144 research outputs found
Human resource management and organizational performance:evidence from the retail banking sector
No full textUnderpinned by the resource-based view (RBV), social exchange theory (SET), and a theory of intrinsic motivation (empowerment), I proposed and tested a multi-level model that simultaneously examines the intermediate linkages or mechanisms through which HPWS impact individual and organizational performance. First and underpinned by RBV, I examined at the unit level, collective human capital and competitive advantage as path-ways through which the use of HPWS influences – branch market performance. Second and-, underpinned by social exchange (perceived organizational support) and intrinsic motivation (psychological empowerment) theories, I examined cross and individual level mechanisms through which experienced HPWS may influence employee performance. I tested the propositions of this study with multisource data obtained from junior and senior customer contact employees, and managers of 37 branches of two banks in Ghana. Results of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that (i) collective human capital partially mediated the relationship between management-rated HPWS and competitive advantage, while competitive advantage completely mediated the influence of human capital on branch market performance. Consequently, management-rated HPWS influenced branch market performance indirectly through collective human capital and competitive advantage. Additionally, results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) tests of the cross-level influences on the motivational implications of HPWS revealed that (i) management-rated HPWS influenced experienced HPWS; (ii) perceived organizational support (POS) and psychological empowerment fully mediated the influence of experienced HPWS on service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and; (iii) service-oriented OCB mediated the influence of psychological empowerment and POS on service quality and task performance. I discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings
Teamwork for product innovation in Taiwanese family firms:an indigenous psychology perspective: An indigenous psychology
No full textAs the existing team literature mostly excludes context and culture, little is known about how these elements affect real-life team working (Engestrom, 2008; Salas & Wildman, 2009), and how teams work in non-Western settings, such as in Chinese firms (Phan, Zhou, & Abrahamson, 2010).This research addresses this issue by investigating how new product design (NPD) teams use team working to carry out product innovation in the context of Chinese family businesses (CFBs) via an indigenous psychology perspective. Unlike mainstream teamwork literature which mostly employs an etic design, an indigenous psychology perspective adopts an emic approach which places emphasis on understanding real-life phenomena in context through a cultural-insider perspective (Kim, 2000). Compatible with this theoretical position, a multiple qualitative case study approach was used as the research methodology. Three qualitative case studies were carried out in three longstanding family-run manufacturing firms in Taiwan, where family firms have been the pillars of high economic growth in the past five decades (W.-w. Chu, 2009). Two salient findings were established across the three case studies. First, the team processes identified across the three family firms are very similar with the exception of owners’ involvement and on-the-job training. All three family firms’ NPD teams are managed in a highly hierarchical manner, with considerable emphasis placed on hierarchical ranking, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, practicability, and interpersonal harmony. Second, new products developed by CFBNPD teams are mostly incremental innovation or copycat innovation, while radical or original products are rare. In many ways, CFBNPD teams may not be the ideal incubators for innovation. This is because several aspects of their unique context can cast constraints on how they work and innovate, and thus limit the ratio of radical innovation. A multi-level review into the facilitators and inhibitors of creativity or innovation in CFBNPD teams is provided. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are also addressed
Organisational receptivity for change:combining context and capability to explain competitive advantage
No full textThis thesis explores efforts to conjoin organisational contexts and capabilities in explaining sustainable competitive advantage. Oliver (1997) argued organisations need to balance the need to conform to industry’s requirements to attain legitimization (e.g. DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), and the need for resource optimization (e.g. Barney, 1991). The author hypothesized that such balance can be viewed as movements along the homogeneity-heterogeneity continuum. An organisation in a homogenous industry possesses similar characteristics as its competitors, as opposed to a heterogeneous industry in which organisations within are differentiated and competitively positioned (Oliver, 1997). The movement is influenced by the dynamic environmental conditions that an organisation is experiencing. The author extended Oliver’s (1997) propositions of combining RBV’s focus on capabilities with institutional theory’s focus on organisational context, as well as redefining organisational receptivity towards change (ORC) factors from Butler and Allen’s (2008) findings. The authors contributed to the theoretical development of ORC theory to explain the attainment of sustainable competitive advantage. ORC adopts the assumptions from both institutional and RBV theories, where the receptivity factors include both organisational contexts and capabilities. The thesis employed a mixed method approach in which sequential qualitative quantitative studies were deployed to establish a robust, reliable, and valid ORC scale. The adoption of Hinkin’s (1995) three-phase scale development process was updated, thus items generated from interviews and literature reviews went through numerous exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to achieve convergent, discriminant, and nomological validities. Samples in the first phase (semi structured interviews) were hotel owners and managers. In the second phase, samples were MBA students, and employees of private and public sectors. In the third phase, samples were hotel managers. The final ORC scale is a parsimonious second higher-order latent construct. The first-order constructs comprises four latent receptivity factors which are ideological vision (4 items), leading change (4 items), implementation capacity (4 items), and change orientation (7 items). Hypotheses testing revealed that high levels of perceived environmental uncertainty leads to high levels of receptivity factor. Furthermore, the study found a strong positive correlation between receptivity factors and competitive advantage, and between receptivity factors and organisation performance. Mediation analyses revealed that receptivity factors partially mediate the relationship between perceived environmental uncertainty, competitive advantage and organisational performance
