Engaging employees through effective performance management: an empirical examination

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1843-1860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva Kakkar ◽  
Sanket Dash ◽  
Neharika Vohra ◽  
Surajit Saha

PurposePerformance management systems (PMS) are integral to an organization's human resource management but research is ambivalent on their positive impact and the mechanism through which they influence employee behavior. This study fills this gap by positing work engagement as a mediator in the relationship between perceptions of PMS effectiveness, employee job satisfaction and turnover intentions.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a survey-based design. Data were collected from 322 employees in India attending a management development program at a premier business school. Partial least squares–based structure equation modeling package ADANCO was used for data analysis.FindingsPositive perception of PMS effectiveness was found to enhance employee work engagement. This increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover intentions among employees. Thus, work engagement mediated the relationship between PMS perceptions and job satisfaction and turnover intentions.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that organizations need to focus on three characteristics of PMS, namely its distinctiveness, consistency and consensus. These characteristics determine the effectiveness of PMS in engaging employees and influencing their job satisfaction and turnover intentions.Originality/valuePrior studies on performance management have largely been limited to aspects of justice and focused disproportionately on the appraisal aspect of performance management. This study takes a systems view of performance management and addresses prior shortcomings by examining the role of clarity and horizontal fit between PMS practices in determining employee engagement. The study also provides much needed empirical support to theoretical studies which have argued that PMS is a driver of engagement in organizations (Gruman and Saks, 2011; Mone and London, 2014).

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha C. Andrews ◽  
K. Michele Kacmar ◽  
Charles Kacmar

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of mindfulness as a predictor of the two components of regulatory focus theory (RFT): promotion and prevention focus. It further examines promotion focus and prevention focus as mediators of the mindfulness-job satisfaction and mindfulness-turnover intentions relationships. Finally, job satisfaction is also examined as a mediator of the mindfulness-turnover intentions relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The model was tested using data collected via a snowball approach. Online surveys were distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in a business course. Students were then given the opportunity to earn extra credit by sending the survey to potential respondents. The relationships were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – Support was found for four of the six hypotheses. Prevention focus did not negatively mediate the relationship between mindfulness and job satisfaction as well as the relationship between mindfulness and turnover intentions. Research limitations/implications – One limitations of this research is the placement of mindfulness as an antecedent to promotion and prevention focus. Another plausible alternative is to consider mindfulness as a consequence. An additional limitation is the use of a snowball sampling technique. Future research should examine these findings using employees of a single organization. Originality/value – This research theoretically and empirically links RFT and mindfulness. This study also adds to the limited research empirically linking RFT and turnover intentions, both directly and indirectly via job satisfaction. Finally, this research extends previous research that established the positive relationship between mindfulness and job satisfaction by examining the mindfulness-job satisfaction-turnover intentions relationship.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Lu ◽  
Allan Cheng Chieh Lu ◽  
Dogan Gursoy ◽  
Nathan Robert Neale

Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of employee positions (supervisor vs line-level employee) on work-related variables (e.g. work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from line-level employees and supervisors of 29 mid- to up-scale hotels. A series of one-way ANCOVA were performed to test the position differences in work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the moderating role of employees’ positions on the relationships between those variables. Findings Supervisors have significantly higher work engagement and lower turnover intentions than line-level employees, whereas job satisfaction does not differ across positions. Employee positions significantly moderate the relationship between absorption and job satisfaction, and the relationship between dedication and turnover intentions. Practical implications This study provides an in-depth analysis for hotel managers to capture work-related factors (i.e. work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intentions) across employee positions. Dedication is the primary barometer that significantly leads to job satisfaction and reduced turnover intentions compared to vigor and absorption. Although job satisfaction may be boosted by improving employee work engagement (i.e. vigor, dedication and absorption), increasing absorption is not an effective solution to increase supervisors’ job satisfaction. Hotel managers need to carefully monitor supervisors’ levels of dedication, given its focal impact on turnover intentions. Originality/value This study is one of the first attempts to examine the differences between line-level employees’ and supervisors’ work engagement (i.e. vigor, dedication and absorption) and its consequences (i.e. job satisfaction and turnover intentions). Findings highlight the unique influence of the individual dimension of work engagement on job satisfaction and turnover intentions. This study reveals the moderating effect of employee positions on the links between engagement dimensions and consequences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Upasna A. Agarwal ◽  
Vishal Gupta

