Tolerance, governance and happiness (in)equality: cross-country evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raufhon Salahodjaev

Purpose The purpose of this study is to extend related literature on life satisfaction. In particular, the author explores the link between tolerance, governance and life satisfaction inequality in a sample of 81 countries. While studies have shown that tolerance and governance are separately linked to subjective well-being, no study has shown their mutual relationship to life satisfaction inequality. Design/methodology/approach Considering the existing link between tolerance and quality of institutions, in this study, the author explores the relationship between tolerance and life satisfaction inequality and the mediating role of governance. This research could be embedded in the framework of ballooning research exploring the effect of societal values on institutions and life satisfaction. Findings The empirical findings suggest more tolerant societies are more likely to have more even levels of life satisfaction, but this correlation is completely mediated by governance. Quality of institutions thus seem to be one of the core channels by which societies that value tolerance achieve more equal distribution of happiness. The author also finds that while GDP per capita evens out happiness, income inequality increases the gap in life satisfaction within society. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first that relies on most up-to-date cross-country data to explore a novel channel through which tolerance may be linked to subjective well-being. In particular, in this study, the author posits that tolerance may have been linked to subjective well-being indirectly via its impact on quality of institutions (governance).

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansika Singhal ◽  
Renu Rastogi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discover the role of psychological capital (PsyCap) as a predictor of subjective well-being (SWB) and career commitment (CC). Further, it aims to analyze the mediating role of SWB in the relationship between PsyCap and CC in the Indian manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey-based research design employing data from 300 employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India was used in the present research. Findings The results demonstrated that PsyCap acted as a predictor for SWB and CC. Additionally, SWB partially mediated the relationship between PsyCap and CC. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the present research would have to do with the purposive sample set chosen during the data collection. The sample consisted of middle- and upper-middle-class Indian employees working in the NCR having knowledge of English language and computer skills. Perhaps, future research works should take into account a wider sample in terms of the regions across India and not only the NCR. Although the findings showed that SWB reduced the relationship between PsyCap and CC, still that relationship was significant statistically. Further research studies might also explore various moderators while simultaneously studying SWB. In the research, SWB acted as a significant mediator of the relation between PsyCap and CC, yet at the same time, it may be the scenario that employees who are committed toward their career would be more inclined to espouse a greater sense of SWB (i.e. mediator is caused by the outcome). Hence, the authors duly recognize the need to test this substitute model. Since, SWB places chief emphasis on respondent’s own experiences and perspectives; it does not denote a consummate understanding of their mental health as people may have psychological disorders even if they experience happiness. Hence, the use of other measures in addition to SWB in comprehending a person’s psychological health is desirable (Diener et al., 1997). Practical implications This study suggests that in order for organizations to have a workforce committed to their career and hence, their profession, the supervisors will need to train the employees having a higher incidence of PsyCap to increase their SWB. Consequently, the supervisors will, in turn, need to recruit employees already having the four dimensions of PsyCap, i.e. hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism at the workplace in order for them to have a higher life satisfaction, positive affect, reduced negative affect (three components of SWB) and increased CC. Social implications Employees who develop within themselves a state of being hopeful, efficacious, resilient and optimistic will also be strongly oriented toward having greater life satisfaction, positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. This, in part, would help them achieve the required commitment toward their career and hence, help them in sticking with their jobs. Originality/value The present study advances the existing work on positive organizational behavior by exhibiting the noteworthy role of PsyCap in predicting SWB and CC. Further, it helps in demonstrating the inevitable role of SWB in partially mediating the relationship between PsyCap and CC.


2019 ◽  
pp. 135910531987395
Author(s):  
Nutifafa Eugene Yaw Dey ◽  
Benjamin Amponsah ◽  
Charles Brenya Wiafe-Akenteng

The study explored the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between spirituality and subjective well-being of 107 Ghanaian biological parents raising children with special needs. Results from mediational analyses revealed that spirituality indirectly influenced life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect through resilience. Specifically, greater levels of spirituality predicted greater resilience, which successively led to greater life satisfaction, greater positive affect and reduced negative affect. These findings emphasize the necessity of targeting parents’ well-being through resilience to help them deal with the burden of providing care for their children with special needs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenna V. Shulga ◽  
James A. Busser ◽  
Billy Bai

