Search results

The purpose of the paper is to examine employee-helpful behavior that is voluntary and given freely without anticipation of reward or recognition. The authors have labeled this voluntary behavior in all its forms as v-hob, or voluntary helpful organizational behavior. They seek to define and explain the behavior and attempt to discern measures that will help to discover individual’s predispositions to offer v-hob.

The authors examine current theory/constructs and offer a detailed empirical study in identifying measures that may provide some means for assessing employee predisposition toward helpful, voluntary behavior on the job. The format of the work is reflective of a typical research study with hypotheses.

The authors learned that, within limits, it is possible and practical to identify direct measures to discover one’s predisposition toward v-hob. They also have identified regression equations that use several variables to help predict one’s predispositions toward this valued behavior.

This study brings to the manager and/or human resource (HR) practitioner the substance of contextual performance, that is, behavior that goes beyond task performance in the support of individual and organizational goal attainment. This research demonstrates several means by which trainers, managers and HR professionals may assess an employee’s or a recruit’s predisposition to offer voluntary, helpful behavior.

This research, unlike most of the empirical, academic research in the domain of contextual performance, speaks directly to practitioners. The authors' definitions, explanations and study clearly demonstrate the practical features of contextual performance.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the main effects of agent conscientiousness and reciprocity norm and the interaction effect of these two factors on layoff decisions in firm‐employee relationships.

A scenario‐based experiment with 331 business professionals was conducted and three regression models were run to test three hypotheses proposed in the paper.

The norm of reciprocity reduces decision‐making agents' tendency to lay off employees in the face of an environmental change. In addition, the norm of reciprocity interacts with decision‐making agents' conscientiousness in influencing their layoff decision.

The limitations of this study are the use of single‐agent decision scenario and the specific focus on one aspect of agent personality – conscientiousness and its collective influence on layoff decisions. In a broader picture, the results of this study support the cross‐level analytical approach to investigating organizational phenomena, in which individual‐level and organizational‐level factors interact and determine organizational outcomes.

Recruiting and promoting managers who exhibit high levels of conscientiousness, coupled with proactively cultivating the norm of reciprocity with employees, are critical to a firm's thrust in attaining and sustaining stakeholder management practices with the emphasis on employees' well‐being.

While the extant literature focuses largely on the effects of layoff and the individual perceptions of downsizing and layoff, this paper examines what actually influences decision‐making agents' layoff decisions. The paper expands the literature by investigating the impacts of agent conscientiousness and reciprocity norm on layoff decisions.

The need for context-specific adoption models led to the development of the firm technology adoption model (F-TAM) model. Among small to medium-scale enterprises (SMEs); however, firm-level factors were rather insignificant in engendering SME level adoption of technological innovation. This study aims to examine the effect of firm size and other moderating and mediating factors on the relationships between personal, firm, societal and technological factors proposed in the stakeholder-oriented F-TAM among SMEs.

A research instrument was developed, reviewed by experts, and pilot tested with a sample of 25 respondents. Data were purposively collected from four hundred (400) SMEs and analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The study discovered that employees, societal and technological factors moderate the relationship between firm factors of adoption and firm adoption. Without these moderating effects, firm factors of adoption would have been insignificant at the SMEs’ level of organizational technology adoption. The study further discovered that firm size, as well as risk propensity, also affect the relationships proposed in the model.

Data was collected on voluntary adoption from the most cosmopolitan area of a developing country. It, therefore, needs further contextual validation across the country and different countries.

The engagement of innovations in firms must be planned with employees and society as major stakeholders.

The significance of this finding is the study’s emphasis on an eco-system approach for examining the phenomenon of innovation adoption. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effect of firm characteristics on is proposed eco-system of stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the influence of organizational norms and job roles defined by organizations in the performance of organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). To do so, the research proposes a model of OCB with the following dimensions: normative OCB and rule-bounded OCB on the basis of social exchange theory and role theory, respectively. Norms, roles and responsibilities of the organization vary from organization to organization. This paper reports the operational and empirical indicators of proposed dimensions of OCB, termed as discretionary OCB, normative OCB and rule-bounded OCB.

To test the proposed dimensions, the study uses concept analysis, delphi technique, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis on multi-source data. It indicates criteria for Cronbach’s alpha reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity and nomological validity for proposed dimensions.

The findings reveal two new dimensions of OCB. Besides an individual predisposition/voluntariness, employees exhibit OCB due to normative pressure in the organization and the overlapping of the contents of OCB with role and responsibilities. Self-driven, norms-driven and job-role-driven OCB will have different implications. The findings support the validity of the proposed OCB model and scale.

The research fills a theoretical gap and will have implications for the measurement of OCB. The model facilitates the identification of the factors of OCB. An organization can use the research model in culture building and promoting functional OCB in the organization as per the organization’s need. The limitations of the study are discussed.

There is no research to date exploring the normative and rule-bounded aspects of OCB. This is the only research to empirically examine the overlap between the contents of OCB and role description of employees. This paper is also original in its contribution in measuring the display of OCB among employees due to pressure from the norms prevalent in the organizations.

Using self-determination theory as the theoretical framework, the study examines the role of workplace spirituality in motivating internal whistleblowing in an organization and whether it gets enhanced by ethical leadership and moral courage of an employee.

The study was administered to 312 employees belonging to the hotel industry in north India. A three-waves study with a gap of one month each was used for data collection. The study used AMOS and PROCESS Macro to examine the hypothesized relationship.

The study found a positive association between workplace spirituality and internal whistleblowing, and a parallel mediating impact of employee’s moral courage and ethical leadership on workplace spirituality and internal whistleblowing relationship.

