Perceived organizational support and organizational identification: joint moderating effects of employee exchange ideology and employee investment

Organizational identification (OID) can be developed out of social exchange practices within an organizational setting. Drawing on social exchange theory, we propose that the effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on OID is stronger for employees with stronger exchange ideology. We further argue that employee investment in an organization may also create a social exchange process that positively influences OID. We expect that employee investment moderates not only the effect of POS on OID, but also the enhancing effect of exchange ideology on the effect of POS on OID. Specifically, POS has a stronger positive effect on OID when exchange ideology is high and employee investment is low. When employee investment is high, POS has a weaker effect on OID regardless of employees' exchange ideology. These effects were empirically supported by a survey. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.     

The impact of socially responsible human resource management on employees' organizational citizenship behaviour: the mediating role of organizational identification

Based on insights from social exchange and social identity theories, this paper examines the influence of three dimensions of socially responsible human resource management (SR-HRM), namely legal compliance HRM, employee-oriented HRM and general CSR facilitation HRM, on employees' organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Structural equation modelling of dyadic data collected from Chinese employees and their direct supervisors in three phases revealed that whilst organizational identification fully mediated the relationship between employee-oriented HRM and employee OCB, general CSR facilitation HRM had a direct effect on employee OCB. In contrast, legal compliance HRM neither influenced employee OCB directly, nor indirectly through organizational identification. The findings highlight the important but complex role played by SR-HRM in eliciting positive employee work outcomes, and contribute to our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying this relationship.     

The impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility practices on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: evidence from the Chinese private sector

This paper examines the impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on their job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Hierarchical regression analysis on two-wave data from 184 supervisor/subordinate dyads from three organizations located in Zhejiang Province, South-East China, revealed that employee perceptions of CSR toward social and non-social stakeholders strongly influenced their OCB. However, employee perceptions of CSR toward employees, customers and government influenced neither their job performance nor OCB.     

Leader–member exchange as a moderator of the relationship between employee–organization exchange and affective commitment

While there is some evidence on the outcomes of employee–organization exchange relationships and leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships, less is known about their combined role as predictors of employee outcomes. Relying on a recent conceptualization of social leader–member exchange (SLMX) and economic leader–member exchange (ELMX) as two separate dimensions of LMX, the present study explored whether SLMX and ELMX moderate the associations between organizational social and economic exchange and affective commitment. The main finding was that the association between organizational economic exchange and affective commitment is attenuated by SLMX. In addition, a positive association between intrinsic motivation and affective commitment was also unveiled, suggesting that affective commitment is not only determined by the prosocial motivation emanating from social exchange relationships, but also from the intrinsic motivation inherent in the work itself.     

HR practices,organizational climate and employee outcomes: evaluating social exchange relationships in local government

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on UK local government workers in which the effects of social and negative exchanges on work-related attitudes and behaviours were assessed. HR practices and organizational climate were used as measures of social exchange. Negative exchanges were based on measures capturing non-supportive management practice and unfair treatment. The findings suggest that, consistent with social exchange theory, positive exchanges lead to enhanced worker attitude and behaviour, with negative exchanges leading to increased work-related stress, reduced motivation and a greater propensity to quit. Negative exchanges, however, did not result in reduced discretionary behaviour. Disaggregating the exchange practices revealed equitable rewards and organizational morale had consistent effects on worker attitudes and behaviours, with team working, employee involvement and trust in managers having significant effects on employee motivation. The implications of these findings are considered in the concluding section of the paper.     

Illuminating the ‘Face’ of Justice: A Meta‐Analytic Examination of Leadership and Organizational Justice

A significant body of research has described effective leader behaviours and has connected these behaviours to positive employee outcomes. However, this research has yet to be systematically integrated with organizational justice research to describe how leader behaviours inform justice perceptions. Therefore, we conduct a meta‐analysis (k = 166, N = 46,034) to investigate how three types of leader behaviours (task, relational, and change) inform four dimensions of organizational justice (procedural, distributive, interpersonal, and informational) referenced to the leader and to the organization. Further, we examine the joint impact of leader behaviours and justice perceptions on social exchange quality (i.e., leader–member exchange), task performance, and job satisfaction. Our results suggest that leader behaviours differentially inform leader‐ and organization‐focused justice perceptions, and the joint effect of leader behaviours and justice perceptions offer more nuanced explanations for outcomes.     

