IE University

About: IE University is a education organization based out in Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Corporate governance & Context (language use). The organization has 527 authors who have published 1709 publications receiving 64682 citations.

Remote working, management control changes and employee responses during the COVID-19 crisis

Abstract: Purpose The authors examine the impact of the sudden shift to remote working, triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, on management control (MC) practices in professional service firms (PSFs). In addition, employee responses to these changes are explored. Design/methodology/approach The authors carried out a field study of MC changes in PSFs in Italy, the first country in Europe that was severely impacted by COVID-19. Interviews with PSF employees form the primary data source. Pattern matching was used to identify similarities and differences and investigate how employees respond to the MC changes. Findings As a response to the shift to remote working, managers at PSFs made various MC-related changes. For instance, they increased the number of online meetings and made use of technologies to monitor employees from a distance. Employees reacted to this by engaging in "voluntary visibilizing practices", i.e. by trying to make sure they got noted by their superiors, for instance by doing overtime. In addition, collected evidence suggests increased stress levels among employees, changes to employee autonomy, changed perceptions of hierarchies and a weakened sense of relatedness with others in the organization. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to examine the impact of the sudden shift to remote working on MC. In addition, this paper contributes by exploring employee responses to the MC-related changes. The findings add to the growing literature on MC and motivation, and the notion of voluntary visibilizing practices is mobilized to warn against over-commitment and self-exploitation.

Sustainable Electric Vehicle Charging using Adaptive Pricing

Abstract: A transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is widely assumed to be an important step along the road to environmental sustainability. However, large-scale adoption of EVs may put electricity grids under critical strain, since peaks in electricity demand are likely to increase radically. Efforts to manage demand peaks through pricing schemes may create new peaks at low-price periods, if large numbers of EV owners use smart charging to benefit from low prices. This effect is expected to be amplified when EV owners adopt smart decision support to assist them with optimal charging decisions. Therefore, energy policymakers are interested in advanced pricing schemes that can smooth demand or induce demand that comes as close as possible to a desired profile. We show, through simulations calibrated with real-world data, that current approaches to electricity pricing are limited in their ability to induce desired demand profiles. To address this challenge, we present adaptive pricing, a method to learn from EV owner reactions to prices and adjust announced prices accordingly. Our method draws on the Green Information Systems principles and can assist grid operators in ensuring the reliable operation of the grid. We evaluate our results in simulations, where we find that adaptive pricing outperforms current electricity pricing schemes, yielding results close to the theoretically optimal ones. We test our method in inducing both flat and extremely volatile demand profiles, and we see that in both cases it manages to induce EV charging close to the ideal scenario under perfect information.

The Lure of Work-Life Benefits: Perceived Person-Organization Fit As A Mechanism Explaining Job Seeker Attraction To Organizations

Abstract: Drawing from Person-Organization (P-O) fit theory, we explain how the provision of work-life benefits (WLBs) increases job seeker attraction to organizations during the early recruitment stage because of a perceived value fit between job seekers and the organization. Our results from an experimental study using a sample of 189 MBA students who belonged to two generational groups (Millennials and Gen X-ers) and were seeking employment during a period of economic recession support our expectations. We found that job seekers develop higher P-O fit perceptions for organizations that supplement standard pay with WLBs in their recruitment materials in comparison to organizations that supplement standard pay with healthcare benefits or offer only standard pay. In turn, such organizations are assessed as more attractive prospective employers. We also found that generational group moderated the path between P-O fit and job seeker attraction such that Millennial job seekers were more likely to be attracted towards organizations with which they had strong fit perceptions than their Gen X counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed