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In this study, we examine how establishment‐level aggression originating from customers can lead to voluntary turnover. We also examine whether establishment‐level factors, such as collective voice, high involvement work practices and control‐based work practices, moderate this relationship. By analysing a sample of 139 call centres in Canada, we found that establishment‐level customer aggression is positively related to the workforce quit rate. Furthermore, we found that this positive relationship is weaker in establishments where employees have access to collective voice and in establishments that use fewer control‐based human resource practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the 'dark side' of organizational behavior has determined that employee sabotage is most often a reaction by disgruntled employees to perceived mistreatment. To date, however, most studies on employee retaliation have focused on intra-organizational sources of (in)justice. Results from this field study of customer service representatives (N = 358) showed that interpersonal injustice from customers relates positively to customer-directed sabotage over and above intra-organizational sources of fairness. Moreover, the association between unjust treatment and sabotage was moderated by 2 dimensions of moral identity (symbolization and internalization) in the form of a 3-way interaction. The relationship between injustice and sabotage was more pronounced for employees high (vs. low) in symbolization, but this moderation effect was weaker among employees who were high (vs. low) in internalization. Last, employee sabotage was negatively related to job performance ratings. Keywords: sabotage, unfair treatment by customers, moral identity

Service employees can experience considerable resource demands from customers and supervisors in their day-to-day work. Guided by the conservation of resources (COR) perspective and organizational justice research, we explored the relationship between interpersonal injustice (e.g., being treated with low dignity and respect) by customers and employee turnover (e.g., voluntary turnover, turnover intentions). Specifically, we proposed that customer interpersonal injustice relates positively to employee turnover outcomes through a process first involving employee experiences of negative emotions, and second, employee emotional exhaustion. We also examined whether supervisor interpersonal justice mitigates this process by providing emotional resources that buffer the demands of customer interpersonal injustice. We evaluated these predictions in a programmatic series of three complementary field studies involving retail employees (Study 1, N = 263), restaurant employees (Study 2, N = 206), and contact center employees (Study 3, N = 317). The results showed that (a) customer interpersonal injustice relates positively to employees' negative emotions, (b) employee negative emotions are positively associated with emotional exhaustion, and (c) emotional exhaustion relates to higher employee turnover outcomes. Our results also show that the indirect effect of customer interpersonal injustice on employee turnover intentions (Study 2) and voluntary turnover (Study 3) is weaker when employees perceive more (vs. less) supervisor interpersonal justice. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic human capital research has emphasized the importance of human capital as a resource for sustained competitive advantage, but firm investments in this intangible asset vary considerably. This article examines whether and how external pressures on firms from capital markets influence their human capital strategy. These pressures have increased over the past three decades due to banking deregulation, technological innovation, and the rise of institutional investors and new financial intermediaries. Against this backdrop, this study examines whether a firm’s capital structure as measured by share turnover, shareholder concentration, and financial leverage is associated with firm investment in strategic human capital. Based on survey and objective financial data from 221 establishments in the United States and Canada, our analysis indicates that firms with greater share turnover, higher shareholder concentration, and higher levels of financial leverage are less likely to invest in human resource systems that create strategic human capital. Differences in national financial systems also lead to differential effects for U.S. and Canadian firms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We investigate compensation management in in-house and outsourced call centres with original establishment-level data collected in Canada. Our analysis reveals that both customer service representatives (CSRs) and managers employed in outsourced call centres earn 91 per cent of the cash pay earned by their in-house counterparts. Lower cash pay levels in outsourced call centres are related to higher CSR quit rates and absenteeism. Although CSR cash pay is associated with improved workforce performance, the disparity in cash pay between in-house and outsourced call centres does not result in a significant difference in workforce performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Features the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers/Communication Workers of America (WashTech/CWA), an advocacy organization formed by a group of contingent workers at Microsoft Corp. Legal obstacles that temporary agency workers encounter in trying to gain representation under current labor law; Examination of the contingent employment arrangements at the firm; Analysis of the formation and growth of WashTech/CWA.