setting. Nevertheless, higher education institutions are at a crossroads since they are unsure how to handle the problems, posed by a highly dynamic environment, and the rapid changes that are occurring. Thus, academic staff has been required to take on extracurricular duties to enhance institutions to those that are formally outlined in their job descriptions. In this context, developing OCB and ensuring its sustainability has become increasingly crucial for boosting universities' effectiveness. Based on the social exchange theory, this study aims to assess how participative decision-making can constitute a key idea in modern management that impacts employees' organisational citizenship behaviours in two campuses of a public higher education institution in South Africa. Data was collected from a post-positivist perspective, a quantitative research method, and a convenience sampling technique to select a sample of 253 academics, through a structured questionnaire. Based on the results of the descriptive analysis, employees reported a medium level of participative decision-making and agreed to display the five organisational citizenship behaviours. Using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression models, the study found a positive relationship between participative decision-making and the five dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour. Therefore, the study recommends that employees should be more involved in the decision-making for them to display organisational citizenship behaviour. However, public higher education institutions should establish a strong data-driven culture and train staff members to be proficient in code and quantitative concepts; and senior management has to develop rules with open access to the most important metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing interest in sustainability has pushed governments to elaborate new legislations and orientations and, in turn, has led companies and organizations to consider sustainability goals in their strategies, operations management, and decision-making processes. This is the case in natural resources supply chains, and particularly in forest products supply chains, where the row resource is publicly owned but exploited by private companies. While public owners are responsible for the sustainable management of the resource according to the three sustainability pillars, industrials tend to focus on the use of the allocated resources to maximize their utility, mainly from an economic perspective. The key question is how to rethink the whole public owners/industrials relationship to ensure consensual and satisfactory solutions for all the stakeholders. In this context, this paper reviews and analyzes sustainable supply chain planning approaches proposed in the forestry planning literature and, based on the model observed in the forestry sector in the province of Quebec, Canada, proposes and analyzes a new, performance-based approach to overcome its challenges and facilitate sustainability integration in the forestry planning processes.

Administrative Motivation, Participative Decision-Making and Academic Staff Management as Correlates of Productivity of Tertiary Institution's Lecturers in Delta State, used the expost-facto design, and corelational survey method. 4,780 lecturers was the population and 2,014 the sample using the stratified random sampling technique. One research question was raised, answered and one null hypothesis formulated was tested. A self-constructed questionnaire subjected to face, and content validity by colleagues was used. Cronbach alpha correlation statistics was used to test for reliability which yielded coefficients of 0.58 and above indicating high reliability. Simple and multiple regression models of SPSS 22 were used to determine and explain the discrete variables before the main effect variables registered in the regression functions. Findings indicated a significant relationship among administrative motivation, participative decision-making, academic staff management and productivity of lecturers in tertiary institutions in Delta State. Recommendations: institutions managers and administrators should improve their administrative motivation mechanisms and programs to promote cordial relationships and yield sustainable quality productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Principals indirectly impact the achievement of school goals and the development and improvement of the school. Drawing upon Role Theory, this study proposes to examine the direct and indirect relationship (through organizational commitment) between participative decision-making and school violence in the Arab educational system in Israel. The data were collected through a questionnaire returned by a two-stage cluster random sampling of 350 teachers randomly chosen from 70 elementary Israeli Arab schools. Data were collected from three sources: self-reporting (teachers and students) and non-self-reporting to minimize measure error. The structural equation modeling and bootstrap results highlighted the positive implications of participative decision-making on teachers’ organizational commitment in the Israeli Arab education system. The findings also showed teachers’ organizational commitment was correlated to school violence. That is, teachers’ organizational commitment fully mediates the relationship between participative decision-making and school violence. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate school administrators' perceptions on the participatory decision-making process at schools as educational institutions. The method adopted in the research is basic qualitative research design, which is one of the qualitative research designs. Criterion sampling methods and maximum variation sampling methods have been used in the determination of the study group. The study group consists of 30 school administrators from various public preschool institutions, primary schools, elementary schools, and high schools. The study employed semi-structured interview forms in data collection, and the data were analyzed by content analysis method. According to the results of the research, the attitude of managers in the decision-making process differs according to changing conditions. In some cases, teachers are included in the decision-making process, while in others, they are excluded. Decisions are not made in a particular setting. Instead, there is a variety of settings used for this purpose. There are many factors that cause teachers to be included in the decision-making process. The most expressed one of these is that different ideas should be evaluated. Situations where teachers are willing and unwilling to the decision-making process are diverse. According to school administrator's, teachers are reluctant to participate in decisions that will bring extra workload to them. On the contrary, they participate in the process willingly when personal interests are at stake. There are many mistakes made by administrators in the decision-making process. The most common one of these is the tendency of administrators to make decisions alone. There are some expected roles in the process of deciding from school administrators. The most stated code by participants is that managers should support the participatory decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the environmental impact caused by the agricultural and agri-food sectors, eco-innovation is exceptionally important in the context of food production. In this respect, this study analyses the combined effect of motivational factors, participative decision-making practices, and eco-innovation capabilities and examines the peculiarities of these effects on Tunisian agricultural and agri-food sectors. Our results reveal several findings: (1) motivational factors are positively related to participative decision-making, and eco-innovation capabilities; (2) economic and ethical motivations constitute the most critical factors for offering innovative behaviour that would enhance participative decision-making and further boost the capacity of both entrepreneurs and employees to generate eco-innovation practices; and (3) motivational factors exert a mediating role on both participative decision-making and eco-innovation capabilities. Our findings further report that enterprises could not ignore the vitality of environmental issues and motivational eco-innovation factors in order to attain sustained economic and environmental performance. Our study highlights the critical role played by participative decision-making in the process of shaping a motivational and innovative work environment, while the enterprise's goals were not only the economic performance but also to attach great importance to achieving the environmental targets. Our study, therefore, supports that the combined impacts of these relevant constructs might overcome environmental, economic, and institutional barriers and generate further a better society that is sustainable in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between participative decisionmaking, psychological empowerment and job performance among engineers in the Electrical and Electronic (E&E) manufacturing firms in Malaysia. The study used a structured survey questionnaire to collect data from both managers and engineers as the study utilized matched-pair analysis. Human Resource (HR) managers from 73 manufacturing firms agreed to cooperate in the data collection process. The researchers were able to collect 173 matched responses from both managers and engineers. For the purpose of data analysis, the study used SEM-PLS method to analyse the direct and indirect effect between the variables. The results indicated that all the direct effects were significant and only the perceived meaning dimension of psychological empowerment was not significant as a mediator. The practical implication of participative decision-making and psychological empowerment on job performance leads employees to learn new skills, obtain information, help one another, enhance social contact, and fulfill the obligation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationships between orientation towards innovation, participative decision-making and hotel performance in Romanian hotels. In order to accomplish our research objective, we reviewed the literature on orientation towards innovation, decision-making and performance, focusing mainly on the hospitality industry. Based on the theoretical findings, we developed a questionnaire that was applied both by interviewers and online. Also, we formulated 3 main research hypotheses and 4 secondary ones. We received 135 valid responses from employees working in 3 and 4-star hotels and statistically analyzed the data. All our research hypotheses were tested using linear regression, 6 of them being supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how participation in decision procedures affects people’s reactions to the deciding authority. In our economic experiment, having voice, i.e., the opportunity to state one’s opinion prior to a decision, significantly increases subordinates’ subsequent kindness towards the authority. These positive effects occur irrespectively of the decisions’ content. The experimental findings stress the positive effects of voice when subordinates and authorities interact. Our results suggest that in organizations, but also in the legal and political arena, participative decision-making can be used to guide people’s actions after decisions have been made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of educational innovations by teachers seems to benefit from a team approach and team learning. The study's goal is to examine to what extent transformational leadership is associated with team learning, and to investigate the mediating roles of participative decision-making, team commitment, task interdependence and teachers' proactivity in this association. Data were analysed using multilevel structural equation modeling ( N = 992 teachers, 92 teams). Results show that transformational leadership had direct and indirect positive associations with team learning through all mediators. These results provide insights into how transformational leaders can have a positive influence on team learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study suggests a moderator–mediation model: teacher organisational commitment mediates the relationship between the interaction of participative decision-making (PDM) and paternalistic leadership (PL) and a school's cultural attributes to school effectiveness (student academic achievement, teachers’ organisational citizenship behaviour, and teachers’ perceived strain). The data were collected through a questionnaire returned by a two-stage clusters random sampling of 245 teachers in Israeli elementary schools characterised by different cultural attributes. Data were collected from two sources, self-reports and test grades measures to minimise measure error. The structural equation modelling and bootstrap results highlight the intervening role of a school's cultural attributes on the relationship between PL and school effectiveness, implying that the implications of PL are context dependant. The findings also showed positive implications of PDM on school effectiveness regardless of a school's cultural attributes. Implications for theory and practise are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to examine differences in leadership and decision-making practices in public and private universities in Pakistan, with a focus on transformational leadership (TL) and participative decision-making (PDM). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 46 deans and heads of department from two public and two private universities in Pakistan. Our findings indicate that leadership and decision-making practices are different in public and private universities. While differences were observed in all six types of TL-behaviour, the following three approaches emerged to be crucial in both public and private universities: (1) articulating a vision, (2) fostering the acceptance of group goals, and (3) high-performance expectations. In terms of PDM, deans and heads of department in public and private universities adopt a collaborative approach. However, on a practical level this approach is limited to teacher- and student-related matters. Overall, our findings suggest that the leadership and decision-making practices in Pakistani public and private universities are transformational and participative in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-one academic and public libraries in the United States participated in this survey study. The study focuses on the perceptions of automation committee members in the decision-making process of selecting a major automation vendor. The data suggest that the more participation perceived in the selection process, the stronger the committee members perceived themselves, as a group, to be the decision-makers; and the stronger the perception the decision was group-made, the more positive the attitude toward the appropriateness of the decision. Those respondents who perceived that committee members as a whole made the final decision also perceived that more communication smith supervisors occurred, the library director displayed greater trust in them, and information about all available vendors was gathered before the final decision mm as made. No direct evidence was found that library management used participative decision making as a ”play thing.” Usually either the library director or the systems librarian chaired the committee. Library directors appointed most committee members. Chairpersons are significantly more positive. The ratio of professionals to non-professionals serving in the committee exceeded three to one. A few variables were statistically found to be good predictors of who was perceived to be the decision-maker. (Article content in Chinese with English abstract)

This article studies the influence of the procedural justice resulting from participation in decision-making on employees’ affective commitment in social enterprises. It also examines whether any potential link between participation and commitment is due to social exchange, as is the case with for-profit companies. The study is based on data from employees of French work integration social enterprises. The results confirm the positive relationship between procedural justice and affective commitment and the mediating role of perceived organizational support and leader–member exchanges. Managerial recommendations are then given to best maintain or increase employees’ involvement in the decision-making processes of social enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore whether employees' perceptions towards perceived organisational support and participative decision-making vary by lean duration (i.e., the duration of lean production in operation), and whether managers' perceptions towards propensity for participative decision-making vary by the lean duration. For the study, quantitative research methodology was used and data was collected from 616 shop-floor employees and 129 middle level managers engaged full-time in export-apparel manufacturing firms that have implemented lean production systems in Sri Lanka. It was found that participative decision-making and propensity for participative decision-making significantly differ by the duration of lean production in operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the question of control in participative decision- making (PDM). Control poses a particular problem in organizations today, as organizational survival is arguably dependent on the contributions of subordinates, whose viewpoints may diverge from existing organizational premises. The question of what kind of management control, if any, is exercised in PDM, becomes relevant. Yet, despite the heavy emphasis on the importance of language and communication in facilitating PDM, there is a lack of empirical research on the discourse features of facilitative management. The present article attempts to fill this gap by analyzing the pragmalinguistic patterns of facilitation in PDM sessions in three banks in Hong Kong. The findings indicate that facilitation follows distinctive patterns, using discourse strategies quite different from those of gatekeeping control. Linguistic features such as modals, pronouns etc. correspondingly exhibit a different pattern of use. However, facilitative discourse also displays certain features commonly found in the discourse of authoritative control, such as the use of questions, rephrasing etc. While control is evident in the guidance provided, the facilitative manager may come to a point where positional power has to submit to the unfolding PDM process. The patterns observed can be accounted for by the particular organizational and cultural contexts of the management discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few topics have resulted in as much theory, empirical study, controversy, and practical application as participative decision-making (PDM). Although most past empirical research has assumed that the decision-making process in PDM was unidimensional, this paper explores a multidimensional view and examines the inegration of degree of participation and decision making processes and their relationship with satisfaction and performance. The results suggest that the degree of involvement in generating alternatives, planning, and evaluating results are related significantly to satisfaction and that degree of involvement in generating alternatives and planning are related significantly to performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participative decision-making and job autonomy have been linked in perceived control, however, there has been some ambiguity in how this relationship has been approached in the literature. Researchers have generally sought to maintain the conceptual distinction among the constructs but have treated measures of the constructs as if they were indicators of a single underlying control dimension or disposition. The present study tests the plausibility that a hypothetical general control factor influences responding on several measures of perceived job autonomy and participative decision-making at work. Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis in samples of teachers and computer company employees supported a model in which measure of separate job autonomy dimensions, general job autonomy, perceptions of participative climate at work, and perceptions of control at work all were related to a second order control factor. The second order control factor was shown to be distinct from perceptions of one's supervisor and from measures of work-related affect. Implications of a second order control construct for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]