The work suggests that by recognizing and enforcing the motivating factors that encourage an employee to blow the whistle and reveal illegal, immoral or illegitimate organizational practices, an organization may be able to maintain an ethical stance and create a positive image of itself.

The unique contributions of this study include determining the role of workplace spirituality in supporting internal whistleblowing, especially in the Indian context. Keeping in view the huge losses incurred by hospitality sector during pandemic, internal whistleblowing by employees will create a positive image for the organizations and help in revival.

This paper aims to present: the concept of voluntary, helpful organizational behavior (V‐HOB); research results regarding how one subset of future business employees, accounting students, may be predisposed to such behavior; and practical training and development approaches aimed at establishing a work environment supportive of V‐HOB.

This exploratory research involves surveying accounting majors to capture perceptions of predisposition toward V‐HOB. Survey results measure elements of V‐HOB and several task performances. The authors synthesize relevant research, providing pragmatic suggestions for management training and development.

Data analysis was inconclusive regarding individuals' predisposition toward V‐HOB. This exploratory research suggests that academic success may not indicate V‐HOB predisposition. Training and development may be more effective than attempting to recruit individuals predisposed toward V‐HOB.

Limitations to this exploratory research include a small sample size of a homogeneous group, as to major, class size, university attendance. Future research could focus on V‐HOB predisposition by gender, academic discipline, and country/culture. Broader aspects of task performance including participation and absenteeism could be studied. While more research is needed, these preliminary results may indicate that predisposition toward V‐HOB can be difficult to identify.

The authors provide managerial guidance regarding investment of effort into recruiting candidates having a predisposition toward V‐HOB, and for training toward nurturing an environment in which V‐HOB is more likely to thrive.

This paper defines and describes behaviors which support V‐HOB. A gap is bridged between academic study of such behaviors and pragmatic techniques for development of managers.

Past research has been concerned with finding reasons for failure of organizational changes and the role of employees in it. Whether employees hinder or support organizational change depends not only on the organizational context, but also on individual predispositions and the change communication employees experience during the process. The purpose of this paper is to test how these three categories affect employees’ attitudes toward the change as well as their tendency to show resistance or to support it.

An online survey (n=608) of German employees who were recently subject to a change in their workplace was conducted.

With respect to individual predispositions and organizational context, the results show that in particular skepticism, openness, engagement and influence on decisions are relevant predictors. Change communication variables (e.g. involvement, participation and appreciation) explain the largest share of variance, indicating that transparent communication and including employees in the process result in positive attitudes toward change and support.

This study adds to the discussion about which factors determine the support or resistance to organizational change by identifying relevant predictors, organizing them along three categories and testing them concurrently.

Employer branding (EB) has become a powerful tool for organizations to attract employees. Recruitment communication ideally reveals the image that companies want to portray to potential employees to attract talents with the right skills and competences for the organization. This study explores the impact of EB on employer attractiveness by testing how pre-existing employee preferences interact with EB and how this interaction affects employer attractiveness.

A quasi-experiment among 289 final-year students was used to test the relationships between EB, perceived employer image, person-organization (P-O) fit and employer attractiveness, and the potential moderating variables of pre-existing preferences, in this case operationalized as locational preferences. Students are randomly assigned to four vacancies: one with and one without EB cues in two different locations: Groningen and Amsterdam. The authors used standard scales for attractiveness, perceptions of an employer and person-organization fit. The authors test the relationships using a regression analysis.

Results suggest that if respondents have previous predispositions, then their preference can be enhanced using an EB-targeted strategy. Based on these results, the authors can conclude that EB and related practices can be successful avenues for organizations in the war for talent, particularly if they reaffirm previous preferences of potential employees.

The research is original in the way it provides empirical evidence on the relationship between EB and attractiveness, particularly when previous employee preferences exist. This is of value to employers using EB as a tool to influence employer attractiveness.

This essay is practitioner-focused and aims to provide the manager or supervisor with a summary of critical information regarding voluntary, employee helpful behavior or organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The summary helps explain motivation and predispositions per OCB, as well as explicit advice regarding ways to encourage and, perhaps, recognize this desired behavior.

Methodology is grounded on two elements. First, a literature review of empirical and other research on OCB, pro-social behavior, extra-role behavior, and contextual performance. Second, based on review and brief analysis of features of the behavior to include: definitions, motivation/predispositions, and employee performance, explicit guidance is offered for managers.

Critical information is provided about OCB and voluntary helpful behavior. The objective is to identify important aspects of the behavior and place it in a format that is accessible to the typical manager or supervisor. This approach can assist the manager to create appropriate means to identify the desired behavior as well as to encourage it.

Virtually all of the empirical research on OCB and other forms of voluntary helpful behavior make the case that such behavior is most desirable for the organization, manager, and co-workers. The research also points out that not all employees who engage in the behavior have expectations of recognition or any form of reward for their actions. This essay gives the practitioner information regarding observation of the behavior and its motivation. In addition, advice is provided to assist in stimulating the desired behavior.

Currently, nearly all of the expressions of OCB and voluntary helpful employee behavior are found in academic journals and related literature. Typically, these sources of information are not readily available to practicing managers. This condition is what prompts an essay aimed at practitioners that captures the essential aspects of the voluntary, desirable employee behavior as well as practical advice.

We studied two eco-entrepreneurial companies to determine whether they had an internal focus on environmental protection. To answer this question, we surveyed employees to understand their predisposition toward the natural environment as well as their willingness to propose eco-initiatives aimed at improving the company's environmental performance and/or reducing its environmental impacts. We report our findings for these two case studies, and using our small sample of employee data, develop a conceptual model for the eco-entrepreneurial context. We suggest future research.