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The demands control support model (R.A. Karasek & T. Theorell, 1990) indicates that job control and social support enable workers to engage in problem-solving. In turn, problem-solving is thought to influence learning and well-being (e.g, anxious affect, activated pleasant affect).Two samples (N = 78, N = 106) provided data up to four times per day for up to five working days. We assessed the extent to which job control was used for problem-solving by measuring the extent to which participants changed aspects of their work activities to solve problems. We assessed the extent to which social support was used to solve problems by measuring the extent to which participants discussed problems to solve problems. Learning mediated the relationship between changing aspects of work activities to solve problems and activated pleasant affect.Learning also mediated the relationship between discussing problems to solve problems and activated pleasant affect. The findings indicated that how individuals use control and support to respond to problem-solving demands is associated with organizational and individual phenomena such as learning and affective well-being. Learning, Control, and Support 3 An Experience Sampling Study of Learning, Affect, and the Demands Control Support Model Karasek and Theorell"s (1990) demands control support model (DCSM) is one of the most influential theories of work design. One central idea is the active learning hypothesis:Control and support used for problem-solving are hypothesized to promote learning and, in turn, learning promotes well-being. Another central idea of the DCSM is the strain hypothesis:Control and support are hypothesized to prevent the accumulation of strain induced by demands.The main contribution of this paper is to provide a direct test of the active learning hypothesis. Therefore, the contributions of this paper are relevant to debates on proactivity and work performance (Griffin, Neal, & Parker, 2007; Parker, Williams, & Turner, 2006;Parker, 2007) and cognitive processes in contemporary work environments (Hodgkinson & Healey, 2008; Morgeson & Humphrey, 2006). The paper also begins to redress the balance of research on the DCSM that has largely left the active learning hypothesis untested (de Lange, Taris, Kompier, Houtman, & Bongers, 2003; van der Doef & Maes, 1999). Karasek and Theorell (1990) indicate that people use job control and social support for specific purposes. However, most tests of the DCSM infer rather than assess directly the purposes for which people use control and support (see de Lange et al., 2003). We used measures that map onto the theoretical processes outlined by Karasek and Theorell. By assessing specific purposes for which people use job control and social support, we were able to overcome theoretical ambiguities inherent within other tests of the active learning hypothesis. To examine the active learning hypothesis, we used measures that assess the extent to which workers change aspects of their work activities to solve problems and...

Abstract:We engaged in a multi-case comparative study exploring how family farm businesses continue when economic returns are minimal. We analyzed strategic approaches used by 20 family dairy farms operating in the UK and identified four different strategic behaviors chosen by the family farm businesses -diversifying the business, maximizing debt, sacrificing family needs and compromising. Each strategy allows the firm to survive, but has consequences for the family, the business, or both. Our study contributes to the socioemotional wealth literature by showing how emotional attachment to the business can influence firm decision-making.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present a case example of the power struggles and gender issues one daughter faced when she became a partner, and future successor, in the family business. This paper uses an ethnographic approach in order to study a small family farm in England. The case focuses on a small family farm, these businesses are unique in terms of their values and expectations for succession (Haberman and Danes, 2007), and identified by Wang (2010) as a fruitful avenue for research on daughter succession. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical work was gathered through the use of a single site ethnographic case study involving participant observation as the researcher worked on the family farm and semi-structured interviews with family members over two years. Findings – The results shed light on some of the social complexities of small family farms and power struggles within the family exacerbated by perceived gender issues. The work also highlights the potential threat to the daughter’s position as a partner, from her father’s favouritism of male employees. Practical implications – Institutions that provide help to family farm businesses need to be aware of the potential power issues within the family specifically related to gender, particularly in terms of succession planning. Originality/value – Using ethnography in family firms allows the researcher to be a part of the real-life world of family farmers, providing rich data to explore daughter succession.

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