Organisational Wasta and Employee Performance: Integrating Self-Determination and Social Exchange Theories
No full textDespite the universality of self-serving behaviours designed to achieve personal goals in organisational contexts, research on organisational politics has been dominated by western conceptualisations of the construct. Building on the growing interest in understanding the contextualised nature of organisational phenomena, research in the Middle East has examined wasta as a cultural equivalent of organisational politics. Although this research has provided new insights into wasta, its predominantly qualitative orientation and the absence of a validated scale have constrained our understanding of the construct. Accordingly, this study sought to address two-interrelated objectives. First, it developed and validated an organisational wasta scale. Second, it proposed and examined a dual-motivational pathway through which organisational wasta relates to performance; drawing on self-determination theory (SDT) and social exchange theory (SET). Additionally, it examined high-commitment human resource practices as a boundary condition of the organisational wasta-need satisfaction relationship.Study 1 used both deductive and inductive approaches to generate an initial pool of items. Study 2 examined the validity (convergent, divergent and predictive) of the initial pool of items. The results revealed the scale to have acceptable validity across the three validation tests. Specifically, results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a 5-factor solution but three of the factors were dropped because they had fewer than three items. The resulting two factors comprising 16 items were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) which revealed support for the two dimensions labelled ‘wasta to join’ and ‘wasta to advance.’Study 3 examined the hypothesized relationships and revealed a number of key findings. First, both organisational wasta and politics negatively related to need satisfaction. Second, HCHR moderated the influence of organisational politics but not wasta on need satisfaction. Third, need satisfaction mediated the influence of organisational wasta and politics on intrinsic motivation as well as their parallel influence on workplace gratitude. Fourth, contrary to our hypotheses, neither organisational politics nor wasta related to task performance and OCB through the serial mediation of need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation (SDT-pathway). However, need satisfaction and workplace gratitude serially mediated the influence of both organisational wasta and politics on the two performance outcomes. Lastly, the conditional indirect effects received support for organisational politics through the SET-informed pathway but not through the SDT-informed pathway; and for organisational wasta there was no support for both SDT- and SET-informed pathways.These findings contribute to our understanding of organisational politics, and its contextualised version, organisational wasta. First, the new organisational wasta scale should encourage theory-informed research. The finding that organisational wasta explained additional variance in the outcomes even in the presence of organisational politics underscores the utility of the construct. Second, the findings demonstrate the utility of need satisfaction as a conceptual liking pin integrating the dual-motivational pathway of SDT and SET in accounting for the influence of organisational wasta and politics on performance outcomes. Specifically, the results revealed SET but not SDT as a stronger motivational pathway. Third, support for the conditional indirect effect of organisational politics but not wasta revealed that HCHR mitigates the negative influence of organisational politics but not wasta on the performance outcomes. In addition to documenting a subtle difference between the two forms of self-serving behaviours, the moderating influence of HCHR that we uncovered contributes to theory development by highlighting when these behaviours relate to their outcomes
Development and validation of a multidimensional scale of work-family enrichment in a Chinese context
No full textMeasurement of work group diversity
No full textWhilst research on work group diversity has proliferated in recent years, relatively little attention has been paid to the precise definition of diversity or its measurement. One of the few studies to do so is Harrison and Klein’s (2007) typology, which defined three types of diversity – separation, variety and disparity – and suggested possible indices with which they should be measured. However, their typology is limited by its association of diversity types with variable measurement, by a lack of clarity over the meaning of variety, and by the absence of a clear guidance about which diversity index should be employed. In this thesis I develop an extended version of the typology, including four diversity types (separation, range, spread and disparity), and propose specific indices to be used for each type of diversity with each variable type (ratio, interval, ordinal and nominal). Indices are chosen or derived from first principles based on the precise definition of the diversity type. I then test the usefulness of these indices in predicting outcomes of diversity compared with other indices, using both an extensive simulated data set (to estimate the effects of mis-specification of diversity type or index) and eight real data sets (to examine whether the proposed indices produce the strongest relationships with hypothesised outcomes). The analyses lead to the conclusion that the indices proposed in the typology are at least as good as, and usually better than, other indices in terms of both measuring effect sizes and power to find significant results, and thus provide evidence to support the typology. Implications for theory and methodology are discussed
Ties that bind:understanding why and how diversity management relates to black and ethnic minority employees’ experience of organisational life.
