Evaluating the impact of free private well testing outreach on participants' private well stewardship in New Jersey

Over 1 million people in New Jersey (NJ) are estimated to receive drinking water from private wells. The most commonly detected contaminants in NJ private well water are naturally occurring arsenic and gross alpha (8.3 and 10.9%, respectively). Between 2015 and 2018, three free and voluntary private well testing events tested a total of 571 at-risk wells and 226 (40%) were identified as having one or more contaminants exceeding drinking water standards. Participants were invited to complete a survey to evaluate household characteristics, participant experience, and private well stewardship behavior patterns. Of 529 delivered surveys, 211 (40%) participants completed surveys. Among respondents, 63% reported plans to test their private wells in the future. Among failed wells, 45% of households reported performing mitigative action in response to the event, either through the installation of water treatment system or switching to bottled water. The survey evaluation identified previous knowledge of well contamination risks and discussing test results with a third party as important factors for promoting self-reported stewardship behavior. The evaluation provides guidance for outreach organizers to develop effective testing events and further considers the private well owners' experience of the outreach events to identify information for ‘best practices’ and improvements of future programs.

CEOs’ Joy of Working for the Family Firm: The Role of Psychological Ownership and Stewardship Behavior

In this article, we examine the factors which lead to CEOs’ joy of working for the family firm, as it is expected to contribute to their willingness to invest in its perpetuation and success. We focus on three such factors: CEOs’ collective psychological ownership, their individual psychological ownership, and CEOs’ stewardship behavior. We find that on the one hand, the relationship between CEOs’ collective psychological ownership and their joy of working for the family business is mediated by their stewardship behavior, and on the other hand, stewardship behavior mediates the relationship between CEOs’ individual psychological ownership and their joy of work. We make valuable contributions to psychological ownership literature, to stewardship literature, and to the literature on joy and joy at work.

Investigating stewardship behavior in megaprojects: An exploratory analysis

PurposeThis research aims to analyzes how megaproject top managers engaged in stewardship behaviors. Studying megaprojects from the micro-foundations rooted in individual action and interaction, this research examines the gaps between literature and top managers' positive behavior to challenge the current theoretical underpinnings of megaproject governance research and practice.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive literature review was performed in the initial phase. Then, a case study of South-to-North Water Diversion project was conducted based on following this project and on access to its top executives. Data was collected from multiple sources and analyzed by Nvivo (version 12). Further analysis was then carried out in two stages to identify megaproject stewardship behavior and related governance patterns.FindingsResults show that stewardship behavior is prevalently existing and is possibly to be identified through psychological, situational, relational dimensions. Also, 16 factors have been found to describe the precise nature of megaproject stewardship behavior. Further explorative findings were discussed from three perspectives: possible theoretical development, self-actualization motivation and temporalities of megaprojects.Originality/valueBuilding upon the ideas on how to extend steward theory towards project field, this research conducts a first exploration of stewardship behavior in megaprojects. This study contributes to complement the research into top-level organizational behavior in megaprojects, and it provides helpful implications for how to govern top managers in the following megaprojects with the cooperative spirit that can be valued by megaproject stakeholders.

Caring for the Commons: Using Psychological Ownership to Enhance Stewardship Behavior for Public Goods

How can consumers be encouraged to take better care of public goods? Across four studies, including two experiments in the field and three documenting actual behaviors, the authors demonstrate that increasing consumers’ individual psychological ownership facilitates stewardship of public goods. This effect occurs because feelings of ownership increase consumers’ perceived responsibility, which then leads to active behavior to care for the good. Evidence from a variety of contexts, including a public lake with kayakers, a state park with skiers, and a public walking path, suggests that increasing psychological ownership enhances both effortful stewardship, such as picking up trash from a lake, and financial stewardship, such as donating money. This work further demonstrates that the relationship between psychological ownership and resulting stewardship behavior is attenuated when there are cues, such as an attendance sign, which diffuse responsibility among many people. This work offers implications for consumers, practitioners, and policy makers with simple interventions that can encourage consumers to be better stewards of public goods.

