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Article
Publication date: 6 June 2020

Jeremy R. Brees, David M. Sikora and Gerald R. Ferris

Combining early and untested accountability perspectives with stress research, the authors examined the degree to which employees perceive workplace accountabilities as either…

1119

Abstract

Purpose

Combining early and untested accountability perspectives with stress research, the authors examined the degree to which employees perceive workplace accountabilities as either worthy challenges to be overcome or potential threats to be avoided.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors utilized structural equation modeling to evaluate our hypotheses and tested them across two data samples, using two different sampling techniques collected four years apart.

Findings

Employees' individual differences of attribution style, negative affectivity and core self-evaluations influenced how subjects approached accountability pressures in their workplace, which in turn, was associated with job satisfaction and turnover intentions.

Originality/value

By examining how employees evaluate accountability pressures, this investigation advances existing research by exploring the different ways in which employees perceive workplace accountabilities.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 25 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2013

Sarah J. Williams and Carol A. Adams

The purpose of this paper is to examine how disclosure of employee issues by a large UK bank may or may not promote transparency and accountability (as assessed by the…

5388

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how disclosure of employee issues by a large UK bank may or may not promote transparency and accountability (as assessed by the completeness of the account) toward the employee stakeholder group, and to shed light on the implications of the organisation‐society relationship for employee accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

The intrinsic stakeholder framework forms the basis of the qualitative, longitudinal analysis. It is adopted as the moral ground for the provision of a “complete” account of employee issues. In seeking to shed light on the organisation‐society relationship and its implications for reporting on employee issues the authors build a broader theoretical framework incorporating various social and political theories dealing with legitimacy, political economy, and language and rhetoric. Interpretive and critical approaches are employed. The analysis draws on an extensive review of published materials relating to employment in the UK retail banking industry and NatWest in particular, impacts of workplace changes occurring in the banking sector, and to the economic, social and political environment over the period of the study.

Findings

The findings indicate that what and how NatWest reported on employee issues was influenced by considerations other than transparency and employee accountability. The analysis highlights the complexity of the role of disclosures in the organisation‐society relationship and consequently the limitations of the use of a single theoretical framework to interpret disclosures.

Research limitations/implications

The longitudinal analysis indicates how reporting practices are issue and context dependent and points to the limitations of theorising in corporate social reporting based on a single time frame and a limited analysis of the reported issues.

Practical implications

In highlighting a lack of accountability to employees, the findings have implications for the development of reporting standards on issues relevant to employees. Over time, it is hoped that development of an employee inclusive reporting framework, along with exposure of the contradictory role that reports may play in promoting accountability, will contribute toward improved employee management practices.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the corporate social reporting literature by extending the analysis beyond the firm focused stakeholder management perspective to considering disclosures from a moral perspective and the extent to which the complex organisation‐society relationship might work against the promotion of transparency and accountability toward stakeholders (specifically employees). In this way, through an in‐depth longitudinal analysis of disclosures from multiple perspectives, the paper contributes to theorising of the role of social disclosure in the organisation‐society relationship.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 July 2021

Che-Chun Kuo, Ying-Lien Ni, Chia-Huei Wu, Rong-Ruey Duh, Mei-Yen Chen and Chiachi Chang

Studies have reported negative effects of felt accountability on employees' extra-role behavior. Deviating from that focus, this study proposes that leadership plays a role in…

1422

Abstract

Purpose

Studies have reported negative effects of felt accountability on employees' extra-role behavior. Deviating from that focus, this study proposes that leadership plays a role in shaping the implications of felt accountability for employees' extra-role behavior. We propose that under high transformational leadership, felt accountability can motivate employees to engage in task-relevant information elaboration and facilitate innovative work behavior, a form of extra-role behavior that seeks to improve the work environment.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a pilot study to validate measurements of felt accountability and task-relevant information elaboration in a sample of 202 employees. We then conducted the main study using a time-lagged, multisource survey design with a sample of 120 supervisor–employee pairs.

Findings

The results from the main study reveal that the association between felt accountability and task-related information elaboration is positive and stronger when transformational leadership is higher. Furthermore, task-relevant information elaboration positively predicts innovative work behavior. Finally, when transformational leadership is higher, the mediation effect of task-relevant information elaboration on the association between felt accountability and innovative work behavior is stronger.

