High Performance Work Systems and Employee Creativity： The Mediating Effect of Knowledge Sharing

Employee creativity is both the core element of a firm＇s innovation capabilities and the sources for its growth. To improve an organization＇s ability to innovate, it is necessary to improve the creativity of its employees. Based on theories from strategic human resource management, creativity and organizational learning, this paper investigates the relationship between high performance work systems and employee creativity and explores the role knowledge sharing plays in their relationship. A questionnaire is designed and administered to a group of part-time executive students in the winter of 2012. Two hundred students are invited to answer the survey questions with 117 valid responses. Data are collected and processed by using statistical regressions. The empirical findings reveal that high performance work systems positively affect knowledge sharing and employee creativity. Knowledge sharing plays a mediating role in the relationship between high performance work systems and employee creativity. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

The Effect of Normative Expectations on Employees’ Intrinsic Interest in Creativity: Is There also a Mediating Mechanism?

As the core element of a firm’s innovation capabilities and the source of firm growth, increasing employee creativity is a primary goal of organizations. Based on social cognitive theory, role theory, and creativity theory, this paper investigates the relationship between perception of normative expectations and employees’ intrinsic interest in creativity, as well as explores the role of self-efficacy in this relationship. We use data from a survey questionnaire of 2,035 employees from 185 firms in different geographic locations across China. Our empirical findings reveal that when employees perceive a normative expectation coming from leaders, family or customers, coupled with the fear of failing to satisfy the expectations of those referent groups, it positively and significantly affects their intrinsic interest in creativity. In addition, self-efficacy not only positively and significantly affects employees’ intrinsic interest in creativity, but also plays a partially mediating role in the relationship between the perception of expectation and employees’ intrinsic interest in creativity.     

Supervisor–Subordinate Guanxi and Employee Work Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

In this study, we attempt to explain the divergent results found in the relationships between supervisor–subordinate guanxi and employee work outcomes. Specifically, we propose that the relationships between supervisor–subordinate guanxi and participatory management, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment are mediated by job satisfaction. Based on the data collected from a sample of 196 employees of three local manufacturing firms in Zhejiang Province, China, we found that job satisfaction fully mediated the effects of supervisor–subordinate guanxi on participatory management and intentions to leave, but partially mediated the relationship between supervisor–subordinate guanxi and organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Employees’ Negative Megaphoning in Response to Organizational Injustice: The Mediating Role of Employee–Organization Relationship and Negative Affect

Journal of Business Ethics - The traditional understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has largely been focused on its downstream performance implications, particularly its...     

How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Job Performance: The Mediating Roles of Goal Congruence and Psychological Capital

Drawing from research on ethical leadership, psychological capital, and social learning theory, this study investigated the mediating effects of goal congruence and psychological capital in the link between supervisors’ ethical leadership style and followers’ in-role job performance. Data captured from 171 employees and 24 supervisors showed that ethical leadership has a positive effect on followers’ in-role job performance, yet this effect is explained through the role of psychological capital and follower–leader goal congruence, providing evidence of mediation. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.     

How Corporate Reputation Disclosures Affect Stakeholders’ Behavioral Intentions: Mediating Mechanisms of Perceived Organizational Performance and Corporate Reputation

Journal of Business Ethics - Corporate reputation is decisive for stakeholders’ supporting or repelling behavior and, therefore, one of firms’ most valuable intangible resources....     

How is Benevolent Leadership Linked to Employee Creativity? The Mediating Role of Leader–Member Exchange and the Moderating Role of Power Distance Orientation

Previous research has shown that virtuous leader behavior in the form of benevolent leadership has considerable impact on employee creativity. However, little is known as to how and under what conditions these constructs are linked. In the current research, we proposed and tested a moderated mediation model positing leader–member exchange (LMX) as a mediator, and employee power-distance orientation as a moderator of this relationship. Two studies were conducted to test our hypothesized model. In Study 1, repeated measured data collected from 284 Chinese employees in an information technology company demonstrated that benevolent leadership had a lagged effect on LMX. In Study 2, analyses of multisource and lagged data from 391 Chinese employees in 42 research and development teams, and their direct supervisors indicated that benevolent leadership was positively related to supervisor-rated employee creativity via LMX. In addition, the relationship between benevolent leadership and LMX was stronger for employees high in power-distance orientation. Theoretical implications of benevolent leadership’s research and practical contributions concerning promoting creativity in organizations where benevolent leaders prevail are also discussed.     