The stewardship organization: essential characteristics and conditions of feasibility

PurposeThe paper explores the nature and facilitating conditions of “stewardship organizations,” that is, organizations in which stewardship behavior rather than principal–agent behavior defines the operative principles of management.Design/methodology/approachThe paper falls into two parts: the first part of the analysis develops a theory of the stewardship organization, and the second part develops a contingency framework concerning the feasibility of stewardship organizations.FindingsStewardship organizations are characterized by three interlocking traits: (1) the overall mission of the organization, (2) the organization's internal control systems and (3) the “motivational environment” of the stewardship organization. Since stewardship organizations cannot be identified on the basis of stated mission alone, it is necessary to determine whether the mission involves a higher calling that has been internalized by organizational members to the point of constituting a vital part of how the organization runs on a day-to-day basis.Practical implicationsOne key role of leadership in such organizations is to manage mission drift and to reduce the ambiguity of the mission and organization goals.Social implicationsLitmus tests are proposed for identifying an authentic stewardship organization in contradistinction to those whose socially minded values are ancillary or a marketing ploy.Originality/valueThis is the first systematic attempt to characterize the stewardship organization. After providing three specific examples of such organizations, the contribution identifies key markers of bona fide stewardship organizations.

Customer stewardship behavior and stewardship fatigue: a conceptual framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to develop the concept of customer stewardship fatigue (CSF) in service marketing literature; second, to reveal three processes through which CSF arises; and third, to identify contextual resources that can accentuate or diminish the processes, thereby influencing the development of CSF in service employees. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper builds on the job-demand resource model and the conservation of resources theory to identify positive and negative contextual resources that can accentuate or diminish the translation of a frontline service employee’s (FLSEs) stewardship orientation into stewardship fatigue (SF). Findings The findings highlight how low perceived organizational support, low customer gratitude and high customer cynicism could create situations in which display of stewardship behaviors will be associated with SF. Practical implications The paper can aid practitioners to formulate strategies that can curb the development of SF among FLSEs and help service organizations maintain healthy relationships with customers. Originality/value The authors fill an important gap in the literature with regard to stewardship through this study. Though researchers have attempted to broaden the concept of stewardship, they have failed to explain the costs and challenges that might be associated with the frequent display of stewardship behaviors. The SF framework developed herein closes this gap, and conceptually develops an early understanding of the negative consequences of continuous engagement in stewardship behaviors.

Agent and stewardship behavior: How do they differ?

The purpose of this study is examine how agency theory and stewardship theory lead to different firm-level outcomes on an array of different outcomes. Based on these differences, we argue for the development of an agent–steward measurement scale, which will help researchers classify chief executive officers (CEOs) along an agent–steward continuum. This, in turn, will spur research to predict and test CEO behaviors and firm-level outcomes. Agency theory suggests CEOs take advantage of their powerful positions to maximize their personal economic utility, whereas stewardship theory suggests CEOs are motivated through intrinsic awards and will balance their interests with those of other stakeholders. We use these theories to examine possible differences in CEO behaviors. This is important because different CEO behaviors might lead to differing impacts on important firm-level outcomes. This paper reviews the relevant agency and stewardship literatures, then offers propositions regarding CEO behaviors from agent and steward perspectives.

Research on Relationships Among Institutional Pressure, Stewardship Behavior, Green Supply Chain Management, and Organizational Performance: The Case of Electrical and Electronics Industries in Taiwan

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impacts of critical elements on green supply chain management (GSCM) in the Electrical and Electronic Industries in Taiwan. One-thousand questionnaires were sent to Electrical and Electronics Industries in Taiwan; 180 valid questionnaires were returned using amos 18.0 to analyze the data. The results suggest that institutional pressure is an important factor affecting companies' promotion of GSCM. Companies face the pressure exerted by the institutional environment, which will affect the enterprises executives' cognition and emotion on the institutional environment, thus leading to an environmental commitment. Additionally, the results demonstrate that GSCM improves the enterprises' environmental performance, economic performance, and operating performance, ultimately leading to sustainable development.