Originality/value

Our study indicates that felt accountability can have positive implications for employees' extra-role behavior contingent on leadership styles. In contrast to previous studies that emphasize the negative implications of felt accountability on employees' behavior, our study depicts when and why felt accountability can have positive implications on employees' behavior.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 51 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Mary Dana Laird, Paul Harvey and Jami Lancaster

Given the entitlement and job mobility associated with Generation Y, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and tenure on…

6038

Abstract

Purpose

Given the entitlement and job mobility associated with Generation Y, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and tenure on the felt accountability-job satisfaction relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data from a sample of resident assistants were examined using hierarchical moderated regression analysis.

Findings

Entitled employees responded to accountability favorably, demonstrating lower job satisfaction than non-entitled employees when accountability was low, but nearly equal levels when accountability was high. All participants reported higher job satisfaction when job tenure was lower, but entitlement-driven satisfaction differences were observed only when accountability was low.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-sectional data warrants longitudinal replication to establish causation and to give insight into how much time must pass before accountability begins to reduce the negative effects of entitlement.

Practical implications

Findings suggest that managerial tactics that increase employees’ felt accountability could reduce the negative impact of psychological entitlement on job attitudes and related outcomes.

Originality/value

Using a unique sample of Generation Y employees, the results provide an indication of how supervisors from earlier generations can improve the workplace attitudes of younger workers.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 October 2023

Leanne Johnstone, David Yates and Sebastian Nylander

This paper aims to better understand how accountability for sustainability takes shape within organisations and specifically, what makes employees act in a Swedish local…

1245

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to better understand how accountability for sustainability takes shape within organisations and specifically, what makes employees act in a Swedish local authority. This aim moves beyond the prevalent external face of accountability in social and environmental accounting research by observing how employees understand and act upon their multiple accountability demands.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a single case study approach within a Swedish local authority, drawing from qualitative data including semi-structured interviews, site visits and governing documents.

Findings

Sustainable action is not only the product of hierarchically enforced structural accountabilities and procedures but often must be reconciled with the personal perspectives of the public sector employees involved as part of an accountability dynamic. Additionally, the findings reveal that hierarchical accountability, rather than serving to individualise and isolate employees, acts as a prompt for the more practical and personal reconciliations of accountability with the ethics and experiences of the individual involved.

Practical implications

Greater consideration to employee socialisation processes in public sector organisations should be given to reinforce organisational governance systems and controls, and thus help ensure sustainable behaviour in practice.

Social implications

Employee socialisation processes are important for the development of sustainable practices both within and beyond organisational boundaries.

Originality/value

This study considers the interrelatedness of hierarchical and socialising accountability measures and contributes towards the understanding of the relationship between these two accountability forms, contrary to previous understandings that emphasise their contrasting nature and incompatibility.

Details

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, vol. 14 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8021

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Wayne A. Hochwarter, B. Parker Ellen III and Gerald R. Ferris

Research has shown accountability can produce both positive and negative outcomes. Further, because of inherent environmental uncertainty, perceptions of organizational politics…

1479

Abstract

Purpose

Research has shown accountability can produce both positive and negative outcomes. Further, because of inherent environmental uncertainty, perceptions of organizational politics often interact with accountability to produce negative effects. However, using uncertainty management theory, the purpose of this paper is to argue that employees can use proactive voice to exercise control in the ambiguity of highly accountable and political environments.

Design/methodology/approach

This two sample study of graduate school alumni (n=211) and insurance employees (n=186) explored the three-way interaction of felt accountability×politics perceptions×proactive voice on work performance, job satisfaction, and job tension.

Findings

As hypothesized, high levels of felt accountability and politics were most strongly associated with favorable outcomes when coupled with increased voice behavior. Conversely, felt accountability and politics were related to negative outcomes in settings associated with low proactive voice. Results supported in Sample 1 were then constructively replicated in Sample 2.

Practical implications

All employees are held accountable to some degree, and all work in potentially political settings. Often, these environmental features are dictated to employees, leaving only employee reactions in direct control. One possible response is voice. As demonstrated in the present research, employees who engage in proactive voice appear to exercise some degree of control over their environment, resulting in more positive outcomes than their less active counterparts.

Originality/value

The present research extends understanding regarding the effects of accountability in organizations by demonstrating that contextual factors (e.g. politics) and individual difference variables (e.g. in levels of proactive voice) differentiate favorable vs unfavorable outcomes of accountability.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

Wajda Wikhamn and Angela T. Hall

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived organizational support (POS) moderates accountability's relationship with job satisfaction.

2477

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how perceived organizational support (POS) moderates accountability's relationship with job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Self-report data were collected from one organizational sample from the USA and one organizational sample from Sweden.

