Exploring the effects of workforce level on supply chain job satisfaction and industry commitment

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-10-2016-0235
• Published date: 13 November 2017
• Date: 13 November 2017
• Pages: 1294-1318
• Author: Michael J. Maloni,Stacy M. Campbell,David M. Gligor,Christina R. Scherrer,Elizabeth M. Boyd
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics

Exploring the effects of

workforce level on supply chain

job satisfaction and

industry commitment

Michael J. Maloni and Stacy M. Campbell

Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Kennesaw State University,

Kennesaw, Georgia, USA

David M. Gligor

Department of Marketing, University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA

Christina R. Scherrer

Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering, Kennesaw State University,

Kennesaw, Georgia, USA, and

Elizabeth M. Boyd

Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Kennesaw State University,

Kennesaw, Georgia, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Despite a pervasive workforce shortage, existing research has provided limited guidance about

job satisfaction and commitment of the supply chain workforce. Moreover, few studies explore the effects of

workforce level on such satisfaction and commitment. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach –To address this gap, the authors apply person-organization fit theory to

study the critical work value drivers of supply chain job satisfaction and industry commitment across

workforce levels through structural modeling of practitioner survey data.

Findings –Job satisfaction and industry commitment are impacted differently across workforce levels,

particularly for executives, suggesting the potential for conflicts in the workplace and that a “one size fits all”

approach for recruitment and retention will be ineffective.

Practical implications –The results reveal how proactive organizations can not only hire and retain the

best people but also help employees at different workforce levels understand one another’s motivations,

empowering these organizations to become employers of choice.

Originality/value –This study is among the first empirical papers to directly address the labor shortage in

supply chain. It also strikes new ground by assessing differences in work values across workforce levels.

Keywords Job satisfaction, Supply chain management, Person-organization fit, Work values

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Existing literature provides evidence that workforce quality and talent management

correlate to performance of not only the organization but also the entire supply chain

(Hohenstein et al., 2014; Wowak et al., 2013). As such, scholars have identified workforce as

the critical success factor in supply chain management, even beyond pursuit of cost and

quality (Andraski and Novack, 1996; Scott et al., 2015). However, both academia and

industry warn of a shortage of people entering the field, depicting a “supply chain talent

perfect storm”and “talent tsunami”(Cottrill, 2010; Ruamsook and Craighead, 2014). This is

reflected by a current job demand-to-supply ratio of six to one with predicted job growth of

26 percent between 2010 and 2020 (Clark, 2016). Given these points, understanding what

factors influence both retaining supply chain employees and supporting effective work

environments throughout the organization remain critical for the long-term sustainability

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 28 No. 4, 2017

pp. 1294-1318

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-10-2016-0235

Received 20 October 2016

Revised 12 December 2016

13 January 2017

Accepted 16 January 2017

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

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IJLM

28,4

and performance of the field. In fact, the research project herein originated at the request of a

US state-based logistics center seeking assistance to enhance recruitment and retention

among its member organizations. Throughout multiple focus groups, practitioner center

participants verified difficulty with attracting new talent as well as enhancing employee

long-term “fit”within the organization.

Nevertheless, literature addressing human resource (HR) management specific to supply

chain is relatively limited (Gómez-Cedeño et al., 2015; Huo et al., 2015). Some existing

research focuses on hiring (Gibson and Cook, 2003) or how to encourage more students to

enter the field (Knemeyer and Murphy, 2004; Ozment and Keller, 2011). Yet a second and

relatively overlooked area rests with retention of the professionals already in the field

(Keller and Ozment, 2009). Job satisfaction and commitment to the industry remain

critical to the talent shortage given high costs associated with employee turnover

(Goffnett et al., 2012; PwC, 2012; Ruamsook and Craighead, 2014). Only a few studies have

investigated satisfaction of supply chain employees, primarily focusing on truck drivers and

warehouse labor (Autry and Daugherty, 2003; Williams et al., 2011). Even fewer have

focused on satisfaction of salaried employees (Burcher et al., 2005; Goffnett et al., 2012),

and such work still does not address the broader commitment to the industry that remains

vital to address the workforce shortage.

The focus group participants also expressed concerns about misalignment between

employees of different workforce levels (e.g. entry-level, manager). Perhaps prompted by

industry press (Boucher, 2016; Peck, 2016), participants strongly suggested generational

differences of work values and attitudes to be the source of this misalignment. While

researchers recognize that one’s life or career-stage may affect attitudes toward work and

workplace behaviors (Giele and Elder, 1998), existing research has established that

generational differences have limited effect on work values and outcomes (Cennamo and

Gardner, 2008). Therefore, the perceived misalignment across the workforce levels may

originate based on the responsibilities and objectives of the levels themselves rather than

generational composition. Supply chain scholars have depicted the importance of

examining employee perspectives across workforce levels (Autry and Daugherty, 2003;

Williams et al., 2011) but have yet to empirically test such contentions. Moreover,

workforce level represents a mostly unexplored aspect of job satisfaction and industry

commitment, even in HR literature. This leads to the primary research question:

RQ1. How do the drivers of job satisfaction and industry commitment of supply chain

employees differ across workforce levels?

With this research question, the study herein makes several noteworthy contributions to

theory and practice. We expand research on HR in supply chain (Goffnett et al., 2013;

Williams et al., 2011), and our study is among the first in management literature to examine

how drivers of job satisfaction and industry commitment differ across workforce levels.

Past research has examined these drivers by focusing exclusively on individual levels (e.g.

truck drivers,warehouse employees,managers), career stage, or generation(e.g. Gen Y, Gen X)

but has not offered an understanding of the differences across workforcelevels. Higher-level

managers need to understand their motivational similarities and differences with lower-level

employees to effectively allocate resources and set incentives to ultimately maximize

organizational and supply chain effectiveness by co-creating value in the supply chain.

In addition, we make another important contribution by providing a comprehensive

overview of the drivers of job satisfaction and industry commitment in supply chain.

We explore HR literature outside the domain of supply chain to shed additional light on

these specific drivers (i.e. intrinsic, extrinsic, supervisory, social, altruistic, leisure, and

stability). Managers can use these findings to mitigate concerns about attracting, retaining,

and maximizing the performance of the current workforce (Boucher, 2016; Peck, 2016).

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Job satisfaction

and industry

commitment