Assessing cross-cultural skills: validation of a new measure of cross-cultural psychological capital

In light of increasing workplace diversification, today's organizations are in need of employees who can work effectively within cross-cultural settings. To assess and develop generalizable skills enabling employees to successfully interact with members of many different cultures, a new measure of cross-cultural psychological capital (PsyCap) was validated in two studies. This measure captures a state-like higher-order construct consisting of four components: self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience with regard to cross-cultural interactions. In study 1, a diverse sample of 361 participants responded to a survey and results confirmed the hypothesized higher-order factor structure of the newly developed cross-cultural PsyCap scale. In study 2, an additional 134 participants completed multiple surveys to assess the convergent, discriminant and predictive validity of cross-cultural PsyCap as it relates to cultural intelligence, openness to experience, ethnocentrism and cross-cultural adjustment. The majority of the study hypotheses were supported, which provides evidence for the measure's construct validity in assessing cross-cultural skills and also demonstrates its unique value in predicting cross-cultural effectiveness. This measure of cross-cultural PsyCap has important implications for assessment of employees who work internationally or within a diverse workplace.     

跨国并购沟通中的心理距离策略——中粮收购澳大利亚Tully糖业案例研究

跨国并购是企业的重要战略决策,在并购实施过程中,企业不仅面临政治、法律、财务和员工绩效等风险,而且面临异域文化下的信息沟通风险。笔者对中粮收购澳大利亚Tully糖业进行单案例研究,从传播中的空间距离、社会距离和心理距离的关系入手,对跨国并购沟通中的心理距离策略进行研究,以期对其他企业跨国并购沟通提供借鉴。主要观点是,在跨围并购沟通中,企业须把握适度的心理距离策略：（1）设法拉近心理距离。一方面,企业可将人际传播和大众传播结合起来,通过有效的传播渠道、媒介和信息传播策略进行贴近地域的沟通,由此可通过拉近双方的空间距离和社会距离而拉近心理距离;另一方面,企业可通过利益互惠方式协调双方关系,通过拉近双方的社会距离而拉近心理距离。（2）必要时拉开心理距离。企业应适当保持低调,从传播范围和信息内容上进行必要的控制,以拉开认知距离;必要时采取较为强硬的态度,拉开态度距离,最终实现传播意图。     

Drawing from a bottomless well? Exploring the resilience of value-based psychological contracts in voluntary organizations

In an era of increased involvement by the third sector in the delivery of social services due to public sector outsourcing, this paper explores the resilience of employee psychological contracts in voluntary organizations in the context of their close relationship with state funding bodies. The results suggest that value-laden psychological contracts exhibit some resilience when state funding bodies interfere with the organizational mission of voluntary organizations. However, there are clear limits as to how far value-based aspects of the psychological contract compensate for unfulfilled obligations on the economic and socio-emotional dimensions caused by externally driven cost pressures. The paper suggests serious implications for HR practitioners and wider concerns relating to the quality of care delivered to the vulnerable.     

Supervisors as good coaches: influences of coaching on employees’ in-role behaviors and proactive career behaviors

Coaching as an effective leadership initiative in organizations has gained increasing attention from scholars. This study investigates the effects of coaching on employees’ in-role behaviors (IRBs) and proactive career behaviors (PCBs), while also exploring the mediating role of psychological empowerment. Data were collected from a sample of 324 employee–supervisor pairs from 11 service companies in Taiwan. The results show that coaching was positively related to both IRBs and PCBs. Moreover, psychological empowerment fully mediated the coaching–IRB relationship and partially mediated the coaching–PCB relationship. Implications for managerial practices and future research are derived from these findings.     

Why do employees hold their vested stocks while they can sell them?

We proposed an integrated model of risk-balancing arguments and the emergence of psychological ownership to investigate employees' propensity of holding awarded stocks under a broad-based stock incentive plan. Analysis was conducted using a sample of 391 employees of a semiconductor foundry located in Taiwan. The results provided strong indication that psychological ownership motivation contribute to explain employees' willingness to hold vested stocks from broad-based stock plans. This study provide stimulating insight into the psychological mechanisms through which the individual's risk-aversion and wealth effects influence employees' intentions to hold vested stocks and further extends our understanding on how broad-based stock plans can develop an employees sense of ownership.     

Social identification: linking high performance work systems,psychological empowerment and patient care

This paper examines the mediating effects of social identification on the relationship between high performance work systems (HPWS) and psychological empowerment and the direct relationship between psychological empowerment and clinician perceptions of quality of patient care. We use structural equation modelling on a sample of 254 health professionals from a large regional hospital in Australia. Results demonstrate, first, a strong effect of HPWS on social identification. Second, social identification mediates the relationship between HPWS and psychological empowerment and, third, psychological empowerment has a strong effect on clinician perceptions of quality of patient care. Implications are drawn for management theory and hospital managers.     

Predictors of organizational commitment in India: strategic HR roles,organizational learning capability and psychological empowerment

Employee commitment continues to be one of the most exciting issues for both practitioners and academicians. Linkages in literature are found for HRM Practices, but there is a lacuna of research linking organizational commitment and strategic HR roles, psychological empowerment as well as organizational learning capability. The current study examines these linkages. Whether these variables predict organizational commitment in Indian managers or not, is also investigated. The sample size of the study comprises of 640 Indian managers. Bivariate and multivariate analysis confirms the hypotheses drawn from the literature. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.     

Employee isolation and support for change in the public sector: a study of the internal audit profession

ABSTRACT

We investigate the preferences of public sector internal auditors for changes in their work practices. Informed by the literature, we posit that feelings of trust in the workplace and/or frustrations arising from perceived organizational ‘isolation’—a dimension of work alienation—motivate support and acceptance of change. We also argue that professional bodies directly and indirectly influence these relationships. These conjectures are tested using structural equation modelling and a survey of Canadian public sector internal auditors. The findings provide valuable insights into the process of adaptation and transformation in public sector settings across countries, jurisdictions, and accountability functions.     

Human resource management practices and psychological contracts in Swiss firms: an employer perspective

This article investigates the relationship between HRM practices and organisational performance, considering the fulfilment of the psychological contract as an intermediate variable. Apart from testing the influences of a high-investment HRM system index on the psychological contract, the influence of individual HRM practices and their interaction was examined. The sample consisted of HR managers of 92 firms in Switzerland and the data were collected for the Cranfield Network project. The results showed that the high-investment HRM system index predicted the fulfilment of the psychological contract, and some of the individual HRM practices were correlated with the fulfilment of the psychological contract. The interaction effect of performance appraisal and performance-based pay on the fulfilment of the psychological contract showed that performance appraisal is only effective in combination with a tangible consequence in the form of performance-based pay. We neither found a mediation effect for the psychological contract nor an association with organisational performance. This might be due to the fact that the questionnaire was filled in during the financial crisis in 2008 and that the organisational performance was assessed in an economic crisis. Our study sheds light on the relationship between HRM practices and the psychological contract and contributes to the body of research on psychological contracts from a macro level perspective.