Assessing the effectiveness of accounting information systems in the era of COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the Accounting Information Systems (AIS) effectiveness on the organizational level by extending DeLone and McLean success model in developing countries like Jordan. Unlike other studies, this study investigates the effects of system quality, information quality, process quality, collaboration quality, service quality, individual performance and workgroup performance toward organizational performance during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Design/methodology/approach A self-administrated survey was used to collect data from 104 accounting managers operating in listed Jordanian firms in the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). The partial least squares-structural equation modeling method was used for data analysis. Findings Eight relationships were tested, whereby six were supported as was expected. Particularly, the empirical results reveal that individual performance is positively and significantly influenced by information quality, process quality and service quality. Furthermore, workgroup performance is positively and significantly influenced by individual performance. The results also show that organizational performance is impacted by individual performance and workgroup performance. Originality/value The current study is among the first empirical studies that has extended the information systems success model to evaluate AIS success during COVID-19 pandemic. This study also offers insights into the importance of AIS success among listed Jordanian firms in ASE.

How leader networking, external monitoring, and representing are relevant for effective leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the individual and joint influence of three distinct external leadership behaviors (i.e. networking, representing, and external monitoring) on workgroup performance and managerial effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered by surveying subordinates of 233 managers in various types of organizations. Findings The results of multiple regression analyses indicated that external monitoring and representing were positively related to subordinate perceptions of workgroup performance and managerial effectiveness. The effects of networking depended on a leader’s use of the other two external behaviors. Originality/value Understanding why a leader is effective in a particular context requires examining joint effects and different patterns of external behavior (Yukl, 2012). Past research on external leader behavior only examined one of the specific behaviors or examined a broadly defined behavior that included more than one of the three specific behaviors. The study provides new insight into the independent and joint effects of the three external leadership behaviors on managerial effectiveness and workgroup performance.

Pygmalion going international

Purpose The paper presents an empirical account of self-fulfilling prophecy in a multicultural expatriate context of the Arabian Gulf (Sultanate of Oman). The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between managerial expectations of the effects of cultural diversity and workgroup performance. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study uses a qualitative interpretive approach based on the data collected through semi-structured interviews. The participants were Omani managers in charge of multicultural expatriate workgroups. Findings Managerial expectations of the effects of multiculturalism on workgroup dynamics are linked to three dimensions of performance effectiveness, including the production function, the member support function and the group wellbeing function. The Pygmalion process, as applied to the multicultural expatriate context of this study, emerged as an integral part of positive organizational scholarship. Research limitations/implications The data were collected in one country only, which limits the conclusions about the universal applicability of the Pygmalion theory. The boundary conditions were defined by the cultural characteristics of the research setting: collectivism, high power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, moderate masculinity/femininity. Practical implications For managers in charge of multicultural workgroups, the study provides motivation to project positive and affirmative expectations of multiculturalism, which is likely to lead to enhanced workgroup performance. Originality/value In examining the self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon, this study transcends Western educational, military and industrial research contexts to investigate the Pygmalion process in a non-Western multicultural expatriate environment. The study contributes to unraveling the inconsistencies in findings on the relationship between cultural diversity and workgroup performance by highlighting the role of managerial expectations of multiculturalism.

On the Relationships between Connection Modes and Workgroup Performance

Notwithstanding the central place covered inside organization science and the economic theory of the firm, organization design theory still lacks sound building blocks concerning the effects that some fundamental variables have on workgroup performance. In this chapter a contribution to fill in this gap is given with reference to the relationships between connection modes and performance. In particular, through an agent-based simulation model a number of experiments have been done respect to the moderating role played by group size and task complexity. Results confirm current (but not really scientific) knowledge, and bring forth our understanding of these fundamental (and mostly nonlinear) relationships. Among the main results, it can be underlined that the best combinations between connection modes, task complexity, and workgroup size occur when complex tasks are connected by mutual adaptation and run by a small number of agents, or when less complex tasks are connected by parallel or sequential interdependence and performed by a large number of agents. Moreover, when a modules volume to be worked out is heterogeneous in terms of connection modes between module's tasks, and thus, a multi-mode group should be issued, respect to the corresponding choice of issuing specialized groups there is a general decrease in efficacy.

Strategic Human Resource Practice: A Systematic Framework and Causal Model of Learning Orientation, Quality of Leader-Member Exchange, Goal Orientation, and Workgroup Performance

Research objectives were to determine a systematic framework and to blend a causal model of learning orientation, quality of leader-member exchange, goal orientation, and workgroup performance of pharmaceutical company employees in Thailand. The study reported the responses of 583 operational employees from 39 pharmaceutical companies operating in different parts of Thailand. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics using SPSS (version 11.5) and path analysis using LISREL (version 8). Research findings indicated that dimensions of learning orientation, quality of leader-member exchange, and goal orientation have mediated positive effect on workgroup performance. Goal orientation positively mediates the relationships between learning orientation and workgroup performance and between quality of leader-member exchange and workgroup performance. Furthermore, learning orientation is positively correlated with the quality of leader-member exchange.