Findings

The results support the hypothesis that POS moderates the relationship between accountability and job satisfaction in the two samples. Specifically, the findings show that accountability relates positively to satisfaction under high support conditions and, in one sample, negatively to satisfaction under low support condition.

Research limitations/implications

The current results suggest that social context is vital to a more informed evaluation of how accountability relates to work outcomes. Organizations should show their employees that they care about them. This can be achieved through starting, maintaining, and nurturing those initiatives that are interpreted positively by the employees.

Social implications

Scandals represent examples of accountability failures. The implications of these scandals are not merely limited to individual companies and their employees. The wellbeing of the employees is part of the wellbeing of the society.

Originality/value

This study offers new insights on the relationship between accountability and job satisfaction. First, it demonstrates how organizational support perception functions as a moderator of this relationship. Second, it reports replicable results from two organizational samples – one from North America and one from Europe.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2010

Robin A. Cheramie and Marcia J. Simmering

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of situational factors in improving learning for trainees with low conscientiousness.

2903

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of situational factors in improving learning for trainees with low conscientiousness.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 117 employees completed a survey questionnaire in the context of a training intervention. Perceptions of conscientiousness, legitimacy, and accountability were used to predict employee learning in a training context. Moderated multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Results support interactions of conscientiousness and perceived accountability to predict learning such that learners who are low in conscientiousness showed higher levels of learning when perceived accountability was considered strong than when perceived accountability was considered weak. There was no support for the proposed interaction of conscientiousness and perceived legitimacy to predict learning.

Practical implications

Results support the view that organizations should implement formal controls to increase perceived accountability and improve learning. Trainees with low conscientiousness had higher levels of learning in situations with strong accountability perceptions.

Originality/value

The study is one of the few to evaluate perceived accountability in a field study, whereas most previous research has evaluated this concept in lab experiments. Therefore, the findings support the wide range of perceived accountability that exists in most organizations. The results imply the need for more accountability controls within an organization to increase learning in a training context.

Details

Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-3946

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2022

Eric Amankwa, Marianne Loock and Elmarie Kritzinger

This paper aims to examine the individual and combined effects of organisational and behavioural factors on employees’ attitudes and intentions to establish an information…

1238

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the individual and combined effects of organisational and behavioural factors on employees’ attitudes and intentions to establish an information security policy compliance culture (ISPCC) in organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on factors derived from the organisational culture theory, social bond theory and accountability theory, a testable research model was developed and evaluated in an online survey that involves the use of a questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 313 employees, from ten different organisations in Ghana. The data collected were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling approach, involving the measurement and structural model tests.

Findings

The study reveals that the individual measures of accountability – identifiability (2.4%), expectations of evaluation (38.8%), awareness of monitoring (55.7%) and social presence (−41.2%) – had weak to moderate effects on employees’ attitudes towards information security policy compliance. However, the combined effect showed a significant influence. In addition, organisational factors – supportive organisational culture (15%), security compliance leadership (2%) and user involvement (63%) – showed positive effects on employees’ attitudes. Further, employees’ attitudes had a substantial influence (65%), while behavioural intentions demonstrated a weak effect (24%) on the establishment of an ISPCC in the organisation. The combined effect also had a substantial statistical influence on the establishment of an ISPCC in the organisation.

Practical implications

Given the findings of the study, information security practitioners should implement organisational and behavioural factors that will have an impact on compliance, in tandem, with the organisational effort to build a culture of compliance for information security policies.

Originality/value

The study provides new insights on how to address the problem of non-compliance with regard to the information security policy in organisations through the combined application of organisational and behavioural factors to establish an information security policy compliance culture, which has not been considered in any past research.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 May 2019

Regina Candra Dewi and Corina D. Riantoputra

The purpose of this paper is to employ the meso-level theory of felt accountability to investigate the relationships among positive affect, negative affect, perceived…

1079

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to employ the meso-level theory of felt accountability to investigate the relationships among positive affect, negative affect, perceived organizational support, organizational structure and felt accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

To avoid common method bias, this study employed a time-lag data collection technique in collecting data from 132 participants. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among the variables.

Findings

The results show a positive association between positive affect and perceived organizational support and felt accountability, whereas negative affect and organizational structure were negatively correlated with felt accountability, in that machine structures constraint the development of felt accountability.

Originality/value

This research advances the meso-level theory of felt accountability and social exchange frameworks by integrating personality and organizational factors influencing felt accountability, and demonstrating that that the tangible advantages offered by an organization are reciprocated by employeesaccountability.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 38 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

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