No full textDespite much anecdotal and oftentimes empirical evidence that black and ethnic minority employees do not feel integrated into organisational life and the implications of this lack of integration for their career progression, there is a dearth of research on the nature of the relationship black and ethnic minority employees have with their employing organisations. Additionally, research examining the relationship between diversity management and work outcomes has returned mixed findings. Scholars have attributed this to the lack of an empirically validated measure of workforce diversity management. Accordingly, I sought to address these gaps in the extant literature in a two-part study grounded in social exchange theory. In Study 1, I developed and validated a measure of workforce diversity management practices. Data obtained from a sample of ethnic minority employees from a cross section of organisations provided support for the validity of the scale. In Study 2, I proposed and tested a social-exchange-based model of the relationship between black and ethnic minority employees’ and their employing organisations, as well as assessed the implications of this relationship for their work outcomes. Specifically, I hypothesised: (i) perception of support for diversity, perception of overall justice, and developmental experiences (indicators of integration into organisational life) as mediators of the relationship between diversity management and social exchange with organisation; (ii) the moderating influence of diversity climate on the relationship between diversity management and these indicators of integration; and (iii) the work outcomes of social exchange with organisation defined in terms of career satisfaction, turnover intention and strain. SEM results provide support for most of the hypothesised relationships. The findings of the study contribute to the literature on workforce diversity management in a number of ways. First, the development and validation of a diversity management practice scale constitutes a first step in resolving the difficulty in operationalising and measuring the diversity management construct. Second, it explicates how and why diversity management practices influence a social exchange relationship with an employing organisation, and the implications of this relationship for the work outcomes of black and ethnic minority employees. My study’s focus on employee work outcomes is an important corrective to the predominant focus on organisational-level outcomes of diversity management. Lastly, by focusing on ethno-racial diversity my research complements the extant research on such workforce diversity indicators as age and gender
The impact of organisational justice on employees’ job performance and helping behaviour:a multilevel approach
No full textAlthough a growing body of work has focused on the effect of organisational justice and employee outcomes, such as job performance and OCB, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms and boundary conditions underlying this effect. Drawing on social exchange theory and social identity theory, I propose a model in which the effects of three dimensions of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) on job performance and helping behaviour occur via social exchange and supervisor identification. Additionally, I integrate leadership and organisational justice literatures by proposing the notion of ethical leadership style as a team level moderator influencing the above proposed mediation pathway. Finally, antecedents of ethical leadership are explored, with team perceptions of overall justice being expected to predict ethical leadership. I conducted two studies. In Study1, data were collected from seven organisations, with 241 responses being from 43 teams. Study 2 was based on 349 employees within 39 teams and 27 supervisors drawn from two large organisations.Generally, the findings of both studies showed that procedural and interactional justice were significantly related to job performance and helping behaviour via social exchange and supervisor identification, but that this was not the case with distributive justice. Support was also found for the moderating effect of ethical leadership, with the pattern of results showing that the relationship between social exchange and supervisor identification was stronger when ethical leadership was low.Findings of the moderated meditation revealed that the effects of procedural and interactional justice on supervisor identification were also stronger when ethical leadership was low.Support for overall moderated mediation, linking justice dimensions to job performance and helping behaviour dependent on levels of ethical leadership, was, however, not obtained (see Study2). Finally, team perceptions of overall supervisory justice were positively related to ethical leadership at the team level (see Study2). The implications for future research and practice are discussed
At work ... but are we really working:development, extension and validation of presenteeism within Indian call centre context
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Leveraging employee creativity through high performance work systems:a multilevel perspective
No full textResearch has looked at single rather than a configuration of human resource management (HRM) practices to influence creativity so it is not yet clear how these practices synergistically facilitate creativity and organisational performance. I address this significant but unanswered question in a three-part study. In Study 1, I develop a high performance work system (HPWS) for creativity scale. I use Study 2 sample to test the validity of the new scale. In Study 3, I test a multilevel model of the intervening processes through which branch HPWS for creativity influences creativity and branch performance. Specifically, at the branch level, I draw on social context theory and hypothesise that branch HPWS for creativity relates to climate for creativity which, in turn, leads to creativity, and ultimately, to profit. Furthermore, I hypothesise environmental dynamism as a boundary condition of the creativity-profit relationship. At the individual level, I hypothesise a cross-level effect of branch HPWS for creativity on employee-perceived HPWS. I draw on self-determination theory and argue that perceived HPWS for creativity relate to need satisfaction and the psychological pathways of intrinsic motivation and creative process engagement to predict creativity. I also hypothesise climate for creativity as a cross-level moderator of the intrinsic motivation-creativity and creative process engagement-creativity relationships. Results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) indicate that ten out of the fifteen hypotheses were supported. The findings of this study respond to calls for HPWS to be designed around a strategic focus by developing and providing initial validity evidence of an HPWS for creativity scale. The results reveal the underlying mechanisms through which HPWS for creativity simultaneously influences individual and branch creativity leading to profit. Lastly, results indicate environmental dynamism to be an important boundary condition of the creativity-profit relationship and climate for creativity as a cross-level moderator of the creative process engagement-creativity
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