How mass layoffs are related to lower job performance and OCB among surviving employees in Chile: an investigation of the essential role of psychological contract

This study aimed to investigate how mass layoffs impact surviving employees in organizations. More specifically, this study ascertained the relationships between mass layoffs and employee work behaviors. It was theorized that mass layoffs will be negatively related to employee performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) through its relationships with job insecurity and psychological contract breach. Moreover, it was expected that perceived manager support would buffer against the negative relations of contract breach with employee performance and OCB. A study among 615 employees in multiple Chilean organizations showed support for the hypotheses: job insecurity and psychological contract breach mediated the relationships between mass layoffs and employee performance and OCB. We also found moderating relationships of manager support, but the relations of breach with performance and OCB were particularly negative when manager support was high, indicating feelings of betrayal among high-support employees in response to contract breach. Moreover, the relation of contract breach with performance was positive for low-support employees, and non-significant for high-support employees. Our study advances understanding of the processes underlying how mass layoffs influence employee behavior in the workplace, through introducing the psychological contract as a way of understanding the relationships.     

Leader–Member Exchange and Relational Quality in a Singapore Public Sector Organization

An objective of Singapore’s ongoing public sector reform (PS21) requires agencies to focus on getting the best out of its employees. One way of doing this is by creating a positive leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship, enabling supervisors to motivate their subordinates towards the development of organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs). This article reports the extent of LMX and relational quality in a public sector agency experiencing PS21 reform and high staff turnover. In addition, we examined the effects of organizational justice perceptions and job satisfaction towards a subordinates’ OCB. A path model was developed to examine the relationships between LMX, organizational justice, job satisfaction, and OCB and tested by applying LMX theory. The path analysis results showed that LMX mediates the relationship between organizational justice perceptions and OCB. The results also showed that one’s job satisfaction led to higher level of OCB. The study findings have implications for theory and practice which have been presented in the discussion section.     

Co‐Worker Exclusion and Employee Outcomes: An Investigation of the Moderating Roles of Perceived Organizational and Social Support

When does social support alleviate or exacerbate the effects of being excluded by colleagues in the workplace? This study integrates belongingness and social support theories to predict and demonstrate the differential effects of work‐related support (i.e., perceived organizational support; POS) and non‐work‐related support (i.e., family and social support; FSS) on employee reactions to co‐worker exclusion. Consistent with our predictions, we found that employees reporting high levels of co‐worker exclusion and high levels of perceived organizational support demonstrate higher levels of performance and increased levels of self‐worth than those reporting low levels of POS. Alternatively, support from family or friends intensified the negative relationship between co‐worker exclusion and self‐esteem and the positive relationship between co‐worker exclusion and job‐induced tension. Unexpectedly, FSS did not influence the supervisor‐rated task performance of excluded workers, nor did POS mitigate the relationship between co‐worker exclusion and job‐induced tension. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Employment security and employee organizational citizenship behavior: does an ‘iron rice bowl’ make a difference?

Empirical evidence linking employment security to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is equivocal. Limited research has considered the effect of employment status. Using data from 217 subordinate–supervisor dyads in a large state-owned enterprise in China as basis, our research found significant association between overall perceived employment security and employee OCB. However, this relationship may vary depending on employment status. Further analysis suggested a curvilinear relationship for permanent employees with an ‘iron rice bowl’ (lifetime employment) and a linear relationship for contractual employees without an ‘iron rice bowl’. Our study contributes to a thorough understanding of the relationship between employment security and positive behaviors in terms of OCB by integrating the literature on social exchange, psychological contract, and proactive behavior.     

