Each month, we select up to ten publications from those that have recently been entered into the Literature Database.

A year ago, there were approximately 8,250 citations in the Literature Database. As of December 2007, we now have over 9,200 citations.

View Sloan Literature Update articles in the Literature Database.

Borgerson, J.L. (2007). On the harmony of feminist ethics and business ethics. Business and Society Review, 112(4), 477-509.

This article discusses the common mistakes within the context of business ethics of equating “feminist” and “feminine” ethics and fusing feminist ethics and care ethics. The author explains the differences between the three realms and further elaborates upon the history of feminist ethics and the ways in which it has preceded business ethics and corporate responsibility in areas such as issues of power, privilege, the role of interpersonal relationships, and the experiences of marginalized groups and individuals. Examples of feminist ethics “in action” and suggestions for future research are given.

Global Perspectives - Karamessini, M. & Ioakimoglou, E. (2007). Wage determination and the gender pay gap: A feminist political economy analysis and decomposition. Feminist Economics, 13(1), 31-66.
In this paper, the authors develop and test a framework of wage determination and a new method of decomposition of the gender pay gap. Drawing from Marxist and feminist theories, and using a data set from Greece, the framework consists of two equations: average occupational wages of different industries and individual wages as they differ from industry occupational wages. Findings indicate that using the authors’ methods, gender segregation of employment by occupation and industry is the key determinant of the gender pay gap, followed by accumulated work experience. Within the standard framework, accumulated work experience is the main determinant.
 

Global Perspectives - Lau, Y.K., Ma, J.L.C., & Chan, Y.K. (2006). Labor force participation of married women in Hong Kong: A feminist perspective. Journal of Family and Comparative Studies, 37(1), 93-112.
Since the 1970’s, educational attainment and labor force participation has increased for Hong Kong women; however, as of 2002, labor force participation of married women was at just 45%, compared to 68.7% of unmarried women and 74.8% of all men. The authors investigated what was keeping the majority of married women from the Hong Kong labor force, using a feminist perspective, as it concerns “non-labor market variables that economists take as given.” Findings indicate that gender role attitude is a significant factor in women’s labor participation choices, with nontraditional gender role attitudes facilitating participation. Other factors include access to child care support, education, but only in tandem with a nontraditional gender role attitude, and need for financial contribution, with more women working when their salary contributes highly to family finances and less women working when their income is less essential to family finances. The importance of family friendly work policies for both women and men is discussed.
 

Global Perspectives - Noble, C. & Moore, S. (2006). Advancing women and leadership in this post feminist, post EEO era: A discussion of the issues. Women in Management Review, 21(7), 598-603.

This paper asks why women continue to be absent from leadership positions in the workplace despite equal employment opportunity/affirmative action polices. Focusing on the Australian workplace, the authors express concern over this absence of female leadership, seeing it as a human rights issue and encouraging a lack of diversity in the workforce as a whole. The authors discuss a “retreat from the equity agenda” in favor of an organizational culture that emphasizes individual responsibility as well as a continued lack of recognition of women’s leadership contributions and abilities. Pros and cons of recent trends away from “the cult of the CEO” and towards teamwork and “promoting and practicing genuine work-life balance” in relation to women workers are discussed.
 

Sotirin, P., Buzzanell, P.M., & Turner, L.H. (2007). Colonizing family: A feminist critique of family management texts. Journal of Family Communication, 7(4), 245-263.
The authors examine three family management texts: a model of family as organizational team with the mother as CEO, seven habits for successful families, and brand ladder loyalty as a method for marital happiness. All three use corporate language and techniques to describe and deal with personal relationships. The authors discuss these texts’ reframing of work and family boundaries and the ways in which the effort to balance work and family is “hijacked” by the strategies’ assumption that the managerialist concept of “good” can be applied universally across the boundaries of people’s work, home, public, and private lives.
 

Hawkins, A.J., Lovejoy, K.R., Holmes, E.K., Blanchard, V.L., & Fawcett, E. (2008). Increasing fathers’ involvement in child care with a couple-focused intervention during the transition to parenthood. Family Relations, 57(1), 49-59.
This article reports on a study in which 120 couples with new babies were assigned to one of three groups: a treatment group that participated in a new parent home visiting program as well as a program intended to strengthen couple relationships, a comparison group that participated only in the new parent program, and a control group that did not participate in either program. Findings indicated that treatment group fathers were more involved in child care than control group fathers, a result that was replicated in a second study. The increased father participation was a secondary outcome of the study; the intent was to strengthen couple relationship outcomes, which did not result from the studies’ programs.

