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Career plateau and employee silence are negative employee management phenomena that should be overcome but are challenging. However, relatively speaking, when employees reach a particular career stage, it is inevitable that the hierarchical plateau in the career plateau will occur, while the phenomena of employee silence have the chance to improve. This paper aims to study the influence mechanism of the career plateau on employee silence in an uncertain environment and then provides theoretical support for enhancing the organizational phenomenon of employee silence.

After considering the effects of career plateau and social desirability of employee silence, this paper obtained 313 samples based on the pilot survey, which were collected anonymously online and offline. Based on passing the data quality test, this experiment uses hierarchical regression, Bootstrap method, interaction graph and slope test to test the mediating variable

The results show a significant positive correlation between career plateau and employees' silent behavior. Affective commitment plays a partial mediating role between career plateau and employees' silent behavior. Organizational justice not only negatively moderated the relationship between career plateau and affective commitment but also negatively moderated the indirect effect of career plateau on silent behavior through affective commitment.

First, based on the theory of uncertainty management and social exchange theory, this paper develops a behavioral response to the organizational environment based on the principle of fair exchange when employees perceive an uncertain environment. This study innovatively applied the two theories together in one study, establishing a link between the two theories. Second, this study explores the influence of career plateau on employee silence and empirically tests the silent behavior based on the previous division of three dimensions of career plateau. The third study explores affective commitment, the black box of the relationship between career plateau and employee silence. This research also enriches the related research on affective commitment.

Drawing upon the social identity theory (SIT), the present study aims to examine the moderating role of abusive supervision (AS) and job embeddedness (JE) in the relationship between career plateau (CP) and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). The research also aims to investigate whether JE moderated the moderating effect of AS on the CP–CWB relationship.

The hypotheses were tested with two-wave survey data collected from 290 employees working in India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector. Data were analysed using moderation and moderated moderation analyses on PROCESS v 4.1 macro.

Results showed that AS moderated the CP–CWB relationship, whereas the moderating role of JE was not observed. However, JE was seen to moderate the moderating effect of AS, supporting the moderated moderation framework.

The present study adds value to the existing literature by connecting SIT with hierarchical layers. The supervisor themselves may stay longer in their current positions and block the subordinates’ progress. This impacts the social image of the subordinates. The study enriches the CP literature by highlighting that CP may lead to CWB, as the employees who perceive CP hit back at the organisation for being unfairly treated and not getting the career progression due to their supervisor.

The study provides important implications for the supervisors who need to introspect if their behaviour is viewed as abusive by the career-plateaued employees. They need to mentor the employees, especially those with higher career aspirations, and provide them with various career avenues. Furthermore, organisations should make all possible efforts to embed the employees within their jobs as the embedded employees can better take the shock of CP.

Drawing on the SIT, the study contributes uniquely to the employee behaviour literature by investigating the impact of CP, AS and JE on CWB in hierarchically flatter organisations. This is the first study to investigate the moderated moderation model of AS and JE in the CP–CWB relationship in the context of employees’ social status within the organisation.

The purpose of this study is to synthesize the current turnover literature that has investigated the nonfinancial antecedents of turnover intention across generations. This paper provides an integrative and analytical review of prior empirical studies with two research questions: What nonfinancial factors influencing employee turnover have been empirically identified across different generations? and What generational commonalities and uniqueness exist among the turnover antecedents?

To identify nonfinancial antecedents of employee turnover, an integrative literature review that allows a systematic process of searching and selecting literature was conducted. While synthesizing the antecedents identified in the articles, the authors were able to categorize them at three different levels: individual, group and organizational

The authors discuss each antecedent according to three categories: individual, group and organizational levels. Based on the findings from the first research question, the authors further explore the commonalities and uniqueness among three generations (i.e. Millennials, Generation X and older workers).

This study found both generational commonalities and uniqueness in terms of turnover intention antecedents. Based on the findings of the study, the authors discuss how to facilitate these common factors across all generations as well as considering the factors unique to each generation. Differentiation within organizations regarding retention strategies should yield positive results for both employees and organizations.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between mentors’ paradox mindset and career mentoring directly and indirectly through self-efficacy and work engagement, drawing insights from attachment theory.

A serial mediation model was tested using survey data from 297 employees working in a bank company in China.

Paradox mindset had a significant indirect effect on career mentoring through self-efficacy and work engagement, self-efficacy had a significant indirect effect on career mentoring through work engagement, and paradox mindset had a significant indirect effect on career mentoring through self-efficacy and work engagement.

The results offer practical insights for human resource managers by investigating how mentors’ mindsets affect their psychological states and behaviors. By training and developing mentors’ paradox mindset, mentors can better deal with tensions with a high level of self-efficacy and work engagement in the increasingly changing and demanding work environment and foster functional mentoring relationships.

Findings of this study provide fresh insights into the relationship between individual differences and mentoring relationships by uncovering the critical role of paradox mindset in enhancing self-efficacy and work engagement. Moreover, the interaction of mentors’ paradox mindset and self-efficacy advances previous studies on attachment theory by investigating the underlying mechanisms of mentoring relationships involving affectionate or emotional factors.

This study established and examined a moderated mediation model connecting family motivation with proactive career behavior (PCB). Drawing on social cognitive career theory model of career self-management and person-environment fit theory, the authors posit that the influence of family motivation on PCB is mediated by career goal setting (CGS) and moderated by career support climate (CSC).

Using multilevel modeling techniques, data were collected from 98 leaders and 416 employees at two-time points.

Results show that family motivation has a positive direct and indirect effect on PCB through CGS. Additionally, CSC strengthens the positive effect of family motivation on PCB through CGS.

