This study investigates the link between perceptions of negative workplace relationships and organisational outcomes. Respondents (n = 412) spanned a wide range of occupations, industries and nationalities. Data were collected using an Internet-based questionnaire. Results indicated that those with at least one negative relationship at work were significantly less satisfied, reported less organisational commitment, were part of less cohesive workgroups and were significantly more likely to be planning to leave their job.

Strategies to integrate work and family have caught the attention of organizations, institutions, academics and families, and many people are motivated to find ways to blend these two domains. Spillover theory, whose tenets surround the mutual influence of home and work, provides a useful framework for understanding better what contributes to achieving work–family integration. Although much of the existing research focuses on the negative influence of these domains, some evidence exists that they positively influence one another as well. This study uses hierarchical multiple regression to test hypotheses about relational identity on positive and negative work–family spillover and considers perceived spousal support and relational equity as moderators. Results reveal that perceived spousal support predicts positive spillover and that it moderates the relationship between relational identity and negative spillover. Other results are discussed as well as limitations and future directions.

This paper provides an analysis of human resource development and knowledge capital management relations practices used by hotels and resorts in 2007. The study examined the employment instruments used, methods of employee recruitment, selection, staff turnover trends, remuneration policies, attitudes to knowledge capital and the application of service quality measurement. The findings indicate that larger foreign-owned organisations have adopted more innovative approaches than smaller Australian-owned hotels and resorts, while skill shortages and generational attitude changes have driven more inventive retention strategies in both groups. It was also found that in spite of the adoption of more enlightened human resource strategies, staff turnover, particularly casual staff turnover, remains problematic and could negatively impact upon customer satisfaction.

Consumption, especially high profile brand consumption, implicates our identities. More than that, brand consumption connects our lives to others through shared lifestyle expressions to the extent that subcultures of consumption emerge. However, as this work shows, the meaning of particular consumption objects or brands cannot be assumed. Using visual ethnography, this study describes the experiential meaning of the legendary Harley-Davidson to owners and riders in Australia. For more than three years, fieldwork was conducted primarily from within a chapter of the Harley Owners Group (HOG) and included participant observation, interviews, and visual documentation of the Harley-Davidson experience. The findings show the Australian Harley-Davidson experience to be a postmodern paradox. As an iconic American brand with a rebellious image, Harley-Davidson is readily embraced in this Australian subculture of consumption. Also, despite the widely assumed deviancy of those on a Harley-Davidson, the Australian HOG subculture is shown to uphold mainstream values in a family-friendly environment. Moreover, as an iconic symbol of freedom, this experience is achieved through regulation and organization. This work also shows the act of consuming Harley-Davidson creates the experiential meaning and postmodern spectacle that demands attention. In effect, consumers become producers in co-constructing the postmodern paradox of the (Australian) Harley-Davidson experience.

Divestitures, understood as the parent company's disposal and sale of assets, facilities, product lines, subsidiaries, divisions and business units, are emerging as a central topic of research in several areas. Yet our understanding of these operations is still limited. For example, it is still not clear whether divestitures are merely a reflection of the economic cycle, a means to correct or reverse previous strategic decisions, or a proactive strategic option. Integrating literature in finance, strategy, and organisational behaviour, this paper offers a comprehensive picture of divesting modes, antecedents, mechanisms and outcomes of divestitures. It integrates empirical findings and theoretical contributions into a researchable whole, in order to identify common themes and gaps in existing research. The final objective of this analysis and review is to propose meaningful avenues for future research to improve knowledge on divestitures.

An exploratory study of workplace experience in the public sector investigated the tension that employees face in their attempts to meet both organisational and customer expectations. This paper provides an illustration of participant experience that describes: the sense of justice that drove their actions; the innovations that resulted from attempts to fulfil the psychological contract with the customer; and the protection of what employees perceived to be their own and their workmates' deviant behaviour. The ethic that emerged locally through employee–customer interaction and which framed employee decision-making in this study resulted from the role conflict that emerged when the organisation's focus on a consistent application of the rules confronted customers' diverse and pressing need for treatment as individual human beings at the organisational boundary.

The service encounter is the point where employees and customers interact both positively and negatively. When things go wrong (service failure), initially it is the employee who is required to remedy the situation (recover the service). While positive service recovery outcomes are well investigated, there is little research that investigates whether specific service recovery strategies can be used to reduce customer anger and retaliation. Further, there is little research regarding whether an organisation's acceptance of blame has an effect on customer anger and retaliation. These gaps are addressed using a quasi-experimental study of 120 respondents that examines customers' emotional and behavioural responses to specific service recovery strategies following a service failure. The results show that high-level service recovery strategies directly reduce the occurrence of retaliation, as well as indirectly reduce retaliation through the mediating effects of customer anger. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

This article discusses the findings of an exploratory study into the nature and influencing factors of front-line employee deviant behaviour in service encounters in two hospitality industries. A dual perspective approach was used that involved employees and customer perceptions. Interviews were conducted with service managers and front-line employees from hospitality and adventure tourism organizations in New Zealand. Data from customers was obtained from written scenarios and customer feedback. Based on the outcomes of this study and related literature, a definition of service deviance and a typology to describe four different types of deviant behaviour are proposed. The findings of the study also indicate that the customer's attitude and behaviour is a key factor that influences front-line employees to engage in acts of deviance. The implications of the findings for service organizations and future research directions are discussed.