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1 – 10 of 59This paper’s objective is to provide a systematic literature review of the contextual factors affecting downward communication from supervisors to subordinates in the audit…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper’s objective is to provide a systematic literature review of the contextual factors affecting downward communication from supervisors to subordinates in the audit environment. In addition, this review identifies emerging research themes and directions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
I accomplish this review’s objectives by leveraging communication literature to establish a framework to identify and synthesize contextual factors affecting downward communication in the audit environment. The review identifies 50 published articles in the last 20 years from leading accounting and auditing journals.
Findings
This study consolidates research findings on downward communication under two primary contextual factors: (1) message and (2) channel. Findings indicate that empirical research examining communication in audit is fragmented and limited. Studies examining the message focus heavily on its content and treatment in the areas of feedback, nonverbal cues, and fraud brainstorming, and a handful of additional studies examine the effectiveness of the channel in these areas. Additional research is needed to understand a broader set of supervisor–subordinate communication practices, including those that are computer-mediated, and their effect on subordinate auditors’ judgments and behaviors in the contemporary audit environment.
Originality/value
Much of the audit literature examining communication to date is topic-versus construct-based, making it difficult to see how the research findings relate to one another. This review is the first to synthesize the literature to provide academics recommendations for a way forward, and inform practitioners of communication practices whereby supervisors can be trained to improve audit quality.
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Steve Winer, Leslie Ramos Salazar, Amy M. Anderson and Mike Busch
The purpose of this study is to extend Bippus and Young’s (2005) study and examine the effectiveness of the “I-you,” “I,” “You,” “We,” “But” and Question-based “Why” statements…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to extend Bippus and Young’s (2005) study and examine the effectiveness of the “I-you,” “I,” “You,” “We,” “But” and Question-based “Why” statements from Winer’s (2021) verbal coding program of conflict management using Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory (SLT).
Design/methodology/approach
Mixed methods were used using 175 university students from Texas and New York. A cross-sectional convenience sampling approach was conducted. Survey data was collected using Qualtrics.
Findings
Descriptive results demonstrated that the “We” statement was the most passive, the “I-you” statement was the most assertive and the “But,” “I,” “You” and Question statements were perceived to be aggressive. In addition, assertive “I-You” statements were perceived to be more effective in resolving the conflict and maintaining a relationship, whereas aggressive statements were less likely to resolve the conflict and maintain the relationship. Qualitative themes also support the “I-You” statement as the most assertive, while the “But,” “You” and “I” statements were found to be the most aggressive statements.
Practical implications
Implications and applications are discussed to stimulate future research among researchers and practitioners when addressing conflict. Being aware of the verbal statements that de-escalate conflict may be helpful in solving conflict in interpersonal, family and professional relationships. Future trainings can adopt effective verbal statements to resolve conflict when experiencing anger issues. Future research can continue to investigate verbal communication statements using SLT to help practitioners and managers address conflict in interpersonal relationships.
Originality/value
This study examines verbal statements in relation to communication styles and conflict management.
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Adam Biggs, Scott Johnston and Dale Russell
Leadership assessment programs are intended to ensure that the organization retains or hires high-quality leadership. Among the many skills that must be included, executive…
Abstract
Purpose
Leadership assessment programs are intended to ensure that the organization retains or hires high-quality leadership. Among the many skills that must be included, executive communication is a cornerstone of effective leadership. However, there are many techniques to assessing executive communication that impose numerous advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of this study is to explore several techniques for evaluating executive communication skills in leadership assessment programs.
Design/methodology/approach
Building upon case studies from novel commanding officer selection efforts in the military, the current study outlines three possible areas of executive communication for leadership assessment programs: panel-based interviews, guided discussion and executive writing.
Findings
Although each technique offers some advantages, the best technique depends upon the context. Panel-based interviews can provide excellent depth in evaluating candidates, whereas executive writing focuses more upon crafting a deliberate and clear message without the ability to clarify or use nonverbal cues. Selecting an appropriate technique depends greatly upon the workload imposed on the leadership assessment team and the number of candidates available.
Originality/value
Leadership selection programs are often done piecemeal or based on local experience. By building upon novel efforts in military commanding officer selection, the goal is to promulgate effective executive communication techniques that will enhance leadership selection through more effective communication across all levels of leadership positions.
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Wei Yan, Huan Chen, Yan He and Cuilian Zhang
This study aims to understand how abusive supervision influences employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). In particular, the mediating effect of moral disengagement…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how abusive supervision influences employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). In particular, the mediating effect of moral disengagement and moderating role of traditionality on this relationship were examined.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted a two-wave questionnaire survey using data collected from 629 employees from different companies in China. Moderated mediation analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that moral disengagement mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and employees’ UPB. Employee traditionality enhances the relationship between abusive supervision and moral disengagement as well as the indirect effect of abusive supervision on employees’ UPB via moral disengagement.