Purpose This study aims to examine how hospitality consumers of different generations appraise competitive service advantage (CSA) of service providers, based on providers’ business models and value propositions, particularly, how these perceptions influence consumers’ purchase intention, subjective well-being and trust in service provider. Design/methodology/approach This study used a 3 × 4 between-within online scenario-based experimental design (business models: traditional, collaborative, shared; value propositions: innovation, marketing, service production, recovery) using equal and randomized assignment to experimental conditions. Following equal quota-based randomized sampling, three generations were examined (n = 180): baby boomers, Generation Xers and millennials. Multivariate analysis of variance and PROCESS macro were used to analyze the data. Findings Hospitality consumers perceived value propositions from providers with different business models inversely based on their perceptions of firms’ CSA, subjective well-being and trust. CSA amplified the outcomes and served a mediating role for purchase intention, subjective well-being and trust. Different outcomes were based on generational cohorts. Practical implications Customer perceptions of firm’s unique competitive position should be managed holistically by combining business models, value propositions and generational cohorts to ensure customers’ purchase intention, trust and subjective well-being. CSA should be communicated to customers differently based on generational membership. Originality/value This study deepens knowledge of CSA, specifically from the consumer level of analysis. The key contribution is the role of CSA as a mediator for hospitality business models and customer-related outcomes of purchase intention, subjective well-being and trust. This study brings forward consumer subjective well-being as a potential goal for hospitality firms.


Author(s):  
Olefir V.O. ◽  
Bosniuk V.F.

Purpose of the work was to investigate the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between subjective perceptions of stress and person’s life satisfaction.Methods. Psycho-diagnostic methods “Stress Perception Scale-10”, “Psychological Capital”, “Life Satisfaction Scale” were used. Statistical analysis included calculation of descriptive statistics, correlations between variables (r-Pearson), finding differences between samples (ANOVA) and mediator analysis.Results. On the basis of a cross-sectional research of a sample of 460 people, the hypothesis that life satisfaction negatively correlates with the level of subjective perception of stress and positively with psychological capital was confirmed. Subjective perception of stress, in turn, negatively correlates with psychological capital. The hypothesis of the mediating role of psychological capital was partially confirmed, as the relationship between the perception of personal stress and life satisfaction remained statistically significant, although it decreased after psychological capital was added as a mediator. This result indicates that the cognitive assessment of stressors remains an important variable for predicting life satisfaction, even when regulating dispositional characteristics. Psychological capital as an integral personal resource is by a third statistically significant in determining the relationship between person’s perception of stress and life satisfaction. Affecting directly, subjective perception of stress explains 18.9% of the life satisfaction variance; at the same time the model mediated by psychological capital adds another 8.6%.Conclusion. Psychological capital is one of the integral personal resources, which provides a mechanism of response, processing and recovery from stressors, supporting the subjective well-being. It explains a third of the variance of the relationship between subjective perception of stress and life satisfaction. Psychological capital provides a partial mediating effect when people encounter stressors to maintain their well-being.Key words: life satisfaction, subjective well-being, psychological capital, perception of stress, mediator analysis. Метою роботи було вивчення опосередкованої ролі психологічного капіталу у взаємозв’язку між суб’єктивним сприйняттям стресу та задоволеністю життям особистістю.Методи. Використовувались психодіагностичні методики «Шкала сприйняття стресу-10», «Психологічний капітал», «Шкала задоволеності життям». Статистичний аналіз містив розрахунок описових статистик, кореляцій між змінними (r-Пірсона), знаходження відмінностей між вибірками (ANOVA) та медіаторний аналіз.Результати. На основі кроссекційного дослідження вибірки з 460 осіб підтверджено гіпотези, що задоволеність життям негативно корелює з рівнем суб’єктивного сприйняття стресу та позитивно – з психологічним капіталом. Суб’єктивне сприйняття стресу негативно взаємозв’язане з психологічним капіталом. Частково підтвердилась гіпотеза про опосередковану роль психологічного капіталу, оскільки взаємозв’язок між сприйняттям стресу особистістю та задоволеністю життям залишився статистично значущим, хоча і зменшився після того, як був доданий психологічний капітал як медіатор. Цей результат указує на те, що когнітивна оцінка стрес-факторів залишається важливою змінною для прогнозу задоволеності життям, навіть за умов контролю диспозиційної характеристики. Психоло-гічний капітал як інтегральний особистісний ресурс на третину статистично значуще визначає взаємозв’язок між сприйняттям стресу особистістю та задоволеністю життям. Суб’єктивне сприйняття стресу безпосереднім впливом пояснює 18,9% дисперсії задоволеності життям, а модель з опосередкуванням психологічним капіталом додає ще 8,6%.Висновки. Одним з інтегральних особистісних ресурсів, що забезпечує механізм реагування, переробки та відновлення після стресових факторів, підтримуючи суб’єктивне благополуччя, є психологічний капітал. Він пояснює третину дисперсії взаємозв’язку між суб’єктивним сприйняттям стресу та задоволеністю життям. Психологічний капітал забезпечує частковий медіаторний ефект, коли люди зіштовхуються зі стресовими факторами для підтримки свого благополуччя.Ключові слова: задоволеність життям, суб’єктивне благополуччя, психологічний капітал, сприйняття стресу, медіаторний аналіз.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Jami Pour ◽  
Fatemeh Taheri

Purpose Over the past decade, social media have significantly changed the way people communicate and interact with one another, which might result in positive or negative consequences. Every day, people use these technologies to share knowledge in the form of short messages, articles, images, videos and voice. Universities use social media to better connect the learners and educational communities. Previous studies have reported the positive impact of using social media by students to share knowledge. Despite the significance of social media usage in educational activities, there still remain limitations. Few studies have empirically investigated drivers related to knowledge sharing behavior in social media, and there are some inconsistent findings concerning effective factors. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to empirically examine the effect of personality traits on knowledge sharing behavior in social media among students by the mediating role of trust and subjective well-being (SWB). Design/methodology/approach To obtain this aim, cross-sectional survey was conducted. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the sample of 527 Iranian students, out of which 425 were used in the final analysis. Regression analysis and bootstrap method were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings The research findings revealed that the big five personality traits are associated with SWB, perceived trust and knowledge sharing behavior among students. With the exception of conscientiousness trait, all the traits used in this study lead to a significant change of the knowledge sharing behavior among students. Practical implications The findings offer further understanding about the mechanisms by which personality traits lead to knowledge sharing behavior through trust and SWB. They suggest the students to enhance personality profile and improve SWB for the benefit of these new educational platforms. Also, policymakers are encouraged to create trustworthy social media platforms to increase perceived trust and eventually knowledge sharing behavior among students. Originality/value Little is known about the effect of personality traits, as well as trust and SWB on knowledge sharing behavior among students. The study contributes to the related literature through empirically indicating how personality traits influence knowledge sharing behavior by the mediating role of trust and SWB.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tunde Simeon Amosun ◽  
Chu Jianxun ◽  
Olayemi Hafeez Rufai ◽  
Sayibu Muhideen ◽  
Riffat Shahani ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate university students’ WeChat usage during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in relation to the mediating role of online self-disclosure on their quality of friendship and well-being. A model is proposed to explain how students’ interactions occur during the lockdown and the mediatory role which self-disclosure plays in influencing their socio-psychological markup. Design/methodology/approach The research model was tested empirically through a survey conducted online with 600 research participants, comprising of university students in China. Findings Results in structural equation modeling show that WeChat interaction significantly correlates with the quality of friendship, online self-disclosure but not significantly correlates with well-being, but an indirect relationship was found out in the mediation analysis. There is also a significant relationship between online self-disclosure, quality of friendship and well-being. Mediation analysis shows that online self-disclosure mediates the relationship between interactions on WeChat and quality of friendship; it also mediates the relationship between WeChat interaction and well-being. In all, the results achieved in this study will significantly help provide more insights in comprehending the nuances attached to some socio-psychological aspects of WeChat and how its usage affects people during the period of crisis. Originality/value Theoretically based investigation of WeChat usage among university students and its relationship with online self-disclosure, quality of friendship and well-being is still quite scarce, thereby underscoring the needs and significance of a theoretically based study in this regard. This study tested the credibility and validity of the proposed model in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in China, which is one of the first in recent times.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 978-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchuan Zhang ◽  
Qiao Shi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of subjective well-being (SWB) on workplace ostracism, by focusing on the moderating role of emotional intelligence (EI). SWB is taken here as a construct of three components: life satisfaction, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA). Design/methodology/approach The theoretical model was tested using data collected from employees in different firms from different provinces in China. Analyses of multisource and lagged data from 677 employees indicate that as predicted, EI moderates the relationship between SWB (life satisfaction, PA, and NA) and workplace ostracism. Findings The findings show that when employees demonstrate high levels of EI, the negative relationships between life satisfaction, PA and workplace ostracism were strengthened, and the positive relationship between NA and workplace ostracism was weakened. Originality/value First, the results empirically demonstrate that EI is one moderator of the relationship between SWB and workplace ostracism. Second, the study contributes to the field of workplace ostracism by indicating some critical antecedents. Third, the present study examines the moderating role of EI in the relationship between SWB and workplace ostracism among Chinese employees.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuguang Sun ◽  
Ailing Huang

The intermediary effect interval of the preschool teachers' competence characteristics → positive psychological capital → the subjective well-being of the preschool teachers is (0.23—0.55), does not contain 0, and the effect amount is 0.35. The competency characteristics of preschool teachers → The direct effect interval of subjective well-being of preschool teachers is (0.05—0.36), excluding 0, and the effect quantity is 0.20, indicating that positive psychological capital as a mediator variable has the characteristics of preschool teachers and the subjective well-being of preschool teachers. Partial mediating effect, the ratio of mediating effect to total effect is 64.01%.


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