Muse, L, Harris, S.G., Giles, W.F., & Field, H.S. (2008). Work-life benefits and positive organizational behavior: Is there a connection? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(2), 171-192.
Are employees use of and perceived value of work-life benefits associated with positive workplace behaviors and attitudes? The authors collected data from two research sites, a healthcare organization and a manufacturing company, both of which were listed as best companies to work for by Fortune magazine in 2000 and 2001. Both of these companies had extensive yet diverse work-life programs that had been in place for some time. They received a total of 852 completed surveys from the companies’ employees; the surveys measured use of work-life benefits, perceived value of these benefits, perceived organizational support, affective commitment, task performance, and contextual performance. Findings suggested that work-life benefits and positive organizational behavior are connected, and emphasized the importance of assessing employees’ perceived value of work-life benefits when considering these programs.

Global Perspectives - Naswall, K. (Ed.). (2008). The individual in the changing working life. Cambridge [U.K.]: Cambridge University Press.
Table of Contents: The individual in the changing working life: introduction / Katharina Näswall, Johnny Hellgren and Magnus Sverke -- Part I. Threats and Challenges -- 2. New rules of work: exploring the boundaryless job / Michael Allvin -- 3. Changing work roles: new demands and challenges / Johnny Hellgren, Magnus Sverke and Katharina Näswall -- 4. The demand-induced strain compensation model: renewed theoretical considerations and empirical evidence / Jan de Jonge, Christian Dormann and Marieke van den Tooren -- 5. Job insecurity and employability among temporary workers: a theoretical approach based on the psychological contract / Nele De Cuyper and Hans De Witte -- 6. Independent contracting: finding a balance between flexibility and individual well-being / Daniel G. Gallagher -- 7. Work-family conflict in individuals' lives: prevalence, antecedents and outcomes / Ulla Kinnunen and Saija Mauno -- 8. My love, my life, my everything: work-home interaction among self-employed / Toon W. Taris, Sabine A. E. Geurts, Michiel A. J. Kompier, Suzanne Lagerveld and Roland W. B. Blonk -- 9. Modern work and safety / Nik Chmiel -- 10. Romantic relationships at work: old issues, new challenges / Jennifer Carson and Julian Barling -- 11. Ethnic diversity at work: an overview of theories and research / Wido G. M. Oerlemans, Maria C. W. Peeters and Wilmar B. Schaufeli -- Part II. Individual Attempts at Restoring the Balance -- 12. Skeleton key or siren song: is coping the answer to balancing work and well-being? / Jaco Pienaar -- 13. The dynamic influence of individual characteristics on employee well-being: a review of the theory, research and future directions / Christopher J. L. Cunningham, Gabriel M. De La Rosa and Steve M. Jex -- 14. Stress and coping at work: new research trends and their implications for practice / José M. Peiró -- 15. Work stress, coping and gender: implications for health and well-being / Eva Torkelson and Tuija Muhonen -- 16. The role of protean career attitude during unemployment and re-employment: a literature review and conceptual model / Lea Waters -- Part III. Intervention and Promotion on the Organizational Level -- 17. Participatory action research as work stress intervention / Maureen F. Dollard, Pascale Le Blanc and Sarah J. Cotton -- 18. Enhancing work engagement through the management of human resources / Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Marisa Salanova -- 19. Prevention: integrating health protection and health promotion perspectives / Lois E. Tetrick -- 20. Workplace interventions for occupational stress / E. Kevin Kelloway, Joseph J. Hurrell, Jr. and Arla Day.

Roberto, K.A. & Jarrott, S.E. (2008). Family caregivers of older adults: A life span perspective. Family Relations, 57(1), 100-111.
The authors used a life span perspective to identify themes from late-life caregiving research, including individual well-being, relational effects, and caregiver growth. They also explored the effect of education, intervention programs, and policy initiatives intended to help middle-aged and older family members caring for an aging relative. Recommendations for integrating research, practice initiatives and policy making are discussed.