For employees, proactive career management and the establishment of clear career goals are vital for fulfilling family responsibilities. Simultaneously, for managers and organizations, creating a supportive work environment is crucial to encourage employees in career management.

While existing research highlights the detrimental effect of fulfilling family caregiving responsibilities on employees' career development, the comprehension of this relationship remains limited. Taking a family motivation perspective, this study explores the mechanisms through which family motivation stimulates employees to engage in PCB, with a specific focus on the moderating influence of CSC. The findings offer fresh insights into the role of family motivation in career development, contributing significantly to the broader literature on the intersection of family and careers.

This study aims to examine the relationship between contextual factors and career exploration. Career adaptability mediates the relationship between social support, sense of belonging and career exploration.

This quantitative study involved 291 undergraduates recruited from two universities in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results indicated that social support and sense of belonging were positively related to career adaptability. Career adaptability was found to be a mediator between relational predictors and career exploration. Contrary to our hypothesis, the direct path from sense of belonging to career exploration was insignificant.

This study highlights the importance of career adaptability in connecting contextual indicators and career exploration in the Chinese context.

Drawing on the challenge–hindrance stressor framework and the “too-much-of-a-good-thing” principle, this study examined the curvilinear effects of two emic social challenge stressors (guanxi beliefs and participative decision-making (PDM)) and the moderating effect of an etic social hindrance stressor (perceived organizational politics) on Hong Kong and United States nurses’ job satisfaction.

A quantitative survey method was implemented, with the data provided by 355 Hong Kong nurses and 116 United States nurses. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the degree of measurement equivalence across Hong Kong and US nurses. The proposed model and the research questions were tested using nonlinear structural equation modeling analyses.

The results show that while guanxi beliefs only showed an inverted U-shaped relation on Hong Kong nurses’ job satisfaction, PDM had an inverted U-shaped relation with both Hong Kong and United States nurses’ job satisfaction. The authors also found that Hong Kong nurses experienced the highest job satisfaction when their guanxi beliefs and perceived organization politics were both high.

The results add to the comprehension of the nuances of the often-held assumption of linearity in organizational sciences and support the speculation of social stressors-outcomes linkages.

Managers need to recognize that while the nurturing and development of effective relationships with employees via social interaction are important, managers also need to be aware that too much guanxi and PDM may lead employees to feel overwhelmed with expectations of reciprocity and reconciliation to such an extent that they suffer adverse outcomes and become dissatisfied with their jobs.

First, the authors found that influences of guanxi beliefs and PDM are not purely linear and that previous research may have neglected the curvilinear nature of their influences on job satisfaction. Second, the authors echo researchers’ call to consider an organization’s political context to fully understand employees’ attitudes and reactions toward social interactions at work. Third, the authors examine boundary conditions of curvilinear relationships to understand the delicate dynamics.

Due to globalization and digitalization, the world of work is undergoing comprehensive change. These trends are challenging management accounting (MA) and pressuring individuals and organizations to change. The literature postulates a replacement of traditional organizational careers by “new” career models characterized by dynamism and flexibility. However, the state of the art on careers in MA lacks empirical evidence and has disparate research interests.

In this study, the authors investigate the status quo of careers in MA, key influencing factors and assumed change in such careers. To do so, the authors conducted a quantitative empirical study, based primarily on the careers of 83 graduates of a department offering a MA major at a German-speaking university. Nine qualitative empirical interviews supplement the quantitative findings.

The authors’ findings indicate that while MA careers are changing, the characteristics of the profession are continuing to concur with the traditional organizational understanding of careers. Accumulated professional experience is the key factor to achieving a management position although management accountants tend to become more dynamic in terms of career paths and career understanding. Thus, employment in various functional areas opens new career paths in MA.

The methodology of analysing quantitative and empirical cross-sectional data and the resulting final sample size is too small to guarantee robust statistical inference. Moreover, further interviews would lead to greater data saturation.

The study sheds light on the under-researched question of how careers in MA proceed and develop. This could be of interest for practitioners working with management accountants such as personnel consultants.

This study contributes to the field through its comprehensive consideration of careers in MA in this changed context, thus providing new insights for academia and business practice.

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to identify and discuss competition using Porter’s five forces, analyse and understand the enablers and challenges that impacted Rocky Brands’ growth and recommend a solution in relation to Rocky Brands’ growth strategy.

This case study investigates Rocky Brands, a South African manufacturer and distributor of cleaning products in the retail market. The case was set in November 2022 and highlights the important events ranging from the company’s founding in 2011 up until 2022. This case aims to study strategy in the South African fast moving consumer goods industry. At the time of writing the case study, Rocky Brands was operating across South Africa, with their main manufacturing warehouse in Johannesburg and a subsidiary manufacturing warehouse in Durban. They were changing the Durban warehouse to a distribution warehouse, as they planned to manufacture primarily from a bigger warehouse in Johannesburg. Rishav Juglall, the main protagonist, is the founder and managing director of Rocky Brands. Rocky Brands imports and redistributes several of the brands that the company sells, including Weiman’s, Wright’s and Goo Gone. They also manufacture their own line of products in South Africa under the Oakmont brand. Juglall acknowledges that their sales and revenue have grown yearly, but they have recently saturated the market and reached a plateau. Juglall needs to determine whether he should diversify into Africa, expand his product range or enter the market for private label cleaning products.

The case study’s primary focus is on strategy in an emerging market. This case study is suited to undergraduate students studying Porter’s five competitive forces, SWOT analysis (see teaching note exhibit) or the Ansoff matrix in the fields of strategy, marketing or macroeconomics. This case study can be taught in courses such as decision-making, environment of business, leadership or strategic implementation. The case study will teach students how to apply the frameworks to a business and assist students in determining which option is best for the business.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.