Signaling and social influence: the impact of corporate volunteer programs

PurposeThis study aims to provide insight on how work–life initiatives impact employees. Using corporate volunteer programs as an example, the authors examine the role of coworker social influence in shaping the reactions of both employee participants and non-participants of the program. The paper further identifies several factors that may moderate these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe authors surveyed employees before and after the implementation of a new corporate work–life initiative. 99 employees provided data pre and post. OLS regression and hierarchical linear modeling were used to test hypothesized relationships.FindingsEven in the context of low participation, work–life initiatives engendered positive organization-related perceptions among employees. These positive outcomes were due in part to coworkers' sharing of their volunteer experiences and were most prominent for employees in positions that afforded flexibility, and employees who reported close ties with coworkers.Practical implicationsThe study deepens our understanding of employee reactions to work–life programs and underlines the importance of these programs even when employee participation is low. The role of coworker influence as a determinant of employee reactions suggests there may be value in purposefully fostering participants' sharing of volunteer experiences in the workplace.Originality/valueThis study takes a unique approach to examining the role of coworker influence in shaping employee reactions to corporate initiatives.

Employee reactions to crossborder acquisitions: Evidence from an acquired Serbian company

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors influencing employee reactions to changes brought about by crossborder acquisitions. The research was conducted in a company operating in Serbia?s retail sector that was acquired by a Belgian multinational company. The data were collected from 344 respondents. Measures of central tendency, the Mann-Whitney U test, and regression analysis were used to test the research hypotheses. The research results show that employee reactions to changes brought by cross-border acquisition were generally positive. The study show that corporate cultural differences between the acquiring company and the acquired company and the support of transformational leaders resulted in employees reacting positively to the changes. The study attempts to improve understanding of employee reactions during the process of change occurring as a result of cross-border acquisition. Additionally, this study has practical implications, as it points to how the appropriate management of human resources contributes to positive employee reactions.