Purpose Integrating the job demands-resources theory and the conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop and test a moderated-mediation model examining the relationships between motivating job characteristics, work engagement, conscientiousness and managers’ turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a survey questionnaire from 1,302 managers working in eight Indian private sector organizations. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis were used to test the hypothesized relationships between the study variables. Findings The study found evidence of the mediating role of work engagement for the relationship between motivating job characteristics and managers’ turnover intentions. Conscientiousness moderated the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention. The total and indirect effects of motivating job characteristics on turnover intention were moderated by conscientiousness. Research limitations/implications The study was cross-sectional, so inferences about causality are limited. Practical implications The findings of this study reaffirm the crucial role of job characteristics in influencing work engagement and turnover intention. By examining work engagement as a mediator for the job characteristics-turnover intention relationship, this study explores the process through which job characteristics are associated with turnover intention. The findings of the moderating influence of contentiousness on the relationship of direct and indirect effects of job characteristics suggests that individual personality can influence social exchanges as well as managerial attitudes and behaviors in multiple ways. Originality/value The study provides an insight into the underlying process through which job characteristics are related to managers’ turnover intentions. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, such a study is the first of its kind.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena M. Addae ◽  
Nathaniel Boso

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and distributive justice on employee perceptions of absence legitimacy. This paper also examined the moderating effects of turnover intentions on the relevant relationships. Design/methodology/approach The authors used convenience sampling to collect data from 298 employees working in private and public sector organizations in the manufacturing and service sectors in Ghana. Drawing on institutional theory, this study investigates the effects of employee perceptions of the legitimacy of absenteeism on their attitudes toward their job and pay. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and moderation effects. Findings Job satisfaction and perceived distributive justice were found to be significantly related to the absence of legitimacy. Additionally, turnover intentions moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and absence legitimacy; however, unexpectedly, this was associated only marginally with distributive justice. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that it was cross-sectional, but the analysis did not show a common method bias. This study was conducted in a developing country where valid and accurate absence data are non-existent. The hypotheses were supported. When employees felt a sense of inequity and were dissatisfied with their jobs, they were likely to perceive absenteeism as legitimate behavior. These relationships were more pronounced when employees intended to leave their organizations. Practical implications From a practical standpoint, as employees are likely to engage in absenteeism as a means to reduce their perceptions of imbalance and because absenteeism is a costly behavior, it would be in the employer’s best interest to mitigate these high costs. It behooves employers to comprehend the factors that lead to the legitimization of absences. Doing so, they would be able to implement attendance management systems and strategies that would delegitimize some of these factors, thus improving attendance and potentially increasing productivity and job satisfaction and reducing turnover intentions. Originality/value This study contributes to absenteeism research because, unlike most studies in the area, it examined employee cognitions of the behavior. Such cognitions should provide insights into how employee perceptions of the legitimacy of absences would affect attitudinal variables such as job satisfaction, feelings of equity and turnover intentions. Moreover, even though the study was conducted in Ghana, absence legitimacy can be investigated in different settings at different levels of analysis. This is because it is free from contamination such as, dissimilar absence reporting systems within and across organizations and nations that affect the validity and accuracy of absence data.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-580
Author(s):  
David W. Drewery ◽  
Robert Sproule ◽  
T. Judene Pretti

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between a lifelong learning mindset and career success. A lifelong learning mindset is a way of approaching one's work with curiosity, strategic thinking, and resilience. Career success refers to objective (e.g., number of promotions) and subjective (e.g., job satisfaction) indicators of progress and fulfillment in one's work.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies are presented. Both studies draw from an accounting and finance program at a Canadian university. In study 1, data were collected from students (n = 62) and their supervisors at the end of a four-month co-operative education (co-op) work term. In study 2, data were collected from graduates (n = 148).FindingsResults suggest that developing a lifelong learning mindset enhances both objective and subjective career success. Participants' lifelong learning mindset was associated with objective career success in both studies (supervisor-rated performance in study 1 and number of promotions in study 2). Lifelong learning mindset was associated with subjective career success in study 2 (job satisfaction, work engagement, and job-related self-efficacy) but not in study 1 (experience satisfaction).Originality/valueThis article presents the first empirical examination of the relationship between a lifelong learning mindset and career success. Insights from the article highlight the fact that educators and workplace managers might work together to promote a lifelong learning mindset for current and future workers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1313-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emerson Wagner Mainardes ◽  
Lázaro Silva Rodrigues ◽  
Aridelmo Teixeira

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify the relationship of job satisfaction in the banking sector with its antecedent constructs (financial rewards and psychological rewards) and the mediating role of internal marketing in this relationship and to verify the relationship between job satisfaction in the banking sector and its consequent constructs (work engagement and the intention to leave) and the moderating effect of internal marketing on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional research methodology. Data are collected through an online questionnaire, which involves 355 bank employees. Partial least squares–structural equation modeling is used to verify the predicted relationships. Findings The results show that internal marketing tends to mediate the relationship between financial rewards and job satisfaction and the relationship between psychological rewards and job satisfaction. Internal marketing presents a moderating effect on the relationship between job satisfaction and work engagement, but internal marketing does not moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and the intention to leave the bank. Originality/value This study expands the understanding of the scope of internal marketing by exploring its mediating and moderating effects on the interactions among the behaviors of banking sector employees.