中国企业背景下领导成员交换与员工-组织关系之间的关系研究

从组织角度出发,分析并论证了在中国企业背景下四种不同类型的员工一组织关系模式的定义、特点以及不同模式之间的差异。同时分析并论证了领导成员交换对组织内部员工组织关系的形成所产生的作用和影响。本文以400名中国企业员工为样本,本文的验证结果表明：不同的员工组织关系可以按照组织投入和组织对员工的期望贡献两个不同的维度进行划分,其中,相互投入型员工组织关系在组织投入和期望贡献两个维度上得分最高,工作契约型员工-组织关系在组织投入和期望贡献两个维度上得分最低;领导成员交换对相互投入型员工-组织关系有显著的正向影响作用,对工作契约型员工-组织关系有显著的负向影响作用。最后,根据研究结果,分析和总结了本文研究结果的理论意义和实践意义。     

How does the availability and use of flexible leave influence the employer–employee relationship?

In this article, we develop, and empirically test, a moderated mediation model of the effects of flexible leave on employees' organizational attachment. Drawing on a social exchange framework and signaling theory, we explore how the material and non-material nature of exchange between the employer and employee shapes their relationship. First, we show that the relationship between the availability of flexible leave and organizational attachment is shaped by two competing mediators, perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived flexibility stigma. Second, we delineate between availability and use of the policy, to show how the effect of POS is enhanced and perceived flexibility stigma reduced, with use. Our findings demonstrate that the relationship between the availability of flexible leave and organizational attachment is complex, but is enhanced through use of flexible leave. We contribute toward HRM scholarship about the relationship between employees' experience of HR practices and their corresponding impact on employees' subsequent behavior.     

The roles of OCB and automation in the relationship between job autonomy and organizational performance: a moderated mediation model

This study examines the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in the relationship between job autonomy and organizational performance in the manufacturing industry. The study also investigates the moderating role of automation in those relationships. Although it is well known that job autonomy has an intimate relationship with employees’ attitudes at the individual level, no studies have yet elucidated the relationships of job autonomy with OCB and organizational performance at the organizational level. Moreover, no research has investigated the role of automation in an OB discipline, although automation constitutes an important contextual variable. Using a moderated mediation model, this study found that OCB mediated the relationship between job autonomy and performance, and that these relationships were stronger in less automated organizations. The findings offer implications regarding how job autonomy can improve organizational performance and which organizations benefit more from job autonomy.     

Factors of internal corporate social responsibility and the effect on organizational commitment

Internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an essential part of organizations' social responsibility. Yet, to date, CSR's internal dimension has been widely neglected in the literature. This paper empirically explores the concept of internal CSR and its relationship to employees' affective and normative organizational commitment. For conceptualizing internal CSR, seven factors are theoretically derived based on social exchange theory. The research model is initially tested through a pre-test consisting of 386 respondents from a German company active in the renewable energy sector. The main survey is carried out in an international pharmaceutical company, resulting in 2081 employee responses. The results reveal that the relevant factors constituting internal CSR are present and that the latter has a strong effect on employees' affective organizational commitment and a comparatively low effect on normative organizational commitment. Furthermore, a mediating role of affective on normative organizational commitment is detected.     

Perceived human resource system strength and employee reactions toward change: Revisiting human resource's remit as change agent

Although scholars have highlighted human resource's (HR's) important role as a change agent, we know little about the extent to which HR influences the change context to foster positive employee responses and support organizational changes. This study positions perceived HR system strength as an important internal context factor that influences employees' reactions toward change. Drawing on emotion theory and social exchange theory, we analyze the mechanisms through which employees' perceptions of HR system strength lead to positive employee responses to organizational change. Data from 704 employees in a UK police force showed that employees' perceptions of HR system strength were positively related to their ability to cope with organizational change and that this relationship was simultaneously mediated by state positive affect and perceived organizational support. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that coping with organizational change was positively related to employees' change‐supportive behavior. This study is important because it broadens the remit of HR's role as change agent and provides valuable insight into how HR positively influences employee outcomes during organizational change.     

