Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T14:22:44.903Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An empirical analysis of the effects of humor on communication satisfaction and job performance in international joint ventures in Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Mohammad Jalalkamali ,
Mohammad Iranmanesh ,
Davoud Nikbin  and
Sunghyup Sean Hyun
Mohammad Jalalkamali
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad Univeristy, Kerman, Iran
Mohammad Iranmanesh
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Davoud Nikbin
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business, Multimedia University, Melaka, Malaysia
Sunghyup Sean Hyun*
Affiliation:
School of Tourism, Hanyang University, Seongdonggu Seoul, Republic of Korea
*
Corresponding author: sshyun@hanyang.ac.kr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates the relationships between humor (frequency and effectiveness), communication satisfaction (informational and relational), and employee job performance (task and contextual) in international joint ventures in Iran. Based on a survey of 375 employees and their supervisors in two of the biggest joint ventures in the automotive industry in Iran, the results indicate that the frequency of humor had significant positive effects on contextual and task performance as well as on informational and relational communication satisfaction. In addition, informational communication satisfaction was significantly related to both contextual performance and task performance, whereas relational communication satisfaction was related only to task performance. Finally, informational communication satisfaction mediated the relationship between the frequency of humor and job performance (task and contextual), while relational communication satisfaction mediated the relationship between the frequency of humor and task performance.

Keywords

job performancecommunication satisfactionhumorjoint ventureIran
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , March 2018 , pp. 295 - 311
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adnan, H., & Morledge, R. (2003). Application of Delphi method on critical success factors in joint venture projects in Malaysian construction industry. Proceedings on CITC-II Conference, 10–12 December, Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Ali, J. A., & Kandlusi, N. (2010). Humor, communication and organizational citizenship behaviour. Saarbrücken, Germany: Verlag Dr. Müller.Google Scholar
Barbato, C. A., Graham, E. E., & Perse, E. M. (1997). Interpersonal communication motives and perceptions of humor among elders. Communication Research Reports, 14, 48–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barkema, H. G., & Vermeulen, F. (1997). What differences in the cultural backgrounds of partners are detrimental for international joint ventures? Journal of International Business Studies, 28(4), 845–864.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blase, J. J. (1984). A data based model of how teachers cope with work stress. Journal of Educational Administration, 22(2), 173–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blase, J. P., Dedrick, C., & Strathe, M. (1986). Leadership behavior of school principals in relation to teacher stress, satisfaction, and performance. Journal of Humanistic Education and Development, 24, 159–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Booth-Butterfield, S., & Booth-Butterfield, M. (1991). Individual differences in the communication of humorous messages. Southern Communication Journal, 56(3), 205–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borman, W. C., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1993). Expanding the criterion domain to include elements of contextual performance. In N. Schmitt & W. C. Borman (Eds.), Personnel selection in organizations (pp. 71–98). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Borman, W. C., & Motowidlo, S. J. (1997). Task performance and contextual performance: The meaning for personnel selection research. Human Performance, 10(2), 99–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cascio, W. F. (2006). The economic impact of employee behaviors on organizational performance. California Management Review, 8(4), 41–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, J. C., Silverthorne, C., & Hung, J. Y. (2006). Organization communication, job stress, organizational commitment, and job performance of accounting professionals in Taiwan and America. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(4), 242–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chin, W. W. (2010). How to write up and report PLS analyses. In V. Esposito Vinzi, W. W. Chin, J. Henseler, & H. Wang (Eds.), Handbook of partial least squares: Concepts, methods and applications (Vol. 2, pp. 655–690). Heidelberg, Dordrecht, London and New York, NY: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clampitt, P. G., & Downs, C. W. (1993). Employee perceptions of the relationship between communication and productivity: A field study. The Journal of Business Communication, 30(1), 5–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crino, M. E., & White, M. C. (1981). Satisfaction in communication: An examination of the Downs-Hazen measure. Psychological Reports, 49, 831–838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York, NY: Harper/Collins.Google Scholar
Downs, C. W. (1988). Communication audits. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman & Co.Google Scholar
Downs, C. W., & Hazen, M. (1977). A factor analytic study of communication satisfaction. Journal of Business Communication, 14, 63–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Downs, C. W., & Hain, T. (1982). Communication and productivity. Communication Yearbook, 5, 435–471.Google Scholar
Duncan, W. J. (1982). Humor in management: Prospects for administrative practice and research. Academy of Management Review, 7, 136–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunlop, P. D., & Lee, K. (2004). Workplace deviance, organizational citizenship behavior, and business unit performance: The bad apples do spoil the whole barrel. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 67–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehlers, L. N. (2003). The relationship of communication satisfaction, job satisfaction and self-reported absenteeism. Unpublished Master’s thesis. Department of Speech Communication, Miami University, Oxford, OH.Google Scholar
Ford, R. C., McLaughlin, F. S., & Newstrom, J. W. (2003). Questions and answers about fun at work. Human Resource Planning, 26(4), 18–33.Google Scholar
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geisser, S. (1975). The predictive sample reuse method with applications. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 70(350), 320–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldhaber, G. M., Porter, D. T., Yates, M. P., & Lesniak, R. (1978). Organizational communication. Human Communications Research, 5, 76–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, J., & Laidlaw, H. (2004). Improving the measurement of communication satisfaction. Management Communication Quarterly, 17(3), 425–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Mena, J. A. (2012). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40(3), 414–433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). Partial least squares structural equation modeling: Rigorous applications, better results and higher acceptance. Long Range Planning, 46(1), 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrigan, K. (1985). Strategies for joint ventures. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76, 408–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hecht, M. L. (1978). Measures of communication satisfaction. Human Communication Research, 4(4), 350–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. Advances in International Marketing, 20, 277–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurren, B. L. (2006). The effects of principals’ humor on teachers’ job satisfaction. Educational Studies, 32(4), 373–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jain, H. C. (1973). Supervisory communication and performance in urban hospitals. Journal of Communication, 23(2), 103–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kandlousi, A. E., & Sheykh, N. (2010). Humor, communication satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior in Iranian Electrical Manufacturing Industry. Doctoral dissertation. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Kane, J. S. (1984). Performance distribution assessment: A new breed of performance appraisal methodology. In H. J. Bernardin & R. W. Beatty (Eds.), Performance appraisal: Assessing human behavior at work (pp. 325–341). Boston, MA: Kent Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Kaufmann, J., & O’Neill, H. M. (2007). Do culturally distant partners choose different types of joint ventures? Journal of Worm Business, 42(4), 435–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khorassani, J. (2012). The impact of trust on performance of international joint ventures (IJVs) in developing countries: The case of Iran. Doctoral Symposium, Brunnel Business School, 27th & 28th March, 1–15.Google Scholar