Author(s):  
Steven A. Schulz ◽  
Kyle W. Luthans ◽  
Jake G. Messersmith

Purpose – A number of studies have identified a relationship between the positive psychological capital (PsyCap) of employees and desirable outcomes. Given current and projected shortages of truck drivers that could become the “Achilles heel” of the global supply chain, the purpose of this paper is to test whether and how drivers’ attitudes and PsyCap relates to their intentions to quit. Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data from truckload drivers (n=251) from two major transportation firms, correlation, regression, and path analysis were conducted to assess the relationship between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, PsyCap, and intentions to quit. Findings – Results of this study indicate strong positive relationships between PsyCap and job satisfaction and organizational commitment and a strong negative correlation with intentions to quit. Structural equation modeling suggests that job satisfaction and organizational commitment mediate the relationship between PsyCap and turnover intentions. Practical implications – Managerial implications for recognizing, understanding, and developing PsyCap in the transportation industry are derived from this study. Specific training guidelines are provided. Originality/value – The major contribution of this paper is that it provides, for the first time, empirical evidence that PsyCap can be utilized to improve retention rates for truckload drivers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 986-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Badrinarayan Shankar Pawar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to carry out an empirical examination to assess the nature of effects an employee’s individual spirituality and organizational spirituality have on the employee’s experience of meaning in work and community at work facets of workplace spirituality. Design/methodology/approach This paper specifies and examines, using a cross-sectional survey research design, the empirical support for two alternative models – a direct effects model and a moderating effect model – of the likely influences of an employee’s individual spirituality and organizational spirituality on the meaning and community facets of workplace spirituality. Findings The findings indicate considerable support for the direct effects model but no support for the moderating effect model. Within the direct effects model, organizational spirituality had much stronger association than employees’ individual spirituality with the workplace spirituality facets of meaning and community. Research limitations/implications This study may encourage future research to examine other antecedents of workplace spirituality, and the moderators and mediators of the relationship between organizational spirituality and workplace spirituality. Practical implications It suggests to the practitioners that for enhancing employee experiences of workplace spirituality, organizational spirituality implementation is a more effective way than developing employees’ individual spirituality. Social implications The study indicates that employees’ spiritual needs of meaning and community at work can be better fulfilled through organizational spirituality implementation than through individual spirituality development. Originality/value This is an original empirical examination and its value partly comes from its research implications and practice implications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1218-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Ning ◽  
Albi Alikaj

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of employee age in the relationship between work engagement and several job resources.Design/methodology/approachThe study used questionnaire-based surveys completed by 804 employees from firms located in West China. The data were then analyzed by conducting latent moderated structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results of the study show that certain job resources (autonomy, recognition, colleague support, participation, job security and flexible work arrangements) are more effective for older employees in promoting work engagement, while other resources (job feedback, opportunities for development, skill variety and internal promotion) are more tailored toward younger employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe results suggest that job resources are not equally effective in affecting employee work engagement. Therefore, future studies should adopt a dynamic lifespan perspective when studying the relationship between job resources and work engagement.Practical implicationsThe current study indicates that to increase younger employees’ work engagement, organizations need to rely more on development-oriented job resources, and to increase older employees’ work engagement, they need to focus more on maintenance-oriented resources.Originality/valueThe literature on work engagement has assumed that the strength of the relationship between job resources and work engagement is uniform among employees at all ages. This study refers to two life-span theories from the development psychology literature to explain that there are age-related differences in the effect of job resources on employee work engagement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 3919-3942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Xu ◽  
Zheng Chris Cao

Purpose This paper aims to provide and meta-analytically investigate a theoretical framework of work–nonwork conflict and its antecedents and outcomes in hospitality management. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts the psychometric meta-analytical methods and meta-structural equation modeling methods to synthesize the relationships between work-to-nonwork conflict (WNC) and nonwork-to-work conflict (NWC) and its antecedents and outcomes. Findings WNC and NWC are found to be correlated with antecedents including social support; positive affectivity and negative affectivity; work characteristics; and outcomes including job-related well-being, life-related well-being, burnout, performance and turnover intentions. Originality/value This paper is the very first meta-analysis in International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. It is also the first meta-analysis on the relationship between overall work–nonwork conflict and its antecedents and outcomes in hospitality and tourism.


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