Managerial and Other White-Collar Employees’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues in their Workplaces

Understanding what types of issues working adults perceive as ethical in their workplaces will allow better teaching of business ethics. This study reports findings of a thematic analysis of 764 ethical challenges described by working adults in a part-time MBA program and combines its findings with the other published studies on perceptions of ethical issues in the workplace. The results indicate that most people are assured about what they describe as ethical transgressions although experts might disagree. It also highlights certain issues and contexts as being more frequently perceived than others. Ideas for future research in this area are also explored.     

Nightmare Bosses: The Impact of Abusive Supervision on Employees’ Sleep,Emotions, and Creativity

In the present study, we examine the process through which abusive supervision impacts employee creativity. Specifically, we test whether abusive supervision is associated with lower levels of employee creativity and if this effect is mediated by employee sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion. Results showed that abusive supervision had an indirect negative relationship with employee creativity via its impact on employee sleep deprivation and emotional exhaustion. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the negative effects of abusive supervision on employee creativity and the processes by which they occur.     

How Leadership and Commitment Influence Bank Employees’ Adoption of their Bank’s Values

Retail banking is facing many challenges, not least the loss of its customers’ trust and loyalty. The economic crisis is forcing banks to examine their relationships with stakeholders and to offer greater reassurance that their brand promises will be delivered. More than ever, banks need to stand for something positive and valued by stakeholders. One way to achieve this is through paying more attention to brand values. Our article explores how values are adopted by employees within a bank. When employees ‘live’ their brand’s values, their behaviour during customer interactions reflects this, encouraging the strengthening of customer relationships. Specifically, we test the relationship between leadership style, employee commitment, and the adoption of values. Data was collected from a survey of 438 branch employees in a leading Irish retail bank. The study found that a structured and directive leadership style was effective at encouraging the adoption of the bank’s values. Moreover, when employees are committed to the organisation, this has a significant impact on their adoption of values. Thus, this study supports the literature which suggests that leadership and commitment are prerequisites for values adoption.     

I’ll Be Watching You: Shoppers’ Reactions to Perceptions of Being Watched by Employees

This research fills a gap in the retailing literature regarding the impact of shoppers’ perceptions of being watched while shopping for embarrassing products. Four studies consistently show that an employee watching a shopper can cause the shopper to either permanently or temporarily leave the shopping area as purchase intentions decrease. Reactance theory explains this relationship, which is mediated by consumers’ feelings of control over their own privacy. Essentially, when shoppers believe an employee is watching them, they feel less in control of their privacy, resulting in negative consequences for the retailer. This relationship is especially important for products that consumers may already feel some level of embarrassment over purchasing in the first place. The results have important theoretical implications for reactance theory by demonstrating that a consumer can regain control even when the original threat to behavior still exists. Additionally, increasing options that allow a consumer to regain control will reduce the overall reactance to the threat to privacy and will improve retailer outcomes. Practitioner recommendations present several techniques that allow the consumer to regain privacy control in spite of the sometimes necessary practice of watching in-store consumers.     

Religiosity,CSR Attitudes,and CSR Behavior: An Empirical Study of Executives’ Religiosity and CSR

In this paper, we examine the relationship between Christian religiosity, attitudes towards corporate social responsibility (CSR), and CSR behavior of executives. We distinguish four types of CSR attitudes and five types of CSR behavior. Based on empirical research conducted among 473 Dutch executives, we find that CSR attitudes mediate the influence of religiosity on CSR behavior. Intrinsic religiosity positively affects the ethical CSR attitude and negatively affects the financial CSR attitude, whereas extrinsic religiosity stimulates the philanthropic CSR attitude. Financial, ethical, and philanthropic CSR attitudes significantly affect some types of CSR behaviors. However, because religiosity has opposing effects on the three attitudes, the joint mediation effect of the three attitudes is negligible. Furthermore, we find a direct negative influence of intrinsic religiosity on diversity and a direct positive influence on charity.     

The New Face of Philanthropy: The Role of Intrinsic Motivation in Millennials’ Attitudes and Intent to Donate to Charitable Organizations

Nonprofits must gain millennials as lifelong donors for future sustainability. The current study aims to analyze the millennials and their intrinsic motivation (Deci et al., 1994), attitudes toward helping others, attitudes toward charitable organizations (Webb et al., 2000), and millennials intent to donate (Bearden et al., 1984) to these organizations. Results indicate that intrinsic motivation is moderately and positively related to attitudes toward helping others. Attitudes toward charitable organizations is moderately strong and positively related to intent to donate. Suggestions toward engaging and motivating millennials include volunteer work that is interesting, enjoyable and valuable to millennials. This study supports previous research on millennials while providing new avenues to engage them such as technology-based solicitations, generational comparative analysis, and intracohort analysis. The implications of this study suggest innovative ways of fundraising such as crowdfunding and social alliances that not-for-profits can tap into to motivate millennials to donate their time and money to their causes.     