Crossing the level of employee's performance: HPWS,affective commitment,human capital,and employee job performance in professional service organizations

Extant research on high-performance work systems (HPWS) has primarily examined the effects of HPWS on firm-level performance from a macro perspective and mostly in manufacturing settings. This study extends this literature by integrating social exchange theory and human capital theory perspectives to examine how shop-level HPWS affect employee individual performance in the service context, especially focusing on the small-scale professional service organizations. Data collected from multiple sources included 97 hair salon shop owners and 284 hairdressers as well as objective job performance measured in terms of each hairdresser's average monthly service sales. Results from cross-level analysis indicated that the relationship between shop-level HPWS and employee job performance was mediated by employee affective commitment and their human capital. These findings shed new light on the mechanisms through which HPWS impact employee outcomes and serve to bridge between macro and micro perspectives of human resource management.     

The Olympic Effect: Employee Reactions to Their Employer's Sponsorship of a High‐Profile Global Sporting Event

With companies investing vast sums of money on sponsoring high‐profile sports events, it is surprising that very little research exists to examine the possible impact that this has on the sponsors’ employees. This two‐wave panel study explores the indirect role that Olympic sponsorship and employee support for this sponsorship has on increases in organizational identification and discretionary effort—via, that is, pride and employee assessments of their employer's corporate social responsibility (CSR) credentials. The current study surveyed 241 employees (from three countries) in two phases across a 12‐month period in the run‐up to the 2012 London Olympics. Olympic sponsorship support was found to be positively associated with organizational pride and CSR perceptions, which both predict increases in organizational identification and discretionary effort (controlling for earlier baseline levels of these outcomes). In addition, there is also evidence of an indirect positive effect (through CSR perceptions and pride) of Olympic sponsorship support on increases in organizational identification and discretionary effort. The implications of these findings for decision makers considering sponsoring major sporting events are discussed; the findings provide interesting insights that can help HR functions to understand the consequences of sports sponsorship and processes involved that explain positive employee responses. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High performance work system and collective OCB: a collective social exchange perspective

Despite an increasing number of studies showing a positive relationship between collective organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and unit or organisational performance, relatively little is known about the antecedents of collective OCB. In this study, we developed a collective social exchange approach to collective OCB. We hypothesised that a high performance work system (HPWS) is positively related to collective OCB through collective affective commitment (AC). We obtained data on HPWS, collective AC and collective OCB, all at the middle management group level, from 454 firms in China. Empirical results support the hypotheses.     

Fairness in human resource management,social exchange relationships,and citizenship behavior: testing linkages of the target similarity model among nurses in the United States

The current study tests key linkages of the target similarity model by examining relationships among multifoci justice, social exchange, and supervisor ratings of employee citizenship behavior. We found support for the model when examining three different workplace targets simultaneously (i.e., the organization as a whole, supervisors, and workgroup members) using a sample of hospital nurses in the United States. Specifically, we found that: (1) employee perceptions of workgroup fairness, supervisor fairness, and organizational fairness differentially and positively predicted perceived workgroup support (PGS), perceived supervisor support (PSS), and perceived organizational support (POS), respectively and (2) PGS, PSS, and POS differentially and positively predicted citizenship behavior toward the workgroup, toward the supervisor, and toward the organization, respectively. Theoretical and practical implications for the strategic management of human resources are discussed, as are limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.     

If you're close with the leader,you must be a brownnose: The role of leader–member relationships in follower,leader, and coworker attributions of organizational citizenship behavior motives

Although scholars have recognized that organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can be attributed to either self-serving or other-serving motives, little research has addressed the conditions under which different observers will make positive versus negative attributions for OCB. We draw on leader-member exchange (LMX) and attribution theories to propose that high-quality LMX relationships are associated with positive attributions of OCB motives by the follower and the leader but negative attributions of OCB motives by coworkers. We theorize that while high-quality LMX relationships are associated with attributions of pro-social and organizational concern motives by the follower and the leader, coworkers view OCB performed by those in high-quality LMX relationships as driven by impression management motives. We discuss implications for theory and research on OCB and LMX.