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Purpose -- A significant trend in the retail sector is women's over-representation in part-time work. Given the feminisation and adverse working conditions of part-time employment, the purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of the motivation of female sales employees. Design/methodology/approach -- Initially, a theoretical framework is presented with the aim of stipulating the research hypotheses. Empirical evidence was obtained from 349 Greek female sales employees using a structured questionnaire. Analyses of covariance and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with the aim of exploring the research hypotheses. Findings -- It was found that part-time and full-time female employees are similar in designating the job motivators that they find important in the workplace. However, surprisingly, results indicated that female part-timers are more optimistic about receiving intrinsic rewards. Further analysis provided evidence on how the work status (part-time/full-time) and the individual characteristics of employees have an impact on the reported importance of work motivators and on the expectations of receiving these rewards. Practical implications -- The findings provide retail firms with significant guidelines on how to develop a flexible motivational plan that fits the needs of their employees. In addition, the results of the paper provide retail managers with a profile of motivated, full-time and part-time female employees. Originality/value -- Given the dearth of empirical research on employee motivation in Greece, the results of the paper provide the wider academic community with new empirical evidence on how the motivation of employees is differentiated by work status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the labour market status of females in Greece and the UK respectively and also attempts to explore what accounts for the differences in the employment status between males and females. In particular, the study seeks to assess whether these differences can be explained by employees' endowments or by discrimination in the labour market. Design/methodology/approach -- Labour Force Survey (LFS) data are used to examine the impact of observable characteristics on female labour market participation, unemployment, and self-employment through the use of logit models. An extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique is used to estimate the gender employment discrimination gap. Findings -- Clear evidence of gender differences was found in both countries, although differences are substantially larger in the case of Greece. Evidence of female employment discrimination was also found in both labour markets. Originality/value -- The paper explores the factors affecting the labour market situation of females and, for the first time, assesses the level of gender employment discrimination in Greece and the UK analysing the differences between the unemployment rates of males and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper investigates the employment dynamics of Greek married women. Design/methodology/approach - Longitudinal/panel data for the period 1995-2001 and dynamic discrete choice models are used for estimation purposes. Findings - It is found that the probability of being employed is influenced by observed individual characteristics (e.g. human capital, fertility and unearned income), while genuine state dependence and unobserved heterogeneity constitute major sources of observed serial persistence. The results show that lagged employment affects current employment decisions in a systematic way, and that the non-contemporaneous effects of unearned income and fertility correlate with unobserved heterogeneity. The estimated average partial effects reveal that an employed woman in t - 1 has a probability of being employed in t that is almost 50 percentage points higher than for a non-employed woman. Practical implications - The presence of state dependence and unobserved heterogeneity imply that the bridging of the female employment gap between Greece and its EU partners is expected to follow a slow, long-term course. Originality/value - Greek female labour force participation has been studied only under a static analytical framework. This is the first study to investigate employment decisions of Greek married women in an inter-temporal setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Outsourcing is gaining considerable popularity in the field of business services and management The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the practice of outsourcing human resource management (HRM) functions, such as training, staffing, rewards and restructuring, in Greece. Design/methodology/approach - The analysis draws upon both primary and secondary data. The findings of the 1999 CRANET survey and a study on the companies that offer HRM services in Greece are used to set the frame of analysis. A series of in-depth interviews with HR managers and senior HRM consultants are used to support the quantitative data. Findings - The analysis suggests that the Greek market of HRM services is still at an initial stage of development, with limited credibility, while the customers lack the experience of managing outsourcing relations and are reluctant to establish a partnership- type HRM outsourcing agreement Considerable differences are identified between the Greek market for HRM services and those of more developed markets. Originality/value - The description of the Greek market of HRM services can be useful to vendors and users of HRM services, as well as researchers dealing with outsourcing in small markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the transfer of human resource management (HRM) practices by multinational companies (MNCs) to their overseas subsidiaries. It investigates how factors originating from the cultural and institutional framework of the host country impact on this transfer. Using data collected from MNC subsidiaries located in Greece and local Greek firms, we examine the degree to which several HRM practices in MNC subsidiaries resemble local practices. Our empirical findings indicate that subsidiaries have adapted their HRM practices to a considerable extent, although some practices are more localised than others. Specifically, practices that do not fit well with Greek culture or are in contrast to employee regulations show a low level of transfer. On the other hand, our interviews revealed that significant cultural changes are underway and that the institutional environment is gradually getting more relaxed, leaving more room to manoeuvre for MNCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This study seeks to investigate the differences in three aspects of job satisfaction – total pay, promotion prospects, and respect received from one's supervisor – between male heterosexual and gay employees in Athens, Greece. Design/methodology/approach – To determine whether a job satisfaction gap exists, the job satisfaction of gay employees is compared to the job satisfaction of heterosexual employees after accounting for various asymmetries. The data were gathered as part of the Athens Area Study conducted by the University of Piraeus, University of Central Greece, and Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences. Findings – Gay employees are found to be less satisfied according to all job satisfaction measures. Affect theory proposes that the extent to which one values a given facet of work moderates how dissatisfied one becomes when one's expectations are not met. Furthermore, the data enable us to estimate that gay employees' job satisfaction is not associated more (as compared with heterosexuals' job satisfaction) with adverse mental health symptoms. This finding is crucial given the rising interest between job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Finally, wage gaps against gay employees are found after accounting for basic asymmetries. Interestingly, however, the wage gaps grow for very dissatisfied employees and shrink for very satisfied employees. Practical implications – As long as, the general patterns in Greece suggest that homosexual employees face labor market discrimination, gay employees will report being less satisfied at work. Actually, in this study, job satisfaction is associated with wage inequality. Originality/value – This research initiates efforts to compare job satisfaction based on sexual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assesses the job creation effects of capital subsidies provided to small and medium enterprises in rural and lagging areas. The proposed methodology takes account of extensive censoring of job creation among assisted rural firms, endogeneity of the capital stock change resultant from capital subsidies, and the extensive part-time and seasonal job requirements in rural areas. Capital stock change, as a result of grant aid is negatively related to the decision to create new jobs and to the extent of job creation given that some employment is created Evidence of this work provides the ground for discussing the effectiveness and implications of using capital subsidies as a job creation instrument within rural development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]