Our article develops a conceptual framework based primarily on national culture perspectives but also incorporating the role of managerial discretion (cultural tightness-looseness, institutional flexibility), which is aimed at achieving a better understanding of how the effectiveness of high-performance work systems (HPWSs) may vary across countries. Based on a meta-analysis of 156 HPWS-business performance effect sizes from 35,767 firms and establishments in 29 countries, we found that the mean HPWS-business performance effect size was positive overall (corrected r = .28) and positive in each country, regardless of its national culture or degree of institutional flexibility. In the case of national culture, the HPWS-business performance relationship was, on average, actually more strongly positive in countries where the degree of a priori hypothesized consistency or fit between an HPWS and national culture (according to national culture perspectives) was lower, except in the case of tight national cultures, where greater a priori fit of an HPWS with national culture was associated with a more positive HPWS-business performance effect size. However, in loose cultures (and in cultures that were neither tight nor loose), less a priori hypothesized consistency between an HPWS and national culture was associated with higher HPWS effectiveness. As such, our findings suggest the importance of not only national culture but also managerial discretion in understanding the HPWS-business performance relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Despite a strong sensitization to the corruption problem and a large body of interdisciplinary research, scientists have only rarely investigated which motivational, volitional, emotional, and cognitive components make decision makers in companies act corruptly. Thus, we examined how their interrelation leads to corruption by proposing an action model. We tested the model using a business simulation game with students as participants. Results of the PLS structural equation modeling showed that both an attitude and subjective norm favoring corruption led to a desire to act corruptly. Given high perceived behavioral control, this desire was transformed into an intention that finally resulted in corrupt action. Components related to general private and professional goals did not allow for any prediction. Based on these results, we discuss preventative measures and methods for combating intra-and inter-organizational corruption.

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The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to identify the ways public transport drivers cope with stressful events of daily working life. One hypothesis is that stress‐induced problems at work are resistant to direct actions and that this may be even more the case among blue‐collar workers who typically have less control than managerial and professional staff. Emotion‐focused rather than problem‐focused forms of coping may therefore be the more prevalent. The second aim was to examine the relationships between coping processes and adaptational outcomes such as work strain and somatic complaints. The discussion about the effectiveness of different coping strategies shows a positive bias toward problem‐focused approaches. Yet there is little empitical evidence confirming either the superiority of problem‐solving attempts or the ineffectiveness of efforts to manage the stress‐related emotions (Menaghan & Merves, 1984).

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The literature states that rationalization strategies contribute to a spread of corruption in organizations. They are supposed to serve not only as post hoc justifications but also as ex ante determinants of corrupt behavior. This empirical study aims at challenging this theoretical assumption. Design/methodology/approach -The authors gained empirical data in a business simulation game where participants had the opportunity to act corruptly. The sample included both university and high school students. Findings -The results show that post hoc rationalizations primarily highlight the "positive" intention behind corrupt action. As relationships with important person-based determinants of corruption are lacking, it is questionable whether rationalization strategies possess potential as ex ante determinants of corrupt behavior.Research limitations/implications -The design of the study only assesses rationalization strategies post hoc. Therefore it does not allow for examining causal effects, only the investigation of relationships. Future research should aim at addressing this issue, including both ex ante and post hoc assessment of rationalization strategies. Originality/value -The paper is a first attempt to examine empirically the function of rationalization strategies in the context of corruption in organizations.

He holds a master degree in psychology and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. His research interests include international human resource management, opportunism, trust and control in transnational business relationships, and knowledge transfer in MNCs. He is actively involved in international executive education and has consulted with a variety of organizations. Recently he has edited a book on international risk management.