Lee, Y. P., & Kleiner, B. H. (2005). How to use humor for stress management. Management Research News, 28(11), 179–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovorn, M. G. (2008). Humor in the home and in the classroom: The benefits of laughing while we learn. Education and Human Development, 2(1), 1–12. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://www.scientificjournals.org/journals2008/articles/1268.pdf.Google Scholar
Luthans, F. (2002). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(6), 695–706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, O. H. (2013). Humorous Communication: Finding a Place for Humor in Communication Research. Communication Theory, 12(4), 423–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKinnon, C. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, confounding and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 4, 173–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIlheran, J. (2006). The use of humor in corporate communication. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 11(3), 267–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meschi, P. X., & Riccio, E. L. (2008). Country risk, national cultural differences between partners and survival of international joint ventures in Brazil. International Business Review, 17, 250–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, J. (1996). Humor – An empowerment tool for the 1990s. Empowering in Organizations, 4(2), 16–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mohr, J., & Nevin, J. R. (1990). Communication strategies in marketing channels: A theoretical perspective. Journal of Marketing, 54(4), 36–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motowidlo, S. J., Borman, W. C., & Schmitt, M. J. (1997). A theory of individual differences in task and contextual performance. Human Performance, 10(2), 71–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Namazie, P., & Frame, P. (2007). Developments in human resource management in Iran. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), 159–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearce, G. C., & Segal, J. G. (1998). Effects of organizational communication satisfaction on job performance and firm growth in small businesses, Retrieved from http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/Research/sbida/1998/pdf/27.pdf.Google Scholar
Pettit, J. D., Goris, J. R., & Vaught, B. C. (1997). An examination of organizational communication as a moderator of the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. Journal of Business Communication, 34(1), 81–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pincus, J. D. (1986). Communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, and job performance. Human Communication Research, 12(3), 395–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pothukuchi, V., Damanpour, F., Choi, J., Chen, C. C., & Park, S. H. (2002). National and organizational culture differences and international joint venture performance. Journal of International Business Studies, 33(2), 243–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putti, J. M., Aryee, S., & Phua, J. (1990). Communication relationship satisfaction and organizational commitment. Group & Organization Studies, 15, 44–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romero, E. J., & Cruthirds, K. W. (2006). The use of humor in the workplace. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(2), 58–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rotundo, M., & Sackett, P. R. (2002). The relative importance of task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance to global aspects of job performance: A policy-capturing approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 66–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shenkar, O., & Zeira., Y. (1987). Human resources management IJV: Directions for research. Academy of Management Review, 12(3), 546–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, W. J., Harrington, K. V., & Neck, C. P. (2000). Resolving conflict with humor in a diversity context. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15(6), 606–625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. In S. Leinhardt (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 290–312). Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.Google Scholar
Sokol, M. (2002). He who laughs of ten lives best. Bergen Country, NJ: The Record.Google Scholar
Staw, B. M., Sutton, R. I., & Pelled, L. H. (1994). Employee positive emotion and favorable outcomes at the workplace. Organizational Science, 5, 51–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, M. (1974). Cross-validatory choice and assessment of statistical predictions. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B, 36(2), 111–133.Google Scholar
Stone, C. A., & Sobel, M. E. (1990). The robustness of estimates of total indirect effects in covariance structure models estimated by maximum likelihood. Psychometrika, 55, 337–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szabo, A. (2003). The acute effects of humor and exercise on mood and anxiety. Journal of Leisure Research, 35(2), 152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Scotter, J. R., Motowidlo, S. J., & Cross, T. C. (2000). Effects of task and contextual performance on systematic rewards. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 526–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, J. M. (2000). Implications of OCB and contextual performance for human resource management. Human Resource Management Review, 10(1), 3–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wetzels, M., Odekerken-Schroder, G., & van Oppen, C. (2009). Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchical construct models: Guidelines and empirical illustration. MIS Quarterly, 33(1), 177–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behavior. Journal of Management, 17, 601–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, R. A., & Clouse, R. W. (1991). Humor as a management technique: Its impact on school culture and climate. Report No. EA 023 388, ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 337 866, Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Schools, Nashville, TN.Google Scholar
Witt, L. A., Kacmar, K. M., Carlson, D. S., & Zivnuska, S. (2002). Interactive effects of personality and organizational politics on contextual performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 911–926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, T. A., & Staw, B. M. (1999). Affect and favorable work outcomes: Two longitudinal tests of the happy productive worker thesis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 1–23.3.0.CO;2-W>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, Y., Lynch, J. G., & Chen, Q. (2010). Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and truths about mediation analysis. The Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 197–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar