How can gender signal employee qualities in retailing?
Introduction
Signalling theory explains how unobservable qualities can be communicated by observable qualities, thus reducing information asymmetry between two parties (Spence, 2002). Early research on signalling theory from Spence (1973) gives the example of how high-quality job applicants distinguish themselves from low-quality prospects by using higher education to signal high quality. A more recent example from Zhang and Wiersema (2009) shows how CEOs signal the unobservable quality of their firms to potential investors via financial statements, which are observable. The use of signalling theory has gained momentum in the management literature in recent years as scholars have expanded the range of potential signals and the contexts in which signalling occurs (Connelly et al., 2011). Signalling is not always intentional, but can be unintentional and negative (Janney and Folta, 2003; Daily et al., 2005; Perkins and Hendry, 2005). In fact, a sender can communicate a wide range of signals without being aware of it (Spence, 2002). Because signallers and receivers have partially competing interests, inferior signallers have incentive to cheat by intentionally producing dishonest signals (Johnstone and Grafen, 1993). Examples of this are falsified company reports to prospective investors, or fake university degrees used by job applicants. Conversely, honest signals (Durcikova and Gray, 2009) accurately represent the underlying qualities of the signal. Drawing from this theory, given that the occupational structure in retail employment is gendered (e.g. Sparks, 1991; Fischer et al., 1997; Taylor and Tyler, 2000; Korczynski, 2002; Lynch, 2002; Foster, 2004; Pettinger, 2005), this study proposes that the simple and observable characteristic of being male or female can be an unintentional and honest signal for unobservable qualities in the retail employment context.
Recent research in retailing has focused on gender differences among consumers (e.g. Cambra-Fierro et al., 2013; Das, 2014; Jackson et al., 2011; Ladhari and Leclerc, 2013; McNeill and Douglas, 2011; Mortimer and Clarke, 2011; Shephard et al., 2014), with a paucity of recent research on gender differences among service providers in retailing. A prominent difference between the retail workforce and the general workforce is that it hires a higher percentage of women (Sparks, 1992, Brockbank and Airey, 1994, Pilcher, 2007). A substantial number of studies report that women tend to occupy ‘softer’ social-oriented roles (e.g. Sirianni and Negrey, 2000; Taylor and Tyler, 2000; Lynch, 2002; Kerfoot and Korczynski, 2005; Pettinger, 2005; Kmec, 2008; Chang and Travaglione, 2012). On the other hand, men tend to occupy ‘harder’ technical-oriented roles (Brockbank and Airey, 1994, Broadbridge, 1997, Lynch, 2002; Schimdt and Parker, 2003; Harris et al., 2007; Chang and Travaglione, 2012). Extant findings in this area show overlap, and an integrative model can help explain such differences more systematically. Therefore, this article presents an integrative model to illustrate the balance of KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personality characteristics) and retail sectors between male and female retail employees by pairing a literature review with empirical data, and explains how gender can signal employee qualities in the retail sector. The empirical component uses data from a survey of 702 respondents employed across 40 ANZSIC (Australian New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification) retail categories (e.g. groceries, clothing, automobiles, hardware, restaurants). The next sections will review extant literature, state the objective and hypotheses, explain the empirical data, discuss the results, and present the model.
Section snippets
Gender segregation in employment
A substantial body of literature identifies occupational differences between men and women in the workplace. Occupational segregation occurs when workers are excluded from certain jobs and are over-represented in others based on factors such as race, gender or national origin (Gabriel and Schmitz, 2007). Some articles suggest that gender stereotypes affect employers' perceptions of male and female workers (Cejka and Eagly, 1999, Ridgeway and Correll, 2004, Gabriel and Schmitz, 2007). For
Sample and data
The data used for this study comes from the 2009 Australia at Work survey. Conducted by the Australian Workplace Research Centre at the University of Sydney, this is part of a longitudinal study that tracked the experiences of the Australian labour force. The study is funded by the Australian Research Council and Unions NSW, and is advised by a board consisting of labour market and industrial relations academics from around Australia. The 2009 survey documented the findings of a total of 6801
Results
The data shows that different retail sectors were found to have different gender characteristics. Among the retail sectors, the grocery and supermarket sector is the largest employer, employing 18.2% of the total of 702 respondents sampled. This is followed by cafes and restaurants at 9.3%, accommodation at 8.0%, takeaway food at 7.0% and department stores at 5.6%. Female employees formed the majority of overall retail employment, making up 57.3% of all employees, which is consistent with
Discussion and model
This study sought to explain how employee gender can be an unintentional and honest signal for employee qualities in retail, based on a review of extant literature supported by empirical data. The review identified and aggregated gender-specific attributes, which form part of the model. The empirical findings, which form the remaining part of the model, identified that specific patterns of male and female employment exist among different retail sectors in Australia. Female employees were found
Conclusion
The model presented explains how KSAOs of male and female employment are distributed among retail sectors, and suggests that the simple and observable characteristic of being male or female can be an unintentional and honest signal for unobservable qualities based on signalling theory. The findings have implications for workforce planning, evaluation, and gender discrimination. On one hand, the model can be used to guide employers in workforce planning and evaluation. On the other, this implies
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- 1
Joshua is a research fellow at Curtin Business School with research interests in management and organisational studies. He has an academic and management consulting background, and has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles.
- 2
Antonio Travaglione is Pro Vice Chancellor at Curtin Business School. He has published widely and taught at a number of universities including Stanford University. He is recognised internationally as an expert in the area of leadership research.
- 3
Grant O’Neill is Dean, International, Accreditation, and Strategy at Curtin Business School. He was previously Associate Dean (Courses) at Charles Sturt University, and has also held academic positions at the University of New South Wales and the University of Western Sydney. His research interests centre on organisational culture, values management, and psychological contracts.