The Effects of Professional Managers’ Credit on Their Work Performance: Firm Owners’ Trust and Credit Identification Mechanisms

Finding successors for private enterprises has become an urgent problem in recent years, partially because those firms’ owners lack trust in professional managers. Previous research on agents focuses on preventing opportunistic behavior and neglects the value of their entrepreneurship. In our research, professional managers’ credit is divided into three dimensions: personal credit, professional credit and operational credit. Using a sample of 379 firm owners from 27 provinces in China, we find that credit and its detailed dimensions are positively related to private owners’ trust in professional managers. We also found that a rigorous and effective credit identification mechanism positively moderate the above relationships. Furthermore, trust affects professional managers’ work performance in a positive way. Accordingly, we advise that (1) professional managers’ credit assessment system should be established and improved; (2) professional managers and enterprise owners should attach importance to enhancing professionalism and promoting rigorous credit identification mechanisms; (3) the closed-loop of the credit-trust psychologically interactive mechanism based on credit mechanisms and credit identification mechanisms should be put to use.     

The Interactive Effect of Authentic Leadership and Leader Competency on Followers’ Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement

The effect of authentic leadership and leader competency on employee job performance has received growing attention in the past decades; however, few studies have simultaneously integrated these two leadership perspectives. We have thus developed a mediated moderation model to test the interactive effect of authentic leadership and competency on followers’ job performance through work engagement. Based on a sample of 248 subordinate–supervisor pairs, hierarchical regression analyses reveal that (1) authentic leadership positively relates to followers’ task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB); (2) leader competency moderates the relationship between authentic leadership and OCB; (3) and followers’ work engagement mediates the main effect of authentic leadership and the interactive effect of authentic leadership and competency on followers’ task performance and OCB. All the three results are consistent with our hypotheses.     

Leaders’ Core Self-evaluation,Ethical Leadership,and Employees’ Job Performance: The Moderating Role of Employees’ Exchange Ideology

With the increasing demand for ethical standards in the current business environment, ethical leadership has received particular attention. Drawing on self-verification theory and social exchange theory, this study investigated the effect of leaders’ core self-evaluation on the display of ethical leadership and the moderating role of employees’ exchange ideology in the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ job performance (i.e., task performance and organizational citizenship behavior). Consistent with the hypotheses, the results from a sample of 225 dyads of employees and their immediate leaders showed a positive relationship between leaders’ core self-evaluation and ethical leadership. Moreover, the results showed that ethical leadership mediates the effects of leaders’ core self-evaluation on employees’ job performance. Furthermore, we found that employees’ exchange ideology moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and job performance. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

How Important Are CEOs to CSR Practices? An Analysis of the Mediating Effect of the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility

Drawing on the Agency–Stewardship approach, which suggests that manager profile may range from the agent model to the steward model, this article aims to examine how important CEOs are to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Specifically, this exploratory study proposes the existence of a relationship between manager profile and CSR practices and that this relation is mediated by the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. After applying a mediated regression analysis using survey information collected from 149 CEOs in Spain, results show that those closer to the steward model are more inclined to attach great importance to ethics and social responsibility, and to implement CSR practices in their companies. Results also provide support for the suggested mediating effect. Thus, this article extends research in understanding top managers as drivers for CSR and suggests new ways to deal with this issue empirically.     

Advancing Ethics in Public Organizations: The Impact of an Ethics Program on Employees’ Perceptions and Behaviors in a Regional Council

Ethics in public administration has been a subject of growing interest for both researchers and practitioners interested in the future of governance. This study examined the relationship between ethics and performance in local governance. We tested the effects over time of an ethics program on employees’ perceptions (awareness of the code of ethics, ethical leadership, inclusion of employees in ethical decision making [EDM], ethical climate [EC], organizational commitment, and quality of work life [QWL]) and behavior (organizational citizenship behavior) in one Israeli regional council. We conducted a longitudinal study of 108 employees, using data from a two-phase survey (before implementation of the ethics program and a year after) and objective assessments of employees’ behavior through managers’ evaluations. The main findings show that the ethics program was very effective, resulting in greater awareness of the code of ethics, increased inclusion of employees in EDM, and an improved EC. Furthermore, ethical leadership was positively related to employees’ awareness of the code of ethics, increased inclusion of employees in EDM, an improvement in the EC, greater organizational commitment, and higher QWL. Implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed.