PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to examine the determinants of employee contentment and its effects on job satisfaction, separation and performance; define employee contentment as employee happiness/enjoyment at work triggered by employee intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and organizational context; and consider employee contentment as the critical factor affecting job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilizes survey data from 272 employees of Taiwanese construction companies and consulting firms in the construction industry. In confirmatory factor analysis, the items are from the short version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and a newly developed organizational context questionnaire.FindingsThe MSQ items can be considered as perceived motivators of employees. These motivators and organizational characteristics (context) as manifest variables were loaded on distinct latent variables such as extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and organizational context, all of which in turn loaded on a single latent variable – employee contentment. The latter has a positive and statistically significant impact on job satisfaction, performance and intention to stay. While employee contentment has a stronger impact on performance, job satisfaction has a stronger impact on the intention to stay.Originality/valueThe present study utilizes the MSQ satisfaction themes as intrinsic and extrinsic motivators: employees' perceived feelings before the actual work process starts (intrinsic) and work outcomes occur (extrinsic). It examines employee contentment through these perceived feelings and organizational context, providing important research and practice implications.

Results of hypotheses testing using the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) scale and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) indicate that 7 out of 12 LMX measures (explaining 98% of the variance) and 6 out of 20 MSQ measures (explaining 71%-79% of the variance) were positive and significant. Satisfaction with supervision had a significant impact on job satisfaction, explaining 80.7% of the variance. In the near future, employee job satisfaction is predicted to be lower than satisfaction with supervision, due to absence of strong intrinsic motivation. Testing hypotheses on these scales also helped predict future employee turnover in the banking industry.

The present study empirically investigates how much pharmacists' recommendations and consumer decisions influence the marketing of drugs to price-sensitive consumers. The results indicate that consumers rely on physicians and their own decisions than pharmacists' recommendations in choosing prescription drugs. Consumers rely more on pharmacists' recommendations in purchasing over-the-counter drugs. To reveal the relationships among physicians, pharmacists, and consumers, pharmacists and consumers were surveyed using existing questionnaires. The findings indicate recommendations from pharmacists' that patients consult with physicians about the choice of lower priced, though acceptable, prescription and over-the-counter drugs have a significant effect on consumer decisions. Pharmacists indicated that they were willing to recommend low-cost alternative drugs. Consumers were willing to follow pharmacists' recommendations. The behavior of both pharmacists and consumers had significant impact on cost reduction.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the linkages between such negative workplace behaviors as abusive supervision and coworker bullying (CB)/mobbing; also, the study explores the linkages between such negative behaviors and work-life outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The authors use “negative acts,” abusive supervision, and workplace bullying/mobbing and develop work-life outcomes scales to test a data set collected from randomly selected respondents in the Midwest of the USA. The two-stage data collection offsets common method variance. Findings The authors find evidence that American supervisors and employees commit negative behavioral acts rarely. However, the data analyses indicate that many significant relationships exist among negative acts, abusive supervision, CB/mobbing, and employee well-being. Research limitations/implications Companies are reluctant to allow surveying their employees on the subject of negative acts. Therefore, respondents in this study are a random sample. Many statistically significant interrelationships were detected. Practical implications This study will reinvigorate discussion on workplace negative behaviors, bullying, and their effects on employee well-being. Social implications Addressing and reducing negative workplace behaviors will reduce employee stress and anxiety and improve the quality of employees’ work and life. Originality/value The scales were selected and developed, and the data set was constructed specifically for this study; the interactions of negative acts, abusive supervision, CB and mobbing, and work-life outcomes are tested together in a workplace scenario for the first time.

On August 31, 1991, the Republic of Uzbekistan proclaimed its independence as a free nation. As a part of the former U.S.S.R., the Uzbekistan people were required to adhere to the mandates of the Central Government in the production of manufactured goods, agricultural commodities and other goods and services. The Republic has consistently been one of the top five cotton producing countries in the world, and its economy is largely dependent on this commodity. On March 2, 1992, the Republic was admitted as a member of the United Nations and adopted its first constitution on December 8, 1992. As the Republic completes its conversion into a truly democratic nation, its leaders have taken a strong and determined stance toward fostering entrepreneurship and economic reform, privatizing business, efficiently utilizing the land base, and reversing environmental damage to the ecology of adversely affected regions. Simultaneously, government leaders took affirmative steps to maintain cotton production in order to stabilize land use policies and finance economic reform. A significant portion of governmental efforts over the last ten years have focused on encouraging free enterprise and entrepreneurship through directives which return business decision-making to entrepreneurs and business leaders. These business decisions were previously made by the Central Government which dictated production output based upon perceived needs of the former U.S.S.R. This paper will explore how the government of Uzbekistan has promoted and nurtured a spirit of entrepreneurship among its people through policies which foster free entrepreneurial thought, build viable business entities, equitably transfer public lands to private use, and reform the economy. The leaders of this emerging nation have carefully and wisely chosen the path of free enterprise which has created an ideal environment for entrepreneurship. Their efforts have succeeded in building a nation which grows more prosperous each year. The Republic of Uzbekistan is truly a nation which should serve as a model for other emerging nations of the world.