SummaryFocusing on the employee well-being component of positive organizational behavior (POB), this study explores the relationship between organization provided benefit programs and POB. Specifically, we ask the question: are employees' use and perceived value of a work-life benefit package associated with their positive attitudes and behaviors in the workplace? Grounded in social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity, we develop and estimate a model identifying differential relationships of benefit use and perceived benefit value with employee attitudinal and performance outcomes. Employing the multigroup method, the hypothesized model was fit to the data of two dissimilar organizations. Results support our hypothesis that providing work-life benefits employees use and/or value is part of a positive exchange between the employee and employer. This exchange is positively related to employees' feelings of perceived organizational support and affective commitment to the organization and reciprocation in the form of higher levels of task and contextual performance behaviors. Results also revealed that employees' perceptions of benefit program value play a critical role regardless of actual program use in influencing attitudes and behavior. Our findings emphasize the importance of valuing employees and investing in their well-being inside as well as outside the workplace.

Even though researchers have been exploring the relation between stress and job performance for nearly a century, there remains controversy about whether the relation is best characterized as a negative linear relation, a positive linear relation, or as an inverted-U. The inverted-U theory has a great deal of intuitive appeal, yet research results weigh in favor of the negative linear relation. We reviewed studies performed over the past 25 years on the stress-performance relation. The results of our review identified three primary sets of problems with prior research: neglect of the understressed condition, negative connotation of stress, and contextual range restriction. All but one of the studies in our review were found to have at least one of these problems. Based on these results, we make suggestions for refinements in future research to provide a fair test of the inverted-U theory.Although researchers have been exploring the relation between stress and job performance for nearly a century, there remains controversy about whether the relation is best characterized as a negative linear relation (i.e., stress is detrimental to performance and increasing levels of stress are increasingly detrimental), a positive linear relation (i.e., stress represents a challenge that improves performance), or as an inverted-U (i.e., some stress is necessary for optimal performance and stress levels below or above this optimal level are detrimental to performance). Theorists seem to prefer the contingency nature of the inverted-U theory, yet the HUMAN PERFORMANCE, 16(4),[349][350][351][352][353][354][355][356][357][358][359][360][361][362][363][364]

Agency theory posits that the greater degree of control by those with decisionmaking authority, the greater the overall organizational performance. Conversely, entrenchment theory implies that at extremely high levels of inside control by those with decision authority, organizational performance decreases. Using a nationwide sample of 2,631 privately held and publically traded family businesses, we examined if the relationship of percent family ownership is an agency or entrenchment relationship and found the latter. Specifically, there was a statistically significant negative relationship between percent of family control and sales growth as well as a strong inverse relationship between percent of family controlling the top management team and all measures of financial performance.

This study used a sample of 4,637 small businesses to test the relationship between organizational commitment to employees (OCE) and company performance. OCE was significant in all five of the performance models. The results of the employee productivity model revealed a significant positive relationship between OCE and company performance, suggesting that small businesses might be able to realize some benefit in employee productivity from OCE programs. In addition, results from the return on assets, return on sales, return on cashflow, and employee growth models indicated that some OCE programs might be more beneficial to small businesses than others. Potential antecedents of OCE were also examined. Company size, owner education, and gender of the owner had positive relationships with OCE. Partial support was also found for a positive relationship between owner experience and OCE. Differences in the results of this study compared to studies for larger corporations and suggestions for future research are also discussed. Copyright Springer 2005company performance, organizational commitment to employees, small business,

This research contributes to the family business literature by providing the first empirical test of the developmental model for family business (DMFB), developed by Gersick, Davis, Hampton, and Lansberg (1997). Our testing of the DMFB, along with a review of the literature since its publication, allow us to identify key groups of variables that can help explain family business development. Specifically, we identify owner, firm, and family characteristics to augment the DMFB. Our hierarchical regression analysis of 934 firms suggests that the original model provides a solid foundation for classifying family firms, but the augmented model explains significantly more variance in family firm development.