2024 LCOB Best Research Paper Faculty Awards Recipients Anurag Agarwal and Jase Ramsey
March 08, 2024 / Lutgert News / Tags: 2024, LCOB Best Research Paper Faculty Award
I am proud to announce the Lutgert College of Business’ recipients of the Best Research Paper Faculty Awards, Drs. Anurag Agarwal and Jase Ramsey.
The LCOB Best Research Paper Faculty Awards for papers accepted or published in 2024 have been selected by three of our LCOB Eminent Scholars (a fourth Eminent Scholar recused himself because a paper on which he is coauthor was an applicant). Two papers that were submitted tied equally, both of which will receive $1,500 in awarded funds for research-related expenses.
In accordance with Excellence Funds Guidelines, submitted papers for the award were evaluated on “quality, rigor, contribution, and potential for future impact.” Drs. Anurag Agarwal’s and Jase Ramsey’s papers were deemed to excel in all criteria, particularly those of quality and potential for future impact. The journals Production and Operations Management Journal and Journal of Travel Research are ranked as A* by the Australian Business Deans Council.
A total of eight LCOB faculty members submitted 2024 accepted or published papers for review, and all were commended by the Eminent Scholars as being highly competitive and as providing excellent examples of quality research by our LCOB faculty.
Congratulations to Anurag and Jase!
-Chris Westley, Dean, the Lutgert College of Business
2024 LCOB Best Research Paper Faculty Awards:
Dr. Anurag Agarwal
Professor / Program Coordinator
Department of Information Systems, Analytics, and Supply Chain
Kim, H., Murthy, N., Agarwal, A. and Park, K. (2024). Protecting Workers from Rude Customers to Enhance Organizational Identification in Emotional Labor Environments: A Study with Call Center Agents. Production and Operations Management Journal (Forthcoming).
In this paper, we study the factors that improve organizational identification (OID) of employees, particularly in emotional labor environments, such as Call Centers. In emotional labor environments, employees often deal with difficult or rude customers. Difficult customer interactions over time lead to emotional dissonance in employees. OID for an employee describes the extent to which the employee and the firm share the same values, goals, desires and aims. A high OID is positively correlated with organization performance. Therefore, it is important to determine antecedents of OID, particularly in emotional labor environments where an employee is likely to develop low OID due to difficult working environment. Through an empirical study with call center agents of a large conglomerate, we find that perceived management support and servant leadership styles positively correlate with employees’ OID. In a servant leadership style, the supervisors are interested in the personal and professional growth of their employees.
Dr. Jase Ramsey
Professor
Department of Management
Ramsey, J. R., Zhang, Y., Lorenz, M. P., & Hosany, S. (2024). Travel Stress, Leisure Exploration, and Trip Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Travel Adjustment. Journal of Travel Research, 00472875241260338.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00472875241260338
Our latest study reveals the crucial benefits of blending business and leisure travel, or "bleisure," for enhancing employee satisfaction and reducing travel strain. Based on a sample of international business travelers from the United States and Brazil, the project underscores the importance of incorporating leisure activities into business trips to boost overall satisfaction and engagement. Future research should explore these dynamics in different global regions, compare domestic and international travel, and examine the impact of spousal support and social factors. The post-COVID-19 era presents new challenges to air travel, making it essential to understand how leisure activities can effectively mitigate travel stress for international business travelers. This innovative travel strategy not only supports employees but also opens a promising new market for the vast tourism industry here in Southwest Florida.
