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Although researchers have long recognized the importance of participating organizations’ (POs) relational behavior for mega construction projects (MCPs) performance, relational behavior may not be executed by POs without effective leadership from project owners. However, little is known about the mechanisms linking owners’ leadership styles to POs’ relational behavior. This study draws on full range leadership theory and role theory to examine the relationships between owners’ leadership styles (i.e. transformational and transactional) and relational behavior. POs’ role orientations (i.e. normative and economic) are considered as potential mediators.

Data were collected from 175 managers deeply involved in MCPs. Hierarchical regression model and bootstrapping methods were performed on the data to examine the direct effects of owners’ leadership on POs’ relational behavior and the mediating effects of POs’ role orientations.

The results revealed that both owners’ transformational and transactional leadership positively affect POs’ relational behavior, despite the former being higher than the latter, and indirectly influence relational behavior via POs’ normative and economic role orientation, respectively.

This study provides a clear picture of how owners’ leadership can motivate POs’ relational behavior to achieve high-quality inter-organizational relationships in MCPs. The findings can guide owners’ top manager selection by prioritizing those with transformational leadership, which is beneficial to achieving high-level relational behavior of POs. The results also imply that owners should pay greater attention to cultivating POs’ normative role orientation by encouraging teamwork and open communication to enhance their implementation of relational behavior.

Unlike previous research focusing more on intra-organizational leader–follower relationship within one PO, this study is one of the first to empirically confirm owners’ leadership as a critical antecedent of POs’ relational behavior, thus enhancing the theoretical understanding of inter-organizational relationship management in MCPs. Based on role theory, this study considers a novel organizational psychology mechanism, i.e. POs’ role orientations, as the mediator to unravel how owners’ leadership affects POs’ relational behavior, which was rarely invoked in MCP leadership literature.

Although trust is generally taken as a fundamental factor in influencing relational behavior in contractor–subcontractor collaboration, the determination of an optimal level of trust is still lacking. Trust with an optimal tipping point that matches dependence best is considered the optimal trust to improve relational behavior between general contractors and subcontractors. To fill the knowledge gap, this study explores how combinations of trust and dependence trigger relational behavior between general contractors and subcontractors through a configurational approach.

Questionnaires were administered to 228 middle management and technical staff members of the general contractor. The data were analyzed using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), and the inductive analytic method allowed researchers to explore configurations of different dimensions and levels of dependence and trust.

Necessity analysis results indicated that neither dependence nor trust was a necessary condition for facilitating relational behavior. Through sufficiency analysis, four configurations of optimal trust matched with dependence were identified in contractor–subcontractor collaboration. Even if contractors rely only on subcontractors for resources, the optimal trust between contractors and subcontractors should include both institution- and cognition-based trust. In the event that contractor–subcontractor collaboration involves relational dependence, both affect- and cognition-based trust are necessary for the optimal trust.

This study enhances existing research by delving deeper into a nuanced understanding of optimal trust in dependence scenarios, and enriches project governance theory by uncovering the internal transmission of relational governance. Practically, this study offers general contractors guidance on how to establish optimal trust strategies based on the dual dependence level with subcontractors, which can facilitate subcontractors' relational behavior, and ultimately improve contractor–subcontractor collaboration performance.

Relationship conflict between the owners and contractors is inevitable, which could induce negative consequences. Yet, the existing literature mostly focused on its direct effects on project performance and ignored the process by which relationship conflict gradually deteriorates cooperation as well as corresponding managerial approaches. Given the fact that relationship conflict originates from interdependent tasks, the proposed theoretical model is intended to measure relational behavior as an instant outcome of relationship conflict, and explore the buffering role of contract enforcement approach.

This paper develops the conceptual model based on the literature review. Then the questionnaire survey was conducted. The dyadic data obtained from 168 Chinese construction project professionals were analyzed by the Partial Least squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique.

The results show that relational behavior partially mediates the link between relationship conflict and project performance. Besides, three types of contract enforcement approaches are found to differentially change the negative link between relationship conflict and relational behavior. Rigid contract enforcement can worsen the adverse effects of relationship conflict on relational behavior, whereas flexible contract enforcement can alleviate these negative effects. The level of mitigation hinges on whether compromising behaviors or obliging behaviors are chosen.

The study extends the knowledge of conflict theory and contract theory in the construction field. Based on the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results, this study contributes to the understanding of relationship conflict’s consequences between the owners and contractors and enriches conflict management approaches in the construction field.

Inter-organizational collaboration is the organizational guarantee and key link to achieve the goals of megaproject management. Project governance has always played an important role in the construction of megaprojects, but the relationship between project governance and organizational collaboration is unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore the role paths of different project governance mechanisms in influencing the collaborative behaviors of stakeholders and collaborative performance and to elucidate the mechanism of project governance on inter-organizational collaboration.

A conceptual framework was developed based on a comprehensive literature review, termed the structural equation model (SEM). The hypotheses of the model were tested based on data obtained from a questionnaire survey of 235 experts with experience in megaprojects within the construction industry in China.

The results show that project governance positively contributes to the collaborative behavior of megaproject stakeholders and the collaborative performance of the project team. Collaborative behavior acts as a partial mediator between project governance and the collaborative performance of the megaproject inter-organization alliance. The complexity of the project modulates the relationship between the governance mechanism of the project and the collaborative behavior of the stakeholders, which affects the collaborative performance of the megaproject inter-organization alliance.

The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for promoting positive collaborative behavior among stakeholders in megaproject selection and improving the collaborative performance of megaproject inter-organization alliances.

In a rapidly changing career landscape where lifelong job security is no longer guaranteed, this study investigates how audit firms play an important role in shaping their employees’ career perceptions and the subsequent effects on auditor behavior. Specifically, it explores the link between audit firms’ career development initiatives and auditors’ perceptions of external employability – an important determinant of auditor behavior. Using the framework of social exchange theory, the study investigates how perceived external employability affects both relational and operational behaviors of auditors.

The study employs structural equation modeling on survey data from 359 auditors.

The results indicate that when audit firms actively support career development, it positively contributes to auditors’ perceived external employability. A higher perceived external employability, in turn, leads to positive behavioral outcomes among auditors, including stronger relational behaviors (such as professional commitment) and operational behaviors (including heightened professional skepticism and reduced behaviors that could compromise audit quality).

This study uncovers a paradox where perceived external employability, typically viewed as a risk, emerges as a potent driver of desirable auditor behavior. In today’s dynamic career landscape, emphasizing individual-centered and flexible careers, these results highlight the benefits of perceived external employability. Rather than undermining audit services, increased perceived external employability driven by firm investments in auditors’ careers acts as a catalyst for desirable auditor behavior. Organizational support in terms of career development practices creates an environment where auditors are more committed, professionally skeptical and uphold the quality of audit services.

Leaders are role models and through social influence processes, they shape the behaviour of their followers. We build on social learning, social identity and person-environment (P-E) fit theories of leadership to explore the association between leaders’ and followers’ resilient behaviours.

In a three-wave, multisource study amongst 269 Dutch leaders and their followers, we investigate the mediating role of coaching in the relationship between leaders’ resilient behaviour and followers’ resilient behaviour and the moderating role of regulatory focus in this mediation path.

Our results show that coaching is a key relational vehicle through which leaders’ resilient behaviours shape employees’ resilient behaviours, and this indirect association is stronger for employees scoring low on promotion focus. In addition, our results show that resilient employees attract more coaching from their leaders, which further strengthens their resilient behaviours.

Existing studies have shown the occurrence of trickle-down effects of various leader behaviours, moods and work states on those of their followers. However, it remained obscure whether leaders’ resilient behaviour could trickle down to followers’ as well. Our study shows that such a link indeed exists and that coaching is a relational vehicle that embodies two key mechanisms to (1) foster social learning through behavioural entrainment and contagion and (2) facilitate support provision through which leaders promote resilient behaviour in their followers.

A workplace bullying dynamic involving multiple individuals targeting victims can lead to the victim losing emotional bonds or affect-based trust with their colleagues, resulting in employee silence. The literature has largely ignored this negative aspect of social dynamics. This study aims to examine the relationship between workplace bullying and employee silence behaviors and determine whether affect-based trust mediates this relationship and whether climate for conflict management moderates the mediated relationship.

Hypotheses are tested using surveys and scenario-based experiments among faculty members in Indian Universities. There were 597 participants in the survey and 166 in the scenario-based experiment.