Originality/value
First, by exploring the positive impact of abusive supervision on UPB, the authors enhance the current understanding of the role of negative leadership in the development of UPB and enrich the research on the antecedents of UPB and outcomes of abusive supervision. Second, based on social cognitive theory, this study enriches the literature on abusive supervision and employee UPB by identifying moral disengagement as a mediator. Third, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors are among the first to incorporate traditionality to tell a Chinese story about how traditional employees respond to the effects of abusive supervision on UPB, providing a new lens for the cultural boundary condition in the occurrence mechanism of UPB.
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Tahani Hassan and Izhak Berkovich
This study investigated the relationship between principals' abusive leadership and teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, exploring the potential moderating effects of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigated the relationship between principals' abusive leadership and teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, exploring the potential moderating effects of the duration of the relationship and group size within educational settings.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a sample of teachers in Bahrain, using self-report measures. The data were analyzed using regression analyses.
Findings
The findings reveal a significant negative relationship between principals' abusive leadership and teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The results also show that the duration of the relationship moderates the correlation between abusive leadership and teachers' extrinsic motivation, with teachers who have been in longer relationships with their principals showing greater resistance to the detrimental effects of abusive leadership on their extrinsic motivation. Group size was found to moderate this correlation, with larger groups exhibiting stronger buffering against the negative effect of abusive leadership.
Originality/value
The findings provide valuable insights into the dynamics of abusive leadership in educational settings and the potential moderating factors that can help alleviate its detrimental effects on teachers' motivations.
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Ishfaq Ahmed and Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul
Knowledge is the source of competitive advantage, but when shared at all levels. Unfortunately, there is a universal unruly present in the form of knowledge hiding at employees’…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge is the source of competitive advantage, but when shared at all levels. Unfortunately, there is a universal unruly present in the form of knowledge hiding at employees’ level, but the causes and remedies are still vague as past studies have rarely investigated the causes of daily knowledge hiding behavior. Against this backdrop, this study aims to entail a daily diary method investigation of the role of daily abusive supervision in daily employees’ knowledge hiding through the mediation of dehumanization and moderation of psychological capital.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for this study is collected using a daily diary method approach, which estimates the daily workplace events and their continuous influence on employees’ feelings (i.e. dehumanization) and actions (knowledge hiding). The daily responses of 279 respondents were considered useful for analysis purposes.
Findings
The findings of the study revealed that the daily events of abusive supervision have both direct and indirect (through dehumanization) influence on employees’ daily knowledge hiding behavior. Moreover, psychosocial capital has a significant conditional influence in the relationships of negative workplace treatments (abusive supervision and dehumanization) and their outcomes (i.e. knowledge hiding).
Research limitations/implications
The study provides some theoretical and practical insights by providing the explanatory and coping mechanism between continuous abusive supervision and daily knowledge hiding behavior.
Originality/value
There is a dearth of literature that has focused on daily episodes of abusive supervision, dehumanization and knowledge hiding behavior. Furthermore, the moderating role of psychological capital has also been rarely investigated.
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Junsung Park, Joon Woo Yoo, Youngju Cho and Heejun Park
This study aims to understand the reasons for individuals switching from traditional banks to Internet-only banks and examine how switching intentions differ between Generation X…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the reasons for individuals switching from traditional banks to Internet-only banks and examine how switching intentions differ between Generation X and Generation Z. Notably, Generation Z, being digital natives, exhibits distinct characteristics compared to Generation X, who often referred to as digital immigrants. Given the technology-driven nature of Internet-only banks, a multi-group analysis between these two generations was conducted.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes Bansal’s push–pull–mooring model as a framework to analyze switching intention. The study collected survey data from 383 Korean participants, consisting of 198 participants from Generation Z and 185 participants from Generation X.
Findings
The findings indicate that low satisfaction and discomfort are factors that push people to leave traditional banks. Specifically, Generation Z shows a significantly higher inclination to leave traditional banks due to discomfort. On the other hand, relative advantage, compatibility, observability and trialability are factors that pull people to switch to Internet-only banks. Generation X is more likely to consider adopting Internet-only banks when compatibility is high and complexity is low.
Originality/value
This study is the first to explore unique motivators for Generation Z, such as their discomfort with interpersonal interactions in the retail banking sector. These findings challenge earlier research emphasizing human interaction’s importance in technology adoption, offering insights into their future adoption of contactless services.
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Marya Tabassum, Muhammad Mustafa Raziq and Naukhez Sarwar
Agile project teams are self-managing and self-organizing teams, and these two characteristics are pivotal attributes of emergent leadership. Emergent leadership is thus common in…
Abstract
Purpose
Agile project teams are self-managing and self-organizing teams, and these two characteristics are pivotal attributes of emergent leadership. Emergent leadership is thus common in agile teams – however, how these (informal) emergent leaders can be identified in teams remains far from understood. The purpose of this research is to uncover techniques that enable top management to identify emergent agile leaders.
Methodology/design
We approached six agile teams from four organizations. We employ social network analysis (SNA) and aggregation approaches to identify emergent agile leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
We approached six agile teams from four organizations. We employ SNA and aggregation approaches to identify emergent agile leaders.
Findings
Seven emergent leaders are identified using the SNA and aggregation approaches. The same leaders are also identified using the KeyPlayer algorithms. One emergent leader is identified from each of the five teams, for a total of five emergent leaders from the five teams. However, two emergent leaders are identified for the remaining sixth team.
Originality/value
Emergent leadership is a relatively new phenomenon where leaders emerge from within teams without having a formal leadership assigned role. A challenge remains as to how such leaders can be identified without any formal leadership status. We contribute by showing how network analysis and aggregation approaches are suitable for the identification of emergent leadership talent within teams. In addition, we help advance leadership research by describing the network behaviors of emergent leaders and offering a way forward to identify more than one emergent leader in a team. We also show some limitations of the approaches used and offer some useful insights.
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Limin Guo, Jinlian Luo and Ken Cheng
Integrating appraisal theories of discrete emotions with the emotion regulation literature, this study aims to explore the relationships between exploitative leadership and…
Abstract
Purpose
Integrating appraisal theories of discrete emotions with the emotion regulation literature, this study aims to explore the relationships between exploitative leadership and certain types of counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB). Besides, this study seeks to examine the mediating roles of discrete emotions (i.e. anger and fear) and the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal within the proposed relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on time-lagged survey data from 440 Chinese employees, this study conducted hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping approach to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results revealed that exploitative leadership was positively related to approach-oriented CWB and avoidance-oriented CWB. In addition, this study found that anger mediated the relationship between exploitative leadership and approach-oriented CWB, whereas fear mediated the relationship between exploitative leadership and avoidance-oriented CWB. Further, cognitive reappraisal buffered the positive effects of exploitative leadership on anger and fear and the indirect effects of exploitative leadership on approach-oriented CWB (via anger) and avoidance-oriented CWB (via fear).
Practical implications
Managers should reduce leaders' exploitation and enhance employees' skills on emotional management and cognitive reappraisal.
Originality/value
First, by verifying the effects of exploitative leadership on both approach-oriented and avoidance-oriented CWB, this study adds to the literature on exploitive leadership and provides a more complete understating of the relationship between exploitative leadership and workplace deviance. Second, this study enriches the understanding of the process through which exploitative leadership affects employees by demonstrating the novel mediating roles of discrete emotions (i.e. anger and fear) through the lens of appraisal theories of discrete emotions. Third, by verifying the moderating role of cognitive reappraisal, this study provides insights into the boundary conditions of the influences of exploitive leadership.
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Chanapa Jindain and Bhumiphat Gilitwala
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors impacting the intermediating variable of employee engagement toward employee performance in a hybrid working organization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors impacting the intermediating variable of employee engagement toward employee performance in a hybrid working organization in Bangkok, Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses secondary data analysis and an archival study; the primary data were gathered from 370 employees who are working in a hybrid model environment in a private agricultural machinery company. To construct a new conceptual framework, this study adopted four frameworks from the previous research.
Findings
Perceived organizational support and trust and respect in the organization are found to have a significant positive impact on employee engagement. Moreover, there is a significant positive impact of the employee engagement on employee performance in a hybrid working model.
Research limitations/implications
For hybrid work environments, the research focused mainly on the emotional themes of perceived support, trust and respect in the organization. Therefore, there would be many factors that could possibly affect those dependence variables in any environment, which will have to be investigated more in future research. Either in the organization or in the company, many departments and business units operates for the company, but the researcher specifies only the business units or departments that now use the hybrid working model.
Practical implications
This study focuses on a case study of an agricultural machinery company, which likely produces different results than other industries, other industries may produce different results.
Social implications
Hybrid working models can blur the boundaries between work and personal life, potentially leading to increased stress and burnout. Organizations should prioritize work-life balance and employee well-being by promoting flexible schedules, encouraging breaks and time off, and providing resources for mental health support.
Originality/value
The organization which is operating among a hybrid working model, the increasing of perceived organizational support and trust and respect level, has positively increase the employee engagement toward enhancing the employee performance.
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