Promoting boundary-spanning behavior among service personnel

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1626-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaewon (Jay) Yoo ◽  
Todd J. Arnold ◽  
Gary L. Frankwick

Purpose – The purpose of this model is to explain how person – organization fit (P – O fit) and competitive intensity, conceptualized as a job resource and a job demand, respectively, ultimately affect the development of frontline employee boundary-spanning behavior (BSB). Design/methodology/approach – A survey methodology was used in collecting data from a sample of bank employees in South Korea. To analyze the data, a structural equation model procedure using LISREL 8.5 was used (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1996). Findings – Results suggest that a frontline employee’s P – O fit decreases emotional exhaustion and increases achievement-striving motivation. Competitive intensity significantly reduces achievement-striving motivation. Results also show that competitive intensity significantly attenuates the positive relationship between P – O fit and employee achievement-striving motivation, highlighting the importance of contextual industry stressors upon internal organizational behaviors. Both emotional exhaustion and achievement-striving motivation are found to ultimately affect BSBs except for the link between emotional exhaustion and service delivery. Originality/value – The current study applies the job-demands resources model to demonstrate how both an externally initiated job demand (competitive intensity) and an internally oriented job resource (person – organization fit) influence employee experience of emotional exhaustion and achievement-striving motivation. Interaction effects of P – O fit and competitive intensity on employee’s psychological states (emotional exhaustion and achievement-striving motivation) are also examined. Further, it is demonstrated that both emotional exhaustion and achievement-striving motivation will directly influence service employee boundary-spanning behaviors, but in differential manners. This highlights the importance of exhaustion and motivation as mediators for the ultimate effect of a job resource (P – O fit), answering a call for such understanding of the developmental process for BSBs (Podsakoff et al., 2000). This is the first empirical study to link both internal and external elements to illuminate the process for developing job demands and resources, as well as boundary spanning behaviors.

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilmar B. Schaufeli

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate leadership into the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Based on self-determination theory, it was argued that engaging leaders who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers would reduce employee’s levels of burnout and increase their levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted among a representative sample of the Dutch workforce (n=1,213) and the research model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – It appeared that leadership only had an indirect effect on burnout and engagement – via job demands and job resources – but not a direct effect. Moreover, leadership also had a direct relationship with organizational outcomes such as employability, performance, and commitment. Research limitations/implications – The study used a cross-sectional design and all variables were based on self-reports. Hence, results should be replicated in a longitudinal study and using more objective measures (e.g. for work performance). Practical implications – Since engaged leaders, who inspire, strengthen, and connect their followers, provide a work context in which employees thrive, organizations are well advised to promote engaging leadership. Social implications – Leadership seems to be a crucial factor which has an indirect impact – via job demands and job resources – on employee well-being. Originality/value – The study demonstrates that engaging leadership can be integrated into the JD-R framework.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 317-332
Author(s):  
Katrien Vandevelde ◽  
Elfi Baillien ◽  
Guy Notelaers

PurposeThis study tested whether person-job fit (PJ-fit), person-group fit (PG-fit) and person-organization fit (PO-fit) relate to exposure to and enactment of workplace bullying (WB), mediated by strain and conflict.Design/methodology/approachData from 1,077 employees were analysed using multiple mediator structural equation modelling (Mplus 8.0).FindingsPJ-fit, PG-fit and PO-fit all related to WB. PG-fit accounted for most explained variance. PJ-fit, PG-fit and PO-fit related to bullying through strain; only PG-fit also related to bullying through conflict.Research limitations/implicationsPE-fit is valuable to parsimoniously investigate WB's multi-causal nature; and strain and conflict partially explain the associations. Future research may shed more light on the direction of these effects.Practical implicationsSo far, scholars assumed that job design prevents WB (work-environment hypothesis). This study revealed that prevention should also focus on the fit between employee and group/organization.Social implicationsWB has high societal costs. The authors introduce a new angle to WB prevention. To counteract WB, practitioners should also look at PJ-fit, PG-fit and PO-fit. This is not only important for recruitment, but also for tenured employees (e.g. because of changes in employees' needs, the job, the group or the organization).Originality/valueThis study was the first to investigate the multi-causal nature of both WB exposure and enactment, by applying the lens of PE-fit, and testing explanatory mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amiram Markovich ◽  
Kalanit Efrat ◽  
Daphne R. Raban