Results revealed that workplace bullying correlated positively with silence behaviors, and affect-based trust mediated the bullying-silence relationship. The hypothesized moderated mediation condition was partially supported as moderated the mediating pathway, i.e. indirect effects of workplace bullying on defensive silence and ineffectual silence via affect-based trust were weaker for employees with high climate for conflict management. However, the study failed to support the moderation of climate for conflict management in the relationship between workplace bullying and affect-based trust and workplace bullying and relational silence. The results of this moderated effect of climate for conflict management were similar in both studies.

This study is one of the few attempts to examine employee silence in response to workplace bullying in academia. Additionally, the study revealed a critical area of trust depletion associated with bullying and the importance of employee perceptions of fairness toward their institutions’ dispute resolution processes.

Job characteristics can potentially influence employees’ attitudes and behaviors. However, their impact on employees’ innovative behaviors, particularly in public sector organizations, has received little scholarly attention. Based on relational job design theory and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study aims to examine the effect of job contact on public sector employees’ innovative work behavior through the mediator of happiness at work. It also assesses whether prosocial motivation strengthens the influence of job contact on innovative work behavior (via happiness at work).

The model was examined on a sample of 180 employee-supervisor dyads (90 supervisors and 180 employees) recruited from various government departments in the United Arab Emirates.

The findings support the proposed moderated mediation model in which job contact positively and significantly impacts innovative work behavior. The association between job contact and innovative behavior via happiness at work is found to be stronger for employees who are highly prosocially motivated.

The findings offer prescriptive insights into public sector employee happiness and prosocial motivation by illustrating when and how job contact influences innovative work behavior. The authors also present relevant managerial recommendations for promoting public sector employees’ innovative behavior.

Enterprises use social media for their daily work. The use of social media in the workplace is crucial for social connections, the growth and evolution of the enterprise, and it opens up new avenues for voice behavior. Employee voice involves the expression of ideas or opinions towards enterprise and is beneficial for employee work and enterprise development. Extant studies of voice behavior usually focus on the leadership and employee factors. However, the internal mechanism of voice behavior, especially the interrelationship between different kinds of social media use and voice behavior has not been well investigated. To fill that research gap, this study analyzes the internal mechanism of voice behavior, taking the effects of social media use and social capital into consideration.

Using structural equation model, this study collected data from employees using social media and analyzed the data using the software of Smartpls 3.0, SPSS and AMOS, in order to analyze the internal mechanism of voice behavior among employees.

Based on social capital theory, this study investigates the relationship between social media use, social capital and voice behavior, and provides some insights into the mechanism of voice behavior. The social media use, social capital and voice behavior are divided into several kinds in order to clarify the internal mechanism of voice behavior more comprehensively. The empirical results show that: (1) Social media use for both work and social-related purposes could positively affect employees’ promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors. (2) Social capital mediates the relationship between social media use and voice behavior. (3) In the process of social media use influencing employees’ voice behavior, employees of different genders and ages show significant differences in social capital and voice behavior.

This study explored the internal mechanism of voice behavior, which could help to elicit the relationship between social media use and voice behavior. By integrating the roles of social capital, individual differences, this study could uncover the deep internal mechanism of employee voice behavior more comprehensively, broadening social capital theory and enriching the researches of voice behavior among employees.

Using the analogy of “If you build it, they will come” from the movie Field of Dreams, this study aims to draw on relational signaling and commitment–trust theories to examine the role of different types of trust (cognitive, affective and relational) in the relationship between relational-encounter quality and customer loyalty to service employees and to the organization in the case of an integrated casino resort. The study confirms that building it (trust), they (customers) will come to the casino exhibited in their loyalty to casino hosts and their affiliated casinos.

The study was conducted with very important person (VIP) customers who have a designated VIP host to provide them with personal services at an integrated casino resort in Macau. The questionnaire was distributed to the respondents by VIP hosts using WeChat and Tencent QQ.

The study shows that different types of trust (cognitive, affective and relational) play a significant mediation role in the relationship between relational-encounter quality and the customers’ loyalty to the hosts and their affiliated casinos.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the roles of different types of trust (cognitive, affective and relational) in the relational encounter between casino hosts and VIP customers and provides insights into the link between service employees and their firm through the nurturing of the service encounter with the firm’s key accounts.