PurposeThis study aims to augment the understanding of dynamic capabilities (DCs) by exploring the interrelations among the DC categories (sensing, seizing, reconfiguring) and the distinct impact of each DC on firm performance under low and high levels of competitive intensity.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on a cross-sectional survey of 139 managers in Israel. The data were collected through Web-based questionnaires using the Qualtrics software. A two-stage data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings indicate that DCs follow a sequence in which sensing drives seizing, which, in turn, enhances reconfiguring. The effects of sensing are mainly manifested through its direct impact on seizing, with no evidence for an impact of sensing on company performance. Moreover, under low competitive intensity, only seizing appears to impact performance, while under high competitive intensity, reconfiguring joins seizing in improving firm performance.Originality/valueThe study's findings advance the debate on the direct vs sequential nature of DCs by indicating an internal DC sequence. Our research also advocates for a crucial role of sensing in enhancing DCs, regardless of the level of competitive intensity. Furthermore, this research expands the understanding of the consequences of DCs and enables the prioritization of DC categories under low and high competitive intensity.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungkun Park ◽  
Jiseon Ahn ◽  
Hyowon Hyun ◽  
Brian N. Rutherford

PurposeIn this study, the authors examine the impacts of two facets of retail employees' cognitive support and affective commitment on emotional labor-related outcomes.Design/methodology/approachTo test the study hypotheses, 521 retail service employees participated in the survey. By using the structural equation modeling, the results show that employees' perceived organizational support directly and positively employees' affective organizational commitment and emotional exhaustion.FindingsBy using the structural equation modeling, the results show that employees' perceived organizational support directly and positively influence employees' affective organizational commitment and emotional exhaustion. The extent of employees' affective organizational commitment directly and negatively influences emotional labor and exhaustion. Furthermore, employees' emotional exhaustion exerts an influence on retail employees' propensity to leave.Research limitations/implicationsDrawing on social exchange and conservation of resources theories, this study contributes to emotional labor research and practices by examining factors that potentially influences employees' propensity to leave. For future studies, researchers can expand the proposed framework of the current study to other retailing settings.Practical implicationsFindings of the study suggest that retail organizations need to manage employees' support and commitment concerning to understand emotional labor.Originality/valueThe current study found that employees' affective commitment influences key emotional labor constructs including emotional labor and emotional exhaustion. Employees who have a high level of identification, involvement and emotional attachment toward the organization, they are less likely to feel of overload and inefficiency. Given the importance of emotional labor in the retailing setting, the proposed model and findings of this study contribute the existing knowledge of retail employees' behavior.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Agyapong ◽  
Suzzie Owiredua Aidoo ◽  
Samuel Yaw Akomea

PurposeThe paper sought to uncover the conditions under which managerial capability enhances performance while considering the role of social capital within the unique boundary conditions created by competitive intensity.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use multi-source data from 206 managers and owners of SMEs from a Sub-Saharan African nation – Ghana.FindingsUsing structural equation modeling (SEM) to analysis the data, the findings revealed that social capital serves as a mechanism through which managerial capability influences performance. Furthermore, the results indicate that competitive intensity does not significantly moderate this important indirect relationship. Implications: This study provides relevant knowledge for scholars, practitioners and policymakers on the role of managerial capability and how it may be harnessed in enhancing performance.Originality/valueThis paper provides a holistic understanding of the capability performance relationship in attempts at extending the literature by examining social capital as a mediator and competitive intensity as a contingent factor of this important relationship in a conditional indirect model.


Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongming Wu ◽  
Junjun Zheng

PurposeDrawing on the stress and coping theory, conservation of resources (COR) theory and social role theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of social media overload on knowledge withholding behavior and examine the gender differences in social media overload, engendering knowledge withholding.Design/methodology/approachBy hiring a professional online survey company, this study collected valid responses from 325 general social media users. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, bootstrapping method and multi-group analysis were used to test the proposed theoretical model.FindingsThe empirical results reveal that three types of social media overload positively affect users' knowledge withholding behavior and that emotional exhaustion significantly mediates the above relationships. The multi-group analysis demonstrates that gender differences do exist in the decision-making process of knowledge withholding; for example, females are more likely than males to become emotionally exhausted from social media overload, while males are more likely than females to engage in knowledge withholding behavior in the case of emotional exhaustion.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the relationship between social media overload and knowledge withholding, verifying the mediating role of emotional exhaustion as the key mechanism linking them, and narrowing the research gap of lacking gender differences research in knowledge withholding literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osman M. Karatepe ◽  
Hamed Rezapouraghdam ◽  
Rahelel Hassannia

Purpose Drawing on the self-determination and conservation of resources theories, as well as the transactional theory of stress, this paper aims to develop and empirically test a research model depicting the interrelationships of sense of calling, emotional exhaustion (EXH), intent to remain with the organization (IRO), task-related pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and non-green behavior (NGB). Design/methodology/approach Data came from hotel employees with three waves of one-week time lag and their direct supervisors in China. The authors assessed these linkages through structural equation modeling. Findings Sense of calling mitigates EXH and NBGs, while it fosters IRO and task-related PEBs. EXH partly mediates the influence of sense of calling on NGBs. Practical implications It is important to maintain a workplace in which employees foster their work competence, possess a more positive interpretation of work meaning and accomplish their career goals. Management should organize environmental training programs that would compel employees to pay attention to the protection of nature and scarce resources and enable them to be involved in the environmental sustainability process. Originality/value A search made in the hospitality and tourism literature shows that few studies have investigated the consequences of employees’ sense of calling. The authors’ search also highlights the void that little is known about the mechanism linking sense of calling to green and non-green outcomes.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qijie Xiao ◽  
Fang Lee Cooke ◽  
Felix Mavondo ◽  
Greg J. Bamber

PurposeThe purpose of the research is to examine the antecedent and employee well-being outcomes of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using both paper-based and web-based questionnaires over two time points (one month apart). The sample included 281 participants in eight companies in China. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the relationship between Chinese traditionality, perceived benefits schemes, job involvement and emotional exhaustion.FindingsChinese traditionality is an antecedent of employees' perceptions of benefits schemes. Perceived benefits schemes are negatively associated with emotional exhaustion. Moreover, job involvement mediates the relationship between perceived benefits schemes and emotional exhaustion.Research limitations/implications The data were collected in eight manufacturing companies in China, which may raise concerns about the generalisability of findings across industries, nations and cultures. Larger, more representative and cross-contextual samples are needed for future research to test the results further.Practical implicationsManagers should anticipate that employees with different cultural values may develop dissimilar perceptions of the same benefits schemes. Hence, managers need to communicate the benefits schemes to distinct employee groups in different ways.Originality/valueBased on the conservation of resources model, this research offers theoretical insights into the mechanisms through which perceived benefits schemes influence employee health well-being. In addition, this research tests an antecedent of perceived benefits schemes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Didem ÖZTÜRK ÇİFTCİ

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the effect of loneliness and alienation in the workplace on the intention of leaving employment and whether emotional exhaustion has a mediating role in this effect.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses generated within the framework of the study model were evaluated by using the data set obtained from 402 survey participants working at nine shopping malls in the Central and Eastern Black Sea regions of Turkey and statistical analysis programs. In this context, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine the validity of the scale and the structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses.FindingsThe study reveals that loneliness and alienation in the workplace have an effect on the intention of leaving employment and that this effect is fully mediated by emotional exhaustion. Whether this full mediating role determined by the SEM is meaningful or not was evaluated by Bootstrap analysis and the results revealed that the effect is meaningful.Practical implicationsDeveloping effective communication channels that will prevent the employee from feeling isolated at work and eliminating the pressure and inadequate physical working conditions created by unrealistic sales targets are recommended. In addition, it is thought that if employees are included in decision-making processes and have sufficient autonomy related to the job, work alienation can be prevented.Originality/valueThis research is important in terms of evaluating shopping centers, which are accepted as the symbol of consumption today, not only with their economic aspects but also with their employees. In this context, the research has revealed that shopping mall employees want to leave their jobs due to emotional exhaustion caused by loneliness and alienation at work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
Mohammad Taherdangkoo ◽  
Beikpour Mona ◽  
Kamran Ghasemi

Purpose This paper aims to highlight a model of industry drivers (industries’ environmental reputation and competitive intensity) that affect the sustainability marketing strategy segmentation, targeting and positioning based on customers’ environmental concern and explore the circumstances under which such a strategy affects performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined 64 Iranian export companies, which adopted sustainability marketing strategies across seven different industries. Achieved data are analyzed using a structural equation model methodology. Findings The results indicate that industries’ environmental reputation is positively related to the sustainability marketing strategies based on customers’ environmental concern and leads to superior financial and market performance. They also posit that competitive intensity has no significant effect on sustainability marketing strategies. Research limitations/implications This study specifically examines the impact of industry drivers on sustainability marketing strategy and performance. Logically, there might be other factors affecting the sustainability or other value dimensions that are not addressed in this study. Practical implications This paper provides some understanding of how organizations strength their sustainability marketing strategy, and they have to consider what factors to adopt such strategy. This paper also facilitates a better understanding of the customers’ needs and concern as a factor influencing sustainability marketing strategy adoption and implementation. Identifying the customer segmentation and market targeting based on the industry’s environmental can lead to the business will normally tailor the marketing mix (4Ps) with the needs and expectations of the target in mind. Originality/value This paper strengthens the effect of environmental concern of customer to understand what influences the success of the sustainability marketing adoption and implementation by investigating the most influential factors such as industries’ environmental reputation and competitive intensity.


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